Gundam Wing: Journey to a New Battlefield
by operation meteor
Summary: The war is won, yet he cannot find peace. When a mission gone wrong throws Heero into another world, how will he survive? And how will he react when he is confronted with his greatest challenge yet? For love can be trickier than any battlefield foe...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**: Ussual disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed. If I did they would not be nearly as cool (well, maybe Destiny, but we'll come to that at another time).

Anyway, enjoy!

**Gundam Wing: Journey to a New Battlefield**

**Episode One: The Lonely Victor**

It was early February in the year After Colony 196. Floating high above the blue and green gem that was the Earth, now finally at peace with its space colonies, was a large mobile suit. Its distinctive paint job, a white and blue base with a green circular sensor in the center of the chest, red trim on the shoulders and a golden head crest with a green sensor in the middle, along with two more emerald sensors where eyes would have been on a man, stood out in stark contrast to the blackness of space and the dull gray of nearby floating debris, near-indestructible Gundanium alloy glistening in the sunlight that crept over the planet's horizon. On its back were two large blue and white thruster pods. In its left hand was a giant twin barreled rifle while a red, white, and yellow shield was attached to its arm. Its right hand was empty, though it could if need be grab one of the beam sabers that were hidden away in its shoulder compartments. Also concealed on its shoulders were two heavy gatling cannons, ready to unleash rapid fire hell on unsuspecting foes.

The machine was Wing Gundam Zero, known simply as Wing Zero, the most powerful mobile suit ever built. The weapon that had saved the Earth from the falling battleship _Libra_, set on a collision course with the planet by Quinz, second in command of the colonist militant group White Fang, in a mad attempt to carry out the original Operation Meteor. Now the war was over, and the machine had found itself in an era where it did not belong.

The same could also be said of its pilot. Clad in a black spacesuit, helmet set aside for the moment, was a sixteen year old boy. With dark brown hair and Prussian blue eyes, his was certainly a face that many would consider handsome, but it had a cool edge to it, and within those eyes were traces of weariness brought on by a lifetime of battles. Heero Yuy, one of the five Gundam Pilots that had helped to bring about this new period of peace, perhaps the greatest soldier the world and colonies alike had ever seen, was at a loss.

All his life, he had known nothing but battles. Raised by an assassin, then taken in by a colonial resistance group, he had been taught from a very young age all aspects of the intricate art of war. War was what he had grown up with, and his becoming a Gundam Pilot was his crowning achievement, a sign of his mastery of combat. The revised Operation Meteor, where the five young men had descended to Earth to wage war against the United Earth Sphere Alliance and the secret society controlling it, OZ, had been the culmination of his training; all those long years coming together in that mission, which had shook the entire Earth Sphere in a spectacular year long conflagration.

The war, it had been said, to end all wars.

What Heero mused on now, drifting amidst the stars, was that he had never expected that to actually happen; that a true, lasting peace could in fact be achieved. He had simply fought for the independence of the colonies, and had never really thought about what might happen afterwards. Now, ironically, the colonies and the Earth were in fact closer than ever, forming the new Earth Sphere Unified Nation. Many of his friends had managed to settle down in the new nation, and Relena had even become the Vice Foreign Minister. _Then again_, he thought, _she did once hold the title of Queen of the World Nation. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised._ He let out a small chuckle. He, however, had been unable to really find a niche of his own. He had taken on freelance work for the government, keeping tabs on organizations that were suspected of attempting rearmament, but those assignments had been way too easy, and more to the point, unable to fulfill the void he now felt within. When he wasn't running an investigation, he would often just take Wing Zero out into space and drift, trying to meditate and come to some sort of conclusion as to where he was supposed to go.

Today was different though. Long range scans had shown that a large section of OZ's ruined space fortress Barge had drifted away from the main debris field and was heading towards the Earth. It was the main reactor containment block. Ironically, although Barge itself had been destroyed just before being able to fire a fully charged blast from its main cannon, the reactor was intact. This was due to a safety feature that had actually been designed to seal off the primary reactor from the rest of the station in the event of a coolant leak or partial meltdown. However, the system worked both ways, and the reactor had been sealed off the moment Epyon's enormous beam sword had sliced into Barge, igniting sub-systems and breaching the auxiliary reactors, which had destroyed the station, but the failsafe for the main reactor had activated, and the section, which was far more reinforced than the rest of Barge, had survived the explosion. It was currently the largest piece by far of the Barge debris field.

While its size alone wasn't enough to cause a lot of damage should the block fall to Earth, what had Heero worried was all the excess energy that was still encased within the reactor. _After all this time, it's still fully charged for that final blast,_ mused Heero. He had to hand it to the Romefeller Foundation, the chief military-industrial organization that had backed OZ, they knew how to build their toys and make them last.

Now he was aiming the Twin Buster Rifle at the block, from a respectable distance of course. If he could destroy it before it fell into the atmosphere, the planet's magnetic field and o-zone layer would protect it from all the built up energy that would suddenly be released upon the reactor's demise.

_That's the idea, anyway_. He knew that with all the energy stored in the reactor, plus the sheer power of Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle, it was impossible to approach this problem with complete certainty. He had no problem with this though. Every time he piloted the Gundam, he was aware that there would always be the chance that he could die. _Why should now be any different?_, he thought.

"Focus, Heero," he muttered to himself, "no sense in dying here." The reactor block was minutes away from reaching the upper atmosphere. Moving Wing Zero into an interception position, Heero brought his massive rifle to bear and began charging it. Soon the barrel tips were emanated with a yellow-gold glow as the incredibly powerful weapon, surpassed only by the primary cannons on Barge and the _Libra_, was primed at maximum firepower. _I usually only use a fraction of this_, Heero mused, _I haven't fired the Twin Buster Rifle at full power since the _Libra _began its descent._ Firing the gun at maximum repeatedly would rapidly drain the weapon's energy, which was recharged by the mobile suit's Gundanium alloy encased fusion reactor. Normally recharging wasn't an issue, but after repeated use on maximum power the weapon could only be recharged when the suit was grounded, and thus not using additional energy. Not to mention the sheer recoil from consecutive firing of the Twin Buster Rifle on that setting in the atmosphere would in all likelihood destroy the Gundam.

Now that it was fully charged, Heero made the appropriate adjustments to the weapon and prepared to fire. Glancing at a timer, he saw that the amount of time he had before the reactor block passed the point of no return was less than three minutes. In addition, his own position was in the upper atmosphere. If he wasn't careful, the slight difference between that and the vacuum of space could throw his shot off.

Confident that he had made all the necessary preparations, Heero took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger. A massive yellowish beam ripped forth, tore through space in a fraction of a second, and hit the reactor dead center. The block exploded, and all the pent up energy from Barge's would-be final blast was released. Crimson light spewed out in all directions, and the massive shockwave caused Wing Zero to shudder violently.

However, something was terribly wrong. _These energy readings_, Heero realized, _are far greater than I expected. _He was surprised to see that, at the epicenter of the explosion, a strange rift had opened. Within this strange hole was a confluence of light, in every spectrum imaginable. Heero might have found it beautiful, except for his sudden realization that Wing Zero had begun moving towards it.

Checking his sensors, he realized that it was not gravity, but the suit's own engines that were moving Zero towards the rift. "What are you doing, Zero?" snarled Heero as he fought to regain control of the Gundam. However, the Zero System, a combination between an extremely sophisticated tactical/strategic analysis program and an advanced A.I. that gave the pilot an unprecedented degree of awareness and interface ability with the Gundam, had taken complete control of the suit, and even Heero Yuy, one of only a few people to completely master the incredibly dangerous program, was powerless to stop it. As the Gundam continued to move towards the rift, Heero could feel the system communicating with him on a subconscious, almost telepathic level, something it tended to do during heated battles. "Are you saying my future is through there?"

Taking one last look behind him at the Earth, he then turned towards the gash in space/time that he had accidentally created. "Fine then," he said, the determination that had been characteristic of him during the war, and missing from him during the past month as he had drifted without purpose, finally returning to him, resonating in his voice, "Let's go." Before being swallowed by the light and losing consciousness from the increasing vibration and pressure being exerted, he gave a small smile.

"Farewell… my friends."

Then he was gone, passed out of the universe whose calendar marked the years after mankind's ascension towards its new life in space colonies, and had begun his journey to the one on the other side. One plagued by the same disease that the Earth Sphere in his realm had only just cured itself from.

War.

**Preview for next time!**

_The destruction of Barge's reactor has flung Heero into another world. With only Wing Zero and limited supplies, can even the "Perfect Soldier" survive? Meanwhile, the Earth Alliance battleship _Archangel _is under attack, and Lieutenant Murrue Ramius is struggling just to keep herself and her crew alive. Can a new player on the scene change the outcome? Next time, on "Journey to a new Battlefield", Episode Two: Cosmic Era 71._

**Author's note**: Alright, first chapter up! I'll post chapter two soon too, after that the updates will be slower, I want to be careful before I release new chapters. Just to give you guys a heads up, the amount of forces available to factions like ZAFT (or anyone that has to go up against Heero, for that matter!) will be greatly increased from what they were in the show, in order to compensate for Heero's presence. Also, a lot of the dialogue from scenes from the show will, of course, be different, though I'll try to keep some of the original lines when possible.

Till next time everyone! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** In my opinion, a lot of people seem to think that Heero is a cold, ruthless individual. If you watch him carefully throughout the series, that really isn't the case. The closest he comes to that is in the first couple of episodes, what with threatening to kill Relena (and ripping up her birthday invitation!). While he suppresses his emotions in battle and focuses entirely on the mission, outside of combat he's actually a kind-hearted, if withdrawn, individual. After all, he's the one that tells Trowa that "The best way to live a good life is to act on your emotions." Also, if you've seen Endless Waltz, then you know that Heero is deeply haunted by some of his past actions, hardly the trait of an emotionless killer. While reading this, please try to keep in mind that this all takes place after the main series (well, after Wing, anyway!), so all of his 'character development' as we might call it still applies here, and he will continue to grow through his experiences in the Cosmic Era.

Well, I've said my bit. Enjoy!

**Episode Two: Cosmic Era 71**

Heero Yuy struggled back to consciousness, vaguely aware of a beeping coming from his machine's sensors. Shaking his head, he could feel a slight throbbing in it, but as he regained awareness and looked himself over, he found that he had no real injuries anywhere. _Well, apart from a bump to the head, apparently_, he thought, but he could tell that it wasn't a concussion, and examining his reflection on the visor of the helmet that lay next to the pilot's chair, he could see that there was no blood. _I got lucky, it seems. Perhaps I should actually start wearing that thing again._ He didn't particularly like it, he knew that they tended to get stuffy and hot after a while, but he was also aware of the safety advantages.

He was jarred from his thoughts as the beeping from his Gundam's sensors increased in both pace and volume. Checking them, he noticed that three vessels were approaching. Two were smaller than the other, about 130 meters in length, and looked like chisels with four boxy protrusions coming out of it diagonally. _Missile pods by the looks of it_, he thought. The larger vessel in between them was more robust, with a blocky structure and a point dividing the bow into two launch bays. The vessel was 250 meters in length. All three craft were bristling with weapons.

Wing Zero's sensors also picked up high levels of background energy, of an unknown type. _It appears to be scrambling surrounding neutrons. Even space has some free floating atoms. But why…_ Suddenly Heero realized what the purpose of the energy was; to disrupt nuclear reactions. Bringing up his Gundam's fusion reactor status display, he was relieved to note that it was functioning normally. _I guess the Gundanium alloy of the suit and the reactor casing are blocking the energy._ Knowing he could fight if need be, he returned his attention to the incoming vessels.

The two escorts were moving to flanking positions on either side of him. The two smaller craft had launched four mobile armors each, while the central warship had launched fourteen. _They're moving into an attack position without even opening communications? What's up with these guys? _Zooming his main cameras in on one of the smaller craft, he noted that it appeared to be a small fighter-like ship. It had a delta shaped main fuselage, with bulky side pods with engines installed. Two forty millimeter machine guns framed the cockpit section, while slung below was a linear magnetic rail gun. The vessels all shared a dark violet color scheme, similar to OZ's space Leos.

Wanting to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, Heero opened up an unencrypted communications channel. "Attention incoming vessels, I have no intention of fighting you."

Before he could continue, another voice immediately got on the line. "Liar!" it yelled, obviously male, "Everyone knows that only Coordinators use mobile suits. Surrender or die."

_Coordinators?_, he thought,_ What the hell is he talking about? _

Checking his sensors, he noted that in addition to standard radio waves, the main warship was using a wireless network to help coordinate its squadron. "Good," he said to himself, "I can use that. Zero, patch into their network and download all the files you can. We need information."

The cockpit's main screen flashed green in acknowledgement as the Gundam's highly sophisticated system began to hack into the enemy's primary database. Meanwhile, Heero drew and ignited one of his beam sabers. _The Twin Buster Rifle is overkill for this situation, and I'll need to conserve the ammo for the shoulder gatlings until I can find a reliable supply source. _The green blade came to life in the Gundam's right hand, and Heero charged forward.

He started by slicing through the right engine block on one of the mobile armors, sending it spinning out of control, away from the fighting. Knowing that it would be recovered later, Heero began to attack the other fighters in a similar matter. _Killing them will make me enemies that I really don't need right now. Maybe if I fight this way they'll see reason and stop attacking. _However, the enemy did not seem to get his message, and he was forced to continue fighting. Rail cannons and missiles filled the space around him, but to the Gundam pilot the attacks were easily avoidable. Wing Zero maneuvered faster than its enemies could track, and in a flurry of green slashes, Heero quickly disabled the remaining fighters.

However, the warships were still attacking, filling space around him with high explosive shells. "You're next," he snarled. Charging towards one of the smaller escorts, he slashed its main turret completely in two, and then proceeded to disarm the missile launchers that had been trying to get a lock on him. Soon smoke was coming from where the weapon emplacements had once been on the ship, although there were very few flames. "Should be only minimal casualties," he muttered.

Switching his attention to the other escort, he soon had that vessel disabled as well. He was about to get started on the main warship when a white flare shot up from it. "Enough! We surrender," said a deep voice, most likely the ship's captain.

Heero was about to reply when the Zero system sent him a message on his main screen. "Download complete," it read. "No need to stick around here then," Heero said. Gunning his engines, he blasted away from the battlefield, soon well out of the enemy's radar range.

Checking his own radar, he saw that he was clear of any other vessels. He also noted his own position for the first time since he had arrived in this strange new universe. He could see the Earth in the distance, though he was quite a considerable ways out from it. Adjusting the zoom of his main cameras as much as he could, he noted several colony clusters, although all of them lacked the wheel-like structure he was used to. Some of them looked like giant cigars that had been stuck into asteroids, probably for resource mining purposes. Others in different locations had an hourglass shape to them, with large, disk-like shapes protruding from each side, which he soon made out to be solar panels.

He sighed, taking stock of his situation. "Well, Zero, we're not in the Earth Sphere we once knew, that's for damn sure." Turning his attention towards the files his Gundam had retrieved during the brief battle, he settled in and began to read.

….

A few hours later, Heero leaned back in his chair, took a sip of water from his canteen, and sighed. _Well, that answered a few questions, but brought up more in their place._

The files had given him a rough idea of where, and more importantly, _when _he had wound up. _I knew from the designs of those ships and mobile armors that they were not of OZ manufacture, but still…_

To think that he had travelled to an alternate _universe_….

Well, that was quite a lot to take in, to say the least.

Apparently, he had wound up back in the Earth Sphere, but the timeline had diverged considerably from his own. Rather than switch to After Colony, the A.D. calendar system had switched to Cosmic Era, or C.E. Right now it was early February, year C.E. 71. Nearly a year ago, on February 14th, forces of one of the Earth Alliance's primary member nations, the Atlantic Federation, had launched a nuclear strike on the agricultural colony of Junius Seven. The death toll was almost a quarter of a million people, nearly all civilians. This incident became known as the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. This colony was one of many that belonged to the Coordinators, a new race of genetically engineered humans, who had recently declared their independence from the Earth Alliance. Tensions had been building between Coordinators and Naturals, unmodified humans, for quite some time before hand, but all attempts at mediation had failed.

_Still, a nuclear attack on a civilian colony…_ Heero did not like the implications inherent in that strike. Junius Seven had been one of the Coordinators' few major agricultural centers. The fact that it had been targeted first suggested that more than simple military strategy had been behind the attack.

The colonies, collectively known as the PLANT, quickly acted. Their military force, known as ZAFT, standing for the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty, used new devices called N-Jammers, which made nuclear reactions impossible under most circumstances, to prevent another nuclear strike. _Good thing Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy blocks its energy_, Heero thought. He also noted that the jammers severely hampered long range communications, making such contact sporadic at best. ZAFT had first seeded outer space throughout the Earth Sphere with the N-Jammers, which was a move that Heero could certainly approve of, but their next plan left him with decidedly more negative feelings.

_Operation Uroboros, Phase One… _That had involved seeding the Earth itself with N-Jammers. Since much of the world's energy had, at the time, come from nuclear power, the result was an unprecedented energy crisis. Hundreds of thousands died from a combination of exposure and starvation, and again, like Junius Seven, the deaths were primarily of civilians. _Both sides seem to have little sense of discretion. Even the Earth Sphere Alliance and OZ weren't this bad, at least not at first._ What followed afterward did not improve his mood.

The second part of Operation Uroboros involved a full-scale invasion of the Earth, signaling ZAFT's decision to fight an offensive war, rather than simply stay behind the N-Jammers and attempt to bring the Earth Alliance to the bargaining table. Since then fighting had raged on both the surface and in space, with heavy losses on both sides.

"As of right now," Heero muttered, "ZAFT controls its own colonies at Lagrange Point Five, and has gained control of North Africa, Taiwan and some of mainland China, and Australia on Earth. Both sides now appear to be in a stalemate, at least on the ground." In space, however, it appeared that ZAFT had an advantage, primarily due to the GINN series mobile suit, which was the mainstay of the ZAFT space forces. Apparently, the Coordinators were the only ones in the Cosmic Era capable of piloting mobile suits, due to their enhanced mental capabilities and physical reflexes. As Heero had read, it had become apparent that the Earth Alliance was lagging behind the U.E.S.A. and OZ from his own world in that respect.

"Looks like they're stuck on the software," he said. The first mobile suit ever developed by OZ, the Tallgeese, was originally considered to be far too sophisticated for most pilots to handle, due to a combination of design complexity and the fact that the sheer acceleration could kill the pilot if they couldn't handle it in a very precise manner. Just like the Gundams that had come afterwards, very few people had ever been able to pilot the suit and take it to its maximum potential. However, OZ had managed to create a greatly simplified operating system, which was installed on the mass produced Leo mobile suit. This became the basis for all other mobile suits, although the software developed by OZ would never be compatible with the far more complicated Gundams and the Tallgeese, meaning that those units would only ever be used by the greatest pilots of the era. The Earth Alliance of the Cosmic Era had obviously failed to make the key breakthroughs on the operating system, meaning that they were stuck with mobile armors and other older model vehicles until they could overcome that obstacle.

Even with the ability to produce and operate mobile suits, however, ZAFT had thus far been unable to press its advantage due to the sheer numbers available to the Earth Alliance. Heero had noticed in the files a trend; the Earth forces tended to win, or at least, fight to a draw, with the ZAFT units only win they outnumbered the enemy at least five to one, and even then they took heavy casualties. After the initial advances of ZAFT in the early weeks of the fighting, the struggle had clearly become a war of attrition.

However, Heero had more important things to worry about than the weapons and strategies used by the two combatants, although the latter did trouble him. While Wing Zero's fusion reactor would produce an unlimited supply of energy, it would not be able to give Heero food, water and, most importantly, oxygen. _I didn't think the Barge operation would take very long, so I went light on supplies. Now that's biting me in the ass._ He had enough air to last for the next 24 hours, but he would eventually have to find a place to resupply. _And this time_, he mentally added,_ make sure my air tanks are filled to maximum._ Also, it would have to be nearby, and the only groups in the general area at the moment were, unfortunately, ZAFT and Earth Alliance units. Heero would have preferred to go to Orb, a neutral nation that had shown up several times in the files, but he had a feeling that a mobile suit unseen by any other power in the Cosmic Era would draw some major unwanted attention to the island country.

Unfortunately for Heero, he would have to choose a side in the conflict, at least temporarily. While the actions of both nations left him with decidedly mixed feelings, particularly their actions at the start of the conflict, joining one or the other would give him access to all the materials he would need in order to survive for the immediate future, and would give him somewhere to get some much needed rest and plan his next move.

"My best choice would be the Earth Forces," he murmured. Although ZAFT had superiority in space, the Earth Alliance still controlled the majority of the planet, which meant that they had access to the most resources. Also, the fact that he was a Natural who could pilot a mobile suit might rub some Coordinators the wrong way, although Heero knew that it was only due to the intensive training he had undergone since a young age that had allowed him to master the Wing Gundam and eventually Wing Zero. However, he didn't want to just join any particular base; in fact he couldn't because, due to his limited air supply, he wouldn't be able to reach any of the terrestrial bases. The best choice would be a warship, and the ones he had encountered earlier were not equipped to provide maintenance to mobile suits.

He leaned forward, did some typing, and pulled up a file on the main screen. In fact, there was only one ship in the entire Earth Alliance with the facilities and technical support he would need to operate from; the battleship _Archangel_. A new model warship, it had recently been completed and launched from the Heliopolis colony. "Strange though," Heero mused, "Heliopolis is an Orb colony. Does this mean they're reconsidering their position of neutrality?" In addition to the _Archangel_, five prototype mobile suits had also been built. However, before the Earth Forces could take possession, a ZAFT strike team attacked the colony, and managed to steal four of the prototypes. The fifth, however, remained in Alliance hands. More importantly, Heero noted, it had actually been able to fight against the ZAFT forces, along with the _Archangel_. "Have they solved the software problem?" he wondered.

He concluded that the _Archangel _represented the best possible option available to him under the circumstances. _She must be nearby_, Heero thought. According to the files, the squadron that had attacked him was part of a vanguard of the Earth Alliance's 8th fleet, which was trying to link up with the new warship. Pulling up their maps of the Earth Sphere, Heero was able to use the data compiled on the _Archangel _since her escape from ZAFT at Heliopolis to track a rough course of the ship. According to Alliance communiqués, the ship had made her way to the Eurasian Federation fortress of Artemis. However, shortly after their arrival, ZAFT forces had attacked and destroyed the base. An Alliance patrol recovered survivors who reported that the _Archangel _had survived and escaped, along with the fifth prototype mobile suit, the GAT-X105 Strike. From there, the ship had had sporadic communications with the Alliance, due mainly to N-Jammer interference.

_Apparently they made their way to the Junius Seven debris field_, he noted, _most likely to try and salvage some usable supplies. I doubt they launched from Heliopolis with a full load-out, considering ZAFT's surprise attack._ The last communication in the files stated that they had left the debris field and were making their way towards the Earth. The 8th fleet had been ordered to link up with them and escort them to the Alliance's Alaska base.

Pulling up his own maps, he input all the navigation data he could find, and managed a decent recreation of the new environment he had found himself in. _I'll have to update it once I reach the _Archangel. Soon he had a rough idea of where the ship should be.

"Well, Zero," he said, powering up the Gundam's engines, "let's move." As the mobile suit picked up speed, it transformed into its fighter mode. Soon it was at maximum acceleration, racing across the stars towards a rendezvous with destiny.

….

Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, commanding officer of the Earth Alliance battleship _Archangel_, was having a _bad_ day. A beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, with long, flowing brown hair and gentle brown eyes, she let out a string of uncharacteristically vehement swear words. Murrue was normally a kind and polite lady. She was currently wearing the white uniform of an Alliance officer that did nothing to divert attention from her tall, curvaceous figure, particularly her rather ample breasts. The fact that she was using such coarse language underlined the seriousness of her situation.

She braced herself against the arms of her command chair as the ship was rocked by another hit. _Damn it_, she thought, _there's just too many of them_.

ZAFT GINN series mobile suits, gray and green units sporting heavy machine guns and missile launchers, were all over the place, and the _Archangel_'s close-in weapons could only handle so many. The massive white warship, at 420 meters in length, was truly an imposing sight even when it was swarmed by the enemy. It had a large central fuselage, above which towered the bridge, behind which were mounted row upon row of Helldart anti-air missile launchers. A broad wing ran under the main body, along with a U-shaped structure just aft of the bridge which came up into two tall fins, on which were mounted the Valiant Mk.8 Linear Cannons. Jutting out from the tail edge of the fins were two rounded-rectangle-like protrusions, which housed the warship's heavy missile launchers. From the front of the ship jutted two large leg-like structures, which housed both the linear catapults for launching mobile suits and the vessels incredibly powerful Lohengrin Positron Cannons. The ship was coated in thick Laminated Armor, designed to not only withstand physical rounds and missiles but also disperse and reduce the power of beam weapons.

However, for all her powerful weapons and tough armor, the _Archangel _was taking a pounding. The Gottfried Heavy Beam Cannons, mounted at the joints of where the 'legs' of the two pronged bow attached to the central part of the ship, were spewing out emerald death, though they couldn't fire the heavy Lohengrin Positron Cannons at the end of the 'bows' due to the risk of hitting their allies. The close-in-weapons were sending forth steady streams of 75 millimeter shells, but the GINNs were highly maneuverable, and only a few were hit by the barrage. Lieutenant Mu La Flaga in his advanced mobile armor, the Moebius Zero, was doing his best, and indeed several of the machines had already fallen to his linear cannon and four wire-guided gun pods, but he was just overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers. Kira Yamato, the young Coordinator who had volunteered to pilot the Strike in order to protect his friends aboard the warship, was similarly engaged with two of the stolen GAT-X series machines now being wielded by ZAFT, the Aegis and the Blitz. The blue and white machine was strong, but it was outnumbered, and its pilot was an inexperienced teenager. The other two stolen machines, the Duel and the Buster, were savaging what remained of the vanguard sent by the 8th fleet that was supposed to be their escort. In the distance up ahead of the fighting were ZAFT warships, an azure _Nazca_-class destroyer, shaped like a bird with up-turned wings, flanked by five green T-shaped _Laurasia_-class frigates, hanging back like sharks waiting to strike a large wounded whale.

_As if that weren't enough_, she fumed, _now I have another mess to deal with. _Before the battle had begun, while they were in the Junius Seven debris field scrounging for supplies, Kira had recovered a small life pod with a teenage girl inside. Apparently, there had been a memorial delegation sent to the area by the PLANT to mark the one year anniversary of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. The group had come across an Earth Forces patrol, and there had been a fight. The girl had been put into the pod just in time, as the ship had been heavily damaged, and the crew killed. Having a survivor from such a mission aboard the _Archangel_ was troublesome enough, but what really made the situation complicated was that she was none other than Lacus Clyne, daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne.

Now she had been brought to the bridge by Flay Allster, the red-headed daughter of Alliance Vice-Foreign Minister George Allster, who had come out with the vanguard group aboard the _Montgomery_, most likely to see his daughter, since a civilian politician did not, in Murrue's opinion, have any business being in a warzone. The girl was in a state of near-panic, shouting that they should use Lacus as a hostage in order to get ZAFT to withdraw. This was in stark contrast to Lacus herself. The lovely pink haired girl was a picture of calm and grace, hands clasped in front of her. Clad in a simple white dress, her light-blue eyes expressed nothing but pity for the girl who was trying to use her as a bargaining chip.

Murrue didn't have time for this. _We're being shot to pieces_, she thought.

"Incoming GINNs dead ahead!" shouted the radar operator.

Murrue looked up towards the main viewport, where indeed the two suits had made it past the ship's point defenses.

"No…" she whispered, "It can't end here." As the two machines leveled their weapons at the ship's upraised bridge, it seemed as if all was lost. However, just before they could fire, two spears of yellow light pierced them, causing both to detonate.

"Radar," she yelled, "where did that come from?!"

The man at the post responded, "Unidentified craft approaching from three o'clock!"

"On screen!" she ordered.

A strange fighter-like ship appeared, with a yellow and red bow which flowed back into an oddly shaped white fuselage, with blue and white wings. Two large canons framed the bow. Suddenly the craft started to shift and contort strangely.

"It's transforming…" she said, her voice hushed, not quite able to believe what she was seeing.

It became a large white and blue mobile suit, with the two cannons combining into one massive beam rifle in its left hand, and a green beam saber appeared in its right.

"Whose machine is that?!" she cried out.

"Unknown," came the reply from radar, "there are no matches in the database."

The bridge crew looked on as the new mobile suit moved quickly into the thick of the swarm of GINNs harassing the _Archangel_. It hacked into one with its saber, then leveled its rifle and fired, sending forth a large blast that took out three more suits.

"In a single shot…" she whispered, still hardly able to believe what was happening. Two more fell to its saber, and another went down under a withering barrage from two gatling canons that were mounted on its shoulders.

Suddenly the radar man shouted out, "The _Montgomery_!" Murrue turned to see the 250 meter long _Nelson_-class battleship take two large emerald beams fired by the main guns of the _Nazca_-class destroyer. The hit resulted in a spectacular fireball, tearing the vessel in two.

"What… daddy…" said Flay numbly, unable to believe what had just happened. She then sank to the deck, letting go of her hostage, and started shrieking hysterically, tears flowing.

"Flay," said Sai as he came up to her, the blond haired young man taking the girl in his arms. Like her, he was a civilian from Heliopolis who had been taken aboard the _Archangel _just before the colony had been destroyed. Due to some of the crew being killed before they could board the ship, he and some of his friends had volunteered to help out on the bridge.

"No! Let go! Let me go to daddy!" she cried out, trying desperately to shake him off before fainting.

"Get her off my bridge!" Murrue yelled, hating how harsh she sounded, but she had no time for politeness.

She was startled to see Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, her black haired second in command, suddenly grab Lacus and bring her towards the communications console. Before Murrue could say anything, she was broadcasting on an open channel.

"Attention ZAFT forces!" she began, "We have Chairman Clyne's daughter, Lacus Clyne, on board." All fighting suddenly ceased. Even the mysterious new mobile suit, which had just destroyed its tenth GINN of the day, ceased fighting and turned toward the _Archangel_. "By chance we came across her life pod and brought her aboard for humanitarian purposes. However, should you continue attacking us, her safety cannot be guaranteed." Natarle took a breath, and then continued. "We are willing to trade her in return for a cease-fire."

There was a pause, and then the image of a man with long blond hair and a mask, wearing the white uniform of a ZAFT commander, appeared on the main screen. "Your terms are reasonable. Do I have your word that the girl will not be harmed?"

At this, Murrue stepped forward and forced Natarle to stand aside. "Yes," she replied, "I give you my word as commander of the ship."

The man nodded, "Very well. We will recall our remaining units. We'll send the Aegis to retrieve her when you're ready."

"Understood," replied Murrue, "Let us recall our own craft. We'll have the Strike's pilot take her to the Aegis after it's recharged."

The man nodded again, "Fine." With that he cut the communication.

Murrue looked at Natarle, who returned her stare without flinching. "I won't apologize," said Natarle, "I was acting in the interest of this ship."

Murrue nodded. "I know, but I still don't approve of using hostages. However, I'll overlook your actions this time. Recall Kira and Mu La Flaga, and have both of their machines repaired A.S.A.P. Also, try to open a channel with the new mobile suit."

However, before they could do that, the communications officer chimed in. "Lieutenant Ramius, we're being hailed by the new mobile suit."

_Looks like they beat us to the punch_, she mused. "Put them onscreen."

She was surprised to see a young man appear on the screen. _He looks about the same age as Kira!_ He had dark brown hair and blue eyes. However, unlike Kira, whose face was always a beacon of gentleness, this young man seemed to have a cool edge about him. Murrue would have pegged him as a cold individual, except for what she saw in his eyes. There seemed to be a sense of weariness, and more than that, of sorrow, the kind that came from a lifetime of battles.

The young man spoke, and while cool, his voice didn't strike her as hostile, but simply calm and up-front. "Everything ok over there?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes… thanks to you. We appreciate your assistance."

"Don't mention it," he replied.

Murrue hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "I hope you won't find this to be rude, but… who _are _you?"

The young man shook his head. "Not at all, but that's something I'd prefer not to discuss over an open channel. May I come aboard?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, we'll open the bay doors immediately. Please come inside."

He nodded. "Roger that," he said, then cut the link.

She stood up and looked at her second-in-command. "Natarle, you have the bridge."

"What?" she said, clearly surprised, "Where are you going, Lieutenant?"

Murrue smiled as she headed for the door. "Why, to welcome our guest, of course. It would be rude not to greet him myself. After all, he did save our lives, remember?" With that she was out the door.

….

The tech crews were swarming over the Strike and Moebius Zero when she arrived in the hanger. However, she noted that several others were looking upon the new mobile suit in awe. _Can't say I blame them_, she thought. The machine was unlike any she had ever seen. Unlike the Strike, which had reverted to its dull gray form now that it was out of combat and its Phase Shift Armor, which gave it its distinctive coloring, was inactive, this suit retained its color. This suggested that the machine did not use that type of armor, but there was something about it that gave her the feeling that it didn't need it, that whatever material was used in it was far more potent than the system the scientists at Heliopolis had come up with. The machine was far more massive than the Strike, and it seemed to exude a sense of power and majesty that the Earth Forces' new prototype just couldn't measure up to.

Noticing Mu La Flaga amongst the onlookers, she made her way towards him. The tall blond mobile armor ace turned and waved. "Quite a sight, eh Lieutenant?" he said.

She nodded, and looked up at the suit. "Is the pilot still inside?"

He nodded. "Yeah… no wait, the hatch is opening."

Indeed it was, and the young man she had talked to stepped out, typed on a small keypad next to the hatch, which closed it up, and floated down towards the onlookers in the low gravity. He was clad in a black pilot's suit, and had a pistol holstered at his waist.

He gently touched down on the deck with quiet grace, and looked at the crowd. Before Murrue could come forward, he spoke. "I'll say this just once; if any of you tamper with that mobile suit without my supervision, the self-detonation device will activate. The entire ship will go up in flames." All the techs who had previously been drooling over the machine now stepped back in apprehension.

Murrue took this as her cue to step forward. "I'll have them keep their distance. However, I'm assuming you will want maintenance done on it eventually, at least to reload your shoulder gatlings."

He nodded. "If that wouldn't be too much trouble. I'll supervise the process. No offense, but I'm cautious when it comes to this suit. It's not something I want falling into the wrong hands, whether it be the whole thing or the technology behind it."

"I understand," she replied.

She held out her hand. "My name is Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant, Earth Alliance armed forces, and commanding officer of this ship. On behalf of all of us, welcome aboard the _Archangel_."

He took her hand in a gentle yet firm grip and shook it. "I'm Heero Yuy. It's nice to meet you."

She nodded. "Thank you for your help earlier. We'd be dead without you."

"No problem," he replied, "but before you get the wrong idea, I had my own motives for saving you guys."

She smiled. _He's an honest guy, at least._ "I'm sure you did. Would you like to continue this conversation in the officer's lounge? As I'm sure you understand, there's a lot I need to ask you about."

He nodded. "Fine by me, but don't you have a hostage to release?"

She winced. "That wasn't my idea, but unfortunately it's now the plan we're operating under, at least until we get some distance between us and ZAFT. My second-in-command will supervise the transfer as soon as the Strike is ready. We can talk in the meanwhile. Right this way." She headed towards one of the doors, Heero following suit.

….

When they arrived, they found that the room was not unoccupied. Kira Yamato, the young, gentle, brown-haired pilot of the Strike was in there, along with Lacus Clyne. _That's right, I gave him permission to use this room. _It was the least she could do, considering the danger he put himself in on their behalf. As for the girl, Kira had likely brought her here to keep her away from the Allster girl.

The two looked up as Murrue and Heero entered, and she noticed that Kira's violet eyes were lined with red. _Was he crying?_ She knew he didn't like fighting, and now his friend Flay had lost her father… the poor kid was probably wracked with guilt. She was relieved to see that Lacus at least appeared to be comforting him, with a pale, slender hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, we'll leave if you want us to," said Kira, and both he and Lacus turned towards the door. However, Murrue shook her head. Though she was sure that Lacus would be good comfort to him, she still didn't want him to leave her sight, at least for right now. _This is all my fault. If I hadn't talked him into piloting the Strike, then maybe…_ But she knew that there had been no other choice. He had been then only person available who was able to handle the machine in battle, and the _Archangel _would have been lost were it not for him.

"No, it's alright. I'd like you two to stay. You don't mind, do you Heero?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The four of them sat down at a nearby table. Murrue took it upon herself to make introductions. "Kira, Lacus, I'd like you to meet Heero Yuy. He's the pilot of the mobile suit that helped save this ship earlier."

Kira held out his hand. "Nice to meet you… and thanks for the help."

Heero nodded and shook it. "Don't mention it."

Lacus held hers out as well. "Yes," she said, "I too would like to thank you. I am most grateful for your efforts."

Heero took hers as well. "You sure about that? Those were your countrymen I killed."

She sighed. "Yes, I'm aware of that. It's sad, but if you had not fought them I would have been killed, along with the others aboard this ship. They are good people, and I would not wish for any harm to come to them. Of course, the ZAFT soldiers are good people too, but…" She paused for a moment, and sighed. "War can be so cruel."

He nodded. "Believe me, I know what you mean."

Murrue decided to speak up. "We're all grateful for your help. However, there are some things I need to ask you." He nodded. Encouraged, she continued. "First of all, who are you working for?"

"No one… at least not at the moment," he replied.

Murrue was surprised. "Then how did you come by that suit?"

"I took it," he said, "simple as that."

"From whom?" she pressed, "Who built that suit? Where was it made?"

Heero was quiet for a moment, then said, "That's… complicated." He then stood up. "It'd be easier to show you than to explain. Come with me, all of you." The other three stood up and followed him out of the lounge and back to the hangar. He floated up towards the mobile suit's cockpit hatch, opened it, and motioned for them to come along. It was a tight fit, as the three of them stood on the open hatch peering into the cockpit as Heero's hands flew over the keyboard.

He looked up at them. "What I'm about to show you is a recording of my last assignment. No doubt you will find this to be… shocking." With that, one of the screens came to life. The three of them watched as footage of Barge's debris came into view. Murrue noted the date on the bottom left corner. _February, A.C. 196… wait a minute! Shouldn't it be C.E. 71?!_ Looking on, she saw the reactor block begin its descent towards the atmosphere, and witnessed the massive power of Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle as it blasted the large piece of debris.

She saw the explosion, saw the rift that had been created…

Saw Wing Zero enter it…

The monitor went crazy with light, and then there was static for a few seconds. When the next image appeared on the screen, there was a blank line where the date should have been. Then she saw his brief skirmish with the Earth Alliance squadron. She, Kira, and Lacus watched in amazement as he quickly disabled all of the mobile armors and two of the three warships before the third surrendered. Heero then touched a key, and the screen went blank.

….

Heero looked up and smirked as he saw the three of them look first at the blank screen, then each other, and then finally at him. The look of shock on their faces was priceless. _I should do this more often_, he thought.

He chuckled quietly, and then looked at them. "Yes," he began, "I, and my mobile suit, Gundam Wing Zero… are not of this world."

….

Murrue entered the bridge, Heero right behind her. There were some questioning looks as she took her seat while he stood right behind her, but they soon turned their attention back to the monitors as the Strike launched out of the hangar and headed towards the waiting crimson Aegis mobile suit with Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne aboard.

As her bridge crew focused on the hostage release, Murrue turned towards Heero. "So, you're sure you want to stay with us?"

He nodded. "I'm not sure why, but Zero thought that I should come to this world." He had briefly explained to her earlier about the complex system that helped make the suit so deadly, but she had had a hard time wrapping her head around it.

Heero continued. "I'll stay aboard the _Archangel _for the time being. You can consider me a mercenary if you like. I'll fight to protect this ship… and to find out what my purpose in this world is." He looked on as the transfer was completed and the Strike began to head back towards the ship, then turned to Murrue. "Is that acceptable to you?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'll have one of the officer's quarters readied for you. It shouldn't be much of an issue, since we're pretty much traveling with a near-skeleton crew. You can transfer your belongings there when you're ready." She paused, and then smiled. "Welcome to the crew. I'm sure we'll need your help in the days to come."

**Preview for next time!**

_As Heero settles in and meets some of his new shipmates, he encounters a new set of problems. Flay Allster holds both him and Kira responsible for her father's death, and lashes out at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, ZAFT forces still pursue the _Archangel_, and Murrue is going to need all the help she can get in order to get her ship and crew to the relative safety of the 8th fleet. Will Heero and Wing Zero be the salvation she so desperately desires? Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Three: Gauntlet._

Hope you guys enjoyed that. As I noted last chapter, my updates will be much slower from this point onward, due to my rather detail intensive writing style, as well as other stuff (hey, I have a life outside of this, you know!).

Until next time! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **Oh boy, this one was tough. Had to go back and redo a few parts. By the way, I appreciate the criticism you guys have given, it helps a bunch! Thanks a lot.

Enjoy!

**Episode 3: Gauntlet**

Heero set the duffle bag he kept in the Wing Zero in case of emergencies on the bed and looked around the room. The quarters were nice enough, with a single bed, a washroom, and a small table near the window, with a great view of the stars. He pulled out his laptop and set it on the table, noting with interest that the wall slot was compatible with his charging cable. _It seems that there isn't as much of a technology difference as I first thought there'd be._ He turned the black computer on and began browsing through the files he had copied onto it from Wing Zero.

"I still have some catching up to do," he muttered as he began reading. They'd just finished transferring Lacus over to ZAFT a few hours ago, and the ship was speeding away from that area as fast as it could go. He needed to get as up to date on current events as possible if he was going to survive in this new world. Murrue had allowed him access to the _Archangel_'s database, which he used to update the information he already had in his possession.

He was just settling in when his door buzzer went off. _Wonder who it is?_ He exited out of the files and turned the computer off, and then headed to the door. When he opened it, he saw the blond haired mobile armor ace, Mu La Flaga, standing there. "What's going on?" Heero said.

"Well, the newbies on the bridge just finished their shift and are down in the mess hall. I have some time off too, so I figured I'd see if you wanted to join us, get to know your new crewmates."

Heero thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

As they headed towards the mess hall, Mu asked, "Aren't you ever going to change out of that thing?" He was referring to Heero's black flight suit.

"Once I'm sure we're away from ZAFT," he answered, "Right now we could be attacked at any time."

Mu sighed. "You got a point there. The _Nazca_-class ship may have headed back to the PLANTs to return the Chairman's daughter, but those five frigates are still tailing us, though they're hanging back for right now."

They finished their journey to the mess in relative silence, both contemplating the seriousness of the situation. When they arrived, they found a rather solemn group centered on Flay, who was simply staring at a plate of food in front of her, not even touching it. Sai was next to her, but all his awkward attempts at conversation were going nowhere. Miriallia Haw, a kind brown haired girl, and her boyfriend Tolle Koenig, also with brown hair, though more tousled and unkempt than hers, were also at the table, trying to lighten the mood somewhat, but failing miserably. There was also Kuzzey Buskirk, a black haired kid that seemed to want to be just about anywhere other than where he was at the moment. Finally, there was Kira, who looked like he was going to be sick. He couldn't seem to muster the ability to either leave the room or look at the others.

They all looked up as the newcomers entered. "Mu," said Kira, "and Heero." The kid seemed desperate to get his mind off the depressed gathering.

"Hey there," said Mu, "mind if we join? We're both starving." Before Kira could answer, both of them had already grabbed plates and loaded up at the nearby serving counter. They sat down at the table.

For the first time since the original group had arrived in the hall, Flay looked up from her plate. Her blue eyes were lined with red, almost as deep as her hair. Then she spoke up, surprising everyone at the table. "Who… are _you_?" Heero detected a hint of suspicion in her voice. _Better tread carefully. She just lost her father, after all. _He remembered Murrue telling him about the Vice Foreign Minister dying with the _Montgomery_, and how his daughter was one of the passengers aboard the _Archangel_. Holding out his hand, he said, "My name is Heero Yuy. I'm… sorry about your father." She stared for a moment, and Heero was about to withdraw his hand when she took it. It was a very weak handshake, but Heero really couldn't blame her for it. "Flay Allster." She paused for a moment, and then asked, "Was that you, in the new mobile suit? I was on the bridge, so I saw some of the fighting, before…" Her voice caught, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

Slowly, he nodded. "Yes." She suddenly lunged across the table, trying to grab him by the throat. He barely managed to catch her hands. Using her legs alone, she pushed herself the rest of the way across, scattering plates and drinks as she tried to get him, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Why? Why didn't you protect daddy? Why…." As quickly as it had arrived, the manic energy that had possessed her suddenly evaporated, and she would have fallen to her knees had Heero not grabbed her. Surprising himself, he slowly took her into his arms as she started crying again. She looked up at him, and whimpered, "Why…" Then Sai and Miriallia came up, and Heero gently handed her over to them.

"Come on Flay," said Sai, "I'll take you to your room, you should lay down for a while." Nodding to Miriallia, he took her himself and slowly guided her out of the mess.

Miriallia went over to Heero. "I'm sorry about that. She's…"

Heero shook his head. "It's alright. Don't worry about it."

She nodded, and held out her hand. "I'm Miriallia Haw. Thanks for saving us earlier."

He took it. "No problem."

She motioned over at her boyfriend, "And that's Tolle. The black haired guy is Kuzzey, and the blonde guy with Flay was Sai."

Heero looked towards the door they had left through for a moment. "They an item?" he asked.

Miriallia hesitated. "Well," she began, "they're supposed to be engaged, but it was a political thing. Both of their families are pretty powerful within the Earth Alliance. Both of them were sent to live in Heliopolis in order to avoid the war. Now with her father dead….well, the whole thing might be off now, although I don't think Sai realizes it."

"Does Flay?" he asked.

Miriallia nodded. "I think so, which is strange when you consider how distraught she is right now, but I think she's already thrown the whole thing out the window, whether she realizes it or not."

"How do you know?" said Heero.

"It's just a feeling I get from her. I don't think they were ever really close, no matter how hard Sai tried, and I think this gives her a way out of the arrangement, one that she'll take," replied Miriallia.

Mu cut in. "Hey, you guys gonna help clean this mess up or what?" They looked over at the table, and both went to grab some napkins to try and clean up the spilt drinks and food. After they had done that, and Heero had refilled his plate and cup, they all sat down again.

It was quiet for a few minutes before Tolle spoke up. "So Heero, are you a Coordinator too?"

"Tolle!" said Miriallia, "Try a little tact." She looked at Heero, "Sorry about that. He's a nice guy, but can be a bit dense at times."

"Hey!" said Tolle.

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it. And to answer your question, no, I'm not a Coordinator."

Miriallia and Tolle were shocked, although Kira and Mu were not. Kira because of what Heero had told him, and Mu because Heero had actually volunteered a blood sample in the ship's med bay before he had gone to his quarters, which proved that he was, indeed, a Natural. The doctor had sent the report to the bridge, where Mu was at with the other senior officers at the time.

"Wait a minute," said Miriallia, "then how can you pilot a mobile suit?"

Heero hesitated, unsure how to answer. Luckily, Mu stepped in. "Does it really matter? He did save your necks after all."

Miriallia looked somewhat abashed. "You're right, Mr. La Flaga. Sorry Heero."

"It's alright," he said. "The truth is, I underwent extremely intensive training. My reaction times were sped up considerably as a result." This was somewhat of an oversimplification of his preparation for Operation Meteor, as well as most of his upbringing and training in the art of war, but he didn't feel like giving them those details. _Besides, from the looks of things, Kira hasn't told them about where I'm from. The less people who are privy to that information for right now, the better. _

"Wait," said Tolle, "So you're saying that with enough training, any Natural can pilot a mobile suit?" Heero was unsure how to respond.

Then Mu spoke up. "Sorry kid," he said, "but I'm afraid it's more complicated than that."

"Aw, what do you mean?" Tolle whined.

"Look, kid, don't worry about it. The point is, neither you nor I will be piloting something like the Strike or Heero's machine any time soon."

The talk died down for a while, and then Heero spoke up. "So, what do you two do around here?"

Miriallia looked up. "Well, I'm assigned to the Combat Information Center. I help coordinate the ship's mobile suit and mobile armor units. Tolle helps with navigation."

Suddenly the intercom buzzed. "Heero Yuy, could you please come to the bridge?"

He stood up. "Well, gotta go." Before anyone else could say anything, he was out the door."

….

Murrue was looking at the primary tactical display when Heero sidled up next to her, seemingly out of nowhere. _He can be scarily quiet when he wants to_, she thought. "What's going on?" he said.

She motioned to the map. "I wanted to show you our current situation. As of right now, we're several hours away from our rendezvous with the 8th fleet." A group of blue dots appeared on the map, symbolizing the Earth Forces ships of that armada. "However," she continued, "the area ahead is rife with ZAFT patrols." A swarm of red dots appeared between them and the friendly blue dots. "I expect we'll be engaged sometime over the course of the next several hours." She paused, then turned to him. "I wanted you to see this so you would know what we're up against." Then she smiled. "Now, go get some rest. Since you're not formally under my command, that's as close to an order as you'll get out of me. It will probably be the last bit of sleep you get for a while."

….

The attack came later than Heero had expected. He had actually gotten a full six hours of sleep and had just finished cleaning up when alarms started going off. "Attention," came Ensign Badgiruel's voice over the intercom, "we have ZAFT ships inbound. All hands to battle stations! All pilots scramble immediately!" Heero was already racing towards the hangar before the announcement had even finished.

When he arrived, the area was a swarm of activity as the techs rushed to fit the Strike with an Aile pack, which was its most well rounded augmentation unit. Meanwhile, the Moebius Zero had already been moved to the linear catapult, with Mu La Flaga ready to launch the orange custom mobile armor at any time. Heero rushed to the Wing Zero and used the low gravity to quickly propel himself up to its cockpit.

He radioed the bridge. "Lieutenant Ramius," he said, "As soon as the Moebius launches, I'll follow. Wing Zero doesn't need the catapult to launch, so you can focus on loading the Strike."

"Understood," she said. "Launch when Lieutenant La Flaga is clear."

Heero saw the linear catapult launch the Moebius Zero, then ignited his engines and quickly left the _Archangel_. As he cleared the ship, his radar lit up with contacts. There were three _Laurasia_-class frigates directly ahead and they had all launched their mobile suits. Fifteen of them were standard GINNs, while the last three were the stolen Alliance prototypes: Buster, Blitz, and Duel.

Heero brought up schematics on the last three machines as they approached. Buster, a tan and green unit, was built as an artillery suit, and had a 350 mm. Gun Launcher in one hand, and a large beam rifle in the other. The two could combine to form a heavy multi-purpose cannon, capable of firing either a long-range beam attack or a mid-range scatter shot blast. The blue and white Duel, the first and most basic of the five prototypes Orb had helped build for the Alliance, was at the head of the pack, with its beam rifle and shield at the ready. Finally, the black Blitz unit followed them, a machine designed primarily for stealth, with a shield that had a built in beam rifle and missile launcher mounted on its right arm, while the left had a harpoon-like weapon on it that could be launched at enemy units, then retrieved via its cable for repeat use. The unit also had a Mirage Colloid system, which allowed it to turn invisible, at the cost of its Phase Shift Armor. Due to this draw back and the sheer volume of fire that the _Archangel _was already throwing out, the unit was flying visibly in order to utilize its advanced armor.

Those three suits would have been tough enough to deal with, but the additional fifteen GINNs and the three frigates promised to make things even more complicated. _Better try to thin out the GINNs first_, thought Heero. He noticed the Moebius Zero out in front of him. "Lieutenant Flaga," he said, "on my mark, break right 45 degrees down angle."

"Got it," the ace replied.

Wing Zero raised its Twin Buster Rifle. "Mark!" he yelled. As the mobile armor suddenly dived out of the way, Heero fired the weapon at roughly a third of its power. A large yellow beam ripped through the enemy formation. The prototypes managed to scatter, but five GINNs were caught in the blast and went up like fireworks. The rest of the enemy mobile suits broke off into pairs. _That trick won't work twice_. Dialing down the rifle's power setting to something more appropriate for combat with smaller units, he also drew one of Wing Zero's beam sabers.

Meanwhile, Kira had just launched the Strike and was moving in to engage the prototypes. Moebius Zero moved to support him. As the Strike fired its beam rifle at the Duel, Mu deployed his mobile armor's remote gun pods. The four barrel-like weapons split off from the fighter and sent a rain of shells at the enemy. The rounds impacted both the Duel, who had focused its shield on blocking the Strike's attack, and the Buster, which had attempted to attack the Strike before it could respond. The Blitz moved to get a clear shot at the Moebius, but Mu had already maneuvered his craft behind the Duel, so the black suit didn't have a clear shot.

As the five machines slugged it out, Heero began attacking the remaining GINNs. Igniting his beam saber, he charged the nearest enemy pair. Moving too swiftly for the suits to track, he sliced both in half before their pilots could react. As the other pairs swarmed around him, he let rip with his shoulder gatlings. Another suit went up in flames, while its partner lost both its right arm and its main rifle, forcing it to withdraw.

The six remaining suits backed off some before leveling their guns at him. Before they could bombard him though, he had already hit his boosters and was above them. Leveling his Twin Buster Rifle, he fired off a series of low-power shots. Three more suits were destroyed.

The final three GINNs all drew their swords and charged Heero, clearly attempting to negate the advantage of his rifle. As they closed, Wing Zero met them with its emerald beam saber. Their own metal blades were cleaved in two within seconds, and the units themselves impaled shortly thereafter.

However, as Heero turned away from the exploding units towards the three frigates, his radar started beeping. "What's this?" he said. Coming in behind the _Archangel _were another six ships, five frigates and one destroyer.

The _Archangel _hailed him. "Heero," said Miriallia as she came on screen. "We have incoming vessels at our rear!"

He nodded. "I see them." In fact, they were already launching GINNs.

Thirty-six of them, this time.

_This could be trouble_, he thought. "I'll do what I can to hold them off," he said as he charged towards them.

"Heero listen," said Miriallia, "We just need you to buy us some time until we can blast through the ships in front of us. Once Kira and Lieutenant La Flaga have beaten back the other three suits, they'll come support you, but you're on your own until then."

"Roger that," he said.

With that he brought up his rifle, increased the charge, and cut loose.

….

Murrue looked on in awe as a massive yellow beam cut through the enemy formation approaching from behind the ship. Seven GINNs exploded, but Murrue soon discovered to her shock that they were not the intended target. One of the five green _Laurasia_-class frigates coming up behind the mobile suits was hit head on by the beam. The ship's armor seemed to melt away before the blast, and the entire vessel went up in a spectacular explosion.

_I knew his mobile suit was strong, but this…._

She had never imagined that it possessed this kind of raw power.

She didn't have time to take it all in though. Miriallia was calling up to her from the CIC. "The Strike's running low on power!"

"What? Already?" she said. Looking at the fight taking place in front of the _Archangel_, she saw the three stolen prototypes swarming around the Strike, trying to overwhelm it. Lieutenant La Flaga was using his mobile armor to launch hit-and-run attacks on them, but their Phase Shift Armor could shrug off his rounds, although the impacts would deplete their own energy reserves eventually. Kira in the meanwhile was firing wildly with his beam rifle, sending lances of green energy everywhere, but the enemy pilots managed to dodge his attacks.

_Damn it_, she thought, _his style is still too inefficient, too wasteful of energy._ Looking at a monitor, she saw that, at this rate, the Strike would exhaust its main battery in about two minutes.

Thinking quickly, she barked out orders. "Have Kira disengage and come back towards the _Archangel_. Prepare a Sword Striker Pack for launch! Use the Gottfried cannons to cover him!" Miriallia relayed her commands. Kira fired off another volley of beams that managed to force his foes to back off a bit, and used the opportunity to retreat towards the ship. The three suits tried to pursue, but they soon found themselves caught between a barrage from the Moebius Zero's gun pods and the large energy beams from the _Archangel_.

However, the Duel somehow managed to break out, and made a beeline for the Strike. Whirling around in the blink of an eye, Kira whipped out his beam saber and slashed the machine across the chest. Sparks flew out and the machine stopped cold, then backed off in an awkward manner, like the pilot was having trouble with his controls. Little did Kira know that one of the control panels inside the Duel had exploded, giving its pilot, the white-haired Yzak Joule, a face full of shrapnel which had penetrated his helmet visor.

As soon as Kira was clear, the Sword Pack was launched. The Strike shed its winged Aile pack, which fell back towards the ship. In addition to an energy unit that recharged the mobile suit's batteries, the pack had a large anti-ship sword, possessing both a sharp metal edge and an energy blade that covered it. On the left shoulder was the handle where the Strike could grab and launch a beam boomerang, while on the same arm was a small shield with a built-in rocket anchor with a grappling arm that could be used to grab both opponents and other objects.

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief as the suit and augmentation pack linked up. "Okay," she said, "have him re-engage the prototypes."

"No need, ma'am," replied Miriallia from below. "They're already withdrawing."

_Must be low on power_, thought Murrue. "Fine then, have both him and La Flaga back up Wing Zero. Meanwhile, charge the Lohengrin cannons. Prepare to fire on the frigate group in front of us."

The two massive bow cannons began accumulating energy, taking on an orange-red glow. Checking one of the other monitors, Murrue saw that both the Strike and the Moebius Zero had joined Heero in engaging the GINNs behind the _Archangel_. Kira had just sliced into two of the enemy machines, and another three had fallen a barrage from La Flaga's gun-pods. Wing Zero had already cut down another five mobile suits with its beam saber before the others had joined him, and was raising its rifle again. Another torrent of yellow energy ripped forth, taking out four GINNs, but the real target was another one of the lumpy green frigates behind them, which like its sister ship was annihilated by the blast.

Another voice came up from the crew pit. "Lohengrins completely charged."

Murrue nodded. "Target the ship in the center of the formation. If we take it out the other two may scatter." An image came up on the main monitor, showing the three warships in front of them, with the central vessel bracketed in a red targeting array.

"Fire!" she yelled. Two large blasts of crimson energy erupted from the bow and ripped right through the enemy formation. The middle frigate took the brunt of the attack, and instantly exploded. The two flanking vessels caught the edges of the blast, and both fell away to the side, trailing smoke and flames. However, they weren't out of the fight, and despite their wounds began to move into a pincer attack on the _Archangel_.

Before they could attack though, emerald beams and a swarm of missiles slammed into them from behind. "What was that?" cried Murrue.

"Incoming contacts," said the radar man. "It's… the 8th fleet!"

_They must have decided to come out and meet us rather than wait in orbit,_ she realized. As they looked on an armada of warships, including dozens of the type of escort ships as encountered earlier by Heero, _Drake-_class ships, several _Nelson_-class battleships, and the flagship, the triangular, three-hundred meter long _Agamemnon_-class carrier the _Menelaus_.

The fleet continued its bombardment. One of the frigates succumbed to the withering fire, while the other vessel managed to deploy a chaff screen and escaped. The remaining mobile suits and warships of the pursuing ZAFT attack force withdrew, though not without suffering one final attack from the Wing Zero. Heero let loose one last blast from the Twin Buster Rifle, which took out five more GINNs and yet another frigate. Meanwhile, Kira and Mu La Flaga were able to break off their own engagements and were headed back towards the _Archangel_. The last ten GINNs limped away from the field, along with the two surviving frigates and the larger blue destroyer.

The bridge crew let out a sigh of relief as they were soon enveloped by the Earth Alliance armada. "Put us alongside the _Menelaus_ and match their velocity," said Murrue. Then the image of the battle-hardened Admiral Lewis Halberton appeared on the main screen.

Murrue stood up and saluted. "Admiral, it's good to see you again. Thank you for the rescue."

The man nodded. "It would be a shame if something were to happen to you all now after coming so far. Form up with the flagship and adjust your heading, we'll take you the rest of the way to Earth."

She nodded and relayed the orders. The admiral spoke up again. "Oh, and Lieutenant Ramius? Excellent work getting here in one piece. I'll be coming over soon to conduct an inspection, as well as to meet with you and your crew."

"Understood Admiral," she said, "We're recovering our mobile suits and mobile armor now. They'll be aboard shortly."

Halberton frowned. "Did you say 'suits' as in more than one? I was under the impression that only the Strike was aboard."

Murrue began to sweat a little, unsure how to explain how Heero had joined them with his own unit. "We… picked up an unexpected ally during our journey. He brought his own machine with him. It's… really something else."

He nodded. "I see. Well, I'd certainly like to meet him. Have him join you and your command staff when I begin your debriefing." "Yes sir," she said.

The admiral was about to cut the connection when he suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, and by the way, Lieutenant Ramius? It's good to see you again."

Murrue smiled. "You as well, sir."

….

Heero looked around as the Earth Forces ships surrounded them. _An impressive fleet, but without any mobile suits of their own, they're outmatched by ZAFT in combat_. He began to take Wing Zero in towards the _Archangel_. "Better use this opportunity to rest up," he murmured, "ZAFT will be back once they amass a larger force. We're not safe yet."

**Preview for next time!**

_Under the protection of the 8th fleet, the crew of the _Archangel _breaths a sigh of relief, and looks forward to some much needed rest. But respite will be hard to come by for Murrue and Heero, who are called before the admiral and his staff for a review of their actions, one that may be more difficult than any actual battle fought so far. Meanwhile, ZAFT is amassing an armada, led by none other than the devious and enigmatic Rau Le Creuset. Will the _Archangel _survive long enough to make re-entry? Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield," Episode Four: Battle for Descent._

**Author's note: **Okay, good news and bad news. Good news first, I've typed up a significant portion of episode four already! Bad news: it's freaking LONG, and I don't think I've even reached the halfway point yet! So it will be a longer wait period between updates this time, sorry guys! I am working on it though, I promise you that!

Anyway, as always, please review, I really enjoy the feedback!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Woohoo! I actually finished this ahead of schedule (yes, you heard that right, _ahead _of schedule). Hey, I worked hard on this, give me a break! All for you guys and girls!

Okay, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

**Episode Four: Battle for Descent**

Several hours later, Murrue stood outside Heero's quarters. Reaching up, she pressed a button next to the door. "May I come in?"

"Sure," he said. She opened the door and saw him sitting at his table, laptop open. He had finally changed out of his flight suit and was wearing a pair of jeans, a green tank-top, and a dark-blue, almost black jacket. He looked up as she entered.

"Are they here?" he said, referring to Admiral Halberton and his staff officers.

She nodded. "They just arrived. They're in the officers' lounge right now. I thought I should come get you personally; I wanted to talk a bit on the way there. What are you looking at, anyway?"

He looked at the screen. "I was going over the data from the last engagement." She saw an image of the _Archangel_ firing on the three frigates in front of her. "The Lohengrin Positron Cannons are quite impressive. I imagine that, since the N-jammers make nukes worthless, these are the most powerful weapons in the Alliance arsenal."

"Yes," she replied. "Because of that, this ship and the mobile suits that were to accompany her were considered top priority projects by High Command. Now that four of them have been stolen, this ship and the Strike are the best hope we have." As she was speaking, he powered down his computer and put it away.

He stood up and walked over to her. "Shall we get going?" She nodded. Leaving his room, they headed towards the lounge.

"I haven't had a chance to thank you yet," Murrue said. "Without you, we would have been destroyed in that engagement long before the fleet would've arrived."

He looked over at her for a moment, a bit of puzzlement on his face. Then he shrugged. "Don't mention it."

"Is something the matter?" she said.

He shook his head. "Just not used to someone thanking me so much. You did that when I first arrived, too."

She frowned. "Were people not grateful to you in your world? I'm assuming you fought in some war there. The amount of skill you show in battle is not something that just training can give you, and even the most powerful mobile suit no doubt has its limits. I can tell just by looking at you that you've seen a great deal of combat… more than someone your age should have to."

"It's not that people didn't thank me," he began. "However, it was a sporadic thing. Everyone I knew was involved in the war in one way or another. It consumed our lives. It was hard to remember something as simple as gratitude at times." He paused, and when he continued, she was surprised to hear a hint of bitterness in his voice. "An entire generation…_my_ generation… was robbed of a chance at what you would call normalcy, because mankind refused to learn from its mistakes. I have the actual figures in Zero's databanks if you want to see them sometime; it was estimated that more people under the age of eighteen saw real combat in that period than any other in recorded history. Hell, the Alliance and OZ had cadets as young as _twelve_, and the space colony revolutionaries were little better. And the old men that ran the whole show just kept creating more meaningless battles, repeating history's vicious cycle. It took the largest conflict the world had ever seen to finally open their eyes."

He stopped walking and looked at the floor. Murrue was starting to worry. She turned towards him, and heard him chuckle. "How strange… I don't know why I'm telling you any of this. I've always held things within; a survival instinct, I guess."

She put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her. When she looked into his eyes, the same sense of weariness and the hint of sorrow she had caught the first time she had seen them were there in full-force. _It's just a feeling_, she thought_, but I don't think he's ever had a heart-to-heart talk with anyone about his experiences on the battlefield. I certainly can't blame him if he finds it hard to open up to people, but there's a lot he's keeping bottled up inside._

Murrue realized then that what he needed, more than anything else, was someone in this world that he could _trust_. Someone that he could turn to when the time finally came, when those walls of stoicism and cool reserve he had built up as a soldier began to falter under the sheer enormity of all that he had gone through. _I can't ask him to tell me everything now. It wouldn't be right, and I owe him for keeping everyone aboard this ship alive. He's done as much for us as Kira. All I can do is let him know that he isn't alone, so that when the time comes, he won't be facing his demons by himself._

Still looking into his eyes, she began to speak. "Heero, listen to me. I want you to know that I am truly grateful for all you have done. More importantly, I will be grateful in the future, for as long as you stay with us, and even after you've left, if you decide to. I will continue to thank you after every battle, for every little bit of help you give us, because without it, we would not have made it this far."

She took a breath and then continued. "Also, I want you to know that, if you ever want to talk, I will always be willing to listen. I swear that, unless you tell me otherwise, I will not tell a soul anything you say to me under that confidence, even under orders from my superiors." She smiled. "I want to be your friend, for as long as you'll have me."

She thought she saw the corners of his mouth curl upward, ever so slightly. It was like he was trying so hard to hold it back, but a small smile managed to appear on his face. "In that case…" he said, "thank you… Murrue."

"You're very welcome, Heero," she replied, "Now, shall we get going? I don't think we should keep the Admiral and his staff waiting much longer."

"Technically that's your problem, since I'm not part of your formal command structure," he replied, the smile becoming a smirk. "However, I guess I can be accommodating towards them… this time."

When they arrived at the lounge, they found Admiral Halberton, a tall man with brown-blond hair and a moustache, conversing with two aides, one a lieutenant, the other a captain. Also in the room, though off to the side for the moment, were Mu La Flaga and Natarle Badgiruel. _My command staff, as it were_, she mused. Looking over at Heero, she realized that she was subconsciously including him in that category as well. _Do I value his insights and experience that much? Yes, I suppose I do._

The admiral looked over at them and walked over. "Ah, Lieutenant Ramius," he began, "thank you for bringing him here. You must be Heero Yuy." The man offered his hand, which Heero took.

Halberton smiled. "I hear that I have you and another young man to thank for this ship arriving in one piece." He turned to Murrue. "I'd like to speak to this Kira Yamato that you mentioned later on, Lieutenant."

She nodded. "Of course, Admiral."

He motioned towards a table, which had already been set up with three chairs on one side and four on the other. "Let's be seated. We have a great deal to talk about."

As everyone took their seats, he cleared his throat. "Well people, we'll start from the beginning. Regarding the ZAFT attack on Heliopolis…"

….

Murrue felt exhausted. Not physically, she like everyone else had been sitting for the past several hours, but mentally. Admiral Halberton had been very thorough in his debriefing, and she had had to rely on both Mu and Natarle to help her describe the harrowing journey they had been through since the destruction of Heliopolis. Heero had remained silent for the first half of the process, which was natural since he had not joined up with them until later on. However, she could tell that he was listening intently, noting every minor detail.

She felt as if she had a great weight on her shoulders. As the senior officer, she'd had to take responsibility for the ship and everyone aboard it, and their actions reflected on her. The admiral, while a fair man, was also relentless, pushing for every scrap of information on their encounters with the ZAFT forces. Throughout the debriefing she could feel the pressure mounting, and was sure she'd buckle under it.

However, something happened that greatly bolstered her strength. When they had reached the part where Kira had brought aboard the life-pod containing Lacus Clyne, Murrue knew that there was a swarm of legal and procedural issues surrounding that event, and that in the subsequent engagement with the ZAFT forces, she and her crew had trampled over most of them, particularly with giving her back to ZAFT rather than attempting to break away from the enemy and bring her to Earth Alliance command for interrogation. However, Murrue knew that she could not have lived with herself if she had done such a thing, and had been relieved when Lacus had been handed back over to her own people. One of Halberton's aides, the captain, started ranting about how useful Lacus would have been in the grander scheme as a bargaining tool with the PLANTs, and Murrue could feel her own stress getting closer to the breaking point. Before it could though, she had felt a hand lay gently upon hers, fingers intertwining with her own. Since they were in her lap and under the table, no one could see what was going on. She managed to spare a brief glance to her left, where Heero was sitting, and whose hand now was gently holding her own. His features didn't change overtly, but she saw that his eyes had softened slightly, and he gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

That nod said all that she needed to hear; _it's okay, you can do this_. She gave him the smallest of smiles while the admiral and his aides were questioning Natarle on the release of Lacus, and mouthed the words _thank you_. He'd been so quiet that she had nearly forgotten that he was there. To know that he was with her, that he had her back…

_That's more than enough for me._

The three officers finally got around to questioning Heero, which took a considerable amount of pressure off of Murrue and her fellow crew members. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Nevertheless, she made sure not to let go of Heero's hand. _I'm sure you don't need it_, she thought,_ but I want to help you in any way I can._

Looking over at him, she detected the faintest hint of a smile, but it passed quickly, and she was sure that she was the only one that had noticed. Once again he was all business, fielding the admiral's questions with cool efficiency, never revealing more than he had to. In fact, several times he refused to answer at all, instead opting for a stare down with the three men across the table. Murrue was impressed that he would not only attempt something so blatantly defiant, but could actually get away with it, as first the aides, and then even the battle-hardened Halberton, shrunk back slightly under his withering glare. Thus Heero was able to avoid revealing where he had come from, and managed to keep secret the incredibly sophisticated and dangerous technology behind the Wing Zero.

After they had gotten all the way through the battle with the ZAFT task force and the arrival of the 8th fleet, there was silence for a moment. The admiral seemed to frown at Heero for a moment, and then, quite surprisingly, gave a wry smile. "You know," he said, "you're a real piece of work, young man. Still, considering the sheer dominance you and your mobile suit show in battle, I can't really blame you." Turning to his aides, he said, "I see no reason to continue questioning him."

The lieutenant, a man in his twenties with slick black hair and a rather smug demeanor, immediately objected. "But-but sir, with all due respect, we still know almost nothing about this guy or his mobile suit, only the battles he's fought in with us!"

"Pipe down, lieutenant," Halberton snarled. "Show some respect. Heero fought on behalf of the _Archangel_, and that's enough for me. So long as he continues to do so, I can live with not knowing his origins."

He turned to the others. "That being said, we're still not done here. We need to discuss our next move." Murrue and her comrades nodded. "Now, regarding the civilians from Heliopolis, the Orb government has asked us to release them. They claim that we're using them as human shields."

Murrue was stunned. "That's absurd! We took them aboard because they would have died otherwise."

Halberton sighed. "I know, I know. I suspect that they're being pressured by ZAFT. The fact that Orb was helping us develop our own mobile suits and a new battleship has created a very tense diplomatic situation for them. They're trying to save face this way. However, we cannot release them until we get closer to the Earth. Then we can launch a shuttle and take them to their homeland."

"This will take some time though," the admiral continued. "As I'm sure you are aware, the _Archangel _is much faster than any other ship in the Alliance fleet. However, it is our duty to escort you to where you can begin your descent to Alaska Headquarters, so you will have to stay with us, as will the Heliopolis refugees. This will probably take another twelve hours or so."

He sighed, and Murrue detected a hint of apprehension in his features. "Also, before we came aboard, I received word from our intelligence service; ZAFT is massing a fleet to intercept us as we speak. I'm not sure if we'll be able to get you to Earth before they reach us. In the meanwhile, I suggest you all get some rest. To be frank, you guys look bushed."

Murrue could certainly agree with that statement. However, before she and the others could get up, one of the aides, the captain this time, spoke. "Sir, aren't we forgetting the matter of the Coordinator child?"

Murrue stiffened with apprehension. _What does he have in mind?_ The admiral looked at the aide questioningly. "What about him? As a civilian, he too will be disembarking with his countrymen when the time comes."

"But sir," said the captain, "he's the only one who can pilot the Strike. We could use his abilities."

"I agree with Captain Hallsworth," chimed in Natarle. _What! She was adamantly against Kira piloting the Strike back at Heliopolis_, thought Murrue. She looked over at her second-in-command, eyes narrowing. _What is she thinking?_

"Kira Yamato's abilities," Natarle continued, "are a valuable tool for the Alliance. We should make him stay with us!"

"Kira doesn't want to fight!" Murrue shouted, unable to take it anymore. The others looked at her, stunned at her outburst, save for Heero, whose only reaction was a small nod. "Kira piloted the Strike only to protect his friends," she continued. "He wants nothing to do with this war, and I for one will not force him to continue fighting any longer than he has to. He's done more than enough for us as it is."

"Nevertheless," Natarle countered, "you cannot deny that he has been exposed to valuable military secrets. We cannot just let him walk away." Turning towards the admiral, she said, "We must keep him with us, by any means necessary. Perhaps if we were to keep one of his friends onboard…"

"You will not finish that sentence, Ensign Badgiruel!" said Halberton, his tone making it clear that there was no room for arguing. "Other members of the Alliance may allow such a scheme, but I will not. Kira Yamato will disembark along with the rest of the Heliopolis refugees. Is that clear?"

Natarle nodded. "Yes sir," she said, her tone meek and subdued.

Halberton stood up, along with his aides. "Well then," he said, "I am going to find this young Coordinator, and give him my personal thanks. After that I will be returning to the _Menelaus_. I've got enough to worry about, what with the latest intel on ZAFT's coming offensive, Operation Spitbreak. Not to mention the armada they're massing to attack us before we reach the Earth. Oh, and one more thing." He turned towards his lieutenant, who handed him a folder. Giving it to Murrue, he waited while she opened it.

She was stunned when she saw the contents. There were three pieces of paper, each with La Flaga's, Natarle's, and her own name on them. Clipped to them were new rank insignia to be worn on their uniforms. Admiral Halberton smiled. "Congratulations on your promotions, Lieutenant Badgiruel, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, and Captain Ramius. You're all dismissed. Go get some rest. That's an order."

"Yes sir," said Murrue, La Flaga, and Natarle. Heero merely nodded.

As the others filed out of the lounge, Murrue pulled Heero aside. "Heero, can I ask you something?" He nodded. "Was that… did I do the right thing, saying that Kira should be allowed to leave?"

"Yes," he replied. "You said it yourself; he doesn't want to be here, and he only fought to protect this ship and his friends. To force him to continue would be an insult to all he's put himself through on your behalf. Besides, a soldier who's forced to fight will never be as good as one who fights of his own free will."

She nodded. "I thought so… and thank you."

"Don't mention it," he replied as he walked towards the door. Before leaving he turned to her. "Murrue, have a little more faith in yourself."

"Huh?" she said.

"Someone once told me," he continued, "that the only way to live a good life is to act on your emotions. If your feelings are telling you that something is right or wrong, listen to them. It's how I've chosen to live my life, at least."

"I'll take that to heart then," she said. "By the way, who told you that?"

He hesitated for a second, and then said, "Odin Lowe, the man who raised me."

_The man who raised him? _"Wait, what about your parents?" she asked.

Heero shook his head. "Never knew them. Lowe… I guess he was the closest thing I had to a father." He turned to walk away, adding as he left, "Although… I don't know if being raised and trained by an assassin qualifies as a normal childhood."

Murrue couldn't help but put her hand to her mouth and give a small gasp. Watching his retreating figure, she was suddenly overcome by pity for him.

She sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment. _Heero…_

….

Meanwhile, in the hangar, another young man stood on an overhead walkway, looking up at a mobile suit. With its Phase Shift Armor inactive, the Strike was now a dull gray, though it was still an imposing sight. The hangar was abuzz with activity, as the tech crews worked on securing two new fighter craft that had been sent over from the _Menelaus._

To say that Kira was relieved may have been an understatement. Piloting that thing had been the last thing he wanted to do, especially once he had found out that his childhood friend, Athrun Zala, was a member of the ZAFT forces, specifically the pilot of the stolen X303 Aegis mobile suit. He had been dreading that the next time he went into battle, he might actually be forced to kill him. Now that they had finally linked up with the fleet, he knew that he and his friends would soon be returning to Orb, and that couldn't come soon enough.

_And yet…_ As he looked at the machine, he couldn't help but feel something nagging at the back of his mind. Like he was about to end a chapter in his life, and he was having second thoughts about it.

He shook his head. _No way, that's ridiculous_, he thought. _I want nothing more to do with this thing._

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out behind him. "Suddenly feeling nostalgic, now that it's almost over?" Turning around, he saw a man that he assumed was the admiral of the 8th fleet.

The man smiled, and walked over towards him. "Kira Yamato I presume?" he said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's me," he replied.

The man held out his hand. "I wanted to thank you for all you've done for this ship. I'm Admiral Halberton."

Kira took it. "Uhm, your welcome. It was nothing, really…"

Halberton laughed. "A modest one, aren't you? Well, that's good to see."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I've also heard that you're a Coordinator, and that your parents are Naturals living in Orb."

Kira became a little nervous at that. "Yes, that's correct."

The admiral smiled. "You know, it never ceases to amaze me, just seeing what you Coordinators are capable of. It makes me wonder why your parents chose to make you one. Ah, but I'm just musing. What I'd really like is to see an end to this foolish war."

An aide came up and whispered in his ear. Turning back towards Kira, he said, "Well, I must be going. Thanks again for all you've done." As he left, he looked over his shoulder and yelled out, "May you live to see the dawn of a new era."

And then he was gone, once again leaving Kira alone with his thoughts.

….

Hovering menacingly in space, the ZAFT fleet that would eventually be descending upon the Earth Alliance armada like a pack of wolves was taking shape. Already the flagship, the _Nazca_-class destroyer _Vesalius_, was surrounded by five frigates, one of which was the damaged _Gamow_ undergoing field repairs and housing the Blitz, Buster, and Duel, and another blue destroyer. Several more ships were expected to arrive within the next few hours.

On the bridge of the _Vesalius_, two people were eying the tactical display table behind the captain's chair. One was the enigmatic Rau Le Creuset, wearing his upper-face mask and his white and black commander's uniform, long blond hair unrestrained. The other had shorter, though still long for a guy, hair, of a blue-black coloring. Shorter than his commander, and wearing the red uniform of an elite ZAFT pilot, Athrun Zala looked just as lost in thought as his old friend Kira aboard the _Archangel_.

The young man had quite a bit on his mind, to say the least. On the one hand, he was glad that his fiancé, Lacus Clyne, was safe at home at the PLANT capital, the Aprilus One colony. Putting aside his mixed feelings on the fact the entire affair was arranged by both her father and his own, Defense Chairman Patrick Zala, he did at least like her as a friend, and had been very relieved to see her alive and apparently no worse for the wear.

On the other hand, it would be fair to say that he was feeling quite a bit of apprehension at the moment. Looking at the tactical screen, which at present was showing a recording taken from the _Gamow_, he watched in awe as the mysterious mobile suit that had shown up out of nowhere in earlier battle with the Alliance squadron proceeded to trash the GINNs launched by the ship and its two companions.

"Apparently, that's just a taste of its power," said Commander Creuset, startling Athrun. The man had been silent for quite a while, and the young ZAFT ace had almost forgotten about him entirely.

The older officer pressed a key and fast-forwarded to another part of the battle. If Athrun had been impressed before, he was downright dumbstruck as the machine let loose a blast from its rifle, destroying not only seven GINNs but an entire frigate in one shot.

Creuset hit another key, and the screen reset to a basic map, showing the gathering ZAFT forces keeping their distance, for the moment, from the massive Alliance fleet. Turning to Athrun, he said, "I've sent the recordings to the Intelligence Department. They've combed through every Alliance file they can get their hands on, but there is no sign of this suit, no data whatsoever. We've designated it as 'Omega One' for the time being."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "The Supreme Council is extremely nervous, to say the least. I'm afraid that after this battle I am to return to the capital, in order to present a comprehensive report on this newcomer and its abilities. I suspect this will be my last field assignment for awhile."

"Oh?" said Athrun, slightly surprised. "My apologies sir, I did not know."

Creuset smiled. "No need to worry, it's not like I've advertised it to the entire ship or anything."

"Will I be returning with you sir?" Athrun inquired.

"No, I suspect you will be transferred to one of the surface bases eventually, in preparation for Operation Spitbreak. If everything goes according to plan up here, we should be able to remove the legged ship and this new menace from the equation," said the commander. "I would imagine that that would be a great relief to the overseeing officers."

"Yes, I suppose so," said Athrun.

"By the way," said Creuset, "did you hear what happened to Yzak?"

Athrun grimaced. "Yes… though I haven't seen him yet."

"It was the Strike," Creuset stated in an oh-so matter-of-fact manner. "Which is it? Will you shoot it down, or be shot down?" With that he made his way towards the exit. "Rest while you can, we attack in ten hours."

Athrun frowned and looked at the table, gaze zooming in on the collection of yellow dots that was the 8th fleet. _Kira… will I have to kill you this time?_

He didn't consider himself to be a religious man, but he found himself praying that it wouldn't come to that.

….

Several hours later, there was a small crowd gathered in the room shared by the teenagers from Heliopolis. Sai, Kuzzey, Tolle, Flay, and Miriallia were looking at Lieutenant Badgiruel and a man from the _Menelaus _standing next to her, not quite sure if they'd heard her right.

"Discharge papers?" said Tolle.

Natarle nodded, and gave him several documents. The man next to her spoke. "Although it was an emergency, the fact of the matter is that it is illegal for civilians to participate in combat operations."

"To solve this problem," said Natarle, "we've arranged things so that it will appear in the records that you were enlisted as volunteer soldiers when you came aboard. Now that you are leaving, you must be discharged. Please do not lose those documents."

A voice came from the back of the room. "Uhm, excuse me?" It was Flay Allster, who had been silent up to this point.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about this," said Natarle. "You were never involved in the fighting or this ship's operations, so you don't need to fill out a form"

Flay shook her head. "No, it's not that." She hesitated for a second, then continued. "I would like… to join the Earth Alliance forces!"

There was silence in the room for a few seconds, then Tolle, Miriallia, Sai, and Kuzzey all burst out at the same time.

"What?"

….

"It's time," whispered Commander Le Creuset. From the bridge of the _Vesalius_, he observed the fleet gathered around him. _Three destroyers and twelve frigates, along with one- hundred-eight mobile suits. That should be enough._

"Signal the fleet," he ordered, "we're moving out."

"Yes sir," said the man at the communications console, rushing to relay the command to the other ships.

Captain Ades, commander of the _Vesalius_, turned to Le Creuset. "Are you sure we should go now?"

Creuset nodded. "It will take us roughly fifteen minutes to reach them. If we wait any longer the legged ship may reach the atmosphere before we can break through the 8th fleet. We cannot allow them to make it to Alaska headquarters. Besides, even if they outnumber us in terms of warships, their mobile armors are mere cannon fodder before such a large group of mobile suits, especially with the prototypes among them."

He turned towards the tactical display, which showed the Earth Alliance forces arrayed in an umbrella-like formation over the _Archangel_. With their backs to the atmosphere, they couldn't be outflanked. _Halberton's made his preparations quite well_, he mused. Also, despite his earlier words, Creuset knew that the 8th fleet was nothing to laugh at. With thirty-two _Drake_-class escort ships, fifteen _Nelson_-class battleships, and the carrier _Menelaus_, it was an impressive force. The fleet also had hundreds of mobile armors, and despite their inferiority to the ZAFT mobile suits, they could still be dangerous due to their sheer numbers. Creuset was counting on the stolen prototypes to significantly thin out both them and the first line of warships so the ZAFT vessels could move in for bombardment.

_Halberton will use the 8__th__ fleet as a shield to allow the legged ship to get to Earth, I have no doubt of that. _Based on that, Creuset knew that he wouldn't have to worry about that ship's firepower until they had created a significant breach in the Alliance lines. The Strike and La Flaga's mobile armor would most likely be held back unless they absolutely had to launch to defend the ship.

There was just one unknown factor, and that was Omega One. _We still do not know the full extent of its capabilities. We must be prepared for it to launch at any time._

He smiled. He was actually hoping that it would appear, so that he could engage it himself. _It will be interesting to see how the CGUE measures up to it, especially now that the modifications are complete._

He gave a brief, quiet laugh, and looked on as the Alliance armada came into visual range. As the mobile suits began launching, he said, "The time has come to remove Admiral Halberton from the game. As for Omega One…"

_What will your move be?_

….

Meanwhile, in the _Archangel_'s hangar, Kira was standing in line with the rest of the refugees from Heliopolis, waiting to board the shuttle that would take them to the _Menelaus_, and from there to Orb. He looked around nervously, not seeing his friends.

"Where are they?" he said.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Hey!" Turning, he saw a young girl, whom he had met while aboard the ship, floating towards him. He saw that she had something in her hand.

When she got to him, she smiled and held out the object in her hand. It was a small, yellow folded paper flower. She gave it to him and said, "Thank you for protecting us until now."

He blushed, a little embarrassed. "Oh, uhm… you're welcome."

She laughed, and made her way back to her mother, who was waving at Kira. He smiled and waved back, and couldn't help but feel his spirits lift a bit.

Another, more familiar voice rang out. "Yo, Kira!"

He turned around, knowing that Tolle would be right behind him. Kira was correct, and was glad to see Sai, Miriallia, and Kuzzey there as well.

What he did not expect to see was all of them wearing the uniforms that had been given to them when they had first volunteered to help out with operating the _Archangel_. As they approached, Tolle held out some papers, which he gave to Kira.

"What's this?" said Kira.

"These are for you," replied Tolle, "They're your discharge papers."

"Wait, what about you guys?"

"We volunteered," said Miriallia, "We're staying with the _Archangel_."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"Well," said Sai, "Flay decided to volunteer."

"Flay…" said Kira, going slightly red at the thought of the girl he had a crush on in an Earth Alliance uniform. _Why would she volunteer?_

"So we decided to volunteer as well," said Tolle, "Can't leave her by herself after all."

"Yeah," said Miriallia, "who knows what kind of trouble she'd get herself into trying to be a soldier."

Suddenly an alarm went off and a voice came over the intercom. "Attention," said Natarle, "ZAFT ships are approaching. I repeat, ZAFT ships are approaching. All hands to battle stations. Evacuate the refugee ship immediately."

"Well, that's our cue," said Miriallia.

"Take care buddy," said Tolle.

Kira could only watch as they left the hangar and headed towards the bridge. Looking back and forth between the shuttle and the door his friends had left through, he now found himself torn.

"Hey, you there!" said the soldier at the shuttle's door, "Get aboard, we're leaving!"

Kira looked over towards the shuttle again, and then found his gaze drawn downward. He looked at his hands. In the left was the paperwork for his discharge from the Alliance forces. In the right was the small, folded paper flower from the young girl.

_"Thank you for protecting us until now." _Her words echoed in his head. _That's right_, he thought, _I decided to pilot the Strike to protect my friends._

And if they had decided to stay…

Making up his mind, he put the flower in his coat pocket, and then tore the discharge papers in two. Turning towards the soldier he said, "Please, go without me." The man looked surprised, but then he just shrugged and went inside the shuttle.

Turning towards the exit, Kira made his way towards the pilot's ready room. _Time to suit up… again._

….

"What?" said Murrue, not quite sure she had heard correctly, "Do not engage?"

Admiral Halberton nodded on the screen. "Our priority is to make sure that you make it to Alaska headquarters. The _Archangel _is to remain at the rear of the formation. Those are your orders, Captain Ramius." With that he cut the connection, and the screen returned to its regular setting, showing the oncoming ZAFT force.

_That's crazy_, Murrue fumed, _even without Kira to pilot the Strike, we still have La Flaga's mobile armor and Heero in the Wing Zero! They would be invaluable in this fight._

A hand fell on her shoulder. Looking up from her chair, she saw Heero standing next to her, eyes on the main screen. Turning towards her, his features that same calm and cool veneer she had come to know, he spoke, "There's nothing you can do for right now. Might as well hang back and watch the show."

"What?" she said, "But Heero, how can you just accept that? You know as well as I do…"

"…that ZAFT will penetrate the 8th fleet's lines?" he finished for her, "Yes, I'm well aware of that. With the four prototypes in their arsenal, they'll cut through in no time. Halberton has underestimated the power of those machines."

Meeting her gaze, his expression softened. "I'll stand by in Wing Zero. If you call, I'll launch." He gave her a small smile. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel like dying here."

She returned the smile, and nodded. "Neither do I."

With that he made his way towards the bridge exit. "Heero!" she called out.

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thank you," she said, "and be careful."

He nodded. "Roger that." With that he left the bridge.

He'd been gone for hardly a minute before the door opened again. This time a different voice rang out. "Sorry we're late!"

Murrue turned to see Miriallia enter, in full uniform. She was quickly followed by Tolle, Sai, and Kuzzey, who quickly moved to their stations.

"I don't understand. Why?" said Murrue.

"Well," said Miriallia, "when Flay volunteered, we couldn't just leave her by herself."

Murrue's eyes widened. _The Allster girl enlisted? When did that happen?_

Still, she wasn't about to turn down their help. _I'll ask around later, see if I can find out what happened._ She smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem," said Miriallia as she settled in at her station.

Sai's voice rang out from the CIC. "There are fifteen ZAFT capital ships. Detecting mobile suit launches… _holy shit!_"

Murrue would have reprimanded him for his word choice, but the tone of his voice was one of complete shock. "What is it?"

"There are over a hundred mobile suits, including the prototypes!"

"That many?" said Murrue. Turning towards the forward viewport, she could see bright pinpricks from the machines' engines. _I knew that amount of capital ships had the potential to carry over a hundred machines, but I would've thought they'd hold some in reserve._

Her brow furrowed in concentration. _If they're launching their entire force right off the bat, then their commander is using a blitz attack. They'll smash right through the forward lines and make a beeline for this ship._

She was tempted to call Heero and ask him to launch right away, but held her tongue. _The Drake-class ships should be able to thin out some of the enemy numbers, and if the ZAFT capital ships move to engage the forward screen they'll come under bombardment from our battleships. _

She took a deep breath, calming herself. "No need to get worked up yet," she whispered. If the escort ships and the mobile armors could work together and use overlapping fields of fire, then they had a chance to repulse the mobile suits. _In fact, that's probably the Admiral's strategy._

Under other circumstances she might have admired it, but then she remembered what Heero had said. _"With the four prototypes in their arsenal, they'll cut through in no time. Halberton has underestimated the power of those machines"_

_Heero's right_, she thought, _the admiral is treating the prototypes like their just another group of GINNs, or CGUEs at most. _However, she knew that with their unique weapons and capabilities, those four machines could throw conventional tactics right out the window.

A swarm of mobile armors rose to meet the incoming mobile suits, escort ships coming up behind them. Suddenly a veritable hail of cannon shots, missile contrails, and energy beams flew between the opposing forces, and explosions lit up the horizon. "It's begun," she said softly. All they could do now was watch and wait.

….

Entering the ready room, Kira was surprised to find someone already there. Standing in front of his locker, looking at the pilot suit he was supposed to wear, was none other than Flay Allster.

She turned around as she heard him enter. "Kira!" she said, looking surprised.

"Flay! What are you doing here?"

"Well," she began, looking a bit unsure of herself, "you ran away… or at least I thought you did. I wanted to help out on the ship, but wasn't sure what I should do. I thought of you, and so… I…"

_She thought she could pilot the Strike?_ Kira wasn't sure whether to laugh or just stare dumbstruck. Not wanting to insult her though, especially after she had just started being nice to him again after the death of her father, he opted for a simple smile.

"Flay," he said, "don't be ridiculous. Someone like you in a mobile suit? Sorry, but you wouldn't last five minutes in the Strike."

She sighed. "I know that… but… I wanted so much to help, so I…"

He moved towards the locker. "It's alright. I'll pilot the Strike, so don't worry about it."

"Really?" she said.

He nodded. "Yes, I'll protect everyone on this ship. Leave it to me."

Suddenly she moved towards him, until her face was mere inches from his. "Well then," she said, "allow me… to _thank_ you."

She pulled him in for a kiss.

_What? _His body stiffened in shock, and a million thoughts went through his mind. He should have questioned why she had suddenly come onto him like this, but…

_I've wanted this for so long… who am I to refuse? Besides, this must mean that she really does care about me. _So he took her in his arms and lost himself in her soft, moist lips.

….

After Kira left the ready room and made his way towards the hangar, Flay smiled. "Yes Kira," she said, "you have to fight to protect us." Her voice became cold, and the smile twisted into a snarl. "Fight against your own kind… kill them all. Fight and fight and fight until you _die_!" She laughed, a sick, twisted laugh, the song of a siren succumbed to hatred. "Then I'll forgive you…" she added softly, "… for my father's death."

….

_It's strange_, mussed Murrue as she watched the unfolding battle. On the surface, things seemed to be going well for the Earth forces, relatively speaking. They had taken out nine GINNs, though at the cost of thirty-four mobile armors and two escort ships. This was actually considered to be a fair trade by conventional tacticians, though it made Murrue grimace. "So many lives lost already," she whispered, "and the battle's less than three minutes old."

However, something other than the loss of life was bothering her. _It's too easy_, she thought. She had expected the ZAFT mobile suits, led by the prototypes, to easily smash through the first wave of mobile armors and the supporting _Drake_-class vessels. However, the attack had stalled, and in fact the 8th fleet's first line was now advancing, using mass-fire tactics to push back the enemy. Already ZAFT seemed to be falling back.

_No_, she thought, _something's definitely wrong here. _Suddenly it hit her, and she could have smacked herself for not noticing it sooner.

The four GAT series machines were not fighting aggressively. They were just flying around, picking off a few mobile armors each but otherwise just dodging Alliance fire. The accompanying GINNs seemed to be acting in a similar matter. Also, now that she looked at it more carefully, the way the ZAFT forces were pulling back seemed way too organized to have been the result of a stalled attack.

_And our front line, including most of our escort ships, is moving farther and farther out_, she realized.

She was about to contact the _Menelaus_ when all hell broke loose.

….

Suited up and sitting in the cockpit of Wing Zero, Heero had patched into the _Archangel's _radar and visual sensors and was watching the battle unfold. Like Murrue, he had realized that the ZAFT force was using a feint to draw out the _Drakes_, and was not surprised in the least when the enemy unleashed their trap.

The Alliance's front line had moved out far enough to where the ZAFT warships could open fire on them without moving into range of the 8th fleet's heavier vessels, and ZAFT took full advantage of this. The fifteen capital ships unleashed a massive bombardment; a rain of large green energy beams, ship-to-ship missiles, and heavy rail cannon rounds. The Alliance forces lit up like a string of firecrackers as the barrage impacted their formation.

_They weren't repulsed_, he mused, _they were waiting for the right time to counterpunch._

And they had just taken fifteen escort ships along with eighty-seven mobile armors out of the fight.

Now the mobile suits were racing back in to the fray, the prototypes at the head of the formation. This time they were playing for keeps, and savaged the survivors. Heero watched as the Aegis transformed into its claw-like mobile armor mode, which revealed its "Scylla" 580 mm energy cannon. The heavy weapon fired, and a large crimson blast lanced through the engines of an escort ship, setting off several explosions and sending the ship falling off to the side trailing smoke and flames. The Blitz used its arm mounted anchor to impale the bridge of another ship, while the Duel and the Buster were unleashing a barrage on the mobile armors still swarming around. The GINNs were adding to the destruction, with several of them now moving through the large breach in the Alliance formation to engage the _Nelson_-class battleships and the mobile armor squadrons that had hung back to cover them.

The warships opened up, and a few GINNs exploded. The rest, though, were able to take evasive action, and began strafing the battleships, pausing only to deal with approaching mobile armors.

Meanwhile the ZAFT capital ships were moving in behind the mobile suits, and unleashed a second salvo. Nine more escort ships, including the two disabled by Aegis and Blitz, and sixty-three mobile armors fell under the rain of fire. The remaining six _Drake_-class ships fell back towards the Alliance battleships, along with their surviving mobile armor squadrons.

_Both sides' heavy ships will start trading broadsides soon_, thought Heero, _with the GINNs and the new models wreaking havoc within the Alliance formation. _Then Heero saw that he was being hailed by the bridge, and patched the communication onto one of his screens.

Murrue's face appeared, concern evident in her features. "Heero," she began, "the fleet won't last long under these circumstances. I want you to launch and try to hold off the enemy mobile suits for as long as you can. I'm going to move the _Archangel _away from the fleet and begin our descent preparations."

"You realize that you could draw ZAFT forces towards you while doing so," said Heero. "The fleet won't be able to cover you."

She nodded. "I know, but we're running out of options. I'll have Lieutenant Commander La Flaga stay on standby in the Moebius Zero in the event that some mobile suits make it through to us."

She took a breath to calm herself, and then continued. "We're opening the hangar doors now. Heero… please be careful. Don't take any foolish risks. Do what you can to buy us some time, and then come back to the ship."

He nodded. "Mission accepted." He moved his machine towards the exit. "Heero Yuy, Wing Zero, launching!"

With that he gunned his engines and left the _Archangel_.

….

Commander Le Creuset leaned back in his chair, observing the battle. "Is this all they can do?" he murmured, "I'm disappointed."

Suddenly a cry rang out from the radar station. "We have a new contact launching from the legged ship. It's… _Omega One!_" The man was unable to keep a hint of fear from his voice. "_Omega One has launched!_"

Creuset had the opposite reaction. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, adrenaline coursing through his veins. _Finally!_

He stood up and made his way towards the bridge exit. "Captain Ades," he said, "the fleet is yours. I'm taking the field."

The captain nodded. "Understood, sir. Good hunting."

As he left the bridge, he couldn't help but smile. It was no ordinary smile though, but that of a beast revealing its fangs in anticipation of the hunt. Creuset laughed. "Come on, my mysterious new friend; _show me what you've got!_"

….

Raising his rifle, Heero let loose a blast as he approached a group of GINNs. Six exploded, while the other suits managed to scatter. Drawing his beam saber, he flew after them, taking down one after another.

As the seventh machine he'd impaled exploded, he saw a new contact on his radar. It was a light gray mobile suit, more sleek and streamlined than a GINN. Running the profile through the _Archangel's _database, he came up with a match; the CGUE, a limited production model that was being used by officers. On its left arm a shield was mounted, and attached to the shield was a heavy machine gun. However, he noticed that this machine had additional thrusters mounted on its legs for increased mobility, unlike a normal CGUE, and had traded its metal sword for a violet beam saber instead, which it held in its right hand. _Looks like they've already started adapting the technology from the Alliance suits. _He had to hand it to ZAFT's engineers; they didn't waste time.

The modified CGUE was heading straight towards him, and Heero wasn't going to just wait for it to arrive. Taking aim, he fired off a shot from the Twin Buster Rifle. The machine dodged the blast, though two more GINNs did go up in flames. Zigzagging left and right, the CGUE was extremely maneuverable. Gunning his engines, Heero charged his new foe, and their blades met in a clash of light.

Pulling back slightly, Heero swung at his foe's left arm, attempting to remove its ranged capabilities. However, the enemy expertly parried the blow, and counterattacked, swinging at the Wing Zero's right shoulder. Heero brought his sword up and redirected the attack, causing the machine to move past him. Both pilots swung around, faced each other, and charged again, attacking and counterattacking, but neither could make headway.

Despite the severity of the overall situation, Heero couldn't help but smile. _After dealing with amateurs since my arrival, it looks like I've finally found someone who knows what they're doing._ This challenge, this surge of adrenaline, was something he hadn't felt since his final confrontation with Zechs during the Eve Wars.

They continued their duel, blades clashing, guns blazing, moving almost too fast for the eye to see. Heero moved in to slash his foes left arm again. The CGUE once again blocked, and then countered with a stab at the Wing Zero's head. Heero moved out of the way, then brought up his machine's knee and hit the enemy right in the chest. The impact forced his foe back a little, staggered by the raw power of the Wing Zero. But the CGUE recovered quickly, and soon the two aces were at it again.

The sheer rush of the duel caused him to do something he otherwise wouldn't think of trying. Adjusting his radio, he started broadcasting on an open channel.

….

"Are you serious? Are you people trying to flee this battle?" said Admiral Halberton as Murrue explained why she had defied his orders and launched the Wing Zero, as well as why the _Archangel_ had begun moving away from the fleet.

Murrue stood her ground against the harsh accusation. "This ship is the enemy's real objective. We must move away from you! It will take pressure off the fleet, allowing you to reorganize."

She knew that the admiral definitely needed a little breathing room. The launch of Wing Zero had thrown ZAFT into momentary disarray, but once the CGUE had entered the fray and engaged it in a duel, the GINNs had reorganized and, in concert with the prototypes and warships, were hammering the 8th fleet. The last of the escort ships had succumbed to enemy fire, and two battleships were already heavily damaged, with most of the others sporting at least minor hits. The mobile armor squadrons had been reduced by fifty-five percent since the start of the battle, and their own situation was only getting worse as the GINNs and GAT series machines intensified their assault. ZAFT still had seventy-one machines in the fight.

The admiral nodded. "Very well, begin your descent preparations. I'll reform our surviving ships over you."

"But sir," said Murrue, "you should withdraw some of the battleships, have them live to fight another day."

But the admiral stubbornly refused. "No, Captain Ramius. By the honor of the 8th fleet, we will die before allowing ZAFT to destroy the _Archangel_." With that he cut the connection.

"Damn it!" she said, slamming her fist against the rail of her chair. She had gotten what she wanted, permission to descend, but the admiral had ignored a chance to at least save some of his command.

_Or maybe_, she thought, _he believes the fleet to be doomed._ She certainly couldn't blame him for that, and as she took another look at the tactical monitors, she saw that the fleet had already moved closer to the atmosphere over the course of the battle, making a withdrawal much more difficult to pull off. _Even if we had drawn off some of their mobile suits, they probably would have still had enough firepower to trash the 8__th__ fleet, or at least keep them from retreating._

Miriallia's voice rang out. "Wing Zero is broadcasting on an open channel!"

Murrue couldn't believe it. _He's not encrypting his transmission? Then it can't be meant for us. Then who… _"Put it on speaker!" she said.

Soon she could hear his voice, and in it was something she had not heard from him before.

_Excitement._

"You've got some moves." he said, and she realized that he was talking to his foe. Turning her gaze towards the tactical monitor, she brought up an image of his fight with the CGUE.

Another voice came over the speaker, and Murrue realized that it was the same as the commander that they had turned Lacus over too. "I could say the same of you!" he said, adrenaline clearly influencing his tone.

"No way," said Murrue softly, "Commander Le Creuset has taken the field?"

The ZAFT officer spoke again. "Are you a Coordinator? What is someone of your caliber doing with the Naturals?"

"You're mistaken," replied Heero, his voice a little calmer now, "I'm a Natural. As to what I'm doing with the _Archangel_, that's none of your business."

"I beg to differ," said Creuset as their blades met yet again, "since I'm charged with destroying that ship. And I will fulfill that charge as soon as I defeat you!"

Suddenly Heero's voice changed, and there was something else in it that Murrue had never heard from him before; _anger_.

"_Not a chance in hell!_" he snarled, and Murrue couldn't help but gasp. He sounded _terrifying_, like something straight out of the pits of Hades. Suddenly Wing Zero was moving _much _faster. As the CGUE blocked another slash of his beam saber, Heero opened up with his shoulder gatlings. The CGUE took several hits, and smoke and sparks flew from the machine. Creuset backed off a little, but Heero pressed his advantage. Swinging his blade again, he severed the CGUE's sword arm.

Creuset raised the machine gun on his left arm and fired a sustained burst. Heero blocked it with his shield, but the attack gave Creuset enough time to retreat. It looked like Heero was about to follow, but he seemed to notice something more important, and took off in another direction. Looking at a wider display, Murrue saw that the prototypes had punched a hole in the battleship screen, and were heading towards the _Archangel_, Aegis in the lead.

And Heero was heading right for them.

Suddenly Lieutenant Commander La Flaga's face came on the screen. "Captain, let us launch now!"

"What?" said Murrue, "We're about to begin our descent."

"We have to," said another voice, and Murrue was shocked to see Kira's face join La Flaga's.

"Kira? I thought…" she said, unable to finish the sentence. _I thought he'd gotten off this ship already!_

"According to the specs, the Strike can make reentry on its own," he said.

"That may be true," said Lieutenant Badgiruel from the CIC, "but it hasn't actually been tested."

"Look," said La Flaga, "we don't have time to argue like this. We may only be able to fight for a few minutes, but we can still keep the enemy away from the ship. We'll come back before you get too far into the atmosphere."

Murrue nodded. "Alright, but keep an eye on your altitude and operating time. Good luck, both of you."

Both pilots nodded and signed off. Murrue sighed and turned towards the battle again. _I hope they'll be enough. Even with Creuset withdrawing, the situation is still dire. The prototypes are approaching, and several GINNs are coming in behind them._

All she could do was have faith in their abilities. As she turned her attention towards lining the ship up for reentry, her thoughts lingered on one particular pilot.

_Heero…_ He'd been so calm up until now, and she wanted to know what had set him off. His being excited was one thing, and she supposed she could chalk that up to his duel with Creuset. _It certainly looked intense_, she thought. However, the sheer _wrath _she had heard in his voice soon after was something else all together. She remembered Creuset mentioning destroying the _Archangel_, and that seemed to have triggered it. _He's only been with us a few days, yet he's already this protective of us?_

_Or_, she thought, eyes widening as she recalled their conversations before and after the debriefing with the admiral, and she gasped, _could it be…_

_Could it be that he wants to protect me?_

….

"Athrun, check it out!" said Nicole.

"I see them," said Athrun, who was at the head of their formation, "Strike and the mobile armor have launched from the legged ship."

"There's something else too," came Dearka's voice over the radio, "look at the carrier."

Athrun turned his attention towards the _Menelaus_, whose bottom bay doors had opened to allow a shuttle to launch. "Should we go after it?" said Yzak.

Athrun shook his head. "No, let's focus on our objective."

"Fine by me," the white-haired youth replied, "today I'm going to destroy that Strike once and for all!"

As Athrun turned his gaze back towards the legged ship, Nicole's voice came over the radio. This time the young man sounded frightened.

"Athrun, look out!"

He turned as he saw something approaching the Aegis with incredible speed, and only had time for one thought.

_Oh shit!_

Then Omega One slammed into him like a linebacker.

….

Leading with his shield, Heero hit the Aegis in the torso, and then used the sloped edge of it to force the enemy machine off to the side. _He's not my primary target right now._

Moving past the Aegis, he moved in on the Blitz. _That machine's stealth capabilities are the biggest threat to the _Archangel, he thought. _I have to deal with it quickly._

Charging the black machine, Heero brought his emerald beam saber to bear, and the Blitz was barely able to block with its own. The machine backed off, and Heero saw its lines begin to blur, a sign that it was activating its Mirage Colloid system. "Not today," he said, and fired Wing Zero's heavy gatlings. The Blitz was forced to halt its cloaking and reactivate its Phase Shift Armor in order to survive the barrage.

Sensing that the pilot was momentarily stunned, Heero moved in for the kill.

….

Acting quickly, Athrun ignited one of the yellow wrist mounted beam sabers on the Aegis and moved between the Blitz and Omega One. He managed to block the attack, but staggered under the sheer power behind the blow. _That machine is incredibly strong!_

Switching on his radio, he signaled the Duel and the Buster. "Yzak, Dearka, move in on the legged ship. Nicole and I will keep this guy busy here!"

"Got it!" said Yzak, and he and his partner flew off. Both were quickly engaged, Yzak by the Strike and Dearka by the orange mobile armor.

_They should be able to handle themselves_, thought Athrun, _I just hope Kira manages to survive. _That was all the time he could spare to worry about his old friend; he had _much _more important things to worry about now.

Namely, Omega One and its incredibly skilled pilot.

"Nicole," he said, "move in on the right, I'll take the left."

"Got it Athrun!"

The two machines charged, and as they came in at opposite angles, Athrun thought for sure that they had their enemy dead to rights.

Then something happened that proved him _very _wrong.

Omega One put away its beam saber, and then quickly grabbed its rifle with both hands. Suddenly the weapon split down the middle, and Athrun and Nicole soon found themselves facing one rifle barrel each.

"Move!" yelled Athrun.

He'd barely said the word before Omega One fired. Sending forth two deadly yellow blasts, one hit Athrun's suit in the right arm, completely vaporizing it. The other hit the Blitz at the left shoulder, severing the arm and the weapon it had with it.

An alarm went off in his cockpit, and Athrun saw that, in addition to losing the arm, the shot had nearly drained the rest of his Phase Shift Armor. _I'll lose it in less than a minute! _He had no doubt that Nicole was in a similar jam.

Suddenly a barrage of shots hit Omega One, and while it suffered no damage, it did turn towards the source, a group of eight GINNs coming in fast, two flaming wrecks of battleships falling in their wake.

One of the pilots signaled Athrun. "You two get out of here! We'll take this guy!"

Athrun nodded. "Thanks, we're retreating."

The damaged machines withdrew, and Athrun knew that they were leaving their saviors to a slaughter.

….

Murrue watched on the monitor as Wing Zero took the first hits she had seen since Heero had joined them. She was worried at first, but then noticed that the machine had nary a scratch on it. _That armor is something else_, she thought. As the eight GINNs surrounded Heero, he fired his now two separate rifles again, this time spinning the Wing Zero while doing so. All of the attackers were destroyed in the onslaught. Then Heero rejoined the rifles, drew his beam saber again, and took off towards another wave of incoming GINNs.

Satisfied that he would be alright, Murrue turned her attention to the larger battle. Things were looking grim for the 8th fleet. Of the original fifteen battleships, seven had been destroyed and the rest were all showing signs of damage, while ZAFT had only lost two frigates, and a few other ships had sustained minor hits. The two fleets continued to trade blows, but there was no doubt in her mind as to who would win. The _Menelaus _remained relatively unharmed, but its mobile armor squadrons, so vital to its defense, had been greatly reduced. In fact, the entire fleet had only sixty of the fighter craft left, a far cry from the hundreds it had started out with. Though Creuset and two of the prototypes had been forced to withdraw, there were still plenty of GINNs left to take care of the remaining Alliance units, while the Duel and the Buster had moved in close enough to engage the Strike and the Moebius Zero.

Strike and the Duel were going at it sword-to-sword, and neither pilot seemed to be able to gain the upper hand. Meanwhile, La Flaga was using his gun pods to launch attacks from multiple angles on the Buster, keeping the more powerful machine on the defensive as it tried to anticipate where the next shot would come from.

Checking her own monitor, she saw that they had less than a minute before they began reentry. "Are we on target for Alaska?" she asked the helmsman.

"Yes ma'am, we're ready for descent," he replied.

She nodded. "Release the ablative gel. Everyone strap yourselves in, we're in for a bumpy ride!"

Already the friction was causing the ship to shudder, although the gel that now covered the bottom of the hull would ensure that the ship would not suffer any major damage. She gripped the handrails of her chair. _We're locked in now. If someone manages to break through to us, we can't defend ourselves._

Glancing at the radar screen again, she became very concerned that that indeed might happen. Now there were only five battleships left, while ZAFT had lost another frigate. The remaining Alliance vessels could hardly be called battle worthy, as most of their weapons emplacements were ablaze. GINNs swarmed around them, picking off the few guns that could fire back and blasting the engines. The _Menelaus _herself was now engaged, her guns trading fire with several mobile suits and vessels.

Suddenly the ZAFT fleet unleashed one final bombardment. The last battleships were reduced to little more than flaming hulks, bleeding shards of debris and escape pods. The few surviving mobile armors were annihilated, and the carrier took several hits.

However, as Murrue took a look at the _Archangel's _position in the atmosphere, she was able to at least take comfort in the fact that they were too far down for any reasonable enemy ship to pursue now.

The key word there being _reasonable_.

One damaged frigate, its IFF beacon designating it the _Gamow_, broke out of the ZAFT formation, and was making a direct course for the _Archangel_. "They wouldn't…" she whispered. But indeed, the green vessel seemed determined to catch the white warship at all costs.

Suddenly the battered _Menelaus_ moved in between them. "Admiral Halberton!" she cried out.

The veteran fleet commander appeared on screen. "We will not let them pass!" he said, before the image dissolved into static.

Her eyes widened in shock as the two vessels came closer and closer, all guns blazing, ripping chunks of metal off of each other. _They're going to collide!_

Indeed they did, the bow of the _Gamow_ slamming into the dorsal surface of the _Menelaus_. The frigate slowly tore into the carrier, sending steel fragments everywhere. Then something, either the carrier's reactor or the frigate's, detonated, and both vessels went up in a massive fireball.

Murrue, along with the rest of the bridge officers, stood up and saluted, a tribute to those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the _Archangel's _survival. She bowed her head. _Rest in peace, Admiral, and thank you._

Then Miriallia's voice rang out in alarm. "We have a problem with the Strike! It's getting too far away from the ship!"

"What?" Murrue yelled.

….

Unleashing one final barrage on the Buster, mobile armor ace Mu La Flaga broke off his engagement and made a beeline for the _Archangel_. It was difficult to maneuver while so deep in the atmosphere, but he managed a small smirk as he saw that the Buster was having an even harder time of it, and indeed would no longer be able to escape the Earth's gravitational pull.

"Heh, enjoy the ride down pal," he said. Moving above his mother-ship, he fired a docking anchor, and the orange mobile armor latched on to the upper hull of the _Archangel_.

"Home sweet home," he said, and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he checked his sensors, looking for the Strike. When he saw it, he swore.

"Get back here kid!" he yelled.

….

Having dealt with the last group of mobile suits in his vicinity, Heero made haste for the _Archangel_. "I can make atmospheric reentry on my own no problem," he said, "but I'd rather keep that ability a secret for now."

Pushing his engines to the max, he swiftly caught up to the _Archangel _and touched down next to La Flaga's machine. Contacting the bridge, he said, "Everything alright over there?"

Murrue appeared on the screen. "Unfortunately not. The Strike is still out there, and at this rate Kira will miss Alaska entirely!" Checking his radar, Heero saw that the young man was indeed way off course, now engaged in a long-range rifle battle with the Duel. Both machines were too far into the atmosphere to escape.

"He won't be able to make it back here on his own," said Heero.

Murrue nodded. "I know. I'll have the ship moved so we can intercept him."

"But we'll miss the drop point!" came Natarle's voice in the background.

"Making it to Alaska won't mean a thing if we lose the Strike!" yelled Murrue. She turned to Heero. "Better brace yourself; moving the ship like this while in the atmosphere will be rough." With that she signed off.

….

Kira's situation was rapidly deteriorating. In his fight with the Duel, he had moved much further away from the _Archangel _than he should have. Both machines were having difficulty maneuvering, and as they fell still traded shots, each coming closer to hitting their intended target.

"This isn't good," he said.

He saw the Duel adjust its aim, and he was sure that this time the shot would connect. However, the shuttle from the _Menelaus _dropped into its line of fire, oblivious to the peril it had put itself in while trying to get to Earth.

Kira's eyes widened. Gunning his engines, he tried to get to the Duel. "Don't shoot, they're only civilians!" he said over an open channel.

But the pilot of the Duel either didn't hear him or had completely ignored his plea. The machine fired, and a lance of green energy pierced the shuttle, and it exploded.

Images of the little girl and her mother from earlier flashed through Kira's mind. Disregarding all concern for his precarious situation, he charged the enemy machine, screaming incoherently in rage. He raised one of the Strike's legs and hit the Duel in a high-speed drop kick, knocking the machine further into the atmosphere.

However, that was all Kira could do, as he had now descended too deep to be able to adjust his course. "Oh no!" he cried, somewhat regaining his wits. Bringing his shield forward in an effort to ease his descent, he could feel the temperature in the cockpit skyrocketing. He sweated profusely in his pilot suit. _It's like an oven in here!_

Suddenly he saw the _Archangel _moving in underneath him. "Kira!" came Miriallia's voice over the radio. "Hurry and land on the ship, you won't last much longer." Indeed, the rising heat was already making his vision blur, and he struggled to maintain consciousness and move the Strike towards the vessel.

After what seemed like an eternity, he felt a _thud _as he touched down on the upper hull alongside the Wing Zero and La Flaga's mobile armor. He sighed. "Made it…"

Then he remembered the destruction of the civilian shuttle, and the little girl's face again flashed before his eyes. Tears welled up within them. "No…" he whispered, "I'm… sorry."

Then the sweet embrace of unconsciousness took him.

….

Checking his radar and doing some quick math, Heero managed to calculate the ship's new descent course. "Not good," he said as he realized where they would land. Looking at the map on his screen, he sighed. "Out of the frying pan… and into the fire."

His expression hardened in determination. _Our battle for descent is over. _

_Let the North African campaign begin…_

**Preview for next time!**

_The _Archangel _has touched down on Earth, and the crew take some time to recuperate from the difficult battle in orbit. But they won't be able to rest for long, for new enemies are on the horizon. Having touched down in North Africa, Murrue, Heero, and the others find themselves in the crosshairs of two of ZAFT's greatest soldiers, known as the Desert Tiger and the Valkyrie. The appearance of some local resistance fighters may ease the situation, but can they be trusted? And Kira runs into a familiar figure from Heliopolis in the last place he expected to. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield" Episode Five: The North Africa Campaign, Part One: Desert Dawn._

**Author's Note**: I realize that Heero was a bit more emotive in this battle than normal. That was intentional. For one, finding a foe like Creuset gives him a chance to vent some frustration he's been holding in since the end of the Eve Wars, being a soldier without a battlefield, and trying to find a new purpose in life. Also, him being protective of the Archangel, and Murrue in particular... well, you'd be surprised how deep an act of kindness like what Murrue showed him can touch someone. That Heero is starting to develop such protective instincts towards her is only natural, and his feelings will of course evolve over the course of the story. Same goes for Murrue of course!

On another note, man am I glad this chapter is done! I've been wanting to write the North African campaign for a while now, but I didn't want to compromise the quality of my work by rushing. I'm sure you guys can understand that. It will be a while until episode five comes out. Sorry, but again, I'm not going to put out a rush job, I'm taking my time with this.

Thank you for your patience, I hope you all stick with me on this. Once again, please review!

Until next time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **I almost posted this without my usual notes and the end preview, good thing i caught myself. Believe it or not, this chapter is actually longer than four, crazy huh?

A few things you should know before you start. One: I made Andrew Waltfeld into a full Field Marshall, and I know full well that the highest rank shown in the show of the ZAFT combat command structure is commander. I made this change because I'm greatly expanding the scope of Waltfeld's command, and as such I felt he deserved a cooler rank. Also, Waltfeld was created in part as a shout out to the legendary Erwin Rommel of the WWII wermach north africa corp, so in that sense I felt that having Andrew be a Field Marshall like Rommel was fitting.

Two: I make brief mention early on about events going on in Libya presently. I made it kind of an alternate history scenario, i really do hope things turn out better over there than i've forcasted. I'll admit to being a bit of a pessimist though: historically speaking, African civil wars don't tend to have pretty ends.

Three: I'd like to give special thanks to yoshinoyuy, who helped me develope the names for some of the new characters. I'll let you know which ones at the end of the chapter. Thanks alot pal, i owe ya one!

Well, enjoy!

**Episode Five: The North Africa Campaign, Part One: Desert Dawn**

"Where are we?" asked Murrue.

One of bridge crew brought up an area map on the main monitor. "It looks like we touched down in the former Libya, about sixty kilometers south of Tobruk." After twenty-six years of civil war in the twenty-first century, Libya had effectively ceased to exist as a country, and had become a failed state, nearly as bad as Somalia. In the early Cosmic Era, the United Nations had put some effort into revitalizing the area, and had turned it into a protectorate of sorts. Once the U.N. was dissolved after the Tragedy of Copernicus though, the region had turned into a collection of city states, with Tripoli holding sway in the west while Benghazi and Tobruk vied for dominance in the east. Now the area was once again unified, though under a foreign invader.

It was dusk outside, and fierce winds were blowing the surrounding sands of the desert dunes. Murrue was grateful for this, as it would help to hide the ship's radar signature. _Not to mention give us a moment to catch our breath._

They had touched down about an hour ago, and had spent the time thoroughly checking over the ship. Fortunately no major damage had been suffered during the descent, although the interior was a bit of a mess due to all the turbulence.

Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, who had come to the bridge after his Moebius Zero had been secured in the hangar and was down in the CIC with Lieutenant Badgiruel, groaned. "Great, there's a ZAFT airbase in Tobruk. We're lucky a major sandstorm is brewing out there, or they would have already detected us and launched an attack."

"We should use the opportunity to take stock of the situation, not to mention plan our next move," came a voice from the rear of the bridge. Murrue turned around to see Heero enter, having already changed back into his normal clothes, although in this case he had forgone the jacket. Walking up next to Murrue's chair, he looked out the window. "I had a friend who was pretty experienced in desert warfare. I remember him saying that a storm like this can last for days. We won't be able to move, but the enemy won't be able to attack us, so things work out in our favor."

She nodded, and then looked down at La Flaga and Natarle. "Do we have any Intel on ZAFT's Tobruk airbase?"

"Hang on," said Natarle as she typed on the small terminal on the arm of her chair, "I'm checking the database." After a few seconds, she spoke again. "They've been building it up since it was conquered last August. As of right now, they have about two dozen attack helicopters there, along with several DINNs. Hang on, there's an addendum… looks like it just got tacked on a few days ago." She studied the screen for a moment, and then groaned. "Damn, not good…"

"What is it?" said Murrue.

"Commander Shemei Rehema and her team just arrived there last week!" exclaimed Natarle.

"Commander Shemei Rehema? The _Valkyrie _Rehema?" said Murrue, her eyes widening. Natarle nodded, her face fraught with worry, and Murrue couldn't blame her.

"Who's Shemei Rehema?" asked Heero.

Murrue sighed. "An elite ZAFT pilot. Her parents are native Egyptians, and she's a First Generation Coordinator. I suppose it should be no surprise that she was moved here; she grew up in the desert before leaving to join ZAFT."

Murrue pulled up the Intel file on the enemy commander on the main screen. Heero saw a picture of a very beautiful woman, with long, flowing black hair with purple highlights, light brown skin, and grey eyes with a playful spirit in them. She wore a white uniform, and Heero couldn't help but wryly note that, like Murrue's, it did little to suppress her rather ample bosom. He read aloud as words scrolled by next to the image.

"Born in Cairo, June 21st C.E. 46. Parents were both officers in the Egyptian Air Force. Attended Cairo University and graduated at the age of nineteen, with a bachelor's degree in aeronautics. The family immigrated to Aprilius One soon after to escape local Blue Cosmos agents who were targeting both Shemei and her parents due to them making her a Coordinator. She joined the newly founded ZAFT academy in September 65 C.E., and was part of the first graduating class, completing her final examinations the following spring. Top of her class, with exceptional skill shown in piloting and small-unit tactics."

He paused to let the scrolling words catch up with him, and then continued. "Became part of the new military's corps of fighter pilots. She earned a reputation for a rare combination of audacity and finesse that she showed in exercises. She was selected two years later to be one of the first test pilots for the GINN series combat mobile suit. When the unit made its official debut in 69 C.E., she was made a full commander, only twenty three years old at the time. Once the war started a year later, she gained renown as a pilot, shooting down three hundred-fifty-four mobile armors over nine months, along with seven battleships, a record unmatched in all the Earth Sphere. She eventually formed her own elite unit, consisting of three other pilots, all women, and her, and they were transferred to the terrestrial Carpentaria base. They now pilot ZAFT's atmospheric equivalent of the GINN, the AMF-101 DINN."

Taking a breath, he finished his summarization. "She's known as ZAFT's Valkyrie, and from what I can see she has earned that title. Her team's machines sport a custom paint job, black base with red trim. They've fought in several engagements since arriving on Earth. It looks like they were transferred to North Africa to take part in the raids on the Eurasian Federation's Mediterranean fleet."

Turning to Murrue, he said, "I have to admit, I'm impressed. We're fortunate this storm kicked up the same time we landed here, or she'd be all over us."

Murrue nodded. "Having to face her would be troubling enough, but unfortunately our situation is even worse than that."

Turning towards the monitor, she brought up another image. This time it was of a man who looked to be about thirty. Tall and ruggedly handsome, with thick brown hair and rather long sideburns, he had very dark grey, almost black, eyes that seemed to have a mischievous glint to them. His skin had a slight tan to it, fitting for a man who had spent time in the desert. He wore a yellow uniform, a color Heero had not seen in any of the files he had browsed so far on ZAFT's command structure.

This time Murrue did the reading. "Field Marshal Andrew Waltfeld. He's ZAFT's greatest surface commander. Also known as the Desert Tiger, due to his exploits in the Saharan region against the Alliance Army. He also fought in the Suez campaign, and his tactics and personal piloting skill were vital to taking the canal. He uses a TMF/A-802 BuCue, ZAFT's main ground mobile suit, although there have been rumors that a custom unit is in the works for him. Has a lover, Aisha Marlene, who occasionally fights alongside him. Apparently she's a talented pilot herself." An image of a black haired woman with light skin appeared next to the field marshal's.

Murrue turned to Heero. "Waltfeld commands the entire North African front. The majority of his forces are stationed along the coast to prevent an amphibious assault by the Europeans, but he has plenty of units to use in the interior. He's made the city of Banadiya his headquarters. He's the one we'll eventually have to deal with if we want to break out and head to Alaska."

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" said Nararle, "The Mediterranean is a battlefield, and I doubt the Eurasian Federation would be too keen to help us after how we broke out of Artemis. So we can't go north."

"We should rule out the west too," said La Flaga, "Geographically speaking, we're further east than west, so we'd wind up facing more of the Tiger's forces if we went that way than if we went another."

"I wouldn't go south either," chimed in Heero. "We don't know how far into the interior ZAFT's reach extends."

"That just leaves the east then," Murrue concluded. She pulled up a map of the region, encompassing eastern Libya and all of Egypt. "We'll break through Waltfeld's forces and make for the Red Sea. From there we travel across the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and head to Alaska."

"Sounds good to me," said La Flaga, "but do we have the supplies for that kind of journey? Other than the two new Skygrasper fighters, the fleet didn't give us a whole lot in the way of supplies, since they were expecting us to make a direct descent to Alaska."

"ZAFT should have some supply depots in the region," noted Heero. He turned to Murrue. "We could raid one of those once the storm clears and replenish what we're low on."

She nodded. "That's a good idea. Once we have clear skies we can use the new fighters for aerial reconnaissance and try to find to closest one. After we locate one, we can move out and launch an attack."

"I do have a question though," said Heero. "Where's Banadiya? I've never heard of it."

"It must not have been built in your world," she said. Pulling up a map of Egypt, she continued. "Banadiya is a relatively new city. It was founded in the early Cosmic Era, and reached its current size only a few years ago." A point on the map blinked red, roughly halfway between Matruh and Alexandria. "It's a port town. The residents' primary income is based off of fishing and tourism… or at least it was until the Mediterranean became a battleground. Now the fishing fleets can hardly venture into international waters before being halted by either a ZAFT vessel or an Alliance one, and tourists don't exactly flock to towns on the edge of a warzone. From what I've heard, its economy has been in a slump since ZAFT's invasion of Earth during Operation Uroboros."

"I see," he said.

Looking out the bridge viewports at the swirling sands for a moment, he then turned to Murrue. His face had softened somewhat, and he looked concerned. "You should get some rest," he said. "This storm will last for quite awhile, and I can tell you're exhausted."

Murrue gave a weak smile. "Is it that obvious?"

Heero shook his head. "Not to most people; you hide it well. It's just that I've gotten pretty good at reading others over the years."

She nodded and stood up. "Alright… but only if you do the same." His eyes widened slightly at that, surprised that she had been able to see the weariness he'd been trying to suppress. She gave a small laugh. "You're not the only one who's good at reading people."

Heero smiled and nodded. "So I've noticed."

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," she said, "you have the bridge. Ensign Neumann will relieve you in four hours, and I'll be back in eight."

Natarle nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Before leaving she asked, "By the way, any word from the medics on Kira's condition?"

"Only that he's still unconscious and running a high fever," said Natarle.

"Are you really surprised though?" said La Flaga. "Remember, he did pull a partial reentry in a mobile suit. The cockpit temperatures and the pressure must have been intense. It's probably due to the fact that he's a Coordinator that he managed to survive at all."

"I see," said Murrue. "Let me know if his condition changes at all."

"It probably won't for awhile," said Natarle. "According to the medics, he'll probably be unconscious for a few days at least."

Murrue sighed. "Then let's hope this storm keeps up for that amount of time. I don't want to face the Tiger and the Valkyrie without our full strength."

"Agreed," said Heero.

Both Murrue and Heero left the bridge. As they made their way towards the section where the officers' quarters were, she turned to him. "By the way, Heero? Thank you for all you did up there during the battle. We would have had a much tougher time of it without you."

"You're welcome… Murrue," he said, another one of those small smiles on his face.

They reached her quarters, and she remembered that his own were right next door to hers. As they moved towards their respective cabins she gave him one final glance. "Goodnight Heero. Get some rest."

"You as well, Murrue," he said. "Sleep well."

With that she entered her room, and after removing her uniform until she was in a gray tank top and a pair of shorts, both standard military issue, she practically fell onto the bed, and was asleep mere seconds after her head hit the pillow.

….

Several kilometers away, a jeep was parked atop a dune. Sitting in it, feeling the winds of the very fringe of the storm in the distance were two ZAFT scouts in tan desert uniforms.

The man in the passenger seat, a mid-sized fellow with black hair and a well-trimmed beard, stood up and peered through his binoculars. While doing so he spoke to the driver. "Hey Mike, are you sure your math's right?"

The other soldier, a dark-skinned man with a very short haircut, nodded. "I told you Carson, I checked the descent angles the orbital group sent us three times. The enemy ship definitely touched down over there."

Taking a sip from his canteen, Carson looked through his binoculars again at the monster of a sandstorm that was whirling around where the Earth Alliance's new warship had reportedly touched down. "I don't envy those guys," he said, "even if the storm hides them from radar, riding it out like that won't be fun."

"Nah, wouldn't be that bad," said Mike, "In a ship that size, they'd just be bored out of their minds waiting for the thing to blow over. So, are we calling this in?"

Carson nodded. "Get the _Lesseps _on the line. This monster will probably last a few days, so it will give the Field Marshall time to get here from Banadiya. We'll wait and see how he wants to play this."

Mike reached for the jeep's radio and began relaying what he and his partner had found.

….

Several hundred kilometers to the east, the flagship of the Desert Tiger's North Africa Corps loomed over the surrounding dunes. An innovation of ZAFT, the machine was a cross between a tank and a battleship. At 250 meters in length it was almost the size of the space-based _Nazca_-class destroyer. At each corner of the vessel were four box-like protrusions that housed its unique 'scale system', a propulsion mechanism that liquefied the surface directly beneath the ship, allowing for it to travel over both land and water with equal ease. At the front of the tan machine were two dual forty cm cannons, with another mounted at the rear behind the upraised bridge. The vessel bristled with many smaller weapons as well, and at the front was a circular hatch through which the ship's mobile suit compliment could deploy. Normally stationed on the outskirts of Banadiya, the _Lesseps _was just a few kilometers south of the city, having just wrapped up a series of exercises.

Sitting on the bridge, the Field Marshal was quite relaxed, taking a sip from the cup of coffee that never seemed to leave his side, save for when he went into battle. He smiled and turned to the lovely black-haired woman at his side, who was dressed in a custom black and pink uniform.

"Aisha, you have to try this," he said. "I added an extra pinch of mint leaf in this brew, and I have to say, it's really something else."

Accepting the cup from her lover, Aisha took a sip. She smiled back at him. "Mmm, you're right Andy. You're going to have to think of a name for this one, it's a keeper."

"How about 'Arabian Delight'?" he asked.

She shook her head. "You already used that one, remember? That was the batch where you added the beans from your Yemen stash to the local brew in Alexandria."

"Oh, is that right? Then how about 'Brew of the Pharaohs'?"

She laughed. "A bit pretentious, but it works."

Waltfeld sighed. "Everyone's a critic these days."

A voice came from the front of the bridge. "We've received contact from one of our patrols in the former Libya."

"Oh? What's up?" inquired Waltfeld.

"They say that the Alliance's new battleship has landed south of Tobruk. There's a large sandstorm brewing in the area, so it should keep them pinned for a couple of days," the man replied.

"Is that right? So that means the Alliance's new weapons, including the suit that handed Creuset his own ass to him, are in our backyard. How interesting…"

Waltfeld clasped his hands in front of him and smiled. "Set a course for their location, if we hurry we should be able to make it before the weather clears."

The crew scrambled to carry out his orders. Aisha giggled. "This should be fun, eh Andy?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I've got a good feeling about this one. Although, I'd hate to hog all the fun…"

He turned to the man at the radio station. "Contact Commander Rehema and her squad. Tell them to remain on standby until we arrive in the area. We'll coordinate our operations with them."

As the man established contact, Aisha looked at Waltfeld. "You're letting Shemei in on the hunt? I'm a little surprised; I thought you would have wanted this one to yourself."

The Field Marshall shook his head. "The mobile suit designated Omega One is far more dangerous than the other one, the Strike. I'd rather have Shemei and her subordinates fight that machine and focus my men on the legged ship and the other suit. The Strike has proven itself to be quite capable in its own right, so I'm sure it will make for interesting prey."

Aisha laughed. "I imagine Shemei will be quite grateful to you. I remember the last time we talked how she said she wanted to fight someone who was actually close to her level. The Alliance fighters and mobile armors just can't measure up to her."

Waltfeld smiled. "By now, she's probably seen the same recordings we have of Omega One in action. I bet she's just itching to get into the fray. Besides, she's a good friend of ours. We can't just throw a party like this and not invite her."

"The timing couldn't be better either," said Aisha. "I heard that the Valkyrie and her crew just got outfitted with the modified DINNs. They should be finishing up the final adjustments on them as we speak."

The Field Marshall nodded. "It should be fun seeing those machines in action, especially considering the way Shemei and her pilots tend to fly. They take the phrase 'pushing the envelope' to a whole new level." He grinned. "I can't wait to get things rolling."

….

Sitting in an office just outside the main hangar of the Tobruk airbase, Shemei Rehema was a picture of relaxation. Leaning back in her chair, feet kicked up on the desk, long dark hair falling behind the chair, she looked at the screen in front of her with a mischievous smirk on her face, grey eyes gleaming with interest as she listened. Her white commander's uniform only served to accentuate her light brown skin, the overall effect further enhancing her beauty, and it had often been said by both male and female members of the service that it made her seem like one of the legendary Masamune _katanas_; exquisite and deadly.

"Is that so?" she said. "Send Waltfeld my regards, and tell him to say hi to Aisha for me."

The communications officer of the _Lesseps _was a little put off by her casualness, despite having spoken with her before and knowing to expect it. "So, uhm, you do acknowledge this message then, correct ma'am?"

She sighed. "Of course I do. Geez, you need to lighten up a bit." She smiled and winked, serving to throw the man even more off balance. "We'll wait for the Tiger's call; we'll be ready when it comes." With that she signed off.

She got up and exited the office, entering a hangar full of activity. Tech crews were milling around, making the final adjustments to four black and red mobile suits.

Looking up at one of them, she sighed. _They call these the DINN Mark II's, but it's not that much of a change from the first model. All they did was add a beam saber and mount additional maneuvering jets on the legs. I mean sure, the mobility increase is nice, and having a beam saber means we can engage something like Omega One or the Strike in close-quarters combat, but do the higher ups have to act like they're rewarding us with a whole new model?_

From what she had seen in the combat recordings she'd gone over, Creuset had had his CGUE modified in a similar manner, yet had been outmatched by Omega One. She was willing to grant that his foe had obviously been a superior mobile suit piloted by a _stunningly _skilled opponent, but she had still been disappointed in how her fellow commander had performed against it. _You're getting soft Creuset_, she thought, _you've been spending too much time either on the bridge of the _Vesalius _or in the capital playing politics with Defense Chairman Zala._

Shemei wouldn't go so far as to call Creuset a rival, but she could not hide her disdain for the man. While she would readily admit that he had good tactical and strategic instincts and was an exceptional pilot, she disliked how he seemed to spend most of his time out of combat conniving with politicians. What concerned her even more was how most, if not all of them, were from the radical faction.

_Though they would never admit to it publicly_, she mused, _I know that most of them would turn this war into a genocide campaign if they were given the reigns, or at least one of subjugation. Patrick Zala in particular has hardly made an effort to disguise his contempt and open loathing of Naturals. _Though she could not blame him for hating them, since his wife had died in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, she could not condone blood-for-blood on that scale, something she knew the radical faction wanted.

"Not to mention mom and dad…" she whispered. The fact that her parents were Naturals living in Aprilius One, the seat of PLANT power, made her very nervous. Over the past few months she'd tried to convince them to move to one of the colonies that were under the sway of the moderates. Last time she had visited the capital, about two months ago, she had noticed an increasingly charged political atmosphere, and did not like her parents living in the middle of that.

_The majority of the civilian population of the PLANTs just want to live in peace_, she thought, _but since Aprilius One is the primary governmental colony, a significant portion of its population are political functionaries and top military brass. _Under those circumstances, she was well aware that what might have been a polite political debate in another colony would have become something much more heated in the capital.

_Not to mention that the elections for the chairmanship of the Supreme Council are little more than a month away, and Patrick Zala is the leading opposition candidate! _Though Shemei wasn't a huge fan of politics, she did at least try to keep up to date on what was going on in those circles, primarily because what happened there could always spill over to the military in one form or another. She was also an acquaintance of the incumbent, Siegel Clyne, so she had better access than most into the latest bit of ZAFT intrigue should she be so inclined to inquire. The man was the nominal head of the moderate faction, and like his contemporaries he'd been accused by the radicals of being too indecisive in the prosecution of the war. The last time they'd spoken, when he personally had called her to let her know of her upcoming transfer to Tobruk before the High Command made their official call, she had seen new worry lines in his face, and he'd seemed to have acquired a few gray hairs as well.

_Zala may act civil, but I know his cronies have been running a brutal campaign. I have no doubt it's having an effect on the Chairman, no matter how much he may try to rise above the political vitriol. _She felt a great swell of pity for not only Siegel Clyne but his daughter, Lacus, who had just been recovered from Alliance captivity. She did not want the girl to see her father as he was now, and Shemei knew that Lacus was smart enough to pick up on the Chairman's worries, no matter how hard he tried to hide them. _She's as perceptive as her father. If she put her mind to it, she'd be a stunning politician. Her talents are wasted as a singer, though I'll admit her voice is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard._

A voice rang out from behind her. "What's on your mind, Commander?"

Shemei turned to see her subordinates coming over to her, all wearing the red uniforms reserved for ace pilots. Leading them was the one who had asked the question, the seemingly delicate flower who in actuality had proven herself to be quite an energetic young woman, Lan Zhao.

With pale, almost white skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair that was held up by a pair of lacquered chopsticks, she was a classic picture of Far Eastern beauty. The daughter of a Triad boss from Shanghai who had made her a Coordinator in the hopes of having a super-human enforcer loyal only to him, Lan had quickly decided she wanted no part of that life. With the help of her mother, one of the boss's mistresses, she managed to rob her father's private safe when she was fourteen, taking nearly a million dollars worth of stolen gems. Fleeing the Republic of East Asia with her mother, the two of them sold the stones and bought passage to the PLANTs.

After arriving on Aprilius One, her mother had found work as a hotel secretary, while Lan was sent to school. After attending classes for only a year she had decided she wanted something more exciting, and enrolled in the ZAFT academy. She graduated at the age of sixteen in the year 69 C.E., having shown her best performances in piloting and unarmed combat. Eventually she had gained enough of a combat record to be noticed by the Valkyrie, and Shemei had recruited Lan for her new unit. Bright and easy-going, she had a very upbeat personality, which had originally surprised Shemei when she had learned of her past and the circumstances under which she had been raised, but she had quickly come to realize that it was a means for Lan to suppress her childhood memories and live for the present and the future. The girl had soon become the source for much of the squad's humor, and had developed into a minor gossip as well.

In her wake were the other two pilots, also former classmates of hers. On her left was Priscilla Dalca, a blond haired eighteen year old girl of mixed Italian/Romanian heritage. She had lovely green eyes that glowed with gentleness, and kept her hair tied in a pony tail. A kind and soft spoken young lady, she was the quiet one of the group, and could often be found with her head buried in a book. A lover of mystery and suspense thriller novels, historical accounts, as well as an avid follower of PLANT politics, she could often provide useful insights into political intrigue, making her a treasured source of information to Shemei. Priscilla has also proven herself at the academy to have an uncanny knack for reading an enemy's strategy, and was a superb shot with a pistol as well. Her parents both worked in a major PLANT software company, and Priscilla herself had become a gifted amateur programmer and hacker under their tutelage.

To Lan's right was Adaline Bellerose. The Australian born nineteen year old had the body of a surfer, which indeed had been one of her favorite hobbies before moving to the PLANTs in 68 C.E. Her long, flowing red hair fell almost to her waist, and her blue eyes seemed as dark and deep as the ocean she so loved. A born daredevil, becoming a mobile suit pilot had just seemed to her to be the next logical choice after arriving in the PLANTs, and after a brief stint as a lifeguard in order to save up some cash, she had enrolled in the ZAFT academy, where she had met and become fast friends with Lan and Priscilla.

Shemei actually saw a bit of herself in Adaline, with the girl's relaxed outlook on life, combined with the need for a rush, reminding the commander of how she had gravitated towards military service in the first place. Adaline had quickly earned her trust, and her fighting abilities combined with her taste for flair and audacity had made her a natural pick for the Valkyrie's personal team.

Shemei smiled. "Oh, not much. I was just thinking about the modifications for the DINNs." She looked up at her machine, the gazes of the others following hers.

"I know what you mean," said Lan, "I mean yeah, they perform fine in simulations, but I want to test them in combat. Best way to really get a feel for it."

"You might get a chance sooner than you think," said Shemei, and she told the three girls about her recent conversation with Waltfeld's officer.

The other three were quiet for a moment, and then Adaline spoke up. "Wow, a joint operation with the Tiger…" A smile was slowly breaking out on her face. "Should be fun, especially since the target is the legged ship."

"Actually," chimed in Priscilla, "if I heard the commander correctly, our responsibility will be to assess the capabilities of Omega One, while Field Marshall Waltfeld's forces deal with the warship and the Strike."

"Even better," she said, a full grin displayed now.

"Have you three reviewed the footage from the orbital forces yet?" said Shemei.

They nodded. "Good," said Shemei. Turning to Priscilla she said, "I know you have some background in programming. Can you possibly work up a simulation of Omega One for us to fight against?"

"I suppose so…" the blond said, "although the images alone give me a very limited amount of data on the machine. Not to mention that without a psychological profile or performance dossier on the pilot I can't come close to creating a simulation that will fight like the genuine article, and the full extent of Omega One's capabilities are still unknown to us. It is entirely possible that it possesses greater power than we have already seen, particularly in regards to its rifle and the strength of its armor."

"In that case don't worry about it," said Shemei, "After the engagement, let me know if you can work one up with the data we acquire on that run."

"After?" said Lan. "Wouldn't it be better to take down Omega One as soon as possible?"

Shemei nodded. "Yes, but I have a feeling it won't be that simple. When I was watching the recordings, I could tell that the pilot was _incredibly _skilled, and I still think he may have been holding back to some extent. That amount of skill combined with the power of that machine, and I don't think we'll take it down in the first round. It will be better to use the opportunity to get a feel for how the enemy fights this time around. We can figure out how to take it out later on."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" said Adaline.

"Rest up, do some sim runs, and make sure your machines are in peak condition," replied Shemei, "We're officially on standby from here on until Field Marshall Waltfeld says otherwise."

The three of them saluted her. "Understood, Commander Rehema!" they said in unison.

….

"It's been two days! Come on doctor, isn't there something you can do?"

The speaker was Miriallia, pleading with the _Archangel's _chief medical officer. The two of them, along with Flay and Tolle, were in Kira's quarters, where the young man was still lying unconscious.

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry miss, but there really isn't anything I can do, mainly because he doesn't need my help."

"What do you mean?" asked Flay, who, to the surprise of everyone, had hardly left Kira's side over the last forty-eight hours. She had been diligently tending to him ever since he had been brought out of the Strike, wiping the sweat off his brow, checking his temperature, and just watching over him in general.

The doctor sighed. "I mean he's recovering on his own. His body shutting down like this is a restorative function. He's recuperating through this deep sleep. It's fortunate that he's a Coordinator, or he would not have survived the extreme temperatures in that cockpit."

He stood up and made for the exit. "Just keep an eye on him, and he'll wake up in due time."

After a few minutes, Miriallia turned to Flay. "Hey, why don't you go take a break? I know Sai's been worrying about you…"

Flay shook her head. "No, I'm alright. I said some pretty bad stuff to Kira… when my father died. I… want to try and make up for it, somehow." She looked up and smiled. "So I'll stay here until he wakes up."

"Alright," said Miriallia, and both she and Tolle got up to leave. "I'll bring by some food and water a little later, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks Miriallia."

Nodding, they both left, leaving Flay alone with Kira.

Alone with the boy she despised, loathed with every fiber of her being…

_At least, that's what I want to think._ In actuality, she had been surprised to find herself feeling… _torn_, over this scheme of hers. On the one hand, it was a delicious bit of drama, having the Coordinator who had let her father die kill as many of his own kind as possible in the name of defending the ship and, more importantly, her. It was the sweetest form of vengeance she had ever imagined.

And yet… looking at him now, it was hard to see Kira as anything but just a boy, someone who had gotten caught up in this mess through no fault of his own, someone who was trying to survive and protect those he cared about in any way he could. She had actually found herself worrying about him when he had gone into battle in orbit. She'd told herself that it was just her desire to not have him die so soon, to have him suffer longer, but she was already having trouble believing that.

_No, I can't be feeling that. My revenge has only just begun, he needs to feel as much pain as I did… no, more than I did. _

She kept telling herself that, but as she kept looking down at Kira… _kind, gentle Kira, _she thought…

It was already becoming difficult not to actually _care _about him.

….

"Looks like the weather is starting to break," said Heero. He was standing on the bridge, once again next to Murrue's chair, a habit he had begun developing since they had touched down in the desert almost three days ago. Looking out the forward viewport, he could actually see flashes of sky, though the sand was still flying around them. The storm was losing intensity, and would probably die down by late evening.

He looked down at Murrue, who was checking one of the outer hull monitors on the small screen on the arm of her chair. "It doesn't look like there are any major sand buildups on the hull," she said, "the wind's been helping out quite a bit in that regard."

Heero nodded. "Once things clear up and we make sure everything's in one piece, we can lift off. That should shake off any remaining sand deposits."

She turned to him and smiled, and he found himself realizing how much he enjoyed seeing her do so, and how he wished she'd do it more often. _Though with all the stress she's under, I guess it's a miracle she can smile at all. I can't be greedy. _

Looking at her, he gave one of his small smiles in return, something he did because he knew that, ever since their talk before the battle in orbit had begun, she had begun worrying about him, and he didn't want to add to her concerns. _I owe her. She's pretty much given me free room and board since I've arrived here, not to mention somewhere that I can stay while I try to figure out what I want to do with myself, what my purpose is for being in this world. _Plus, the fact that she seemed to genuinely care about his well being, and had offered to be a confidant and friend to him… well, that meant a lot to someone who'd only known a _very few _people that he'd been able to trust before now.

He knew that he had told her to consider him a mercenary, but the truth of the matter was that he had not asked for any kind of payment since arriving, hadn't even discussed a retainer plan with her. They had come to a kind of unspoken agreement; he would fight and protect the _Archangel_, and in return he could stay aboard. He knew that the fighting was considered his work, but he realized that he actually didn't mind it. It wasn't that he liked the killing, far from it. However, he had come to realize something else; he actually _enjoyed _being on the ship. The comradery, the struggle… it reminded him of the time he had spent aboard the carrier _Peacemillion _with the other Gundam pilots and their friends during White Fang's Artemis Revolution and the Eve Wars. The fighting fit in with that, and had even begun to evoke a sense of nostalgia, something he had been relatively unfamiliar with until now.

"Once we're ready," Murrue said, "we can start scouting for a suitable supply depot to raid. Hopefully we can find one before the Valkyrie scrambles from Tobruk."

Heero nodded. "You should send Lieutenant Commander La Flaga out in one of the new Skygraspers once the techs finish making sure they're combat ready. I can stay here and protect the ship with Wing Zero in case the enemy decides to engage us."

"That's a good plan," said Murrue, "Hopefully Kira will wake up soon; I'd hate to have you defending us solo."

Heero gave a small laugh. "Yes, the help would be appreciated." Becoming more serious, he added, "He should be fine. From what I've read, Coordinators are pretty durable. Him being out like this helps him shake off any ill effects from the partial reentry. He should be fresh and ready to go once he wakes up and gets something to eat and drink."

She nodded, and then looked at the screen on her chair. "Speaking of which, my watch has just about ended." She turned to Heero. "Do you want to grab something to eat with me?"

"Sure, I could use a bite."

The bridge doors opened, and Natarle walked in. "I'm here to relieve you, Captain Ramius."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Badgiruel. The bridge is yours." With that she stood up and made her way towards the exit, Heero in her wake.

….

When they arrived in the cafeteria, they found that the only other people there were Tolle and Miriallia. They both stood up to salute when Murrue entered.

She shook her head. "Relax you two, I'm just here to get some food. No need to stand on ceremony."

"Sorry ma'am," said Miriallia. She looked behind her and saw Heero enter as well. "Hello Heero. How are you?"

"Fine," he said as he dished up alongside Murrue, "how about you two?"

"We're doing alright," said Tolle, "though we are kinda worried about Kira."

"Well I can hardly blame you," said Murrue as she and Heero sat down across from them. "He is your friend, and he has been unconscious for nearly three days now."

The two of them nodded. "At least he's not alone," said Miriallia. "Flay's been keeping him company. She's hardly left his side, in fact."

_Is that so?_, thought Murrue. _I was under the impression that Kira was one of the people she blamed for the death of her father, along with Heero. _She'd heard from Lieutenant Commander La Flaga about the incident in the cafeteria shortly after Heero had come aboard. However, when she'd asked Heero about it, he'd simply shrugged and told her he wasn't worried about it. She looked over at the young man, and noted that his eyes had narrowed slightly. _So I'm not the only one who thinks that something is off about this. I'll have to ask for his opinion later, once Tolle and Miriallia have left. _She didn't want to worry the two students, especially after they had volunteered to stay aboard the ship rather than return to Orb.

"Why would she do that?" asked Heero.

"Well," Miriallia replied, "she said something about wanting to make up for the way she had yelled at him after her father died. So she's keeping an eye on him." The girl smiled. "I'm glad, I was afraid she really hated him, and Kira doesn't deserve that."

"Although I think Sai is getting a little edgy about it," said Tolle.

"Oh, he can deal with her not being on his arm for a little while," said Miriallia.

_That's right, the Argyle family had engaged their son, Sai, to marry the Allster girl_, recalled Murrue, having overheard that bit of gossip while both Tolle and Miriallia had been on the bridge a few days ago. Since it was an arranged marriage, Murrue couldn't be entirely sure as to the feelings of the two teenagers involved. _And now that Vice Foreign Minister Allster is dead, I can't say with certainty whether or not the engagement is still on._

Before she could inquire further, Miriallia stood up, along with Tolle. "Well, we have to get going, our shift starts soon."

Alright, take care you two," said Murrue.

Once she was sure they were out of earshot, she turned to Heero. "Well, your thoughts?"

"Hard to say," he said after a moment, "I don't know enough about the girl or her prior relationships to either Sai or Kira. She could be feeling genuine guilt, but there could be more to it."

He turned to her. "Sorry, but I don't have anything solid to offer you right now."

She shook her head. "It's alright, don't worry about it. Still, what are your instincts telling you?"

"That something's up. What it is I can't put my finger on, but something does not feel right about her actions. Want me to keep an eye on them?"

"No," said Murrue, "you do enough for me as is, I don't want to add to it. Besides," she smiled, "if I have you watching them, you won't be able to visit the bridge, and I greatly appreciate the advice you give while there."

"I think you've done a good job thus far," said Heero, "you don't really need my input."

Murrue shook her head. "You're wrong, Heero. The fact that you're from another world gives you a unique perspective, one that I value. Your judgment isn't clouded by prejudices that the rest of us may have developed as a result of growing up in this world. Also, you have a whole separate war's worth of experience behind you; the insights and wisdom you've gained from that are incalculable."

She met his gaze. "I'd greatly appreciate it if you would continue to be on the bridge while you're not in combat or resting. Though you've only been here a few days, you've already proven to be an invaluable member of this crew, both on and off the battlefield. The insights you can give to our planning may prove to be the difference between life and death."

He nodded. "Alright, but what do you want to do about Kira and Flay?"

She sighed. "Not much we really can do for now. He's still unconscious, so what happens next depends entirely on his reactions when he wakes up. The ball's in his court now. Unless either of them breaks Alliance regulations in one way or another, there's little I can do. On the bright side, Tolle and Miriallia seem to chat freely about developments among the volunteers, so I think we can count on them as an intelligence source of sorts. If anything happens, they'll know before we do, and eventually they'll talk about it within earshot. Who knows, they might end up coming to us for help. Once that happens, it will make it easier for us to investigate without creating any unnecessary tension on the ship."

"Sounds good to me," said Heero.

….

Slowly but surely, Kira Yamato began to regain consciousness. He couldn't see much at first, just a lot of light and a blurry figure. "Who…who's there?"

He heard a gasp. "Kira!" Raising his hands to rub his eyes, he could now see Flay Allster sitting next to his bed.

"Flay? What's going on?" he said as he sat up, seeing that he was in his quarters.

"You were unconscious for almost three days. We were all so worried…" she looked down at the floor.

"Have you been here this whole time?"

"Well…" she said, "most of it. I mean, I went to get some sleep a few times, but that was it."

Kira couldn't help but blush at that. "Flay…"

Then she held out something. "One of the mechanics gave this to me. He said it must be yours, since they found it in the Strike's cockpit." It was the yellow paper flower from the young girl.

Then he remembered what had happened to her… along with the other refugees on the shuttle.

"That little girl…" he said, his eyes welling up with tears, "I… couldn't save her…"

Suddenly Flay was right in front of him. Pressing herself against him, he found himself being pushed back onto the mattress. "It's alright," she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him. "Everything will be alright…"

And in the heat and passion that followed, Kira was, for a little while, able to believe it…

…as he made love to the girl of his dreams.

….

It was past midnight in the desert, and the moon shone down upon the dunes. Sitting in a jeep atop one of them, Andrew Waltfeld looked through his binoculars and smiled. The weather had finally cleared, and he could see the white Earth Alliance warship parked several kilometers away.

He turned to his adjutant in the driver's seat, Martin DaCosta, a young man with red hair and tan skin. "Looks like the scouts' report was right on the money."

DaCosta nodded. "I've signaled Commander Rehema as you've instructed. She should be in position in about an hour and a half."

"Then we'll be starting soon," said Aisha from one of the rear passenger seats. She looked at Waltfeld. "Will we be taking the field this time, Andy?"

The Field Marshall shook his head. "No, we'll observe for right now. I want to gather as much data as possible on this new enemy."

He looked behind the dune, where several of ZAFT's ground attack mobile suits, the four-legged, almost wolf-like BuCues. There were also several attack helicopters, and Waltfeld new that the _Lesseps _would be moving into position with more choppers shortly.

Turning to his adjutant he said, "DaCosta, take us in about a kilometer closer. We shouldn't draw too much attention, what with the strong N-jammer interference in the area. Signal our group to follow, except for the helicopters; they'll stay put until I signal for the attack."

As the man grabbed the jeep's radio and carried out his orders, Waltfeld turned to his lover and smiled. "We should be in for quite a show. I can't wait to get started."

….

Meanwhile, on a different dune, stood three figures. Two were men, one tall and muscular, with long black hair and a bow and quiver on his back, the other shorter, with a large beard. Both wore combat fatigues, vests, and cloaks. The girl had blond hair that fell about to her shoulders, brown eyes, and light skin, clearly a foreigner. She had tan pants, a red shirt with a vest over it, and a rifle slung over her shoulder. She appeared to be in her mid-teens.

She lowered the binoculars she had been looking through. "That's it," she said, "the Earth Alliance's new battleship. I saw a blueprint of it in Heliopolis. The last of their mobile suits should be aboard it as well."

"What about the rumors that have been going around?" said the bearded man, "The ones about another, more powerful machine?"

"They can't be accurate," said the girl, "the Alliance only had five machines built, I saw them myself."

"In that case, we should get ready," said the other man. "The Tiger will probably attack them soon now that the storm has cleared."

She nodded. "Right, let's go rendezvous with the others."

….

"Heat signatures detected!" yelled the radar operator, "They're missiles!"

"Cold start the engines," yelled Natarle, "Raise the ship immediately!"

It would take precious seconds to activate the engines, and Natarle knew that they wouldn't be able to evade the incoming warheads. "As soon as they come in range, open up with the CIWs." Then she activated the intercom. "All hands to battle stations!"

….

Murrue flew out of bed as soon as she heard the lieutenant's voice. Moving faster than she had previously thought possible, she had her uniform on in mere seconds, although it looked fairly disheveled, much like her hair. She ran her hands through it once as she moved towards her cabin doors, managing to straighten it out a little.

As she exited her quarters she saw Heero already moving down the corridor towards the hangar, dressed in his civilian clothes. He looked over his shoulder and yelled.

"I'll launch Wing Zero right away and find out what we're up against!"

All she could do was nod her head before he rounded the corner and was out of sight. _Please be careful, Heero_, she thought.

….

Kira quickly put on his uniform, still struggling with his shirt as he ran out the door. As he did so, a certain red-headed girl looked up from where she lay scantily clad in his bed.

She smiled as the door closed. "That's right, Kira. You have to fight to protect us… to protect _me_." She started laughing, thrilled with the ease at which her revenge plot was unfolding…

…all the while unaware of the tears that were falling down her face as she did so.

….

Murrue braced herself against a wall as the ship shuddered. _A hit?_, she thought, _I hope it wasn't too bad_. Regaining her footing, she entered the bridge.

"What's the situation?" she asked Natarle as she took her seat.

"The enemy launched a missile attack from somewhere to the south west of us. We were able to shoot down most of them, but the hull took a few hits. Nothing was breached though."

"What's the status of the Skygrapsers? Are any of them battle ready?" said Murrue.

"Not yet," said Natarle, "The techs are still making adjustments to them. They need a few more minutes."

_That's time we might not have. _"Get me Wing Zero!" she ordered.

Heero's face appeared on her monitor. "Does Wing Zero have atmospheric flight capability?" asked Murrue.

Heero nodded. "It performs as well on Earth as it does in space."

_That's good to know_, she thought. "Heero, as soon as you launch I want you to gain some altitude. See if you can spot where the attack came from; the N-jammer interference is playing hell with our radar."

"What about the ship? The missiles could have been a diversion for an approaching ground force," he said.

"We'll give the Strike the Launcher pack and have it act as our defense. The techs are making final adjustments to the Skygraspers, so La Flaga will eventually be able to join you for aerial recon, but it will take time. I need you to be my eyes in the sky until a fighter can launch," said Murrue.

Heero nodded. "Mission accepted." He signed off.

"Doors open, Wing Zero is launching!" said Miriallia.

"Get the Strike to the catapult, Launcher load out!" ordered Murrue.

As the second mobile suit was being prepped for launch, Murrue looked at her chair monitor, where Wing Zero was rocketing skyward. _I'm counting on you, Heero…_

….

"Let me launch already, damn it!" said Kira. "The enemy could be upon us at any moment."

"Kira, we need Wing Zero to get into position and find the enemy first," said Miriallia. "We can't just…"

"There's no time for that! Let me go now!"

Captain Ramius appeared on the screen, her face stern and reproachful. "I don't appreciate your attitude, Ensign Yamato. However, under the circumstances, I will overlook your brashness. I'll let you launch, but stay close to the ship. You're our point defense, so don't move too far away."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am." He checked his monitors, where he saw that the Launcher equipment had been mounted on the Strike. On its right shoulder was mounted a stabilizer wing, along with a 120mm anti-ship Vulcan Gun and two 350 mm Gun Launchers, while the left arm had the massive Agni Hyper Impulse Beam Cannon.

_With this_, he thought, _I'll waste anyone who comes near us_.

Miriallia appeared on his screen again. "Okay Kira, you're all set."

He nodded. "Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!"

….

At four thousand feet, Heero halted his climb and put his machine into a stationary hover. Pushing all of his sensors to the limits of their capabilities, he was able to instantly comprehend the situation they were in.

He quickly got on the line with the _Archangel_. "What do you have, Heero?" said Murrue as her face came on screen.

"One large heat source roughly thirteen kilometers to the southwest, most likely a land battleship. That's the source of the missiles," he began, "I also have a group of contacts moving in from the southeast. I count four mobile suits, BuCues from the looks of it, along with twenty aerial contacts, profile suggests attack helicopters."

As he spoke he saw the Strike launch from the ship. When it hit the sand, though, it began to stumble and quickly lost its balance, dropping to one knee. _Idiot_, he thought, _you should have adjusted your O.S. for desert conditions before launching_.

Suddenly he saw a new image on one of his monitors. Enlarging it, his eyes narrowed as he saw what was approaching. _Not good._

"Sorry Murrue, but I'm afraid I'm going to be occupied for a little while," he said as he gunned his engines and headed north, where the new threat was coming from.

"What do you mean?" she said.

Heero sent her the image, and he saw her eyes widen on his screen. "Those are…"

He nodded, and turned towards the four DINNs that were approaching.

_Black _DINNs, with red stripes on the shoulders, arms, and legs.

"I'm engaging the Valkyrie and her subordinates."

She nodded. "Understood… be careful, Heero."

"Roger that," he said.

….

Checking her monitor, Shemei saw Omega One moving directly towards her team. She smiled. _You don't waste any time, do you? I like you already._

"Lan, Priscilla, go in low along the dunes. Try to flank him and use your rifles and missiles. Adaline and I will engage at close quarters."

"Yes ma'am," the two girls said, and they broke off from the formation and dropped altitude. Meanwhile, Shemei and Adaline continued to move in for a head-to-head confrontation with Omega One.

She saw the machine raise its rifle. "Scatter!" she yelled. As she and Adaline made evasive maneuvers, a large yellow blast flew between them, narrowly missing them.

"Adaline, you okay?"

The red-head responded. "Wings are a little singed, but I'm good. That thing packs a wallop."

Shemei nodded. "Let's get him!"

She and Adaline drew their violet beam sabers, saw Omega One activate its green blade, and they went at it.

….

For a pilot of Heero Yuy's caliber, a four on one mobile suit battle wasn't a daunting proposition. However, against four highly skilled pilots, even he knew that he would have a rough time of it.

At least, were he in a normal mobile suit… but Wing Zero was as far from a normal mobile suit as one could get. He closed his eyes as his foes approached, immersing himself in the Zero System.

The Zero System worked by expanding the consciousness of the pilot. It fed the operator enormous amounts of data, encompassing all tactical and strategic possibilities for any given situation. Under the system, anything could be considered a target, which was why it was such a double-edged sword. It was up to the pilot to give the system guidance, to nudge it towards a desired course of action in order to achieve his goals. It was essentially a balancing act between logic and emotion, with the pilot imposing a conscience on the ruthlessly efficient program. However, this required a degree of mental discipline that was practically inhuman, and anyone without it who tried to use the system could become a mass-murdering psychopath, a victim of sheer sensory overload. Only a _very _few people had achieved that degree of mastery over the system, to the point that they were granted a kind of short-term precognition, an ability to read an enemy's moves before they made them; future sight.

And Heero was the very best of that elite group; he'd reached the zenith of battlefield awareness.

Opening his eyes, he swiftly moved to block a strike from the leading DINN. At the same time, he used Wing Zero's sheer power to push it back, and then parried an attack from another black and red machine that had tried to move in on the left. Then he hit his thrusters, gaining altitude and at the same time dodging a flurry of cannon fire that had erupted from below as the other two DINNs came up from the dunes. A volley of missiles fired from the two units' chest launchers, but they were shot down by Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings.

Whirling around, he parried another strike from the first DINN, and then blocked another from the second with his arm shield, shoving it aside. The other two machines circled around them, firing bursts from their rifles, but Heero managed to side slip the incoming rounds. Gaining a bit of distance, he fired several low powered shots with the Twin Buster Rifle. He didn't score any hits, but he did force his foes to go evasive, giving himself a bit of breathing room.

He then charged the first DINN that had attacked him, confident that it was piloted by the commander herself. The machine parried skillfully, and Heero had to quickly break off in order to block an attack from the other DINN that had dedicated itself to close quarters combat in this fight. Diving towards the dunes to evade another cannon and missile barrage from the other two units, he raised his rifle and fired another burst, then gained altitude and moved in with his saber once again.

….

Kira was having a much rougher time than Heero, still stumbling around in the sand. As the first group of helicopters approached, they fired a volley of missiles at the mobile suit. Kira barely managed to evade them, and his return fire with the shoulder guns was way off the mark. The _Archangel _threw up a barrage of covering fire, but the enemy pilots were quite skilled, and managed to dodge the counter attack.

_Damn_, though Kira, _I can't keep my balance! _Every time he tried to stand and fire his main cannon the Strike kept slipping in the sand.

His radar suddenly showed four larger contacts, and a group of wolf-like BuCues, armed with twin rail guns on their backs, emerged from behind a dune. Kira hastily fired a blast with the Agni, but the enemy machines easily dodged the crimson beam.

Thinking quickly, he used the Strike's thrusters to leap into the air. Though the machine did not have flight capability in the atmosphere, it could use its engines to jump and temporarily hover. He used this breathing room to begin adjusting his Operating System, fingers flying across the keyboard.

Unfortunately, the Strike began descending before he was even halfway done, and he once again lost his footing as he landed. The machine moved slightly better than before though, and he was able to take down a helicopter with a burst from the shoulder Vulcan.

The four BuCues circled him, firing as they did. Several shots hit the Strike, and Kira stumbled under the blows. He quickly hit his thrusters again, and rushed to complete his adjustments to the O.S. as the machine went skyward.

At the same time, he aimed the Agni towards the BuCues below and let lose another crimson blast. He missed again, but the shot threw a large amount of sand up, temporarily blinding his foes.

As the Strike began to fall again, he rapidly typed in new parameters for the machine. _Adjust for contact pressure… recalibrate the aiming software… increase shock dispenser strength to ease the landing… _all these thoughts flew through his head at lightning speed, and his hands seemed to be like a blur as they input the new commands into the O.S.

When he hit the ground again, his machine held its footing. Feeling a renewed sense of confidence, he cut loose with the massive cannon. The enemy formation scattered again, and Kira closed in on one of the machines, kneeing it in the side. The enemy was nearly knocked on its side, but before Kira could finish it off several missiles impacted the Strike from behind.

As he turned around, Kira fired the Agni, and three choppers became fireballs. Whirling around, he fired again, this time at an approaching BuCue, and managed to take out its rail guns. The machine withdrew, and Kira didn't bother trying to finish it, for another group of helicopters was moving in on him, along with the other three BuCues.

Suddenly two more large blips appeared on his radar. "What?" he cried, "More of them?" Indeed, two more BuCues appeared from behind a dune, this time carrying racks of missile launchers on their backs.

At the same time, five helicopters let fly with a volley of missiles. Kira managed to dodged most of them, but two hit him in the back and he was forced to drop to his machine's knee to avoid falling face-first in the sand.

The attack choppers prepared to fire another salvo, but two of them suddenly exploded as green energy beams pierced them. Kira saw a blue and white fighter jet soar by, coming around for another pass against the helicopters.

"Sorry I'm late kid!" said Mu La Flaga.

"Better late than never," said Kira, and he couldn't help but grin while doing so.

"I'll take care of things up here," said the Lieutenant Commander, "you focus on the ground units."

He nodded, and fired another volley from the Agni at the BuCues swirling around him.

….

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief as the Skygrasper made another run on the swarm of choppers, taking out two more of them. _Nice to have some air cover_, she thought.

Meanwhile, the _Archangel _was throwing out streams of fire from is CIWs. Three helicopters were hit, but the rest managed to evade the shots, too agile for the guns to track.

Down to thirteen machines, the remaining choppers began to back off, peppering the ship with missiles, most of which were intercepted by the CIWs, but otherwise spending their time trying to counter the new fighter jet that was attacking them.

Glad to have some breathing room, Murrue turned to the other matter that was concerning her; Heero's fight with the Valkyrie's team. The five machines were slugging it out in a fantastic display of aerial combat, the likes of which Murrue had never seen before. The four DINNs moved with incredible agility, and she could see that their teamwork was top notch. However, what impressed her more was how Wing Zero seemed to always be one step ahead of them, maneuvering to dodge rifle rounds and missile volleys while at the same time blocking the sword strikes of the machines attacking at close range, and then swiftly moving to counter attack.

_And I thought his duel with Creuset was impressive_, she thought, _but this…_

_This is unbelievable!_

….

Commander Rehema's thought's mirrored Murrue's. Never had she seen someone move so quickly, with such grace and precision. Omega One's attacks, dodges, and blocks all seemed to flow together so smoothly, and the enemy never once showed a hint of hesitation, not an instant of second-guessing themselves.

She saw the machine whirl around, and a volley of gatling fire hit Priscilla's machine in its right side. Adaline quickly moved in with her beam saber to take the heat off her comrade, and Shemei went to support her as Omega One once again countered her blow and pushed her back.

"Priscilla, status!" yelled the commander as the traded blows with the enemy.

"Starboard missile launchers damaged; no biggie since they're empty anyway. I've lost half of my right wing though, and my thrusters are damaged. Maneuverability is down by forty-one percent," the blond girl said.

"Withdraw then," Shemei ordered as she dodged a volley of gatling fire herself, "if you keep fighting this guy in that shape, you'll die."

"Yes ma'am," said Priscilla, clearly upset to have to leave her friends. "I'm falling back to Tobruk. I should be able to make it solo, though the landing might be a bit rough."

Satisfied that Priscilla would be alright, Shemei quickly moved in to launch another attack on the enemy. As their blades met, Shemei couldn't help but smile.

_I can't recall the last time someone forced one of my teammates to withdraw, let alone fight us four-on-one on an even footing!_

"Finally," she said as Omega One once again shoved her back before blocking a strike from Adaline, "someone who can push me to my limit!"

….

Another crimson beam ripped forth from the Agni, the Strike's shot vaporizing the rail guns of another BuCue. That unit began to retreat, leaving four machines circling Kira; two with cannons, and the two newcomers with missile launchers.

Charging the nearest one, Kira quickly closed in. Moving too fast for the enemy to dodge, he kicked the machine's head off, sending it on its back. He finished the BuCue off with a blast from the Agni at point blank range.

Suddenly a new host of contacts appeared from the southwest, moving fast. Checking their heat signatures, Kira saw that they were missiles.

_They're too large to be from the helicopters_, he thought, _is there a heavier machine nearby?_ He didn't have time to wonder though. Moving quickly, he hit his thrusters and leapt clear of the BuCue's, then fired the Agni at the peak of his jump.

….

Murrue watched as a red beam from the Strike lanced through the incoming swarm of missiles, igniting all of them like firecrackers. _Good shooting, Kira_, she thought.

She turned to Miriallia. "Tell Lieutenant Commander La Flaga to track down the source of those missiles." The girl nodded and relayed her instructions.

_We'll be without air support again_, she thought, _but those were heavier missiles than the choppers carry. We need to find the source quickly before it launches another salvo._

Emboldened by the sudden absence of the Skygrasper, the remaining helicopters renewed their attack on the _Archangel_. Flitting around like flies, they fired missiles and machine guns. The warship returned fire, but only one chopper went down, leaving a dozen to go.

Suddenly one of the helicopters exploded. A flurry of rockets flew through their formation, and two more fliers went down in flames.

"New contacts!" said the radar operator. "Putting them onscreen."

A group of jeeps and half-tracks appeared on the monitor. They were approaching from the northeast, a dozen of them. As the ship's cameras zoomed in on them, Murrue could see a rather rag tag group of individuals in the vehicles. "They're resistance fighters," she said.

A voice came over the radio, male and gruff. "Please don't fire on us. We're here to help, though we'll want something in return of course."

"I understand," said Murrue, "we'll discuss it when the battle is over."

Satisfied that they were no immediate threat, Murrue turned her attention back towards the main battle. Kira was still fighting three BuCues, and could not seem to land any hits on them, although he was keeping them at bay. Meanwhile, Mu La Flaga was racing towards the southwest in an attempt to take out the source of the heavy missile barrage from earlier. She remembered Heero saying earlier that a large contact was in that direction, most likely a land-battleship. _Could it be the Lesseps? If it is, then La Flaga won't be able to take it down. _Actually, a single Skygrasper without an augmentation pack from the Strike, which it could equip since it was designed to support that mobile suit, would pose no major threat to any ZAFT land-battleship or the smaller land-cruisers, though it could harass one for awhile. _That'll have to be enough for now_, she thought.

She brought up once again on her small monitor the image of Heero's fierce engagement with the DINNs. She saw him fire a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle, which completely disintegrated the right arm of one of the machines, rifle and all. The damaged mobile suit withdrew to the north, leaving just the two with the beam sabers left to fight Heero. The fact that he hadn't actually been able to kill any of them was testament to the skill of both Shemei Rehema and her subordinates.

_They aren't exaggerating when they call her the best pilot in the Earth Sphere_, thought Murrue.

_Although_, she mused, a slight smile appearing on her face, _it seems that someone may finally be able to contest that title._

_Heero Yuy._

….

"Damn it," said Adaline over Shemei's radio as Omega One managed to cut her unit's left leg off. Things would have been worse had the commander not moved in to take the heat off the Australian girl.

"How much has your mobility been cut?" said Shemei as she traded blows with the enemy.

"Thirteen percent," said Adaline, "It's not too bad, but the uneven weight distribution and unequal thruster output on both sides is throwing my balance off."

"Get out of here then," Shemei ordered, "that small difference will mean your death in a fight like this!"

"Understood commander," Adaline replied, clearly clenching her teeth at the thought of leaving her superior to fight alone. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, just get back to Tobruk."

As her comrade made her retreat, Shemei turned to Omega One and once again smiled as their blades met yet again.

_To be honest, as long as they're not dead I'm perfectly fine with them leaving the field._

"Now I can fight you one-on-one!" she said, adrenaline surging through her.

The first rays of sunlight began peaking over the dunes as the two aces continued their spectacular clash.

….

A swarm of rockets rained down on the group of BuCue's that were fighting Kira. None of them were destroyed, but they were forced to back off momentarily. In that instance a jeep moved in next to the Strike, and one of the occupants fired a cable at the machine.

When it impacted, Kira could hear a voice coming over his radio. _Must be a direct communications cable_, he thought, _no risk of eavesdroppers that way_.

The voice was female, and Kira thought it sounded familiar, though he couldn't quite place where he had heard it before. "Attention," the speaker said, "pilot of the Strike. If you want to live, you'll do exactly as I say."

….

Soaring above the battlefield in his new blue and white Skygrasper, Mu La Flaga soon found himself nearly right on top of his target. Nestled in the dunes below was a ZAFT land-battleship, and it opened up on him the instant he dived to commence his attack run.

Dodging missiles, flak bursts, and machine gun fire, the ace pilot fired off several shots with his beam cannon, sending up smoke from some parts of the ship but otherwise doing little damage. As he pulled away from his target, his scanners finally came up with an IFF beacon for the enemy. As he read it he swore.

_So he came out himself_, thought La Flaga.

He radioed the _Archangel_. "Captain, I've confirmed the identity of the land battleship. It's the _Lesseps_. Waltfeld himself is out here."

"Understood," said Murrue. "In that case, return to the _Archangel_. I want you to fly over us and help with missile interception if the _Lesseps _launches another salvo."

"Got it," he said. As he made his way back towards the ship, he saw the Strike heading away from it, three BuCues in pursuit. _What is that kid up to?_

He got his answer when, as the three machines ran over a particular spot the Strike had just passed, the whole group was engulfed in a massive explosion.

_I see, the local resistance must have set explosives here and coordinated with the kid to get the BuCues to this spot. Not bad…_

Satisfied that the ground threat had been neutralized, he also saw that the remaining helicopters were withdrawing. Captain Ramius signaled him on the radio.

"Looks like the Tiger has ordered a retreat. Good timing too; the Strike just lost its Phase Shift Armor."

"The _Lesseps _is withdrawing too. Where do you want me?" he said.

"Return to the ship," she ordered, though he could hear a bit of hesitancy in her voice, and he had a feeling he knew why.

Turning his attention northwards, he saw the duel taking place between Heero and the Valkyrie. Commander Rehema still had her beam saber in her right hand, but had now also drawn a rifle from her suit's hip, and both she and Wing Zero were alternating between trading long and close-range attacks.

_Much as I want to help_, he though, _I'd be outclassed if I went into that fight. The Captain probably realizes that as well._

He gave Heero a two-fingered salute. "Show her what you got, kid!"

….

"Looks like Shemei is still going at it," said Aisha, a hand on Waltfeld's shoulder.

He nodded. "I ordered our forces to withdraw, but I specifically left her out of it." He turned to Aisha and smiled. "She's having too much of a good time to listen right now anyway. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I interrupted the best fight she's ever had?"

"I'm glad you didn't," she said as she looked past her lover's shoulders towards the two machines as they rampaged across the sky. "I've never seen anything like this."

Waltfeld nodded and grinned. "Neither have I," he said as he too turned his gaze towards the duel. He looked at Omega One, wondering…

_Just who in the world is that pilot? I mean sure, the one in the Strike was pretty good too, especially that little bit in how he reconfigured his O.S. and adapted to the desert so quickly…_

_But this guy's in a league with only one other occupant, and that's Shemei._

….

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga has just landed in the hangar," said Miriallia, "The Strike is currently standing outside the ship, main batteries are down."

"What about the resistance fighters?" asked Murrue.

"They're gathering near the Strike, according to Kira," reported Miriallia. She looked up from her post, a bit of worry on her face. "What about Heero, ma'am?"

Miriallia's friendly concern was a shallow version of Murrue's, who was much more worried. She knew that Heero could handle himself, and quite well at that, but still…

_I want to do something! I told him I wanted to be his friend, but I can't think of anything to do to help him. _Rationally, she knew that there was little she could do in this situation. The Strike had run out of power, and she knew that Kira was probably quite tired. At the same time, she understood that while Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was probably one of the best pilots in the Earth Alliance forces, even his skill paled in comparison to the two combatants overhead. If Murrue tried to use the _Archangel _itself to aid Heero, she knew that there was the chance that the ship's weapons could hit him. More importantly, she had a feeling that if she were to move in towards the Valkyrie, Heero would become distracted, and wouldn't be able to fight at full strength out of concern for the ship… and for her.

She clenched her teeth, frustrated at being so helpless, so useless to the young man who had, in the course of just a few days, had become a valued comrade, a _friend_.

All she could do was watch on the monitor, and pray for his success. "Heero," she whispered, "You can win… you _have _to win."

….

Losing was never once an option for Heero Yuy. Even as the duel intensified, with bursts of rifle fire added to the mix, he never once worried, his confidence in his own abilities never wavering.

He smiled as he fired a blast from his rifle, then closed in with his saber after his foe dodged the shot. He turned on his radio, broadcasting on an open channel so she could hear him. "Don't get me wrong," he said as he struck at the machine's head, a machine he _knew _belonged to Commander Rehema, "you're good." As she blocked, he swiftly kneed her DINN in the lower abdomen, then made a thrust at her upper chest, which she barely managed to block. "You're _very _good; second best I've ever fought…"

"But," he said, parrying her counter attack, then swinging at her unit's right shoulder, "you're no Zechs Merquise!"

The blow severed the DINN's arm at the shoulder, and also cut into one of her thrusters. Shemei fired a burst from her rifle, which Heero blocked with his shield, but the move bought her a little time to back off.

A reply came over the radio, and the voice Heero heard held an interesting mix of emotions. The woman seemed both playful and respectful at the same time.

"Is that so? We'll I'd certainly like to meet this 'Zechs' you speak of sometime. He must be quite the pilot if he's the best you've ever fought."

The commander's mobile suit had lowered it rifle, and Heero followed suit, putting away his beam saber as well. She spoke again. "You sound younger than I expected. I don't suppose you mind giving me your real name, Omega One?"

Heero laughed. "Is that what ZAFT is calling me now? It's Heero Yuy, and this machine is the Gundam Wing Zero. I'd appreciate it if ZAFT could at least get that bit right; I'm not a fan of Omega One."

Shemei laughed too. "Hey, don't look at me; the guys at Intelligence are pretty lacking in creativity."

The black and red DINN turned to go, but before it did, it raised its rifle and fired a burst skywards. "Until next time, Heero Yuy!"

Heero nodded, and reignited his beam saber and raised it in salute. "I'll meet you on the field, Shemei Rehema."

"So, you already know my name, eh? Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Later!" With that she switched off her radio, and Heero saw the DINN make haste northward.

….

As she watched the last DINN withdraw, Murrue breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't bother to suppress the smile on her face. "You did it, Heero… you beat the Valkyrie."

_You're really something else_, she thought.

"Wing Zero is hailing us," said the communications officer.

"Put him on the main monitor!" Murrue ordered.

She was relieved to see that he looked no worse for the wear, his blue eyes as deep and piercing as ever, though his brown hair and his brow were a bit matted with sweat.

He looked at her. "You alright over there?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes. Heero… that was _incredible_. Thank you for keeping Commander Rehema and her subordinates away from us. Things… would have been much worse without you."

He gave her another one of those small smiles. "You're welcome, Murrue." His face became more serious. "Where do you want me?"

"Land by the Strike," she said, "With its batteries depleted and La Flaga having already docked, you're our best defense if these guerilla fighters try something."

"Roger that. You're coming out to meet them?"

She nodded. "Yes. They mentioned wanting something in return for helping us. Might as well hear them out, at least."

"Alright," he said, "I'll cover you the best I can. If you need me on foot instead, let me know; I'm pretty handy in a fist or gunfight."

She smiled. "I'm sure you are, Heero."

As he signed off, Murrue stood up. "Ensign Neumann, you have the bridge. Lieutenant Badgiruel, I want you to come with me to the hangar. We'll head out with La Flaga and some security personnel. Let's see what these fighters want."

Natarle nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

As they left the bridge, Murrue was a bit apprehensive. _I hope these rebels are trustworthy. If not…_

_Then Heero will have to demonstrate his abilities to them as well._

….

Heero watched on his monitors as Murrue, Natarle, and Mu La Flaga exited the _Archangel _through the forward loading bay. He turned his audio pickup sensors to maximum, wanting to catch every bit of detail from their conversation with the rebels, in the event that he might have to intervene.

Three people walked up to meet them, two men and a girl who appeared to be around sixteen. One of the men was tall and had long black hair, while the other was a bit shorter, and had a thick beard and wore a bandanna on top of his head. The girl was blond, and wore a red t-shirt under her combat vest. The rest of the people behind them were dressed in a motley assortment of civilian and paramilitary clothing.

He watched as Murrue held out her had, which the bearded man shook. "My name is Murrue Ramius. I'm the captain of the warship _Archangel _of the Earth Alliance's 8th fleet."

"My name is Sahib," said the man, "I'm the head of the Desert Dawn resistance movement. The man on my left is Kisaka, and the girl is Cagalli. We'd heard that the 8th fleet was destroyed in orbit."

Murrue looked down. "Yes… they gave their lives so that we could make it to Earth."

"But it would seem you've hit a snag. Since you're here and not Alliance territory, I imagine that you were forced to change course during the battle, correct?"

She nodded. "Yes, you're correct. I want to thank you for the help you gave us earlier. You've made our situation a little more bearable."

"Before you thank us, you should hear what we have to say," said Sahib. "We are enemies of both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. The way we see it, both are just out to control us and to take what is ours. We're fighting for independence from _both _groups. However, we are willing to temporarily join forces with you and help you get out of North Africa, if you will in turn help us defeat the Desert Tiger."

La Flaga laughed. "You don't ask for much, do you?"

The man named Kisaka spoke up. "It is true that we are asking you to take on a tremendous task, and you will probably end up bearing the brunt of the fighting. However, we will give you a place to rest, and help you get the supplies you need to make your journey to the Alliance's Alaska headquarters."

"However," said Sahib, "before we go any further, perhaps you could have your pilots exit their machines. I'm not too keen on negotiating when there are very large guns potentially aimed at my head." The man had a wry smile on his face.

Heero saw Murrue stiffen slightly, clearly hesitant. _Your call, Murrue_, he thought.

She turned towards the Strike. "Come on out, Ensign Yamato."

As the Strike's hatch opened, Murrue looked at Wing Zero. "Heero… you as well."

"Understood," he said over his machine's speakers.

Both Kira and Heero lowered themselves to the ground on cables, Heero pausing to make sure that his mobile suit was secure before doing so. He noted that Kira was not taking such precautions. _He's still acting like a rookie. I'll have to talk to him about that later._

The moment Heero hit the ground, he swiftly walked over towards Murrue, and placed himself slightly to the right and in front of her. Kira was taking a little longer to get over to them, and had yet to remove his helmet.

Heero looked back at Murrue and nodded. She smiled and leaned forward. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. Heero turned his attention back towards the people in front of him, and noticed that the three resistance leaders were intimidated by his gaze. _Strange, I never really have to work at a 'death glare'_, he thought, _it's just like another combat reflex to me. _

Turning towards Kira, he saw his fellow pilot finally remove his helmet. He heard a gasp, and saw the blond girl run towards the Coordinator. _Could it be…_

She looked stunned. "What the… what the hell are you doing in that thing?"

Kira seemed surprised as well. "You're… the girl from Heliopolis!"

"I asked you a question! Answer me!" she yelled, and she took a swing at him.

Kira caught her fist with almost comical ease, and he seemed quite taken aback by how events were playing out. Heero could only give a small laugh.

_So they do know each other… interesting._

**Preview for next time!**

_The members of Desert Dawn guide the _Archangel _to their secret base. There they are able to rest and plan for the next move in their campaign. While the Alliance crew gets settled in, tensions flare between Kira and his friend Sai as his new relationship with Flay is revealed. Meanwhile, Murrue wishes to know more about Heero's past, a request he fulfills as a sign of his trust in her. What she learns proves to be more shocking than anything she has experienced thus far. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield," Episode Six: The North Africa Campaign, Part Two: Reminiscence._

**Author's note: **Priscilla Dalca, Lan Zhao, and Adaline Bellerose were the names provided by yoshinoyuy. Character design wise, they just kind of came to me, no real inspiration.

As for Shemei Rehema, her name is taken from old Egyptian, not Arabic, which I know is the main language in the country nowadays. Shemei means "desire", and hell, who wouldn't desire a woman like her, while Rehema means "compassionate", evidence of her soft side and the overall kindness she shows to her subordinates and the people around her. Character design wise, I'll admit that Yoruichi Shihoin of Bleach was a major influence. Couldn't help it, I've always liked her character, she needs more screen time damn it!

Anyway, the new characters will be playing an important role as the story moves along, and they will be around long past the north african campaign!

As noted in the actual chapter, the DINNs used by Shemei's team had the same basic modifications as the CGUE in episode four. Later on in the series I intend for Shemei to get a whole new, original mobile suit, and the other girls will upgrade as well. But that's _much _later on, so you're just left with that little teaser for now. Oh, I'm cruel, I know! Paint job wise, the red stripes are actually homage to those of the 181st, the most feared TIE wing in all of the Empire (yes, I'm a star wars fan as well as a Gundam one!). Long live Baron Fel!

Next chapter won't be very action heavy, though Waltfeld's raid on Tassil will be in the latter part of it. It will be more romantic than the previous ones actually, focus on Heero and Murrue, of course, though the Kira/Flay drama will play a part as well.

It will also be long. I'm sure you're starting to notice a pattern here...

As always, please review, feed back is always welcome (and i crave it!)!

Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **Holy shit, this one was long! I did a count on Word, and it took up 58 pages! 58! Whew, glad that's done.

On another note, something I need to adress. I was doing some reading up, and i made a mistake regarding Heero. Prior to operation meteor, in addition to his training, there was some surgery performed on him by Doctor J in order to enhance his abilities. It's not to the extent of the Coordinators, but the fact remains that Heero is not an entirely natural human. Sorry, I really should have caught that at the start, my bad. Heero talks about it with Murrue later on in the chapter, so consider that part me correcting my mistake.

Well, enjoy!

**Episode Six: The North Africa Campaign, Part Two: Reminiscence**

"Well," said Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel as she leaned against the wall, "didn't see that one coming."

She was in the officer's lounge with Lieutenant Commander Mu La Flaga. Both were currently off duty and taking a much needed coffee break. She looked over at the blond pilot, who was looking out the window at the passing sand dunes. The _Archangel _was moving southeast, following the Desert Dawn members as they led the ship to their hidden base.

Mu nodded. "Indeed, who would've thought that those two knew each other?"

"And to run into each other all the way out here," Natarle added, "Quite a trip from Heliopolis."

"Her pod must have been recovered by Orb rescue workers," said Mu. "Although, how she got all the way out here is beyond me."

"Do you think this will affect Ensign Yamato's performance?"

Mu shook his head. "I doubt it. Kira seemed to handle her alright, given the circumstances. She was probably just shocked to see him alive. Once that wears off, she'll probably be a bit more hospitable."

"You're probably right," said Natarle, "If she got onto a pod without knowing if Yamato had made it out alive that would probably eat at her for a while. I imagine this comes as a relief to her."

"Yeah," said Mu, "Although, I doubt either of them expected to run into each other in a place like this."

The two of them were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

Then La Flaga stood up. "Well, I'm off to the briefing room. I want to go over some of the combat footage."

He smiled at Natarle. "Care to join me? I wouldn't mind some help reviewing it."

She blushed slightly. _He wants my help? _"Sure… no problem."

As they made their way out of the officer's lounge, she shook her head slightly. _Get a hold of yourself_, she thought, _you're not some flighty school girl._

Still, it was nice to know that he thought highly enough of her to ask for her opinion on something like this.

….

Sitting in her chair on the bridge, Murrue looked up at Heero, who was standing to her right. "Well, we've thrown our dice now."

He nodded, and looked out the forward viewport at the group of rebel vehicles they were following. "Time to see where they land, and hope they don't come up snake eyes."

Murrue sighed. "Do you think I made a mistake? This could be a trap."

Heero shook his head. "I doubt it. If they wanted us dead, they could have just fired some rockets up the ship's engines, and then waited while Waltfeld brought in reinforcements to finish us off. And even if they wanted to capture the ship, it'd be a simple matter for you to lock it down, since you know all the command override codes."

She nodded. "You're right. Still, we should be careful."

"I agree," said Heero, "We should restrict the number of Desert Dawn members that can come aboard."

"Yes," replied Murrue, "if we limit them to just their leaders, that should help minimize any security risks."

She thought for a moment, and then turned to him again. "What do you think of them? The rebels, I mean."

"Not much to look at, really. It's true that we haven't seen all that they're capable of yet, nor have we seen all of their resources, but I'm not really impressed." He paused for a moment, looking out the window. "What I'm most worried about is the discipline of their forces. Some of them may be veteran fighters, but I'm willing to bet most of them are green."

"Are you sure about that?" said Murrue, "ZAFT's been here for almost a year, that's plenty of time to get combat experience."

"In a manner of speaking," replied Heero, "A small group like this fights primarily with ambushes and raids. Militarily speaking, those are quite simple, and even rookies can pull them off given only rudimentary training. The best way to sort the good fighters from the bad is with a prolonged engagement, and I have a feeling they haven't seen many, if any at all."

Murrue nodded. "You have a point there. It's one thing to fire a few rockets and then retreat. It's another to stick around on a battlefield where the enemy is actually able to fight back and isn't caught by surprise. I'm willing to bet that when we actually engage the Tiger again, it will indeed be a more conventional fight, and against far more forces than were brought to bear last time, or in any of the fights the rebels have experienced. They may prove to be more of a hindrance than a help in that situation."

"Still, they can be of some use to us," said Heero, "Since we'll be taking on the brunt of the actual fighting, that puts us in a position to negotiate supplies from them. A group like this has to have connections in the black market, otherwise they couldn't function for very long. If we can take advantage of that and get them to procure us the supplies we'll need for our trip to Alaska, then that would remove a big hurdle from our path."

"We'll have to discuss that with them once we arrive at their base," said Murrue, "Still, I think it will work. They themselves acknowledged that we would most likely end up doing the heavy lifting when it came time to actually fight. That gives us the leverage we need to make use of their supply sources."

She looked at Heero. "By the way, how's Wing Zero?"

"Fine," he said, "I just finished having the mechanics replenish the gatling ammo before coming up here. There was no actual damage to the machine."

"I see." She thought for a moment, and then continued. "During the battle… when I was able to observe you… you always seemed to be one step ahead of the Valkyrie and her subordinates. I've never seen anyone fight the way you do."

"Well, I had help," he said.

"You mean the Zero system," she replied. "I know you gave me a brief explanation of it when you arrived, but I'm still having trouble understanding it. It predicts the future?"

"Not in the sense most people would think of it," said Heero, "It shows the pilot all possible outcomes for a battle. However, the pilot must choose an outcome, and direct the system and the mobile suit towards achieving it."

She nodded. "I can understand that. But what gets me is how you said that the system directed you to come to our world during the Barge accident. That doesn't strike me as a combat situation, though I would certainly call it life-or-death."

"The Zero system's operations are not exclusive to combat," he replied, "The system goes online whenever Wing Zero is powered up. It is integral to the Gundam's operation. However, the system can be… extremely taxing… to use. When one uses the Wing Zero, it should be only for combat or another life-or-death situation. Otherwise, the system can overwhelm even the most skilled pilots. I need down time, a break from the system, in order to keep my sanity. If I were to stay in the cockpit, hoping to read the future, I could do so, but eventually the sheer sensory overload would be too much, even for me."

Murrue frowned. "It sounds incredibly dangerous."

Heero nodded. "It is. The first time someone actually piloted the Wing Zero… they destroyed an entire colony."

Murrue was stunned. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "But that's…" _Impossible_, she thought, unable to finish her sentence aloud, _no mobile suit has that kind of firepower! Unless…_

She looked at Heero, a sense of dread swelling up within her. "Heero… how strong is the Twin Buster Rifle?"

He looked back, his expression dead-serious. "When fired at maximum power… it can destroy a space colony in a single shot."

She took a deep breath. "And… did you…"

He shook his head. "No, I wasn't the one that destroyed the colony. However, it was a friend of mine, a fellow Gundam pilot. He'd just lost his family, and his mental state had deteriorated. In despair, he found the plans for the Wing Zero, and using his considerable fortune, he constructed the mobile suit."

Murrue didn't know what to say. On the one hand, she was extremely relieved the Heero hadn't been the one to fire that shot. On the other, the fact that he wielded that much firepower was a lot to take in.

Then she realized something. "Wait a minute," she began, "you said it was a fellow Gundam pilot that built the Wing Zero. Then… it wasn't originally your machine?"

Heero nodded. "The Wing Zero was the first Gundam ever designed. However, the scientists that came up with the concept felt that they were creating a machine that would be too powerful, too complex, to ever be properly wielded. So they came up with the designs of the five Gundams that I and my fellow pilots would eventually use, all deliberately weakened variants of the Wing Zero."

He suddenly became quiet, and to Murrue he seemed to be lost in his memories, reflecting on his past. She also remembered that they were on the _Archangel's _bridge, and that the crew had become quiet as well, clearly listening in.

She hadn't heard Heero mention anything about his past since before the battle in orbit, and a brief mention of a friend after they had landed in North Africa. Murrue realized that she desperately wanted to know more about him, _anything _about him.

However, she knew that this wasn't the time or the place. _I don't want to put pressure on him, especially in front of others. I'm lucky he was willing to reveal as much as he did. _She decided that she would wait until they were alone before asking him about his past. _I'm not going to force him to talk_, she thought, _in fact I doubt I could. However, I simply can't deny this feeling. There's so much about him that I want to know._

She looked at Heero, who still seemed to be lost in thought. _Heero… I'm not going to pry in front of the others. When we get some time together, I'll ask you. You can tell me anything you want… whatever you feel comfortable talking about._

"Heero," she said, causing him to look up, slightly startled. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Just… reminiscing."

She smiled. "There's nothing wrong with that. Although… Heero, I'm sorry if I was prying, I honestly did not mean to."

He gave her one of his small smiles in return. "It's alright, I won't hold it against you."

He took a breath, and then continued. "Murrue, I'll tell you about my past sometime… just not now, alright?"

She actually blushed slightly. "Is it really that obvious?"

He smiled again. "It's natural that you would want to know about me, considering I'm not from around here, not to mention the power that Wing Zero gives me. I don't mind your curiosity at all. I trust you, and I will tell you what you want to know. Just… give me some time to get everything sorted out, okay? To be honest… my mind's been drifting into the past lately, and it's not something I'm used to."

She nodded. "Alright, I will. Remember, you can come to me whenever you're ready."

"I will, and soon too, I just need to get a few things in order before then," he replied, "I know there's a lot you're curious about; I just need to figure out the best place to start."

She smiled. "Thank you… I appreciate your trust."

"Well," said Heero, "you've earned it."

….

"Man, what a fight," said Lan as she plopped down on the couch, clearly worn out. She, Priscilla, and Adaline were in the rec room at the Tobruk airbase. The technicians were going over their machines in the hangar, while Commander Rehema was in her office composing a report to send to both Field Marshall Waltfeld and the ZAFT Defense Council, which resided in Aprilius One.

She opened the magazine she was holding in her left hand, _Aces Monthly_. It was her favorite PLANT publication, devoted to military pilots and their machines, covering personnel not just from ZAFT but the Alliance and Orb as well. It was a special addition, with a leaked photograph of Omega One on the front-center, with the five Alliance prototypes spread out along the sides.

Priscilla was sitting next to her, watching the television. It was playing a recorded debate from the Supreme Council Chairmanship election campaign. Since the N-jammers made long range communications difficult, it was impossible for the broadcasting network to air the debate live to terrestrial viewers, and this piece was actually a few hours old. The blond girl stared intently at the TV, briefly looking down at the notebook she was holding to write down something.

Lan smiled. _That's our Pris_, she thought, _doing the political analysis so we don't have to. _

Meanwhile, Adaline was behind them at a table, a bottle of water and a laptop in front of her. Lan saw that she was on a video website, catching up on an episode of Discovery's _Shark Week_ that she had missed. _She's an angel of death on the battlefield_, thought Lan, _yet she's such a softy for marine life._

The red-head turned towards Lan and nodded. "You got that right. No one's ever been able to go up against all of us simultaneously. That pilot was something else."

Lan sighed as she flipped a page in the magazine. "I can't believe it; I haven't gotten knocked out of a fight since academy simulations."

"That goes for all of us," said Priscilla absently, not taking her eyes off the debate as Patrick Zala began attacking Chairman Clyne's policy of limited aggression on Earth, which he had been sticking to in the aftermath of Operation Uroboros.

"The enemy was even able to solo the Commander; when's the last time that's happened?" said Adaline.

"Never," said Lan as she started reading the feature article, which was on Omega One. "Though I gotta say, she didn't seem all that upset about it."

Adaline laughed. 'This is Shemei Rehema were talking about here, remember? To her, finding someone that can fight her one-on-one is cause for breaking out the champagne."

"You have a point there," replied Lan, "although, I have to admit that I'm kind of excited too."

Adaline smiled. "I know, right? That pilot… whoever it is, he's incredible. He was pulling moves that I've never seen before."

"How do you know it's a guy?" said Priscilla.

"Instinct, Pris, it's all instinct," the Australian replied.

"You sound like the Commander; she'd say the same thing," said Lan.

They were quiet for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts and individual activities, then Lan spoke up. "Hey, Pris, how's the Chairman doing?"

"Why don't you watch yourself?" Priscilla replied.

"I'm no good with politics, you know that. It bores me out of my mind most of the time, and when I actually pay attention it just becomes so damn depressing," said Lan.

"Well…" said Priscilla, frowning, "Chairman Clyne isn't doing so well. Patrick Zala's hard line stance regarding the war is quite popular these days, and he's playing it for all it's worth."

"The man's a fool," chimed in Adaline, "He doesn't seriously think we can conquer Earth, does he? We don't have the resources for that."

"Technically," said Priscilla, "Defense Chairman Zala hasn't advocated for the conquest of Earth, but more aggressive campaigns in order to hasten the end of the war."

"You don't seriously buy that though, do you Pris?" replied Adaline.

Priscilla shook her head. "No. If you read between the lines, Zala is, at minimum, a Coordinator Supremacist. He practically pioneered the doctrine of the radical faction, and believes that we're a newly evolved species, a higher race."

"And at worst?" said Lan.

She saw Priscilla's expression darken, and the girl seemed genuinely fearful. She turned to Lan. "An advocate of genocide," she said, and Lan shuddered.

"Do you really think he'd go that far?" asked Lan.

"It's entirely possible," said Adaline, "Don't forget, the man lost his wife in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. His hatred of Naturals knows no bounds."

"But he's not the only one who's suffered," said Lan, "I've met plenty of people who lost family and friends in that attack, and very, _very _few of them have expressed such a loathing of Naturals as a result."

"I'm not excusing the man," said Adaline, "Personally, I think he needs to stop obsessing over the past and move on. I'm just trying to understand his motivations, his mindset."

"I agree," said a familiar voice, and the three of them turned towards the entrance, where Commander Rehema was standing, taking a sip from a water bottle.

Seeing that they were all about to jump to their feet, Shemei held out a hand and smiled. "As you were, ladies."

Lan could feel heat rushing to her face. "How long were you there, Commander?"

"Oh, I walked in about when you asked how Chairman Clyne was doing in the debate," replied Shemei, "You were having such an interesting conversation, and I didn't want to disrupt it."

The commander turned towards the TV, where Zala was making his closing arguments. She sighed. "Zala's on a roll. This doesn't bode well for… well, anyone really. The last thing the PLANT needs is an equivalent of the Blue Cosmos head in high office."

"Commander," said Adaline, "how come so few people are able to see Defense Chairman Zala for what he is; a man bent on revenge, and to hell with how many people have to die as a result?"

"Hard to say, Adaline," Shemei replied, "The best I can offer you is that his background as head of the military resonates with the people, and they see him as the one that can bring the war to a swift conclusion. To them, he represents security, a future without fear."

She looked again at the screen, her grey eyes narrowing. "If Supreme Council Chairman Clyne can't pull his campaign together and find a way to counter Zala… I fear the conflict will escalate beyond anything we've seen so far."

"Any particular worst-case scenarios running through your head, Commander?" asked Lan.

Shemei nodded. "Yes… the bloodbath that played out on the Eastern European Front of the Second World War… a war of annihilation."

Lan shuddered. Like everyone in the room, she'd been forced to study past conflicts at the academy, and the struggle between the Soviet Union and the Third Reich had been the bloodiest theatre of war in all of human history. Nothing could compare to the savagery, the brutality unleashed by both sides, not just on enemy soldiers, but on civilians as well.

_If the Commander is suggesting that the conflict could become that horrific_, thought Lan, _then we are in _deep _trouble._

As scenarios of prisoner massacres and burning cities played out in her head, Shemei spoke up, bringing Lan back to reality. "Well, I've submitted my report, and we have new orders."

"What are they?" asked Lan.

"Tomorrow morning at ten-hundred hours we're loading up our machines on transport planes, along with all our gear. We're transferring to Banadiya; we'll be operating under Field Marshall Waltfeld's direct command from here on out."

"What about the repairs?" asked Priscilla, "The DINNs aren't nearly battle ready yet."

"The techs at the airbase in Banadiya will finish fixing them up," replied the commander. She smiled. "So pack up later, and make sure you don't forget anything."

All three of them nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

….

Meanwhile, up in space, another political drama, this one behind the scenes, was unfolding. Commander Le Creuset sat on the padded bench along the wall of the Supreme Council chamber, watching with interest and amusement as the twelve members discussed matters of state, awaiting them to call him forward to commence the inquiry.

_How comical_, the masked man thought, _Zala practically demagogues the Council Chairman out on the campaign scene, yet here the two of them are, more or less working together. _An air of tension did indeed exist between Siegel Clyne and the Defense Chairman, but they were still able to discuss policy within the Council chamber with civility, although it was tinged with razor sharp barbs.

Creuset saw the Supreme Council Chairman look up at him. "The Council will now hear testimony from Commander Rau Le Creuset regarding the mobile weapon known as Omega One."

As the commander stepped forward, Defense Chairman Zala looked at him. "The purpose of this inquiry," he began, "is to ascertain the capabilities of this new threat. As you have had direct contact with Omega One and lived, Commander, your testimony is invaluable to the Council. Do you have all the evidence you require?"

Creuset nodded. "Yes, and I would like to thank the Defense Chairman for sending me the reports and combat recordings of Commander Shemei Rehema's encounter with Omega One as well; I will be presenting pieces of them as well as my own testimony."

Patrick Zala stood up and gave Creuset a remote, which he pointed at the large screen on the wall opposite of where he had been sitting. A still image of the menacing new mobile suit appeared.

"This machine," he began, "first appeared during our engagement with an Alliance task force. You may recall that in the aftermath of the battle we were able to recover Lacus Clyne. At the time, we were unaware that she was aboard the Alliance's new warship, which had arrived to assist the taskforce."

Creuset pushed a button on the remote, and video feed of that engagement began playing. The council members saw two GINNs close in on the legged ship's bridge, only to be destroyed by two yellow beams.

The Commander brought up the image of the machine's fighter form and paused the video. "Omega One first appeared to be a new model space fighter. The two cannons at the bow were what took out the two GINNs. However…"

The video began playing again, and the machine transformed into a mobile suit, and quickly proceeded to decimate the other GINNs that were attacking the _Archangel_. "The mobile suit appears to be armed with beam sabers, twin gatling cannons, and some kind of energy rifle," Creuset continued, "We do not know the full extent of the rifle's power. However…"

He cut to another section of video, and the Council looked on in awe as the mobile suit fired a large blast from the rifle that not only annihilated several GINNs, but an entire frigate as well.

Creuset then paused the image and turned to the council. "I cannot say for certain if that is the full firepower of that rifle. It is entirely possible that it possesses still greater strength than what we have seen."

"My god," said one of the council members.

"Not god… abomination," said another, a silver haired woman.

Patrick Zala cleared his throat. "Commander Le Creuset, you mentioned to me in your report regarding the orbital battle that you spoke with the pilot of Omega One. I'd like your opinion on them."

"Well," began Creuset, "it was only briefly. Beyond the fact that he seemed young, probably the age of your son, I could discern nothing else beyond his incredible skill. I will readily admit that he is better than me. Even if our machines were equal, I have no doubt that I would lose."

"However, may I perhaps offer the Defense Chairman another perspective?" With that he played the image of Commander Rehema's battle with Omega One, and the Council looked on as, one by one, her subordinates were forced to withdraw, until finally it was just Shemei and the young man fighting it out in spectacular fashion.

"Commander Rehema," began Creuset, "was clearly able to last longer than me in a one-on-one confrontation with this new enemy. However, it is what happened after she lost her suit's sword arm that is of greater interest to me."

He played the dialogue of Shemei and Omega One's pilot for the Council, and then turned the screen off.

"I see," said Chairman Clyne, "so its real name is Wing Zero, and the pilot is Heero Yuy."

Creuset nodded. "Chairman Clyne, if I may be so bold, I would like to ask that Miss Lacus be summoned before the Council."

Siegel's eyes widened. "My daughter? But why?"

"Because," said Creuset, "she was still on the Alliance's new warship at the time that this Heero Yuy first boarded it. She may have encountered him."

Clyne nodded slowly. "Yes, she did briefly mention something like that." He stood up. "Very well. I request that the Council recess for two hours. I will contact my daughter and ask her to come here."

"I see no problem with this," said Zala, a slight smirk on his face.

Clyne scowled, and Creuset had to work to suppress a laugh.

….

Wearing a simple white dress, Lacus Clyne sat in the lobby outside of the meeting chambers of the Supreme Council. Her pink hair was unrestrained, save for a golden-yellow hairclip at the front, and she looked around the room with great interest. Though she had been here before with her father, she was still fascinated by the paintings that adorned the walls. Some were pieces that dated as far back as the Renaissance, while others were more modern, many of them made by PLANT artists, and depicted scenes of life in the colonies.

Sighing, she looked down at her cell phone, and began browsing through the pictures saved on it. She stopped when she got to the one she was looking for. The image on her screen was that of none other than the young man she was supposed to give information on; Heero Yuy.

She'd taken the picture without his permission, and she had thought without his knowledge, but looking at it again, she thought she detected a knowing look in the corner of his eye. He was standing next to Miss Ramius, and at the time they had been discussing some feature of Heero's magnificent mobile suit. Lacus had used the opportunity to snap the picture in the belief that no one was looking. She hadn't taken it for hostile purposes, but because she was curious about him. After she had returned home, she had convinced her father to run the image through both PLANT and ZAFT databases, and no hits came up. While she had already believed Heero when he had said that he was from another world, she had still wanted a way to verify it, and the fact that the databases had come up empty was enough for her. She'd told her father what Heero had said, and while an understanding and indulging man, Lacus knew that her father had not believed her, and remained skeptical even after the image search.

_Then again_, she thought, _I suppose I cannot blame him. _

Looking up at the ceiling, she thought about the people on the _Archangel. _She sincerely wished that they were alright, even though they were nominally her enemies. Lacus held no ill will towards them, and had even become fond of a few of them. _Especially Mister Yamato_, she thought with a smile. She hoped that she would be able to see him again someday.

She heard a soft beeping at the receptionist's desk. Lacus saw the blond woman press a button and look at a small screen on her desk. She couldn't see who was on it, but apparently it was someone from the Council, for immediately afterwards the woman turned to Lacus and smiled. "They're ready for you, Miss Clyne. Please go right in."

The sixteen year old girl stood up, smiled, and calmly walked through the large mahogany doors next to the receptionist's desk. She wince slightly as she entered, the overhead lights reflecting off the shiny, almost sterile environment of the Council Chamber. _It feels so lifeless_, she thought, _I'll never get used to it_.

She moved towards the table around which the officials were seated. She smiled and nodded at her father to reassure him, and then took her place at the head of the room, all the Council members looking at her. Lacus noticed that Commander Le Creuset was there as well, standing behind Patrick Zala's chair, whispering in his ear. _As if it weren't obvious enough where your own allegiances lay, Commander._

The masked man looked up at her and smiled, but there was little sincerity behind it. Lacus could only detect a mix of derision and a sick sense of amusement. _What twisted pleasure does a man such as yourself derive from these proceedings?_, she thought.

Then Siegel Clyne spoke up. "Lacus Clyne," he began, forced to remain distant, unable to act as her father in these proceedings, "do you understand why you have been called before the Council?"

She nodded. "Yes, to provide as much information as I can about the pilot of Wing Zero, Heero Yuy."

"Miss Clyne," said Zala, "please tell us everything that you know, and bear in mind that withholding information can have… consequences."

The Chairman glared daggers at Zala for his remarks, but the leader of the military just smirked. Lacus nodded. "Of course, Defense Chairman. I should hardly think that my integrity or support for the PLANTs need be called into question."

The Council member and Siegel's political rival seemed slightly put-off by her reply. _That's right, Patrick Zala_, she thought, _I know how to play these games._

Regaining composure, the black-haired man nodded. "Then please, begin when you are ready."

She took a moment to put her thoughts in order. "I encountered Heero Yuy soon after the battle between the Alliance forces and our own ships. At the time, I was in the officer's lounge of the new warship with the Kira Yamato, the young man who was my caretaker for the period of my captivity."

"How is it that you came to be in the lounge?" said Zala, "I would hardly think that a prisoner of the Naturals would be allowed such free reign."

"I was not treated as a prisoner while aboard the ship," replied Lacus, "although as a PLANT civilian, naturally the areas of the vessel I was able to access were limited, and I had to stay with my escort. It was not troubling though; Kira is a very kind person."

"Yes, I'm sure," said Zala dismissively, "Now, about Yuy?"

"He entered the lounge with the commanding officer of the ship, Miss Ramius," she continued, "We all sat down at a table together, and I introduced myself. Heero was quite polite during this time. I believe he was about my age, perhaps a bit older. Miss Ramius asked him some questions while we were there."

"What sort of questions?" said Zala.

"Who he was working for, and how he had acquired the Wing Zero," said Lacus, "He claimed to be serving no master, and had simply taken the mobile suit."

"Hold on!" said another Council member, the silver haired Ezalia Joule, the mother of ZAFT pilot Yzak Joule, "Are you saying that he was not a member of the Earth Forces?"

Lacus nodded. "Yes, so far as I know."

"Did he mention where he had taken Wing Zero from?" inquired her father.

She shook her head. "No, he did not." She knew she was beginning to tread on dangerous ground. Lacus had no intention of revealing that Heero was in fact from another world, but she knew it could be tricky to answer the Council members' questions at this point, especially Zala's, without arousing suspicion that she was hiding something.

Fortunately, she was saved by Zala's own paranoia. "He must have been lying then," the man said, "After all, he's fought for the Naturals since his debut. Wing Zero must be another Earth Alliance prototype, built at a separate facility than the others."

"But if they could build a suit that powerful and have a Natural capable of piloting it so effectively," said the brown haired Eileen Canaver, a friend of Lacus's father and a member of the moderate faction, "then wouldn't they have begun mass production by now? It seems premature to jump to conclusions, considering that the Alliance has continued to field conventional weaponry since Heero arrived on the scene. It is possible that Wing Zero was built by a third party, and that its pilot has not given the Alliance the technical information necessary for them to create their own version."

"Who else would have such resources?" yelled Zala, "The only other group that comes close is Orb, and we all know that they are in collusion with the Alliance!"

"Heliopolis was an isolated event," replied Eileen, "We have seen no evidence of any other instances of collaboration on weapons development between the two nations."

"We hardly need further evidence!" roared Zala, "The new warship and mobile suits are obviously the fruits of their clandestine ventures. Soon they will be ready for mass production, and they'll be coming for the homeland!"

Lacus looked on in sorrow as the meeting deteriorated into a shouting match, her own presence clearly forgotten. She saw her father look at her and give a small nod; permission to leave. She returned the gesture, and walked out of the room as fast as she could.

Sighing as she exited the chamber, she made her way towards the front of the building. _Have we really sunk so low?_, she thought glumly, _Is governance based upon mutual respect and understanding truly beyond us?_

She left the building, and felt a cool breeze hit her face. It was artificial, of course, but she welcomed it nonetheless. As she signaled for a taxi to take her home, her thoughts began wondering towards two certain young men that she had met recently.

_What would you make of this, I wonder? Kira Yamato… and Heero Yuy._

….

"Well, we've made it," said Murrue, breathing a sigh of relief.

Heero nodded. They'd been traveling nonstop for almost the entire day, and late afternoon would soon give way to dusk. Nevertheless, they had crossed into Egypt and were now at the rebel base, hidden in a ravine along the northwestern edge of the massive Qattara Depression. _Not a bad place for a hideout_, he thought, _the ravine helps conceal the base from aerial recon, and the enemy won't pick us up on radar since we're so low._

Murrue turned to him and smiled. "Shall we go meet with the leaders? I've instructed Kira to use the Strike to set up the camouflage tarps on the ship just to be thorough, but I'm pretty sure we're secure here."

"That sounds fine to me," he replied, "Will it be just us two, or are we bringing anyone else along?"

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Lieutenant Badgiruel will accompany us," she said, "Ensign Neumann will have the bridge until we return."

She stood up. "Well, let's go." They left the bridge and made their way down to the hangar, where Mu and Natarle were waiting for them.

The fighter pilot waved as Murrue and Heero made their way over to them. "You guys all set?"

They both nodded. Together, the four of them exited down the front loading ramp.

As they reached the bottom a young man, around fifteen years old, ran up to them. "I'm Ahmed," he said, "Sahib asked me to lead you all to the command center. Follow me."

They made their way through the camp, and Heero saw that it was larger than he had originally estimated. Jeeps, half-tracks, and other vehicles were scattered around, some with missile tubes mounted on them, but most were just open-topped automobiles, their firepower coming from whatever the passengers were carrying. There were crates everywhere, some with Alliance and ZAFT labels on them. _Looks like my hunch about their black market connections just gained some traction_, he thought.

There were tents scattered about as well, some closed up, but others with the sides removed, functioning as open air kitchens. People were milling about all over, and Heero noted that they weren't just resistance fighters, but there were plenty of civilians as well, including women and children. _Camp followers?_, he thought, _What do they think this is, the Middle Ages?_ He could understand if the women served in supporting roles, like cooks or nurses, or if some were actually fighters, but most just seemed to be doing either menial work or minding the children, who Heero thought should be back at their home villages.

He saw some of the men eyeing the two female officers. Heero supposed it was natural, since the two women were quite attractive, but that didn't mean he had to like it. A simple narrowing of his eyes was enough to persuade the lechers that they had urgent business elsewhere.

Turning back towards Murrue, he saw her smiling at him. "I appreciate the concern, Heero."

He nodded, and smiled as well. "You're welcome, Murrue."

"Although," she said, "I don't think Natarle and I are the only ones with admirers." Following her gaze, Heero saw that indeed, several of the women in the camp were looking at him and La Flaga in much the same manner. He was wearing his green tank-top and blue-jeans, which meant that the ladies had a good view of his athletic figure, honed by intensive training and fierce battles.

He sighed. "I never was good with this sort of thing."

"Don't tell me you didn't have girls eyeing you where you're from," said Murrue, winking.

Heero laughed, remembering his days in the Sanc Kingdom at the school Relena had run until Romefeller's attack on the country. "I did, but I tended to just ignore them. I had more pressing things on my mind."

She nodded. "I'm sure you did." She turned her gaze forward again, and Heero followed suit, and saw that they were approaching a cave.

"Makes sense that they'd have their command center in a more fortified area," he said.

"Yes," said Murrue as they arrived at the entrance, "It seems well lit, too." Heero followed her gaze and saw rows of light bulbs on both walls, along with additional wiring running along them.

They made their way through the tunnel until it fanned out into a large chamber. At the center was a table with a large map spread out over it. Along the walls were desks with assorted equipment at them, including a few computers and a radar station, although thanks to the N-jammer interference it was limited in range. Sahib and Kisaka were standing at the table, while Cagalli was at one of the computers. The blond girl turned around as they walked in, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Heero.

_Seems she's still suspicious of me_, he mused. After her encounter with Kira, she had quickly turned on Heero, demanding to know who he was and who had built his mobile suit. He'd given her his name but nothing else, and she had been none too happy about it. _Tough luck girl_, he thought, _but there's a very short list of people I trust, and you're not on it._

Cagalli stood up and moved to the table besides the other two leaders. She folded her arms but did nothing else, letting Sahib take the lead.

The bearded resistance fighter smiled. "Welcome to our base. I'll admit it's not much to look at, but looks can be deceiving."

"Indeed," said Mu La Flaga, "Gotta say, this is a pretty nice setup you have here, all things considered."

Sahib chuckled. "You're too kind. Anyway, to business. As I'm sure you can guess, since you have far more firepower than us, you'll wind up doing the heavy lifting when we fight the Tiger."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, we're aware of that. However, we have no intention of letting you just use us for your own benefit. We want something in return."

"I'm assuming the use of our supply contacts, correct? Considering you plan to journey to Alaska, you will need to replenish your stocks," he said, "not to mention you'll need additional ammo for your weapons before the fighting begins, since it will likely be a large engagement."

"Yes," said Murrue, "Can you deliver?"

"It will take time for us to contact our suppliers," said Kisaka, "but as soon as we are able to, we will arrange a meeting."

Murrue nodded. "Alright then. I'll have Lieutenant Badgiruel here give you a list of the materiel we need."

"Before we do that," said Cagalli, "there's something we want to know."

She looked at Heero. "Who the hell are you? I know the mobile suits that Orb helped the Alliance develop at Heliopolis, and yours wasn't one of them. Are you part of another collaboration project? The Alliance couldn't have built something like your unit on their own, or they would have begun producing more by now instead of relying on conventional weaponry."

"I told you before," he said, "That's none of your business."

"Like hell it isn't!" she snapped, "You were able to fight off the entire Valkyrie Team with that mobile suit, no pilot should have been able to do that. If a machine that powerful is in our territory, we have the right to know about it."

"If you think it was due to Wing Zero alone that I was able to beat them, then you're mistaken," Heero replied, "You couldn't begin to understand what it takes to pilot that mobile suit. Also, how do you come to the conclusion that just because we're here you have the 'right' to know about my machine?"

His eyes narrowed, and he saw that she was slightly shaken. "If I wanted to," he began, his voice ice cold, "I could burn this entire region to ashes with no effort whatsoever. Do not presume to hold authority over someone who possesses the power to destroy entire nations on a whim."

"Why you…" she growled, but Kisaka grabbed her arm and shook his head. She gave a "hmph" and turned her head away.

At the same time, Heero felt Murrue lay her hand on his shoulder. "Heero…" she said, and he knew she wanted him to back down.

He took a breath, looked at her, and nodded.

Sahib cleared his throat. "Well then, if you'll have your Lieutenant remain here, we can begin figuring out what we need to procure for you."

Murrue nodded, and turned to Mu. "Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, please assist Lieutenant Badgiruel."

"Yes ma'am," he said.

"Heero, shall we go?" she asked. He nodded, and the two of them made their way back towards the entrance of the cave.

"Murrue," he said, "I'm sorry about what happened in there; I was out of line."

"It's alright," she replied, "I was actually more worried about you than the meeting; La Flaga and Natarle will handle the details from here."

She looked at him. "Are you okay? I've never seen you like this."

He nodded as they stepped out of the cave. "I'm fine. I just wanted to make my point to her; she's in no position to be prying into myself or Wing Zero."

Heero looked at Murrue and smiled. "You're different. You've treated me with kindness and respect since we met, and I'm grateful for that. I'm glad… to have made a friend like you."

She smiled back. "Does this mean I'll be getting to learn about your past soon?"

He gave a small laugh. "Actually, yes. The trip over here was long enough for me to straighten a few things out; I think I know where to start. At least, where I feel comfortable starting, at any rate."

"That's all that matters to me," said Murrue, "As I told you earlier, you can tell me whatever you want, I promise not to judge you."

She put his hand on his shoulder again. "You can trust me, Heero. I swear I would never betray your confidence."

He nodded. "I know, Murrue." As they approached the _Archangel_, he saw that the sun had moved a bit lower on the horizon, and the sky was beginning to turn a mix of orange and red. He stared at it for a moment, and then spoke. "Murrue… let's eat outside tonight. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes," she said, "Though may I ask why?"

"One of my fellow Gundam pilots spent a lot of time in the desert," Heero said, "He told me there's no better place on Earth for viewing the stars." He turned to her. "I want to see it for myself, and I'd like you there with me. I'll tell you about my past then."

She nodded and smiled. "I'd like that." She turned towards the exit of the ravine, where there was the clearest view of the setting sun. "The stars should be out in a couple of hours. We'll grab something in the mess, and then head out towards the dunes with our meal. How's that sound?"

"Fine by me," he said with a smile.

….

Stepping outside the ship, Kira looked around the camp. He'd just finished setting up the ship's camouflage, and was feeling rather hungry. The smell of local cuisine was in the air, and he was curious as to what the people in this part of the world ate.

He glanced back at the _Archangel_. Several large brown tarps had been stretched over the ship. They appeared to be arranged haphazardly, but it was in fact a perfect pattern for fooling satellites and high altitude reconnaissance planes. Satisfied with a job well done, he began making his way into the camp.

He hadn't gone more than a few steps when a voice rang out. "Hey!"

He turned and saw the blond girl from earlier coming towards him. Kira felt a little apprehensive at first, but he soon saw that she didn't seem to be angry like earlier. Quite the opposite, in fact; she was quite calm.

"You're Cagalli, right?" he asked.

She nodded. "Kira Yamato, correct? I heard the captain say your name before you got out of the Strike."

He nodded. "Uhm… thanks for the help earlier. In the battle, I mean."

Oh, that?" she replied, "Don't mention it." She looked down at the ground for a moment, and then turned to him again. "I'm… sorry about earlier."

"Oh, it's okay, don't worry about it," said Kira.

Cagalli smiled. "You've been on my mind since Heliopolis. After you pushed me into that shelter and it was launched as a life boat, I was worried. I kept wondering if you were okay, if you had survived."

She held out her hand. "Thank you, Kira. I may well have died if it weren't for you."

He smiled in return and shook her hand. "No problem."

After she let go, she spoke. "Well, didn't think you'd end up piloting a mobile suit, that's for sure."

Kira sighed. "It's… a long story."

Cagalli smiled. "It's alright, I don't need to know the details. I'm glad you're on our side at least."

"All I want to do is protect my friends," he said, "That's the only reason I pilot that thing."

"Well, it's a good reason," she replied, "At least you're not out for conquest or personal glory. I can't stand people like that. They only make things worse for everyone who just wants the fighting to end."

They were quiet for a moment, then Cagalli spoke up again. "Say, do you know anything about the pilot of that other mobile suit?"

"You mean Heero?" said Kira. He was a little hesitant to answer, mainly because of what he had shown him, Lacus, and Captain Ramius when he had first come aboard. _If I told her he was from another world_, he thought, _she'd think I was crazy. No way would she believe me. _In the end, he decided to tell her a partial truth.

"I'm, uhm, afraid I don't know much about him," said Kira, "He doesn't talk about himself. At least, he hasn't in front of me. I don't know much about the Wing Zero either."

"Well that figures," she said. "Ugh, he's such a jerk! I ask him about it, and he just tells me it's none of my business. Then he gives me this death glare and says he can pretty much torch Egypt if he wants to."

"Well, he is secretive when it comes to the Wing Zero," said Kira, "He doesn't let the mechanics go near it unless he's there, and keeps the self-destruct armed in case anyone tries to tamper with it."

"Talk about trust issues," she said.

"Well, it's kind of understandable," he replied, "I've seen him wipe out entire warships with that rifle he has. The mobile suit in general is more advanced than anything else in existence, including the machines built at Heliopolis."

"Wait, an entire warship?" she asked, her eyes widening, "Wow! I thought he was just blowing smoke earlier, but he might actually have enough firepower to make good on that threat of his."

"I don't think it was a threat," said Kira, "He probably just wanted you to back off, and thought that telling you the destructive power he wields would accomplish that."

"Maybe…" she said, growing thoughtful, "Do you think… I should apologize to him? You think he'd tell me something then?"

"Probably not," said Kira, "To be honest, from what I've heard, the only person he really seems to trust is Captain Ramius. She's the only one he really talks to. Although, you should still apologize."

"I see…" said Cagalli. The two of them were quiet for a while, pondering the enigmatic young pilot who had come from seemingly out of nowhere to fight alongside them.

The sun was sinking lower on the horizon, and Kira was just about to ask Cagalli if she wanted to go grab some food when a voice rang out behind him. "Kira!"

He turned to see Flay coming out of the ship, running up to him. She grabbed his arm. "There you are! I've been looking for you."

"Oh," he said, blushing, "Sorry, I didn't know."

She turned to Cagalli, and her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Cagalli. I'm a member of the resistance group," she replied.

"Oh," said Flay. The two girls stared at each other.

"Well," said Cagalli after a moment, "I should get going. See you later, Kira."

"Oh… alright," he said. He honestly didn't want her to go, but what could he do?

Flay turned to him and smiled. "Well, Kira, let's go inside. We need to get you something to eat; I don't trust the local food."

As she led him by the arm back towards the _Archangel_, a familiar voice rang out behind them. "Flay… Kira?"

They turned and saw Sai, along with Tolle and Miriallia. Flay's fiancé-or rather, former fiancé- looked stunned. "What… what's going on here?"

Kira swallowed nervously. He'd completely forgotten about Sai's relationship with Flay. She had come onto him so suddenly, he hadn't had time to think of the ramifications of the whole affair.

Flay saved him the trouble of answering. "Listen, Sai… it's over between us."

"What?" he replied, "What do you mean, Flay?"

"My father is dead," she said, "Our engagement is off. And… I spent last night… in Kira's room."

The implications of that sentence sank in instantly. "What?" said Sai. He turned to Kira. "Is this… true?"

He nodded. "How could you?" yelled Sai, and he rushed up to Kira, raising his fist. Kira caught it with ease, twisting Sai's arm behind his back with practically no effort. Having secured leverage, he quickly pushed Sai to the ground.

"Stop it Sai!" yelled Kira, "Do you honestly think you stand a chance against me?" As Kira's friend looked up at him, the young Coordinator spoke again. "Flay's the only one… the only one who understands how I feel when I have to fight. None of you ever tried to do that!"

He turned towards the ship, the red-head on his arm. "Just… leave us alone, Sai," he said. With that the two of them entered the ship, leaving Sai, Tolle, and Miriallia all in shock, unable to move.

….

Waltfeld leaned back in his chair and smiled. He was on the bridge of the _Lesseps_ once again, Aisha right beside him. The land-battleship was making its way back east to Banadiya, the sun setting in the vessel's wake.

He turned to his lover. "Well, that was quite a productive morning we had."

Aisha nodded. "Indeed. I just got off the radio with Shemei a little while ago; I could still hear the excitement in her voice, even with the background static."

Waltfeld laughed. "I can imagine that. She's finally found someone who can take her in a head-to-head confrontation. Right now I bet all she can think of is getting back into the fray."

Aisha looked thoughtful. "Do you think they joined forces with those Desert Dawn fighters?"

"You mean the Earth Forces? Probably. They'll need all the help they can get when the time comes for their breakout attempt."

Aisha smiled. "And we know exactly what direction they'll take, too."

Waltfeld nodded. "East, towards the Red Sea." He turned to the man at the radio. "Inform the _Petrie_, _Henry Carter_, _Tesla_, _Gagarin_, and the _Nuremberg_, along with their support units, to abandon their current assignments and head for Alexandria. Once there they are to remain on standby until further instruction."

The radio operator nodded. "Yes sir." He turned to carry out his orders.

Aisha's eyes widened. "Four _Petrie_-class land-cruisers and another _Lesseps_-class battleship? Including their support forces, that's over half of Army Group East."

"I'd summon more," he replied, "but my soldiers are spread thin enough as is. Until reinforcements can come through either Gibraltar or the newly conquered Lake Victoria spaceport, this will be my strike force."

He gave a wicked smile, already envisioning the battle that would eventually unfold between his veteran warriors and the Alliance's new warship and mobile suits, along with the resistance fighters they had apparently made friends with.

_Combined with Shemei's team and the soon-to-be-ready LaGOWE, it will be the most powerful force I've commanded since I took the Suez Canal. Yet even then, I'm actually not entirely sure of my chances of winning._

He recalled reading Shemei's report, and listening to the recorded conversation between her and the pilot of Omega One. _Or rather_, he thought_, Wing Zero. The sheer power of that suit, combined with the skills of this Heero Yuy…_

_Who knows what could happen…_

….

"Sorry," said Heero, "I'd hoped for better fare for our evening picnic."

He was exiting the ship with Murrue, the two of them holding trays with sandwiches, fruit, and chips on them, along with a bottle of water. The sun had gone down, and the two of them began making their way out of the well-lit camp, towards the mouth of the ravine.

Murrue turned to him and smiled. "It's hardly your fault. All things considered, the mess could have had worse things on the menu. Besides, I always thought sandwiches were good outdoors food."

He nodded, secretly relieved that she wasn't bothered. Heero had never actually done anything like this before. _Strange_, he thought, _I'm actually kind of nervous._ However, seeing her smile was reassuring. _What am I worried about? This is Murrue I'm with. She's not the type to fuss over something like that. Besides, I'm doing this because I trust her, and more importantly, to show that I appreciate the trust she's shown me. _Considering he'd come out of pretty much nowhere when they'd first met, Murrue had warmed up to him remarkably quickly, and Heero had, much to his own surprise, found himself doing the same.

He returned her smile, and the two of them walked in silence for a while, content merely with each other's company. Heero looked back at the camp, and hoped that nothing would happen while they were away. _Lieutenant Badgiruel and Lieutanant Commander La Flaga are quite competent_, he thought, _I'm sure they can handle any trouble the rebels might cause._

He heard Murrue gasp, and realized that they had already reached the end of the ravine, the vast expanse of desert before them. He turned and saw the lovely woman at his side looking skywards. "Heero… look!"

Heero followed her gaze… and couldn't help letting his jaw drop. He'd heard Quatre describe it once, but…

_Words cannot do this justice…_

The sky was lit up by what seemed like a river of stars. They seemed to almost flow across it, sparkling like a mountain stream. Heero was a bit puzzled as to why so many of them seemed so close together, like a band, until he realized exactly what he was seeing; the Milky Way Galaxy itself, as one might view it from the side.

_I've seen stars from space, of course_, he thought, _but when you look at them up there, in a space ship or mobile suit… they just seem lonely, isolated, and sterile. Like they're lost in an ocean of blackness, at the mercy of the Reaper. I've seen them from Earth as well, of course, but they seemed so dull from where I was at the time, and I hardly ever took the time to admire them in any case._

But viewing them like this, out in the desert with no artificial light to cloud the view, out away from civilization… the stars seemed to be reborn, revitalized. Heero smiled. _Quatre, you were right. This is incredible._

"Heero," said Murrue. He turned to her, and her brown eyes seemed to light up. Her whole face was aglow with something he hadn't seen her express before; pure joy. His own eyes widened slightly. _She's… beautiful. I mean, I already thought she was, but seeing her like this…_

It was the most amazing sight he'd ever beheld, even more so than the ocean of stars in the sky above.

Entranced by the woman before him, he listened as she spoke. "This is amazing!" she said, positively beaming, "Your friend was right. Thank you so much for showing me this. I really needed it."

All he could do was smile in return, and he was pretty sure that it was the biggest, most genuine one he'd given in a long time. "You're very welcome, Murrue."

They were quiet for a moment, happy just looking at both the stars and each other. Then Murrue nodded at a small dune nearby. "Well," she said, "that looks like a good spot. Shall we grab a seat and dig in?"

"Yeah," he replied. Together they made their way up the gentle slope of the dune, and sat down once they reached top. Putting their trays on the ground before them, they proceeded to dig in, and Heero was surprised to find that he was actually quite hungry. _More so than I expected_, he thought, _I wonder why? Nerves, maybe? _He didn't think that was the case, however; just seeing Murrue smile had quelled the small doubts that had been nagging him in the back of his mind.

While they were eating, Heero used the opportunity to run through things one more time in his head. He had a pretty good idea of what he would tell her tonight, and where he would start. _Still_, he thought,_ can't hurt to go over it one more time._

After a few minutes, they had finished their sandwiches and had made a decent dent in the chips and fruit on their trays as well. Neither of them had spoken yet, but then again there had been no need to. They'd reached a point where words didn't need to be spoken, and both found the silence to be quite comforting; an invisible, inaudible bond between friends had already formed, though they'd known each other for hardly a week.

Still, he knew that he'd have to start soon. He took a deep breath and turned to face her. To his surprise, she was already looking at him, smiling again. "Nervous?" she asked.

_How's she gotten so good at reading me already?_, he thought. Heero nodded. "A little, yes. I've… never really done anything like this before."

Murrue reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. "It's okay, you can start whenever you're ready."

He smiled again. _She's quite good at getting those out of me_, he thought with some amusement. He took another deep breath, and pushed aside his tray and water bottle. "Alright then."

Heero looked up at the stars for a moment, and then began speaking. "With high expectations, human beings left Earth to begin a new life in space colonies. However, the United Earth Sphere Alliance gained great military power, and soon seized control over one colony after another, in the name of 'justice' and 'peace'."

He paused for a moment, and then turned to look at Murrue.

"The year was After Colony 195."

….

Murrue listened intently as Heero began speaking. _I've been wanting so badly to hear this_, she thought, _no way am I missing a second of it!_

"The Alliance ruled the colonies with an iron fist," he continued, "In a move to bring new weapons to the Earth and gain independence from the Alliance, rebel citizens built five mobile suits called Gundams. They were the most advanced weapons the world had ever seen. The mobile suits were called Gundams because they were built from Gundanium alloy, a material that is virtually indestructible in the face of all but the strongest forces. Creating it is extremely difficult and time-consuming, and it can only be done in a zero gravity environment."

"The one I piloted was the Wing Gundam. Of all five machines, it bore the most resemblance to Wing Zero, the template for which all our mobile suits were based off of. Our plan was called Operation Meteor. The Gundams were sent to Earth disguised as shooting stars. Just before launching, the scientist who designed Wing, Doctor J, gave me my codename for the mission; Heero Yuy, after the peace activist who was assassinated by the Alliance."

Murrue's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, so your real name isn't Heero?"

He looked down at the sand. "Well, the truth of the matter is… before then, I'd had no name at all, or at least none that I remembered. I don't know what my parents named me, and Lowe never gave me one either."

Murrue gasped. _I know he said he didn't know his parents, but to think he didn't even have a name of his own… it's too tragic._

Heero looked up at her and smiled. "I never actually told anyone else that. To be honest, it just kind of stuck after a while, and I've considered it to be my name ever since. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that earlier though."

She shook her head. "It's alright, I understand."

He smiled. "Thank you, Murrue." Then she saw his expression darken, and he spoke again. "Murrue… there's something you should know… about what Operation Meteor was supposed to be."

_Wait a second, what it was 'supposed to be'? _She had a bad feeling about this. She grabbed Heero's hand, as much to calm herself as to support him. "What is it, Heero?"

"The original plan," he said, "was to drop an entire colony onto Earth."

That was _not _what she had expected. "You _can't _be serious! The immediate impact and the subsequent environmental devastation would have killed billions of innocent people!"

Heero nodded. "I know. The Gundams were originally to be deployed after the colony had been dropped. In the ensuing chaos on Earth, the pilots would use the new weapons to gain complete mastery."

Then he looked at her and smiled. "However, the scientists that built the Gundams, along with us pilots, could not accept the independence of the colonies at such a price. So we revised the plan. We hijacked the Gundams, and deliberately jumped the gun, thus rendering the original Operation Meteor useless; they couldn't drop the colony while the Gundams were already on Earth, after all. They would risk destroying the very weapons that they would be relying on to gain control of the planet in the aftermath of the impact."

Murrue was greatly relieved. _Of course, I should have known better than to believe that Heero would have gone along with such a plan_, she thought, _though I've only known him a short time, I know for a fact that he is a kind and gentle individual, despite the emotional walls he's built up to protect himself. There's no way he could participate in something so monstrous._

She smiled at him. "So, what happened on the revised Operation Meteor?"

"The launches went ahead without incident," said Heero, "However, during my descent I encountered an Alliance transport. It launched three mobile suits, Leos, the standard unit of the Alliance forces. I took out the first two with the Buster Rifle, but the third had a more skilled pilot than the others. I was forced off course, and crash landed in the Pacific Ocean. I managed to get out, but the Wing Gundam sank."

"I fell unconscious and drifted ashore soon afterwards," he continued, "While I was out, a girl around my age found me on the beach. When I awoke, she was standing over me. I tried to shield my face, but I was sure she's seen it… which, according to my orders, meant that I would have to kill her."

"Did you?" inquired Murrue, a bit apprehensive.

Heero shook his head. "I fled the scene and hijacked an ambulance that had arrived there. However… that was far from my last encounter with Relena Darlian. It turned out that she was a student at the school I enrolled in as part of my cover."

He laughed. "Funny how things work out. She actually gave me an invitation to her upcoming birthday party; I guess she wanted to learn more about me. However, I ripped it in two and threatened to kill her."

"Well," said Murrue, "that seems a little much. Couldn't you have just said 'no thank you'?"

Heero smirked. "In hindsight, I probably could have handled things differently. However, I had more important things to worry about. I made my way down to the port, where I intended to launch enough torpedoes to destroy the Wing Gundam to prevent the Alliance from getting their hands on it. However, Relena followed me there, and I pointed my gun at her." He looked down. "Thinking back on that… I'm not sure if I actually could have pulled the trigger. Though she had seen my face on the beach, when I was still in my pilot's suit, the fact remained that she was an innocent bystander, and the last thing I wanted to do was kill civilians."

"Regardless," he continued, "I never had to make that decision. I was shot in the arm by Duo Maxwell, the second Gundam pilot. His unit was the Deathscythe, and he had already used it to find and salvage the Wing Gundam. When I launched the torpedoes, the combined mass of both machines- the Deathscythe was on autopilot and bringing Wing to the coast- was more than the warheads could destroy, and both mobile suits survived, thought they were damaged."

"Wait, your own comrade shot you?" she asked.

"At the time," said Heero, "we were actually unaware that there were other Gundam pilots besides ourselves. All of us thought that we were the only ones."

"Anyway," he continued, "I was captured and brought to an Alliance medical facility. Duo came and helped me break out, and together we made contact with his allies, a group of Sweepers- salvage workers, you might say. They had recovered both of our Gundams, and we went ahead with continuing Operation Meteor. We began launching attacks on Alliance military bases and weapons factories, in order to destroy their armed forces and make them come to the negotiating table with the colonial leadership."

"In that time," said Heero, "I became aware of the other three pilots. There was Trowa Barton, pilot of the Heavyarms Gundam. Another was Quatre Raberba Winner, pilot of the Gundam Sandrock; he's the friend I told you about, the one who was familiar with the desert. The last pilot was Chang Wufei, who wielded the Shenlong Gundam. The five of us proceeded to wreak havoc across the United Earth Sphere Alliance." He laughed. "Five fifteen year old boys against the military might of the entire world."

Murrue was stunned. _They were all so young! How could they have possibly fought against those kinds of odds? _Her amazement gave way to admiration as she realized the kind of strength those young men must have had. _Our own deeds since Heliopolis seem so small in comparison_, she thought.

"The UESA was not our only enemy," Heero continued, "Working behind the scenes was a group called OZ, or the Order of the Zodiac. At first glance they appeared to be a group of elite soldiers within the Alliance. They were known to the regular forces as the Specials, and were given greater privileges than the average soldier. However, in actuality they were the vanguard of the Romefeller Foundation, and one of the tools it used to manipulate and ultimately rule the Alliance from behind the scenes. I'll tell you more about the foundation later."

Heero looked at her. "It was believed that one of OZ's first acts after its formation was the assassination of the original Heero Yuy, though the UESA took the public blame for that incident. It was because of that, as well as the group's status within the Alliance, that the elimination of OZ was one of our primary objectives in conjunction with confronting the regular armed forces."

"Anyway," he continued, "OZ became more active as we attacked the Alliance. One of their acts was to assassinate Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian, the UESA's ambassador to space, and a man who advocated peace with the colonies. OZ heavily favored a militaristic approach to governing space, so the minister was an obstacle to them. His daughter, Relena, was with him at the time, but managed to survive the bomb-blast that killed her father. Later on, OZ tried to finish the job at her school on Earth with a mobile suit attack, but I intercepted them with the Wing Gundam."

Heero laughed. "How ironic. I had threatened to kill her almost immediately after we met, yet there I was, saving her life. I couldn't understand it, and it made me furious."

"You said it yourself," replied Murrue, smiling, "You didn't want civilians to die. I'm not at all surprised that you saved her."

He nodded. "You're right there. However, she had become drawn into the broader conflict between us and the Alliance regardless. I… could never have imagined the roll she would end up playing."

"What do you mean?" ask Murrue.

"You'll see later," he said, "Meanwhile, our campaign against the Alliance and OZ was heating up. After a little over a month of combat, we were presented with what seemed like an ideal opportunity to destroy OZ once and for all. There was supposed to be a meeting of top OZ leaders at the New Edwards base in California. All of us wound up attacking it, despite the fact that we hadn't had much communication between each other. It was the first time all five of us were on the same battlefield."

"The forces at the base," he continued, "crumbled before our advance. When I saw an executive shuttle with OZ markings taking off, I immediately moved in and destroyed it." Then his expression darkened. "However… I soon found out that I had made a terrible mistake."

"What happened?" said Murrue softly.

Heero took a breath. "Colonel Treize Khushrenada, the leader of OZ, had set us up. While he and his aid, Lady Une, were indeed at the meeting, the conference was comprised primarily of top Alliance officials. More importantly, most of them were people who were advocating peace and reconciliation with the colonies. Among them was Field Marshall Noventa, head of both the Alliance military and the peace faction… whose top members, including Noventa, were on that shuttle."

Heero looked her dead in the eyes, and Murrue saw that his own were haunted, and full of remorse. Worse, she could also see self-loathing within them.

"Murrue," he said, "I murdered the Alliance's pacifists. They were the best chance for a quick resolution to the conflict, and I cut them down with my beam saber like I would an enemy mobile suit. "

He looked down, unable to meet her gaze. "Treize had disseminated false information, knowing that we would attack if we were presented with a chance to wipe out OZ in one blow. We may have been manipulated, but that does not excuse what I did."

"Heero…" she said. She put her hand on his shoulder, and as he looked up at her she drew him into an embrace. Murrue could feel him briefly stiffen in surprise, but then he seemed to relax into it, and she could feel his head on her shoulder.

"It's alright," she whispered in his ear. "It was a mistake. You were acting under information that you did not realize was false."

"Still," he said as they separated, "that does not change the fact that I killed them, and doomed tens of thousands of people to die in the continuing conflict."

"No," she replied, "it does not. But Heero… you cannot keep carrying around the guilt from that event. It will only grow heavier and heavier, and you will be unable to bear it."

"Heero, look at me," she said, and he did so, "I'm your friend. I can see plain as day the pain that guilt is causing you. Please, let go of it; I know you will never forget what you did, but you must learn to forgive yourself."

Then she saw that he was smiling at her. "Murrue… I've been learning to do that for a while now. I can't say that I have, not yet. However… thank you. I truly appreciate your willingness to help me."

"You don't need to thank me for that," she said, returning his smile, "but you are very welcome all the same." Her expression became more serious. "Do you want to stop here for now? Believe me, I'll completely understand if you do."

Heero shook his head, "No, I want to keep going. You deserve to know, especially after all you've been willing to do for me."

"The attack on the Alliance leadership," he continued, "and the assassination of Noventa, gave Treize the cover he needed to launch Operation Daybreak. OZ forces around the world suddenly turned on the UESA in a massive coup de tat. The Alliance tried to fight back, but for the most part they were defeated quite quickly. OZ moved to assume direct control of the Earth Sphere, and in doing so paved the way for the Romefeller foundation to eventually move out of the shadows and take center stage."

"We continued our operations as before, only now OZ bases became our primary targets. At times we actually found ourselves being aided by members of the former Alliance. Everything came to a head in Siberia."

"What happened?" asked Murrue.

"We'd received intelligence that OZ was planning to move the Taurus, its new space mobile suit, through Siberia to a launch facility. While the move was indeed taking place, it was also intended as a trap for the Gundams. However, we managed to fight our way through all of the military forces that had been arrayed to stop us. Eventually I found myself in a duel with Zechs Merquise. He was actually the same pilot that had thrown my descent course off at the start of Operation Meteor. This time he was piloting a Tallgeese."

Heero took another breath before continuing. "The Tallgeese was the first combat mobile suit ever designed. However, it was actually considered too high spec to be used properly, as very few pilots could handle the sheer acceleration the machine was capable of. The only completed unit was placed in storage until Zechs brought it out in order to fight the Gundams. It's interesting to note that the same scientists who developed the Tallgeese would go on to design the Wing Zero, followed by the Gundams used in Operation Meteor."

"Zechs and I fought, but neither of us could gain the upper hand. Then Treize's aide, Lady Une, a Lieutenant Colonel, made an announcement. The colonies had been targeted by missile satellites in orbit. If we continued to fight, OZ would launch an all out attack on them."

"They took the colonies hostage?" gasped Murrue.

Heero nodded. "Une's ultimatum was simple; surrender the Gundams, or become accessories to mass-murder. However, something happened that no one had anticipated. Doctor J, the scientist behind the Wing Gundam, issued an open broadcast. He said that _he _would surrender, but that he would not give up the Gundams."

"Our own orders were clear; the Gundams were not to fall into the hands of OZ," said Heero, "So I opened the cockpit, stepped out onto the hatch… and self-detonated."

If Murrue had been surprised before, she was completely shocked by this announcement.

Heero looked at her. "To be honest, I have no idea how I survived." He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that's… not entirely accurate. In addition to the training I received prior to Operation Meteor, Doctor J performed some genetic and biological enhancements on me. My skeletal structure was reinforced for increased survivability, and other subtle alterations were made in order to improve my reflexes and physical durability. It wasn't to the extent that the Coordinators of this world were altered, but the fact remains that I am not an entirely natural human." He laughed. "Which means I lied to that pilot I dueled in the orbital battle, as well as to your crew."

"Hold on," said Murrue, "Why didn't our medical scanners pick up the alterations in the blood sample you gave us?"

"Because Doctor J and his colleagues who worked on me injected a masking agent, so that the alterations would not stand out on Alliance scanners. The work that was done on me was considered nearly as important as the creation of the Wing Gundam itself. And like I said, it was subtle, and not to the extent that the genes of Coordinators are altered. Even without the masking agent, it would have been very difficult for even the most advanced blood scanners to pick up."

"Murrue," said Heero, turning to her as he did so, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this when I first came aboard. After reading about the tensions caused by genetic engineering in this world, I wasn't sure how you guys would react if I gave you that information when we first met."

She shook her head. "That's quite alright. I understand your reasons for doing so. Believe me, I'm not upset about it." She sighed. "I was more worried about your self-detonating the Gundam. Even with your enhanced body, it's a miracle you survived!"

"I hadn't intended to," replied Heero, "After the explosion, Zechs allowed the other pilots to withdraw. I was picked up by Trowa in the Heavyarms and taken away for medical attention."

"When I regained consciousness," he continued, "I found myself with the circus that Trowa had been traveling with as cover. I'd been out for nearly a month. Trowa told me that Treize had issued orders for Une to stand down, and in the confusion the other Gundams had been able to retreat. However, due to the threat of a direct attack on the colonies, no subsequent missions had been launched in the time I was unconscious."

"I can imagine," said Murrue, "that with the colonies still being used as a shield, it would be difficult for your fellow pilots to act."

Heero nodded. "I travelled around with Trowa for a while, since I had nowhere else to go. In that time, I visited the families of each of the Alliance leaders that I had killed in the New Edwards attack… and gave them each the chance to avenge the deaths of their loved ones."

Murrue's heart went out to the young man. _I can't imagine the guilt he must have been feeling. To go so far as to give his victims' families the chance to kill him…_

Then she remembered what he had said earlier, about how he was learning to let go of his guilt over that tragic mistake. _Obviously none of the families took him up on his offer, or he wouldn't be here. I can only guess that it was in the time between that and his coming to this world that he began his own healing process._

She put her hand on his shoulder again. "Well, I'm certainly glad that none of them decided to accept your offer. I never would have met you otherwise."

He looked at her and gave a small smile. "Yeah… same here."

After a brief moment of silence, Heero continued his tale. "After a while, a woman by the name of Lucrezia Noin found us. She was Zech's lieutenant, and had come with a message from him. Apparently, he had retrieved the remains of the Wing Gundam, and combined with a cache of Gundanium alloy he'd stolen from under OZ's nose, rebuilt the machine. He wanted to settle our unfinished duel from Siberia at a base in Antarctica, where no one would interfere. I accepted, but upon our arrival I refused to accept his charity, and instead used Trowa's Heavyarms Gundam."

"We fought, but my wounds from Siberia hadn't completely healed, and I was forced on the defensive. Before the battle could progress much further though, we were interrupted by Relena of all people. Somehow she had tracked me down. It was then that I learned that not only was her real name Relena Peacecraft, but Zechs was in fact her brother, Milliardo. They were both the last surviving members of the Peacecraft Monarchy, who had ruled the Sanc Kingdom in northern Europe. The kingdom had been destroyed by the Alliance, and the royal family presumed wiped out. Zechs had in fact joined OZ in order to eventually strike at those personally responsible for the collapse of the Sanc Kingdom."

"I've never heard of such a nation," said Murrue.

"It was probably never established in the Cosmic Era," replied Heero. He turned to her and smiled. "Yet another difference between our worlds."

"One of many," she said, "So, I take it you didn't settle things with Zechs, at least not in Antarctica?"

Heero nodded. "Apparently, Zechs' efforts to rebuild the Wing Gundam and have me brought to Antarctica did not go unnoticed. A large OZ strike force, including over a hundred mobile suits, was moving in on Antarctica. In order to buy us time to escape, Zechs took them all on in the Tallgeese." He turned to Murrue and smiled. "He wiped the floor with them. Over a hundred to one odds… there's a reason I considered him to be one of the best pilots of all time."

"Amazing," Murrue said, "I've never heard of anyone taking on that many mobile suits in a single battle!"

"It was something else, that's for sure," said Heero, "Anyway, after we escaped from Antarctica, we went our separate ways. I found out that OZ was moving on the colonies, attempting to win them over through diplomacy. I went back to space to investigate, but I had to leave Wing Gundam behind; the original five Gundams were built for battle on Earth, and performed poorly in outer space. It turned out that the diplomacy was a front, and OZ was applying military pressure on the colonies from behind the scenes. The colonies were initially friendly to OZ and saw them as liberators from the Alliance, but they soon found out that their new masters were no different than the old. However, that took some time, and in the meantime OZ had managed to turn the colonies against the Gundams." He looked at Murrue. "The very people we were fighting for had turned against us."

_How awful_, she thought, _and after all Heero and his fellow pilots had been through on their behalf! _"Heero… I am so sorry… it must have been terrible."

Heero sighed. "It took some getting used to, that's for sure. However, our mission remained the same; liberate the colonies from outside control, only now we had to fight an enemy that had tricked our own people into making us outcasts. It went… badly."

"What happened, Heero?" she asked softly.

"One by one," he said, "OZ began neutralizing us. Duo and Wufei had gone back into space as well, but their Gundams had been badly damaged, unable to cope with OZ's new weapon: the Mobile Dolls. I also found out that Quatre had been forced to self-destruct the Sandrock Gundam, but beyond that I was unable to find out much information on him. Quite frankly, the Mobile Dolls were the more pressing concern at the moment."

"Mobile Dolls? What are those?" said Murrue.

"Unmanned mobile suits," said Heero, "OZ, with the backing of the military-industrial organization known as the Romefeller Foundation- I mentioned them earlier- had developed AIs that could pilot mobile suits. The system had first been tested on Leos, and after the initial demonstration, mass production began, with OZ's space mobile suit, the Taurus, being converted for use as Mobile Dolls. The AIs could react faster than most human pilots, and with the original Gundams being designed for combat on Earth, we were no match for them. Duo and Wufei were captured and brought to OZ's lunar base. I went there in an attempt to break Duo out- Wufei actually arrived a little after I did- and got myself captured as well. I found out then that Trowa had joined OZ."

"What? He betrayed you?" cried Murrue, "How could he?"

"It wasn't that simple," said Heero, "He'd found out that OZ had captured all five of the Gundam scientists, and decided to join the organization in order to spy on them and potentially gain access to the scientists. The old men were working on two new machines for OZ, made from Gundanium alloy; the Mercurius and the Vayeate. New Gundams, if you will. Trowa had gotten himself selected as the test pilot for the Vayeate, and I was forced to pilot the Mercurius- Trowa had control of the mobile suit's self-detonation device."

"However," Heero said, a smirk appearing on his face, "the capture of the scientists and most of us Gundam pilots, along with the creation of the Mobile Dolls, had consequences that OZ and Romefeller had not anticipated."

"How so?" said Murrue.

"I'll start with the Mobile Dolls. They were the brainchild of Colonel Tsubarov, one of OZ's chief weapons developers as well as a friend of Duke Dermail, head of the Romefeller Foundation. During the test I mentioned earlier, Tsubarov's AI controlled Leos were able to destroy several tanks and mobile suits, but they soon came under attack by none other than Treize Khushrenada."

"Wait, you mean the leader of OZ?" said Murrue, taken aback by this development, "Why would he do that?"

Heero chuckled. "Treize was an… interesting figure. An aristocrat- the nephew of Duke Dermail, in fact- he was a cultured and well-educated man, as well as a charismatic soldier. However, much to the consternation of the Romefeller Foundation, he had his own unique code of chivalry and honor. He could be a ruthless and pragmatic commander when he wanted to- his setting us up to murder the Alliance's pacifists being a perfect example of that- but at the same time he was somewhat of a romantic. He felt that battles, though tragic, are given meaning by the people who risk their lives in them. Removing the human element from war simply turned it into a game for anyone who could afford to buy armies of Mobile Dolls. It removed the decision to kill from human hands, since the AI simply acted according to pre-programmed instructions. While the Romefeller Foundation saw MD as a means to eradicate war, the machines actually made wars easier to start, because the group who controlled them now didn't have to worry about the well being of their own soldiers and the possibility of massive casualties. The only deaths would be those fighting against the Mobile Dolls."

"Treize," Heero continued, "could not accept that. In response to the introduction and mass production of MD, he split from Romefeller and OZ, and took a great deal of soldiers with him when he did. OZ plunged into civil war. The men and women who followed him became known as the Treize Faction. Treize himself was actually soon captured and put under house arrest, but the Treize Faction had attracted a large amount of personnel, ensuring that the new conflict would not be over quickly."

"As bad as a new war breaking out must have been," said Murrue, "I'm certainly glad Treize went rogue. It must have helped your situation."

"Yes, though not immediately," replied Heero, smiling, "Remember, at the time the two groups initiated hostilities, I was in the slammer on the lunar base, along with Duo and Wufei."

"Obviously a jailbreak was in order," Murrue said with a smile.

Heero nodded. "Yes, but I wasn't the one breaking out, at least not yet. In addition to working on the Mercurius and the Vayeate, the scientists had also rebuilt the Deathscythe and the Shenlong in secret. The two Gundams were also heavily upgraded, and became the Deathscythe Hell and the Altron, respectively. The Gundams were only seventy percent complete at the time, but it was more than enough for Duo and Wufei to thrash OZ's forces at the base and make their escape. They would finish the remaining work on their new Gundams later on, and would remain in space fighting OZ on their own until the rest of us joined them for the final campaign."

"Shortly thereafter," he continued, "Quatre lost his father, and one of his sisters. In his despair, he found the designs for the Wing Zero, and had it built. He then decided to use it to wipe out not only OZ, but everyone in outer space. His father and sister had died in part due to the colonists accepting OZ rule, and in his twisted state of mind, he let loose his wrath on both parties."

He looked at Murrue. "It was Quatre that destroyed the space colony I told you about earlier. When OZ learned of what happened, both Trowa and I were scrambled to stop him. In our battle, we managed to capture the Wing Zero, but not before Quatre destroyed the Vayeate. Trowa went missing, presumed dead. It wasn't until much later that I learned he had survived, and had made it to a nearby colony."

"Around the time of that engagement," said Heero, "OZ had begun mass-producing the Virgo, the first machine designed specifically as an MD. It incorporated aspects of both the Mercurius and the Vayeate, and was well balanced in both offense and defense, though it was bulky and lacked close range weaponry. The Virgo MD's also had speed issues, particularly in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, it was still superior to anything else in the Earth Sphere at the time, save for the Gundams, and even then, only with a great deal of effort, or after being upgraded, like the Deathscythe Hell and the Altron."

"After the Wing Zero was captured, we were eventually taken by members of the Treize Faction. However, Romefeller loyalists soon overcame the lunar base, though they didn't execute the members of the Treize Faction or us. Rather, they used us in order to test the Wing Zero and its system, which had helped drive Quatre's rampage before we had stopped him. He managed to recover psychologically during this time, and was deeply remorseful over what he had done."

"Eventually, I was able to hijack the Wing Zero. I trashed the Virgo's that had been stationed at the base, but then Quatre confronted me in the Mercurius." He looked up at Murrue. "It was my first encounter with the Zero system. I… began to lose myself to it, just like Quatre had."

"Oh my god…" Murrue whispered. She'd assumed up until now that, although he'd stressed how difficult the system was to wield, that he'd had no serious problems with it. She shuddered at the thought of Heero going on a rampage, backed by the most powerful mobile suit ever built.

She was comforted to see him smile at her. "Fortunately, Quatre was able to snap me out of it, though it took some doing. We fled the base in a shuttle, leaving Wing Zero behind. We made our way to Earth, though we had no idea exactly what we were going to do once we got there."

"In the meantime, the Romefeller Foundation moved to seize direct control of the Earth. They launched Operation Nova, and sent hundreds of the newly completed Virgos to Earth to confront not only the Treize Faction, but to bring dissident nations to heel. In the midst of this, a bounty was put out on the heads of the Gundam pilots. Quatre and I travelled around Europe for awhile, and I eventually joined up with a group of Treize Faction soldiers as a mercenary. The fact that I was a Gundam pilot made it easy for me to get in, as my skills were highly valued, even without an actual Gundam at my disposal."

"I can imagine that," said Murrue, "I've never seen anyone with piloting abilities like yours. You'd be deadly even in a normal mobile suit."

Heero nodded. "Indeed. During our initial clash with Romefeller forces, we did quite well. However, once the MD's entered the picture, the Leo I was using was simply too obsolete for me to face them in. Fortunately, Quatre and Noin showed up, and Noin dropped the Buster Rifle, which Quatre then fired with an Aeries mobile he had taken suit to destroy the Virgos. It turned out that Noin had found the Wing Gundam and retrieved it. Then she asked me and Quatre to join her in defending the revived Sanc Kingdom."

"The Sanc Kingdom was restored?" said Murrue, "Who was leading it?"

"None other than Relena," said Heero, "Apparently, Noin had helped her rebuild the nation in the time I spent unconscious and in space. However, Relena continued to advocate the Peacecraft family philosophy of total pacifism, which meant that the nation would be vulnerable to outside attack. Noin was working to build a defense force for the kingdom in secret. Since we had nowhere else to go, Quatre and I decided to help her and Relena."

"Noin informed Relena that we were coming," he continued, "and she welcomed us with open arms. I'm sure she suspected that Noin had her own reasons for bringing us to Sanc, but she didn't press for details, and even enrolled us in the new school she had established. Members of the ruling elite from across the world had sent their daughters to it in order to learn about the Peacecraft ideals, and how to apply them in their own countries. The student make up was primarily of girls from nations who wanted to resist Romefeller but were too weak to do so. Quatre and I were the first male students on campus."

"You two must have been quite popular," said Murrue with a knowing smile.

Heero laughed. "We certainly drew attention, though in my case it turned into a bit of trouble."

"How so?" asked Murrue.

"One of the new arrivals," he said, "was Dorothy Catalonia, the granddaughter of Duke Dermail. She was sent to spy on Relena, and she knew who Quatre and I really were. Dorothy confronted me in a fencing match. She spoke in a somewhat cryptic manner so the other students wouldn't catch on, but I knew that she was telling me that she knew I was one of the Gundam pilots. Soon after her arrival, a group of Mobile Doll entered the kingdom in pursuit of a transport used by the Treize Faction. They shot it down, and it would have crashed on top of the car Relena and Dorothy were in had I not destroyed it with the Wing Gundam. Quatre and Noin showed up in Tauruses to fend off the MDs, and thus our secret defense force was revealed."

"You seem to have developed a habit of saving Relena's life," said Murrue, an amused smile on her face.

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that. Considering how our first meeting had gone, the irony wasn't lost on me. Anyway, Relena actually approved of the new defense force, so we avoided a confrontation on that end. She asked me to promise her that I would remain in the kingdom and not go looking for battles. I said yes, but I kept myself ready to leave at any time; another habit I had, though this one had been with me for years."

"I can see that," said Murrue, "Considering what you told me about your early life before the orbital battle, I imagine you must have travelled quite a bit."

"Yeah," said Heero, "Although, as you probably figured out, I left a great deal out."

She nodded. "I figured that. Since you said that you were fifteen earlier, I know that what you're telling me only happened within the last year of your life. I can't imagine what your childhood must have been like."

Heero looked down for a moment. "Murrue, the reason I started with Operation Meteor is because I considered that mission and the subsequent conflict to be the most important events of my life. I can tell you about my earlier years some other time, if you want."

Murrue smiled. "It's alright, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I know you had your reasons for starting where you did. I'd imagine that this war helped shape you into the young man that's sitting with me right now. I have no problem with you starting from there, instead of giving me a more traditional life story."

Heero smiled as well. "The war impacted all of us who took part in it. I had other experiences before it that influenced my beliefs and way of life, but the war was by far the biggest, and the most relevant as to how I wound up here."

"I bet," she said. "Heero… please continue. I don't need to hear about your early years tonight, but I'd really like to know what happened to you in the Sanc Kingdom."

Heero nodded. "Don't worry, I wasn't intending to stop for the night. I'll go until the end of the war. That was actually little more than a month before I came to the Cosmic Era."

He took a breath, then continued. "Eventually, I found out that Treize was under house arrest in a mansion in Luxembourg, and that Romefeller was planning to attack the nearby base, which had recently been taken over by troops loyal to Treize. They were sending a large force of Virgos, and the defenders would have no chance of beating them. I broke my word to Relena, and scrambled the Wing Gundam."

Heero sighed. "Looking back on things, in going to fight at Luxembourg… I believe I was looking for a place to die. The amount of Virgos that Romefeller had deployed was overwhelming, even with the Wing Gundam at my disposal. I managed to take out several of them, but sheer numbers began to take their toll."

"Heero…" said Murrue. Once again she could feel herself nearly overcome with pity for him. She had heard her share of tragic tales over the course of the current war, naturally, but this was beyond anything she could have ever imagined. _And he was so young_, she thought, _far too young to have to go through all that he did! _Yet he took it all so stoically, with a strength she could only marvel at. _It's impossible to see him as just another teenager caught up in all this_, she realized_, his innocence was shattered long ago. He became an adult far earlier than anyone should have had to. _Even after what he had told her in orbit, she had still seen him somewhat as a sixteen year old boy. An incredibly talented one to be sure, but still just another teenage pilot.

But now… after hearing all that she had, and knowing that there was still more to come in his tale… _He truly is a man. He probably crossed that threshold even before Operation Meteor. I was a fool, not realizing it sooner. The way he acted from the moment we met should have made things abundantly clear; he's one of us. A true soldier, trying to survive, and perhaps make some sort of difference in a war-torn world. Kira and his friends have still managed to keep some sense of innocence, of naiveté, but Heero's is long gone._

Heero began speaking again, and once again Murrue gave him her full attention. "Eventually, the Wing Gundam was hit one too many times by enemy fire, and I lost my mobility. I was about to trigger the self-detonation device when I received a message from Treize. He was telling me not to die, that I still had much to do. Curious to see what he wanted, I abandoned the Wing Gundam and made my way towards his mansion, the battle still raging around me."

"My encounter with him was not what I had expected. We talked for quite a while, debating the nature of war and the human desire to fight, along with a host of other topics. Afterward, he revealed something that too me completely by surprise. It turned out that he had studied not only the five Gundams used in Operation Meteor, but the designs for Wing Zero as well, and had built a new Gundam in secret; the Epyon. It was designed as a dueling mobile suit, with its only weapons being a Beam Sword and a whip-like device called a Heat Rod. It had Gundanium alloy, of course, and was incredibly fast and maneuverable, but what truly made it fearsome was the inclusion of the Zero system in its construction."

"Hold on," said Murrue, "you mean that Wing Zero was not the only Gundam with that system?"

Heero nodded, then looked her in the eye. "Of all the other mobile suits built in the After Colony timeline, the Epyon was the only one that was considered to be equal to the Wing Zero. The fact that both machines had the Zero system made them amongst the deadliest weapons in the entire Earth Sphere. However, I did not know that Treize had included the system until after I entered the cockpit and powered up the mobile suit. With the help of the system, I made short work of the remaining Virgos, but I also wound up attacking the Treize Faction soldiers as well. In the end, I wiped out both sides, and collapsed soon after the battle. I still hadn't gained mastery over the Zero system, as you can tell. Also, Treize seems to have modified it to some degree. I could sense a slight difference between this system and the one in place on Wing Zero, though it's hard to describe exactly what it was. No doubt it was influenced by Treize's own ideals. He had warned me, though, not to think of 'winning' while using it. Rather, the fight itself was what the Epyon's Zero system seems to have been geared towards."

"You mean it was meant to make the pilot fight only for the sake of fighting?" asked Murrue.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Heero replied, "though that might be a bit too simplistic. It was deeper than that, but I think that only someone who really understood Treize would be able to put it into words."

"That system," he continued, "would play a major part in my actions to come. Soon after the attack on Luxembourg, Relena allowed a group of wounded Treize Faction soldiers to enter the Sanc Kingdom as refugees. Unfortunately, this had been exactly what Romefeller had been waiting for, and they used it as justification for an all-out invasion of the Sanc Kingdom. Noin, Quatre, and several former Alliance and OZ soldiers that had joined us fought in defense of the kingdom, and I fought as well in the Epyon. However, the Epyon's Zero system drove me into something akin to a berserker frenzy, and I wound up moving away from the beaches, where the most important fighting was occurring. I simply rampaged across the kingdom, destroying Virgos as I came across them, without regard to the overall strategic situation."

"Eventually, Duke Dermail persuaded Relena to surrender, and the Sanc Kingdom was formally dissolved. I later learned that Dermail planned to install her as the puppet Queen of a new World Nation, and use her popularity with the people to help him rule Earth. At the time, however, I was still caught up in the grasp of the Epyon's system, and kept fighting even after everyone else had stopped. I continued until late in the evening, when someone I hadn't expected arrived on the scene."

"Who was it?" said Murrue.

"Zechs," he said, "and even more surprising was that he was piloting the Wing Zero. Somehow he had acquired it in the time since our interrupted duel in Antarctica. We fought, but both of us were having trouble with our suits' systems, and the battle ended when we both got out of our machines and ultimately collapsed. Afterwards, we talked for awhile, and we eventually decided to swap mobile suits. I had a feeling that he would be able to use the Epyon better than I could, since he had been Treize's best friend. I took the Wing Zero, and found that I was able to adapt better to the original Zero system. I guess my time with the Epyon had helped prepare me to better control the system. I took Wing Zero and attacked Romefeller's invasion fleet, then withdrew. Zechs went off on his own."

"What did he hope to accomplish?" Murrue asked.

"You'll see soon enough," replied Heero, "In the meanwhile, I heard about Dermail's plans to make Relena the symbolic head of Romefeller and the new Queen of the World Nation. I was unwilling to allow her to be used in that fashion, so I made my way towards the Foundation's main headquarters in Europe where her coronation ceremony would be… to kill her, though I was much more reluctant to go through with it this time around.

"However," he said, smiling, "Relena surprised me, and the Romefeller Foundation as well. She declared that, since Romefeller now presided over the new World Nation, it must set an example and disarm. Duke Dermail tried to protest, but Relena's words won over the majority of the ruling elite. And all the while, she knew I was standing in the wings, aiming a gun at her. I couldn't help but admire the strength of her convictions, and her ability to persuade other members of Romefeller to come around to her ideals. Dermail was embarrassed, and his power base within the Foundation began to crumble. He'd clearly underestimated his would-be puppet."

"She sounds like an amazing young woman," said Murrue, looking carefully to see how Heero would react.

He nodded. "Yeah. Fighting was all I knew how to do, but that didn't mean I couldn't respect her own principles and how she struggled in her own way to change the world. Her will seemed to be unbreakable, yet she was at the same time the most compassionate person I'd ever met. I was… greatly relieved… to not have to kill her."

"Heero," said Murrue, meeting his gaze, "did you love her?"

He gave a small laugh, and shook his head. "No. For awhile I thought I did, but I came to realize that the feelings I had for her- and hers for me- were not quite love, at least not in the romantic sense."

"Relena," he said with a smile, "was my first true friend. I think it was the same for her as well. Though she had been popular at school before meeting me, I think people only saw her as the daughter of an Alliance government official. Someone with access to power and wealth. I think one of the reasons she followed me in those early days was because I hadn't seen her as such, and that kindled her own interest in me, although the whole mysteriously washing up on the beach thing probably helped too. Over time, we came to understand each other in a way that no one else did, and it was that respect and admiration that created the bond between us. It wasn't romantic, but it didn't have to be. For us, that friendship was more than enough. In the end, I think it was all we ever really wanted."

"She must miss you," said Murrue softly.

He looked down. "I bet so. I miss her too, and I know she'll start worrying about me, if she hasn't already. That's the last thing I want to put her through; she doesn't deserve it."

"Heero…" she whispered. She gently grabbed his hand, and they sat there in silence for awhile.

He looked at her, and while she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes, she also saw gratitude, and perhaps a bit of hope. "Thank you, Murrue," he said softly.

She nodded and smiled. "You're welcome, Heero. Do you still want to continue?"

He nodded and returned her smile. "Yes."

Heero took a moment to collect his thoughts, and then spoke. "Unfortunately, it turned out not everyone was willing to embrace Relena's pacifist ideals, and I'm not just referring to Duke Dermail. White Fang, a group of militant colonists, staged what became known as the Artemis Revolution. They seized several facilities in outer space, including the lunar base in charge of the production of the Virgo Mobile Dolls, along with Romefeller's secret weapon, the nearly completed space-battleship _Libra_. Colonel Tsubarov, the man in charge of the MD program, was killed in the uprising, by the very machines that he had so championed. A fitting end if there ever was one."

"The rebels made a speech, and what was thought to be their leader, a man named Quinz, spoke of repaying OZ and the Earth for all of the injustices committed against the colonies, and restated the desire for independence. However, it was soon revealed that the true leader behind the group was none other than Zechs Merquise. He spoke of how the Earth was the source of all conflict, and that the space colonists, with their daily struggles just to survive, could live without war were it not for the Earth. So he declared war on the Earth Nation."

"Now, I imagine you're wondering if we intended to join the White Fang. One of their stated goals was the independence of the colonies after all, which had been ours at the outset of Operation Meteor."

Murrue nodded. "The thought had crossed my mind."

"Had the Earth not just declared its intent to disarm," said Heero, "we may well have joined them. However, it was immediately apparent that White Fang was an obstacle to reaching a true peace between the Earth and the colonies. In addition, with the capture of the moon base, it became obvious that their intention was to amass a large force of Mobile Dolls of their own, we could not side with anyone who used those machines instead of fighting their battles themselves. Also, Zechs had announced the group's intention to eliminate the Earth all together, or at least make it unfit for human habitation, forcing mankind to live entirely in space. There was no way in hell that we could go along with a plan like that; it was all too similar to the original Operation Meteor. I quickly realized that I would have to go to space; the final campaign would no doubt unfold there."

"I wasn't the only one who was preparing to head for space. Duke Dermail personally led a force of MDs in an attempt to wipe out the rebellion and at the same time shore up his support base. However, he underestimated the strength of White Fang, and died in the engagement. The force was defeated, and the rebels became emboldened, and prepared for their next move."

"Meanwhile," he continued, "the Maganac Corps, allies of Quatre's, had salvaged and rebuilt the Sandrock Gundam. Also, Sally Po, a former Alliance officer, contacted me with news that she had recovered the Heavyarms Gundam, although at the time there was still no sign of Trowa. Quatre took the Sandrock into space, while Sally and I took the Wing Zero and the Heavyarms. The stage was set for the Eve Wars, the culmination of everything that had been set into motion by our revised Operation Meteor."

"When the shuttle Sally and I were on made it into space, we encountered Wufei. He had tried to attack the _Libra _by himself, and had to withdraw. The Altron had taken damage, and we let him come aboard our ship as we made our way towards the _Peacemillion_, a carrier that was operated by Howard. He had been the head of the group of salvage workers that had helped Duo on Earth. I later learned that he had also been one of the scientists who had worked on the original Tallgeese project. I'm not sure how he came by the carrier, but it made for a great base of operations. Howard had also upgraded the Sandrock for combat in space, and would be able to do the same for the Heavyarms Gundam as well. Before we could make it to the _Peacemillion_, we were attacked by a large group of Virgo IIs, upgraded forms of the original Virgo MD, operated by White Fang. I told Wufei to sortie in the Wing Zero. The Zero system helped him see who his real enemies were, White Fang and Treize, whom he had an old score to settle with, and it convinced him to join up with us."

"In the meanwhile," he said, "before we made it to the carrier, White Fang launched an assault on OZ's space fortress Barge. Duo, Quatre, Noin, and Trowa, whom they had recently recovered, though he was suffering from amnesia, intervened in an attempt to stop the fighting. There were several colonies in the area, and if Barge fired its main cannon and accidently hit one of them, the blast would wipe it out."

"As it turned out, Barge got one shot off with that cannon. It wiped out a large amount of Virgo IIs, but it also grazed a colony, though it didn't destroy it. Before it could fire another blast, Zechs, who had been leading the assault in the Epyon, single handedly destroyed Barge, though as you know, its primary reactor survived the space fortress's destruction, and lead to me coming to the Cosmic Era."

"It seems I owe Zechs my thanks," said Murrue, "Otherwise I would never have met you."

Heero chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I owe him one for that."

"After the battle," he continued, "all of us wound up aboard the _Peacemillion_. While we were trying to figure out what our next move would be, a group of Treize Faction soldiers took over a colony, and took its citizens hostage. Treize disowned them, but it did little to help the situation. The colony was the one that Trowa had been recovered at, and his friends from the circus he had been traveling with were still there. I let him take the Wing Zero to intervene, mainly because I thought that the Zero system might be able to reawaken his memories. Duo, Quatre, and Noin went along as well, and the hostages were rescued. Trowa did in fact regain his memories, and he returned to the carrier. By then, the Heavyarms was ready for use in space combat, so he was able to return to his old machine, though it had been upgraded with additional weapons as well as the space flight modifications."

"In the meanwhile, major developments were taking place on Earth. Treize relieved Relena of her position as head of the Romefeller Foundation and sovereign of the World Nation. Personally, I think he did it so that she would not be forced to fight her own brother. Regardless, the man essentially seized control of the entire world in about five minutes."

Murrue was stunned. _He makes it sound so easy! It's hard to imagine that someone could have pulled that off. _Yet, despite how incredulous it sounded, she realized that she had absolute faith in Heero, not a shred of doubt that he was telling the truth.

"One more thing," said Heero, his expression becoming grim, "during the hostage situation, Zechs had begun moving the _Libra _in preparation to fire its main cannon, a weapon more powerful than Barge or the Twin Buster Rifle. Everyone else thought that he was preparing to fire on the colony itself, sacrificing the hostages just to make a point. When he fired, the blast actually missed the colony, but I had already predicted what his main target would be, and my conclusion was proven to be all too accurate."

"Where did the shot hit?" said Murrue, trepidation clear in her voice.

"Earth," said Heero, "The blast hit an island and completely annihilated it; a clear demonstration of power if there ever was one. This served to underline the threat posed by White Fang. Fortunately, the main cannon could not fire consecutively. The five Gundam scientists, who had been forced to work on the _Libra_, introduced a design flaw that would cause the weapon to break down after each shot, requiring extensive and time-consuming repairs before it could fire again.

"Treize, in the meanwhile," he continued, "proceeded to amass the entire strength of OZ for battle with White Fang. Thousands of mobile suits began gathering in space at the resource satellite MO-II, which Treize had chosen as a frontline command post and staging point for an eventual assault on the _Libra._"

"While OZ was preparing for battle, White Fang turned its attention towards us. Deciding that since we were not with them, we were against them, they launched several waves of MDs at us, and we had to fight several back-to-back battles. I eventually realized that Zechs had someone using the Zero system to coordinate the Virgo II's, and so I worked up a version of the system for Quatre to use to lead the other pilots more effectively against them."

"Why didn't you do it yourself?" said Murrue, "Surely you would have been the better choice since you had mastered the system by then."

"Because," Heero replied, "I knew that eventually Zechs would take the field in the Epyon, and I would need to focus on fighting him. Quatre had a certain knack for leadership that the other pilots did not, so I felt that he was the best choice. Indeed, in the next battle he was able to get the others to coordinate their moves, quite a feat considering that we had been so used to fighting alone before then. Also, in that battle Zechs did indeed come out himself, and we fought yet another duel. During our fight I tried to figure out his intentions, but he made it clear that he was dead serious on using the _Libra _against the Earth. He even tried to persuade me to join him, declaring that, as a soldier of the colonies, I should be fighting on his side. However, I could never have lived with myself if I had joined them and thereby helped to murder countless civilians. My decision was simple; I would oppose him, and I would stop him no matter what."

Murrue smiled. "I would expect nothing less from you, Heero."

"Thanks, Murrue. I appreciate that," he said.

"Awhile later, we received some help from an unexpected source," he continued, "Hilde Schubeicher, a friend of Duo's, had somehow snuck aboard the _Libra _disguised as a White Fang soldier. She managed to get a copy of the battleship's schematics, but during her escape she was discovered and pursued by rebuilt, MD versions of the Mercurius and Vayeate, each programmed with a more sophisticated AI than normal. The one aboard the Mercurius was based off of data took from me when I was forced to pilot it by OZ, while the Vayeate had Trowa's data. Duo scrambled the Deathscythe Hell to save Hilde, and managed to destroy both machines in the process."

"That's impressive," said Murrue, "especially considering that he was essentially up against two Gundam pilots, or at least copies."

"Copies, Murrue," Heero said with a smirk, "Nowhere near close to the real-deal."

"Of course," said Murrue, laughing slightly.

"Anyway, after we recovered Hilde, I found out that in addition to the battleship's schematics, the girl had also found out that Relena was being held aboard the _Libra_. Apparently, after Treize had relieved her of her duties, she had journeyed to space in an effort to convince Zechs to abandon his campaign. At the same time, Dorothy Catalonia had gone there as well, although in her case it was to join Zechs and White Fang. It was her that had been using the Zero system to command White Fang's MD fleet. At this time Zechs had begun going by his real name, Milliardo Peacecraft, signifying that he had cut ties with OZ once and for all. He confined Relena to one of the officer's quarters, and had Dorothy keep an eye on her."

"I knew that eventually Treize would launch a massive assault on the _Libra_," he continued, "and I didn't want Relena to get caught in the crossfire. I took a shuttle and managed to infiltrate the battleship. Eventually I found Relena, but she wanted to speak to her brother one more time before I got her out of there. We found him, but it turned out it was only a hologram. He had been speaking to us from the bridge of the _Libra_. The final battle soon began, with Treize challenging Zechs to a duel. Zechs refused, and fired the main cannon at Treize, who had taken the field himself in the Tallgeese II. Treize was actually willing to take the blast, in order to show the world that, in the end, there was no chivalry in war, but at the last moment Lady Une, who had taken the Wing Gundam, which had been repaired by OZ at Luxembourg, and knocked him out of the way. The lower half of the Wing Gundam was disintegrated, but both Treize and Une survived. Lady Une withdrew to MO-II to support Treize in a command and control capacity, and the entire might of Earth and space finally engaged each other. Thousands of mobile suits and MD's went at it, the largest battle in the history of the Earth Sphere."

"Meanwhile, the rest of the Gundam pilots launched their machines. In theory, we were against both sides, but in practice my fellow pilots focused their attacks on White Fang's Virgo IIs. Howard and the crew of the _Peacemillion _crashed the carrier into the _Libra's _main cannon, disabling it. Relena and I were still on the battleship, and I covered her to protect her from injury. I was grazed by some debris, but nothing serious. I was able to get Relena over to the _Peacemillion_, and after I was sure she would be safe, I launched the Wing Zero. It didn't take me long to find Zechs, and we began our own final battle."

"Incredible…" whispered Murrue. What else _could _she say? What Heero was describing was a battle beyond anything she had previously heard of, anything she could have imagined.

"While Zechs and I dueled, Treize met Wufei on the battlefield," he said, "Ultimately, Treize allowed himself to be killed by Wufei. I think that he respected us Gundam pilots more than anyone else because of our willingness to fight against impossible odds, and that he wanted to die at the hands of someone he held in such high regard. While that was happening, Duo retrieved the five Gundam scientists from within the _Libra_, and transferred them to the _Peacemillion _so they could detonate the carrier's engines while Howard and the crew evacuated, destroying both vessels. At the same time, Quinz had begun to move the battleship towards Earth in an attempt to recreate the _original _Operation Meteor."

"What? How could he do something like that?" said Murrue, "Surely he knew by then that he had lost."

"Because," Heero said grimly, "Quinz was one of the masterminds behind the original plan, and his hatred of the people of Earth knew no bounds. He was determined to go through with the operation, regardless of the current situation."

"Quatre," he continued, "had boarded the battleship in an attempt to stop Quinz. However, he was confronted by Dorothy, and in the midst of such a high tech battle, the two of them fought a duel with fencing blades. Quatre was wounded, but Trowa arrived to help him escape, and Dorothy managed to flee the _Libra _as well. By this time, both OZ and White Fang had suffered such massive casualties that the battle was essentially over. Nevertheless, Quinz made his way over to the _Peacemillion's _engine block, and attempted to stop the five scientists from detonating it. He failed, and the old men who had been so instrumental to our own Operation Meteor went out in a final blaze of glory, destroying both _Peacemillion _and most of the _Libra _as well."

"I suppose that would be a fitting end for them," Murrue said softly. To be honest, she had mixed feelings about those old men. On the one hand, they had built the machines that Heero and his friends had wound up piloting at such a young age. On the other, Heero had not said that they had been forced to do so, and she realized that all of the boys no doubt had valid reasons of their own for wanting to fight. _Not to mention_, she thought, _were it not for their creations, I would never have had the chance to meet Heero. I know it's selfish of me, especially considering all he went through following Operation Meteor, but… he's such an amazing young man. I've only known him for about a week, but I've already found myself wondering how I've gone so long _without _having him in my life._

She turned to him and smiled. _Heero… you're truly someone special. I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate to have met you, and I want to continue to get to know you, to learn more about you. _And she was sure that he would let her. He'd been so willing to trust her, and she would not let that faith go to waste. She would do all she could to help him, in any way she could. Even if all she could do was provide a shoulder for him to lay his head on, someone to confide in, she was determined to make sure that he knew she cared about him, that she truly did consider him a friend.

"So that just left you and Zechs to finish your duel then, correct?" she said.

Heero shook his head. "Not quite. A large section of _Libra _had broken off during the explosion, and it continued to fall towards the Earth. It provided the stage for our final confrontation, but at the same time its size could prove devastating if it impacted the planet. I knew that we were on a time limit for our fight, and I gave it everything I had. Eventually I cut off the Epyon's left arm, the one with the Heat Rod, and beat Zechs. However, during the duel, I had dropped the Twin Buster Rifle, which was what I would ultimately need to destroy the falling block. I made my way into the heart of the section, where its own reactor was, but my gatlings were out of ammo, and my beam saber's charge had finally run out."

He sighed. "I prepared to self-detonate the Wing Zero. I tried to convince myself that it was right that I should die here, saving innocent lives in the process of my final act. However, Zechs intervened. He said that it was someone like me who was needed for the new era to come, and that I couldn't die here. Zechs impaled the reactor with his Beam Saber and disappeared in the subsequent explosion, but not before declaring that he would return. His actions greatly reduced the mass of the block, but enough remained to cause serious harm on Earth should it impact."

"In the meanwhile, the other pilots had made it to the block, and were doing all they could to break it apart. Finally, Wufei managed to retrieve the Twin Buster Rifle, and he got it to me not a moment too soon. When the others heard the news, they immediately disengaged and got out of there, while I made my way into the atmosphere ahead of the block, preparing to fire."

Heero smiled. "Maybe it was what Zechs had said to me, or what Relena had told me before I took off in Wing Zero, but I felt different than before. I was starring death in the face yet again, but instead of embracing the possibility that it might all end there, I was determined to survive no matter what happened. I fired the Twin Buster Rifle at maximum power, and destroyed the block. The explosion was massive, but I flew right through it and emerged unscathed. I felt… free. Like a great weight had finally been removed from my shoulders. Our war was finally over."

"The colonies and Earth both declared their intent to reconcile, and the Earth Sphere Unified Nation was born." Heero gave a small laugh. "In the end, Treize and Zechs won."

Now Murrue was confused. "I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"The final battle," said Heero, "was deliberately set up by both of them to involve the maximum amount of military force possible. Almost all of the Mobile Dolls and space capable mobile suits were involved, and the casualties were massive."

He turned to look at Murrue. "Zechs and Treize gave humanity a war so horrendous, so devastating, with the added potential for annihilation of both the colonies and life on Earth, that humanity lost all taste for battle. We Gundam pilots in the end only acted to protect innocents from getting caught up in the middle. The vast majority of the arsenals mankind had built up were destroyed in that conflict, and the rest would be easy enough to dismantle. Treize and Zechs managed to give humanity a chance to rid itself of war altogether."

Heero sighed. "Of course, whether or not they embrace it is ultimately up to them. When I destroyed the Barge reactor and came to the Cosmic Era, it had been a little over a month since the final battle. At the time, it seemed that a lasting peace had been achieved, but who can say how events will play out. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that perhaps, for the first time, mankind in my world can break the cycle of violence that has so long plagued us."

He looked at her again and smiled. "From the Barge incident onwards… I think you know the rest."

She nodded, but there was something that was still bothering her. "Heero, when we first met, you said that you were trying to find your purpose for being in our world. When peace was achieved in your own… did you feel like you had lost your sense of purpose as a result?"

He laughed. "You know, you really have gotten good at reading me. Yes, you're right. I tried to take jobs for the new government, keep tabs on groups attempting rearmament, but it just wasn't enough. Fighting was all I had ever known, and I was having difficulty getting used to peace, much more than my friends were. Coming here… was actually kind of a relief, in a way. It's not that I enjoy battle, far from it. But fighting for you guys once again gave me a sense of fulfillment, something that I think I lost at the end of the Eve Wars."

"Well," said Murrue, "as glad as I am to know that we can give you that much, I wish we could do so without having you fight. It's… too sad. Fighting shouldn't be what makes you feel whole, alive. There's so much more to life than war. I know you say it's all you've known, and we are at war now, but I don't believe we always will be."

She looked at him and grabbed his hand. "Peace will come in this world too, eventually. I want to help you be ready for that, so that you won't feel so lost and won't need to fight in order to have a purpose."

"Murrue…"he said, his eyes widening slightly. He was quiet for a moment, and then smiled. "Thank you. I really appreciate that."

She surprised him, and herself, by moving in to embrace him again. This time he got over it a bit quicker, and gently held her as well. "We're friends, Heero," she whispered in his ear, "I'll do whatever I can to help you. I know you said you would defend us while trying to find your purpose, but you don't have to search for it alone."

She could feel his grip on her tighten slightly in response, but she didn't mind in the least. "In return," he said, "I swear I'll protect you, no matter what happens."

They slowly parted, and she realized that they were both smiling. She grabbed her tray, stood up, and offered him her hand. "Well, shall we head back?"

He nodded, grabbed his own tray, and took her hand. As she pulled him up, he laughed. "Yeah, they're probably worried about us by now. I've kept you out here long enough."

"Nevertheless," she said as they made their way back towards the ship, "I enjoyed every minute of it."

….

Aboard the _Lesseps_, Waltfeld stood looking over a map of the region. "Are you sure this information is accurate, DaCosta?" he said.

The Field Marshall's aide nodded. "According to our sources, Tassil has been supplying the resistance fighters with both food and new recruits." He pointed to a red dot on the map symbolizing the town, which wasn't too far from the ship's current location.

"Are any of our units in the area other than us?" asked Waltfeld.

"Yes, sir," DaCosta replied, "A patrol from the Seventh Armored Division. They have four BuCues at their disposal, which is fortunate since our remaining two are undergoing repairs at the moment, and we won't be able to take on new ones to replace those lost until we return to Banadiya."

"I see," he said, then turned to the helmsman, "Set course for Banadiya. Comm. officer, radio Seventh Armor's nearest patrol and have them rendezvous with us west of Tassil."

As the two men got to work, Waltfeld turned to DaCosta. "At our current pace, what's our ETA?"

"About an hour," he replied, "close to midnight, I believe. Seventh Armor's patrol will most likely beat us there by a few minutes."

"Good," said the Field Marshall. Glancing down at the town on the map, he added, "We need to show the denizens of Tassil the consequences of aiding the Desert Dawn."

….

Murrue and Heero were both about to enter their separate quarters when Natarle's voice came over the intercom. "Captain Ramius, please come to the bridge!"

"Sounds urgent," said Heero.

Murrue nodded. "You go get some rest; I'll go see what's up."

Heero shook his head. "I won't be able to get any sleep if I think there's trouble. I'll come with you and see what's up."

When they got to the bridge, Murrue could see clouds of dust billowing up around them. Looking carefully, she saw that the dust was being kicked up by several vehicles racing past the _Archangel _towards the mouth of the ravine.

"What's happening, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"They just got a message from a nearby town called Tassil," Natarle replied, "It's an ally of theirs, a source of food, water, and the home of many of their fighters. Apparently, it was just attacked by ZAFT."

"A retaliatory strike?" said Murrue.

Rather than wait for Natarle to respond, she turned to Heero. The young man nodded. "Waltfeld no doubt knows that it was members of Desert Dawn that helped us during the battle. His intelligence sources probably pinpointed that town as an ally of theirs. This is a punitive raid, a warning to others who may be thinking of aiding Desert Dawn, and us by extension."

"What should we do?" said Natarle, "The Tiger may find out that the rebel base is here; Tassil isn't too far away from this ravine. It would be easy for him to retrace the rebels' steps."

Murrue nodded. "Dispatch Lieutenant Commander La Flaga on Skygrasper One. Have him head for the town and try to get a sense of the situation. Meanwhile, see what we can afford to give as relief aid to the civilians, and have crewmembers load our trucks and have them make for Tassil. Put Ensign Yamato on standby; if Waltfeld is still in the area, then the rebels may be walking into a trap. We'll launch the Strike in Aile configuration to bail them out if need be."

"But we'd be putting our own resources in needless danger!" argued Natarle.

"If the rebels are wiped out, then we lose access to their supply sources!" snapped Murrue, "How do you propose we make it to Alaska then, Lieutenant Badgiruel?"

Natarle grimaced. "Understood, Captain."

Murrue then turned to Heero. "I want you to go remain with the ship. If this is a diversion and Waltfeld has actually found the camp and plans to strike us here, then I want you in reserve to cover that possibility."

"Good thinking," he replied, "I'll head down to the Wing Zero. I'm going to patch into the ship's radar and communications from there so I can monitor the situation."

"Alright," she said. Heero nodded and quickly left the bridge.

….

It wasn't hard to spot Tassil, or rather, what was left of it. "Man," said Mu La Flaga as he flew over the flaming ruins, "the Tiger did a real number on this place." Decreasing his altitude, he saw what appeared to be a large group of people standing on the outskirts of the town. _So some people did get out._

As he came in for a landing, he realized that the group was much larger than it should have been for a scene of such devastation. Putting two and two together, he realized what had happened. He got on the radio with the _Archangel_.

"Well," he said, "I've got some good news. It looks like the entire population survived."

"How is that possible?" said Captain Ramius.

"I have a theory, but I need to find out for sure," he replied, "I'll go talk to the residents, then I'll call you guys. La Flaga out."

The Skygrasper had Vertical Take Off and Landing, or VTOL, capability, so he was able to set down near the crowd without too much trouble. Climbing out of the cockpit, he soon found himself surrounded by people. "Who's in charge here?" he asked.

An elderly man stepped forward. "I am."

Mu nodded. "How many people did you lose?"

"None," the elder said, "The ZAFT soldiers came, gave us a warning and fifteen minutes to clear out of the town, and then started firing. They not only destroyed the buildings, but they also sent missiles into the caves where we were hiding supplies."

_So the Tiger knew where they were hiding provisions_, thought La Flaga_, he's got some sharp intelligence sources._

Just then he heard the rumbling of engines, and the vehicles of the resistance fighters pulled up alongside the civilians. Mu saw that the leaders had come out, including the blond girl, along with several fighters. They were all armed with shoulder-fired rockets and heavy machine guns.

Mu watched as their facial expressions shifted from shock at the destruction, to relief that the civilians were alright, and then finally to rage. Only Sahib and Kisaka managed to maintain some semblance of calm. _Not good_, he thought.

Cagalli was the first to speak up. "Damn that Tiger!" she yelled, "What kind of monster torches an entire town?"

"Pretty merciful for a monster," said Mu, and everyone turned towards him.

Cagalli stomped up to him. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Simple," he replied, "Waltfeld gave the people time to evacuate before he started his attack. If he had wanted to, he could have leveled the place with everyone still in their beds."

"Grrr, of course a jerk like you would say that!" she snarled, clearly unwilling to listen to reason.

Mu was about to reply when he heard additional vehicles approaching. He saw two of the _Archangel's _loader trucks approaching, Natarle driving the lead one.

She waved to him as she stopped and stepped out of her vehicle. "We brought blankets, some rations, and some other relief aid," she said, "Unfortunately, it's all we could spare from the ship; we can't afford to give away any more until the rebel's own supply sources come through for us."

"It'll still help," said Mu, "I'll help you guys unload everything."

Suddenly there was a commotion, and Mu saw Cagalli leap into one of the jeeps, with her friend Ahmed in the driver's seat. Several other fighters were getting into their vehicles as well, despite Sahib and Kisaka's best efforts to dissuade them. _Shit_, thought Mu_, they're too riled up. If they go out and attack Waltfeld head on, they'll get slaughtered!_

He didn't bother trying to talk them out of it thought; it was clear that they would have none of it. As Ahmed revved up his and Cagalli's jeep and the others followed suit, Mu went to his fighter and turned on the radio. "Captain," he said, "the Desert Dawn guys are all riled up. They're already leaving to go pick a fight."

"That's suicide!" Murrue replied, "They can't take a force like Waltfeld's in a head-to-head fight."

"I know," he groaned, "I think you better scramble the Strike. If Kira uses the Aile configuration, he should be able to catch up to them before they're completely wiped out. I'll send you their heading."

"Alright," she replied, "I want you to stay with Lieutenant Badgiruel and help distribute the relief supplies; Kira will have to handle this on his own."

"Roger that, ma'am," he said.

….

Riding in a jeep at the head of the formation, Waltfeld sat in the passenger seat looking contemplative. The smoldering ruins of Tassil were still visible in the background, and dawn was but a few hours away. The _Lesseps _was coming up on the horizon, having conducted a long-range carpet bombardment earlier to supplement the more precise fire of the BuCues in their punitive raid. "DaCosta," he said.

"Yes, sir?" replied his aid, who was driving the vehicle.

"Do you suppose people mean it when they say 'I would rather die' than allow something or another to happen?"

"Not sure, sir," the young man replied, "Never really gave it much thought. Why do you ask?"

"Because," Waltfeld said while looking over his shoulder, "I believe the Desert Dawn fighters approaching behind us may have a word or two to say on that topic."

Startled, DaCosta looked in his rearview mirror and saw a cloud of dust billowing up behind the four BuCues and singe jeep. The ZAFT formation was moving at a more leisurely pace, and the aid realized that they would soon be overtaken.

He looked at his commanding officer, one eyebrow raised. _Did he plan this? Was the real objective of the Tassil raid to lure out the rebels? _Even though there were about a dozen enemy vehicles to ZAFT's five, DaCosta knew that any battle would still be a slaughter in the Tiger's favor.

"Have Alex pull up alongside us," said Waltfeld, referring to one of the BuCue pilots, "I want to get some action. Won't be much of a fight, but I need to stay sharp for when we fight the Strike and Wing Zero again."

DaCosta nodded. As he radioed the unit that the Field Marshall would soon be piloting, the other three BuCues turned around and raced to meet the rebels head on.

….

Rage and adrenaline pumping through her veins, Cagalli paid little heed to the massive land-battleship on the horizon. All she cared about were the wolf-like BuCues in front of her. The girl saw three of them turn to face her and her comrades, while the fourth seemed to be slowing down and standing off next to a jeep. _Mechanical problems?_, she thought, _So much the better! You will pay for your barbarism, Desert Tiger!_

She stood up in her seat, hoisting a rocket launcher on her shoulder. "Let's get them!" she yelled, "For Tassil!"

The roars of her comrades echoed in her ears, and she smiled as they approached the enemy. The rebels let loose a volley of rockets, but the BuCues either dodged them or simply shrugged them off, leaving dents and scorch marks on their armor but causing no real damage.

"Damn!" she snarled, and reached down for a reload. As she did so, the BuCues opened fire, two with twin-rail guns, and the third with a multi-missile launcher. The rebel vehicles attempted to scatter, but the more conventional trucks and jeeps were not as maneuverable as their enemy counterparts were, and two of them were torn to shreds by the incoming rounds.

Then the enemy machines were amongst the rebels, and were able to use their legs to swat at them, like they were mere insects. As Ahmed maneuvered the jeep beneath one, Cagalli took careful aim and let loose a rocket at the mobile-suit. The warhead hit the belly of the mechanical beast, but rather than keel over like she had hoped, the machine simply slowed a bit and allowed the jeep to pass out in front of it, moving into the pilot's line of fire.

Ahmed swerved sharply to get out of the way. The move succeeded, but Cagalli, who had still been standing after firing her weapon, was thrown out of the jeep.

"Ahh!" she screamed. Fortunately, the terrain was all sand dunes, so her impact was softened somewhat. Nevertheless, she was still winded, and lay on her back in a daze, struggling to reorient herself.

As she sat up, she saw that the fourth BuCue, the one that had been hanging back earlier, was approaching the battle. Moving quickly, zigzagging back and forth to avoid rebel rocket fire, it launched a volley of missiles from the racks on its back. To Cagalli's horror, the shots were devastatingly accurate. Three more Desert Dawn vehicles were consumed by explosions.

"Cagalli!" She turned see Ahmed waving at her as he drove towards her. However, he had focused all his attention on her, and failed to spot the newcomer who, almost lazily, launched a single missile his way.

Her eyes widened in horror. "Look out!" she screamed.

But it was too late. Her friend hardly even had time to turn his head to see the incoming warhead before it impacted the jeep dead-center, reducing it to fragments of smoldering metal. The fifteen year old boy was killed instantly, his body shredded to bloody ribbons in the blast.

"No…" she said weakly, unable to even move, "Ahmed…."

Suddenly, an emerald beam lanced down from above. It missed the BuCue, but succeeded in catching the pilot's attention. Cagalli looked up, surprised to see the Strike landing on the ground in front of her.

….

The Strike was not capable of atmospheric flight, regardless of configuration. However, while equipping the Aile pack, it could use its boosters to jump higher than in its other forms. Kira had used this capability to quickly traverse the distance between the _Archangel _and the battle that was unfolding before him. Firing a volley with his beam rifle, he forced the BuCue to back-off. However, the other three units disengaged from the rebels and joined the fourth, and soon they were swarming around the Strike.

Kira activated a beam saber and swiftly moved in on one of the BuCues with the missile racks. The enemy tried to side-slip, but the Strike moved to quickly, and the violet blade sliced into the side of the machine. Something inside detonated, and the mobile suit exploded.

Two of the other suits, the ones armed with rail cannons, suddenly backed off. Kira only had time to be puzzled for a second before he saw a volley of missiles coming at him. He raised his rifle and shot most of them out of the sky, and took the rest on his shield. The unit that fired them swiftly moved pass him, and turned around to start another pass. Meanwhile, the other two machines seemed to be taking potshots at the rebels, as if trying to keep them separate from the duel unfolding between Kira and his foe, who seemed to possess a greater degree of skill than the others.

He fired again with the beam rifle, but the BuCue dodged with relative ease. The enemy launched several more missiles. Rather than back off and try to shoot them down or dodge them, Kira instead charged straight forward. Leading with his shield, he took the warheads head on, and in one fluid motion he drew his beam saber and managed to cut the missile launcher off the back of the BuCue as it passed him.

Disarmed of its primary weapon, the enemy made the only reasonable move; to withdraw. The other two machines followed suit. Kira didn't pursue, and instead turned his attention to his supposed allies.

The rebels had taken a beating. In addition to the six vehicles and their occupants that had been lost, several others were damaged, and many of the resistance fighters were wounded. He noticed Cagalli running up to the Strike. Without thinking, he opened his cockpit and climbed down to meet her.

The girl stood in front of him, but couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. "I… I…"

Acting purely on the adrenaline that was still pumping through him, he slapped her across the face. "What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled, "Do you have a death-wish or something?"

"I just… I wanted to…" said Cagalli, her eyes wide in shock, "I wanted to fight back…" She looked over at the smoldering crater that had been her jeep… along with her friend.

Kira followed her gaze and sighed. _How many more… how many more people have to die in this rotten war?_

….

"Heero," said Murrue as her face appeared on the Wing Zero's cockpit screen.

"I take it the fight's over?" he said.

Murrue nodded. "Yes. The rebels took heavy casualties, though Kira was able to intervene before things got any worse. The enemy only lost one BuCue."

"I hate to sound cold," said Heero, "but the only thing that matters is if the rebel leadership remains alive. They're the key to our resupply efforts."

"I know," she replied, "From what I've heard from La Flaga and Kira, it seems that none of the leaders were killed. Their losses were low level fighters and some vehicles. Waltfeld is withdrawing north east; I think it's safe to say that he's making for Banadiya."

"Do you think he knows where the base is?" he asked.

"Hard to say," said Murrue, "he may not have, but on the other hand, the forces he had with him were too light for an assault on a location he had to suspect we might have been at. It's possible that his only intention was to lure out the rebel's with the attack on Tassil, and that he's now going to focus on gathering strength for the coming battle with us."

"I think that's exactly what he intends to do," said Heero, "In the meantime, we need to convince the rebel leadership to speed up the arrangements to meet with their suppliers."

"I agree," said Murrue, "We'll have to speak with them once they finish sorting through the aftermath of the engagement, not to mention make some arrangements for the Tassil refugees."

Heero nodded. "Murrue, you should get some rest. The other bridge officers can handle things for awhile."

"I will," she said, and gave him a weary smile, "You should get some shut-eye as well, you've been up as long as I have."

_That's right_, he thought, _neither of us have slept since the engagement with the Tiger and the Valkyrie. _"I will," he replied, "Heero out." With that he cut the connection.

He sighed as he exited the Gundam. _It's one thing to act on one's emotions_, thought Heero, _but it's another entirely to let them rule you, especially during a war. Clearly these Desert Dawn fighters haven't learned that distinction, and today it cost them._

He thought about the force Field Marshall Waltfeld had surely begun assembling for their next battle. _I have no doubt that the Valkyrie and her subordinates will be among them. If we can't trust our allies on the ground to keep their tempers in check, then that will only make things even more difficult._

As he made his way towards his quarters, he took some measure of reassurance from the fact that Kira had been able to handle things by himself, a sign of his improving skill level. The Coordinator still did not yet have the discipline of a soldier, nor the mindset, but his piloting abilities were definitely improving. _We'll need all the skill we can muster to triumph in the next fight. Even with the Zero system, there's only so much I can do against an army if I'm trying to protect the Archangel at the same time._

As he approached his quarters, he saw Murrue making her way down the other end of the hall towards her own room. She smiled at him, and he gave one of his own.

_Regardless of the forces against us_, he thought, _or the reliability of our allies, I can say this with certainty; I swore to protect Murrue. And to that end…_

_I'll slaughter legions if I have to._

**Preview for next time!**

_During a trip to gather supplies, Kira, Cagalli, and Heero have a chance encouter with none other than Andrew Waltfeld. The ZAFT Field Marshall seems to defy expectations, and causes Kira to wonder about the true nature of the conflict. Meanwhile, the forces of the Tiger are massing, and the Archangel and the Desert Dawn rebels pull out all the stops in preparation for the decisive battle. With the Valkyrie in the skies, and overwhelming firepower on the ground, will even the might of Wing Zero be enough to achieve victory? Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield," Episode Seven: The North Africa Campaign, Part Three: Fangs of the Tiger._

**Author's Notes:** Alright, we're approaching the climax of the North Africa campaign. About Heero's retelling of the events of Gundam Wing to Murrue, it seved as more than just one giant flashback. I wrote it the way I did so that it would provide a setting for the bond between Heero and Murrue to grow in. Him telling her as much as he does helps to show just how much he's come to trust her, and at the same time it gives her a much greater understanding of Heero as well. Also, since it was told from Heero's perspective, naturally some events received less attention than others. As the audience for the actual show, we of course had a better view of all the events playing out than Heero did. His retelling focuses on himself because it's the best way for him to relay the events to Murrue in a manner that he feels is accurate and honest, to the best of his abilities.

Anyway, hope you guys and girls enjoyed that. As always, please review!

Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: **Damn, this one's even longer than six. Sorry, I'll try to work harder on breaking up my chapters in the future.

Few things before we get started. One, the gun I describe that Heero has looks nothing like the ones he uses in the show. Just consider that a little retcon by me. Two, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, a 'technical' is a civilian ground vehicle that has been modified for combat. A great example are the trucks used in the current Libyan Civil War, which tend to be open backed and have weapons like heavy machine guns or missile launchers mounted on them. Three, regarding the 'Tear of Isis' that shows up later on, don't bother looking it up. I just made it up as a romantic plot device, nothing more.

Sorry this took so long to get done, things have been busy over the past few months. Ah well, better late than never, right?

Enjoy!

**Episode Seven: The North Africa Campaign, Part Three: Fangs of the Tiger**

"She's not bad," said Heero.

A day after the skirmish outside of Tassil, he and Murrue were standing in the hangar of the _Archangel_, outside the Skygrasper simulator. Sahib and Kisaka were making final preparations to meet and pick up much need supplies from their black marked contacts, and they seemed confident that they would be able to meet with them within the next day or two. In the meanwhile, attention had gone to keeping an eye on the refugees from Tassil, as well as making sure the soldiers of both the Earth Alliance and Desert Dawn would be ready for battle. The resistance leaders had sent out calls to other rebel cells throughout the region, and hopefully new fighters would begin arriving soon. In the midst of all this, Heero had come up with the idea to open up the fighter simulator not just to other members of the _Archangel's _crew, but to the rebels as well. Cagalli was in the pilot's seat at the moment, and she had by far shown the most promise out of all the other's who had come to try out.

Murrue nodded. "You're right. If she can perform consistently like she is now, then we might have ourselves a pilot for the second Skygrasper. It would be nice to have both of them in the air at once; we need the additional air cover." The blond girl's progress was displayed on a screen outside the simulator. At the moment, she was engaged in a ground-attack run against several BuCues. Missiles and cannon fire streamed up from below, but Cagalli maneuvered the fighter in a series of twists, climbs, and dives. Despite her having no prior aerial combat experience, the sixteen year old girl was a natural pilot.

"I know Lieutenant Badgiruel was upset about opening up the simulator to the rebels," said Heero, turning to Murrue, "Sorry if I caused you any trouble."

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry about it. I know it's a violation of Alliance regulations, but we need all the help we can get. Your idea was sound, and it seems to be paying off, if Cagalli's performance is any indication."

"The only question is whether or not she can keep her temper in check," said Heero, "From what I've observed, she's certainly a hot-headed girl."

"I agree," she replied, "however, she seems a bit more subdued since yesterday. It may be harsh to say this, but the loss of her young friend in the Tassil skirmish may have taught her to exercise more control over her emotions. If she continues to act like she has since then, it will definitely benefit her as a pilot, and by extension us as well."

Heero nodded. "It would be nice to have some extra help in the skies. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga is good, but one Skygrasper can only provide so much support, even with the ability to equip Striker Packs. Having both operational will greatly increase the options available to us in battle. Not to mention it takes some of the pressure of me, considering that Wing Zero is our only flight capable mobile suit."

That was another reason why Murrue had agreed to Heero's proposal. _As things stand now_, she thought, _I've been having him shoulder too much of the fighting. I know he doesn't mind, but I still want to make things easier on him. It's the least I can do._

After the conversation they'd had two nights ago, she was more determined than ever to give him support. She had sensed when they'd met that he'd been through a lot, but what he had told her surpassed anything she had expected. Since then, she'd been trying to think of ways she could help him, and had jumped at his suggestion not just on practical grounds, but because it allowed her to do something meaningful to lighten the load he'd be carrying in combat.

Just then the simulator opened and Cagalli stepped out. She was a bit sweaty, but didn't seem to notice. She saw the two of them standing there and moved towards them. "So, do I make the cut?"

"I'd say so," said Murrue, "You're certainly the best of all those that have tried out so far. Heero?"

The young man nodded. "You've got some talent. I think you'll do just fine, though you should still keep practicing; you'll need all you can get before we engage Waltfeld."

Cagalli smiled. "Thanks, I will." She looked down for a moment, then met his gaze. "Listen, Heero… I'm sorry about how I acted when you arrived here. It wasn't right of me to pry into your past, especially since I don't know you that well." She held out her hand. "Do you think we can start from scratch?"

Murrue was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't thought that Cagalli would regret her conduct during the meeting two days ago. _It seems that the Tassil skirmish impacted her more than I thought._

She looked over at Heero, and smiled as he shook her hand. "Sure, no problem."

Cagalli looked relieved. "That's good." She looked at him and Murrue. "Well, I'll see you both later; I have to go help Sahib and Kisaka get ready for the supply meet tomorrow." With that she turned and headed towards the hangar exit.

They were quiet for a moment, then Murrue spoke. "She seems to have mellowed out a bit. Hopefully this means she'll keep a more level head in the next engagement."

"Won't know until the time comes," replied Heero. He looked at her. "Well, I'm going to grab some lunch. Want to come?"

Murrue smiled. "Sure, some food sounds good right about now."

As they left the hangar, she couldn't help but feel a surge of optimism. Sure, they had lost some allies in the Tassil engagement, but events since then seemed to be playing out in their favor. Their supply deal would likely take place the next day, the rebel leaders were calling in fighters from other groups across Egypt to reinforce them, and it seemed that they had found a new Skygrasper pilot in the form of Cagalli.

_I know we're not out of the woods yet_, thought Murrue,_ especially since the Tiger is no doubt amassing his forces for the coming engagement, but still… it looks like things are finally starting to come together for us._

….

"Quite the place you got here, Andrew," said Shemei as she stretched out on the couch.

She was at the Field Marshall's headquarters in Banadiya. Waltfeld and Aisha had invited her into a lavishly appointed lounge, and the three of them were sipping coffee.

Waltfeld smirked. "The General in charge of North Africa before we took over was from the Eurasian Federation. Apparently, he was part of some noble family from France. Seems he got his rank through family connections rather than battlefield prowess. When he was posted here, he decided he'd embezzle a shitload of the local tax dollars along with squandering his own wealth and built his headquarters like some mansion from Bordeaux."

"Not that we're complaining," said Aisha, "When we captured the city, it turned out that the Earth Forces had fled in such a hurry that they had left most of their equipment behind here. It didn't take much effort to convert this into our own headquarters; most of the work had already been done for us."

Shemei laughed and raised her cup. "To incompetent aristocrats." The three of them touched coffee mugs, and then drank.

Then the Valkyrie became more serious. "I heard some news out of Victoria. Apparently, after the orbital battle, the two pilots from the Creuset team that fell into the atmosphere landed near there, and have just recently recovered from severe heat stroke."

Waltfeld nodded. "Command has seen fit to transfer them to my forces for the upcoming operation." He grimaced. "I would have refused, considering they have no experience in terrestrial combat, but my hands were tied. They should arrive here within the next few days."

"What about the other two?" asked Shemei.

"Still up in space," said Waltfeld, "Apparently they're on shore leave in the capital. An old buddy of mine is working as an aide for Zala's deputy chief of staff, and he told me that they'll be transferred to surface operations via the Gibraltar base eventually, but in all likelihood not in time to affect our next battle with the Alliance's new battleship."

"Speaking of pilots," said Aisha, turning to Shemei, "where are the girls? I would've liked to chat with them for a bit."

"Priscilla just finished working up a sim program of the Wing Zero," replied Shemei, "I have them practicing against it right now. It's still a far cry from the real thing, but it's quite a formidable foe."

"I can only imagine," said Waltfeld, looking thoughtful. After a moment he spoke again. "You talked to the pilot before your withdrawal. What did you make of him?"

"Heero Yuy?" said Shemei, "Difficult to say. He sounded young, but he's nevertheless an incredibly skilled soldier. The power of Wing Zero makes him all the deadlier. Beyond that, I can't really say anything."

She smiled. "I'd really like to meet him again. Whether on the field of battle or otherwise, there's something intriguing about that young man, not to mention the Wing Zero."

"I'm starting to get curious too," said Aisha, "and I know Andy here is as well, although his main focus is on the Strike."

"Speaking of which," said Shemei, "I heard you fought it briefly outside of Tassil. Was the pilot as good as you were expecting, based on your observations from the first battle?"

"Better," said Waltfeld with a smile, "He actually managed to disarm my BuCue."

"Really?' Shemei replied, slightly surprised, "I'm impressed. Bet you can't wait for a rematch."

"You know it," said Waltfeld, "The LaGOWE's finally completed, and Aisha and I have already been practicing in it. The next fight should prove to be much more interesting."

"That's right," said Shemei, "I forgot that it was a two-seater, not a single pilot mobile suit. How's it working so far?"

"Great," said Aisha, "So far we've had no problems with it."

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "it's handled like a charm. Should be fun to go up against the Strike with it."

"I bet," said Shemei. She took another sip of her coffee, and smiled. "I wonder what that pilot's like."

"Who knows?" said Waltfeld, "Maybe we'll meet him sometime before the big fight."

"You never know," said Aisha with a shrug.

….

Adaline slammed a fist against the arm of her chair as the screen went black. "Damn!" she snarled. Taking a moment to compose herself, she then pressed a button on the ceiling, opening up the simulator.

As the red-head climbed out, she saw Lan and Priscilla standing nearby, watching the external screen mounted on the side of the simulator. Her friends turned towards her and smiled.

"Thirty-two seconds," said Priscilla, "That's a new record for the 'Zero' program, not counting the commander's time of course."

"Great job Adaline," said Lan.

The Australian sighed. Those thirty-two seconds had been how long she had been able to last in a one-on-one duel with Priscilla's simulation program of the Wing Zero. _According to her_, thought Adaline_, that program's probably not even half of that machine and its pilot's full skill, yet it's still impossible for me to beat. _The only person in their tight-knit group to come close to victory was Shemei, and that had been a tie, with both combatants impaling each-other through the cockpit. In other words, the only way to 'win' that had so far been discovered was a mutual kill scenario, and even then the Commander had admitted that she'd gotten incredibly lucky, and that there would be no way that it would work on the genuine article.

_The only reason we were able to last as long as we did in that engagement_, thought Adaline_, is because we worked together as a unit. Even then, Wing Zero managed to pick us off one-by-one, although thankfully none of us died. In a straight up duel, each of us has gotten slaughtered, and if the closest the Commander can come to a win is a mutual kill on a program that's probably less than half of what this Heero Yuy can bring to the fight, then we are in serious trouble._

"Pris, I know you did your best with this program," she said, "but honestly, I swear the computer is a cheating bastard!"

"Hardly," Priscilla replied, "All the calculations I made in developing that simulation were based on the performance data from our own engagement with Wing Zero and Heero Yuy, along with recordings of other battles that our foe has participated in."

"I know, I know," said Adaline, giving her friend a smile, "Still, it felt like the program was practically reading my control inputs and reacting before those inputs were translated into actions."

Lan laughed and gave Priscilla a slight nudge. "Someone's been playing her Soul Calibur games again."

"Well, there's a reason they're considered classics," the blonde replied meekly.

"As well as a reason why so many players end up swearing like sailors at them," added Adaline, laughing as well, "Honestly, some of those fights are almost as hard as your 'Zero' program."

Priscilla giggled a bit as well, and then became serious. "The 'Zero' program did include this Heero's own ability to seemingly read our own moves, at least, to the best that I could simulate it. I tried to give it a slightly delayed reading of our inputs, in order to recreate it. Obviously I still need to work on that aspect of the program."

Lan patted her on the shoulder. "Relax, Pris, you did a good job. Sure, it's freaking impossible to beat solo, but then again we didn't fight Heero in one-on-one duels in the actual battle, nor will we in the next engagement."

Adaline sighed. "The only person who was able to do that was Commander Rehema, and even she was eventually forced to retreat. What kind of pilot is this Heero?"

"Who knows?" said Lan. Then she smiled. "But I know one thing; he sounds like a dream boy. You heard the recording the Commander had, right?"

"Yeah, I did," she replied, and couldn't help but smile herself. "I won't lie, his voice alone is something else. So calm and professional, yet I could also sense a bit of amusement in there. He must be one handsome devil!"

"And according to the Commander," chimed in Priscilla, "he's probably around our age, or maybe even younger."

"Yeah, he certainly sounded young," said Adaline.

"Too bad we haven't found any boys like that in ZAFT," Lan said, "At least, not yet."

"Oh?" said Adaline, one eyebrow raised, "I thought already had a thing for a certain ZAFT soldier boy? One Athrun Zala, I believe?"

Lan laughed. "Hardly. The guy's just too fun to tease, that's all. Remember our last shore leave in the PLANTs?"

Adaline nodded. "Yeah, when we ran into him and Lacus at the park, and you were wearing that cheongsam, the red and black one with the leg slits that went a _bit _higher than they normally do."

"And you were showing off every bit of those legs you could," added Priscilla.

Lan smiled. "Poor guy looked so flustered when I sidled up next to him and grabbed his ass. I think he damn near had a nosebleed."

"The latest victim of your devious charms," sighed Adaline.

"Oh, hardly," replied Lan, "The guy's engaged to Lacus, and I'd never try to sabotage that relationship. They look so cute together! Besides, Lacus is too nice for me to try and steal her fiancé, arranged marriage or otherwise. And come on, the guy's just too sullen most of the time. He really needs to learn to lighten up a bit. Not really my type."

"Now," she continued, "this Heero guy… not sure if he's exactly a laid back kind of person, but he sounded pretty relaxed after fighting the best pilot ZAFT has to offer. I'd love to meet the man who can solo the Valkyrie and then chat with her like they're at a bar down in Cabo knocking back tequila shots."

"If I recall correctly," said Priscilla, "you've never been to Cabo, or anywhere in Mexico, for that matter."

"Meh," Lan said, "I've been to dives near Carpentaria and Tobruk, not to mention the PLANTs have a few if you know where to look. Seen one drinking hole, you've seen them all, and the way those two were talking, I could easily imagine them kicking back in one with a bottle of Cuervo swapping war stories."

"I wonder what Commander Rehema would say to that," mused Adaline, "Still, I agree that this Heero is one fascinating individual."

"Indeed," said Priscilla, "In fact, I've run the name through the databanks and files that we've managed to hack from the Alliance, and I've found no mention of a pilot by the name of Heero Yuy."

"He could be black ops," Lan suggested, "I mean, we've found no files on the Wing Zero either. Maybe that mobile suit was a project that was deemed even more important than the Heliopolis prototypes and the new warship, and extra security precautions were taken to ensure secrecy."

"It seems like the most likely scenario," said Adaline, "but there's a problem with it. If the Alliance was able to develop something like Wing Zero independent of Orb and the Morgenroete company, then wouldn't they have produced other models along with it? Why limit themselves to a single prototype? There were five different machines at Heliopolis, after all."

"That's a good point," said Priscilla, "It's possible that Wing Zero was built by someone else entirely, and then sold to the Alliance, or that Heero is working for a third party, and is operating with the Earth Forces merely as a means to field test the mobile suit."

"But who built it then?" said Adaline, "The list of groups that could construct such an advanced weapon like that is awfully small."

Priscilla sighed. "I don't know. No matter what theories we or anyone else may bring forth- and I've seen quite a few wild ones in reports and inquiries lately- each one has faults of one kind or another. There's no scenario that accounts for all possible variables or gaps in information. We can speculate all we want, but in the end it's simply an academic exercise."

"Maybe we're getting too worked up over this," said Lan, "Commander Rehema doesn't seem too worried, after all."

"That's because she's finally found someone who can give her the fight of her life," replied Adaline, "She may not show obvious signs of it, but right now she probably feels more alive than she has this entire war so far."

"Man," said Lan, "I knew she was an adrenaline junkie, but I didn't think it went to that level. Still, I suppose it shouldn't be that surprising, especially given her skill level. Up until recently, the only pilots who could come anywhere close to giving her a workout are all on our side. That had to be a bit frustrating for her."

"Yeah…" said Adaline. _I wonder_, she thought, _how does someone who's reached that level of piloting ability view a conflict like this? I mean, Pris, Lan and I are good, but the Commander and Heero seem to be in a league of their own._

_ How do people like that see the world?_

_ What do they think of this war…?_

….

The next morning, Heero was standing next to a group of jeeps. Several of the resistance members were in the vehicles, and Kira was in one with Cagalli. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was in a jeep with Natarle. They were all about to depart to Banadiya to acquire supplies for both the coming battle and the _Archangel's _subsequent journey to Alaska.

The Gundam pilot turned to Murrue, who was standing behind him. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, "With all of us gone, you won't have any mobile suit or air cover if ZAFT attacks here."

She nodded. "You said it yourself a few days ago; Waltfeld will be focusing his attention on gathering his forces for the coming battle. His North Africa Corps is spread out over a very wide area. Even if he's only drawing upon his eastern forces, it will take some time to amass a force large enough to take us on with a decent chance of victory."

She moved close and whispered in his ear. "Kira and Cagalli will be going off on their own to do some shopping once they reach Banadiya. I know Cagalli's familiar with the area and will be able to guide Kira, but I still don't think they should be on their own. Kira's still a bit naïve, and Cagalli still strikes me as a bit hot-headed, regardless of how much she seems to have mellowed out after Tassil. In fact, I have no doubt she's suppressing quite a bit of anger and grief, and that could cause a problem. I'd feel much better if you were there to keep an eye on them."

Murrue smiled. "Besides, you deserve a little break after all you've done. Here," she said, giving him a small pouch. He peeked in to find several monetary notes.

He looked up at her, an eyebrow raised. Murrue laughed softly. "It's not a payment; I know you're not defending us for money. I want you to have it. Treat yourself to something; you've more than earned it."

Heero nodded. "Alright," he said, giving her a small smile, "Thanks, Murrue."

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied.

He turned and hopped into the jeep nearest to him. Cagalli and Kira were in the back, and the blond-haired girl moved into the middle seat so Heero could squeeze in with them. As the makeshift convoy began to move out, Heero turned to take one more look at Murrue. She smiled at him and waved. He gave her a small one of his own, and soon they were out of the ravine and traversing the sea of dunes that was the Sahara.

As they drove, he pulled out his pistol, and began giving it an abbreviated field inspection. It was a CR 75AC, a remake of the Czech Republic's most famous semi-automatic handgun, the CZ75. Designed, as its name suggested, in 1975, the original CZ75 had been considered an extremely high quality firearm. It had a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer-forged barrel. Unlike most semi-automatic handguns, the slide assembly rode inside the frame, which gave the firearm large tolerances for both dirt and oil while maintaining accuracy. Standard ammunition for the weapon was the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges, with the usual magazine capacity being sixteen rounds. The CZ had earned a reputation amongst professional pistol shooters and military personnel alike for superb quality and versatility, while also being sold at reasonable price at the time of its introduction. Of course, several centuries later in After Colony 195, an original CZ75 would have been extremely expensive, certainly out of the price-range of someone like Heero Yuy.

Fortunately for the Gundam pilot, the CR 75AC had been introduced only a few years prior to Operation Meteor. Procured by Doctor J and presented to Heero early on in his training, the weapon retained the high-grade steel construction of the original CZ, along with the 9x19mm cartridges, but several other changes had been made in the design. The magazine had been adapted for eighteen rounds, and since Heero always made sure to have a round chambered, that gave him nineteen shots before having to reload. The standard grips had been removed and replaced with ones made of walnut, the best wood in the world for pistol grips. In addition, the bottoms of the handle and the magazines had been reinforced slightly in order to compensate for the occasional pistol whip. The gun had an effective range of up to fifty meters in the hands of most marksmen, although Heero could hit sixty with little difficulty.

As he removed the magazine to check for sand and anything else that might cause a jam, he could practically feel someone watching him. Glancing up, he saw Cagalli and Kira looking at him with curiosity.

"You know," said Heero as he turned back to the firearm, "there's nothing out of the ordinary with a weapons check. You should be doing one yourself before we get to Banadiya."

"I'm… actually unarmed," said Kira.

_Of course you are_, thought Heero, _I should have known you wouldn't have packed a weapon. You still don't think like a soldier yet. _He turned to Cagalli. "What about you?"

"We won't need weapons for a simple shopping trip," she said.

"I'll take that as a no then," he replied deadpan.

"Come on, Heero," she said, "I know my way around Banadiya just fine. So long as you two stay with me, there's no way you'll need a gun."

"Forgive me for not sharing your confidence," Heero said, not even looking up as he took out the round in the chamber and began inspecting the barrel. Satisfied that it was in good order, he reset the barrel, reinserted the magazine, and chambered the extra bullet.

"Look," said Cagalli, frustration creeping into her voice, "would it kill you to trust me? We're on the same side, you know."

"I trust you not to try and kill me on purpose," he replied, "I'm not ruling out accidentally or a case of bad judgment." Reholstering the pistol, he then took out a military issue four inch combat knife and began checking the edges for cracks and signs of dullness.

"Hey, just what are you trying to say?" she said, her temperamental nature clearly having revived some now that the initial shock of her friend's death had been given a few days to settle.

Heero was saved the trouble of answering by Kisaka, who was in the front passenger seat. "Enough, Cagalli," the man said, "He's well within his rights to be cautious. In fact, I wish you would be a little more so as well."

She folded her arms. "I told you, I can take care of myself just fine in the towns around here." She jerked her thumb over in Heero's direction. "He's just being paranoid."

Kisaka chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that. I'd call it prudent planning."

As the older fighter turned his attention back to the front, Heero gave him an appraising glance. _This one's not like the others_, he thought, eyes narrowing,_ he's had training, I can tell just by the way he carries himself. Extensive training too, judging by his build and the way he evaluates his surroundings without tipping off his allies. Even I had a little trouble picking it up at first. What's his background? Ex-special forces, maybe? If so, then what country did he work for… or is still working for? For all I know, he could be on a covert op out here._

There was quiet for awhile. Heero finished checking the knife and put it away. Then Cagalli spoke up again. "So what kind of gun is that anyway?"

Not wanting to let her know where he was really from, Heero decided to gamble that her knowledge of firearms was limited to the rifles and rocket launchers used by the resistance fighters. He pulled it out of the holster, made sure the safety was on, and held it out. "It's a CZ75." The actual model designation was engraved in small letters just below the casing ejector, but they were very easy to miss if you weren't looking for them, and Heero was confident she'd make that mistake.

Indeed, she gave the weapon a brief once-over, then gave it back to him. "Cool," she said.

However, as he took the gun, his attention was not on her, but on Kisaka, who sure enough had glanced back at them. Cagalli missed it, but Heero noted the man slightly raise an eyebrow as he stole a quick look at the pistol. He then turned back and proceeded to act like nothing had happened.

_I thought so. She's not familiar with specific firearms beyond those used by the paramilitaries. Kisaka, however, definitely caught that name. Since the CR 75AC is based off the original CZ75, it should be able to pass a brief visual comparison, though if he's familiar with the smaller details of the CZ then he'll know something's up with my weapon._

_ At the least, the CZ75 has to be hard to come by in the Cosmic Era, so I have no doubt he's wondering how I came by such a gun._

Whatever his suspicions were, the man made no inquiries or comments as they continued their drive through the desert. The next person to speak up was actually Kira.

"So Heero," he said, "have you fought in the desert before? Not counting the battles we've had here, I mean."

Heero shook his head. "North Africa's a new environment for me. However, the relatively stable climate- besides the occasional sandstorm- makes it easy to adjust to. Not many environmental obstacles to get in the way either."

He looked over at Kira. "I've been meaning to tell you this for awhile; you were sloppy in that first battle. You should have adjusted your operating system to account for desert conditions before you launched."

Kira looked down. "Yeah… you're right. I… wasn't really thinking clearly then."

Heero sighed. "Look, there's nothing wrong with acting on your emotions. However, you can't let them rule you, and that goes double in combat. If you don't manage to keep a cool head during a battle, you'll be endangering both your friends and yourself. You won't last long."

He looked over at Cagalli. "That goes double for fighters without access to heavy weapons and superior numbers. A group like yours survives by keeping its wits about it and striking only when you can guarantee the element of surprise. As you saw quite clearly at Tassil, you're little more than cannon fodder in a straight-up fight."

Her eyes narrowed, but to her credit she didn't get angry. "I'm aware of my mistakes." Her expression softened a bit. "I'll… I'll try to keep a better handle on my temper next time. We can't afford another slaughter like that."

_Nice to see that little lesson has sunk in_, he mused. "Good," he said. After a moment, he added, "I'm getting tired of seeing people die in meaningless battles."

Cagalli looked at him again, and this time she appeared curious. "Heero, just how long have you been fighting?"

He wasn't going to tell her the truth, of course. The only person he trusted enough to tell that to was Murrue, and he had only told her about Operation Meteor. He hadn't mentioned his early days in the colonial resistance movement, or the assignments Lowe had took him on before his death. _I'll tell Murrue about those sometime, but not so soon after what I've already said. I gave her enough to process for awhile as is._

However, he didn't want to outright lie to Cagalli. While they had gotten off on a rocky footing, she'd said she wanted to start from scratch, and seemed to be making an effort to do so. So he went for a vague answer. "Too long. Far too long…"

Silence fell over the jeep again, with only the noise of the engine in the background.

….

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Sai quietly entered the hangar bay and made his way towards the Strike. Ever since his encounter with Kira and Flay, he had been trying to figure out a way to show him up, to make Flay come back to him. After a couple days of brooding, he figured that the best way to do it would be to prove that he could do what Kira had become so popular for doing; piloting a mobile suit.

He'd actually considered trying the Wing Zero for a moment, but then remembered something he had overheard about Heero having his mobile suit ready to self-destruct the moment someone was detected tampering with it, and had quickly dismissed that idea. However, he knew that Kira wasn't nearly as security conscious, so the Strike was the logical option.

Taking one last look around, he made a break for the last Alliance prototype. However, just as he was entering the cockpit, he was spotted by the chief mechanic, Murdoch. "Hey," the rugged man yelled in his typical gruff voice, "what the hell are you doing?"

Sai paid him no heed, and quickly closed the hatch. "You'll be singing a different tune when I'm through," he grumbled. Once everyone saw that he could pilot the Strike, they'd be praising him. Kira would fade into the role he'd had in school at Heliopolis, just a shy, if bright, technical college student, and Flay would dump him in a heartbeat.

Looking around the cockpit, he quickly found the activation switch, and powered up the mobile suit. The controls and view screens came to life, and he couldn't help but smile. _Such a thrill_, he thought, _why the hell does Kira complain about this?_

However, his excitement soon turned to frustration as he tried to move the Strike. The giant machine stumbled about, and he found himself rapidly losing control. "What the hell!" he cried. _I can't move it right_, he thought, panic growing within him, _I don't understand! Kira makes it look so easy!_

The Strike fell towards the hangar deck, and Sai barely managed to move the mobile suits arms out front to prevent it from landing flat on its chest, trapping him within the cockpit. As the tech crews rushed up to the machine, the young man slumped in the pilot's chair, overcome with frustration and despair.

"Damn it!" he said, slamming his hand against the arm rest. "Why… why is he the only one that can do this?!"

….

Murrue sighed as she entered the hangar. Sai had just been taken by security personnel and thrown in the brig, and now the tech crews were struggling to at least move the Strike onto its back. They would have to wait for Kira to return in order to move it back into its docking position.

Thinking about the young man who had pulled such a brash stunt, she struggled to comprehend his motives. _I haven't had any problems with him in the CIC_, she thought, _in fact, he seemed like one of the more level headed members of the bunch from Heliopolis. _Then she recalled the conversation she'd had with Heero about Flay and her strange interactions with Kira. _Could that have played a part in this somehow?_

She fervently wished that Heero was still aboard the ship so she could discuss it with him. He'd only been gone a few hours, yet she already found herself missing him. His mere presence had become a great source of comfort in the brief time he had been with them so far, and she knew she could count on him as a voice of reason. She dearly wished that she could get his insights into this current mess, but she'd have to wait until he got back.

She saw Crew Chief Murdoch walking over towards her. After he saluted her, she asked, "How bad is it?"

The head mechanic shrugged. "Not too bad, all things considered. The Strike suffered no real damage, and we should be able to use the heavy equipment to flip it on its back within a few hours, but beyond that we need the kid to do anything else."

"That's fine," said Murrue, "Do what you can."

Murdoch nodded. As he turned to go he added, "I'm just glad that guy didn't go for the Wing Zero. He could have gotten us all blown to kingdom come."

_Indeed_, she mused. The thought had crossed her mind.

As the Crew Chief went back to work, his parting words served to once again bring images of the young man who piloted the Wing Zero to the forefront of her thoughts. His tussled brown hair, his calm yet piercing blue eyes…

_Heero, please be careful out there…_

_ …and come back soon._

….

Cagalli, Heero, and Kira looked back as the group of resistance vehicles sped off. The three of them had just been dropped off in the middle of Banadiya's market district, and the other rebels were taking La Flaga and Natarle to meet with the black market arms dealers that were the source of most of their weapons in another part of the city. They were standing in a large square, with shops and stalls in all directions, and several of the streets leading away from the central area were also lined with merchants eager to make a sale.

While the others were making the main deal, Cagalli was in charge of conducting personal shopping, picking up items that had been requested by individual members of both the Desert Dawn and the crew of the _Archangel_. Kira was originally supposed to have been her bodyguard, but now that Heero was with them as well, that meant that the young Coordinator would be free to assist Cagalli with purchasing and carrying items.

Though certainly a well-traveled individual, Heero found himself nearly overwhelmed by the market-place. He could smell dozens of different kinds of foods, heard the melodies of a score of different instruments, the voices of hundreds of people clamoring for the best deal, the choice items…

In short, he'd never been to a place that was so… _lively_.

His initial disorientation lasted only for a moment though. Within seconds he was already scanning the crowds, right hand never straying far from the grip of his pistol. On the surface he still presented the cool veneer that was his trademark, but in his mind he was going over the layout of the district, the locations of all the alleyways, the best places to take cover in the event of a firefight. He watched as many people as he could, always positioning himself so that Kira and Cagalli were never out of his sight as they started moving from vendor to vendor, even if they were only on his peripheral vision at times. He kept behind them, though not too close, keeping enough distance so that he could have a wider view of the bazaar and not be focused exclusively on them and potentially blinding himself to possible threats.

Practical though it may have been, it apparently bothered Cagalli, who was looking back at him. "Hey," she said, "why don't you come up here with us? No need to be by yourself back there."

_I really shouldn't_, he thought, but he soon found himself moving a little closer, though still keeping enough distance to scan for approaching threats. Apparently it satisfied her, as she then smiled. "I was hoping you'd talk with us a bit while we were out here. We might be here on business right now, but we can still relax a little."

He shrugged. "Alright, though I'm not the best conversationalist."

"That's fine," she replied as they walked up to a stand full of cleaning supplies. She gave the list she was holding to Kira, who began reading off items to the vendor. Moving so she could watch Kira while at the same time speaking to Heero.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for awhile," she said. "Where did you learn to pilot like that? I was watching your fight against the Valkyrie, and I've never seen anyone fly like that!"

"It's… complicated," he said, "The training was part of a selection process for piloting the Gundam, and it was very intense."

"Gundam?" she said, "I thought the mobile suit was called the Wing Zero."

"Its full name is the Wing Gundam Zero," he replied, "Although, the word 'Gundam' can also be used for other mobile suits built of the same material, Gundanium alloy."

"Gundanium?" she said, raising an eyebrow, "I've never heard of it."

"It's very difficult to make," said Heero, "and it creation is a closely guarded secret." Technically that was all true. Heero still had no intention of telling her that he was from another world, but was still trying to avoid lying to her altogether.

"I see," said Cagalli, "Is that why it doesn't change colors when the suit is powered down? It doesn't use Phase Shift Armor?"

"It doesn't need it," replied Heero, "Gundanium is impervious to physical attacks, and it takes a very high powered beam weapon to do severe damage to it, though with enough weaker energy weapons you can accomplish the same feat through sheer numbers and a concentrated bombardment. I would say that it is superior to Phase Shift Armor."

"Oh," said Cagalli, eyes widening a bit, "that's a bold claim… but I don't think you're just blowing smoke. You don't strike me as the type."

"It's not really my style," he said. He looked around the market for a moment, and a thought crossed his mind. "I thought Banadiya was supposed to be in the middle of an economic recession, what with the restrictions on tourism and the fishing fleets. This bazaar seems pretty active, all things considered."

"I noticed that too," she said, briefly turning to give Kira some money to pay for the items they needed from that particular vendor. As the three of them moved on to the next merchant she continued. "I asked one of the other vendors about that, and she said something about ZAFT lifting some of the restrictions on where the fishing boats could go. I guess it was pretty recent. Though I can't see why they'd do that; they haven't shown much interest in the local economy in the time they've been here until now."

"I can," said Heero, "When they first conquered the region, they were worried about securing their hold on it and repelling assaults from the Europeans to the north and Alliance forces in the south, particularly from the Lake Victoria spaceport, at least until they conquered it. Now that the area has stabilized somewhat, Waltfeld is trying to improve the local economy as a matter of public relations, to sap the will of people to join rebel groups like the Desert Dawn by improving their lives, or at least trying to restore something akin to the pre-war order."

"But the people can't just be bought off!" said Cagalli, getting a little heated. She took a breath to calm herself, then looked at Heero, a bit of uncertainty in her eyes. "Can they?"

"Hard to say," he replied, taking a look around as they approached a small stand selling basic medical goods. As Cagalli gave Kira another list of items to purchase, he continued. "Most people do not have the strength to risk their lives in battle. Acquiescence to the dominant power is so much easier to do, particularly if said power begins taking measures to revive the local economy. The invader thus undermines any rebels at a very important level; quality of life. Comfortable submission may be viewed as favorable to living in hardship as a resistance force."

"I see," she said. She appeared thoughtful for a moment, then turned to help Kira continue shopping.

As they moved on through the market district, Heero found himself thinking on what he had said. _And yet, often enough it is those who are in positions of luxury and power that end up choosing to fight for one reason or another. Treize, Zechs… aristocracy and fallen royalty, respectively, yet they were amongst the best pilots in the Earth Sphere by the time the Artemis Revolution rolled around. They were willing to risk their lives on the battlefield, and both even led rebellions of sorts: Treize against Romefeller after they decided to use Mobile Dolls, and Zechs against Earth as the leader of White Fang. Even Quatre was heir to the wealthy Winner family, yet he chose to rebel against the UESA and become a Gundam pilot._

_ What does that say about humanity, I wonder?_

"Hey, Heero!" said Kira. He looked up, and was surprised to realize that he had actually lost himself in thought for a bit. _Pull it together, Heero._

Kira and Cagalli were looking at him quizzically. "Everything alright?" asked Cagalli.

Heero nodded. "Yeah. Let's get moving."

They continued on through the market for a bit, then Cagalli stopped at another stall, peering intently at its wares. As the two young men accompanying her followed her gaze, they saw that the vendor was selling jewelry. It wasn't high class stuff; in fact it was mostly small trinkets, no gemstones of any real value. Still, the blond resistance fighter seemed to enjoy looking at them, and was asking the merchant about some of the pieces.

_I guess there are some things that never change with women_, he mused. He would've just hung back as usual, but something caught his eye.

It was a necklace. At first glance it appeared to be nothing special, just a dark blue stone with a thin strip of leather running through a small hole in it. Yet the stone seemed to shimmer slightly in the sunlight, like ocean waves on a clear day.

Now, Heero wasn't really into personal ornamentation… but then again, it wasn't himself that he was picturing the necklace on.

He moved up next to Cagalli, and the girl raised an eyebrow. "What can you tell me about that necklace?" he said as he pointed to it.

The vendor who ran the stall, a woman who appeared to be in her forties, smiled. "It is a Tear of Isis," she said to him, "They are not particularly valuable, but it is said that to give one to someone is to acknowledge that a bond has grown between them, one that the giver holds to be dear to them. It can be that of close friends, comrades, adoptive family, lovers… any bond will do, provided you feel it is important. To give a Tear of Isis is also a promise to remain true to that bond, and to protect it with all your might."

"How much is it?" he asked her. She named a price, and Heero was pleased to hear that it was quite cheap, and quickly pulled out some of the cash Murrue had given him. The woman smiled and grabbed the necklace, which she then placed in a small brown satchel and gave to him.

"Young man," she said, "look at me. Let me see your eyes."

Heero raised an eyebrow, slightly suspicious. However, he could detect no sign of hostile intent within the woman, so he did as she asked. Her own brown eyes seemed to bore into him, as if they were peering into the depths of his soul. It was a bit unnerving, but Heero didn't break his gaze.

After a minute or so, the woman leaned back and sighed. "You have suffered greatly for one so young. Yet you have not been broken by despair or guilt, though both have wounded you deeply. Your heart holds courage beyond that of any other who walks this earth, but also uncertainty. You are struggling to find your role, your place in this world."

Then she smiled. "And you have met someone who is willing to help you, and would move mountains to do so. Treasure the bond you have forged with her, and do not be afraid… should it grow into something more."

His eyes widened. _How… how is she doing this?_

The woman laughed. "You youngsters should be moving on. I can tell you have many more places to go, and our time together has come to an end."

She looked at Heero one last time. "Farewell, soldier from beyond our stars."

Heero nodded. "Come on, let's go," he said. Cagalli and Kira looked at him for a moment, clearly wondering what that whole exchange had been about.

Then Cagalli nodded. "Alright, we have a lot more ground we need to cover."

As they moved on, Heero gave the lady at the stall one more glance. _Funny, I never put much stock in what people might call a sixth sense, at least not beyond my own combat and survival instincts, not to mention the Zero system. However…_

…_maybe there is something beyond that, some rare form of perception that most of us will never know._

….

Meanwhile, in a warehouse on the edge of town, the others were busy discussing the final details of the arms deal. Since Sahib personally knew the head dealer, he was conducting the negotiations while everyone else just hung around in the background.

Leaning against a wall, Mu La Flaga looked over at Natarle and smiled. "Well, looks like we'll get everything we need from these guys."

The black haired woman looked around the warehouse and nodded. "Yeah… though I'll admit this smuggling operation these guys have worries me a little. Look how many of the crates in this warehouse have Earth Forces IDs on them!"

The Lieutenant Commander shrugged. "Not much we can really do about that right now. Besides, we need these supplies, and I've seen plenty of boxes with the ZAFT insignia on them too. These guys have a wide reach."

"We can at least check the serial numbers on the Alliance boxes," Natarle whispered, "That way we can find out what facilities they came from."

She moved to do precisely that, but was stopped by Mu grabbing her arm. He shook his head. "Don't do it. I know how much this bothers you, but we need this deal to go smoothly if we're going to make it to Alaska HQ. If either of us gets caught snooping around, that'll torpedo this whole thing."

She tensed for a moment, then sighed. "You're right. I guess… I'm just so used to everything being so clear cut, by the book. I'm not used to playing in moral and legal grey areas like this. I'm pretty sure we're breaking at least a dozen regulations with this."

Natarle was surprised when Mu put his hand on her shoulder. "Natarle, you're a good officer, and your knowledge of Alliance rules and regulations is second to none. It's served you well up until now… but this isn't exactly a normal campaign, and the rulebook can't cover everything."

He smiled, and she could feel her misgivings ease slightly. _There's just something about that smile_, she thought, and was embarrassed to feel a bit of heat rushing to her head. She quickly turned away, trying to occupy herself with something else, _anything _else.

Mu raised an eyebrow. "What? What'd I do?"

"Oh, uhm, nothing!" she said, a bit quicker than she meant to.

_You, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga_, she thought, _are way too relaxed for your own good. Still…_

_ … I don't particularly mind that side of you._

….

"Ah, finally!" said Cagalli, smiling as she sat down.

The three of them were at an outdoor café, having just finished their shopping. Cagalli had decided to introduce them to some of the local cuisine, and the waiter had barely handed out the menus before she had snatched them up, ordered for all of them, and sent the waiter on his way.

Heero grabbed a glass of water that was sitting on the table. _At least we didn't have to ask for this_, he thought as he took a sip,_ she didn't even give us a chance to order drinks, and I'm thirsty._

"Hey," said Cagalli, "do you think the Valkyrie will be in the next battle?"

Heero shrugged. "Probably. If I were Waltfeld, I'd want something to keep the Wing Zero occupied, and Shemei and her subordinates are among the best pilots ZAFT has to offer. He'd be a fool to not have her in his combat lineup."

Cagalli nodded. "Yeah, you have a point there."

"Uhm, Heero?" said Kira a bit hesitantly, "Who did you buy that necklace for? You don't strike me as the jewelry type."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that too," said Cagalli, "Well?"

Heero looked down at the table, where he had taken the necklace out of the satchel to look at. An image of Murrue flashed through his thoughts again.

He looked up at them. "You'll see when we get back to the camp."

"Alright, fair enough," said Kira.

Cagalli seemed willing to let the matter slide too. "It certainly is pretty," she said, admiring it before Heero put it away, "I'm surprised that lady was willing to sell it for so cheap."

"Well," said Kira, "she did say they weren't particularly valuable. That kind of stone is probably pretty common around here."

"Good point," said Cagalli, "They're pretty easy to find along the shore, and Banadiya is a coastal town."

They were quiet for awhile after that, simply relaxing and waiting for their food. When the waiter showed up a few minutes later Cagalli smiled. "Alright! Thank you!"

"Uhm, what are these?" asked Kira.

"These are doner kebabs!" she said smiling, "Oh yes they are!" She reached across the table towards Kira's dish. Heero watched in amusement as she grabbed a bottle of red sauce. "Here, you should use this chili sauce."

"Hold on there, little lady," came a voice from behind him.

Heero whirled around, right hand swiftly moving to his gun. _How the hell did he get the drop on me?! _While relaxed, Heero hadn't dropped his guard since the jewelry stall, and had been sure that no one was approaching them.

The man behind them smiled. He was tall, wore khaki pants and a bright red and yellow shirt. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses and he wore round, tan hat as well, yet there was something familiar about him. He noticed the man's tanned skin, indicative of having spent an extended period of time in the desert, though Heero would still have classified him as white, and the stranger also had rather long sideburns as well.

Suddenly an image flashed before Heero's mind; a man with the exact same build, in a tan officer's uniform, the image from the file Murrue had shown him aboard the _Archangel _when they had first touched down in North Africa.

His eyes narrowed as the man stood between Kira and Cagalli. _Hard to believe, but there's no mistake…_

_ ….that's Field Marshall Andrew Waltfeld. The Desert Tiger himself._

He watched as Waltfeld grabbed a bottle of yogurt sauce off the table and try to put it on Kira's kebab. This started a back and forth debate between the two of them over which sauce the young man should use, yogurt or chili. Soon the young Coordinator's dish seemed to be more sauce than kebab as the two of them proceeded to pour more of the topping of their choice on his plate. It would have been humorous for Heero had he been paying attention, but he had begun taking another look at their surroundings and was noticing subtle but troubling differences.

The street side that the café was on had gained a few more people, all dressed in civilian clothes but whose stances were clearly those of soldiers, and ones who were packing concealed weapons. Glancing upwards, Heero also saw some men on the roof of the building the café was located at. _A hit squad? No, if Waltfeld wanted us dead, the guys on the roof would've picked us off already. They're most likely his body guards._

The area across the street had gained some new faces as well, but unlike Waltfeld's covert entourage these were of greater concern to Heero. While not possessing the professional demeanor of Waltfeld's men, they all had a look on their faces that struck Heero as barely concealed hatred. They were armed as well, though they were doing a clumsy job of concealing their guns beneath their shirts. Glancing up at the rooftops across the street, he mentally swore as he saw two men preparing a rocket-propelled-grenade-launcher.

He was already drawing his gun when Waltfeld grabbed Kira and Cagalli. "Get down!" he yelled. He swiftly threw them towards the ground, inadvertently knocking Kira's sauce laden plate onto Cagalli, though to her credit the girl didn't fuss over it. He then drew upon the inherent strength of a Coordinator and kicked the table skywards, intercepting the rocket that had just been fired from the men on the room.

As the projectile impacted the table and exploded in the air, Heero had already dove to the side and sighted in on the rooftop assailants. Firing twice in the space of a second, he hit the attackers square between the eyes; perfect kill shots. Then he quickly knocked over a table to use as cover, and saw that Kira and Cagalli had taken shelter behind one as well. Waltfeld had grabbed one of his own as well.

After seeing the initial rocket attack fail, the other hostiles across the street drew a mix of pistols and submachine guns and began firing.

"Die Coordinator scum!" one yelled.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world!" cried another.

"Those guys are Blue Cosmos!" he heard Cagalli shout over the firefight.

_Great_, he thought, _just our luck to get caught up in the middle of a terrorist attack by genocidal maniacs. _He'd read in the files he'd downloaded from the Alliance about the anti-Coordinator extremist group, but hadn't counted on running into them in the heart of ZAFT territory on Earth.

"Burn in hell, Coordinat-!" one man yelled, before getting a hole blown in his head by Heero.

"Shut the fuck up," he muttered under his breath as he fired off two more shots, hitting another attacker in the chest and dropping him.

Ducking back behind the table, he saw Waltfeld's men taking up positions around the café, taking down the remaining assailants with precise and well-coordinated shots. The Field Marshall himself was picking off terrorists left and right. However, in the confusion of the firefight they had apparently missed one, who had snuck around the side and was drawing a bead on Waltfeld. However, before he could get a shot off, Kira suddenly rushed out from behind the table, picked up a gun that had been dropped by one of Waltfeld's men when he had been wounded, and threw it at the attacker. The impromptu projectile hit the man right in the face, and gave Waltfeld the time he needed to move in to restrain the man, pointing his gun at the terrorist's head.

"Clear!" yelled the Field Marshall. His men replied in similar manner. Only one had been wounded, taking a shot to his right arm, which had caused him to drop the gun Kira had picked up. One of his comrades was already patching him up, and the guy looked more annoyed than anything else.

"You know," said Cagalli as she stood up, looking at Kira, "you're supposed to shoot with a gun, not throw it at someone."

"Yeah, sorry," he said, "I acted on instinct."

"I'm not complaining," said Waltfeld as he walked over to them. He smiled as he removed his hat and shades.

Cagalli gasped. "You mean… we we're talking to Andrew Waltfeld this whole time?"

"I'm a little disappointed that you didn't catch on, young miss," he said. "Unlike your friend here," he added as he looked at Heero.

The Gundam pilot shrugged. "Wasn't too hard. I am impressed though; you're one of the few people who have gotten the drop on me like that."

The Desert Tiger chuckled. "It wasn't easy. You have sharp senses…. Heero Yuy."

He tensed, ready to raise his CR 75AC at the drop of a hat. "How did you know who I was?"

"I've heard the audio recordings from Commander Rehema's DINN. I recognized your voice the moment you guys started talking earlier," replied Waltfeld.

He smiled. "Now, let me take you guys somewhere where we can chat in private." He looked over at Cagalli, whose clothes were covered in the sauces from Kira's spilt food. "And get you a change of clothes."

Both her and Kira were worried, and looked over at Heero to see how he'd react. They were surprised when he looked at Waltfeld and asked, "Is Commander Rehema in town, by any chance?"

The Tiger grinned. "Indeed. The whole Valkyrie team is here. They're actually all at my headquarters right now chatting with Aisha."

Heero nodded. "I don't suppose you got a ride nearby?"

"Heero!" cried Cagalli, "What are you thinking?"

"I want to hear what he has to say," he replied, "Besides, if he wanted us dead, he could have killed us during the firefight."

"Come on, Cagalli," said Kira, "it's not like we have much of a choice in the matter anyway."

She sighed. "Oh, alright. I suppose it'd be nice to get a change of clothes, too."

Waltfeld laughed. "Come on then, I have a jeep parked on the other side of the café." He looked over at one of his subordinates. "DaCosta, grab their bags for them, alright?"

"Yes, sir," said a man who appeared to be his adjutant.

As they made their way towards the vehicle, Heero holstered his pistol. Then he checked his pocket, and sighed with relief as he pulled out the satchel. He opened it quickly and saw that the necklace was indeed still in there, and as he pulled it out he saw that it had suffered no damage.

"A Tear of Isis," said Waltfeld, "So, who's the lucky lady?"

"None of your business," he said as he put the necklace away.

Waltfeld shrugged. "Fair enough."

….

"Not quite what I expected for the headquarters of the Desert Tiger," said Heero.

He, Kira, and Waltfeld were in a lavishly appointed lounge area, the style of which reminded Heero of that favored by the Romefeller Foundation; a mix of Baroque era architecture and furniture combined with the latest technology. The two teenagers were sitting on a couch with a coffee table in front of it, while Waltfeld was leaning against the wall near a window. Aisha had taken Cagalli to get cleaned up a few minutes ago.

Waltfeld chuckled. "You can blame the Alliance for that. They had some European aristocrat as the commanding General for their North African forces, and he had this place constructed. I'd prefer something a bit more low key, personally."

Heero was about to comment when he heard voices coming from the hallway, all of them female.

"He's here?! Why didn't you say so earlier, Commander?" said one.

"Because I just found out from Aisha," said another.

"I heard there were two others with him," a third voice chimed in.

"I wonder who they are," he heard a fourth say.

The three of them turned towards the door as it opened, and in walked the Valkyrie team. Heero recognized the tall woman with the darker skin tone from the _Archangel's _files as Shemei Rehema, and figured that the other three were her subordinates. They were all in uniform, Shemei in her white Commander's outfit and the other three wearing the red ones reserved for top pilots.

Commander Rehema smiled. "Waltfeld, you could've given us a little more heads up, you know."

The Desert Tiger laughed. "Slipped my mind, sorry. Aisha seems to have told you in any case, so all's well."

She smiled, and looked at the two teenagers on the couch. Her silver eyes immediately met Heero's, and he knew that she had figured out instantly who he was, despite the fact that their conversation had been strictly audio.

Heero stood up, taking Kira by surprise, and walked over to the female ace and her comrades. He held out his hand. "I suppose I don't need to say this, but I'm Heero Yuy."

As she took it, one of the girls, one of Chinese descent from what Heero could tell from her features, whistled. Another, a blond girl, gave a small gasp while the third, a red-head, murmured, "Oh my…"

"And I'm Shemei Rehema, though I'm sure you knew that," the Commander replied. She waved her arm at her subordinates. "This is Lan Zhao, Priscilla Dalca, and Adaline Bellerose."

Heero nodded at them. "Nice to meet you."

They all smiled, and Lan Zhao winked. "Pleasure's all mine, handsome."

Heero raised an eyebrow, and Waltfeld laughed again. "Why don't you all come over here? Plenty of seats to go around. Aisha and the girl should be done soon."

As they all sat down, Lan turned towards Kira. "And what's your name, cutie?"

"Honestly, Lan," said Adaline, "can't you save the flirting for later?"

"Worried about falling behind?" Lan teased, "Better step up your game, Adaline."

Kira simply blushed. "Kira… Kira Yamato."

"It's very nice to meet both of you," said Priscilla, smiling and bowing her head slightly.

"Uhm, yeah. Same here," he replied. Heero could tell he was uneasy, and understood why. _Though they aren't hostile right now, the fact remains that they are our enemies. Kira hasn't been exposed to this side of war: where one finds out that our 'enemies' are not so different from us…_

He was wondering how to handle the situation when he heard a 'ding' coming from a corner of the room. Waltfeld smiled. "Ah, perfect timing!" He walked over towards the coffee machine that had made the noise, grabbed the pot, and brought it over to the table. He then grabbed several cups and started pouring.

"One of my latest blends," he said, "Why don't you all give it a try?"

They all did so, and to Heero it tasted unlike any other coffee he'd tried before. It was bitter, but there was something about it that made the bitterness a good thing. He could also taste mint in the coffee, much more strongly than in any other blend he'd had.

He set the cup down. "Not bad," he murmured.

"Thanks," said Waltfeld. The others were quick to voice their approval as well.

"Is this a personal blend?" he asked, "It's not like any other I've tried."

"You bet," replied the Field Marshall, "You could say that coffee blending is a hobby of mine."

Shemei laughed. "More like a minor obsession. Honestly, your personal office looks more like an amateur chemistry lab."

"We all have our quirks," said Waltfeld with a shrug.

"Uhm, mind if I ask something?" said Kira nervously.

The Valkyrie gave him a warm smile. "Go right ahead."

"Why… why are you all meeting with us like this?" he asked, "I mean, aren't we supposed to be… enemies?"

The beautiful Egyptian woman chuckled mischievously. "I suppose you do have a point there. I could answer that, but since Andrew here arranged this I think I'll let him do it."

"Call it curiosity, kid," the Tiger said. He smirked. "Knowing your enemy is one of the oldest truisms of warfare… and you guys are the first to give us a serious challenge in quite awhile."

He looked up as the door opened. "Ah, glad you two could join us."

Heero turned with everyone else, and he couldn't help but smirk a bit at what he saw.

Cagalli and Aisha were standing in the doorway. Waltfeld's lover was wearing a strapless blue dress which practically clung to her body, showing off her curves and leaving little to the imagination. Cagalli's was a bit more conservative, though another strapless gown as well. Hers was sea-green, and flowed outward from her waist in a manner that Heero found to be quite elegant, very unlike the rough-and-tumble tomboy he knew her as. _Looks like even she can dress up like a princess on occasion_, he mused, _she can be a bit more girly than she'd otherwise admit, it seems._

Aisha gave her a playful little push, and Cagalli stumbled nervously into the room. She blushed slightly, then sat down between Kira and Heero. The Gundam pilot saw her glare at the coffee cup in front of her, then grudgingly grabbed it and took a sip. After she put it down, she folded her arms and narrow her eyes at Waltfeld.

_Correction_, Heero thought with some amusement, _no matter what you dress her in, she's still rough around the edges. Looks like she won't be playing the princess role any time soon._

"You look quite lovely, young miss," said Waltfeld, scooting over a bit in his seat to make room for Aisha.

Cagalli scowled at him. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

The Field Marshall chuckled. "The perfect little lady until you speak."

"Sorry Andy," said Aisha as her lover handed her his coffee mug, which she took a sip from. She giggled. "All I could do was help her clean up and find her a dress; I'm afraid that attitude of hers wasn't going anywhere, regardless of how luxurious her bath may have been."

Cagalli again blushed slightly at that. The two lovers laughed, then shared a brief kiss. Turning back to his guests, Waltfeld spoke. "Now, about what you were asking earlier, kid. I wanted to find out for myself just who the pilots of the Earth Forces only two mobile suits were and what they were like."

"Before you continue," said Heero, "you should know that I'm not part of the Alliance military."

"Really?" said Shemei, looking intently at his eyes. After a moment, she smiled. "You know, normally I'd be skeptical of that, but… there's just something about those eyes of yours. I don't think you're lying."

"I agree," said Waltfeld, "Still, you are fighting for them. Are you a mercenary?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," replied Heero, "I'm protecting the _Archangel_, but not for money. I have my own reasons for fighting. Also, the Wing Zero is not an Alliance mobile suit; it's my own machine."

"What?" said Lan, eyes widening, "You mean you built it?"

He shook his head. "No, it was built by a friend of mine. Also, you won't find the designs in any Alliance or Orb database; it was made completely independent of any government."

"I don't suppose you'll go into more detail?" said Shemei.

Heero shook his head.

The ZAFT ace laughed. "I thought so."

Adaline sighed. "Well, so much for figuring out who's theory was right, though I guess we should at least thank you for narrowing things down a bit." Seeing him raise an eyebrow, she smiled. "Everyone's been trying to figure out who you are, and where the Wing Zero came from. There's been some really wild guesses out there."

Heero couldn't help but laugh. As everyone else looked at him, he smirked. "Trust me, the truth is stranger than anything you guys could think up."

While the others just raised their eyebrows, he turned his attention to Commander Rehema. Or, to be more specific, the unique firearm she had holstered on her belt.

"Is that a Mauser C96?" he asked.

She smiled and drew the weapon. "It's a custom remake. ZAFT standard issue side-arms are based on the Glock series, but I never really liked those. Fortunately, when you become a Commander you can request all kinds of favors from the armories. I had this baby modeled on the Chinese variant, the Type 17 pistol."

Heero nodded. "Chambered for .45 ACP cartridges, ten rounds before reloading, right?"

"You know your firearms, mister Yuy," she said with a laugh, "Yes, though this one carries fourteen rounds. The material is a higher-grade steel than the original model, and of course all the internal components use more modern alloys as well."

"I read somewhere that the muzzle jump on the Mauser series and its variants was a real pain to compensate for," said Heero, "Do you bandit shoot?"

"You've heard the term? My, you are well informed," she said.

Invented in the Far East in the early twentieth century, the 'bandit shooting' technique had been developed as a means to use the notorious muzzle jump of the Mauser series pistols to the wielders advantage. It involved holding the weapon sideways, which allowed the recoil to guide the attackers aim into the next target in a sweeping motion. Combining this with the pistol's fully automatic firing turned the gun into an excellent weapon for clearing rooms and other confined areas.

Heero smirked. "The only weapon that should be held sideways as a matter of practicality, and not for the sake of looks. I can't believe people are stupid enough to do that with normal handguns."

Both he and Shemei shared a laugh over that before Cagalli cut in. "Heero, what the hell's the matter with you? We're sitting in the heart of enemy territory and you're just kicking back discussing gun fighting techniques with someone you just engaged in battle only days ago!"

"You're point?" he replied.

"My point?" she repeated, eyes widening, "Shouldn't you be more concerned with whether or not they're going to kill us?"

"We're sitting right here, you know," said Waltfeld, causing both Aisha and Shemei to giggle a bit.

"She does have a point Heero," said Kira, "Aren't you the least bit worried?"

Heero shrugged. "Not really. If Waltfeld wanted to kill us, he could have done so during or after the firefight with Blue Cosmos."

"Still…" she said, turning towards Waltfeld, "Why go through all this trouble? You must know the kind of damage we can do to your forces."

"Oh yes, I'm well aware of your abilities," said Waltfeld, "Two Coordinators who fight against their own people; formidable foes to be sure."

"You're mistaken," said Heero, "Kira's a Coordinator, I'm not." That was true, though with his own bio-augmentations he didn't exactly qualify as a natural human either.

Cagalli turned to Kira, eyes widening slightly, "You mean you're… a Coordinator?"

Kira nodded, his face becoming a little red.

Waltfeld looked surprised. "I'm impressed. The way you fought, I thought for sure you were one of us. You, young man, are one hell of a pilot."

"My thoughts exactly," said Shemei. The rest of her team nodded in agreement.

Waltfeld turned back to Kira. "You're no slouch yourself. Especially given that you apparently possess berserker capabilities…"

"What?" said Kira, clearly confused.

Waltfeld looked puzzled. "You mean you… never mind, forget I said anything."

Heero's eyes narrowed. _Berserker… Kira? He's got to be kidding. _And yet, after reviewing some of the kid's combat footage after the two engagements he'd had in the desert so far, he had noticed that, under pressure, the young Coordinator seemed to experience a drastic decrease in his reaction times, and an overall short term boost in his fighting capabilities.

"As for why I went so far as to bring you three here," said Waltfeld, "I wanted to know more about you. Shemei did as well; we've never seen people fight quite the way you do. The Strike, the Wing Zero… both are incredibly sophisticated mobile suits, and you two pilots are incredibly skilled. It's even more amazing when your youth is considered. You two are what, sixteen?"

Kira and Heero nodded. "So am I," said Cagalli.

Waltfeld sighed. "Young for soldiers, yet that seems to be becoming more and more common of late. Both the Alliance and ZAFT have been fielding new recruits that age for some time now."

"What do you expect?" said Shemei, "You know how it goes; war is the young dying, and the old talking."

Heero nodded. "Well said, Commander."

They were all quiet for a moment. Then Waltfeld turned to Heero. "You seem like an insightful young man. Tell me, what do you think it would take to end this war?"

"Hard to say," he replied, "this war holds the unique distinction of being kicked off by a nuclear massacre. As long as those most responsible for it remain at large, I can't see ZAFT accepting a ceasefire any time soon. Also, with Operation Uroboros and the crippling of the Earth's energy grid, I could say the same for the Alliance. Both sides have been indiscriminate with their opening acts, and their conduct since then has been little better. The hardliners in both governments are firmly entrenched, and as long as they hold positions of power the conflict will not end any time soon."

"What's more disturbing," he continued, "is that, from what I've read, Defense Chairman Zala is the primary contender for your next Supreme Council Chairman. I don't know the man personally, but from what I understand he favors forcing the Alliance into submission before declaring a ceasefire. If he seizes power, then the conflict will escalate… and the casualty figures will skyrocket."

"If cooler heads were to prevail in both the Alliance and the PLANTs, then perhaps negotiations could begin to end hostilities. However, with elements like Blue Cosmos and the PLANT radical faction thrown into the mix, I don't believe that can occur."

"You paint a grim future, Mr. Yuy," said Priscilla, "Unfortunately, I'm inclined to agree with that conclusion."

"As am I," said Shemei. Waltfeld and Aisha nodded as well.

"There is another way," said Heero, thinking back on the Eve Wars, "that this conflict could be brought to an end… though I would hope it doesn't come to that."

"Oh?" said Waltfeld, raising an eyebrow, "What way might that be?"

Heero surprised him, and everyone else, by giving a grim laugh. They all looked at him nervously for a moment before he spoke. "Tell me, how long has humanity been fighting?"

Waltfeld, Aisha, and Shemei all looked at each other. "Throughout our entire history," said Aisha, "since the time we began walking upright and making stone tools."

Heero nodded. "Well put. Though the reasons given may vary, people have always fought each other. It's as if it's in our very nature to fight."

He sighed and looked past the others, out the window. "History is much like an endless waltz in three/four time. The three beats of war, peace, and revolution seem to continue on for eternity."

Shemei's eyes widened slightly. "That's almost poetic. I never figured you for a romantic, Heero."

The young man shrugged. "Take it for what you will."

"Heero," said Adaline, "do you think that there is a way for mankind to break that cycle?"

"Yes," he said, "although the price would be… steep."

"What do you mean?" said Cagalli, clearly getting drawn into the conversation despite her earlier protests.

Heero closed his eyes, thinking back on the final battle at the _Libra_. "Give humanity a war beyond any it has ever seen before. More importantly, grab them by the hair and shove their faces in it. Make them see the true face of conflict. No honor, no glory, just straight up kill or be killed. Also, make sure that the fate of humanity itself rides on the battle, that all of mankind stands on the razors edge, on the brink of total annihilation."

He looked up at them, grim determination in his eyes. "People have tried to end conflicts by simply taking away weapons, but that doesn't work. You have to destroy mankind's very will to fight. Force them to confront a war so horrific, with the possibility of the very extinction of our kind on the line, with a final battle of massive proportions, casualties beyond any other struggle ever experienced… only then will they lose all taste for battle. Only then will mankind begin to truly work for a lasting peace."

_ And perhaps this time_, he thought, mind wandering back to his old world, _find the strength to keep it._

"Unless you can defeat the will to fight," he concluded, "then as long as mankind exists… there will always be battles."

The room became eerily quiet. Then Waltfeld's eyes narrowed. "You're not just speaking hypothetically. I realize this sounds crazy, since a conflict like the one you're describing has never taken place in our history… but you've experienced precisely that, haven't you?"

Heero chuckled. "As you said, it's impossible. If a confrontation like that had taken place, then would we be fighting this latest war of ours?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Waltfeld growled, being truly serious for perhaps the first time since the firefight at the café, "Your manner is not that of just another young pilot. It's that of a soldier who's seen something that none of us have."

"Perhaps I have," said Heero, eyes meeting the Tiger's, "but the truth in this case is something that you would never believe."

"Try us," said Cagalli.

Heero thought for a moment. He had taken considerable efforts to keep the fact that he was from another world from her, along with most of the others. Kira was the only other person in the room who knew that bit of information, and to his credit he hadn't mentioned that. However, if revealing that could throw Waltfeld and his comrades off balance…

…then it might be worth telling the truth just to see their reactions.

"Fine," said Heero, "Although it might sound a bit more credible if someone other than me were to tell you." He turned to Kira. "Your show, kid."

"Huh?" he said, clearly surprised, "You sure?"

Heero nodded.

Kira looked down for a moment, a bit nervous. Then he looked up, took a breath to calm himself, and spoke. "Heero's… not from our world."

The room was dead silent for a moment. Then Shemei spoke up. "Hold on… say that again?"

"He's not from the Cosmic Era," said Kira, "He's from an alternate world. I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen cockpit recordings from the Wing Zero. The date on the screen read A.C. 196, though I don't know what it stands for. Apparently he was on an assignment and something went wrong. He was caught up in a massive explosion, and I think it ripped a hole in the fabric of space/time… at least, that's my theory."

"A.C. stands for After Colony," said Heero.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" said Lan, "You mean an entirely different timeline?"

"Hang on!" said Priscilla, "Are you even from Earth?"

"Technically," said Heero, "I was born in the colonies, more specifically the L1 cluster. But the world that they orbited was still Earth."

"Why join up with the Earth Forces?" said Shemei.

"I haven't," said Heero, "I joined the _Archangel_. Originally it was because it was close to where I entered the Cosmic Era, and I needed a place to resupply and get my bearings. However…"

He closed his eyes, and couldn't help but smile as Murrue's face flashed through his mind. "There's someone on that ship that I want to protect." He looked at the others. "I'm not fighting for the Alliance. I'm disgusted with their actions, and the same goes for ZAFT. If I could I'd fight both sides… but there's someone on the _Archangel _who was willing to help me, and I'm going to repay her kindness. I owe her that, and no doubt more."

Waltfeld chuckled. "So _that's _who the Tear of Isis was for. I should have guessed…"

"_What?_" said Lan, eyes widening, "You mean he's already spoken for? Damn it, Waltfeld! Why didn't you give us a heads up?"

Shemei laughed. "Shouldn't that be 'damn it, Field Marshall', Miss Zhao?"

She blushed slightly. "Right, sorry sir."

Waltfeld shook his head. "Don't worry about it. And I wouldn't get too worked up over the necklace our young friend has bought. Remember, a Tear of Isis isn't necessarily considered a romantic gift."

Lan shook her head. "With all due respect, sir…" She looked over at Heero and smiled. "From a handsome guy like him, I'd be hard pressed to find a woman who'd take it any other way."

Heero raised an eyebrow, and she laughed. "Guess you still need some work when it comes to girls, eh Heero?"

She then winced as Adaline elbowed her in the ribs. "Don't mind Lan here, she gets her kicks throwing men off balance." The red-head smiled. "I think it's sweet that you bought something like that for this woman you've mentioned. The bond you two share must be quite strong."

"I agree," said Aisha. She winked. "You, young man, will make a lucky woman very happy someday."

Heero was struck by a very unfamiliar feeling; embarrassment. His face warmed ever so slightly, though he managed to keep it hidden from the others. Another image of Murrue flashing through his head did not help matters. _What the hell is wrong with me? Pull yourself together, Heero!_

"Alright," said Waltfeld, "I think we've teased our friend here enough for one day."

"I agree," said Aisha, "In fact, we'd better let them go soon. Otherwise the rest of their group will start to worry." Seeing the look of shock on Cagalli's face, she smiled. "Come now, you don't take us for fools, do you? We know you're here with other members of the rebel group in order to get supplies and weapons. Andy just decided that you three were more worth the effort to keep track of."

"And I think I can safely say that I was right," said the Field Marshall. He stood up and moved toward the window. After looking out it for a moment, he turned towards his guests. "Your clothes should be clean by now. Aisha, could you take her so she can get changed?"

His lover nodded. "Sure, no problem Andy." She walked over to Cagalli and took her by the arm. "Come on now. You don't want to keep your friends waiting, do you?"

As the two ladies left the room, Heero turned to Waltfeld. "So, you know there are allies of ours in town preparing to fight you, yet you just let them do as they please?"

The Desert Tiger chuckled. "It's not like they're going to start something in the heart of the town. I know the Desert Dawn fighters and their allies take pride on not killing civilians and engaging in other indiscriminate acts of terrorism. It's actually something I admire them for."

"Besides," he continued, a wicked grin on his face, "I want you guys at full strength when I come at you, because my North Africa Corps doesn't pull its punches."

"We beat you before," said Kira, "what makes you think we can't do it again?"

"Those were probes, Kira," said Heero, surprising the young Coordinator, "He was using the first battle as a means to test our capabilities. The second engagement allowed him to sortie against you in a one-on-one fight and measure your own skill." He met Waltfeld's gaze. "He hasn't been playing for keeps yet. This time will be different."

Waltfeld nodded. "Indeed." He turned towards Shemei. "Commander Rehema and her subordinates have been training against a simulation of your own machine, Heero Yuy. Though I'm told it doesn't measure up to you, I imagine they will be much more formidable in your next encounter."

Heero looked Shemei and nodded. "That doesn't surprise me."

The Valkyrie smiled. "I'll look for you on the field."

"And we'll be right behind her," said Adaline.

"I'd expect nothing less," said Heero.

Waltfeld sighed. "A shame, really… were it not for this war… I imagine we'd all be good friends."

"Can't be helped now," said Heero, "Life seldom deals you the cards you want. All you can do is play the hand you've been given."

"Indeed," replied the Field Marshall, "you seem to have taken that to heart."

The door opened again, revealing Cagalli dressed in her normal clothes, the bags full of goods they had picked up shopping in her hands. Aisha moved from behind her and went to her lover, while Kira went up to Cagalli to help take some of the bags.

Waltfeld smiled. "Well, I certainly have enjoyed talking with you three. No doubt the others feel the same way."

His expression then darkened. "Although… perhaps it may have been better had we never met like this."

Heero saw Kira's expression turn to one of puzzlement, as did Cagalli's. As for the pilot of Wing Zero, he knew full well what Waltfeld had meant.

_Today we are just people having a conversation. But the next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield._

As he mused, Commander Rehema walked up to him, hand outstretched. "It's too bad, really. You're a decent guy, and I have no doubt you've seen a lot of action. I wouldn't have minded swapping stories sometime."

He took her hand. "War can be strange and unpredictable. Who knows, we might get the chance to do so somewhere down the road."

She smiled. "Perhaps." Then she and her subordinates made their way towards the door. "Until next time, Heero Yuy."

….

As they left the Desert Tiger's headquarters and made their way towards the market where they were supposed to rendezvous with Lieutenant Badgiruel and the others, Kira turned and looked back at the building. He could almost feel Waltfeld's eyes on them, looking down from one of the upper story windows.

_They're not bad people_, he thought, _do we really have to keep fighting like this?_

Unfortunately, the young man had no answer. All he could do was return to the _Archangel_ and wait to see what happened next.

….

Waltfeld watched out the window as the three teenagers left his headquarters. After a moment, he turned to the ladies in the room. "Well," he said, "what do you think? Is he telling the truth?"

Shemei smiled. "Oh yeah. I could tell just by the look in his eyes. Same with Kira; they're both quite sincere individuals, though Heero's more subtle than Kira. A bit harder to read, but the signs are there if you look carefully. He was being completely honest."

"It's hard to believe," said Aisha, "To think that he's from an alternate timeline, another universe…"

"No kidding," said Adaline, "our theories weren't even close."

"Yes," said Priscilla, "and now I have even more questions, as I'm sure the rest of us do as well."

"You got that right," said Lan, "A whole different world… and by the sound of it, a whole different war… no wonder he's so good, why he fights like no one else we've ever seen."

"He's had an entirely separate war to hone his skills in," said Shemei, deep in thought, "I was wondering who this 'Zechs Merquise' that he mentioned during our battle was; I couldn't find any matches in ZAFT's database. It makes sense now; there's no such person in the Cosmic Era at all."

"I wonder how long that young man has been fighting," mused Waltfeld.

"I get the feeling there's quite the story behind that," said Aisha softly, "and that it's quite tragic."

"Agreed," said Shemei, "One does not acquire that kind of skill overnight. Heero's only sixteen years old. If he'd been fighting for years before coming to our world…"

_A child soldier_, thought Waltfeld grimly, _one of warfare's greatest cruelties_. Like him, none of the ladies were willing to actually say it, but he had no doubt they had come to the same conclusion.

He sighed. "You can't make this shit up."

His companions nodded. "You have to wonder what all he's seen," said Adaline, "I bet none of it was pretty."

"Poor guy…" whispered Priscilla.

"Yeah," said Lan, "but if he's scarred by his past, he doesn't show it. He's so calm, so… _professional_… I wonder if anyone's managed to get him to open up about it."

"I think I know one person," said Waltfeld, causing the four ladies to look at him, "The woman he mentioned, the one he bought the necklace for… he's told her about at least some of his past, I'd stake my Field Marshal's patch on it."

"The one he wants to protect," said Aisha, "and he sounded determined to do just that. The coming battle will not be easy…"

"No," said Shemei, "but I don't think any of us expected it to be."

….

Murrue looked out one of the windows of the _Archangel's _bridge. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky into a beautiful mix of orange, red, and violet.

Suddenly she could see a cloud of dust in the distance. She turned to one of the bridge crew. "Get visual sensors on that dust cloud, maximum magnification."

An image came up on the main monitor, and she could see several trucks and jeeps approaching. She smiled when she saw the vehicle at the head of the group was the same open topped one that Heero and the others had ridden in, and that they were in it now, looking no worse for the wear.

"Good, he's alright," she whispered to herself. She chided herself for putting his safety above that of the others… but still didn't feel all that bad about it.

"Ensign Neumann," she said, "you have the bridge."

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

She exited the bridge and quickly made her way towards one of exterior hatches. As she approached the one closest to the approaching group she paused to collect herself. _Why am I making such a fuss over this?_, she thought, _I knew he'd be alright; it was just a supply run. Even if it was in the heart of ZAFT territory, it's not like Heero can't handle himself. _

Still, Murrue couldn't deny how great her relief was that he had returned in one piece. As she opened the door, she couldn't help but smile again as the vehicles pulled into the ravine and their occupants began to get out and unload the supplies. She tried to keep her pace casual, but still moved at a brisk walk as she approached Kira, Cagalli, and Heero.

"I'm glad to see that you're all ok," she said when they neared her. Murrue was surprised to see that both Kira and Cagalli seemed a bit subdued. Heero remained as unflappable as ever though, so whatever had occurred must not have been too serious.

Still, her curiosity was aroused now. "Everything alright?" she asked.

Kira and Cagalli nodded. "Yeah. I'll catch you guys later. I'm a bit worn out," said Cagalli, turning to walk further into the camp."

Kira looked at Murrue. "I'm a bit beat too. Mind if I go lie down for awhile?"

She nodded. "Go right ahead. You guys have had a long day, you should get some rest."

Kira smiled weakly. "Thanks, Captain."

As Kira left, Heero turned to Murrue. "You got some free time?" he asked.

She nodded. "I just gave Ensign Neumann the bridge, and Natarle can take the next shift after she gets some rest. Did something happen in town?"

"You could say that. I'll tell you over dinner. I'm assuming you haven't eaten yet, right?" he said.

"Yes," said Murrue, "I could definitely use a bite right about now."

They made their way to the _Archangel's _mess. After they arrived and dished up, the two of them grabbed a table over by one of the viewports. There wasn't much to see, since it was on the port side and facing the wall of the ravine, but it had some distance between it and the other tables, some of which were occupied, and Murrue had a feeling Heero would appreciate the privacy.

After a few minutes Heero spoke. "Had a pretty eventful shopping trip. Got in a gunfight with the Blue Cosmos and had coffee with the Desert Tiger and the Valkyrie." He chuckled. "Not exactly what I had on my to-do list when I woke up this morning."

Murrue was shocked. "Hold on, a _gunfight_?" She immediately began to lean forward to check him for injuries.

However, she stopped when he smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, none of us got hit. Can't say the same for the terrorists though."

She sighed. "That's a relief." Then the _other _event he'd mentioned hit her. "Wait, you said you met the _Tiger and the Valkyrie _too?"

He nodded. "Waltfeld was actually the target of the Blue Cosmos attack; we just got caught in the crossfire. I managed to take out a few of the terrorists, the Tiger and his bodyguards got the rest."

"What happened afterwards?" she asked.

"Well, Cagalli's clothes got food all over them in the chaos, so he gave us a lift to his headquarters so she could get cleaned up," he said, "The Valkyrie and her team was there, along with Waltfeld's lover. We chatted for awhile, then they let us go."

Murrue leaned back for a moment, absorbing all that Heero had told her. "Well," she finally said, "I'm not quite sure where to start with all that."

Heero shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about it. They didn't learn anything vital regarding our combat capabilities. I did, however, let slip my origins. Or rather, I nudged Kira into doing so."

"Why?" said Murrue, "I thought you were keeping that under wraps."

"That was my original intent, and still is for the most part," he replied, "but I wanted to throw them off balance, and so I decided to gamble. Paid off quite well, judging from the expressions on their faces."

"I can imagine," she said, unable to suppress a smile as she remembered when Heero had revealed to her where he had come from. "Well, you don't seem too worried about all this, so I guess I shouldn't either then, correct?"

He nodded, but then his features softened ever so slightly. "Yes, but… Murrue, I'm sorry if I alarmed you, that wasn't my intention."

She smiled. "I know, Heero. Please, don't apologize for something like that. We're friends, remember?"

He gave her a small one of his own. "Yes, we are… and I'm grateful for that." His head tilted down a bit, and she could see his eyelids fluttering for a moment before he caught himself.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, "just a bit tired. Guess today took a little more out of me than I thought."

"I bet," she said. Seeing that they were both done with their meals, she grabbed both their trays. As he looked up at her she smiled. "You should get some rest. You're going to need your strength in the days ahead."

Heero stood up. "You're right. You should do the same too."

"I plan on it," she said as she put their empty trays on a rack. The two of them left the mess and made their way towards the officers' quarters.

As they walked she remembered something else she had meant to tell him earlier, but in her shock at what he and the others had encountered during their trip to Banadiya she had forgotten to mention it entirely. "I should have mentioned this earlier, but Sai tried to pilot the Strike."

Heero froze in his tracks, and Murrue instantly regretted not telling him sooner. "What happened?" he asked.

She told him how Sai had only managed to move the machine a few steps before he'd lost control and had barely managed to avoid damaging it seriously.

"I see," said Heero. He quickly turned and began heading in a different direction. "Come with me."

Murrue moved to follow him and realized they were heading towards the hangar. "Heero, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that earlier," she said.

He looked back at her. "It's alright, I'm not upset about that. In fact, I'm actually mad at myself right now."

Her eyes widened slightly. "What are you talking about? It's not your fault Sai tried to pull something like that. Hell, we don't even know why he tried to in the first place."

"If he'd gone for the Wing Zero, he could've gotten you killed," said Heero, "The self-detonation device, combined with the fact that the mobile suit has a nuclear reactor… my paranoia nearly cost you your life!"

"Heero…" She found herself touched by his concern for her, though she wished he wouldn't blame himself for something beyond his control.

They were quiet for the rest of the trip to the hangar. When they arrived, Heero motioned for Murrue to keep following him, and they made their way across one of the overhead walkways to the Wing Zero. As they approached, Heero held out a hand, and Murrue took a step back. She saw Heero move to his machine and keyed in a sequence on a small pad by the cockpit. Then the hatch opened, and he turned towards her.

"Come inside," he said.

She entered right behind him, puzzled as to why he wanted her to come into his fearsome machine. Heero was already in the pilot's seat, so she squeezed in what little space there was along the right hand side of the chair.

He pressed a button and the hatch closed. He looked at her. "I want this to stay between us, alright?"

Murrue realized that he was about to entrust her with something critical regarding the Gundam, and nodded. "Of course, Heero. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Alright," he said. His hands moved across the main keyboard, and the central display lit up. Then he stood up and moved to the left. "Take the chair."

Puzzled, she did as he said. As she did, she felt… _something_; a presence, perhaps. She couldn't really describe it, save that she felt as if it were evaluating her.

"Read out loud what appears on the display," he said.

She nodded, and did so as a single sentence came up. "Zero Override Command: Operation Meteor."

The cockpit screens flashed gold, then went black. The strange presence faded too, much to her relief.

"Good," Heero said, then hit a button and opened the hatch. He moved out and held out his hand. She took it and he gently helped her out of the Wing Zero. "I felt something…" she said, "like I was being watched, examined… was that the Zero system?"

Heero nodded. "Since you didn't do anything beyond read the words on the screen, and were only sitting for a few seconds, the effects would've been minimal. I figured you'd feel something, but I didn't do this to introduce you to the system." He looked a bit uneasy. "In fact, I wanted to keep you away from it altogether, but this is too important."

After he closed the hatch again she saw him writing something on a small notepad. He ripped a piece of paper off and gave it to her, and she saw it was a radio frequency. "What's this?"

"I've made some adjustments to Wing Zero's security systems," he said as he started heading towards the hangar exit. As she followed he continued. "The self-detonating device will only activate manually now. The remaining security functions will continue to operate as before, and they should be enough to keep people from breaking into the Gundam. However, in the event that someone manages to bypass them and hijacks it, you can radio that frequency and issue the override code I just gave you. The system is keyed for vocal recognition. I was originally the only one who could use that override; now, you can too."

"Why give me this?" she asked.

"If someone attempts to pilot the Wing Zero while I'm not around, you can remotely shut it down," he said as they made their way towards the officers' quarters again. He looked at her, and she was surprised to see a haunted look in his eyes. "If Sai had gone for the Wing Zero instead of the Strike, you would be dead. It was blind luck that that didn't happen. I won't allow you to die just because I have trust issues."

He gave her a weak smile. "In fact, you're the only one on this ship I really trust… which is another reason why I'm giving you this code. I may have mastered the Zero system, but there's always the chance I could still get out of control. If that happens… you're the only one who can stop me."

She swallowed, more than a little intimidated by the prospect of him rampaging in the most powerful mobile suit in the Earth Sphere. But she would not allow fear to stop her from helping her friend. _If he trusts me enough to give me the means to shut down his Gundam, then I have to live up to that trust. Not just to protect myself, but him as well. I won't lose him to the Zero system… and I won't let him lose himself to it either._

She nodded. "I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, but I understand your fears." She smiled. "If you lose control, I promise I'll bring you back. I won't let you become a mass-murderer."

"Thank you, Murrue," he said.

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied.

They spent the rest of the trip back to their quarters in silence. As they arrived she turned to bid him goodnight and saw something that surprised her. Heero seemed to be almost… _nervous._

"Heero? Is something wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No," he said, "Actually… I have something for you."

_What?_ Murrue saw him dig into one of his pockets and pull out a small satchel. He opened it, and a small, sparkling blue stone necklace fell onto his palm. It was a simple bit of jewelry, and probably hadn't cost much, yet that didn't matter in the least to her. The way it caught light immediately brought to mind the eyes of the young man who was giving it to her.

"Heero…" she said as she slowly reached out to grab it. As she did, her hand brushed his, and she actually felt a thrill run through her, like a bit of static electricity. She held it up. "It's beautiful… but why? You didn't need to get this for me."

"It caught my eye at the market," he said, "The lady who ran the stall said it's called a Tear of Isis. She said… that you give these to someone you share a bond with, one that you're willing to protect with all you've got."

Murrue could feel heat rushing to her face as she took the necklace. While she knew that he appreciated her willingness to help him, and to listen and keep his secrets, she hadn't realized just how important it had become to him. _And yet_, she thought, _even though I've only known him a short time, I feel the same way._

"I know," he said, "that you told me to use the cash you gave me to treat myself, but the truth is, I really couldn't think of anything I wanted." He paused for a moment. "Well, that's not entirely true…"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

His eyes met hers, and she was struck by what she saw in them; a mixture of sincerity and embarrassment. "I…" he began, uncharacteristically hesitant. She began to worry until she heard what he said next.

"I like seeing you smile."

If Murrue wasn't blushing before, she definitely was now. At the same time though, she couldn't help but feel moved by what he had said. _He's so kind… it's incredible, especially considering all he's been through, but he may be the most compassionate young man I've ever met!_

Slowly, she took the necklace and put it on. She smiled as the blue gem lay against her white uniform. It was against regulations to wear such jewelry openly, but she didn't give a damn. _Natarle can write it up in her report if she wants to, I'll take whatever flak comes my way._

Still smiling, she took the young man in front of her off guard by drawing him into an embrace. This time though, there was hardly any hesitation on his part as he returned it.

"Heero," she said, "Thank you."

Her spirits rose even further when they parted and she saw the he too was smiling, one of those small ones again. "You're welcome, Murrue." Then he gave a small laugh. "Even if you technically paid for it."

"I don't care about that in the least," she said, laughing as well. They were then quiet for a moment, simply enjoying the connection that had grown between them in such a short time, a bond that Heero had given tribute to in a manner she'd never expected.

Then they nodded at each other and moved towards their separate quarters. "Good night, Heero," said Murrue.

"Good night, Murrue," he replied.

She was still smiling as she entered her room, and for quite some time after she fell asleep.

….

The Desert Tiger frowned as he stood on the tarmac of the Banadiya airbase. It had been a day since his meeting with the three teenagers from the _Archangel _and the Desert Dawn, and now he was observing the arrival of reinforcements from the Lake Victoria spaceport. Aisha stood next to him and shared his grim expression. The black runway magnified the desert heat, which did nothing to improve his attitude.

The two of them were watching the unloading of two of the stolen Alliance mobile suits, the Buster and the Duel. The pilots, pale white haired Yzak and tan, blond haired Dearka, were walking up towards the Field Marshal and his lover.

"I ask for extra BuCues and the first reinforcements Command sends me are these two," he growled.

Aisha nodded. "Along with a new detachment of ZuOOTs from Gibraltar… I'm beginning to wonder if Defense Chairman Zala has something against you."

"Possible," he replied, "I have been stealing the limelight of his favorite commander, after all."

"Creuset can go to hell," said Aisha, "I mean sure, the guy's a good pilot and has a knack for tactics and strategy, but he spends way too much time playing politics. The guy's up to something, and I don't think it's anything good."

"And now we're stuck with two of his protégés," Waltfeld muttered, "Something doesn't smell right here."

_Not much I can really do about it though_, he thought. He knew from the latest reconnaissance reports from aerial drones that the Desert Dawn had sent out a call for reinforcements of their own, and many of the North African resistance groups had apparently decided to answer and were on the move. Waltfeld had already responded by summoning the five land-ships that had gone to Alexandria on his previous orders, and they would arrive at the outskirts of Banadiya by nightfall, along with elements of ZAFT's Third, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth armored divisions.

He couldn't summon the units in their entirety because his forces were already spread thin as things were, and had been hoping that the Defense Council would grant him the additional units he'd requested. With access to both the Gibraltar and Lake Victoria spaceports, logistics and supply lines were greatly improved for the Tiger.

_And yet I'm still being shortchanged_, he mused, _The prep work for Operation Spitbreak is becoming a real pain in the ass. _While Waltfeld did not have access to all the data regarding ZAFT's coming offensive, he knew it would involve a large amount of their fighting strength and would be against a high profile Alliance target. _The rumor mill keeps saying Panama, but I'm not entirely convinced on that. Word seems to be spreading too easily about it, and I know our operational security protocols aren't _that _sloppy._

Along with the stolen prototypes, additional transport planes had touched down and were unloading several ZuOOTs. Land based mobile suits like the BuCue, ZuOOTs could be accurately described as walking artillery batteries. Designed for heavy assault and siege warfare, the machines were massive, and could switch between a cumbersome walking mode and a slightly faster 'tread' mode, in which they looked like a tank with a torso, head, and arms on the top. They had two dual heavy cannons mounted on their shoulders, along with four head-mounted Vulcan machine guns and another double-barrel cannon mounted on the left arm, while the right arm had a heavy machine cannon. While the mobile suits had served Waltfeld well in the past, particularly during his assault on the Suez Canal in which he had used them in combination with BuCues to annihilate the Earth Alliance's tank armies, they would not be particularly well suited to fighting rebels in lighter, more maneuverable vehicles, not to mention the Strike and the Wing Zero.

Still, all he could do now was make do with what he'd been given. That bit of wisdom had helped guide his actions in the past, and it would again. It didn't mean he had to like it though. _At least the technicians have almost finished the beam saber modifications for the BuCues. They should be done by tomorrow morning._

He turned his thoughts back to more immediate concerns as the two young pilots who had fallen to Earth during the orbital battle with the 8th fleet approached and saluted. Waltfeld returned the gesture.

Yzak spoke. "Creuset team pilots Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsman reporting for duty, sir!"

Waltfeld sighed. "At ease. You two will be assigned to the _Henry Carter_. I'll have your machines transferred over as soon as I clear up some details with the ship's captain."

Yzak seemed to be put off by the Tiger's words. "But sir! With all due respect, we have experience in fighting the legged ship and the Strike. We should be on the _Lesseps _with you!"

"Losing experience hardly counts," snapped Aisha.

"You guys haven't beat them either," countered Yzak.

"Because we've only been testing their capabilities up until now," she shot back. She folded her arms and smiled. "If you're not smart enough to see that in the combat recordings, then you don't belong on the _Lesseps_, or anywhere near North Africa. Fools don't last long out here."

"Why you…" growled Yzak.

"Enough!" said Waltfeld. He glared at the two newcomers. "You'll follow orders, or I'll bench you. Got that?"

"Yes sir," said Yzak, clearly beaten.

Dearka put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Yzak, there's no point in arguing." He looked at the Field Marshal. "Our apologies, sir."

Waltfeld nodded. "Don't worry about it." He waved DaCosta over. "My adjutant will take you two to your temporary barracks. When the land-ships arrive tonight you'll transfer over to the _Henry Carter_. Your machines will be kept in the main hangar until then as well. Dismissed."

They saluted. "Yes, sir!"

As they left, he turned to Aisha. "You were enjoying that, weren't you?"

She winked. "Gotta get my kicks in when I can." Her expression became more serious. "Besides, the white-haired one needed to learn his place. His machine is optimized for space combat. Same with the Buster, though I don't think its pilot has quite the same attitude problem as Yzak. They'll be fodder in the desert if they don't learn to adapt. You going to tell them how to adapt their operating systems?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "If Kira could figure out how to do it on his own, they can too. Otherwise that's just further proof that they don't belong out here. It's not our job to babysit them."

She nodded. "Agreed. By the way, have you made arrangements with Shemei and the girls yet?"

"Yes," he said, "I'll have another command conference when the land-ships arrive tonight, but I already have my basic attack plan worked out. Commander Rehema knows what her job is; keep Wing Zero from blasting us to hell."

"Tall order, considering the firepower it wields," Aisha mused.

"I know, but we don't have much of a choice in the matter," said Waltfeld, "Shemei and her subordinates are the only ones who can pull it off."

"Not to mention it'll give us the chance to fight the Strike," she said with a smile.

Waltfeld grinned. "Yeah, I'll owe her for that." Already he was brimming with anticipation. _The LaGOWE is ready_, he thought, _and so are we. Hope you've rested up, Kira, because we're coming._

_And this time we're not pulling our punches._

….

Meanwhile, there was a meeting in progress on the _Archangel_. Present in the briefing room were Murrue, Mu La Flaga, and Natarle for the Alliance, Sahib, Kisaka, and Cagalli for the rebels. Heero was there as well, leaning against a wall near Murrue, arms folded and eyes closed.

It had been an eventful day so far. Several rebel cells had arrived at the Desert Dawn camp as the day had gone by, and Sahib had claimed that more would come before nightfall. With them they had brought a large amount of vehicles and weapons, and Heero had been surprised to see that they had even managed to procure several attack helicopters. _Probably taken from local airbases as the Alliance occupied the region prior to ZAFT's invasion_, he thought. Altogether the rebels had nearly fifty vehicles gathered at or near the ravine where Desert Dawn had made its home and, if Sahib's boasting was to be believed, that number would be over a hundred by sunrise.

Indeed, at first glance it would seem that things were looking up for the crew of the _Archangel _and her allies. They were now well stocked on supplies and munitions that would be needed not only for the coming battle but the subsequent trip to Alaska.

However, Sahib had just received information from one of the rebels' intelligence sources in Banadiya that put a serious damper on any optimism. Not that Heero was bothered in the slightest; he'd more or less anticipated the general part of the messenger's report, though not the more precise details.

"You can't be serious!" said Natarle, aghast at what she'd just heard, "That has to be a mistake!"

Sahib shook his head. "I'm afraid not. According to my source, Waltfeld has at least five additional land-ships inbound for Banadiya. They'll arrive at the outskirts of the city by nightfall. At dawn, we believe they'll begin moving out in this general direction; all the traffic over the past 24 hours has no doubt attracted attention from ZAFT's recon drones. Also, they're being accompanied by supporting forces, though we don't know the exact makeup of them yet."

"Please tell me that's all the bad news," said La Flaga.

"Nope, sorry," said Kisaka, "We've also received word that two of your stolen machines have arrived in Banadiya."

"Which ones?" asked Murrue.

"The Duel and the Buster," he replied, "Apparently they landed near the Victoria spaceport after the orbital battle. They've been transferred to Waltfeld's forces for the coming battle."

Murrue sighed. "And here I thought we'd finally gotten away from the Creuset team."

"It's not so bad," said Heero, causing everyone to look his way. "We know how they fight, and those machines are limited in their effectiveness in the desert, just like the Strike."

Murrue nodded. "You're right, Heero." He saw her look down briefly at the blue stone necklace he'd given her yesterday, then she met his gaze and smiled. Heero knew that some of the other crew members had raised eyebrows over the bit of jewelry, but no one had given her any trouble about it so far, which was a relief to him.

"The two prototypes aren't our main concern," said Natarle, "Those five land-ships will be carrying their own mobile suit squads, probably BuCues. They'll be a huge threat in a large-scale battle. Not to mention Waltfeld's flagship will no doubt be with them."

"I agree," said La Flaga, "A _Lesseps_-class ship can carry six of them, while _Petrie_-class land-cruisers can carry four."

"Not to mention their support forces," said Murrue, "A single land-ship tends to have multiple mobile suit teams operating in coordination with it in order to boost combat effectiveness. A combined force with one land-ship at its core has the firepower of an entire armored division."

"And we'll be up against six of them," said Cagalli, "We're in trouble."

Heero glanced at her. _She's not the type to so readily admit that. Perhaps she's finally realized what a decisive battle with Waltfeld's forces will entail._

"The biggest challenge for us," said Murrue, "will be their opening salvoes. The combined firepower of the land-ships, mobile suits, and attack helicopters in the initial stages of the fight can make short work of us if we don't figure out a way to neutralize it, preferably by getting Waltfeld to scatter his forces, or at least redeploy them."

"I can do that," said Heero, surprising the others.

"What?" said Cagalli, eyes widening.

"It's impossible," said Sahib, "I don't care how good of a pilot you are young man, one mobile suit won't be enough to get the North Africa Corps to break formation."

"Besides, you'll have the Valkyrie Team to contend with," said Kisaka.

"I can do it," said Heero, looking at Murrue.

She took a breath. "What do you have in mind, Heero?"

….

A few minutes later, everyone in the room, with the exception of Murrue, was looking at Heero like he'd lost his mind.

"No way," said Cagalli, "You can't be serious!"

"Impossible," said Kisaka, "That'd be suicide!"

Heero was completely ignoring them though. The only person he was looking at was Murrue.

"You don't have to do this," she said.

"Yes, I do," he replied, "It's the only way to make the odds more manageable."

Murrue sighed. "I hate this. You've done far too much of our fighting for us as is. I can't ask you to do this. You can't win!"

"I don't have to," said Heero, "All I need to do is survive until you guys can catch up. Then I'll worry about winning. This is the best way to scatter Waltfeld's forces and take out some of the land-ships before they can launch a concentrated bombardment."

"How many can you get?" she asked him.

"Two, maybe three," he said, "I can't use it at full power in this environment, there are too many civilian villages scattered throughout the region; the fallout would almost certainly harm them in one way or another. But I can still draw upon quite a bit of its strength. I'll only have a brief window before Commander Rehema and her subordinates engage me though, so timing will be crucial."

Murrue nodded. "Alright. I may not like it, but I guess our options are limited."

"Don't worry. I've faced worse odds than this," said Heero.

"Oh man," said Mu La Flaga, unable to suppress a laugh, "Never dreamed I'd hear a plan like this. It's crazy… but it's a good kind of crazy." He grinned at Heero. "You'll be putting on one hell of a fireworks display."

"You people are nuts," muttered Cagalli. Then she turned to Heero. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

Heero shook his head. "No, I've already been through that phase in my life. I don't plan on meeting the reaper anytime soon."

She sighed. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Heero shrugged. "A matter of perspective."

"What about the Tiger?" said Natarle, "There's a good chance he could personally take the field, like he did during the Suez campaign."

"Kira will have to handle him when the time comes," said Murrue, "We'll do what we can to thin out the BuCues and keep the other land-ships busy, but Kira will have to take Waltfeld himself."

"He can do it," said Heero, "He's come quite a ways since the orbital battle. I think he'll be alright."

"I hope you're right," she said.

_So do I_, thought Heero.

….

Awhile later when the meeting ended and everyone began to file out of the briefing room, Murrue put her hand on Heero's shoulder.

"Heero, I'm sorry about what I said earlier," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"When I said that you couldn't win… it's not that I doubt your skills; you're the most amazing pilot I've ever seen. It's just… against those kinds of odds, even Wing Zero can only do so much. I know you're willing to fight for us… but I don't want you to die for us."

He surprised her with another one of those small smiles. "Murrue, it's alright. I wasn't upset at all. To tell the truth, I was actually kind of glad that you objected. I'm grateful that you care about my well being."

She sighed, both in relief and because she was genuinely touched by his words. _I was foolish to believe he'd take offense at that. I keep forgetting that he went for a very long time without anyone truly caring about him… and the few people who did before me are in a completely different world._

Murrue smiled. "Of course I care about you. Not just because of what you've been willing to do for us, but because we're friends. I don't want to lose you."

He nodded. "I know. I don't want anything to happen to you either."

They met each other's gaze and didn't speak for a moment. Murrue felt as if she could lose herself in his eyes. _They're like the ocean_, she thought, _so calm on the surface, yet there's so much hidden in the depths._

Then she realized she was staring, and blushed slightly. "You alright?" asked Heero.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, regaining her composure, "Just a little tired, I think. It's been a busy past few days."

"Yeah," he replied, "I know what you mean."

….

Night had fallen, but Kira was finding it difficult to get to sleep. He had heard that there had been a big meeting earlier, and was pretty sure it was about the coming fight. _It'll probably be tomorrow_, he thought. Now that they had the supplied they needed, there was no sense in the _Archangel _remaining at the Desert Dawn hideout any longer. They would need the rebels' help to break through the Tiger's forces, but after that they would part ways.

The young man sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about the conversation the previous day with Waltfeld. The Desert Tiger had completely surprised him, and Kira was struck by how friendly he had been. In fact, none of the soldiers that he, Cagalli, and Heero had met with had shown any sign of animosity, and had in fact been polite and even amiable people.

"Why?" he whispered to himself. The Tiger and his allies didn't seem to be the kind of people that wanted to be at war, something he knew all too well. Yet they were still enemies, all because he had chosen to stay with the Earth Forces, if only to protect his friends.

"We shouldn't be fighting at all," he murmured.

"Kira?" said a soft voice from behind him.

He turned around, knowing it was Flay, who was once again in his bed. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

She rubbed her eyes a bit and smiled. "It's alright." She leaned forward and pulled him in for a kiss. "You need to get some rest though. I overheard Lieutenant Badgiruel and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga earlier, and I think we're supposed to move out tomorrow. You'll need your strength if we get in a fight."

He nodded. _She's right. I'm glad she's here with me tonight. The last thing I want right now is to be alone._

"Alright, Flay," he said.

As he lay down with her, she put her arms around him and whispered in his ear. "I know you'll protect us. I'll be right here waiting for you when it's over."

"Thank you, Flay," he said.

….

A short while later, the young man in bed with her was asleep. Flay, however, found slumber to be eluding her, and in fact had actually been awake while Kira had been whispering to himself. She didn't quite get what he was talking about, but she had heard quite clearly what he had said about not fighting. Her revenge couldn't have that, so she'd played her feminine wiles in the manner she had become so accustomed to in the past few days, and he had once again shown just how malleable he was to them.

However, as she lay there with the boy who she had chosen to become the tool for her vendetta against Coordinators, she was once again struck by how she hadn't been entirely half-hearted in her words of concern to Kira. She really did want him to rest, and not just so he could protect her and fight for her… but so he wouldn't die.

_Why? He'll die eventually_, she thought, _what does it matter if it's tomorrow, so long as he takes as many Coordinators down with him as he can? _Yet it did matter, and not just for the sake of prolonging her revenge or his own suffering.

One of the most important things that had allowed Flay to work her dark magic on Kira was his own unconditional kindness. He was so eager to help others that it made him remarkably easy to manipulate. And yet, at the same time Flay was genuinely drawn to it. No one she'd ever met before had been so selfless, so caring. And when they were alone together, all that kindness was focused on her, and she was starting to wish he wasn't so busy so she could have more of it.

And if he died tomorrow, she'd never feel his warmth and compassion again.

….

The sun was rising over the dunes on the outskirts of Banadiya. Silhouetted against it was an army. There were the four _Petrie_-class land-cruisers: the class's namesake, the _Petrie_, the _Henry Carter_, the _Gagarin_, and the _Tesla_. There were the two larger battleships, the _Lesseps _and the _Nuremberg_.

Smaller, though still visible, were the mobile suits and helicopters swarming around the land-ships. Every vessel had its own supporting detachments, not including the machines in its hangar bays. The smaller cruisers were escorted by four BuCues and two ZuOOTs each, while the battleships had six of each. When included with the ships' own mobile suits the count was a stunning fifty-three BuCues and twenty ZuOOTs. The _Lesseps _was short one BuCue in order to make room for Waltfeld and his lover's custom unit, the LaGOWE, while the _Henry Carter _was short two in order to accommodate the Buster and the Duel. Commander Rehema and her team had landed their machines on the upper-hull of the _Lesseps_, and would take off shortly before the start of the engagement. An impressive force of attack helicopters had been assembled as well, with thirty-two birds in the air.

At the moment, the beautiful commander of ZAFT's deadliest mobile suit team was outside, leaning against the leg of her DINN. The _Lesseps_' 'scale system' gave the ship incredible traction and stability in the desert sands, and save for the wind in her hair she could hardly tell the ship was moving. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla were out with her as well, not at all perturbed by the fact that a misstep could spell a plunge to a very messy death below. The three of them were by their machines as well, giving them one last look-over before the coming battle.

Shemei closed her eyes, taking herself through all the simulator battles she had fought in preparation for this. However, after a few minutes, she smiled as she realized they weren't what would keep her alive today. She turned her focus to her _actual _encounter with Wing Zero, that clash above the sands of the former Libya that had so energized her, had finally given her something she had secretly been longing for; someone who could go head-to-head with her and not only survive, but force her to go all-out.

The adrenaline, the sheer rush and thrill of the moment all came flooding back to her, and she could already feel her spine tingling. _I suppose I should thank you, Heero Yuy_, she mused, _after all this time, I've finally found someone who can push me again, make me strive to become more than what I am now._

Yes, for that she indeed owed him a debt of gratitude. She laughed softly as she realized that she was practically in awe of his fighting abilities, made even more astounding by the fact that he was only sixteen years old. She couldn't recall the last time a fellow pilot, even if he was an enemy, had elicited such respect from her. "What a guy…" she said.

Looking out over the dunes to the southwest, where Waltfeld had said they would likely engage their foes, her eyes narrowed. _I won't be holding back just because I admire you_, _Heero. _Her smile became something more predatory, like a tigress about to leap into attack.

_And I know you won't either!_

….

The bridge of the _Archangel _was alive with activity. Murrue was at her seat on the bridge as the battleship began its startup sequence. They had just received word that the Tiger's forces had left Banadiya about an hour and a half ago, and were heading southwest from the city. Murrue was certain that Waltfeld knew where the rebel base was now, and had decided to destroy it in one massive attack. The _Archangel _would be a sitting duck in the ravine, so preparations were underway to get the ship moving as fast as possible in order to meet the Field Marshal's forces out on the dunes where it would be easy to maneuver.

The rebels were preparing to move out as well. Sahib's earlier boasts had indeed been born out, as several other rebel groups had arrived overnight, bringing their vehicle count to twelve helicopters, seventy-nine jeeps, half-tracks, and technicals, and fourteen tanks. How they had amassed such a collection of hardware was beyond Murrue, but she was nevertheless glad to have the help.

Miriallia's voice came up from the CIC. "Heero's on the line."

"Patch him through," said Murrue.

The Gundam pilot appeared on the monitor. He was already inside the Wing Zero, wearing his signature green tank-top and a pair of black shorts. "I'm all set."

Murrue nodded. "Alright. Open the bay doors!"

As Natarle carried out her orders, Murrue turned to Heero. "We'll move as fast as we can, but it'll still take some time to catch up to you. You should delay initiation for as long as you can."

"Don't worry," said Heero, "I've got a pretty good idea of how I'm going to do this. Just don't take too long."

"We won't," said Murrue. If she could, she'd redline the ship's engines, but that would leave the rebels in the dust, and they had to work together if they were to triumph. _I have to trust Heero's judgment_.

"Heero," she said, "I won't ask you to not take foolish risks; I think we both agree that this entire plan qualifies as one. Just… watch your back, alright?"

He nodded. "Roger that."

Miriallia spoke. "Wing Zero, you are green for launch."

"Got it," said Heero, "Wing Zero, launching."

The Gundam shot out of the hangar like a bat out of hell, swiftly transforming into its fighter mode and quickly gaining altitude. Soon it was little more than a speck on the horizon before leaving visual range entirely.

_I hope this works_, thought Murrue, unable to completely dispel the fear in her heart. She couldn't deny the concern she felt for the young man, whose courage and battlefield prowess were so beyond anything she had ever imagined, and whose stoic demeanor concealed a truly compassionate individual who had already been through hell and back over the brief course of his life. _I've already become fond of him_, she thought, _I suppose it's impossible not to, once you get past the barriers he's surrounded himself with. Not that I blame him for it._

_Heaven forgive me if I've sent him to his death… because I never will._

….

It had been about three hours since Waltfeld's assault force had left Banadiya. He and Aisha were down in the _Lesseps_' hangar bay, initiating the startup sequence for the LaGOWE.

The two-seater custom unit was truly a fearsome sight to behold. It was built along the same design as the BuCue, with a four-legged frame and two stabilizer fins near the center of the body. However, the machine had an orange paintjob, and the topside weapons consisted of a dual-beam cannon turret, while a dual beam saber was mounted at the 'mouth'. The mobile suit was faster and more maneuverable than a BuCue, had heavier armor, and the battery capacity had been increased to give the machine a greater range than the already considerable operating area of its predecessor. The armor was thicker than that of the BuCue, and the entire cockpit section was encased in its own titanium shell, in order to increase the chances of pilot survival in the event of catastrophic damage.

The cockpit was designed with the pilot's seat raised slightly and a bit further back, with the gunner seated below and in front. Waltfeld took the former and Aisha had the latter. As they ran through the system checks DaCosta's voice came over the radio. Waltfeld's aide and second in command would be coordinating operations from the bridge of the _Lesseps_.

"Commander Rehema and her subordinates have taken off," he said, "They're assuming position at the head of the formation."

"Alright," said Waltfeld, "Open the bay doors, we're ready to move out. Send launch orders to the rest of the ships too."

"Understood, sir," replied DaCosta. Then he signed off.

Aisha looked over her shoulder at her lover. "You sure about launching so early? The enemy isn't even on the long-range sensors yet."

He nodded. "I want all of our mobile suits deployed early. That way if Wing Zero hits one of the ships it won't go down with its BuCues on board as well. Besides, our units don't have to worry about powering Phase Shift Armor, so we have a much greater operating range than the Strike."

"What about the Creuset boys?" asked Aisha, "Their machines use Phase Shift Armor as well."

"That's why they'll be riding on top of the _Henry Carter_," said Waltfeld, "They can keep their armor and other major systems powered off until the enemy is detected."

"Alright," she said before turning forward again, "Better look sharp, the doors are opening."

Indeed they were, and as soon as they were completely open Waltfeld gunned the throttle. The LaGOWE roared out of the ship's hangar and hit the sand hard, throwing up a tan cloud. The orange mechanical beast shot out of it, followed shortly by five grey BuCues. Checking his radar, Waltfeld saw the other ships deploying their machines, and soon, including the Valkyrie team, all eighty of the assault force's mobile suits were out in formation.

The Field Marshal had arrayed his army in an inverted crescent formation, with the tips trailing at the ends. The land-ships and their supporting mobile suits and attack helicopters were spread out over several kilometers, in order to both maximize radar coverage and minimize the amount of damage they could suffer in a heavy attack. _I don't know the full extent of Wing Zero's firepower_, thought Waltfeld,_ I'm taking no chances with it. _The _Lesseps_, _Petrie_, and _Henry Carter _formed the right half of the crescent, while the _Nuremberg_, _Gagarin_, and _Tesla _formed the left. Out at the tip of the Tiger's army was the Valkyrie Team, arrayed in a diamond formation.

As the LaGOWE moved to the head of the ground forces beneath the Valkyrie Team Waltfeld noticed a faint blip on his radar.

_That's strange_, he thought, _it's coming from an altitude of over eighteen kilometers. The rebels don't have anything with that capability._

Then his eyes widened. _Unless…_

Then DaCosta's voice came over the radio, elevated and clearly surprised. "Sir, massive energy readings coming from the airspace ahead!"

Waltfeld quickly set his visual sensors to maximum magnification. An image appeared, little more than a silhouette at this range… of a mobile suit with a very large rifle.

"It's Wing Zero!" he shouted.

….

High above the dunes, Heero sighted in on the approaching army. "Locked onto the target," he said. Then he fired the Twin Buster Rifle.

At _fifty percent _power.

A massive torrent of energy ripped forth, hitting one of the larger battleships head on. The land-ship practically disintegrated in the titanic blast, and the explosion ripped apart not only that ship but five BuCues, two ZuOOTs, and three attack helicopters.

The North Africa Corps reacted immediately. The five remaining land-ships sent forth a swarm of anti-air missiles and flak, while the four black and red DINNs of the Valkyrie Team scrambled for altitude, rushing up to meet him.

_Perfect_, he thought. Gunning the thrusters, Heero dove to meet them. All four DINNs had their beam sabers in their right hands and rifles in their left. Igniting his own emerald blade, Heero moved straight into the heart of their formation while at the same time effortlessly dodging the incoming anti-air fire.

However, his goal wasn't to engage them in a dogfight, at least not yet. As he rushed onward, he met the lead DINN with a horizontal slash. The pilot blocked the attack, but the sheet momentum of the Wing Zero forced the DINN to the side. Heero then let loose a volley with his shoulder gatlings, causing the next two mobile suits to scatter, while the last one attempted a vertical strike, swinging straight at the head of the Gundam. However, Heero side slipped the attack, and left the Valkyrie Team in his wake as he streaked towards his real target, the ground forces.

Of course the ZAFT aces were not ones to abandon pursuit. They quickly regrouped and fell in behind him, unleashing a torrent of cannon fire and missile volleys. He dodged the rifle rounds, then twisted the Wing Zero around and destroyed the missiles with gatling fire. He then accelerated the thrusters and gained altitude, shooting right past the Valkyrie team. The Gundam then turned to face them, raised the Twin Buster Rifle again and let loose another blast.

The Valkyrie Team scattered, evading the shot, but it was never meant for them. This time one of the smaller land-cruisers was annihilated, along with three more BuCues and another two ZuOOTs.

Heero once again took the Wing Zero into a dive, meeting the Valkyrie Team head on. Playing defensive, he parried the attack of the lead DINN, then spun around to block a strike from the next. Gunning the thrusters, he dodged a rifle volley from the third pilot, while the fourth he smacked with his shield, temporarily forcing her back.

_Now comes the hard part_, thought Heero as he continued his dive. In order to give the _Archangel _and the rebels the best chance possible for victory, it was imperative to get Waltfeld to break his current formation. Even with the loss of two land-ships, so long as the remaining four and their support units were allowed to regroup and reform a smaller version of their initial array they would make short work of Heero's allies. His solution was as simple as it was dangerous; make himself the army's primary target.

He swooped in low along the dunes, dialing down the power of the Twin Buster Rifle to a level more suited to fighting individual units. Fresh missile volleys and cannon rounds erupted from all sides, while the Valkyrie Team moved in to keep him from regaining altitude. While physical rounds and missiles were useless against Gundanium alloy, Heero still preferred to dodge to avoid the impacts throwing him off balance. As he side slipped a rail cannon shot from a BuCue he suddenly had to gun the thrusters in order to dodge two emerald beams. As he fended off another round of attacks from the Valkyrie Team he was able to see his latest foe: an orange four legged mobile suit, a model he hadn't seen in the Alliance files. _Must be a command unit_, he thought, _Waltfeld no doubt._

At this point he had two options. He could go for a higher altitude and focus on just dogfighting the Valkyrie Team, or he could stay low and keep the entire assault force's attention on him. While the former would narrow his foes down to four along with the occasional anti-air fire, he could only accomplish his current goal by staying within effective firing range of the ground forces as well.

Keeping himself amongst the dunes, he continued to play defensive with Commander Rehema and her squad while at the same time dodging shots from BuCues, ZuOOTs, attack helicopters, the four remaining land-ships, and the Tiger's personal machine. It was an incredibly demanding feat, and it was only thanks to his mastery of the Zero system that he was able to manage it.

He fired a volley of low power shots with the Twin Buster Rifle, taking out two BuCues, another ZuOOT, and an attack helicopter. He quickly moved to the right as the orange unit made a pass, a violet double-bladed beam saber in its mouth, then ascended to meet a DINN that he was sure belonged to Commander Rehema. Heero parried her saber, and then spun to block another attacking DINN's blade with his shield while redirecting the Commander's next strike.

As he dodged rifle and missile volleys from the other two aces he checked his radar screen. While the ZAFT army's formation now had a significant gap in it from the two destroyed land-ships, the overall array was still capable of a saturation bombardment of the _Archangel _and the rebels when they arrived. However, Heero noticed that the bend of the crescent was beginning to straighten out as more units advanced forward. Clearly Waltfeld was intensifying the pressure he was putting on Wing Zero, but it still wasn't to the degree that Heero wanted him to.

_Come on, Waltfeld_, he thought while mixing it up with Commander Rehema again, _go for the encirclement. Your instincts must be screaming at you to take me down before moving on to fight the main force._

….

Commander Rehema was forced back once again as Wing Zero blocked her saber and responded with a knee in her suit's abdomen. As Adaline and Lan moved in with their blades while Priscilla bombarded with rifle fire, Shemei moved to gain altitude before diving at her foe.

_Something's different this time_, she thought as she swung at the mobile suit's head. As Heero dodged out of the way and moved to block a strike from Priscilla, she realized that he wasn't fighting them aggressively. It was more like he was simply fending off their attacks while at the same time dodging fire from the ground forces. _This isn't what I expected_. Then again, she also hadn't expected him to launch a solo attack on the entire assault force. Even with Heero's incredible skill, Shemei knew that it would only be a matter of time before the sheer numbers arrayed against him would take their toll. Taking down the _Nuremberg _and the _Tesla _in the opening moments of the fight had definitely reduced the firepower now directed at him, but the incoming fire was still substantial, and would only increase as Waltfeld directed the other units to close in and bring him down.

_So why do this?_, she thought as she let fly with a volley of missiles. Heero quickly turned and took the warheads on his shield, then parried blows from Lan and Priscilla while at dodging rifle fire from Adaline. The young man didn't strike her as suicidal or foolish. There had to be a reason he had chosen to engage without the support of the _Archangel_, its own mobile suit and fighters, and the rebels. Perhaps he had decided to attack early out of a desire to protect the woman he'd mentioned during their conversation in Banadiya. _A touching gesture_, thought Shemei, _but also quite foolish._

Though Waltfeld had left Heero to her and her team during the first engagement, Shemei knew that this time, faced with such an opportunity, Waltfeld would do everything possible to take him out quickly before the legged ship showed up. Indeed, the Field Marshal was already beginning to close the net, with the _Gagarin_, _Henry Carter_, and _Petrie _moving forward to begin an encirclement while the _Lesseps _launched a continual bombardment from its position.

While these developments had surely been noted by Heero, the brilliant pilot was by no means beaten yet. A blast from the Wing Zero's rifle forced the Valkyrie and her subordinates to scatter again, while another took out two more attack helicopters. Waltfeld and Aisha moved in with the LaGOWE to attack with the double-bladed beam saber, and several BuCues had ignited their own sabers as well, mounted during the predawn hours before the assault force had gotten underway. Shemei couldn't help but smile as her foe evaded all of these attacks and managed to hack two of the BuCues to pieces with his own green blade, and then let loose another blast with his rifle that took out five more along with another ZuOOT. _If this is a last stand, he's making it one for the history books. _The one man assault had been an astounding piece of piloting, but soon it would draw to a close.

As the three smaller land-cruisers reached their firing positions they began to open up on the mobile suit that had wrought so much havoc on the legendary North Africa Corps. The Wing Zero continued to evade and counter-attack, with three more BuCues, a ZuOOT, and a helicopter going up in flames, but as Shemei and her fellow pilots moved in for another pass, she was sure the end was near.

_So long, Heero Yuy_, she thought as she traded saber strikes with him, _a pity we didn't get to fight a duel by ourselves to settle the score, but that's war for you._

….

Murrue gripped the arms of her chair, teeth clenched in frustration. _Come on, faster_, she thought. They had covered a considerable distance, and at last signs of battle were appearing on the long range scanners. There was too much activity to be certain of what was happening yet, but Murrue took some comfort in the fact that as long as the fighting was still going on that meant that Heero was still alive. _I won't let you die, Heero_, she thought, _not after all you've done._

"Have Skygraspers One and Two launch immediately," she ordered, "and have the Strike follow!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Natarle, who quickly relayed her orders to the operators in the CIC. The bow doors of the ship opened and two blue and white fighter jets shot out. Skygrasper One, piloted by Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, had in addition to its own weapons mounted the Strike's Launcher Pack, while Cagalli had the Sword Pack on Skygrasper Two. Then the Strike launched as well, in its Aile configuration, and after landing feet first in the sand began to make its way towards the battle in a series of long jumps with its thrusters. The dozen rebel helicopters began to pull ahead of the _Archangel_, preparing for attack runs. Meanwhile, the rebels on the ground, sensing that the battle would soon be upon them, pushed their vehicles to their full speed. The _Archangel's _engines increased their output as well, though the ship still allowed the resistance fighters to keep pace in order to cover them.

La Flaga's voice came over the radio. "I'm sending you guys my visual sensor data. Captain, you need to see this."

The image that appeared on the main monitor caused the entire bridge crew to gasp. Torrents of cannon fire and missile volleys flew from seemingly every direction. They were met by large blasts of yellow energy from a mobile suit at the center of the conflagration, surrounded by the smoldering wrecks of enemy machines as well as many active ones attempting to pummel it into submission. Wing Zero was not only fending off attacks from the distinctive black and red DINNs of the Valkyrie Team, but also evading fire from the considerable amount of remaining ground forces that had encircled him, including a new orange machine that Murrue had no doubt was piloted by Waltfeld himself. _He's not the type to sit back and watch the decisive battle._

"La Flaga," said Murrue, "I want you and Cagalli to hit the land-cruiser closest to our forces. Let's give them something else to shoot at. The rebel helicopters will engage at their own discretion, as will Kira. We'll cover with the Gottfrieds and Valiants as soon as we have targeting solutions. The rebels' ground units will engage the remaining BuCues and try to soften them up for us."

"Roger that," La Flaga replied.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Murrue, "Aim the Gottfrieds at the land-cruiser to the south east. Have the Valiants prepared for bombardment of the enemy mobile suits. Load the rear tubes with Sledgehammer missiles and target the cruiser to the northeast. Have Helldart anti-air missiles and the CIWs prepared for enemy helicopters."

"Yes Captain," said Natarle, who quickly started barking orders to the CIC.

Murrue could only watch the monitor now until the situation changed and further commands were needed. She wished she could push the ship's engines to maximum, but fire coordination with the rebels' ground vehicles would be essential in their opening attack before they broke ranks and went after individual targets.

_Hang on, Heero_, she thought, _we're coming!_

….

"He's really something else," said Aisha.

Waltfeld nodded. The pilot of the Wing Zero had wrought utter carnage upon the Field Marshal's strike force. Still, numbers were beginning to tell. The incredible mobile suit was beginning to take hits, and while the rounds and missiles were having no outward effect on the incredibly tough armor of the machine, Waltfeld knew that impacts could throw a pilot off balance, and in this case Heero Yuy could ill afford such distractions. He managed to get off another blast with that fearsome rifle of his, and two more BuCues and a ZuOOT went up in flames, but he then had to fend off another round of attacks from Commander Rehema and her fellow pilots, who were hardly giving him any breathing room. This allowed the ground forces to get in closer, while at the same time the attack helicopters could make more precise attacks and the four remaining land-ships could throw more fire at the Wing Zero without fear of retaliation from the mobile suit's heavy weapon. The Duel and the Buster were getting in on the action as well, firing from their perches atop the _Henry Carter_.

_He has to be getting tired too_, thought Waltfeld as he took the LaGOWE in for another pass. Heero managed to dodge the beams from Aisha's cannons and then block the orange machine's beam saber, causing Waltfeld to rush past him in order to avoid his counter-attack. The Desert Tiger was amazed at how quickly the young man was still able to move. _His endurance is inhuman_, he thought, _I'd be hard pressed to find even a Coordinator who could fight against odds like this for so long and still possess such agility. Not to mention he's doing so against a complete encirclement!_

As he checked his sensors, he saw that the _Gagarin _was moving closer. _A point-blank range bombardment_, thought Waltfeld, _I approve, Captain Garibaldi! _However, before the land-cruiser could open fire, a crimson blast lanced through the triangular vessel's forward scales system housing. The bow section exploded, and the _Gagarin _ground to a halt in the sand.

"What the hell?" said Aisha.

Increasing his visual scanners, Waltfeld saw a blue and white fighter jet with a large cannon mounted under its fuselage. _The same one from the Strike in the first battle_, he realized. Then, mere seconds later, another fighter swooped in, lowering a large blade on a wire as it did. One side of the sword suddenly ignited in violet fire, and as the fighter passed the _Gagarin _the anti-ship sword cut right through the land-cruiser's bridge. The ship's command and control center exploded, and the _Gagarin _became little more than a large block of steel sitting in the sand. The surviving crew-members quickly began evacuating, ejecting in life pods that shot out of the top like rockets, then released parachutes and began a slow descent towards the dunes.

The two fighters broke off and began to loop around for another pass, this time against the mobile suits. Two BuCues and a ZuOOT were destroyed before anti-air fire forced the jets to break off. Then a swarm of missiles flew into the fray as a dozen helicopters appeared. They didn't manage to destroy any ZAFT vehicles, but they did succeed in drawing the attention of the Tiger's remaining twenty-five helicopters, which rushed to engage the new hostiles.

As Waltfeld began to reorganize his forces the radar lit up with new contacts. The Alliance's white warship appeared on the horizon, along with the rebel ground forces. Large emerald beams and yellow heavy rail cannon rounds fell everywhere, forcing the Tiger's mobile suits to break off their attacks on the Wing Zero. Two of the BuCues were taken out in the barrage. At the same time, the ship launched a volley of missiles that impacted the _Petrie_. While the land-cruiser wasn't taken out, it was venting smoke and flames in several places. Then the rebel ground units surged ahead, attempting to make the most of the warship's covering fire.

As the _Lesseps _and the _Henry Carter _reoriented themselves to face the newcomers, Waltfeld couldn't help but smile. _So Wing Zero's solo attack was just to get me to break my original formation_, he thought, _well played, Heero Yuy._

One more contact appeared, and Waltfeld felt his adrenaline spike as he saw the Strike come down from a high leap, taking out a BuCue and a ZuOOT with a volley of green energy beams. However, before he could move to engage, he was forced to go evasive as the rebel ground forces launched a volley of rockets. The Tiger dodged them easily, but their interference could not be tolerated if he was going to duel the Strike.

He moved to engage the onrushing rag-tag group of vehicles, several BuCues forming up with him. "Aisha," he said, "let's show them what it means to truly face the wrath of the Desert Tiger!"

She turned and gave him a wicked smile, one that she tended to save for the bedroom. That seductive yet predatory grin was one of the reasons he had fallen for her. "You got it, Andy."

….

As the ZAFT forces moved to counter-attack, Shemei was suddenly thrown on the defensive as Wing Zero came right at her. As she blocked a vicious horizontal strike from its beam saber, she noticed that something had changed. Heero was now going for altitude again as the Commander's teammates moved to take some of the heat off her. Instead of playing evasive as he had earlier, Heero was now much more aggressive, launching his attacks with seemingly renewed vigor.

_Of course, _she realized, _his earlier actions were to draw us in and get us to focus exclusively on Wing Zero! Our earlier formation would have made quick work of a frontal assault by the rebels and the legged ship. But he used himself as bait for an encirclement, putting us into a position where we couldn't launch a bombardment on the main force!_

She grinned as Heero came rushing at her again, having parried attacks from the other girls and forcing them back temporarily. "Now this is _more like it!_" she yelled as their blades clashed.

….

"No, wait!" said Kira, "Don't rush in yet!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as the rebel ground forces sped past him. Coming up to meet them was an orange mobile suit, along with several BuCues. _That orange one's probably a command unit_, he thought. He had no doubt that Waltfeld himself had taken the field. Kira tried to get in front of the rebels, but he came under fire from several attack helicopters and was forced to go evasive. As La Flaga and Cagalli moved in to take the heat off he turned to try and help the rebels. What he saw was not pretty.

The Desert Tiger was already tearing into them. The orange mobile suit's head was low to the ground, sweeping back and forth with the double-bladed beam saber in its mouth. Four half-tracks ignited like firecrackers in a single slash, while the beam cannons on top of the machine incinerated another five vehicles. Several BuCues were mixing it up as well. The rebels fired scores of rockets, but their formation had already been broken by the Field Marshal's counter-attack and they couldn't concentrate their fire. The few projectiles that managed to hit their targets did little damage. The rebel helicopters were in little position to help them. Though they had reduced the amount of enemy choppers from twenty-five to twenty-two, their own losses had been heavier, down to seven craft out of the twelve they had started with.

The tanks, which had been trailing behind the lighter rebel vehicles due to their lower top speeds, had launched an attack of their own that had succeeded in taking out two BuCues, but in the process they had drawn the attention of the ten remaining ZuOOTs, which countered with a withering barrage. Eight of the fourteen tanks were obliterated, leaving the six survivors to attempt to regroup and take potshots into the maelstrom that was the center of the battle.

As Kira tried to move in to help, four BuCues broke away from the engagement with the rebels and came straight for him. Two had dual rail cannons mounted, while the others had multi-rocket launchers. Kira also saw that they all had double-bladed beam sabers in their mouths, just like Waltfeld's machine. _Not good_, he thought. The four machines launched a barrage of missiles and rail cannon rounds. Raising his beam rifle, he was able to shoot down some of the missiles, but had to raise his shield to block the rest. At the same time, several of the cannon rounds impacted his Phase Shift Armor, taking precious energy that he could not afford to lose.

As Kira lowered his shield, he saw the four machines then move to encircle him, just as the BuCues he'd fought in his first battle in North Africa had done. However, those machines hadn't had the additional beam sabers like these did, making this a much more dicey situation.

_Gotta take the offensive_, he thought. Hitting the thrusters, he moved like a blur towards one of the BuCues. It attempted to back off in order to hit him with another missile barrage, but Kira was too quick. He thrust his own violet blade forward, splitting the BuCue's head down the middle. Then he fired a beam into the center of the machine, destroying it.

The remaining three machines reacted quickly. Two of them charged in an attempt to take his legs off with their sabers, while the third fired a swarm of missiles. Kira hit the thrusters again, this time going for a high jump in order to buy himself a few precious seconds of breathing space.

As he reached the peak of his leap, he found himself with a panoramic view of the battle. What he saw gave him mixed feelings. On the one hand, Heero seemed to have the Valkyrie Team occupied. The five mobile suits streaked across the sky, locked in a ferocious dogfight. Wing Zero moved like lightning, blocking beam saber strikes and retaliating in what seemed like near instantaneous reactions, cutting loose with his massive rifle when he managed to get some distance, sending blasts of yellow-gold energy through the sky. The four DINNs were giving as good as they got, sending forth streams of rifle fire and swarms of missiles, swirling around like birds of prey, evading the energy blasts and trading blows with their sabers. The action was almost too fast to follow.

On the other hand, Waltfeld was mauling the rebel ground forces. Fires were burning all around the fearsome orange mobile suit, and Kira was shocked as he realized that the Field Marshal had taken out nearly twenty vehicles in the space of mere seconds. The rest of the BuCues were adding to the carnage, and had taken out another twelve rebel vehicles at a loss of only one of their own. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was making an attack run on the land-cruiser that had been hit by the _Archangel's _missile barrage. Though still venting smoke, the vessel was by no means beaten, and was throwing up a veritable wall of flak and surface-to-air missiles. A crimson blast from the Agni slung under the Skygrasper hit the ship on the starboard side, but did not take it out, although it did lose some maneuverability along with a few anti-air guns. Cagalli was circling above the other cruiser, but was too busy evading fire from not only the ship but the Duel and the Buster as well and could not move in for another strike at the bridge like she had on the first vessel. The _Archangel _and the _Lesseps _were trading salvoes from across the battlefield, but neither ship had taken much damage yet.

As Kira began his descent, he let loose a volley of beams from the Strike's rifle. The barrage forced the three BuCues circling below to scatter, giving the young man a window that he planned to take advantage of. As soon as he hit the ground, he moved in on the BuCue with the missile racks on its back and thrust his saber into its side, destroying it. Then he dodged to the left as the remaining two machines fired their guns. Raising his rifle, he hit one dead-center, and it went up in flames. The other was hit in the right side, and began to withdraw, trailing smoke.

Kira ignored the retreating mobile suit and rushed to help the rebels fighting Waltfeld. Another six vehicles had been destroyed, and the rest were trying to get away as fast as they could. Kira fired his rifle at the orange mobile suit, but scored no hits; the machine was too agile. All he succeeded in doing was grabbing the Tiger's attention, and he came right at Kira, the dual-beam cannon on his unit's back blasting away.

As Kira raised his shield to block the shots, a voice came over his radio. "Impressive as always, young man," said Waltfeld, "I didn't think you'd beat those four so quickly!"

"Mister Waltfeld!" said Kira, "We don't have to do this!"

The Field Marshal chuckled. "Sorry kid, I really am. I'm afraid we do have to fight, though. That's the way war works. Like it or not, we're enemies on a battlefield right now. The only way this ends is with one of us being destroyed."

And with that, the Tiger rushed in, beam saber ready to slash the Strike in two.

….

"Helicopters approaching!" said the radar operator.

_Damn it_, thought Murrue, _I was hoping the rebel choppers would hold them off a little longer. _The remaining seven resistance helicopters had been shot down, while ZAFT still had nineteen of their own left. "Fire Helldart missiles!" she ordered, "Throw up a barrage with the Igelstellungs!"

The ship's CIWs let loose streams of shells, while the missile launchers behind the bridge sent up a swarm of warheads. The anti-air fire was quite effective. Seven of the ZAFT helicopters exploded, while the rest scattered and were forced to come at the _Archangel _in individual attack runs.

A series of explosions in the dunes around the ship reminded Murrue of more pressing concerns. They had been trading fire with the _Lesseps _for a while now, though the risk of both ships hitting their allies meant that exchanges had been sporadic. _Lucky for us_, she thought, _otherwise those helicopters would be much harder to deal with._

The _Archangel _returned fire with the Gottfried heavy beam cannons and the Valiant heavy rail cannons. Two large green beams struck the side of the land-battleship, and the vessel belched smoke and flames from its new wound, but apparently no vital systems had been damaged.

"We have another land-cruiser incoming!" said the radar operator, "The Duel and Buster are on top of it!"

An image appeared on the main monitor as the vessel approached, and indeed the two stolen prototypes were standing on the upper hull. While the Buster seemed content to launch a bombardment with its two main guns, the pilot of the Duel was apparently more enthusiastic. The blue and white machine only fired a few rounds from a new shoulder mounted rail cannon before hitting its thrusters and leaving the cruiser. It touched down in the dunes, only to find itself stumbling in the sand.

Murrue took advantage of the opportunity provided by the temporarily helpless ZAFT pilot. "Have La Flaga and Cagalli concentrate their attacks on that cruiser. Fire Sledgehammer missiles at the Duel; keep the pilot from regaining balance! Aim Gottfrieds at the portside scale system housings; fire when ready."

The two fighters swooped in, La Flaga firing the Agni and Cagalli firing her topside beam cannon while attempting to get in close enough to use the anti-ship sword again. The crimson blast from La Flaga's unit hit near the Buster, and the force of the blast knocked the mobile suit off the vessel. It plunged towards the dunes, where it joined its partner and was confronted with the same difficulties of moving around in the shifting sands.

_Looks like neither of them adjusted their operating systems_, noted Murrue, _chalk up another point in our favor. _Incidentally, the Buster had landed at the same time the first missile barrage was launched from the _Archangel_, ensuring that both mobile suits would be pinned down for at least a few seconds. With the two machines struggling in the sand, Cagalli was able to dive in and take out the main forward turret with the sword slung beneath the fighter.

"Gottfrieds, fire!" said Natarle.

The beam cannons blasted the cruiser's portside propulsion system, causing the vessel's lower hull to grind in the sand. The ship began a slow, cumbersome turn away from the _Archangel_.

"Let them go," said Murrue, "Concentrate fire on the Duel and the Buster. Take them down!"

The ship let loose a barrage of energy beams, rail cannon shots, and missiles. The two stolen prototypes tried to fight back, but between the sheer volume of fire raining down on their position and their own difficulties maneuvering in the sand it was all they could do to withdraw. Hitting their thrusters, they joined the damaged land-cruiser in withdrawal.

_I guess that'll have to do for now_, thought Murrue, _though I would've preferred to capture or destroy them. Oh well, we have more important things to deal with._

The rebel ground forces were taking a pounding. The last of the tanks had been destroyed, while they had only managed to take down one BuCue and damage one ZuOOT, forcing it to withdraw. That still left nine of the walking arsenals in the field, and they, along with the remaining nineteen BuCues, were tearing into the light vehicles that made up the bulk of the resistance fighters' rag-tag army. Murrue was stunned to see that their numbers had been reduced from seventy-nine to thirty-two in the space of mere minutes. _It just goes to show how skilled Waltfeld's soldiers are_, she thought. The Field Marshal himself was now dueling Kira and couldn't add to the carnage, but the rebels were still having difficulty fighting the rest of the Desert Tiger's forces. Of course, that also meant that Kira couldn't lend the rebels some desperately needed assistance.

_And Heero's preoccupied as well_, she noted. Looking at the small screen on the arm of her chair, she saw the Wing Zero's ongoing battle with the legendary Valkyrie and her subordinates. The four-on-one clash was breathtaking to behold, as the five mobile suits seemed to almost dance across the sky, so fluid and graceful were their movements. Wing Zero fought with incredible speed and power, blocking and redirecting saber strikes and retaliating in kind near instantaneously, while also managing to dodge missile and rifle volleys from whatever foes weren't currently engaged in close-quarters combat with him. The Gundam returned fire with its devastating Twin Buster Rifle, though the black and red DINNs were repeatedly able to scatter and avoid the energy blasts, then regroup and come back for more.

No matter how many times she witnessed him fight, Murrue couldn't help but be in awe of his abilities. She touched the beautiful blue stone on the necklace Heero had given her. _You're an amazing young man, Heero_, she thought, _without you we'd have to face the Valkyrie Team ourselves, and I do not think we could survive such an encounter. But you're here, and I have no doubt that you will prevail against them. I believe in you._

Murrue then returned her attention to the rest of the battle. She saw that the other land-cruiser was moving to attack them. "Aim Gottfrieds and Valiants at that cruiser," she ordered, "fire when ready. Have La Flaga and Cagalli give the rebels some air support. Launch another missile salvo at the _Lesseps_; we need to keep that battleship occupied."

_Don't worry about us down here, Heero_, she thought as Natarle hurried to carry out her orders, _we'll be fine. You just focus on your battle. You'll win, I know you will._

….

"He's even better than last time," said Waltfeld.

The LaGOWE had just made another pass on the Strike, Aisha leading with a barrage of energy beams while Waltfeld got in close for a slash with the beam saber. Again, Kira had been able to either dodge or block the beams, then parry the sword strike, causing the Field Marshal's command unit to go past him and turn around for another go.

"He is good," said Aisha, "I remember what you told me before, but it's still something else to see it in person."

Waltfeld nodded. "It's too bad…"

"…that he's not on our side?" Aisha finished for him. Waltfeld nodded.

"I can tell this is difficult for you," said Aisha, "You really like him, don't you?"

The Field Marshal sighed. "It's always easier when you don't know the enemy personally. It's probably even worse for the kid; we're veteran fighters, but I could tell just by the way he acted back in Banadiya that he's still new to all this."

Aisha nodded. She let loose another volley of beams as the LaGOWE moved in for another attack run.

"Do you think he'll surrender?" asked Waltfeld.

"Not a chance," said Aisha.

As they swept by the Strike, the LaGOWE swung its head to the side in an attempt to take the mobile suit's legs off. However, the machine hit its thrusters and leapt over the violet energy blade, then let loose a barrage from its rifle as it came down. Waltfeld couldn't help but smile even as he focused on dodging the shots. "Good. Much as I may like the kid, I'd be very disappointed if he gave up. This is the best fight I've had in ages."

Aisha nodded. "My thoughts exactly."

Waltfeld glanced at his sensors and brought up an image of the aerial battle. "Shemei seems to be enjoying herself." Indeed, the Valkyrie was going at it with Wing Zero with great enthusiasm. Her subordinates were fighting quite skillfully as well, but their foe showed no sign of wearing down. If anything, Heero had seemed to become even faster and stronger since he'd broken away from the ground forces to engage Commander Rehema and her team.

The rest of the battle was not going as well. Thought the rebels had taken heavy casualties, ZAFT's own losses were not inconsiderable. The two fighter jets had broken off their attacks on the _Henry Carter_, which had taken heavy damage and been forced to pull back, and had begun helping the beleaguered rebel ground forces. Two more BuCues had gone down, leaving seventeen remaining, while another ZuOOT had been destroyed as well, with eight machines still intact. The _Petrie _was trading fire with the legged ship, but the smaller cruiser was outgunned by the battleship and getting pounded. The _Lesseps _was supporting it with long-range fire, but had taken several missile hits as well and had suffered moderate damage. The helicopters assaulting the warship were unable to overcome its anti-air defenses, and only seven were left. Waltfeld noted with disdain that the Duel and Buster were still mired in the sand, apparently having a much harder time adjusting to the desert conditions than Kira had. While his own fight with Kira was still up for grabs, and the four-on-one dogfight was still in full-swing, Waltfeld knew that the overall tide of battle had turned.

_Gotta know when to fold them_, he thought. He hit the radio. "DaCosta."

"Yes, sir?" said the Field Marshal's aide from the bridge of the _Lesseps_.

"Signal a withdrawal. We've lost this one," said Waltfeld.

"I understand," replied DaCosta, "I'll lay down a covering barrage while our forces pull back. What about Commander Rehema?"

"She can go whenever she feels like it," said Waltfeld.

"Understood, sir," said DaCosta. He then signed off.

"You too, Aisha," said Waltfeld, "Get out of here."

She shook her head. "I'd sooner die than leave you, Andy. I know you're planning to stay to finish things with the kid. I'm not going anywhere."

The Tiger couldn't help but smile. "I guess we're both fools, aren't we?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," she replied.

"Well then," growled Waltfeld as he closed in on the Strike again, "let's do this!"

….

"I understand," said Commander Rehema as DaCosta relayed the Field Marshal's instructions, "I think we'll stick around for awhile longer. We'll catch up later."

The man nodded on her screen. "Very well. _Lesseps _out."

As Waltfeld's aide signed off, Shemei took her DINN right in for another swipe at the Wing Zero. Yet again, the magnificent mobile suit and its pilot were able to read her moves and counter accordingly. _I could almost swear this guy's telepathic_, she thought as Heero blocked her saber and pushed her back before whirling to face an attack from Adaline. He redirected her blow to the left, then spun around as her DINN flew past his mobile suit and fired his gatlings. Several rounds hit the back of the machine, and smoke and sparks flew from the main thrusters.

"Damn it!" said the Australian as she began to lose altitude, "Sorry Commander, but I'm out. My engines are barely holding together right now!"

"Alright," Shemei replied, "go for a landing in the sand near the _Lesseps_, they'll pick you up."

"Got it. Good luck guys," said Adaline. Then she signed off.

Lan and Priscilla were quick to make up for the absence of their comrade, pouncing on Wing Zero. Both girls had expended the last of their missiles earlier, but they still had their rifles and beam sabers, a deadly combo in the hands of the veteran pilots. Priscilla came in from below, while Lan attacked head on. Heero rushed Lan, taking her rifle shots on his shield before blocking her saber strike. Whirling around, he smacked her backwards with the shield while at the same time parrying Priscilla's sword with his own. In the space of a second he struck back, and not only severed her sword arm but sheared off most of her right wing, causing her to spiral downwards.

Shemei was worried until she saw Priscilla's DINN level out somewhat, though it was still descending. "I guess I'm done too," she said, "I'll barely be able to land this thing intact as is. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Shemei replied, "Just focus on getting groundside in one piece. Follow Adaline."

"Yes ma'am," said the blonde, "Be careful. Priscilla out."

Shemei and Lan moved in to attack again. _The simulations helped to get a handle on how he fights_, she thought as their blades met, _but the difference between the program and the man himself is still like night and day. _Shemei knew that Priscilla had attempted to recreate Heero's amazing ability to read their moves and react so quickly, but she had only been able to do so much. The Commander was amazed with how one of Wing Zero's attacks seemingly led right into the next with no pause whatsoever. _How does he do it?_

Of course, it wasn't as though she expected Heero to answer her question. As she and Lan continued to battle the fearsome mobile suit, all she could do was file her query away for later, when she actually had time to think. _And_, she mused with a smile, _when I'm not in the fight of my life!_

….

As he dodged yet another attack from the Field Marshal's mobile suit, Kira saw that the remaining ZAFT forces were beginning to withdraw. _Have they given up?_, he thought.

He was certainly glad that they were beginning to back off. The rebels had been thrashed. They'd lost all of their helicopters, and they were down to twenty-five ground vehicles. The _Lesseps _had begun a bombardment, though Kira realized that it wasn't aimed at anything in particular, and that its purpose was just to get the Alliance forces and their rebel allies to keep their distance as the ZAFT forces began to pull back. _Fine by me_, he thought.

However, a fresh volley of energy beams from the Tiger's unit showed that Waltfeld himself had no intention of backing down. _Why?_, thought Kira, _There's no point in us fighting now!_

As the orange machine closed in, Kira blocked a strike from its beam saber, then lunged forward. Using his thrusters to go over the saber, he sliced the unit's beam cannons off its back. Sparks flew from where the turret had been mounted, but Waltfeld only intensified his attacks, coming in faster and harder.

"Mister Waltfeld!" said Kira, "You've already lost the battle. You need to stop this!"

"No," came the Field Marshal's voice over the radio, "I'm not giving up… until one of us is destroyed!"

As Kira blocked another vicious attack from the Tiger, an alarm went off in the Strike. His eyes widened as he saw that his primary batteries were now depleted, and that his mobile suit was functioning on reserve power. His beam saber shut down, along with his Phase Shift Armor.

At the same time, he saw Waltfeld prepare for one last attack. Without his beam saber to counter, Kira would be helpless. _No_, he thought, _I don't want to die here!_

As the orange machine closed in, Kira suddenly felt a strange numbness come over him. There was no conscious thought, no reasoning… only the oncoming enemy… and the will to survive. And that was when he was hit with a sudden burst of adrenaline.

Like a seed bursting in his mind…

Moving faster than he'd ever moved before, he quickly ejected the Strike's Aile pack, lightening the overall weight of the machine. He threw both his rifle and shield aside, then drew the two Armor Schneider knifes concealed in his mobile suit's hips. The Strike ran forward to meet Waltfeld's charge.

Waltfeld was fast. But Kira was faster. The Strike leapt forward, over the orange machine's beam saber, and plunged one of its knifes into its back. Sparks and smoke flew out of the wound, and the machine collapsed to the ground. Kira quickly backed off… just in time to avoid the explosion.

….

Even in the midst of fighting Wing Zero, Shemei still saw the blast. _Waltfeld_, she thought, _Aisha…_

She radioed Lan, who had just finished dodging another shot from Heero's rifle. "Lan," she said as she moved in with her beam saber, "go down there."

"But, Commander…" Lan said.

"That's an order!" she said, "Dead or alive, we're not leaving them here for the rebels to parade through the streets! Find them… or their bodies… and get them out of here. I'll cover you."

"Yes ma'am," replied Lan as she began her descent.

Heero did not pursue her, and instead simply continued trading saber strikes with Shemei.

Then, to her surprise, he radioed her. "Want to take this down towards the dunes?" he said, "It'll discourage the rebels from… _investigating_."

Her eyes widened. _He knows I'm sending Lan down to search for Waltfeld and Aisha! But why would he want to help? _After a moment, she realized the reason; he was offering out of respect. She couldn't help but smile, despite all that had happened. _What a guy…_

"Thank you," she said, "I'm in your debt."

"Don't mention it," Heero replied.

Shemei saw him take the Wing Zero into a dive. The mobile suit twisted around to fire several shots from his rifle at her, but they were easy enough to dodge. _He's doing that on purpose_, she thought, _Heero, there truly is no other pilot like you… at least not in this world._

….

"Tell Ensign Yamato to get the Strike out of there," ordered Murrue, "He's on his reserve power now, he's in no shape to get caught between Heero and the Valkyrie!"

As Natarle rushed to carry out her orders, Murrue watched the descending mobile suits. She'd been curious as to why one of the DINNs had pulled back earlier, despite suffering no obvious damage, but she'd only given it a moment's consideration. She knew that the DINN that was still fighting Heero was piloted by none other than Commander Rehema. _Who else could fight him one-on-one?_

The rebels were pulling back too, both to avoid the barrage from the _Lesseps _as it covered the remaining ZAFT forces withdrawal, and to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between the last two combatants.

_It's hard to believe_, thought Murrue, _that Kira was able to beat the Tiger. Although, Heero had faith in him, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Kira's skill has grown quite rapidly since he first piloted the Strike. _She still felt bad about having the young Coordinator pilot it for them, since she knew that it was the last thing he wanted to do. But he had volunteered back in orbit to stay with the _Archangel _since his friends had decided to stay aboard, and she was glad to have his help.

She returned her attention to the duel between ZAFT's greatest pilot and the literally otherworldly soldier that she had become so fond of. "Heero," she whispered, "Beat her… and come back to me."

….

The nearby clash of the last two combatants didn't bother Lan all that much as she landed her DINN, had it kneel, and dropped out of the cockpit. Though she wanted to be back helping Commander Rehema, she knew her superior officer wanted to get her friends out of there… one way or another.

As she turned towards the LaGOWE, she was surprised to discover how much of it was still intact. The rear half of the vehicle had been shredded in the explosion, but much of the forward torso remained together. Lan felt a small surge of hope. _That includes the cockpit!_

As she approached she saw some of the charred metal plates move. She ran forward. "Field Marshal?" she said, "Aisha?"

One large slab of metal fell towards her, forcing Lan to leap back. Then she smiled as she saw two figures hobble out of the wreckage.

Granted, they weren't in the best of shape. Both had lost their helmets, and the left side of Waltfeld's face was covered in blood. Lan gasped as she saw that the Field Marshal's left arm was missing a little past the shoulder, and that the stump was covered in bloody bandages. Aisha was limping, her right leg had been bandaged up, and she was bleeding from a scalp wound and one on her left arm, but they didn't seem to be too bad.

Lan grabbed Waltfeld on his left side, helping Aisha, who was on his left, to support him. "Thank you," said Waltfeld, grimacing, "Damn… can't see much on my left… I think the eye bit it."

"I can't believe the two of you survived!" said Lan, "Hang on, I'll grab the aid kit from my DINN!"

The three of them made their way over to her mobile suit. Waltfeld and Aisha sat down in the shadow it cast, while Lan rushed into her cockpit, emerging with her first aid kit.

"Help Aisha first," said Waltfeld, causing Lan's eyes to widen. He chuckled. "Aisha used most of our bandages on my arm. The bleeding's staunched for now, but we can't do much more without a proper hospital. Patch up her arm, then the two of you help me get this cut on my head patched up."

Lan nodded. As she tended to Aisha, Waltfeld's lover looked at her. "Thanks," she said, "I'm sure you didn't want to leave Shemei."

Lan smiled. "She ordered me to come down here. To be honest, I think she was expecting me to find your corpses. This'll be a pleasant surprise for her."

Aisha nodded, and looked over at the nearby battle taking place between the Commander and Heero. "I'm glad they decided to fight down here," she said, "that should keep the rebels away for awhile."

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "but we're not safe here. We have to move." He turned to Lan. "Can you give us a lift to the _Lesseps_?"

"Of course, Field Marshal," she said, "You're my superior officer, you don't have to ask."

"I know," he chuckled, "but I also know that you don't want to abandon Commander Rehema."

Lan shook her head. "I don't, but her orders were to find you two and get you out of here, one way or another."

"Speaking of the Commander," said Aisha, "something's up with her. I don't think she's going all out."

Waltfeld looked out at the duel. "She's probably distracted, waiting to hear from Lan. Looks like Heero's holding back too, though I can't say why."

"I have an idea," said Aisha, "I think he wants to fight her when she's going all out. Since she's distracted, he's not using everything he's got."

"You're probably right," said Waltfeld. He turned to Lan. "Get in your DINN, then grab us with one of your suits arms and get us into the cockpit. You can radio Shemei to tell her that we're alright, so she can stop worrying."

"Yes sir," said Lan.

"Other than her and your friends, keep quiet about our survival," said Waltfeld, "I'll contact DaCosta and make arrangements."

"Why?" she asked, "What's going on?"

"I think I know," said Aisha, smiling at her lover, "So we're finally heading back to the capital?"

The Field Marshal nodded. "There are some things that have been bothering me for awhile now. I can't get answers down here, but the information I need may be up in space." He smiled. "Being presumed dead does have its advantages, if you play your cards right. I'm assuming you'll keep all this between yourself and your team, Miss Zhao?"

Lan nodded. "Of course, sir."

"Good," said Waltfeld, "then let's get out of here."

….

Shemei grinned as she listened to what Lan had to say over the radio. "Waltfeld, you son of a bitch!" she smiled, "I should've known that wouldn't have been enough to kill you! Same goes for you too, Aisha!"

Her friend's voice came over the radio. "Got that right," said Aisha, "Now stop worrying about us and fight like we know you can!"

"Alright," said Shemei, "See ya." With that she signed off.

As Heero swung at her with his green blade, she blocked with her own, then hit her thrusters and shot skyward. Wing Zero moved to follow her, and Heero's voice came over the radio. "Good news, I take it?"

Shemei smiled. _He doesn't want to say that Waltfeld's alive on an open channel_, she thought, _he's one sharp pilot. _"You can tell?" she said.

"Your movements are back to normal," he replied as their blades met again, "Glad to see you're focused again."

"You didn't have to hold back, you know," she said as they took their fight higher and higher above the desert, "You could've killed me earlier without difficulty."

"Yeah," said Heero, "but it wouldn't have felt right." He chuckled. "A few months ago, I probably wouldn't have hesitated to do it anyway. I guess fighting Zechs had a little more impact than I first thought."

"The one you mentioned during our first fight," she said as she fired a barrage from her rifle. Wing Zero dodged it, then returned the favor with a blast from his own gun that she was barely able to avoid. "I take it he's from your world?"

"Yes," he said as he closed in with his beam saber.

"I thought so," said Shemei as their blades clashed, "Alright, enough talk. Let's do this!"

And so they fought, moving across the sky at lightning speed, two airborne knights in a jousting match of titanic proportions. They fell into a pattern of first exchanging sword strikes, then going for long-range attacks, then charging back in for close-quarters combat. Shemei felt exhilarated as she went at it with everything she had. She couldn't tell for certain if Heero was doing the same, but it hardly seemed to matter as she couldn't land a solid blow on him.

Wing Zero came at her with a powerful overhand strike. The strength of the blow forced her downwards, and Heero pressed his advantage. He went into another series of powerful saber strikes, and the combatants began to lose altitude. _Putting my back to the sand_, thought Shemei, _he's moving to end this._

She moved to the right and fired a volley from her rifle. Heero took the shells on his shield, then returned fire with his shoulder gatlings. Shemei tried to evade, but a few rounds hit the rifle in her left hand, and it exploded. "Shit!" she snarled.

Now that ranged attacks were not an option for her, the only thing Shemei could do was get as close as possible to her foe and stay there. Of course, this was much easier said than done, since with every exchange of saber strikes the Wing Zero's sheer power was more than enough to force her DINN back. Nevertheless, she got right in Heero's face and stabbed at his cockpit.

Once again though, Heero had read her moves. He side slipped to the right, and then, moving so fast that his beam saber was little more than a green blur, severed her sword arm at the elbow.

_That's it_, she thought, _he's got me. _Indeed, Wing Zero had its beam saber pointed right at her cockpit. However, Heero didn't move in for the finishing blow. _What gives?_

"I wonder…," said Heero over the radio, "your skills are impressive… as I said before, you're the second best I've ever fought…"

"Is there a point to this?" she said, wondering what he was getting at.

"Yes," he replied, "Consider this; while it's true that the mobile suit does not make the pilot, it can also be said that there is only so far one can take any particular kind of machine, regardless of their skill level."

Shemei was intrigued. "Makes sense. And?"

"I was thinking," said Heero, "what could you do in a more advanced mobile suit?"

Shemei's eyes widened. That thought had honestly never occurred to her. She'd never once considered herself to be limited by her mobile suits, only that they were limited by her. _I've only ever flown GINNs and DINNs_, she thought, _even this modified DINN still has the same basic frame. _Not once had she ever considered what she could do if she had something more sophisticated, like the stolen Alliance prototypes the Creuset boys were using.

Heero lowered his blade. "Withdraw, Commander Rehema. This battle is over; any further fighting is meaningless."

"I hate having to admit defeat," she replied, "but I'll back down this time." She gunned her engines and moved to catch up with the retreating ZAFT forces. "Until next time, Heero Yuy!"

_I wonder_, she thought as she withdrew, _what's the ZAFT Research Department working on nowadays? They've had quite a bit of time to study the schematics of the new Alliance mobile suits, not to mention the machines themselves. I wonder if they've come up with anything new yet?_

It was a new line of thought for her, but she found it now would not go away, lingering in the back of her mine as she landed on top of the _Lesseps_. She smiled. "I might just have to get us rotated out for some shore leave in the homeland," she said to herself, "it'll be a great opportunity to see what the gear-heads at Aprilius One have been up to."

….

Kira had paid little attention to the conclusion of the fierce duel between Heero and the Valkyrie. He'd only vaguely heard Captain Ramius's order to pull back, and had done so, but he couldn't stop looking at the smoldering wreck of Waltfeld's mobile suit. He'd seen one of the black and red DINNs touch down near it, but the mobile suit had obscured his view of the Tiger's machine and anything that might have been happening near it.

_Why?_, he thought, _Why did we have to fight each other? Mister Waltfeld, Miss Aisha… they're not bad people._ Tears began to well up in his eyes. "It didn't…" he said, "… it didn't…" Unable to bear the frustration, he cried out, "It didn't have to end like this!"

The words echoed off the walls of the cockpit, unheard by anyone other than himself.

….

Murrue sighed in relief as the last black and red DINN withdrew from the field. "It's over," she said softly.

As Lieutenant Badgiruel began recalling the Skygraspers and the Strike, Murrue looked at her own screen again, which showed Wing Zero on its way back towards the _Archangel_. "Heero," she whispered, "thank you... for everything. We couldn't have done it without you."

**Preview for next time!**

_Tormented by a nightmare two years old, Heero finds comfort in the arms of Murrue. In the process, the two of them begin to suspect that their feelings for each other may run deeper than friendship. Is love beginning to bloom between the Beautiful Captain and the Perfect Soldier? Meanwhile, Kira is haunted over the events of North Africa. He finds solace in an unexpected source; the Archangel's newest passenger. Next time on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Eight: Ash Like Snow._

**Author's Notes: **Yes, I know that "Ash Like Snow" is the name of the second Gundam 00 opening for first season. There is no allusion or reference to that series in this chapter; the reason I chose those words will become apparent once the chapter is posted. For those of you wondering about the "nightmare two years old", well... I've already had Heero mention his guilt over the slaying of the Alliance pacifists, but I think we all know that there is another tragedy that haunted him well before that. Murrue will get to find out what happened one year prior to Operation Meteor when a young soldier met a girl and her dog...

As always, please review, I love the feedback. If you got any questions, don't be afraid to ask! Just don't ask them anonymously, I can't reply to those. I know I accept anonymous reviews, but I can't reply to them. Just get an account here if you have something you want to ask, it ain't hard, trust me.

Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: **As you can no doubt tell, this chapter is much shorter than the last few. It's kind of a breather for me, a chance to get ready for the next big one. Nevertheless, in a way this chapter was... difficult... to write, mainly due to some of the content. You'll see soon enough. Don't worry, nothing that's beyond the 'T' rating I gave this story, but... well, it ain't for the faint of heart. You'll know which part I'm referring to when you come to it.

Well, enjoy.

**Episode Eight: Ash Like Snow**

Murrue was standing outside the _Archangel_, along with Heero and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga. In front of them were Sahib, Kisaka, and Cagalli.

"I want to thank you again for all of your help," said Murrue, "I don't know how we would've gotten the supplies we needed without you."

Sahib chuckled. "Don't mention it. You people have more than repaid us; I can't believe you guys were able to beat both the Tiger and the Valkyrie." He looked over at his companions. "That being said, I'm afraid I have one more favor I'd like to ask of you."

"We're not doing anymore fighting for you," said Heero firmly, "I think we've more than fulfilled our end of the bargain."

The resistance leader raised his hands. "Easy young man, it's nothing like that." He looked at Murrue. "Captain, do you think you could take Cagalli and Kisaka with you? They're actually from Orb, and if you're heading to Alaska then it's on the way."

Murrue smiled. "I don't see why not. We can radio Orb when we reach the edge of their territory and tell them we have two of their nationals on board. I'm sure they'll send someone out to pick them up."

"Sahib!" said Cagalli, "I don't want to go back! I want to stay with you guys!"

"No!" he yelled, "You've done enough here!" Then his voice softened. "Go home… and talk to your father."

Mu La Flaga raised an eyebrow. "Family issues?"

Kisaka chuckled. "A father-daughter conflict. The old man's a friend of mine, so I volunteered to keep an eye on Cagalli while she was away."

Cagalli sighed. "All right, fine." Together with Kisaka, she walked over and joined Murrue, Heero, and La Flaga.

The Lieutenant Commander smiled. "Well, at least we'll have some entertainment on our journey."

"Oh, shut up," grumbled Cagalli.

_Not to mention_, thought Murrue_, a pilot for the second Skygrasper if we're attacked along the way._

The blonde girl looked over at Heero. "Hey, Heero?"

He looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"Thank you," she said, "for all you did during the battle. Things would've been much worse without you."

Heero shrugged. "Don't mention it. I wasn't fighting for you guys anyway."

Cagalli's eyes narrowed a bit, but she held her tongue.

"So long, Cagalli," said Sahib, "you too, Kisaka. Take care you two." With that he turned and headed back towards the rebel camp.

As the five of them began walking towards the _Archangel_, Murrue turned to Heero. "I know I already said this earlier, but I want to say it again. Thank you. What you did… was _incredible_."

He gave her a small smile. "You're welcome, Murrue."

….

"Whew," said Nicole as he exited the shuttle. The green haired young man wiped sweat from his forehead. "The Earth is really warm!"

Behind his friend and fellow pilot, Athrun nodded. They had just touched down at the Gibraltar spaceport. It was the first time both of them had actually been to the surface of the Earth. "Unlike the PLANTs," he said, "there are no climate control systems. We'll have to get used to that."

They saw a soldier wearing the green uniform of the regular ZAFT soldiers come running up from the larger shuttle that had touched down next to them, which was carrying the Aegis and the Blitz. "Sirs," he said, "base personnel will show you to your temporary quarters. Your machines will be loaded onto transport planes later. You'll be flown to Carpentaria tomorrow. En route you'll meet up with pilots Joule and Elsman over the Red Sea."

"Understood," said Athrun. He saw a jeep driving across the tarmac towards their shuttle. "That's probably our ride."

"Yeah," said Nicole. As the jeep pulled up and the two teenagers hopped in, he spoke again. "It's too bad that we don't have any time to look around. I've always wanted to see the Earth from the surface."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Athrun replied, "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to do that once the war's over."

"Do you think it'll be soon?" asked Nicole.

"Probably," said Athrun, "I heard my father saying that Operation Spitbreak would be the decisive blow. The Earth Alliance will have to sue for peace afterwards."

Nicole nodded. "I heard my parents say something like that too. I hope they're right."

_So do I_, thought Athrun, _then I won't have to fight Kira anymore._

Of course, that was if he didn't wind up killing his old friend before then… or vice versa.

…

Meanwhile, in the officer's lounge of the Gibraltar base, Commander Rehema and her subordinates were all kicking back, waiting for a shuttle to be fueled and ready to take them up to space.

Shemei had been surprised when, upon her return to Banadiya, she had received a message from the Defense Council that her team were to return to the PLANT homeland. She had actually been planning to file a request to return there for shore leave, though that had been more of an excuse for her to get to the capital and check up on some contacts she had in ZAFT's Research Department. The Commander had heard from an old friend of hers that several projects were in the works, all heavily influenced by the capture of the Alliance's prototype mobile suits. _I can't wait to see what they're building!_

Still, she had expected her request to be met with protest, on account of the buildup for the coming Operation Spitbreak. The Commander had figured that the Defense Council would want their best team to remain on the surface in preparation for the offensive. The fact that they had actually ordered her to return without her even filing a request set off some quiet alarm bells in her head. _Something's up_, she thought, _but I can't really say what. It's just a gut feeling right now._

She looked over at her fellow three pilots, who were watching the T.V. A major debate in the electoral campaign for the Chairmanship of the PLANT Supreme Council was on at the moment, with Patrick Zala and Siegel Clyne going at it with gusto. Shemei noted with some amusement that Lan and Adaline, who normally didn't get into politics, were watching nearly as intently as Priscilla was. Glancing at the screen, the Commander wondered if her sudden transfer had something to do with the two men who were arguing at the moment.

Though Shemei had tried to stay out of politics, it was an open secret that her views were more in line with those of the moderate faction, and that she had some contact with Chairman Clyne. She wondered if the transfer was Zala's way of quietly getting her out of the way so that his favorite Commander, Creuset, could claim the lion's share of the glory in Operation Spitbreak.

_I don't mind sitting out a campaign_, she thought, _I've seen more than my fair share of action, and the same goes for the girls. But to be sidelined because of petty politics… _If it hadn't just happened to coincide with her sudden desire to get back to space and make contact with the Research teams, it would've irked her a lot more.

As she looked on, the debate drew to a close, and a pair of commentators appeared on the screen. Shemei paid little heed to what they had to say, but when a graph appeared on the screen showing the latest poll numbers, it grabbed her undivided attention.

_No way…_she thought …_I knew things weren't going well for the Chairman, but I never thought…_

Zala now had a clear lead over Clyne, fifty-eight percent to forty. A paltry two percent remained undecided. _How_, Shemei thought, _how did Zala pull ahead so dramatically?_

After a moment though, Shemei realized the answer was painfully obvious. People were getting tired of the war, and Zala seemed to be the best figure capable of bringing it to a quick and decisive end. _But_, thought Shemei, _do the people realize what the cost could be? No, I guess they don't…_

She sighed. The rumors she had heard about Operation Spitbreak seemed to point to the major Alliance spaceport at Panama. While she knew that the facility was a major strategic target, the fact that word of the target of the coming offensive was circulating so easily made her nervous. The Alliance wasn't stupid, and Shemei knew that they had their own intelligence sources. _I have no doubt they'll learn what the target is soon, if they haven't already. If Panama truly is the operation's objective, then they'll be ready for us. And things will get very bloody…_

...

On one of the outer decks of the _Archangel_, Heero took a deep breath. _How long_, he thought, _has it been since I've felt the sea breeze on my face? Not since my days in the Sanc Kingdom, at least._

The white warship had passed out of Egypt about an hour ago, and was now heading south through the Red Sea. Heero smiled as he remembered when the ship passed from sand to water. He'd been up on the bridge with Murrue, as had become his routine, when she'd turned to him and smiled. "Heero," she'd said, "why don't you take a breather? Go outside, enjoy the sea air. I'll join you later when Lieutenant Badgiruel takes over."

"Are you sure?" he'd asked.

"Yes," she'd replied, "besides, you've more than earned it."

So here he was, out on the deck, wind tussling his hair, the smell of the ocean wafting up from below. The sun was slowly getting lower in the sky, afternoon giving way to evening. Leaning back against the railing, he couldn't help but smile. _I don't know why_, he thought, _but ever since I first came to Earth during Operation Meteor… I've been fascinated by the ocean. _Perhaps it had been because there were no vast expanses of water up in the colonies, maybe it had something to do with how calm and soothing it seemed; he really couldn't say. The solitude was actually welcome as well. Though he liked being up on the bridge with Murrue, he was beginning to hear whispers among some of the crew members. Apparently, they'd come up with a nickname for him; _The Reaper of North Africa. _Though he supposed it was natural that his piloting skill and combat prowess would draw that kind of attention from others, he didn't like the title. _I know full well that I'm a gifted killer_, he thought ruefully, _I don't need my face rubbed in it._

He was glad they were out of North Africa, but that didn't mean they were completely danger free. ZAFT had widened its reach across the ocean, with _Vosgulov_-class submarine-carriers launching out of Carpentaria over in the Oceania region and Gibraltar and Tobruk in the Mediterranean. They carried not only underwater mobile suits but also could launch aerial units as well, making for a potent threat. The 270 meter long vessels themselves were armed with both torpedoes and anti-air missiles. _I haven't seen them in action yet_, he thought, _but the data in the Alliance files was troubling. A single vessel won't be too difficult to deal with, but if we encounter a wolf-pack, then things could get tricky._

For the moment though, ZAFT's navy was a distant threat in his mind. Turning back to look out over the sea, Heero found himself experiencing a strange feeling; inner peace. He was content, for now, to simply look at the water, feel the light breeze on his face, and relax.

_But_, he thought, _do I deserve this peace? _Events had kept him busy since his arrival in the Cosmic Era, but now that he actually had some time to himself, he found his mind wandering back to the past. _There's a swath of destruction in my wake_, he mused, _thousands dead at least. The solders of ZAFT are only the latest to die at my hand. After taking so many lives…_

_…do I have the right to the happiness I've denied so many others?_

While he was determined to live on, he was unsure exactly how he should live his life. Ultimately, that had been why he'd adapted so easily to his new situation in the Cosmic Era. While he didn't like war by any means, it was what he was familiar with. Until the end of the Eve Wars, fighting was all he had ever known, and the peace that had followed had troubled him far more than he thought it would. _Maybe it's because_, he thought, _of all the people I've denied the chance to experience the peace we fought so hard to achieve. _That peace had given him free time that he was unaccustomed to, and every time he'd had that time to himself his mind had ultimately gone back to all the lives he had taken in the name of it.

Life aboard the _Archangel _was a welcome reprieve from his own thoughts. He once again felt as if he had some kind of purpose, though it wasn't the one he was searching for. Murrue had said that the war would eventually come to an end, and he believed her. That meant that the purpose he had found in fighting to protect the ship was only a temporary one, and he would be adrift at the end of the conflict if he could not find a role for himself in the long term.

_And yet_, he mused, _now that I think about it… it's not this ship and its crew I've been fighting for. Rather, only one person on this ship…_

_Murrue Ramius._

It was a startling realization. Of course, he had come to suspect much earlier during the North Africa campaign that she was the reason he was fighting so hard to protect the _Archangel_, but this was the first time he'd had enough time on his hands to actually think in length on the matter and come to that conclusion.

Of course, it was easy for him to understand why he was so willing to fight for her. Since he'd arrived on the _Archangel_, she'd treated him with a kindness that he hadn't experienced since Relena. She had come to trust him in a remarkably short amount of time, and he realized that he had come to do the same just as quickly. He admired the strength she showed in the face of her ship and crew's seemingly constant desperate situation, along with her determination to get them all out of it alive. Her intelligence was equally impressive, as was her willingness to bend or outright break military regulations in order to do what was best for the people serving under her.

_And_, he thought, another small smile on his face, _she's incredibly beautiful. _Her deep brown eyes, long and flowing brown hair, tall and curvaceous figure, light skin, full lips… she was _breathtaking_. He'd never met a woman like her.

"Something on your mind?" said a familiar voice from behind him.

_Speak of the devil_, he mused, _or in this case, angel, and she shall appear. _He turned and saw Murrue walking up towards him, a smile on her face. He felt his own smile grow a bit bigger in response. _I can't help it_, he thought, _I like seeing her like this._

She leaned on the railing next to him, the blue stone on her necklace shimmering in the sun, and the two of them looked out at the ocean. "Nothing important," Heero replied.

"Heero," she said, turning to him, "you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

"Of course," said Heero, "I just don't want to worry you."

"I appreciate your concern," she said, "but please, tell me what's on your mind."

He sighed. "Remember what I told you when I first joined you guys? About finding my purpose in this world?"

She nodded. "Have you made any progress on that front?

Heero shook his head. "No, not really. There's just no clear answer, at least none that I've been able to find."

Murrue put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright to be uncertain. Sometimes the hardest questions to answer have to do with ourselves. Who are we, where are we going, what is our reason for living… you don't have to find the answers right away."

"I know," he said, "but still… I feel like I should have at least some idea."

"Look at me," said Murrue, and Heero did so. "You're pushing yourself too hard in this. I know this is important to you. Believe me, the last thing I want is for you to only be able to find meaning in your life through fighting; you've gone through far too much already. But you need to slow down." She smiled. "You can't just force something like this. You'll find the answers when you're ready for them. At least, that's what I believe."

He gave her a small smile of his own. "What do you suggest in the meantime?"

"Relax," she said, "enjoy this lull in the fighting we seem to have gained for the moment. I imagine it won't last nearly long enough."

Heero laughed softly. "You have a point there."

They were quiet for awhile, content to simply stare out at the sea and the setting sun. Heero was once again struck by how at ease he felt with her. Looking down at the railing, he saw her hand scarcely an inch away from his own. Without thinking, he slowly moved his hand over to hers and gently intertwined his fingers with hers.

Alarm bells began going off in his head. _What the hell am I doing?_, he thought. Then he felt her give his hand a squeeze, and he slowly looked up at her. Once again she was smiling. At that moment all his doubts just seemed to wash away, and he turned back towards the ocean, a small smile on his face. He still didn't know why he'd done what he just did, but he didn't care. Just being there with her, holding her hand and staring out at the sea, dusk slowly setting in… that was more than enough for him.

….

Night had fallen as the _Archangel _cruised through the Red Sea. A skeleton crew manned the bridge, but the majority of the ship's occupants were getting some much needed sleep. Or at least, trying to…

For the Perfect Soldier, peaceful slumber would prove to be… _difficult_… to come by. For the ghosts of the past had come to call…

….

_He ran. Ran as fast as he could. Rushing towards a pile of crates next to a four meter fence topped with barbed wire, the fourteen-year-old quickly ascended the artificial hill and leapt from it, easily clearing the chain-link and spiked barrier. Bending his knees to absorb the impact as he touched down on the grass outside the facility, the brown haired, Prussian blue-eyed teenager immediately sprang up into another run, putting as much distance between himself and the facility as possible._

_After what seemed like forever, he finally allowed himself to collapse atop a hill. Feeling the grass through his shorts and green-tank top, the boy was suddenly overcome with laughter. A part of his mind supposed that it was him releasing excess adrenaline. Perfectly natural, considering he'd just completed his mission. The explosives were planted, and the Alliance base that had come to symbolize the corrupt government's iron grip over the colony would be destroyed come nightfall._

_He eventually felt the laughter fade after a few minutes, and simply laid there on the hill, looking up at the sky. Or rather, another part of the colony. Up in space, unless one was looking out a viewport, the typical 'sky' would be buildings, streets, parks, and other parts of the colony they were on, all held in place by the massive space-station's rotation, the key to the artificial gravity and the survival of human beings out in space._

_The young man suddenly felt drained. The adrenaline rush had passed, and he just laid back. An artificial breeze tussled his hair, and felt remarkably cool on his sweaty face. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the smell of grass and wildflowers, whose ancestors had been brought as seeds from Earth._

_"Hello!"_

_Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find a young girl standing over him. She looked little more than eight or nine years old, had long brown hair, and was wearing a simple white dress and a white large-brimmed hat. The girl held a leash in her left hand, with a small dog on the other end._

_"Are you lost?" she said as the young man sat up._

_"What?" He wasn't quite sure how to respond._

_"I said, are you lost?" the girl repeated._

_The young man thought for a moment. In a strange way, he realized he was. He had no family, no friends, no real home…_

_… he didn't even have a name._

_"I've been lost since the day I was born," he finally replied._

_"Oh," said the girl, "That's so sad." Then she smiled. "Well, I'm not lost. I'm taking Mary for a walk." The dog looked up at the girl at the mention of her name, and then went back to sniffing the grass._

_"Here," she said, holding out a small flower, "I'll give you this flower."_

_The teenager's eyes widened slightly as he reached out and accepted the impromptu gift. He wanted to ask 'why?' but for some reason the word wouldn't come out. Then the dog let out a bark, and began to run off, pulling the girl along with her._

_"Hey," she said, laughing, "Wait for me Mary!"_

_He watched the girl and her dog head towards the base. He assumed that they lived in the apartment complex that was next door to the facility. The young man then looked down at the flower in his hands. Such a small thing, a common wildflower… and yet, it symbolized much more to him. No one had ever just… given him something… without reason or expectation of something in return. It was a simple act of kindness that the boy couldn't help but marvel at._

…_._

_Night had fallen in the colony. Or at least, the lights had been dimmed, creating the illusion of night. The boy stood outside the Alliance base. He was on a different side of it, standing on a road leading towards the facility. He held a small detonator in his right hand._

_The fourteen-year-old raised the device and pressed the button at the end. A series of explosions ripped through the base, shattering the peace and tranquility of the night. Fireballs engulfed the main mobile suit hangar and the barracks, the munitions depot went up like firecrackers, the command and control tower was ripped in half…_

_…the entire base was ablaze._

_The boy lowered the detonator. "Mission complete," he said._

_He turned to leave when a series of secondary explosions shook the base. The boy looked on in horror as one of the surviving Leos on the tarmac was thrown clear of the facility by the blast…_

_…and right into the residential complex._

_The boy's eyes widened in shock as the suit crashed into the apartments, then exploded, taking out not only the immediate building, but setting off secondary blasts as furnaces, water heaters, and gas mains all ignited…_

_…the entire block had become an inferno._

_Smoke rose high into the night, sirens blared, fire crews and rescue personnel rushed to the scene. Screams of people both injured and unhurt carried over all else, like a chorus of the damned. All the while the boy looked on in absolute terror, shock and revulsion paralyzing him where he stood._

_'No!' he thought, 'I didn't…' He had only meant to destroy the base. He hadn't counted on the secondary explosions, he'd thought he'd placed the charges in such a manner that would limit the destruction to just the Alliance facility._

_'What have I done?' he thought numbly, capable of only watching as the tragic scene unfolded before him._

_'What have I done?'_

….

_'Dawn' came early to the colony. The lights were turned on early in order to assist with the recovery efforts. Amidst the chaos, the boy walked through the ruins. He felt something touch his face, and looked up to see grey and white flakes falling from the 'sky'._

_'Snow?' he thought, holding out his hand. Was the colony's climate control systems malfunctioning? But it wasn't snow, he soon realized._

_It was ash._

_Moving numbly through the ruins, ash falling like snow all around him, the boy saw something that hit him harder than anything else over the past few hours. Lying against a concrete support, obviously dead…_

_… was the little girl's dog. _

_'Mary', he thought, 'she called her Mary…' Kneeling, he picked up the body of the dog in his arms, unable to do anything other than look at the poor creature. He saw no sign of the girl, but he had no doubt what her fate had been._

_Clutching the body of the dog tightly, the boy began to tremble. His whole body shook until finally he couldn't take it anymore. Raising his head to the sky, he let loose a scream. In it was the anguish of innocence lost, the despair of having unintentionally wreaking such carnage…_

_… the sorrow of a boy confronting his own worst sin._

_He screamed until he ran out of breath, paused to catch it, then screamed again. He cried out into ash-choked sky until his throat was raw, then screamed again…_

_…while the ash fell like snow._

_"Heero…" said a voice, muffled and distant but clearly female, "Heero…"_

_It sounded familiar, and with a shock he realized it was Murrue._

_"Heero!"_

….

Heero Yuy opened his eyes. He was in his quarters on the _Archangel_. It was still night, but of more pressing concern was the woman before him. Murrue was leaning over him, dressed in a white bathrobe, still wearing the necklace he'd bought her, even in her evening attire. Her hands were on his shoulders, and he realized that she had been shaking him.

"Murrue?" he said blankly, wondering if he was still dreaming.

"Thank god, you're awake!" she said, and he then saw that her eyes were wide with concern.

"What's going on?" he asked, though now that he was awake he was starting to guess why she was here. He briefly wondered how she'd gotten in before remembering that as Captain she had access to all the door override codes.

"What's going on?" she said, eyes widening further, "Heero, you were having a nightmare! I could hear you screaming through the walls!"

_That's right_, he remembered, _our quarters are right next to each other._

"I woke you up," he said quietly, looking down, "I'm sorry, I know you need the rest."

"What?" said Murrue, surprised. "Heero, I don't care in the least that you woke me up. I was terrified that something had happened to you!" Her voice softened. "And in a way, I suppose something did."

She sat down on the bed next to him. He felt her put her hand on his left cheek. Startled, he looked up at her. Her beautiful brown eyes were not incriminating, but full of concern. "Heero… tell me what happened. The way you were screaming… it must have been a horrific nightmare."

"I…" he began, hesitantly. While he trusted Murrue, the fact was that he had never told anyone about what had happened on that night one year prior to Operation Meteor. He struggled between his instincts to clamp down, to once again bury the memory, and the desire to tell her, to finally let loose what he'd been holding back for two years.

"Heero," she said softly, "Please… let me help you."

Keeping her right hand on his left cheek, she put her left on his opposite shoulder. "I care about you."

That was it. Those four words were enough to make up his mind. _She deserves to know_, he thought.

He sighed. "Not just a nightmare… a memory."

"Heero…" she said, "What happened?"

He told her everything. About the assignment, the girl and her dog, the disaster… everything.

When he finished he looked at her and gave her a grim smile. "Now you know," he said, "I never told anyone else, not even Relena, what I did that night." He chuckled ruefully. "They called me the 'Perfect Soldier'. They all thought I was a hero. What a joke! They had no idea what I'd done before Operation Meteor. I'm no hero… I'm a damn murderer."

"No!" cried Murrue, and before Heero could react she took him into a tight embrace. "You're wrong, Heero!" she said as she held him tightly, "A murderer would have deliberately targeted that residential block. A murderer would have reveled in that destruction, would have enjoyed it. Believe me, I've seen people like that in this war; beasts in human form. The power of life and death is the reason those kinds of monsters fight; human life is simply something to snuff out on a whim, for their own amusement."

She drew back slightly, looking him in the eyes while still holding him. "You are _not _that kind of soldier. You are _not _that kind of man!"

"Murrue…" he said, unsure of what else _to _say.

"Heero," she said, "remember when you told me about how you killed Field Marshal Noventa and the other Alliance's officers who were about to make peace with the colonies? You told me that you were beginning to forgive yourself for that… can't you do the same for this? Do you think that little girl would want you to torture yourself like this?"

"This is different, Murrue," said Heero, looking down again. "Noventa and the others may have been working for peace, but they were still Alliance officers; military personnel who knew that their chosen profession could mean their deaths. Not to mention I had been misled by Treize's deception. But this… the girl and her dog, the residents of that apartment bloc… they were innocent civilians. They had nothing to do with the struggle between the Alliance and the colonial rebels. They were just… ordinary people… living ordinary lives… and I killed them because I screwed up, didn't take into account just how powerful those explosives would be."

"Yes," said Murrue, "but, like you said, it was a mistake. You never meant to kill them."

She paused for a moment. "Heero, look at me. Please."

He did so, and she spoke. "What you've told me, and how you're still tormented by what happened, shows me all I need to see. You're a good man, one who would never take innocent life if he could help it. What happened was a tragic mistake… but it wasn't on purpose; you did not go out of your way to target those civilians. The fact that you still show such remorse after two years is all I need to be able to tell you that you are _not _a murderer."

"Murrue…" said Heero. Then he smiled. "You know… you truly are an amazing woman."

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Murrue, and Heero thought he saw her face flush slightly. She smiled at him. "I know it will still take time, and that you will never forget that tragedy… but please, find the strength to forgive yourself. I know you have it within you."

He nodded. "Perhaps… I'll let you know when the time comes."

"That's all I can ask for," she said. She paused for a moment, and then spoke again. "I could stay awhile, if you want to talk some more."

It was a _very _tempting offer, but as much as he wanted to be with her at the moment, to hear her voice, to feel her arms around him… Heero felt that he had kept her up long enough. "I'd like that, but we should both get some rest. I have a feeling we'll need our strength sooner than we'd like to."

"You're right," she said. She stood up, and Heero got up as well to go to the door with her.

The door slid open, and they stood facing each other for a moment. Heero was struck by how _close _they were… their faces were mere inches apart.

They looked into each other's eyes, and then Murrue did something Heero did not expect; she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the left cheek.

The young man felt an unfamiliar surge of warmth go to his face. Murrue then smiled at him. "Goodnight, Heero… sleep well."

He nodded. "Yeah… you too, Murrue."

As the door closed and he went back to bed, he could still feel the warmth in his face, still feel the phantom touch of her warm, moist lips on his skin… it was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before.

And yet, as he turned off the lights and laid back down, he realized that it didn't bother him in the least. In fact, he found himself smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

He would dream again, but this time the dreams were quite different… though they all featured the same brown haired, brown eyed woman.

….

As the door of her quarters closed behind her, Murrue felt a swarm of conflicting thoughts running through her head. _What the hell was I thinking?_, she thought as she shut the lights off and laid back down.

_Why did I kiss him?_ It may have just been a quick peck on the cheek, but still… she definitely hadn't planned on doing that when she had run to his quarters to see what was going on.

A thought struck her: _Do I… _like_ him?_

Oh, it was a definite possibility. She had no problem admitting that she found herself drawn to the young man. His quiet demeanor, his inner compassion, his battlefield cunning, his astounding piloting skills, his courage, a sense of wisdom that was far beyond his years, his willingness to do anything to protect her…

… not to mention the fact that he was _very _handsome.

_Get serious, Murrue_, she thought, _he's sixteen years old for goodness sakes!_

_And yet…_

She realized that his age didn't bother her as much as it should have, under the circumstances. In fact, even before their conversation out in the dunes of North Africa she had found it harder and harder to see him as his age. The way he carried himself was that of someone far older, wiser, and more experienced than that of a teenager, or even someone her own age. _In his case_, she mused, _age is little more than a number, a biological gauge. Emotionally, mentally… he's far more mature. I'd say as much as any adult, in fact, if not more._

As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she continued to wonder if her feelings for Heero might be evolving in a more… _affectionate _direction.

….

It was the next day, and Murrue was once again sitting up on the bridge. She looked over her shoulder to find Heero there as always. She smiled at him, and he gave her a small one in return.

The ship had passed out of the Red Sea just before dawn and was now making its way through the Arabian Sea towards the Indian Ocean. So far there had been no contact with enemy forces, though Murrue knew that ZAFT had increased the amount of submarine-carriers in the region. It would only be a matter of time before the _Archangel _was attacked. However, the possibility of battle was not what was currently on her mind.

She had been worried when she woke up that there would be some awkwardness between them after she had kissed him last night, but when they'd met in the corridor outside their quarters that morning he'd just smiled and thanked her for the previous evening. Murrue had been greatly relieved that he hadn't been bothered by her actions, though she had little doubt that he had his own thoughts and questions running through his mind after what had happened. _He hides it well_, she thought, _but I'm sure they're there._

However, for now it was enough just to have him with her on the bridge, a source of comfort and reassurance that she was coming to rely on.

Still, she could not deny that she was beginning to feel something more towards him, something deeper than just a friendship forged in the fires of war. A warm feeling was beginning to develop within her, one that she had only felt in the past when her personal relationships had taken a more… _romantic _turn.

_Am I beginning to fall for him? _She suspected that that could well be the case, though she would need a little more time before she could be certain that this new feeling was indeed a more romantic desire on her part.

_I wonder_, she thought, looking back again at Heero, _how does he feel about me?_

She looked down at the blue stone of the necklace and remembered something Heero had said when he'd given it to her. _"…you give these to someone you share a bond with, one that you're willing to protect with all you've got."_

_To him… could that bond be growing… into something more?_

….

Meanwhile, on one of the _Archangel's _outer decks, Kira Yamato was lost in his thoughts. He was glad that they had managed to survive the battles in North Africa, but that relief was offset by something else; grief.

Kira couldn't stop thinking about the Desert Tiger and the woman who'd fought alongside him. The young man's mind kept wandering back to the meeting in Banadiya and the conversation they'd had. _Yes, they were the enemy_, he thought, _they were going to attack the ship, and my friends, but… they weren't bad people. Why…_

_…why did it have to end the way it did?_

It wasn't just those two, either. Now that he thought about it, he realized something that should have hit him much sooner; all the soldiers and pilots he had fought against were probably like them. Decent individuals who were simply doing their jobs, people who would probably rather not be at war in the first place.

People much like him.

He'd tried to talk to Flay about it, hoping that she would understand and be able to help him. But all she'd said was that they were the enemy, and that it was good that he'd killed them, because otherwise they would've killed everyone else. Those were not the words he'd needed to hear though, not what he'd _wanted _to hear, so he'd excused himself and made his way outside, where he now sat alone…

…tears beginning to form in his eyes.

Kira had always been more emotional than other boys, ever since he was little. He remembered how Athrun used to call him a crybaby, but it was always in a lighthearted manner. Still, there had been some truth to it; he did cry more readily than one might expect of a young man. Though in this case, one definitely couldn't say he didn't have reason.

He could feel the tears begin to stream down his face. _I don't want to kill…_, he thought, _I don't want to hurt or kill anyone. I never wanted this! _He started sobbing uncontrollably.

_How long… how long will I have to kill?_

Eventually Kira calmed down somewhat, though his face was still wet with tears that he didn't bother to wipe away. No matter what he thought of the situation, he couldn't just leave. His friends were still on board the ship, and he was the only one that could protect them. Well, not the only one; there was Heero, but Kira got the feeling that the quiet yet fearsome pilot had his own reasons for fighting.

_I don't want to kill, but I have to in order to protect my friends. There has to be another way! _Try as he might though, he couldn't find one. Frustrated, he could feel fresh tears begin welling again as he despaired at his seemingly hopeless situation. _What am I supposed to do?_

Then he heard a voice coming from behind him. "Huh. I didn't think there'd be anyone else out here."

Kira quickly wiped his eyes and face on his sleeve, and turned to see Cagalli coming out onto the deck. "Oh," he said, "hey."

"Hey," she said. Then she looked closer at him, and Kira realized his eyes were red. "Were you… crying?"

Kira looked down, thinking for sure that she was going to give him some talk about how he should 'be tougher' or something along those lines. Instead, he was surprised when she simply walked up to him and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"There, there," she said softly, "It's alright." She pulled back slightly to look at him. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

There was something in the way she said it… Flay had said those words too, but to some part of Kira's mind it had sounded…_hollow_… though he really didn't know why. Cagalli, on the other hand, sounded _sincere_.

"I…" he began, unsure of where to begin.

"Here," she said, letting go of him and sitting down, patting the deck plating next to her, "sit down. You can tell me all about it."

He sat down with her. "I'm… I'm just tired of all this fighting. I never wanted any of this."

He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Do you remember… our meeting with Waltfeld and the others in Banadiya?"

Cagalli nodded. "Of course. Pretty hard to forget, really."

"Yeah," he said, "I… I know you didn't like him, and I can't blame you for it, but… you have to admit that he wasn't really a bad guy."

Cagalli sighed. "I know. I hated that he'd conquered the region and had killed my comrades… but when we finally met him, I realized that he wasn't the monster I'd made him out to be. He was human, just like us… same with the rest of the ZAFT soldiers."

"Exactly," said Kira, "I mean, I knew in my head that all the mobile suits I'd destroyed up until now had people in them, but… meeting Waltfeld, Aisha, and the others… it drove things home in a way I'd never imagined it would."

"There's probably another reason why you're bothered so much," said Cagalli, causing Kira to look at her in mild surprise. "You'd actually met him," she continued, "talked with him, gotten to know him a bit… that made it all the harder to actually fight him."

He nodded. "You're right. I know it shouldn't matter; I don't want to kill anyone. But it's even harder…"

"…when you know the person whose life you've taken?" she finished for him, "Yeah, I can see that…"

The two of them were quiet for a moment. Then Kira spoke. "Why… why does it matter what we were born? Coordinator, Natural… it shouldn't matter!"

"I agree," said Cagalli, "and I imagine many others would as well. Unfortunately, those in positions of power have decided that it _does _matter… and is worth killing over. No one will out and say it, but the roots of this war ultimately lie in discrimination and racism. The geneticists who helped give birth to Coordinators opened a Pandora's box. Whether by the desire to accelerate the progress of mankind or simply to create a 'perfect being'… who can say? In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter."

Kira's eyes widened slightly. _That was pretty profound_, he thought, _I didn't think she had that sort of thing in her. Never struck me as the type._

He couldn't help but laugh. "What?" said Cagalli, a bit confused. "What did I say?"

"Nothing," said Kira, "don't worry about it." He smiled at her. "Hey… thanks. For talking to me like this, I mean. I feel a little better now." It was true. He still hadn't found the answers he was looking for, but for some reason that didn't really matter. Just talking to Cagalli had given him a sense of relief that Flay had been unable to provide this time.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're welcome, Kira."

….

Unbeknownst to either of them, Flay was watching from the doorway. Her eyes narrowed at the blond girl as she put her hand on Kira's shoulder.

This wasn't good. That desert rat was undermining the hold she had established over Kira. At this rate, the tool of her revenge could eventually slip out of her control. At the same time though, Flay felt something else within her, something she refused to admit was there; _jealousy_. _She _wanted to be the one Kira confided in. Instead, he was finding comfort in that damn blond girl.

_Time to fix this_, she thought. She removed her outer Alliance uniform, revealing a pink tank-top that was snug in all the right places and a black skirt that was shorter than the normal one she wore with her uniform. She folded the uniform up and hid it away in a nearby storage closet. _I'll come back for it later._

She ran out onto the deck. "Kira!" she said, causing the two of them to turn around. She smiled and grabbed his arm. "Tolle said there were dolphins on the other side of the ship! Come on, let's go see!"

She pulled him to his feet and gave Cagalli a glare as she began to take him back inside. _He's mine_, she thought, _know your place, you shrew._

_All mine…_

**Preview for next time!**

_Cruising through the Indian Ocean, the Archangel finds itself under attack by a ZAFT submarine-carrier group. While they are able to repulse the enemy, Cagalli's fighter is damaged and goes missing. Little does she realize that the island she's crashed on is occupied by another stranded pilot; Athrun Zala. How will the two adversaries react upon their encounter? Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Nine: Treacherous Seas._

**Author's notes: **Again, short chapter this time, I know. Next one will take longer to do, sorry. On another note, we are now about 1/3 of the way through this story. Man, what a milestone! At least for me...

Well, you know the drill. Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: **Back to long chapters again. Ten will be even longer, so please forgive the wait for the next installment. I promise another quality work!

Well, enjoy!

**Episode Nine: Treacherous Seas**

"Contacts!" said the radar operator, "We have contacts on the long range sensors! They're DINNs!"

_Took them long enough_, thought Murrue, _we've been in the Indian Ocean nearly a full day now. I'm surprised ZAFT hasn't attacked sooner. _"All hands to battle stations!" she ordered, "Run a sonar sweep, wide array. If they launched from a sub-carrier, then there could be underwater mobile suits nearby as well!"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"All pilots, scramble!" said Murrue. She turned to Heero, who nodded and made a break for the hangar.

"Load missile tubes!" shouted Natarle, "Arm Igelstellungs and prepare for anti-air barrage!"

As the bridge crew got ready for combat, Murrue checked the small screen on the arm of her chair as new data was sent to her. _Eighteen DINNs_, she noted, _a Vosgulov-class submarine-carrier has a complement of six, so we're looking at a minimum of three vessels. That could also mean up to twelve underwater mobile suits as well._

Miriallia's voice rang out from the CIC. "Heero's on the line, Captain."

"Put him on screen," Murrue ordered.

Heero's face appeared on the main monitor. "I'll launch first and engage the DINNs. We should hold the Strike back until we confirm if there are underwater mobile suits as well."

"But how do we fight them?" asked Murrue, "We're ill equipped for anti-submarine warfare. Can Wing Zero fight underwater?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah, but it's cumbersome, and you need me in the air anyway to fight the DINNs. La Flaga and Cagalli won't be able to take them. I've got an idea though."

"What is it?" said Murrue.

"Have the Strike launch with the Sword pack," he said, "If Kira cuts the beam he can use the blade itself to fight the underwater units. If that fails, he can always ditch the pack and use the Strike's knives."

"Alright," she said, "I'll order the tech crews to give him that load-out. Heero, in this case I need a favor from you."

"What is it?" he replied.

"I need you to solo the DINNs," she said, "If you can do that, I can have La Flaga and Cagalli hunt for the enemy carriers."

Heero smiled. "I was going to suggest the same thing, actually. Nice to see we're thinking along the same lines."

"Yes," said Murrue, smiling as well, "same here. Thank you. Please, be careful."

"Roger that," he said, "Wing Zero, launching."

As the Gundam flew out of the hangar, Murrue shouted out additional orders. "Get La Flaga on Skygrasper One, Launcher load-out! Cagalli's on Two, normal configuration. Have Kira stand by on the Strike and equip the Sword pack. Launch the fighters as soon as they're ready!"

Seconds later the two blue and white fighters shot out of the hangar and scrambled for altitude. "Strike is on the catapult," said Miriallia, "waiting for instructions."

"Hold until we have confirmation of enemy submersible mobile suits," said Murrue. It didn't take long.

"Sonar contacts!" shouted the sensor operator, "We have incoming torpedoes, four of them!"

"Raise the ship!" ordered Murrue, "Get us out of the water!"

She could feel the ship tremble as the thrusters kicked in. "We're above the surface at two meters," said the helmsman a few seconds later.

"The torpedoes passed under us," said the sensor operator, "We now have confirmed underwater mobile suits. Confirming I.D.s… three GOOhNs and one ZnO. IFF signals show it's the Morassim Team."

_Just our luck_, thought Murrue, _one of ZAFT's best underwater combat teams. _"Launch the Strike," she ordered, "Kira will have to deal with them. Send La Flaga and Cagalli their approach vectors; that will give them a place to start for hunting down the carriers."

_Something's not right_, she thought, _the amount of DINNs we're facing equals the complement of three Vosgulovs, but the submarine mobile suit count is the amount held by one. If they didn't hold any air units in reserve, why do so with the other machines?_

A report from Miriallia brushed aside those concerns for the moment. "Wing Zero is engaging the enemy!"

"Get me a visual!" said Murrue.

An image on the main monitor appeared, showing Wing Zero raising its Twin Buster Rifle. It cut loose with a massive blast, ripping through the incoming swarm of DINNs and destroying four of them. As the remaining enemies scattered, Heero ignited his emerald beam saber and moved in for close-quarters combat.

Murrue sighed in relief as she saw that the DINNs were all sporting the normal purple, black, and grey paintjob associated with that machine. _No Valkyrie Team today_, she thought, _Heero will make short work of them._

Indeed, Heero was already in the thick of the enemy formation. Gunning his thrusters, he sliced a DINN clean in half, then spun around and rushed another, impaling it through the chest. The remaining twelve machines all tried to gain some distance and bombard Wing Zero with their rifles and missiles, but the Gundam pilot was having none of it. Moving like an avenging angel, Heero struck down his foes with precision and lighting speed.

_Good, Heero has things well in hand on his end_, she thought, _I hope La Flaga and Cagalli find the enemy carriers soon. And that Kira has what it takes to survive his first underwater sortie. _

….

"Damn it," said Cagalli over the radio, "we should be helping Heero, not flying off like this!"

Mu La Flaga sighed. "Did you see him fighting back there? Remember what he pulled off in North Africa? Do you really think he needs our help?"

"No," the girl grumbled, "but still, I feel like a coward, flying away from the fight like this."

The two fighter jets had passed the air battle between Wing Zero and the DINNs moments ago, and were headed east along the vector supplied to them by the _Archangel_. "Remember our orders," said La Flaga, "Our objective is to find the enemy carriers and take them out. We're not running away; we're heading towards our own fight."

As he spoke, his left hand flew over a keyboard. A map of the area came up on the small screen in the center of the control panel. Several lines began to cris-cross it, forming a grid pattern. "Alright, let's split up," he said, "I'll search the southeastern sector, you take the northeast. Radio in immediately if you find anything."

"Got it," she said "good luck."

"You too," La Flaga replied as Cagalli's plane split off from their wing pair, leaving him solo.

_All right_, he thought, hitting his afterburners, _let's go hunting!_

….

The Strike shuddered as it hit the water, quickly sinking below the surface. Kira immediately began reprogramming the operating system, gearing up for underwater combat. His biggest concern would be his depth, and he would have to make constant adjustments with his thrusters in order to avoid sinking too deeply. Typing in several calculations, he saw a thin red line go across the display he'd set up to keep track of how deep he was. _If I go below that_, he thought, _the pressure will crush the Strike._

"Kira," said Miriallia over the radio, "The enemy has three GOOhNs and one ZnO. I'm sending you data on them now. Watch out, they'll be within your sensor range in about thirty seconds!"

"Got it," replied Kira, and Miriallia signed off.

Schematics on the two units came up on his screen. The GOOhN looked vaguely like a cross between a crab and a shark, with an upraised fin-like structure on its back and two claw-like arms. The paintjob was a mixture of tan and brown, further reinforcing the crustacean impression he was getting from it. It was armed with two masers-energy weapons designed for underwater combat- along with two torpedo launchers and two missile launchers for surface attacks. The ZnO was larger, and its green and grey paintjob was much better suited to act as underwater camouflage than that of the GOOhN. Its frame also had a shell-fish feel to it, though its arms ended in more human looking hands, albeit ones with rather long fingers. They were perfect for grappling with its enemies. The mobile suit's ranged armaments included two masers and two variable warhead launchers, capable of firing either missiles or torpedoes.

An alarm went off. "They're here!" said Kira. Indeed, the four mobile suits had just shown up on his sensors. However, they were moving much faster than he had anticipated.

Kira tried to bring up the sword into a defensive position, but the enemy was already on him. A GOOhN smashed into the Strike, rocking the pilot in his seat. "What the hell?" cried Kira. Why had the pilot chosen to ram him instead of attacking from long-range?

The submersible's thick hull allowed it to survive the impact, and the streamlined frame had actually enabled the enemy craft to slide along the surface of the Strike until it was past him. As Kira tried to figure out what the hell was going on, another GOOhN rammed him from behind. The blow jarred him, and his head slammed against the side of the cockpit. He would have been knocked out if it hadn't been for his helmet.

As the first two GOOhNs began turning back towards him, the third was also rushing in for a physical assault. This time though, Kira was ready. He swung the sword like a hitter in the major leagues, and sliced into the side of the mobile suit. The anti-ship blade's weight alone was enough for it to cut through the armor of the GOOhN without the aid of the beam that normally ran along its length, and the amphibious mobile suit exploded.

Kira had no time to celebrate though, as the ZnO, which had been hanging back, came rushing in, arms outstretched and ready to wrestle the sword away from the Strike. Hitting his thrusters, Kira managed to get above the machine and dodge the attack, along with passes from the remaining two GOOhNs.

Suddenly he realized why the enemy was behaving the way they were; they were attempting to knock him unconscious through the repeated impacts, enabling them to capture the Strike intact. _No way am I gonna let that happen_, he vowed.

The GOOhNs rushed him again, this time leading with a torpedo volley. Hitting his thrusters again, Kira managed to avoid the projectiles. As the enemy machines came at him, he thrust forward with the blade, impaling one of them from stem to stern. However, the explosion of the stricken machine hid the presence of its brother, who had moved around behind the Strike and proceeded to slam into it with a vengeance.

Kira grimaced as the Strike took the hit. _I won't be able to take much more of this_, he thought. He had to end things quickly. As the ZnO closed in, Kira attempted to impale it with the blade, but the machine quickly moved back and fired its masers. At point blank range, there was no way Kira could dodge. Fortunately, the pilot still seemed focus on capturing rather than destroying the Strike, and the beams impacted the left shoulder of the machine. Kira tried to move the suit's arm, but found it to be sluggish. He would now have to fight with only the right arm.

As the last GOOhN approached, Kira whirled the Strike around, using the spin to build up centrifugal force in order to compensate for the incapacitated left arm. Even underwater, the Strike still managed to gain a considerable amount of strength from the maneuver, and the blade smashed into the incoming enemy, destroying it.

However, the move left Kira vulnerable to the ZnO. As he tried to evade the enemy, the massive machine reached out and grabbed the Strike's left arm and the blade. Clearly his foe was going to attempt to grapple and force the Alliance mobile suit into submission, possibly even pry open the cockpit with one of its large claw-like hands.

Instead of panicking though, Kira felt the same surge of adrenaline he had during his fight with the Desert Tiger in North Africa. He could once again almost see a seed bursting in his mind, and he knew what he had to do.

Kira let go of the sword, and the ZnO suddenly found itself without resistance as its right hand pulled the blade away, throwing it off balance. The young Coordinator then grabbed the Strike's right combat knife, and plunged it into his foe's machine. Sparks flew from the chest of the mobile suit, and Kira quickly withdrew the knife and pulled back just in time to avoid the explosion.

Breathing heavily, Kira checked his sensors but found no additional enemy craft. _Hopefully that's the last of them_, he thought. In the meanwhile, he would just have to hang out below the _Archangel_, adjusting his thrusters as needed in order to maintain his position guarding the belly of the ship.

….

"Found one!" La Flaga shouted triumphantly. The enemy submarine-carrier was running on the surface, no doubt in order to be ready to pick up damaged DINNs withdrawing from battle. _I doubt there will be many of them_, the Lieutenant Commander thought grimly, _not if I know Heero._

"Cagalli," he said over the radio, "I found an enemy carrier. Head for my position!"

"Hang on," she replied, "I've got something on my scopes. Looks like four ZAFT transport planes. I'm taking them out!"

"Hold on!" said La Flaga, "You're supposed to follow my orders!"

"When did we agree to that?" Cagalli replied tartly, "Don't worry, this won't take long. Cagalli out."

"Damn it!" said La Flaga as she signed off, "Kids these days…" However, he had more important things to do at the moment than argue with her. Sighting in on the enemy vessel, he took his fighter into a dive.

A swarm of anti-air missiles flew up, but the ace pilot evaded them easily. "Eat this!" he said, and fired the Agni slung beneath the Skygrasper. The red beam lanced through the center of the vessel, and the resulting explosion caused the ship to split in two.

"Scratch one carrier," he said with a smirk. However, he soon realized that he had a problem; the other two carriers were nowhere in sight. _Subs in a ZAFT wolf-pack don't operate too far from each other_, he thought, _so where are the other vessels? One carrier only holds six DINNs, after all._

Suddenly his radar started beeping. He looked at it, then blinked and looked again. "No way…" he murmured. He brought his visual sensors up to maximum and oriented them in the direction of the new contact. "That can't be right…"

However, the image that appeared on his screen proved him to be quite wrong. His eyes widened in shock. "Oh, _shit_. We are in _deep _trouble…"

….

Cagalli's fighter soared high above the clouds. Her radar showed the four ZAFT transport planes beneath her. She took her fighter into a dive, aiming for the craft at the rear of the formation. _I'll start with this one_, she thought.

She fired the beam-cannon on the top of the jet, and managed to hit the plane's starboard engine. However, as she flew past the craft its rear turret opened fire, and several rounds hit her fighter.

"Damn it!" she said as smoke came from the rear of her craft. She started losing altitude, along with the enemy transport plane. As the Skygrasper went back below the clouds, Cagalli saw an island below. She struggled to aim her craft towards it as she descended. _I hope this works_, she thought.

….

"We're hit!" said the pilot of the transport plane. He turned to Athrun, who was sitting behind him. "Sir," he said, "I'm sorry, but we need to drop your machine or else we're gonna crash."

"I understand," said Athrun, "Let me board it first; I don't want the Alliance to recapture it. Drop me on that island down there and then send someone to pick me up later."

"Got it," said the pilot, and Athrun ran to the cargo bay. He quickly boarded the Aegis and radioed the plane's pilot.

"I'm all set," he said.

"Roger," replied the pilot, "we're opening the cargo door. The island's directly beneath us, so drop now!"

Athrun hit his thrusters, and the Aegis flew out of the plane. As he began his descent, he saw the transport plane manage to stabilize itself, and it flew off to the east.

_Good luck_, he thought. Then he looked at his screen as he fell towards the island.

"Well," he said dourly, "this is gonna be fun."

….

Murrue watched as Heero finished off the last of the DINNs, slicing through it with his beam saber. As the machine exploded, Wing Zero moved to take up position above the bridge of the _Archangel_, ready to respond in an instant to any new threats.

_Great job, Heero_, she thought with a smile, _Kira's finished off the enemy sea units too, so we're all clear for the moment._

"Message incoming from Skygrasper One!" shouted Miriallia, "Priority one!"

_Did the Lieutenant Commander find the carriers?_, wondered Murrue. "Put him on screen," she ordered.

"Captain," said La Flaga as his image appeared on the main monitor. Murrue was surprised to see the normally relaxed pilot looking extremely tense, "we've got a situation. Take a look at this."

Murrue's eyes widened in shock at what appeared on the screen. _What the hell is that? _"Send this to Wing Zero!" she ordered.

A _massive _plane was on the monitor. _No_, she thought, _'Plane' is the wrong word for this. Flying fortress would be a better term. _The craft was built on a flying wing design, similar to the B-2 stealth bomber developed by the Americans in the late twentieth century, but was far larger. There was a bulge protruding outward from the front-center of the craft that Murrue assumed to be the 'bridge'. The tail had two large fins for steering, and spread along the dorsal surface of the wings were six engines each, for a total of twelve. Murrue was blown away by the data that was flowing into her display. The new foe was four-hundred meters long and had a staggering wingspan of over seven-hundred meters. _How did they get it down to the surface?_, she wondered. Murrue realized that the craft must have been built in prefabricated sections up in space, which had then been shipped down to Earth separately and assembled on the ground. It was bristling with weaponry, including forty anti-aircraft batteries, twenty-four air-to-air missile launchers and twenty air-to-surface missile launchers, and eight dual heavy beam-cannons, four dorsal and four ventral. A magnified image of the bottom of the craft showed four rows of ten hatches each, and Murrue realized that they had found the source of the majority of the DINNs that had attacked them. Worse, she saw that they were opening, and soon a swarm of twenty-eight of the aerial mobile suits filled the sky in front of it. _They'll be heading for us soon; I have no doubt of that._

"Do we have anything in the database on that thing?" she asked Natarle.

"No Captain," the lieutenant replied, "I think it's a new model!"

"Heero's hailing us!" said Miriallia.

"Get him on screen!" Murrue ordered.

The Gundam pilot's face appeared on the monitor. "Never seen anything like this," he said, "I'm guessing its primary role is that of a carrier. That explains why the amount of DINNs was far greater than the underwater mobile suits; I'm willing to bet there was only one _Vosgulov_."

"Zero now," said La Flaga, "I just took it out a couple minutes now. What do we do about that thing though?"

"Destroy it, of course," said Heero.

"Are you insane?" cried Natarle, eyes wide. "We can't take something like that!"

"Sure we can," said Heero, looking at Murrue. The young man smiled. "Yeah, it's big… but I've killed bigger."

Murrue smiled as well, remembering what he had told her about the final battle of the Eve Wars and the battleship _Libra_. "Alright, take it out. We'll recall the Strike and have it refit with the Aile pack. It won't be able to join you for the attack due to its altitude limitations, so Kira will stay here and reinforce our point-defenses if any DINNs get too close."

"I won't let them," said Heero, "I'll take them out while La Flaga and Cagalli make strafing runs on the carrier. They should be able to keep it busy until I can destroy it."

"There might be a problem with that plan," said La Flaga, "Skygrasper Two has dropped off the radar, and I'm getting nothing over the radio."

"Was Cagalli shot down?" asked Murrue.

"Hard to say," the lieutenant commander replied, "that aerial carrier is giving off a ton of N-jammer interference. She said something about going after a group of transport planes at our last contact, but I've heard nothing since."

"Alright," said Murrue, "La Flaga, come back towards us and form up with Wing Zero. You and Heero will have to deal with this new threat yourselves then. We'll search for Cagalli after the battle if she hasn't shown up on her own by then. Good luck, both of you."

"Got it," said La Flaga.

"Roger that," said Heero. Both of them signed off.

_I'm counting on you, Heero_, she thought, _I know you'll triumph. You have too…_

_…so you can come back to me._

….

"We've got incoming," said La Flaga over the radio.

"I see them," said Heero. A swarm of DINNs was approaching them, intent on taking out both them and the _Archangel _below.

"How do you want to play this?" said the fighter pilot.

"I'll punch a hole in their formation," he replied, "Once I've got them focused on me, you head for the carrier. Try to take out the heavy beam cannons on the lower hull; they can bombard the _Archangel _with impunity one they get within range. Some of the DINNs might break away and come after you, so watch your back. I'll go for the knock-out blow on the carrier once I'm through with the enemy mobile suits."

"Ok," said La Flaga, "I'll hang back until you get the fireworks started. Mind if I throw a few missiles into the fray?"

"Be my guest," Heero replied, "just don't blame me if the DINNs take exception to that and come after you."

"Alright," said La Flaga, "let's do this!"

_Agreed_, thought Heero. He raised the Twin Buster Rifle and fired. A wave of yellow-gold energy tore through the enemy formation, and five DINNs exploded while the rest scattered. Heero ignited one of Wing Zero's green beam sabers. "I'm going in," he said, and gunned his engines. Soon he was in the heart of the swarm, and began his assault by impaling a DINN through the chest. As the machine exploded, he whirled around and sliced another clean in two.

He heard La Flaga's voice over the radio. "Time to dive into the fireworks! Fox One, Fox Two!" Two missiles flew from the Skygrasper and slammed into a DINN. The machine exploded.

"I'm moving in on the carrier," he said, "good luck!"

"Roger that," said Heero as he destroyed another DINN with a barrage from Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings. The remaining nineteen machines let loose a bombardment of rifle shots and missile volleys, but Heero was too quick and dodged all the incoming fire. He rushed another DINN and slashed it with his saber. As the mobile suit exploded, Heero whirled around and charged his next target.

"You're not getting the _Archangel_," said Heero as he destroyed the DINN. He sighted in on another unit. "_You're not getting Murrue!_"

….

The bridge of the flying behemoth was designed quite differently from the standard layout found on ZAFT warships. All the control stations were arrayed in a semi-circle just behind the massive forward viewport, with a large circular space in the middle with a single seat. If one were to look down from above, one would see the ZAFT insignia on the floor, with the Captain's chair at the center of where the two halves of the hourglass shaped colony that made up the symbol of the defense forces met.

_It's so grandiose_, mused the man sitting there now, _it almost has an imperial air to it. _Captain Vladimir Viroshilov was unsure how to feel about it. On the one hand, he could admire the display of pride in the armed forces represented by such a display. However, he also couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that it also served as a harbinger of sorts, a warning of what kind of turn ZAFT was taking.

A First Generation Coordinator, Captain Viroshilov had been born in Murmansk in the Russian area of the Eurasian Federation. The only son in a family with a long history of military service dating back to the Tsarist navy, he had immigrated to the PLANT's in C.E. 60 as tensions between Naturals and Coordinators continued to heat up on the surface. In his mid-thirties when the ZAFT academy had been opened five years later, the grizzled Ruskie, with his thick black hair and vaguely Stalin-like mustache, had enrolled in the first class and had chosen to pursue training in the fledgling Coordinator space navy. Upon graduation in 66 C.E. he had immediately been given a posting aboard one of the first _Laurasia-_class frigates to roll out of dry dock. By the time of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy he was a full captain, and had gone on to serve with distinction in the opening battles of the war.

Two weeks prior to the Creuset Team's raid on the Orb colony of Heliopolis, Viroshilov had been recalled to the homeland in order to receive orientation on the top secret 'Project Peak'. He had been stunned when he had found out about the construction of the new airborne carrier, designated as the XFF-01 Flying Fortress, he now found himself in command of, and even more so when he had been told that it was only the first of a new class of warships to be used in operations on Earth. He had overseen the shipping of the prefabricated sections to Carpentaria, where they had undergone final assembly and had been completed literally the day of Waltfeld's defeat in his battle with the legged ship and its fiendishly powerful mobile suits. Upon completion, the first vessel, designated Hull XFF-01 A1, was christened as _Everest_, and the new series was officially proclaimed the _Everest_-class Flying Fortress. A mere twelve hours later, before they had even had time to conduct proper trials, the Captain had been surprised to receive a direct call from Defense Chairman Zala. The head of ZAFT and fiery contender for the title of Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs had told him that the _Everest _was to be made fully operational immediately, and had been given the carrier's first mission; hunt down and destroy the Alliance's new warship and its mobile suits.

The _Everest _had launched soon afterwards, though Viroshilov had his reservations. The lack of air trials meant that the vessel was untested, and regardless of how it had performed in computer simulations Captain Viroshilov knew that a program could only account for so much. So far things had run smoothly, but now his ship and crew were going into battle against what was quite possibly the deadliest weapon in the Alliance's arsenal; Wing Zero.

_We still know so little about it_, the Captain thought. As soon as he had gotten wind of the new mobile suit, previously designated as Omega One until its true name had been discovered, he had pursued every scrap of information on it, including all known combat recordings. What he saw had troubled him greatly. The machine was clearly superior to anything in ZAFT's arsenal, and the pilot was obviously a top tier ace.

_Our best weapon against it at this point_, he thought grimly, _is sheer numbers and overwhelming firepower. _Unfortunately, the twelve DINNs he had sent out to support the six from the _Vosgulov_-class submarine carrier below had been wiped out far faster than he had anticipated. _I ordered them to radio in when they had found the legged ship and call for support, but it seems the squadron commander was overconfident. Damn Hernandez, that glory hound. Now he is dead, along with eleven more of my pilots… and I'm losing even more right now._

Wing Zero was tearing into the _Everest's _remaining DINNs. The twenty-eight machines had been reduced to eighteen, with Wing Zero having destroyed nine and the blue and white fighter jet taking out one with missiles. The plane was now moving in on the _Everest_, while Wing Zero had killed yet another DINN, and Viroshilov knew that the others would not last much longer. _It would be another mater_, the Captain thought, _if the Fuji and Kilimanjaro were operational and in on this hunt as well. _Unfortunately for him, the second and third Flying Fortresses were still undergoing final assembly at the Kaoshiung spaceport in Taiwan, and according to Zala were not to make their debut until Operation Spitbreak. The _Everest _was on its own, and drastic measures would have to be taken.

"Aim the beam cannons at Wing Zero," he said, "Fire when ready."

"But sir," said the gunnery officer, "Wing Zero's too close to our mobile suits! We could hit them instead!"

"It doesn't matter!" the Captain roared, "If Wing Zero gets us in its sights with that rifle then we're dead. Initiate a full bombardment; _take it down!_ Throw up an anti-air barrage when that fighter jet comes into range as well. Give it everything we've got!"

A veritable hail of anti-air shells, flak-bursts, and air-to-air missiles poured out of the _Everest_. At the same time, the four lower heavy beam cannons cut loose with an emerald energy rain. The fighter jet pulled back somewhat, but then returned fire with the large energy cannon slung beneath its fuselage. Meanwhile, Wing Zero managed to evade the opening bombardment, while two DINNs were destroyed by friendly fire.

The _Everest _shuddered as the crimson beam from the fighter jet impacted the lower hull. "Damage report!" shouted Viroshilov, "Continue bombardment. If we let up, we're finished!"

"Sir!" said an officer, "Ventral beam cannon two took a direct hit; it's inoperable! We have fires in sections F5 through 9! Damage control teams are taking action now; the flames should be suppressed shortly."

_That may not matter_, he thought grimly. The remaining fifteen DINNs had scattered in order to avoid the _Everest's _bombardment, and Wing Zero was taking full advantage of that. Dodging the beams with inhuman speed and an uncanny ability to anticipate just where the next volley would go, the mobile suit was now picking off the isolated units one at a time, and two more machines had already fallen to its blade.

The fighter jet let loose with another crimson blast, and the Flying Fortress took another hit in the belly. "Anti-air batteries thirty through thirty-two are down!" cried the damage control officer, "We're leaking hydraulic fluid on lines seven and eight. Line nine has completely ruptured! I'm closing them off and rerouting the fluid along lines ten through thirteen. Air-to-air missile launchers twenty and twenty-one are also out of commission!"

_Damn you, Hawk of Endymion! _Captain Viroshilov had no doubt that the fighter was piloted by none other than Alliance ace Mu La Flaga, who had earned the title in a battle at the Endymion crater on the moon where he had destroyed five GINNs in the engagement.

The Captain grimaced as he saw Wing Zero take down another DINN, leaving just twelve left. Another volley of beams from the flying fortress tore through the sky, but the machine dodged them with ease. "They're demons! Both of them!" he said, "To think that two machines could cause so much damage…"

And they weren't done yet.

….

Watching from below, the crew of the _Archangel _was amazed at the sheer dominance of the two pilots, and Murrue was no exception. _It seems that it was pointless in refitting the Strike_, she thought, _I don't think Kira will be needed for the rest of this fight._

Her heart skipped a beat as the voice of a certain young pilot came over the radio. "Time to end this," said Heero, "Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, finish your attack run and withdraw, unless you want to get caught in the blast."

"You got it," replied the fighter pilot as he fired the Agni at the flying fortress, whose IFF beacon had revealed it to be called the _Everest_. The red beam hit another one of the lower beam cannons, knocking it out of commission. As the blue and white fighter jet pulled away, Murrue saw Wing Zero put away its beam saber and put both hands on its rifle. The massive weapon then split down the middle, and the Gundam was suddenly holding a pair of heavy beam cannons.

"Die," said Heero, his voice cold as ice. Wing Zero fired the two rifles, spinning as it did so. The remaining dozen DINNs were wiped out as two wide yellow energy blasts swept across the sky. As the ZAFT mobile suits exploded around him, Heero then rejoined the weapons, reforming the Twin Buster Rifle, and aimed it at the _Everest_.

"Locked onto the target," she heard him say, "firing."

A titanic blast ripped forth from Wing Zero's rifle. The golden-yellow wave of destruction slammed into the center of the _Everest_ and tore right through the vessel. As the beam shredded through armor and bulkheads and came out the topside of the flying fortress, the central section exploded. The entire ship was annihilated save for the last few dozen meters or so of each of the wings, which fell towards the ocean, trailing fire and smoke.

Heero's face then appeared on the bridge's main screen. "Mission complete. All enemy forces have been destroyed."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Heero. Please, return to the ship. We need to figure out what to do about Cagalli. I'm afraid she still hasn't radioed in, so there's a high likelihood that she went down somewhere and can't communicate."

"I see," said Heero, "can you send me her last known trajectory and the area she was operating in?"

"La Flaga has that data," Murrue replied, "I'll have him send it over."

A few minutes later Heero contacted her again. "It's a wide area, and there are quite a few islands out that way too. There's a chance she could have made it to one of them."

"Captain!" said Natarle, "We can't afford to stay in this area too long. ZAFT could attack again at any time!"

"So do you suggest we abandon her, Lieutenant Badgiruel?" said La Flaga over the radio.

"Well…" said Natarle, looking towards the floor, unsure of how to continue.

Kira butted in. "We have to search for her! Captain, send me out!"

"The Strike has a limited operating range," said Heero, "it's ill suited for search-and-rescue missions."

"But…" said Kira.

"Sorry, kid," said La Flaga, "but Heero's right; you're benched this round. What are your orders, Captain?"

"We can stay for a limited amount of time," said Murrue, "The sun will be setting in a few hours. We'll search until dawn tomorrow, and then we need to move on."

"May I make a suggestion?" said Heero.

"Of course," said Murrue.

"Have La Flaga conduct search operations until sundown," he said, "I'll take over when he comes back and look until dawn."

"Are you sure?" said Murrue.

Heero nodded. "We can't afford to send both of our long-range flying units out at once. I'll nap until La Flaga gets back, then I'll take over search operations. It'll probably be an all night job for me, so I'd like to get a little shut eye before I get started."

"Alright," said Murrue, "come back to the ship then. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, head off towards the area Cagalli last reported in from and begin a sweep of it. Hopefully you'll find her before dark."

"Copy that," said the fighter pilot, "La Flaga out."

"I'm coming in for landing," said Heero, "mind opening up?"

Murrue nodded. "Open the bay doors, Lieutenant Badgiruel."

"Yes, Captain," she said.

Murrue stood up. "Lieutenant, you have the bridge."

"Understood, ma'am," Natarle replied.

Murrue left the bridge and made her way to the hangar. She arrived just as Heero was exiting the cockpit of Wing Zero. Increasing her pace slightly, she went up to him.

As Heero closed the Gundam's hatch he saw her approaching. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. I just wanted to see you before you went to sleep."

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh… alright. Well, in that case, care to walk with me? If you're not busy, anyway."

Murrue smiled. "I was going to do that anyway."

They made their way out of the hangar and towards the officers' quarters. "Thank you for earlier," she said, "I had no idea ZAFT had something like that carrier in their arsenal."

Heero shook his head. "Don't mention it. I didn't know either. Didn't see anything like it in the files I've read. It must've been developed pretty recently."

Murrue sighed. "I'm glad you and La Flaga were able to handle it, but I'm worried about Cagalli. Even if she managed to make it to an island, ZAFT has a stronger presence in this area than I'd anticipated. Hopefully we'll find her before they do."

"Yeah," he said quietly. He looked over at her. "I'm sure Natarle will raise hell over letting her pilot the Skygrasper and loosing it, if she hasn't already. Will you be alright?"

Murrue nodded. "She's been quiet about it so far, but I have no doubt she'll write it up in her report to High Command when we reach Alaska." She looked over at Heero and smiled. "I'll be fine, though. Thank you for your concern."

"It's the least I can do," said Heero.

_The least?_, thought Murrue, _He's fought entire armies on our behalf, and he thinks this is the least he can do? _She couldn't help but marvel over how truly _selfless _he was, how he wanted to help her in any way possible.

Before she knew it, they had reached the door to his room. Heero sighed. "Better turn in for a few hours. I doubt La Flaga will find Cagalli before the sun sets. I'll probably have an all-nighter ahead of me."

"I'm sorry," said Murrue, "You do so much for us, and all we ever seem to do is ask for more."

"It's alright," he said. He gave her a small smile. "I want to help you in any way I can. A search and rescue mission isn't too bad. I'll just rest when I get back. Besides, it's not your fault that Cagalli went missing. Blame that on her or ZAFT, whichever works."

"You're right," she said, "but still… I can't help but feel responsible. I did allow her to fly the Skygrasper, after all."

"On my suggestion, if I recall correctly," said Heero, "I know that as Captain what happens on this ship ultimately falls under your jurisdiction, but the situation is not normal. You're desperate, and you need all the help you can get. Cagalli turned out to be a good pilot, so it was natural to let her fly the Skygrasper."

Murrue was surprised to feel Heero grab her hand. "You're the one who's been telling me to forgive myself. You need to do the same. This isn't your fault; you're doing the best you can in a horrible situation."

"Heero…" she said, looking down at her hand. He had it in a firm grip, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, as he let her go, she found herself wishing that he had held on for a little longer…

"I should get some rest," he said, "In all likelihood La Flaga will return empty handed, and I'll have to get airborne. Wake me when he gets back, alright?"

"Of course," said Murrue. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, then Heero opened the door.

"I'll see you in a few hours, then," he said.

Murrue nodded. Then, remembering the nightmare that had tormented him before, she put her hand on his shoulder. "Heero?"

"What is it?" he asked, turning to her.

"If… if you need anything, please call me. Alright?" she said.

He looked at her for a moment, and Murrue once again felt herself drawn to his eyes. _So much pain lies behind them_, she thought, _yet they're so calm…_

He finally nodded. "I will. Thank you."

Murrue smiled. "You're welcome, Heero. Sleep well."

….

"Well, this sucks," said Cagalli.

She'd managed to beach her fighter in shallow water, but just by looking at her craft she knew there was no way it would be flying again without some serious repairs. She'd tried to use her radio, but there was too much interference, and she couldn't establish contact with the _Archangel_. Wading through the water onto the shore, she looked around.

"I wonder if this island is inhabited," she said. The beach stretched out for a little ways before curving, implying that it wasn't a very large island. There were some tropical trees ahead, though the vegetation was not very think, and there were several large rocks mixed in as well. It was still light out, though she knew that the sun would set in a few hours.

_Might as well look around_, she thought_, maybe I'll find someone who can help. _So she began to make her way towards the island's interior. As she walked around, she discovered that there were more large rocks the further she went in, turning into almost a maze of crevices. Thankfully, it wasn't that difficult to navigate, and she even found a stream near what she assumed to be the center of the island. _At least I know I have a fresh water source_, she thought as she took a drink.

There were some scattered bushes and trees as well, and she saw berries on some of them. She wasn't sure if they were poisonous, so she decided that she'd return to her fighter and grab the survival kit under the pilot's seat when she wanted to eat. _I probably should've grabbed it before I went exploring. Oh well. _At least she had remembered to grab her pistol when she got out of the plane.

She'd only been walking for about twenty minutes when she began to notice the rocks and plants beginning to thin out. _Have I already reached the other side of the island?_ As she came around a giant boulder, she was once again confronted with the sea, though this side of the island had no long sandy shore, but rather a series of rocky outcroppings. _How strange._

She looked around, and her jaw dropped when she spotted a familiar object. "No way," she said, "I don't believe it!"

It was the Aegis. Its Phase Shift Armor was powered down, but there was no mistaking the frame of the stolen Alliance prototype.

_Wait a minute_, she realized, _if it's here, then… _She saw movement in the rocks, and realized it was a young man in a crimson flight suit. _A ZAFT pilot!_

She drew her gun. "Hold it right there!" she yelled. The pilot turned to face her, and Cagalli saw that he had blue-black hair, slightly longer than what might be found on other men, and that he appeared to be young, about her age.

"Don't move!" she said, but too late. In a blur, the Coordinator had already leapt behind a rock for cover. Cagalli fired out of reflex, but the bullet just pinged off the boulder.

She saw another blur, and fired again. However, she saw that what she had fired at was a small rock. _A decoy? Then where…_

Suddenly she saw a shadow, and looked up to see the young man leap down from atop a large boulder. He came down on her and knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop her gun.

As he pinned her, he raised a wicked looking curved knife. Staring death in the face, Cagalli froze. Unable to think, she simply closed her eyes and screamed.

….

The high-pitched shriek took Athrun completely by surprise. Wincing at how sharp it was, he lowered the knife and took a closer look at the person pinned beneath him.

"Huh? A girl?" he said.

The blonde teenager regained some of her composure and glared at him. "What the hell did you think I was? God, what is it with you boys lately?"

"Sorry," he said. He examined her attire, and realized she wasn't wearing an Alliance uniform, but rather a simple pair of khaki pants, a red shirt, and a green vest. He rolled her over, and reaching for a pouch on his suit, he took out some plastic cord and bound her hands. Satisfied that his captive was secure, he picked up the gun she had pulled on him earlier.

"You're not dressed like a soldier." he said, "What are you doing here pointing a gun at me?"

"My plane got shot down," she replied, "I crashed on the other side of the island. I thought it would be a good idea to look around and see if I could find help."

"I see," said Athrun, "so you were the one that attacked my transport."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You were on that plane?" She looked down. "Look, it was nothing personal…"

Athrun couldn't help but smile slightly. "Don't worry, I won't hold it against you… though I am a bit annoyed at being stuck on this island until my allies come pick me up. I have to ask though; what was a civilian like you doing piloting an Alliance fighter jet?"

"It's… a long story," she said, blushing slightly, "Look, I'm not part of the Earth Forces, alright? I'm just hitching a ride with them for now. I figured I'd pilot the fighter as a way of paying them back."

"And they just let a civilian use one of their weapons?" he replied, "I thought the Alliance military was more disciplined than that."

"Look," she said, "the crew was shorthanded on pilots, so they made an exception. Will you drop this already?"

"Fine," said Athrun. He turned and walked toward his mobile suit. "I need to try and make contact with my allies anyway. If I can't get through, then I'll have to get my survival gear and set up a temporary shelter. We'll talk more later."

_Odd girl_, he thought as he climbed into the cockpit of the Aegis. After a few minutes of adjusting the radio and failing to get a signal, he sighed. _Gonna have to set up camp then. _Luckily, he had seen an alcove nearby that would serve as a good place to shelter when night fell. As he grabbed the survival gear from behind the pilot's seat, he thought about his female captive.

_At least I'll have some company to pass the time with_, he mused. Granted, she had tried to shoot him down, but this was war; he couldn't really complain about that. In fact, as he checked his gear to make sure everything was there, he realized that he was actually looking forward to talking with her after he'd set up camp. _I wonder where she's from. Should be an interesting tale or two there._

Suddenly he heard a splash, and rushed out of the cockpit. What he saw made him laugh. The girl had rolled down a small ledge in an attempt to undo her bindings, and was now struggling in the shallows, soaking wet.

She saw him and glared. "Would you stop laughing and help me out here?"

Athrun smiled. "Alright, hang on a second." He pulled her up by the arm, then moved behind her and cut her bindings.

The girl rubbed her wrists and then looked at him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What's the big idea?"

"I have your gun," he said, "so as an unarmed Natural, you're no threat to me. By the way, you have a stowaway."

"Huh?" she said. She looked down and saw a crab clinging to her shirt. "Eek!" She shook frantically until the stubborn creature finally decided it had had enough and let go.

Athrun chuckled again, causing her to blush slightly. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," he said, "I'm gonna go get my survival gear. I saw an alcove that we can camp out in for the night nearby. Come on, I'll show you."

"Hold on," she said, "you said I'm no threat to you unarmed. What if I decide to take my gun back from you when you let your guard down?"

Athrun sighed. "In that case, I'll have no choice but to kill you." His voice sounded colder than he had intended, but it still had the desired effect of making her pause to consider what her chances of taking a Coordinator off guard were. To tell the truth, he would prefer not to kill her. Even if she had been a soldier instead of a civilian, he would be reluctant to take her life. Athrun fought only to protect his homeland; he hated the killing, but it was part of the job. Mechanized warfare made the taking of life somewhat impersonal, since all one saw were machines being destroyed, but Athrun would not hide from the fact that people were still within them. However, he admitted that the thought of killing in personal combat, whether it be with his handgun or a knife, made him feel uneasy in a way that fighting in the Aegis never could. _I'd really rather avoid it._

He continued walking towards his mobile suit, the girl following in his wake, though at a respectful distance. A thought occurred to him as he remembered her fall into the water.

"By the way," he said offhandedly, "I'll need your clothes later."

"Huh?" she said, and when he turned around he saw her face was beat red, and her eyes had narrowed, "Just what are you planning?"

Athrun raised his hands, his own face also going red. "No-nothing like that… I just mean that they're all wet… it'll be dark soon, and you'll catch a chill later when the sun sets." He looked down, still feeling the heat in his face. "Look, I have a large blanket with my survival gear; you can have that until they're dried out."

"Oh," she said, calming down a bit, "alright."

_Well, that was awkward_, he thought. "I'll grab my things. Once I get everything set up I can get wood for a fire. We can lay your clothes to dry by it once it gets going."

"Ok," she said, "if you don't mind, I'll help you look for wood when you're ready."

When he raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled. Athrun couldn't help but notice that she was actually quite pretty when she did so. "Since we're both stuck here for now, I might as well help out. Besides, even if I'm untied, I'm still your prisoner, so you won't want to let me out of sight, right?"

Athrun nodded. "Ok. Thanks… for cooperating, I mean."

"Sure," she replied. She looked down for a moment. "Actually… thank you… you didn't have to worry about my health, you know. I appreciate it."

He nodded. "You're welcome. Now wait there, I'll be right back."

He looked over his shoulder one more time before climbing into the cockpit of the Aegis. Sure enough, she was just standing there, looking up at the mobile suit but otherwise doing nothing suspicious. _She's an odd one_, he mused.

Still, he couldn't help but smile as he grabbed the duffel bag that held his survival gear. _I definitely could have worse company on this island_, he thought, _Lacus would probably like her. Too bad they'll probably never meet…_

….

Standing outside Heero's quarters, Murrue pressed the buzzer by the door. A few seconds later the young pilot appeared, dressed in the usual green tank-top and black shorts.

He smiled slightly when he saw her. "You could've called, you know."

Murrue returned the smile. "I know, but I wanted to see you in person."

"No luck on the Lieutenant Commander's search?" he asked.

Murrue shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He'll be landing in five minutes. I wanted to walk with you to the hangar. It's the least I can do, considering you'll likely be out all night."

"It's alright," Heero replied. He stepped back. "Come on in; just let me clean up a bit real quick."

She followed him into his quarters and sat down at the table while he went to the washroom. Murrue heard him turn on the sink. Peering through the doorway she saw him put his hands in the water, then splash some of it on his face and in his hair. He then grabbed a towel, dried up, and then came back into the room. Grabbing his gun from beneath his pillow and holstering it, he turned to her.

"Alright," he said, "let's go."

As they exited his quarters and made their way towards the hangar, he turned to her. "Did La Flaga notice any enemy activity while he was out?"

"Not really," said Murrue, "he said there were a few ZAFT reconnaissance planes around, but that's to be expected since they're increasing their presence in this region. Nothing we need to worry about; none of their vectors were anywhere near close to the _Archangel_."

"I see," said Heero, "Some good news, at least."

Murrue nodded. "By the way, we received a burst transmission from Alliance forces while you were asleep. Wasn't much, just a couple of files; it was all they could get through the N-jammer interference."

"Anything interesting in there?" asked Heero.

"Nothing too out of the ordinary," she replied, "Remember up in orbit, when Admiral Halberton mentioned ZAFT's preparations for their upcoming Operation Spitbreak?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah, just after the debriefing. He said it was their next major offensive. What about it?"

"ZAFT is continuing to amass forces for it," she said, "Of course, that's no surprise. The Alliance is fairly certain the target is the Panama spaceport facility."

"Makes sense," said Heero, "capture that and the Alliance's only remaining mass driver and means of accessing space will be at their headquarters in Alaska. Then ZAFT can concentrate all their forces on a knockout blow."

"Yes," she said, "although… now that I think about it, something in those files seemed off."

"What do you mean?" asked Heero.

"According to Intelligence reports," said Murrue, "The majority of ZAFT's buildup on the surface is concentrated at the Kaoshiung spaceport in Taiwan."

"That makes no sense," said Heero, "If the target is supposed to be Panama, then wouldn't it make more sense to stage from the Carpentaria base? Their supply lines would be far less vulnerable in the South Pacific than over in Taiwan; East Asia is still an active warzone. Not to mention the most direct route would be going right past the Alliance's Pacific Fleet headquarters at Hawaii if they staged from Kaoshiung. They could bypass it with ease if they launched from Carpentaria."

"Exactly," said Murrue as they entered the hangar, "staging from Kaoshiung would be a logistical nightmare."

"I don't like it," said Heero as they climbed the stairs to the catwalk that led to Wing Zero's hatch, "something's not right. ZAFT's top brass can't be _that _incompetent."

"I know," Murrue replied, "Still, Alliance High Command seems convinced that the target is Panama. Not much we can do about that from where we're standing at the moment, though."

"You got that right," he said as he opened the hatch.

"Heero?" said Murrue.

He looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself, alright? I know it's just a search-and-rescue operation, but still…" She just couldn't help worrying about him.

He smiled. "I'll be fine. You should rest, ok? Go get some sleep; I'll be back in the morning. Who knows, maybe sooner if I'm lucky."

"I will. Be safe, Heero," she said.

"Roger that," he replied before entering the Gundam and closing the hatch.

Murrue made her way off the catwalk, which then retracted to allow the Wing Zero to make its way towards the launch area. She watched as the bay doors opened, revealing a dark purple-blue sky, the last glimmers of sunlight giving way to night. The moon was already in the sky, growing brighter as Sol waned.

Wing Zero's engines fired up, and the Gundam blasted out of the hangar. She saw it transform into its fighter mode as it scrambled for altitude before she lost sight of it altogether.

_Good luck, Heero_, she thought.

_Please, come back safe._

….

Night had fallen on Aprilius One. Well, as close to night as one could get in the heart of the PLANT colonies. Lights had been dimmed, and several steel panels had retracted along the outside of the enormous thirty kilometer long habitat, allowing for a clear view of the stars through massive, heavily reinforced windows.

Sitting on a bench in one of several parks, looking up at the fantastic display of stars, was a man. He was tall, wore boots, jeans, and a black sweater. His hair was jet black, and he was clean shaven, had brown eyes and light skin. A black duffel bag was sitting at his feet.

He didn't even turn around as two figures approached him from behind. The man just smiled. "You know, for two people who are supposed to be dead, you're quite punctual. Only one minute early, old friend."

He stood up as Andrew Waltfeld and his lover Aisha came around the bench. Apart from missing his left arm and eye, the now former Field Marshal looked no worse for the wear. The same went for Aisha, who's only sign of injury was a bandage wrapped around her forehead and a slight limp in her right leg. The Desert Tiger was wearing khakis and a long brown jacket, while Aisha was dressed in a simple black jumpsuit.

The man grinned and drew them both into an embrace. "Jesus, you two had me scared. I'm glad you both made it out alive!"

Waltfeld smiled as they parted. "How've you been, Bristow?"

Eric 'Wolf' Bristow smirked. Now in his early thirties, he had attended the ZAFT academy with Waltfeld, and like his old friend had gone on to command ground operations. Promoted to full Field Marshal around the same time as Waltfeld in 70 C.E., Bristow had led the initial invasion of the Republic of East Asia, the third largest nation in the Earth Alliance. However, Bristow was also from a powerful family in the PLANTs. His father sat on the board of directors for the Asimov Design Bureau, the group responsible for developing ZAFT's first combat mobile suit, the GINN. As a result, the family was closely tied to Defense Chairman Patrick Zala. It had often been joked that if Eric had had a younger sister, it would've been her who would be arranged to be Athrun Zala's future bride rather than Lacus Clyne. It had been due to this family connection that Eric had been promoted to be the Defense Chairman's deputy chief of staff following the conquest of the Kaoshiung spaceport.

Bristow actually would've preferred to pass on the promotion though. Like Waltfeld, he was happy with field assignments, and was a fearsome BuCue pilot, though not quite at the Tiger's level of skill. However, he had accepted in order to give Andrew a friend in the circles of power that dominated life in Aprilius One. Having grown up the only son of a very rich and powerful family, Bristow was no stranger to political intrigue, and though he repeatedly told his friends how he despised it, his talents for navigating the mires of shifting alliances that made up the upper echelons of PLANT society and government were not to be underestimated.

"Busy as hell," he said as he sat back down. Waltfeld sat next to him, with Aisha holding his remaining arm. "You wouldn't believe the amount of paperwork I have to go through just to make sure the new divisions are properly outfitted. The prep work for Operation Spitbreak has not helped matters."

"Is Keitel still the same?" asked Waltfeld. He was referring to Freidrich Keitel, Zala's chief of staff and Eric's immediate superior.

"If you mean pompous, worshipping Zala's coattails, and dumping all his troop movements on me to sort out, then yeah, that fat-ass prick hasn't changed a bit," Bristow grumbled, "If he wasn't one of the largest shareholders in the Asimov Design Bureau, I'd knock him down quite a few pegs."

"I still don't get how he became the Chief of Staff for ZAFT Supreme HQ," said Aisha.

"A sick combination of politicking, ass-kissing, and doing the bare minimum of field assignments necessary to climb the ranks," said Waltfeld. He grimaced. "It's assholes like him that give officers a bad name. I'd accuse him of outright bribery as well, but I never found any solid evidence to pin on him."

"Tell me something I don't know," said Bristow, "The man's a careerist pig. Not to mention a rubber stamp for Zala's latest campaigns. A 'yes man' if there ever was one."

"Enough about him," said Aisha, "you said you had some things to discuss with us?"

Bristow nodded. "I wanted to give you guys some time to get settled in first. That's why I waited until a day after the two of you snuck back into the capital."

"Thanks for the help on that, by the way," said Waltfeld, "those Intel guys you brought in worked wonders with the travel papers."

Bristow smiled. "Yeah, it pays having friends in the PLANT Secret Service… especially when Zala's playing Military Intelligence off against them."

"Sounds like we may have walked into a hornets' nest," said Aisha.

Bristow sighed. "That isn't the half of it. Things have changed up here, and quickly at that. I feel like it's been years since I took Kaoshiung and got that damned promotion, not a few weeks. I'm sure you two noticed a few oddities when you arrived."

Waltfeld nodded. "Yeah, it seemed like there were security officers on every street corner, not to mention all the plain-clothes personnel backing them up. What the hell's going on, Eric?"

"The radical faction is expanding its power," he replied, "They are ascendant, and Clyne is waning. I'm sure the two of you have seen the latest poll numbers."

"Yes," said Aisha softly, "Zala's lead is decisive. The final debate before election day may turn out to be little more than a formality."

"That isn't the half of it," said Bristow, "Zala's acting like he's already won. Several members of the moderate faction are under covert surveillance by Military Intelligence… including Chairman Clyne."

"What?" said Waltfeld, eyes widening, "I can't believe Zala would be so bold!"

"It wasn't easy to find out," said Bristow, "I managed to pull a few strings with the PLANT Secret Service. I've got tails on Zala's tails of the moderate faction, but it's a dangerous game. One slip up and I hit the top of his shit list, or damn close to it."

"Looks like we arrived just in time," said Waltfeld, "Civilian intelligence versus Military Intelligence… things are getting dicey."

His old friend nodded. "Yeah, you two may be the aces in the hole I need. I've been trying to set up a safe house network for members of the moderate faction in case things go south, but it's tricky. I think Moralez is still on the fence."

"Philippe Moralez?" said Aisha, "You mean the Secret Service Director?"

"The very same," said Bristow, "I know he doesn't like what Zala's got Military Intelligence doing these days, and he's turned a blind eye to my efforts to throw some counter weight into the moderates' corner, but I don't think he's made up his mind as to where his support ultimately lies. He's a man bound by a strong sense of duty; he follows the orders of the Council, regardless of who may hold the office of Supreme Chairman."

"Depending on how we play things, that could still work out in our favor," mused Waltfeld.

"I hope you're right, my friend," said Bristow. He sighed. "I hate to say this, but no matter what happens behind the scenes, Clyne is finished. Much as I like the guy, I have to face the political reality. Public opinion is quite clear, and only a fool would believe otherwise. Not only that, but when Clyne falls, a lot of his supporters will likely go down with him. In addition to the office of Supreme Chairman, the majority of the Council could well end up in the hands of the radical faction."

"All we can do is try to cushion the fall," said Aisha.

Bristow smiled. "Shemei said the same thing. She's in town, you know. The Valkyrie Team got in about four hours before you guys did."

"No doubt part of Zala's Spitbreak prep work," said Waltfeld, "He quietly removes her from the front under the guise of giving her unit some shore leave, allowing Creuset to take the spotlight once the offensive starts."

"She said as much when I met her," said Bristow, "That was earlier this afternoon."

"Ah, so that was your prior engagement," said Aisha, "What did you want with her?"

"She contacted me, actually," he replied, "Shemei wanted to know about Asimov Design Bureau's latest mobile suit work. I gave her as much technical data as I could scrounge from the family database, but I don't have full access; only my father does, and even then our file system is only a fraction of that at the disposal of the board of directors. Still, she seemed pleased with it. As she left, she said she was going to check in with some friends in ZAFTs Research and Development division. She mentioned something about finally finding someone who could push her, make her strive for something more, and that she needed a better machine." Eric smiled. "She seemed pretty happy, actually."

"I think I know why," said Waltfeld, who couldn't help but grin a little himself, "Tell me, what do you know about Wing Zero?"

Bristow laughed. "You mean other than the fact that it's got Zala and half the Defense Council practically shitting themselves? Not much. I saw the post action reports Commander Rehema sent from North Africa before she went to the Gibraltar spaceport though. The fact that a pilot and mobile suit exist that can not only keep up with, but actually beat the Valkyrie Team seems almost unbelievable! I damn near swore off scotch when I first read what she wrote. And that's not even mentioning the combat footage I was able to get my hands on. This Heero Yuy may well be the deadliest man alive."

"I won't argue with that," said Aisha, "He was stunning."

"Even more so, considering his age," said Waltfeld, "Did you know he's only sixteen?"

"What?" said Bristow, eyes widening, "You're kidding me!"

"Nope, afraid not," said Waltfeld, "Met him myself in Banadiya, just before the big showdown."

"Damn," Bristow said softly, "that kid flies like he was born for battle. I'm guessing he's the one Shemei was talking about."

"You got it," said Aisha.

"Man," he said, looking up at the sky, "what a pilot."

They were all quiet for a moment, and then Bristow reached down towards the duffel bag at his feet. "I got a file in here you two might find interesting." He dug around the bag for a few seconds, then pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to Waltfeld. Fumbling with it a bit with his only arm, he passed it to Aisha, who opened it up so both of them could read the contents.

Both of their eyes widened. "Bristow," said Waltfeld, "are you sure about these figures?"

He nodded. "Yup, triple checked them myself. Zala's increased the size of the Special Weapons Department's budget at least tenfold."

ZAFT's Special Weapons Department was an organization responsible for developing armaments beyond mobile suits, although it also did work on weapons and equipment for the machines as well. Among other things, it had been responsible for the heavy weapons in use aboard the fleet's capital ships, along with the infamous N-jammers seeded throughout Earth and space, preventing the use of nuclear power. When the Creuset Team had captured the four Alliance prototype machines, Special Weapons had sent teams of technicians to examine them, competing with engineers from both the Asimov Design Bureau and Kepler Heavy Industries, a civilian firm that enjoyed favored status with the government due to its role in large-scale engineering and construction in outer space.

"Zala has something big in the works," said Aisha, "or several large projects."

"No kidding," said Waltfeld, "you could build five full fleets with the money he's throwing at this!"

"And Clyne can do nothing about it," sighed Bristow, "hell, he didn't even know about it until I showed him the figures yesterday. Zala's been busy, and I got a bad feeling about these black projects of his."

"Probably well warranted," said Waltfeld, "Eric, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but…"

"You need more information, right?" he replied with a smile. "Don't worry; I've got your back. I'll dig up as much as I can, though no promises. Zala's playing this one close to the vest; I don't think even Keitel has all the details."

"What about Creuset?" asked Aisha, "Doesn't Zala confide in him?"

Bristow smacked his forehead. "Shit, you're right. Damn it, I've been so focused on the power games being played on the Defense Council and the wider political picture that I completely forgot about that connection, beyond the fact that Zala favors him anyway. I totally screwed up!"

"Don't beat yourself up, buddy," said Waltfeld, "I know you're not a fan of intrigue; you've done extraordinarily well as it is, all things considered."

Bristow sighed. "Yeah, I've gotten pretty good at these games, haven't I? What happened, Waltfeld? One minute things are simple; I'm out on the front line, taking the fight to the enemy, and trying to get as many of my men and women out alive as possible. Next thing I know I'm juggling half a dozen schemes while sitting behind a desk, walking the razor's edge between duty and high treason, and taking orders from a superior I despise who bends over backwards for another that I fear may be leading us down the path of mass-murder."

He looked up at the stars, suddenly feeling incredibly tired.

"How… how did it come to this?"

….

Murrue rolled over in her bed, looking up at the ceiling. _It's no good_, she thought, _I just can't fall asleep. _

And she had a feeling she knew why.

_He _wasn't on board. The young man who had flown into her life on the wings of war, who had saved not only her but her comrades more times than she could count, who had astounded her not only with his phenomenal skill in battle but with the incredible compassion that lay hidden beneath his cool and quiet demeanor… was not on the _Archangel_.

Her greatest pilot, her fiercest soldier, her guardian angel, her dearest friend…

_Heero Yuy._

_Off on another mission on my behalf_, she thought, _on that incredible Gundam of his, Wing Zero._

Murrue had already known that she found his presence comforting, but she hadn't realized it went to this extent. _To be unable to even sleep when he's away…_

Looking up at the ceiling, she felt a small smile creep onto her face as she came to a realization.

_I really _am _falling for him…._

….

It was dark out, and Cagalli and the ZAFT soldier who had captured her and then, strangely, untied her, were holed up in the alcove the Coordinator had found earlier. A small fire was going, with the girl's clothes laying on the ground next to it, slowly drying in the heat. Cagalli herself was only wearing her undergarments, covering herself in the large blanket the young man sitting across the fire from her had provided.

She looked at him as he stared into the flames, apparently lost in thought. His blue-black hair seemed to flicker slightly in the firelight. _He seems like a pretty decent guy_, she thought, _in fact… he's kinda cute, too. _She smiled slightly, blushing when she saw him look up at her.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she muttered, looking away, "forget about it."

"Fine," he said. Cagalli watched curiously as he stood up. "I'm going to give the radio another try. I'll be right back."

_How strange_, she thought as he walked out of their rocky shelter, _I tried to kill him earlier, and he not only unties me after he's captured me, he has no hesitation about letting me out of his sight now. _Then she looked down at herself and sighed. _Then again, I guess I wouldn't feel very threatened by me either. I don't even have proper clothes to wear right now, at least not until the ones by the fire dry._

A few minutes later the young soldier came back and sat down by the fire. "No luck," he said, "the radio waves are weak here… I'm afraid we really are stuck here until morning."

"That's only because you guys spread N-jammers all across the Earth," she quipped.

His eyes narrowed, and she saw an intensity that hadn't been there before. "Only after the Alliance attacked us with nuclear weapons!"

She knew his argument was valid, though she wouldn't admit it aloud.

Then his expression softened, and he looked down. To Cagalli, he seemed to become far off, almost… _sad_. His blue eyes seemed to radiate sorrow.

"My mother…" he said softly, "…was on Junius Seven."

Cagalli gasped. _Oh my god…_

The young Coordinator looked back up at her, eyes now burning with righteous fury. "It was an agricultural colony! The Earth forces attacked it without warning or provocation! What did you expect us to do, just sit back and wait to be slaughtered?"

"So you think that makes it all right to knock out the primary power source for the people on Earth?" she shot back, "How many do you think have died from sickness and exposure as a result? And don't forget that you guys also attacked and destroyed Heliopolis, a neutral colony!"

"Heliopolis…" the soldier said softly, "… we never meant to destroy it. Our only intention was to capture the Earth Forces new weapons that were being built there."

"What you intended and what actually happened were two different things!" said Cagalli.

The young man sighed. "It hardly matters now anyway. What's done is done, no sense in arguing about it." With that he laid down on his side and turned his back to her.

"Hey!" she said, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Getting some sleep," he said over his shoulder, "What else would I be doing?"

"Well," said Cagalli, "what if I decide to take your gun during the night?"

"Then I'll have to stop you," he replied, "and probably kill you. So do yourself a favor and don't even think about trying it."

With that the young man went back to trying to fall asleep. Cagalli just sat and stared at him for a few minutes, during which she noticed his breathing becoming a bit lighter and softer, and indication that he was already falling asleep.

_How can he fall asleep so quickly_, she thought, _especially in this situation?_

After awhile, she stood up and walked to the entrance of the alcove. Standing in the rocky archway, she looked up at the mobile suit that towered over their shelter. _He pilots this machine_, she thought, _one of four that pursued the Archangel before it came to Earth. Now it's here, and two of the others were in North Africa… I have no doubt the fourth is now on the surface as well. All of them will be coming for the ship soon…_

_I can't let him do that._

Walking back into the alcove, she slowly approached him. Her whole body tense, she reached for the gun on his hip. As she did so though, she froze as she heard him mumble something in his sleep.

"No…" he said softly, "… I don't want to fight you…"

Her eyes widened. _He sounds just like Kira!_

She hesitated, unsure now of what to do. _No! I have no choice, this has to be done! _

Cagalli continued to move her hand slowly towards the gun. As she lay her hand on it, she felt the young man stir. Quickly, she yanked the gun from the holster. She scrambled backwards just as the ZAFT pilot came up in a crouch, holding his curved knife.

Cagalli pointed the gun at him, her hands shaking. "I'm sorry," she said, "but… I can't let you take that machine and attack my friends! Just… turn around and let my tie you up, alright? I don't want to kill you!"

His eyes narrowed. "Do you plan to take the Aegis? You're a Natural; how do you expect to pilot a mobile suit?"

"I'll figure it out!" she shouted, "Please, just surrender!"

"No," he said softly, "I cannot let you take my machine."

They stared at each other across the fire, Cagalli's hands still trembling regardless of how she tried to bring the shaking under control. Suddenly she saw the young man's eyes widen, and he threw the knife. Panicking, Cagalli fired, the gun jumping in her hand, closing her eyes while she did so.

She slowly opened them when she realized that the knife had not hit her. Looking to her right, her eyes widened as she saw the blade buried into the head of a snake that had been approaching her. _He was trying to help me!_

"Ugh," she heard the pilot groan. Looking over at him, she saw him holding his left shoulder, blood trickling from between his fingers. _Oh no!_

Cagalli dropped the gun, and scrambled to the side of the alcove where the soldier had put his first aid kit when setting the camp. Grabbing it, she ran over to him. "I'm sorry!" she said, "Let me help you!"

The young man brushed her aside. "It's alright, it's not serious."

She grabbed him by his good shoulder. "I don't care, let me help. I want to make it up to you!"

Their eyes met for a moment, and after a few seconds she heard him chuckle. "You know," he said, "you really are a strange girl. Alright… and thanks."

She nodded, and taking a small pair of scissors from the kit, she began to cut a portion of his flight suit so that she could get a better view of the wound. After disinfecting it, she began to wrap it in bandages.

She sighed in relief as she saw that the wound was quite shallow. _A graze_, she thought, _thank god…_

….

When she opened her eyes, Cagalli discovered that the ZAFT pilot wasn't in the alcove. The first rays of sunlight were peaking inside, a new day dawning. Getting up, she put on her now dry clothes and walked outside.

She saw the young man on the open hatch of his mobile suit. He turned to her and smiled. "Just got through to my allies. There's a plane on the way to pick me up; it'll be here in about an hour. Also, I got something on the radar. I can't make out much with the interference in the area, but I don't think it's a ZAFT unit. It's probably a friend of yours. They're approaching the other side of the island."

Her eyes widened as he tossed her gun to her. She fumbled with it before finally getting a solid grip on it. "Hey, what's the big idea?"

"Relax," he said, "the safety's on, you're in no danger. I suggest you get a move on if you want your friend to find you."

She looked up at him and nodded. "Alright, take care."

"You too," he replied.

As she turned to go, she looked over her shoulder. "By the way, I'm Cagalli. What's your name?"

He hesitated a moment before answering. "It's Athrun."

Cagalli smiled. "Stay alive, Athrun. Alright?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you too."

She turned and ran towards the opposite side of the island where she had crashed the previous day. As she approached the shore line she saw a strange looking fighter in the distance. She squinted a bit before she saw it begin to transform, and she realized what it was.

"Wing Zero!" she cried out, smiling. She waved her arms, jumping up and down, and she was relieved to see the mobile suit slow down and approach her position.

The Gundam landed in front of her, and lowered its right hand. Still smiling, she climbed onto it, and it lifted her towards the cockpit section. The hatch opened and she climbed in, squeezing along the right side of the pilot's chair.

"Heero!" she said as the pilot closed the hatch, "Thank you! I knew one of you guys would find me."

He nodded. "Don't mention it. Although… it figures that you'd be on the very last island in my search area."

She put a hand behind her head. "Yeah, sorry about that. Were you up all night?"

He nodded. "You owe me one. I'll grab your fighter with Wing Zero, then we'll head back to the _Archangel_." Cagalli saw him smirk. "Chief Mechanic Murdoch will want to ream you a new one when he sees what you did to that plane. He's gonna have to rip out half the circuit boards due to the salt water."

She sighed. "I'm not looking forward to that. Thanks for the heads up, though."

"Roger that," said Heero.

….

Murrue was dead tired. She'd hardly slept at all the night before, and her eyes felt heavy as she took her seat on the bridge.

However, her weariness evaporated in an instant when Miriallia spoke up. "We have a message from Wing Zero: Cagalli and Skygrasper Two found, returning to _Archangel _immediately."

Murrue smiled. "Alright. We'll hold position here until they arrive."

After a few minutes she saw something approaching in the distance out the forward viewport. As the object was brought onto the main monitor, she saw that it was Wing Zero, carrying the damaged fighter jet."

"Open the bay doors immediately," she ordered.

"Yes, Captain," said Lieutenant Badgiruel.

_Heero_, she thought as the Gundam approached, _I'm so glad…_

_… thank you for returning to me safe._

**Preview for next time!**

_Damaged in battle against the Zala Team, the Archangel makes an emergency landing in the neutral nation of Orb. The country's leadership allows them to stay, on the condition that both Kira and Heero provide their expertise for the nation's top secret mobile suit program. Meanwhile, the crew of the Archangel are allowed shore leave, on the condition that they dress only in civillian clothes in order to avoid drawing attention. In the midst of all this, Heero must confront a new challenge; his first date with Murrue! Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Ten: The Land of Peace._

**Author's note**: I've recently gotten into the Ace Combat game series, and I have to say, I am very impressed with it. Bought Zero: the Belkan War and Five: The Unsung War. For those of you who've played Zero, you may have recognized that my inspiration for the Everest class Flying Fortress was the XB-0 Hresvelgr. Couldn't help it, that thing's awesome, had to have a shout-out to it. Anyway, highly recommed the series to those who haven't played it before. Love the storyline, it's actually kind of like Gundam, but with fighter jets instead of mobile suits. Also, the soundtrack is FUCKING AMAZING!

You know the drill, folks. Please review!

Unitl next time!


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's notes: **Sorry for the wait, everyone! Ok, a few things before we get started.

One: There are two songs in this chapter. I felt that they both fit the characters. No, this chapter is not done in songfic style or a musical, it's my usual format. Anyway, you'll see why they're here when you come to the part they're in. The songs are "Heavens Divide" by Donna Burke and "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down.

Two: This chapter is, uhm... REALLY LONG! So... you might want to grab some food, probably something to drink too. Maybe take a bathroom break before reading. Trust me, you're gonna be here awhile.

Well, enjoy!

**Episode Ten: The Land of Peace**

It had been four days since the battle with the _Everest_, and the _Archangel _hadn't been engaged by ZAFT once in that time period. _That won't last long_, thought Murrue. It was early afternoon, and they were closing in on Orb's territorial waters, but at the same time they were well within airstrike distance of ZAFT's Carpentaria base. _I'm surprised we haven't been attacked already._

She looked to her right, where Heero was standing. He smiled slightly, and she marveled at how reassured she felt, just having him next to her. Murrue smiled in return. _We'll be fine_, she though, _no matter what ZAFT throws at us, Heero can beat them._

"Hard to believe we're almost to Orb," said Murrue, "it'll be a relief once our two passengers disembark… though we will be one pilot short for the Skygraspers."

"That might not be a problem," said Heero, "I saw Tolle practicing on the flight simulator down in the hangar yesterday. He's not as good as Cagalli, but he does show promise. He might be able to take over piloting Skygrasper Two eventually."

"That would be nice," said Murrue, "though I'm not sure if Miriallia would appreciate her boyfriend flying combat operations."

"She hasn't stopped him from hitting the simulator," he replied, "If she has doubts, she's keeping them to herself."

"Well, in the end it's my call whether or not he gets to fly," said Murrue, "Could you do me a favor and let me know how he progresses? I'll keep that in mind when making my final decision."

"No problem," he said, "I'll check the simulator scores when I'm down in the hangar running maintenance on Wing Zero."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," said Heero, "we need all the help we can get, after all."

"Agreed," said Murrue. _And I want you to have all the support I can get you_, she thought, _you've taken on such a heavy burden on our behalf… I'll help you in any way I can._

It wasn't just gratitude or practicality that was influencing her decision, though. Over the past few days she had become more and more convinced that she was indeed falling in love with the young man, and she wanted to do something to protect him. Though she knew that, with Wing Zero's power and his own stunning skills, Heero would remain the center of their combat operations, she wanted to make sure that he wasn't fighting alone, that she could back him up one way or another. Whether it be with the _Archangel _itself, the Strike, or the two Skygraspers, Murrue wanted him to know that he wasn't alone.

_Heero_, she thought, _that night in North Africa, you swore to protect me. I'm grateful for that, I truly am… but someone needs to protect you, whether you realize it or not._

_ You've become my guardian angel… so let me be yours._

….

"All right, listen up people!" said the base commander.

Athrun looked towards the front of the amphitheater. He, along with Yzak, Nicole, Dearka, and several other pilots were in the briefing room of the Carpentaria base. The son of the Defense Chairman was still having trouble digesting the news his former commander had given him.

_"I'm leaving this team for awhile," Creuset had said, "The preparations for Operation Spitbreak demand my full attention. Therefore, I'm placing Athrun in command of this unit. You are now the Zala Team." _

_ The masked ace then smiled. "Good hunting."_

Shaking his head, Athrun turned his attention back to the briefing.

"It took us longer than we thought due to the prep work for Spitbreak," said the man at the front of the room, "but we're ready for a decisive attack on the _Archangel_. As I'm sure you've heard, the Flying Fortress _Everest_, along with the Morassim Team, was taken out over five days ago by that damned ship and its mobile suits. They've been declared a Priority One Target; their neutralization is vital if Operation Spitbreak is to be a success."

The officer aimed a remote at the screen, which switched from the ZAFT logo to a map of the Oceania region and Australia.

"The legged ship," he said, "is currently passing by here, and is close to Orb's territorial waters. High Command believes that they intend to stop there for resupply, since the ship and its mobile suits were developed with that nation's assistance. However, since we're still neutral with Orb, we cannot cross into their airspace. Therefore, we must eliminate the legged ship before it enters their territorial waters."

A red blip appeared on the map, labeled as the _Archangel_. A blue line crossed the upper part of the screen, designating Orb's territorial waters. "Timing is crucial, people!" said the officer, "If we want to get that ship and its mobile suits once and for all, we need to move now. All teams at this base capable of airborne combat are being mobilized for this attack."

He turned to Athrun. "Zala, your team will be provided with Gull aerial platforms for flight, since your machines can't fly by themselves. Don't let them get hit, or you'll be sitting ducks for enemy attack. Also, you won't be able to get back to base until we can organize a recovery team."

Athrun nodded. "Understood, sir."

"Any questions?" said the officer.

One of the pilots raised his hand. "Sir, what do we do about Wing Zero?"

"That's a dumb question, soldier," the officer scoffed, "Destroy it, of course. What, were you expecting something else?"

"Sir, with all due respect," said the pilot, "we can't beat that thing! It beat the Valkyrie Team and took down the _Everest_, for Christ's sake! Not to mention the thrashing it gave the Tiger's forces in North Africa… that thing's a fucking monster!"

"Pipe down, coward!" the officer shouted, "Do you want to be written up for insubordination?"

"No sir," said the pilot, sitting back down. However, his message wasn't lost on the other pilots, who were now trading nervous looks.

"Treat Wing Zero like you would any powerful enemy," said the officer, "surround it and take it down with superior numbers and firepower! That is all. Dismissed!"

The man left the room, and the pilots began to file out as well, though not without comments about their commanding officer.

"'Superior numbers and firepower', he says," one pilot muttered, "Everyone else has tried that, and Wing Zero has beaten them all."

"No joke," said another, "too bad our base commander doesn't take part in front line operations anymore; it'd be nice if Wing Zero did us a favor and got rid of that asshole."

"That bastard," said a third, "does he intend to sacrifice us just to impress the Defense Chairman? Shit, I'd frag his ass myself if I had the opportunity."

"Careful," said the first, looking back at Athrun and his team, "the Council princes are behind you!"

"Eh?" he said, turning around, "Oh, you four. Got a problem with what I just said?"

Athrun stiffened slightly. He knew that everyone looked at him differently because of his father's position, and his friends were in a similar situation. Nicole, Dearka, and Yzak all had parents on the Supreme Council, and as thus were seen almost as a Coordinator aristocracy. Athrun himself had sometimes wondered if it had been due to family connections that the four of them had been made Reds so quickly. While he was confident that their skills were worthy of their ranks, their ascendancy had been quicker than that of other soldiers their age.

All of this was running through his mind as he confronted the three soldiers before him. "I won't report you," he said, "but you should still be more careful about who you say such things in front of."

"Yeah," said Yzak, "after all, we've fought the legged ship and its mobile suits before! We're the best chance you've got at making it through this mission alive."

_Damn it, Yzak_, thought Athrun, _can't you rein in your pride a bit? Our record against them isn't exactly good, you know._

That was something the three pilots in front of them were aware of, and they took full advantage of that. "Forgive me if I'm not all that inspired," said the third soldier, "You guys haven't had much success against them, if I recall."

"Yeah," said the second, "heck, didn't two of you encounter Wing Zero in orbit and get your asses kicked?"

"And the other two couldn't hack it against the Strike and a damn mobile armor," the first chimed in, "hardly a record to boast about."

"Why, you…" growled Yzak. He moved to take a swing at him, but was held back by Dearka.

"Enough, Yzak!" the blond haired, tan skinned pilot said, "We don't have time for this. We need to get to our machines, remember?"

"Grrr, fine!" he said. The two of them moved briskly past the three pilots in front of them.

"He's right, you know?" said Nicole, "We all need to get going."

"Alright, point taken," said the first.

As they turned to walk away, Athrun breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he said, turning to Nicole.

"No problem," he said, "but we really do need to get going, you know?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Athrun.

He couldn't help but worry as they moved towards the main hangar. The coming battle would in all likelihood be the most brutal of his career so far.

_Kira_, he thought, _will today be the day that one of us dies?_

….

"Enemy contacts on the long range radar!" said the sensor operator, "Looks like a large airstrike force. Getting a number…"

_Damn_, thought Murrue, _we're so close to Orb, too! _They had already called ahead to inform Orb that the ship was carrying two of the nation's citizens on board. The reply had been vague, but had stated that a recovery group would be sent out to retrieve them.

"Why now, of all times?" she whispered. She looked over at Heero, who nodded and ran for the bridge exit. _Good luck, Heero_, she thought.

"Scramble both mobile suits and the Skygraspers!" she ordered.

"Hold on, you're letting Cagalli fly again?" said Natarle, "What if she crashes again?"

"We don't have a choice," Murrue replied, "We need every pilot we can get right now. Skygrasper One will take the Launcher pack, number two will launch with the normal configuration."

_I'd rather not have her fight_, thought Murrue, _not when we're so close to getting her home, but my hands are tied. Besides, I want Heero to have as much backup as possible. Cagalli has proven herself willing to fight for us, regardless of her combat record. That's enough for me._

"Confirmation on the number of enemies," said the sensor operator, "thirty six DINNs, and four other machines. It's… the stolen prototypes!"

"They're back," said Murrue, "I suppose it took them long enough."

"Heero's hailing us, Captain!" said Miriallia.

"Put him on screen," ordered Murrue.

The Gundam pilot appeared on the monitor. "I'll take the DINNs. Can Kira and the others handle the prototypes?"

Murrue nodded. "Kira and La Flaga have fought them before, so I'm sure they can do it again. I'm going to have Cagalli back you up, though. Alright?"

"Ok," said Heero. He smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Murrue, "Please, be careful."

"Roger that," said Heero, signing off.

"Wing Zero will launch first," said Murrue to Natarle, "Get the Skygraspers into the air next, followed by the Strike in Aile configuration. Cagalli will form up with Heero, while La Flaga and Kira will fight the G-weapons."

"Yes ma'am," said Natarle, who quickly relayed her orders. "Two on thirty six…" Murrue heard her mutter, "…and Heero doesn't even bat an eye at it. Christ, that guy's nuts…"

_A few weeks ago, I would've agreed with you, Natarle_, thought Murrue, _but I know better now… with Wing Zero and his own skills, those kinds of odds are more than possible for Heero to overcome._

Murrue saw the Gundam fly out of the hangar, followed quickly by the fighters. Kira launched last, and took up position on the upper hull of the _Archangel_, in front of the bridge. Due to its limited atmospheric flight capabilities, the Strike would have to wait until the enemy closed in before it could engage.

"Prepare for anti-air barrage," said Murrue, "arm Igelstellungs and Helldart missiles! Prime the Wombat missiles!"

"Captain, the scatter-shot from those warheads could hit our own pilots," said Natarle.

"We'll coordinate firing with them, give them a heads up before launching," said Murrue. She glared at the Lieutenant. "I'd never endanger our own pilots with friendly fire, Badgiruel!"

Natarle looked down. "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to…"

"It doesn't matter right now," said Murrue, "just carry out your orders, Lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am," she said, and returned her attention to the CIC.

_Our pilots face enough danger as is_, thought Murrue, _does Natarle really think that I would subject them to our own fire as well? _While Murrue knew that Wing Zero would not be damaged by the Wombats' scatter-shot warheads, she was keenly aware of the risk posed to the Skygraspers, as well as the drain the impacts could have on the Strike's Phase Shift Armor. Timing and communication would be crucial if the _Archangel's _anti-air capabilities were to be used to maximum effect. _Even with Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy_, thought Murrue, _I would still warn Heero before launching those missiles into a fight. _

Unlike other Alliance commanders Murrue had known, she did not consider any of her soldiers expendable. While it had been accepted by most officers that the Earth forces would take heavy losses in any engagement with ZAFT, Murrue was appalled with how callous her own side's leaders had become regarding the lives of the men and women under their command. She had vowed never to be like them. _I won't let this war destroy my humanity_, she thought, _nor will I allow it to consume the people fighting under my command._

She watched as Wing Zero aimed its Twin Buster rifle at the oncoming swarm of enemy mobile suits. _And I sure as hell won't allow it to take you, Heero._

….

"Oh, shit!" screamed a voice over the radio, "Incoming!"

The warning came too late. Athrun watched in horror as Wing Zero cut loose with its rifle, and a wave of golden-yellow hellfire ripped through the ZAFT formation. Seven DINNs were torn apart by the blast, with the rest escaping destruction only by virtue of the weapon not being fired at a higher power setting.

"Damn it," said another pilot, "how does Command expect us to deal with that?"

"Can it, Victor!" said the strike Commander. "All remaining DINN teams fan out and engage Wing Zero. Zala Team, move in on the legged ship. Take it down quickly; they're too damn close to Orb as it is!"

"Understood," said Athrun, "we're on it."

Nicole's voice came over the radio. "One of the fighters is forming up on Wing Zero. The other is holding over the legged ship. It looks like the Strike has taken up position on the top of the vessel."

"Let's get it!" said Yzak, charging forward.

"Hang on, Yzak!" said Athrun, "We need a plan!"

"Screw that," the white haired pilot replied, "I'm tired of your hesitation always costing us our victory! I won't let you hold me back any longer. This time I'm taking them all down!" With that he cut the radio and video communications link.

"Damn it," said Athrun, "Dearka, back him up!"

"I was going to do that anyway," the pilot said with a smirk before signing off as well. The Buster rushed ahead to catch up with the Duel.

"Nicole, you're with me!" said Athrun.

"Got it," the pilot of the Blitz replied, moving in alongside the Aegis.

_This isn't good_, he thought, _the battle's less than a minute old and already Yzak is disregarding me, and Dearka made it clear that he would've ignored any orders not to back up Yzak._

As he and Nicole moved into attack position, Athrun couldn't help but feel uneasy. _This whole battle's gotten off to a rotten start_, he thought, _I have a bad feeling about this._

….

"I'll move in and engage head on," said Heero as he drew his beam saber, "once they're focused on me, you start making strafing runs on their formation. Take out one at a time, pull out, and then come in for another pass. Nothing else, got it? I've got enough to deal with without worrying about saving you again."

"Alright, I get it," said Cagalli, "nothing fancy, I promise."

"Good," he replied. While the Skygrasper was faster than the DINNs, Heero knew that it wasn't as maneuverable. _If she gets into a turning fight_, he thought, _she's screwed. Hit-and-run attacks are her most effective strategy right now._

"I'm engaging," he said, hitting his thrusters, "make your first run at your discretion."

"Copy that," said Cagalli.

The DINNs had already spread themselves out, so Heero had no trouble getting into the center of their formation. Selecting a wing pair, he moved in faster than the pilots could react, and hacked the lead DINN in two. The second released a volley of missiles, but Heero simply took the warheads on his shield and rushed in, impaling the machine.

The remaining twenty-seven mobile suits were quick to counterattack, and tracer rounds and missiles soon filled the sky. However, having already faced off against the best team that ZAFT had to offer, along with the North Africa Corps' seasoned veterans, evading the incoming fire was an easy task for the Gundam pilot. Zigzagging through the storm of lead and metal, Heero sighted in on his next target and gunned Wing Zero's engines. He slashed into another DINN with his saber, then whirled and destroyed another with his shoulder gatlings.

_Good_, he thought as the enemy swirled around him in every direction, _they're reacting just as I anticipated. Cagalli should be starting her run anytime now._

Indeed, mere seconds later he heard her voice over the radio. "Care for some help, flyboy?" A volley of emerald beams cut through the enemy ranks from above, and one DINN exploded. The blue and white Skygrasper dove through the center of the enemy formation, leveled out near the surface of the ocean, and then began to climb again in preparation for another run.

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. _A little bolder than I had anticipated, going for the center of the enemy formation rather than the flanks, but she pulled it off well. She's gotten better since North Africa._

Just then Murrue's voice came over the radio. "Heero, Cagalli," she said, "drop your altitude as low as you can go, we're going to fire a Wombat volley into their formation!"

"Roger that," said Heero, already taking Wing Zero into a dive.

"Got it," said Cagalli, "I'm at your six, Heero!"

"Firing in three, two, one, now!" said Murrue.

Four missiles launched from the _Archangel_ just as Wing Zero and the Skygrasper began to level out near the waves. Spreading out, the warheads burst in front of the enemy DINNs, releasing scores of glowing red 'heavy birdshot rounds'. The ZAFT mobile suits scattered, but even as they did six of them were shredded by the anti-air shrapnel, and several others took hits as well.

_Great job, Murrue_, thought Heero as he began to climb to reengage the enemy, _only eighteen DINNs left. We'll have this wrapped up in no time. _

As he slashed another DINN in two, he hit his thrusters and rose above the enemy, giving himself a clear view of the battlefield. Cagalli was already making her next run, this time coming from below the enemy formation, and another DINN fell to her fighter's beam cannon. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was engaging the Buster in a long-range artillery duel with the Agni slung beneath the fighter's fuselage, though neither machine had scored a hit yet. The Aegis, Blitz, and Duel were swarming around the _Archangel_, but were having difficulty dealing with both the warship's anti-aircraft fire and the Strike, which would leap up from the deck to engage the three machines with its beam saber and rifle before dropping back to the ship.

_Kira_, thought Heero as he impaled another DINN, _you'd better protect that ship. If you fail, I swear I'll kill you._

….

Even with the support of the _Archangel _and Skygrasper One, Kira was having a rough time of it. Not necessarily because of the enemy's actions; Kira had fought the four stolen G-weapons enough to know how they flew, what tricks they had up their sleeves. Rather, it was because he was trying to fight without destroying one particular unit, the Aegis. Athrun's machine was quick and powerful, but Kira could still sense a slight hesitation on his old friend's part as well.

However, the other machines showed no such compunctions. The Blitz launched the three missiles mounted on its shield, forcing Kira to raise his own and take the hits in order to spare the _Archangel _from damage. Due to the amount of anti-air fire coming from the warship, the black machine could not use its Mirage Colloid system due to the drawback of being unable to use its Phase Shit Armor while doing so. At the same time, the Duel began an attack run. Kira hit his thrusters, rising up to meet the blue and white machine with his beam saber. He swung the violet blade in a horizontal slash, which the enemy took on his own blue shield. The Duel slashed back, but Kira had already hit his thrusters and backed off, instead aiming his rifle at the green platform beneath the machine that allowed it to fly. He fired, but the beam didn't hit the device head on. Rather, it impacted the right side, causing it to trail smoke. It lost some maneuverability, and the Duel backed off. For a moment Kira thought that the enemy might retreat, but the machine instead moved towards the engagement between Skygrasper One and the Buster.

"Lieutenant Commander," said Kira, "the Duel's heading your way!"

"Got it," said the pilot. Kira was amazed at how relaxed he sounded, like he wasn't bothered by the news at all. "Thanks for the heads up!"

Kira didn't have time to respond, as the Blitz and Aegis were moving in again. He fired a volley from his rifle, and combined with the _Archangel's _anti-air barrage it was enough to make the two machines back off momentarily, but Kira knew they'd be coming back in shortly. _Damn_, he thought, _if I can just take out those platforms beneath their machines, then they won't be able to fight us. _He would do all he could to avoid killing his best friend.

He raised his rifle and fired another volley as the two machines approached the ship. They split up, but while a swarm of Helldart missiles from the _Archangel_ was enough to deter the Blitz, the Aegis made it through the barrage and came straight for Kira. He hit his thrusters, and his violet blade met the crimson machine's yellow one.

….

_So far, so good_, thought Murrue.

The volley of Wombat missiles fired earlier had significantly reduced the amount of enemies facing Heero and Cagalli, and the two pilots were witling down their numbers even further, with Heero having destroyed another three machines and Cagalli one, leaving just a dozen mobile suits to go.

Things were more mixed on Kira and Mu La Flaga's end. On the one hand, they had managed to prevent the four G-weapons from landing any major hits on the _Archangel_. However, they had still not managed to take down or significantly damage their foes either. The Duel had broken off its attacks on the ship, but was now engaging Skygrasper One, which was still fighting the Buster. _The Lieutenant Commander may not be able to handle two of them at once_, she thought.

Glancing at her own display, which showed a map of the area, Murrue frowned. _We're extremely close to Orb's territorial waters_, she thought, _if we cross the border, even by accident, who knows what could happen? We need to be careful._

Scarcely a second later, a cry came from the radar operator. "Ships approaching from Orb! Counting a dozen destroyers and two cruisers on radar, along with attack helicopters and fighters!"

_Damn_, she thought, _I knew this might happen. Will they fire on us, ZAFT, or both sides?_

"One of the Orb ships is broadcasting on an open channel!" said Miriallia.

"Put it on speaker," said Murrue.

"Attention Alliance and ZAFT forces," said a male voice, "this is the cruiser _Kumano _of the Orb Navy. You are dangerously close to our territory. Withdraw immediately, or we will exercise our rights to defend our sovereignty and destroy you."

Heero's voice came over the radio, calm and slightly amused. "I'd like to see them try." Bringing up an image of the Gundam on her monitor, Murrue saw Wing Zero climb above the enemy formation and split the Twin Buster Rifle in two. Firing both guns, he took out another seven DINNs with two energy blasts. Cagalli quickly swooped in and fired two missiles, destroying another, leaving a mere four machines left.

Murrue was trying to figure out her next move when Lieutenant Commander La Flaga's voice came over the radio. "Damn, he got past me! _Archangel_, Buster incoming!"

Checking one of the monitors, Murrue saw that the Duel had succeeded in imposing itself between the Skygrasper and the Buster, despite the machine's damaged flight platform. The green and tan machine was inbound and leveling its guns at the ship's engines.

"Hard to starboard!" shouted Murrue.

The order came too late. An energy beam and heavy rail cannon round impacted the warship's engines. The ship shuddered violently.

"We've lost forty percent thrust!" cried the helmsman, "We're losing altitude!"

The ship shuddered again as the Aegis managed to slip past the Strike and launch a volley of energy beams. Kira quickly lashed out with his beam saber, throwing the crimson mobile suit back on the defensive, but the damage had been done.

"Portside Gottfried cannon has been knocked out!" yelled Sai, "Igelstellungs four and five are also damaged!"

"Buster's preparing to attack again!" said the radar operator.

"Damn it," said Murrue. However, as all eyes turned to the rearview monitor with the Buster leveling its weapons again, a blast of golden-yellow energy cut between it and the ship. Murrue saw Heero approaching, having disengaged from the DINNs, the last four of which had begun to withdraw from the area. Cagalli was close behind him.

Murrue gasped as she heard the Gundam pilot's voice over the radio. "Get the hell away from her!" he snarled.

The Duel imposed itself between the Buster and Wing Zero, igniting its beam saber. It moved to block a strike from the Gundam's emerald blade, and was staggered back by the blow. At the same time, Cagalli fired a volley of green beams at the Buster. Her shots were joined by crimson blasts from La Flaga's fighter, and the mobile suit began to back off. The Lieutenant Commander and Cagalli then double-teamed the Duel, forcing it to pull back and join the Buster. The two mobile suits were back to back, firing at the two jets as they made hit-and-run attacks on them.

Heero whirled around as the Aegis and Blitz moved in to help their comrades. Firing a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle, causing the two machines to split up, he then charged forward, striking at the Blitz with his beam saber. The black mobile suit barely managed to block Wing Zero's attack, and the Aegis moved to assist. Heero hit his thrusters, gaining altitude, before unleashing a rain of gatling fire. Both the Aegis and Blitz suffered hits to their flight platforms, which began belching smoke and sparks.

"No good," said the helmsman, looking up at Murrue, "Captain, our descent angle takes us right into Orb's territory!"

"We have to turn away!" shouted Murrue.

"No," came a voice behind her, "keep going."

Murrue turned around, surprised to see Kisaka standing at the entrance to the bridge. _How long has he been there? _She hadn't even heard him enter the bridge.

She looked at him, and he simply nodded. "Just keep going, trust me. Let me talk to the Orb fleet."

Murrue nodded. "Alright, take the radio. I hope you know what you're doing."

He smiled. "I suppose I should've said something earlier; I'm not entirely what I seem. You'll see what I mean soon enough. The fact that the lead warship is the _Kumano _only helps matters; the skipper's an old buddy of mine."

As he moved towards the radio station, the voice of the Orb officer came over the radio again. "Alliance warship, you are about to enter our territory. Alter course immediately or you will be fired upon!"

"How dare you say that!" came Cagalli's voice over the radio, much to Murrue's surprise. "Orb helped build the _Archangel_!"

"Who is this?" said the officer, "Identify yourself!"

"My name," said the girl, "is Cagalli Yula Athha. I'm the daughter of Lord Uzumi Nara Athha!"

Murrue's eyes widened in shock. _The leader of Orb is her father?_

"The _Archangel _will enter Orb's waters," said Cagalli, "if you are soldiers of Orb, you will not fire upon that ship!"

Heero's voice came over the radio. "Well," he said, "I didn't see this one coming. Murrue, what are your orders?"

Checking the display, Murrue saw that the four prototypes had pulled back slightly, though they were still firing at the Skygraspers and Wing Zero. "Continue engaging the prototypes," she said, "but do not fire upon the Orb ships. Come back to the _Archangel _as soon as ZAFT withdraws, alright?"

"Roger that," said Heero.

"Kisaka," said Murrue, nodding to the desert fighter standing near the radio station, "go ahead. Whatever you have planed, I hope it works."

He nodded, and turned to the display, adjusting the frequency. "_Kumano_, this is Ledonir Kisaka. You still on that oversized tin can, Takeshi?"

"Kisaka?" said the officer, "I should've known. Figures Lord Uzumi would have you keeping an eye on his daughter."

"Listen, buddy," said Kisaka, "are you really gonna blow her out of the sky? Besides, I know the old man got into that arrangement to help the Alliance with this ship and its mobile suits for a reason, and he'll want to protect his investment."

"That's what we were sent out here for," the man replied, "but ZAFT's attack has made things a bit more complicated. Go back to the open channel and play along; we have to sell this right."

"Hang on," said Kisaka. He turned to Murrue.

She nodded. "Alright, stay at the radio. I'll go along with this for now."

"Thank you," he said, "as soon as they start, recall the fighters and Wing Zero."

"Start what?" said Murrue.

"Don't worry," replied Kisaka, "you'll see soon enough." He turned back to the radio. "Alright, Takeshi, we'll go back to the open channel. The Captain's willing to play ball."

"Good," said the officer, "nice to see someone intelligent is in charge of that ship, at least. Alright, we're switching frequencies. Get ready."

….

Athrun couldn't believe what he had just heard. _That_, he thought, _was Cagalli! I had no idea…_

_ …that she was Orb nobility._

He had little time to think about that at the moment though. Hitting his thrusters, he barely managed to dodge a blast from Wing Zero's devastating rifle. The insanely powerful mobile suit had backed off somewhat, and was maintaining position between the legged ship and the Zala Team, seemingly content to bombard them for now. The two blue and white fighter jets had been performing hit-and-run strikes on the four pilots, but now they were suddenly pulling back towards the ship, with the one-of-a-kind mobile suit covering them.

"Very well," came a voice over the radio, and Athrun realized that it was the Orb military officer from earlier, "since you have refused to acknowledge our warnings, we have no choice but to fire on you."

"Now hold on," said another, and Athrun assumed it was coming from the legged ship, "there's no need for that. We'll alter course soon, just let us get our ship under control."

"No, it's too late for that," said the first voice, "you've already crossed the territorial boundary. All ships, open fire!"

Athrun saw the legged ship touchdown in the water, smoke trailing from its engines and portside beam cannon, along with several other wounds. The fourteen warships all began firing, but their rounds impacted the water around the ship. Several missiles burst above the ship, but rather than be engulfed in fiery explosions, the vessel was instead enveloped in a smoke screen. At the same time, Athrun lost the ship on his radar. _A chaff and smoke screen_, he realized, _I should've known they'd pull something like this!_

However, there was nothing he could do about it. The two fighters had pulled back into the grey clouds that now obscured the ship, and Wing Zero was hovering at the periphery.

A voice came over an open channel, and Athrun was struck by how it cold it sounded, like a blast of arctic wind. "I'll give you one chance," it said, and the Coordinator realized that it was the pilot of Wing Zero, "withdraw, or die. Choose now."

Athrun nodded, though he knew the pilot couldn't see him since the communication was strictly audio. "Understood. Zala Team, we're leaving."

"What?" said Yzak, "You coward! They're vulnerable, we can finish them off!"

"No, you're wrong!" said Nicole, worry clear in his tone, "They're in neutral territory now; if we attack it'll provoke a war between us and Orb!"

"And there's Wing Zero to consider," said Dearka, surprising Athrun by coming to his side, "Much as I hate to admit it, with our flight platforms damaged we're no match for it… if we ever were to begin with."

_For him to admit that much is really something_, Athrun mused, _I guess his pride has taken more of a hit than I thought. I suppose I ought to thank Wing Zero for that._

"Damn it!" said Yzak, "Fine, let's go."

The four machines turned to withdraw, struggling to catch up to the four surviving DINNs due to their damaged flight platforms. As they did, Athrun saw Wing Zero disappear into the clouds of smoke. "This isn't over," he said, "I'm sure our superiors will want to organize an infiltration eventually, since we can't attack Orb directly. We're not done yet."

"And they'll have to leave Orb sooner or later," said Nicole, "When they do, we'll be ready."

_Will we though?_, thought Athrun. He had once again managed to escape killing his best friend. While certainly a cause for relief, he had to wonder if his luck would hold come the next battle. Also, there was Wing Zero to consider. Though he'd witnessed its power first hand in the orbital battle, Athrun was just now beginning to realize that that encounter had only been a taste of what it could do. _Those pilots were right_, he thought, _how the hell are we supposed to defeat that thing?_

….

"All fighters and mobile suits recovered safely," said Miriallia.

"The Orb Navy has formed up around us," said the helmsman, "should I maintain formation with them?"

"Yes," said Murrue, "follow whatever instructions you receive."

"Aye, Captain," he said, turning back to piloting the ship.

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over."

"I wouldn't get too relaxed," said Kisaka, "Lord Uzumi does not do favors like these for free."

"Indeed," said Lieutenant Badgiruel, "there's a reason why he's known as the Lion of Orb."

"I suppose you're right," said Murrue, "I appreciate your help, but now I'm afraid I need you to tell us who you really are."

"Of course," said Kisaka, "I am Colonel Ledonir Kisaka, from the 27th Airborne Division of Orb's Special Forces."

"Well," said a familiar voice from the rear of the bridge, "that explains a lot."

Murrue turned to see Heero standing in the doorway. _It's always amazing how fast he gets here from the hangar_, she thought.

He walked up to her, and she could see concern in his eyes, though she was sure that the others didn't detect it. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Murrue smiled. "Yes, thanks to you. I'm glad you were able to make it over here before the Buster could get another shot off."

Heero sighed. "I screwed up. I took too long fighting the DINNs; I should've finished them quickly and gotten over to the ship faster."

"It's alright," said Murrue, "what's important is that we made it out alive, and didn't take any further damage."

"Though the damage we did receive was bad enough," said Natarle, turning to Murrue, "Captain, I've just finished going over the reports from engineering, and it seems the engines were hit worse than we thought. Repairs could take weeks!"

"Not to mention the damage suffered by the portside Gottfried and several of your anti-air guns," said Kisaka, "I believe Lord Uzumi will allow you to stay and even have our nation assist in the repairs… but it will cost you."

"How so?" said Heero.

Murrue saw his and Kisaka's eyes meet, and it looked as though the two soldiers were sizing each other up. The tension between them seemed to be building, but then Kisaka gave a short laugh. "You'll just have to see for yourself, young man. I hope you can negotiate as fiercely as you fight. Lord Uzumi doesn't pull his punches."

"When will we be meeting with him?" asked Murrue.

"Soon enough," said Kisaka, "In the meantime, I suggest you continue following our fleet. They'll be leading you to one of our secret dock facilities. Work on the _Archangel _will probably commence as soon as your negotiations with him are complete."

He looked over at Heero, who was still dressed in his trademark green tank-top and black shorts. "I know you weren't really worried about impressions when meeting with the Desert Dawn leaders, and I can understand that. Hell, I even respect it; it shows remarkable confidence in your abilities. However, I suggest you find yourself something more appropriate to wear for this meeting."

"What makes you think this Lord Uzumi will want to see me?" asked Heero.

"As soon as I present my report, I can all but guarantee he'll want you to come with Captain Ramius and her command staff," Kisaka replied.

Heero nodded. "Fair enough, but why give me a heads up like this? Seems to me like you're taking away an edge from your side of the table."

"Considering the shape of the _Archangel_," said Kisaka, "I believe the deck's already stacked in Lord Uzumi's favor. I'm doing this out of respect for your abilities, and the fact that in all likelihood Lady Cagalli and I would've died in North Africa without you."

"I see," said Heero, "in that case, I appreciate your warning." He turned to Murrue and smiled. "I have something that should do nicely."

Murrue smiled back. "You, in formal wear? That's something I have to see."

"You will soon enough," he replied, before turning to leave the bridge.

Watching him go, Murrue realized that she was genuinely interested in what he had brought along that he felt would work for a meeting with Orb's top leaders. _I know he said he'd packed light for his mission to intercept the falling Barge reactor_, she thought, _so I suppose it's something he's kept within Wing Zero at all times, just in case a situation called for it._ Knowing Heero, she assumed it was a uniform of some kind.

She couldn't help but smile again. _He's quite handsome as it is_, she thought, _I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to this…_

….

After running maintenance checks on the Wing Zero and making sure its shoulder gatlings were reloaded, Heero returned to his quarters. Looking out the window, he saw that the ship was approaching a large inlet. There appeared to be nothing there but a large cliff wall, but then the Gundam pilot saw a section of it begin to fall, slowly and deliberately.

He smiled slightly. _A large scale dock hidden behind a cliff_, he mused, _I have to hand it to Orb; they have some nice tricks up their sleeves._

He turned back to the room, and went for his duffle bag. Removing everything else, he finally got to the items at the bottom of the bag. He took them out and laid them on the bed. Looking at them for a moment, he sighed. _Never considered myself one for nostalgia_, he thought, _but this…_

_ ….this takes me back… to the old world._

….

_ "Hello, Heero," said Relena, "I'm glad you could make it."_

_ It had been a week since the end of the Eve Wars and the official declaration of a new Earth Sphere Unified Nations. Heero had been surprised to receive a call from Relena, asking him to come to Brussels, the capital of the fledgling government. Now he was standing in an office, with Relena, Lucrezia Noin, and Lady Une standing behind a desk. The tall, black-blue haired woman was holding a small briefcase in her hands. The other woman, with long brown hair and a wise, dignified air about her, was holding a slender blue tube-like package that looked to be about a meter in length, perhaps a little less._

_ "I suppose I should congratulate you," said Heero to the girl who had become his first true friend, "I hear you've been named Vice-Foreign Minister. You're father… both fathers, I should say, would've been proud."_

_ She smiled, her long, flowing brown-blond hair catching the sunlight coming through the window behind her, gleaming slightly. "Yes, through this position I hope to be able to carry on the ideals of both my biological father, King Peacecraft, and my adoptive father, the late Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian of the former United Earth Sphere Alliance."_

_ "And I'll be helping her do exactly that," said Noin, smiling as well, "along with a few old friends of mine. It's too bad we can't convince you to join up with us."_

_ "Indeed," said Une, "I would instantly accept you into the ranks of the Preventers. I know our organization needs people like you."_

_ "Sorry," said Heero, "but I work best on my own."_

_ "Yes, I suppose you do," said Relena, "Heero, I did not call you here today to persuade you to join the new government; I think I know you well enough to know that you would turn down any position. However, there is something Miss Noin, Lady Une, and I wanted to give you."_

_ Noin walked over to him. She winked as she held out the briefcase, opening it. As Heero viewed the contents, she spoke. "Miss Relena had it made as soon as I told her you were coming to the Sanc Kingdom. That feels like a long time ago now, doesn't it?"_

_ Heero nodded, then turned to Relena. "Why make me this?"_

_ "Well," said Relena, "at the time, I had hoped that you would perhaps settle down in the kingdom; walk away from the battlefields. I knew you wouldn't do so right away, but I still wished that you would with time. I'd planned on giving that to you eventually, but the time never seemed right… and then you left to fight at Luxembourg. After that, and Romefeller's subsequent invasion of the Sanc Kingdom… well, we all had more important things to deal with, didn't we?"_

_ Her eyes met his. "Heero, please take it. Though the Sanc Kingdom may no longer exist, I still want you to have that. I don't know if you will need it in the future; perhaps, perhaps not. In any case, I want the memory of the Sanc Kingdom to live on in places and people other than myself. I will do all I can to carry on its ideals, but in the end I'm just one person. I understand that there is only so much that I can do, though I may wish that it were otherwise."_

_ Heero nodded and took the case, gently closing it. "Alright… and thank you."_

_ Relena smiled. "You're welcome, Heero."_

_ She turned to Lady Une and nodded. The woman who had been the confidant and dearest companion to the late leader of OZ came up to him. She held out the tube-like package in her front of her. Heero took it, and slowly removed the lid at one end of it. His eyes widened slightly as he saw what was inside. _

_ He looked up at Lady Une, who smiled. "Other than Wufei," she said, "you were the only one of the Gundam pilots that His Excellency met face to face. This was his; he left it behind when he went to fight in the Battle of the Libra. I believe he would've liked it if you took it."_

_ "But why?" said Heero, "Treize had more of a connection with Wufei than me; shouldn't this go to him?"_

_ Une shook her head. "To Mister Treize, his rematch with Wufei was, in a way, his own gift to him. I was unconscious until shortly before the final battle, so His Excellency never had the chance to elaborate on what the two of you spoke of at Luxembourg, but I know that he respected and admired you Gundam pilots more than anyone else in the Earth Sphere. Please, take it. I believe it would go well with Miss Relena's gift."_

_ Heero nodded. "Very well. I don't know if I'll ever have a need for it… but thank you." _

….

Now, though he hadn't kept the case itself with him, the contents of it were lain out on the bed in Heero's quarters aboard the _Archangel_. Likewise, the blue tube-like package was gone, but its contents were still with Heero. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at them. "Well, Relena," he said, "it seems I'll be wearing this sooner that I had anticipated. And Lady Une, I think you were right; this should go nicely with it."

Though he knew that it would help to present a favorable impression at the upcoming meeting, Heero realized that that wouldn't be the main reason he would be wearing Relena's and Une's gifts. As he moved towards the bathroom to shower before changing, he found himself wondering what Murrue would think when she saw him with them.

_ Never thought I'd be dressing to impress someone_, he thought, _I wonder if Murrue will like it. I hope she does…_

….

About an hour later, Murrue was standing near the portside exit hatch of the _Archangel_, along with Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Lieutenant Badgiruel. Kisaka had already left the ship to report to Lord Uzumi, and the three Alliance officers were waiting for permission from the government agent next to them to disembark. A few Orb dignitaries had come aboard earlier, including the man next to them and two ladies that Murrue was surprised to learn were handmaidens for Cagalli. _I'm surprised that Orb has that little custom_, she mused, _or maybe I'm just surprised that Cagalli has to adhere to it. She's just struck me as such a rough-and-tumble type of girl, I never would've known she was Orb nobility had she not revealed that herself. _Murrue had directed the two women to the quarters Cagalli was using, and as she looked down the hallway she saw them approaching now, with their princess between them.

Murrue was surprised to see that the blond girl had traded her usual khakis and red shirt for a flowing sea-green dress. _It looks quite lovely on her_, she thought.

Cagalli forced a smile as she approached. "This isn't really my style," she said, looking down at the dress, "but Waltfeld gave it to me in Banadiya, and it's the only bit of formal wear I have. I insisted that I accompany you guys to your meeting, so they in turn said that I had to wear something more fitting of my station." She sighed. "I just can't argue with them; when my father gives them an order, they carry it out no matter what."

"I don't envy you," said Murrue, "still, you look nice. I think that dress goes well with you."

"Thanks," said Cagalli, "Waltfeld said something along those lines." She looked around. "By the way, where's Heero? I would've thought he'd be with you guys."

"I called his quarters a little while ago," Murrue replied, "he said he'd be joining us shortly; apparently he was having difficulty with something, but he assured me he didn't need any help."

"Huh," said Cagalli, "I wonder what was giving him problems…" Her voice trailed off as she looked past Murrue down the opposite hallway. Murrue saw her eyes widen. "Oh, _wow_…" The two handmaidens with her had a similar reaction.

Natarle turned around a bit before Murrue and gasped.

La Flaga chuckled. "I'll be damned…"

Murrue turned around… and what she saw took her breath away.

Heero was walking up to them, and what he was wearing completely blew her away. While she had suspected his 'formal wear' would be some kind of uniform, she had never imagined that it would be anything quite like what he was wearing now. The shirt was simple enough; blue with a single row of buttons, but over it was a white shoulder sash than ran across his chest from his right down to the left, with a thin red trim on both sides. Over _that _was a stunning blue jacket, with yellow-gold epaulets on the shoulders, a row of silver buttons on the right side, and an intricate light blue embroidery pattern that ran from the end of the shoulder epaulets down to the midsection. The pants were plainer, a simple white, and he wore black boots, but at his waist was a black belt with a small but ornate golden buckle, with the image of a horse raised up on its hind legs in the center of it. On the left of his waist hung a saber, with an elegant curved guard at the hilt, glistening in gold sheen.

Murrue could've sworn her eyes widened nearly to the size of dinner plates. _I already knew he was handsome_, she thought, _I will be the first to admit that. But now… he's just incredible!_

She knew she was blushing as Heero came up to her. He looked at her, concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked.

_Oh, you have _no _idea_, she thought. She was half surprised that she hadn't swooned. As it was, Murrue needed a moment to catch her breath… not an easy thing to do when the young man she was slowly falling in love with was standing before her looking like a 19th century officer or aristocrat, and an _extremely _handsome one at that.

She managed a smile, and hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. "Yes, thanks for asking," said Murrue.

"Oh, good," said Heero, "I was a little worried." He looked down at himself and then back to her. "So… how do I look?"

Murrue was struck by an uncharacteristic nervousness that seemed to hang in that question. She put her hand on his shoulder, her smile growing a bit bigger. "You look _amazing_," she said.

"You can say that again," said Cagalli, still starring at Heero.

Heero smiled, his eyes meeting Murrue's. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Heero," she said.

"Have you had that this whole time?" said La Flaga.

Heero nodded. "Yes, I just didn't see a need for it until now."

"I don't recognize the uniform," said Natarle, "What nation is it from?"

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he had a far off expression on his face, and Murrue knew he was thinking of his old world. "A kingdom lost to the fires of war," he said softly.

Natarle waited for him to elaborate, but after a few seconds it became clear that he wouldn't, so she simply went back to starring again, trying to figure it out for herself.

_You'll never guess right, Lieutenant Badgiruel_, thought Murrue, _after all, it's from a monarchy that never existed in our world. _Heero's words had been more than enough hint for her after what he had told her in North Africa. _It's from the Sanc Kingdom._

"A gift from Relena?" she asked.

Heero nodded. "Yes… she gave it to me at the end of the last war. Although… I never thought I'd be wearing it in a place like this."

"Who's Relena?" asked Cagalli.

"An old friend of mine," he replied.

"What about the sword?" said Murrue, "From what you told me, I don't think Relena would be the type to give you something like that."

Heero smiled. "It was from Lady Une. It belonged to Treize."

"More friends of yours?" asked La Flaga.

Heero chuckled. "You could say that." He turned to Murrue. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. This thing's a pain to get on properly."

"It's alright," said Murrue. She motioned to the Orb agent standing by the hatch. "He hasn't said anything about disembarking yet anyway."

"Well, that's a relief," he said. He turned to Cagalli. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course," she said, "go right ahead."

"How exactly is Orb governed?" he asked, "The files I've read on it so far have spoken only of its military capabilities and Morgenroete Incorporated, the top defense contractor. Is your father the sole ruler of Orb, or is he the head of a council of some kind?"

"Well," said Cagalli, "it's a bit complicated. There is an elected legislature, which handles the municipalities and day-to-day administration, but major decisions on domestic and foreign policy are the purview of the five noble families. A prominent member of each family is chosen as representative at the Council, usually the patriarch, though others have held Council positions at times. The Athha family has been the largest and most powerful of the ruling families since the nation's inception. As a result, you could consider my father to be the head executive of the government, though his decisions can be overruled if the other four families vote unanimously against him. My father is the Chief Representative of Orb- our equivalent of Prime Minister- and the head of state, or at least he was; after I got back to Earth following Heliopolis, I learned that the fallout from that attack had actually forced him to resign. His younger brother, my uncle Homura, is now the ruler, but I know my father is using him as a puppet, and a willing one at that. My father might as well still be in charge of our country; he certainly acts like it. "

Heero sighed. "A bunch of blue bloods and plutocrats." He turned to Murrue and smirked. "This feels like Romefeller all over again."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, you have a point there. It's fortunate that you have experience in dealing with such people."

"Most of the time I just fought them," said Heero. He smiled. "Didn't do much negotiating with them, really. Easier to just tear through their armies."

Murrue couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Heero joined her, then the two of them turned to see Natarle, La Flaga, and Cagalli starring at them.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Natarle.

"It's a long story," said Heero.

"Very," said Murrue, "take my word for it; I've heard the whole thing." She turned back to Heero and smiled. "Though I don't regret a minute of it."

"Good," he replied, "I'd feel bad if I bored you."

"Trust me," said Murrue, "the last thing I find you to be is boring."

_In fact_, she thought, _you're the most fascinating man I've ever met… one of several reasons why I may be falling for you._

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Orb agent step away and reach for his radio. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but after about a minute he put the device away and turned to the group. "I'm to escort you to the waiting room," he said, "Unfortunately the ruling council is still in session, and it may take a little more time before Lord Uzumi is ready to meet with you. In the meanwhile, food and drinks will be provided for you during your wait. Please, follow me. Also, I must ask that you leave your side-arms behind."

Murrue nodded. "Of course." She handed her weapon over to a nearby Alliance soldier. The other officers did the same, as did Heero.

"Don't mess with that," he said as he turned the weapon over.

"Of course not," the enlisted man said.

Murrue noted that Heero did not hand over his sword, nor did the Orb agent make any mention of it. _Perhaps he thinks it's merely for decoration_, she mused, _but considering Heero said it belonged to Treize, along with what he told me about that man, I doubt that's the case. They'll be in for a surprise if they do anything to provoke him._

They moved to the hatch, which the Alliance soldier standing guard there proceeded to open. As they left the ship, Murrue looked around in amazement at the docking facility. It was massive, with catwalks running overhead, along with cranes and rows of lights. Workers and soldiers alike looked on as they disembarked.

Murrue couldn't help but smile as Heero moved slightly ahead of her, eyes darting back and forth, scanning for threats. _When he says he'll protect someone_, she thought, _he doesn't do it halfway. _She felt incredibly fortunate to have him with her, and drew strength from his presence, his alertness, ready to react instantly at the slightest hint of ill intent on the part of their hosts.

She put a hand on his shoulder and moved a bit closer to him. "Thank you," she whispered.

He glanced over and nodded, giving her a small smile before turning back to the docking facility and the people gathered around the ship.

"I trust no one will enter the _Archangel _while we are away?" said Natarle.

"Of course," said their escort, "Lord Uzumi has issued strict orders; no personnel are permitted to enter without your approval. However, he has also made it clear that until your meeting has taken place, none of your crew are to leave the ship unless he summons you."

"I'm not sure I appreciate being at this guy's beck and call like this," said La Flaga.

"If everything goes well," said Murrue, "then it shouldn't be for long… though we will be stuck here for awhile, considering the extent of the damage."

"At least we'll have time for some shore leave," said La Flaga.

"I doubt the Orb will just let us wander around," said Natarle.

"I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement on that," said Murrue, "I know the crew could use some rest and relaxation after all that's happened."

_Including myself_, she thought. The near constant fighting and running since the attack on Heliopolis was definitely wearing on her, and she dearly wished to explore the island nation a little during their stay. She looked over at Heero. _With him at my side… yes, I'd like that very much._

They made their way towards the far end of the dock, and the agent pressed a button on the wall. A portion of the massive steel surface slid away, revealing a magnetic tram line.

"Please board quickly," he said, "this tram line runs directly beneath Onogoro Island's Morgenroete headquarters; Lord Uzumi has called the ruling families and his cabinet out here to meet you."

"Why not just take us to the capital?" asked Natarle.

"Considering Orb's position as a neutral nation," said Murrue, "I imagine they're taking all possible precautions to avoid having this meeting exposed to the public. Transporting us to Orb's capital increases the probability of that happening, so in this case it's easier for Lord Uzumi to come to us."

"That is correct," said the agent, smiling. "You are quite astute, Captain."

They boarded the tram car and took their seats. A few seconds later, the vehicle began to move, picking up speed at a remarkable pace. Murrue looked over at Heero, who was examining the interior. After a moment he turned to her and whispered, "Six cameras; one in each corner, and two on the ceiling. They're hiding them behind fake light panels."

Murrue nodded, and without thinking reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. Glancing over, she saw his eyes widen slightly for a second, then he gave her a small smile and returned it, holding her hand for the rest of the tram ride.

A few minutes later, the subway began to slow, then came to a stop at a well lit platform. "This way, please," said the agent as he led the group out of the vehicle. They made their way up a flight of stairs that was guarded by a pair of soldiers with assault rifles. The two men didn't as much as blink as they passed them.

They reached the top after about a minute, though there was no obvious door. The agent pushed a pad on the wall, and the metal surface moved to the left, revealing a bright hallway. There were no windows and as they climbed another flight of stairs Murrue realized that were still underground. "Quite the elaborate setup they have here," she said to Heero.

He nodded. "I have to say, I'm impressed. I wonder if this was the government's doing, or Morgenroete's?"

"It was a collaborative effort," said the agent as they finally came to a floor with a view of the outside, revealing clear blue skies and a crowded parking lot. Beyond that was the skyline of a nearby city. "Lord Uzumi himself proposed the project around the same time construction commenced on the _Archangel _and the prototype mobile suits at Heliopolis. Morgenroete provided the funds and blueprints; the government brought in the manpower. Direct access between the company's headquarters and the secret dock was deemed vital to continued development of our defense technologies."

"You anticipated that the _Archangel _would come to Orb, didn't you?" said Murrue.

The agent shook his head. "I cannot speak for Lord Uzumi on that matter." He then smiled. "However, if I had to guess, I would say that the former Chief Representative had hoped to use the facility to construct improved warships based upon the _Archangel's _designs, or at least to conduct repairs on them and conceal them."

"You're being remarkably helpful for a government minder," said Heero, "I don't suppose there's a reason behind that, is there?"

"Consider it gratitude," the man replied, "you people helped keep our princess safe and brought her home. She's well-liked by the people, along with many of us within the government. It's the least I can do, considering your situation. I'm sure Kisaka already warned you guys, but you're going to have a rough time of it once the meeting starts."

"We're aware of the risks Orb is taking in sheltering us," said Murrue, "I know it's only natural that Lord Uzumi will want something in return. We'll try to be accommodating, but there are limits as to what we can cooperate on."

"Good," said the agent as he pushed open a set of mahogany doors. He led them into a large room. There were no windows, but the walls were adorned with large paintings, all of landscapes from the island nation. The walls were lined with chairs, and interspersed between them were small tables, each with an assortment of food and beverages on them. At the far end was a receptionist's desk. The lady sitting behind it had her black hair tied up in a bun, and she looked up as they entered.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but they're still in session at the moment. You'll have to wait awhile longer."

"This is where we part ways," said the agent as the group filed into the room. Cagalli's handmaidens joined him in his departure. "Good luck," he said just before the doors closed.

The fiery princess wasted no time in marching up to the desk. "Just how long will they be?" she said.

"I'm afraid I can't say," the secretary replied, "Lord Uzumi is conducting a joint meeting between the ruling families and his cabinet; it could stretch on for quite some time."

"Oh, come on," said Lieutenant Badgiruel, "you mean to say that they call us over here and then expect us to sit and wait without at least giving us a timetable?"

"Can't be helped," said La Flaga. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I don't like it either, but there's no point in fussing over it."

For some reason, the blond pilot seemed to have a calming effect on her. "Alright, fine," she said, moving towards one of the chairs. The Lieutenant Commander went with her.

_Interesting_, Murrue thought, _I wonder if there's something going on there. Then again, who am I to talk? If they decide to get involved romantically, I won't stop them. _She smiled as she looked over at Heero, who was walking around the room, apparently examining the paintings. Murrue smiled. _After all, I'm pretty sure I'm developing feelings for another pilot myself._

After a few minutes of investigating she saw Heero make his way over towards her. "A nice little façade they have going on here," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Murrue.

"Those pictures are fakes," he replied, "each one has both a camera and a listening device mounted in them, though they were pretty hard to make out. I'll give the Orb credit; they don't half-ass their bugs."

"Did you get a fix on how many there are?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"I found eight listeners in the paintings, along with an equal amount of cameras," said Heero, "and there are at least another ten cameras hidden in the room. That's all I've found so far."

"Is it wise to be discussing this so openly?" she asked, "You're not even whispering this time."

"It was different in the tram car," he said, "I wasn't sure of the agent's disposition, and I didn't want to arouse his suspicion. He's gone now, and even if the secretary's paying attention, all this lets her know is that I'm observant. Same with whoever's on the other end of the bugs. Sure, it means they'll take me more seriously once our meeting starts, and there will be less of a chance of them underestimating me, but at the same time it may also encourage them to play things a bit more openly."

"I hope you're right," said Murrue.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," said Heero, "us knowing how many surveillance devices they have in the room doesn't change our bargaining position, and the Orb know it." He glanced over at one of the tables, then turned to Murrue. "Might as well get some food and sit down. Who knows how long we'll be here for."

Murrue smiled. "Yes, I could definitely use something to eat right now."

The table they went to had a bowl full of shrimp, with smaller plates set aside, along with napkins, glasses of water, and a small bowl of cocktail sauce.

"This looks good," said Heero as he dished up.

Murrue grabbed some herself, and the two of them sat down. "You're not eating, Cagalli?" she said.

"Not really hungry," she said, folding her arms and glaring at the door to the meeting room.

Murrue remembered something Kisaka had said before they had left North Africa. "Did you and your father have a falling out?" she asked.

The girl sighed. "Not quite… it's complicated."

"Do you want to talk about it?" said Murrue.

Cagalli smiled and shook her head. "No, but thanks for asking. It's just politics, really, and you have enough to worry about in any case."

"Alright, fair enough," said Murrue. She leaned back in her chair, taking the opportunity to relax.

_I'll take all the rest I can get_, she thought, _Lord Uzumi isn't known as the Lion of Orb for nothing, after all. _Then she looked to her left and smiled as she saw Heero, kicking back and digging into his food. _I'm worried, but not nearly as much as I would be if you weren't here. Thank you, Heero._

….

Meanwhile, in Aprilius One, another soldier was anything but relaxed. Moving with the incredible speed and grace of not only a Coordinator but a seasoned fighter as well, Commander Rehema pressed her advantage. Wearing black pants and a white tank-top, ZAFT's top pilot was barely even breathing hard as she went in for her final strike. Feinting low, she swung her blade upward faster than her foe could react, slicing across his chest. The man groaned in pain and lowered his own saber, knowing the fight was over.

Shemei smiled, knowing the cut was shallow and not life-threatening. "Match," she said.

The man nodded and winced as another soldier came up to him to take him to the side of the 'ring' to clean and bandage the wound. "Damn, Commander," he said as he left, "can't you go a little easier on us?"

Shemei chuckled. "Come on, Mark, you know none of us got into this game just to have someone 'go easy on us'."

Her opponent gave her a slightly pained smile. "Point taken… in more ways than one, I guess."

Shemei moved aside to make room for the next pair of fighters. There were a dozen people in the gymnasium. Officially closed down for renovation, the Commander and her colleagues had paid off the watchman to look the other was while they used the facility to indulge in their sport; underground dueling.

While there were fencing leagues in the PLANT, as well as a few teams in ZAFT, Shemei had quickly become bored with how there was no risk involve. Sure, the matches had been exhilarating when she'd first started out, and she had found that practicing the sport also made her reflexes sharper- a valuable trait in pilots- but after experiencing real combat the Egyptian woman had realized that nothing could quite match the adrenaline rush that came with putting her life on the line. It had been this need for something more challenging that had led her to search out the illegal dueling clubs she'd heard rumors about. When they'd heard that she wanted to join, the members had welcomed her with open arms. Shemei had come to enjoy her fights with them. They were all pilots like herself, and she felt at ease in the presence of fellow adrenaline junkies. The rules were simple; victory was decided by either first blood drawn or concession by one fighter or the other.

From an early age, Shemei had been fascinated by sword fighting. Her parents had encouraged this passion, and she had quickly shot to the top of the Cairo University fencing team. During her time on the squad she had been careful to hold back so that no one would realize that she was a Coordinator, as well as to give her competitors a fair chance to win.

However, eventually her secret had gotten out when, during a heated match with a rival student, she had lost her temper and moved far faster than was possible for a Natural. While she had won the fight, she knew she had exposed herself, and it was from that moment onward that she and her family had begun to be persecuted by the people around them. It had been gradual at first, but due to her attendance of a high profile university it had quickly escalated, culminating in no less than five attempted murders by members of Blue Cosmos. The last one had been a car bomb at her graduation ceremony that had killed six students and ten family members but had failed to even injure Shemei or her parents.

It was the last incident that had resulted in the family moving to the PLANTs. Somewhat surprisingly, it had not been her parents that had argued for the move, but Shemei herself. She had been horrified at the possibility that her mother and father could be targeted because of her, and she had resolved to find some way to ensure their safety. While they had been against moving away from their homeland at first, they had relented when Shemei had finally broken down in tears before them and begged them to listen to her.

The incident during the fencing match had taught Shemei a valuable lesson in self-control, but despite all that had happened in the aftermath her love of swordsmanship had not died, and within weeks of immigrating to the PLANTs she had already joined a team.

_Now_, she thought as she leaned against a wall, taking a sip from her water bottle, _here I am, participating in an illegal dueling club. I suppose it was natural that I'd get here eventually. After all, I'm a sucker for a good fight. _

However, something was different now. The fights weren't giving her the same sense of fulfillment, the same _rush_ that they had before. After thinking on it for awhile, she slowly smiled as she realized what, or rather _who_ the culprit was.

She chuckled softly. "Damn it, Heero." Their fights in North Africa had given her a sense of exhilaration that no other foe had come close to eliciting. Whether it be a rival pilot or fencer, no one else could measure up to that extraordinary young man and his incredible mobile suit.

Shemei looked up at her colleagues. "I'm done for the day. Later, guys."

The others bid her farewell as she grabbed her sword and made her way towards the locker room. Putting her blade in her duffle bag, she turned on the sink and ran water through her hands, splashing some on her face. _It's too bad officers aren't allowed to wear swords as well as our side-arms_, she thought,_ I don't see why Command makes such a big deal out of it. _Though she obeyed the regulations, she still kept her saber in the duffel bag she always stored beneath the pilot's seat of whatever mobile suit she was operating at the time. Wiping off with a towel, she put on a grey t-shirt and grabbed her bag, heading for the exit.

"Heading home early?" said the guard as she went out the door.

"Yeah," Shemei replied, "later."

Entering the parking lot, she made her way to an open-topped green jeep. Putting her bag in the passenger seat, she started up the vehicle and headed out to the main road. It was mid-afternoon in the capital, and Shemei smiled as an artificial breeze blew through her violet-black hair.

Having returned to the capital six days ago, Shemei had wasted no time in contacting her friends working in the myriad research groups devoted to mobile suit technology. The information provided by Bristow had been intriguing, but had only served to whet her appetite for more.

After meeting with the recently, and reluctantly, promoted Field Marshal, Shemei had called up a few former academy classmates of hers who had gone on to ZAFT's Mobile Suit Research and Development Cooperative. Developed independently of the Asimov Design Bureau, the engineering teams involved in the program had originally worked on modifications and additional weaponry for the machines developed by the company, but later on they had begun forays into mobile suit design and production as well. Their first combat models had been the massive ZuOOTs favored by the ground forces, followed by the GOOhNs favored by the surface navy, in competition to the BuCue and ZnO units respectively. Now the government organization was effectively a rival to the mostly independent ADB.

Shemei's former colleagues had assured her that several new models were in the works, and that her and the rest of the Valkyrie Team would be called up soon for simulation and trial-flight testing, but for now they were still in the development process and would not divulge further details. Commander Rehema had been frustrated at first, but it had subsided quickly enough as she rationalized that it would only be natural that ZAFT would have the engineers and scientists working under code-word clearance and other heavy security measures.

_Can't be helped_, she thought as she turned off onto another road, this one leading to the apartment complex for the officers of the capital's military base, Fort Jupiter. Making her way to the parking garage, she pulled into her spot, grabbed her bag, and left the vehicle. After a brief elevator ride to the fourth floor, she finally arrived at her residence.

"Home sweet home," she muttered as she walked in.

The layout was simple enough. There was a small closet to the right of the door, and immediately in front of her was the living room. The kitchen off to the left, along with a small dining room, while to the right was her bedroom and a bathroom, along with a storage closed. At the far side of the living room there was a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony with a table and four chairs on it.

Walking into the living room, Shemei put her bag down on a reclining chair and then plopped down on the couch. Reaching for the laptop that was on the coffee table in front of her, she powered the device on. At the same time, she grabbed a remote and turned on the flat screen T.V. mounted on the opposite wall. She skimmed through the channels until she came to one of the major news channels, then turned to her laptop to check her email.

Shemei smiled when she saw that she had a message from Bristow. _Maybe he's gotten more info on ADB's latest suit designs._ However, what came up instead was a message detailing ZAFT's latest encounter with the _Archangel_. She smirked as she read the report. _They only sent forty machines_, she thought, _of course they got annihilated. The Defense Council continues to underestimate Wing Zero. Did Zala really think that just because his son's unit was involved in the attack that they'd have better luck? What an arrogant bastard… gotta feel sorry for Athrun, though; having to live with those kinds of expectations from his father must be pretty rough._

She had met the young man a few times before, and had found him to be a pleasant, if somewhat quiet and brooding, individual. Shemei suspected that his arranged marriage to Lacus Clyne might be playing a role in that. _I've seen the two of them together_, she thought, _and they're always polite and kind to each other. I know they're friends, but I have to wonder if marrying her is what Athrun really wants. I'm sure that both of them believe that the whole affair is part of doing their duty for the people; the wedding will surely be quite the spectacle, after all. Still, it doesn't seem right that neither of them were really offered a choice in the matter._

Having grown up in the Middle East, Shemei was all too familiar with arranged marriages, and considered herself fortunate that both her parents were incredibly open minded when it came to their daughter's future. She smiled. _Then again, they both defied their families when they got married, so of course they'd be more lenient with me on that issue._

She turned her mind back to Bristow's report. Shemei raised her eyebrows slightly as she reached the ending, where by all accounts the ship had crossed into Orb's territory. _I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised_, she thought, _considering they helped build the ship. Still, the Orb government would have to know that letting that ship into their country could risk a declaration of war by ZAFT… especially considering the current political climate around here. _Shemei noted Bristow's final paragraph, stating that Orb had released an official statement saying that the _Archangel _had been forced out of their territory shortly after the battle. She laughed softly as Bristow so elegantly called the announcement 'a load of horseshit.'

"If you talk like that in your formal reports Eric, you're likely to get sent back to the front," she said, "although knowing you, you'd probably like that a hell of a lot more than having meetings with Zala every day."

She logged out of her email and went to her Facebook page. The commander smiled when she saw a message from Lan asking if she wanted to meet later for drinks. Apparently she had already roped in Adaline and Priscilla. "Why not?" said Shemei as she typed her response, "Might as well hit a bar or two while we've got the time to."

She leaned back and watched the news program as she waited for Lan to either message or call her. Shemei frowned as she saw the latest round of poll numbers _Hardly seems like there's much of a point in them posting those any more_, she thought, _the election is mere weeks away. _The numbers were now an even sixty to forty in Zala's favor.

Shemei sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "So, Zala," she said, "knowing you, your plans for ending this war probably involve one massive campaign; probably even bigger than Uroboros was. If Panama really is the target for Spitbreak, you have to know that just taking that mass driver won't end the war by itself. Do you plan to strike at Alaska next, cut off Earth from space entirely, conquer the Atlantic Federation, and then proclaim Coordinator hegemony over the entire solar system?"

"If you intend to take us down the road of empire," Shemei continued, "then you should take a closer look at the past. All powers meet their end when they overreach; do you really think we'll be any different just because we were created through science rather than nature?"

She closed her eyes. "You fool… you arrogant, racist, blood-thirsty fool."

….

"Damn it," growled Cagalli, "how much longer are they going to make us wait?"

It had been nearly three hours since they had arrived in the waiting room, and the blond haired girl wasn't the only one getting impatient. Natarle and even the ever-relaxed La Flaga had been fidgeting for awhile now, clearly anxious to get things started.

Heero couldn't help but smirk a little as the Orb princess fumed. _Clearly, patience was never her strong point_, he thought. He looked over at Murrue, who seemed content to sit back and rest. _She, on the other hand, is as level-headed as ever… yet another trait of hers that I admire._

She looked over at him and smiled, and he gave her a small one of his own. Heero turned to Cagalli. "As long as they feel like it," he said, "not much we can really do about that. I am surprised you've chosen to stay with us, rather than head home. What do you hope to accomplish by going in there with us?"

"I want to give my father a piece of my mind!" she snapped.

Heero turned as Murrue laughed softly. "Don't you think that sort of thing could wait until after negotiations like these?" she said.

Cagalli sighed. "No… mainly because he's always so busy. If I don't take this chance to call him out for his actions, who knows when I'll get another?"

"By 'actions'," said Heero, "I'm assuming you're referring to Orb's role in the construction of the _Archangel _and its mobile suits."

"There's more to it than that," said Cagalli, "you'll see what I mean later… if they ever get around to meeting with us."

Heero nodded. "Fair enough."

After about a minute of silence, the blond girl turned to Heero, this time with curiosity on her face. "Hey….mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," he said, "though I might not answer, depending on the question."

"In the war you fought in," said Cagalli, "did you… fight alone?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just a vibe I get from you," she said, "in all the battles I've seen you in so far, you never ask for help. I mean, in the last battle I was on your wing, but that was because Captain Ramius assigned me there. Even then, the only command you really gave me was to attack at my discretion, and only after you had the enemy focused on you."

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga helped me take down the _Everest_," he reminded her.

"Yeah, but from what I heard when you brought me back to the ship, you handled the situation similar to our last engagement," Cagalli replied, "Your fighting style is almost entirely lone wolf… and it seems to come naturally to you."

Heero was surprised at her analysis. _That's more in depth and thought out than I would've expected. She's actually quite insightful when she's not ruled by that temper of hers._

"For the most part, you're right," he said, "While I did have comrades, most of my battles I fought by myself. It wasn't really until towards the end of the war that we all started working together."

"Were they like you?" asked Natarle, her own curiosity getting the better of her, "Lone fighters, I mean."

"In the beginning, yes," said Heero, "however, some of them found it easier to team up earlier on. It was really me and one other pilot who had the hardest time adjusting to fighting as a group."

"Which one of the other four was it?" asked Murrue.

"Hold on, other four?" said La Flaga, "You mean there are four other pilots like Heero?"

"Well, I wouldn't say 'like me'," said Heero, unable to resist a smirk, "We were all part of the same operation, and our mobile suits were all Gundams, but the each machine was as unique as the pilot that controlled it."

"As for your question, Murrue," he continued, giving her a small smile, "it was Chang Wufei. His pride combined with his unique code of honor and justice meant that it took the most convincing to get him to join us in time for the final campaign."

"I remember you talking about him" said Murrue, "he was the one you let pilot the Wing Zero, correct? You said the Zero system helped him figure out who his real enemies were."

"Whoa, hang on," said La Flaga, "You mean Heero here actually let someone else pilot that thing?"

"That's correct," said Heero, "it was necessary in order to convince him that working with us was the best way to accomplish his own goals."

"What's this 'Zero system' you mentioned?" asked Natarle, "I've heard you talking about it before on the bridge. Is it Wing Zero's operating system?"

"It's far more than just that," said Heero, "I won't go into the details, but suffice to say it is beyond anything ever conceived for mobile suit operations. It's one of the reasons Wing Zero is so dangerous. That's all I'll say on the matter."

He wouldn't have had time to say more in any case. The secretary's phone rang, and after a moment of listening to the voice on the other end she hung up and looked over at them. "They're ready for you," she said, "please, go right on it."

"Finally," said Cagalli, "I bet the sun's already starting to set. We've certainly been waiting long enough for that."

The secretary didn't respond as the girl led the group into the meeting room. As she opened the doors, Heero quickly moved in front of Murrue, eyes darting back and forth, taking in the room's features in an instant. It was quite large, with a long rectangular table in the center. On one side a dozen people in suits were sitting, facing the doorway. At the center of them was a man that Heero assumed to be Lord Uzumi.

_The Lion of Orb indeed_, he thought, _he certainly carries himself as one might expect the bearer of that moniker to. _Even sitting it was apparent that he was a tall individual, and his long hair and well-trimmed beard definitely had the feel of a lion's mane on him. The hair was black and grey, but middle-age seemed to have little effect on the sense of presence the man exuded. He was dressed simply enough, wearing a plain burgundy suit over a white button-up shirt, and the others in the meeting room were dressed in similar attire.

His fierce brown eyes met Heero's, and the Gundam pilot knew instantly that the leader had identified him. _It seems Kisaka's report was quite thorough, if this is anything to go by_, he thought. Heero could feel the intensity in them, but was not about to back down. For a second, unnoticed by anyone else in the room, the two were matched off in a staring contest; a preview of the battle of iron wills that was to come.

Then the man smiled slightly, and nodded his head. _A concession?_, thought Heero, _No, it didn't have that feel to it. More like an acknowledgement… but of what?_

Still, the young man couldn't help but return the small smile. _This should be interesting._

Lord Uzumi stood up, along with the rest of the people on his side of the table. "Thank you for your patience," he said, "as you might imagine, the manner of your arrival has caused quite a stir… although your visit here in and of itself was not unanticipated."

"The hell it wasn't!" said Cagalli, slamming her hands down on the table. "Father, you've been planning from the beginning to use the technology behind the _Archangel _and the Alliance's new mobile suits to your own ends! What are you trying to gain here?"

"Enough!" he shouted, "You've forgotten your place, Cagalli. If you were in possession of your wits, you would know that my actions are for the sake of our country! Now pipe down, my foolish daughter!"

Much to Heero's surprise, the fiery princess actually backed down, though she still glared at her father.

Lord Uzumi sighed. "Please, be seated. We have much to discuss."

"Of course," said Murrue as she sat down, Heero settling in on her left, "We are aware of the great risks that you have taken in allowing us to take shelter here. I would like to thank you for being so willing to help us despite the inconvenience."

The Lion of Orb smiled. "You are too kind, Captain Ramius. I'm sure you realize we are not offering you this temporary haven for free."

Murrue nodded. "Of course, I'm well aware of that. Nevertheless, you still have my gratitude, and that of my crew."

"In that case, you are welcome," said Lord Uzumi. He then looked over at Heero. "Although, according to Kisaka, this young man here is not officially a member of your crew, or even of the Alliance military, for that matter. Do you speak on his behalf?"

Murrue shook her head. "I would never presume to do such a thing. Though he is not a member of our military, the fact is that Heero Yuy has saved our lives more times than I can count." She turned to the young man and smiled. "Though he has promised to fight with us, I do not command him. He has his own reasons for doing battle, and if you seek anything concerning him or Wing Zero, Heero is the one you must speak to."

Uzumi laughed. "You are quite perceptive, Captain. Yes, your mysterious ally and his machine are of interest to me, but I will speak of that later." His expression became more serious. "I will get to the point; we have allowed the _Archangel _to enter our territory due to our own involvement in its construction. I'm not sure if you are aware of this, Captain Ramius, but our original agreement with the Alliance was that, upon completion of the units and the conclusion of their initial combat trials, data regarding the _Archangel _and its mobile suits was to be sent to Orb; our reward for assisting the Alliance and the Atlantic Federation in particular in this endeavor."

"I was not told of this," said Murrue, "but I believe I understand now why Orb gave its cooperation in the project; you had hoped to use that data as a base for your nation's own mobile suit and warship development programs."

"Precisely," replied Uzumi, "however, due to ZAFT's attack we were never able to proceed with the data transfer. This was compounded by the theft of four of the machines, the Blitz in particular; we had high hopes regarding the Mirage Colloid system. However, the most versatile unit, the Strike, does remain in your possession."

"Lord Uzumi," said Murrue, "we have struggled greatly to keep that machine out of enemy hands. Surely you do not expect us to hand it over to you?"

"Of course not," he replied, "the project was cooperative, after all; we could not have developed such a weapon by ourselves. Our agreement was for the Alliance to take the weapons themselves, and I do not go back on my word once it has been given."

"A rarity, for a politician," said Heero, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. He looked at the Lion of Orb. "Forgive me if I remain somewhat skeptical of that claim; experience with your kind has left me jaded, to say the least."

Uzumi chuckled. "Blunt and to the point… Kisaka was right about you, Heero Yuy."

"In that regard, yes," Heero replied, "I don't suppose you'll tell me what else his report on me said."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," said Uzumi. He turned back to Murrue. "Our original agreement with the Alliance has, of course, fallen through. However, I am willing to make a new one with you. Here are my terms: in exchange for giving your vessel a safe harbor and complete repairs, we would like all of its combat and technical data, as well as that of the mobile suit Strike. In addition, we would also like to borrow the expertise of the pilot, Kira Yamato. I understand that he was able to significantly rewrite the machine's operating system; that kind of skill would be greatly beneficial to us, even if we only have access to it for the time you are here."

"I understand," said Murrue, "and if we refuse one or all of these terms?"

"Then we will force you to leave," he replied, his tone becoming hard as stone, "with the damage sustained by your vessel, I imagine ZAFT would find it to be easy prey… even with the Reaper of North Africa on your side."

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't use that nickname," said Heero.

"Oh?" said Uzumi, "Forgive me; it's just that Kisaka had told me that the crew had taken to calling you that."

"Only some of the crew," said Murrue, and Heero was surprised to notice that there was an undercurrent of anger in her voice. _She must not have known_, he realized. Of course, he'd known that she would never call him a name like that, but he still thought she would've heard it by now. _Then again_, he thought, _she's been so busy just trying to keep her crew alive. Not to mention that almost every bit of free time she gets she spends either talking to me or resting, and I never mentioned that name to her. I didn't want to worry her any more than I already do._

Out of sight of the others, he reached over underneath the table and gently grabbed her hand. To her credit, she didn't visibly react, but Heero felt her squeeze his hand, and her voice became calmer. "It's true that Heero is the best pilot on the ship," she said, "but I would never call him such a thing. This may be my own opinion, but I feel that such a moniker implies that he enjoys killing, and I know him well enough to assure you that he is not that kind of man."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. _Murrue... thank you._

"I believe you," said Lord Uzumi, "but I believe we are getting distracted here. Regarding my terms; do you accept, or no?"

Murrue sighed. "Yes, I do."

"Captain!" cried Natarle, "The Strike and the _Archangel _are top-secret Alliance weapons. We can't just give out their data!"

"As of Heliopolis," Murrue replied, "the veil of secrecy has been lifted for quite some time. Besides, Orb was originally intended to get this data anyway; we're doing nothing more than fulfilling the Alliance's end of the bargain. Or at least parts of it, considering we only have one of the five prototypes now."

"Besides," said La Flaga, "the Orb are going out on a limb here, helping us like this. We owe them, whether we like it or not."

"Agreed," said Murrue. She turned to Uzumi. "However, there is one favor I must ask of you."

"And that is?" he asked.

"Please," she said, "allow my crew to take some shore leave here. We've been fighting almost non-stop since Heliopolis… they need the rest."

"As do you, I'm sure," said Lord Uzumi with a small smile, "I will grant this favor. However, I must insist that you wear only civilian clothes when off the ship. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Of course," said Murrue, "although, I'm afraid many of the crew members may have left Heliopolis with little more than the uniforms they were wearing, considering the suddenness of the attack."

"I understand," replied Uzumi, "I will look into having some clothing provided to those crew members who need it."

Murrue bowed her head. "Thank you, Lord Uzumi."

"You are welcome, Captain Ramius," he said, "Now, that just leaves one final matter to discuss."

_Here it comes_, thought Heero, _this should be entertaining._

Lord Uzumi turned to him. "In addition to the Strike's combat data, we would also like that of the Wing Zero."

"Not a chance," said Heero.

"I thought you would say that," said Lord Uzumi, "need I remind you that I could have my soldiers storm the ship and take the mobile suit by force?"

Heero's eyes narrowed as he gave the Orb aristocrat an icy glare. "Clearly Kisaka's report to you wasn't as thorough as I had anticipated. I'm actually disappointed."

"What do you mean?" said Uzumi.

Heero's voice became cool and menacing. "If anyone that has not been cleared by me in Wing Zero's computer attempts to enter or even move the Gundam… you'll be standing at ground zero of a nuclear blast."

Uzumi's eyes widened. "Impossible… nuclear power cannot be used; ZAFT's N-jammers have rendered both fission and fusion impotent."

"Wing Zero is immune to those devices and their interference," said Heero.

"You're bluffing," said the nobleman.

"Only one way to find out," the Gundam pilot replied, locking his gaze with that of Orb's unofficial ruler.

The room was completely silent. After a moment, Heero spoke again. "That being said… I do respect the risks you have taken in allowing the _Archangel _to stay here. Therefore, I will offer you terms of my own: your men will not go anywhere near Wing Zero. Any maintenance on it will be done by myself and whatever members of the ship's crew I deem necessary. In return, I will provide my own expertise, as well as data and schematics on several mobile suit designs and pieces of technology. I can assure you that neither the Alliance nor ZAFT have access to the information or blueprints that I can give you. That is my offer; take it or leave it."

After a moment, Lord Uzumi sighed. "Very well, I accept your terms." He stood up, and the rest of the Orb dignitaries followed suit. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must take my leave for now. I will have Miss Simmons contact you shortly; she is the Chief Engineer for Morgenroete. In the meanwhile, I suggest you return to your ship and get some rest; though this room has no windows, I am quite certain that the sun has about set by now, and I am sure you all could use some rest." With that, he and the rest of Orb's ruling elite left the room.

After a moment, Murrue sighed in relief. "That went well."

"Well?" said Natarle, eyes wide, "Heero just threatened to nuke Orb, and you call that 'well'?"

"As strange as it may seem, I agree with the Captain," said La Flaga, putting a hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder, "Orb allowed us to stay and is going to help us repair the ship; that little showdown between Lord Uzumi and Heero is irrelevant now."

"Indeed," said Murrue, standing up, "we should head back to the ship for now." She looked over at Cagalli, still sitting. "Would you like to come with us?"

The girl smiled and shook her head. "No, but thanks. I'll head home for now; I'll see you guys tomorrow."

As they all filed out of the room, they saw the agent from before standing outside the doors. He smiled. "I'll escort you back to the ship. Please, follow me."

As they began walking back down the elaborate route they had taken to get there, Murrue turned to Heero. "I thought you had set Wing Zero's self-destruct mechanism so that it could only be detonated manually?" she whispered.

He nodded. "I did," he replied quietly, "but you and I are the only ones that know that." He surprised himself by once again grabbing her hand. "Murrue, I told you back in North Africa; I won't let my trust issues get you killed."

His eyes met hers. "I would _never _do anything that would result in your death. I swore to protect you, and that includes from myself, if it comes to it."

Murrue smiled, and Heero was surprised to feel her tightly squeeze his hand. "I know you wouldn't, Heero. I trust you with my life," she said, "still… that was quite the performance you put on back there. You almost had _me _convinced that Wing Zero was about to blow us to kingdom come."

"Sorry, but I had to be convincing," he whispered "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," she said, "it's over now; no sense in dwelling on it."

Heero nodded. "You're right," he said. He turned his attention back to the group, and saw that La Flaga and Natarle were giving them odd looks, but apparently neither they nor the Orb agent had caught what the two of them were whispering about.

_I'll protect her_, thought Heero as they descended back into the basement and made their way towards the tram. _I'll protect Murrue, no matter what happens. She deserves that much… and definitely more._

….

As they reentered the dock and approached the _Archangel_, Murrue saw a woman standing by the gangway leading up to the starboard hatch. She was fairly tall, had brown hair and grey eyes, and was wearing a red and black shirt and khaki pants, the typical attire of a Morgenroete employee.

The woman smiled as Murrue and her comrades approached. She held out her hand. "My name is Erica Simmons. I'm assuming Lord Uzumi spoke of me during your meeting?"

Murrue nodded and shook her hand. "Yes, he did. I'm Murrue Ramius, Captain of the _Archangel_. You are Morgenroete's Chief Engineer?"

"Yes," said Erica, "essentially I'm in charge of all the company's current projects, including those we'd like to keep out of the public eye."

"Such as your mobile suit program," said Heero. It wasn't a question.

Erica smiled. "You must be Heero Yuy." She held out her hand, and the Gundam pilot shook it. "It's nice to meet you… though I'll admit to being a bit disappointed in not being allowed to study Wing Zero."

"Nothing personal," said Heero, "but there's only one other person I trust with that machine, and you're not her."

Erica laughed softly, and at the same time Murrue felt herself blush slightly. _I know he trusts me with it_, she thought, _otherwise he wouldn't have given me that override code… but it's still something else to hear him say it in front of others. _Still, she couldn't deny how good it made her feel to know that he trusted her with something that important to him.

"So it's a woman," said Erica, "I must say, I'm actually a bit jealous. Still, that's beside the point." Her expression became more serious, and she turned to Murrue. "Captain, I've come to make arrangements with you regarding the cooperation of Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy."

"I won't speak for Heero," Murrue replied, "but as an Earth Alliance pilot, Kira will follow whatever orders I give him."

"That's fine," said Erica, "Lord Uzumi told me as much. I would like to come by here tomorrow at six in the morning to pick him up and take him to our primary research facility, along with the Strike's combat data and that of the _Archangel_." She turned to Heero. "I would like you to come along as well. Also, could you please bring the information you mentioned to Lord Uzumi. Even if it's not Wing Zero's combat data, I am still quite eager to see what it is."

Heero nodded. "I'll have it ready in the morning. How long will you need us for?"

"Quite some time," said Erica, "fortunately, since your ship will be laid up here for awhile, we don't need to do everything in one day. We'll stop at around one or two in the afternoon. Does that work for you?"

"Sure," said Heero.

Erica turned to Murrue. "And you, Captain Ramius?"

She nodded. "I see no problem with it. I'll let Kira know."

"Excellent," the Orb engineer replied, smiling, "I'll see you all tomorrow, then. Oh, and I'll also have some people bring you Morgenroete uniforms. Those will be the clothes you and your crew wear when you take your shore leave." She turned and made her way towards one of the exits of the facility.

"Well, I'm glad we got all that sorted out," said La Flaga. He turned to Natarle. "I'm gonna grab a bite to eat. Want to come?"

Murrue couldn't help but smile as she saw the Lieutenant blush slightly. "Oh, uhm, sure."

_I don't know about La Flaga_, she thought as she watched the two of them board the ship_, but I'm pretty sure there's some interest on Natarle's part. Kind of ironic, considering how much of a stickler she is for regulations. If she continues like this, she'll be violating the rules on fraternization. Still, I won't report anything. If they do wind up together and it brings them happiness, then who am I to take that away? Especially in the midst of this war…_

She turned to Heero, who was still standing next to her. "Well," she said, "I don't know about you, but I filled up on snacks in the waiting room. I think I'm good on food for the evening."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, same here. We should probably both get some rest. It looks like we'll be getting an early start tomorrow."

"You're right," said Murrue. She was about to turn to board the ship, but stopped when she saw Heero staring at the floor. "Heero? What's wrong?"

He looked up at her. "Nothing. It's just…" He paused, looking like he was trying to figure out what to say.

Murrue then realized something. _He's nervous! But why?_

However, before she could ask, he spoke. His voice was quiet and uncharacteristically hesitant. "Listen, Murrue… when I get back tomorrow from Morgenroete… I was thinking of exploring Orb a bit, or at least the city outside this facility."

His eyes met hers. "Would you like to come with me?"

Murrue's eyes widened slightly and an odd thought ran through her mind. _Is he… asking me out? I think… he is!_

She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes!" she said, unable to completely hide her excitement, "I'd love to, Heero."

She saw Heero's eyes widen slightly before he returned her smile. "Alright… what time do you want to go? If Erica was right, then I'll probably be back here sometime around one or two in the afternoon."

"I'll give you a little time to clean up if you need it when you get back," said Murrue, "Why don't we meet outside our quarters at two-thirty, since we're right next door to each other? Or three, if you wind up getting back a little late."

"Sure," said Heero, "that works."

"Great," said Murrue. She looked at the _Archangel_ and then back to him. "Well, shall we? Like you said, we'll both need to rest up for tomorrow. I'll have to inform Kira of his morning appointment first."

Heero nodded, and he led the way up the gangway. As she followed him, Murrue looked down at the blue stone of the necklace that lay against her chest. _That bond he spoke of… maybe his own feelings towards me are changing… growing…_

She looked up at him. _Could he… _like_ me as well?_

….

"Hey, guys!" said Tolle, running into the mess.

The only occupants of the room at the moment were Sai, Kuzzey, and Miriallia. The young man's girlfriend looked up at him. "Tolle, what's wrong?" she asked, worried.

Tolle smiled and hugged her. "Nothing's wrong. I just got some great news!"

"Really?" she said as they parted, "What is it?"

"I just talked to Lieutenant Commander La Flaga," he said, "and not only is Orb letting us stay for awhile, they're going to let us off the ship starting tomorrow. We're getting shore leave!"

"Finally," said Kuzzey, "we're not going to get shot at for awhile."

"It will be nice to have some time to relax," said Sai. He was still sore over Flay's abandonment of him, but he had begun to brighten up a little recently. "Hey, do you think they'll let us see our families?"

Tolle smacked himself on the forehead. "Aw, man, I totally didn't think of that! I gotta go find La Flaga again!"

"Relax, Tolle," said Miriallia, smiling, "no need to go running off right this second. We can ask him next time we run into him. It's not that big of a ship, so I doubt it'll take too long."

"Do you think they'll let us see our families?" said Kuzzey, "I mean we are Alliance soldiers now; technically our Orb citizenship doesn't mean anything now."

"That'd be a pretty dumb reason for them to stop us," said Sai, "and I don't think Captain Ramius would let something like that get in the way. So don't worry; once we find the Lieutenant Commander, we'll ask him to run it by the Captain. Everything will be fine."

"Hey, someone should go tell Kira," said Miriallia.

"I think the Captain just went to see him," said Tolle, "I guess the Orb government is asking for his help with their mobile suit program."

"Where did you hear that?" said Kuzzey.

"I ran into Heero on the way over here," said Tolle, "I tried to get some more details out of him, but he wouldn't say much beyond that. I think he's going with Kira tomorrow."

"Well, that's a relief," said Miriallia, "at least we can count on him to watch out for Kira like he did during that trip to Banadiya."

"Yeah," said Kuzzey, "but still, there's something about that guy that gives me the chills."

"No joke," said Sai, "whenever I see him he's always so quiet… unless the Captain's with him."

"Heero's not that bad," said Miriallia, "I think he's just a little on edge. I mean, he has seen a lot of action, and from what I've heard from Kira I think he' been fighting for a very long time."

"Man, that's gotta be rough," said Tolle, "speaking of Heero, when I saw him earlier he was wearing this weird uniform, like nothing I've ever seen. He even had a sword!"

"Are you serious?" said Miriallia, "I wonder where he got that?"

"Maybe he's had it this whole time and just hasn't worn it yet?" said Sai.

"Who knows?" said Kuzzey, "Does it really matter, though? I mean, it's not like we really know anything about him anyway."

"True," said Tolle, "I'm glad he's on our side, though."

The others nodded in agreement.

….

Flay sat back on the bed. Captain Ramius had just come by to inform Kira that he would be meeting with Morgenroete in the morning. She had watched as the Coordinator nodded and thanked her for letting him know. After the Captain had left, Kira had gone off to the Strike, mentioning something about downloading a copy of the operating system in order to make his work easier tomorrow. Flay had simply nodded and said goodbye, and now she was alone in the room, lost in thought. Kira's robotic pet bird, Birdy, was standing on the nearby desk. It would occasionally glance over at her, but other than that the green mechanical avian just seemed content to sit and wait for its master. _I wonder where he got it_, she thought, _now that I think about it, he's never said anything about it other than its name. No matter… _She had more important things to concern herself with.

Her revenge was going smoothly. Sure, there were some misgivings in the back of her mind, feelings that she was working to keep at bay, but other than that she still had the boy wrapped around her finger. Flay had been glad to hear that Cagalli had left the ship; it would be easier to maintain control over him without that desert rat running around.

However, she still was not satisfied. She felt that something was wrong with her revenge scheme, that it was missing something. After a moment, she realized what it was, and could've smacked herself for not thinking of it sooner.

She had focused on Kira because he was a Coordinator, but there was another pilot who had allowed her father to die; Heero Yuy. _I've made no effort to get back at him_, she realized, _it's time to change that. _

Flay didn't really know anything about the young man; Kira hadn't spoken of him much, beyond his apparently incredible skills in battle. She doubted she could just walk up to him and get him to dance to her tune, so she would have to get to know him first, understand what drove him… and then turn it against him.

_No time like the present_, she thought, getting up. Leaving the room, she decided to go looking for him. She'd heard that he had been given officer's quarters, so she decided to start in that section of the ship.

When she arrived, she struggled to figure out what to do next. She didn't know what quarters were his, after all; she couldn't just go knocking on ever door in the area and hope he would answer. That would be embarrassing.

However, she was saved from her dilemma when she saw the target of her hunt walking down the hallway. Flay couldn't help but gasp when she saw him though, mainly because of his _stunning _uniform.

_Focus, Flay_, she admonished herself, _remember, this guy's supposed to be the deadliest man on this ship. Keep your guard up._

"Uhm, hello, Heero," she said as she walked up to him.

He had turned towards a door which she assumed led to his quarters. The young man looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "Allster? What do you want?"

_Well_, she thought sourly, _this is off to a great start. _"Well, you see," she said, "I realize this might be a little late… but I wanted to apologize for my actions when we first met."

Flay saw his eyes narrow. "You wait until now to say that? Forgive me if I'm a little suspicious."

_Damn, he's definitely not like Kira. He's much more guarded. _"Look," she said, "I understand that, but I still…"

"What are you after?" said Heero, cutting her off. "You wait until you have Kira completely under your thumb, then you approach me?"

"What are you talking about?" she said.

"I'm not blind or deaf," said Heero, "it's true that I spend most of my time either on the bridge or in the hangar, but I still keep an ear to the wind. I've heard how you abandoned Sai for Kira, along with how you dislike Coordinators. Those two facts put together do not add up, and that's not even factoring in the fact that I know you hold him at least partly responsible for your father's death… and that I'm the other pilot you've placed in that category." His eyes met hers, and she was struck by how cold his gaze seemed. "When you survive as many battles as I have, it becomes quite easy to read people, especially when they're not trained soldiers. The only reason I haven't gotten a solid bead on you is that you've stayed out of my way until now."

Flay was completely stunned. "I… I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Sure," said Heero, turning back to the door, "whatever you say."

He opened the door, but before he entered his quarters, he turned to her one more time. "I don't know what your intentions are regarding Kira, and I suppose it's none of my business as long as it doesn't affect his combat performance. The guy's old enough to make his own decisions; I'm not going to babysit him both on and off the battlefield. I will say this, though; I'd advise you keep your distance from me. I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure your interest in Kira is linked to your perception of his responsibility for your father's death, and that you've been so focused on him that this is the first time you've seriously turned your attention to me. If you intend to exact vengeance on me, rest assured that I _will _strike back."

Moving so fast that all Flay saw was a blur, the girl suddenly felt cold steel at her throat. Slowly looking down, she starred in amazement at the saber as it rested gently against her neck. One wrong move and he'd slice right into her carotid artery.

"When we first met and you attacked me, I restrained myself out of respect for the fact that your father had just died. Do not mistake that courtesy for weakness. Do I make myself clear?" said Heero.

Flay gave him the smallest of nods, all too aware of the razor's edge she was walking on. "Crystal," she said softly.

"Good," he said, withdrawing the blade so fast she didn't even have time to blink. Sheathing the saber, he entered his quarters. "Good night." With that the door slid shut.

Flay stepped back, her hand reaching up to touch the spot on her neck where skin had met steel. After a few seconds, she began walking back to her quarters. Her feet seemed to move by themselves; she barely registered her journey. The girl was still in shock at what had transpired.

_That guy_, she thought numbly, _he isn't human… there's no way a Natural can move that fast. But… the others said he wasn't a Coordinator… this makes no sense!_

She reached Kira's quarters and entered, noting that the boy still hadn't returned from the hangar. Flay sat down on the bed. She'd have to rethink her plans. _I'll just focus on Kira_, she thought, _that other freak can wait. One abomination is about all I can take right now._

It made sense to her, yet she still found herself wincing at the thought. _Why? Kira's a Coordinator; they're all freaks. Monsters who killed daddy…_

And yet, she was finding herself more and more reluctant to apply that term to the young man whose quarters and bed she now shared. The boy she had labeled a 'freak' had shown himself to be all too human in the time she had spent with him… and it was affecting her, whether she would admit it or not.

….

Early the next morning, Heero was standing in the dock facility, just outside the _Archangel_ along with Kira and Murrue. The Gundam pilot was wearing his green tank-top again, although this time he had jeans and a dark blue jacket on as well. Kira was wearing a blue and white jumpsuit provided by Morgenroete, while Murrue was still wearing her uniform as she would not be accompanying them today.

She smiled at the two young men. "Do you two have everything you need?"

Heero nodded, reaching into his pocket and taking out a black flash drive. "All set," he said, showing it to her before putting it away.

"I'm ready too," said Kira, pulling out two data disks from one of the many pockets on the jumpsuit. "The data on this thing should be enough to help me get started, at any rate," he said, referring to one of them, "and this one has all the Strike's combat data." He put both of them away.

"Glad to hear it," said Murrue. She looked past them as a familiar woman approached. "I see Erica coming now. You two watch yourselves, alright?"

They both nodded. "We will," said Heero.

"Alright," she said. As they turned to go, Murrue put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Heero?"

He turned back to her. "Yeah?"

Murrue smiled. "I'll be waiting for you. I'm looking forward to later."

He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, me too. Take care, Murrue. I'll be back… count on it."

"I know you will," she said, "take care."

"Roger that," he said. He turned to catch up to Kira.

Murrue continued to smile as the three of them exited the facility. She sighed. "It's going to be a long day," she said to herself. _Having to wait until he gets back… even the minutes will seem entirely too long._

_ But he's worth it… I know he is._

_ Heero…_

….

The two pilots settled into the back of the black car as Erica hopped into the driver seat. "The drive will be quick," she said, "we're going to a secondary facility. The one that's connected to the dock is primarily the corporate headquarters."

Heero nodded. "Your show," he said.

She smiled. "Nice to see you can roll with the punches, Mr. Yuy." She keyed the ignition. "This will just take about ten minutes."

It was actually a little less than that. Before the two young men knew it, no sooner had they left one security checkpoint that it seemed they were approaching another. Erica rolled down the window and flashed her I.D., and the guards let them through. The area behind the gate didn't look like much; a few large buildings surrounded by a tall chain-link fence, with the ocean visible not too far in the distance. The car rolled into what appeared to be an empty warehouse, stopping in the middle of a seemingly random section of concrete.

Suddenly Heero felt the car jerk a bit beneath him, and as he looked out the window he saw that they were moving down. _A concealed elevator_, he mused, _so the real facility is underground. Orb's taking no chances with this program of theirs._

"Wow," said Kira, eyes wide, "I had no idea that Morgenroete had facilities like this."

Erica smiled. "This is only the entryway, Mr. Yamato. Trust me; the best is yet to come."

After a few minutes, the elevator came to a stop in a parking garage. Erica drove for a few seconds until she came to a spot with a sign, clearly reserved for her. "This way, please," she said after she had parked and everyone had gotten out of the vehicle. Walking through a nearby door, they approached a scanner.

Erica turned to Heero. "If you are armed, Mr. Yuy, might I suggest handing over your weapons? The alarms here are a real pain in the ass. I promise to return them on the other side of the detectors."

Heero nodded, and slowly drew both his pistol and his knife. "You're not concerned about Kira?" he said as he handed them over.

Erica smiled and glanced at Kira. "No offense, Mr. Yamato, but just from the way you carry yourself I can tell you're not armed. Plus, and I realize it's strange to say this of a mobile suit pilot, I just can't see you carrying a gun."

Kira blushed slightly. "Uhm, no, I'm unarmed."

"Too honest, too," said Erica, "oh well, I suppose that's just how you are."

Kira looked down, unsure how to respond.

"Hey," said Heero, causing the Coordinator to look at him, "she's right; it's who you are. No sense in brooding over it."

"Ok," said Kira, eyes widening slightly, "thanks, Heero."

_Man_, he thought as he went through the scanner, _I really am going soft. When was the last time I gave out friendly advice? _He smiled slightly as he thought of the woman waiting for him back on the _Archangel_. _With Murrue, of course. I suppose she's impacted me more than I thought. Still, I don't particularly mind it. I haven't lost my combat edge or my ability to read people, after all._

Once he cleared the detectors, Erica gave him back his weapons. "Thank you for cooperating, Mr. Yuy," she said as Kira followed him through.

"Don't mention it," he replied, "and just call me Heero. I never really cared much for formality."

"Very well, then," she said, "Follow me, you two."

They walked down a corridor until they came to a large door with a hand scanner next to it. Erica put her hand on it, and after a moment a green light flashed. "Identification confirmed," said an electronic voice, with a feminine sound to it, "Welcome, Miss Simmons." The door opened, and the three of them walked in.

Kira's eyes widened, and even Heero raised an eyebrow. They were in a control facility overlooking a large hangar. There were three rows of computer consoles arranged in a terrace, all staffed by busy technicians wearing outfits similar to Erica's. In front of the lowest work station was a large window, and Heero saw several slots at the far end of the hangar that he presumed were for mobile suits, judging by the fact that three of them were occupied by units he'd never seen before.

Frame wise, there was some similarity to the Strike, though the machines' bright white, red, and black paint jobs indicated that they did not use Phase Shift Armor. Mounted on the back of each machine were two vertical red fins that Heero assumed were meant to help with stability and maneuverability, and were perhaps even capable of providing limited aerial mobility in a manner similar to the Strike's Aile Pack. Like the Strike, they also had a head crest, in this case a red v-shaped one. Heero didn't see any weapons mounted on them and assumed those were being developed separately.

"Well, what do you think? This is Orb's secret weapon, the MBF-M1 Astray." said Erica as the three of them walked up to the front of the room, looking out the window.

"Amazing!" said Kira.

Heero was more ambivalent. "They look decent, but you wouldn't have asked for our help if you weren't having some serious problems with them."

She sighed. "Quite correct, Heero… as much as it pains me to admit." She walked up to a console with a microphone and spoke into it. "Alright, girls. Begin the test."

"Yes, ma'am," came a voice, bright and cheery. Two others, also female, followed suit.

Heero watched as the three machines began to move… slowly and clumsily. _At least they're not falling over_, thought Heero, remembering what Murrue had told him about Sai's attempt to pilot the Strike. _Still, I can definitely see why Orb wanted our expertise; these things aren't anywhere near ready for even a performance demonstration, much less full scale production._

He turned to Erica. "I've seen enough."

She nodded glumly. "They're moving twice as fast as they were last week… which really doesn't mean much in this state, I suppose." She turned to the console. "Shut down, ladies. That's enough for now."

The mobile suits made their way back to their docking ports and powered off. The hatches opened, and Heero saw three girls climb out. They appeared to be no older than he was. _Either Orb's desperate for pilots_, he thought, _or they're prodigies. Considering the limited progress made on mobile suit operating systems in this era, I'm actually betting it's the latter._

"So," said Kira as Erica turned to them again, "I'm assuming you wanted help with the O.S.?"

She nodded. "Yes, we'd like to get it to the point where a Natural can operate it. Of course, that's not the only issue plaguing us. The internal gyroscopes, hydraulic lines, joint movement coordination… we've got a problem list a kilometer long." She moved towards a side door. "Please, come with me. I think it be better if the two of you could examine the units up-close."

They followed her through the door, which turned out to be an elevator that led directly down to the hangar floor. As they made their way towards the machines, the three pilots walked up to meet them. One had curly blond hair, another had straight blue-black hair and wore glasses, and the third had brown hair in a bowl-cut. All three seemed to be in good spirits despite the poor performance of their mobile suits.

"Girls," said Erica as the approached, "this is Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy. They're here to help us get these machines moving properly."

"Nice to meet you," said the blond, "I'm Asagi Caldwell, Private First Class."

"Juri Wu Nien," said the girl with the glasses, "also Private First Class."

"And I'm Mayura Labatt," said the third, smiling, "and yes, I'm also a Private First Class."

"Nice to meet you all," said Kira.

Heero simply nodded.

Asagi grinned as she looked at the two of them. "Two cuties like you to work with? Thank you, Erica!"

The Chief Engineer smiled. "Settle down, Caldwell. These two are vital to getting the M1 program back on track. Ogle when they're not on the clock."

"Aw, no fun," she said, pouting. The other two had similar expressions on their faces.

"How long has Orb had these machines?" said Kira.

"We started building them about the same time as the Heliopolis project got underway," said a familiar voice from behind them. The two young men turned around to see Cagalli walking up to them, clad in her usual khakis and red t-shirt.

"Lady Cagalli," said Erica, "I'm surprised you came here. I was under the impression you had returned home."

"Just for the night," the blond girl replied, "I knew that you'd bring Kira and Heero here eventually, so I figured I'd come over."

She looked at the two pilots. "So, now you guys know. The reason why we aided the Alliance's mobile suit program." She looked over at the M1s. "The fruit of my father's hypocrisy."

"Lady Cagalli," said Erica, "Lord Uzumi is only acting in the interests of this country."

"By betraying its ideals, its core beliefs!" she retorted, "Have you forgotten our nation's motto? 'Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations.' In assisting the Alliance, we've violated the last part of that vow! At the same time, my father still maintains diplomatic relations with the PLANTs as well… he's playing both sides for his own benefit. We should be above this!"

"Just because you're a neutral nation?" said Heero, "You need to open your eyes, Cagalli. The war is spreading, and both sides are fielding more and more powerful weapons. How long do you really think Orb can avoid getting caught up in the conflagration? Though it may not be able to match the Alliance or ZAFT, it still has a considerable military. The other powers will not ignore it forever. The methods may be dirty, but the fact remains that Orb needs to strengthen its defenses."

"A very astute observation," said Erica. She turned to Cagalli. "Lord Uzumi is merely making use of one of the oldest ruling philosophies; _Realpolitik_. If you paid as much attention to governance as you did to ideals, you would have a better appreciation for the tightrope your father is walking in order to strengthen this nation."

"But if Orb continues to violate its principals," said Kira, "does that make it any better than the Alliance or ZAFT.?"

"Exactly," said Cagalli, clearly glad that someone was taking her side, "and it will only serve to draw us into the conflict anyway!"

"A moot argument," said Heero, "this is a world war, whether people choose to call it that or not. Your father may not be openly participating in hostilities, but he is well aware that the fighting will not stay away from his country forever. In fact, as of yesterday it is officially on your doorstep, and that's not even counting the attack on Heliopolis."

His eyes met Cagalli's. "There's no mercy in war," he said, "and ideals mean little once the shots start flying. It's a collision of powers; right or wrong have only a limited meaning, and all too often they only serve as justification for both sides to intensify the fighting. All we can do as soldiers is protect those who are important to us, and do all we can to keep civilians out of the crossfire."

"So that's it?" said Cagalli, "You just accept it and go on with the fighting? I thought you had fought your war to open humanity's eyes, to make them lay down their arms once and for all!"

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Now is not the time to be discussing my past, or my reasons for fighting. Understood?"

The girl stepped back a bit, intimidated by his piercing glare. She looked around and saw that Erica and the three Orb pilots were staring at them. "Alright… I'm sorry, Heero."

He sighed. "It's fine, no point in worrying about it. Just… drop it for now."

She nodded, and Heero dug into his pocket, pulling out the flash drive. He handed it to Erica. "This contains the information I spoke of yesterday. If you don't mind, I'd like to get inside one of the M1s and start working."

"Of course," said Erica, taking the drive. She looked over at Kira. "I'm assuming you wish to start as well, Mr. Yamato?"

He nodded, and pulled out his disks. "This will be enough to get me started; I'll build off it as I go. And this one has the Strike's data." He handed the second disk over to her. "Also, if you don't mind, could you just call me Kira?"

"Sure," said Erica, "no problem. Now, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to go analyze this data. Asagi, Juri, Mayura? You three help them access the M1s and give them whatever other assistance they ask for."

"Yes, ma'am," they said, saluting.

She sighed. "Stop doing that. I'm not military; I'm just a civilian engineer. Stay out of trouble everyone." With that she headed off towards the elevator.

"Well," said Asagi, "let's get started. Kira, you can take my unit. Juri, take Heero to yours, alright?"

"Sure," she said, turning to the Gundam pilot and smiling, "this way, please."

As he followed her over to her mobile suit, Heero found himself looking back at the control room overlooking the hangar. _It's too bad I won't be able to see the looks on their faces when they pull up that data_, he mused, smirking slightly, _oh well, better get to work._

He climbed up a ladder and waited while Juri entered her access code. He climbed in as soon as the hatch opened and got to work, fingers flying across the keyboard as he pulled up the machine's specs and operating parameters. As he did so, he found his mind wandering back to the _Archangel_… and to a certain brown haired, brown eyed woman.

Heero smiled slightly. _Murrue… thank you. I promise I'll show you a good time tonight. You deserve that, and definitely more._

….

"Well, this should prove to be interesting," said Erica as she walked back into the control room. Heading towards one of the consoles, she handed the flash drive Heero had given her to the man sitting there. "Download the contents and synchronize your screen with the main monitor."

"Yes, ma'am," said the engineer.

After a few seconds, images began flashing on the large screen above the window overlooking the hangar. Erica's jaw dropped. "Unbelievable…"

Another engineer looked over at her, surprise evident in his face as well. "Ma'am… these are complete designs… but they're not like anything being fielded by ZAFT."

"Not quite," said another, "I can see some similarities… but the overall frames and design concepts are completely original…"

She nodded. "Looks like we better get comfortable," she said as she sat down at her own station, "I have a feeling we're gonna be here awhile."

….

"So, who are you working for?" said Juri.

Heero looked up from the M1's controls. He'd been working for about an hour, and the girl had been relatively quiet until now. "I'm protecting the _Archangel_. Doesn't that answer your question?"

"But you're not Alliance military," the girl said, "or at least, that's what I've heard. And if the Alliance could build something like Wing Zero, they would have gone with multiple versions, like the suits we helped them build at Heliopolis."

"You're right in that I'm not part of the Earth Forces," said Heero, "and Wing Zero isn't an Alliance machine. But I'm not working for any organization. This mobile suit's mine, simple as that."

Juri laughed. "So I'm not going to get anything else out of you on that front, huh?"

"No," he replied as he turned back to the M1. "How'd you get into this line of work?"

"Huh?" she said, surprised.

"You don't strike me as someone suited to life as a soldier," said Heero as he worked.

"Well," she said, "I won't argue with you on that, but I need this job. Orb has a program where if you serve in the armed forces for three years, they'll help pay for your college education if you decide to go onto a university after that time period. My family's middle-class, and I don't want to spend half of my life repaying student loans. So I enlisted in the Army, or more specifically the air service of it. It's more or less the same story for the others, too."

"Orb doesn't have an independent Air Force branch?" asked Heero.

"No," said Juri, "aerial combat and support units are divided into Army and Navy branches, respectively. I scored high enough in flight training to be listed as a candidate for the M1 program, and… well, here I am."

"Why you three and not more experienced pilots?" he asked.

"Because fighter and helicopter maneuvers aren't as ingrained into us the way they are veteran pilots," she replied, "As you know, mobile suit combat is quite different from conventional war. Morgenroete didn't want to waste money in forcing pilots to unlearn everything they had worked so hard to master over the years. The M1 program is costly enough as is in any case. They just needed pilots who scored high enough on testing that they could, in theory, adapt to mobile suit operations. Basic flight training does provide a good foundation to work off of for mobile suit piloting, but flexibility and the ability to learn new skills were considered to be top traits needed in the test pilots for this project."

"Of course," said Heero, "that's all strictly theoretical. Putting it into practice seems to be giving Orb no end of problems."

"I'm well aware of that," said Juri, letting out a sigh, "but once we get past the technical issues, things should go much more smoothly. That's what you guys are here for, after all."

"Yeah," he said absently, his fingers slowing down as he typed. For some reason, he couldn't focus. It wasn't because of Juri; Heero was more than capable of holding a conversation and working at the same time should the occasion call for it.

No, it was because his mind kept wandering… back to the _Archangel_…

….back to Murrue.

Ever since the previous day, he kept thinking about her… and why it had been so difficult to ask her to come with him to check out the island they were on later. They were friends, after all. More than that; in the short time they had known each other, she had become the best friend he'd ever had. Asking her should have been no big deal; he had told her about events in his past that continued to haunt him even now, had come to trust her with not only knowledge of Operation Meteor and the Eve Wars but also with the very machine that all the major powers of the Cosmic Era wanted to get their hands on. So why… why had it been so difficult to ask something so simple?

And then it hit him. His hands froze, his eyes widened, and he could have smacked himself for not realizing it sooner.

He hadn't been asking her to come with him as a friend.

He'd been asking her _out_. On a _date_.

_No way_, he thought, all other thoughts vanishing from his mind except for this, _I couldn't have been… but if I hadn't… then I wouldn't have hesitated. No… it's the only explanation. Yesterday… I asked her out._

_ I _like _her! I asked her out like that because I _like _her, I have feelings for her beyond this friendship, this bond we share. I asked her out… and she said _yes_!_

It was nearly impossible to believe. He was the Perfect Soldier; he'd been learning to fight, to _kill_, since an age when most kids would have been in grade school. He'd had a difficult enough time learning to trust people, and had only made his first real friends in the past year of his life. He'd hardly ever given romance a thought; he hadn't been on a single date in his life.

Now a sensation he had rarely felt took hold; fear.

He didn't know what to do, didn't know anything about dating. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to act? What was he supposed to say? All these and a million similar thoughts flew through his mind in mere seconds, and they scared him. He'd come to value their friendship more than anything else, including his own life. What if he did something stupid, something that could destroy the bond that had grown between them?

Then, unbidden, unlooked for, a single memory surfaced in his mind, one from nearly a week ago. When he had been at his weakest, his most vulnerable, tormented by his worst sins…

He heard Murrue's voice, almost as clearly as if she was in the M1 cockpit with him at that moment, speaking to him.

"_Please…let me help you."_

"_I care about you."_

Slowly, the fear seemed to melt away. A warm feeling was replacing it, the same as when she had kissed him on the cheek after listening to his confession, after comforting him and reassuring him, showing her belief that he was a good man, not a heartless killer.

He felt himself smile. He hadn't thought about doing it, but he didn't stop himself. _This is Murrue I'm thinking about. I don't need to be afraid; I know she cares about me, and if I slip up somehow tonight, she'll forgive me. She understands me in a way no one else ever has… in a way that no one else ever _could.

That didn't mean his worries had subsided entirely. The closest he had come to romance had been Relena, and that had turned into something more akin to a close friendship, one forged in the fires of war and the whirlwind of a rapidly changing world. He still couldn't say for certain if his feelings towards Murrue were truly evolving into a romantic affection. And even if they were, that opened up a whole new can of worms. There was a ten year age difference between them, and while that in and of itself didn't bother Heero, he knew that it could get Murrue into serious trouble.

Then he remembered something else she'd told him. _"__You can't just force something like this. You'll find the answers when you're ready for them."_

At the time, she had been referring to his struggle to find his larger purpose in life, but Heero realized that those words of wisdom also applied to this situation. _If this is romance_, he thought, _it's something completely new to me. I can't afford to rush it. I need to take my time, let things evolve as they will, and just take things as they come. I also need to figure out how Murrue feels as well. If her feelings aren't the same as mine, that's alright. I could never hold that against her; her friendship alone is far more than I deserve. If, however, they have deepened as mine may well be… I'll have to trust my feelings, my instincts, and react as the situation dictates._

He exhaled, unaware until then that he'd been holding his breath. He took another deep one, and then let it out a few seconds later. The action had a calming effect on his nerves, allowing him to regain his center, his focus. _Just move forward as you always do_, he thought, _one step at a time. Face whatever comes your way, and go with the flow. Above all else, remember to act on your emotions._

"Hey, Heero?" came a voice.

He looked up, slightly startled. He'd become so caught up in his own thoughts that he'd completely neglected his own surroundings. The Gundam pilot saw Juri standing in the hatchway of the M1.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I just got a call from Miss Simmons," she said, "I guess she wants to see you in the control room." She held out a disk. "You can save your work onto this and come back here later."

He took it. "Alright, tell her I'll be right there. Thanks."

"No problem," Juri replied, smiling.

Heero quickly saved his data and pocketed the disk before exiting the mobile suit. "Do I need a card key or anything for the elevator?"

Juri shook her head. "No, you've already gotten through all the security checkpoints; if someone's this far into the facility, they're either supposed to be here or we royally screwed up somewhere." She laughed slightly at that last bit.

Heero shrugged before heading over to the elevator. As he entered the lift and activated it, he wondered how Kira was doing on his end. _I'll have to check after this_, he thought.

Entering the control room, he saw Erica walking up to him. "Heero," she said, "may I have a word with you in my office?"

_Looks like the data I gave them really touched a nerve_, he thought dryly, _not that I'm surprised. _"Sure," he said.

The two of them left the control room and went down the hallway for about a minute. Then Erica turned to a door on the right and punched in an access code. The door slid open, revealing a rather spacious work area, with a large desk in the center, a table surrounded by four chairs off to one side, a small fridge, a coffee machine, and even a couch towards the back. Heero noted that it had a blanket thrown over one of the arm rests. _She must use it during all nighters_, he thought, _I have to admire her dedication to her work._

Erica moved behind the desk and took the chair there. "Please," she said, waving at the two chairs in front of the desk, "sit down."

As he did so, he saw her power up the computer on the desk. After a few seconds she rotated the screen so he could see it. Heero had to refrain from smirking as he saw images of several familiar mobile suits appear on it.

Leo, Aries, Taurus, Pisces, Cancer, Tragos…

…Tallgeese.

"Heero," said Erica, "I've read Kisaka's report, so I am fully aware of your talents as a pilot… but I have a hard time believing that you're also prodigy engineer. With all due respect, I don't think for an instant that you designed these machines, or at least you didn't do it by yourself."

Heero met her gaze. "But you're not disputing the fact that those designs could well be built by Orb if the government chose to do so."

"No," she said, "I don't. Granted, we would need to make modifications; since all these designs are powered by fusion reactors, we would need an alternative power source, but I don't think it would be too difficult to install high-capacity batteries like those used on the Strike or the M1 Astray."

"So why the concern?" asked Heero, though he was pretty sure he knew what she was getting at.

"This," said Erica, "while I do believe that you are indeed a one-man army, I simply cannot see you as a one-man design bureau. I'm sure you are quite intelligent, but this kind of work is beyond one individual, especially someone as young as yourself."

"True enough," said Heero, "I can run my own maintenance just fine, but I'm not an engineer."

"I appreciate your candor," she replied, "Now, my question is this; what group built these machines? And it's not just them." She pulled up several other images. "We found several designs for individual mobile suit weapons and equipment as well; laser rifle, Planet Defensors, high-powered vernier thrusters, heavy beam cannon… there's enough data here for us to build not only the complete models, but several variants with different load-outs."

"Are you dissatisfied?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face.

"You're dodging my question," said Erica, "What group designed these mobile suits and weapons? If the Alliance or ZAFT had access to these blueprints, they would have begun mass producing new models already, so I know it's not them."

"The Alliance would still need to work through the software issues first," he reminded her.

"I would agree," said Erica, "save that while the rest of my team were drooling over these designs, I found something they missed; a fully developed operating system, simplified to the point that a Natural could pilot any of these units with ease. Or most of them, anyway; the Tallgeese is perhaps too high spec, especially with regards to the vernier thrusters. I don't know if there are any pilots in Orb capable of handling such speeds."

"If you have that system," said Heero, "then it would seem that the work Kira and I are doing would be redundant."

"Not true," said Erica, "the operating system in these files would still need to be adapted in order to work with the M1 series machines. In addition, I am quite interested in seeing what you and Kira will develop. Kira in particular; I've heard about how he was able to change the Strike's system in a very short amount of time, and in a combat situation no less. But it would seem I've allowed you to distract me yet again. Now, please tell me; what group is responsible for these designs?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," said Heero, "isn't it enough to have those designs to aid your company's mobile suit development program?"

Erica sighed. "Most people would say yes, and I'm dearly tempted to do so myself. I'm well aware of the old saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth', and perhaps it is foolish of me to do so now. However, these plans are evidence of a group that is both highly skilled and extremely well funded… and has remained completely off the radar until now. An organization that powerful must have a long-term agenda, and considering the fact that the Earth Sphere is engulfed in the largest war it has ever seen, a faction with these weapons in sufficient numbers could very well tip the balance of power, end the war… or throw the world into greater chaos, perhaps even seek to destroy not only the Alliance and ZAFT, but Orb as well, and forge a new dominion of iron and blood. Also, the fact that those suits were designed with fusion reactors would indicate that the builders have figured out a way to cancel out the effects of ZAFT's N-jammers, though I could find no such technology in the blueprints. Nevertheless, from there it would only be a short step to the reintroduction of nuclear arms into this conflict."

Her eyes met his, and Heero was struck by the fire within them. "I am the Chief Engineer of Morgenroete Incorporated. My position has given me power and status, and wealth. However, none of these are my reasons for taking this job. I love engineering, but I love my country even more. If any nation or organization threatens the survival of Orb, I will do all within my power to stop them. I may be a civilian, but do not underestimate me, Heero Yuy."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. _That strength, that determination… she's just like Murrue._

"Alright," he said after a moment, "I'll tell you… but don't say I didn't warn you; I promise that no rumor you've heard will come close to the truth."

"Try me," she said, "Orb may be removed from the fighting for the moment, but we still get plenty of battlefield legends and tall tales around here."

"Trust me," he said, "you've heard nothing like this."

….

A few minutes later, Erica leaned back in her chair, struggling to absorb what the young man in front of her had just said. _I know he warned me_, she thought, _but still, I never expected anything quite like this…_

"Well," said Heero, startling her a bit, "do you believe me or not?"

She looked at him, studying the pilot closely. Though machines were her area of expertise, her position meant that she also had to deal routinely with the corporate management of the company, up to and including the board of directors. Morgenroete was like any other major business entity; the higher one rose, the more intricate and ruthless the power struggles became, until one felt like they were wading through a bog of schemers, backstabbers, sycophants, sociopaths, and just all around incredibly greedy people. It was a disgusting environment, one that Erica tried to avoid as much as she could, but it had also given her insights into judging a person's character. More importantly, it had given her a knack for knowing when someone was either lying to her or being completely honest.

And as she looked at the young man in front of her, there was not a doubt in her mind that he was telling the truth.

She sighed. "As strange, as improbable… no, _impossible _as it seems… yes, I do. Of course, now I have even more questions… but I suppose you've told me enough for right now. I'm not going to pry further… at least, not today."

"I appreciate that," said Heero, "and no offense, but you wouldn't get much more out of me in any case. Don't get me wrong; I respect your love for your country and your desire to help it in any way you can, but there's only one person in this world I trust with the more detailed information on my past and where I'm from, and you aren't her."

"None taken," she said, "I suppose I'll have to forgo any further inquiries for the time being. That being said, there is one thing that I must know."

"And that is?" said Heero.

"I'm assuming that N-jammers were never developed in your world," said Erica, "based on the fact that the mobile suits in these designs are all powered by fusion reactors. Also, based on what I heard of your meeting with Lord Uzumi yesterday, it seems Wing Zero has one as well. My question is this; how is Wing Zero able to function with a fusion reactor with the N-jammers seeded throughout the Earth Sphere?"

"I won't go into details," said Heero, "but I will say this; its armor is composed of a new and highly complex alloy, the strongest ever created by man. Though it was not designed with N-jammers in mind, the material has the rather beneficial side effect of blocking the energy created by those devices and its effects. The machines in those blueprints use regular titanium alloy, which of course has no such properties."

"I see," said Erica, "then you can guarantee that the Cosmic Era is not at risk from renewed nuclear proliferation and the use of atomic weapons in this war?"

"If either side manages to reintroduce nuclear arms into this war," said Heero, "it will not be through technology from my world. I have kept Wing Zero's data secret to insure against that, and Morgenroete is now the only major entity in the Cosmic Era with access to MS designs from the After Colony timeline, and even the specs I gave you will not be enough to overcome the effects of ZAFT's N-jammers."

Erica breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

"However," said Heero, "that does not change the fact that your company is now in the possession of information that could seriously shift the balance of power within the Earth Sphere."

"Yes," said Erica, "but I can take steps to insure that that power is used responsibly. Right now, the only people within Morgenroete that have access to this data are myself and the M1 team. Those engineers are my immediate subordinates, and I can assure you that they are quite loyal to me. I have only copied your data onto our team's computers, and when I go back in their later I am going to delete it. I will retain possession of the flash drive you gave me, but it will be the only source of those blueprints within Morgenroete; I will of course show them to Lord Uzumi, but he and I will be the ones who control what elements of your world's technology is used for our weapons programs."

"What about the company's board of directors?" said Heero, "Surely they must know that you've enlisted the help of the pilot of Wing Zero, along with that of the Strike."

"Yes," she replied, "but those people don't have an engineering bone in their bodies. All they care about is the company's profits, and all I will be showing them is mobile suits that we have developed to the point that we believe they are ready for mass production. In all likelihood these will include features from both the Strike and some of the mobile suits from your world. I will not reveal the full contents of this flash drive; they may be my superiors, but that does not mean I trust them, and my position gives me quite a bit of influence in the company. They can't afford to lose someone like me, so I'm not worried about getting fired over this."

She saw him smile. "You have strong convictions," he said, "I'm sure you won't allow that information to be abused."

"I appreciate that vote of confidence," she said as she stood up. "Well, are you ready to head back?"

"I suppose so," said Heero, standing as well, "I should probably check on Kira's progress. Considering his own piloting experience, he's probably going with a different approach on the operating system than I am."

"About that," said Erica as they left the office, "I've had a slight change of heart. You can wrap up your work in the M1; I'll leave the development of the operating system to Kira. We'll probably add elements from the system in the files you gave us to it as well. As for you, I'd like you to stay in the control room and act as a technical advisor. I believe you'd be well suited to the task since you are not only familiar with the machines in those blueprints but also perform your own mobile suit maintenance. Grab the work you've done in the M1 and bring it to me first, and after that I'd like to begin going over the finer details of some of those mobile suits, along with your own experience with them."

"Sounds good," said Heero, "but don't expect to get more information about my past that way. I'll be giving you advice on how they were used in combat both tactically and strategically, along with their strengths and weaknesses, but nothing beyond that."

"Fair enough," she replied as they approached the control room door.

When they entered the facility, Erica went to her work station while Heero walked over to the elevator. As he entered and shut the lift, she sat down and began going over two specific items in the flash drive; the designs for the Tallgeese and the strange devices called 'Planet Defensors'.

_A machine like this_, she thought, _with this kind of mobility and agility… if we added these shield drones… replaced the dober gun with a beam rifle… I still can't think of anyone in our military who could pilot it, but there's so much potential..._

Dozens of possibilities flashed through her mind as she looked at the images. Pulling up other schematics from the drive, she couldn't help but smile. _I'm going to have fun with these. I owe you big time, Heero Yuy._

….

"Hey."

Heero saw Kira jump, caught off guard by the voice. He'd become so focused on his work that he'd completely neglected to pay attention to his immediate surroundings. _You really need to work on your situational awareness, Kira_, thought Heero, _honestly, I'm almost amazed you haven't been shot down already with the way you zoom in on one objective and ignore the bigger picture. That's not a trait suited to long term survival._

The young Coordinator looked up and saw Heero standing in the hatchway. "Oh, hey Heero. What's up?"

"Change of plans," he replied. He held up a disk. "I'm taking my work up to the control room already; the rest of the operating system is up to you. Miss Simmons wants me to assist with developing the designs I gave her team into new units for Orb." He leaned in and looked at the M1's main monitor. The Gundam pilot raised an eyebrow. "Not bad… I'm impressed that you've gotten this much done already. Keep this up and you'll have the M1 ready for trial runs in no time."

"You think so?" said Kira, surprised at the praise he was getting from the normally withdrawn pilot.

Heero nodded. "I have to say, you're a natural when it comes to programming, and I'm pretty sure it goes beyond the fact that you're a Coordinator. Did you take any engineering classes while at Heliopolis?"

"Yeah," said Kira, "that was my major at the college I was attending. The professor in one of my classes even had me work as a lab assistant on one of his projects. I think it was an O.S. for a heavy labor suit, like the kinds used in colony construction."

_Or_, Heero mused, _considering his skills and Orb's collaboration with the Alliance, it's entirely possible that Kira's professor was in fact part of the GAT-series project, and was planning on adapting Kira's work for the operating systems of the Earth Forces new mobile suits. _In fact, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. _A college professor working on a new labor suit O.S. in the same colony where the Alliance is cooperating with Orb in order to develop prototype mobile suits? I highly doubt that was just a coincidence. Of course, it's no surprise Kira hasn't drawn that connection yet; he's still too trusting, too willing to take things at face value._

It hardly mattered now, but Heero still couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his fellow mobile suit pilot. _In all likelihood he was already involved in this war whether he realized it or not. Even if ZAFT hadn't attacked Heliopolis, how much longer could he have worked on that project without the professor realizing that he was a Coordinator, if he hadn't already? It's entirely possible that the professor could have eventually reported the skills of his prized student to his superiors, and that they may have been planning to bring him into the project… whether he liked it or not. I have no doubt the Alliance top brass would've had no qualms over forcing him to work for them. From what I've read, it seems officers like Murrue are the exception rather than the rule._

He turned his attention back to Kira. "Alright, I'm heading back up to the control room."

"Ok," said Kira, "I'll see you later then."

Heero made his way back to the control room, noting Asagi, Mayura, and Juri staring at him as he did so. The blond even smiled and gave a wink, clearly attempting to catch his eye, most likely so she could engage in some flirting. Heero chuckled slightly. _Sorry, girls, but I'm not interested._

_ At least, not in you three…_

Images of a certain brown haired beauty flashed through his mind.

_Murrue…_

Just thinking about her made him want to smile, and indeed he could feel a small one creep onto his face. A warm feeling he was unaccustomed to seemed to well up within him. He wasn't sure what it was, but he definitely didn't mind it.

_If this is what falling in love feels like_, he thought as he entered the elevator, _I could definitely get used to it…_

….

On the bridge of the _Archangel_, Murrue checked the small display on the arm of her chair. It was currently linked to one of the ship's external cameras and showed the outer hull of the vessel crawling with Morgenroete workers. _They don't waste any time_, she thought.

Though it would take a few weeks to repair the extensive damage, Murrue could already see signs of progress. Several mauled hull plates had already been removed, allowing the technicians to access areas beneath them that would need repairs. Workers were also taking out pieces of the portside Gottfried, which had been thrashed by the Aegis in the battle. Eventually new parts would be brought in and the weapon reassembled, but the damage to the cannon was so extensive that the repair work on it would be some of the most time consuming of the maintenance needed. Meanwhile, down in engineering, Chief Mechanic Murdoch and his crew were quite literally crawling around inside the ship's massive thrusters, ripping out components that had been fried by the Buster's attacks.

Murrue sighed. _I wish I could help, but I don't want to get in their way._ Watching the progress of the work was really just a way for her to pass the time. She had already spent most of the morning in her quarters writing up combat reports and individual commendations that she hoped to present to the top brass at Alaska. _My crew deserves to be rewarded for all they've done, especially in the face of such adversity_, she thought, _I hope command will at least take the evaluations I've written into consideration._

Even writing up her reports, while certainly something that had needed to be done, had in the end been little more than an exercise in killing time. She smiled slightly. _I can't recall the last time I've felt so excited! _She checked the time and saw that it was about ten minutes after noon. _An hour or two left until he gets back…_

_ Easy, girl_, chided a voice in the back of her mind, _you're getting all worked up over a sixteen year old boy._

"No," she whispered to herself, "he's much more than that…" _So much more…_

Indeed he was. To her, the young man who had so greatly impacted her life in the space of a few weeks seemed as grown up as any of her colleagues. But there was more to it than that. While the other members of her crew had only seen the strong but withdrawn side of him, Murrue had seen him at his most vulnerable, tortured by memories from a past that no person should ever have had to endure, especially someone like him. She had come to know him as a truly kind individual, whose quiet nature was the result of a lifetime of fighting, of struggling just to survive.

_When we go out later_, she thought, _I can give him something that no one else has; a fun night on the town. _While it was true that he had been the one that asked her out, Murrue knew that he had no real experience when it came to romance and matters of the heart. _I'm sure he wants to show me a good time, but I'm not going to let him do all the work. _She knew that, if she truly was falling for him, she would have to be more proactive than other women might be in such a situation, especially if she really wanted to discover if the bond the two of them shared was growing into something more.

Murrue had already made some preparations. When a member of Morgenroete's staff had brought over several cases of company clothing for the crew to wear while they enjoyed their leave, Murrue had arranged an exchange of currency as well so that the _Archangel's _crew would be able to spend some money and enjoy themselves. Naturally, she had also included herself in that category, and she now had enough cash for what she was sure would be a fun night out. _I know it's usually the guy that pays for things in situations like this_, she thought with a smile, _but Heero's from another world, so of course any money he has other than those Alliance dollars I gave him in North Africa won't be of any use in the Cosmic Era. I certainly don't mind dishing out some cash for an occasion like this; he deserves to have someone treat him. He's earned that, and certainly much more._

_ Heero… please come back soon._

….

"Man, we owe the Captain big time!" said Lieutenant Commander La Flaga as he leaned back in his chair.

_Indeed_, thought Natarle as she raised her glass to her lips, savoring the rum-and-coke as she drank. She had been surprised when Captain Ramius had offered her and the dashing blonde pilot across the table from her one of the first shore leave rotations. She had been about to go to the bridge to start her shift early that morning when she had received a call from the Captain asking her to come to the officer's lounge. Along the way, she had run into the Lieutenant Commander and had learned that he had received a similar call. Upon their arrival, Captain Ramius had delivered some surprising news.

_"Morgenroete just dropped off some clothing that's usually worn by their employees," she said, smiling, "I'm having them distributed to the crew right now. I've already begun working up a rotating leave schedule; considering the fact that our stay in Orb shall last a few weeks, I want to make sure everyone has plenty of opportunities to relax and take in some of the sights. You've all certainly earned it."_

It had been then that Natarle had learned that she and La Flaga had been listed as the first of the officers to be allowed to go ashore, and that their liberty period for the day would go from nine that morning until two in the afternoon. They would be able to request different times for subsequent excursions, but for today the Captain had already written up a schedule. As soon as Captain Ramius had left for the bridge, the ever-relaxed, incredibly handsome pilot had turned to her and asked if she wanted to join him for a look around the city. Feeling a familiar warmth rushing to her face, she had barely been able to reply 'yes'.

After the two of them had changed into the red and black shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes, they had left the ship and exited the docking facility. To their surprise, they found an Orb military jeep parked outside, the driver smiling as he told them that he would drop them off in the city, and that they could radio him at anytime they were ready to head back to the ship. After being dropped off in the city's downtown shopping district, the two had actually enjoyed a pleasant walk around the area, checking out several shops. Natarle smiled slightly as she recalled La Flaga's excitement at finding a sporting goods shop, although the subsequent half hour he'd spent marveling at all the gear was somewhat less entertaining for her. Still, it had been interesting to see him get so enthusiastic over things like the latest soccer cleats, and she had actually found herself making mental notes of which items he liked the most- and were within her spending range.

_Silly girl_, she thought as she set her glass down, _you're not actually thinking of buying something for him later… are you? _Natarle blushed slightly as she realized that she was doing exactly that. _What has gotten into me?_

The fighter pilot had not been the only one to find something to his liking, though. Awhile later Natarle had nearly gasped as they came across a _Barnes and Nobles _bookstore, and it had been all her compatriot could do to convince her to only buy one book today and not blow all her money in one go. She smiled slightly as she glanced down at the bag next to her chair, containing a copy of one of her favorite novels, _Moby Dick_. Her father had read it to her several times when she was younger, and she had come to love the story. She had her own copy back home but had forgotten to pack it when she'd shipped out at the start of the war. Theoretically, during prolonged conflicts Alliance soldiers were supposed to get a rotation home every eight months, but in practice that regulation had been completely ignored as the conflict had bogged down and the situation became ever-more difficult for the Earth Forces in the face of ZAFTs overwhelming mobile suits. Nowadays troops were lucky to get so much as two days of shore leave for every six months they spent at a front line post. Natarle knew that it was one of the reasons why overall troop morale had fallen so low among the regular forces, and privately was disgusted with the situation. _I don't care how desperate High Command is_, she thought, _the Home Rotation Article was written precisely to avoid this kind of burnout among front-line soldiers. We deserve better from our superiors, damn it!_

Still, there was nothing she could do about it. She sighed, turning back to her drink as she took another sip. It was now about twelve-thirty, and the two of them had found a nice restaurant a little further out from the center of the city overlooking a park. It was a very nice place, advertising itself as a western style grill and family eatery, and Natarle had been unable to contain a smile as she saw her favorite food on the menu; a bacon double cheese burger, and in the case of this particular restaurant, one that supposedly weighed over a full pound! She had been all but drooling when the waiter had brought out their meal and she saw the massive burger, along with a side of garlic fries. La Flaga, on the other hand, had ordered a plate of ribs and a pale lager, and even now was turning back to his food, chowing down, determined to get every last scrap of meat off the bones, the large glass of beer half finished next to the plate.

Natarle set her drink down and picked up what remained of her sandwich, determined to finish it off despite protests from her stomach urging her to surrender. _It's been five damn months since I've last had one of these_, she thought, recalling her fury when she had realized upon her arrival at Heliopolis oh-so long ago that no joint in that colony had served them, _I am going to enjoy every last scrap of this burger!_

After taking a few small bites, she set the remnant down, vowing to finish it off before they left. "I agree," she said with a small smile, "especially considering how hard it is to come by even the smallest leave time these days."

"And that goes double for our situation," said La Flaga, "hell, I actually feel like thanking ZAFT for attacking us when they did; without all that battle damage, we would've just dropped off Cagalli and Kisaka and continued on our merry way. Man, it feels great to kick back and relax without worrying whether or not we're going to be attacked in the next five minutes!"

"Don't talk so loudly about that," Natarle admonished him, "remember, officially we aren't even supposed to be in this country."

"Right," he replied, "sorry. Guess I got a little carried away." He gave her another one of those charming smiles, the kind that never failed to make her heart beat a bit faster. "Still," he continued, a little softer now, "you got to admit that this certainly beats a combat cruise."

"I won't argue there," she sighed, "though I imagine this will be over all too soon."

"Which is why we have to enjoy this while we can" said La Flaga, finishing up the last of his ribs. As Natarle picked up what was left of her burger, he continued. "Before we know it we'll be back on our way to Alaska."

"Yeah," she said between bites. Finally finishing off her meal, she leaned back and downed the rest of her drink. "Well, shall we pay and leave?"

"Not quite yet," said La Flaga, his smile becoming mischievous. He waved a server over. "Could we get a dessert menu, please?"

"Of course," said the waitress, "I'll be right back."

Natarle stared at the fighter pilot. "You mean you're still hungry after all that?"

"Only a little," said La Flaga, "I really just want to get some quality food while I have the chance. Sure, the ship's mess isn't bad, but it does get old after awhile. Now, you and I are going to share some ice cream, assuming they have some here!"

"Hold on," said Natarle, "I just finished my burger; I can't eat another bite!"

"Oh, come on," said La Flaga, "lighten up, pig out a little. We go back to the ship in less than an hour and a half; you can worry about an upset stomach then."

She looked down, sighing in defeat. "Alright, you win."

As the waitress came back and La Flaga picked their desert, Natarle couldn't help but blush slightly as an image of the two of them leaning over an ice cream bowl went through her mind, faces mere inches apart….

_Will you stop this_, she berated herself, _you're an Alliance officer, not some small-town schoolgirl. Besides, fraternization within the ranks is prohibited by Earth Forces regulations._

However, despite her firm beliefs that the rules and protocols must be obeyed, she couldn't stop herself from running that scene through her mind again… along with several others.

_Oh dear lord_, she realized, _I'm falling for a fellow officer… and laid-back goofball of one at that!_

Yet, try as she might, she could not deny that it was true… and she grudgingly admitted to herself that his relaxed nature was one of the reasons _why _she was doing so.

She could hear a small voice whispering in the back of her mind, one she thought had died near the end of her teenage years, telling her to screw the rules and go with her feelings.

_No! The regulations are there for a reason! They're essential to maintain the cohesiveness and effectiveness of our military!_

_ But aren't some of those rules_, the little voice whispered in her head, _a little… overbearing? Redundant? Pointless? Silly, even? Besides, all you have to do is look around to see the Fraternization Articles being violated left and right. Why should you be the only one that toes the line on that one?_

She had seen Kira and Flay together on the ship during the voyage, and while both of them were now technically Alliance soldiers and subject to Earth Forces rules, she hadn't had the heart to punish or report them. It was uncharacteristic of her, and she suspected that part of the reason why she didn't do it was because she actually felt sorry for them, having been dragged into the war against their will. More than that, she was beginning to realize that she wanted something like that herself; someone to take comfort in while the conflict raged across the Earth Sphere. Someone to be with, to share herself with… she wanted a relationship.

And she suspected she wasn't the only one. She had noticed how their other mobile suit pilot seemed to be growing closer to Captain Ramius, and that she was making a considerable effort to get to know him. _Could she and Heero be… no, they couldn't. Even with all the rules she's already broken, I doubt Captain Ramius would go that far. And yet…_

There was something in their behavior that suggested that more than a close friendship was forming between them…

"Alright, it's here!" said La Flaga, snapping her out of her thoughts. Turning her attention back to the table in front of her, she saw a rather large bowl of vanilla ice cream had been set between her and the Lieutenant Commander.

_ My stomach is going to hate me for this_, she thought as she grabbed a spoon. Still, as the two of them began to dig in, one of her previous mental images flashed through her mind again, causing her to smile slightly. _Still, I suppose I can put up with an upset tummy this time… but we're not going to eat nearly this much on our next date, Mu La Flaga! I'll make sure of that…_

….

Murrue smiled as she saw Heero, Kira, and Erica on one of the outer hull monitors. The three of them had just entered the dock facility. Checking the time, she saw that it was about five minutes until two. Natarle and La Flaga had come back about ten minutes early, and the black-haired Lieutenant had already changed into her uniform and was on the bridge. Murrue had noticed that she seemed unusually cheerful, a warm smile on her face as she took her place in the CIC. _I wonder if something happened with La Flaga_, she thought. After a moment, Murrue decided that it was none of her business. She had more important things to concern herself with in any case.

Such as the Gundam pilot that was approaching the ship.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Murrue, "the bridge is yours. I'll be leaving the ship in a little while, so you're in command for the evening. Ensign Neumann will relieve you and take swing shift later."

The Lieutenant's eyes widened slightly at that, but she didn't raise any objections. "Understood, Captain."

At that, Murrue stood up and quickly left the bridge, moving as fast as she could without breaking into a jog towards the ship's portside hatch. Her smile would not disappear, and she could not deny her excitement as she exited the vessel and went down the gangway to meet the approaching trio. When she reached the bottom, she took a moment to compose herself as they walked up to her, hoping she didn't look as giddy as she felt. _He's back, and almost exactly on time! I'll give him a chance to change and get cleaned up, and then we can go out!_

"How did everything go?" she asked as they approached.

Erica smiled. "Quite well. I'd like to borrow them again tomorrow, though I'll come by a little later next time. Does, say, oh eight hundred work for you?"

"That's fine," Murrue replied. "How about you two?" she asked the pilots.

"Sure," said Heero.

"Yeah, sounds great," said Kira.

"Splendid," said Erica, "I'll see you all tomorrow then."

As the engineer walked away, Kira turned to Murrue. "Mind if I go grab something to eat and shower? I could really use it."

Murrue smiled. "Of course. In fact, consider yourself free for the rest of the day. The same goes for any other day after you've completed working with Morgenroete."

Kira's eyes widened slightly. "Really? Thank you, Captain!"

"It's the least I can do," she said, "now go, get a meal and clean up."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and headed up the gangway.

She turned to Heero, who had a slight smile on his face. "I'm assuming that goes for me, too?"

Murrue couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Yes, or at least the clean up bit. By the way, I've laid some clothes out on your bed. Morgenroete brought them over; they're for whenever we go outside their facilities."

Heero nodded. "I guess it'll be nice to have something different to wear. I'll change into those after I shower."

"Do you need something to eat too?" she asked.

He shook his head. His eyes met hers. "I was thinking I'd save that for when we go out in a little while. Maybe we could hit a restaurant later."

Murrue smiled. "I'd like that. Shall we head aboard? I'll come by your quarters in about a half an hour."

Heero nodded, and the two of them made their way towards the hatch. As they boarded the ship, Murrue felt her excitement building. _A half hour for me to get changed and freshen up a little_, she thought, _that should be enough._

She looked at the young man next to her, who to her surprise still had that slight smile on his face. _I wonder… is he as excited about this as I am?_

_ Does he feel the same way I feel?_

….

A little while later, Heero found himself in front of the mirror in the washroom of his quarters. It felt strange, after wearing if for so long, to be out of that green tank-top. Still, as he looked himself over, he had to admit he liked his new outfit; a simple red and black shirt, khaki pants, black shoes and a belt, just like most of the employees he had seen at the Morgenroete facility earlier that day, or at least those not involved in heavy mechanical work. They tended to wear jumpsuits like the one Kira had been given before they had left that morning.

He took a deep breath in an effort to quell the nervousness in his gut. It subsided somewhat, but a little bit remained. _I suppose I'll just have to put up with it_, he thought, _maybe it's natural to feel this way… it is my first date, after all._

Leaving the washroom, he picked up the knife on his bed and put it in his pocket. While he couldn't conceal his gun in this outfit, he still didn't want to go out unarmed, so the blade was his only option. He knew that in theory they would have nothing to worry about, but he still wanted to be able to protect Murrue if they were attacked.

Despite the remaining flicker of anxiety, he couldn't help but smile slightly. _It's time. _Taking a moment to collect himself, he opened the door and left his quarters.

As he stepped into the hallway, he saw that Murrue was already there waiting for him. She smiled, and he returned it as he walked up to her. She was wearing the same basic outfit as he was, but it didn't matter to him; she was as beautiful as ever and perhaps even more so now that he could finally see her in something other than a military uniform. While the Morgenroete garb might not be considered to be truly casual wear, it still struck him as more informal on her than the Alliance uniform. Though she had never seemed tense to him, Heero realized that she seemed a little more relaxed to him, as though the simple act of changing out of her military attire had removed a weight from her shoulders.

"You look nice," said Murrue as he came up to her.

"Thanks," said Heero, noting the flicker of blue light as he saw the stone of the necklace he'd given her against her chest. His eyes met hers. "You look… beautiful."

He felt the heat rushing to his face immediately after he said those words. _Couldn't you have said something a little lower key, Heero? 'Good',' great', 'lovely', something like that?_

However, as he was mentally berating himself on his word choice, Heero saw her smile grow a little bigger, and he could feel his doubts wash away. "Thank you, Heero!" she said, "Shall we get going?"

"Yeah," he replied. As they left the ship, they took the same rout La Flaga and Natarle had out of the facility earlier. Waiting for them was their own open-topped jeep and driver, another friendly company employee.

"You're the Captain, right?" he asked Murrue as they climbed into the back seats.

She nodded. "Yes," she said, and then turned to Heero, smiling, "and this is my best pilot, Heero Yuy."

"I've heard of you," said the driver as he revved up the engine, "you're the pilot of Wing Zero, right?"

"Yeah," Heero replied. _I wonder where he heard that? I wouldn't think a simple driver would have access to that kind of information?_

Fortunately for him, the driver gave him the answer without prompting. "I've got a few buddies in the military," he said as they drove out of the Morgenroete complex and turned onto the main road heading into the city, "and one of them was on the _Kumano _when it led the task force out to escort you guys. He said Colonel Kisaka was talking about you to the skipper later on. I think it was after you guys ditched the ZAFT forces at the border."

"I see," said Heero.

"You know," the driver continued, "your name's really starting to get around military circles. I guess you must be pretty good."

Heero shrugged. "Whatever you say."

The driver took that as his cue to turn his attention back to the road. Heero felt Murrue nudge him with her elbow. "What's up?" he asked.

She smiled at him. "Don't be so modest. I certainly wouldn't blame you for bragging a little."

Heero gave a small laugh. "It's not really my style."

"I know," she said, and he was surprised to feel her grab his hand and give it a soft squeeze, "still, you should have a little more pride in your abilities. I wasn't exaggerating when I said you're my best pilot."

"I figured that," he said, smiling a little, "I've just never been one to really boast about my skills. I prefer to let my actions do the talking." Without thinking, he gripped her hand a little tighter.

"I think that's a good attitude to have," said Murrue, "and your actions since you've joined us have spoken volumes about you. Not to mention they've saved my life several times."

"A trend I plan to continue," he said. He glanced to the side as the jeep approached the city, the buildings growing taller with each passing minute. "I promised to protect you, and that's a vow I will not break."

"I know you won't," she said, "I trust you with my life, Heero."

He looked at her, and their eyes met. "I know I'll be alright as long as you're around," said Murrue, "I believe in you."

His eyes widened slightly. No one had talked to him like this since Relena. "Murrue… I…" In the end, all he could do was smile at her. "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome, Heero," she said. A silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of the jeep's engine and passing traffic. It wasn't awkward though, and Heero found himself content just to sit there with her, holding her hand while the wind tussled their hair. As Murrue smiled at him, Heero was sure that she felt the same way.

After about ten minutes they came to a bustling shopping district. The driver pulled to the side of the road. "Alright, we're here."

As the climbed out of the jeep, he spoke again. "A couple blocks east of here there's this huge park. They always got something interesting going on there, no matter what day of the year it is. You two should check it out when you're done here."

Heero nodded. "Thanks." He turned to Murrue. "What do you think; you want to head by there a little later?"

She smiled. "Sure, I think I'd enjoy a nice walk through a park. It feels like forever since I've done something like that."

"Have fun, you two!" said the driver. Then he drove off, leaving the two of them standing on the edge of a busy sidewalk.

Heero turned and saw that they were actually in front of the entrance to a large shopping mall. "Do you want to look around here for awhile?" he asked.

"Oh, I was hopping you'd ask that," she said, her face glowing, "I'd love to do a little shopping." She giggled as he raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly apprehensive. "Just a little, Heero. Trust me; I'm not one of those women that buy out half a clothing store's worth of merchandise."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly at that. "You don't strike me as that type," he said, "but I've still heard a few wild stories from some of my friends, so I was a little worried."

"Don't be," she said, "so, shall we?"

He nodded. "Lead the way, Murrue."

They wound up spending about forty-five minutes in the mall, much to Heero's relief. They went into a few clothing stores, and Murrue spent most of the time just trying things on. Heero was half-convinced that she was doing it as much for him as she was for herself, as all of the outfits had looked _stunning _on her. When she'd asked for his opinions on them, he'd had a hard time answering; how could he say which one was the best when he was more focused on the beautiful woman that was wearing them? In the end though, she had forced him to make up his mind on which one was the best for her, and it had been that one she'd bought. It was a simple enough outfit; a white blouse and a pair of blue jeans, but to Heero that simplicity had been part of what had made it so lovely on her. The clothes seemed to put more emphasis on the woman wearing them than on themselves, and served merely to accentuate her beauty in a subtle, almost classical sense. The Gundam pilot really couldn't find the right words to describe it, but he definitely felt it had been better suited to Murrue than some of the other, more complicated ensembles she had tried on.

When he'd asked why his opinion had mattered so much, Murrue had smiled and replied, "because I trust you to speak your mind. I know you'll be honest with me, and not just tell me what I want to hear."

Watching her pay for it, he'd suddenly felt guilty for not having any money of his own to help her with her purchase. It was silly, but he wanted to buy something for her, especially considering all she had done for him since he had arrived. However, Murrue had just smiled at him and said that she didn't mind at all. "Trust me," she had said, "I have no problem being the one paying for things tonight. Not just for myself, but for you as well; you deserve to have someone treat you, especially after all you've done for us."

Now, as they walked out of the mall, she was wearing the outfit she'd just bought, her clothes from Morgenroete in the bag she'd gotten from the store. The blue stone of the necklace shimmered in the late afternoon sun as they walked east along the busy avenue towards the park the driver had mentioned, taking in the sights along the way. They moved slowly, pausing to look in the windows of the many shops in the area, several with exotic merchandise. Heero had never considered himself one for window shopping, but found that he was actually enjoying it, mainly because it was with someone he was coming to care more for with each passing day.

As they continued to explore the town, he had noticed that they were drawing looks from people of both genders. Several men had begun staring at Murrue, and they were hardly being subtle about it, but Heero had been somewhat surprised to see that he was being ogled as well by many of the women in the area. Some of them were even giving Murrue jealous glares, which had proceeded to turn into shock when, much to Heero's surprise, she looped her arm through his, drawing herself closer to him.

The move had caught him completely off guard, and he had momentarily frozen, but as he looked over and saw her smiling at him, he felt himself relax. After about a minute, Heero had even found himself gently pulling her a bit closer to him with his arm. Surprising himself with his boldness –or at least, it felt bold to him-, he was even more shocked when Murrue let him do it, with no signs of resistance or hesitation. The feeling had only lasted for a second though, and soon he had relaxed again, and was now smiling as they continued their stroll through town. The warmth that flowed through his body reminded him of their ride into the city in the jeep, only now it was actually stronger.

He looked over at her as they stopped in front of another shop, this one with several pieces of jewelry from Central Asia in the window. _Could I… really be falling for her? _The thought would not leave him alone. It continued to hover there in the back of his mind, but he was alright with that. He knew that all he could do was allow things to play out as they would; he would know for sure eventually. For the moment, he was having a good time just being with Murrue, and that was enough for him.

"This is wonderful," she said as they moved along, "I almost feel like I'm back in my hometown… and that we're at peace." She smiled wistfully, and Heero could see the longing in her eyes.

At the same time, her comments made him realize something; for all that he had told Murrue about himself, he realized that he knew so little about her life before they had met. _How could I have been so selfish? All I've ever talked about is myself; I've asked her nothing about her own life! _He resolved to fix that immediately.

"What was your hometown like?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing special," said Murrue, "nothing worth talking about."

"I disagree," he said, stopping in his tracks. He looked at her. "Murrue… I haven't once asked you about yourself since we've met. I've been so damn selfish, just talking about my own problems, my past life… it never occurred to me to ask you about your own."

"Heero…" she said, her eyes widening.

"Murrue," he said, "if it's alright… I want to know more about you. About your life, how you came into the military…" He looked down for a moment. "If that's ok with you, that is. I'm sorry if I'm prying; you don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's just… I feel like such a self-centered bastard… I should've asked you sooner…"

"Heero," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. He looked at her, and saw that she was smiling. "It's alright, really. We've both been so busy just trying to survive, and I wanted so badly to learn more about you… I never once thought of telling you about my own life. Believe me; I don't think you've been selfish at all. Stop beating yourself up like this, alright? You have nothing to apologize for."

"Murrue…" he said. After a moment, he gave her a small smile of his own. "Alright. Still… I want to know more about you… if you want to tell me, anyway. You don't have to."

"Of course I'll tell you," she said, "actually, to be honest I'm the one who should feel selfish. You told me so much about your past, including your worst memories, and I've told you nothing in return. Let's find somewhere to sit down, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

He nodded, and they walked for a few more minutes until they found a coffee shop. They could see entrance to the park further up the street and decided they'd go there after their talk. They went to the counter and just ordered two waters, and when they got their drinks they grabbed a table by one of the windows.

"So," she said smiling, "what do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me," he said, returning her smile, "You respected my privacy back in North Africa, so the least I can do is return the favor."

"Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning then," she said, "my early life wasn't very interesting. My family's from Norfolk, Virginia, and that's where I was born and raised. My mother's a secretary for a law firm based in the city, and my father's an Alliance naval officer. I was born on October 12, Cosmic Era 45. Back then the Earth Alliance didn't exist, so he was serving in the Atlantic Federation forces."

"Do you know where he's posted right now?" asked Heero.

"He's actually the base commandant at the Norfolk Navy Yard," she said, smiling slightly, "father always loved the sea… I suppose it was natural for him to join the navy, though having a desk job now probably irks him a bit."

"I'm glad he's still alive, along with your mother," said Heero.

"As am I" she said, "I can't imagine the pain you must have gone through, growing up without your parents."

"I don't know," he replied, "I mean, I never knew them, so it's not like they were just suddenly taken from me in an accident one day. It's true that I've wondered sometimes who they were… but it doesn't hurt, really. There's just emptinessthere, I guess. But we're getting sidetracked; we're talking about you this time, remember?"

"Of course," said Murrue, "but I still wish you had at least known who they were; you deserve that."

"I appreciate the thought, Murrue," said Heero, "but I'm alright, really. Now, what about your childhood?"

She smiled. "Not too exciting, really. I attended the usual twelve years of school. I had some good friends. There was one boyfriend in my senior year, but that only lasted about a month; I found out the guy was a player, and was just trying to add me to his list of 'conquests'. Not to mention he was sleeping with three other girls in that time period. I dumped him pretty quickly after that."

"So you two didn't…" said Heero, blushing a bit as he found himself unable to finish the sentence.

Murrue laughed. "No, Heero, I never went all the way with him. Even back then, I was the type of girl who needed to have a meaningful relationship with a guy before I would sleep with him. That hasn't changed."

"I see," he said, feeling somewhat relieved. _What's wrong with you, Heero? So what if she had slept with him back then; it would've been her call to make. _Still, he could not deny that he was glad to hear that she hadn't decided to become more intimate with the bastard, so to speak.

"Enough about that jerk," said Murrue, "anyway, I graduated near the top of my class. I could have gone to any of the state universities, but I decided to enroll in the Atlantic Federations Naval Reserves. It was actually around that time that the space forces were being brought under the umbrella of the Navy. Before then they had actually been an independent branch of the armed forces. I think they consolidated the two services due to budget cuts; they were trying to funnel as much cash and resources as they could into developing new warships and the mobile armor program, so there was a huge effort to trim down spending in other areas like administration."

"Why the reserves and not the full service?" asked Heero.

"Well," said Murrue, "at the time, I was torn between two possible career paths. On the one hand was the desire to follow in my father's footsteps and join the Navy, but on the other… I had also thought about being a teacher. At the time, the Atlantic Federation was offering full college scholarships to those who scored at the top of the reservist program, so I figured it was a good way to kill two birds with one stone; I'd get a taste of military life and at the same time be able to prepare for college. I sure as hell didn't want to be saddled with student loans to pay back for the rest of my life."

"I take it the military suited you better?" said Heero.

"Well, here's the thing," said Murrue, "I completed my training at the Virginia Military Institute, and even graduated from the program as a Reserve Lieutenant two years later, but I was still undecided. I took a year off from further schooling and worked as a waitress at a restaurant in order to save up some extra cash, then decided to take advantage of the scholarship program. I enrolled at James Madison University and started attending classes fall quarter of C.E. 66. My declared major was education."

"How was college life?" he asked.

"Oh, interesting," replied Murrue with a smile, "I had another shot at romance early on in my freshman year. The guy seemed nice enough, but about three months into the relationship I found out that he was cheating on me, so I broke things off. I'm not sure why he did it; I actually did wind up 'going all the way' with him, you might say, but he still apparently thought I wasn't good enough. I enjoyed being with him, and thought we might have a shot at something more long-term… oh, well. Loyalty is important to me, and apparently he hadn't gotten that message. From then on I decided to focus solely on my education."

"'Not good enough'?" said Heero, feeling an unexpected surge of anger. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, his eyes met hers. "I'd like to find that guy and beat the hell out of him for treating you like that. Forget 'not good enough'; _you _were too good for him."

She smiled and reached across the table, grabbing his hand. "Heero… thank you. That means a lot to me." She laughed slightly. "And that 'beat the hell out of him' line certainly didn't hurt either, though I slugged him pretty good when I broke things off. Reserve training gave me a mean right hook."

"I don't doubt it," said Heero, laughing a bit with her. After a moment, he became more serious. "Still, you didn't deserve that."

"I don't think anyone does," she replied, "but it happens. The best we can do is move on. So long as we're alive, there's always the chance to meet someone new. Besides, life is too short to get stuck on such things; we need to enjoy it while we can."

"So how did the rest of your college experience go?" asked Heero.

"Well," she said, "I got my associates degree in C.E. 68 and began working on my bachelor's degree. However, I had only been two months into my junior year when I was called up to active service."

"What?" said Heero, surprised, "But I thought that hostilities between Earth and the PLANTs didn't begin until C.E. 70."

"That's correct," said Murrue, "but relationships were already deteriorating at the point I was called up. They had actually been increasing recruitment for the past year and a half, and had begun activating some of the reserves about six months before I received my notice. I shipped out to the Lunar Base to receive new training in extraterrestrial warfare. I had gotten basic courses in it during reserve training, but my military education had been focused primarily on surface operations. The GINN had been rolled out by ZAFT the previous year, so the Atlantic Federation was extremely nervous, as were several of the other terrestrial powers. Rapid military expansion was inevitable in that climate."

"Anyway," she continued, "after about six months of training, I received my first assignment as a Brevet Lieutenant aboard the _Nelson_-class battleship _Patton_ as a navigator. Three months after that I was made a full Lieutenant and switched over to the role of managing the ship's CIC. It was a bit rough, changing jobs like that, but I managed to adapt well enough. Apparently my skills caught the eyes of my superiors, and by the time hostilities broke out in C.E. 70 I actually had my own command; the _Drake_-class escort ship _Antietam_."

"Was it unusual for a Lieutenant to have their own command?" asked Heero, "I know you were forced to take charge of the _Archangel _at that rank, but those were extreme circumstances."

"You're right on the second bit," Murrue replied, "but as for the first, full Lieutenants routinely got command of escort ships, mainly because we had so many of them. We still do as far as I know, but the navy has taken heavy losses since the war began, so there just aren't as many ships now as there were back then, regardless of how fast the Alliance tries to replace the vessels destroyed in action."

She smiled. "It was around that time that I had begun to fall in love again. This time it was with one of the ship's mobile armor pilots; a _Drake _typically carries two of them, though I know quite a few have been running empty these days. Anyway, this guy wasn't like the last ones. He was kind, idealistic… perhaps a bit naïve, but I could forgive him for that."

"What was his name?" said Heero, feeling a bit uneasy. Knowing her, she wouldn't have been allowing herself to grow closer to the Gundam pilot if the person in question was still alive. He was treading on painful ground for her, and was worried that he might open up an old wound by mistake.

However, she showed no sign of hesitation as she answered him. "Patrick James. He was a Private when the war broke out; my ship was his first field assignment. We started talking during lunch breaks, and eventually we grew close." She sighed, her smile becoming bittersweet. "I thought I might finally have a chance at a real relationship this time… but the life spans of mobile armor pilots had been projected to be mere months even before the fighting began, and it turned out even those estimates were generous."

"How did he die?" Heero asked softly.

"Quickly," said Murrue, "My ship was one of those assigned to the first major engagement of the war; the Battle of Yggdrasil. It lasted for about a month; the Alliance and ZAFT were trying to gain control over the space station that the battle was named for. The casualties on both sides were… appalling. The battle ended in a draw, and the station was destroyed in the final confrontation. Patrick… died on the second day of fighting. His mobile armor was destroyed by a GINN. It went down with a single shot through the cockpit; his death would've been instantaneous."

"I'm sorry," said Heero, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. He felt foolish, but he couldn't think of anything else _to _say.

He was surprised when Murrue once again grabbed his hand. Giving him a soft smile, she spoke. "It's alright; you weren't the one that killed him after all. Besides, you told me about memories that were incredibly painful to you; how can I not do the same?"

"You don't have to," said Heero, "I don't want to cause you to feel that pain again."

"You aren't," she replied, still smiling, "Patrick's death was a heavy blow to me, and I did mourn for awhile… but the human heart is truly a resilient thing, Heero. It may hurt for a time, but eventually it helps us move forward."

Her eyes met his. "After a few months, I found the strength to move on. I missed Patrick, of course, but I knew he wouldn't want his death to stop me from finding happiness in my life. My heart is ready to love again, should I find someone I can believe in and devote myself to."

_Could that be me_, Heero thought, _am I even worthy of the love of someone like her? _His mind argued against it, but his instincts were leaning in favor. There was just something about her behavior over the past week, something that seemed to indicate a deepening of the bond that was between them. _Maybe… I suppose I'll find out when the time is right._

"Heero," she said, bringing him back to the conversation, "thank you."

"For what?" he said, a little confused.

"For your words, your condolences," said Murrue, "they may seem hollow to you, but I assure you that they are not to me. I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness, your consideration… you really are a wonderfully compassionate man."

"Oh," he said, "in that case… you're welcome, Murrue. Do you still want to continue? If you don't, that's fine."

She smiled. "It's alright, I don't have that much further to go in any case. My ship was damaged in the fighting, and we were forced to return to the Lunar Base for repairs. It was during that time I received transfer orders to Project G, the program under which our prototype mobile suits and the _Archangel _were developed under. After I was read in, Command transferred me to Heliopolis, where I began working as one of the supervisors for the construction of the mobile suits and the warship. It was in that time that I familiarized myself with most of the workings of the _Archangel_. I wasn't sure exactly where I would be posted once the project was completed. I thought that if I made myself an expert on the new warship, I could convince my superiors to assign me to her; I really was impressed with the vessel, and had even become somewhat attached to it after awhile."

"I suppose the ZAFT attack did you a favor in a sense, then" said Heero.

"Yes, you do have a point," Murrue replied, smiling slightly, "though I would have preferred to earn my captaincy under different circumstances… but in the end, I got to meet you, so I'm not going to complain."

"Yeah," Heero nodded, "I guess I owe ZAFT for that."

Murrue laughed a little. "Perhaps, but I'm not sure they appreciate the way you've been repaying them."

Heero gave a small laugh as well. "If they want me to repay them without killing them, they should stop shooting at us."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" she replied. After a moment, she stood up. "Well, I think I've told you everything important." She held out her hand. "Shall we?"

Heero nodded and took it. As she pulled him to his feet, he met her gaze. "Thank you, Murrue. I'm sure some of that wasn't easy for you."

"It's alright," she said, "I really didn't mind telling you." As they left the shop they saw the park a little further down the road. "Well," Murrue said, smiling, "do you want to head on over there?"

He nodded. "Yeah." As they started walking, he felt her put her arm around his again. They looked at each other and smiled, happy just to be able to spend such a peaceful afternoon together without having to worry about a possible enemy attack.

Eventually they reached the park, and Heero was surprised to see that it was much larger than he had expected. In fact, he couldn't even see the other side of it. There were many trees, open areas for families to relax and have a picnic, several trails… it reminded him of pictures he'd seen of New York's famous Central Park. Sure, the vegetation was different-Orb was just beneath the equator, after all- and this park was nowhere near the size of the one in the Big Apple, but it still had that same friendly, soothing atmosphere to it. As they went through a large archway, Heero saw a map posted near the entrance to the park. Apparently, there was a pond near the center of the area, and the park itself took up a few city blocks. Near the pond was a large open concrete area for staging events.

"Well," he said after studying the layout for a few seconds, "should we head towards the center?"

"Sure," she said. As they continued inward, he saw her smile. "This place is wonderful… it feels like it's been ages since I've been in a park like this."

"Yeah," Heero replied, "I know what you mean."

They walked in silence for awhile, content to slowly stroll through the area and take in their surroundings. There were many people there, even as late afternoon was slowly turning into early evening. Families enjoying time together after a busy day, joggers either by themselves or with friends or pets… to Heero, it almost felt like he was in another world. Not literally, his present situation aside, but it was like the shadow of war that had always hung over his life just didn't exist here. _It's so strange_, he thought, _back when the Eve Wars ended, these kinds of places actually made me a bit uncomfortable; with all the blood on my hands, I didn't feel right being in such a serene area like this._

He looked over at Murrue, whose arm was once again linked with his, clearly enjoying herself. As she turned to him and smiled, he couldn't help but do the same. He realized that the feeling of not belonging in such a place was no longer with him… because he was with her. Her very presence almost seemed to lift some unknown weight from his shoulders, some burden that he couldn't describe. He didn't know what it was, only that it was there, had always been there… until he'd met her and gotten to know her.

Turning his attention back to his surroundings, he realized that a new sound was floating on the wind. It was soft, but as they kept walking towards the center of the park it got louder, and Heero realized that it was music.

"That's a flute," he said, "You hear that, right?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, and I think there's some violins as well."

Closing his eyes and focusing just on his sense of hearing, Heero realized that she was right. He could hear a mix of string instruments along with the flute.

He opened his eyes and looked at Murrue. "Well, you want to go check it out?"

She smiled. "Sure, I'd like that. I can't quite make out the melody from here, but it sounds lovely."

They headed a little further up the path, and after a few minutes they came to the center of the park. As they walked around the pond, they saw an entire orchestra, along with several rows of folding chairs full of spectators. More people were standing behind them, observing the performance.

Murrue smiled. "An outdoor concert, and a classical one at that! I haven't seen one of these since college." She turned to Heero. "Do you mind if we stick around and watch for awhile?"

He returned her smile. "Not at all. It'd be a nice way to relax."

Together, they made their way towards the crowd, standing at the back of the audience. The music softened as the orchestra wound down their current piece. When the song ended, the crowd broke into applause and cheers.

After a few minutes the performers began their next piece, and Heero's eyes widened in shock as a familiar tune was played by the flutes and violins. _No way! They have this one… in this world… _His mind went back to his days as a student at the St. Gabriel Institute, his first cover during Operation Meteor…

More specifically, to the night when OZ had attacked the facility in an attempt to kill Relena, during the school ball….when he'd danced with her.

An odd thought flashed through his mind, and he was going to dismiss it outright, but his instincts, his _feelings_… were telling him to go for it.

He turned to the wonderful, _beautiful _woman at his side. "Murrue," he said, "will you dance with me?"

Her eyes widened slightly, and then she smiled. "Yes, of course," she said, "but do you even know how?"

He nodded. "Let me lead."

After she set her bag down, Heero took her left hand in his right. At the same time, he gently pulled her in with his left hand, putting it on her right shoulder. She smiled as he did so, and put her right hand on his left shoulder.

"You've done this before," she said as they moved, Heero gently guiding her steps. It wasn't a question; his moves were deliberate, with no hesitation, flowing with the music.

"Yes," he replied, "with Relena, the night OZ attacked her school and tried to kill her."

"Now I remember," said Murrue, "you talked about that in North Africa. It was after they killed her father, right?"

"Yes," said Heero, "I was forced to sortie in the Wing Gundam in order to save her."

"That must've been quite a sight for those kids," she said as he guided her through a smooth twirl.

"I suppose it was," he said as he caught her at the end of her spin, leading her back into the main steps of the waltz, "I was a little too busy fighting to pay much attention to them."

Murrue gave a soft laugh. "Of course," she said.

They were quiet for a moment, and then Heero spoke up. "Murrue, this song… was played at that ball."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious? This exact song?"

"Yes," he replied. He gave her a small smile. "I guess the composer existed in both of our worlds… who knows? Dimensional physics and alternate universes aren't exactly my areas of expertise."

"Mine neither," said Murrue, "you know, I bet there are other artists and song writers that both our worlds have in common."

"Maybe," said Heero, "I haven't exactly been doing fine arts research lately."

"I know," Murrue replied, "but still, it's interesting to think about."

"Yeah," he said softly. Silence came between the two of them, and they just continued to move with the music.

About halfway into the song, without thinking about it, Heero felt himself pulling Murrue in a little closer to him. He was about to stop himself, but then he felt her move even closer on her own. She smiled at him, and Heero was relieved to see that his actions hadn't disturbed her. They continued to dance, and the rest of the world around them seemed to fade, until all Heero saw was the woman in his arms, all he heard was the song…

…he wanted it to last forever.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. All too soon, it seemed, the song began to wind down, softly fading out. When the last note was played, his eyes met Murrue's. Her face was radiant, and her smile was the most beautiful one he'd seen yet.

"Heero," she said, "that was wonderful. Thank you."

All he could do was give her a small smile of his own in return. "You're welcome, Murrue."

The crowd broke into applause, and as the two of them pulled apart they saw that many of the people were actually looking at them, smiling and cheering as they clapped. Heero immediately felt a surge of heat rushing to his face. _I didn't think people were watching us!_

He felt Murrue grab his hand, and as he looked over at her he felt his nerves calm a little. Smiling again, the two of them did a small bow before their audience. Then Murrue picked up her bag, looped her arm through Heero's again, and the two of them moved away as the next song started.

"I don't know about you," said Murrue, "but I'm getting hungry. Would you like to go grab something to eat?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good right now."

As late afternoon gave way to evening, the two of them made their way towards the opposite end of the park. When they got towards the edge, they saw that that side of the park bordered a street that was lined on the opposite side with several different kinds of restaurants.

"How convenient," said Heero as the crossed the street and began evaluating their options.

"I'll say," said Murrue. Her eyes widened slightly, and she dragged Heero over to an eatery specializing in seafood. "Check this out," she said, pointing at a notice underneath the sign, "they have karaoke in the evenings. Let's go here!"

Heero was slightly taken aback. "Karaoke… Murrue, I can't sing."

"Oh, sure you can, Heero," she said, smiling, "it's not hard, you'll be fine."

He wanted to protest further, but upon seeing how excited she was, he just didn't have the heart to do it. "Alright," he said, "I suppose I can try one song, but only if you go first."

"Of course," said Murrue as they walked into the establishment, "I was going to say that anyway!"

They walked up to the hostess, who immediately took them to a table. It was against a wall, and had a good view of the stage that occupied the rear of the dining area. As they took their seats, she smiled and handed out the menus. "By the way," she said, "we'll be passing around our sign-up sheet and song list for our evening karaoke in about five minutes. Please, feel free to join in. The more we get, the more fun the night is!"

"Of course," said Murrue, smiling, "that's one of the reasons we choose this place to begin with."

"Excellent," she said, "I'll come by with the list soon, and I'll take your orders then too. Can I get you two something to drink in the meantime?"

"Just water for me," said Murrue.

"How about you, sir?" asked the hostess as she turned to Heero.

"The same for me," he said.

"Alright, I'll be back in a few minutes," she said. Before she left she winked at Heero. "I can't wait to see you on stage, cutie."

Heero looked down nervously at that. He'd never done anything like this in his life. _Should I back out? No… I told Murrue I'd do one song, so I'll do one. No more than that._

"Heero," said Murrue, causing him to look up at her, "It's alright, you'll do fine. In a place like this, it doesn't matter if you think you're a good singer or not. All that counts is that you try to have some fun while you're doing it."

"Alright," he said. After a moment he asked her, "Was this something you did in college, too?"

She smiled. "A couple times, yes. I loved it, but I haven't had a chance to do it since then. That's why I wanted to come here when I saw that sign. Thank you for going along with me, Heero. I realize I must've caught you off guard, and I apologize for that."

Heero smiled slightly. "It's alright. I couldn't refuse, not after I saw how happy you looked."

"Oh, Heero…," she said, reaching across the table and giving his hand a squeeze, "I'll only do one song, so you only have to do one as well, alright?"

"Sure," he replied, "maybe they'll have some I know from A.C. on the list."

"I hope so," she said, "Do me a favor though; I'll sign up first, so don't look at the piece I select on the list when you write your name and song down, alright? I want to surprise you, just in case the song I pick happens to be from your world."

"Alright," he said. He looked at the menu in front of him. "Shall we figure out what we want to eat?"

"Yes," she said. After about a minute she looked at him. "I know we just had it yesterday before the meeting, but they have a shrimp platter in here that looks amazing. Do you want to split it?"

"Sure," said Heero, "that's fine with me."

"Great," she said.

A few minutes later their hostess returned. As she came up to the table, she put two sheets on it, along with two glasses of water. "Here's the list and sign-up sheet," she said, "and have you two figured out what you want to eat?"

"Yes," said Murrue, "we'll split your shrimp platter."

"An excellent choice," she said, "oh, here." She gave Murrue a pen. "I'll wait here until you two have picked your songs. You're in luck; yours is the first table that gets to choose!"

"Thank you," said Murrue. She looked at the list, and Heero saw her eyes light up as one piece apparently caught her attention. "Oh, you have it…" Smiling, she wrote her name and the name of the song on the list. She passed the papers and pen over to Heero. "Remember, no peeking at my song."

He smiled slightly. "Alright." Heero made sure to cover the top of the sign-up sheet with his arm so he wouldn't see her pick. Scanning the list, he was surprised to see that quite a few of the songs were ones he was familiar with. _How about that…_

After a moment, he saw on in particular, and he couldn't help but smile again. _I hadn't counted on finding this one… I wonder if she'll like it… _Writing his name and song pick down, he passed the papers and pen back to the hostess.

"Thank you so much for participating," she said as she took them, "I'll call your names when we're ready to start. It should be in about twenty minutes. We'll have your food ready by then, too."

"Great," said Murrue, "thank you."

She nodded before moving on to the next table. For a few minutes, neither Heero nor Murrue spoke; both were content to just look around, observing the restaurant's clientele. It was a rather diverse crowd; tables full of friends, families, coworkers… all enjoying good food and a relaxing evening. _This place_, he thought, _I could certainly get used to it… especially if I came with Murrue again._

"Hey, Heero," said Murrue, causing him to turn his attention back to her, "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not," he replied, "what is it?"

"What were the other Gundam pilots like?" she said.

"Well," he said, "they're an interesting bunch, that's for sure. Our pasts we tended to keep to ourselves, but I was able to get some general information on the others. Duo Maxwell, the pilot of the Deathscythe, was from one of the L2 colonies. A lot of families in that area are from the old United States, so I'm pretty sure his ancestry is American. He was definitely the most energetic of the five of us. Very outgoing, pretty optimistic and cheerful… not what you'd expect from the pilot whose nickname was the 'God of Death'."

"The God of Death?" Murrue repeated, eyes wide.

"Well," said Heero, "he called himself that, but it certainly helped that his Gundam's primary weapon was a beam scythe."

"I see," said Murrue, "what about the others?"

"Heavyarms's pilot," he said, "Trowa Barton, was from the L3 cluster. The demographic out that way is pretty diverse, but there were a significant amount of families who could trace their ancestry back to Eastern Europe. It's possible his was one of them, though I don't know any details on that. Personality wise, he was actually a bit like me. Quiet, calm… though I think he was better with people than I am."

"I don't think you're bad with people," said Murrue, "you just have a hard time opening up. Believe me, I completely understand that, considering what you've been through."

"Thanks," said Heero, "though I think that even without all that, I still would've been a quiet individual."

"There's nothing wrong with that," said Murrue, "it's who you are… although you certainly talk to me quite a bit."

Heero smiled. "Well, you're different. We're friends, and I trust you… more than anyone I've ever met."

She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. "Thank you, Heero. I truly appreciate that you have that kind of faith in me… I promise I won't betray it."

"I know, Murrue," he said, "you're… truly amazing, you know that?"

"I know you believe that," she replied, "and that's all I need. Now, about the last two pilots?"

"Right," he said, "Quatre, Sandrock's pilot, was from L4. Though he looked European, he and his family are actually Arabic, Berber descent to be more specific. I'm not sure if that's the norm out in L4; the overall population is quite diverse from what I've heard. If you met him, you'd probably have a hard time believing he was a Gundam pilot. He's very compassionate, hates fighting… hell, he's damn near pacifistic. Nevertheless, something drove him to fight on behalf of the colonies, though I don't know what it was."

"I would imagine it would be something in his past," said Murrue, "and I'm sure it was the same for the others. If your own life is any indication, your fellow pilots must have suffered a great deal in their own way."

"I don't doubt it," said Heero, "life under the iron fist of the United Earth Sphere Alliance was no picnic for those who lived in the colonies."

"Which was why you rebelled, of course," said Murrue, "What about the last pilot? Chang Wufei, right?"

"Yes, that's correct," said Heero, "As you can no doubt tell from the name, his ancestry's Chinese. The colony he was from was in the L5 cluster, and that particular habitat was dominated by the Chinese, though I'm not sure if that's true for the rest of the colonies in that region. He was prideful, but not without reason. In addition to his piloting skills, he's also a martial artist, and a damn good one. Wufei… I suppose you could call him unique, even by the standards of us Gundam pilots. He had a very strong and unique sense of honor and justice, and I think it was that more than anything else that drove him to fight. I believe it was also those ideals that made him strive to defeat Treize, especially after their first duel ended with the Colonel handily defeating him. I don't know the details, but I think Wufei came to respect Treize a great deal after their first match, and he may actually have not wanted to kill him in their second battle."

"I suppose the only one who would be able to say that for certain would be Wufei himself," said Murrue.

"Yeah, you're right," said Heero.

"Heero," she asked, "of all your fellow pilots, who would you say was the strongest?"

"The strongest?" said Heero, "I'm not sure; our skills were all unique, our fighting styles one of a kind, suited for different types of battles."

"Oh, come on," said Murrue, "you must have some idea. I have no doubt that you were the best pilot in the group, but there must have been one that you thought could give you a serious tussle."

"Well, when you put it that way," he said, thinking for a moment, "I suppose it would be Wufei. Shenlong, and its later form, Altron, was the most well balanced of the Gundams other than the Wing Gundam and the Wing Zero. In long range combat, I have an overwhelming advantage, but if we fought close quarters I think we'd be just about even. Plus I believe his martial arts skills boost his piloting abilities in a way, though it's hard to explain how. The best explanation I can think of is that they aid in decreasing his reaction times. I have to admit, it'd be interesting to fight him, that's for sure."

"Yes," said Murrue, "though I'm glad you never had to."

"Same here," Heero replied, "I had enough to people to fight in any case."

It was at that moment that the hostess came over, carrying their food. "Here you are," she said, placing the large shrimp platter between them, along with some napkins, "I'm actually on my way over to the stage after this to start calling people for our karaoke, so I hope you two are ready!"

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry, we are."

"Yeah," said Heero, nodding. He was still nervous over the whole thing, but knowing that Murrue believed in him was enough for him to steel his resolve. _I'm doing this for her_, he thought, _if going up on stage and singing a song will make her smile, take her away from this war for awhile, then I'll do it without protest._

He looked towards the stage and saw the lady go up to it. She spent a few minutes turning on the karaoke machine and making sure everything was in working order, and then she went to the microphone. "Good evening, everyone!" she said, "I'm pleased to announce that we have enough participants to begin our first round of singing for the evening. Let's get started!"

She looked down at the list she was holding. "Miss Murrue Ramius? You're up first!"

Murrue smiled at Heero and stood up. He gave her a small one of his own. "I… I'm sure you'll do great. I can't wait to hear you sing."

"Thank you, Heero," she said. She walked up to the stage and went in front of the mic.

The hostess moved to a console off to the side and pressed a few buttons… then the music started.

Heero's eyes widened in shock as he heard the first few notes. A harp chord, then a piano came in, then a violin, a soft acoustic guitar… _I know this song!_

And then… Murrue began to sing.

Her voice was soft, and yet at the same time it was strong, and Heero could feel himself get caught up in it, carried aloft on her gentle yet firm voice… it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. The words swept over him, and he felt as though, despite all the other people in the audience…she was singing for him alone.

"_Petals of white  
>Cover fields flowing in grieving tears<br>And all the hearts once new, old and shattered now  
>Love can kill, love will die<br>Give me wings to fly  
>Fleeing this world so cold<br>I just wonder why"_

_"Cold as the dark  
>Now my words, are frosted with every breath<br>Still the hate burns wild, growing inside this heart  
>When the wind changes course when the stars align<br>I will reach out to you and leave this all behind  
>When heavens divide"<em>

"When heavens divide  
>I will see the choices within my hands<br>How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls?  
>Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear<br>Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?"

"When heavens divide  
>Time will come to softly lay me down<br>Then I can see a face that I long to see  
>And for you, only you I would give anything<br>Leaving a trace for love to find a way"

"When heavens divide…"

"I will dive into the fire  
>Spilling the blood of my desire<br>The very last time  
>My name scorched into the sky"<p>

"When heavens divide  
>I will see the choices within my hands<br>How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls?  
>Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear<br>Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?"

"When heavens divide  
>Time will come to softly lay me down<br>Then I can see a face that I long to see  
>And for you, only you I would give anything<br>Leaving a trace for love to find a way"

"When heavens divide…"

"And for you, only you I would give anything  
>Leaving a trace for love to find a way…"<p>

"When heavens divide…"

….

The entire restaurant burst into applause. The patrons, the staff… everyone clapped and cheered. But to Murrue, standing up on the stage, the center of attention… all that mattered was the Gundam pilot back at their table.

She scanned the audience, found their table, and saw Heero… smiling and clapping with the rest of the audience.

Murrue smiled at him, and as she came down from the stage and made her way back to their table, he stood up and met her half-way.

"Murrue," he said, and she saw that his eyes were wide with wonder, "that was… you were _incredible_!"

Hearing him say that and seeing the look in his eyes filled her with joy. Without thinking, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Heero! Thank you so much!"

Realizing that several of the patrons were staring, she quickly released him. Heero didn't seem to mind the attention though, and just kept smiling at her as she let go. "You're welcome."

At that moment, the hostess took the microphone. "Wow, what a performance! What a great way to kick off tonight's entertainment, eh people?" As the crowd cheered, she continued. "Alright, next on the list is Mister Heero Yuy!"

At that announcement, Murrue saw the young man stiffen slightly, the nervousness she knew he had felt earlier clearly returning. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Heero," she said, smiling as their eyes met, "You'll do just fine. I know you will. So relax, go up there… and sing from your heart, alright?"

He nodded, his smile returning again. "Alright. Wish me luck."

"Trust me," she said, "you won't need it."

With that, the Gundam pilot walked up to the stage as Murrue returned to the table. As she took her seat, she saw Heero go in front of the microphone. He took a deep breath, gave the audience a small smile, and nodded at the hostess.

A few seconds later, Murrue gasped as she heard a familiar series of electric guitar notes. _No way_, she thought, _this song's in his world too?!_

And then Heero began to sing. His voice became slightly deeper, and was filled with a mixture of both strength and… _longing_. To Murrue, it was simply breathtaking.

"_There's another world inside of me  
>That you may never see<br>There's secrets in this life  
>That I can't hide<br>Somewhere in this darkness  
>There's a light that I can't find<br>Maybe it's too far away...  
>Or maybe I'm just blind...<br>Or maybe I'm just blind..."_

"So hold me when I'm here  
>Right me when I'm wrong<br>Hold me when I'm scared  
>And love me when I'm gone<br>Everything I am  
>And everything in me<br>Wants to be the one  
>You wanted me to be<br>I'll never let you down  
>Even if I could<br>I'd give up everything  
>If only for your good<br>So hold me when I'm here  
>Right me when I'm wrong<br>You can hold me when I'm scared  
>You won't always be there<br>So love me when I'm gone  
>Love me when I'm gone..."<p>

"When your education x-ray  
>Can not see under my skin<br>I won't tell you a damn thing  
>That I could not tell my friends<br>Now roaming through this darkness  
>I'm alive but I'm alone<br>Part of me is fighting this  
>But part of me is gone"<p>

"So hold me when I'm here  
>Right me when I'm wrong<br>Hold me when I'm scared  
>And love me when I'm gone<br>Everything I am  
>And everything in me<br>wants to be the one  
>You wanted me to be<br>I'll never let you down  
>Even if I could<br>I'd give up everything  
>If only for your good<br>So hold me when I'm here  
>Right me when I'm wrong<br>You can hold me when I'm scared  
>You won't always be there<br>So love me when I'm gone"

"Maybe I'm just blind..."

"So hold me when I'm here  
>Right me when I'm wrong<br>Hold me when I'm scared  
>And love me when I'm gone<br>Everything I am  
>And everything in me<br>Wants to be the one  
>You wanted me to be<br>I'll never let you down  
>Even if I could<br>I'd give up everything  
>If only for your good<br>So hold me when I'm here  
>Right me when I'm wrong<br>You can hold me when I'm scared  
>You won't always be there<br>So love me when I'm gone  
>Love me when I'm gone..."<p>

"Whoa, whoa…"

"Love me when I'm gone  
>When I'm Gone<br>When I'm Gone  
>When I'm Gone..."<p>

As the song ended, the audience once again broke into applause and cheers, the latter particularly from the women in the crowd. Murrue was no exception, and was in fact the most enthusiastic. As Heero looked around the room, their eyes met, and he smiled as he saw her. When he came down from the stage and made his way back to their table, Murrue sprang to her feet and embraced him.

"Heero, that was wonderful!" she said as she let him go, "Thank you so much for doing that for me!"

His eyes widened slightly, and his smile grew a little bigger. "You're welcome, Murrue. I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it?" said Murrue as they sat back down, "I loved it! You have an incredible singing voice. And here you were worried."

"Well," he said, "getting up in front of crowds isn't really my style. Shall we eat? The food will get cold soon."

She nodded. "Yes, let's dig in."

As they did so and the next person took the stage, Murrue looked across the table at Heero again. _He's so incredible_, she thought, _I know he was nervous about doing that, but he went up there anyway… just for me!_

….

They'd stayed at the restaurant for about an hour, eating and listening to the other singers. Eventually though, both Heero and Murrue had to leave, knowing that they would have to get up early again tomorrow. As they rode back in the jeep towards the Morgenroete facility, Heero looked over at the amazing woman sitting next to him.

"Murrue," he said as the jeep sped down the road, their hair blowing in the wind, "thank you… for coming with me tonight. I think… no, I _know _that that was the most fun I've ever had."

She smiled at him, and before he could react she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, just as she had that night nearly a week ago. However, this time her lips lingered on his skin a little longer, and she was slower in parting.

Their eyes met, their faces mere inches from each other, and Heero knew that his face was red. He could still feel her warm, moist lips on his cheek…

She smiled. "You're very welcome, Heero. And I would like to thank you, as well. I enjoyed every second we had together today."

He nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue. Would you… like to go out again tomorrow? To a different part of the island this time, I mean. I'm sure there's a lot more for us to see while we're here; we might as well take in as much as we can."

"I'd love to, Heero," she replied.

They starred at each other for a moment, and then, as Heero leaned back in his seat, he felt Murrue lay her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment.

Heero felt himself smile again, and shut his eyes as well, basking in the cool wind hitting his face. _Well_, he mused, _I think it's safe to say that I _am _falling for her. I'm still not entirely sure if her feelings for me are the same… hell, I don't even know if this is right. My age could cause problems for her, and I don't want to get her in trouble. However… if her feelings are the same as mine, and she's willing to take the risk… well, I guess I'll find out in due time. For now, I'll just do what I did tonight; act on my emotions._

_ Lowe… you were right… trusting my feelings is the best way to live my life. And maybe, just maybe…_

_ … those feelings could be love._

**Preview for next time!**

_On an infiltration mission ordered by none other than his father, Atrhun Zala and his team sneak into Orb in order to determine if the Archangel is still hiding within the nation. In doing so, he runs into none other than Kira Yamato. Standing on oposite sides of the war, can even a friendship as strong as theirs continue to survive under the mounting strain and escalation of the conflict? Meanwhile, the long awaited elections for the position of Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council finally take place, and Patrick Zala triumphs in a landslide. With the head of the radical faction now at the height of his power, a shadow begins to spread over life in the Coordinator homeland, and the daughter of the ousted chairman fears that the worst is yet to come. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Eleven: Fall of House Clyne._

_With the warlord at the reins, the beasts growl in anticipation of the coming carnage..._

**Author's notes: **Writing battles is my strong point. This chapter was a great oppurtunity for me to truly grow and develope my skills in political and romantic writing, both of which are fields I know I need to improve in.

Thank you for your patience regarding the delay in updating. This chapter was very important to me, and I wanted to be extra careful before posting. Plus, as you all well know by now, I don't do rush jobs. Just not my style...

The next chapter shouldn't be as long as this one was, though it will be awhile before posting, there's a great deal I need to cover, and I do have a life outside of this to attend to as well. It bites, but you gotta roll with the punches. That's my way of living, anyway.

As always, your reviews would be greatly appreciated. I'm always eager to hear what you guys and girls have to say!

Until next time, my friends!


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's notes: **I've given up on trying to do short chapters, so long ones guaranteed for pretty much the rest of the fic.

Well, enjoy!

**Episode Eleven: Fall of House Clyne**

Murrue smiled slightly as she took her seat on the bridge. She'd just seen off Heero and Kira as they had left to go work with Morgenroete again for the day and was now starting her shift. It would be another slow day as her primary responsibility would just be to monitor the work crews through the ship's outer hull cameras and make sure the overall repairs of the _Archangel _were going smoothly.

She didn't care in the least how boring her watch would be though. The past two weeks had been the most wonderful time of her life, thanks to a certain young pilot. In the time since their first date- and she had no doubt that was precisely what that incredible afternoon out on the town fourteen days ago had been- they had explored several other parts of the island and the city. They had gone on a hike near the volcano at the center of Onogoro, taken a boat tour around the island, had visited other parts of the city, and in general had just spent their time off work relaxing and enjoying each other's company. None of their outings quite matched their first one, but Murrue was just fine with that. _That evening_, she thought, _was simply amazing. I'm not going to pressure him into trying to repeat something like that. Our first date… it came naturally, it wasn't planned or anything. That's why it was so wonderful, I think. Our subsequent outings together have been smaller, and perhaps not quite as romantic, but that's alright. I've still enjoyed every bit of them… thanks to Heero. _

Their last excursion, which had been yesterday, had been a simple trip out to one of the island's beaches. They hadn't gone swimming or anything like that; they didn't have any bathing suits after all, and Orb hadn't seen fit to provide any. Instead, they had packed some sandwiches, drinks, and a blanket and had had a picnic. After they had finished their meal, they had packed up and just walked along the shore for a few hours, watching the waves roll in as the sun set. It had been a simple enough outing compared to their first date, but Murrue had still loved every minute of it, and she had a feeling that Heero felt the same way.

She was now more certain than ever that she was indeed falling for the young man, but that didn't put all her doubts to rest. For one thing, he was ten years her junior, and technically a minor. While she knew that mentally and emotionally the young man was as mature as her or any other adult, she also knew that a relationship could cause problems. She wasn't worried about the consequences for herself, but she did not want to take advantage of Heero in any way. Murrue knew that, for all his skills in the art of war and wisdom beyond his years, Heero had practically no experience when it came to love. She didn't want to rush things and make him uncomfortable. Instead, she felt that the best thing to do would be to act like she had during their first date; kind, supportive, and understanding. _I need to give his own feelings time to develop_, she thought, _while I'm now positive that they've deepened with regards to the bond we share, I have to let him come to terms with them and try to understand them. If they are indeed the same as mine… well, he believes in acting on his emotions, so I'm sure he'll make a move of some kind when he's ready for it. In the meantime, I'm happy just with the way things are now._

In addition to those concerns, she was also worried about what might happen if one of them acted too soon, without considering any implications or problems that might arise. She had come to value her friendship with Heero more than anything else in the world, and she didn't want to jeopardize it. Murrue knew that, if their feelings toward each other were indeed mutually romantic, that they would come to terms eventually and work together to overcome any obstacles that might threaten their relationship, but they couldn't rush things. _Love can't be forced_, she thought, _it has its own flow, its own schedule, and timing is key in order to avoid disrupting it._

In the meanwhile, she was content to smile in anticipation of Heero's return to the ship, thought it wouldn't be for several hours of course. They had nothing special planned for the evening, but Murrue was fine with that. _Maybe we'll just hang around here_, she thought, _go to the mess and have a meal together, then head to the officer's lounge and relax… I'd like that._

_Heero… take care of yourself today. I can't wait for you to come back here… back to me._

….

"Father?" said Athrun, eyes widening slightly, "Forgive me, I wasn't expecting you to call."

The ZAFT pilot was in his quarters at the Carpentaria base. As a team leader, Athrun rated solo accommodations, including his own washroom. He had just finished showering and had thrown on a light blue bathrobe when he'd heard a message over the intercom saying that he had someone on the line for him. Sitting down at his desk and activating the communications screen/ computer, he had been surprised to see that the image that appeared was none other than Defense Chairman Patrick Zala.

"Quite alright," he replied, "I know you've been busy lately."

"Yes," said Athrun. 'Busy' hadn't been the half of it. Though he had been on standby in the two weeks that had gone by since the battle at Orb's border, the deaths of most of the base's mobile suit pilots meant that his team was the most experienced one around, and they had been put to work drilling the replacement pilots that had eventually been assigned to Carpentaria to shore up the ranks. They were raw recruits, fresh out of the multitude of military academies ZAFT had established across the PLANT colonies, and Athrun shuddered at the thought of them going up against Wing Zero. _It would be a complete slaughter… not that the previous engagement wasn't one itself._

"I hear you're acting as Carpentaria's flight-instructor," his father said, a slight smile on his face, "I'm sure our newest pilots will benefit from your experience."

Athrun bowed his head. "Thank you, father." Truth be told, praise was something he'd received only rarely from his father, and as a result he wasn't always sure how to react to it.

The Defense Chairman sighed. "I'm sure you know that I didn't call you just to check on their progress. I have a new mission for you, my son."

Athrun's eyes widened. He sat up a bit straighter in his chair. "What is it, sir?"

"I'm approving an infiltration of Orb," he said, smiling "the _Cousteau _will arrive at Carpentaria in a week, and will be acting as your base of operations from here on out. A Military Intelligence unit is being transferred to her; they'll provide you with everything you need to slip into the country undetected."

"What is the goal of the operation?" said Athrun.

"To determine the location of the legged ship and its mobile suits," said the elder Zala, "once you've done that, we will prepare an attack squadron. They'll be waiting outside Orb's territorial waters until the enemy departs; we can't afford a war with that country quite yet. You're team will be part of the strike force, of course."

"What other units will be participating?" asked Athrun, "The only squad of ours that has been able to fight Wing Zero for any serious length of time is the Valkyrie Team. Will they be returning to the front?"

"No," said Patrick, and Athrun saw his expression harden at the mention of ZAFT's greatest mobile suit team. _Did I say something wrong?_, thought Athrun, _Father seems almost hostile to Commander Rehema and her unit. But why? They're the best we got, and the only ones with a chance in hell at holding off Wing Zero._

The Defense Chairman did not give a reason, but he did elaborate on what other units would comprise the strike force. "I will send the Special Operations Squadrons Ofnir and Grabacr to Carpentaria while you are preparing for your infiltration. They're in the Mediterranean theatre right now, so it will take some time for them to transfer with their carriers. We've just finished outfitting them with DINN Mk. IIs, the same mobile suits used by the Valkyrie Team. Together with your team, Ofnir and Grabacr will be more than enough to take down Wing Zero, the Strike, and that damned battleship."

_Only Ofnir and Grabacr?_, thought Athrun, making an effort to hide his frustration, _I've heard they're good, but both teams only have six members each. Counting my team, that's sixteen mobile suits. Wing Zero all but annihilated our last strike force, and we had forty machines!_

The enemy's power aside, there was another reason that Athrun was uneasy. Special Operations was a branch of ZAFT that reported directly to the Defense Chairman, completely bypassing the Defense Council. Officially this was to cut down on red tape and streamline the organization's activities, but Athrun had heard rumors that its true purpose was to essentially act as Patrick Zala's Praetorian Guard. Supposedly composed of elite soldiers from mobile suit teams, fleet task forces, and ground units, several critics had accused the branch of being staffed by servicemen and women who were handpicked by Zala purely out of favoritism rather than skill. While Athrun would've preferred to think the best of his father, the young man had gone out of his way to do research on the group, and had found that the accusations had more merit than he would've otherwise suspected. Though the selected soldiers certainly were compentent, many of them also had ties in one form or another to the PLANT radical faction. Also, there was the glaring fact that, despite their status as the best pilots in ZAFT, neither Commander Rehema nor any of her teammates had been selected to join Special Operations. Athrun had heard rumors that his father disliked the Valkyrie due to her views being more in line with the PLANT moderate faction rather than Zala's, but had dismissed them until he had begun reading up on Special Operations. While he still trusted his father, the young man did have concerns over the organization his father was building.

Athrun himself was not part of Special Operations, nor were his teammates. He suspected that his father wanted them to get more battlefield experience before offering them positions in the organization. While he was fine with that, Athrun found it strange that Commander Creuset was also not a member of Special Operations, especially considering his position as the elder Zala's favorite officer. The young man wondered if his father wanted the masked ace to act as his eyes and ears within the regular forces.

Regardless of his doubts and frustration, the pilot knew he could not let his dismay show as he addressed his father. "Sir," he said, "with all due respect to the Ofnir and Grabacr Squadrons, shouldn't we have more teams in on this operation? I fear they might not be enough to handle Wing Zero."

The elder Zala's eyes narrowed and his tone became cooler. "Need I remind you that each and every one of the pilots in those units was handpicked by me to join Special Observations? Are you questioning the judgment of your Supreme Commander?"

"N-no sir," stammered Athrun, "I'm just concerned about the enemy's firepower, that's all."

"Pilot Zala," said the Defense Chairman, using his son's rank as a means of asserting superiority and authority, "regardless of that machine's past performance, it will be no match for the combined might of Ofnir and Grabacr. They will take care of Wing Zero while your team destroys the legged ship. You will not be given any additional forces; Operation Spitbreak remains top priority. Furthermore, you and your fellow pilots are ZAFT Reds, as are all the warriors that will be joining you. You are our best pilots. No foe can stand against such soldiers!"

_You're forgetting that the Valkyrie's subordinates are all Reds_, thought Athrun, _as was Shemei Rehema herself before she became a Commander. Rank means nothing to Wing Zero's pilot!_

Nevertheless, regardless of how he felt, Athrun knew that to argue with his father at this point would accomplish nothing. The young man just nodded. "Of course, sir. Forgive my lapse in judgment, it will not happen again."

"Good," said Patrick, and much to Athrun's surprise, softened his expression somewhat. "By the way, have you been keeping in touch with your fiancé?"

The ZAFT pilot was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in topic, but he recovered quickly. "Yes, I just sent her an email yesterday. Don't worry, I did not mention any classified material."

The elder Zala smiled. "I'm sure you didn't, my son. Although… you don't have to limit yourself to just email, you know. As the Defense Chairman, I can arrange a private video conference line for the two of you."

"I appreciate the offer," said Athrun, "but I'm afraid I must decline. In light of our recent losses, how would it look if I accepted such preferential treatment?"

"No one other than us would need to know," said Patrick, "but if that's the way you feel, then I won't press the matter. Still, you should stay in contact with her. I'm sure she could use the cheering up, considering her family's declining political fortunes."

Athrun couldn't help but notice his father sneer slightly. It was subtle, and may have been accidental, but he still caught it, and didn't like it. _I may not follow politics_, he thought, _but I can still read between the lines, and in her emails I can clearly see Lacus's concern for her father, though she doesn't directly mention it. She doesn't care for political games, and I know she's worried about all the stress Chairman Clyne is under. Lacus isn't the type to fuss over whether her father losses the election, but she does care about his well-being, and your attacks on him haven't helped in that regard, father! You're hurting her almost as much as you are Chairman Clyne!_

Though he was still unsure about his feelings regarding his arranged bride-to-be, Athrun did at least like Lacus as a friend, and he didn't want her to be hurt by the political brawl in the PLANT capital. Unfortunately, for all his civility in private, it seemed his father did not think about his son's concerns while out on the campaign trail, and the verbal attacks were about as indiscriminate as a World War Two style bombing raid.

Athrun was uncomfortable discussing politics in general, but he actually felt even worse when he did so with his own father. While the young man did believe that the Earth Forces needed to be decisively defeated before peace talks could be held, he could not help but think that his father wanted to take things further. _We can't occupy Earth_, he thought, _we just don't have the numbers for it. We'd have to institute a draft, and the people would no doubt be furious at such a move!_

Still, his father had forced politics into this conversation, so the best Athrun could do was play along and hope for the best. "I take it your election campaign is going well, father?" he said.

The black-haired man smiled. "Oh yes, very well. You just wait, my son. Soon we will have complete control over the PLANTs, and then we can do what our current Chairman seems unwilling to do; bring the Naturals to their knees. I'll be counting on your help when the time comes, Athrun."

"Of course, father," he replied, "I promise I won't disappoint you."

"Good," the elder Zala replied, "Now, I suggest that you study up on Orb in the time it takes for the _Cousteau _to travel to Carpentaria. Tell your teammates to do so as well; we can't afford to have you four blowing your cover and getting captured."

"I understand," said Athrun, "I'll let the others know at once."

"Excellent," said his father, "Well then, farewell." He cut the connection before Athrun could respond.

The young man sighed. "I suppose I better go tell the others."

As he stood up and got changed into his uniform, he couldn't help but worry over what his father had said. _'Bring the Naturals to their knees'? Father, what are you planning?_

An image of the girl he'd met on the island over two and a half weeks ago flashed through his mind. _Cagalli… she's a Natural… father, do your plans involve all Naturals, or just those in charge of the Alliance?_

….

"So, what do you think of this setup?" asked Erica.

It was a little after eleven in the morning, and Erica was once again hard at work. She was sitting at a console in the control room at the underground Morgenroete facility again, with Heero Yuy standing to her right, wearing his usual jeans, green tank-top, and dark blue jacket. His fellow mobile suit pilot was in the cockpit of the M1 again doing work on the machine's operating system, with Asagi, Juri, and Mayura standing nearby in case he needed help. Cagalli had also stopped by again, though this time she was in the control room rather than down in the hangar. Orb's princess was standing a little off to the side of Heero, unable to hide her interest in the work Erica and the Gundam pilot were doing.

The Chief Engineer of Morgenroete smiled as the brown-haired young man leaned in a bit, his Prussian blue eyes narrowing as he examined the image on the screen. "Not a bad lay-out," he said after a moment, "but it is limited to atmospheric combat."

"Well, it is only one model," she said, "and it uses the Aries frame as the base, so that limitation is natural." Her hands flew across the keyboard, and other schematics popped up as well. "Here are some other concept units I've come up with using your data."

After looking over the images for a few seconds, Heero turned to Erica. "May I?" he said, gesturing to the computer mouse.

"Go for it," she said.

He grabbed the device and began enlarging a few images. Some he then dragged off to the side, while a few others he exited out of. After about five minutes there were a couple designs on the screen.

Heero turned to her. "I think these would be your best units for production, full or limited. Of course, depending on Kira's work you could eventually add the M1 to that list, but these will give you a relatively balanced force in the meantime. I have to say, I'm impressed. You've only had this data for two weeks and you've already come up with this many variants and modifications of the designs, and some are already at the point that you could begin building prototypes."

Erica smiled. "Quite a compliment coming from the pilot of Wing Zero. Thanks, I appreciate that."

Heero nodded, and then turned as Cagalli moved in front of him. Studying the designs on the screen for a moment, she then looked at the Gundam pilot. "Are all these based off machines you've fought in the past?"

"Yeah," he said, "they should be easy enough for your government to produce. Training pilots for them is another matter, but that's not my problem."

"I'm surprised you were willing to give us this much," said Cagalli.

"It's not like it's Wing Zero," said Heero, "and the information I've given Orb isn't enough for them to build a Gundam, especially considering the fact that I didn't hand over the techniques needed to create the alloy that such a machine is made out of."

He turned to Erica. "With the right pilots, any of these designs should be enough to match the conventional mobile suits in ZAFT's arsenal, though they'd probably have a tougher time with the Alliance prototypes."

"That's fine," said Erica, "considering that any mass-production model the Alliance ends up building in all likelihood won't have Phase Shift Armor due to the sheer costs in building mobile suits with that system. I think these designs would match up evenly with whatever the Alliance decides to roll out for its main-line forces."

"Then you don't really need my help anymore, do you?" said Heero.

Erica lowered her head for a moment, thinking. _He might be right… his insights have been invaluable up to now, but in the end he's a pilot, not an MS designer. Thanks to him, I have all the data I need to come up with models Orb can put into production, and I believe that Kira's programming skills are the key to unlocking the full potential of the M1 Astray. In that light, I suppose I don't need him to come by here anymore… but he has such a wealth of experience and knowledge! Of course, he's only been willing to share select bits of it, and I'm not sure how much more I'd be able to convince him to divulge…_

In the end, she decided that the Gundam pilot had more than fulfilled his end of the bargain. Erica turned to him and smiled. "Yes, I suppose you have a point. I'll have someone take you back to the dock."

"I'll do it," said Cagalli, surprising both of them. As they turned to her, she smiled. "What, you don't think I walked here, do you?"

"Well," said Erica, "I was actually under the impression that you had been dropped off by security agents."

"Nope," she said, "I drove myself here. I'll give him a lift back." She turned to Heero. "If that's alright with you, anyway."

He nodded. "Sure. Thanks."

"No problem," she said.

"I suppose this is farewell, at least for now," said Erica. She held out her hand. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Heero Yuy."

The pilot smirked slightly as he shook her hand. "Yeah, I have to admit, it was actually kind of fun."

Erica smiled. "I'll see you around, then. Perhaps we can work together again someday."

"Who knows?" he replied, "Anything can happen; the world is a strange place… no matter which one you live in."

The engineer laughed. "Yes, you certainly have a point there."

….

"So," said Heero as they walked down the corridor towards the parking garage, "why the sudden generosity?"

Cagalli sighed. _Doesn't this guy trust anyone other than Captain Ramius? Although, I guess I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an ulterior motive here…_

"I'll get to the point," she said, "there were some things I wanted to ask you about."

"You know I might not answer," said Heero, "depending on the subject."

"Yes," she replied as they entered the garage, "I'm aware of that." She led the way to her car, a plain black four door sedan, government issue.

She saw Heero raise his eyebrow slightly. "This is yours?"

"Technically no," she replied, "but I'm authorized to borrow any car out of a government motor pool, with the exception being any vehicle on reserve for my father or another head of a noble family."

"I see," he said as she unlocked the doors.

After they climbed in and she keyed the ignition, Cagalli turned to the Gundam pilot. "My first question; why are you so accepting of my father's scheme?"

"You're referring to cooperating with the Alliance in order to develop mobile suits," said Heero.

"Yes," she said, "it's just… so _low_; it completely violates the underlying philosophy of this nation. I'm disgusted by his hypocrisy… how can you not be?"

"Because," he replied, "I've seen what happens to nations that do not have the power to defend themselves. If your father has to make some unsavory deals to shore up Orb's defenses, I see no problem with it."

"But he's using you," said Cagalli as she drove towards the elevator, "You can't tell me that doesn't bother you."

"I'll admit I don't particularly like it," said Heero, "but he's not getting Wing Zero's designs or combat data; that knowledge could send this world spiraling down the path of Armageddon if it fell into the wrong hands, so I'm naturally going to do anything necessary to prevent its proliferation. I have no issue with him having access to the more conventional MS designs from my world, and that's what he's gotten. Also, I do respect the risk he's taken in sheltering us, so I consider this my way of paying off a debt. I know Murrue feels the same way."

_There he goes again_, Cagalli thought as she entered the elevator and activated it, _he never seems to call her 'Captain Ramius'; only 'Murrue'. Why is she the only one he really trusts? _She knew the odds of him answering that question were about as high as a snowball lasting longer than five minutes in the Sahara though, so she didn't bother asking.

"What else did you want to know?" asked Heero, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Well," she said as the lift came to a stop, her voice becoming a little softer, tinged with worry, "with the way things are right now, how much longer do you think Orb can avoid getting involved openly in the war?"

"Hard to say," he replied, "that's really dependent on a large number of factors. The upcoming elections for the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman could mean the ascendancy of a leader willing to take a more hard line approach to the war, and ZAFT's tolerance for Orb's dalliances with the Earth Forces has already grown thin; the Heliopolis attack is evidence enough of that. Alliance politics could play a role as well; the more desperate they become, the more they may be willing to use force to convince the few remaining neutral nations to join with them to fight ZAFT. If they approach Orb with a new cooperative venture like the construction of the _Archangel _and those mobile suits, and Orb refuses this time, things could get messy. Also, from what I've heard there's a significant Coordinator population within Orb that fled here in order to stay out of the conflict. A large population of them still on Earth would be an attractive target for the Blue Cosmos organization; a major terrorist attack by them could be used by ZAFT as a pretense to invade Orb in order to protect the Coordinators living there."

_Unbelievable_, she thought, _this guy… he's only been in our world for a few weeks, but he's already analyzed and read the political situation so thoroughly! His grasp of the bigger picture along with minute details… the way he does it, it seems almost intuitive. Hell, I never even considered the possibility of a Blue Cosmos attack in Orb, let alone ZAFT using it as a reason to invade, but the way he speaks of it makes it seems like that scenario should be a major possibility… in fact, it probably is! Has father or anyone else considered something like that?_

As the elevator came to a stop all she could do was nod her head. "I see… but those are scenarios, not time frames. I don't suppose you can narrow things down a bit, can you?"

"The situation is still too fluid for me to make an accurate prediction," said Heero as she drove out of the fake warehouse and towards the security checkpoint, "If I had to make a ballpark estimate, I'd say sometime within the next four months. That's the best I've got for now."

"I suppose that's better than nothing," said Cagalli. After the guard raised the gate, she took the car out onto the main road and headed towards the Morgenroete facility above the secret dock that housed the _Archangel_. "Thanks though, I appreciate the input."

"No problem," he said. Stealing a glance over at him, Cagalli saw the Gundam pilot lean back in his seat and look out the window. After a moment he spoke. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"

_Nothing that you'd be willing to answer_, she thought. She shook her head. "No, that was it. We should be arriving at the primary Morgenroete facility in a few minutes."

Cagalli saw him smile slightly at that. "Good… it'll be nice to get back to the _Archangel_."

_To the Archangel_, she thought as she drove, _or to Captain Ramius? I wonder if…nah, I'm just imagining things…_

….

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," said Murrue as she walked down the gangway.

She smiled as Heero met her at the halfway point, turning briefly to nod at Cagalli as she waved. When the girl started walking away, he looked at Murrue and returned her smile. "Miss Simmons doesn't really need my help anymore, just Kira's. So I got to come back early. I figured I'd come join you on the bridge, unless your shift ended early today."

"No, I just took a quick break when I saw you on the outer hull cameras," she said, "I'd love to have you up on the bridge again; I've missed being able to turn to you up there for advice."

"It's not like you really need it here," he said as they headed towards the hatch, "we are still undergoing repairs, after all."

"True," said Murrue, "but still, you have a very unique perspective on what's happening in this world when compared to the others on the bridge, so I think your presence up there is incredibly valuable."

"Thanks," said Heero, "I appreciate that. Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Not much," she replied as they entered the ship, "thought I did get word from the Orb government regarding the families of the students from Heliopolis. They'll be able to come by next week to visit. Since our presence here is top-secret, Orb had to take care in its preparations before contacting the families."

"I'm sure the students will appreciate that," said Heero.

"Indeed," said Murrue, "they were quite excited when I told them. The only one who doesn't know now is Kira; I'll inform him when he gets back later."

"He'll be happy to hear that," he said.

Murrue nodded. "He deserves some time with them, especially after all we've put him through… I still feel bad that he has to pilot the Strike."

"Don't," said Heero, taking her hand, "remember, he volunteered to stay up in orbit. You gave him a chance to leave with those discharge papers, along with the other students from Heliopolis. They chose to stay, so you have nothing to feel guilty over."

"If you say so," she said, giving him a small smile as she squeezed his hand briefly, "by the way, why was Cagalli with you earlier?"

"She gave me a lift back here from the test facility," said Heero, "she had some questions she wanted to run by me concerning Orb's current situation, and I guess she figured the car ride would be the best time to ask."

"I see," said Murrue as they approached the bridge. Heero let go of her hand just before she opened the door. Murrue knew it wouldn't look professional for the two of them to be walking into the bridge hand in hand, but she still felt herself wishing he'd held on a little longer…

As the door opened and they walked in, she turned to Heero. "What's your impression of Morgenroete? You and Kira have had much higher level access to the company compared to the rest of us, and I know how observant you are. Do you think they'll use the data we've given them responsibly?"

The young man nodded. "Miss Simmons is the only one with complete access to that data. She'll present whatever designs she thinks are good for production to Lord Uzumi, and then he'll order the company to make them. The fact that the data I gave them is from another world will be contained; I don't think Simmons will tell even Lord Uzumi about that little detail."

"What makes you so confident of that?" said Murrue as she sat down.

Heero smiled slightly. "Because she's a lot like you. Determined to do the right thing to protect what she cares about, but also willing to keep the secrets of others. I don't think we'll have any problems from her."

"I'm glad to hear it," she said. Murrue looked over at Heero as he settled in to his usual spot right next to her chair. "I should warn you, it gets pretty dull just watching the repair work until shift's over. You don't have to stick around if you don't want to."

The Gundam pilot shook his head. "It's alright, I don't mind."

He smiled at her again, and Murrue felt her heart flutter slightly. _Is he staying for me? I think… he is._

She smiled back. "Alright then. I'm glad you're done at Morgenroete. It's good to have you back on the bridge."

Heero nodded. "Same here."

….

The Clyne residence was an impressive piece of architecture. Three stories high, the white house combined elements of classical, baroque, and modern construction designs, creating a truly one of a kind home. Out on a spacious back patio, overlooking a large garden and the colony's artificial lake in the distance, Lacus Clyne sat at a table. Wearing a simple white dress, the popular singer and daughter of the Supreme Chairman was waiting patiently for her guests to arrive. Around her bounced a swarm of orb-like Haro robots, each painted a different color. Jumping up and down, occasionally saying their catchphrase "Haro!", the simple, fun loving machines had been made for her by Athrun. Lacus smiled as she looked down at the pink Haro she was holding at the moment, the very first one that her fiancé had built for her. She had been amazed at how gifted he was with machines, and had been overjoyed when he'd decided to build her more Haros. In fact, practically every time he came to visit he had a new one for her, resulting in the rainbow congregation that was hopping around her.

_I'm glad he's doing alright_, she though. She had received an email from him the day before, and though it hadn't gone into any classified information, Lacus was skilled enough at reading between the line to know that Athrun and his team had once again fought against the _Archangel_… which meant that he had also been forced to confront his best friend, Kira Yamato. _It's so sad… both of them are such good people. They shouldn't have to fight each other. _Obviously Athrun had survived, and she was sure that the ship and its mobile suits had as well; Lacus was certain that he would have said something if they had been taken down.

Though the _Archangel _was an Alliance vessel, she bore its crew no ill will. On the contrary, she had prayed for their safety on a few occasions out of the gratitude she had towards them. Lacus knew that without them she may well have died, and she had been very well treated from her recovery up until she had been transferred over to ZAFT. The one exception had been the red-haired girl that had tried to use her as a hostage, but Lacus did not begrudge her for that, especially after learning that her father was aboard one of the ships ZAFT was attacking, and had been killed during the fighting. _I can't imagine how that must feel… I don't know what I would do if I lost my father._

"Miss Lacus," came a voice from behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned and saw the family butler standing near the back door. "Your guests have arrived; shall I escort them out here?"

She nodded. "Yes, please do so."

The man bowed and went back inside. A few seconds later he came back out, leading the two people Lacus had arranged to meet with today.

She smiled and stood up as the two visitors walked over. "Commander Rehema, Field Marshal Bristow; thank you for coming."

The two officers returned her smile. Both were in civilian clothing; Shemei was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt, while Eric had on a pair of khakis and a blue shirt.

"It's not like I'm particularly busy at the moment," said Shemei, "and I'm always happy to see you, Lacus. It's too bad your father's at work right now."

"Or is that precisely why you wanted us to come over at this time?" said Eric, a slight smirk on his face, "Even with the prep work for Operation Spitbreak, it's still easy enough for me to slip away for a couple hours, but the Supreme Council Chairman doesn't even have that luxury."

Lacus nodded. "You are as perceptive as always, Mr. Bristow. Please, sit down, both of you."

As they joined her at the table, Lacus turned to the butler. "Mr. Reese? Could you prepare some tea, please?"

"Of course, miss," he said, "I'll bring it out as soon as it's ready." With that he went back inside.

"I'm curious," said Shemei, "why did you want to meet us here without your father?"

"Because I do not wish to worry him," she replied. She sighed. "He has enough concerns to deal with at the moment as it is."

Lacus saw the two soldiers trade nervous glances. Turning back to her, Shemei spoke first. "What do you want to discuss that you fear will worry your father?"

"The future," Lacus said, "I need both of your honest opinions of what the short and long-term consequences of Patrick Zala's election to the position of Supreme Council Chairman will mean for our people… and how we can act to rein him in should he go too far."

There was silence for a moment before Eric spoke up. "It seems as though you've accepted the reality before your own father has."

She nodded. "As much as it pains me to admit it, my father cannot win. He still holds out some hope for a turnaround, but Zala's campaign was masterful." She sighed. "The Defense Chairman played the people's desires to bring the conflict to an end like a harp, and their response has been overwhelming. As head of the armed forces, Zala gives them a sense of security that my father has been unable to do so. The majority of the people have become convinced that only a hardliner has what it takes to swiftly end the war… regardless of the potential costs."

Lacus met the gaze of the Field Marshal turned reluctant staff officer. "Mr. Bristow, you have closer access to the Defense Chairman that either Miss Rehema or myself. Can you shed some light on his immediate plans upon assuming the mantle of head-of-state?"

"That's easier said than done," Eric replied. He looked down for a moment in thought before turning back to Lacus. "I know Operation Spitbreak is his top priority, but there's something wrong with the preparations for it."

She tilted her head slightly, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Shemei was curious as well. "This is the first I've heard of a hitch in Spitbreak. What's up, Eric?"

The deputy chief of staff looked over at the Valkyrie and shook his head. "It's not that something's gone wrong with the prep work; Zala's in too good of a mood for it to be something like that. Rather, the best way I can describe it is that the entire setup is wrong, or at least it looks that way to me."

"How so?" asked Lacus.

"It's the staging area," he said, "Zala's focused most of the buildup at Kaoshiung."

Shemei's eyes widened slightly. "Are you serious? If Panama's really the target, then staging from there would turn the whole operation into a disaster!"

"Forgive me," said Lacus, "but military strategy is not my area of expertise. What's wrong with the Kaoshiung spaceport? Is it vulnerable to attack?"

"No, we've pushed the East Asian forces too far into the interior for them to threaten the spaceport," Eric replied, "but if the assault force launches from there, the Atlantic Federation's Pearl Harbor base lies directly between them and Panama."

He was about to continue when the butler came out with the tea. Lacus thanked him as he set it down on the table. He nodded before heading back inside. The girl poured drinks for everyone, and after they had all had a few sips she spoke. "Is the Pearl Harbor base a particularly large one?"

"Yes," said Shemei, answering for Eric, "Pearl Harbor is the primary staging area for the Alliance's Pacific Fleet. If we traveled from Kaoshiung we would almost certainly wind up in a large scale naval battle before we got halfway to Panama. Even if our forces won the engagement, the odds would be good that they would be too badly damaged to continue on to their destination."

_That makes sense_, she thought, _and I suppose it is quite obvious, too. However, that raises the question of why Zala has chosen to stage there. He did not become the head of the armed forces by being incompetent, after all. _She took another sip of her tea before speaking again. "Do we not have another base that would be a better candidate as a staging area?"

Shemei nodded. "Yes, Carpentaria. It's far South enough that we would be able to completely bypass Pearl Harbor and the bulk of the Pacific Fleet. The largest force we could potentially encounter en route from there would be a patrol squadron at the most."

There was silence for a moment before Lacus spoke. "Is it possible that Panama is not the intended target of Operation Spitbreak?"

From the way the two officers' eyes widened, Lacus could see that the possibility had not occurred to them. They looked at each other for a moment before turning back to her. "That… could well be the case," said Eric. His brow furrowed in concentration as he analyzed the new possible scenario.

"If that's the case," said Shemei, "then what would the target be? Is he planning to press deeper into the East Asian Federation, or head North and begin a landing operation on the Kamchatka Peninsula? I know the Eurasians have a combined naval and air base there; maybe he wants to capture it and sweep in on their territory from the East."

"I don't think so," said Eric, "the Eurasians would be caught off guard initially, but they'd regroup quickly enough, and then the assault would bog down." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "What if… Zala's planning to take on the Pacific Fleet? If he inflicted enough casualties on them and captured the base at Hawaii, that'd give us almost complete dominance over the Pacific Ocean."

"Would Zala offer the Alliance the chance to negotiate an end to the war if he achieved that kind of victory?" asked Lacus.

"Well…" said Shemei, uncharacteristically hesitant, "that's difficult to say. I would certainly expect an offer of peace talks from your father if such a victory occurred while he was still Chairman, but I'm not sure if the Alliance would take it. And considering that Zala will be in charge at the time of the offensive, I don't know how things will play out. It's pretty much an open secret that he loathes Naturals and wants to punish them dearly for Junius Seven. Even if he wipes out the Alliance's Pacific Fleet, he may not be satisfied."

The Valkyrie looked at Lacus, and the girl could see the concern in her silver eyes. "Lacus, I didn't want to say this to your father… but I'm afraid of just how far Zala will go. Not just against the Alliance, but Naturals in general. Defeating them militarily might not be enough for him."

Eric nodded, and as his gaze met Lacus' she could see a grim resignation in them. "I know it won't. You two haven't seen him the way I have at the staff meetings. The way he talks… I'm convinced he wants to completely subjugate them to the PLANTs… if not worse."

"What do you mean, Mr. Bristow?" asked Lacus.

He looked down, clearly uncomfortable. "Perhaps I shouldn't say… it's a grave accusation to make, especially against the head of the armed forces. I could be jumping to conclusions. In fact, I really hope I am."

"Eric," said Shemei softly, and Lacus was slightly surprised to see her put her hand on his arm. The girl knew that they were friends, going back since their days together at the ZAFT academy, but she wasn't aware of Commander Rehema holding any special affection for him beyond that. _Perhaps they're feelings even she's not aware of_, Lacus thought, _I could be reading too much into such a simple gesture… but it feels like there might be more there on her part, maybe more than she realizes._

"Come on," Shemei continued, "tell us. Remember, this isn't the Defense Council. You can trust us."

The black-haired officer looked at his comrade for a moment before nodding. Turning back to Lacus, he spoke. "I suspect that Zala… may be planning to commit genocide."

The pink-haired songstress couldn't help but gasp. _No… I cannot believe he would go so far… _After a moment she spoke, slowly and carefully. "Do you… have evidence to support this?"

"Nothing concrete," said Eric, "however…"

"What is it, Eric?" said Shemei softly.

"The research teams… the ones that came up with the N-jammers," he said, "they're collaborating with the ZAFT Mobile Suit Research and Design Cooperative."

"What?" said Shemei, her eyes widening, "I haven't heard anything about that, and I've been in contact with my friends within that organization."

"It's very hush-hush," said Eric, "Only the most senior staff members know about it. I know which friends you're referring to, Shemei. They're important members of the design teams, but they're also only mid-level. They wouldn't know about that detail. Anyway, I suspect that Zala is trying to find a way to create a device that would nullify the effects of the N-jammers… and mount such a device on the new mobile suits under development."

"Nuclear powered MS," said Shemei, her voice almost a whisper, "I never dreamed they'd be working on something like that. The girls and I have been flying sim programs for them, giving them flight data to work with for their program… if we'd known about this, we probably would've refused. A mobile suit with a nuclear reactor, immune to the N-jammers… from there it's only a short step away from full-scale nuclear weapons!"

"Mr. Bristow," said Lacus, "does my father know about this program?"

He nodded. "I managed to slip him some information on it yesterday. It wasn't much, but I was able to find data on the facility where one of the prototypes is being built. Do you want a copy?"

She shook her head. "No, I'll ask my father myself later. Do you know anything about the unit at the facility?"

"Only the designation," he sighed, "the ZGMF-X10A Freedom."

"An inspiring name," said Shemei, her voice tinged with sarcasm, "for a potential harbinger of Armageddon."

"Yes…" Lacus murmured. "Mr. Bristow, do you have any information regarding the other units?"

"Only that they are under construction as well," he said. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any data on where they are, how many are being built, what they're called, or anything else. I've had to limit my inquiries lately; Zala may be close to electoral triumph, but he's still as paranoid as ever. He's already increased the number of security staff at ZAFT HQ twice in the past month alone, and I'm sure he's made other arrangements as well. We're lucky the Military Intelligence agents he has shadowing your father don't consider you to be worth watching, along with the fact that they don't have this place under surveillance when Chairman Clyne isn't home. That's the only reason we're able to meet here like this, and I'm not sure how much longer we may be able to do so."

"I understand," said Lacus. She smiled at Eric. "I appreciate all the work you've done for my family, Mr. Bristow. I know it has put you in a dangerous position, and I apologize for that. We owe you a great deal."

"It's the least I can do," he replied, "I'll try to get information on any other new weapons in development, but I can't promise much."

"I'll do the same," said Shemei, "the girls and I may only be running test programs for the research teams, but I'm sure we can learn something about what they're building, or at least come up with a few theories."

"Thank you, both of you," said Lacus, bowing her head slightly. "Forgive the change in topic, but there is another matter that I desire information on, and I believe you two may be able to help me."

"Of course," said Eric, "what is it?"

"It concerns Miss Rehema, actually," said Lacus, turning to the Valkyrie. "I understand that you were in North Africa at the same time as the _Archangel_, and fought against the ship and its mobile suits twice. Did you by any chance speak to either of the pilots?"

Shemei smiled. "As a matter of fact, I actually met both of them when they came to Banadiya on a supply run."

The girl's eyes widened. "Really? You met Mr. Yuy and Mr. Yamato?"

She nodded. "Yes, and I must say, those two are quite interesting. On the one hand you have Kira, who just seems way too soft to be a mobile suit pilot, despite his skills in combat… and then you have Heero, who is perhaps the epitome of a professional soldier. They're both very unique individuals… and good people." Shemei sighed. "It's a shame we have to fight them."

"I thought you liked fighting Heero," said Eric, "from what I've seen, you look more alive since you ran into him than you have this entire war."

Shemei turned to him, and both he and Lacus were surprised to see a rather sad smile on her face. "It's true that he's the first person who's been able to challenge me in a long time, even beat me. Fighting him is the ultimate rush; I was _exhilarated _when I went up against him. When I met him in person, I got that same feeling just by looking in his eyes; they were calm, yet at the same time there was this _intensity _in them… but there was something else as well."

"Oh? What was it?" asked Lacus.

"Sorrow," she replied softly, "and _pain_… like there was something awful trapped inside him, tearing at his heart and mind. He's only sixteen, yet I think he's been fighting longer than either Bristow or myself… I can't imagine the horrors he's seen."

"Do you mean…" said Lacus, a sense of dread welling up inside her, "he was a child soldier?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes… I don't know when he first started fighting, but I can say this for certain; he was _young_, as in elementary school young. I can't say more than that… but I could tell just from his eyes that he had seen _hell_. He may be the best pilot of all time, but he had to witness the worst of what humanity had to offer in order to achieve that level of skill."

"Damn," said Eric, "a former child soldier…and from what Waltfeld and Aisha have told me, from another world as well…" He sighed. "You can't make this shit up…" He looked at Lacus. "Forgive the language, but I can't really think of any other way to put it."

"It's alright," said Lacus, "I feel the same way. Mr. Yuy has suffered a great deal… and I know Mr. Yamato is in pain as well. " She looked at the two soldiers. "Forgive me for not mentioning this sooner, but during my time aboard the _Archangel _I learned that Mr. Yamato's best friend was none other than Athrun Zala."

"What?" said Eric, eyes widening, "You mean the Strike's pilot and the Defense Chairman's son know each other?"

She nodded. "Yes… apparently they both attended prep school together on the moon. Mr. Yamato's family moved to Heliopolis while Athrun's came back to the PLANTs. The two met for the first time in two years during the attack on the colony."

"How awful," said Shemei, putting her hand to her mouth, "so in that last engagement, at Orb's border…"

"Kira and Athrun were fighting each other," Eric finished for her, "I know war is cruel, but this feels like a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare, damn it!"

"Yes," said Lacus softly, "I fear for how things will ultimately end between them…"

The three of them were silent for a moment. Then Eric looked at his watch and sighed. "Sorry, but I have to get going. My next staff meeting is in an hour and a half, and I need to get ready."

"Of course," said Lacus, standing up, "I'll walk you to the door. Miss Rehema, do you mind waiting here?"

"Actually," said the Valkyrie, standing up as well, "I need to get on the road too. I promised my parents I'd come by and have dinner with them, and I know they'll worry if I'm even a minute late." She smiled slightly. "Military families; we can be so picky about punctuality some times. It doesn't matter that they've had civilian jobs since moving here, some habits just don't die."

"Please send them my regards," said Lacus as the three of them made their way to the back door.

Shemei nodded. "I will."

They entered the house and headed through a large, well furnished living room, then down a spacious hallway towards the front door. Lacus opened it for them as they stepped out and bid her farewell.

"Please be careful, you two," she said, "though you may not be on the battlefield right now, I fear the PLANTs may soon become as dangerous for us as any combat zone."

"We will," said Shemei, "please, give your father my best."

"Mine as well," said Eric.

"I will," she replied, "take care."

….

"Eric," said Shemei softly as they walked towards their vehicles.

"What is it, Shemei?" he asked her.

She looked at her friend, an artificial breeze tousling his black hair as he turned to her as well. _Of all of us_, Shemei thought, _Waltfeld, Aisha, the girls, myself… his is the most dangerous position. He's our only ally that has direct access to Zala other than Chairman Clyne, which means that he's also the only one of us that must bear his paranoia in person. If it's discovered that he's slipping us information…_

She surprised him, and herself, by grabbing his hand. They'd been friends for nearly six years now, but they had never been much for physical contact between them beyond the occasional hug. What she was doing now was a completely new step, one that definitely caught the two of them off guard.

Shemei filed away her curiosity at her own actions for a later date. Looking her friend in the eyes, she spoke. "Lacus was right. What you're doing for us… it's extremely dangerous. I know you don't need me to tell you that, but still…"

"I know," he replied, and she could see a hint of weariness in his brown eyes, "I feel like I'm constantly walking a tightrope and there's no safety net if I slip up. The minutes feel like hours, hours like days… but it has to be done. If my suspicions are right, and Zala's making preparations for a campaign of genocide, then we need as much information as possible so we can stop him."

Shemei saw a glint in his eyes, a small yet intense flame… the fire of his determination. "They say history repeats itself," he said, "but I think that's only because people don't try hard enough to stop it. I've done my share of reading, Shemei, and the road we're on bears a disturbing amount of similarities to that of the Third Reich as it approached the height of its power… and we all know what happened next. I will _not _allow our people to become accessories to what could possibly become the biggest campaign of mass-murder in human history!"

Shemei's eyes widened slightly. _This passion… he's usually so calm and relaxed, like Waltfeld… I don't think I've ever seen him like this! _She couldn't help but smile slightly. _He's determined to stick things out, to do all he can… I'll give him as much support as I can._

"Alright," she said, "but please… be careful. I almost lost Aisha and Waltfeld… I guess that was a reminder of our own mortality. Hell, I know you told me how relieved you were when you learned that they were alive." She sighed. "Those of us who survive a long time on the battlefield start to think we're invincible… that's a mistake we can't afford to make."

She gripped his hand a little tighter. "I don't want to lose any of my friends... anyone I care about… so watch your back, you got that? If you think things are about to go south, get out immediately. Call us; we're behind you all the way."

Eric smiled, and Shemei felt a little reassured. _He's always had a way of doing that with that smile of his…_

"I will," he said, "and you take care as well, alright? You're not as high up as I am, but unlike me you're on Zala's shit list. You stole the limelight from Creuset with your performance against Wing Zero, and you're parents are Naturals… that's two strikes against you in his book. I don't know if he's taken the girls into consideration, but it might not be long before he has Military Intelligence start shadowing you… and your family."

"I know," she replied, "I don't suppose you can give me a heads up if he decides to do that, can you?"

"I'll do my best," said Eric, "one of the few things we have going for us is the Secret Service's rivalry with Military Intelligence. Their Director may not be on our side, but he's not on Zala's either, so I'm getting a lot of cooperation from his agents. If Zala has you put under surveillance, I'll find out pretty quickly. Don't worry; I've got your back."

"Thanks," she said.

They approached their vehicles; Shemei had her jeep, while Eric had a black convertible. Before he could open the door to his car, Shemei put a hand on his shoulder. As he turned to her she pulled him into a hug.

"Shemei?" he said, slightly surprised.

"Don't do anything reckless, alright?" she said, so softly it was almost a whisper.

"Alright," he said, putting his arms around her as he did so.

They held each other for a minute before letting go. Then they smiled, nodded, and went to their vehicles.

_What's gotten into me?_, she thought as she hopped into her jeep. There was something different about the way she was seeing Eric now, and as she keyed the ignition she realized that it had been that way since she'd gotten back to the PLANTs. Despite the increased stress that his new positions was clearly putting on him, he also seemed more… focused, _resolved_. While field command was where she knew he felt at home, he seemed to have a new sense of purpose and conviction within him as he played his dangerous games within the shifting balance of power. Shemei almost felt _drawn _to him, in a way she'd never felt about him before.

_I don't know what these feelings are_, she mused as she drove towards the main road, _but I do know this; I won't let Eric fight this battle alone. My specialty may be mobile suit combat, but I can still find a way to help him in a fight like this!_

….

"Oh, man," said Nicole, "this is amazing!"

Athrun nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this is really something."

It had been a week since his conversation with his father, and the _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carrier _Cousteau _had arrived at Carpentaria earlier that morning to pickup his team. It was now early evening, and Athrun and his friend were out on the top deck of the vessel as it cruised on the surface. The sun was setting in the west, and both the water and sky were awash with an orange glow.

_You don't get this kind of view up in the PLANTs_, thought Athrun, a small smile on his face, _there's just only so much you can do with artificial lighting. _Colony engineers had found ways to imitate the transition from day to night by slowing dimming the main lights, along with installing special color lenses in specific arrays. While the displays were quite lovely, they just couldn't match the dazzling vistas provided by Mother Nature.

However, even something as soothing and beautiful as an ocean sunset couldn't quite dispel the worry in his heart. He and his team had spent most of the day with the detachment from Military Intelligence, going over their insertion plan for the next day when they would begin their infiltration of Orb. They had spent hours both above and below deck, going over their covers, how to act when approached by civilians and government personnel, how to quickly set up and properly operate their zodiac inflatable boat… the list went on. It had essentially been a crash course in espionage work, and the experience had left Athrun with mixed impressions.

On the one hand, he was certainly grateful for the instruction he had received, and had done his best to memorize everything he could. Operating the zodiac in particular had proven to be surprisingly challenging. Their academy training had focused on space combat, so to say their skills in using watercraft were lacking would be an understatement. Even with the improved strength and reflexes that came with being a Coordinator, the four young soldiers had been unprepared for their first practice run in the small boat. Maintaining their heading amidst the waves had been more difficult than they had first thought, and the unexpected gusts had made things even worse. Still, the boys had eventually gotten the hang of it, and Athrun had even felt a small surge of pride when their instructor had praised him as the best of the four at operating the zodiac. The young man had noticed Yzak scowl at that remark, but had just shrugged it off, having come to expect those kinds of reactions from the prideful pilot.

On the other hand, there had been something about the Intelligence operatives themselves that had rubbed Athrun the wrong way. He couldn't help but notice how disdainful they appeared to be of Naturals, and felt that, despite their greater expertise in the field of espionage than his, they were underestimating Orb. In fact, as Athrun thought about it, he realized that it went past mere contempt, at that several of them seemed to have nothing but hatred for Naturals, though it had been difficult to make out at first behind their cool, professional demeanors. He'd heard rumors that many members of Military Intelligence were more in favor of his father's hardliner stance than with the Supreme Chairman's desire for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, and that the Defense Chairman and the agency director shared the same views, but today had been the first time he's seen evidence of it for himself. It was disturbing to say the least, especially since he kept finding his mind wondering to the Natural girl he's spent the night with on that island three and a half weeks ago. _Cagalli… it's true that she fought against us, but she's not a bad person. I never imagined that she would be Orb nobility… _Whenever the operatives had mentioned Naturals, images of the girl would flash through his mind, and the young man had found himself dreading what people like the Intelligence agents would do to someone like her if they had captured her in a mission. _Father…are these really the kind of people you've allied yourself with? What will you do when you assume power? What will your followers do?_

"Yo, Athrun," said Nicole, "you alright?"

His friend's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up from where he was sitting and nodded. "I'm fine," he replied, "just thinking about the mission tomorrow."

The green haired boy nodded. "I know what you mean… I gotta admit, I'm a little nervous."

Athrun gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just stick with me, and remember what the instructors told us. Besides, we're just looking around; we're not going there to pick a fight."

"Yeah, you're right," said Nicole, smiling slightly, "I wonder what Orb's like… I mean, it's one thing to read about a place, but another entirely to see it in person. I know all our studying back in the PLANTs didn't prepare me for when we finally came down to Earth."

"That's true," said Athrun, "but the knowledge we gained during our studies wasn't useless, either. We just had to figure out which lessons worked, which didn't, and how to adapt as necessary. I'm sure we'll be able to do the same in Orb."

"Man," Nicole replied, "I wish I had your confidence."

_Confidence?_, thought Athrun, _Is that what he sees in me? _Truth be told, the young man had his own doubts, and it was all he could to keep them hidden from his comrades. Confidence was really the last thing he felt at the moment.

_If the legged ship's still in Orb… then that means Kira is too. What will happen if we run into each other? And what about Cagalli? What happens if I encounter her as well? _These questions and plenty others had been whirling through his mind since his conversation with his father nearly a week ago, and he could not find answers to them to save his life. The only reason he was able to maintain his composure-such as it was-was by reminding himself of his duties as a team leader; to watch out for his comrades, and do all he could to carry out his orders.

He let on to none of these doubts as he smiled at his friend. "I wouldn't go that far. I think I'm just a little relieved that this isn't a combat operation. It's true that we're not trained for this sort of mission, but we've been given all the information we need to slip in to Orb cleanly, and like I said earlier we won't be there for a confrontation. Our lives will only be on the line if we do something to blow our cover; as long as we're mindful of what we say and who's around when we say it, I think we'll be ok."

"I hope Yzak and Dearka will keep that in mind," said Nicole, turning back to look out at the sunset.

Athrun nodded. "I think they'll be alright. I know we've had some friction recently, but they're still soldiers of ZAFT, like us. They'll do their duty and follow orders… especially since this mission was given to us by the Defense Chairman himself."

"Yeah, you're right," said Nicole, "hey, you think we'll finally we'll finally get a glimpse of the pilots of the Strike and Wing Zero?"

Athrun was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond. After a few seconds he replied, "Maybe. I guess it's a possibility."

_One I hope to avoid…_

….

"Ready when you are," said Murrue, smiling.

Heero nodded, giving her a small one of his own. _Why did I suggest this again?_, he thought. They were out on the top deck of the _Archangel_. The two of them had just eaten dinner a little while ago when Heero had decided to head topside for a practice session with his sword. It was something he had taken to doing over the past few weeks as a means to keep himself sharp; he didn't want the time spent waiting for the ship's repairs to be completed to dull his reflexes. He'd done it by himself until now, but for some reason he had wanted Murrue to watch him today. Heero had told her that he wanted her to observe and tell him if she saw anything he needed to work on, but that reasoning seemed to ring hollow in his head. _I know she's not a fencer_, he thought, _nor does she have any experience with any kind of blade combat. While I'm sure her eyes are sharp enough to pick out some things I could do better, it's not like it would be a critique from a professional swordfighter. _

His smile turned into a slight smirk when he realized what his real reason was. _I want to show off for her! I want to impress her… man, what has gotten into me? _The young man knew in his mind that she was already impressed with his fighting abilities, and that he didn't need to go out of his way to prove himself… but for some reason his instincts were telling him that it would be a good idea to do this anyway. He didn't know why; he wasn't vain, and he didn't particularly like showing off his skills just for fun, but he had a feeling that she might appreciate it.

Heero remembered what Murrue had said at the start of their date three weeks ago; _"you should have a little more pride in your abilities."_ He wondered if what he was about to do would be an appropriate display of that pride, or if it would be a meaningless show. _No_, he thought, _she seemed happy when I suggested this… I don't think it's wrong. _The young man had been slightly surprised to find just how important Murrue's happiness had become to him in the time that he had known her. _Is that part of what it means to fall in love with someone? I mean, I want her to be safe, and I certainly want her to be happy… but I never thought I'd be willing to do so much for one person's feelings._

It was certainly something new for him, but he didn't particularly mind it. In fact, he was beginning to realize that whenever Murrue seemed to be happy, his own spirits rose a bit as well. _It's her smile_, he thought, _I've never seen one so beautiful…_

Taking a deep breath to center himself, he gave his one-woman audience a small nod, and then closed his eyes. _Alright, let's do this._

Opening his eyes, he swiftly raised the blade in a salute, followed by a quick x-flourish. Then he brought the saber into a mid-level guard position, stood still for a moment… and cut loose.

Sword fighting wasn't new to Heero. He had participated in fencing matches before during his time on Earth in the Eve Wars, and mobile suit beam saber combat certainly didn't hurt his skills in that area. He didn't have the same fluid grace as a professional fencer, but he was quick and efficient. Leading with a series of thrusts, he then swiftly pulled back and began performing parries against his imagined opponent.

After moving backwards a few steps and completing a series of blocks, he suddenly moved forward again, making several cuts towards where his foe's legs would be in rapid succession. Then he swung his saber upwards, pulled back, and then spun around as he launched a horizontal slash, adding centrifugal force to the attack.

As he completed the strike, Heero leapt backwards, performing a one-handed back handspring. As he landed on his feet he thrust the blade forward again, initiating a series swift strikes at his perceived foe's chest.

As he continued the exercise, Heero felt the moves become more and more instinctive, more natural. The Gundam pilot did not need to devote as much mental focus into his swordplay as he had when he'd first started out. _I know beam saber combat is basically sword fighting on a larger scale_, he thought, smirking slightly, _but that doesn't mean a skilled mobile suit pilot can effortlessly transfer those abilities into that of a fencer's. The fact that I'm devoting less and less thought to my moves means I'm definitely getting better at this. _He'd already known that he was good, and had even practiced fencing a bit before the start of Operation Meteor both as a means to refine his reflexes and because it was a required sport for the boys at the St. Gabriel Institute, where he would be attending classes as part of his first cover, but he hadn't devoted as much energy to it as he had over the past three weeks.

Pulling back again, starting another sequence of blocks and parries, he found that the moves actually had a soothing effect on him, like a form of meditation in motion. Even the presence of his beautiful audience of one didn't disturb him like he'd thought it might. _It's Murrue, I shouldn't be nervous_, he thought, _but still... I actually was when I proposed this, just like when I asked her out. Could that be further evidence that my feelings for her have become more romantic?_

Putting himself back on the offensive, he turned to briefly look at Murrue as he began a sequence of mid-level cuts and slashes. She was smiling, her brown eyes wide with wonder, and Heero felt his confidence soar. _That smile… that's all I need to see! _

Their eyes met for an instant, and he gave her a small smile of his own before turning back to his swordplay. He increased his speed, and as he continued his attack sequence Heero felt as though the saber had a mind of its own as his instincts and reflexes became more and more refined until it seemed to him that he was hardly thinking about his actions at all. They just seemed to flow together, like whenever he fought in a mobile suit duel. He was still focused, but it was less mental and more natural, like he was honing his entire body to be nothing more but a vessel that allowed the blade to smoothly transition from one move to the next.

Heero lost track of time as he continued with the exercise. Eventually he just felt himself winding down on his own, without really planning to. When he finally came to a stop, he sheathed his saber and looked over at Murrue.

Once again she was smiling, and she started clapping as he walked over to her. "Heero," she said, "that was amazing!"

His eyes widened slightly, and he once again felt a surge of warmth to his face. _She's the only person that can make you feel this way_, he thought, _is that another bit of proof that you're falling for her?_

"You think so?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, definitely! I know you asked me to observe so I could point out any mistakes… but if there were any, I didn't see them."

"Oh," said Heero, "well, I still appreciate you coming out here. Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said, "now, do you want to head over to the officer's lounge? It'd probably feel good to relax a little after a workout like that."

He gave her a small smile. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I could use a drink, too. Let me put the sword away first."

She nodded, and the two of them made their way back inside the _Archangel_. As they walked through the hallways, Heero found himself thinking about the past few weeks. _All this time I've spent with her… it's been incredible! That date, the subsequent outings... even the afternoons and evenings we've just spent hanging out on the ship have been a whole new experience. I've never felt so relaxed, at ease with someone. It's true that I get a little nervous when I first suggest something to her, or when I ask a question that might be sensitive, but she always manages to be so reassuring that my doubts just seem to wash away._

_Is this… really love?_

….

"I can't wait," said Tolle, "only three days left!"

Kira raised his eyebrow. "Three days until what, Tolle?"

The two boys were down in the hangar. Kira was running some checks on the Strike while Tolle stood outside the cockpit leaning against the machine's armor.

"Until our parents can come by here!" said Tolle, "Jeez, don't tell me you forgot again! I swear, I've been telling you that every other day."

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I've just been so busy with Morgenroete and all…"

"Ah, don't worry about it," his friend replied. They were quiet for a moment, and then Tolle spoke again. "How's Flay reacted?"

Kira looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well," said Tolle, "her mother died when she was young, and now her father's gone too… that can't be easy on her, knowing that all of us will be seeing our families soon but she won't be able to."

_He's right_, thought Kira, _damn it, how did I not realize that? _Now that it had his attention, he recalled that she had seemed somewhat… _off _after Captain Ramius had given him the news. He had just met Flay outside the ship after he had come back from Morgenroete, and they were making their way up the gangway when they saw her standing in the hatchway. She'd smiled when she'd said that his parents would be able to come by the following week, and he'd done the same, although there had also been a small doubt in the back of his mind. He'd never thought about it until the attack on Heliopolis, but since he and his friends had been thrust into the war he's started wondering why his parents had chosen to make him a Coordinator… and how they'd react if he asked them that. While he had been pondering the news, he had been dimly aware of Flay stiffening slightly at his side, but he hadn't paid it too much attention.

_Should I ask her if anything's wrong?_, he thought. It might be delayed, but it would still be better than nothing. Then again, she hadn't said anything about the matter to him, so maybe it wasn't his business.

His line of thought was derailed when Tolle spoke again. "Well, I guess if something was up she'd have said something to ya by now, so I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it. By the way, isn't it strange how long the repairs are taking?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kira, "We did take some heavy hits in that battle, remember? The engines got damaged pretty badly, and they're some of the most complicated pieces of machinery on the _Archangel_."

"I know that," Tolle replied, "but still, with all the mechanical crews Morgenroete has working on the ship, you would think they'd be done by now."

"Hmm," said Kira, thinking about it. After a moment he spoke. "Maybe Orb's having them take things slow so they can have me spend more time working for Morgenroete. I know I'm done with the baseline O.S. I've been building for them, but Miss Simmons keeps throwing more stuff at me. Simulations in various environments, reaction and mobility tests, sensor and gyro calibrations… I almost feel like I'm back in Professor Kato's lab again!"

"Ah, Kato," said Tolle, and Kira could hear a bit of wistfulness in his voice, "just thinking about him take me back to the good old days back in the colony…"

_The good old days_, thought Kira, _yeah… when we weren't at war, when I was on good terms with Sai, when we all had normal family lives… that feels like a lifetime ago._

"Hey, Kira," said Tolle softly, "come back to us."

"Huh?" he said, confused, "What do you mean?"

"To your friends," Tolle replied, "ever since North Africa, you've been spending almost all your time either with the Strike, with Flay, or by yourself. Miriallia, Kuzzey, myself… we miss you. Heck, even Sai feels the same way, even if he won't say anything. I know he's still sore over Flay, but he doesn't hate you for it."

The young man poked his head inside the Strike's cockpit. "Stop working and come to the mess with me, alright? The rest of the gang is probably about to sit down to dinner." He smiled. "Come eat with us, alright buddy?"

_He's right_, thought Kira, his eyes widening, _I have been avoiding them… Tolle, Miriallia, Kuzzey, Sai… they're my friends! Why have I been treating them like this? It's true things have changed since Heliopolis… but that's why we should stick together now more than ever, not drift apart! I need to reconnect… and try to patch things up with Sai._

Kira smiled and powered down the Strike. "Alright," he said as he stepped out of the cockpit, closing the hatch, "let's go."

His friend smiled. "Alright, now that's the Kira I know! I'll lead the way."

….

As they walked into the mess hall and grabbed their food, Kira saw his friends sitting at a table by the window. They were all talking, laughing, and overall seemed to be in a good mood. He briefly wondered where Flay was before deciding not to worry about. _She's probably cleaning… since she has no combat capabilities and no bridge post, I know she's been helping with the laundry and other things like that on the ship._

The two of them walked over to the table, and Sai, Miriallia, and Kuzzey all looked up as they approached. Tolle's girlfriend immediately smiled, Kuzzey waved, and even Sai gave a welcoming nod, no obvious sign of bitterness on his face.

As they sat down, Kira looked over at Sai. He was nervous, but didn't want to put this off any longer than he had to. "Listen, Sai…" he began.

However, the blond haired young man cut him off. "Look Kira," he said, and the Coordinator was surprised to see a small smile on his face, "I know things have been rough between us, but I've had some time to think over the past few weeks… and whatever happened between you and Flay, I know now that it was her decision when she left me. You didn't force her; you're not that kind of guy. I still don't know why she did it, and I'll admit I'm still a little mad at you too… but I still want to be friends. After all, considering our situation, we need to stick together more than ever now."

"Sai…" said Kira, his eyes widening.

His old friend chuckled a bit. "Caught you off guard there, eh?" He smiled again and held out his hand. "How about we cut this avoiding-each-other thing out, it's not very mature of us."

Kira couldn't help but return the smile as he shook Sai's hand. "Yeah… thanks Sai."

"No problem," he said, "that's what friends are for, right?"

….

"Damn, it's cold," hissed Dearka, "did we have to launch so early?"

The zodiac was speeding away from the _Cousteau_, rolling over the waves as it made its way towards Orb's territory. It was a little past four in the morning, so the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet, and the spray from the boat hitting the waves only made the already considerable chilly temperature worse.

At the rear of the watercraft, manning the engine and steering, Athrun sighed. "We need the cover of darkness if we're going to infiltrate successfully. Also, the morning fog will conceal us when the sun begins to rise, so we'll be well hidden on our trip to the island."

"I just hope out Intelligence contact will be at the rendezvous point on time," said Nicole, "he's supposed to have our ground transportation there after all; we wouldn't be able to accomplish very much if we had to walk all over the island."

"Yeah," grumbled Yzak, "if he's not there, then I'm going to raise some hell when we get back. We're ZAFT's best soldiers; we deserve nothing less than the best support."

_Damn it, Yzak_, thought Athrun, _could you rein your ego in for at least this mission? _If his white haired comrade allowed his arrogance to influence him when they made landfall and eventually came into contact with Orb's populace, their covers would risk being exposed.

He looked back towards their submarine-carrier and saw that it was already diving. _I hope we'll be able to find it alright on our return trip._

The concerns regarding their carrier paled in comparison to the young man's other fears. _Kira_, thought Athrun as he looked forward again, _will we meet again today? How will you react… and what will the others do when they learn that you're the Strike's pilot?_

….

"Well, I must say, this isn't like you, Defense Chairman. Calling at this hour; I would've thought you'd still be asleep."

It was five in the morning at the Kaoshiung spaceport. Having just arrived yesterday, Commander Rau Le Creuset had yet to fully unpack, so most of his belongings were in a suitcase next to his bed. The masked officer was wearing a white bathrobe, and his long blonde hair was a bit untidy, evidence that he had just been woken up.

The black haired man on the computer screen nodded. "I would be, but I wanted an update on the preparations for Spitbreak, and the predawn hours are about the only free time I have available nowadays."

Creuset smirked slightly. "You're busier campaigning than you ever were as just Defense Chairman, sir."

Patrick Zala smiled. "Yes, and soon all this work will pay off. Our victory is close at hand, and not just in Aprilius One. We will take the majority of the Supreme Council and the local Colony Councils as well, I'm sure of it. We are ascending, and no one can stop us! Soon House Clyne will fall. Siegel will be broken, and my family will claim not only his power but his daughter as a trophy."

"I hope you don't say that in front of Miss Clyne," Creuset chuckled, "after all, you need her marriage to Athrun to go smoothly if you're going to get the best possible press coverage and morale boost."

"Rau, you mock me," said Zala, laughing, "You know I would never do anything so crass and amateurish."

"Just a friendly reminder, Defense Chairman," replied Creuset.

"Of course," said Zala, "I'll be careful." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Now, about the assault preparations?"

Creuset sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Sir, the _Everest_-class Flying Fortress _Fuji _is completely assembled and currently undergoing flight trials. The _Kilimanjaro _will be ready to join her in two days. Our naval buildup is proceeding on schedule as well, and the ground assault forces are currently at seventy percent."

"Excellent," said Zala, smiling, "and the Special Operations Squadrons?"

"Rot and Grün teams have arrived," said Creuset, "and have been outfitted with the DINN Mk. IIs. Schwarze is taking their sweet time, though. I believe they took a detour to the Taklamakan Desert to score a few more kills; the East Asian forces are using it as a staging area for their hit-and-run raids on our armies in the interior. I contacted them, but their Commander refuses to acknowledge transmissions from Kaoshiung at this time; no doubt he's enjoying himself out there right now. Perhaps you could contact him?"

"I'll do so at once," said Zala, frowning slightly, "damn, I would've hoped that promotion to Special Operations would make Zubov at bit more respectful of his superiors; he does share our ideals, after all. Don't worry, Commander, I'll bring that brigand back into line."

"I appreciate that, sir," said Creuset, nodding, "Zubov is a skilled pilot, but he cares little for tactics and grand strategy. He cares only for battle. A useful tool, but one I will freely admit having difficulty controlling. My past work experiences with the man have not been pleasant."

"I know," Zala replied, "I've read his file. I still have trouble believing that a fellow Coordinator could be so disrespectful towards his superiors. However, his enthusiasm for fighting the Naturals is what matters, not his manners."

_You mean his enthusiasm for killing them_, thought Creuset with amusement, _I'm well aware of what took place in the former Sri Lanka, along with similar… 'excesses' both on the surface and in space. Gunning down soldiers who've surrendered, destroying escape pods and unarmed shuttles… not to mention his part in the China campaign. Schwarze Team went on a bloody rampage once they got far enough away from Field Marshal Bristow. They razed Yinchuan to the ground and all but annihilated Xining before they were finally repulsed by five full East Asian Federation fighter wings. I seem to recall a rumor that one of the reasons you removed Bristow from the field and brought him to the Defense Council was so you could swamp him with paperwork and keep him too busy to conduct a proper war crimes investigation like he wanted to. What was Schwarze Team's final death toll again? Not counting enemy combatants, I believe it was somewhere between four to five million civilians… impressive for an eight man team supported only by their transport unit and a few vanguard brigades with commanders who had similar leanings to Zubov._

Turning his focus back to his superior, he spoke. "Hopefully he'll restrain himself until Spitbreak begins."

"I'll make sure that he does," said Zala, "Zubov knows full well that I can pull him from surface operations at any time, and he's having too much fun down there to want to come back to space."

"I'll leave that to you, then," said Creuset, "Is there anything else you needed to discuss, sir?"

"No, that will be all," he replied, and the screen went black.

_Good timing_, thought Creuset as he looked down at his left arm… his _trembling _left arm. Acting quickly before the tremors could spread, the Commander rushed to his washroom and threw open the medicine cabinet. He snatched a blue container and opened it before tilting it back and popping a few pills. After a few seconds his arm stopped shaking. Creuset sighed in relief. _That was too close._

He left the washroom, setting the container of pills on his desk. _I should keep these with me today_, he thought, _just in case it is getting worse…_

_Now is not the time for you to fail, my mortal shell. My plans will soon bear fruit, and I intend to witness to their bursting…_

….

Above the sands of the Taklamakan Desert a fierce battle was raging. Soaring through the sky like the reapers they were, eight black and grey DINNs were savaging their foes, a swarm of twenty four delta-winged East Asian Federation J-45 Interceptors. Manufactured in China, the single-seat fighters were armed with two thirty millimeter machine guns and eight XMAA missiles each, a formidable arsenal by conventional standards… and utterly impotent against the demons that were ripping them to shreds.

While ZAFT's mainline air-combat mobile suit was not faster than any Alliance fighter jet, it was far more maneuverable, and the enhanced reflexes and calculation times of their pilots meant that they could more often than not simply shoot down most missiles fired at them, leaving the only recourse for most Alliance pilots to fire them en masse and pray that a few managed to get through.

However, Dominic Zubov and the rest of Schwarze Team never gave their foes the opportunity. They had launched their own missile volley at the start of their surprise attack on the East Asian forces, scattering their originally thirty-six plane formation. From there it had become a simple matter to hunt them down one by one. The mobile suits' distinctive paint job did not hurt matters, as it had become one that the Alliance forces had come to dread seeing on the battlefield.

In the cockpit of his machine, Commander Zubov cackled like a madman. "Yes, yes, _yes!_" he yelled over the radio, "Do as you do best, my friends! Hunt them all down, and remember our golden rule; _leave none alive!_"

He gunned his engines and sighted in on a fighter, quickly perforating it with his rifle. His cruel smile turned into a sneer as he saw the enemy pilot eject. "Did I say you could bail out?" he snarled, "No, I don't think I did!"

He aimed his weapon and fired. A single heavy machine gun round turned the helpless pilot into little more than red mist and a few chunks of flesh and bone. Zubov laughed maniacally as some of it hit his DINN. "Thank you for the souvenir, you Natural rat! Fear not, for soon the rest of your brothers and sisters will join you in the afterlife."

Whirling as missile lock alarms went off, he fired off a volley of his own before his foes could launch theirs. Three planes exploded, and the sadistic Commander gained altitude as he searched for more prey.

A Second Generation Coordinator, the twenty-nine year old man hardly fit the stereotypical image of a ZAFT mobile suit pilot. Tall and somewhat lanky, Dominic Zubov had curly black hair that never failed to look disheveled, a face that was pockmarked and scarred from years of vicious barroom brawls, and a mustache that led many to believe on first impression that he was a porn star that had gotten on the wrong end of several switch-blades. The perpetual sneer on his face never helped matters. His eyes were a shade of blue so pale that they were often mistaken as white, and lent the man an aura that was almost demonic… a trait that he had happily embraced.

Born in the PLANT capital of Aprilius One, Dominic had been raised in a household filled to the brim with hatred for the Naturals. His parents had originally live in Moscow, and for generations both of their families had served with pride in the Russian Army as far back as the Battle of Stalingrad. Attitudes in the newly formed Eurasian Federation's armed forces towards Coordinators were mixed, and unfortunately Zubov's parents had wound up under the jurisdiction of a General with not-so-secret ties to Blue Cosmos. The discrimination had started with a list of crap-assignments that ran a kilometer long and had escalated into a repeated string of demotions every time one of them had performed well enough to get promoted in the first place, resulting in both his mother and father never rising above the rank of Corporal despite their obvious talents. Eventually, in completely justified rage and indignation, Zubov's parents had resigned and immigrated to the PLANTs, and shortly afterward their son had been born.

However, his birth had not eased the growing feelings of resentment and hate that festered within his parents' hears, and he grew up listening to rants about the inferiority of Naturals. As a child Zubov had simply gone along with them, but hadn't started developing any major animosity of his own until the age of ten. Somehow, an agent of Blue-Cosmos had managed to sneak into the heart of the Coordinator homeland, and he had wasted no time in going on a shooting spree at a major grocery store. Five people had died before the gunman was taken down… including Zubov's father. From then on the hatred within his mother had been intensified, and the boy had quickly latched onto it. It hadn't helped that both he and his mother had been in the store at the time of the shooting, and had only escaped death by being on the opposite side of the building in the produce section, while the shooter had started firing in the bakery area where Mr. Zubov had been ordering a cake; his son's birthday had been three days away.

Shortly afterwards Dominic Zubov began developing an aggressive streak, often picking fights at school. As he grew older he knew that this was due to his pent up rage against the Naturals that had tormented his family, but up in space he had no socially acceptable outlet for it. After graduation he managed to put his anger and violent tendencies to somewhat legitimate use as a bouncer at a dingy third-rate nightclub tucked away in one of Aprilius One's backalleys, all the while yearning for a chance to make the Naturals pay. When ZAFT had been founded in 65 C.E., Zubov had jumped at the chance to become a soldier, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before he would get a shot at revenge. Cheered on by his mother, he pursued his military education with a single-minded obsession and ruthlessness. By the time hostilities had broken out in 70 C.E. he was a GINN pilot, and he wasted no time in laying waste to his enemies with a sadistic pleasure that would've made the SS proud.

Now, in the skies of the Far East, his hatred was manifest in the brutal squadron he had formed, every member with the same cruel and twisted view of the Naturals firmly set in their minds, merely waiting for a Commander to set them loose upon their prey. Zubov looked on with pleasure as his subordinates slaughtered the enemy, whittling their numbers down lower and lower. Diving back into the furball, the Commander took down another five machines, pausing to dispatch two ejecting pilots in the same manner as he had the previous one.

He grinned as the other black and grey machines streaked across the battlefield. _I originally wanted black and red_, he mused, _but that Valkyrie bitch already has that color scheme. No matter; black and grey are now the colors the Naturals have associated with their doom… as well they should. Perhaps I'll have the tech crews paint grey death's heads on our machines when we return to base; I think it'd be a nice touch._

His communications console started beeping, and Zubov saw with annoyance that it was a Priority One frequency. "Zala," he grumbled, "What does he want?"

He pulled away from the engagement somewhat and hit a switch on the console. Sure enough, the Defense Chairman's face appeared on the screen. "Commander Zubov," he said, glaring, "I hear you've been ignoring orders again."

Dominic smiled. "Not at all, sir. Merely… delaying their implementation. You know how me and the boys get; we see the Natural scum mucking about and we just have to go take out the trash."

"Which you'll have plenty of time to do come Operation Spitbreak," Zala replied, "I've done you plenty of favors to keep you and your men away from the firing squad, Zubov. I tolerate your behavior on account of our common goals, but there's only so much even I will tolerate from you."

_He's in a pretty foul mood_, mused Dominic, _guess I better play the good soldier, or he might actually confine us this time. _"What are your orders, Defense Chairman?"

"Finish your battle and get your asses over to Carpentaria," said Zala, "I'm having eight DINN Mk IIs shipped there for your team; don't make me reassign them."

Zubov nearly started drooling at the mention of the new suits. _Finally, an upgrade! Took you long enough, Zala!_ "Understood," he said, "anything else?"

"You will be operating under Commander Le Creuset," said Zala, his eyes narrowing even further than they already were, "I suggest you obey him this time; I'm giving him full discretion to shoot you the instant you get out of line this time, Zubov. Your enthusiasm has served you well in the past, but so help me if you do anything to jeopardize Operation Spitbreak I will gladly have you executed! Do _not _fail me." With that he signed off.

The leader of Schwarze Team gave a mocking salute. "Understood, Defense Chairman… and thank you." He quickly proceeded to rush back into the fight, joining his subordinates as they circled over the last few fighters like the vultures they were, shooting at will and taking no small amount of joy in watching the enemy pilots frantically try to dodge before inevitably succumbing to the fire.

"Naturals, your end is nigh!" he roared over an open channel as he rained death upon the stragglers, "You will all burn in the coming fires, and we, the Coordinators, the true rulers of the Earth Sphere, shall trample over your charred corpses!"

….

"Hey there," said the operative, "glad you guys made it through alright."

Athrun nodded as he checked to make sure the zodiac was properly camouflaged in the small inlet where they had met their contact. Dragged up onto shore, the watercraft was now stowed away amidst a series of bushes, green and brown netting with leaves tied to it pulled over it. "Thanks for being here on time," he replied, "Do you have our transport?"

"Yup," he said, "over this way." He led the young man and his friends through the brush a short ways until they came to a stretch of highway that was, thankfully, empty in the early morning hours. Sitting there was a green jeep and a blue sedan. A man in a black jumpsuit was standing next to the later.

"That's my partner," the operative said as they walked over, "listen, drop the jeep off back here when you're done; we'll take care of the rest. Oh, and there's a GPS device in the glove compartment; you should have no problem finding all the Morgenroete buildings and Orb government facilities on this island. If the legged ship's here, your best chances for finding proof will be at one of those sites."

"Understood," said Athrun, "thanks."

"Good luck," said the operative as he climbed into the car with his partner. They drove off, leaving the Zala team standing by the jeep. Dressed in blue jumpsuits and green hats, they looked like nothing more than a group of mechanics heading off to work.

_I hope that illusion holds_, thought Athrun as he climbed into the driver's seat. He waited until the other three pilots had settled in. "Let's move," he said as he keyed the ignition.

….

"Hey, what's up?" said Cagalli as she poked her head into the M1's cockpit.

Kira looked up, startled. "Cagalli! Sorry, I didn't expect to see you here today."

She smiled. "Stop apologizing, Kira. I just decided to pop in, see how you were doing. Is it wrong to check up on a friend?"

Kira returned the smile. "No, uhm… I was just surprised, that's all."

"Nothing wrong with that," said Cagalli. Her eyes widened when she saw his pet robot bird on his shoulder. "Hey, what's Birdy doing here?"

Kira looked over at the green mechanical avian. "Well, he decided he wanted to come with me today. I'm not sure why, and I was afraid he might cause problems for Morgenroete's security staff, but they didn't seem to mind. In fact, Miss Simmons seemed to be quite interested in him."

"I can't blame her for that," said Cagalli, smiling, "he's quite the adorable little critter. Aren't you, Birdy?"

"Birdy!" said the avian in its typical high-pitched voice.

Kira turned back to the controls of the M1 for a moment before looking at Cagalli again. "By the way, do you have the time?"

"Hang on," she replied, pulling out her cell phone, "it's a little after ten. Why do you ask?"

"Do you think Miss Simmons would mind if I headed topside for a bit?" he asked, "I'd like some fresh air."

"Oh sure," said Cagalli, "I doubt she'd have a problem with that. Come on, let's head to the control room; I'll let her know you want a break."

She stood back as Kira climbed out of the cockpit, and they two of them made their way across the hangar and over to the service elevator. Birdy was still perched up his shoulder, looking around with what he assumed to be curiosity. _I wish I knew what goes through that little guy's head_, thought Kira.

The elevator ride was relatively quiet, and when the two of them entered the control room they saw Erica smile at them from her console. Cagalli explained the situation, and the Chief Engineer of Morgenroete smiled. "Go right ahead," she said, "Cagalli, do you mind heading up with him? I'll need you to escort him through the security checkpoints."

"Sure, no problem," the Orb princess replied. She turned to the Coordinator and smiled. "Well, let's go!"

Kira nodded and followed her out of the control room.

"See," said Cagalli as they made their way down the hallway and towards another elevator, "I told you she wouldn't mind."

"Yeah," he replied, "I guess you were right."

"You bet I was," she said, winking.

Kira smiled as they entered the elevator. _I don't know why_, he thought, _but I just feel so at ease around her. Flay… she's been kinda tense lately. I probably ought to ask her about it later, but I'm not sure how she'll react. Cagalli, on the other had… I don't think she'd react badly to anything I asked her._

The rest of their journey up to the surface was relatively quiet, but neither of them really seemed to mind it. Kira took a deep breath as they stepped outside. "Ah," he said, "the fresh air feels great!"

"Yeah," said Cagalli, "I know what you mean."

Suddenly, Birdy gave a cry and took off. Kira's eyes widened as the bird flew towards the edge of the complex. "Hey, Birdy!" he cried, chasing after it.

….

"So, what makes you think we'll find the legged ship here?" said Yzak, "This place doesn't exactly look like a warship dock."

Athrun sighed. "I never said we'd find it here. I just thought we should check it out, since it's one of the Morgenroete facilities labeled on the GPS."

The Zala team was standing on the side of the road at the edge of a large complex. The area was fenced off, and the barrier was topped with barbed wire. The facility on the grounds didn't look like much, a few large warehouses and what looked like a small administrative office. _I highly doubt the legged ship's here_, thought Athrun, _but there's always the chance that the Strike or Wing Zero could've been moved here. I know the Strike was co-developed by Orb, and there's definitely a chance that Wing Zero was as well. It can't hurt to at least take a look at all their facilities… even if we can't get inside._

Security at all the previous facilities had been very tight, and this one was no exception. Athrun had known that it was unlikely that they would be allowed inside any of Morgenroete's properties, but now it seemed like even sneaking in would prove to be impossible. _How the hell are we supposed to accomplish our mission? _

He was about to turn away when he heard the last sound he expected. It was high pitched and unmistakable.

"Birdy!"

_No way_, he thought,eyes widening before he could stop himself, _it can't be!_

Struggling to control himself, Athrun walked quickly over to the chain link fence… over which flew a familiar mechanical green bird. It landed gracefully in his outstretched hand and looked up at its creator.

"Birdy!" it cried again, hopping up and down in what he assumed to be joy at their unexpected reunion.

"Whoa, cool!" said Nicole as he and the others rushed over.

"Pretty neat," said Dearka.

Even Yzak was smiling. "Nice, a mechanical bird! I wonder where I can get something like this."

Athrun barely paid them any heed. _If Birdy's here, then that must mean…_

Before he could finish that thought, he heard a _very _familiar voice. "Hey, Birdy!"

_Kira!_

….

"Sorry," said Kira, turning to Cagalli as he ran, "I'll be right back!"

She nodded. "Alright, you better go catch him!"

He nodded back and returned his attention to Birdy, who had just flown over the fence. _What's gotten into him? _"Hey, Birdy!"

He slowed slightly when he saw that the robotic bird had apparently landed amidst a group of people on the other side of the fence. _Good, he didn't go too far off. _Then his eyes widened as one of the figures turned around, holding Birdy in his hand. _No way…_

_Athrun!_

….

_Not good_, thought Athrun, _I knew this could happen, but still… I don't have a plan! What am I going to do?_

Without thinking, the young man walked slowly towards the fence, the hand holding Birdy outstretched in front of him.

Fortunately, Kira didn't just blurt out Athrun's name like the ZAFT pilot had feared he would. His eyes were wide with surprise, but to his credit he didn't say anything that gave away the fact that they knew each other… probably because he was having a hard time trying to figure out what to say, period.

After a moment, Athrun held out his hand. "Is this yours?" he said.

Kira nodded and held out his hand. "Yeah," he said.

Athrun watched as Birdy hopped through one of the small holes in the chain link fence back over to Kira.

The two of them stood there for a few seconds, neither speaking. The rest of the Zala team looked on, none catching onto the tension that was in the air.

Kira was the first to speak up, and to Athrun's great relief he didn't say anything compromising. "Thank you," he said, nodding his head.

Athrun returned the gesture, somewhat stiffly. "Yeah… no problem."

He turned to go, but before he could start walking Kira spoke again. "An old friend… gave that to me."

Athrun looked over his shoulder. "Is that so?"

Kira nodded. "Yes… it's very precious to me. A very important gift… from a very important friend."

Their eyes met, and Athrun actually felt himself smiling a bit. _Kira_, he thought, _after all this, you still think of me as a friend? Then again, I suppose you would. You were always the more sentimental one, and you wouldn't let even something like war come between us…_

_Can I… do the same? Kira… I want to believe that we can still be friends, but…_

In the end, all he could do was nod. "I see. Farewell."

….

"Hey, Kira," said Cagalli, walking up behind him. She saw the young Coordinator turn towards her, holding Birdy in his hands. His eyes were a little wider than normal, and he looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Everything alright?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh… yeah, I'm fine," he said, a bit hesitantly.

Cagalli knew that wasn't completely true, but decided to let it go. _If he doesn't want to talk about it, that's his call_, she thought, thinking back on that time aboard the _Archangel _when she'd done her best to comfort him in the wake of the North African campaign, _I just hope it's nothing too serious._

"Alright then," she said, "we should probably head back inside. I'll grab you some water from the cafeteria on the way down to the test hangar, ok?"

Kira smiled. "Sure. Thanks, Cagalli."

"No problem," she said as they headed back towards the building, "we're friends, remember? I don't mind grabbing you something to eat or drink."

"Right," he replied, "well, let's go."

As they headed back inside, Cagalli spared a glance over her shoulder at the group of four people standing on the other side of the fence. She couldn't make out any details from that distance though. _I wonder who they are_, she thought before she lost sight of them.

….

"Let's move on," said Athrun as the Zala team climbed back into the jeep.

"Are you sure?" asked Nicole.

He nodded. "Yeah… we're not going to be able to get in here, either. Let's check out the next facility on the list. We should be able to run through the rest of them by mid-afternoon at the latest. We'll head back to the ship after that."

The green haired young man nodded. Much to Athrun's relief, Yzak and Dearka didn't question his decision this time either.

_It's really just a formality now_, he thought as he started the vehicle up, _checking the other facilities. We can't get in… but now I know… seeing Kira was all the proof I needed, though of course I can't tell the guys that._

He still needed to think up an excuse to give his comrades when the time came to order their withdrawal without them having spotted any obvious signs of the legged ship, but he wasn't too worried about it. Athrun's greatest fear had been running into Kira and having his friend blow his cover, but thankfully things hadn't gone down that way. Compared to that problem, bullshitting a reason to return to the _Cousteau _would be a cake walk.

There was only one thing bothering him now, and that was the identity of the pilot of Wing Zero. Other than the voice he'd heard during the battle at the border, the ZAFT ace knew nothing about him, and certainly had no visual evidence as to what he looked like. _I have to admit_, he thought as he moved the jeep out onto the main road, _I'm a bit curious about that guy. A Natural with those piloting abilities… it's pretty frightening. I'd like to at least learn a bit about him before the next time we meet in combat. I guess it's normally better to not know the individual you're fighting, but in this case that anonymity somehow makes the guy even scarier. That voice sounded so cold, and not having a face to put with it makes it feel like I'm fighting a black hole, a force of nature… powerful and inescapable._

….

Night had fallen over the Kaoshiung spaceport. Most of the personnel save for the soldiers in charge of security had already turned in, but one officer was still awake. Sitting at the desk in his quarters, Rau le Creuset was on his computer. There were several images on the screen, overlaid against a map of the Earth Sphere.

The masked Commander looked from picture to picture, smiling as he did so. _The pieces are moving into position_, he thought, _and most of their own accord, as well. How excellent; the less effort I have to exert, the better._

_Zala and the radical faction, ZAFT's High Command, Operation Spitbreak, the Earth Alliance military… and the last pieces are falling into place even now._

He moved the mouse and exited out of all but four images. Three were over Orb; the legged ship, the Strike, and Wing Zero. _They'll have to leave eventually_, he thought, _and I imagine it will be soon. I doubt Athrun will be able to stop them from making it to Alaska, even with Ofnir and Grabacr supporting him… but that's irrelevant now. With the information I sent him a week ago, the final player has at last begun stirring again. It won't be much longer before he moves into the spotlight…_

He removed those three images, leaving just one left on the screen… over Washington D.C., the Atlantic Federation's capital. It was a picture of a blond haired man in an immaculate light blue suit.

_Azrael_, thought Creuset, his smile turning into a cruel grin, _I'm so glad you've accepted my invitation to this performance. Truly, I cannot thank you enough._

_Soon, the curtains will rise… on the massacre opera._

….

"Kira," said Flay, "what are you still doing here?"

It had been two days since the encounter with Athrun. Kira was back in his quarters, running over some things he would be working on for Morgenroete the following day on his computer.

He looked over at Flay. "What do you mean, Flay?"

Her eyes widened slightly. "Kira, you know what today is, don't you? Everyone's parents are at the dock. Sai's, Tolle's, Miriallia's, Kuzzey's… even yours. So why are you still here? You should go see them."

He sighed. "I know, but… I don't want too."

"What?" she said, "But… why?"

Why indeed. For the young man, it ultimately came down to the fact that they had made him a Coordinator. Kira still loved his parents, but whenever he thought about facing them after all that had happened since the attack on Heliopolis, and that he wouldn't have had to pilot the Strike had he been born a Natural. He had come to realize that he was worried about what he might say to them as a result of all he had been through… that he might somehow alienate himself from them. Kira wanted to know why they had made him a Coordinator… and yet, at the same time he was afraid of what their answer to that question might be.

It was difficult to put into words, but he decided to try nonetheless. However, before he even got the chance Flay was in his face… wearing a very surprising look. It was almost….accusatory.

"It's because you're feeling sorry for me, aren't you?" she said, and Kira was put off guard by how raised her voice had become.

"Flay…" he said, trying to get a word in, but she wouldn't let him.

"Don't be an idiot!" she yelled, "You're feeling sorry for me! Just because I don't have any family that's coming to see me!"

It was true that that thought had crossed his mind, but Kira's greater concern had been for his own relationship with his parents and the possibility of him damaging it.

However, Flay never gave him a chance to say that to her. "I'm sick of you always feeling sorry for me! I don't need your pity, you got that?"

Clearly something was wrong with the girl, but as he stood up to try and confront her about it she shoved him back down.

"You're the one who's pitiful!" she said, "Acting so scared just because you have to fight… you're the only pilot on this ship that cries when he has to kill someone! And you cry every time you can't protect someone too!"

She looked away for a moment, and it looked as though she was trying to hold back tears. "So… what right do you have… to pity me?"

Kira stood up again, this time in an attempt to comfort her, but once again she shoved him down.

"Stay away from me!" she said, and she ran out of the room.

All Kira could do was stay seated, completely shocked by what had just occurred. _What the… what just happened?_

….

Flay ran until she came to one of the ship's hatches before stopping to catch her breath. After a moment she stomped outside onto the _Archangel's _upper deck. The noise of the repair crews could be heard all around her, but at the moment she didn't give a damn.

_That pathetic boy_, she thought, _he's just a tool; I don't need the pity of a damn tool!_

However, those were only surface thoughts. What her outburst had really been about had less to do with the young Coordinator's attitude and more about her own… more specifically, the storm of conflicting emotions raging within her.

Flay was the kind of girl that was used to being in control. Manipulating people came naturally to her, and she had assumed it would always be that way. Kira had initially been no exception, and using him in her scheme had been made all the easier by the fact that she knew he had a crush on her.

But… ever since the events of North Africa, she had felt him begin to slip out of her control. She couldn't describe it, didn't know how it was happening, but somehow the young man was unconsciously beginning to work against her. That desert rat Cagalli had definitely been part of it, but Flay knew that there was more to it than that, and she didn't understand any of it.

Also, it was becoming more and more obvious to her that she was losing control of her own feelings regarding Kira. She had started their twisted relationship full of nothing but hatred and cruel intent towards him, but as time had passed and she had gotten to know him, another set of feelings were beginning to build within her. Slowly but surely she had begun to care about the tool of her revenge, and had started to see him as less of a freak of science and more as a scared, gentle young man who wanted to help the people he cared about. The simple selflessness Kira had within him had touched her in a manner she had never expected, and because of that… she had actually begun to _like _him.

"No," she snarled to herself, "I hate him, _loath _him… I _can't _be falling for that pathetic freak!"

She looked up at the ceiling. "I need to stay away from him for awhile," she said to herself, "Yes… I need some distance, some time to reform my plan, figure out how to get him back under my control."

She would move her stuff out of his quarters later; there were plenty of unused rooms on the ship, so she could use one of them for awhile. _Or_, she thought, _perhaps I could room with Sai… I bet he'd take me back in a heartbeat. Maybe I'll approach him in a few days. Play the apologetic lover, coming back after being wronged by the Coordinator freak… yeah, that should work on him._

However, a small voice in the back of her head was whispering that it would not be enough, that something inside her had changed, and she couldn't undo it no matter how hard she tried. "Shut up," she snarled, "there's nothing in my heart for that boy other than hatred… both for him and the rest of his kind."

….

Looking on from the gangway, Murrue smiled as Tolle, Miriallia, Sai, and Kuzzey ran to their parents. The adults practically threw themselves at their children, taking them in what looked to be almost crushing embraces.

Watching them, she frowned as she remembered her conversation with Kira earlier. _I can't believe he didn't want to see his family_, she thought. The captain turned her attention towards an observation window off to the right side of the dock. Through it she saw Lord Uzumi standing with a man and a woman who had been introduced to her as Kira's mother and father. _I thought for sure the prospect of seeing them again would make him smile, but if anything he seemed almost uncomfortable with the idea. Why?_

She frowned as she tried to figure it out, but was stopped as she felt a hand gently take hers. Murrue looked over at the young man that had come out with her to greet the families, standing quietly to her left.

Heero's eyes met hers as he spoke. "I know what you're thinking," he said, "Kira didn't want to see his parents, and you're worried about it, right?"

She nodded and gave him a weak smile. "That obvious, huh?"

Heero nodded and returned the gesture. "Only because I've gotten to know you. Listen, there was nothing you could've done to convince him to come out here. Kira's made up his mind, and nothing you or I do will change it."

Murrue sighed. "I understand that… but I want to know why he won't see them. I could tell that they were worried about him, and this can't have made things any easier."

"I know," said Heero, "the best I can offer is that I think it has something to do with his experiences in piloting the Strike."

"That makes sense, I suppose," said Murrue, "He wouldn't have been able to do it if he weren't a Coordinator. Kira must've begun wondering why his parents chose to make him one… and he might be afraid to ask them, to confront them about it."

Heero nodded. "That's a good bet," he said.

"It's all my fault," Murrue said softly, "I shoved him into the Strike's cockpit during the attack… he took control of the machine to save his friends. After that… I couldn't just let them go; they had been exposed to top secret material. Things just got worse from there. I didn't want him to pilot it, but it was the only way we had a prayer of surviving. Now, because of my actions, a rift has developed between him and his family. I…"

"Stop," said Heero, and Murrue was surprised as he let go of her hand before grabbing her by her shoulders. No one was paying attention to the two of them as he turned her to face him.

Heero had her shoulders in a firm grip and didn't let go as he spoke. "Murrue," he said as their eyes met, "this is _not _your fault. It's true that the situation at Heliopolis was dire, but from what I've heard, after that first sortie Kira chose to keep piloting the Strike in order to protect his friends. His options may have been limited at the time, true, but that does not change the fact that you did not force him to fight after that first engagement; _he _made that decision. Hell, even in that first fight all you did was push him into the cockpit before getting in yourself; you took control of the machine, and only let him pilot it when he proved to be better suited to the task."

"But, Heero…" said Murrue, "…I was in charge of the ship. It was my responsibility to protect the civilians we had aboard. Kira was one of them, and I _used _him, used his abilities to pilot the Strike, to wield it against ZAFT! I should've been protecting him, he was a civilian, and instead I sent him right into the heart of the fighting!"

"No!" he said, raising his voice for the first time since the battle at Orb's border, "You're wrong, Murrue! If you had been using him, you would've taken his friends hostage and forced him to fight. You wouldn't have given him a choice in the matter, and you would've agreed to Badgiruel's scheme to make him stay aboard the ship rather than leave with the rest of the civilians when he had the opportunity. I remember that debriefing well; you stood up for Kira, defended all that he had done for the _Archangel _and his right to leave. You _never _forced him to fight, and you sure as hell didn't force him to stay; it was _his _choice, and no one else's."

Then Heero's facial expression softened and he gave her a small but reassuring smile. "Kira knew that there would be consequences for his decision to stay and continue piloting the Strike. Some he anticipated; others caught him off guard. His feelings regarding his parents are probably one of the later. They are his and his alone to deal with; there's nothing you or I can do about it."

"Heero…" she said softly, unable to form a complete sentence. His words hit her like nothing else could, and combined with his strong yet comforting grip they were enough for her to realize that he was right, and that nothing good would come from beating herself up like she had been doing.

Her guilt was replaced by a surge of gratitude for the young man in front of her. _Heero_, she thought, _you've said in the past that I'm amazing, but I think that word is better suited for you._

She returned his smile. "Heero… thank you. You… are really something else."

His grip on her shoulders softened somewhat. "You're welcome, Murrue." Then he looked at her and she saw his eyes widen as he realized just how they looked together, and let go altogether. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, "I didn't mean to be so rough or rash…"

Murrue's smile grew bigger as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You weren't, Heero," she said, causing him to look at her, "I trust you with my life, and I know that you would never hurt me. The way you held me just now was fine, really."

_In fact_, she thought, _I found it to be incredibly comforting. I wouldn't have minded if you'd held on longer…_

"Oh," he said, clearly relieved, "alright… are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, Heero," she said, "I'm just fine… thanks to you."

He nodded, and together the two of them turned back to watch the students and their families. Murrue let go of Heero's shoulder and grabbed his hand. She tightened her grip and felt him respond in kind. _Heero… you may not realize it, but your kindness and compassion are truly amazing. The others may not see it, but I can… and it's one of the reasons I've fallen for you._

….

Taking another look out the window, Lord Uzumi turned back to the man and woman standing in the observation with him. "Are you sure you're alright with this?" he asked.

The brown haired woman nodded. "Yes… I can certainly understand why he'd be uncomfortable seeing us after all that's happened."

"Though we wish it were otherwise," said the black haired man with her.

"Forgive me," said Lord Uzumi, "I had called you here with the hope of easing your pain, but it seems I've only made it worse."

"We'll just have to deal with it," said the woman, "although… you promised us years ago that we would never have to meet again like this."

He sighed. "I'm afraid it cannot be helped." He looked out the window again for a moment before turning back to her. "Call it a twist of fate, but the fact remains that the children have met and there is little we can do about that fact."

"I suppose you're right," she said, "Do they suspect anything?"

"No, I do not believe so," he said, "and I wouldn't worry about anything else either. They seem to have developed a good friendship, but I do not think it will go beyond that."

"That's a relief," said the father, "I was worried there for a moment."

"Lord Uzumi," said the woman, "is there anything else you wish to discuss with us?"

"No," he replied, "that is all."

….

"Man," said Lan, setting her drink down, "not much longer until the big day, huh?"

The Chinese born Coordinator was sitting at a booth with Adaline and Priscilla at one of the bars in Aprilius One. It was early evening, and the three of them had just finished another round of simulator fights for the Mobile Suit Research and Design Cooperative. Lan had invited Commander Rehema to join them, but the Valkyrie had just smiled and said that she was meeting her parents that evening for dinner.

It had been two and a half weeks since Shemei's meeting with Lacus and Eric, and the girls had noticed that their Commander had become a bit subdued since then. Of course, the three of them could hardly blame her when she told them what she had learned. _Nuclear powered MS_, she thought as she looked at her beer, _the PLANTs swore to abandon nuclear power… I suppose it was inevitable that Zala would break that vow._

"Hey, Lan," said Adaline, "you're not getting tipsy already, are you? It's only your second drink, and I know you're no lightweight when it comes to alcohol."

"Oh, please," she replied, "I can drink both your asses under the table, you know that!" She took another swig of her beer to put emphasis on her statement. As she put the glass back down she continued. "I just got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"I know what you mean," said Priscilla, looking up from her mojito, "the election is weighing heavily on my mind, as well."

"Good point," said Adaline as she took a sip from her rum-and-coke, "man, three days left… hard to believe, eh?"

"Not just that," said Lan, "you two haven't forgotten what we've been helping the research teams with, have you?"

"No," said Priscilla softly, "and I'm still having difficulty accepting it… mobile suits with devices that can cancel out N-jammers… to say it's an ill omen would be a grave understatement."

"Yeah," replied Adaline, "I know… and I think the Commander's more worried about it than any of us."

"Maybe Bristow can help her," said Lan, "they've been friends for years… I'm sure he could figure out a way to comfort her."

"Actually," said Priscilla, "I think Mr. Bristow is one of the things Commander Rehema is worried about."

"Huh?" said Adaline, "What do you mean?"

"Remember his position?" said Priscilla, "He's one of Zala's staff officers. If he's caught passing her information…"

"He'll be put in front of a firing squad," finished Lan, "and I doubt he'll even get the courtesy of a military tribunal first."

"Precisely," said Priscilla, "and there was something else as well….something about the way the Commander looked as she was talking about him…"

"Hey," said Adaline, smiling, "you don't think she's sweet on him, do you?"

"Maybe," said Lan, smiling as well, "I certainly couldn't blame her if she was; he's one handsome devil. Granted, he's no Heero Yuy, but Eric's definitely not lacking in the looks department, that's for sure."

"Ah, Heero," said Adaline, "would it sound strange if I said I was missing that guy right about now?"

"Not at all," said Priscilla, "I think it's safe to say none of us have ever met someone like him… and that's not counting the fact that he's from another world."

"No joke," said Lan, "man, fighting him was something else. Not to mention that fact-to-face meeting in Banadiya… hot damn! Thank you, After Colony, can I have another?"

The three of them shared a laugh at that. "That's right," said Adaline, "I forgot that that was the calendar system he said was used in his world… if he's any indication of the caliber of their pilots, then I definitely wouldn't mind another coming to the Cosmic Era!"

"Oh man," said Lan, "more boys like him… I'd be a happy girl."

"Indeed," said Priscilla, turning to her, "speaking of Heero, how'd you do on the latest version of my Wing Zero simulator?"

Lan laughed. "You have to ask? It's closer to the real thing than your last version, which means I got my ass handed to me! Has the Commander tried that thing yet?"

"Yeah, she told me about it earlier," said Adaline, "she lost too, though of course she came closer to winning than any of us did."

"Yes," said Priscilla, "she's the only one of us that can really go one-on-one with him for any substantial length of time… it's truly amazing."

"Yeah," said Lan, "but even then… it's still not enough to beat that guy."

"Still," said Adaline, "if any of us has a shot of challenging him on equal ground, it's the Commander. Who knows, maybe the next mobile suit she gets will be enough to level the playing field. That's the main reason she wanted to come back here, after all."

"You're right," said Priscilla, "though I have to wonder if she'll think it's worth it… considering what we've learned from Bristow."

"That's her call," said Lan, grabbing her beer, "we're the Valkyrie's subordinates; we'll follow her no matter what."

The others nodded and grabbed their drinks. Together, the three of them raised their glasses.

"To Shemei Rehema," Lan said with a smile, "the best Commander we could ever ask for!"

"Cheers," they all said as they clinked their glasses.

….

Two days later, Eric Bristow was in his office, packing up his briefcase. _I swear_, he thought as he grabbed some files, _if that staff meeting had gone on another hour I would've killed Zala. That bastard waits until _now _to mention that Zubov and the rest of Schwarze Team have been transferred to Kaoshiung? Damn him… that piece of shit Commander should've been taken out and shot a long time ago. Hell, I would've done it myself if Zala hadn't transferred me up here._

He sighed as he closed the briefcase and left the office, making his way towards the elevator. _No point in worry about it for now_, he thought as he entered the lift and punched the button corresponding to the lobby, _I'll have wait to conduct a proper war crimes investigation on that bastard until Spitbreak is over. Can't afford to stress out over it in the meantime… I've got enough of that as is._

There was a chime as the elevator arrived at the lobby floor. Stepping out, Eric joined the throng of soldiers and civilian staff members leaving the building. Clad in his custom Field Marshall's uniform, a blue and white ensemble (rank had its privileges), the black haired man definitely stood out in the crowd. He chuckled slightly, knowing that his refusal to wear the purple and black uniforms the rest of the Defense Council had annoyed Zala to no end. Bristow was secure enough in his own position, along with his family's relationship with Zala's, to know that he could get away with such a stunt. _Family connections_, he thought with a smirk as he exited the building, _they certainly come in handy._

Making his way towards his car, Eric glanced furtively over his shoulder. _No tail so far_, he thought, _I'll have to check again once I get on the road, but it seems I'm still in Zala's good graces for the moment. How much longer that can last is up in the air, though…_

Reaching his black convertible, he unlocked the door and hopped in. As he keyed the ignition his cell phone rang. Taking the device out of his pocket, he saw that the caller was Shemei. _I wonder what's up?_

He answered the call, preferring to take it in the parking lot rather than on the open road. "Hey," he said, "everything alright?"

"As much as it can be," said Shemei, "I tried talking my parents into moving to September One. Since Eileen Canaver is the Supreme Council representative for the September City colonies I thought it would be a good place for them to stay for awhile. The moderate faction has a strong hold in that region; hell, it's one of the few that's practically guaranteed to suffer no major losses to the radicals beyond a few local colony council seats."

"I take it things didn't go so well," Eric replied.

"No," she sighed, "mom and dad are convinced that Zala won't try anything against the minority of Naturals living in the PLANTs, and that his ire is directed towards those living in the Earth Alliance held regions of the planet."

"No offense to your parents," said Eric, "but why are they acting like this? They both used to be military officers; they can't be blind to Zala's prejudices and the risk they pose."

"None taken," said Shemei, "the best I can offer you at this point is wishful thinking on their part. They served a long time in the Egyptian Air Force before moving here, and the Middle East is as unstable in the Cosmic Era as it was in Anno Domini, even with the oil now depleted. Sectarian fanatics and ethnic rivalries will do that to a region. Both mom and dad saw plenty of action, and were ready for a quieter life even before the Blue Cosmos attacks forced our exodus. I suppose they've both gone soft; they certainly don't pay as much attention to politics now as they did back on Earth. They both say I'm overreacting to things."

"I'm sorry," said Eric, unsure of how to comfort his friend in what was almost certainly a very distressing situation for her, especially in light of what they had talked about at the Clyne residence.

"Hey, it's not your fault," replied Shemei, "don't worry about it. Anyway, that's not the reason I called."

"Then what is?" he asked.

"Well," she said, "I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow night."

Eric paused for a moment, thinking. "No," he said, "Zala's given us tomorrow off; bastard's in a pretty good mood, though I suppose it's easy enough to see why. I didn't really have any plans, either."

"I see," said Shemei, "in that case… would you like to come over and watch the election coverage tomorrow night? I know Clyne's defeat is a foregone conclusion, but there's more than just his seat up for grabs. You've always been better with politics than I have, so I was hoping to watch it with you and hear your insights."

"I wouldn't go that far," said Eric, smiling to himself, "you're pretty sharp yourself when it comes to politics."

"Thanks," she said, "but I think you and I both know who's more familiar with the labyrinth of shifting alliances that make up the PLANT power structure. So, what do you say; you in?"

"Sure," he said, "are the girls coming too?"

"No," Shemei replied, "I told them to go over to Lacus's place tomorrow night; the girl's pretty down, though she doesn't make it obvious. She's not going to be at her father's campaign headquarters tomorrow night, and I didn't want her to be by herself. Lacus and my subordinates have been friends since the early days of the war, so I'm sure they'll be able to cheer her up a bit."

"You almost sound like her mother, talking like that," said Eric.

Shemei laughed a bit. "Hey, I'm not that old, pal. I prefer to think of myself as a cool big sister figure, you know?"

"I got ya," he said, "So, are your parents going to be at your place tomorrow night?"

"No," she said, "they're spending the evening with some friends. They invited me, but…"

"You felt like you'd be a downer if you watched the coverage with them," Eric finished for her.

He heard Shemei sigh. "Yeah… when I think about what could happen to them after Zala takes power, if he goes too far… well, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that."

"You can if you want though," he said, trying to reassure her, "we've been friends for six years now; you can talk to me about anything, you know that."

"I know," said Shemei, "and I'm grateful for that, I really am. You're… really a great guy, Eric. You know that?"

"Aw, shucks," said Eric, "you're making me blush over here." The Field Marshal turned staff officer was surprised to realize that it was actually true; he could feel his face become warm at her remarks.

He heard her giggle a bit. "You, blushing? I'd pay to see that."

"Hey," he replied, "I'm being serious here!"

"Sure you are," said Shemei, "So, tomorrow night… why don't you come by around five? The final poll results won't be in until eight or so, which means we'll have plenty of time to talk and hang out."

"Ok," said Eric, "should I bring some food by?"

"No," she said, "I'll worry about the food, alright? However, if you could spare a bottle from your Captain Morgan stash…"

Eric grinned even though she couldn't see it. "One bottle of Caribbean rum, coming right up."

"Thanks," she said, laughing slightly, "I'm glad you stockpiled a bunch before the war broke out; the natural stuff is getting pretty expensive nowadays, and the synthetics just don't have the same taste to them."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said, sighing, "Would it reflect poorly on me if I said one of the side reasons I have for wanting this war over with is so we can start importing the good stuff again?"

"If you said that in front of some people, it might," said Shemei, "but I'm completely with you on this one. So, five o'clock tomorrow?"

"I'll be there," he said.

"Thanks, Eric," she replied.

"You're welcome, Shemei," said Eric.

….

Shemei smiled as she put her phone away. _I'm glad he'll be able to come_, she thought, _if there's anyone's company I want tomorrow, it's his. _She knew that she could've called Waltfeld and Aisha as well, but for some reason the only person she wanted to be with come election night was Eric. _How strange… ever since I've come back from Earth… no, ever since that meeting at Lacus's place, I've been unable to get him out of my mind. We've been friends for so long, yet this is the first time I've ever felt this way about him._

Maybe it was because of the ever increasing risks he was putting himself through, or maybe it was the new sense of determination that had taken hold of him… whatever the case, Shemei had inexplicably found herself increasingly drawn to her old friend, wanting to support him in whatever way she could.

_After spending all those hours cooped up in meetings with the likes of Zala and Keitel_, she thought, _he needs someone he can talk to, someone he knows he can trust beyond a shadow of a doubt… I can give him that. _That desire had been part of her reasoning for inviting him over, but she also had more selfish motives in doing so. The most important one was that, while she didn't want to spend the evening with her parents and had decided to have the girls go over to Lacus's place in an effort to lift her spirits a bit, she didn't want to be alone… and she didn't want him to be either.

_Enough worrying about that for right now_, she thought. She walked over to her kitchen and grabbed a cook book on the counter. It had been given to her by her mother when she had gotten her own place, and Shemei had treasured it since.

_Now, let's see_, she thought, skimming through the guide to Egyptian cuisine, _what should I go with for tomorrow night? I told Eric I'd take care of the food, and I'm pretty sure we've both had enough of military rations and microwave meals for awhile. _She had tried several of the recipes in the past, but cooking was still a developing skill for the Valkyrie, and she knew that she was out of practice.

_I'll need to go out shopping for ingredients tonight_, she thought, _so I better narrow things down now. What should I make? Kabab, Molokheyyah, Keshk… decisions, decisions._

….

It was four thirty the following afternoon as Eric walked up to Shemei's apartment, a bottle of Captain Morgan in his left hand. _Damn, why did I leave so early?_, he thought as he approached the door, _It's not like the traffic was supposed to be bad today or anything like that… I hope Shemei isn't weirded out by me showing up a half hour early. _While he could've lived in the officer's apartments like Shemei, Eric had opted instead for a nice condo in one of the residential districts; the combination of his Field Marshal's salary and his family's fortune definitely had its perks.

The truth of the matter was that Eric had actually found himself becoming increasingly fidgety and nervous as he had waited for the minutes and hours to tick by until it was time to head over to Shemei's place. He couldn't figure out why; he'd certainly never acted this way before any of their get-togethers prior to the meeting at the Clyne residence, but now he'd found himself confronted with the proverbial butterflies in his gut. _What the hell's up with me?_, he thought.

He actually had a faint idea as to what could be making him feel the way he was, but it had taken him completely by surprise. After all, since they had met back in their academy days, Eric had always considered Shemei to be 'one-of-the-guys'; someone to hang out with, have a good time, grab drinks and swap stories. Sure, he had no problem admitting that she was beautiful, and they'd even gone together to the military ball prior to graduation from the academy, but he'd never considered himself romantically drawn to her, and he knew she had felt the same way… until now.

Ever since their conversation after the meeting with Lacus and Shemei's surprising displays of affection Eric had begun seeing her in a new light. Sure, he still considered her to be one of his best friends, but now there was something more there, as well. Something that had led to him dressing up much nicer than he normally would for an occasion like this, for starters. The pants were simple enough, a pair of blue jeans, but his shirt was a more formal white button up one, and over it he was wearing a slick dark blue blazer.

Now, as the ZAFT officer's hand hovered over the buzzer next to the door, he began to wonder if perhaps his own feelings for his friend were beginning to evolve into something deeper… and if her own were as well.

_Relax_, he thought, taking a deep breath, _don't get worked up over this. Remember, she's still your best friend, and she wants your company tonight. If you are developing feelings for her, take your time and be mindful of your actions with her. Observe her as well, and try to see if anything's changed with her, no matter how subtle. Overall, just remember to keep your cool and be the man she expects you to be._

He pressed the buzzer. "Just a second!" he heard a familiar female voice say in reply. He heard some fumbling before the door opened.

Eric was greeted by an interesting sight. Shemei was standing before him, her purple-black hair tied up in a pony tail, dressed in a simple white shirt, a black skirt, and a white apron with a few stains on it. She smiled at him, eyes widening slightly as she did so. "Hey, Eric!" she said, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be over quite so soon."

"It's alright," he replied, "It's my fault; I should've called ahead, let you know I was coming early."

"Don't sweat it," she said, "please, come on it! As you can no doubt tell, I'm in the middle of cooking. I'm almost done; I just need a few more minutes. Do you mind waiting in the living room for a bit?"

Eric smiled. "Sure, no problem." He stepped inside and took off his shoes.

Looking over at Shemei again, he saw her looking him over, an appreciative look on her face. "You look nice," she said, giving him a wink.

Eric's face became a bit warmer at that remark. "Thanks," he replied, "so do you." It was true; even with the stained apron she looked as lovely as ever.

Shemei laughed. "Oh, come on, Eric. I'm a mess and you know it… but I appreciate that all the same."

She led him over to the living room. "I see you didn't forget the rum," she said, eyeing the bottle in his hand.

Eric laughed a bit. "Well, you said you would take care of the food, so the least I could do was uphold my end of the bargain. Speaking of which, whatever you're cooking smells really good; I can't wait to try it."

"Thanks," she said, "I actually started it pretty early; it's been awhile since I've done actual home cooking, so my skills are rusty and I figured I'd need the extra time to make sure I got it right. I've been eating way too many microwave meals lately."

"Believe me," said Eric, "I know what you mean."

She nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you do. Listen, why don't you go ahead and plop yourself down on the couch, alright? I'll have everything done in a few minutes."

"You sure you don't want help?" he asked.

Shemei smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think you're very familiar with native Egyptian cooking. Take a load off, alright Eric? Don't worry; I've got everything under control in the kitchen."

"Ok," said Eric, "as long as you're sure about it."

"I am," she replied, "though I will take this." She grabbed the rum bottle out of his hand. "I'll pour us some shots to go with dinner. Or do you want mixed drinks instead? I've got some Coca Cola in the fridge we can have this with."

"Whatever works for you," said Eric, "I'm fine either way."

"Mixed then," said Shemei, "rum-and-coke sounds pretty good right about now." With that she went into the kitchen, leaving Eric to situate himself on the couch.

"Mind if I turn the TV on?" he asked.

"Go for it," she said, "might as well see what the pundits are saying right about now."

"Got a preferred news network?" said Eric as he grabbed the remote.

"Yeah," he heard her say, "PLANT News Inc. Their anchors tend to be pretty balanced, though the analysts they have can swing all over the political spectrum."

"You got it," he said, flipping to the channel she'd requested. A female anchor appeared on the screen, surrounded by four commentators. The five of them were discussing expected turnout and the clear gap in the polls between Clyne and Zala. _Looks like they're all but resigned to Zala's victory_, he thought, _though the network is at least refraining from calling the election over and done with already. I suppose they deserve some credit on that count._

A new image appeared on the screen, this time showing a map of all the PLANT colonies. There were one hundred twenty of them, divided into twelve groups of ten, known as cities. The hourglass shaped structures were all colored either white or black, the former corresponding to the moderate faction and the later to the radicals. At the moment the balance was fairly even, but Eric knew that it would change within the next few hours. Several individual colonies were gray, indicating an even split of local council seats between the two groups. _The only question now_, he thought, _is just how large the radical faction's majority will be when the night is over._

He closed his eyes for a few minutes, tuning out the commentators' voices. _Every colony has a small population of Naturals, most of them the parents of First Generation Coordinators… including Shemei's family. This election may affect them more than anyone else. Unfortunately, I'm not privy to Zala's plans regarding the PLANT's Natural minority, and I haven't been able to dig up any data through my sources. There's always the possibility that he has no plans concerning them, but considering the sheer hatred he has for Naturals, it's unlikely he'll ignore a population of them within the homeland. Their fates may now be decided by virtue of what colonies they live on. Those with moderate leaders that manage to hang onto power may be able to stem at least some of Zala's excesses, but those living under direct radical rule will have no defense._

Sitting there alone with his thoughts, Eric lost track of the passage of time. Shemei's voice suddenly snapped him back to reality. "Alright, it's ready!"

His eyes widened as he looked up to see her walking into the living room. She had removed her apron and was carrying a large tray with several dishes on it, along with their drinks.

"Wow," said Eric as she set the tray down on the table in front of the couch before sitting down next to him, "this looks great!" He smiled and looked at her. "What is all this?"

Shemei returned the smile and gestured to each dish in turn. "This," she said, pointing to a bowl of soup with some small chunks of meat in it, "isMolokheyyah, which is made from finely chopped jute leaves. There's garlic and coriander in there too, and I also added some chicken as well." She gestured to two more plates, each with a serving of rice on one side and a few chicken kebabs on the other. "You serve it over the rice. As you can see, I also prepared kebabs, and I used my mother's marinade recipe. You'll love it, trust me." The Valkyrie then pointed to one last dish with what appeared to be some kind of cake on it. "For desert, I made basbousa, which is a sweet cake made of semolina soaked in syrup. I also added walnut to the top, since I know you like those."

"Incredible," he said softly, his mouth watering at the bevy of Middle Eastern cuisine in front of him. Grinning, he turned to Shemei. "Thank you, this looks amazing!"

The Valkyrie smiled in return, and Eric could've sworn he saw a bit of red in her face. _A blush, from her? Wow… maybe my instincts were a little closer to the mark than I realized._

"You're welcome, Eric," she said, "Well, let's dig in!"

"You don't need to tell me twice," he replied, pouring some of the soup over his rice. Grabbing a fork, he started chowing down, Shemei doing the same right next to him.

….

"Oh, man," said Adaline, pushing back her plate, "that was great. Thanks a lot, Lacus!"

Sitting out on the back patio, the three pilots and the PLANT songstress had just finished their dinner, a large platter of lasagna. The colony's lights were dimming, creating the illusion of a sunset.

Lacus smiled at the red-head. "You should thank Mr. Reese when you see him; he's the one that made it."

"Will do," the pilot replied.

"Seconded," said Lan, rubbing her stomach, "wow, I am full. That guy cooks some mean Italian food!"

"Indeed," said Priscilla, "this reminds me of my mother's cooking."

"Oh yeah, that's right," said Adaline, "your mother's Italian, isn't she?"

The blond girl nodded. "Yes, and her lasagna is a lot like this."

"Well," said Lacus, "I'm glad you all liked it. Shall we head inside now? Mr. Reese will grab the plates out here."

The three pilots nodded, and the four of them stood up and went into the house. Lacus lead the way to the living room, and they all sat down on a large couch. The pink-haired girl grabbed the remote. "Does anyone have a particular channel they wish to view the election coverage on?"

At this the three pilots frowned slightly. "Lacus…" said Adaline, "are you sure you want to watch at all? I mean, forgive me for saying this, but…"

"…my father doesn't stand a chance at winning," Lacus finished for her, giving her a sad smile, "Yes, I'm well aware of that, Adaline. I appreciate your concern, but regardless of how unpleasant the outcome may be I still believe we should watch."

"Why?" said Lan, "What good does it do to watch something that's just gonna get you down?"

"Because," said Lacus, "even if the result is a foregone conclusion, there are still things that we can learn by watching."

"I agree," said Priscilla, "Zala's victory speech in particular may shed some light into his plans… regardless of how repulsive it will be to watch."

"Yes," said Lacus softly as she turned on the TV. Flipping through the channels until she came to PLANT News Inc, she leaned back and watched the latest round of commentators and analysts.

Adaline looked over at a clock on the far wall. _Six thirty_, she thought, _an hour and a half left until the polling is complete. _She looked to her left where Lacus was sitting.

_Lacus… I'll give you credit for trying to hide it, but I can tell this is rough on you. I'm glad the Commander sent us over to keep an eye on you._

….

"This is worse than I thought," said Shemei.

Eric nodded. It was close to eight, and although the final results for the head of the Supreme Council had yet to be determined, most of the regional polls had already closed and tallied. _I knew things would go ill for the moderate faction_, he thought, _but still… this is surpassing my expectations, and Shemei's as well judging from her reaction._

The areas under radical control prior to the election remained firmly in Zala's hands, but the cities under moderate sway had taken a severe beating. While Maius and September City retained moderate majorities, they were the only two of the regions under Clyne's supporters that had, and even they had taken hits in the local colony council seats. Februarius City, a region that had a slight moderate majority, had fallen into the arms of the radical faction, though Tad Elsman, the city's representative on the Supreme Council, had narrowly managed to hold onto his seat, and Eric knew that this was in part to him endorsing Patrick Zala in the race for high office. _Elsman is technically a member of the moderate faction, but a more apt description for him up to this point would've been neutral. The man's a careerist and fence stradler; he never takes a solid position until he's forced into it. A consummate politician if there ever was one. Now I suppose we can count him among the ranks of the radicals, at least nominally. I wonder how Clyne will take that betrayal…_

Januarius City and its representative, Ali Kasim, had been decisively defeated. The once moderate region was now in the hands of the radicals by a crushing sixty-seven percent, and Kasim himself had been unseated by his rival, Maxmillian Leval. _I knew his seat was up for grabs_, thought Eric, _but I didn't expect Kasim to lose so badly._

November City, along with it Councilman, the neutral/moderate Parnel Jesek, had been crushed even more severely. The radicals had picked up a full seventy percent of the vote, far more than they had been forecasted to. Again, Eric was surprised; while he had known for some time that Jesek's popularity had been fading, the Field Marshall hadn't counted on public opinion turning so sharply against the Councilman.

_Damn_, thought Eric, _the only moderate region that hasn't finished polling yet is Aprilius, and I think we all know how that's going to turn out._ He looked over at Shemei, who's face grew grimmer as she studied the screen.

"Hey," he said, "you doing alright?"

She looked over at Eric and gave him a weak smile. "Not really… but you already knew that, didn't you?"

He surprised her, and himself, by putting his arm around her. "Yeah," he said, "I guess that was a pretty stupid thing to ask, huh?"

"No," said Shemei, taking Eric off guard by leaning into his one armed embrace, putting her head on his shoulder, "not at all." She looked up at him, her silver eyes meeting his brown ones. "It shows you care, and that means a lot to me."

"Well," he replied, "I'd be a pretty lousy friend if I didn't. I know how important this is to you, considering your parents' situation. This can't be easy for you to watch."

Shemei shook her head. "No, it's not… but I'd feel worse if I didn't, as strange as that may sound. This affects not just my family but everyone in the PLANTs, not to mention the people down on Earth, whether they realize it or not. It's too important to miss, regardless of my personal feelings on the matter."

She paused and looked at Eric again, a small smile on her face. "That being said, I'm glad you're here with me. I didn't want to watch this alone, but at the same time…"

"You didn't want to watch it with just anyone in light of how you knew it would make you feel," said Eric.

She gave a small laugh. "You're getting pretty good at finishing my sentences, you know that?"

"Sorry," he replied.

He was surprised when she grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Don't be. We've known each other for a long time now. I don't mind it in the least. Hell, the way I see it, it means you've paid so much attention to me in the times we've hung out that you're able to know what I'm thinking and respond appropriately. There's not a whole lot of people I can say that about."

"Give him enough time, and I'm sure Heero would be one of them," said Eric.

Shemei giggled at that. "Yes, you have a point there. The way he reads people is almost inhuman… but I don't think even he could know me the way that you do."

Eric found himself blushing a bit at that remark. "I think you're giving me a little too much credit there."

"I don't," she said softly. Their eyes met again, silver gems to brown orbs, and a strange silence fell between them.

_What's going on?_, he thought, suddenly realizing that his face and Shemei's were getting closer and closer, little by little…

They were mere centimeters apart when an announcement on the news jarred them out of their moment. "The Aprilius City results are in, and the final polling has closed on the race for the position of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman!"

Their eyes widened, as if they had finally realized just how close they were, and both Eric and Shemei turned quickly towards the TV. The Field Marshal knew he was blushing, but couldn't work up the nerve to look over to see if Shemei was doing the same. _What the hell's gotten into me?_

Focusing on the news, he saw that Aprilius City had gone nearly sixty-six percent radical, a decisive win. _Moment of truth_, thought Eric, unconsciously grabbing Shemei's hand. He only realized he had done so when he felt her squeeze his hand in return. Nervously looking over at her, he saw that she was giving him a small smile.

Turning back to the TV, the two of them saw the final election results tallied. Zala had triumphed, of course, though the margin of his victory surprised Eric. The Defense Chairman had claimed nearly sixty-six percent of the total vote, far more than Eric had expected. _The man has played the people's desires for a quick end to the war like the strings of a violin. In the political arena, he's a virtuoso… and his victory tonight was nearly absolute. Eileen Canaver and the other moderate council member will be all but isolated, their strongest support confined to September and Maius City… damn, this is worse than I'd predicted._

"Well," he heard Shemei say softly, "I suppose that's that, huh?"

He turned to the beautiful woman at his side and nodded slowly. Eric then reached for the remote. "Mind if I turn this off? I don't think either of us need to listen to Zala's victory speech."

"Yeah," she said, resignation in her voice. Eric grabbed the clicker and powered off the TV.

The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes before Eric spoke. "Shemei… I'm sorry."

She put her hand on his arm. "Don't be," she said, giving him a sad smile, "there was nothing you could've done about this."

"Eric," she continued, moving closer to him again, "thank you… for being here tonight. I knew things weren't going to turn out well… but you made it a little more bearable."

He nodded, and after a moment's hesitation put his arm around her. She leaned into the one-armed embrace as he spoke. "You're welcome, Shemei. Is there anything else I can do for you? I can only imagine how worried you are right now…"

"Well," she said, "there are two things."

"Name them," he said, determined to help her.

"The first," said Shemei, "that safe house network you told me about last week, the one you've been working on for moderates who may need protection… can you contact the girls and fill them in on it? I want them to be able to get themselves and their parents somewhere out of Zala's reach if they need to. Right now I'm the only member of the Valkyrie Team that's really drawn his ire, but that could change all too quickly."

"Of course," said Eric, "what about your parents?"

"I'll try talking to them tomorrow," she replied, "though I doubt they'll listen. All I'll be able to do after that is pray, I suppose."

"Alright," he said, "and the second thing?"

She turned and met his gaze. "Could you stay a little longer? I just want to stay like this for awhile… with you."

Eric's eyes widened slightly when he heard that, but he quickly composed himself and did his best to give her a comforting smile. "Sure. I've got nowhere else I need to be tonight, and I know we're getting a late start tomorrow at HQ; Zala passed a memo around yesterday saying he wanted his staff to enjoy the election night for as long as we wanted. Arrogant bastard."

"Don't let him hear you say that," said Shemei, chuckling a bit.

"I won't," he replied. He then grabbed the remote. "Anything on you want to watch?"

"I think they're doing a 'Burn Notice' marathon on 125," she said, "that show's a classic."

"I agree," said Eric as he went over to the channel she'd mentioned.

As the show came on, Shemei spoke. "Hey, Eric?"

"Yeah?" he said, turning to her.

She smiled, and before he could react leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

The officer felt the heat rushing to his face. "For what?" he asked, doing his best not to stammer.

The Valkyrie giggled and laid her head on his shoulder. "For being you," she said softly.

Eric Bristow smiled as he leaned back into the couch, slightly tightening his grip on the woman next to him. "Anytime," he said, "anytime…"

….

"Are you sure you don't want us to stick around a little longer?" asked Lan.

Lacus smiled and nodded. She, along with Commander Rehema's subordinates, was at the front door. The three pilots had just put on their shoes and were standing on the door mat, looking at her with concern.

"I appreciate the thought," said Lacus, "but I'm fine, really. Thank you for coming over tonight; I greatly enjoyed your company."

"Same here," said Adaline, "you sure you're gonna be ok?"

"We can stay for awhile longer," said Priscilla, "it's not like we have anything big going tomorrow morning."

"It's alright," Lacus replied, "I've kept the three of you here long enough. You should go home to your families and spend some time with them."

The three of them looked at each other for a moment before turning back to her. "Ok," said Lan, "take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will," said Lacus, "have a good night."

They all nodded. "You too."

The three of them headed towards the jeep parked in the driveway. Watching for a moment to make sure they didn't have any vehicle problems, Lacus then closed the door. Sighing, the daughter of the now former Supreme Council Chairman went down the hall and out onto the back patio.

"Miss Lacus?" said the butler as she stepped out the back door, "Can I get you anything?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "No, thank you," she replied, "you can go home if you wish, Mr. Reese. Thank you for all your assistance earlier."

"Think nothing of it, my dear," he said, giving her a small smile. "Will you be alright?"

"I believe so," said Lacus, "I appreciate your concern though."

"Very well, Miss," he said, "I bid you goodnight."

After he departed, Lacus closed the back door and walked to the table that she and her friends had eaten at earlier. Pulling out one of the chairs, she sat down and looked out across the vast artificial lake that lay below the hill the Clyne residence was on. In the distance she could barely make out the silhouette of the PLANT Supreme Council building.

_Starting tomorrow_, she thought, _the makeup of the Council will be very different… and overwhelmingly in favor of Patrick Zala. Our military efforts on Earth will be escalated, and I imagine it will be the same in outer space as well. How high will the casualty figures climb?_

She looked up at the colony's massive windows, admiring the stars beyond them. "They look so peaceful," she said softly, "how I wish we could have some of that tranquility in the Earth Sphere…"

_Athrun, Kira, Heero… what would each of you do to achieve that peace?_

_What can I do?_

**Preview for next time!**

_At long last the repairs are completed, and the Archangel continues on its journey to the Alliance's Alaska headquarters. However, the voyage will not be peaceful, and the ship is once again engaged by the Zala Team. This time, though, the battle will be marred by tragedy in a manner unlike their previous encounters. With the desire to protect transformed into the thirst for revenge, Kira and Athrun will clash in a duel near unmatched in verocity. Next time, of "Journey to a New Battlefield", Epidode Twelve: Fatal Confrontation._

_Friendship consumed by the fires of hatred... thus is the Dance of Death played out for all to see._

**Author's notes: **Credit where credit is due, and the Special Operations Squadrons drew heavily from the Ace Combat Series. Ofnir and Grabacr are named after the two main antagonist squadrons in Five, while Rot, Grun, and Schwarze are all named after enemy ace squads in Zero. Also, Dominic Zubov is the commander of Schwarze Team in Zero, so I felt it appropriate that his character be used here, albeit with my own unique touches and a different personality.

Please review, my friends! I'll see you all next time!


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes: **Happy Thanksgiving, for all you readers state side. And for those of you from around the world as well; I don't know if any of you international readers have a similar holiday today, but I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have read this tale up to this point, and ask only that you continue to stay with me as it continues onward.

Well, I've said enough. Enjoy!

**Episode Twelve: Fatal Confrontation**

"It's almost time," said Murrue, turning to Heero, "I have to admit, I actually wish we could stay a little longer."

The two of them were up on the bridge, monitoring the work crews as they made their last inspections of the _Archangel_. It was a little after six in the evening, and the ship would be leaving Orb the next morning.

The extraordinary young man she was looking at nodded. "I know what you mean," he said, "this past month has been… incredible."

_You can say that again_, Murrue thought with a smile, _our first date, the outings afterwards, even the days we spent just talking and relaxing on the ship… I can't recall the last time I've been so happy. Do you feel the same way, Heero? _She had a feeling he did.

"Yes," she said, "it certainly has been."

"I never thought I'd say this about any country," said Heero, "but I think I'm going to miss this place." He smiled at her. "Seeing it with you… well, it certainly made an impression."

"I'm glad we were able to see as much as we did," said Murrue, "considering our status, Orb had every reason to confine us to the dock."

"I suppose we owe Lord Uzumi our thanks," said Heero.

Murrue nodded. "You're right… given his reputation, I'm surprised he was willing to give as much as he did during the negotiations when we first arrived."

"Which is evidence of just how badly he wanted the data on the Strike," said Heero, "not to mention the mobile suit designs I provided Morgenroete."

"I won't argue with that," said Murrue, "although… doesn't it seem strange just how long the repairs to the _Archangel _took? With all the technicians they had working on it, not to mention the resources they have here…"

"It should've been done earlier," Heero finished for her, "Yeah, I agree… and I think I know the reason why they took so long, or at least have a theory."

"I'm sure it's a good one," said Murrue, smiling at him, "You're certainly observant enough to catch on to any subterfuge Orb may be trying to pull. What do you think they're up to?"

Heero shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about deception in this case. I imagine that they received orders from Lord Uzumi to take more time than usual in order to maximize the amount of time they have to make use of our expertise. My data on the OZ mobile suits, Kira's skill with the Strike and MS Operating Systems in general… they wanted to get as much as they could out of this deal of ours."

"That makes sense," replied Murrue, "but why would Miss Simmons have you stop coming to the test facility after only two weeks while having Kira go every day?"

"Differing skill sets and things to offer," said Heero, "Remember, my primary contribution was mobile suit schematics. Miss Simmons still wanted my expertise on the units since I've faced them before in battle, but in the end there's only so much I could offer her without Wing Zero's combat data, which I wasn't about to hand over. My role as a technical advisor was limited, and she knew that. Kira, on the other hand, had more to give to the program in a way. His programming skills are invaluable, especially since Morgenroete is attempting to produce units that can be controlled by Naturals. The OS I included with the OZ suits would've worked, but I think Kira's system will actually end up being more efficient and better suited to the M1's frame."

"Not to mention that his abilities as a Coordinator meant that they could do some mobility testing and other experiments while working to adapt his OS to the M1," said Murrue, nodding, "Yeah, since you put it that way, I guess it makes sense why they'd want Kira to stick around longer than you."

"Indeed," said Heero, "speaking of Kira, I was checking his friend's scores on the Skygrasper simulator earlier today, and they were much better than when he first started. I think Tolle's ready to start flying combat operations in Skygrasper Two."

"Good to know," said Murrue, "I'll talk to him before we leave tomorrow, let him know that he'll be on deck as a fighter pilot from now on. One of the other crew members can take his place in the CIC. Thanks for checking on that for me; to be honest, I almost forgot that I'd asked you to do that."

"No problem, Murrue," he replied.

They were quiet for a moment before Heero spoke again. "We'll need to be on guard when we leave tomorrow. I doubt ZAFT bought that statement Orb made about them forcing us out of their territorial waters. They've probably got their eyes on the border, waiting for us to cross it."

"I agree," said Murrue, "I'll have us brought up to standby alert once we leave Orb's territory." She sighed before giving him a sad smile. "Starting tomorrow we'll be back on the battlefield. It feels like our reprieve went by all too quickly."

Heero surprised Murrue by moving closer to her and putting his hand on her shoulder. Then he smiled, and Murrue saw the fire of strength and determination in his eyes.

"Don't worry," he said, "I'll protect you."

Murrue's eyes widened a bit before she smiled again, this time with confidence and reassurance at his words. She reached up and put her hand on the one he had on her shoulder, not caring if other members of the bridge crew were watching. "I know you will, Heero… and I'll protect you."

She couldn't help but laugh a bit as she saw his eyes widen at her remarks. "Hey," said Murrue, "this is a warship, remember? I've got plenty of firepower to back you up with."

Heero nodded. "Alright… but be careful, alright?"

"This coming from the guy that solos entire armies and air wings?" said Murrue.

"I'm serious," said Heero, "you're…"

Before he could continue Murrue reached up and put her finger to his lips. "I know, Heero. The _Archangel _is a much bigger target than Wing Zero, and is far more cumbersome. However, it's also bristling with weaponry and can take quite a beating. I know this ship's strengths and weaknesses, what it can and can't do."

She smiled as she pulled back her hand. "I'm going to back you up with everything this ship has to offer. You may be the best pilot we have, but that doesn't mean you have to shoulder the worst of the fighting yourself. This isn't Operation Meteor; you're not fighting alone."

Her words seemed to have an effect on him; his expression softened, and he gave her a small smile. "Ok. Thank you, Murrue."

"You're welcome, Heero," she said.

The two of them turned back towards the bridge, checking the monitors and to see if any of the crew was watching them. None of the bridge officers were looking at them, but Murrue knew that they had sharp ears and had no doubt caught bits of their exchange, depending on how much they were focused on eavesdropping rather than their own work.

_I don't really care if they were listening in_, thought Murrue, _I certainly couldn't blame them if they were, and I'll take whatever heat comes my way if Natarle mentions it in her report to High Command when we reach Alaska. Heero's so used to fighting alone… I want to change that, let him know that I'll do whatever I can to help him. I won't let him continue to shoulder that burden alone… he's done so for far too long as it is._

She looked over at the Gundam pilot. _Heero… you never fight for yourself, do you? It's always for someone else. The colonies, the few friends you made during the war, the people of the Earth Sphere who wanted peace… and that hasn't changed since you came to this world. The closest you came to that would've been when we first met, when you said you were trying to find your purpose in this world. Even then, I don't think I'd call that selfish, especially after all you've been through… and I think that started to change, if your behavior during the orbital battle was any indication. You've been fighting for this ship… and though this may be a bit egotistical, for me. That's the feeling I get from you. _

_Heero, I consider myself the luckiest woman in the world just to have met you, let alone to have someone like you fighting for me… but no one's ever fought for _you_, and it's time I changed that. I may be an Alliance officer, but I can't recall my superiors doing anything to truly earn my loyalty. They send us into battle without the slightest regard for our lives, and think nothing of ordering pointless attacks, strikes that do nothing but get our own people killed needlessly. You, on the other hand, have put your life on the line time after time since coming aboard this ship, without asking for anything in return… if anyone has earned my loyalty, it's you._

_From this moment onward… I'm fighting for you. I'll continue to do my best to keep my crew alive, but you're the one I'm fighting for. You probably don't realize it, but you've captured my heart in a way no other man ever has, could ever hope to… so I'm going to give everything I've got to protect you, to make sure you come back to me alive._

….

"Hey," said La Flaga, "you doing ok, kid?"

Kira jumped slightly as the Lieutenant Commander sat down in front of him. He had been eating dinner by himself when the fighter pilot had come up to him.

He looked up from his meal. "Me? I'm fine, why do you ask?"

La Flaga smiled. "Man, you kids just think I'm blind and deaf, don't ya? I heard that your girlfriend moved and has is rooming with Miriallia now. You two had a falling out a few days ago, right?"

His eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

The blond pilot chuckled slightly. "I've been around the block a few times, kid. I know how these things work. Now, I don't need the details; that's your business… but I know it's been affecting you. You've been kinda down for awhile now."

Kira looked down. That was true, but Flay hadn't been the only reason why he had been in a slump lately. Ever since he'd seen Athrun outside the Morgenroete facility, he'd become increasingly apprehensive as the day of the _Archangel's _departure from Orb drew nearer. He knew that, once the ship left the nation's territorial waters, ZAFT would attack; while he wanted to believe in his old friend, he knew that, at the very least, Athrun would report back to his superiors that the _Archangel _was indeed in Orb.

Of course, Kira couldn't exactly tell Lieutenant Commander La Flaga all of that. The best he could do was just go along with his fellow pilot's conclusions and let him assume that it was only Flay that he was worried about.

Fortunately, he was actually saved from answering by La Flaga himself. The pilot stood up and put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Look," he said, "I know you like her, but try not to worry about this whole thing too much, alright? You're a good kid, and I'm sure she knows that. Just give her some time and space, maybe a few more days apart, and then approach her. Talk to her and try to work things out, ok?"

Kira couldn't help but smile a bit at his advice. "Do you really think it'll be that simple?"

"Well," La Flaga replied, "it probably won't go down exactly like I laid out for you; relationships are like that. There's no structured formula for them, they're all different. What works for one might not work for another. Still, what I said is a good way to start. Feel free to put your own personal touches on it, whatever works for you. Overall, speak from your heart, ok? Like I said, you're a good kid. You're sincere, kind, smart, and pretty gutsy in a tight spot. Just be yourself, and things will work out. You got that?"

He nodded, though he still had his doubts. The time he had spent away from Flay had given him time to reflect on the nature of their relationship, and he had begun to suspect that there was something not quite right with it. While he was sure she cared about him on some level, and he knew he cared about her, she seemed to only be supportive when she was in some form of control or when he acted a certain way. There was something else hidden beneath her feelings, now that he had given the matter some thought, he realized that the way she had come onto him back in orbit was totally out of character, especially considering that he knew she still held feelings of resentment back then over the recent death of her father. In short, Kira felt that he and Flay had a _lot _they needed to talk about before he could really consider things to be 'worked out'.

Still, La Flaga's words did give him some renewed confidence, and he was grateful for it. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, "thanks, Lieutenant Commander."

"Don't mention it," the pilot replied as he made his way towards the exit, "get some rest, you got that? Tomorrow's our big departure, and you can bet ZAFT will be ready to pounce the moment we cross the border."

Kira nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be ready."

_I'll have to be_, he thought, _it doesn't matter if it's Athrun I'll be facing… my friends are on this ship. I'll just have to fight carefully and try to force him to withdraw. At this point, it's my best option…_

….

"So," said La Flaga as he left the mess, "how long were you standing there?"

Natarle, who had been leaning against the wall next to the doorway, jumped. She looked around frantically for a moment before sighing. "Since the start," she replied, "I was going to talk to you, but I didn't want to interrupt."

"I see," said the fighter pilot, leaning against the opposite wall. He folded his arms and smiled. "I didn't know you were in the habit of eavesdropping."

Natarle blushed as she looked at the floor. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to at first, but…"

The truth was, she had been fascinated by his conversation with Kira, or rather, how he had handled it. The fact that Flay was currently avoiding Kira was more or less an open secret, and Natarle had little interest in the teenage lovers' quarrel. However, the way the Lieutenant Commander had so intuitively grasped the situation and responded to the young man's concerns had been truly incredible to watch. It showed a sensitive side that she had only caught glimpses of in the past, even in the month they had spent in Orb.

Of course, it wasn't like she could just say all that to La Flaga. Luckily for her, the laid-back ace pilot saved her the trouble. "Ah, don't worry about it. No harm, no foul. Although… you're not going to report the kid, are ya? Technically, now that they're both part of the Earth Forces, Flay is a junior soldier to Ensign Yamato. That does qualify as a violation of the Articles on Fraternization Within the Ranks."

Natarle shook her head. What right did she have to do that, after all, in light of her growing feelings for the man in front of her, who was also her superior officer? "No… I know Captain Ramius has turned a blind eye to it, and I can see why; those kids never underwent proper training, and they joined this crew under unusual circumstances. Their relationship hasn't really affected Ensign Yamato's performance, and I know Tolle and Miriallia are in a relationship as well. Those romantic attachments are probably what are keeping them going through all this… and I'm sure Captain Ramius realizes that."

_And_, thought Natarle, _I have a feeling she knows about us as well… or at least, what I want us to become. Captain Ramius is very good at reading people, after all… and she did give us leave together while we were in Orb, so maybe she was trying to encourage me in this…_

La Flaga smiled, then walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm impressed, Natarle. A month or two ago I imagine you would've reported them for sure, if not to the Captain then in your formal report to High Command when we reach Alaska."

She blushed. "You're right… I'm not sure what's gotten into me, really."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, "I think it's good for you; you were too stiff when this whole mess started at Heliopolis. You've come a long way since then, and I think you'll be a better officer for it."

"You think so?" she asked him.

"Totally," said La Flaga, "although you're still probably a bit too stiff for your own good right now, but you can work on that."

She gritted her teeth at that comment, but inside she could feel warmth rushing through her. _Does he really think that? I suppose an officer doesn't have to be as formal all the time as I am… Captain Ramius certainly isn't, and she's still managed to get us this far in one piece. Could I really aspire to that… should I?_

Regardless of her feelings, she still wasn't about to let him off scot-free for his statement, and punched him in the shoulder. Technically, she was hitting a superior officer, but she was betting that he wouldn't mind.

Indeed, the pilot's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but as he rubbed his shoulder he smiled again. "Ok, I'll admit I had that one coming. Sorry, I suppose I shouldn't ride you too hard on that bit of your personality. Are we good?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we're good."

"Alright," said La Flaga, "Now, you said that there was something you wanted to talk to me about when I was having my chat with Kira. What's up?"

"Well," she said, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the officer's lounge and grab a cup of coffee."

"Sure," he replied, "I know I told the kid to get some rest, but I'm not quite ready to hit the hay quite yet. A cup of coffee sounds nice right about now. Shall we?"

Natarle nodded. "Yes, let's go."

She smiled again as they headed towards the lounge. _I can't believe I worked up the nerve to ask him that! I probably wouldn't have dreamed of doing that back when this all started… have I really changed that much?_

….

"Hey," said Shemei into her cell phone, "it's me. Did everything go alright today?"

She was at her apartment, kicking back on the couch wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, watching the news. It was early evening in the PLANTs, and she had just called Eric since he had told her that he would be getting out of his Defense Council meeting around that time. It had become a habit of hers ever since the election night; she knew that he would be under ever increasing pressure as Zala consolidated and expanded his power over the PLANTs as the new Supreme Council Chairman, and she wanted to help take some of the enormous stress he had to be feeling off his shoulders.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason she had called. Try as she might, she just couldn't get Eric out of her mind, especially after all he had done to try to comfort and reassure her on election night. She managed to keep herself busy during the days with flight simulations with her subordinates, along with trying to get more information from the research teams as to what they were working on, but when she was off in the afternoons her thoughts inevitably went to the man who had been one of her best friends for six years… and could possibly become more.

"As well as it could," Eric replied, "Zala's as confident as ever, if not more so. He's actually supposed to nominate someone to replace him as head of the Defense Council now that he's the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs, but he hasn't gotten around to doing that yet."

"So he's attending both Defense Council and Supreme Council sessions?" said Shemei, "Where does he find the energy to do that?"

"It's really no different than before the election," said Eric, "except now he heads them both… which is illegal. However, apparently only Representatives Amalfi and Canaver on the Supreme Council have called him out on it. That's no surprise really, seeing as they're the last two moderates on the Council. Since the rest of the Representatives are now firmly in his camp, Zala's in no rush to fulfill that particular constitutional obligation."

"He's tearing apart our system of checks and balances," said Shemei softly.

She heard Eric sigh. "I know, and the bad news doesn't end there. This'll hit the public tomorrow, but I wanted to give you a heads up; heard it from Eileen Canaver herself."

"What is it?" asked Shemei, trepidation in her voice.

"Zala and his cronies are implementing a sweeping nationalization program," he said, "it's going across the board; even the Asimov Design Bureau isn't exempt from it. Two days from now, every private firm and entities with partial government ownership will become little more than puppets of the state… and it gets worse."

"Let me guess," said Shemei, "Zala's going to use this as an opportunity to seize all private employment records and start cataloging dossiers on all Naturals working for those companies."

"Exactly," said Eric, "the government already has records on who's a Natural and who's a Coordinator living in the PLANTs, but the information in the employment records combined with full governmental control of the private firms will give Zala a valuable tool to use in any discrimination measures regarding Naturals."

"Do you think he'll start implementing those soon?" she asked.

"According to Representative Canaver," he replied, "it's only a matter of time now. Shemei… I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do to…"

"It's alright," said Shemei, cutting him off before he got into a round of self-incrimination, "I know this isn't your fault, and you've put yourself through a lot of risk just to get me this information before its release tomorrow. Don't beat yourself up over this, ok? You're only in a position to get information on Zala's plans; you can't stop him all by yourself."

She heard him sigh. "You're right… thanks, Shemei."

"You're welcome, Eric," she said, "anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Not over the phone," he replied, "listen, are you busy tonight?"

"No," said Shemei, "why?"

"Round up the girls and come by my place in about an hour," said Eric, "Waltfeld and Aisha will be there too. There's some things we all need to talk about, mainly how we're going to survive Zala's reign without drawing too much attention, and figure what his next move is once Spitbreak gets underway."

"Got it," she said, "I'll call them now. We'll be over in a little while."

….

"Wow," said Lan as she stepped out of the back seat of Commander Rehema's jeep, "Bristow lives in the Sun Villa condos? Nice…"

Adaline and Priscilla nodded in agreement as they exited the vehicle as well. They, along with Lan, were dressed in casual wear, mainly jeans and t-shirts; red for Lan, blue for Adaline, and green for Priscilla. Led by Shemei, the Valkyrie Team made their way out of the parking lot and towards one of the upper-class residences. Modeled after seaside dwellings in Italy, the Sun Villa Residential Court was situated on the opposite side of the lake from the Clyne residence.

The Commander smiled as the climbed a flight of stairs towards her friends place, which was on the third floor. "This is actually pretty low key; remember, with Eric's family connections, he could've gotten a penthouse in the main city or had a private home built along the shore of the lake."

"That's right," said Adaline, "I keep forgetting that his father's on the board of directors for the Asimov Design Bureau. I'm impressed that Field Marshall Bristow has resisted the temptation to take greater advantage of the wealth that gives him access to."

"I agree," said Priscilla, "it says a lot about his character."

"That's true," said Shemei, "but there's more to it than that. Back when we first became friends, Eric told me that he was tired of people always seeing the family behind him rather than himself alone. Don't get me wrong, he likes to have fun, but he also works his ass off to prove himself to others, to stand on his own. It's the same now as it was back then; he climbed the ranks on his own merits, and the only times he's ever really made use of his family connections have almost always been to help the people he cares about… or to annoy his enemies here in the PLANTs."

She waved her arms around, indicating the whole of their surroundings. "The place he has in this complex, for example," she continued, "he pays for it out of his own salary; rank does have its privileges, after all. He used to live in the officer's apartments at Fort Jupiter before he was promoted; he had all his belongings shipped here while he was on the surface, so this is really the first time he's been able to live in it for an extended amount of time. The same goes for his car; back before he became a Field Marshal, he just drove a military issue jeep like we do. He actually ordered the car a little after he was promoted; the first time he was able to finally drive it was when he was elevated to his position on the Defense Council."

That determination to be independent, to break out from the shadow cast by his father, was one of the many things Shemei admired in her friend. It was something she could relate to in a way; in her homeland, family was very important, but in the case of a woman in could also be overbearing. Even in the Cosmic Era, the Middle East had a long way to go as far as the rights of women were concerned, and Shemei had long ago lost track of how many times members of her parents' extended families kept trying to interfere in her life, particularly with regards to her personal relationships. She considered herself very fortunate for having been born to independent and progressive minded parents, who had constantly stood up for and defended their daughter's right to chose her own path in life, along with who she loved. _Had things been otherwise_, she thought, _I might never have met Eric, never had the chance to forge the friendship we have… nor discover if it could become something more._

She smiled as the four of them approached the door to Eric's residence. Reaching out to ring the doorbell, she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. _Hey, easy Shemei. Don't get too worked up in front of the girls. Save that for the next time you're alone with Eric._

She pressed the button, heard the chime, and mere seconds later the door opened, revealing the man she couldn't get out of her mind. He was still dressed in his uniform, but Shemei didn't mind in the least; Eric had always cut a dashing figure, and his custom Field Marshal's ensemble didn't hurt that at all.

The black haired man smiled. "Hey, come on in." He stepped aside and held the door open as the Valkyrie Team filed into the condo. Lan, Adaline, and Priscilla all said hello as they took their shoes off and went into the nearby living room, while Shemei took her dear friend into a hug.

"It's good to see you," she said, smiling as she moved back slightly, though still keeping her arms looped over his shoulders, "Zala doesn't suspect you of leaking info to us yet, does he?"

Eric shook his head. "No, I've been covering my tracks well enough to keep him off the scent. However, his takeover of all industries in the PLANTs come tomorrow will make things more complicated. That's why I called you and the girls over here, along with Waltfeld and Aisha; there's some things we need to take care of if we're going to stay one step ahead of the wolves, so to speak."

"That shouldn't be a problem for you," said Shemei as she let go, "after all, you're the one who earned the title 'Wolf of the Far East'; even the radicals' pack will have a hard time tracking you."

"That could change if we're not careful," he replied, "come on, let's go to the living room, Waltfeld and Aisha are already here."

Leading the way, Eric showed her in, despite the fact that she had already been over to his new place a few times since getting back from the surface and knew the layout. _Ever the gentleman_, she mused, smiling slightly.

She saw Waltfeld and Aisha already in there, chatting with Lan, Adaline, and Priscilla. The two of them were looking much better than the last time Shemei had seen them, nearly three weeks ago. Waltfeld was wearing khaki pants and a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt, while Aisha's attire was a light blue blouse and a black skirt.

"Hey guys," she said, walking over and hugging both of them. As they parted she looked at Aisha. "How's the leg doing, Aisha?"

Waltfeld's lover smiled and patted her right leg. "Much better," she said, "the limp's almost gone, and the doc really scaled back the pain killers I needed to take. I'm almost fully recovered."

"Glad to hear that," said Shemei before turning to Waltfeld. "How about you?" she said, nodding at what was left of his left arm, "Any word on a prosthetic yet?"

The Desert Tiger shook his head. "I'll worry about that later. A procedure that expensive would draw unwanted attention to the fact that I'm still alive, and I want to keep a low profile for now." He looked over at his lover and smiled. "I got Aisha to help me when I need it, so I can get by with one arm for now."

"What about your eyesight?" asked Shemei, "Have you at least seen someone about that?"

"Yeah," he said, "looks like I got lucky; the right eye was spared any retina damage, so nothing to worry about on that end."

"Alright, ladies and gentleman," said Eric, "hate to break up the socializing, but we've got more important matters to discuss."

The three of them nodded and took seats along with everyone else. Waltfeld took a recliner chair, with Aisha settling down in his lap. Eric settled in next to Shemei on the couch, while Lan, Adaline, and Priscilla sat down in folding chairs he had gotten out for the meeting.

The black haired man reached for a small black bag sitting next to a laptop on the coffee table in front of the couch. "First things first," he said as he grabbed it, "the nationalization that Zala's implementing tomorrow will include telecommunications companies, and I have no doubt he'll use that to increase the amount of monitoring his cronies can do. By the end of the week there won't be a cell phone call in all the PLANTs that isn't being listened in on."

He reached inside the bag and pulled out seven dark blue cell phones. "These," he said as he laid them out on the table, "are a little gift from a buddy of mine in the Secret Service's Technology Department. They're _extremely _well encrypted, and the same goes for the network they operate on; no software we got can crack them. Of course, that encryption only holds if you're calling another phone on the network."

He looked up at everyone in the room. "I've got a list of numbers programmed into each of these babies that are all on the same network; from now on, if we're calling each other to discuss the latest political or military developments or our own little subversion plot we've got going, we do it on these."

Eric grabbed the phones and passed them out one by one. "Keep these with you at all times, and whatever you do, don't call a number that's not on the network with one of these; the encryption will become compromised and we'll be exposed. If you're talking on your regular cell phones, be careful what you say; Zala's going to take full advantage of his takeover of PLANT communications to track his rivals, and we can't afford to give ourselves away. I've already given Lacus and her father similar phones as well, so don't be surprised if you get calls from them."

"You mentioned a 'subversion plot'," said Shemei as she took a phone from Eric, "does this mean a cohesive opposition movement to Zala is beginning to form?"

"Not quite yet," said Eric, "right now we're still trying to figure out Zala's end game, and we can't really form an effective opposition movement if we don't have concrete proof of what his intentions are. I talked to Lacus though, and she wants to get the ball rolling on one in case Zala decides to implement our worst fear."

"Genocide of the Naturals," said Priscilla softly, and everyone else nodded.

"Remember," said Waltfeld, "like Eric said, we don't have proof yet, just conjecture and speculation based on Zala's ideological stance. Still, if that is his ultimate goal, we have to be prepared to act."

"But how?" asked Lan, "It's not like we can just walk in and remove him from power. Even if we don't trust him, you have to remember that he was elected by popular vote."

"If we initiate a coup," added Adaline, "we won't have the support of the people, and the radicals will take us down with little effort."

"Exactly," said Aisha, "however… we have to be ready to move. Once Zala actually begins implementing his plans, public opinion could shift in our favor."

"Wouldn't his actions regarding the nationalization of all private business go a long way towards helping us there?" asked Shemei, "It seems like he'd be playing right into our hands with a move like that."

Eric shook his head. "Not really. He'll be touting it as a measure of streamlining the war economy, and the people will buy it without reservations. Remember, this is the same populace that elected him because they thought he'd be able to bring a swift end to the war; they'll buy whatever line he throws at them in his first few months in office. I'm willing to be he'll make a promise stating to return all seized entities back over to private ownership once the war is over."

"One I'm sure he intends to keep," said Aisha, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Waltfeld nodded. "No joke there. A man like Zala will never be willing to let go of that kind of power once he has it within his grasp."

"Agreed," said Eric, "Now, changing subject here, I found some interesting blue-prints earlier today; hacked into the ZAFT shipyard databanks to get them."

He opened up the laptop on the coffee table and then stood up, moving to attach some cables from the computer to the flat screen TV on the wall. After sitting back down and typing for a few seconds, an image of a very unique warship appeared on the TV.

Frame wise, it bore some similarities to the _Nazca_-class destroyers, with a three pronged hull design and a gradual upward slope progressing towards the rear of the ship, along with what Shemei assumed to be the bridge situated at the meeting point of the three prongs. However, that was where the similarities ended. For starters, the vessel's paintjob was pink, a far cry from the blue color scheme favored by ZAFT's mainline destroyers. The vessel was longer as well, three hundred meters to the _Nazca_'s two-hundred-fifty-five. There were six fin-like structures coming from the sides of the ship, three on the left and three on the right, while a seventh was coming out of the top of the vessel, just behind the bridge. It also differed greatly in weaponry. Forward of the bridge was a heavy beam turret, while towards the front of the vessel were two dual cannons, though Shemei had difficulty making out what type they were due to their unique appearance. There were twelve CIWs scattered along the hull, but what was really surprising to Shemei were the forty missile launchers the vessel had. Based on their size, the Valkyrie surmised that they were meant to supplement the CIWs and were for engaging both enemy mobile suits and larger anti-ship missiles. _Something's not right_, thought Shemei, _its hull is similar to our destroyers, but the weapon layout would be better suited to a carrier._

Suddenly the proverbial light bulb went off in her head. "It's a support vessel, isn't it?" said Shemei, turning to Eric, "It's designed to operate in conjunction with whatever new mobile suits Zala has the research teams working on."

Eric nodded. "Exactly, and it's nearly complete. They're installing the final systems now, and will be starting sim runs soon after before taking her out for actual cruise trials."

"Do you know where it's being built?" asked Waltfeld, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah," he said, typing again on the computer. A new image popped up, and everyone else in the room gasped as the realized what it was; Aprilius One.

"Right under our noses," said Aisha softly.

"Man," said Lan, "how did Zala manage to keep this one hidden for so long?"

"He probably had one of the large-scale docks sealed off," said Priscilla, "he would've had the authority to do that back when he was head of the Defense Council."

"Correct," said Eric, "and I even managed to find out which one." A map of the colony appeared on the screen, with a flashing red dot near the center where the two halves of the hour-glass shaped structure met.

"What about Clyne?" asked Adaline, "Wouldn't Zala have been obligated to inform him?"

"Legally, yes," said Eric, sighing, "but Zala was stepping around regulations like that long before assuming high office. I sent this data to Siegel and his daughter earlier today, so at least now they're on the same page as the rest of us."

"Speaking of data," said Shemei, looking over at him, "have you managed to get any more information on the new MS being developed?"

"Some, yes," he replied, "I couldn't get any technical details, but I've found the names of two more mobile suites under development. They're part of the same line as the Freedom, so that means they have N-jammer cancellers."

"What are they called?" she asked.

"The ZGMF-X09A Justice and the ZGMF-X14A Judgment," he said, "I'll keep looking for other units, and I'll try to get some more specific information on the ones we already know about too."

"What about the warship?" asked Waltfeld, "Did you find out the name for that?"

Eric nodded. "Yeah, it's called the _Eternal_. I think it's the only one of its kind; the layout is pretty mission specific. As Shemei noted, it's designed to transport and support the new nuclear powered mobile suits ZAFT is developing."

He started typing again. "I don't know if Zala has any more new model warships in the works, but I did manage to lift this from the Asimov Design Bureau's mainframe. Check it out."

An image of a mobile suit appeared on the screen. It bore some similarities to the GINN, but the frame was larger, had bulkier armor, a large shield with what appeared to be two beam emitters at the end on its left arm and a large beam rifle in its right. The machine had larger engines as well, and the color scheme was a darker version of the GINN.

"This," said Eric, "is the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, the fruits of the Asimov Design Bureau's efforts to study the four stolen Alliance mobile suits. We have prototypes undergoing testing now, and within the next few months it will begin a limited production run. Ultimately it's designed to replace the GINN entirely, but until the company can retool all its production lines it will be limited to use as an officer unit. It's also more expensive to manufacture than the GINN, which is another reason why the shift to mass-production will be a slow one. Nevertheless, I've seen the data on the trial runs, and I can assure you that it will be quite formidable once it makes its battlefield debut."

"Impressive," said Aisha as she studied the image, "I take it its primary operating area will be outer space?"

"Yes," said Eric, "its heavier frame means it will be pretty cumbersome on Earth without modifications. The surface forces will rely on the MS they're using for the time being."

He sighed and turned to everyone else in the room. "I'm sorry, but this, the data on the _Eternal_, and the names of two of the prototype nuclear MS are all I've been able to acquire in the past few days. Security is getting insanely tight, and even my clearance has limits. I haven't been able to find any mission plans regarding the new units or dossiers on potential pilots and crew. I'm also having a harder time getting information on upcoming forces operations in general; Zala's effectively sidelined me with a review of the Home Fleet and the Exclusion Grid, and that will take at least a week."

The PLANT Exclusion Grid consisted of all the defenses for the Coordinator homeland. Since space was three dimensional, if one were to view the entirety of the Grid on a holographic display, the image would be of a massive cube of warships, defense stations, mobile suits, and recon drones surrounding the one hundred twenty colonies. Each side of the 'cube' was officially designated a Defense Line, and each Line was subsequently broken down into smaller Engagement and Exclusion Zones. The strongest front was the one facing the Moon, where the Alliance had a major base and operations staging area located. It was called the Jachin Due Defense Line, named after the base that anchored it.

The Lines stretched for tens if not hundreds of thousands of kilometers, and maintaining them was no small task. Battle groups had to be rotated in and out, work crews had to routinely fly in and check the drones and ships, the bases that anchored each line had to be supplied… reviewing both the Lines and the Home Fleet was every senior Defense Council officer's nightmare, and they had passed the responsibility off to Field Marshal Bristow at the first possible opportunity.

"Ouch," said Waltfeld, wincing in sympathy for his friend, "that bites, buddy."

Shemei put her hand on Eric's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. You don't need to apologize for something the entire Defense Council practically dropped on your shoulders."

"But I know it was on purpose," said Eric, "ever since I started trying to open an investigation into war crimes by Schwarze and the other Special Operations Squadrons, Zala's been shoving more and more assignments like this my way. If I'd kept my queries a little more low key, he wouldn't have caught on, and…"

"Hey!" she snapped, causing him to look at her with widening eyes, "Cut it out, Eric! You were trying to do the right thing, whether your superiors wanted you to or not. Don't beat yourself up over it. So what if the pressure they're putting on you as a result is making it harder for you to get information for us; I don't give a damn, and I know the others don't either!"

She softened her tone and smiled at him. "We all know you're doing your best you can to find out what Zala and the rest of the radicals are up to. You're also trying to rein in their battlefield excesses… no, their _atrocities_, and that's something that none of us can do, especially now with our current status. If the Defense Council decides to punish you for that, then so be it. We know you've done nothing wrong, and I for one am proud of you; no one else has had the guts to openly call out Special Operations, and that includes the former Chairman Clyne. So don't apologize, alright? You've done nothing wrong, and we all know that."

He was quiet for a moment before smiling at her. "Thank you, Shemei. That… really means a lot, coming from you."

"Anytime," she replied, winking at him. At the same time, she could not deny a bit of heat rushing to her face. _He never used to have this affect on me_, she mused, _my, how things have changed._

….

Their meeting continued for about an hour, in which they discussed how best to deal with the new political climate. Lan, Priscilla, and Adaline all asked Eric to help them move their parents to September One, where the strong moderate influence combined with his contact with Eileen Canaver would give them some measure of protection. The cunning Field Marshal had already managed to establish a few safe houses within the September colonies, which would come in handy in the event of a crackdown by Zala. The girls themselves would stay on in the capital; they weren't about to abandon their Commander or their friends.

Waltfeld and Aisha, in the meanwhile, spoke of getting in touch with friendly personnel within the Home Guard, the organization in charge of security within the PLANT colonies. In particular, the Desert Tiger was keen to find out how many had been assigned to the dock in Aprilius One where the _Eternal _was kept, along with reestablishing contacts with some old friends who had been rotated into the Home Guard after extended tours of duty on Earth.

Another point of concern was the safety of the Clyne family. Now that he was out of office, Siegel Clyne was a much more vulnerable target for radicals inclined to make sure that he stayed out of the way. There was also the matter of Lacus; while the girl wasn't viewed as political per se by the general public, her most popular songs all had the same message of peace, harmony, and good will towards others, not exactly in line with the party who wished to punish the Naturals. In addition, the songstress's personal following in the PLANTs was not to be underestimated, and Shemei knew that Lacus was smart enough to use that should the situation arise, and it was something the radicals would definitely be worried about. Eric already had a few of his contacts in Secret Service keeping tabs on the family, or more specifically the agents of the more radically dominated Military Intelligence that had them under surveillance, but there wasn't much more he could do without drawing suspicion. In the end they decided that the best approach would be to continue as they were and try to keep both Siegel and his daughter informed of any new developments.

Eventually the meeting wound down to a close, and Eric's guests stood up to leave. They all bid farewell and began to file out the door, Shemei being the last. She paused at the door, looking at her friend.

"Hey, Eric?" she said as the others headed out.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I know I've already said this… but please, be careful, alright?" said Shemei, "Don't push yourself too hard; what you've accomplished so far has been nothing short of incredible as it is, but it's also put you at great risk. Please, don't feel that you have to increase that risk just to help us."

She moved closer to him, their eyes meeting. "It's bad enough when I think about what might happen to my parents," she said softly, edging ever nearer, "but when I think about the danger _you're _in…"

He smiled softly. "Don't worry," he said, "I'm playing things carefully… or as much as I can, considering the circumstances. Zala may not like my complaints about his private army, but it's little more than an annoyance to him; he still trusts me, or at least doesn't outright suspect me of acting against him."

"I hope you're right," she said. Shemei looked out the door real quick, and when she was sure no one was watching, leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Feeling the heat surging to her face as her lips parted from his cheek, she gave him a bashful smile. "Remember, call me if you need anything… even if it's just to talk, alright?"

He returned the smile, and Shemei thought she saw a bit of red in his face. _You're pretty cute when you blush, Eric_, she thought, her smile becoming a bit more playful, _I want to see you do that a little more often…_

"I will," said Eric, "and the same goes for you, got that?"

"Of course," she said.

She put her shoes on before stepping out the door. "Goodnight Eric. Take care of yourself, you got that?"

He nodded. "I will. Goodnight, Shemei."

….

"Well," said Murrue as she and Heero left the mess, "I guess we better turn in. We'll be getting an early start tomorrow."

The Gundam pilot nodded as they walked down the hall. "Are you ready?" he asked as he turned to her.

Murrue was touched to see the concern in his eyes. _That compassion_, she thought, _oh, how I've come to treasure it…_

She smiled at him. "Yes, Heero, I am. We've all had a good month to rest up, and the ship is fully operational. Come tomorrow, I'll be ready for anything that comes out way."

Heero nodded, smiling slightly as he did so. "Same here. We'll get to Alaska; I'll make sure of it."

"I know you will," said Murrue, "and I'll do the same. Remember; when the enemy comes, I'll do all I can to help you."

"Thanks," he said as they came to the officers' quarters, "just… don't overdo it, alright?"

Murrue laughed a bit. "Look who's talking, Gundam pilot."

Heero chuckled along with her. "You have a point there."

They came to a stop in front of their quarters, but before bidding each other goodnight, Murrue gave Heero a hug.

"Heero," she said as she held him, "thank you for staying with us. You're an incredible young man, and I'm forever grateful for all you've done since we've met."

She felt Heero put his arms around her. "You're welcome, Murrue," he said, "and thank you… for everything. You're… an amazing woman."

The slowly parted, smiling as they did so. "Goodnight, Heero," said Murrue, "and sleep well. Remember, if you need me, I'm right next door."

Heero nodded. "You too, Murrue," he said, "Get some rest. I have a feeling we're both going to need it."

"I will," she replied.

….

Early the next morning Murrue, Heero, and Kira were standing out on the dock next to the _Archangel_. In front of them were Cagalli, Erica Simmons, and Lord Uzumi.

"I can't thank you enough for all you've done," said Murrue, "The repairs, the chance for shore leave… your aid has been invaluable to us."

Uzumi smiled. "Well, considering what we asked of you, I would consider us to be even. Nevertheless, you are quite welcome. Be safe in your journey to Alaska."

The Lion of Orb then turned to Heero and Kira. "As for you young men, I would like to thank you, as well as wish you the best of luck. It is a shame that people your age are on the battlefield, but I believe that you have good reasons for fighting. Take care of yourselves."

"You're welcome," said Kira, bowing, "and thank you."

Heero merely gave the man a small nod. As Murrue watched, she thought she saw both the Gundam pilot and the nobleman smirk slightly, and felt as if they were still matching wills like they had done during the meeting a month ago. _Those two_, she thought, _there's such a vast gap in age there, yet they both have nerves of steel and incredibly keen minds. I wonder what they think when they stare each other down like this._

After a moment Lord Uzumi chuckled. "I'll certainly miss these little standoffs of ours," he said, turning to leave, "perhaps we'll meet again someday. I appreciate the help you've given us, though I'll admit it wasn't entirely what I had anticipated. Farewell, Heero Yuy."

After he left, Erica smiled and held out her hand to Murrue. "It was nice meeting you, Captain Ramius."

Murrue smiled as she shook her hand. "Likewise. I hope we were able to help you make progress on your work."

"Oh, don't worry, you certainly did," she said as she let go. Morgenroete's Chief Engineer turned to the two pilots next to her. "Sending us these two young men was the best thing that we could've hoped for."

She moved in front of Kira and Heero, shaking each of their hands. "It was a pleasure to work with both of you."

Kira nodded, unsure how to respond. Murrue looked over at Heero and saw that he had a small smile on his face.

"Yeah," said the Gundam pilot, "it was certainly interesting."

"You can say that again," said Erica, "listen, if either of you two ever find yourselves in need of a job, come find me. You've got talents I know my team could use."

"Uhm, thanks," said Kira, "I'll keep that in mind."

"We'll see," said Heero, folding his arms.

The engineer laughed a bit at that. "You never make things easy, do you young man?"

"Nothing personal," he replied, "I'm just not sure what the future holds for me."

"Can't say I blame you there," said Erica, turning to leave. She gave the three of them one more smile as she waved. "Until next time, everyone. Have a safe trip."

That just left Cagalli standing in front of them. The blond girl smiled and looked at Murrue. "Captain Ramius," she said, "thank you… for helping us in North Africa, and for getting me home."

Murrue smiled. "You're welcome, Cagalli. Take care of yourself… and try to get along better with your father."

"No promises," the Orb princess replied. She then went over to Kira and gave him a hug. "You be careful, alright? The last thing I want to hear about is you getting yourself killed, you got that?"

Kira smiled as she let go. "You got it. Thanks for all the help."

"Hey," she said, "you guys helped me too, so let's call it even."

"Sure," said Kira, "that works."

The girl nodded, and then went over to Heero. She looked at him for a moment before smiling slightly. "Well," she said, "it was certainly… interesting, seeing you in action. Thanks for saving me back on that island. I never got to repay you for that."

"Don't mention it," he replied, "and don't worry about it. I don't do that sort of thing to collect favors."

"No," said Cagalli, "I suppose not; you're not that kind of guy." She held out her hand. "Take care, alright?"

Heero shook her hand. "You too. Try to rein in that temper a bit."

Cagalli's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" she growled.

The Gundam pilot smirked slightly. "Case in point."

The girl realized what she was doing and took a breath to calm herself. "Right… I'll try to keep that in mind."

She turned to leave, waving as she did so. "So long, you guys. Be safe, you got that?"

They all nodded, and Murrue smiled. "We will. Farewell, Cagalli."

As she walked away, Kira headed up the gangway. After a moment Murrue turned to Heero, still smiling. "Shall we get under way?" she said.

The Gundam pilot gave her a small smile. "You're the Captain," he said, "that's your call. I'm just a pilot."

_Not to me_, she thought, looking into his beautiful Prussian blue eyes, _you're so much more to me…_

"Hey," said the young man, snapping her out of her thoughts, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine. Let's get going."

The two of them headed for the gangway, but before they made their way up it Murrue put her hand on the pilot's shoulder. "Heero?"

He turned towards her, eyes widening a bit. "What is it, Murrue?"

She smiled again. "You're not just a pilot… not to me."

The Perfect Soldier nodded, giving her yet another small smile. "Thank you… and you're not just a captain to me, Murrue."

Her heart soared, heat rushed to her face, and Murrue could feel her smile growing bigger. "Thank you, Heero. Now, let's get this ship moving."

"Roger that," he replied.

She kept smiling as she followed the Gundam pilot up the ramp. _I know I mean something to him_, she thought, _I know he hasn't thought of me as just the captain of this ship, at least not since our talk before the orbital battle… but still, I can't deny how good it feels every time he says that… or something similar… out loud._

_Heero, I don't know for sure how deep your feelings for me go, but there are two things I'm certain of: that you do care for me, in a way that goes beyond mere friendship… and that I've definitely fallen in love with you._

….

"Captain on the bridge!" said Natarle.

Murrue nodded in acknowledgement as she entered the bridge, Heero by her side.

"At ease, everyone," she said as she took her seat, "Lieutenant Badgiruel, ship status."

"All systems have gone through pre-launch checks," the black haired woman replied, "everything checks out. I was waiting for your approval to fire up the engines."

"You have it," said Murrue, turning to the helmsman, "Ensign Neumann, bring the main power generators up to full capacity, and then cycle the engines. Wait for clearance from Orb's dock control before taking us out."

"Aye, Captain," he said, turning to his console.

"Miss Haw," said Murrue, "get Chief Murdoch on the line."

"Yes, ma'am," said the teenager, "hang on a sec… ok, patching you through to the hangar!"

The grizzled head mechanic appeared on the main monitor. "Captain, what do you need?" he said.

"Status report on the Strike and Skygraspers," she said, "Are they fully operational?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, "though I can't speak for Wing Zero. You'll have to ask Heero."

"Understood," said Murrue, "carry on."

Cutting the connection, she turned to the Gundam pilot standing next to her. "I'm sure you're ahead of me here, but it never hurts to check. Is Wing Zero at one hundred percent?"

Heero nodded. "I ran through a final maintenance check last night, and I made sure the shoulder gatlings were fully loaded too. Wing Zero is fully operational; I can sortie at any time."

"Good to know," said Murrue.

"Ma'am," said Miriallia, "I've got the dock traffic control on the line. They'll be opening the door in twenty seconds."

"Send them my thanks," she said.

"Yes, Captain," said Miriallia, "also, I have a message from the cruiser _Kumano_. They're just outside the dock, along with four destroyers and two fighter squadrons from the mainland. They'll be escorting us until we reach the border."

"Alright," said Murrue, "we'll form up on them once we exit. Ensign Neumann, be ready to coordinate with the Orb Navy once we clear the facility."

"Aye, Captain," the helmsman replied.

Satisfied that everything was in order, Murrue turned to the forward viewport. She could see the massive dock door slowly begin to open. _The scale of this place_, she thought, _is truly impressive. I can't imagine the work that went into building it._

As soon as the door was completely open she gave her next order. "Helm, take us out. Keep an eye out for our escorts as we leave."

Murrue could feel the ship's engines roar to life, the ship thrumming with their awesome power. The vessel slowly began to make its way out of the dock, and soon its white hull was gleaming in the morning sunlight.

"Escort ships sighted," said the helmsman, "moving into formation now."

The five Orb vessels encircled the _Archangel_, with the cruiser _Kumano _at the head of the formation. Twelve grey fighter jets flew overhead, shadowing the ships.

_"Archangel_," came a voice over the radio, "this is the _Kumano_. Maintain your heading and stay with us until we reach the border. After that, you're on your own."

"Understood," said Murrue, "we appreciate the escort."

"No problem," the officer replied, "by the way, is there a Heero Yuy on the bridge with you? I got a message for him from Kisaka."

"Yes, he's here," said Murrue, nodding to Heero.

The Perfect Soldier stepped forward so he could speak into Murrue's receiver. "What is it?" he asked.

"He says 'Thanks again for getting the princess back in one piece'," said the officer, "and there's one more bit; 'It was fun seeing you fight. Wouldn't mind a hand-to-hand sparring match sometime'. That's all."

"I see," said Heero, "tell him we'll see what happens the next time we run into each other."

"Will do," said the officer, "_Kumano _out."

As the _Archangel _and her escorts began cruising towards open water, Murrue turned to Heero. "I didn't know Kisaka wanted to fight you. Is there something you're hiding from me?"

Heero shook his head. "No, or at least not intentionally. During the ride to Banadiya, I had a feeling that the guy was sizing me up, and vice versa. Based on the way he carried himself, I could tell he had extensive military training, but I didn't think he'd be part of Orb's armed forces. Anyway, he never said anything, but when you spend a long time on the battlefield it becomes pretty easy to tell when someone's evaluating you, trying to see what you're capable of. I guess he thought it'd be interesting to fight me."

His eyes met Murrue's. "I didn't mean to hide it from you; I just didn't think it was important. Besides, you had enough to worry about back then in any case, and I didn't want to add to it."

Murrue smiled. "It's alright, I'm not upset that you didn't tell me. I would've liked to know what was going on, but I respect your reasons for keeping it to yourself."

"Nevertheless," said Heero, "I'll try to be a little more open with you about that sort of thing in the future… at least, if it's something you want to hear about."

"Of course," she replied, "I'm always ready to listen to you, regardless of the topic. I appreciate you not wanting to worry me, but I still want to know what's going on with you. After all, that's what friends are for, right?"

The Gundam pilot smiled slightly. "Yeah, you're right."

"Now," said Murrue, "enough worrying about that. We'll be hitting the open ocean soon enough and we need to stay sharp."

"Roger that," said Heero.

….

Meanwhile, down in the pilots' ready room, Kira was putting on his flight suit. Recalling his meeting with Athrun at the Morgenroete facility, the young Coordinator knew that his old friend would be with the ZAFT forces that would no doubt attack the ship soon after it crossed the territorial boundary. He felt somewhat guilty over not warning the others, but he was afraid of how they would react if they found out an old friend of his was among the pilots of the stolen prototypes.

Kira was especially worried over how Heero might react to such news. So far the enigmatic pilot had been calm and collected, but Kira had noticed him become more tense and aggressive whenever the _Archangel _was under serious threat, like at the battle at Orb's border. _How would he react if he found out I was withholding this kind of information? _The possibilities were not particularly pleasant.

As he zipped up his flight suit he heard a familiar voice. "Oh, hey Kira! What's up?"

Kira whirled around, his eyes widening as he saw Tolled dressed in a pilot's jumpsuit. "Tolle? What are you doing here… and why are you wearing that?"

His friend smiled. "Remember how I've been practicing on the Skygrasper simulator? Well, Heero and Captain Ramius said I was good enough to start flying for real. Now I'm backing up you and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga the next time we go into battle on Skygrasper Two!"

_What? The Captain and Heero said he could fly a fighter? When did that happen?_

"Tolle," he said, "are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," said his friend, "I want to help you guys, not to mention Miriallia's on this ship too, so this way I can protect her! By the way, why are you down here already? The Captain didn't put you on standby too, did she?"

Kira shook his head. "No, it's just… look, as soon as we leave Orb's territory, ZAFT will attack. Either that, or not too long after. I want to be ready."

Tolle didn't question how Kira knew when the enemy would strike. He just nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Well, at least we'll be ready, right?"

"Yeah," said Kira. _I hope…_

….

Heero looked out the viewport as the _Archangel_'s escorts broke away and headed for home. _This is it_, he thought, _we're back on the battlefield._

He looked over at Murrue, who wasted no time in issuing orders to the bridge crew. "Sensors," she said, "keep your eyes on the sky and the sea. I want passive sonar running continuously, wide array. Follow up with a ping on active sonar every ten minutes. The enemy can hit us from above and below; we need to be ready for anything."

"Aye Captain," said the man at the sensor station.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Murrue, "Make sure all our guns and missiles are primed and ready for action. I want all my options available when the enemy decides to engage."

"Understood, Captain," said Natarle, who began relaying the orders to the weapons specialists.

Watching her make preparations for a possible attack, Heero was aware of his own senses sharpening, picking up every minute detail on the bridge. Intellectually, he knew it did him little good since he was a mobile suit pilot, not a bridge officer, but it was instinctive, as natural to him as breathing.

However, there was something more to it, something that he had become increasingly aware of since the _Archangel _had departed North Africa over a month and a half ago. His combat instincts were increasingly being combined with his protectiveness of the woman sitting next to him. Every time he had gone into battle since the campaign in the Sahara, and even before, his desire to keep Murrue from harm was influencing his actions and his state of mind. He knew that he was becoming more intense in combat; the battle at Orb's border over a month ago was the latest example, and definitely the most pronounced. While it hadn't interfered with his control over the Zero system, Heero was still struck by just how strong his feelings had become towards Murrue, both with his desire to protect her and more… much more.

Murrue hadn't been the first woman that Heero wanted to protect. During the Eve Wars, he had wanted to protect Relena whenever he found her near the battlefield, starting when OZ had attacked her school during the ball. That protectiveness had been almost unconscious at first, but over time he had come to recognize it as he and the girl gradually got to know each other, forming his first true friendship.

The protectiveness he felt towards Murrue had some similarities, but what really surprised Heero was just how much _stronger _it was… and it seemed to grow more with each passing day, the more he spent time with the brown haired, brown eyed beauty. He'd never felt this way about anyone before, Relena included.

_My feelings_, he thought, _my desire to protect Murrue… at first it was because she was kind to me, and I wanted to repay that. Then it grew as we became friends, and it was similar to how I felt regarding Relena, especially after I told Murrue about my past. But it's continued to grow, increasing as I get closer to her… now it almost feels like a fire inside of me, one that I want to unleash on all who threaten her._

He saw Murrue turn and smile at him. _Is this… part of falling in love with someone? The desire to protect them from anything, to go to any means necessary _to _protect them… is it really part of my growing feelings for her? If it is, I have to be careful; I can't let them influence the Zero system. It's alright to have those feelings, but I have to maintain control over them… or I could lose myself to the Zero system and go on a rampage. If I did that… I could endanger Murrue. I know I gave her the override command and that radio frequency, but the possibility still exists._

"Hey," said Murrue, "are you alright, Heero?"

Her voice brought the Gundam pilot back to his immediate surroundings. The woman at the heart of his thoughts was still smiling, though Heero could also detect some concern in her eyes.

He forced a small smile for her. "I'm fine. Just got lost in thought for a bit there. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's ok," she said, "is it something you want to talk about?"

_I'm pretty sure this is something I don't know _how _to talk about_, he thought, _even with you, Murrue…_

Heero shook his head. "It's fine. Thanks, though."

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied.

_I have to focus_, he thought, _if I want to protect Murrue… if I want to discover just what our friendship is becoming, I have to control myself. There's nothing wrong with acting on my emotions; Lowe taught me that. However, I have to remember to restrain them when necessary, especially during combat._

He looked once again at the woman who had come to mean so much to him. _It's the only way I'll be able to keep Murrue safe… no matter what happens. _

….

"What?" yelled Yzak, "What do you mean we aren't attacking today?"

Athrun sighed. The two of them, along with the rest of his team, were down in the pilots locker room of the _Cousteau_. Yzak and Dearka had gone to change into their flight suits the instant they'd received word from a recon drone that the legged ship had left Orb's territory.

"It's not my call," he replied, "we just received a message from the head of the Grabacr Squadron. According to the recon drone, the legged ship's course will take it through the Marshall Islands; both Grabacr and Ofnir Squadrons are close to there, so that's where they want to engage. They'll attack head on, while we hit the legged ship from behind."

"Why wait?" said Dearka, "Why don't Ofnir and Grabacr advance from their positions and strike today?"

"Because they're using today to run combat exercises," said Athrun, "both Special Operations Squad Commanders wanted to do so before engaging the enemy. Look, either way, I can't do anything about it. We received a message from the Defense Council yesterday; Special Operations has command authority over us, and the Grabacr Commander is the ranking officer of our strike force. What he says goes, whether we like it or not."

"Grrr, fine!" said Yzak, "They better not slow us down when we fight tomorrow."

"They're Special Operations pilots, Yzak," said Nicole, "I doubt that'll be a problem."

"Yeah, you're right," said Yzak, a little calmer now, "guess I'll head to the mess and grab a bite to eat then. Dearka, you coming?"

"Right behind you," the blond haired young man replied, and the two of them left the locker room.

As soon as they were gone, Athrun leaned against the wall and sighed. "That went well," he grumbled.

"You know," said Nicole, "you can write Yzak up for insubordination if he keeps this up; Creuset did put you in charge, after all."

Athrun shook his head. "It's tempting, but what's stopping me is the fact that his arguments are valid. Ofnir and Grabacr could move south and coordinate an attack with us today rather than wait for tomorrow. I can understand their desire to get in some exercises before fighting Wing Zero, but considering how long it and the legged ship were in Orb, I would think that they had plenty of time to do that already."

"So what do you thinks stopping them?" asked Nicole.

"Hard to say," Athrun replied, "maybe it's a way for the Grabacr Commander to assert his authority; from what I've heard, he's quite prideful. Maybe he can't resist rubbing our faces in the fact that our status as both Reds and the sons of members of the Supreme Council are meaningless out here."

"But your father's now the head of the Supreme Council," said Nicole, "along with being in charge of Special Operations. I would think that'd afford you a little more respect, at least from those guys."

Athrun shrugged. "It might not even matter. You've heard the same stories I have, Nicole; Special Operations soldiers tend to look down on the normal forces, even Reds and Commanders. They consider themselves to be the elite of the elite; a debatable claim, but one they make nonetheless."

"I know," said Nicole, "I mean, Commander Rehema's the only pilot we have that was able to go against Wing Zero one-on-one other than Commander Creuset, and the Valkyrie lasted much longer than our leader. Not to mention the rest of her team are extremely good pilots in their own right, and put up quite a good showing against Wing Zero as well until it forced them to withdraw. Despite that, none of them have been offered positions in Special Operations."

"Exactly," said Athrun, "while I'd prefer to think the best of my father, the fact is obvious in this case that Special Operations is as much a political entity as it is a military one; who he favors gets in, and it's hardly a secret that Commander Rehema's views are more in line with the moderates than the radicals."

Nicole sighed. "I remember back in our academy classes when the instructors were talking about the ideal army being apolitical… look how that turned out. We've got our own competing factions, just like the civilian government."

"Won't argue with you there," said Athrun.

After a moment the green haired boy turned to him and smiled. "Well, there's no point in hanging around here, especially since we won't be launching today. Might as well go grab a bite to eat. You coming?"

Athrun nodded, returning the smile. "Yeah, that sounds good right now."

The son of the new Supreme Council Chairman was glad his friend didn't notice just how forced that smile was. Truth be told, Athrun was glad that the engagement had been put off for a day, but he knew that it was only delaying the inevitable… and waiting for his next battle with Kira felt almost as bad as actually fighting his old friend.

_We've gotten lucky the past few times_, he thought as they headed towards the mess, _but now that Special Operations pilots are involved, that could change. I doubt they'll be able to beat Wing Zero, regardless of what father thinks, but that's not what worries me; the guys from Ofnir and Grabacr will be able to tell if I'm holding back against the Strike, and I have no doubt they'll report any hesitation on my part to father._

_ What am I going to do?_

….

"It's hard to believe," said Murrue as she left the mess hall with Heero, "I thought for sure ZAFT would attack us as soon as we crossed the border."

Much to her relief, along with that of the rest of the crew, the day had passed without incident. It was now evening, and Murrue had just finished having dinner with Heero. Now the two of them were heading back to their quarters to rest up for the next day.

She saw the Gundam pilot nod. "I agree. Considering just how aggressive they were a month ago, how desperate they were to get us before we crossed into Orb territory, it's odd that ZAFT didn't engage us."

The two of them were quiet for a moment, each contemplating their unexpected good fortune. Finally Murrue spoke. "I guess we shouldn't be complaining. After all, they'll probably make up for lost time come tomorrow."

"A strong possibility," said Heero, "considering the size of the last group we fought, I have to wonder how many mobile suits they'll send this time."

"Anything can happen," she replied, "we were within strike range of Carpentaria during the last battle, so it makes sense that the force they sent for that engagement was as big as it was. Now that we're heading North, ZAFT is limited to carrier based units, and the central Pacific is strongly contested at the moment. The Alliance has the Pearl Harbor base at Hawaii, giving it a good staging ground for its surface fleets. The amount of _Vosgulov_-class submarine-carriers in the region is anyone's guess, though I would imagine it would decrease the further we head North."

"If we can keep the enemy at bay until we enter range of Alliance air squadrons from Hawaii," said Heero, "then we should be in good shape. From there it's a straight shot to Alaska."

"You're right," said Murrue as they approached their quarters.

They both paused in front of their doors, and Murrue smiled. "Get some sleep, Heero. I doubt tomorrow will be as easy as today was."

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile of his own. "Roger that. Goodnight, Murrue."

….

"Goodnight, Flay," said Miriallia as she lay down.

The red-headed girl nodded as she went to her own bunk. "Goodnight, Miriallia."

It had been about a week since she had moved in with the brown-haired girl. Technically, this had always been her room assignment, but ever since the orbital battle she had been sharing Kira's room, while Tolle, Sai, and Kuzzey all shared another. The past few days had been the first time she'd spent any real time in it.

Laying down and looking at the ceiling, Flay Allster was at a loss. Two days after her fight with Kira, she had gone to Sai as per her plan, and had expected him to welcome her back without question. However, things had not gone according to plan, and she could tell that something had changed in him. The young man who had used to write her love letters back on Heliopolis had flat out turned her down. More shocking still was when Sai had then said that she needed to work her issues out with Kira rather than running away from them, and that her feelings for the Coordinator weren't something she could just cast aside.

It was then that she had realized something; while she had been focusing on her revenge, she had unknowingly been drifting away from her old friends. At first it hadn't really be noticeable, but now as she looked back on what had happened since North Africa she realized that she had lost touch with the old crowd as she had turned all her efforts towards manipulating Kira. Even Miriallia, who Flay had once considered to be a close friend, had seemed somewhat reluctant to let her bunk in her room, even if it had been her assigned one to begin with.

And there was more. As time went by, her desire for revenge against the Coordinator pilot had been increasingly at war with another set of feelings growing within her. She had tried to deny them, suppress them the best she could… but now, as she stared at the dark metal ceiling, she could not escape what she had realized some time ago.

She _cared _for Kira. Not a faked affection, but she had genuinely come to like the young man. His unconditional kindness, his bravery and desire to protect his friends… hell, even his sensitivity, which could sometimes cause him to cry when other boys wouldn't had increasingly drawn her to him.

As she lay in bed, she lost track of time as she asked herself, _screamed _in her head the question that would not leave her alone; _how had this happened?_

And each time she did, she kept coming back to the same answer; because Kira wasn't the freak she had made him out to be. He was a brave, intelligent, and incredibly kind young man; he was _human_, and she could no longer deny it.

Now she was overcome by a wave of guilt, the likes of which she had never felt before. _How… how could I have done this to him, acted the way I did? Daddy's death was not his fault, Kira wasn't responsible for it… it was this damn war, not that boy. I've been twisting him, manipulating him into staying here and fighting, knowing how much he hates fighting, how much it hurts him to have to kill… he's not the monster; _I _am._

The girl buried her head into her pillow, using it to stifle a sob and soak up the tears that had begun flowing down her cheeks. _I have to apologize, tell him everything… but how could he forgive me after all I've done to him?_

After a minute of muffled sobbing, she realized that the answer to her question lay in one of the reasons that she had come to care for Kira in the first place. _Kira… he's not the kind of person to hold a grudge. Unlike me, a foolish girl who let herself drown in her own hatred, Kira doesn't have a malice-filled bone in his body. He's always kind, always considerate… I don't think he knows _how _to hate._

Flay rolled over, staring up at the ceiling again. There were still tears flowing from her eyes, but she had stopped sobbing, and a small smile was on her face. Unlike other's she'd had in the past, this one was gentle, and genuine. _Tomorrow, I'll tell him the truth, and apologize. It won't be easy, and I know he'll be hurt by what I tell him; there's no way to avoid that._

_ But… he'll forgive me. I know he will… because he's Kira._

….

After taking off from the submarine/carrier _Challenger_, the six DINN Mk. IIs of the Grabacr Special Operations Squadron formed up in a flying-v. The sun was just climbing over the horizon, though the gathering dark clouds threatened to cut off its gaze from the coming battle.

At the head of the formation of gray and black DINNs, the Commander frowned. _Looks like a storm's brewing_, thought the blond haired man, his steely gray eyes narrowing, _I hope it doesn't interfere with our mission. _Ashley Bernitz, the twenty-eight year old Commander of the Grabacr Team, didn't want Mother Nature to get in the way of his glory.

A Second Generation Coordinator born in the heart of PLANT power, Ashley had known from an early age that he was destined for greatness. His parents sat on the board of directors for Kepler Heavy Industries, one of the premier large-scale manufacturing firms in outer space. Building everything from shuttles to entire colonies, the company never lacked for customers, and his parents considerable fortune meant that Ashley had access to the best education one could get in the PLANTs. The Bernitz family had quickly risen to the ranks of the Coordinator homeland elite, and it was not uncommon for them to be seen with members of the Supreme Council or other prominent members of society. Ashley himself had taken to that social scene quite eagerly, and it was not long until he had begun rubbing shoulders with members of the budding radical faction. The young man had had a prideful streak a kilometer long, and that arrogance had played no small role in convincing Ashley that it was the Coordinators who were the future of mankind, destined to rule not just the Earth Sphere but eventually the entire solar system.

He could've gone into any company he'd wanted to, Kepler included, and have been successful, but Ashley's instincts had told him that the path to true power would be found within the military, and he had joined ZAFT at the earliest opportunity. Rising swiftly through the ranks due to his combination of piloting skills and political connections, it had not been long before he had been contacted by then-Defense Chairman Zala and offered a place amongst the new organization he was building; Special Operations.

_I jumped at the chance_, he mused, _and the rest, as they say, is history. _Scanning his radar, he quickly caught sight of the Ofnir Team. The group of six white and light gray DINN Mk. IIs had just launched from their own carrier, the _Cook_, and were moving to join their fellow Special Operations Squadron.

The cold, gravelly voice of Michael Heimeroth, the Ofnir Commander, came over the radio, and the raven haired, icy blue eyed officer appeared on Ashley's screen. "This is Ofnir One," he said, "we're ready for battle. Awaiting orders, Commander Bernitz."

Ashley nodded. "Form up on us and stay on course. Be ready to break the instant you catch sight of Wing Zero."

"And the legged ship?" said Michael.

"The Zala Team will handle it, along with their fighters and the Strike," he replied. Then he gave a cold smile. "Of course, if they take too long then we can always dive in and steal the glory once we dispose of Wing Zero."

"Looking forward to it," said Michael, "Ofnir One, out."

….

The early morning calm was shattered by the _Archangel_'s second in command. "Enemy forces spotted on radar!" came Lieutenant Badgiruel's voice over the loudspeaker, "All hands, Level One Battle Stations!"

Heero flew out of bed. Quick as a flash the young man was on his feet and rushing towards the door. Still wearing the same green tank-top and black shorts from yesterday, the Gundam pilot paused only to holster his gun before leaving his quarters.

He nearly ran into Murrue in the hallway. Their eyes met briefly, and the two of them nodded before Heero made a mad dash to the hangar. _ZAFT_, he thought as he ran, _I hope the soldiers you've sent today have their wills written, because none of them are coming home alive._

….

Flay bolted upright the instant she heard the announcement. _The enemy's here! That means Kira will be going into battle again! _It was foolish, but she had to find him before he got to the Strike. Changing into her uniform faster than she thought possible, she ran from her room, surprising Miriallia, who was already dashing down the hallway towards the bridge. Flay saw her friend raise an eyebrow at her before shrugging and continuing on her way. _I can't blame her for being surprised. After all, it's not like I can actually do anything to help with the fighting._

That didn't matter to her, though. What was important was that she find Kira and apologize before he got to his mobile suit. _Kira, it's all my fault you're piloting that thing today! Please, let me make it in time!_

She practically barreled into the Coordinator as she made her way towards the pilot ready room. "Flay!" he said, clearly surprised, "What are you doing here?"

Looking at the boy, her blue/gray eyes meeting his violet ones, she felt herself freeze. _No_, she thought, _focus, Flay! If you don't tell him now, who knows when you'll get another chance!_

"Kira…" she said, "I…" Try as she might, though, she was too scared, and the words she wanted to say just wouldn't come out.

The young man smiled at her. "Look, I have to go… we'll talk later, alright?"

All she could do was nod as the door closed behind him. _Shit! I screwed up… I'll just have to wait until he gets back, I guess._

_ Kira… please be careful._

….

"Status report!" yelled Murrue as she entered the bridge.

"Captain," said the sensor operator, "I have sixteen enemy mobile suits on radar: twelve in front of us and four coming from behind."

The _Archangel _had just entered the Marshall Islands that morning, and the ship was passing between the Ratak and Railik island chains. _A rocky corridor_, thought Murrue as she took her seat, _and we're being confronted from both ends of it._

"Captain," said Sai from the CIC, "The four suits behind us are the prototypes, and the twelve machines out front… they're the same kind of DINNs that the Valkyrie Team pilots!"

"What?" she cried, shocked at what she heard, "Bring them up on screen!"

An image appeared of the dozen approaching mobile suits. They were arrayed in two delta formations with six machines each. The DINNs in the left triangle were dark grey with black trim, while the ones on the right were white with light grey. As the camera zoomed in, Murrue saw that each machine had a rifle in its left hand and a violet beam saber in its right.

_Shit_, she thought, _not good! _Murrue immediately began typing into the small keypad on the right arm of her chair.

Heero's face appeared on her personal monitor. "I'm ready to launch," he said, "What is it, Murrue?"

"Heero," she said, "there are sixteen enemy machines, and twelve of them are the same kind used by the Valkyrie Team!"

His Prussian blue eyes narrowed. "Alright," he said, completely calm, "I'll take care of those. What are the other four units?"

"The G-Weapons," said Murrue, "they're back for another round."

"Understood," said Heero, "listen, have the Strike and both Skygraspers focus on them; I don't want them getting in my way when I'm fighting the DINNs."

"But, Heero…" she said. She'd wanted to have at least one of the fighters back him up.

"Trust me, Murrue," the Gundam pilot replied, "it's better this way." He then smiled slightly. "Once I'm engaged, I'll send you targeting data for the _Archangel_'s heavy weapons; be ready to act when you get it."

Murrue nodded. "Alright... be careful, ok?"

"Roger that," he said.

Murrue turned back to the bridge as the screen went black. "Get the hangar doors open!" she said, "Wing Zero launches first! Follow up with the Strike in Aile configuration, and tell Kira that he'll be engaging the G-weapons. The same goes for La Flaga and Tolle; Skygrasper One will have the Launcher pack, Two will fly in normal configuration!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Miriallia.

"Badgiruel," said Murrue, "Have the Wombat and Corintoss missiles readied! Arm Helldarts and Igelstellungs and be ready to put up an anti-air barrage the instant the enemy comes into range. Stand by on the Gottfrieds and Valiants; we'll be waiting for targeting solutions from Heero!"

"Aye, Captain!" said Natarle.

"Doors are open," said Miriallia, "Wing Zero is launching!"

Murrue watched as Heero flew out of the hangar, blue fire blazing from his machine's thrusters as he gunned the engines and moved to take the twelve newcomers head on.

_Heero, I'll trust your judgment, and back you up whatever way you want me to. Now, win… and come back to me._

….

As Heero brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, he saw the two six suit formations dissolve as the enemy broke into wing pairs. _They're spreading out earlier than the last group_, he thought, _looks like ZAFT's getting smarter._

He pulled the trigger, sending a large golden-yellow blast at the incoming swarm. However, only two machines, white and grey ones, were destroyed by the attack.

_Look's like this'll be a precision job_, he thought as he dialed back the power a bit and drew his green beam saber, _brute force alone won't cut it. Just like the Valkyrie Team…_

Soon the ten remaining DINNs enveloped him. Five of them moved in for close quarters combat, while the others launched volleys of rifle and missile fire. Gaining altitude, Heero dodged the initial barrage and blocked the saber strike of the lead grey and black machine. Pushing his foe back before whirling around to parry a blow from his next attacker, Heero quickly fell into a familiar rhythm of evasion, blocking, and counter-attacking.

The enemy suits swarmed around him, trying their best to overwhelm him, but thanks to the Zero system Heero was able to stay one step ahead of the mechanical ravens. Side slipping two DINNs moving in with their beam sabers, he then fired a barrage of gatling fire at an incoming missile volley, destroying the warheads. The Gundam pilot then dropped altitude, raising the Twin Buster Rifle as he did so. Cutting loose with another blast, he managed to destroy a grey and black DINN, but that still left nine machines remaining.

_These guys aren't bad_, he thought as began trading saber blows with two of his foes, all the while dodging a hail of cannon rounds from several other machines, _they're not as good as the Valkyrie Team, but their skills are solid and there's more of them. This won't be easy…_

….

"Kira Yamato, launching!"

The Coordinator was thrown back in his seat as the Strike was catapulted into the air. Rather than take up position on top of the ship like last time, Kira moved to engage the incoming prototypes head on.

While it was true that the Strike couldn't fly like the platforms used by the four suits in front of him could, Kira had found an alternative. Gunning his thrusters and going for altitude, Kira then allowed the Strike to drop towards his enemies. He fired a barrage with the beam rifle as he fell, and while he scored no hits he did manage to get his enemy to scatter. Then, before the mobile suit hit the water, Kira hit his engines again, once again gaining altitude. So long as he was able to repeat this series of actions, he'd be able to keep the Strike airborne.

This time he went for the Duel as he came back down. He led with the beam rifle, and when he once again failed to score any hits he drew the Strike's beam saber. The Duel returned fire, but Kira was able to block it with his shield as he moved in to attack. The blue and gray machine was forced to draw its own sword, and the two violet blades clashed in the sky. The enemy managed to parry his blow, causing Kira to continue his fall until he gunned his thrusters again.

However, the Strike wasn't the only threat the Duel had to worry about. As Kira fell away, Tolle dove in on Skygrasper Two, firing several energy beams. The enemy mobile suit managed to evade the barrage, but the attack kept it from moving in to engage the _Archangel_.

Meanwhile, Skygrasper One was bombarding the Aegis, Blitz, and Buster with crimson fire from the Agni slung beneath the fighter. Alone he wouldn't be able to take the three machines, but as he was firing the _Archangel _cut loose with a swarm of Helldart anti-air missiles, several of which hit the enemy mobile suits. The warheads did not damage them due to their Phase Shift Armor, but the impacts and detonations would drain valuable energy.

Still, Kira knew that eventually both the Lieutenant Commander and the _Archangel _would be overwhelmed if he didn't act quickly. Adjusting his descent angle, Kira dropped the Strike between the three machines and the ship, firing his rifle at both the Aegis and the Blitz while La Flaga launched another volley of red beams at the Buster.

Once again, none of the shots connected, and Kira had to bring both his sword and shield up in order to block close range attacks from the red and black machines. _Damn_, he thought as they drove him downwards, forcing him to hit the thrusters sooner than he'd planned, _Athrun's even better than last time, and the Blitz's pilot is no slouch either. Good thing Tolle and the Lieutenant Commander are keeping the other two machines busy, or I'd be in real trouble._

….

"Prepare the Helldarts for another volley," ordered Murrue, "stand by on Igelstellungs in case the enemy gets any closer!"

"Aye, Captain!" said Natarle.

Murrue looked at one of the side monitors, which showed the battle taking place to the rear of the ship. The two Skygraspers and the Strike appeared to be evenly matched against the four ZAFT machines, with Kira and Tolle engaging the Aegis, Blitz, and Duel while Lieutenant Commander La Flaga played out his almost traditional encounter with the Buster. _Those two always seem to go for each other when they're on the same battlefield_, she thought. Looking past them, Murrue saw a front of black and gray clouds steadily advancing. _Looks like we have a storm bearing down on us_, she thought, _I hope it isn't too bad._

Satisfied that the threat to their rear was contained for the moment, Murrue turned her attention to Heero's battle. She saw Wing Zero slice a gray and black DINN clean in two before whirling to block more strikes from two more machines. At the same time he was constantly side slipping and dodging fire from the other six machines, and the fact that it had taken him this long to kill four of his opponents had her concerned. _They aren't regular ZAFT pilots_, Murrue thought, _I can tell from here that they're pretty good, though since Heero's been able to kill some of them I doubt they're as skilled as the Valkyrie Team. Still, the fact that there's more of them is undoubtedly making it difficult for Heero._

She suddenly heard Natarle's voice from the CIC. "Captain," she said, "we're receiving targeting solutions for the Gottfrieds and Valiants from Wing Zero, along with a time to fire!"

"Send them to my display!" Murrue ordered. A set of numbers and a red timer appeared on her small screen, twenty seconds on it.

Murrue knew she had to act quickly. "Enter those solutions and fire on my command!"

"Aye, Captain," she replied, quickly running final checks on the guns.

Murrue's eyes narrowed as she studied the numbers. _The only way Heero would be able to provide this kind of precise targeting data_, she thought, _would be by using the Zero system to predict where the enemy will be. I can't begin to imagine the sheer strength of will and mental acuity it takes to do something like that. Heero, I promise I won't fail you!_

She watched the timer enter its last numbers. "Three, two, one, fire!" she yelled.

Large emerald beams ripped forth from the Gottfrieds, while massive projectiles flew from the Valiant Heavy Rail Cannons. In a display of coordination Murrue couldn't help but marvel at, all four shots connected. Two gray and black and two white and gray DINNs exploded, and the remaining four machines scattered wildly, completely caught off guard by the incredibly precise salvo.

Murrue smiled as she saw Heero waste no time in taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, rushing in to impale another gray and black machine with his emerald blade. He then whirled around as the DINN exploded and went for his next target. However, this time the enemy managed to regroup somewhat, and Wing Zero's target managed to block the Gundam's saber strike while the other two machines came in to support.

Still, Murrue knew that the tide of battle had turned decisively in Heero's favor. She knew that he probably could've taken the original twelve machines by himself, but it probably would've taken him longer than he could afford. Also, Murrue couldn't deny the thrill she got as Heero had sent her that targeting data, knowing it meant that he had taken her words about fighting together to heart.

_We'll beat them together, Heero_, she thought, smiling again, _no matter what ZAFT throws at us, I know we can triumph if we fight to protect each other!_

….

Yzak was getting frustrated. The battle with the Strike and the two fighters had become a stalemate, and the silver-haired, hot-headed pilot could not stand the thought of his enemies escaping again… especially the damn Strike.

"I won't let you get away again!" he roared. Pushing his engines to the max, he all but slammed into the enemy mobile suit, which was barely able to raise its beam saber in time to block his vicious attack.

Yzak smiled as he pushed the Strike away from the battle. "Now's your chance, guys!" he said, "Get 'em!"

"You got it!" said Dearka, renewing his assault on the fighter with the large cannon. Meanwhile, Athrun and Nicole easily managed to overwhelm the other plane, with the Blitz hanging back to cover while the Aegis moved in on the legged ship.

However, Yzak's triumph was short lived. Seeing that its mother ship was threatened, the Strike was suddenly moving much faster, and before Yzak realized what had happened the blue, white, and red machine had backed off, raised its rifle, and put a beam right through the Duel's left leg.

"Damn it!" cried Yzak as he lost balance, his machine's knee completely destroyed. He struggled to keep himself upright, but it was a losing battle, and the proud pilot knew that he would barely be able to make it back to the _Cousteau _as it was.

"Shit!" he yelled, "I'm out. Dearka, take them down for me!"

"No problem," said his friend, confidence clear in his voice.

Yzak snarled as he was forced to retreat, his only comfort being that he'd gotten his team a window to assault the legged ship. He could only hope they'd make the most of it.

….

"Damn it!" came Tolle's voice over the radio, "_Archangel_, the Aegis is incoming!"

"I'll stop it!" said Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, but as he tried to break away to help his fighter was hit by the Buster. The plane survived, but the damage to its engines was severe.

"Shit," Murrue heard him say, "I'm out. _Archangel_, I'm coming in for a hot landing!"

Murrue quickly began issuing orders. "Have the hangar doors opened, and tell them to get the arrestor nets and fire extinguishers ready!"

"The Aegis is closing in!" said the radar operator.

"Hard to port!" Murrue yelled, "Get as many guns on it as we can!"

She gripped the arms of her chair tightly as the ship turned. The vessel unleashed a hail of anti-air fire, but the crimson suit's pilot was skilled, and nothing hit it. Suddenly the ship shuddered as the Aegis fired.

"Portside Valiant is hit!" said Natarle, "It's inoperable!"

"Fire Helldarts and Wombats!" cried Murrue, "Get him off of us!"

A swarm of missiles flew from the _Archangel_, and this time the Aegis took hits. However, its Phase Shift Armor took the brunt of the barrage, and it came right back for more.

_Heero_, she thought as she turned to her personal monitor, which showed Wing Zero battling its last two foes, having dispatched another DINN with its shoulder gatlings, _please, get back here quickly!_

….

"Damn it," Heero snarled, "I don't have time to be playing around with you two!"

Wing Zero was trading saber blows with the last two machines, one of each color scheme. Gunning his thrusters, he quickly gained altitude, and when he was temporarily clear of the enemy machines he turned and fired the Twin Buster Rifle. Rather than aim at the DINNs though, his target was the Aegis, which was bombarding the _Archangel_. The red machine barely managed to dodge the yellow energy blast, and Heero could only hope that his distraction had bought the white warship a little breathing room.

_Hang on, Murrue!_, he thought as he reengaged the DINNs, _I'll finish these guys now, then I'm coming to help you!_

His thoughts quickly became action as the last white and gray DINN moved in to attack. Dodging to the right, Heero swung his beam saber so fast it was almost a blur. The blow ripped through the machine's cockpit section, and the mobile suit exploded.

He then turned to the final machine, the last of the gray and black DINNs. "You're mine," he hissed as he charged it.

….

_How… how did this happen?_

Ashley was in shock, and was barely able to block the ferocious strike from Wing Zero's beam saber. He reacted numbly as the force of the blow pushed him back, unable to comprehend just what had happened to his command.

_Grabacr, Ofnir… completely annihilated. All by one mobile suit and a battleship…_

His pride was shattered, the will to fight utterly abandoning him. As he saw Wing Zero charge him again, Ashley couldn't even bring himself to attempt a retreat or do anything to save his own life.

As his indomitable foe's emerald blade stabbed into his cockpit, the Special Operations Commander felt only a brief flash of pain before Death's sweet embrace took him.

….

Kira rushed towards the _Archangel_. The Blitz moved to block his path, but Kira barreled on past it, shoving the black mobile suit aside with his shield. "Tolle," he said, "keep that one busy!"

"You got it, buddy!" his friend yelled as he dived in, his plane launching a pair of missiles. The Blitz raised its shield and took the warheads on it before returning fire. Kira was relieved to see his friend dodge the green beams that came his way. _I hope Tolle will be alright…_

He turned back to the _Archangel_, which was now under attack by both the Aegis and the Buster. The white ship was throwing up a storm of anti-air machine gun and missile fire, but the Phase Shift Armor of both units enabled them to weather the barrage. The two machines had already scored a few hits on the vessel, the most serious of which had knocked the portside Valiant Cannon out of commission.

Charging headlong into the fray, Kira raised his rifle and fired several shots. None of the green beams connected with the two suits, but they did serve to draw their attention away from the _Archangel _and towards him. Both the Aegis and the Buster quickly moved on him, firing as they approached.

Kira brought his shield up, and though he managed to block the attacks he knew that he had been thrown on the defensive. Gunning his thrusters in an effort to get above the two machines, he was dismayed to see them keeping pace, the platforms beneath the two mobile suits giving them greater mobility.

More bad news was quick in coming, courtesy of Tolle. "Damn, he got past me! Kira, the Blitz is heading your way, I can't stop him!"

_Oh no_, thought Kira; he had reached the peak of his climb, and the Strike was now beginning to descend. With the Aegis and Buster above him and the Blitz coming up from below, the boy knew they had him dead to rights.

At least until a massive yellow blast cut through the sky, scattering the three mobile suits.

A new contact appeared on his radar. "Wing Zero!" cried Kira. It seemed that Heero had finished dispatching his adversaries just in time.

Sure enough, the Gundam pilot's face appeared on the Strike's main monitor, as calm as ever. "I'll take the Buster and the Blitz," he said, "you focus on the Aegis."

"Got it!" said Kira, "Thanks, Heero!"

His fellow mobile suit pilot nodded before cutting the connection. As he aimed at the Aegis and fired, he saw Heero make a beeline for the Blitz. The black machine was barely able to bring up its beam saber in time to block a powerful overhand strike from the Gundam, which then pulled back and fired the Twin Buster Rifle at the Buster. The green and tan suit barely dodged the shot before returning the favor, combining its beam rifle and gun launcher to form the massive cannon, from which it fired a scatter-shot blast.

However, the overwhelming skill of Heero and the sheer acceleration provided by the Gundam's powerful engines enabled him to completely avoid getting hit, and Kira watched in awe as he began a two-on-one shoot out with the Blitz and the Buster. The Coordinator then shook his head, reminding himself that he had to focus on his own battle.

He turned back towards the Aegis, barely managing to dodge Athrun's return fire. As he did so, two missiles flew into the fray, which the red machine took on the shield on its left arm. Kira looked up to see Tolle's fighter flash by.

"Kira!" his friend said, "I'll make hit and run attacks to keep him off balance; you take him head on!"

Kira nodded. "Got it!" The boy knew that the help of the fighter might give him enough of an opening to damage Athrun's flight platform and force him to retreat.

He could only hope…

….

"Damn it!" said Nicole, "This guy can't be human! Not even a Coordinator has moves like these!"

Wing Zero was all but schooling him and Dearka. The machine had fallen into a deadly pattern, trading long-range fire with the Buster before quickly moving in for close-quarters-combat with the Blitz. Each time Nicole's violet beam saber clashed with Wing Zero's green blade, the young man was staggered back by the sheer power behind each blow.

Dearka, for his part, was alternating between scatter-shots and concentrated blasts in an effort to catch the fearsome machine off guard, but its pilot was too good to let that happen, completely evading each shot regardless of what type it was.

_I got no choice_, the green haired young man thought, _time for the Mirage Colloid! _The cloaking system would not cover the flight platform, and he wouldn't be able to use his Phase Shift Armor either, but it might take Wing Zero by surprise for a second or two, which could give either Nicole or Dearka a window of opportunity.

He pulled back as he activated the system, and soon the Blitz was invisible. However, much to Nicole's astonishment, Wing Zero didn't hesitate for an instant; the machine charged him head on, and the boy knew that the pilot was using his flight platform as a means to gauge where the Blitz was.

Nicole raised the mobile suit's left arm and fired the Gleipner rocket anchor, hoping that, since the Mirage Colloid covered the retrievable weapon, it would be enough to temporarily throw Wing Zero off balance.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Nicole's eyes widened in astonishment as Wing Zero raised its beam saber and sliced the Gleipner anchor clean in two from stem to stern. _He must've seen the rockets fire_, he thought, _the Colloid didn't cover their jet wash, and he was able to use that to gauge the trajectory! Shit, this guy's a damn god of war!_

Wing Zero continued to charge at him, and Nicole knew that remaining cloaked would do him no good. He quickly deactivated the Colloid, just in time to endure a barrage from the machine's shoulder gatlings. The impacts caused the mobile suit to shudder, and Nicole was barely able to dodge to the right to avoid Wing Zero's saber slash.

However, the boy hadn't moved quickly enough, and the Blitz's entire left arm was severed at the shoulder. As Wing Zero passed him, it turned around at cut loose with another volley from its shoulder gatlings, and several rounds hit the flight platform. Having no choice, Nicole quickly took the Blitz into a jump off the platform just as it exploded beneath him.

"Nicole, dive!" yelled Dearka.

Nicole did so, cutting his thrusters and allowing the Blitz to plummet as the Buster fired another scatter-shot blast. The move forced Wing Zero to reengage the green and tan machine and bought Nicole time to adjust his piloting style as he struggled to adapt to the same thruster technique the Strike had been using throughout the battle.

"Go help Athrun," said Dearka, "I'll keep Wing Zero distracted!"

Nicole nodded. "Good luck!"

….

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief as the Aegis and Buster were drawn off by the Strike and Wing Zero. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga had touched down safely as well, though according to the hangar teams the landing had been a bit rough. _Time to find out how much of a pounding we took_, she thought.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," she said, "damage report!"

"Not as bad as it could be, all things considered," her second in command replied, "the portside weapons took a beating though. The Valiant on that side is out, along with Igelstellungs five and six and missile tube Three. We also took a hit to the portside engines, but they're still holding together."

"Decrease speed until engineering can figure out the extent of the damage to them," ordered Murrue, "we can't afford to have them blowing out on us."

"Aye, Captain," said the helmsman.

"Also," said Murrue, "turn us so our starboard side is facing the enemy; I want to be able to hit them with a full broadside if they come back at us."

"Understood," replied the helmsman, "beginning turn."

Murrue took the opportunity to check on the raging mobile suit battles. Kira seemed to have the Aegis bottled up for the moment, with Tolle aiding him in Skygrasper Two. Heero, meanwhile, was slugging it out with the Buster in an epic artillery duel, with massive shots from both parties flashing across the sky. The storm clouds Murrue had seen earlier had moved over the battlefield, and the rain that had begun to fall seemed quite fitting for the thundering titans blasting away at each other overhead. The battle between Wing Zero and the Buster appeared to be heading towards a nearby island, which just happened to be directly in front of the _Archangel_'s new heading.

Then Murrue realized that something was wrong. _Where's the Blitz?_

….

Kira could feel the sweat dripping down his brow. _Damn it_, he thought, _I can't believe we're still going at it like this. _Even outnumbered two to one, Athrun was more than holding his own, and his deadly combination of rifle fire and yellow beam sabers were more than enough to match the Strike and Skygrasper. Kira realized that this was probably due in large part to the fact that, unlike him and Tolle, Athrun had actual military training prior to going to the battlefields, and that training had taught him among other things how to fight efficiently while being outnumbered. His old friend's moves were very precise, never expending more energy than he had to, and his shots were frighteningly accurate; Kira had been forced to use his shield several times, and Tolle had been dodging shots with bare meters to spare. It had been pure luck that Athrun hadn't scored a serious hit yet on either of them.

Desperate to end the fight, Kira recklessly charged his old friend as Tolle finished another pass. Distracted by blocking energy beams on his shield, Athrun had made himself a prime target for a close in attack. However, as Kira swung his sword in an attempt to sever the Aegis's right arm, Athrun instantly brought his yellow beam saber up and blocked the blow.

Reacting quickly, Kira pulled back, aided by two missiles from Tolle that Athrun had to evade. After he had gained some distance, Kira rushed to bring his rifle to bear. Acting without thinking, he fired…

…only to realize as he pulled the trigger that the shot was aimed squarely at Athrun's cockpit.

_Oh no! _"Athrun!" he cried.

The emerald beam seemed to leave the barrel in slow motion, and Kira watched in horror as it flew towards the Aegis.

….

Athrun's eyes widened as he saw Kira take the shot. _That's it_, he thought, _I'm dead!_

However, just as he thought his life was about to end, the air in front of the Aegis seemed to blur, and then the Blitz appeared… between him and the Strike.

Terror gripped the young man as he realized what had just happened. "_Nicole!_" he cried out…

…just as the beam hit the cockpit of the Blitz.

The black machine exploded, parts flying everywhere… the pilot consumed by the flames.

For a moment Athrun froze, the sheer shock at what had occurred halting all conscious thought. Then, after a second of eerie calm, a fire such as he had never felt before seemed to burst forth from within. He had a vision of a seed bursting in his mind as he let loose a roar of pure rage. "_KIRA!_"

….

Kira's eyes widened in shock as he heard Athrun's cry over the radio. He'd never heard anything like that from his friend; the sheer _wrath _in the single word was like a raging inferno. The pilot of the Strike barely had time to react as the Aegis closed in on him, with lightning speed and lethal fury. Swinging with the sabers attached on both arms, the crimson mobile suit quickly had Kira on the defensive, pushing him away from the _Archangel _and towards the island where Wing Zero and the Buster were trading fire overhead.

Athrun's assault was overwhelming. Kira could scarcely block his old friend's blows, much less find the space to counter-attack. He knew that, at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before Athrun broke through his defenses and landed a lethal blow.

Then, out of the blue, a series of green beams flew between the two machines. "Kira!" cried Tolle as his fighter swooped in.

However, Kira's friend did not seem to realize that they were no longer facing the same enemy pilot that they were a minute ago. "No, Tolle!" shouted Kira, "Get back!"

His warning came too late. In the blink of an eye, the Aegis flung its shield off its left arm, as if it were an afterthought. The massive red slab of metal slammed into the Skygrasper's cockpit, shearing it completely in half… and utterly destroying the fragile human inside.

For a moment Kira felt as if he had been doused in ice water… before a burning rage took hold of him.

"_ATHRUN!_"

The restraint that he had fought with before was gone. Now, as the two pilots swung their blades…

…they were fighting to kill.

….

"Damn!" snarled Dearka, "Why won't you die?"

The Coordinator had fired shot after shot, but nothing had come close to hitting Wing Zero. Scatter, concentrated, missile barrage… nothing connected, and he was barely able to dodge Wing Zero's return fire. The young man knew that he had only prolonged the fight by keeping his distance and firing his weapons as rapidly as he could, but he knew that the effort was draining the Buster's battery charge severely, and he had scarcely more than a minute of operating time left before the Phase Shift Armor went down and he would be on reserve power. He wouldn't be able to use the combined cannon, and the beam rifle would be useless; he would only have his few remaining missiles and the Gun launcher, none of which would be enough to so much as scratch Wing Zero's armor.

Sparing a glance over at the other battle that was raging, he was shocked to see the sheer ferocity at which Athrun and the Strike were going at it. The Aegis lunged forward, beam sabers sheering one of the wings from the Strike's augmentation pack in half. At the same time, the Alliance machine swung low with its beam saber and slashed into Athrun's flight platform. As the unit exploded, both mobile suits began to plunge towards the island below, swinging their blades all the while.

Unfortunately, his distraction cost him dearly. Wing Zero fired another blast, and while the Buster escaped harm, its flight platform was completely disintegrated.

"Shit!" he cried as his machine fell from the sky. As he plummeted towards the island below, another shot from Wing Zero's powerful rifle ripped forth. Dearka was barely able to maneuver his machine out of the way, but he didn't completely escape harm; the edge of the golden-yellow stream of energy had brushed his main engines, which were now fused into one superheated chunk of metal.

Dearka was rocked by the impact as the Buster slammed into the ground. _Damn it, I can barely move! _His body was sore all over, though a cursory inspection revealed that nothing was broken. He hoped he didn't have any internal injuries.

The ZAFT pilot soon had more important things to worry about, though. Warning alarms went off in his cockpit as he saw that both the legged ship and Wing Zero had their guns aimed directly at him.

The fact that they hadn't fired yet meant only one thing; they were offering him a chance to surrender…

…and he knew that he had no choice but to accept.

As if on cue, the battery gauge finally dipped into the red, and another alarm went off as the Buster's Phase Shift Armor deactivated. Struggling to remove his harness, Dearka knew what he had to do.

Opening the mobile suit's cockpit, he stepped out onto the hatch and held up his hands.

….

Looking on at the scene below, Heero contacted Murrue. "He's surrendered," he said as she appeared on his screen, "Should I go down and restrain him?"

Murrue shook her head. "No, Heero. While I don't doubt that you could probably take a Coordinator in hand-to-hand combat, I'm playing it safe. Remain over him until we can send a detachment out to take him into custody."

"Roger that," he said, "what about Kira?"

Murrue sighed, and Heero could see the barely restrained sorrow and guilt in her eyes. He also realized that he could hear someone crying in the background, and he had no doubt it was Miriallia. "Kira's… on his own," said Murrue, her voice sounding almost hoarse, "Please… remain where you are until we've detained the pilot of the Buster and retrieved the machine."

"Understood," he said, "Murrue… how are you holding up?"

Heero knew that one of the things Murrue considered most important as Captain was her responsibility to her crew, to do the best she could to keep them safe. The death of Tolle no doubt had affected her, and Heero wanted to do something to comfort her… thought he didn't know what he could say or do that would be appropriate for the situation.

He was surprised, therefore, to see Murrue give him a small smile. It was forced, he knew, and her beautiful brown eyes were wracked with pain, but she still managed to curl her lips up just a bit. "I'm… alright, for now. Heero… thank you."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Listen, Murrue… once everything's been wrapped up here… if you want to talk, I promise I'll be there."

He didn't give a damn that the rest of the bridge crew was probably listening to their conversation, and he had a feeling she didn't either. Her sad smile became a bit more genuine, though the grief was of course still there. "Oh, Heero… yes, please… and again, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, glancing briefly at one of the other monitors, which showed the Strike and the Aegis slugging it out with everything they had, before turning back to her, "I'm not going anywhere… I won't abandon you."

….

Down on another part of the island, the two mechanical titans went at it with wild abandon and reckless fury. Gunning his thrusters, Athrun rushed in at the Strike, getting around its shield and severing the arm that held it and the rifle as well. At the same time thought, Kira had lunged forward as well, and the Aegis's right leg was sheared away at the knee.

Going for altitude in order to compensate for his lack of balance on the surface, Athrun fired away with his beam rifle. One shot hit the Strike in the left shoulder, but Kira scarcely seemed to notice as he streaked skywards to meet him, and a thrust with his violet blade destroyed the rifle.

Now Athrun went for broke, igniting not just both the sabers on his arms but the on the Aegis's left leg. Swinging all three of the blades, he attempted to overwhelm Kira's defenses. His old friend managed to parry the right one and even severed the one on his left hand, but the bottom blade stabbed into the Strike's right leg, severely hampering its surface mobility.

Kira retaliated with a vengeance, stabbing towards the head of the Aegis. The violet beam saber penetrated the left optical sensor, causing sparks and flames to fly from the hole created as he withdrew the blade.

Athrun's counter-attack was swift and savage. Sweeping his right blade across the Strike's chest, he managed to rip away a portion of the mobile suit's chest armor, exposing the cockpit… and his old friend.

_Time to finish you off!_ The Aegis entered mobile armor mode as Athrun prepared to unleash the 'Scylla' Energy Cannon… only to hear an alarm go off in the cockpit as his batteries entered their reserve power, which did not have enough juice to fuel the high-powered weapon.

Snarling and slamming his fist into the side of the cockpit, Athrun pushed his engines to their limits, grasping the Strike with the claw-shaped mobile armor the Aegis had become. As the two machines slammed into the ground, the ZAFT pilot keyed in the mobile suit's self destruct sequence, and a rapidly ticking timer appeared on the main monitor.

Athrun opened the rear hatch and exited the Aegis. He hit the jets on his flight suit's thrust pack and began to move away from the mobile suit… only to be flung forward as the machine exploded…

…taking the Strike with it.

Athrun retained consciousness only for a moment as he flew through the air, out of control. His vision spun wildly, until only the rapidly approaching ground was visible…

… and then darkness took him.

….

"No," said Murrue softly, "not Kira too…"

But she had seen the explosion, courtesy of Wing Zero's sensor feed. Seen the Aegis latch itself onto the Strike shortly before both machines were ripped apart by the blast…

Dimly, she heard Miriallia cry out again in the background along with Sai and Kuzzey. Murrue was in a state of near shock. She had gone for so long without losing a single member of her crew, had even managed to keep them from serious injury…

…and now two were dead in a single engagement.

Only two things kept her from giving in to despair: her duty to the rest of the crew…

…and the fact that Heero had survived.

She knew it was selfish in light of what had just happened, but she gave a silent thanks to whatever cosmic power or deity existed that the Gundam pilot had made it through the battle in one piece.

_Heero, you made it, you can come back… back to me._

**Preview for Next Time!**

_After recovering the Buster and capturing Dearka, the Archangel continues on its journey to Alaska. In the slim hope that Kira may have survive, Murrue Ramius asks Orb to conduct a search operation in the Marshall Islands. Cagalli joins the mission, but the pilot they find is not Kira, but Athrun Zala. The Coordinator from Heliopolis has been recovered by a different party, who takes him to a certain pink-haired songstress. Meanwhile, Murrue struggles to come to grips with the loss of two pilots under her command. Searching for comfort and hope, she finds both in the arms of the Perfect Soldier. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Thirteen: Recovery._

_Is it a calm before the next storm... or a brief interlude before the massive tempest blows again?_

**Author's Notes: **Well... that was an interesting chapter to write, no doubts there. The action's going to die down for the next chapter or two, but don't worry; when it comes back, it'll be in the form of Operation Spitbreak, which means lots of explosions for everyone! And this is MY Spitbreak, which means a MUCH bigger battle than the one shown in the series canon.

Please review, and until next time, my friends!


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes: **No action in this chapter, I'm afraid. This is a hurt/comfort, romance, and character development episode, the fighting's taking a break until Operation Spitbreak is unleashed. That doesn't mean there's not a lot going on, though. Far from it; this chapter's quite important in its own right, especially as far as character growth is concerned.

Enjoy!

**Episode Thirteen: Recovery**

"Captain," said Natarle, "the Buster has been secured in the hangar, and the enemy pilot has been taken to the brig. What are your orders?"

Murrue sighed. Despite the shock of what had just occurred, she knew that they had no time to rest; ZAFT could send in reinforcements at anytime, and Murrue had a duty to get her ship moving and keep the rest of her crew safe. The sobs of Miriallia were all too keen a reminder of her responsibility to those who were still alive, regardless of how sympathetic Murrue felt towards those who had just lost friends and loved ones; she had to get them moving immediately.

Still, she couldn't just leave the area as it was. While she had no doubt that Tolle was dead due to the utter destruction of his fighter's cockpit section by the Aegis, she couldn't completely give up on Kira; there were large sections of the Strike and its rival strewn across the island, and there was a slim chance that the boy had survived. However, they could not afford the luxury of a proper search, especially in light of the damage the _Archangel _had suffered in the battle.

Murrue raised her head and began issuing orders. "Send a message to Orb; ask them to send a search party in case either of them managed to survive."

"Understood, Captain," said the radio operator.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Murrue, "list both Ensign Yamato and Crewman Koenig as M.I.A., at least until Orb confirms otherwise."

"Aye, Captain," said Natarle.

She then typed on the small keypad on the arm of her chair, and Heero's face appeared on her personal monitor. "Heero," said Murrue, "we're moving out. Please, come back aboard now."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Understood, I'm coming in for landing."

Wing Zero had remained overhead during the recovery of the Buster and the capture of its pilot, just in case enemy reinforcements arrived. With the destruction of both the Strike and one of the fighters, along with the severe damage suffered by Lieutenant Commander La Flaga's plane, Wing Zero was now the _Archangel_'s only defense aside from its own weaponry.

Now, as the Gundam pilot signed off, Murrue watched as the extraordinary mobile suit descended towards the ship. _As horrific as that battle was_, she thought, _I know we all would've been killed were it not for you. Thank you, Heero._

Unfortunately, her relief and gratitude towards the young man she had come to love could not overcome the crushing guilt she felt at the deaths of two of the Heliopolis students. _Kira, Tolle… neither of them would've been on the battlefield were it not for me. _

She lowered her head, gripping the arms of her chair tightly. _I'm so sorry… the two of you should never have been involved in this war. Now you're gone… it's all my fault. Forgive me…_

….

A thundering noise slowly brought the young man back to consciousness. Eyes fluttering, Kira Yamato groaned as he came to, his entire body in pain. As he regained his vision, he saw that he was still in the cockpit of the Strike… or rather, what little was left of it.

The front armor had been completely torn away by the combination of the Aegis's attacks and subsequent self-detonation. The cockpit module itself had been torn away from the mobile suit's arms, legs, and head, all of which were scattered across the beach, along with parts of the Aegis. The interior of the cockpit was trashed, with all the monitors having exploded, the control panels mangled beyond all recognition, and what few walls remained were pockmarked with shrapnel.

As he struggled to climb out of the savaged machine, Kira's every move was slow and agonizing. He didn't know the extent of his injuries, but he knew that he would unlikely be able to stay conscious and mobile for long; he had to find the _Archangel_, and quickly.

With great effort he managed to lift himself out of the cockpit, and discovered the source of the roaring noise; the _Archangel _was firing up its engines and leaving the area. He stumbled off the machine and fell to the ground. Struggling to get to his feet, he limped towards the white warship, his body protesting with every step. The storm that had been approaching during the battle had arrived in full force, and a torrential downpour was assaulting Kira.

"_Archangel_…" he groaned. As he did so, Kira could feel what little strength he had leave him. The Coordinator fell to the ground, darkness taking him again.

….

"So, we can't take the engines over fifty percent power?" asked Murrue.

Chief Murdoch nodded on her screen. "I'm afraid we can't push them too hard, or the portside one will blow out. Captain, can we take the damaged engine offline at night and work on it? Our speed will be decreased even further, but we'd be able to make some progress on it, get it close to full operational status."

Murrue nodded. "I'll allow it, so long as we can at least move a little. I'll radio ahead to the Pearl Harbor base and ask if we can stop off there for a day or two to repair whatever your crew can't get done while we're at sea."

"That'll help," he said, "Murdoch out."

Murrue sighed as the mechanic signed off, turning to another monitor. This one was the rearview one, and she could see in it several pieces of the Strike and Aegis strewn across the island. _I feel terrible, leaving like this… but what choice do I have?_

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Heero standing next to her. _I didn't even hear him enter the bridge. _He appeared as calm as ever to the average person, but Murrue could detect a slight softening of his features.

"Heero…" she said softly, "how long have you been here?"

"I just arrived," he replied, "I was looking over the Buster, making sure the pilot hadn't set a delayed timer on it or any other traps. Luckily for us it seems he didn't have time to."

"I see," said Murrue, "well, I appreciate your checking. Things are bad enough without having to worry about the Buster exploding inside the ship."

Heero nodded, and Murrue could see the concern in his eyes. "Murrue…" he said, "…do you need anything?"

Despite the pain and guilt inside her, Murrue could not help but be touched by his words. She gave him a soft smile. "Could you stay here until the end of my shift?"

"I was going to do that anyway," he said.

Murrue was almost overwhelmed by a sudden rush of gratitude and affection for the young man, and she almost felt as though she might have to choke back tears. She did her best to restrain herself, but she could still feel her smile growing a bit bigger, despite the tragedy that had occurred less than fifteen minutes ago.

"Oh, Heero…" she said, so quietly that she was sure that only he could hear her, "thank you."

He nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. "You're welcome, Murrue. When you're done here, I'll go with you. We can find someplace to talk then."

"I'd like that," said Murrue, "I really would…"

A fresh bout of cries came from the CIC, and Heero and Murrue looked over to see Sai standing next to Miriallia, a hand on her shoulder as she put her head in her arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Tolle…" Murrue heard her choke out, "Kira…"

She saw the blond haired young man look over at Natarle. "Lieutenant Badgiruel, may I…"

Before he could finish, Natarle looked up at Murrue, who nodded at the officer. The black haired woman turned back to Sai, and Murrue saw something she was sure very few people had witnessed before; a soft, sympathetic smile on Natarle's face.

"Of course," said Natarle, nodding, "take her to her room, Crewman Argyle."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Sai. He gently took Miriallia by the arm, and slowly lifted the girl out of her seat. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he led the still sobbing young woman off the bridge.

Murrue looked over at the other Heliopolis student who was stationed on the bridge. "Crewman Buskirk," she said, "you can go as well if you'd like."

The black haired boy nodded. "Thank you, Captain." He stood up and joined Sai and Miriallia as they left the bridge.

After the doors closed, a strange quiet overtook the bridge for a few minutes. No one said a word as the ship slowly made its way out of the Marshall Islands. A kind of numbness had fallen over them, and Murrue understood it perfectly. They had gone for so long without a single casualty other than a few injuries, and they had started to think that the ship had a charmed life, despite all the struggles they had been through. Murrue herself knew that she had fallen prey to that trap as well, despite the losses of comrades and close friends in the past. She had thought herself immune to it for awhile, but slowly and surely, as the _Archangel_'s journey had continued, she had once again come to believe that as long as everyone worked together, they would always make it out in one piece.

_I was a fool_, she thought, _I know exactly what kind of loss Miriallia has suffered; I've felt that pain before, yet even I lulled myself into a false sense of security when it came to this ship and my crew._

She once again looked over at the extraordinary young man standing next to her. _Heero… if I lost you… _She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought, and shuddered despite her best efforts to remain in control.

The gesture went unnoticed by everyone on the bridge… except for the Gundam pilot. Murrue once again felt his hand on her shoulder, and though he didn't say anything, she still felt some reassurance from Heero's gesture.

Suddenly she realized something else, and could've smacked herself for not thinking of it sooner; she had been so wrapped up in her own guilt, along with the pain she knew the Heliopolis students must be facing, that she had not even considered how Heero might be feeling. _I don't think he was particularly close to Tolle, but I know he talked to Kira from time to time._

"Heero," she said softly, "how are you holding up?"

Murrue saw his eyes widen slightly, and she knew that he hadn't expected anyone to ask him that. _The others only ever see the calm and professional side of him… but I've seen what lies beneath it, the kindness and empathy he holds in his heart. He's seen a lot of death, but though he's accepted responsibility for the lives he's taken, the death of a comrade in battle may affect him differently._

Heero's expression quickly returned to normal, though Murrue could sense that he was focusing inward, perhaps reflecting on the past battles he and Kira had shared; she could only guess. He gave her a small nod. "I'm alright. Thank you, though."

Murrue nodded as well. "You're welcome, Heero."

As she turned back towards the front of the bridge, Murrue mentally chided herself. _Of course he wasn't going to say that anything was wrong right now. You know that he doesn't want to worry you, and also that he'd never openly discuss those kinds of feelings in front of the rest of the bridge crew. You should ask him again when you're alone later, though. He might well be a little more open then._

Setting those thoughts aside for later, she looked out the forward viewport. The ship slowly cruised through the torrential downpour, and Murrue felt that it was all too appropriate for their situation. The rain drops falling from the sky seemed almost like a substitute for the tears Murrue could not allow herself to cry in front of her crew. She knew that the Captain had to remain strong in front of others, and she would do her best to uphold that responsibility.

However, when she was alone later, with Heero… perhaps then she could allow her true feelings to come forth. _Heero… your strength and determination allowed us to survive today... and is probably what's helping me keep myself together right now. But later, when it's just us… what I'll need then is your compassion. You've given so much for me already, and I know it's selfish of me… but I need you now more than ever._

….

Though the rain was still falling, a certain man had felt sure enough that the worst of the storm had passed to venture outside. With pale skin sharply contrasted by his black hair, the man wore black pants and a khaki shirt, over which he had a unique robe, the majority of which was sea green, but there was also a black area towards the top with intricate red embroidery in it. The man held a cane in his right hand and an umbrella in his left. The cane served as more than just a support; the Reverend Malchio had lost his sight long ago.

A religious figure respected by both the Alliance and the PLANTs for his charity programs, the monk had a residence on the island, which he used to shelter war orphans. Four of them were with him now; boys between the ages of eleven to thirteen, his older charges. Though he would've preferred to leave all the children back at his house, he knew that he would need their help if he were to come across any wounded survivors from the fierce battle that he knew had taken place on his island. Besides, he knew all too well that the children with him had seen worse than this; all four of them had survived the atrocities committed by the monstrous Schwarze Team in the Far East.

_A pack of demons if ever there was one_, he mused, _how did Zala ever fall so low as to give such madmen that kind of destructive power? Did the death of Lenore truly twist his soul that severely?_

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a cry from one of the boys. "Reverend Malchio!" he said, "Over there!"

At that cue, another boy gently tugged on his robes, and Malchio followed them until his cane bumped against what he knew was a young man lying in front of him. The monk could hear the faintest hint of breathing and knew that whoever it was still barely clung to life.

"Well, my children," he said, "we cannot leave him here. The four of you must work together to pick him up, and we shall take him home with us."

"Ok!" they said together, and after a minute or two the monk heard their confirmations that the young man was secure in their grasp.

_Forgive the uncomfortable portage, young one_, he thought, knowing the way the boys had lifted him was probably less than ceremonious, _we will have you resting and recovering soon enough._

….

"Kisaka!" cried Cagalli, "Wait up!"

The tan skinned, dark haired soldier turned around on the dock to see the Orb princess running after him, dressed in her usual red t-shirt and khaki pants. They were down at one of Orb's naval bases, and Kisaka was preparing to board a seaplane with a group of search-and-rescue workers heading for the Marshall Islands. They had received a radio message from the _Archangel _about a half an hour ago, and Lord Uzumi had agreed to send out a recovery party to search for Kira.

"Cagalli," he said as the blond girl stopped in front of him to catch her breath, "I thought your father told you to stay here?"

"Yeah…" she said, panting, "and since when… has that… stopped me?"

Kisaka would've laughed at her words were the situation not so serious.

"Look," said Cagalli, "Kira's my friend, and if there's a chance I can help him, I'm going to do so, and to hell with what my father says!"

Kisaka sighed, knowing that there was no point in arguing with the girl when she got this way… and truth be told, he didn't have the heart to stop her. He knew that, were it not for the young Coordinator, Cagalli would've died in her foolish attack on the Desert Tiger's forces following the Tassil raid. He owed the kid as much as he did Heero, Captain Ramius, and the rest of the _Archangel_'s crew, and he'd do whatever it took to repay them.

He nodded. "Alright, come along then."

Cagalli nodded. "Thank you, Kisaka."

"Don't thank me yet," he said as they climbed into the plane, "remember, we're flying towards the aftermath of a battle. There's a definite possibility that…"

"Don't say it," interrupted Cagalli, fire burning in her brown eyes, "Kira's alive, I know he is!"

After a moment Kisaka nodded. He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I hope you're right," he said as he closed his eyes to rest; even after the _Archangel_'s departure he had been as busy as ever, and despite the seriousness of the situation was more that fine with using the flight time as an opportunity to rest.

_Princess_, he thought, _I know you are fond of that young man, and Kira has proven himself capable in the past… but the battlefield is an unforgiving place. It rarely offers second chances…_

….

"What's going on?" asked Flay. She knew the battle had ended some time ago, and had left her room to go find Kira. However, as she had gone down the hallway she had run into Sai, Kuzzey, and Miriallia… who was sobbing as she clung to Sai's arm.

Fear began to creep into her heart as she repeated her question. "Sai, what's going on?" she said.

"Now's not a good time, Flay," he replied as he and Miriallia brushed past him.

Flay watched in stunned silence for a moment before grabbing Kuzzey by the arm. "Kuzzey!" she said, "What's wrong with Miriallia? Where are Tolle and Kira?"

The boy looked down. "They're both M.I.A." he mumbled.

"What was that?" she said, her eyes narrowing; military lingo had never been her strong point.

"They're M.I.A." he repeated numbly.

"What the hell does that mean?" said Flay, raising her voice a bit.

She saw Kuzzey clench his fist before he shouted at her. "It means they're dead!"

The girl rocked back on her heels, stunned by his response. "What?" she said, eyes widening, feeling like she'd been gut punched, "What did you say?"

"Kira and Tolle," he replied, "they're both dead. They've been listed as M.I.A. because we didn't have time to do a thorough search for their bodies, but… the Strike and Skygrasper Two both exploded, Flay. They're gone."

He sighed and walked past her, increasing his pace to catch up with Sai and Miriallia… leaving Flay standing by herself in the hallway.

She couldn't move. She could barely breathe. Her mind went completely blank, save for three words.

_Kira is dead._

It couldn't be. She needed him to come back alive so she could apologize, tell him that she'd been using him for her own selfish scheme, beg for his forgiveness. He couldn't be dead, not after coming so far, not when they were so close to Alaska.

Not when she had finally come to accept the fondness she had for the boy, and just how kind and human he really was…

"Kira…" she said softly, tears flowing down her cheeks.

She didn't even try to stop them.

….

"Reverent Malchio," said Lacus, "how are you?"

The man on the other end of the video communication feed nodded. "Well enough, thank you for asking. However, I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make our scheduled appointment."

"Oh," said Lacus, leaning forward in her chair a bit, "what's the matter, Mr. Malchio? Did something happen?"

"In a manner of speaking," he replied, and turned the camera on his end so it panned past him…

… revealing Kira, lying unconscious on a bed, wrapped in bandages.

Lacus's hands flew to her mouth, gasping as Reverend Malchio spoke again. "There was a battle near the island, and I found this young man amidst the resulting wreckage. His wounds are quite severe, and if I were to leave him without proper medical treatment he could die."

_Kira!_, her mind screamed, _My god, what happened to you?_

The songstress quickly regained her composure as she spoke. "Reverend Malchio," she said, "please, bring that young man with you to the PLANTs; I'll speak with my father and ask him to arrange for both transport and medical care."

"Oh?" said Malchio, raising an eyebrow, "do you know this young man, Miss Lacus."

"Yes," she said, "he is a friend of mine, and I wish to do all I can to help him. He saved my life not too long ago."

"Ah," said Malchio, nodding, "then this is the Kira Yamato that you've spoken of before."

"Correct," said Lacus, clenching the edges of her white dress in her hands as she watched the gentle young man lying on the bed. She could almost feel him hovering between life and death, even through the video feed. "Please, do all you can for him until your trip to the PLANTs; I promise he will receive the best medical care in the Earth Sphere upon your arrival."

"Very well then," said Malchio, nodding, "I'll make my arrangements for the children to be looked after in my absence, and then I will have the boy brought to Carpentaria. I trust your father will have our travel arrangements in order by the time we arrive?"

"Yes," she replied, "I will contact him at once."

"In that case," said Malchio, "we should be in the PLANTs by nightfall. Farewell."

As he cut the connection, Lacus scrambled to call her father. Since his loss to Zala, Siegel Clyne had been keeping himself busy heading meetings of the local moderate faction members on Aprilius One, as well as in discussion with Field Marshall Bristow and Representative Canaver of September City. Even after his fall from grace, Lacus knew that her father still had the necessary pull to make the arrangements needed for Kira and Malchio at Carpentaria, and her own influence was considerable as well. Being a popular idol singer certainly had its advantages, and she planned to make the most of them.

_Kira_, she thought, her eyes narrowing in determination, _this time it's my turn to help you._

_I won't let you die!_

….

"Oh my god…" whispered Cagalli as she stepped off the plane.

The scene before her was that of utter mechanical carnage. Wreckage was scattered all across the beach, ranging from bits of metal to entire sections of mobiles suits. Cagalli could immediately tell that some of them were from the Strike, but there were fragments of another machine as well, and they seemed vaguely familiar, though the Orb princess couldn't quite place where she knew them from.

"Fan out," said Kisaka to the men in the recovery team, "report any signs of survivors immediately."

They all nodded and spread out across the beach, combing through the wreckage. Cagalli, for her part simply wandered aimlessly, taking in the aftermath of what had surely been a vicious battle. She still held out hope for Kira's survival, but now that she was actually on scene she could feel the same fear creep into her veins that she had first felt upon hearing that the young Coordinator had gone missing.

_Kira_, she thought, _please, be here! Be alive!_

Not a second after those words crossed her mind a shout rang out from one of the soldiers. "We got a live one over here!"

Cagalli broke into a run in the direction where the shout had come from. "Kira!" she cried.

Rounding a particularly large piece of debris, she saw the others gathered around what she guessed to be the pilot lying on the ground. "Kira!" she yelled as she approached.

However, as she shouldered her way through the crowd, she saw that the young man on the ground was not Kira… though he was definitely familiar. His mid-length blue-black hair was unmistakable, along with his crimson flight suit.

Cagalli gasped. _Athrun!_

….

"Well," said the captain of the _Cousteau_, "this is a real mess."

Yzak gulped nervously. After returning to the submarine-carrier alone, barely managing to land the damaged Duel, the captain had summoned him to his office. The ZAFT ace had delivered as precise a report as he could on the battle before he had been forced to withdraw, but he did not know how it had ended… and the delay in the rest of his team in getting back had him on edge.

The naval officer had then left the room for a few minutes, ordering Yzak to remain there. When he had returned, the silver haired young man saw that the captain seemed unusually tired. His shoulders were slumped, and Yzak became even more nervous.

The man sat down before speaking. "We just managed to get through to the _Challenger _and the _Cook_. The Ofnir and Grabacr squadrons were annihilated; footage from the ships' recon drones confirms debris from all twelve DINN Mk. IIs."

Yzak stiffened, but his surprise was not as great as one might expect; when he had left the battlefield, the two teams had already taken severe losses at the hands of both Wing Zero and the legged ship, and their chances of victory at that point were slim.

It was what the captain said next that truly shocked him. "They also spotted debris… from the Strike, the Aegis, the Blitz, and one of the legged ship's fighter jets."

Yzak's eyes widened, and he felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. "Wait…" he said, his voice almost a whisper, "you don't mean…"

The captain sighed. "At this point, we don't have any confirmation as to what happened to the pilots. Also, there were no signs of the Buster at the scene, debris or otherwise." He looked up at Yzak. "Young man, your friends are now officially M.I.A."

"That can't be…" said Yzak, trembling, "Dearka, Nicole, Athrun… they couldn't have all been taken down…"

"Apparently they were," replied the captain, standing up, "Pilot Yzak Joule, you're off duty for the time being, at least until the Duel is repaired."

He rounded the desk and turned to leave the room. As he did so he spared one last look at the pilot, his expression somewhat sympathetic. "You can't blame yourself, son," he said, "with the damage you had taken, you would've been nothing more than cannon fodder had you stuck around… especially for a demon like Wing Zero's pilot." He then walked out, leaving Yzak alone.

It was fortunate that the captain had left when he did. Yzak was a prideful young man, and it was against every fiber of his being to show weakness before someone else. It was only after the door shut that the pilot felt his legs buckle before he fell to his knees.

"Damn it…" he whispered. After a moment he could feel a fire slowly building in his chest, growing until he could not hold it back anymore. "Damn it!" he cried, slamming his fist against the metal floor.

It didn't matter to him that the Strike, his most hated enemy, had been taken down. He could take no comfort in that, nor solace in the fact that the legged ship had lost one of its fighters as well. The enemy had finally suffered casualties, but the price the Zala Team had paid was dear… too dear for Yzak.

_Dearka… Nicole… _Even Athrun, whom Yzak viewed as a rival in his quest to make a name for himself, did not escape his thoughts. They had their differences, sure, but they were still comrades, still soldiers of ZAFT.

He pounded the floor for nearly a full minute before the burning sensation in his chest subsided. All he could do now was just stare at the cold gray metal, all energy having fled his body.

"You guys can't be dead…" he whispered, "You _can't _be dead…"

….

His head throbbing, his body feeling sore all over, Athrun Zala slowly made his way back to consciousness. His eyelids fluttered for a few seconds before he was finally able to open them all the way. He was surprised to see a white ceiling overhead, and a glance to his right revealed the sea below; he was on a plane. The sun was beginning to creep lower on the horizon, casting an orange hue across the waves and sky.

The ZAFT pilot tried to prop himself up on his arms, but a sharp pain in his left meant his efforts were rather clumsy. Pushing himself up on his right arm, he saw that the left was in a sling. _A fracture_, he thought, _or is it broken? _It was actually hard to tell; the pain from trying to exert that arm had subsided rather quickly, but Coordinators were very durable, and broken bones healed faster for them than they did for Naturals.

"You're finally up," said a familiar female voice.

Athrun's eyes widened as he turned to see Cagalli standing next to the bed. "It's you…" he said, having a hard time believing what his eyes were showing them, "It can't be… must've hit my head harder than I thought." Looking around, he saw that he was in some kind of medical cabin, with an open package of bandages lying on a small counter, along with a roll of gauze wrap.

Cagalli's eyes narrowed. "I'm not a hallucination," she growled, "and you're wide awake, which means you've got some questions to answer."

"Mind answering one of mine first?" asked Athrun, "Where am I?"

"You're on an Orb jet," said Cagalli, "We found you lying on the beach of one of the Marshall Islands, and we took you into custody… and treated your wounds."

Athrun chuckled. "I see… so I'm _your _prisoner now. How ironic."

"No, you're not," she replied sternly, "Orb's a neutral nation, and we have no intention of holding you prisoner. We just established contact with your allies a little while ago; they're sending someone out to pick you up, and we're meeting them halfway."

"Neutral," said Athrun softly, with more than a bit of sarcasm, "after building those machines for the Alliance… helping them make the Strike… right."

Cagalli looked down for a moment before turning her attention back to him. "What you think of my country doesn't matter… but the Strike does. We saw the debris down there." She raised her voice slightly. "What happened to the pilot? What happened to Kira?"

Athrun looked down at the sheets, all the memories of the previous battle rushing back to him, failing to realize the significance of the girl knowing the name of his old friend. He smiled, but there was no mirth or amusement behind it. On the contrary, it was grim and twisted.

"He's dead," he said, his voice becoming hoarse as he struggled to choke back tears, "I'm the one who killed him."

He heard her gasp, but didn't bother to look up. Something inside him compelled Athrun to continue his grim tale, all the while being unable to look the girl in the eyes while he did so.

"I went after him in the Aegis," he said, "and self-destructed the machine after I'd captured the Strike. I managed to bail out, but there's no way the pilot could've survived."

Suddenly she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up a ways, though not completely out of bed. At the same time, she drew her pistol and pressed it against his chest.

"_You bastard!_" she cried, and the sheer rage and grief in her voice took Athrun completely off guard, "You may not realize it, but Kira… the Strike's pilot… he wasn't a normal Alliance soldier. He just wanted to protect his friends! Sure, sometimes he could be weak, even a crybaby… but he was _kind_."

She lifted him up a bit further, forcing him to meet her gaze… and see the tears flowing from her beautiful amber eyes.

"_He was a nice guy!_" she cried, "_He didn't want to fight!_"

Without thinking, Athrun chuckled. "Yeah, I know," he said, looking down again, "Sounds like Kira hadn't changed a bit."

"What?" she said, letting go of him and stepping back in surprise, "You mean you knew Kira?"

"Yeah," he replied, "we'd known each other since we were kids. We went to the Lunar prep school together. He was smart, but also kind of lazy. Still, we were the best of friends. I moved to the PLANTs, and he was supposed to follow… but he wound up on Heliopolis somehow instead."

"You…" she said, and as Athrun looked up again he saw that she was trembling, "If you were friends… _then why did you kill him?_"

Fresh anger flowed from within, and he glared up at Cagalli… all the while tears flowed from his eyes. "I didn't have a choice!" he said, "He was a Coordinator, one of us, but he fought against ZAFT… and he killed Nicole! He was my friend, and a nice guy too! He was quiet, smart, and loved the piano… he didn't deserve to die!"

"So that's it then?" yelled Cagalli, pointing the gun at his head, "Kira killed your friend, so you killed Kira? _How does that kind of thinking solve anything?_"

He tried to reply, but suddenly words failed him. Athrun couldn't think of anything to say that was a suitable response. More importantly… a part of his mind was arguing that she was _right_.

"I…" he said, but that was all he could get out. He lowered his head, part of him wishing she'd actually go ahead and shoot him; death would be preferable to the living hell he'd woken up to.

It was not to be. He heard her holster the gun, and as he looked up she slapped him across the face. He didn't even try to dodge, though with his Coordinator reflexes it certainly would not have been an issue to do so. Cagalli then turned and stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door as she did so.

….

About a half an hour later Cagalli returned. "We'll be touching down in five minutes," she said, "ZAFT sent a float-plane out to pick you up; they're already at the rendezvous point."

He looked out the window, gazing absently at the setting sun. "I see," he said quietly, making no move to get up.

The girl pulled a chair from the medical cabin's desk and sat next to the bed. An awkward silence fell between them, and Athrun was unsure how to break it.

Fortunately, Cagalli did that for him. "There's something I want to know," she said.

Athrun looked at her, his eyes widening a bit at her tone; it wasn't confrontational or accusatory like he'd expected, but straight and to the point.

"What is it?" he asked.

She looked down for a moment before turning her gaze back to him. "Back on that island… where we first met… you said that your mother had died on Junius Seven. Was the reason you became a soldier… just to avenge her?"

_That _certainly hadn't been what he'd expected. Turning his gaze inward, Athrun took a moment to gather his thoughts. After a few seconds he looked at Cagalli. "At the time… it was certainly a driving factor… but it wasn't the main one. I wanted to protect people… and make sure they wouldn't suffer the same loss and pain that I had."

"I thought so," said Cagalli, causing him to look up at her in surprise. Her expression softened, becoming a strange mix of pity and sorrow. "At heart, you're not the kind of guy who fights for revenge. I can understand the rage of your friend's death driving you to do so in the heat of the moment; I've been there. But… that's not who you really are… and though it may not be my place to say this, I don't think it's who your mother would want you to be. The same goes for the people you want to protect. Also… I think it's why you were crying earlier… when you told me you killed Kira. I think both you and him have kind hearts… and even in the rage you felt for your friend's death, it still tore at your soul to fight Kira with the intent to kill."

She past him, out the window. "Better hang on," she said, "looks like we're descending."

He followed her gaze, and he could indeed see the ocean getting closer to the jet as it went lower. At the same time, he could also spot a VoLPHAU, a four-winged multi-environment transport plane used by ZAFT in surface operations. Larger than the kind that had born his team to Carpentaria prior to the battle at Orb's border, it had the advantage of being able to touch down on either land or sea.

Grabbing the railing by his bed, he held tight as the Orb jet made its final approach and touched down about five hundred meters off the VoLPHAU's port side. After the plane had settled down and the waves created by its landing had subsided, Cagalli stood up. "Come on," she said, "they've probably already got a zodiac coming out to get you."

Athrun nodded and did as she said, following her to one of the exit hatchways. Before she opened it though, she reached beneath the neckline of her shirt and pulled out a necklace that she had worn under it. It was a simple piece of jewelry; a thin black string with a red-brown stone on it.

His eyes widened as Cagalli held the necklace up and put it on him. "What's this?" he said.

"It's a Haumea talisman," she said, looking down as she did so, "You have a penchant for getting yourself into trouble. These are said to offer some protection from beyond."

Athrun looked at the stone for a moment before turning back to Cagalli. "Why give me this… especially after I killed Kira?"

"Because," she said softly, looking back up at him with a mix of concern and sadness in her eyes, "I don't want to see anyone else get hurt… including you. Yes, you killed Kira… but what does hating you, wanting you to die, get me? I know Kira wouldn't want me to... it just wasn't who he was, and it's not who you are. You're a good guy who let himself be taken over by grief and anger… don't lose yourself to them again."

He looked in awe at the girl before him, unable to keep his jaw from dropping a bit. The kind of compassion and forgiveness that was in her voice and words was one that he had witnessed in very few people… his mother and Lacus foremost among them.

Despite everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, Athrun Zala couldn't help but smile slightly. This time it wasn't twisted by any sense of vengeance or sorrow. Rather, it was almost… bittersweet.

_Mother… this girl, she reminds me so much of you… I wish the two of you could've met._

"Thank you," he said softly.

"You're welcome," Cagalli replied.

She then reached over and raised the latch, allowing the door to open. As the sea breeze came into the plane, a soldier with dark skin and long black hair came down from the cockpit.

"Kisaka," said Cagalli, "are they ready?"

He nodded and pointed past her. Both she and Athrun looked to see an inflatable motor boat rapidly approaching.

As it pulled up alongside the plane, Athrun looked at Cagalli again. "Goodbye, Cagalli," he said.

She nodded and held out her hand. After a moment of hesitation, he took it. "Farewell, Athrun Zala," said Cagalli, "and… take care of yourself, alright?"

He nodded. "I will... and you as well."

….

"Thank you for staying with me up there," said Murrue, "I can't begin to tell you how much that meant to me… especially today."

Heero nodded as the bridge door closed behind the two of them. "I told you, Murrue; I won't abandon you." He turned to her, his beautiful Prussian blue eyes meeting her gaze. The two sapphires held both compassion and strength, two of the many qualities that drew her so powerfully to the young man before her.

Her own eyes widened slightly as he took her hand. "Come on," he said, "let's go to the mess first. I'm sure you're not feeling hungry right now, but you have to eat something to keep your strength up."

Murrue nodded. "You're right… and it's my duty to do so, if I'm to be able to help the rest of my crew make it to Alaska alive. Lead on, Heero."

"Roger that," he said, and he gently pulled her along towards the mess. "We'll just grab some granola bars and water, does that work?"

"Yes," she replied, "Listen, Heero… after we do that, could we go over to my quarters? I… want to talk to you in private, if that's ok."

"Of course," said Heero, turning to her again, "I was going to suggest the same thing, actually. When Tolle died… before Kira fell as well, I promised you that if you needed to talk, I'd be here for you. It's the least I can do."

"Oh, Heero…" Murrue said softly. Despite all that had happened, she couldn't help but smile slightly. _You're always one step ahead of me… and you're as selfless as ever. _She also felt her cheeks flush slightly when she realized that she would be alone with him, in her room…

_Down, girl_, she chastised herself, _Heero's doing this because he wants to help you; you're not going to take advantage of it… or of him._

Still, the thought lingered in the back of her mind, as well as the possibility that other members of the crew might reach certain… _conclusions _about the two of them, especially since Murrue had made no effort to deny the bond that had formed between her and the Gundam pilot.

Also, she could not deny just how badly she needed him right now. In the time they had spent together, Heero had quickly become a pillar of strength for her, someone she knew she could count on when things got rough. With her sense of duty towards her crew and her desire to keep them safe, the loss of two of her pilots, along with the fact that said pilots had mere months ago been civilians more or less thrown into the war against their will, had hit her harder than her subordinates might suspect. More so than that sense of duty, it was Heero that was keeping her from succumbing to despair; the young man who was so willing to risk his life to keep her safe had become her sole source of reassurance amidst the tragedy that had engulfed the ship, and she knew that the only place she could find any form of shelter and hope would be with him.

That was why, as they continued to walk towards the mess, images of herself in his arms continued to flash through her mind. Despite her desire to not take advantage of him, especially due to his age, her need for Heero's strength combined with her recently realized love for him were threatening to overwhelm her restraint.

_No_, she thought, _I swore to myself that I wouldn't rush him, that I'd let him take his time to explore his own feelings! All Heero's ever known is war; love is something he's never been able to experience for himself. After all he's done for me, what does it say about me if I put my own desires over his feelings? I can't do that!_

Suddenly she felt Heero squeeze her hand a little tighter, snapping her out of her thoughts. She realized that they had stopped in the hallway, and that the Gundam pilot was looking at her, fresh concern in his eyes.

"Murrue," he said, "are you ok?"

Looking down at his hand again, Murrue marveled at just how comforting both his touch and his words were, and how that simple display of his compassion did so much to calm the storm of thoughts and emotions swirling within her. _I can control myself_, she thought, _for his sake, I have to. I can still let out my feelings with him, my grief… my need for his strength, but I can't let them overwhelm me. And I think… so long as I don't push things further… I can take shelter in his arms. No… I _know _I can; after all, that compassion is one of the biggest reasons I've fallen in love with him._

Murrue faced Heero again, giving him a soft smile. "I'm alright for now, Heero. Shall we continue onward? The mess is just down this hall."

Heero nodded and started walking again, still holding her hand, gently pulling her along behind him.

They arrived in the mess about a minute later. The two of them didn't stay long; Heero went over to the counter to grab a couple strawberry granola bars and two bottles of water before going back to her. "This isn't too much, is it?" he asked, "I don't have much of an appetite myself, but we should both have something."

Those words revealed more to her about his emotional state than anything else he'd said so far. _So he is affected_, she thought, _I mean, I know he's not a cold person, and he did talk to Kira sometimes… Heero, are you alright?_

Murrue decided to save her concerns until they were in her room. "These are fine," she said, accepting a bar and a water bottle from him, "thank you."

Heero nodded. "Let's go," he said, turning to leave.

Murrue followed suit, moving alongside him. As the two of them walked through the crew quarters section of the ship on their way to Murrue's room, they could both here a familiar voice sobbing.

"Tolle…" said Miriallia, "Kira…"

Turning to the right, the two of them saw that the girl's door was open, and she was sitting on her bed, head resting on her knees. No one was in there with her, which surprised Murrue, but perhaps the girl had requested time alone. _I certainly couldn't blame her_, she thought.

She looked at Heero, and he nodded, indicating that they should move on and leave Miriallia be for the moment. However, before they could do so, the girl looked up and saw them standing there. "Captain…" she said, eyes widening slightly, "Heero…"

Murrue nodded at her. "Miss Haw," she said, "I'm sorry… about Tolle and Kira."

Miriallia returned the gesture before looking at Heero. After a moment she stood up and walked over to the Gundam pilot.

"Heero…" she said, fresh tears welling up in her eyes, "why… why didn't you protect Tolle and Kira?"

Murrue's heart went out to both Miriallia and Heero, and she wanted to say something on his behalf. However, a quick look from the Gundam pilot told her that he wanted to handle the situation by himself.

"I had my own battle to fight," he said, "you were on the bridge, you know what the situation was."

"Maybe," she said, looking down, "when you were fighting the Buster, I could understand…" Then she looked back at him, her voice rising. "But why… why didn't you help Kira after you took it down?"

_Because I ordered him not to_, thought Murrue. She tried to speak again, but Heero looked at her and shook his head. _Why, Heero? This is my fault, you know it's true._

All she could do was watch as Heero answered Miriallia. "I couldn't," he said, "I didn't have a clear shot."

"_Bullshit!_" she cried, lunging at him. Murrue's eyes widened in shock as Miriallia tried to punch Heero. She tried to move to help, but Heero had already dropped the granola bar and water bottle he'd been carrying and caught Miriallia's arm with his left hand. Moving incredibly fast, he twisted it behind her back while at the same time grabbing her by the shoulder, immobilizing her.

That didn't stop the grief-stricken young lady from glaring at him over her shoulder through her tear soaked eyes. "You're the best damn pilot we have!" she cried, "You're the Reaper of North Africa! Don't tell me you couldn't have saved Kira! _Don't lie to me!_"

"It's the truth," Heero replied, his voice as calm and collected as ever, "whether you believe me or not is your decision."

Miriallia continued to glare at him, lips trembling, her whole body shaking. After what felt like an eternity to Murrue but was probably no more than a few seconds, Heero released the girl.

She stepped back a bit, and Murrue thought she had calmed down a bit, but before turning to go into her room the Captain saw the girl's right arm tense. Murrue glanced at Heero, the narrowing of his eyes telling her that he knew what was coming. Before Murrue could react, Miriallia slapped Heero across the face. The Gundam pilot could've easily caught the blow like he had the last one, but Murrue knew that he had let it connect on purpose, though she didn't know why.

Breathing heavily, choking back sobs, Miriallia's eyes widened in shock as she realized what she had done. "I…" she said, "I'm… I'm sorry, Heero. I don't know what…"

Heero simply shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he replied, "just go and get some rest."

The girl nodded numbly before returning to her room, this time closing the door. Heero and Murrue stood outside in silence for a moment before he picked up what he'd dropped and turned to her. "Let's go," he said.

Murrue nodded. "Alright," she said, not sure how to react to what had just happened. She knew Heero had his reasons for handling that encounter the way he had, and was sure he'd tell her when they got to her room; she'd save her questions for then.

As they walked towards the officers' cabins, Heero turned to her. "Murrue, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course," she replied, eyes widening slightly, "what is it?"

"About what happened with Miriallia," he said, "don't write her up for it, alright?"

Murrue smiled slightly, touched by just how understanding he was being towards a young lady stricken by such a terrible tragedy. "Don't worry about it, Heero," she said, "I won't say a word about it to anyone else."

He nodded. "Thanks."

Murrue's smile held until Heero turned away from her and they continued down the hallway. Once again she felt guilt wash over her, knowing that she had played a part in Miriallia's grief. _I held Heero back_, she thought, _I know he said he didn't have a clear shot, but I'm willing to bet he said that just to keep Miss Haw from directing her anger at me. It's true that I wanted Heero to stay over the Buster until we could detain the pilot, but… Tolle had just died, and I was _terrified _of something happening to Heero as well. I acted impulsively, I wanted to keep him from harm… and Kira died because of it._

Lost in her self-incriminations, she failed to notice their arrival at her door until Heero spoke up. "Murrue," he said softly, "we're here."

She looked up, momentarily startled, before nodding at him. Pressing a button on the keypad, she stepped back as the door slid open. "Come on in," she said, leading the way.

He followed her in, and then moved slightly ahead to set his food and drink down on the table over by the window, through which they had a clear view of the setting sun. Murrue followed suit before, after checking to make sure the door had closed, sitting down on her bed.

Heero turned to her, and Murrue gave him a weak smile. "I'll eat a little later, ok? You can go ahead if you're hungry though; don't wait on my account."

Heero shook his head. "No, I'll save it for later." The young man moved a little closer to the bed, his blue eyes full of concern as he looked at her.

_How_, she thought, _how can he believe that I'm worthy of such kindness after what I did today? _

She looked down, unable to meet his gaze. "Heero," she said, "when Miriallia confronted us… why did you stop me from speaking? You know that I'm the one to blame for what happened to Kira and Tolle… why did you protect me?"

Murrue heard him sigh before feeling him sit down to her left on the bed. "You're wrong, Murrue," he said, "What happened today was not your fault. You did your duty as Captain of this ship to the best of your capabilities. You're not responsible for Tolle's and Kira's deaths."

"Yes, I am!" she cried, struggling to hold back tears. Murrue still couldn't bring herself to look Heero in the eyes, so she kept her head down as she spoke. "They got involved in this war because of me! They were both flying today under my orders… they'd be living normal lives if it weren't for me!"

"The only role you played in their getting involved in this war was in the beginning, at Heliopolis," Heero retorted, "They had their chance to leave before the orbital battle, and they chose to stay instead. They knew the risks they faced in doing so, but they made their decision, not you."

"Even so," said Murrue, almost choking as she tried to keep what little remained of her composure, "I should've done more to protect them, especially today. I was irresponsible, irrational… and it got them killed!"

"That's not what I remember," said Heero, "You're letting your grief cloud your judgment, Murrue. The actions you took, the orders you issued, they were all well in line with what the situation called for."

"In the beginning of the battle, yes," said Murrue, "but, Heero… when Kira and Tolle were fighting the Aegis, I should've done more to back them up."

"You couldn't," replied Heero, "you did all you could to hold the Aegis off until the Strike could get there to take its attention off you. Once Kira and Tolle had engaged it, any anti-aircraft fire you threw into the mix would've had as much chance of hitting them as it would the enemy. Besides, the _Archangel _had taken damage, particularly to the port side weapons; you had to ensure the survival of the ship. Also, La Flaga's fighter was already damaged and had been forced to land, and I was fighting the Blitz and Buster; you didn't have any more resources you could've possibly sent their way."

Murrue took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself so she could try to analyze what Heero had said in something close to a professional manner. She realized that he was right, at least about that part… but her guilt slammed back into her at full force when she remembered what had happened next.

"That may be true," she said, finally working up the courage to look him in the eye, "but, Heero… after you took the Buster down, and Kira had already destroyed the Blitz… I held you back; I prevented you from going to assist him. I know Tolle… had died while you were fighting the Buster, but I still could've asked you to help Kira instead of hovering over the Buster."

As her gaze met his, she saw that there was no incriminating look in his eyes, only that same strength and compassion that had come to mean so much to her. "You had a good reason to hold me back," said Heero, "the Buster's Phase Shift Armor may have been down, but it still could've fired its weapons. Even under the _Archangel_'s guns, it still could've tried something. Having me remain overhead until the pilot could be detained was a sensible precaution."

Murrue sighed. "I'd agree with you… if that were my only reason for holding you back."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Murrue took a breath to steady herself before looking him in the eye again and speaking. "Heero… when Tolle died… I was scared… no, _horrified_, that something could happen to you next. I…"

Murrue could feel what little remained of her strength crumbling, and the tears that she had been struggling so hard to hold back finally began to fall.

"I wanted to do something… _anything_…" she choked out, "to protect you… to keep you safe. My instincts took over, I acted without thinking… and Kira's dead because of it!"

….

Heero watched as Murrue began to cry, struggling to figure out how to respond to the situation. He'd never been in this kind of position before, and at the same time he could feel his chest tighten as the woman he'd come to care so much for threatened to succumb under the weight of what he saw as self-perceived guilt.

He wanted to help her; he _had _to help her… but how? None the training he'd gone through over the years had prepared him for something like this. It was true that he'd provided reassurance to Murrue before when she had her doubts, but it had never been like this.

_What do I do?_, he thought numbly, feeling utterly helpless to aid, to _comfort _Murrue…

… until a very familiar refrain passed through his mind, spoken by a man long dead.

_"The best way to give a good life is to act on your emotions."_

Remembering those words that Odin Lowe had left to him as a parting gift helped Heero find his center. The doubts that were assailing him faded, and while he still wasn't completely certain what the best way to comfort Murrue was, he knew what he _would _do to help her.

"Murrue," he said as he put his arm around her, "look at me."

She stopped sobbing as she felt him pull her towards him and met his gaze. It pained Heero more than anything else to see her beautiful brown eyes so full of tears, and he resolved to do all he could _right now _to give her some form of solace and shelter from her despair.

"Your actions weren't wrong," he said, "Even if you made your call impulsively, it wasn't the wrong one. I couldn't have helped Kira even if you'd ordered me to; the Strike and the Aegis were too close to each other, and their duel was extremely fierce. If I'd intervened, I could very well have killed Kira along with his foe. Even with the Zero system guiding my senses, there was just no way to guarantee that my actions wouldn't have resulted in friendly fire."

"Murrue," he continued, putting his left hand on her cheek, "you made the right decision, even if it was influenced by your feelings. Neither Kira nor Tolle's deaths were your fault. I know you want to keep everyone on this ship safe, and that you've taken responsibility for their lives, but there's only so much anyone can do to help others survive in war… even if that person is the Captain of the most advanced warship in the Earth Sphere."

"Heero…" Murrue said softly, her eyes widening, "I… I still let my feelings get the better of me though. I should've remained completely objective, I should've…"

"No," said Heero firmly, "Murrue, remember what I told you back before the orbital battle, after our debriefing with Admiral Halberton?"

She slowly nodded. "You said… that I should have more faith in myself… and that acting on your emotions was the best way to live."

"Yes," Heero replied, "It's true that we have to be more mindful of our feelings in battle, and keep them restrained as much as we can… but it _isn't wrong _to act on them. Even with your call being influenced by your emotions, your actions were still in line with your responsibilities as Captain of the _Archangel_; you did the best you could, in a _horrible _situation, to keep your crew safe. On the battlefield, you can't protect everyone; what you've been able to accomplish so far has been nothing short of miraculous."

He then gave her a soft smile, hoping it would lift her spirits at least a little. "Murrue," he said, "thank you."

"What?" she said, startled, "What for, Heero?"

"You said one of the reasons you held me back was because you didn't want anything to happen to me," he said, "You know full well what I'm capable of, but you still worry about my well being, my safety… that means a lot to me. Thank you… for caring."

"Heero…" she said softly. They stared at each other for a moment before a small smile graced her lovely face. "You're welcome… and thank _you_, for being here, for listening to me, for your words…"

Murrue lowered her gaze slightly. "I'm so weak, aren't I? Acting like this when I'm the Captain… I'm pathetic."

"No," said Heero, causing her to look at him again, "that's the _last _thing you are."

He gave her another small smile. "You're only human, Murrue. In the end, we all are… and you're still the strongest person I know."

"Oh, Heero…" she said. A few more tears fell from her eyes, but she was still smiling as she leaned in further, putting more of her weight on him. This prompted the Gundam pilot to pull her even nearer, until he wrapped both his arms around her and held her close.

Murrue put her head on his shoulder, and Heero could feel teardrops hit his skin as well as soak into his tank-top. He didn't mind in the least though. Adjusting his position, pulling Murrue along with him, the Gundam pilot laid back on the bed, the beautiful Captain lying on his chest, her head nestled in his shoulder. Heero's heartbeat increased slightly as he felt her ample breasts pressed against his chest, but he gave no sign of discomfort. In fact… he actually didn't mind it at all.

They just lay there like that, neither speaking. There was no sound save for their breathing. Heero knew Murrue was still crying, but it wasn't the heart wrenching sobbing she had done earlier. Rather, it was quiet, and the only real evidence of it was the steady stream of tears that fell onto him.

"Murrue," said Heero a few minutes later, "do you need anything?"

She raised her head from his shoulder to look at the Gundam pilot. Heero saw that Murrue was smiling again, even through her tears.

"Just you, Heero," she said softly, "Could you stay with me for awhile?"

Heero nodded. "As long as you'd like, Murrue. I'm not going anywhere."

Her smile grew a little at that, and before Heero could react she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. The Perfect Soldier once again felt a familiar rush of heat to his face, amplified by the fact that Murrue was laying _right on top of him_.

Her lips lingered on his cheek longer than the last time she had kissed him, and Heero found himself wishing they'd never leave. All too soon though, she pulled away. As she did so, her face stayed a few inches above his, and she smiled down at him, all the while her tears were falling onto him.

"Heero," said Murrue, "thank you. You're… truly an amazing man."

His eyes widened slightly at that. After a moment he managed a small smile. "You're welcome, Murrue."

Her expression then became a little more serious, and as she managed to stop the flow of her tears, she spoke. "Heero… how are _you _holding up?"

"What?" he said, surprised, "What do you mean?"

"Well," said Murrue, "I know you weren't particularly close to Tolle, but you did talk to Kira. The way you've held your composure is remarkable, but you're not a cold person; you must be feeling something."

She was right, although Heero hadn't really given his own feelings regarding Kira's death any serious thought until now; he'd been too worried about Murrue to examine his own emotions on the matter.

The Gundam pilot hadn't been particularly impressed with Kira Yamato when they had first met. His piloting was sloppy, he was undisciplined both on and off the battlefield, and he was far too naïve for a mobile suit pilot. Of course, Heero knew that those could be attributed to the fact that the boy had been a civilian who had managed to stay out of the war until the attack on his colony, and had been forced without warning into the life of a soldier, but he still hadn't put much effort into adapting to his circumstances until after he'd volunteered to remain aboard the _Archangel_.

From then on though, things had subtly begun to shift. After the landing in North Africa and their first fight with the forces of the Desert Tiger, the two boys had actually begun to socialize, in a strange way. Naturally, Kira was curious about Heero's life as a soldier, along with the fact that he was from another world, and while the Gundam pilot hadn't given him any details, he had begun dropping bits of advice. There was a perfectly good reason for Heero to do so, of course; anything that increased the Coordinator's effectiveness as a pilot was good in his book, and he knew that Kira had at least taken some of what he'd said into consideration.

As their journey continued, their interactions remained more or less at that level, but when they had arrived in Orb and started working for Morgenroete, Heero had by then become more at ease with Kira. He remembered that first day when he'd complimented the boy on his work on the M1's Operating System. It had been sincere; Heero truly had been impressed with how much Kira had been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time, even with the enhanced mental capabilities that came with being a Coordinator. After that day he had spent most of his time with Erica Simmons in his role as a technical advisor before she'd declared that his work was finished, but he had still come down to the testing hangar from time to time. Kira had always been eager to chat when Heero had done so, and while he'd remained somewhat aloof and didn't discuss any details regarding his past, he was willing to talk about some of the work he was doing with Morgenroete's Chief Engineer, along with the war and the general geo-political situation of the Earth Sphere. The Coordinator was still hopelessly naïve when it came to intrigue, but Heero didn't mind elaborating and explaining certain topics when necessary. The fact that Cagalli had come by almost every day and had taken a very active role in their conversations had added a certain spice and liveliness to them, and Heero had actually come to enjoy them after awhile.

In short, Heero realized that he had gone from thinking of Kira as a green, reluctant pilot who had no place anywhere near a battlefield… to a _friend_. Though he'd been too focused on other matters to give it thought, Heero now understood that he'd formed a bond of sorts with his fellow mobile suit pilot… one that had been rent asunder in the most brutal of ways that morning.

Now that he gave it attention, he realized that there was a small pain of sorts in his chest, one that he'd been purposefully suppressing in order to try and help Murrue. Now that she had asked him about it, he knew that he did feel a sense of loss at the Coordinator's death. It wasn't incredibly pronounced, certainly not on the order of the sheer agony that Miriallia and the rest of Kira's friends from Heliopolis were feeling, nor anywhere near the crushing guilt Murrue had burdened herself with… but there was sorrow, in a quiet, subdued sense of the word.

How to give it voice was something he wasn't quite sure how to do, especially since he didn't want to upset Murrue more than she already was… but Heero wasn't about to leave her question unanswered.

Taking a breath to center himself, he spoke. "I'm… alright, Murrue. You're right; I do feel something regarding Kira's death. I didn't realize this before, but…"

"You considered him a friend, didn't you?" said Murrue, a soft, understanding smile on her face.

Heero looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah, I did. I guess it kind of snuck up on me. I wish I could've saved him, but I don't think I could've… and I _don't _blame you for that, Murrue. Don't think for a second that I do; I already told you that his death was not your fault, and I meant every word of it."

"I know you did, Heero," said Murrue. They starred at each other for a moment before she once again laid her head down on his shoulder.

"Heero," she whispered in his ear, "if you need anything, please tell me."

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. "Just this, Murrue," he replied, "Lying here, like this, with you… this is all I need."

….

Lacus did her best to keep the worry from her face as the shuttle landed in Aprilius One's Docking Bay Five. As the giant white craft touched down and opened its starboard hatch, the pink-haired songstress walked over towards the ship, getting as close as she could, watching the passengers disembark. Wearing her signature white dress with its long purple skirt, she certainly stood out from the dockworkers and the people waiting to greet the men and women departing the shuttle. 'Night' had fallen on the PLANTs, but the docks were an area that never slept, and there were always flights coming and going, especially in the capitol.

Her father, with the aid of Field Marshall Bristow, had arranged for Reverend Malchio and Kira to be flown out of Carpentaria with a group of wounded soldiers, the latest to return to the PLANT capitol for treatment. The 'Wolf of the Far East' had quickly forged a set of documents for Kira, creating a temporary identity as a ZAFT pilot shot down in a skirmish over the South China Sea. Bristow had reassured her that the false documents would be good enough for a one-time use, which was just what they needed to get Kira to the PLANTs. As for Reverend Malchio, it had been easy to get him onto the flight; though he was a pacifist, the spiritual figure had performed chaplain services for soldiers before, and the Carpentaria base staff, along with the men and women on the shuttle, had welcomed him with open arms. The monk could inspire both hope and peace in any traumatized veteran, a talent that the fighters of ZAFT had great respect for.

As the parade of wounded, both walking and carried, came out of the shuttle, they all turned to Lacus as she approached. Those who were able to waved, and all save those that were unconscious smiled. Lacus knew that her songs were another source of hope and peace for those brave men and women, and was honored to know that she was able to help them. The young woman may have been a proponent of peace, but she harbored no ill will towards those who had chosen to fight to protect that which they held dear.

Eventually she saw Reverend Malchio towards the end of the line, pushing a gurney with Kira lying on it, his eyes closed, and she walked over to them, trying to keep her pace somewhat measured and controlled. _It's strange_, she thought to herself, _when I'm onstage, performing for crowds of thousands, I'm always so composed… but being here like this, seeing Kira in such shape… my nerves are totally on edge._

She had good reason to be, and barely managed to stifle a gasp as she saw the boy lying before her. Though Lacus had seen him over the video screen before, being up close to the badly wounded young man was something entirely different.

"How is he?" she asked Malchio.

The blind man bowed his head. "Stable, for now; the medics at Carpentaria were most helpful. Still, his wounds are quite severe, and his condition is serious. Tell me, Miss Lacus; where will we be taking him?"

"My home," she replied, "my father has already arranged for a medical team to meet us outside the dock with an unmarked van; we'll be taking that."

"Ah," the monk replied, "it seems he and Mr. Bristow have taken care of things on this end too, then. I'm glad to hear it; considering Chairman Zala's… _temperament_, I doubt he would take too kindly to us hiding an Alliance pilot here in the PLANTs. I imagine he's have the boy hauled in for interrogation… followed by execution; I fear he may no longer feel it necessary to abide by the conventions regarding prisoners of war."

"I fear you may be right," said Lacus, "though I pray it is otherwise. Come, we must hurry; I fear my arrival has already attracted attention."

She knew she wasn't be followed by Zala's men, at least not yet; Eric Bristow had a team of operatives observing her. They had given her a two way radio, and promised to contact her the instant they spotted a possible tail from the radical faction. So far there had been no problems, but Lacus knew that her arrival at the port had drawn the attention of the dockworkers and the ordinary citizens, and it was certainly possible that any ally of Zala's who happened to be there could take an interest.

As they walked towards the main concourse, Lacus looked down again at Kira. Her heart went out to the kind young man as she saw the extent of his injuries. She shuddered as she thought of the battle that he had sustained them in. Thanks to Field Marshall Bristow's allies in the military, the songstress knew that Kira had been fighting Athrun's team when he had gone down, and that her fiancé had been declared M.I.A. in that same fight. She had worried for both of them equally until she had learned that Athrun had been recovered by Orb and transferred over to ZAFT. After hearing that he was safe, Lacus had turned her full attention to Kira, praying that he would hang on long enough to arrive in the PLANTs.

The kind, gentle young man had made quite an impression on the girl. She thought back to when they had met, how he had brought her aboard the _Archangel_ after her life pod had been ejected from the _Silverwind_. He had been so thoughtful, so considerate, even though he was an Alliance soldier and she was the daughter of the then-leader of the PLANTs. Kira had said it was because they were both Coordinators, but Lacus had seen through him instantly, and knew that the real reason he acted the way he did was because it was simply _who _he was. She had come to grow quite fond of him during the time they'd spent together on the Alliance ship, and respected the fact that he was fighting only to protect his friends. Lacus had been shocked to learn that he and Athrun had been best friends before the war, and deeply saddened to learn that they were now fighting each other.

When the time had come for her to return to ZAFT, Lacus had wished that Kira could come with her and Athrun. However, she knew that the boy was determined to protect his friends aboard the _Archangel_, and while Athrun seemed to have trouble grasping that fact, she understood his reasons. Since then she had continually prayed for his safety, and hoped that they might someday meet again.

_Now we have_, she thought as they exited the port and made their way towards a white van, _but this is not how I wished for that meeting to take place. _As the group made their way towards a white van, Lacus sighed.

_Fate can work in cruel ways at times… still, there is hope. I will help Kira, I will save him!_

….

Alone in Kira's quarters, Flay sat on the bed, her legs up against her chest, her head resting on her knees. It was the first time she'd been back there since her argument with the boy before their departure from Orb. Now she was back, after she had sworn to herself to apologize for all that she had done to him… and he was gone.

Gone, and never coming back.

"Kira…"she whimpered, tears streaming from her eyes. Flay had heard the old saying before, that one didn't know what they had until it was gone, but she had never paid it any heed until today. She had seen Kira's kindness and bravery only as tools by which to manipulate him with, and by the time she had come to realize just how truly special they made him, it had been too late for her to try to undo the damage she'd caused. The young man would've forgiven her, she knew that… but it was too late now.

A familiar weight settled on her shoulder. "Birdy?" said Kira's robot bird.

Flay raised her head and looked over at the mechanical creature. Seeing it was an all too painful reminder of its owner, and Flay wondered how the bird was feeling. _Strange_, she thought, _it's a robot, it shouldn't have feelings… so why do I suddenly think it does? _She couldn't say, couldn't find the right words for it… but as she looked at Birdy, she could almost feel a sense of sadness coming it.

She reached up to pat the green and yellow bird on the head. "You miss him too, don't you?" she said. The robot bobbed its head in response.

Watching it, Flay found herself overwhelmed by a fresh wave of grief. The red-head buried her head in her arms. "Kira…" she sobbed, "…I'm…. I'm so sorry."

….

"Hey," said La Flaga, "you doing alright?"

Natarle looked up from her glass of water as the fighter pilot entered the lounge. She had just finished her shift on the bridge awhile ago, and had decided to go by the lounge for a bit before turning in for the night.

As Mu La Flaga settled in next to her, she nodded. "I suppose so… it's just hard to believe, I guess. We've gone for so long without any casualties…"

"…and now two of our pilots are dead in a single fight," sighed the blond ace, "Yeah, I gotta say, it's a real shock to the system."

"You're right," said Natarle. They were quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "Do you think we'll make it to Alliance territory?"

"Don't worry," said La Flaga, putting his arm around her, "we'll be fine. We've still got Heero, and my fighter will be fixed up in a day or two. Besides, Hawaii's only a few days journey away from here. Even with our speed reduced, we'll make it. Once we affect some repairs there, it will be a straight shot to Alaska."

Natarle blushed slightly as his hand settled on her shoulder, but nevertheless found the gesture to be quite reassuring. "I hope you're right."

"Hey," said La Flaga, "how about a little more optimism here, eh? Look, today was bad, no question about it, but ZAFT took a beating too. They'll back off for awhile to lick their wounds before coming at us again, and by then we'll be within range of Alliance air patrols."

"Natarle," he said, pulling her a little closer, "it's gonna be alright. You hear me?"

Despite everything that had happened that day, she couldn't help but smile at his words. "Ok," she said, surprising herself by laying her head on his shoulder.

_I'll hold you to that, La Flaga_, she thought, _so you better stay alive._

….

Her eyes fluttering open, Murrue awakened to a sight she'd actually been dreaming about for awhile now; Heero Yuy, his eyes closed, his face right next to hers. Her eyes widened as she saw him, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that they were both still fully dressed. _Thank goodness_, she thought, _I managed to restrain myself… I didn't take advantage of him._

Murrue felt a surge of heat rush to her face all the same, knowing that the temptation she had struggled so hard against was still before her… hell, she was lying on top of the source of it. It didn't matter, though. She smiled as she felt Heero's arms still wrapped around her. They were slender, yet at the same time there was an incredible strength within them, and they held her firmly yet gently. Murrue knew that she couldn't get up without waking him, and she didn't want to do that anyway. She could feel his chest rise and fall slightly with each breath he took, and the rhythm of motion was very comforting. Looking over at the clock on the wall, she was shocked to realize that it was almost five in the morning; they'd been asleep for nearly nine hours.

She sighed as she laid her head back down on Heero's shoulder, smiling at the still sleeping young man. Reaching over, she began to run her right hand through his thick brown hair, softly tussling it. _Heero_, she thought, remembering how he had comforted her when she was on the brink of losing herself to guilt and despair, _thank you… for everything. I know it's strange to believe this, especially after all that's happened… but right now, here in your arms, I feel like nothing can hurt me. Even though we're still quite a ways away from friendly territory, I feel like there's no safer place in the entire Earth Sphere than right here, with you…_

She slowly leaned over and kissed his cheek. _Heero Yuy_, she thought, her smile growing bigger as she pulled away and laid back on his shoulder, gazing at her handsome protector, _I am truly, deeply, and inescapably in love with you. I'm still not sure exactly how you feel about me, but I know now beyond the shadow of a doubt that you do feel something that goes beyond this friendship we've forged. Don't worry, I'm not going to push you into anything; if I am indeed the first woman you've truly begun to fall in love with, then I'll give you all the time you need to come to terms with those feelings. I know that you believe in acting on your emotions, and when you decide to do so, I'll be here._

Murrue starred at him for awhile, admiring his features, until she saw his eyelids begin to flutter. After a moment, they opened, revealing his magnificent Prussian blue eyes. _Those eyes_, she thought, _I could lose myself in them… and be the happiest woman in the world, just staring at those beautiful eyes._

Murrue couldn't help but giggle a bit as she saw a hint of red rush to the young man's face. _I definitely can't blame him, all things considered._ After a moment Heero looked over at her, met her gaze, and smiled. It was another small one, but to Murrue it was one of the most incredible things she'd ever seen. _Whenever he looks at me like that… I feel like I can do anything._

"Hey," she said, her smile becoming a bit playful, "rise and shine, sleepyhead."

"Murrue…" he said, "how long have you been up?"

"Just a few minutes," she replied, "and we still have about an hour until we need to get up. So… do you mind if we just keep lying here like this until then?"

Heero nodded. "Sure, I'd like that."

"As would I," she said softly. After a moment she brought up her hand again, slowly running her fingers through his hair. She saw Heero smile slightly as she did so, and was surprised when he let go of her with his right hand and brought it forward, brushing some of her disheveled hair out of her face. He then brought the arm back to where it had been, and Murrue was once again completely enclosed in his strong, comforting embrace.

_This hour is going to go by all too quickly_, she thought, _I could stay like this forever…_

….

"Good morning, Captain Ramius" said Ensign Neumann, "Hey, Heero. You two doing alright?"

The Gundam pilot and Murrue both nodded as they entered the bridge. Heero watched as the black-haired man got up from the command chair and moved aside so Murrue could take her seat.

"As well as we can be, considering the circumstances," said Murrue, "Go get some rest, Ensign Neumann. I'm sure you could use it."

He nodded. "Thank you, Captain. I'll see you in a few hours then."

As he left the bridge, Heero saw Lieutenant Badgiruel enter. "Captain," she said, saluting.

Murrue nodded. "At ease, Lieutenant. Did you rest well?"

She nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Natarle then turned to Heero and gave him a nod before heading to her station.

The Gundam pilot returned the gesture before turning to look out the forward viewport. The sun was steadily climbing in the morning sky, and the sea stretched as far as the eye could see. _We're back over open water_, he thought, _let's hope ZAFT's recent losses will discourage any pursuit for the time being._

Lieutenant Badgiruel's voice came up from the CIC. "Captain, I have the medical bay on the line. The doctor says he wants to perform an examination of the Coordinator we captured yesterday to check for any injuries he may have sustained during the fighting. The security detail noted nothing external when they brought him in, but considering how hard the Buster hit the ground, and the height from which it fell, it's possible he may have sustained bone fractures or other internal injuries."

"Very well," said Murrue, "send a security detail down to the brig to pick up the prisoner. Make sure he's properly restrained before moving him."

As the Lieutenant relayed her orders, Heero saw Murrue turn to him. "Heero, do you mind going along with the security detail until they get the prisoner to the sickbay? I wouldn't mind a little extra insurance in case he tries to escape during the transfer from the brig."

Heero nodded. "No problem. I'll head on down."

"Thank you," she said, "I'll let the security personnel know you're coming."

….

"Damn," Dearka groaned as he lay in his cell, "must've hit the ground harder than I thought."

A day after the battle in the Marshall Islands, the ZAFT pilot was still sore all over. While he was confident that he at least had no broken bones, or at least none that he could detect, it hurt like hell just to roll over on the bed in his cell, so he couldn't rule out the possibility of fractures.

Though he was uncomfortable, Dearka had to admit that he had been treated quite well, all things considered. When he'd surrendered to the Earth Forces soldiers, they'd jabbed him with a needle that he'd assumed contained some kind of powerful sedative, because it had knocked him out for a good three hours. Afterwards, he had been brought a meal, and it had been a fairly decent one considering he was a prisoner; a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water. A guard had always been posted outside his cell, but he hadn't been hostile to the young man; he'd glance over periodically to make sure Dearka wasn't trying anything suspicious, but other than that he'd seemed like just an average soldier. The same had gone for his shift replacement, leading the young man to begin to question some of the stories he'd been told back in the academy regarding Naturals.

He looked over as his cell door opened, and was surprised to see two soldiers with assault rifles in hand, though not aimed directly at him. There was also a young man who appeared to be about his age, wearing jeans and a green tank-top. He had a calm and cool edge about him, and there was something about him that made Dearka think that he should know the guy, though he didn't know why.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We're transferring you to the medical ward for an examination," said one of the guards. At the same time, the other advanced forward with a set of restraints, and Dearka turned around and let him cuff him without hesitation. _Nice of them to do this, all things considered_, he thought, _no sense in trying anything. Besides, I'm in no shape to try to escape; my body still hurts all over, and by now we're probably over the open ocean. The Buster's engines don't work, and I doubt I'd have any luck stealing one of their fighters, let alone Wing Zero; considering how powerful that thing is, I have no doubt the pilot has some serious security systems installed on it._

As they began marching him out of the cell block, Dearka looked over his shoulder at the young man trailing behind them. His blue eyes were narrowed as he met the Coordinator's gaze, and the ZAFT pilot knew that to try anything would result in his death at the hands of this mysterious stranger. _This guy's cold as ice_, he thought, shuddering as he looked away. At the same time though, he just couldn't shake the feeling that he should know him.

….

"Hey, Miriallia," said Kuzzey, "you don't look too good. Did you get any sleep last night?"

She shook her head. "No, can't say I did, Kuzzey."

Miriallia was in the mess hall with him and Sai. The two boys were trying their best to get her to eat something, but so far had met with no success. She could appreciate their concern, and was grateful for it… but she just couldn't bring herself to take a bite from the food they'd put in front of her. Now she knew that they would tell her to go take a nap… but sleeping was as impossible to do as eating at the moment.

"Look," said Sai, "the Captain gave you today off; you really should use it to rest up."

Miriallia looked down. "I know, but… I just can't fall asleep, Sai."

"Hey," said Kuzzey, "why don't you go over to the med ward. I'm sure the doctor has something that could help."

"I don't know," said Miriallia, "popping pills just to get some sleep? I don't think it's healthy."

"It'd be even worse to go without any sleep at all," said Sai, "Look, just do it for today, alright? Please, we're worried about you."

Miriallia couldn't help but give her friends a small, sad smile. "Alright, I will." She stood up. "I'll head over right now. Thanks, guys."

"Do you want us to come along?" said Sai.

She shook her head. "No, you guys go ahead and keep eating. I'll just head by the sickbay, then go to my room and try to get some sleep."

….

Stepping out of Kira's quarters, Flay began making her way towards the mess hall. It was true that she didn't have a particularly strong appetite at the moment, but she knew that she would have to eat sooner or later. As she rounded the corner though, any thoughts of food vanished from her mind as she saw who was coming down the hallway.

Ducking inside a storage closet, she cracked the door and watched as two soldiers and Heero escorted a young man with tan skin and blond hair down the corridor. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that he must be the Coordinator that had been captured the other day. _What's he doing out of his cell?_, she thought. Then a burning rage took hold of her as her mind instantly went to Kira and her father… both dead at the hands of Coordinators.

It didn't matter that Kira himself was a Coordinator; in fact, her fury made her completely forget that key detail. All that mattered was that Coordinator's had killed both her father and the boy who had been kinder to her than she had ever deserved… and she wanted payback.

However, she couldn't take her revenge in the midst of such an escort. She'd have to follow them, find out where they were going, figure out how to isolate the prisoner, not to mention pick up a weapon along the way. The last bit would not be an issue; she had been on the ship long enough to know where the firearms storage was located.

_You… Coordinator_, she thought, her old fury reignited amidst her grief, _your kind took away two of the people that I held dear… and I will make you pay_ _for that!_

….

"Ah, good, you're here," said the doctor as the door to the medical ward opened, "I've been expecting you." Looking over the heavily armed group, he frowned. "I'd prefer to keep the heavy artillery out of my sick bay," he said.

Dearka raised an eyebrow as the doctor looked at the two soldiers. "You two wait outside," he said, "that's the only door in or out of this place anyway, so it's not like he'll be able to escape." He then turned to the third member of Dearka's escort and sighed. "Well, if you're here, it must mean that the Captain's a little nervous. I suppose I can't blame her, all things considered. You can come in, Heero."

"I was going to do that anyway," the young man replied, and Dearka's eyes widened in shock. _No way_, he thought, _I've heard that voice before!_

"You…" he said as Heero walked him into the sickbay, the door closing behind them, "you're Wing Zero's pilot, aren't you?"

Heero nodded, but didn't reply beyond that.

Any further inquiries of Dearka's were cut off by the doctor. "That's enough chit chat for now," he said, "I've got x-rays to perform, an MRI to run, blood tests... we're gonna be here for awhile."

….

As she approached the sickbay, Miriallia was surprised to see two members of the _Archangel_'s security detachment standing outside the door. _I wonder what's going on?_

She approached the two men nervously. "Uhm, hi," she said, "is it ok if I go inside real quick? I just wanted to ask the doctor about something; it won't take long."

One of them nodded, and smiled at her sympathetically; everyone on board knew that she and Tolle had been in a relationship. "Go ahead," he said, "though you might have to wait inside a bit; the doctor's busy, and I'm not sure how much his assistants have to do either."

"Thank you," Miriallia replied, bowing her head before going inside.

As the door closed behind her, she was surprised to see Heero leaning against a nearby wall. She walked up to him nervously. "Uhm, hey, Heero," she said, "Why are you here? Is everything alright?"

Heero nodded. "I'm fine. Just here as a contingency."

"Contingency?" said Miriallia, confused, "For what?"

"For him," he said, pointing over at one of the beds. Following his hand, Miriallia was surprised to see an unfamiliar tan skinned young man lying in it, his hands bound behind his back.

Her eyes widened as she realized who the person was. _He must be the prisoner everyone's been talking about! But why… why is he in here?_

The boy saw her looking at him, and raised an eyebrow. "So they have girls on this ship too," he said, "I'm surprised."

The sight of him served as another painful reminder of the battle yesterday, and Tolle's death. Her expression fell as another wave of grief threatened to overwhelm her… and the boy noticed.

"What's up?" he said, an arrogant look on his face, "Did your Natural boyfriend die or something?" He then looked over at Heero. "Hey, how much longer is that doc gonna need to look at those scans? When's he coming back?"

Miriallia froze, but only for a second. Suddenly, white hot rage coursed through her body, and before she knew what she was doing, she lunged for a nearby table, grabbed one of the scalpels lying on it, and charged at the Coordinator.

She screamed, barely aware of the tears in her eyes as she raised her hand, preparing to bring the blade down on the boy's head. Miriallia saw his eyes widen in terror, but before she could attack an incredibly strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She looked over her shoulder and saw Heero behind her, his piercing blue eyes narrowed as he focused on redirecting the scalpel away from her target… and anyone else.

Behind him, Miriallia saw the two guards from earlier enter the door. However, upon seeing Heero holding her back, they apparently did not know how to react, and simply stood where they were, rifles pointing at the floor.

"Miriallia," said Heero, "do you really think this is going to get rid of the pain you're feeling?" His voice was mostly calm, although there was an edge to it she'd only heard over the radio during combat, particularly when the _Archangel _was threatened. "Killing him won't bring Tolle back."

"I…" she said, struggling to hold back sobs, "I don't… I don't…"

Heero quickly reached up and grabbed the scalpel from her hand, all the while looking her in the eye.

"You're not a killer, Miriallia," he said, and she realized that his voice had softened somewhat, "and believe me, you don't want to become one. Going down that road will change you forever, and you won't be able to handle it. More importantly… Tolle wouldn't want you to do this, and I think you know that. You knew him better than anyone, after all."

At his words, she felt the strength leave her legs, and she fell to her knees. She was dimly aware of Heero letting go of her arm and placing the scalpel back on the table.

_Tolle_, she thought, tears falling, _Heero's right… I'm a fool; I know you wouldn't want me to take a life. Oh, Tolle… I love you, I miss you…_

Miriallia then heard another familiar voice in the sickbay. "If you're not going to kill him," Flay cried, "then I will!"

….

Flay stood in the doorway, her hands trembling as she pointed the gun she'd stolen at the Coordinator lying in the bed. Dimly, she was aware of Heero drawing his own sidearm and aiming it at her, but she didn't care. The security personnel failed to react at all; the events rapidly unfolding before them were way outside of what they had been trained to deal with, and they were reluctant to draw upon two grief stricken young ladies.

"Flay," said Heero, his voice taking on an arctic chill, "drop the gun, right now."

"No!" she screamed, rage and sorrow warring within her, "Kira's dead… my father's dead… Coordinators killed them both!"

Unconsciously, Flay had separated Kira in her mind from the Coordinators in general. He was _different_, he was her _friend_; therefore he wasn't really a Coordinator. It was a twisted logic, the kind that a psychologist would've loved to dissect, if they didn't mind gun-toting, emotionally distraught teenage girls.

She glared at the ZAFT pilot, wrath burning in her chest. "There's no room in this world for Coordinators!"

….

Still down on her knees, Flay's words kicked Miriallia out of her funk. The girl's blind prejudice was the exact opposite attitude that her beloved Tolle had embraced. Miriallia remembered, as if it were yesterday, back on Heliopolis, when she and Tolle had taken time one day to discuss Kira being a Coordinator. He had just told them a few days prior; they'd been friends for several months at that point, and the young man had been awfully nervous when he had told them the truth. Tolle, of course had been fine with it. Miriallia didn't voice any protests, but she was shocked at his revelation.

However, her talk later on with Tolle had done wonders for her fears. Tolle, never the brightest of guys but a good person at heart, had ironically been the one to tell her that genetics did not determine _who _someone was, and that just because someone was a Coordinator did not mean that they couldn't be a nice, fun guy to hang out with. Sure, his physical and mental abilities were well beyond theirs, but that didn't matter. Kira was their friend, Tolle had said, and he'd stick with him no matter what.

Miriallia had been greatly reassured, and indeed had felt quite foolish about her own doubts. She'd sworn to herself to adopt the same attitude as Tolle, not just towards Kira but to Coordinators in general, and not to base her opinions on misguided prejudice.

Now, in the _Archangel_'s sickbay, when she was at her lowest, Tolle's words came flooding back to her, along with her strength. Moving faster than she had thought herself capable of, she stood up and got between Flay and the bedridden Coordinator, throwing her arms out.

"No!" she screamed at the vengeful red-head.

Flay's eyes widened in shock. "Miriallia… what are you doing? You hate them too, don't you? The Coordinators killed Tolle, they killed Kira… you want them dead too, I know you do!"

"No," Miriallia cried, "I'm not like you! I don't hate Coordinators, I never have… and I won't let you kill this one! I won't let you kill anyone!"

"Miriallia…" said Flay, apparently lost for any other words, her hands trembling as she tried to keep her grip on the gun.

Miriallia didn't know if Flay would still shoot; her friend had changed so much since coming aboard the _Archangel_ that it was almost impossible to predict what she would and wouldn't do anymore… but it didn't matter. Miriallia had made her choice; she would honor Tolle's memory not through hatred and racism, but by being the strong, kindhearted young woman he'd always said she was… the woman she knew he had loved.

Miriallia closed her eyes, praying for a way out of the mess she'd found herself in.

A single shot rang out.

Miriallia screamed and clutched her chest, but after a moment she realized that she felt no pain. Slowly opening her eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Flay holding her hand, the gun she'd stolen lying on the floor. Looking at Heero, she saw him holster his own weapon and rush over to grab the pistol at her feet. A single shell casing lay on the floor about where Heero had stood, and Miriallia knew that he had been the one who'd fired… and quite possibly saved her life.

Flay took a step back, utter shock written on her face as she looked from the gun she had been holding to the young man who had shot it out of her hand. Miriallia saw her shudder as the Gundam pilot gave her a withering glare. "Get out," he said, his voice low and menacing, "_now_."

Miriallia looked on as Flay fled the room, and though she saw fresh tears falling from her eyes. Meanwhile, Heero walked over to one of the guards and handed him the pistol. "Take that back to the armory," he said, "and then come back here."

He nodded and walked out of the room. After he'd left, Heero looked over at the other guard. "Go back outside," he said, "I'll keep an eye on things in here until the doctor's done with the prisoner."

The soldier nodded before leaving the room. After the door closed, Heero then turned to Miriallia. He looked at her for a moment, and Miriallia struggled to figure out just what the strange young pilot was thinking.

After a few seconds he nodded at her. "That was a very brave thing you did," he said, "I didn't know Tolle very well… but I think he'd be proud of you right now."

She bowed her head. "Thank you, Heero... both for helping me, and for stopping me earlier."

"You're welcome," he said. Miriallia was surprised to see him stare off into space for a moment, a strange, almost sage-like look on his face. "This world has enough killers in it already," he said, "It'd be a tragedy for someone like you to join our ranks."

_Our _ranks, he'd said, and Miriallia knew he was deliberately including himself in that category. She had no idea what he'd done in his past, but he'd obviously seen a lot of death, and it had left its mark on him. _If the phrase 'wise beyond their years' were ever to fit one man_, she thought, _Heero would definitely be it._

She was broken out of her musings by the prisoner over whom all the fuss had been about. "What the hell is up with you people?" he said, looking back and forth from Heero to Miriallia, "Are all you Naturals this crazy?"

Despite everything that had happened, Miriallia couldn't help but laugh slightly at his words. "Just the ones on this ship," she said.

….

Murrue sighed as Heero finished relaying the events that had unfolded in sickbay. "I see," she said, "I suppose I'll have to improve our firearms security. Someone like Crewman Allster shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a gun. I should've considered what might happen if one of the Heliopolis students had encountered the prisoner, especially after what happened to Kira and Tolle."

Heero shook his head before putting a hand on her shoulders. "This wasn't your fault, Murrue," he said, "None of us could've foreseen what happened down in sickbay. All we can do from here is learn from the events of today, and try to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Murrue smiled as she looked up at him from the command chair. "Thank you, Heero. By the way, I'm assuming the ZAFT pilot is back in the brig?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah, the doctor had already finished the majority of his tests by the time Miriallia and Flay entered the medical ward. The security detail and I took him back down to his cell shortly after the girls left."

"Good," she replied, "and thanks for stopping the girls. Things would've been a lot worse if you'd not been there."

"No problem," he said, "although… you should thank Miriallia, too. I know she was the first to attack, but she also shielded the pilot from Flay when she came in with the gun, so I'm sure she was appalled at what she'd tried to do and wanted to atone."

"I will the next time I see her," said Murrue, "Do you think either her or Crewman Allster could possibly repeat their actions?"

"Miriallia, no," said Heero, "It's a little harder to tell with Flay. So long as we keep a security guard with the prisoner though, there shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll do that," she said. Turning back towards the forward viewport, she sighed. "We still have a few days to go before we reach Hawaii. I can only pray that this incident will be the worse that we face."

"Don't worry," said Heero. Murrue looked up at him, and was heartened to see the strength and determination in his eyes. "I'll make sure we get there. I'll protect you, Murrue."

She smiled. "I know you will, Heero. I promise that I'll do the same for you."

….

A fresh wave of pain washed over Kira's body as he slowly made his way back to consciousness. His body felt like it had been trampled by a herd of angry bulls… but the fact that he could feel at all meant that he was indeed still alive.

He tried to open his eyes, but had to close them as he was assaulted by what seemed to him to be a blinding light. The young Coordinator groaned, prompting someone to lay their cool, slender hands on his face. "It's alright," said a female voice, faint but growing stronger with each passing second… and it sounded familiar.

"Kira," the voice said, and the young man once again struggled to open his eyes. He went slower, this time, in order to give himself a chance to adjust to the light.

When he was finally able to make out his surroundings, he was shocked to see a certain pink-haired, light blue eyed girl standing over him, wearing a lovely white dress. She was wearing a white dress that went well with her pale skin.

Kira's bedside angel smiled as he fully regained consciousness. "Kira," said Lacus Clyne, "welcome back. I'm so glad you're alive!"

**Preview for next time!**

_After a brief stopover at Hawaii for repairs, the Archangel finally arrives at the Alliance's Alaska HQ. However, the crew receive a cool reception upon arrival, and are ordered not to leave the ship. Meanwhile, Kira coalesces at the residence of Lacus Clyne, and finds himself visited by some other familiar faces. All tihs is played out amidst a backdrop lies, betrayals, and intrigue as the final preparations are made for the long awaited Operation Spitbreak. The players within both the Alliance and ZAFT prepare to play the cards in their hands, the lives of countless people considered to be mere chips in their twisted poker game. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Fourteen: Gathering Shadows._

_The board is set... and soon the pieces will move._

**Author's Notes: **Intrigue and deception are king next chapter, so once again the fight scenes are on hold. Don't worry, though: Episode Fifteen kicks off Operation Spitbreak, so the action will return with a vengeance, I promise you that! Kira and Lacus will also get some alone time, and Heero and Murrue will of course have their own moments as well.

Please review, and until next time my friends!


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Notes: **Well, better late than never, i guess. Sorry this took so long, this is a VERY long and VERY detailed chapter. Lot's to cover, and with the exception of my apparently popular action scenes there's a little bit of everything in here. Before you dive right in, there's a few things we need to go over real quick.

1. In the anime, ZAFT's only aquatic naval vessel is the _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carrier. That is not the case here; I've given ZAFT a combined arms blue water fleet, like any modern (or futuristic) armed force should have.

2. Since Reverend Malchio's past is not mentoined at all in the canon, I took the liberty of giving him one, which I believe helps explain how he became who he is in the show. I hope you like it, if not that's ok, we're all entitled to our own opinions on characters.

3. There are several original units in this chapter. You'll know them when you see them. Also, the fighters used by the Eurasian Federation are not the traditional Spearheads from the anime; instead, they're based off of the Su-35 Flanker-e and the MiG-31 Foxhound (Russian Federation fighters, go ahead and google them if you want a general idea of the baseline material).

4. Since I haven't done this since chapter one, putting out a disclaimer again; I don't own Gundam Wing or Seed, Sunrise does. There, that should keep the lawyers happy.

5. Last but not least... a certain character makes a cameo in this chapter towards the end. I thought it was a nice touch, and it won't be the last time she appears in this fic either. You'll know her when you see her!

Well, enjoy!

Oh, and you might want to grab a sandwhich and a drink; you're gonna be here awhile.

**E****pisode Fourteen: Gathering Shadows**

Kira was stunned at the sight before him. He hadn't seen her in over a month, yet here she was; Lacus Clyne, the girl he'd brought aboard the _Archangel_, who in the short time they'd spent together had come to understand him in a way that very few people did. All the memories of his interactions with her during her stay aboard the warship came flooding back, and it took him a moment to collect himself and tear his glance away from the beautiful, smiling young woman before him and take in his surroundings.

He was lying in a gurney, out on a very large patio, with several bulky objects that he assumed were medical equipment right next to his bed. There were potted plants scattered about, and a staircase that led down to what appeared to be a garden. He saw a massive white house to his right, which he suspected belonged to the Clyne family, and bouncing all around his bed was a swarm of ball-shaped robots, the same kind as the pink one Lacus has brought aboard the _Archangel_. Indeed, after a few seconds Kira was able to spot the pink one amidst the rainbow of Haros before it jumped into Lacus's hands.

Kira once again turned his gaze towards the girl, who smiled as she sat down in a chair beside his bed, the pink Haro nestled in her lap. The young man could not have asked for a lovelier caretaker; her simple white dress, long and flowing pink-hair, pale and soft skin, and light blue eyes all gave Lacus an almost angelic aura.

"Miss Lacus!" he said, "What… what's going on? How did I get here?" Kira tried to prop himself up on his elbows, but a fresh wave of pain swept through his body as he did so. He groaned, prompting Lacus to gently push him back down.

"Kira, don't push yourself!" she said, "You're still badly injured; you could reopen your wounds."

He nodded as he lay back down. "Alright, sorry. Thank you, Miss Lacus."

She smiled. "You're welcome, Kira. And please, just call me Lacus, ok?"

Kira returned her smile, and felt his cheeks warming a little as he did so. "Ok… Lacus. Uhm, if you don't mind me asking…"

"How did you get here?" she finished for him, "Reverend Malchio found you on the island after your battle, and he rescued you. After he contacted me, my father and I helped arrange for him to bring you here. You've been unconscious for nearly two days."

"Who's Reverend Malchio?" he asked, looking around but not seeing anyone besides Lacus out on the patio with him.

"He's inside, along with my other guests," said Lacus, standing up, "Hang on, I'll go get them. Please don't try to move, ok?"

"Alright," said Kira. Lacus nodded before heading into the house, leaving Kira to wonder just what was going on. Obviously, Lacus knew that he was an Alliance pilot, and even if she wanted to help him, she must've known that bringing him to her homeland could put her at risk.

His musings were put on hold as Lacus came out of the house, with a pale-skinned man wearing black pants, a khaki shirt, and a strange robe. He had a cane, and Kira guessed from that and the way he always kept his eyes closed that he was blind. The man wasn't the only person with Lacus. There was another man as well, this one with black hair as well, along with light skin, but his eyes were open, revealing brown orbs. He was clean shaven, and wearing a blue and white ZAFT uniform. The fact that he was a member of the armed forces should've alarmed Kira, but the man had a relaxed smile on his face, and for some reason the young pilot was reminded of Andrew Waltfeld. He didn't know why, but he felt that he had nothing to fear from this newcomer.

The four ladies behind him, though, were not strangers at all. Kira gaped in shock as he saw each member of the legendary Valkyrie Team look over and smile at him, Shemei Rehema in her white Commander's uniform, while Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla all wore red ones.

The Egyptian beauty winked as she and her subordinates walked over with Lacus and her other guests. "Hey, Kira," she said, "I'd ask how you were doing, but considering all the bandages on you, that'd be a pretty dumb question. Still, you're alive, aren't you? So there's a silver lining for you!"

"Commander Rehema," said Kira, "what are you doing here?"

"Awe, is that any way to greet us, cutie?" said Lan, grinning as she came up beside his bed. She reached over and started messing with his hair. "Long time no see, Mr. Strike Pilot!"

Adaline came up behind her and put her in a full nelson, dragging her back. "Honestly, Lan," she sighed, "give the poor kid some space. He nearly died, for god's sake!" She looked over Lan's shoulder and smiled at Kira. "Sorry about that, Kira. It's good to see you're conscious. We came by yesterday when Lacus called us, but you were still out cold."

"We're glad you're alright," said Priscilla as she came forward, smiling as well, "and Lacus was very worried about you. She hardly left your side, as a matter of fact."

"Really?" said Kira, feeling a bit of heat rushing to his face. He looked over at Lacus as she came up to the bed, once again smiling at him. _Why would she do that for me?_, he thought.

He then turned to the black-haired man in the blue uniform, who was standing next to Shemei. The two of them approached the bed, and the soldier held out his hand. "I'm Eric Bristow," he said, "Field Marshall, and a friend of Shemei's. Nice to meet you, Kira. I heard a lot about you from Shemei and Waltfeld."

Kira shook his hand, though his face fell at the mention of the Desert Tiger. "I see. I'm sorry… about what happened."

Eric raised an eyebrow, puzzled for a moment, before smiling. "Don't be. He sends his regards, and apologizes for being unable to come over with us. He's meeting with some friends of ours; he'll probably stop by in a few days, along with Aisha."

Kira's eyes widened in shock. "What? You can't mean… that's not possible… I…"

"Killed them?" Eric finished for him, "Nope, though you came close. Both were seriously wounded, true, but they're alive. I've got a message from them for you, in fact."

"What is it?" asked Kira.

"They both want you to know that they don't hold anything against you," he replied, "You guys were on opposite sides, and had to fight. That's all there was to it. Both of them think quite highly of you, you know."

"The same goes for me," said Shemei, giving Kira a soft smile, a gentle gleam in her silver eyes, "even though you nearly killed them, I don't have anything against you. Even if you had killed them, I probably wouldn't; I know that none of them would've wanted me to hate someone like you. You're a good kid in a bad situation; both of them recognize that, and so do I."

"Oh…" said Kira, "thank you. I'm glad they're both alive."

"You're welcome," said Shemei, "and yeah, so am I."

Kira then looked over at the blind man. "Uhm, who is he?"

Shemei smiled and followed his gaze. "Oh, Reverend! Our friend here wishes to make your acquaintance."

The man nodded and came over. Lacus moved next to him and smiled. "This is Reverend Malchio," she said, "He found you after the battle and brought you here."

"It is fortunate that I found you when I did," said Malchio, nodding, "your wounds were very severe, even for a Coordinator. Fortunately, with the help of Miss Lacus and her father, I was able to bring you here for treatment."

Kira nodded. "Thank you, Reverend Malchio. Hey, Lacus, could you tell your father that I said thanks as well?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," said a new voice.

The whole crowd looked over to see a tall man with blonde-brown hair, a mustache, and blue eyes. He was wearing khaki pants, a white button-up shirt, and a blue jacket. The man had a regal bearing to him, though to Kira it seemed somewhat tainted by a sense of weariness and discouragement.

Kira saw Bristow and the others smile as he approached. "Mr. Clyne," said the Field Marshal, "is Ms. Canaver coming out as well?'

He shook his head. "No, I just saw her out the front door; she had a staff meeting to get to before the next Supreme Council session. She sends her apologies." He then looked over at Kira. "Along with her well-wishes; we've all been quite worried about you, Kira Yamato."

Kira's eyes widened as he realized that he was face-to-face with the leader of the PLANTs. He bowed his head. "Thank you for helping me, Mr. Chairman."

He was surprised to hear the man give a slight laugh, and looked up curiously as he spoke. "I'm afraid you're a bit behind the times, young man," he said, "I've lost the Chairmanship; Patrick Zala rules the Coordinators now." His voice seemed to sour at the mention of the man who had taken his place.

Still, Mr. Clyne's tone was of little importance to Kira when compared to what he'd said. _Athrun's father is the head of the PLANTs now? I had no idea…_

"Well," said Clyne, drawing Kira's attention back to him, "that's not important at the moment. What matters is that you're alive and conscious again. I've been hoping to meet you for some time actually, Kira Yamato."

"You have," said Kira, "why?"

He smiled. "To thank you, of course. My daughter has told me a great deal about you, and holds you in high regard. You have my sincerest gratitude for saving her life. My family is indebted to you."

Kira blushed at that and looked down again. "Oh, no… it was nothing, really."

Clyne laughed and turned to his daughter. "As modest as you said he was, my dear."

Kira looked back up to see Lacus smile at her father before turning back to Kira. His face warmed slightly as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Kira," she said, "you can stay here as long as you'd like. No one here will betray you to ZAFT; you're among friends here, and we'll do all we can to make sure you recover."

"Thank you, Miss Lacus… I mean, Lacus," he said, blushing again.

The pink-haired beauty giggled a bit at that. "You're welcome, Kira."

At that moment the young man's stomach growled, prompting smiles and laughs from everyone around him… much to Kira's embarrassment.

"It seems our guest is hungry," said Mr. Clyne, "Natural, of course, considering how long you've been out, young man. I'll go have something prepared. I must say, your timing is excellent; I could use some food myself right about now."

"As could the rest of us," said Shemei, "Not to complain, but that meeting took _forever_, and I'm starving!" The Valkyrie smiled. "So how about we get some lunch going?"

"Here, here!" said her three subordinates.

"Sounds good to me," said Eric.

"Yes," said Reverend Malchio, "that would be nice."

Kira smiled at the people around him, forgetting, for the moment, the terrible battle that had led to him winding up in this situation. _They're all good people_, he thought, _I'll be fine here._

He then looked over at Lacus, who was still smiling at him. He remembered her mentioning that he had been out for almost two days… and that the blond girl, Priscilla, had said that she'd hardly left his side during that time. He was certainly grateful to her for that, but now he started to wonder; why had she been so dedicated, especially after all the time that had passed since they had last seen each other?

….

"So, you're still alive after all?" said Yzak as he came down the gangway, hefting his duffel bag over his shoulder.

Athrun nodded as he waited for his comrade on the dock of the Carpentaria base. It had been three days since the battle in the Marshall Islands, and the _Cousteau _had just returned on the news that Athrun was alive. The son of the new Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs was still recuperating from his injuries, and had not received any new orders from the homeland yet. Therefore, all he could do was sit idle at the base until the higher ups finally got around to giving him orders.

"It's good to see you again, Yzak," said Athrun, holding out his right hand.

The silver haired young man took it, and Athrun was surprised to see a genuine smile on his face. "I'm glad you're ok," he said, "I can't have you dying before I get promoted ahead of you, after all."

Athrun chuckled, knowing his comrade wouldn't admit to being worried about his rival… which was fine by him. He then became serious as he spoke again. "Any word on Dearka?"

Yzak shook his head. "No, no signs of him or the Buster anywhere. Also… they found debris from the Blitz scattered around the area. They haven't located Nicole yet."

Athrun sighed. "They won't, Yzak. He died… I saw it myself. The Blitz exploded… I'm sure his body was vaporized in the blast."

Yzak's eyes widened for a moment, but he regained his composure quickly. "I see…" he said, looking down. He clenched his fists before stomping on the dock. "Damn it!" he hissed, trembling.

Athrun looked down as well, unable to tell Yzak _why _he'd died… to protect him from the Strike.

The two of them just stood there for a minute or two, a mournful silence between them as they remembered their fallen friend… and hoped that their last missing comrade was still alive.

Finally Yzak looked up and spoke. "Well… sorry, but I don't have time to stick around and chat. The Duel's going to be loaded on a transport plane, and I have to make sure I'm with it."

"Where are you going?" asked Athrun.

"Kaoshiung spaceport," said Yzak, "I'm being transferred to Operation Spitbreak, and I guess they're staging it from there. How about you; any word on a new assignment yet?"

Athrun shook his head. "No, nothing. I guess I'll just have to sit tight here until orders come down from the top brass."

"I see," said Yzak. He nodded at Athrun and walked past him. "Well, take care, alright? Don't go dying before I become your commanding officer, you got that?"

Athrun nodded, chuckling again as he did so. "Ok, Yzak. Watch yourself, alright?"

"Sure," said the silver haired pilot, waving over his shoulder, "See you around, Athrun."

….

The sun was high in the sky as the _Archangel _cruised towards the Atlantic Federation's Pearl Harbor base. As he looked out the forward viewport, Heero could see the silhouette of four ships approaching in the distance. He wasn't concerned though; Alliance Naval patrols had made contact with them hours ago, and had stated that they would send an escort for the white vessel's final approach to the base.

He looked over at Murrue, who wasted no time in issuing orders. "Contact the ships ahead of us," she said, "confirm their status as our escorts and prepare to move into formation."

"Aye, Captain," said Natarle.

After a few tense seconds, the crew breathed a sigh of relief as the lead warship, the destroyer _Coral Sea_, responded with confirmation to their hails. It had been three days since the battle in the Marshall Islands, and while they had not come under enemy attack since then, everyone aboard had remained nervous. Now that they were practically on the doorstep of the Alliance's Pacific Fleet HQ, they could finally relax.

Heero looked up as the destroyer's skipper sent an additional message to the _Archangel_. "We've received orders from JOSH-A to assist you in your repairs," he said, "however, your vessel is permitted to stay at Pearl Harbor for no more than forty-eight hours. Any further maintenance you require that cannot be accomplished in that time will have to be done either at sea or when you reach Alaska."

"Understood," said Murrue, "we'd appreciate it if you could get started as soon as we dock."

"Repair crews are already standing by," the destroyer's Captain replied, "and we work much faster than those slackers in Orb; don't worry, we'll have your ship as good as new, or nearly so, before you leave. _Coral Sea _out."

As the officer cut the connection, Murrue sighed before turning to Heero. Giving him a small smile, she spoke. "Do you think I should tell them that Orb was slacking on purpose in order to maximize the amount of time they'd have to make use of you and Kira?"

Heero shook his head. "Mechanics can be as prideful as anyone else, but in this case that pride also translates into high morale, which will boost their productivity. Better to let them keep their egos inflated for the time being, so long as they get most of the repairs that we need done."

Murrue nodded, and this time she appeared a bit concerned. "I suppose you're right… but do you think that two days will be enough for them to repair the damage we took? I know Chief Murdoch and his team has done a lot of work, but there's only so much they can do while we're still under way."

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Heero, "remember, the damage we took in the Marshall Islands wasn't nearly as bad as what the _Archangel _suffered at Orb's border. Even with only two days, I'm sure they'll be able to get the port side engine up to full operational status, along with getting a good deal of work done on the weapons that are out of commission. Anything they leave undone, Murdoch and his crew will be able to complete repairs on while we're under way."

Smiling again, Murrue nodded. "You have a good point there. I'll have Lieutenant Badgiruel speak to the dock-master about replenishing our supplies as well. As things are, I know we're fine for the remainder of our voyage, but it can't hurt to top off our munitions and rations. You never know what might happen along the way, after all; this trip has certainly been unpredictable."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I won't argue with you there."

The two of them turned back to the forward viewport and watched as the four destroyers moved into a diamond formation around the _Archangel_. At the same time, two squadrons of six F-7D Spearhead fighters each flew over head, fanning out over the five vessels.

Eventually, the island of Oahu, the third largest in the Hawaiian chain, appeared on the horizon. As the _Archangel _and her escorts made their way towards the mouth of the harbor, Murrue turned to Heero. As the Gundam pilot met her gaze, he saw that her beautiful brow eyes were almost glowing with gratitude, relief... and something else, though he had difficulty finding the right word for it. He couldn't say for certain, given his limited experience with women, but it seemed like… _affection_, or even _adoration_. Whatever it was, the gleam it produced in her eyes made her all the more beautiful to him.

"Heero," she said, "thank you… for all you've done up until now. We wouldn't have made it this far without you.'

He nodded, smiling slightly in return. "You're welcome, Murrue… and don't worry; I'll continue to stay with this ship… and protect you… for as long as you'll have me."

"That may well be a very long time yet," she replied, "who can say when this war will end, after all?"

"I don't care how long it goes on," said Heero, "I'm not abandoning you... whether it be during this war, or when it's over."

"Heero…" she said, her eyes widening a bit at his words. After a moment, her smile grew a little bigger. "Very well, then. We'll get through this war together, I know we will… and face what comes afterwards too."

"Roger that," said Heero.

….

Sitting at the head of the table in the dimly lit conference room, Admiral William Sutherland clasped his hands in front of him. A tall man with brown-blond hair and steely grey eyes, the Supreme Commander of OMNI Enforcer, the umbrella organization of the Atlantic Federation's armed forces, the Admiral was a battle hardened veteran of not just the early campaigns of the current conflict but several brush-fire wars across the Earth Sphere. While presenting a calm, professional exterior, the man's true nature was in fact the same as the rest of the officers that were sitting around the table with him; a burning hatred of the freaks of science that had dared to defile the name of Humanity, the Coordinators. Therefore, it would've been no surprise to those that truly knew him that he was a member of the anti-Coordinator group Blue Cosmos, though for appearances sake it was a connection that he could not openly disclose… at least not yet.

_Soon_, he thought, _the tide will turn, and those space monsters will rue the day that they dared to invade our pure and blue world. Our revenge is nigh, as is the Day of Judgment for those abominations. However, first we must attend to more immediate concerns; we can't well neglect our final preparations, after all._

Looking at the other officers at the table, he spoke. "Gentleman," he said, "as I'm sure you are aware, the _Archangel _arrived at the Pacific Fleet's headquarters a little over three hours ago. My reason for calling this meeting, as several of you have no doubt guessed, is to determine exactly what we shall do with that ship and her crew once they reach JOSH-A."

"With all due respect, sir," said Vice-Admiral Vickers, a balding, overweight man, "should we not have called Azrael here as well? Due to the rather… _unique_ circumstances regarding that ship, it would seem that he would have a vested interest in the matter."

"There's no need," said Sutherland, "I've already contacted Azrael, and he has given me full discretion on the matter… provided we deal with the Coordinator child that defiled the Strike."

"That problem seems to have already dealt with itself," said a rail-thin, grey haired man; Rear-Admiral Thompson. "According to the latest transmissions from the _Archangel_, it was destroyed in battle with the Aegis."

"True enough," said Vickers, "but what of the… contamination? The _Archangel_'s crew has been exposed to prolonged close contact with a Coordinator now, and according to the report filed by Admiral Halberton before his demise, the boy was treated, dare I say it, _humanely_. How could our soldiers treat such an aberration like it's one of us? They must be dealt with!"

"I agree," said a muscular, dark skinned man; Rear-Admiral Bernard. "Also, according to the latest report, they've taken on another Coordinator; the pilot of the Buster. Though this one is being held as a prisoner, the fact remains that contamination has occurred. It is obvious that the crew of the _Archangel _cannot be trusted to prosecute the war in a manner suited to our ultimate objective; Captain Ramius in particular has been too soft with regards to the Coordinators."

"Not all of them are beyond saving," said Thompson, "According to the report provided by Captain Hallsworth before his death alongside Halberton, Lieutenant Badgiruel shares no such compassion. While she displayed no signs of similar feelings to ours, the manner in which she carries out her duties is strictly by-the-book, and she is a veteran officer; a useful tool."

"There is also the Allster girl to consider," said Vickers, "after all, her father was known to be sympathetic to our… _organization_; it's possible she could be persuaded to support us. Her family fortune would be a valuable asset, after all."

"Not to mention the Hawk of Endymion," said Bernard, "while he's given no indications of identifying with any of our ideals, the man's skills could prove useful, especially as an instructor to our younger, more… _like-minded _pilots."

"I'll file the three of them away for further consideration, then," said Sutherland, "After we've conducted final debriefings with Captain Ramius and Lieutenant Badgiruel, I will initiate transfer procedures if I deem it prudent."

"What of Wing Zero?" said Vickers, "That machine is far beyond anything else in this war, and the same goes for its pilot, this 'Heero Yuy'. Surely we must unlock the secrets behind that mobile suit; it would give us total dominance in this war."

"I don't think you thoroughly read Halberton's report, Vice-Admiral," said Bernard, scowling, "the pilot of that machine is incredibly security conscious; any attempts on our part to tamper with it could result in blowing our base to kingdom come."

"We certainly can't have that," said Thompson, "at least… not until we're ready."

"The pilot himself may be the key," said Sutherland, "Halberton's report did not give much mention regarding Yuy's psychological profile, or even his motivations for fighting. The pilot was not forthcoming with details of his history or affiliations. Then again, Halberton always was sentimental when it came to younger soldiers, so he probably didn't press the matter as hard as he could've."

"So what do you suggest?" said Vickers, "Bring him in along with Ramius and Badgiruel for the debriefing and grill him there?"

"That was precisely what I had in mind," said Sutherland, "It will give us a chance to judge him for ourselves, without any of Halberton's… _bias_."

"And if he proves to be as intractable then as he was before?" said Thompson, "Do we move on the machine and pilot and risk triggering the mobile suit's self-destruct?

"No, there's no need to put ourselves in any unnecessary danger," said Sutherland, "We'll simply make use of Wing Zero and Heero Yuy in another manner."

"How so?" said Bernard.

Sutherland gave his cohorts a cruel smile. "Why, the same way we'll deal with the _Archangel _and her crew's _contamination_, of course."

"You've yet to mention how we're going to do that, either," sneered Vickers.

"Consider this, Vice-Admiral," said Sutherland, in a tone that smacked of sarcastic patronage, "ZAFT has devoted considerable resources in their attempts to destroy both the _Archangel _and Wing Zero. Together… they'd make the perfect bait."

"I see," said Bernard, a smug smile on his face, "I agree, and I believe that is the best way to go."

"Yes, though we'll lose the chance to study Wing Zero," said Vickers.

"It hardly matters," said Sutherland, "That mobile suit… that _Gundam_, as some of the _Archangel_'s crew have called it… is, in the end, an anomaly, and a potential wild card. Its technology is incredibly advanced, true, and the pilot is extraordinarily talented, but they are only one boy and mobile suit each. The second generation GAT machines are nearly online, and with the combat data from the Strike we'll be able to bring the new mass-production models to the front sooner than expected. Wing Zero will be rendered irrelevant. The same goes for the Buster; it can die along with the _Archangel_."

"How ironic," said Thompson, "that it should be a Coordinator child that gives us Naturals the key to finally being able to pilot mobile suits."

"It is well that the child, this 'Kira Yamato', is dead," said Bernard, "It would be embarrassing to have knowledge of his involvement in the GAT series become known."

"A secret easily erased with the boy's demise," said Sutherland. He stood up, and his fellow officers followed suit. "So, we are agreed then? The _Archangel _will serve as bait, with Wing Zero as well, since the odds are in favor of Heero Yuy not cooperating with us."

The three officers nodded, and Sutherland smiled. "Very well, then. I'll contact Azrael later and update him on the situation; let him know that we're including the _Archangel _and probably Wing Zero as well in our plan."

"Speaking of the plan," said Thompson, "I'm amazed that you were able to convince the Eurasians to send so many of their forces over here. I'm not complaining, mind you; the more they send, the greater our power will be when it's all over. Still, how did you con them into this?"

"It was simple enough," said Sutherland, "I informed Moscow that we would be gathering forces throughout the Pacific for a large-scale counter-offensive against the occupying armies in the East Asian Federation. While they're still not completely friendly to us due to the debacle at Artemis, it was easy enough to play on their vanity and convince them that their contributions to our campaign would bring them both glory and a better position at the bargaining table when this war's over." He chuckled cruelly. "Of course, I neglected to tell them that there would not even be a bargaining table; after all, by the time this war is over, there won't be a single Coordinator left alive to negotiate with. Combined with the _Archangel _and Wing Zero, the Eurasian forces will ensure that those space monsters come running into our trap."

He looked over at a screen on the wall, currently displaying a map of the Pacific theatre of the war. His smile became a sneer as his eyes settled on Kaoshiung… where he knew that ZAFT was gathering its forces in preparation for their offensive.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," he snarled, "we will make any sacrifice necessary to ensure the total destruction of those who would defile the natural order."

….

The sun beat down on the Perfect Soldier even as it set, turning the sky a brilliant orange-red. Sweat gathering at his brow, he continued his practice session out on the upper deck of the _Archangel_. Wrapping up a sequence of mid-level thrusts, he smoothly transitioned into a series of diagonal slashes, his saber glistening with crimson light as dusk settled in over Pearl Harbor. There was a cacophony of noise all around him as mechanic crews scrambled over the _Archangel_, working furiously to repair the damage the vessel had suffered in the Marshall Islands. However, Heero scarcely paid any heed to the racket; he had other things on his mind as he continued his exercises.

The ship had arrived at the Pacific Fleet HQ over four hours ago, and while the lower ranking crew members had been given an opportunity to relax, there was no such reprieve for the senior officers, particularly the Captain. Heero knew that even now, Murrue was in her office, putting together the final report that she would present to the Alliance top brass upon their arrival at the Alaska base. Likewise, Lieutenant Badgiruel, in her role as Murrue's Executive Officer, was compiling her own report, which among other things would include a performance evaluation of her superior. It was one of the duties of any warship's second-in-command, Heero was well aware of that, but that didn't stop it from making him uneasy.

In his eyes, Murrue had gone above and beyond the call of duty in her efforts to not only get the _Archangel _to Alliance territory in one piece, but also to preserve the lives of her crew to the best of her abilities. To Heero, her performance had been exemplary, and spoke volumes of Murrue's strength, intelligence, and compassion; qualities that drew him to her like no other woman ever had.

However, he was well aware that Lieutenant Badgiruel had a list of grievances with the beautiful Captain. While Natarle's conduct on the bridge had been civil and even respectful with regards to her superior, Heero knew that her by-the-book tendencies put her at odds with Murrue's more humanistic and understanding approach to command. The Gundam pilot was not an expert on Alliance regulations, but he knew that Murrue had without a doubt bent or broke many of the rules in her determination to put the lives of her crew above all other concerns. Heero greatly admired her for it, but he knew as well as she did that it could get her into trouble with her superiors, and that Natarle would definitely call out her more serious offenses in her report.

Using black-market arms dealers to resupply the ship in North Africa, allowing a civilian to pilot the second Skygrasper, giving Orb access to the combat data of both the Strike and the _Archangel_… there were plenty of bones for the no-nonsense Lieutenant to pick at, that was for sure.

Heero was aware of all this, and more importantly, knew that Murrue was too, and that it all no doubt weighed heavily on her, especially the closer the _Archangel _came to Alaska. He wanted to help her in some way, but wasn't sure how. The young man had asked her if he could help her compose her report when he'd walked with her to her office, but Murrue had given him a weary smile and shook her head.

_"Believe me, Heero," said Murrue, "I appreciate the offer, I really do, but this is something I need to do myself. It's one of my duties as Captain of this ship… and besides, you've already done so much for me as it is. You should take this opportunity to relax a little; in all likelihood, we won't get another chance for quite awhile once we leave here."_

_Heero was unwilling to let the matter rest. "Murrue, let me help you. You know that Lieutenant Badgiruel is composing her own report as we speak, and that she's taken issue with several of your decisions during our voyage. I want to help with your report, with responding to her criticisms. You're the best damn commanding officer I've ever seen, and the people on this ship would've died without you. I want to help with your defense!" He was surprised at just how passionate he was becoming; his voice had risen at the end, and he could feel a strange burning sensation within his chest._

_Murrue smiled again, and this time there was none of the weariness that had been in it earlier. "Heero," she said, "knowing that you support my decisions, that you have my back… that's all the help I need. I'll do this on my own… but thank you, Heero."_

_She quickly took him into a hug, which he returned without hesitation. After a moment they parted, and Heero nodded at her. "Alright, then… good luck."_

_Murrue nodded, gave him one more smile, and then went into her office._

He knew that she had told him to relax, but the frustration at being unable to help her would not subside, and he was unable to do so. So, in an effort to relieve some of the tension that was building within him, he'd grabbed his sword and gone out on the top deck, where he had swiftly thrown himself into a vigorous practice session. His movements were faster and more precise than they had ever been before, but even as he increased his pace he could not seem to exorcise the frustration he was feeling.

_I can't recall the last time I've experienced anything like this_, he thought as he transitioned to a sequence of parries, backpedalling across the deck as he did so, _this pent up anxiety, this anger at being unable to help Murrue… why is it so strong?_

Stopping mere inches away from the edge of the deck, Heero threw himself back onto the offensive, initiating a lighting fast series of cuts aimed at where his foe's legs would be. He barely had to devote any thought to the moves; his instincts had sharpened even further with regards to his swordplay, leaving his mind free to wonder. Which it did… to the amazing woman who had captured his focus, his _feelings_, in a way no one else ever had.

Whenever he wasn't preoccupied, his mind would turn to Murrue. Hell, even when he should be focused on a particular task, he would often think about her; Heero was a very capable multi-tasker, after all. She was just so unlike any woman he'd ever encountered before. Her strength, her beauty, her intelligence, her compassion… all had conspired to captivate him in a way that nothing else ever could.

She _drew _him to her, exerted a pull that was more powerful than anything he'd ever felt before. More importantly, he _wanted _to be pulled in; the way she had expressed her gratitude towards him, had wanted to know so much about him, had come to _care _about him… _intoxicating _seemed like such a vulgar word to describe it, but he couldn't think of any other way to put it at the moment.

And he cared about her, more so than anyone else in his life. He'd wanted to know more about her as well, and was grateful to her in a manner that mirrored her feelings towards him; she was someone he could trust with his life… and, the more he thought about it, his _heart_.

Slowly, he felt himself come to a stop, winding down his last sequence of moves until finally the blade stopped moving completely, and he simply pointed it down at the deck. Taking a moment to catch his breath, as well as wipe some of the sweat from his brow, he realized that the part of him that felt the hottest was not his head or arms or any portion of his body that he had physically exerted; it was his heart. It burned with a passion he had never felt before, and only recently had he begun to realize just what the right word was for it; _love_.

Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier, the deadliest man not just in the After Colony timeline, but the Cosmic Era as well…

… was in love with Murrue Ramius.

A small smile creeping onto his face, he realized that he would never be able to work out his frustrations just through physical exercise. They could only be subdued by helping the woman that had captured his heart. Though she had insisted on doing her work alone, Heero knew that there was more than one way to aid her.

_It may not be much_, he thought, _but it's still something… and if I really have fallen in love with her, then I have to do all I can to help her, even if it may not be in the manner that I'd originally intended._

The young man still wasn't completely certain of his feelings, along with how he should act on them; there were serious implications to consider, especially the trouble Murrue could potentially get into due to his age.

But that was alright. The young man knew that he didn't have to rush to confront his new obstacles right away. He'd face those issues when the time came… and if Murrue felt the same way that Heero was beginning to realize he did, then he wouldn't have to face them alone.

….

Murrue sighed, putting her head in her hands as she did so. _I've been at this nearly four hours now_, she thought, _yet it seems like there's still so much more to do. Individual commendations, detailed post-action accounts, our interactions with the civilians we've met on our voyage… I probably won't finish this until we reach Alaska._

She was jolted out of her thoughts by her buzzer going off. "Just a second," she said.

Saving what she'd completed so far, Murrue closed her report before standing up and heading to the office's door. When she opened it, an unexpected though certainly welcome sight greeted her.

Heero was standing in the doorway, holding a tray laden with food. Judging by the amount, Murrue realized that it was meant for both of them. She saw the Gundam pilot give her a small smile.

"I know you don't want my help on your report," he said, "and I'll respect your wishes. However, that doesn't mean I can't do something to ease your burden." He looked down at the tray he was holding, then back up at her. "I was thinking the two of us could have dinner in here; I know you've been working for hours, and I'm sure you could use a bite to eat."

A warm feeling spread through Murrue, so touched was she by his thoughtfulness. _Heero_, she thought, _even after I told you to go relax, take a break that you have earned a hundred times over, you still want to help me… you're really something special, you know that?_

She smiled at him. "Thank you, I'd love to. Please, come inside. I'll pull up a chair for you."

Murrue stepped aside to let him in before closing the door. Then she went over to the area in front of her desk, where two chairs for soldiers called to her office for any reason could sit, and pulled one closer to her workspace. Clearing the surface of the desk, she stepped back as Heero put the tray down, then took her own seat as the Gundam pilot followed suit.

She grabbed a bag of chips and a sandwich from the tray, while Heero took an apple, some crackers, and a bottle of water. The two of them smiled at each other from across the desk as they dug into their meal. They didn't speak, but then again, they didn't have to. There was a quiet sense of understanding between them at the moment, and they did not need words to convey just how much they cared for each other, how much the deep bond forged between them truly meant.

Glancing down at the blue stone on the necklace that Heero had bought for her oh-so-long-ago in Banadiya, she felt her face flush as she remembered why he'd given it to her; as a tribute to the bond that she treasured so dearly, a sign of just how important it had become to him as well.

_A bond he wants to protect with his life_, she thought, looking up at the Gundam pilot again, _I feel the same way… I'd give anything to keep him safe, to make sure he can come back to me alive. I've loved before, but never like this, never so _powerfully_… and I can't imagine how Heero must feel. To have never loved before, knowing only a lifetime of war… if his feelings towards me are becoming more romantic, I'm sure he'll struggle with them, trying to figure out just what to do about them. I wish I could help him… but what he needs is time to come to understand them, and in the end, only he can really know what lies in his heart. It's something he needs to do himself; I cannot interfere. All I can do is show him my affection in a manner that doesn't overwhelm or take advantage of him, and above all not rush him. He's done so much to help me, to support me through all the trials and tribulations of our voyage… I have to do the same._

Murrue smiled as her eyes met Heero's. The young man gave another small one of his own before turning to grab a sandwich from the tray. _After all_, she thought, a strange but pleasant feeling of serenity and certainty flowing over her as she watched him, _he's the man I've come to love. I'll give everything I've got to aid him… just as he has for me._

….

Down in the brig, Dearka sighed as he looked up at the ceiling from his cell bed. _Damn, I'm bored._

It had been a dull few days since his encounter with the two girls in the legged ship's sickbay. Of course, that was to be expected; he was a prisoner, after all, and once the medical examinations had been completed he was promptly transferred back to the brig. Boredom was natural for a prisoner of war, though Dearka was mildly surprised that he hadn't been interrogated. _Maybe they're just glad to have their machine back_, he mused, thinking of the Buster. He couldn't help but smile slightly as an image of the green and tan machine flashed through his mind. _We had a good run, didn't we, Buster? _He was surprised to find that he had developed a kind of attachment to the mobile suit; Dearka Elsman had never been one to get sentimental over machinery, regardless of how impressive and important it was.

His musings were interrupted by a noise outside his cell. He turned to see what was going on, and was surprised to see the brown-haired girl from the sickbay standing there, the guard currently on duty watching her carefully. _Miriallia_, he thought, _that's what Wing Zero's pilot called her, anyway._

Her eyes met his, and Dearka found himself feeling sorry for her as he saw the red surrounding her eyes. Remembering the encounter in the sickbay, he felt disgusted with himself as he recalled what he'd said about her boyfriend dying. He'd thrown those words out without thinking, not realizing until it was too late that that was exactly what had happened.

The girl looked down for a moment, cleared her throat nervously, and looked back up at him. "Hello," she said softly, "I… there's something I wanted to say to you… and something that I wanted to ask you, if you don't mind."

He nodded. "Alright," he said, "what is it?"

"First of all," she said, "I'm sorry that I attacked you. It was wrong, and I know my friends… and Tolle… wouldn't have wanted me to kill you. You didn't deserve that, and regardless of my emotional state, my actions were inexcusable. Forgive me."

Dearka sighed. "It's alright," he said, "and… I'm sorry too. Those words I said in the infirmary… that was callous and stupid. It doesn't matter that I didn't know what had happened; I shouldn't have said what I did, even as a bad joke."

Miriallia looked down again before meeting his gaze. "I forgive you."

"Thanks," said Dearka, "By the way… what did you want to ask me?"

"Well…" she said, nervously, "my boyfriend, Tolle… during the battle, he was piloting a fighter jet, a blue and white one. Did you…"

Dearka closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the engagement. He then opened them and responded. "I know there were two of them. I shot one, but it wasn't destroyed; I just damaged the engines, and I'm pretty sure it made an emergency landing on this ship. So, to answer your question; no, I wasn't the one who killed your boyfriend."

The girl looked relieved at his answer. "I see," she said, bowing her head, "thank you for answering me."

"No problem," he said.

An uneasy silence fell between the two of them for a few seconds before Miriallia broke it. "Well," she said, "I should go. Thank you for speaking with me… take care."

He nodded, and watched as she turned to go. Keeping his eyes on her until she was out of sight, the young man realized that she was actually kinda cute. _Not bad for a Natural_, he thought, turning back to staring at the ceiling. Despite the seriousness of the conversation that had just taken place, he couldn't help but smile slightly. _I wonder… when this is all over… maybe I should try to find her. Miriallia… I'll have to remember that name. _

….

"How are you feeling, Kira?" said Lacus as she came back out onto the patio. The 'sky' had become a mix of orange and red, the capitol's unofficial sunset well underway. She had just finished seeing out Reverend Malchio, the last of her guests to leave for the day. The monk had assured her that he would come by again tomorrow, and she was looking forward to speaking with him… hopefully while she sat outside with Kira.

She smiled as she approached his bed, and the young man returned it. "I'm doing ok," said Kira, "though I'm not sure if I'm up for walking yet."

"That's fine," said Lacus, sitting down next to him, "I don't want you to yet anyway. You've only just regained consciousness today, and you need more time to recover. Don't worry, your bed has wheels; I'll push you inside before night falls."

"Thanks," said Kira.

"You're welcome," she replied. The two of them looked out across the lake in the distance, admiring the reflection of the artificial sunset on the water's surface. The pink-haired songstress couldn't help but steal glances at Kira every few seconds. Ever since he had rescued her from drifting in space, she could not deny her curiosity about him… and her fondness for him. He was so kind, so gentle… he truly had a caring heart, and it tore at her own to know that he was forced to fight. When she had prayed at night, her thoughts would turn to him as much as they did her arranged fiancé, and she hoped that fate would find some way to allow Kira to leave the battlefield, to stop fighting against Athrun.

Now it had… though not in the manner that she would've wished for, and he'd still had to fight Athrun in the process. He hadn't spoken of their battle yet, but she knew from the reports that Field Marshal Bristow had shown her that it had been incredibly fierce, and she had a feeling that neither of the boys had been holding back then. She couldn't help but worry at the possible reasons for that, and feared that something terrible had happened to turn their friendship into a burning hatred. _I know that Nicole Amalfi has been confirmed dead_, she thought, _and that he was a dear friend of Athrun's. Mr. Bristow also said that there was wreckage of an Earth Forces fighter jet at the scene along with the Strike… did Kira lose a friend as well? Did he and Athrun… kill each other's friends, destroying their own bond in the process? _The more she thought about it, the more likely a possibility it seemed. _How awful…_

Though she wanted to hear from Kira himself what had happened, she decided that she would not press the issue at the moment. She had no doubt that the memory of the battle was fresh in his mind, and that it would be rude to bring up something so emotionally charged so soon after he had regained consciousness. _Perhaps tomorrow_, she thought, _when Reverend Malchio is present… that may be best. Together, the two of us can find out what happened between Kira and Athrun… and maybe try to repair what damage has been done. We cannot undo the past, nor can we bring back the dead… but we can help Kira find peace, and perhaps the strength to reconcile with Athrun. We can't force him to do so, of course… but perhaps we can guide him down that path._

She looked over at the young man again, watching him stare out at the lake, a contemplative look in his violet eyes. _I, for one, do not wish to see Kira consumed by hatred… I could not bear the thought of his gentle heart being twisted by revenge._

….

"I'm glad Kira's conscious now," said Shemei as she set down her mojito, turning to Eric, "I know Lacus was worried about him… probably still is, knowing her."

The Valkyrie and her friend had left the Clyne residence a little while ago, along with her subordinates. Since she'd had nothing going on that evening, Shemei had decided to invite Eric out for drinks, and he'd readily accepted. She was surprised that the girls had turned her down, though as they had parted ways she thought she detected a knowing look in their eyes. _I wonder_, she thought, _if they think my feelings for Eric have grown? _She smiled slightly. _It'd be just like them, giving us some alone time like this… thanks, you three. I owe you one._

Her handsome companion for the evening nodded as he set his scotch glass down on the bar as well. The two of them had decided to go out to the _Starshine_, one of their favorite drinking establishments. The two of them, along with Aisha and Waltfeld, had frequented the place since their academy days. Shemei had fond memories of the long nights spent hustling her friends at billiards, going shot-for-shot with Aisha, and stumbling out the door in the early morning, more often than not leaning on Eric for support. It hadn't been a romantic gesture back then, though she knew that people had interpreted it as such. Rather, it had been because she knew he was a gentleman, and trusted him to help her get home safely on the occasions she'd had too much to drink. For his part, Eric was a moderate drinker, and rarely required similar assistance.

Looking back on those days, she realized just how much faith she'd had in him even then, and how it had only grown through the years. _No matter what happens_, she thought, _no matter how bad things get… he's always the rock; the calm, solid center. We've always been able to go to him for support… and that hasn't changed._

She brought her mind back to the present as Eric spoke. "You're probably right," he said, "The girl's caring and selfless to a fault… from what Clyne said, Lacus hardly got any sleep while he was unconscious. Hopefully that'll change now that he's at least out of the danger zone. His wounds are still severe, but with the treatment Kira's received they're no longer life threatening. That should put her at ease a bit."

"I hope so," said Shemei, looking down at her drink in thought, "Lacus… she doesn't show it often, but I know she's worried about what's happening to our government, what direction Zala is taking us in. The girl's a lot brighter than many give her credit for… even her father, at times."

"I won't argue there," replied Eric, "However… I still can't say I'm completely comfortable with getting her involved in our… activities. For all her experience, both as the daughter of the former head of state and as a public figure in her own right, Lacus is still a sixteen year old girl. Politics and the kind of cloak and dagger war we're involved in with the radicals is a cutthroat game, and the learning curve is a harsh one… perhaps too harsh for someone like her."

"I know," sighed Shemei, "but we don't have a choice. Her resources, her popular appeal… we need her, whether we like it or not. You and I have repeatedly stressed the risks to her, but Lacus still insists on doing all she can to help us find a way to stop Zala from turning an already brutal war into a pure slaughter."

"Speaking of slaughter," said Eric, "a friend of mine stationed at Kaoshiung passed along a grim tidbit of news to me yesterday; Schwarze Team is confirmed to be taking part in Operation Spitbreak, and they've been outfitted with DINN Mk. IIs."

"Damn," Shemei hissed. Taking a sip from her mojito, she turned to her friend. "Eric, I respect the fact that even in your anger when you caught up to Zubov in China you didn't kill him on the spot and went through the proper protocols… but you really should've shot him when you had the chance, along with the rest of his team."

"You're right," said Eric, looking down in shame, "I've always been determined to treat every soldier, friendly or hostile, with respect, and act according to the conventions of war… but I should've made an exception for that piece of shit. Because I decided to go by the book, Zubov walked free… and he's been killing ever since, and his body count will only skyrocket come Spitbreak."

"Hey," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "It's true that you didn't kill him when you could've, but it also wasn't your fault that he went free. You arrested and charged him and his unit, and by rights they should've faced the firing squad. It was Zala and his cronies that saved his neck, and you still pressed the issue, tried to keep the case open and Zubov contained. You acted with the responsibility and honor of a true soldier… that's far more than anyone can say about the rest of the Defense Council."

He looked up at her, smiling slightly as he did so, and causing her to do the same. "Shemei… thank you."

"You're welcome, Eric," she replied, "Also, and I meant to say this earlier, thank you for slipping away to come with us to visit Lacus and Kira today. I know you've been busy as hell with reviewing the homeland defenses, and I'm sure us stealing you away set you back on your work."

"It's alright, don't worry about it," said Eric, "Today I was just supposed to inspect the capitol defense squadrons… and I delegated that to my aide; it's an easy enough job. The Defense Lines are another matter, though; I need to tour all six of them personally, and I'm starting at the Jachin Due Line tomorrow. Avalon comes next, and the other zones as I get to them."

"Do you have to go to them all in person?" asked Shemei, "Wouldn't it be easier to just send out your own officers and then compile everything at your office?"

Eric sighed. "It would, and I'll have aides touring portions of the defenses for me, but I'm still required to make a personal appearance on all six of the Lines. It's the Council's way of getting me out of their hair for a few days."

"I understand," said Shemei, "It sucks, and it's all political bullshit, but I know why they're making you do it. You rattled their cage, and now they're making you pay for it."

"Yup," said Eric, "still, I haven't lost too much of the Council's confidence; Zala still see's keeping me on as useful, particularly as a means to smooth over relations with the ADB now that the nationalization measures have been implemented. There are a lot of ruffled feathers in my family at the moment, though my father still supports Zala."

"Too bad you can't talk him into throwing in with us," said Shemei, taking another sip of her mojito.

Eric joined her, putting a dent in his scotch, before speaking. "Can't be helped, I'm afraid; my father's a staunch Coordinator Supremacist. He'll back the radical faction until the war is over, regardless of how much they may interfere with the company. None of the members of the board of directors at ADB have been replaced yet, which is one of the reasons he hasn't turned against Zala, though a 'political representative' was appointed by the government."

"I'm willing to bet that other companies are experiencing similar such appointments," said Shemei.

"No bet," said Eric, "that's exactly what's going on. It's like an economic version of the commissar system used by the old Soviet Union."

"An interesting comparison," said Shemei, "though if I recall correctly, the government owned all the industries anyway, so your analogy would apply only to the Red Army. Speaking of armies, has a political officer system been implemented yet in ZAFT? I haven't heard anything yet, though I admit I've been spending most of my time with the girls running simulations for the research teams."

"I haven't heard any word of such a system," Eric replied, "I think Zala wants to avoid creating too much friction with the regular forces; there's already enough contention between them and Special Operations as is, and I think the Chairman is willing to let things stand as they are for the time being without throwing radical faction appointees into every unit."

"Good," said Shemei, smirking, "I'd probably snap if my unit got pegged with a political officer. Then again, someone like that would probably get killed off early in a fight with Wing Zero, so I could always line them up for Heero to take them down for me."

The two of them laughed for a moment before speaking again. "Good point," said Eric, smiling, "unless you wind up with one that's only under orders to act as an observer. Then I think you'd have to arrange some friendly fire."

"Hey," said Shemei, a mischievous grin on her face, "the battlefield's a dangerous place; what's a few 'stray bullets' between political rivals?"

"Don't let the radicals hear you say that," replied Eric, "Seriously though, I don't think you have to worry about such a system coming on line. The top brass are mostly radicals anyway, so they hardly need political officers when they can discipline anyone who disobeys their orders through conventional means anyways."

"Alright," said Shemei, taking another sip of her drink. Eric joined her, finishing off his scotch. Shemei checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was getting late. "I think it's time to call it a night," she said, smiling at Eric, "I've got another long day of sim runs with the girls tomorrow."

"Yeah, I should turn in too," said Eric, sighing, "I'm getting an early start tomorrow, what with the trip out to Jachin Due and all."

Shemei moved to pull out her wallet, only for Eric to place his hand on hers. He gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, I've got this."

As he pulled out his own wallet and laid out some bills for the bartender, Shemei smiled. "Hey, I only had one drink," she said, "I can pay for my own, you know."

"It's fine," said Eric, looking a bit bashful, "I… want to, alright?"

The Valkyrie thought she saw his face flush a bit, and she couldn't help but feel a bit warmer herself. _Ever the gentleman, Eric_, she thought, _I've always loved that part of you…_

After he paid for their drinks, the Field Marshal stood up, with Shemei following suit. As they headed for the door, Shemei suddenly felt her instincts take over, and she looped her arm through Eric's as they left the _Starshine_. She looked over at him, and as their eyes met she gave him a small, almost shy smile, one that was rather uncharacteristic of her. It became a little bigger when he not only returned the smile but actually pulled her in a bit closer to him in response. A familiar warm feeling, one that only seemed to crop up when Eric was concerned, swept through Shemei, and it lifted her soul despite all the bad news that had been discussed during their time at the bar.

She kept her arm locked with Eric's as they left the establishment, and parted only when they reached their vehicles, which were parked right next to each other. Before she entered her jeep though, she took Eric into a hug. The warm feeling within her increased as he returned the embrace without hesitation, holding her close to him in the parking lot in the artificial night of the PLANT capital.

"Eric," she said softly, pulling back just far enough to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "take care of yourself. Remember, if you need anything, even if it's just to talk and vent a little, call me, alright?"

He smiled at her, his brown eyes full of gratitude and affection. "I will, and thank you. You be careful too, and keep an eye on the girls; can't have them getting into trouble and making Zala's shit list now."

"Roger that," said Shemei, smiling and winking.

….

It was after midnight, but the Kaoshiung spaceport would not be sleeping anytime soon. The final preparations for Operation Spitbreak had reached a fever pitch, with incoming and outgoing flights of troops, supplies, and mobile suits literally every hour. The base was alive with activity, and a frantic energy seemed to posses most of the inhabitants.

For Dominic Zubov, though, what was coursing through his veins as he watched the work crews carry out his latest requests regarding Schwarz Squadron's new DINN Mk. IIs was not nervous anticipation, but seething bloodlust. He had a maniacal, monstrous grin on his face as he observed with pleasure the application of the new paint scheme he had demanded for his team. Arms folded, the Commander exuded a sense of sadistic satisfaction as he watched eight silver death's heads slowly but surely take shape on the chests of the DINNs. The machines kept the black base with grey trim that the team's old DINNS had worn, and the new emblem made their resemblance to the uniforms of the legendary SS of the Third Reich all the more uncanny… which was exactly what Zubov had hoped for.

_It's fitting, after all_, he mused, _the SS were the vanguard of the original Holocaust. Now, here in the Cosmic Era, we shall commence their work anew… though this time, our target is not the Jews, but the Natural scum. Then again, I suppose the Jews would be included in that category… no matter. We will be the tip of the spear, the first flame of the inferno that will cleanse the Earth Sphere of the disgusting rabble, and the Coordinators will take their place as the sole race of Humanity._

His thoughts of a glorious genocide were interrupted by a familiar voice… one that he despised, despite the fact that it belonged to a fellow Special Operations Squadron Commander. "How unsightly," it said, with a clear Irish accent, "really, Zubov, I've always considered you a vulgar worm, but I didn't think you'd go this deep into the sewers."

Schwarze Team's Commander turned around to see the leader of the Grün Team standing behind him, arms folded, a scowl on his face. Bernhard 'Owl' Schmidt had made no attempts to hide his disdain at his fellow officer. A Second Generation Coordinator of mixed Irish and Austrian descent, Commander Schmidt was a wiry man, with a bald head and piercing green eyes. Twenty-seven years old, he had gained a reputation for his uncanny ability to adapt quickly to the flow of a battle, regardless of the terrain or forces involved. His knack for scanning the battlefield before diving into the fray had earned him the nickname 'Owl', and even in the midst of the most frantic engagements he always had a relaxed and flexible attitude, one that he had made sure to pass on to his three subordinates.

If Bernhard Schmidt had a weakness, it was one shared by the rest of the Special Operations Commanders; pride. The belief in the supremacy of Coordinators all but inherent within the ranks of the radical faction ran in the Owl's veins as well, giving him a disdainful view of his foes. However, where he and Zubov differed… and where their animosity came from… was how best to bring about the complete dominance of their kind of the Earth Sphere. Zubov was of course all for wiping the Naturals out, but Schmidt didn't have the stomach for all out genocide. While he looked down upon Naturals, his feelings on them were more of a general dislike rather than the burning hatred so many of his colleagues embraced.

It was because his prejudice was not as extreme that he envisioned a new world order in which the Naturals were second class citizens, performing low-level jobs, while the Coordinators would be the ruling elite, guiding the destiny of mankind. This divergence in viewpoints from the more bloodthirsty Schwarze Team Commander was the source of their rivalry and out-and-out loathing of each other; Zubov viewed Schmidt as too soft, while the Owl saw Zubov as little more than a barbarian swinging a cudgel around.

ZAFT's greatest war criminal cackled as he faced the Grün Team Commander. "You would say that, Schmidt. Someone as weak as you could never appreciate the power inherent in something like this; when the Natural scum see Schwarz Team's new emblem, their fear of us will be magnified even greater, and they will know that their end is nigh!"

"Their soldiers, or their civilians?" he asked sarcastically, "Oh, wait, I forgot; you don't see a difference between the two."

"Why should there be?" Zubov replied, grinning, "Just because one is under a coat of arms and the other is not means nothing; they will all die by our hands eventually. I'm just expediting the process."

"And killing off a valuable labor source in doing so," said Schmidt, "you give so little thought to the post-war order, Muscovite thug."

"Oh, I think of it, alright," he shot back, "It just involves a more permanent solution to the Natural problem than yours does, Irish pansy."

"Keep trying to implement your solution," said Schmidt, his eyes narrowing, "and it may be the end of you. I know how Field Marshall Bristow caught up to you after the Chinese finally chased you out of Xining; he was a hairs-breadth away from skipping the due-process and executing you on the spot. You're fortunate he has a sense of honor when it comes to fellow soldiers, even Huns like yourself, and tried to instigate a proper war crimes investigation before hauling you before a firing squad; Zala would not have been able to save you had the Wolf acted more… _independently_."

Even Zubov had to grimace at that, remembering the events prior to Bristow's 'promotion' to the Defense Council and Zala's general staff. His pride had taken a severe beating when the Wolf of the Far East had caught up to his team. He felt a fresh rage burning within him as he remembered how the Field Marshall had literally ambushed him as Schwarze Squadron had been making their way back to their forward operating base. The Commander recalled with perfect clarity how his cockpit alarms had suddenly started blaring with missile lock warnings before he realized that the ZAFT regular army had surrounded his team, fencing them in from both above and below. The ultimate humiliation had occurred soon after, when Bristow himself had effortlessly shot Zubov's rifle out of his DINNs hand before ordering his team to land, warning that the next shot would be fatal. As the Special Operations officer had touched down and exited his machine, Bristow's BuCue had rolled up before him. When the Field Marshal exited his mobile suit, he'd hauled off and punched Zubov in the face before drawing his sidearm, seething with rage. He'd barely managed to pull himself back from personally executing Zubov on the spot, and instead opted for punching the Schwarze Team Commander again before cuffing him and the rest of his squad, charging them with war crimes and vowing to personally lead the investigation against them.

For three days, Zubov and his subordinates had languished in a make-shift field cell, waiting to see what would become of them. The officer grinned as he recalled a special detachment approaching them on the third day, informing them that all charges had been dismissed. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Zala had killed the investigation, and less than twelve hours later Bristow had been transferred to Aprilius One, leaving Schwarze Team free to wreak havoc again.

The Wolf hadn't given up, of course, and Zala had made it perfectly clear to Zubov that Bristow was continuously making efforts to reopen a case against the Special Operations Squadron… and that he would let the Field Marshall have his way if Zubov didn't start obeying Zala's orders in a more… _timely _manner.

Zubov smiled again as he imagined Bristow's frustration at his failure to get him hauled before a tribunal and found guilty. _Should've pulled the trigger yourself, Field Marshall_, he thought, _Civility has no place in war, and it definitely cost you here. Oh well… I'm certainly not complaining._

"Well, he didn't," said Zubov after a moment, "and the rest, as they say, is history."

"One that is pointless to rehash, at that," said a new voice, though it was not unfamiliar, "I would think that the two of you would have better things to do than bicker at a time like this."

Zubov rolled his eyes, knowing who was approaching. _Great_, he thought, _I knew he was here, but I'd managed to avoid running into him until now. So much for that bit of luck lasting any longer._

He sneered as he turned to face the third Special Operations Commander assigned to Operation Spitbreak. "Well, if it isn't the poster boy of mobile suit pilots. I thought you were too good to slum it with the likes of us."

Detlef Fleisher, leader of Rot Team, scowled as he approached. Twenty-eight years old, he presented an image that had literally led him to be seen as the ideal pilot, or at least one that the ZAFT leadership liked to have on their recruitment ads. Always exuding an aura of confidence, Fleisher's short-brown hair, brown eyes, and lean yet athletic frame had quickly made him the heartthrob of many of ZAFT's female soldiers, along with quite a few civilians. His family was of mixed Germanic and Czech ancestry, and his parents, First Generation Coordinators, were both board members of Horizon Industries, one of the largest electronics companies in the PLANTs. Among its many activities, the firm was a key provider of computer components for the armed forces, and was a major financial backer of the radical faction. Both of his parents were solid Coordinator Supremacists, and Detlef had been quick to take up their ideals as well. His political leanings, combined with his piloting skills and the ease at which he moved amongst the PLANT social elite had made him a prime candidate for Zala's Special Operations units, and Fleisher was in fact one of the organization's best known pilots. Of course, the military's eagerness to trot him in front of the cameras as a recruiting tool played a helping hand in that fame, and ZAFT's propaganda machine had labeled him 'The Red Swallow'.

While the Rot Team Commander did not have the same antagonistic relationship with Zubov as Schmidt, the Schwarze Team Commander still did not hold Fleisher in high regard. It wasn't due to his ideals, but something much simpler; with his quick-wit and pride that came from being born into affluence, Zubov saw him as little more than a millionaire playboy looking for adventure, regardless of the seriousness in which he always approached his duties.

"I prefer to keep my distance from you, Zubov," said Fleisher, "only because you have all the social graces of a pig." He looked from Zubov to Schmidt. "Now, what's going on here?"

_There he goes again_, thought Zubov, _he always acts like he's the big guy on campus… unless Kupchenko's around. _"Not that it's any of your concern, pretty boy," he sneered, "but we were just… _discussing _my squadron's new emblem."

Fleisher glanced over at the tech crews working on Schwarze Team's new paintjob. "The death's head… not that I have an issue with that in and of itself, but in those colors… honestly, I would've thought that a Russian would despise the SS, not try to resurrect their ensemble. Didn't your ancestors fight at Stalingrad, Zubov?"

"Ancient history," he replied, "There's no point in me hating the Nazis so long after the Second World War….besides, I think we could learn a thing or two from them. After all, they too fought a war of extermination; anyone with a basic understanding of history can draw the parallels."

"Animal," muttered Schmidt, "don't equate the rest of us with the scum of humanity. This war is like any other; the victor will reign supreme, and the loser will become the subservient. Only barbarians like you would entertain the notion that genocide is our ultimate objective."

"Open your eyes, Owl," sneered Zubov, "Remember, the Naturals started this war with a nuclear attack; they made their intentions clear right from the beginning. There's only one way this war can end, and that's total annihilation of one side or the other. Look, I can appreciate your views on turning them into our servants at the end, but it's just too soft. Then again, soft is really what you're all about, aren't you, Schmidt?"

"You want soft?" growled Schmidt, "Let's get our teams together and take to the sky. I'd match Grün Team's four against Schwarze's eight any day of the week. What do you say, Vulture?"

"Enough, both of you!" snapped Fleisher, "The ultimate aims of this war are for Supreme Chairman Zala to decided, not us. Save your energy for the Naturals; Special Operations will be spearheading Spitbreak, and we can't waste time arguing amongst ourselves."

"If that's so," said Zubov, "then how come we're the only three Special Squadrons here? If we're leading the assault, then shouldn't there be more of us?"

"Idiot," said Schmidt, "the rest of the Special Operations units have their own responsibilities. Not to mention we're suddenly a bit shorthanded after the Marshall Islands."

"What are you talking about?" said Zubov, this time with genuine interest.

"Typical," said Schmidt, a smug smirk on his face, "It's just like you to ignore the latest intelligence briefs. Ofnir and Grabacr were wiped out three days ago… by Wing Zero and the legged ship."

Schwarze Team's Commander's eyes widened at that statement. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

"It's the truth," said Fleisher, "two of the Zala Team pilots that took part in the battle as well survived, and their accounts along with debris discovered at the scene confirm it. Also, pilot Nicole Amalfi is confirmed K.I.A., while both Dearka Elsman and his unit, the Buster, are missing. The Zala Team did manage to destroy one fighter jet and the Strike though, so the engagement wasn't a total loss."

"Damn near close to it if you ask me," grumbled Schmidt, "Wing Zero and the legged ship are tearing a swath through our military. Our casualties have skyrocketed since the debacle at Heliopolis."

"So have the Alliance's," said Zubov, "Remember, it was thanks to the four machines we did steal during that 'debacle' that the 8th Fleet was annihilated."

"True," said Fleisher, nodding, "however, if you put that against the losses to our MS corps, our armies in North Africa, the Flying Fortress _Everest_, three of the four stolen prototypes, and Ofnir and Grabacr… it's hard to say if we break even or come out behind at this point. Wing Zero in particular seems to be worth an entire fleet by itself."

"We have to take it down," said Schmidt, his eyes narrowing, "that machine has the potential to change the course of the entire war. I know the Defense Council made its destruction a Priority One goal, but it continues to crush all who are sent against it. Can Spitbreak even succeed with that demon on the loose?"

"Of course it can," said Fleisher, "after all, the firepower we're assembling for the operation is overwhelming, even for a mobile suit and pilot of that caliber. I mean, come on; two Flying Fortresses, four combined fleets for the opening assault, with two more in reserve? By the time we receive initiation orders, we'll have amassed the largest force in the history of the world. We _cannot _lose."

"Still," mused Zubov, entering a rare contemplative state, "we should go for broke. Can't we rotate a couple more of our own units into the armada?"

"Not possible," replied Fleisher, "Special Operations is spread too thin now."

"Oh, come on," said Zubov, "the other squadrons can't be _that _busy."

"Unfortunately, they are," said Schmidt, "Silber was transferred to Tobruk to help hold North Africa against a Eurasian assault in light of our recent losses there, along with the rotation of the Valkyrie Team back to the homeland. The Schnee Squadron is stationed aboard the destroyer _Mandela_, which is currently conducting harassing raids out at L1 against the Alliance 2nd Fleet. Indigo and Gelb are our representatives in the Exclusion Grid; the former on the Avalon Line, the latter at Jachin Due."

"What about Gault?" sneered Zubov, "Surely old man Kupchenko wouldn't miss out on the biggest offensive of the war."

"Special Operations Chief Commander Anton Kupchenko," said Fleisher, irked at Zubov's blatant lack of respect for the operational head of their organization, "is on top secret assignment. I don't know any details save for the fact that the orders were issued by the Supreme Chairman himself, and that all of Gault Team is involved."

"Really?" said Zubov, raising an eyebrow, "Must be important if he needs Kupchenko's squadron. I wonder what kind of fun they're getting up to."

"I don't think fun would be the right word to describe it," said Schmidt, looking thoughtful, "If they needed Gault's Golden Nest…" The 'Golden Nest' was the nickname given to the way the deadliest of the Special Operations Teams fought; Chief Commander Anton Kupchenko's personal squadron was renowned throughout ZAFT for it intricate flying techniques, how each of the eight mobile suits in the unit complemented and supported each other with such precision that it almost seemed as if they were a hive mind. It was said that if any squad could challenge the Valkyrie Team, it would be Gault… though who would win was a matter of debate. Even if they outnumbered their rivals two to one, the individual skills of the Gault pilots still did not match those of the Valkyrie and her subordinates.

"It hardly matters for us," said Fleisher, smiling, "Operation Spitbreak will begin soon enough, and we will bring the Earth Forces to their knees. Since we are the only three Special Operations Squadrons participating, we will be crowned in glory."

"While the others languish in the background," said Schmidt, smirking, "I can already picture the awards ceremony afterwards… who wants to bet we'll each make Field Marshall? At the very least, they'll have to expand our commands, not to mention throw a nice, fat bonus into our pay."

"Either's fine by me," said Zubov, grinning, "As long as I get to put those vermin to the sword, nothing else matters."

….

"Welcome back, Reverend Malchio," said Lacus.

It was the morning after Kira had regained consciousness, and Lacus had decided that he was well enough for a little company. She smiled as she held the front door open for the monk. "Kira's out back," she said as she closed the door behind him and took him by the arm, guiding him through the house, "I was hoping that you could join the two of us for tea."

"Of course," said the blind man, a small smile on his face, "although… I sense that tea is not the only reason you wish for me to be with the two of you today."

Lacus sighed. _I can't help but be amazed at his perception, especially without his sight_, she thought, _he reads so much into verbal cues… much more than I know I'm aware of._

"Yes," said Lacus, "as I'm sure you're aware, in the battle that Kira was wounded in… Athrun went M.I.A. as well."

"I remember hearing of this from Field Marshal Bristow," Malchio replied, "If I recall correctly, he was recovered by Orb shortly afterwards and transferred back to ZAFT at sea. From there he was taken to Carpentaria, where I believe he still resides for the moment."

"That is all true," said Lacus, stopping in her tracks as the two of them approached the back door. Wanting to make sure the monk was prepared before the two of them began their talk with Kira, she made sure he had stopped as well before speaking again. "I believe… that Kira and Athrun fought each other in that battle... and the tension between them somehow became more… _heated_."

"Ah," said Malchio, nodding in understanding, "You fear that something happened that made the two of them stop holding back against each other… something that may have turned the friendship they once had into hatred."

"Exactly," said Lacus, looking down at the floor, "I know that one of Athrun's friends and comrades, Nicole Amalfi… was killed during the battle. It is possible that Kira is the one who killed him. Also, according to Mr. Bristow, there was wreckage of an Alliance fighter jet on the scene as well… I believe that Kira may have lost a friend at Athrun's hands as well."

The monk nodded glumly. "I see… I do not know the precise details, but I believe that your observations are quite astute, and what you have described is the most likely scenario. So, you have asked for my company in order to convince Kira to let go of any hatred he may have developed for Athrun."

"Yes," she replied, relieved that Malchio understood her intentions, "Kira… he's such a kind, gentle person. He is one of the most sincere and caring people I have ever met… I do not wish for his heart to be distorted by hatred and revenge."

The Reverend gave her a small, knowing smile. "You care for him dearly, don't you Miss Lacus?"

She felt a bit of heat rush to her cheeks at his words, and she was unable to deny the truth within them. _I do care for Kira_, she thought, _but… in what way?_

Ever since her departure from the _Archangel_, not a day had gone by that she had not thought of the sincere young man who had saved her life. Whether it was just to wonder how he was doing, or to pray for his safety at night before she went to bed, her mind and heart had gone out to Kira in one form or another. It was certainly understandable, considering both the circumstances under which they had met and the young Coordinator's nature in general… but Lacus was unsure if those feelings were merely a friendly affection, or if they had a touch of something… deeper.

Lacus recalled with perfect clarity the shock and horror she had felt on first witnessing Kira lying on the bed over her video call with Malchio, wrapped in bandages and barely clinging to life. Her desperation, her _determination_, to save him was even more powerful, and she'd soon realized that no other person had elicited such a passionate response from her… including her fiancé, Athrun Zala.

While it was true that she cared for the young man that she had been arranged to marry, Lacus was not sure her feelings behind the whole affair were of a romantic nature. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that what she held for Athrun was a compassion and fondness that one would have for a dear friend… but no more than that. When compared for surge of passion that Kira had elicited from her, her determination to stay by his side to help him recover… she was forced to face the truth; the arranged marriage with Athrun was not a love match. No matter how much she cared for him, Lacus knew deep down that her feelings would never become romantic towards him… and the same probably went for him as well. Athrun had always been kind and thoughtful towards her, but there was also a stiffness and awkwardness that had come between them since their arranged marriage had been announced. Lacus was sure that, while Athrun did care for her, his affection was not of the romantic nature, but a combination of the friendship they'd had before and his sense of duty to his people, something they both shared. Both of them knew that the ceremony would raise the morale of the people… but carrying out their responsibilities as the children of the PLANT elite would come at the price of not following their hearts, and Lacus was becoming increasingly worried that it was a toll that neither of them would be able to pay.

As she pondered all this, she looked out the sliding glass door at Kira. The brown haired, violet eyed young man was, of course, still in his bed, which had been rolled out back in the late morning so he could enjoy some fresh air. A seat was already pulled up next to it, where Lacus had been sitting earlier talking to him until Mr. Reese had announced Reverend Malchio's arrival. At that point she had excused herself to personally greet the monk, and… well, here she was.

She felt her heart flutter as she gazed at the boy. Lacus could not deny that she was drawn to Kira in a way that she never had been to Athrun. His thoughtfulness towards others, his courage and desire to protect the people close to him, his quiet and intelligent if somewhat naïve nature… she had become quite fond of all of them. It was true that Athrun shared several of the same qualities, but the shadow of his father's influence hung over them, driving the boy to try and impress the man that Lacus's allies feared would soon unleash a bloodbath upon the Earth Sphere. The younger Zala also had a perpetually serious nature that contrasted with Kira's generally relaxed and easy-going personality. Athrun, for all his own kindness and respect towards others, had a hard time both relaxing and opening up to people, whereas Kira did not show any such difficulties.

_Still_, thought Lacus, _it's too early to say whether or not I…_like _Kira, as some might put it. Anyway, that hardly matters right now. What's important is to see to his recovery… both physically and emotionally. _

Shoving her personal doubts aside for the moment, she put on a smile and opened the door for Reverend Malchio. As she did so, she looked over at Kira. "Kira!" she said, closing the door as she came out behind the monk, "I trust you remember Reverend Malchio?"

Kira nodded and smiled as Lacus led the monk over to the bedside and pulled up another chair for him. "Yeah," he said, "you said he was the one that found me on that island… after the battle." His smile faltered at that last bit.

Her heart went out to the young man. _Kira… I'm sorry, I truly am, but I'm afraid we must revisit your memories of that terrible fight. I must keep you from succumbing to hatred and vengeance…and I will do whatever it takes to accomplish that._

Malchio spoke up before she could. "It was fortunate that I did, or you would in all likelihood be dead by now."

"Thank you," said Kira, bowing his head.

Working up her nerve, Lacus cleared her throat before speaking. "Kira… I'm sorry to have to ask this… but could you tell us about what happened during the battle?"

His eyes widened a bit in response to her question. Then a shadow fell over his face, and for a moment Lacus feared that she may have overstepped her bounds. However, after a second Kira nodded and looked at her again, though there was some trepidation in his eyes. "Alright, Lacus."

He started slowly, telling them how they had been attacked by both Athrun's Team and two squads of DINN's similar to those used by the Valkyrie Team in the Marshall Islands. Lacus had already heard from Bristow that the latter were two of Zala's Special Operations Squadrons, Ofnir and Grabacr… and that they'd been annihilated by Wing Zero and the _Archangel_. Indeed, Kira did mention that mysterious and incredibly powerful mobile suit in his tale, though naturally it was a secondary part of his account as he was more focused on his own actions during the battle. Still, Lacus took some comfort in the knowledge that the other pilot that had saved her life, Heero Yuy, was still alive and well. _He was such an interesting young man_, she thought, _and from another world to boot… I would like to speak with him again sometime._

She turned her attention back to Kira as he continued his story. Lacus saw him hesitate a little before telling her about how he had reflexively fired a shot at Athrun's cockpit, which would've connected if the Blitz hadn't moved in to take the hit instead. She knew that Nicole Amalfi was the pilot of the black machine, and undoubtedly his death had been a sever shock to Athrun. Indeed, Kira told her about Athrun's scream of rage over the radio before he had charged him, no longer holding anything back.

The boy's face became darker as he went on, describing how Athrun had proceeded to kill one of Kira's friends, Tolle, by destroying the fighter jet he had been flying in the battle. At this point he stopped, and Lacus's heart went out to him as she saw him trying desperately to hold back tears.

"Kira," she said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry… you can stop for now, if you want to."

He shook his head and looked up at her. "Thanks, but I want to finish. It's the least I can do after all the help you've given me."

Lacus nodded, and Kira concluded his tale by describing his final fight with Athrun… and he didn't hold back, either. The young man was very detailed not just in the physical damage the two of them inflicted on each other's machines, but on the pain and rage in his heart, the sorrow at the death of his friend, and the burning desire for vengeance.

As he finished he looked down at the table, and Lacus saw that he appeared to be very nervous, almost unwilling to meet her gaze. She had a feeling she knew why; the young man he'd tried so hard to kill had not only once been his best friend, but was her fiancé now as well. It was natural for him to be worried about her reaction considering what he'd just told her.

"Kira," she said, "please, look at me."

As he did so, she moved her hand from his shoulder to his right hand. "I need to know… do you hate Athrun? Was what happened during the battle pure impulse, or do you now truly hate him from the bottom of your heart?"

His eyes widened, and Lacus saw tears begin to form in them. "I…" he said, struggling to speak, "I… I don't know! He was my friend, I never wanted to fight him… but Tolle was my friend to, and Athrun killed him… I don't know what I feel!"

"In that lies your answer," said Reverend Malchio, causing both Kira and Lacus to look at him.

"What do you mean?" asked Kira, the tears that had threatened to fall earlier subsiding.

"Simple," replied the monk, "if hatred was now your motivation, you would know it without hesitation. Believe me, young man; long ago, I too was a soldier. I was once a member of the United Nations' Peacekeeping forces, and I served in one of the organization's many missions in the sands of the Middle East, trying time and time again to bring about some form of lasting peace in that tumultuous region."

"Reverend Malchio…" said Lacus softly, her eyes widening. She'd never heard the blind man discuss his own past; in fact, she'd never done any research of her own into it. Lacus had always known him as a man of faith and peace; she'd never dreamed that he had once served in combat.

"In my time as a soldier," Malchio continued, "I traveled to many places where ethnic and religious divisions had torn the people apart, pitting them at each other's throats for as long as their nations had existed. Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Baghdad… the list was quite a long one. I met many different combatants in that time, both friendly and enemy, and I tried my best to learn what their reasons for fighting were. That list was as long and varied as the places I traveled in my time with the Peacekeeping forces."

"What did you learn?" asked Kira.

"That those who fight out of hatred or vengeance," he replied, "cannot deny it, and know it in their hearts to be true. The same could be said of those who fight for more noble reasons; to protect their friends, loved ones, even people they've never met. However, beyond their simple differences, there is another key distinction between those who fight for hate and those who fight to protect."

"What is it?" said Lacus.

"The former," said Malchio, "are seldom conflicted about fighting; their hearts are hardened, and they do not consider their enemies to be truly human. The later, though, despite however strong their will to fight to protect others is, still see their enemies as people. They may not hesitate to pull the trigger, to take the lives of their foes… but they still recognize them as living, breathing human beings, with thoughts and feelings of their own, as well as people who care for them and love them."

"Kira Yamato," he continued, "though I was blinded during the course of my duties with the United Nations, even now I can 'see', if you will, into the hearts and minds of others; what motivates them to do what they do in their lives. Miss Lacus has already told me that you fought to protect your friends, and in being with you, here and now, listening to your account, I can judge for myself that her words are true. I also heard the sadness in your voice as you described your fight with Athrun, even after he killed your friend Tolle. Though I do not doubt that wrath was in your heart when you two fought, I also can say without a doubt that sorrow was there as well. Even after your friend's death, you did not truly wish to kill Athrun… and I believe, deep in your heart, that you know this to be true."

Kira looked down. "I don't know… when I think back on that fight… I can feel the rage burning inside me, like a fire."

"I'm sure you can," said Malchio, "along with the sorrow, tearing at your heart like a great wound, more severe than any physical one you suffered in that fight. I would also imagine… that you were crying as you dueled Athrun; tears not just for your fallen friend, but also at the fact that you were fighting another."

Looking over at Kira, Lacus saw his eyes widened, and knew without a doubt that he had suddenly remembered exactly what the blind monk had described. At the same time, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart; now, after all that had been said, she knew that Kira's kind and caring heart remained intact, untainted by the desire for revenge. The boy had not out-and-out said so himself, but Lacus could see in his eyes the same compassion that had led her to become so fond of him after they'd first met, and knew that it was uncorrupted.

She closed her eyes and smiled. _Reverend Malchio… thank you._

Opening her eyes, she saw that Kira was smiling slightly as well, and looked very relieved at his realization. Curiosity was in his eyes as well, and as he turned to Malchio he asked the same question that Lacus had begun pondering.

"Revered Malchio," said Kira, "whey you lost your sight, was that when you decided to leave the U.N. and become more… religious?"

The monk smiled. "Well, I had always been a spiritual person, but losing my sight was, forgive the oxymoron, an eye opening experience. I could no longer personally fight to help others, so I left the U.N. Peacekeeping forces, but I was still determined to try to heal the wounds of this war. I formally joined the church soon after, and I rose through the ranks rather quickly. They sent me on many mission trips across the world, and it was in that time that I gained prominence as someone who was willing to undergo great risks to help those in need."

He turned to Lacus. "It was during that time that I met Miss Lacus's father; though he was well involved in affairs concerning the PLANTs, Mr. Clyne was and remains a very charitable person, and cared for the less fortunate of the world, whether they be Natural or Coordinator. He began providing financial support to my efforts. It was soon after that I met Miss Lacus, and the rest, as they say, is history."

Lacus smiled at the monk and turned to Kira. "My career as a singer means that I have a great deal of money and popular support to give to Reverend Malchio. I've been helping him for a couple of years now."

Kira actually blushed slightly at that. "Wow… I had no idea that you were so famous in the PLANTs. When we met… I just thought you were the daughter of the leader. I mean, I heard you sing, and your voice is beautiful, but I still…"

Lacus laughed a little at that. "It's quite alright, Kira. After all, you didn't grow up in the PLANTs, and I'd imagine that Heliopolis and Orb in general had celebrities of their own for people to take an interest then. Thank you very much, though; I'm glad you liked my singing."

The boy's face became even redder, though he still managed a smile as he looked at her. "Well, it's kinda hard not to."

This time, Lacus was surprised to feel herself blushing, and hoped it wasn't too noticeable. People complimented her on her singing all the time, of course… but now that Kira was the one giving her praise, she was flattered in a way that the others had not made her feel. _This boy… why does he make me feel the way I do when I'm around him?_

….

Two days after they had arrived at Pearl Harbor, Murrue took her seat on the _Archangel_'s bridge as her crew ran through the preflight checks. She had been impressed at how much the base's repair crews had been able to accomplish in the 48 hours the ship had been docked there; the damaged engine had been completely repaired, along with the portside Valiant Linear Rail Cannon. Enough progress had been made on the damaged Igelstellungs that Murdoch's teams could finish the rest of the repairs en route to Alaska, and the Hawaii crews had even removed the melted thrusters from the Buster and sent over replacement parts for the ship's technicians to install on the sole remaining prototype suit from the Heliopolis project in their possession. _It just goes to show how much the Orb crews deliberately slacked off_, mused Murrue, _in order to give their government more time to use Kira and Heero for their own mobile suit program._

She looked to her right before remembering that Heero was not on the bridge; the young man was down in the hangar running checks of his own on Wing Zero before their departure. Murrue turned back to the front of the bridge, sighing as she did so. _I get so used to having him here, by my side... I know he'll come up here as soon as he's done with his Gundam, but I still wish he was on the bridge right now._

Her second in command brought her attention back to the bridge. "Captain," said Natarle, "all systems check out, save for the two Igelstellungs that have yet to be completely repaired. We're ready to move out at your command."

Murrue nodded. "Contact harbor control and have them clear us a lane. Fire up the engines and take us out. Take care when moving for the mouth of the harbor; there's quite a bit of traffic out there today."

That was certainly true. Over the past 48 hours, warships had streamed into the Pacific Fleet's HQ practically every hour, and the amount of incoming vessels had seemingly doubled on the day of the _Archangel_'s departure. Destroyers, frigates, cruisers, even aircraft carriers… Pearl Harbor was alive with activity. _Something big must be brewing_, thought Murrue, _for the top brass to begin concentrating so many ships here. I wonder what's going on. _She'd tried to get information from the base commandant, but the only response she had received was that the information was need to know, and it did not concern her ship.

"Yes, ma'am," said Natarle, quickly relaying her orders to the rest of the bridge crew.

Turning her attention to her personal monitor, she contacted the hangar. "Crew Chief Murdoch."

"What is it, Captain?" asked the gruff mechanic.

"We're moving out," said Murrue, "I want your teams to prioritize finishing the repairs of the last two Igelstellungs; the Buster's thrusters can wait until they're done."

"Yes, ma'am," said Murdoch, "just keep the ship steady for us; can't have my guys falling into the sea."

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry; we'll take things slow until the tech crews are done. Carry on, Crew Chief."

"Got it," he replied, "By the way, Heero just finished up with Wing Zero; he's on his way up to the bridge now."

"Thanks for the heads up," said Murrue before cutting the connection.

Indeed, less than a minute after her conversation with the warship's head mechanic, she heard the bridge door open. Murrue looked over her should and smiled as Heero entered and walked over to her. He nodded to her in greeting, smiling slightly before looking out the forward viewport. "How are we?"

"Everything checks out," said Murrue, "we can make the last of our repairs during the remainder of the trip to Alaska; Alliance air patrols have the whole region between here and HQ covered, so we won't have to worry about enemy attacks."

"Good to know," said Heero. The two of them were quiet for a moment, watching out the forward viewport as the ship slowly began to make its way out of the harbor. Then the Gundam pilot turned to her again and spoke. "How's your report coming along? Are you almost done?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, I just have to make the final log notes for the last leg of our trip to Alaska. I can finish those upon our arrival, and then present the whole thing to the top brass. I even managed to finish writing up all the commendations for the crew." She smiled at her last comment. "It's too bad you're not an official member of the Alliance military; with your actions during our voyage, you're eligible for just about every citation we have to offer."

She saw Heero smirk at that. "Sorry, but I'm not one for formal service; my fighting style's a little too independent for official military operations."

"I know," said Murrue, "and honestly, after all you've been through… I think I'm glad that you're not an official member of the Alliance military. I'm just grateful for all the help you've given us as an independent fighter."

"A capacity in which I'll continue to act in," said Heero, giving her a small smile, "I trust that works for you?"

Murrue grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

….

"How ya feeling, kid?" said Waltfeld as Lacus led him and Aisha outside, where Kira lay in his usual spot on the back patio. It had been two days since Reverend Malchio's visit, and the Desert Tiger and his lover had finally been able to break away from their activities with the moderate faction to come visit their former enemy from North Africa. They'd had to take precautions, of course; they'd driven over in a plain black four door sedan, and rather than park out front they had been led to the Clyne residence's garage, where they could exit their car out of eyesight of any potential observers. Waltfeld did not want it to become public knowledge that he and Aisha were still alive, and thus was quite cautious whenever he and his lover ventured outside the safe house Bristow had set up for them.

The Desert Tiger was dressed much as he had been when he'd first met Kira in Banadiya; khaki pants, a red and yellow shirt, sunglasses, and a hat. Aisha's attire was quite plain as well, consisting of little more than blue jeans, a green blouse, sunglasses, and a white wide brimmed hat.

Waltfeld couldn't help but smile as he saw Kira's eyes widen in surprise. _He's as sincere as ever_, he mused_, concealing his emotions just isn't his forte. In his case though, I think it's a good thing; it's one of the things that help him keep his humanity while he fights._

As he and Aisha went over to Kira, Lacus took their hats and sunglasses and set them down on a nearby table; the patio was surrounded by tall bushes save for the spot overlooking the lake, meaning that they were concealed from any observers unless they were willing to climb the few trees in the area… and given the relatively light foliage, said trees were not well suited to concealing spies.

"Mister Waltfeld!" said Kira, smiling as he and Aisha approached and sat down beside him, "Miss Aisha! I didn't know you two would be coming by today."

Aisha gave him a warm smile. "We managed to get a little free time today, so we decided to pay you a visit. We called Lacus, but she said she wanted to surprise you, so that's why you weren't given a heads up."

"Oh?" said Kira, looking over at Lacus. Waltfeld was surprised to see the songstress blush slightly as the boy did so. _I wonder_, he thought, _I know she's arranged to marry Zala's son… but her true affections may lie with someone else. _He smirked slightly at that. _Young love is a strange thing… well, however she feels, Lacus is mature enough to make her own decisions, and if she ends up falling for Kira, so be it. Siegel and Patrick will have to deal with the consequences; those two should never have tried to arrange a marriage between Lacus and Athrun. I don't care how good the ceremony would be for PLANT morale, everyone has the right to chose who they love, regardless if they're normal people or the children of the ruling elite._

He looked over at Aisha, who winked at him in acknowledgement. _So you've caught it too, eh my love? I should've figured; you've always been very observant when it comes to the more emotional side of people. One of the reasons I fell for you…_

The black haired beauty turned back to the bedridden boy, concern in her green eyes. "How are you, Kira? Lacus told us about the extent of your wounds… both Andy and I were worried."

"Oh, uhm, I'm ok," said Kira, clearly more focused on what was left of Waltfeld's left arm, along with the scar that went through his left eye, which would remain closed for the rest of his life.

The Desert Tiger chuckled. "Don't worry about me, kid. I'll get fitted for a prosthetic once quiet down around here. As for the eye, well I've still got my right one, so no worries there. Besides, I've got Aisha to help me out." He turned to his lover and they shared a brief kiss.

"Alright," said Kira, though the boy still looked uncomfortable. It was easy enough to guess why; seeing Waltfeld and Aisha like this no doubt reminded the boy of their fierce battle in North Africa, and that he had nearly killed them. Hell, the kid thought he _had _killed them, and it had been a very close thing.

Waltfeld smiled. "Look, Kira, Aisha and I don't have any hard feelings over what happened in Egypt, alright? I know it probably seems strange to you, but we really don't hold the fact that you nearly killed us against you. It was a battle, and we were on opposite sides, fighting for different reasons. That's all there is to it."

"And now that you're here and not with the Earth Forces," said Aisha, "you don't have to worry about fighting us. You'll probably find this odd, but Andy and I both became quite fond of you after our meeting in Banadiya, and we'd much rather be friends with you than enemies."

Kira nodded. "So would I… but my friends are with the Earth Forces. I can't just abandon them."

"Then what do you intend to do?" said Lacus, chiming in for the first time since they had all sat down, "Your wounds are still healing, and there's no way for you to get out of the PLANTs right now. Besides… your machine was destroyed in the Marshall Islands, remember? The very reason the Alliance let you fight for them is now scattered wreckage in the Pacific Ocean."

"I know you're worried about your friends," said Aisha, "After all that was the reason you fought so well against us back in North Africa. However, you're forgetting something important."

"Huh?" said Kira, eyes widening slightly, "What are you talking about, Miss Aisha?"

The raven haired woman laughed, and Waltfeld smiled as he saw a playful gleam in her emerald eyes. "I'm talking about your fellow mobile suit pilot, of course! Surely you weren't knocked on the head so badly that you forgot about Heero Yuy, did you?"

"She's right, Kira," said Waltfeld, "With him and Wing Zero aboard the _Archangel_, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

The boy seemed reassured at their words. "You're both right… I guess I did forget about him."

"I don't suppose you can tell us more about the guy, can you?" asked Waltfeld, "I gotta admit, ever since our meeting in North Africa, I've been curious about him. I mean, a pilot of that caliber, and from another world to boot… it's something you don't see every day."

"I agree," said Aisha, "from what we saw in Banadiya, he's certainly an intriguing figure."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you two that much about him," said Kira, "I mean, we've talked before, but it's always been about stuff going on here, in the Cosmic Era… I think Captain Ramius is the only person he's close to. She's the one you'd have to ask, if you ever meet her?"

"_She_?" said Aisha. Waltfeld noted the emphasis she put on that word, and knew that her mind had gone in the same direction as his.

_That necklace he bought in Banadiya… the Tear of Isis… I'd bet anything it was for her._

"Yeah," said Kira, apparently not noticing Aisha's reaction, "the ship's commanding officer is a woman. I actually met her back on Heliopolis… in fact, she actually pushed me into the Strike's cockpit before getting in herself. I know she did it to get me out of danger… but we wound up in even more danger right after that, and I wound up taking control of the machine. That's how I ended up where I am, I guess."

"You said she pushed you in to protect you," said Waltfeld, "I can understand that if you just happened to be a civilian caught in the crossfire… but what about afterwards? Why did you keep piloting the Strike?"

"I told you before," said Kira, "it was to protect my friends. At the time, since we'd been exposed to military secrets and brought aboard the _Archangel_, I didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. Still, I wouldn't say Captain Ramius forced me to pilot the Strike. I did it of my own free will."

Kira then smiled slightly. "The Captain was actually kind to me, which was surprising considering that I'm a Coordinator. I don't think that sort of thing matters to her; from what little I've seen and heard, Captain Ramius just wants to keep her crew safe. Of course, Heero's really the one you'd have to ask about that. I know he and her talk all the time, so he knows her a lot better than me."

Waltfeld and Aisha shared a knowing look. _No doubt now; she's the one Heero bought the necklace for… the one he wants to protect. I wonder though… is the bond they share just a close friendship, or does it run deeper? _In the end, it wasn't any of his business, so he decided not to pursue the matter. It certainly was interesting to think about, though.

They both turned back to Kira, and Aisha spoke. "She sounds like a compassionate and strong woman," she said with a smile, "I bet we'd be good friends."

"I think all of us would," said Waltfeld, "You, me, Shemei and the girls, Lacus, Heero, Captain Ramius and her crew…" He sighed. "Damn this war."

"Speaking of which," said Kira, looking at Waltfeld, "Why are you back here instead of down on the surface, Mister Waltfeld? I mean, I know your injuries were severe, but I would expect someone like you to be recuperating at a place close to where you could keep an eye on your forces."

Waltfeld smirked. "You're a bright kid. I keep forgetting that, considering how sincere you tend to be."

He then became more serious. "As for what Aisha and I are doing back in the PLANTs… I guess you could say we're trying to figure out how to end the war… _without _escalating it further."

"You've been told that Patrick Zala has become the new Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs, right Kira?" asked Aisha.

The boy nodded, prompting her to continue. "Well, Zala and Lacus's father, the former Chairman, have different views on how the end of the war should be achieved. Siegel Clyne wanted to secure the Coordinator homeland and put us in a position of parity with the Alliance before negotiating peace. Patrick Zala, however, favors forcing the Earth Forces into submission, even if it means escalating the conflict beyond what it is now… and it's bad enough as is, as you've seen for yourself."

"We've been establishing contact with a lot of Clyne's supporters," said Waltfeld. He nodded at the songstress by Kira's side. "Lacus has been helping us as well."

Kira looked over at the pink haired girl, eyes widening at Waltfeld's statement. "Lacus… I didn't think…"

"That I would become involved in this kind of politics?" she finished for him. She smiled at the boy. "Kira, I'm the daughter of the former Supreme Chairman; I'm involved whether I like it or not. Besides, with my popularity as a singer, I have influence and power of my own, and I want to put it to good use. I can't think of a better one than helping Mister Waltfeld and his allies find a way to end the war without escalating the bloodshed."

The boy almost seemed to be in awe of the songstress as she spoke of her convictions and desire to help, and Waltfeld realized that perhaps Lacus wasn't the only one with potential romantic inclinations. _I may be reading too much into this… but there might be some chemistry between these two. It'd be interesting to see what happens, that's for sure. Oh well, that sort of thing takes time to develop… then again, Kira will be laid up here for quite a few more days at least, and with Lacus as his caretaker… Florence Nightingale may well be the way this situation plays out._

Watching the two of them together, Waltfeld was struck by an odd feeling. _It's strange… but when I see the two of them together, I feel like I can see part of the key… the key to ending this war. But it's incomplete; vital pieces are still missing. Some of them may lie with the organization Bristow, Clyne, and I are building; it's too early to say at this point. _He then smiled softly as his mind went back to that meeting in North Africa… more specifically, to the legged ship's _other _mobile suit pilot... the young man that had taken the entire Earth Sphere by surprise, and whose name had recently begun floating around the armed forces, whispered in a combination of awe and terror, admiration and dread…

_That young man_, thought Waltfeld, _and his incredible machine… I don't know why, but my gut is telling me that in the end, everything will come down to him._

The boy who, since arriving on the scene nearly two months ago, had become a serious candidate for the title of 'Greatest Pilot of All Time'…

_Heero Yuy._

….

"Long range contacts on radar," said the sensor operator, "I have ten… no, twelve signatures, IFF beacons show Alliance fighters!"

Murrue sighed in relief. They had departed Hawaii three days ago, and while they'd had no contact with ZAFT forces, neither had they encountered any friendly patrols. Now, as the _Archangel _cruised through the Pacific, the late afternoon sun high slowly creeping west across the sky, she could finally relax a little as the allied fighters moved in.

At least, she would've liked to relax… but what she heard next caused her no small amount of concern.

"Hold on a second," said Sai from his station in the CIC, "They're not Spearheads, they're Su-63Ks."

"Sukhoi birds…" Murrue heard Heero say. Turning to the Gundam pilot standing next to her seat, she saw his eyes narrow. "Those are Eurasian Federation fighters, and the 'K' designation means they're carrier planes."

Murrue nodded, only wondering briefly how he knew what kind of fighters the Eurasian Federation used until she remembered all the Alliance files he's read during his time aboard the _Archangel_. "You're right… and considering our last contact with the Eurasians was that mess at their Artemis base, I'm not entirely sure we can consider these planes friendly just yet."

"I'll head down to Wing Zero," said Heero, "Call if you need me to launch."

"Ok," said Murrue. As Heero left, she turned to Natarle. "Lieutenant Badgiruel, have Lieutenant Commander La Flaga head to his fighter as well. Prepare the catapult for launch and have Skygrasper One on standby in case we're attacked."

"Aye, Captain!" said Natarle.

"All hands," said Murrue, "Level Two battle stations! We'll go to level one if the Sukhoi jets become hostile. Sensors, bring the fighters up on the monitor, best possible magnification."

The twelve Eurasian fighters appeared on the central screen, their blue and white airframes much sleeker than that used by the mainstay Atlantic Federation jet, the F-7D. The Su-63K, along with its ground based counterpart the Su-63E, embodied the Eurasian air combat philosophy. The central airframe was based off the venerable Su-35; with the slightly raised cockpit section blending smoothly back into the central fuselage, swept back wings, and two tailfins as opposed to the Spearhead's one. While the Atlantic Federation fighter put emphasis on weapons capacity, heavier armor, and high top speed, the Su-63 and its variants were designed to focus on maneuverability. With their twin-thrust vectoring nozzles on their engines, they could out-turn any other plane in the sky, and they had a much lower stall speed than the heavier Spearhead. It was armed with a single 30mm machine gun and had fourteen hard-points slung beneath it, capable of carrying a variety of missiles. This contrasted to the internal missile bays of the F-7D, which could carry nearly twice that number of missiles, and the Atlantic Federation fighter also had two machine guns, though these were 20mm as opposed to the single 30mm on the Sukhoi bird.

It was a hotly debated topic between pilots of the two superpowers as to which fighter was superior… but when compared to the aerial dominance displayed by ZAFT's DINN, it was also a moot argument. Still, in capable hands, either plane could at least give enemy mobile suits a decent tussle, though the possibility of victory generally only existed if the fighter jets outnumbered the DINNs by at least four-to-one.

As she watched the Russian made planes approach, Murrue was nervous about what their intentions might be… but not nearly as much as she would've been months ago. Despite the tense mood on the bridge, the beautiful Captain could not help but smile slightly. _With Heero in the Wing Zero and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga backing him up in the Skygrasper, we can take anything the Eurasians throw at us._

After a few seconds a voice came over the radio. It was male and had a distinct Russian accent, though the speaker's English was perfect. "Attention, _Archangel_. This is Major Viktor Markov of the Eurasian Federation's 24th Naval Air Division, 4th Tactical Fighter Squadron, aka Volga Squadron. We are under orders to escort you on the final approach to JOSH-A. Broadcasting allied code Alpha Five Seven Red, please respond. Call-sign is Volga One. "

Murrue sighed in relief. _That's one of Alaska's codes. They must've given it to the Eurasians... I guess these guys really are friendlies. _"Open a channel," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," said the radio operator. After a few seconds he spoke again. "You're live, Captain."

Murrue nodded before speaking. "Volga One, this is Captain Murrue Ramius, commanding officer of the Atlantic Federation warship _Archangel_. Broadcasting response code Delta Six Eight Blue, please acknowledge Major."

"Code confirmed," said Markov, "Your top brass at Alaska feared that you would be uneasy over having Eurasian escorts after the Artemis incident; my squadron was given that recognition code from Admiral Sutherland himself before we launched. Requesting permission to form up overhead."

"Granted, Major," she replied.

"Thank you, Captain," said Markov as his fighters moved in, entering a broad circle formation over the white warship, "Be advised, we will be encountering naval patrols soon. They are Eurasians like us, so please do not be alarmed; the Atlantic Federation asked for our country to send as many forces to JOSH-A as we could."

"I was unaware of this," said Murrue, "Do you happen to know why, Major?"

"_Da_," replied the Major, "The Atlantic Federation top brass is organizing a counter-offensive in the Pacific; it's part of the preparations to deal with ZAFT's Operation Spitbreak once it is unleashed. My country's forces were asked to use Alaska as a rally point and staging ground; I believe your own military is gathering strength along the California coast, along with your Pearl Harbor base." Laughter came over the radio. "You have been out of touch for quite some time, Captain. Understandable, of course; with all the N-jammer interference plaguing the Earth, the best you can do for long range communications is burst transmissions, which are hardly sufficient for something like this. I understand you were at Pearl Harbor recently, so doubtless you saw some of the buildup. It seems you were not notified as to the reason though."

"Indeed," said Murrue, "thank you for the information." It bugged her that the higher ups saw no problem with one of their allies giving her important data while ordering their own senior commanders to keep her in the dark, but for the moment there was nothing she could do about it. _Still_, she thought, _something feels odd about all this, though I can't say what. Perhaps we'll learn more when we get to headquarters._

"Copy that, Captain," the Russian replied, "Now, we probably ought to stop flooding the airwaves for awhile. Volga One, out."

As the Major cut the connection, Murrue quickly opened a new channel on her private radio and monitor, this time with Wing Zero.

Heero appeared on his screen, as always a picture of calm professionalism. "What is it, Murrue?"

"Heero, you can come back to the bridge," she said, "The fighters are friendly; they used one of Alaska's contact codes, so they're operating in coordination with the Atlantic Federation."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Roger that. I'll be right up." With that he cut the connection.

Turning her attention back towards the forward viewport, Murrue watched as the twelve fighters circled overhead. _They're keeping a tight formation_, she thought, _Volga Squadron must be one of the better Eurasian fighter units._

A couple minutes later she heard the bridge door open, and knew who was approaching her. She turned and smiled as Heero came over to his usual spot by her side. "Looks like things are finally going our way," she said.

Heero nodded, though as he turned out to view the Su-63Ks his eyes narrowed. "I wonder… why did the Alaska top brass send Eurasian fighters and not their own units? Surely they would prefer for their latest battleship to be escorted by forces from its homeland."

"That's a good point," said Murrue, following his gaze, "I know the flight leader said the Atlantic Federation was concentrating its Pacific forces in buildups at Hawaii and California, but they still should've been able to send one of the Alaska fighter squadrons out to greet us. Still, the fact that the Eurasians are actually working with us this time definitely qualifies as good news."

"True," said Heero, "It'll be nice to have professional forces as allies, rather than paramilitaries. I wasn't exactly impressed by the Desert Dawn fighters in North Africa, even if they did help us beat Waltfeld's army."

Murrue nodded. "Agreed. The rebels had determination and passion, but they weren't disciplined. Once our debriefing at Alaska is completed, I imagine we'll be assigned to one of the front line fleets, so we'll definitely have more dependable support than we did in Egypt."

"Unless they decided to use the _Archangel _as an independent unit," said Heero, "Considering our performance up until now, they may decide that this ship would be better suited to solo operations."

"I hope that's not the case," Murrue replied, "All this fighting without support is starting to wear on me."

"I know," said Heero, his expression softening somewhat, "You hide it well, but I can tell you're exhausted."

She had to smile at his concern. "I am tired… but then again, so is the rest of the crew. I imagine that would go for you as well, Heero."

The young man shook his head. "I'm alright. I don't mean to brag, but I've been in worse situations than this ship's journey."

_I know_, she thought, remembering that night in North Africa when he'd told her about Operation Meteor and the Eve Wars,_ and I don't think you're bragging at all, Heero. After all you went through in your world, fighting alone… having _any _support must make things seem far easier here in comparison._

Regardless of how well she had gotten to know him, Murrue still marveled at Heero's strength. "I'm sure you have," she said, "It'll be nice once we finally dock at the base; then we can relax a little."

"Won't the top brass want to see you immediately for debriefing?" asked Heero.

"Not quite," said Murrue, "Traditionally, the Captain of an Alliance warship is given a little time after their ship docks at a major base to make final notes and adjustments to the reports they must present to their superiors. This grace period tends to range from a few hours to a full day; it largely depends on the time of arrival and how busy the top brass are at the moment."

"I see," said Heero, "Hopefully they'll opt for the latter; I'm sure the debriefing will be thorough and exhausting. You should rest up before then."

"If they go with that," said Murrue, "then I'll be sure to follow your advice." She smiled again at the Gundam pilot. "Although, if they want to see you along with Natarle and I for the debriefing, I think I'd be fine no matter how little rest I got."

It was true; recalling how he had quietly supported her during their debriefing by Halberton and his staff prior to the orbital battle, Murrue knew that she could withstand any scrutiny, regardless of how tough it was, with Heero by her side.

The young man smiled slightly at that. "I was going to do that anyway. After all you've done to get this ship and its crew here safe, you deserve to have someone defending you. I'm going to back you up in there, whether they like it or not."

"And if they decide not to allow you to accompany us for the debriefing?" asked Murrue.

His smile became a smirk. "Then I'll have to find another way in. That won't be a problem; I've gotten pretty good at sneaking around over the years. I don't think that will be necessary though; if Halberton and his staff were any indication, your superiors have a keen interest in Wing Zero and myself. It's just a feeling right now, but I think they'll want me to come with you and Natarle for the debriefing."

Murrue laughed a bit. "I hope you don't have to resort to sneaking in… though I must admit, it'd be entertaining to see the looks on the faces of the top brass when you suddenly appear in the room." She met Heero's gaze, once again feeling drawn to his piercing blue eyes. "Heero, seriously; thank you. Knowing that you support my actions… that's more than enough for me."

He nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue."

The two of them turned back towards the main viewport, both deep in thought. Murrue's concerns over the coming meeting with the Alliance top brass were lessened by seeing Heero's resolve to back her up no matter what, and she was once again nearly overcome with gratitude towards the young man. _To have someone like you supporting me, Heero… it's far more than I deserve. Thank you… my guardian angel._

The ship cruised without disturbance for about an hour, with its fighter escort overhead. From time to time other squadrons on patrol would appear on the radar, all composed of Eurasian Su-63Ks. However, the quiet was soon broken by another update from the sensors operator.

"Captain," he said, "multiple large surface contacts showing up on radar. I count twenty… no, thirty… Christ, the numbers won't stop climbing!"

"Calm down," said Murrue, "Check the IFF beacons; they're most likely the Eurasian naval forces."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, "They are… but there's just so many of them!"

As the officer tried to get an accurate fix on just how many vessels there were, Murrue saw the Alaskan mainland appear on the horizon… along with scores of ships. Her eyes widened as an armada of warships seemed to materialize in front of her. _No wonder the sensors are going crazy_, she thought, _there must be at least a hundred ships out there!_

Regaining her composure, Murrue looked to her right, where Heero was standing. The Gundam pilot was as cool and collected as ever, though his Prussian blue eyes had narrowed as the allied fleet appeared on the horizon.

_I wonder what he's thinking_, she mused as she watched him. With all that he had been though, Murrue knew that Heero saw things differently than other people, and that included even veteran soldiers like herself. Murrue had seen her share of action even before Heliopolis, but she knew that it paled in comparison to what Heero had done in his war. As they approached the allied fleet, she found herself almost overwhelmed with curiosity for the young man next to her. Regardless of how much Heero had told her about himself, how much Murrue had gotten to know him, there were still things she wanted to learn about him.

_How does a young man like him view something like this? How does a pilot who challenged the entire world to battle at the age of fifteen analyze this kind of situation? His mind is incredibly sharp; it _has _to be, considering the strain he places on himself with the Zero system. With his wits focused to such an acute degree, and his ability to process information at speeds much faster than someone like me… how does he see the world? _

Those questions and many others regarding the Gundam pilot swirled through her mind, but she forced herself to focus on the matter at hand. _I have a job to do… and besides, those are very personal questions. Heero's already told me so much about himself… including extremely painful events in his past… I can't be greedy, always wanting more. I'm sure he'd answer if I asked him, but I have to respect his privacy. I certainly can't ask something like that in front of the bridge crew. Perhaps… if we continue to grow closer, maybe…_

Murrue felt a familiar surge of heat rush to her face as that last thought went through her mind, and it was not helped by the fact that she was still looking at Heero. It didn't go unnoticed by him, either; the young man turned to her, his expression softening, showing the touching concern for her that was one of the many reasons Murrue cherished the bond that had grown between them.

"You ok?" he asked.

Murrue smiled, doing her best to keep the red out of her face. "Yes, Heero, I'm fine. I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed by the situation; a few months ago the Eurasians tried to take over the _Archangel _and steal the Strike. Now here we are…"

"Cruising right into an armada of their ships," Heero finished for her, nodding, "Yeah, I have to admit, my feelings on this are… mixed. I could head back down to the hangar if you want me on standby, just in case something happens."

Murrue shook her head. "It's alright, don't worry about it. If they were going to try something, I think they would've had all these ships further out to see, instead of within visual range of Alaska HQ."

"Ok," he replied, turning back towards the forward viewport, once again focusing on the ships they were approaching, "You're probably right… though I'm still a little uneasy. After you told me about what happened at Artemis, how they locked you guys up and you had to fight your way out of the base… well, let's just say my feelings towards the Eurasian's aren't exactly friendly."

Murrue smiled again. "Mine as well, even though they're supposed to be our allies. I wish we had met you before we'd arrived at Artemis; I imagine you would've made quick work of those thugs that tried to take over the ship. Not to mention having Wing Zero on our side would've made our eventual escape a whole lot easier."

"Yeah," said Heero, nodding, "would've been my usual routine, too; blast my way out. I probably would've destroyed the base before ZAFT's attack did."

"Aside from the Eurasians, I doubt anyone would've missed it," said Murrue, "Artemis's Lightwave barrier was an impressive piece of defensive technology, but the base itself was too far out to be a truly important strategic location. In the end, it was really little more than an expensive bauble for Moscow to flaunt in front of others."

"Reminds me of the Noventa Cannon the Alliance had," said Heero, "Powerful, but strategically unimportant… and destroyed by an ace pilot."

"Who took it out?" said Murrue, "Was it you or one of the other Gundam pilots?"

He shook his head. "It was Zechs. The weapon was part of the Alliance's Mogadishu fortress, and during Treize's Operation Daybreak it remained in the hands of the old guard. Zechs led OZ's attack on the installation in the Tallgeese, and destroyed it with ease."

"I see," said Murrue, trying to imagine the scenario. _Zechs_ _Marquise was the only pilot in Heero's world that fought him on an even footing. Any foe that wasn't either him or another Gundam pilot would've stood no chance against him. _She gave up after a few seconds, since Heero had not actually shown her any images of the Tallgeese or any other MS from his world. _I suppose that's another thing I'll have to ask him about sometime… but not now. We have more important things to worry about, and I've asked him enough for one day._

She was surprised to see the young man looking at her, a small smile on his face. "I'll show you the schematics sometime… along with those of the Gundams, both the ones used in Operation Meteor and the upgrades. That is, if you want me to, of course."

Her eyes widened slightly at that before she returned his smile. _Honestly, it's almost like he can read minds sometimes. Heero, I don't know if you perceived my interest, or if your timing was just sheer luck… the former would not surprise me. _

"I'd like that," she said, "but don't feel like you have to show me right away. After all, I imagine we'll both be busy the next few days."

"I won't argue with that," he replied before returning his gaze to the forward viewport, Murrue following suit.

A minute later the ship's fighter escort broke off and made their way towards the fleet. Murrue assumed that they were heading for their carrier. The ship had no need of a dedicated fighter escort now; aircraft filled the sky overhead. Beyond the screen of ships and planes was the mouth of a large bay, at the end of which Murrue knew lay the Alaska base.

"Sensors," said Murrue, "Do you have a more accurate fix on the ships in the Eurasian fleet?"

"Yes, ma'am," the officer replied, "Radar shows 175 surface contacts; 20 heavy aircraft carriers, 25 escort carriers, 22 heavy missile cruisers, 86 destroyers, 14 heavy tankers, and six heavy supply freighters."

_Quite the force_, thought Murrue, _especially with their naval aviation; a Eurasian heavy carrier has a complement of 48 planes, while an escort carrier holds half of that. Altogether that's 1,560 naval aircraft. I know the majority tend to be fighters, but there should also be strike planes in the mix._

Murrue heard Natarle whistle. "That must be at least half of the Eurasian surface fleet," the Lieutenant said.

"Probably something around there," said Murrue before turning to the sensor officer again, "What about sonar contacts?"

"Multiple contacts on the wide array," he replied, "Hang on a second… I have 54 attack submarines, profiles are Alpha Vs. I'm also detecting 20 larger contacts. Verifying… they're _Theta_-class submarine carriers. I'm detecting large amounts of smaller contacts as well, probably their mini-subs."

_The fact that so many Thetas are here means the Eurasians have almost their entire Aqua Dart force in this armada_, Murrue thought,_ not counting the ones fielded from coastal installations. _The Aqua Dart was a small attack submarine jointly developed by the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations. Designed in an attempt to counter ZAFT's underwater mobile suits, the unit functioned like the submarine equivalent of a fighter. Shaped like an arrowhead and slightly smaller than the Atlantic Federation's Spearhead fighter jet, the craft was armed with two micro-torpedo launchers and two masers, beam weapons capable of operating underwater. Fast and maneuverable by submarine standards, the Aqua Dart was nevertheless no match for either a GOOhN or ZnO in a one-on-one fight, and like the Alliance fighters and mobile armors required superior numbers in order to take on its mobile suit counterparts.

Since the Aqua Dart was a small craft, its range was naturally limited, which meant that the Alliance had needed to develop a carrier vessel for it. The Eurasian's had developed the _Theta_-class submarine to fulfill that purpose, while the Atlantic Federation had chosen to modify several of its _Angler_-class escort carriers with moon pools along the bottom of their hulls in order to launch and retrieve the mini-subs.

At 300 meters in length, the _Theta _was larger than ZAFT's _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carrier, and since it did not carry any air units it had more internal space for storing the Aqua Darts. Each vessel held twelve of the little attack subs, in addition to its own armaments of four torpedo launchers at the bow and sixteen surface-to-surface missile launchers along its dorsal surface. When the compliments of all 20 of the carriers were added together, that made for 240 Aqua Darts that could be fielded in an engagement.

_All this firepower,_ thought Murrue as the _Archangel _began to pass through the armada, _it's truly impressive. Combining both surface and underwater elements, and this is probably over half of the Eurasian Federation's naval strength. Of course, that means the rest of their fleet is stuck patrolling their home waters now; with so many vessels out here, Moscow's ability to project its power in any other region is nonexistent._

A thought went through her head as she looked at the swarm of fighters overhead. _I wonder… did they only send a naval force, or are there other elements of their military on the ground? _

"Sensors," she said, "Get me profiles of all fighters in the area. Also, scan for allied forces on the coastline and as far into the interior as our radar can reach."

"Yes, ma'am," said the sensor officer, "Fighters… it's mixed, Captain. The majority are Su-63Ks, but there are also MiG-75s up there as well." The MiG-75 was the latest incarnation of the old MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor, and shared the same basic frame design, though the weapons and engines were far superior to its ancestor's, which would literally destroy themselves after a few minutes of running at its impressive top-speed of over Mach Three. The MiG-75 was also a single seat craft as opposed to its predecessor, which had had a crew of two.

_I thought so_, Murrue mused, _they sent planes from their air force as well; the MiG-75 can only operate from ground bases. If they're here, then there's a strong possibility that…_

Before she could even finish her thought, the sensor operator spoke again. "Captain, I have IFF beacons from multiple armored units both along the coastline and further inland; the Eurasians sent ground forces as well!"

"I see," she replied, "try to get a handle on how many divisions are in the area as we move into the bay."

"Understood, Captain," he said.

Murrue looked over at Heero, who turned to her as well. "If the Atlantic Federation asked for Eurasian ground units to come here as well…"

"Then your superiors must've redeployed their own divisions elsewhere," Heero finished for her, nodding. "Panama's a strong possibility, since the Atlantic Federation top brass seem convinced that the spaceport there is the target of ZAFT's coming offensive, at least according to that burst transmission we got back in the Indian Ocean."

"Yes," said Murrue, "and what updates I've received still indicate that their line of thought hasn't changed. They must be pretty stretched for armored divisions if they're redeploying Alaska's defense forces though… I have to admit, I'm getting worried again."

"I don't blame you there," said Heero, "Something about this doesn't feel right… is it possible the Eurasians actually forced them out? We could be walking into a trap."

Murrue shook her head. "If that were the case, then Hawaii would've heard about it, and they would've sent their forces along with us to retake the base. Besides, Alaska does have its own naval squadrons; if the Eurasians did attack, they would've fought back, and there'd be debris all over the area, not to mention sunken hulls. We would've picked something like that up on our sonar array by now."

Heero nodded. "You're right. Still…"

"I know," said Murrue, "There's something about all this that I don't like. Unfortunately, I don't know _what _that something is."

"Same here," replied Heero, "We'll just have to stay on our toes."

"Agreed," she said, "I'm counting on you if things go south."

She was comforted by the strength and determination in his eyes as she met his gaze. "Roger that," said Heero.

Turning back towards the forward viewport, they watched as the ship entered the mouth of the bay. Over three miles wide, the sides of the bay were sheer cliffs. However, from where the two points of the mouth met the open ocean and spreading outwards, the coast was a gravelly shore, and naturally vulnerable to an amphibious assault. That was why so many of the naval forces in the area were out of the bay, along with ground divisions inland; it did no good to just defend the entrance if the enemy simply landed their forces on the beaches outside the bay and swung around to hit HQ from the sides and behind. Murrue knew that there were extensive networks of fortifications stretching for several miles in both directions… though as they passed more Eurasian vessels and received additional reports of ground contacts with their ally's IFF beacon, she began to wonder just how much of those defense lines were manned by her own nation's soldiers now. _Just how big of a force did Moscow send here?_

As the _Archangel _made its way further into the bay, it became apparent that the Eurasian contributions to Alaska's ground defense were as large as their naval force. Eventually the radar operator was able to get a rough estimate of the number of units deployed, and the figures were quite impressive; fourteen combined arms divisions, with seven on each side of the bay. They were comprised of mixed formations of tanks, self-propelled guns, multi-rocket and missile batteries, and mechanized infantry. They also had their own air units, which included both helicopters and fighters, in the case of the latter the MiG-75s.

The finally tally for the ground forces was impressive; altogether there were 300 tanks, 550 artillery pieces including both guns and the rocket and missile batteries, 140 attack helicopters, and 168 MiG-75 fighters. When combined with the infantry and support personnel, the amount of Eurasian soldiers on land was nearly 140,000. Despite her misgivings, Murrue also felt her confidence rising slightly. _If the Eurasians were willing to send this much support_, she thought, _then maybe whatever plan our top brass have for dealing with ZAFT's coming offensive just might be able to work. We've been on the defensive for so long now… maybe this will allow us to take away the enemy's momentum and give us the opportunity to counter-attack. But… to what end?_

It was no secret that the war had been going badly for the Alliance, but Murrue had her own concerns over what a shift to the offensive would mean for her side. The top brass had ultimately been vague as to the long term strategic objectives of the war, and all Murrue had ever heard when she'd tried to figure those aims out was the same spiel over and over again; bring the conflict to an end.

_But_, she thought, _considering that our opening act of this war was a nuclear attack against a civilian colony… what does that end entail? _Murrue had been horrified at the slaughter of the people who'd lived in Junius Seven, and had considered the attack to be an act of sheer barbarism. The colony had posed no military threat whatsoever; hell, it had been an agricultural facility!

It was shortly afterwards that rumors had spread that the unit that had carried out the attack had been commanded by officers who were secretly members of the anti-Coordinator society Blue Cosmos. It wasn't hard to believe, considering how publicly the group had preached that all Coordinators should be annihilated. Murrue was filled with nothing but contempt and disgust for the organization… and that had only multiplied a hundredfold with the attack on Junius Seven. However, much to her shock and horror, not one member of the unit that had carried out the nuclear strike had been brought up on charges of war crimes, or even insubordination or acting without orders.

It was then that she'd had the sickening suspicion that the attack was in fact ordered by the highest branches of the Alliance… but she'd had little time to think of the implications, for shortly after the attack her own ship had been deployed to the front lines, and Murrue was then faced with the far more immediate concerns of protecting the people serving under her. It was an obligation and duty she'd carried out to the best of her abilities throughout the war, so much that the only time she had been able to relax and think at all was after Heero had entered her life. Of course, in the time she had spent with him, she'd been so focused on learning more about them, and also had not wanted to sour their conversations and bonding by bringing up a nuclear massacre that the young man was doubtlessly already aware of thanks to all the files he'd read.

Looking over at the Gundam pilot, she had to wonder what he had made of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy and the circumstances surrounding it. _Heero_, she thought,_ though you haven't spoken of it, I'm sure you have some very strong opinions regarding that attack. I've come to know you well enough that I'm confident you don't hold that heinous act against myself and my crew, but I'm sure your thoughts are very different for the Alliance as a whole. I certainly can't blame you for that; I know how highly you value innocent life… and how dearly it wounds you when civilians are caught up in acts of war. The accidental deaths of those people in your past, including that little girl and her dog, scarred you far more than any physical trauma could… I can't begin to imagine the outrage that a deliberate attack against civilians would evoke within you… especially something like the Bloody Valentine._

It was something she would have to ask him about sometime… but not now. With their inevitable confrontation with the Alliance top brass nearly upon them, Murrue knew that they both had enough to worry about as it was.

Returning her attention to the front of the bridge, Murrue saw that the ship was finally approaching the end of the bay. She saw a massive waterfall ahead, and knew that behind it lay the entrance to the base's primary docking facility. Murrue knew from files she'd read earlier that the entire facility was a sprawling underground complex, with the most vital areas capable of surviving a direct nuclear attack.

"Captain," said the radio officer, "I have JOSH-A control on the line; we have clearance to proceed."

Murrue nodded. "Helm, take us in."

"Aye, Captain," said Ensign Neumann, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he slowly moved the ship through the waterfall.

When the view cleared, Murrue and the others were greeted by the sight of a massive docking facility, with space not just for the _Archangel _but at least a score of other vessels. Indeed, there were several other ships at berth inside; most of them appeared to be Atlantic Federation submarines. The docks were alive with activity, with mechanic crews bustling all over the catwalks that ran overhead.

As the helmsman moved the warship towards its berth, the radio officer spoke up again. "Captain, I have a message for you from Alaska Command. They say 'Congratulations on arriving here safely. Captain Ramius, you and Lieutenant Badgiruel will be summoned tomorrow at twelve-hundred hours for debriefing. The two of you are to submit your final reports three hours prior to this, detailing all that has transpired since the battle in orbit. Also, you are ordered to have Heero Yuy accompany you to the debriefing.' That is all, ma'am."

Murrue nodded and then turned to Heero. "Well, looks like you won't have to sneak in after all. Your instincts were right on the money."

"I figured as much," he said, "You should let them know about Wing Zero's security measures, just in case they get…_curious_."

Murrue smiled. She knew that Heero was saying that more for the benefit of the rest of the bridge crew than for her, since she was the only one that knew of the modifications he had made to his security system, along with the override code. A small part of her felt guilty about deceiving her subordinates, but at the same time she could not help but feel thrilled as she played along with the Gundam pilot's bluff. _To know that Heero has this kind of faith in me… it's an incredible feeling._

She turned once again to the radio officer. "Please inform High Command that we acknowledge their message. Also, advise them that if they send anyone aboard the ship to have them keep clear of Wing Zero; we don't want them to trigger its self-detonation device, after all."

"Copy that," he replied, relaying her message. After a few seconds he received their reply. "Captain, High Command acknowledges your warning, and says that they are already aware of the situation. Apparently Admiral Halberton mentioned Wing Zero's security measures in his report to them before the orbital battle."

"That's good to know," said Murrue, "and one less thing we have to worry about."

"I have an additional message from Command," said the officer. Murrue was concerned at how the man now seemed to be uneasy.

"What is it?" she asked.

The radio officer looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze. "High Command orders that none of us leave the ship. That goes for the senior officers as well, save for the debriefing tomorrow."

Murrue's eyes widened at the announcement. "What? But… why? We're Atlantic Federation soldiers, and this is one of our country's bases! It's not like the situation at Artemis; we're on our home turf. I could understand if they'd only give us limited access to the facilities here; that'd be perfectly reasonable. But to forbid us from leaving the ship at all? They have no reason to go that far!" Murrue had been hoping that her crew would be given the chance to get off the ship and relax a little; even though nearly the entire facility was underground, the Alaska base still had amenities to offer to soldiers whose ships were docked there.

"Nevertheless," said Natarle from the CIC, "if those are the orders, then there's nothing we can do. It isn't our place to question High Command."

Murrue knew that she was right, but that did nothing to ease the upwelling of anger and indignation within her. _After all we've been through_, she thought, _to get this ship here in one piece... I know we lost the Strike, but we recaptured the Buster, and we still have all of Kira's combat data. We fought our way across half the planet to get here, and now that we've arrived they confine us? We deserve better, damn it!_

Her grip on the arms of her chair tightened, and with a great deal of effort she forced herself to remain calm. Murrue was helped immensely by a familiar hand on her right shoulder, and as she turned to face Heero their eyes met, and she knew that he understood her feelings, knew what she was thinking. The Gundam pilot gave her a small nod, which said plenty; there was no point in arguing and getting herself into trouble with her superiors.

Murrue nodded in return, a gesture of gratitude on her part, and turned back to the bridge crew. "Very well," she sighed, "Tell them we acknowledge, and will stand by for further orders."

"Yes ma'am," said the radio officer.

Meanwhile, Ensign Neumann had finished the docking procedures, so smoothly that no one had noticed until now. _He's gotten quite skilled at maneuvering this ship_, thought Murrue, _I'm glad he was assigned to the Heliopolis project._

She stood up and turned to Natarle. "Lieutenant Badgiruel, you have the bridge. I'm going to complete my report for tomorrow." Murrue then gave her a small smile. "Consider yourself relieved in four hours; I'm sure you have final touches to make on your own as well."

The black haired woman nodded. "Thank you Captain."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," said Murrue as she left the bridge, Heero right behind her.

As the door closed behind them, she turned to the young man and smiled. "Thank you for earlier, Heero. I know I was having…_difficulty _controlling myself there. You helped me keep my cool."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome Murrue, though you did alright by yourself; I definitely can't blame your indignation, under the circumstances."

The beautiful Captain sighed. "After all we've been through, all my crew have suffered… they should be able to relax now that we've finally made it to Alaska. Instead they're confined… why? It makes no sense!"

"I know," said Heero, surprising Murrue by gently grabbing her hand, "I don't like it either, and you're right; there's no reason for them to act like this."

Their eyes met again, and Murrue felt her face redden slightly as the Gundam pilot gave her a small smile. "What you've accomplished, getting this ship here in one piece, is an unparalleled feat. You had minimal-if any-support, you were under almost constant attack or threat thereof, and yet you still commanded this ship in a voyage across half the world, starting from behind enemy lines and fighting through overwhelming odds… you went well beyond the call of duty. I don't know why the top brass are treating you like this, and you sure as hell don't deserve it; you're the best damn Captain I've ever seen, Murrue."

"Heero…" said Murrue, nearly overwhelmed by his praise. After a moment she smiled again, with even greater gratitude than before. She felt something else as well; _pride_. Knowing that Heero thought so highly of her, even after the tragic loss of Kira and Tolle in the Marshall Islands… it boosted her confidence in a way that nothing else could. She also couldn't deny the fact that the warmth in her face had been increasing steadily as Heero spoke, and Murrue was half-surprised that she hadn't swooned right there on the spot… which promptly brought up images of her falling into the Gundam pilot's arms, which certainly didn't help the matter.

Acting purely on instinct, Murrue pulled Heero in a hug. "Thank you so much," she whispered into his ear, "knowing you feel that way… means the world to me."

She felt his slender yet strong arms return the embrace, his hands pressing against her pack as he pulled her even closer. "I'm glad, Murrue," he said, "I know important the safety of your crew is to you. Others would probably call it a weakness, but they're wrong; your determination to protect those serving under you is one of your greatest strengths."

The two of them pulled back just far enough so that they could meet each other's eyes while still holding each other. As they did so, the young man who had captured Murrue's heart spoke again. "It's true that we can't protect everybody, regardless of how much we wish it were otherwise… but that shouldn't stop us from trying. You embody that sentiment in a way I've never seen before… and it's why you're so strong."

Murrue looked down, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I wouldn't go that far," she said, "Whatever strength I have is nothing compared to yours, Heero."

"You're wrong, Murrue," he replied, causing her to look at him again, "As a mobile suit pilot, and an independent fighter at that, the only responsibility I have is to look after my own life and those I chose to protect, and defeating my enemies. You, however, as the Captain of a warship, have so much more weight on your shoulders; the lives of your subordinates- including the combat pilots, your mission objectives, keeping your ship running, maintaining discipline among the crew… balancing all of that at once is something I could never do."

Try as she might, Murrue couldn't think of a suitable reply to that statement. She still believed that Heero's strength was greater than hers; he'd taken on the entire world at the age of fifteen, for crying out loud! However, she couldn't bring herself to refute what he'd said, especially since it was such an open display of the confidence he had in her. In the end, as the two of them released each other, all she could do was smile again.

Apparently it was enough for the Gundam pilot, who nodded in return, still keeping that slight smile of his own. "I know you told Natarle that you were going to make the final adjustments to your report… but that can wait until after you get something to eat can't it?"

Murrue couldn't help but laugh a little at his words. "Yes, I suppose it can." Gently taking his hand in hers, she nodded. "Let's go, Heero."

….

The sun was setting on Kaoshiung, but the advent of evening did not herald any respite for Commander Rau Le Creuset, at least not any time soon. Sitting in his office at the spaceport, the masked ace and operations chief for the Spitbreak forces was busy sending out his latest instructions to the myriad of units under his jurisdiction.

_I really should've increased my staff size_, he mused as finished typing the orders for the 3rd High Seas Fleet, _as things stand now, my subordinates are swamped with requisitions and status updates. _After a moment he shrugged. _No matter; we're in the final prep stages now. There's hardly any point in requesting more personnel for my office now that we're here._

A buzzer interrupted his thoughts. "Commander Creuset," he said, pressing a button on his desk, "What is it?"

"Sir," said his adjutant, "Supreme Chairman Zala is on the line for you."

"Patch him through immediately," he replied.

The familiar face of Patrick Zala appeared on the Commander's computer screen. "Le Creuset," he said, "I trust things are proceeding as planned?"

While showing no outward displeasure, inwardly Creuset was annoyed with the Chairman; Zala had taken to calling him almost every other day for updates. _The Kaoshiung base commandant sends status reports to the Defense Council every day. Can't he read those instead of pestering me?_

Still, he needed to stay in Zala's good graces for his own plans to proceed, so for now he would humor the head of the radical faction. "Of course, sir," said Creuset, "Our landing force is at 90% readiness; a few more days and they'll be at full capacity. I've already dispatched advanced elements of the submarine fleet to their standby positions; the main armada will rendezvous as soon as the last personnel and supplies have been loaded."

The black haired man nodded, taking a moment to smooth a slight crease in his violet and black uniform. "The positions of the advance elements… they're not likely to be discovered by Alliance submarine patrols?"

"Hardly," said Creuset, smiling, "The Alliance has played right into our hands; the disinformation campaign has paid off, and with interest."

Zala grinned. "Excellent. I knew you were the right person to place in charge of that operation." His expression then became more sympathetic. "Forgive me for keeping you at Commander for so long, my friend; that rank is the most flexible within our armed forces, so it serves my purposes well to have my right hand man as the most decorated holder of that position in ZAFT. Come the completion of Operation Spitbreak though, I promise your elevation to Field Marshal."

Creuset bowed his head, while musing at the irony of the Chairman's statement. _Your 'right hand man," Zala? Oh, if you only knew just how reversed the situation was… you've proven to be a very capable piece in this game. A pity you'll never know until it's all over. No… even then, I doubt you'll truly comprehend the artistry that went into playing you and your sycophantic ilk._

Still, for now the façade of obedience was needed in order bring his dreams to fruition, so he would continue his little act for the time being. "I'm grateful, Supreme Chairman Zala."

"Please," he replied, "No need to stand on ceremony right now, Le Creuset." He smiled again. "I trust the fleet commanders have given you no problems?"

Creuset shook his head. "I've received no difficulties from them. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 9th High Seas Fleets are all well disciplined forces, and their commanding officers have proven themselves in the past to be quite capable. The same is true for the ground assault commanders."

"Good to know," said Zala, "I trust Zubov is behaving himself?"

Creuset smirked. "As well as one can expect. Both the Grün and Rot Teams are here as well, and Zubov has never gotten along with the two of them. Other than the usual posturing though, I see no cause for concern."

"Excellent," said Zala, "After all, those three teams are the tip of our spear, and they will be essential if Wing Zero is in the area."

"Indeed," said the masked Commander. Privately, of course, Creuset had little confidence in the abilities of Zala's handpicked pilots to take down the mobile suit that had become the bane of ZAFT, but that wasn't a big concern of his. _So long as they can keep it busy for a little while_, he thought, _that will do nicely. Even if it's just for the opening phase of the battle… yes, that's all I require of them. By the time Wing Zero kills them all and begins ripping into our main force, it will be too late to stop what's been set in motion. Besides, Schwarze, Rot, and Grün will prove to be a nice distraction while I confirm that Azrael's done his bit… I have little doubt that he'll play his part as scripted, but it pays to be thorough._

He turned his focus back to the man on his screen. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"No," Zala replied, "That will be all for now. I'll be in touch." With that the connection was cut.

Creuset sighed as he pulled up the orders he'd been composing before Zala had interrupted him. "Of course you will, Chairman."

After completing and sending his latest instructions to the Commander of the 3rd High Seas Fleet, the blond haired masked officer went to his email. He smiled as he saw a message from his 'partner in crime' so to speak; Azrael thought that he was a Natural who had infiltrated the PLANT government, but the truth was… _considerably _more complicated.

His smile turned into a cruel grin as he read the message from Blue Cosmos' leader. "Wonderful," he said, "more lambs brought to slaughter… I daresay I'm as excited for this performance to begin as Zala."

Deleting the message and logging off his computer, he stood up and walked over to the window. The setting sun had turned the sky a shade of red that was all too reminiscent of blood… a fitting omen for the carnage that would soon be unleashed upon the world.

_ZAFT, the Alliance… the two great powers dancing to the tune I call. There are only three wild cards left in the game; the Clyne Faction, Orb…_

_…and Wing Zero._

….

"Kira!" said Lacus as she stepped out onto the patio, a tray filled with food in her hands, "Are you sure you should be standing up?"

The brown haired, violet eyes boy turned from where he stood leaning against the railing, gazing out at the lake, and smiled. He was still wearing the hospital clothes that had been smuggled over for him to use; plain white shirt and pants. _I'll have to get him some new clothes now that he's gotten himself out of bed_, she thought, _I'm sure father will lend him something until I can go shopping for him._

Kira nodded as she approached and set the food down on the table by his bed before coming over to join him. "I'm ok, Lacus. It's true I'm still sore, and I know my wounds still have a ways to go before they're completely healed, but I feel fine enough to stand. I probably should start moving around a bit, considering how long I've been in bed."

Lacus smiled, pleased to see how much he had recovered. _I'm glad he's on his feet again_, she thought, _When he was stuck in bed before… _It had pained her to see him like that, knowing that he had been put in that state by fighting his childhood friend. Now that he was up and walking again, she would no longer have to face that constant reminder. _I know his wounds still need more time to heal, but to see that he's made this much progress in just a few days… _It certainly warmed her heart.

Standing next to him, she followed his gaze as he looked out at the lake. _I wonder… he's lived on the moon and an Orb colony, but he's never been to the PLANTs._

"Kira," she said, "What do you think of our homeland?" Perhaps it was a bit pretentious to say 'our' homeland, but the PLANTs were universally recognized as exactly that for the Coordinators, even if they had never been there.

Kira turned to her and smiled again. "It's incredible, Lacus. It kinda reminds me of Heliopolis, since it's still a space colony… but it's so much bigger! I know we're in only one half of the colony, but this section itself is probably almost as big as all of Heliopolis!"

Lacus nodded. "PLANT colonies are the largest in all the Earth Sphere. I've heard that both the Alliance and Orb had begun new colony projects before the war, with the former trying to build one that would surpass the PLANTs, but the outbreak of the conflict made it too dangerous for fresh construction in space."

"It's too bad," said Kira, a contemplative look in his eyes, "There's so much potential for mankind to develop out in space… the creation of space colonies was a monumental step forward for humanity. If we could all work together in continuing that project… who knows just how far we'd advance?"

"I agree," said Lacus, "Unfortunately, those with the power to unite humanity in that purpose are divided by mistrust and hatred. In the pursuit their own nation's dominance over the Earth Sphere, they only serve to sacrifice the people's future."

"Yeah," said Kira. The two of them were quiet for a moment before the boy spoke again. "I just remembered something; when we met Mister Waltfeld and Miss Aisha in Banadiya, along with the Valkyrie Team, they asked Heero what he thought it would take to end the war. He said something about history being an endless waltz that played out for eternity."

Lacus became curious, both at the strange term Kira had used and at the mention of the pilot from another world. "An endless waltz? What did he mean by that?"

"I think he was equating mankind's cycle of war to a dance," said Kira, "He said the three beats of war, peace, and revolution had gone on throughout our history, and would continue to do so unless a way was found to break the cycle."

Lacus's eyes widened; she'd never thought of it in that way before. The analysis was unique… and completely true. "Did Heero mention a way to do that? Break the cycle, I mean."

"Yeah," said Kira, becoming a little hesitant, "but… he said the price would be steep."

"How so?" asked Lacus, a sense of dread creeping up within her.

"From what he said, I think it was how the war in his world was brought to an end," said Kira, "Heero said that in order to truly unite humanity, our very will to fight had to be destroyed. However, to do that would require a war beyond any that humanity had ever experienced before… and to make _everyone _bear witness to it. There could be no honor and glory, only straight up kill or be killed… and with mankind's very survival at stake. Only then would humanity truly renounce armed force as a means of resolving differences, and truly dedicate itself to peace and unity."

Lacus gasped. What Kira was saying… what _Heero _had said… was horrifying beyond belief. However, at the same time, she could not help but feel that the mysterious young pilot was _right_, in a way. At the very least, she had no doubt that what he had described to Kira and the others in Banadiya was how the war in his world had come to an end. _To have experienced something like that firsthand… I can't begin to imagine what he went through. No wonder Miss Shemei said she saw pain in his eyes when they met in Banadiya; how could a war like that have _not_ left its mark on him? And if all of humanity saw it play out, were unable to ignore it… they truly would lose all taste for battle._

"Did Heero… go into any details regarding that war?" asked Lacus, "Along with what happened after?"

Kira shook his head. "No, sorry. I think the only person who he might've told something like that to would be Captain Ramius; she's the only person he really talks to, or at least that's what I've heard."

Lacus remembered the kind and lovely commanding officer of the _Archangel_, and could understand why Heero would be willing to open up to her. _It's true that I did not get to know her as well as I did Kira_, she thought, _but I have no doubt that she's a strong and compassionate woman; the way she acted during our meeting with Heero in the officers' lounge was proof enough for me. I believe that someone like her would earn his trust, and become a confidant for him; someone willing to comfort him, who would want to ease his pain. If what Kira says is true, and I have no doubt that it is, then I'm sure Heero and Captain Ramius have become close friends since I last saw them. Perhaps we'll meet again someday… I would surely like to._

Lacus smiled at Kira. "It's ok, don't worry about it. I was just curious; he is from another world, after all."

Kira laughed a little. "Yeah, I have to admit I am too. He's only dropped hints in front of me, though. To be honest, I got so used to him being on the _Archangel _that after awhile it just slipped from my mind that he was from another world." His expression then became a little more serious. "I wonder what it's like over there… especially if they've just ended their own war, like Heero said they did."

"I'm sure they're still in the midst of reconstructing areas damaged in the fighting," said Lacus, "It may be hard, but I'm sure the people of that world find it infinitely preferable to being at war."

"You're right," said Kira. The two of them looked out at the lake again, a peaceful and contemplative silence falling between them. After a couple minutes Kira spoke again. "Lacus… do you think there's a way to end this war? It's been going on for over a year now, and while my own experience with it may be limited… it feels like it's only getting worse. What if that keeps happening?"

She sighed. Lacus had spent more and more time lately pondering those very questions, and she had been unable to find an answer. Like her father and his allies, she wanted to find a way to convince both sides that it was time to sit down and negotiate a ceasefire, but that seemed like an impossible dream in the midst of a steadily escalating conflict.

"I don't know, Kira," she said softly, "Neither side is willing to talk to the other anymore… I fear this will only get worse before it gets better."

She trembled slightly. "I'm… afraid, Kira. For my friends, my father, my people… all of humanity. If this war is not stopped soon, I fear it will consume us all."

Lacus was surprised when Kira gently put his hand over hers on the railing. Meeting his gaze, she saw that his violet eyes, while still gentle, also had a spark of determination within them. "There has to be a way, Lacus. I don't know what that is yet, but if we work together with our friends, I'm sure we can find it."

The pink-haired songstress smiled, all the while feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. "You're right, Kira. We can't give up hope. We have powerful friends and allies, people who want to stop the killing just as much as we do. Between all of us, we can find a way to end this war."

_We have to_, she thought, recalling Field Marshal Bristow's suspicions that Zala was planning to unleash genocide against the people of Earth, _Countless lives hang in the balance… we _must _find a way. Otherwise… humanity has no future._

….

"Got a minute?" said a familiar voice.

Lieutenant Badgiruel jumped and whirled around, surprised to see Lieutenant Commander La Flaga leaning against the wall next to the bridge door. She sighed in relief. "I'd appreciate it in the future if you wouldn't do that, La Flaga."

The blond pilot gave her a playful smile. "Aw, that's too bad. The way your eyes widened as you turned around was cute, Natarle."

The _Archangel_'s Executive Officer blushed at his words. The relaxed and confident ace had started calling her by her first name on a regular basis whenever they were off duty over the past few days, and that combined with his comment served only to further higher her embarrassment. _Why is he the only person on this ship that makes me feel this way? I just can't stay professional around him!_

Struggling to regain her composure, she looked over at the wall, unable to meet his gaze in light of her…_frustration_. "Is there something I can do for you, La Flaga?"

"Well," he replied, "I know you need to finish your final report, but that can wait a little bit, can't it? I was hoping we could talk for a bit in the lounge."

The prospect of spending time alone with him only further flustered her, but she wasn't about to refuse his invitation. Regaining some of her nerve, she looked at him and smiled slightly. "Alright. Let's go."

They made their way over to the lounge, and when they arrived La Flaga went to get their drinks, leaving Natarle to take a seat by the window. After a minute the handsome pilot came over to join her.

"So," he said as he sat down, "how you feeling about tomorrow?"

Natarle sighed. "A little nervous. I mean, sure we made it, and we even recaptured the Buster… but the top brass won't be pleased that we lost the Strike."

"I hear you there," said La Flaga, taking a sip of his coffee, "Still, we have all its combat data recorded, right? So they'll still have the work the kid did on the OS. Maybe it'll be enough for our engineers to modify to the point that a Natural can pilot a mobile suit."

"That'd be good for us," said Natarle, "Frankly though, I'm not concerned about that at the moment."

"Yeah," he replied, "I guess that is a ways off. By the way, how much more work do you need to do on your report?"

"It's almost done," said the Lieutenant, "Although, as you know, I can't discuss the details of it with anyone else."

La Flaga sighed. "Come on, Natarle, loosen up a bit. It's not like I'm going to go around telling everyone what you put in it. Don't you trust me at all?"

Feeling a bit guilty, she smiled slightly. "Of course I trust you. It's just that the regulations are there for a good reason, and as officers it's our duty to follow them."

"For the most part, I think you're right," said La Flaga, "but…"

"What is it?" asked Natarle.

"Well," La Flaga continued, "to put it bluntly, there are situations that the rules don't cover, or aren't very well suited for. Our voyage since Heliopolis has been one example of that after another."

"What are you getting at, La Flaga?" she asked.

His expression became more serious. "Look, Natarle, I know as this ship's XO one of your duties is to have an evaluation of the Captain in your report, and to point out what they've done wrong. I respect that, and I know there's been plenty times during this mission where Captain Ramius has been forced to bend or break the rules… but by that same token, it's because she was willing to do that that we made it here at all."

Natarle sighed. Truth be told, a small part of her mind was aware of that, and had been nagging her even as she'd made a list of the Captain's infractions and breaches of discipline throughout their journey to Alaska. The most egregious examples had been allowing a civilian to pilot the Skygrasper, using black market arms dealers to resupply the ship, and handing over the Strike and _Archangel_'s combat data to Orb.

All of those were blatant violations of Alliance regulations… but, at the same time, Natarle was, albeit reluctantly, able to recognize that Captain Ramius had been forced to make difficult decisions in those matters, and while the Lieutenant disagreed with how her superior had handled the situations in question, there was no doubt that the Captain had acted in what she had felt was the best way to keep the people under her command alive. It displayed a concern for the rank and file soldiers that Natarle knew many Alliance officers did not have, and while the Lieutenant sometimes thought that Ramius could be too humanistic with regards to her subordinates, she also could not deny feeling grateful to have a superior officer that actually cared for the lives of those serving under them.

As all these thoughts went through her head, she was struck by another, and she turned to ask La Flaga about it. "I suppose you're right… but why this sudden concern on your part? Other than the arms deal in Banadiya, you haven't spoken in either support or opposition of the Captains policies. Why bring this up now?"

"First off," said La Flaga, "I actually did support the decision to provide Orb with the Strike and _Archangel_'s data during the meeting with Lord Uzumi, remember?"

"Oh, yes," said Natarle, looking down in embarrassment, "Forgive me; I forgot about that."

The blond pilot smiled. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, as for why I'm trying to convince you to lighten up on the Captain a bit, call it simple gratitude. Whatever our disagreements with her decisions and conduct during our journey, the fact remains that Captain Ramius acted in the interest of us, the crew, more than anything else. That's not a trait you see in a lot of our military's officers nowadays, and I for one respect it. I think you do, too, but your… _stiffness_, for want of a better term, is preventing you from fully acknowledging it."

Natarle's eyes widened a bit in surprise. _That's… remarkably insightful for him. _Then she remembered the Lieutenant Commander's little talk with Kira over a week ago, when the boy had apparently been having trouble with Flay. _Then again, I suppose he actually is quite good at understanding people. I guess I just keep forgetting that fact… I really need to stop doing that._

She knew that La Flaga was right, and resolved to change some of the wording in her report. _What I have written right now_, she thought, _puts too much emphasis on the negative aspects of her decisions. While it's true that I still disagree with several of her calls and her conduct, La Flaga is right; Captain Ramius has put the people on this ship above everything else, and that does deserve respect. I should be able to better show my gratitude than by dismissing all she's accomplished just because she broke the rules to do it. _Natarle's report would still be critical of the Captain, but the Lieutenant would be sure to make sure that the circumstances under which her decisions had been made, along with any positive gains, would be given proper emphasis as well. _It's the least I can do._

She smiled at her companion. "Alright, I'll take your words into consideration."

La Flaga grinned and surprised Natarle by putting his arm around her. "See, you can loosen up a bit! Was that so hard?"

He then winced as Natarle elbowed him in the ribs. Natarle was worried for a moment before she saw La Flaga smile again. "Ok, ok; I deserved that."

The Lieutenant smiled again. "At least you acknowledge it, flyboy."

"Hey," he replied, "a man's gotta recognize when he makes a mistake. I can do that."

"Good," she said, surprising herself by reaching over to grab his hand, "I was afraid that pilot ego of yours might prevent you from doing that."

She saw him raise his eyebrows a bit, and felt that it was more in response to what she'd done that what she'd said. Natarle was briefly concerned that she'd made the wrong move, and felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment, but to her great relief the Lieutenant Commander returned her gesture, gently squeezing her hand.

"You shouldn't generalize, Natarle," he said, winking, "I'm not like most mobile armor pilots, after all."

_No_, she thought, leaning against the shoulder of the man she had begun to fall in love with, _you most certainly are not, Mu La Flaga._

For that brief moment in time, just sitting there with the relaxed, charming, and dashing pilot, Natarle felt completely at ease. It was something she had not experienced since the time they'd spent together in Orb.

_Maybe he's right_, she mused, _perhaps I have 'loosened up' a bit, as he might say. _She once again felt a bit warmer as she looked up at her fellow officer, who was still wearing that casual, easy-going smile that made her feel like she was a teenage girl all over again.

_I guess I can't deny it anymore_, she thought, her own smile growing a bit in response to his, _I've fallen for him. For this care-free, humorous, and _very _handsome pilot… yes, I think it's safe to say I'm in love with you, Mu La Flaga. _

_How do you feel about me?_

….

It was a half hour before noon as Heero stood in the washroom of his quarters, checking himself in front of the mirror. He wasn't going to put on his Sanc Kingdom uniform; the Alliance top brass wasn't worthy of that level of respect from him, especially after the cold reception they had given Murrue. However, he was still mindful of the need to appear professional, though he was doing it for Murrue's sake; he didn't give a damn what the High Command thought of him, but he knew it would reflect upon Murrue, and he had vowed to help her in whatever way he could.

That was why he'd changed his usual attire. Rather than wearing his green tank top and either black shorts or blue jeans, Heero instead had on the black pilot suit he'd worn during the Barge accident and his initial encounter with the _Archangel_. He'd leave the helmet for today, of course, but other than that it was his full space combat attire.

Giving himself one final look over, he went back into the main room, put on his hip holster and made sure his pistol was fully loaded before securing it at his side, and then walked out into the hallway. Moving to his right, he pressed the buzzer on Murrue's door.

"Just a second," he heard her say. A moment later the door opened, and Murrue smiled when she saw Heero. She was wearing her Captain's uniform, of course, but this time she had a white cap with a black bill on as well. Heero knew that the hat was part of her more formal ensemble, and that she would be expected to wear it when she went before the High Command. The Gundam pilot could not help but smile slightly as he saw that she was still openly wearing the necklace he had bought her in Banadiya. _I'd understand perfectly if she hid it beneath her shirt_, he thought, glancing at the blue stone as it lay against her white uniform, _I guess it's really important to her if she's decided not to hide it for something like this._

"Heero," she said, "You're a little early; we're not supposed to receive our summons until noon."

He nodded. "I know, but…" He looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze again. "I was worried about you, so I thought I'd check in. Are you doing alright?" It was true; Heero knew that the debriefing was likely to be tough on Murrue, and that she was apprehensive over it, though she hid it from the rest of the crew quite well.

He saw Murrue's smile grow a little as he voiced his concern. "Heero… thank you. That means a lot to me. Yes, I'm doing ok right now. It's true that I'm a little nervous, but it's nothing I can't handle."

She then looked him over, and her smile became a little playful. "I haven't seen you wear this since we were up in space. You look sharp, Heero."

"Thanks," he said, smiling slightly, "I figured my usual clothes might make the wrong impression on the top brass."

"You're probably right," Murrue replied, "though I'm still a little surprised; I figured you couldn't care less what they thought of you."

"I don't," said Heero, "However, seeing as I'm flying from the _Archangel_, I know my conduct will reflect upon you, or at least that High Command will see it that way."

"I don't think that's the case," said Murrue, "After all, you're not part of our chain of command; I have no authority over you, which I'm sure Admiral Halberton mentioned in his report to them. They should be well aware of your status as an independent fighter."

"Still," Heero replied, "there's always the chance that they'll have ignored that detail, or consider my flying for the _Archangel _equating to me following your orders. It's true that I don't defy you; you're a good Captain, and both your tactical and strategic decisions have been sound ones. However, I also fight on my own initiative, something you and your crew are aware of but your superiors might not consider."

"That's a good point," said Murrue, "You've also been instrumental to several of our strategies, particularly in North Africa. I made sure to mention that in my report, but I'm not sure if Lieutenant Badgiruel made the same considerations."

"We'll find out soon enough," said Heero, "Speaking of reports, how did the final touches on yours go?"

"Just fine," she replied, "I submitted it at nine-hundred hours per instructions, and I believe I wrote it to the best of my abilities. I did note my concerns of such a large Eurasian presence at one of our main bases at the end, but I doubt they'll take that into consideration."

Heero nodded. "You're probably right."

Murrue sighed. "Yeah. Well, there's no point in standing around here worrying about it. We still have some time to kill; you want to grab some coffee in the officers' lounge?"

Heero nodded, and the two of them made their way to the lounge. When they got there, the two of them grabbed cups, filled up, and then took seats over by one of the windows. Looking out at the dock, they saw soldiers and mechanics coming and going, though apparently none had business with the _Archangel_.

After a few sips of his drink, Heero looked over at Murrue and smirked. "I've been meaning to say this for awhile now; no offense, Murrue, but your ship's coffee is horrible."

Murrue laughed at his comment. "None taken, Heero. I actually agree with you on that; it's so bland… honestly, if I didn't need the energy boost I wouldn't drink it."

"Was it this bad on the _Antietam_?" he asked, referring to her first command.

Murrue nodded and smiled. "It's this bad across the Alliance; they use the same brand on all their ships and facilities."

"Probably because it's dirt cheap," said Heero.

"Yes," said Murrue, "and it's not just coffee; I'm sure you've noticed the lack of variety for our meal choices in the mess. When it comes to soldier comforts, the Alliance tends to spend the bare minimum. Of course, base commanders, fleet admirals, and the top brass can get whatever they want; it's pretty much an open secret that part of the reason front line troops have such limited amenities is because the senior officers gutted that part of the budget and used the funds for their own benefits."

"Disgusting," said Heero, "You deserve better, considering all they put you through. Even OZ and White Fang treated their soldiers better than your government does."

"I'll take your word for it," said Murrue.

The two of them sat there for awhile, drinking and mocking their coffee, engaging in small talk, and in general just whiling away the time until the top brass contacted the ship. It wasn't something Heero had had a whole lot of experience in before he'd met Murrue, but now he did it with little effort. With anyone else he would've been stiff and quiet, but Heero found it remarkably easy to relax around Murrue. It was one more piece of evidence that he had indeed fallen in love with her; he trusted her so completely, and that faith had allowed him to, as Duo might put it, 'loosen up' when he was around her. His instincts remained as sharp as ever, always alert for possible threats, but the level of intensity at which they had kept him was down significantly when he wasn't under immediate threat now, and he knew that his bond with Murrue was the reason for it.

_From the moment we met_, he thought, looking at the incredible woman sitting next to him, _she accepted me for who I was. It's true there was some suspicion at first; considering the circumstances under which we met, I certainly can't blame her for it. But she was willing to talk to me, and has always been respectful and considerate. Now, after I've told her so much about myself… including my worst sins... she still cares for me just the way I am. She didn't judge me because of them, and actually wanted to help me deal with them._

He smiled slightly as she looked over at him. _Murrue… you really are an amazing person. Meeting you was the best thing that could ever have happened to me._

Neither of them spoke as they met each other's eyes, but then again they didn't have to. As had happened in the past, there was a quiet understanding between them at the moment, an unspoken acknowledgement of just how deeply they cared for each other, and neither of them wanted to spoil the moment.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world did not share their sentiments. The buzzing of the intercom ruined the content and serene mood between the two of them, and the following announcement did not help matters.

"Attention," came the voice of the officer on watch, Ensign Neumann, "Captain Ramius, Lieutenant Badgiruel, and Heero Yuy; High Command has issued orders for you to leave the ship and report for debriefing. An escort will be waiting for you on the dock."

The two of them stood up, and Heero took Murrue's coffee cup with his own and dumped the contents in the sink while the Captain went to the intercom node by the door. "Understood," she said, "We're on our way."

As Heero moved to join her by the door, she gave him an apologetic look. "Lieutenant Badgiruel and I may be part of the chain of command, but the brass has no right to order you around. I'm sorry about this."

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. Besides, I was planning on going with you anyway, remember?"

She smiled at his words. "Yes… thank you, Heero."

"No problem," he said, returning her smile with a small one of his own, "Come on, let's get this over with."

The two of them made their way over to the starboard hatch, where Lieutenant Badgiruel was waiting for them. Like Murrue, she was wearing an officer's cap in addition to her usual uniform. She saluted as they approached. "Captain," she said.

"At ease, Lieutenant," said Murrue, nodding at her.

"Yes, ma'am," replied the Lieutenant. She then turned to the Gundam pilot. "Thank you for coming, Heero. I understand that you're not part of our command structure, and I appreciate your cooperation."

_A little more gracious than I expected_, he mused, _perhaps I'm not the only one who's loosened up a bit. Actually, we haven't talked much in general during my time on this ship, so I might be drawing conclusions. _Heero nodded in acknowledgement.

While it was true that, as XO, Natarle would be the one criticizing Murrue's decisions over the course of their voyage, Heero didn't feel particularly hostile towards her. _She's far more rigid than Murrue when it comes to rules and regulations_, he thought, _but she's also proven herself to be a professional and competent officer in her own right during our journey. Her analysis will be based on facts and observations, and I doubt there'll be any real prejudice in it. _He'd still help Murrue with her defense against Natarle's critiques, of course, but he would do so in a manner that would at least allow the Lieutenant to keep her own dignity. He wasn't exactly fond of her, but he did respect her as a soldier, and would show the courtesy that came with it.

He looked back to Murrue, who nodded at him and Natarle. "Well, no sense in standing around here. Let's get going."

She typed on a keypad on the wall, and the hatch opened up. As the three of them exited the vehicle, Heero moved to the left and slightly in front of Murrue, eyes darting all over the massive docking facility. He didn't care that they were in the heart of Atlantic Federation territory; he was keeping his guard up. Besides, the way the top brass at the base had reacted to their arrival, along with the massive Eurasian forces outside, had his instincts on edge. Something felt off about the whole setup, but Heero was not sure what it was.

_The best I can do for now_, he thought as the three of them went down the gangway, Natarle to Murrue's right while he kept his unofficial guard position in the group, _is stay sharp, observant, and ready to fight. It's the only way I can protect Murrue while we're here. _If something happened, his plan was simple; grab Murrue, get her back to the ship and inside Wing Zero with him, take off and blast their way out of the base, and kill everything that wasn't them or the _Archangel._

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

As they neared the end of the gangway, a group of four soldiers approached. "Captain Ramius," said the leader, "We've been ordered to escort you and your subordinates to the conference room."

Heero didn't particularly care that they had apparently included him in that category, but he saw Murrue give him an apologetic look. Wanting to reassure her, he simply smiled slightly and shook his head; there was no point in making a scene.

Murrue returned his smile before turning back to the soldiers. "Very well," she said, "lead on."

"Yes ma'am," he said.

As they made their way through the docks Heero was constantly looking around, both checking for threats and evaluating his surroundings. He had already seen the dock from his spot on the _Archangel_'s bridge when the ship had arrived, but being down on foot in the middle of the facility gave him a better angle to appreciate the scale of the place. It was _massive_, far bigger than the hidden dock that the ship had berthed at during their month-long stay in Orb. Even though they had docked towards the rear of the facility, the walk from the ship towards the inner areas of the Alaska base still took a good ten minutes, which gave Heero plenty of time to observe the multitude of human activity around them. There were dozens of trucks and jeeps driving all over the docks, most of them apparently heading towards the large submarines that were berthed all around the _Archangel_. Heero saw large stacks of crates by the vessels, with crews loading them up as fast as they could.

_That's a serious amount of equipment and supplies they're getting ready to ship out_, he thought, _I wonder where it's all heading._ It was a development that made him even more uneasy about the overall situation; according to the files he'd read, the Alaska base was an extremely large facility, whose area was several square kilometers. Keeping a hardened installation supplied and running required gargantuan amounts of provisions, spare parts, and other vital items, and the amount of crates that were piling up on the dock could fill up several warehouses.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he watched the dock crews work. _I'm sure there's plenty more supplies in storehouses throughout the base, but what they're pulling out will still be a serious dent in their stockpile. They shouldn't need to take all this from such an important base; the Atlantic Federation encompasses a massive amount of territory, and there must be hundreds of facilities that they can acquire the supplies they need from. What's going on here?_

"Heero?" said Murrue, causing him to turn back towards her, "Everything alright?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded while mentally berating himself. _She's got enough to worry about right now_, he thought, _your behavior is only going to add to it. Focus on keeping her safe, Heero; figuring out why the Atlantic Federation is behaving the way it is can wait until after the debriefing._

"I'm fine, Murrue," he said, "Just looking around; the dock's pretty busy today."

Murrue nodded. "I noticed that too. All the submarines docked here are designed as mass cargo and personnel transports; their combat capabilities are limited. I wonder why there are so many of them here?"

Her beautiful brown eyes narrowed slightly, and Heero knew that she felt the same way he did. Something was out of place, but neither of them could place it. The Gundam pilot did take some comfort in the fact that Murrue was thinking along the same lines as he was; even with her more immediate concerns, she was still as observant and quick-thinking as ever.

"Maybe your superiors will let us in on what's going on around here after the debriefing," he said, "Though I won't hold my breath."

"Neither will I," she replied, "They've been pretty tight-lipped with us about some very important developments; hell, we learned more from our Eurasian escort when we arrived here than we did from the base staff that communicated with us."

"They must have their reasons," Lieutenant Badgiruel chimed in, "Perhaps we simply aren't in a position where we need to be read in yet."

"That's hardly a comforting thought," muttered Heero.

"I agree," said Murrue, "though I suppose there's no point in us worrying about it right now. If the top brass decide to keep us in the dark, then there's not much we can really do about it."

_True_, thought Heero as silence fell amongst the group again, _but only to a point. _Murrue and Natarle were of course bound by duty to obey the confinement order placed on the crew of the _Archangel_, aside from the summons for the debriefing… but Heero did not consider himself to be bound by such constraints. While he had no doubt the Alliance did not want him to leave the ship either unless it was in a situation like the one he was in now, his state of heightened suspicion meant that he was seriously considering making use of the infiltration skills he had honed during his own war.

_Tonight_, he thought, _after the debriefing…_ A plan was already beginning to take shape in his incredibly sharp mind. Heero renewed his scanning of the Alliance docking facility, though he was sure to be more subtle so as not to alarm Murrue. Quickly glancing from the _Archangel _to the water below, he did a few quick calculations before turning back to his companions. _Yes, it should be doable… I'll have to retrieve the Archangel's sensor data to confirm the water depth, but considering how low those subs are already riding at the dock, it shouldn't be a problem. They wouldn't be loading all those supplied onto the subs here if they were worried about them bottoming out, which means this is probably a deep water dock. I'd say at least ten meters just from what I can see from up here; I won't know for sure until later. _

He glanced over at the woman he had become so determined to protect, who he cared for more than anyone else he had ever met. _Sorry Murrue_, he thought, _but I'm going to have to do this without your knowledge; I want you to have deniability in case I screw up. _He wasn't worried about getting caught, but he still wanted to cover his bases and make sure Murrue wouldn't get in trouble if something went wrong.

As he looked around the dock though, he wasn't too concerned with the possibility of a foul up. _The security out here_, he thought, noting where the guards were positioned, along with the locations and blind spots of several security cameras, _isn't nearly as good as what was on OZ's lunar base or the Libra. Actually, for such a high-profile base, I'm kind of disappointed right now. _He'd have to wait until they got further inside before making his final judgment, but he was confident that he'd at least be able to pull off the first stage of his budding infiltration scheme without too much of a hassle.

Eventually they reached the far end of the dock, where a series of large steel doors was located. The lead soldier in their escort led them to one of them and punched a control panel on the wall next to it. Heero noted that the layout was extremely simple, with very few buttons. The key the guard had pressed was a green one, which Heero figured was for opening the door. Indeed the door slid open, revealing a spacious corridor, lined with smaller doors on both sides. It was wide enough for two lanes of cargo hauler traffic and pedestrians along the side, and indeed Heero saw one such vehicle coming their way now. Their escort led them to the right side, and they merged with the rest of the foot traffic as the hauler passed by them and out towards the dock, laden with more supply crates.

_Impressive_, thought Heero as they moved along, _I imagine that large corridors like this one lead to their storehouses, while the smaller doors along the sides lead to the main facilities. The scale of this base is really something. _As they travelled along the corridor- tunnel would be a more apt word- Heero once again noted the placement of the security cameras. There were no hiding places in the broad area, which meant that Heero would have to disguise himself during his infiltration run later that evening. That wasn't a huge concern though; he'd already planned on doing that anyway.

They travelled down the spacious tunnel for about five minutes before their guide turned to one of the doors to their right. Once again he pressed a green button on a keypad, and the door slid open. _These areas must be open to all personnel_, he noted, _otherwise they'd at least have an encryption or card key system. Security will probably get tighter the further we go in._

They entered a narrower hallway, similar to the kind that had run from Morgenroete's hidden docking facility to its corporate offices. As they travelled down it for awhile, Heero observed the people that they passed by; officers, enlisted men and women, support staff, security personnel… all the usual occupants one would expect of a high-profile base.

Most of the doors they passed were shut, but from the few open ones he saw Heero guessed that they were currently making their way through the general administrative section of the base. He saw rows of people in most of them, both men and women, typing on computers, with the occasional supervisor checking in. _With all the activity here_, he thought, _they must have a lot of paperwork to get done. Glad I never wound up with an office job; I'd be bored to death doing something like that._

He made note of the security measures for the office areas, and saw that they were rather minimal; a simple keypad by the doors, along with the occasional camera. _Easy enough to slip past_, he thought, _that keypad design is similar to the ones used by the old U.E.S.A., so hotwiring them shouldn't be a problem. As for the cameras, that'll be where my disguise comes in handy. _He already knew exactly what he'd use, too; one of the mechanic crew's jumpsuits. He had already seen dozens of people wearing them on the docks, confirming to him that the kind used by the _Archangel_'s technicians was uniform throughout the Alliance. The fact that many of the mechanics also opted for a simple green hat to go with the orange jumpsuits was even better, since he'd be able to use that to conceal his face from the security cameras.

They continued down the hallway for a few minutes until they came to an elevator. As they entered the lift and began their descent, Heero did his best to keep track of how far underground they were. It wasn't easy, but by using the elevator's speed and the amount of time it took before it stopped, he figured that they had descended about 500 meters, give or take a few.

When they exited the elevator, Heero saw that the personnel makeup for the floor they were now on was different. There was the occasional mechanic or other support staff member, but the majority of the people he saw were officers. _This must be one of the main control areas_, he thought.

As they moved along, the Gundam pilot saw that the basic security layout hadn't changed that much; there was still the same basic setup of keypads by the doors and cameras placed at regular intervals.

It was because of that simple layout that Heero immediately noticed something out of place as they continued onward; a single door on the left side of the hallway, larger than the others, with not only a security guard posted in front of it, but a much more complex entry system. From what he was able to tell as they passed by it, the layout consisted of a card reader, a palm scanner, and a retina scanner. For a moment Heero thought that the room they would be meeting the top brass in was through there, but to his surprise-and heightening suspicion- they went right past it.

_What's in there?_, he thought. As they continued walking, Heero noticed something else as well; the hallway, which he had originally thought was straight, actually had a slight curve to it. Doing some quick mental math, he calculated that, if it continued far enough to form a complete circle, it would encompass an area roughly a full kilometer in diameter.

After awhile they passed another door with the exact same layout as the one Heero had seen earlier, security guard included. It too was on the left side of the hallway, which he knew now was the inner portion of the circle. _I was right_, he thought, _this hallway does run in a circle, and whatever's on the inside is something they don't want just anyone to find. _There were normal doors along that side of the hall as well, but Heero was willing to bet that whatever rooms lay beyond them were not very large and that they weren't connected to whatever the Alliance was trying to conceal.

About ten minutes after they had left the elevator, the group came to a stop before a door on the right side of the corridor. The leader of their escort stepped forward and pressed a button on the keypad next to it. "Sirs," he said, talking into a small intercom, "Captain Ramius and her subordinates are here."

"Very well," said a gruff male voice from the other end, "let them in."

"Yes, sir," he said. He quickly keyed in a combination on the pad and then stepped aside along with the other three members of the escort. "Go on in, Captain Ramius."

Murrue nodded, and together with Heero and Natarle entered the room. Heero stepped back slightly in order to be next to Murrue rather than slightly out in front; it wouldn't look good to her superiors if it appeared that she was allowing someone like him to lead her. He looked over at her and did his best to give her a reassuring smile. Murrue nodded and smiled in return, gratitude clear in her expression. Then they looked forward as the door closed behind them.

They had entered a spacious conference room. The lighting was dim, with most of it emanating from a massive screen on the far wall that was currently displaying the logo of OMNI Enforcer. In front of it was a large rectangular table, behind which sat the four members of the Atlantic Federation High Command; Admiral Sutherland, Vice-Admiral Vickers, and Rear-Admirals Bernard and Thompson. Heero had found profiles on all four men within the Alliance files he'd browsed, and knew that they all had extensive-and controversial, in his view-service records.

"Come forward, Captain Ramius," said Sutherland, "You two as well, Lieutenant Badgiruel and Heero Yuy."

The three of them did so until the Admiral held up his hand. They were standing roughly three meters away from the table. The image on the screen shifted from the OMNI logo to a map of the Mediterranean theatre of the war. Murrue and Natarle both saluted, while Heero simply folded his arms, evaluating the Alliance top brass. They all had the look of battle hardened veterans, but… he was also getting another feeling from them. It was difficult to pin down, but there seemed to be a hostile undercurrent to it. Heero's senses were already on edge, and the way the High Command was looking at them now did not improve matters; it was as if they were looking at no more than pawns, rather than human beings.

_I don't like this_, he thought, _not one damn bit._

If any of the senior officers were irked at his refusal to salute or show any kind of deference, they didn't show it. "At ease, all of you. We've reviewed the reports you and Lieutenant Badgiruel have submitted," the Admiral said, "and there are several matters that need to be addressed in this debriefing. We will start with your landing in North Africa and go from there. Understood?"

"Yes, Admiral," said Murrue.

"Good," he said.

"You landed in severe weather conditions," said Bernard, "I believe the sand storm lasted for nearly three days."

Murrue nodded. "Yes. It was thanks to that storm that we were able to take time to get our bearings and plot our next course of action."

"Which was to break out to the east," said Vickers, "Understandable, considering the circumstances, though still no easy task."

"When the storm subsided, you were engaged in your first battle with ZAFT's ground forces," said Thompson, "Your performance in that fight was sound, as was that of the rest of your crew… though we did note the difficulties the Strike had in adapting to the desert."

"Only at first," said Murrue, "Ensign Yamato was able to adapt the Strike's Operating System during the fight, and managed to defeat the BuCues he was facing."

"According to Lieutenant Badgiruel," said Sutherland, "the Coordinator was… impudent prior to launching. He demanded to be allowed to launch into the fight immediately, and save for a verbal reprimand you took no other punitive action. Why?"

Heero's eyes narrowed at Sutherland's word choice. _'The Coordinator'… why not say his name? _A thought occurred to him. _Does he not consider Kira to be human? Is he prejudiced against Coordinators? _It was certainly possible, and Heero had to wonder if that prejudice was shared by other members of the High Command. _It would certainly explain the attack on Junius Seven. I wonder if any of them have connections to Blue Cosmos… I didn't see any evidence in the files, but considering their positions, it would be all too easy for them to edit their service records to conceal something like that._

He also didn't like that they were calling out Murrue so early in the proceedings, and over something so small. _Yes, Kira was hotheaded at the start of that fight_, he thought, _but he performed well once he adjusted the Strike's OS. Besides, Murrue's call to let him launch then was prudent, especially in light of how fast Waltfeld's ground forces came up on us._

Heero looked over at the woman whom he felt so strongly towards, and was relieved to see that her face was completely calm; not a single trace of stress was on it. _She'll be fine_, Heero told himself, _Murrue's strong, and she knew this wouldn't be easy. Just be ready to back her up if they go too far._

Her head didn't move, but Heero saw Murrue's eyes briefly glance over at him, and he could see the confidence within them, along with gratitude for his presence. The Gundam pilot gave her the slightest of nods. _I've got your back, Murrue. You can do this._

He saw Murrue give the top brass her full attention as she replied. "Under the circumstances, I had more pressing concerns than Ensign Yamato's attitude. Waltfeld's forces had already launched their first attack, and it was vital to get all our pilots launched before his units closed in. Launching the Strike at that point was crucial to repelling ZAFT's BuCues; had I held him back, they could've dealt considerable damage to the _Archangel_."

The senior officers glanced at each other, and they seemed to be surprised. _They've underestimated her_, thought Heero, resisting the temptation to smirk, _Serves them right. Give em hell, Murrue._

Sutherland nodded. "Very well, we will drop the matter, considering the circumstances. As we said before, your battle performance was good; forcing the Valkyrie Team and the Desert Tiger to withdraw was no small feat."

"Thank you, Admiral," she said, "Though we would have been unable to accomplish it without Heero Yuy."

All four men at the table looked over at the Gundam pilot. For his part, Heero looked over at Murrue and nodded before turning back to face High Command. He once again put up his front of indifference; arms folded, eyes staring straight ahead.

"Yes," said Bernard after a moment, "we're aware of Yuy's role in the battle, along with the rest of your campaign in North Africa. You did well, young man… though it would've been better if you'd eliminated the Valkyrie Team."

"It was enough to force them to withdraw," he replied, eyes narrowing, "How I deal with my enemies on the battlefield is my prerogative; you don't get a say in it."

The dark skinned man, along with the rest of the senior officers, were taken aback by his blatant show of defiance. It suddenly dawned on them that they would not be able to dominate the proceedings as easily as they'd first imagined. _You've sat on your perches while thousands die_, Heero thought, _It's time someone rattled your cage._

He was surprised to hear Murrue speak up. "With all due respect, Admiral, Heero's point is valid; he's an independent fighter, and therefore outside our chain of command. Is it not enough that he's protected the _Archangel _throughout its voyage?"

Sutherland nodded. "True, Captain Ramius, but that does not mean he should be allowed to do as he pleases." He glared at Heero. "I'm aware of your piloting skills, young man, but disrupting discipline within the Alliance will not be tolerated."

"I've done no such thing," Heero retorted, "I've fought on the _Archangel_'s behalf without interfering with the chain of command, as I'm sure Captain Ramius indicated in her report."

The Supreme Commander of the Atlantic Federation armed forces fidgeted slightly, clearly unused to being challenged so openly and fearlessly. After a moment he was able to respond. "Yes, Captain Ramius did state as much in her report. Very well, let's move on."

"After the battle," said Vice-Admiral Vickers, "You made contact with members of the Desert Dawn, a local resistance movement. Captain Ramius, were you aware that some of these rebels had also incited acts of defiance against the Earth Alliance during our own occupation of the area?"

"I was aware of the possibility that some of them may have been involved," she replied, "but we needed their help in order to fight the Desert Tiger and his forces. We were behind enemy lines, and I could not afford to be picky in choosing my allies, especially in light of our supply situation."

"Which brings us to our next point of contention," said Rear-Admiral Thompson, "In order to resupply your ship, you enlisted the aid of the rebels' black market arms sources. This was a blatant violation of Atlantic Federation Service Regulation R45.7; we do not deal with gun runners, especially when their stores include supplies and equipment stolen from the Alliance!"

Heero was about to answer for her, but he saw Murrue's eyes narrow, and he knew that her resolve to defend her actions had not wavered. She remained strong, and responded to Thompson's accusations without hesitation.

"I was well aware of that, Rear-Admiral," she said, "However, it was imperative that we resupplied the _Archangel _in preparation for both our next encounter with the forces of the Desert Tiger and our journey to Alaska. I chose to violate regulations in order to insure that we had a fighting chance at getting out of North Africa alive and accomplishing our mission. To that end I believe my performance speaks for itself, and that the results were well worth breaking the rules regarding contact with black marketers."

Admiral Sutherland sighed. "Yes, and that same point was made in your XO's report. No charges will be filed, Captain, though you are advised to find alternative means to accomplish your mission should you find yourself in a similar situation in the future."

Murrue nodded. "Understood, Admiral."

At the same time, Heero glanced over at Lieutenant Badgiruel. _Dealing with war profiteers was a major point of contention for her_, he thought, _I wasn't expecting her help defend Murrue's decision to do that. I guess she really did lighten up a bit during our trip from North Africa to here. I wonder what caused it…_

He filed that thought away for later as Sutherland spoke again. "Another matter that must be dealt with is allowing civilians access to the Skygrasper simulator, as well as permitting one to pilot one of said fighters. Captain Ramius, your response?"

"Sir," she said, "at the time, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga was our only qualified pilot for the Skygraspers, and I felt that having both of them in the air would increase our chances for survival for the coming battle with ZAFT's North Africa Corps. It was to that end that I opened the simulator to the rebels, and the one that showed the most promise was allowed to pilot the second Skygrasper."

"I helped evaluate the pilots," said Heero, surprising the top brass, "Captain Ramius and I both felt that Cagalli was the best of all the candidates, and the Captain's decision to let her fly the second fighter was made with my input."

He looked over at Murrue, and she gave him a slight nod as a show of gratitude. _I played as much a role in Cagalli piloting Skygrasper Two as you did, Murrue_, he thought, _I'm not going to let you take the blame for that alone._

"I see," said Sutherland, "Captain Ramius, while your circumstances would understandably lead you to use unconventional methods to find a pilot for Skygrasper Two, was it really necessary for an independent fighter such as Yuy to have such influence over your decision?"

Murrue nodded. "I believe it was. Heero has proven himself time and again to be an exceptional pilot; therefore it was natural that I sought his input when deciding on who should be allowed to fly the second fighter."

"You also have the Hawk of Endymion on your ship," said Bernard, "Why was Lieutenant Commander La Flaga not consulted instead?"

"The Lieutenant Commander is a very skilled pilot," replied Murrue, "but not even he was able to fight the Valkyrie Team. Heero is the only pilot in all the Earth Sphere who has been able to take them on and not only survive, but win. Therefore, though not to disparage La Flaga's own considerable abilities, Heero's opinion on the matter carried greater weight to me, which was why I consulted with him."

Sutherland sighed. "Your reasoning was sound, although I still take issue with it; an Alliance pilot should've been your only source of input. An independent fighter has no place in influencing a Captain's decisions."

Heero was surprised to see Murrue was actually glaring at the Admiral. _She's getting angry_, he realized, _She's keeping it beneath the surface for the most part… but they've definitely pissed her off. _At the same time, while he knew it was important for her to keep a cool head, Heero actually appreciated Murrue's ire on his behalf; no one else had ever acted like that for him.

"I disagree, Admiral," she said, her voice still calm and in control, "Heero had already proven himself by that point to be not only a skilled pilot, but an exceptionally intelligent and insightful soldier. Seeking his counsel was natural, and I'm very glad I did; his input and suggestions were vital not just in North Africa, but throughout our journey."

"Including your strategy for your second engagement with ZAFT's North Africa Corps," said Vickers, "Both you and Lieutenant Badgiruel described in great detail Yuy's role in that battle, both in planning and execution."

"There was no other way we could've won," Murrue replied, "The forces gathered by Waltfeld were overwhelming, both on the ground and in the air. Any conventional tactics would've resulted in our destruction; Heero's plan was the only reason we were able to triumph."

"Yes, as your post action reports indicated," said Sutherland, "I suppose an exception can be made under these circumstances, though it will still remained noted on your service record."

"I have no issue with that," she said, and Heero detected the slightest of smiles on her face, too small for the top brass to detect but one he could pick up. He returned it, knowing that it had been meant for him alone.

The four men behind the table looked at each other, clearly taken aback by how at ease the Captain was with their decision. After a moment Admiral Sutherland cleared his throat and spoke. "That will be all for your actions in North Africa, Captain Ramius. Let us move on to the next leg of your journey."

The image on the screen behind them changed, becoming a map of not only the Indian Ocean, but also the Oceania Region, including the Orb Union.

"The trip across the Indian Ocean," said Rear-Admiral Thompson, "Was for the most part uneventful, save for two battles; one at roughly the halfway point, and the other at Orb's border."

"Regarding the first engagement," continued Thompson, "The civilian girl, Cagalli, was once again piloting Skygrasper Two. I understand that you agreed to drop both her and her bodyguard off in Orb, but was it really necessary to allow her to pilot the fighter again?"

"Yes," said Murrue, "At the time, we still had no other qualified pilots for the second plane, though one of our crew members had begun training in the simulator. However, he would not be combat ready until after our layover in Orb."

"We are aware of Crewman Tolle Koenig's decision to begin training to pilot the second fighter," said Rear-Admiral Bernard, "We'll come to that later on."

"Understood, Rear-Admiral," said Murrue, "At the time, it was necessary to allow Cagalli to pilot Skygrasper Two in light of the need to quickly locate and destroy the enemy carriers while Heero contended with their aerial units and Ensign Yamato fought their underwater mobile suits. She flew with Lieutenant Commander La Flaga initially, though they split up soon after the battle began."

"The battle itself is of no particular concern of ours," said Sutherland, "Your vessel and mobile units gave a good accounting for themselves, and even managed to take down ZAFT's latest weapon, the _Everest_-class Flying Fortress. We'd had no previous intelligence on ZAFT's new carrier until your encounter with it; both of your post action reports were very informative."

"All that being said," chimed in Vickers, "Skygrasper Two was shot down in the battle… while being piloted by the civilian girl."

"Yes," said Murrue, "However, we were able to mount a successful search and rescue operation; Heero retrieved not only Cagalli, but the fighter as well. Skygrasper Two was damaged, but not as bad as we'd first feared, and Chief Murdoch and his crews were able to repair it in short order."

"Just in time for the battle at Orb's borders," said Sutherland, "in which you allowed the girl to pilot the fighter again, despite having been taken down in your previous engagement."

"I had little choice in the matter," said Murrue, "I needed all available units to launch, and Cagalli, despite her earlier mishap, remained a qualified pilot."

"It hardly matters," said Sutherland, "considering what happened next. Not only was the _Archangel _seriously damaged in the battle, but you entered Orb's territory as a result and allowed them access to sensitive Alliance secrets. The Strike and the _Archangel_'s data, along with the Coordinator and Yuy's expertise… these are grave offenses, Captain Ramius."

"Once again," replied Murrue, still maintaining her composure, "my hands were tied. Orb's leaders were willing to repair the _Archangel_, but only in exchange for our technical cooperation. They were supposed to have been given the Strike's combat data anyways, as per our agreement with them for the Heliopolis collaboration, so I did little more than honor the Alliance's part of the bargain."

Heero saw Murrue's eyes narrow as she continued. "Also, with all due respect, Heero is not an Alliance soldier, and therefore not a 'secret' that I could give Orb access to. He conducted his own negotiations with Lord Uzumi, as I noted in my report. Heero was perfectly capable of dealing with the Orb leadership himself, and he did so quite successfully."

The Perfect Soldier knew what her underlying message was in her statement; he wasn't the property of the Atlantic Federation, nor was Wing Zero, and that they should stop assuming that he was. Once again she was standing up for him in a way that no one else ever had. While it was true that Heero was more than capable of defending himself from the top brass, he still felt profoundly grateful towards the incredible woman standing next to him.

_Murrue_, he thought, his lips forming the barest trace of a smile, _thank you._

Meanwhile, Sutherland wasted no time in responding to Murrue's argument. "The Heliopolis agreement was rendered void when ZAFT attacked the colony, Captain Ramius. The Strike was to be delivered to Alaska, as you were well aware of; no third party was to have access to it."

"Had I not allowed Orb to have a copy of its data," Murrue retorted, "They would have immediately kicked us out of their territory. Considering the damage the _Archangel _had suffered during the battle at the border, it is unlikely that we would've survived another assault by ZAFT, even with Heero and Wing Zero on our side. My actions may have violated the orders I was given, but they also saved the ship and everything aboard it, including the Strike for the time being."

"For the time being," Sutherland repeated, "Since the Strike was destroyed in the Marshall Islands a month later, any gains we may have made from your deal making in Orb were rendered meaningless."

"That wasn't her fault," said Heero, "She had no way of knowing at the time she made the deal what would happen a month later. Captain Ramius's actions once again saved her ship and her crew, and are the reason we made it here at all."

The four men sitting behind the table were clearly beginning to grow irritated with the Gundam Pilot, if the twitching of their eyebrows was any indication. Heero didn't give a damn; he wasn't about to stand by and let them make a mockery of all Murrue had accomplished in her desire to protect the people that were serving under her.

He glared at her superiors, an undercurrent of anger flowing in his veins. Outwardly, of course, he gave no sign of it, but within… Heero was seething with indignation. _Murrue deserves better than to be ridiculed by the likes of you bastards. There's no way in hell I'm going to stand by and watch that happen!_

In the midst of all this, another thing was bothering Heero. All the while the top brass had been conducting their debriefing, the young man's instincts had been increasingly on edge. His hand had continually hovered over his pistol, and Heero realized that he was confronted with an extremely powerful urge to draw his weapon, kill the entire High Command, grab Murrue, and get the hell out of dodge. It wasn't their conduct towards the woman he had fallen in love with that was eliciting those feelings; it was the way the four men were eyeing both her and him, like they were using the proceedings as a means of determining their fates. It felt as if their lives were on the line, and Heero had to make a considerable effort to prevent himself from acting on his instincts.

_You self-serving bastards_, he thought, starring daggers at the High Command, _what the hell are you planning?_

He was surprised to hear Lieutenant Badgiruel speak up in support. "Sirs, with all due respect, Yuy is correct. At the time she made the deal, Captain Ramius could not have foreseen what happened in the Marshall Islands. I did make note of that in my critique, sir."

The top brass were clearly miffed, but they were forced to accept Natarle's words. "Yes," said Sutherland, "as XO you did perform your duty to criticize all the Captain's decisions, including those made in Orb. Your comments were clearly stated and to the point on the matter of the Strike's data. Very well, let us move on."

"Orb took a rather surprisingly long time to repair your vessel," said Vickers, "Especially in light of your stopover at Pearl Harbor; the repairs there took only two days as opposed to the month in the Morgenroete facility."

Murrue nodded. "As I pointed out in my report, I believe the Orb government deliberately had the work crews operate at a much slower pace than they normally would have, in order to give Morgenroete more time to work with Ensign Yamato and Heero. Also, the damage we suffered at Orb's border was more severe than the hits we took in the Marshall Islands, though even then it should not have taken a month to make those repairs during our layover."

"Your XO apparently arrived at the same conclusion," said Sutherland, "Now, regarding the battle in the Marshall Islands… the losses suffered, while regrettable, are also understandable in light of the opposition you faced. You did wipe out the two Special Operations teams ZAFT had deployed, and recaptured the Buster as well. It would have been preferable to take all the machines, but the destruction of the Blitz and Aegis will suffice. Only the Duel escaped, according to your report. Crewman Koenig and the Coordinator perished, and the loss of their machines was total, but all in all things could've been much worse."

As Murrue nodded, Heero realized that Sutherland did not seem particularly disturbed by the loss of the Strike. Though he had brought it up while they had talked about what had happened in Orb, the Admiral had apparently been using it only as a means to attack her decision regarding the unit's data. As far as the loss of the machine itself went… Sutherland almost seemed at ease with it.

Heero remembered how, once again, Sutherland had referred to Kira as simply 'the Coordinator', not bothering with even his rank or name. _Is the reason he's not bothered_, thought Heero, _because Kira died? _It was a definite possibility, and served only to heighten Heero's suspicions that the man's feelings regarding Coordinators were similar to those held by Blue Cosmos.

"It was bad enough that we lost Crewman Koenig and Ensign Yamato," said Murrue, "Their deaths were a severe shock to everyone on board, and morale took a serious hit. Several members of my crew are close friends of those two, and I know that they still mourn their loss."

"Well," said Bernard, "considering they're still new soldiers, I suppose that is understandable. However, they should have already steeled themselves towards the possibility of losing their friends. The Heliopolis students still strike me as soft."

"That's only natural," Murrue countered, "They haven't been trained as true soldiers; they're simply civilians who got caught up in events beyond their control."

"Captain Ramius is correct," said Natarle, "Without a proper soldier's education, it's only natural that the students would react more emotionally to the death of a comrade. Also, there are no members of the _Archangel_'s crew with proper counselor training, which every warship is supposed to have. It is true that the abruptness of our departure from Heliopolis meant launching without a full crew, but we still should've received a proper psychological counselor during our rendezvous with the 8th fleet."

"Halberton's orders," said Thompson, "were to insure your safe descent; he was under no provision to provide you with additional crew. You would've received the rest of the staff needed by the _Archangel_ upon your arrival here, but the events of the orbital battle changed things considerably."

"Am I to assume that we will be receiving one soon then?" said Murrue, "Now that we have arrived, will the _Archangel_'s remaining crew vacancies be filled?"

"That will be taken care of at a later date," said Sutherland, "Going back to the battle in the Marshall Islands, or more specifically the aftermath, your report states that you requested that Orb conduct a search and rescue operation."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, because we were unable to remain in the area; the ship had taken damage, and we feared a second ZAFT strike force would hit us if we did not move quickly. Otherwise I would've conducted such an operation myself. As it was, Orb agreed to our request, though I've heard no news as to whether or not they were successful."

"They were not," said Bernard, "We received a message from them shortly before your arrival at Pearl Harbor; neither the Coordinator nor Crewman Koenig were found."

Heero saw Murrue nod solemnly, whatever hope she'd held out for Kira now lost. She then looked over at the Gundam pilot, who did his best to offer silent comfort by way of a small nod of his head. It was the only way he could hope to convey what he could not tell her in front of her superiors; _It's ok, you did all you could. I'm here for you._

Miraculously, he saw a tiny smile appear on her face, and Heero was greatly relieved; she'd gotten his message, or at least the gist of it.

"I see," she said, "that's unfortunate, but I suppose it's better than knowing nothing."

"Yes," said Sutherland, and Heero detected an undercurrent of dryness and sarcasm in his voice, "the Coordinator's loss, along with the Strike, is a setback, but we must move on. We are grateful that you managed to recapture the Buster, of course; in the end, you did succeed in getting both the _Archangel _and one of the G-Weapons to Alaska, so we can still consider your mission a success. That is all, Captain."

Murrue blinked in surprise. "That's it?"

"Yes," said Sutherland, "this debriefing is hereby concluded. Thank you for your cooperation, Captain Ramius, Lieutenant Badgiruel… and pilot Yuy. Return to your ship. Due to the busy situation at the moment, new orders will not be immediately forthcoming, so you will be stuck at Alaska for the time being. Also, you and your crew are to remain onboard the _Archangel _unless specifically instructed otherwise. Understood?"

Murrue nodded, still taken aback at the abruptness at which the debriefing had ended. "Yes Admiral. We'll return to the ship at once."

"Good," he said, "Dismissed."

As they turned to leave the conference room, Heero spared on last look at the top brass. They were apparently busying themselves with an assortment of files on the table in front of him, and did not notice his gaze.

The Perfect Soldier gave them one final glare before he exited the room. _I don't know what you're planning_, he thought, _but I'll try to get answers tonight. Though I can't predict the future, I can say this with certainty; if you try in any way to hurt Murrue…_

…_I'll kill you all._

….

As the door closed, Sutherland turned to his colleagues. "Well, gentlemen?"

"You were right," said Vickers, "Yuy will be of no help to us, and the same goes for Captain Ramius. We may still have a use for Lieutenant Badgiruel, though."

"Agreed," said Bernard, "Though she did speak out in support of her Captain a few times, Badgiruel's conduct was strictly by the book. That combined with her abilities as an officer will make her a useful pawn."

"What of La Flaga and Allster?" said Thompson, "Do our plans for them remain as they were before?"

Sutherland nodded. "Begin the transfer proceedings, but delay final implementation until we're ready; we'll take them out with the last personnel wave."

He turned to the screen behind him, which had reverted to the OMNI Enforcer logo, and smiled. "The _Archangel _and Wing Zero will be the perfect lure… ZAFT is doomed, and the Coordinator scum along with it."

….

They made their way back to the _Archangel _in relative silence. Murrue wanted to talk to Heero, but was wary of the soldiers escorting them; it was all too possible that they would report whatever they said to the top brass, and that was the last thing she wanted. She had a feeling that Heero agreed, judging by the knowing look in his eyes whenever he met her gaze.

Murrue smiled at him as they reentered the docks and approached the white warship. She had done so several times over the course of their walk back from the conference room, conveying the same message that she would soon say once they boarded the vessel; _thank you, Heero._

The debriefing had not been easy on her; it had certainly been more difficult than the one with Halberton and his staff up in orbit. However, having Heero by her side, constantly speaking up in her defense, doing his best to give her encouraging looks… that had meant the world to her.

Their escort parted ways with them as they approached the gangway. Two more soldiers were standing by the ramp. "Captain Ramius," one said, "Please board immediately, and do not forget that a confinement order is in effect for you and your crew."

_How could I forget_, she thought, indignation burning in her veins, though she made sure not to let it show, _After all we've been through, this is how our superiors treat us. What the hell are we fighting for anymore? _

To that question, she had no answer… at least, as far as the Alliance was concerned. On a personal level, Murrue knew exactly what she was fighting for…or rather, _who _she was fighting for.

She looked over at Heero, who was apparently observing the activity on the dock. _For the man I love_, she thought, smiling slightly, _and the lives of my crew… yes, _that _is what I'm fighting for._

The Gundam pilot turned to her, giving her a small smile of his own. "Well," he said, "there's no point in hanging around here. Come on, let's grab some food; I'm sure you could use a bite to eat."

She nodded and turned to Natarle. "Lieutenant Badgiruel, consider yourself at liberty until 1800 hours; the bridge is yours then."

Her XO nodded in return and smiled slightly. "Thank you Captain. Also… I'm sorry."

Murrue was puzzled at her apology. "What for, Lieutenant?"

Natarle sighed. "For being so critical in my report. I know you were acting with our best interests at heart, regardless of the regulations you broke. I tried to balance the positive and the negative, but I don't think I did as well on that as I could've."

Murrue shook her head. "Nonsense, Badgiruel. As XO it's one of your duties to criticize my decisions, and based on what happened in there, I'm sure you were fair and balanced. There's no need to apologize. In fact, I'd like to thank you; you did support parts of my decisions in front of the High Command, after all."

It was true, and Murrue had been surprised by just how much Natarle had stuck her neck out for her, especially in light of the friction that had been between them throughout their voyage. _Perhaps she was acting out of professional courtesy_, thought Murrue, _Or… perhaps the time she's been spending with La Flaga has softened her feelings somewhat. In the end, I guess only she can say for sure._

She was slightly amused at Natarle's reaction, which consisted of her looking down at the ground, clearly caught off guard by Murrue's response. "Oh… you're welcome, Captain."

Murrue nodded. "Well, come on, let's head inside. As you said, Heero, there's no point in staying out here anymore."

The three of them headed up the ramp and through the starboard hatch. Once inside, Natarle split off from them; Murrue assumed she was either going to find La Flaga or get some rest. Deciding that it was none of her business either way, she turned to Heero and smiled. "Shall we head to the mess?"

He nodded, but not before a concerned expression came over his face. "Murrue, are you doing alright? That debriefing… well, it can't have been easy on you."

She sighed. "No, it wasn't… but it would've been worse had you not been there."

"I told you I was going to back you up," said Heero, "Although my defiance may have made the top brass more hostile. I might have made things more difficult for you, actually."

Murrue shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder. "No, Heero. Having you by my side, supporting my actions… that made all the difference to me. Thank you so much… I could never have gone through that without you."

Heero gave her a small smile. "You're welcome… but I think you're wrong, Murrue. The strength you have is unlike any I've ever seen before… you would've been fine without my help."

_Heero_, she thought, _if I'm strong, it's only because I have you to support me. _She couldn't bring herself to say that, though; his belief in her strength was uplifting in a way that she couldn't begin to describe, and she did not want to tell him he was wrong.

She felt herself blush, and looked down at the floor for a moment. "If you say so…" Then she met his gaze again. "I'm still grateful for all you did back there… it meant the world to me."

He nodded. "No problem, Murrue. Well, shall we get moving?"

"Yes," she replied, "lead on, Heero."

They didn't talk on their way to the mess, but Murrue was fine with that. His very presence was incredibly comforting, and once again she considered herself the luckiest woman in the world to have someone like Heero in her life. _He's unlike any other man I've ever met… and it's not just because he's from another world. Heero, your strength, your courage, your cunning, your compassion… I don't know how I went so long without them. You've changed my life in a way I can't find the words to describe, and though we've only know each other a few months, I know that I've already become a better person because of you._

These thoughts and plenty others like them occupied her mind as they went to the mess. When they arrived, they dished up their usual platters-not that they had much of a choice, considering the lack of variety on the menu- and grabbed a table by the window.

They dug into their food for a minute or two before they began talking again. Murrue was the first to break the silence. "I'm glad that's over with. The way the top brass were looking at us… I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I know I didn't like it. Something about that whole thing just felt wrong."

Heero nodded. "I know what you mean. My instincts were on edge the entire time."

_That can't be good_, thought Murrue, _considering just how sharp and developed Heero's senses are, if High Command aroused his suspicions… whatever they have planned for us won't be for our benefit. _Still, there was nothing she could do for the moment. After all, she and the rest of her crew were under orders not to leave the ship, and it wasn't like she could just take the _Archangel _and blast her way out of the Alaska base.

_Well_, she mused, _with Heero on our side, I suppose I could… but that'd be a pointless mutiny. I guess we'll just have to sit tight and wait for new orders to come down the line._

Another matter was bothering her, and she had to get it off her chest. "Did you notice how Sutherland and the others talked about Kira? They just called him 'the Coordinator', like he wasn't even human. After all he did for us, he deserves better than to be treated like that; he died fighting for his friends, for Christ's sake!"

"I know," said Heero, and Murrue realized that he shared her indignation regarding the top brass's conduct, "They barely acknowledged what Kira did for this ship, and the Alliance. Yet they seemed almost _relieved _that he was dead."

His expression became grim as he looked at her. "Murrue… your superiors are heavily prejudiced against Coordinators. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they were sympathetic to Blue Cosmos, or even secretly members."

It was a dangerous accusation to make, but Murrue had a feeling that he was right. _It would certainly explain the attack on Junius Seven_, she thought.

She was relieved that no one else was in the mess with them at the moment, but she still lowered her voice all the same. "You may be on to something, Heero, but we have to be careful if we're going to talk about something like this. It isn't exactly safe to go making those kinds of accusations."

He nodded. "I figured as much. Don't worry; I won't bring this up in front of the others. We'll only talk about it when we're alone."

Murrue smiled. "I trust your discretion, Heero… I just want to be safe. After all we've been through… I don't want anything to happen to us now."

He gave her a small smile of his own, and it did quite a bit to reassure her. "I know, Murrue. I feel the same way."

_Of course he does_, she thought, _I've seen firsthand just what lengths he'll go to in order to protect me… and the bond we share. _

Once again, Murrue had to smile. In spite of everything that had happened to them over the past few days, along with the cold reception from the High Command, she felt as though she had nothing to fear.

_As long as Heero's by my side, as long as we fight together… we'll overcome any obstacle in our path._

After then finished their meals and put their plates away, Murrue turned to Heero. "Well," she said, "care to go to the lounge for awhile? It's not like we have much else to do, considering we can't leave the ship."

Heero nodded and smirked slightly. "Sure, as long as we don't have to drink that sludge the Alliance calls coffee again."

Murrue laughed at that. "Agreed. I've had enough of that crap for one day."

As they went towards the mess exit, Murrue grabbed Heero by the shoulder. He turned to her, eyes widening slightly. "What is it, Murrue?"

She embraced him, and though she could tell she had caught him off guard he quickly returned it, putting his slender yet powerful arms around her.

"Heero," she said softly in his ear, "thank you for today. I know you said I'm strong, but I could not have done that without you by my side."

She felt him tighter his grip on her. "You're welcome, Murrue," he said, "and I'll continue to do all I can to help you."

The two of them parted, both with soft smiles on their faces. "Let's go," said Murrue.

Heero nodded, and as they left the mess Murrue continued to be buoyed by the overwhelming sense of gratitude and affection she felt towards the young man. Still smiling as she walked with him, all the worries that she had had that morning completely fleeing from her mind, Murrue felt invigorated. It was ironic in light of the confinement order she and her crew were under… but she felt _free_.

….

It was almost midnight as Heero slipped out of his quarters. Clad in a blue and black dry suit that he'd kept in Wing Zero in case he needed to do aquatic work, he stopped briefly in the hallway in front of Murrue's quarters. "I'll be back," he whispered, knowing the sleeping beauty who had captured his heart couldn't hear him, "I promise. I'm sorry I'm doing this behind your back, but I swear I'll tell you everything someday. I just don't want you to get in trouble if I screw up."

He made his way towards the rear outer deck of the _Archangel_; since it was located between the two upraised stabilizer fins, it was mostly concealed from the cameras he'd spotted amidst the dock, so that was where he'd start his operation from. Heero moved quickly through the corridors of the ship, and with some difficulty; he was wearing the dry suit over one of the bulky orange jump suits favored by the ship's mechanics that he'd swiped earlier that day, and it was a rather uncomfortable fit. Still, it was necessary for the time being.

The corridors were deserted, which he had been counting on; since they were in the middle of an extremely well protected Alliance base, almost the entire crew was asleep save for a few officers on the bridge, meaning Heero didn't have to worry about running into any of them in the hallways.

Eventually he reached the hatch for the rear outer deck. Opening it, he sidled along the wall in order to minimize his profile. As the door shut, he made one last visual sweep of the area, reconfirming the position of the cameras he'd spotted earlier that day and checking for any that he'd missed.

After making sure he was out of sight, he went over to the railing at the far end of the deck and climbed over it. From there he made his way out to the very edge of the hull, took a deep breath to steady himself…

…and dove off the ship.

Having checked the _Archangel_'s sensor logs earlier, he knew that the water was deep enough for him to dive into from that height, but he still felt a small thrill of fear go up his spine as he plunged down. However, there was also the excitement that came with putting his life on the line, the rush that accompanied every instance of walking the razor's edge between life and death. Heero wasn't an adrenaline junky… but he still could not deny that he had missed this familiar surge of adrenaline during that first month of peace after the end of the Eve Wars.

He made sure his profile was a narrow as possible as he hit the water, moving to level out immediately after he was below the surface. The dry suit insulated him from the worst of the water's biting chill, but his face, hands, and feet were exposed, and were assaulted mercilessly by the cold.

Driven by adrenaline and the urgent need to get out of the water before he could no longer feel his hands and feet, Heero swam with speed that would impress an Olympic athlete. He stayed underwater just long enough to get to the ladder he had seen earlier in the day; they were spaced out even along the dock both for maintenance crews who needed to work on the lower hulls of ships and for people who'd had the misfortune of falling into the drink.

Grabbing onto the rungs of the submerged portion of the ladder, Heero made his way up until his head slowly breached the surface. This was the part that he'd been the most worried about, as he was quite vulnerable in this position, but even as late as it was the docks were still bustling with activity as crews moved to load supplies into the subs berthed in the massive facility. In fact, a new one was entering the dock at that moment, providing an additional distraction that the Gundam pilot took full advantage of.

Climbing up the ladder until his head was at the edge of the concrete dock, Heero glanced around until he found what he was looking for; a large stack of supply crates not too far from his location. Pulling himself up the rest of the way, he made a break for his temporary cover.

Ducking behind the steel containers, Heero quickly unzipped his wetsuit, revealing the orange mechanic's jumpsuit underneath. Glancing down at the soaking boots that he'd been unable to cover with the dry suit, he grimaced, knowing that they would hold the freezing water for awhile. _This sucks_, he thought, _oh well, at least there's no risk of frostbite. I'll just have to deal with it for now. _The dry suit had served its main purpose well; it had kept the jumpsuit and everything in its pockets completely dry, along with Heero himself, save for his head, hands, and feet.

Reaching into one of the larger pockets on the jumpsuit, he pulled out a crumpled green hat, the same kind favored by the maintenance crews, and put it on. Sliding the dry suit in a gap between two of the crates, he hoped that no one would move them while he was away. The arrival of a new transport sub would in all likelihood keep them occupied for awhile, and the crates he had chosen as cover were most likely meant to be loaded onto the _Archangel _the following day. Still, Heero couldn't deny the element of chance that was involved, and knew he'd just have to put up with it.

Sparing one last glance at where he'd hidden his dry suit, Heero adjusted the cap so that the front bill was low and covering as much of his upper face as it could without looking suspicious or obscuring his vision. _Here goes nothing_, he thought as he stepped out from behind the crates and started walking along the dock.

Heero knew from past experience that, more than anything else, it was confidence that sold a good disguise; if someone acted like they belonged somewhere even when they didn't, people that did belong were more likely to accept them than someone who may have had all the right trappings but the wrong attitude. All the time he'd spent waging his guerrilla war against the U.E.S.A. and OZ had honed not only Heero's conventional combat abilities but his infiltration and sabotage skills to a level that would make the world's greatest covert operatives seem like rank amateurs.

That was why, as he intermingled with the other dock workers as they went about their business, no one looked at him with suspicion, or even gave him a second glance for that matter. To them, he was just another mechanic off to whatever his next assignment was. Safe for the moment in the crowds, Heero turned his attention from the security guards and cameras to the crates that were scattered throughout the area. Each crate had a black serial number printed near the bottom right hand quarter, and while someone unfamiliar with the system would be unable to make heads or tails of it, Heero had studied up that evening after he had said goodnight to Murrue, roughly three hours before he had slipped out of his quarters.

All the numbers themselves were unique, but next to each would be a capitol letter. An 'A' stood for ammunition, 'R' indicated rations, 'F' was for firearms, and so on. Scanning the stacks as he retraced the route he, Murrue, and Natarle had been escorted along earlier that day, Heero saw that the vast majority of the items being shipped out consisted of food, water, small-arms, and electronic equipment. The last one struck him as particularly odd; even if they weren't out and out gutting the base of its vital electrical gear, if the amount he saw on the docks was any indication there certainly wouldn't be any spare parts available, which seemed to be what they were taking out.

_An installation this size_, he thought, _counts on its backup stores of electronic equipment; the sheer scale of the place means there's so much more that can go wrong than at a smaller facility. Without a large amount of spare parts and equipment, the amount of problems a place like this experiences daily would multiply exponentially. Of course, I don't know just how extensive their stores of electrical gear are; maybe they can afford to transfer this much material._

He filed the matter away for later consideration as he approached one of the large doors towards the far end of the dock. Touching the same key their escort had before, he stepped back as the door slid open. There wasn't as much foot or vehicle traffic as there had been earlier that day, but there were still people milling about in the corridor, on their way to attend to whatever tasks they had been assigned to. _A base this size_, he mused, _is pretty much a city; it never truly sleeps._

Reaching the same door their escort had taken them through before, Heero entered it and went down the hallway. It was here that his path diverted from the one he and Murrue had travelled before though; as soon as he found an office area that appeared to be designated for low ranking paper pushers he entered it. Like some that he had seen earlier, it consisted of little more than several rows of tables with computers on them. Only a few were occupied at the moment, and their users didn't even spare him a glance.

Sitting down at one near the back of the room, he powered on the machine and waited as it went through its startup sequence. As soon it was ready he went to work; within seconds he had hacked his way past the login screen and was in the general access portion of the system. A moment later and he had found the first item he'd been looking for; a general map of the base. Naturally, such a map wouldn't show the classified areas, or at least it would have them relabeled, but it was the starting point he needed.

As he studied the layout of the floor he was on, his earlier suspicions that this was the general administrative area of the base were confirmed; there were offices designated for personnel of all branches of the Atlantic Federation's armed forces, along with liaisons from allied nations, intelligence services, managers for the docks, and other departments. Scrolling through the map, he quickly found the room he was in, which was labeled as one of many 'general information facilities'; in other words, rooms where people could go to look up something they needed on the base's computer network, provided it wasn't top secret material, of course.

_Lucky me_, he mused; he hadn't known the exact function of the room he'd walked into, and knew he could be taking a risk by just going right in and using one of the computers. Satisfied that no one would disturb him for the moment, he left the current page he was on and went through other floor plans until he found the ones he was looking for; a layout of the floor the debriefing had taken place on.

He didn't care about the room where the debriefing itself had occurred though; what was on Heero's mind was if his suspicions regarding the floor layout was true. Zooming out the image, he realized that they were; the corridor they had travelled did indeed run in a complete circle, though the diameter was closer to 820 meters than 800. As for what lay within the center of the circle, it was labeled as a 'Priority One Storage Facility'.

_Yeah, right_, he thought, _with the security setup those doors had, the only things they'd be storing in there are nuclear missiles… and since none of the cargo hauler corridors on the map lead down to this section, and the floors built over it mean there's no access from above, that's clearly not the case. It's possible there's access ways that come up beneath it, but even then I don't think they'd be storing nukes there; no point since they couldn't be easily launched from there, though with the prevalence of N-jammers I suppose that might change conventional wisdom. Still, even if they're useless, they would want their nukes to be easily accessible, and any underground supply routes would come up well away from both the docks and the airfield, the most secure locations for transferring the weapons. _His eyes narrowed as he looked at the massive lie written on the map. _What's in there? _Whatever lay inside that massive circle could not be anything good; in fact, his instincts were telling him to blast it with the Twin Buster Rifle at maximum power.

_Damn_, he thought, _I have way more questions than answers. Time to fix that. _Minimizing the maps for the moment, he opened up a separate window and began blasting his way through the classification system, determined to hack his way to the bottom of the mystery.

He got through the first three layers of the classification system with little effort, but as he proceeded to the fourth the levels of encryption suddenly skyrocketed, and it took him a good five minute to get through the firewalls. The fifth took twice that time, and he was completely stonewalled at the sixth; he pulled out every trick Doctor J had taught him, but he couldn't break through the final layer, and eventually he had to pull back before he wound up raising any system red flags.

He sighed. _Well, that settles it; they've got something nasty in there. _Unfortunately, he was out of options as to figuring out what that something was for now; he couldn't break the final firewall layers, and the physical security system the doors used required specific biological data, which he could not fake. No disguise would do him any good either. In short, he wasn't getting in there… and it pissed him off, though he kept his anger from showing on his face.

Renewing his focus, he turned back to the maps that he'd minimized earlier; he couldn't directly access the Alliance's dirty secret, but there might be another way to figure out what they were hiding. After a moment he found what he was looking for; the communications hub.

In order to minimize clutter and maximize data storage space, most military communications networks were typically maintained separately from the general one used for information search and retrieval, though there was overlap from time to time. This way communication logs containing sensitive material could not be accessed by just anyone, and key staff members were assigned to control access. The servers had enough capacity to store years worth of communiqués, and it was in those that Heero hoped to find some answers. It was true that he would have to get around the personnel assigned to monitor them, but he had a way, and it was with his disguise; he'd just have to bluff and pretend he needed to run some network maintenance, and he'd be good to go.

Logging off and shutting down the computer he was at, he quickly left the room and made his way towards a nearby elevator. Entering it and punching in the floor number he needed, he leaned against the wall and waited for the lift to arrive at his destination.

A few seconds later the elevator stopped on the floor he needed, and as he walked out he saw that there were only a few people wandering about. _They probably don't get as much activity at night as they do during the day_, he thought as he headed for the central hub.

As he approached the room he needed, he smirked as he saw that the only security precaution outside was a simple keypad. _This'll be easier than I thought_, he mused, _I thought for sure I'd have to deal with at least a door guard first._

There was a camera above and to the left of the door, but its placement was no problem to Heero since the keypad was on the right. Turning to the keypad, he stood so that his body obscured the camera's view of the device, then he pulled his combat knife out of one of his pockets and pried off a small panel next to the keys. Sure enough, the wiring was right behind it, and within seconds he'd hotwired the door. Slipping the panel back on as the door slid open, he then put the knife away and calmly walked in. He wasn't worried about his behavior raising any red flags; as far as the camera outside had been concerned, he was just a maintenance worker who had taken a little longer than usual to remember his password.

The primary communications hub looked much like the famous NASA mission control, though on a larger scale; rows of computers facing a large screen at the far end of the room, in this case one divided into two sections. The one on the right displayed a map of the Atlantic Federation, while the one on the left showed the entire Earth Sphere.

There was an officer standing near the door as Heero walked in, and the Gundam pilot assumed that his purpose was to check each person who entered. However, the man simply looked over at Heero and shrugged. "Go ahead," he said. Apparently visits from maintenance personnel were routine occurrences; at the very least, they seemed to occur often enough for the man's guard to be down.

Heero nodded. "Thanks," he said, "this won't take too long; my boss wanted me to come down and run a check on the network connections. I will need access to a console."

"Back row, far right," he said, nodding in the general direction, "Those don't tend to get taken on night shift; less staff on the clock. Also, the chairs at those stations don't adjust properly, and we haven't been allowed to replace them yet. Hope you sit as straight as you stand, because those things don't recline worth shit."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said as headed towards the station the man had mentioned.

He grimaced as he sat down; the man had been right about the reclining abilities of the chairs, and in fact most of them were leaning too far forward. Getting up again and finding one with a slightly better backrest, he once again took a seat and got to work. Just as he had earlier, he easily hacked into the general system. He pulled up the logs and started browsing the ones for the past two months.

The messages were categorized by priority and security, with level One being the lowest and Five the highest. Heero immediately excluded the first three levels from his search, which narrowed down the list considerably. However, he couldn't relax yet; the level Four and Five messages would be heavily encrypted and protected. Heero could only hope that the security measures that went into them were as tough as those he'd encountered in the last level of the main network.

He started by experimenting with the level Four messages, and discovered-much to his relief- that they were quite easy to hack into, especially compared to the monster firewalls he'd encountered in the previous room. _This is a good start_, he thought, _I'll browse these before hitting the level Fives._

After sampling a few of the level Four messages, he determined that what he was looking for wasn't in them. For the most part they detailed Alliance troop and ship movements, which while certainly important information in the general sense was not what he was looking for. He did note an interesting trend though; the Atlantic Federations was transferring an increasing amount of troops and equipment from its northern territory to the south, particularly focusing on Central and South America. _That's probably in preparation for Spitbreak_, he thought, _Hawaii has undergone a similar reinforcing. Still, they're not leaving much to back up the Eurasians with in case things get dicey up here; hell, they've pulled out almost all of Alaska's strategic reserve divisions. That seems awfully shortsighted, especially if Moscow suddenly decides to pull out of their arrangement with the Atlantic Federation._

Deciding that he'd worry about the odd moves latter, Heero removed the level Four messages from the list, leaving only the Fives, which were meant exclusively for the High Command. Now came the moment of truth; if he couldn't break their encryptions, he was stuck.

Picking the latest message, which was dated for roughly four hours ago, he set himself to work. After a couple minutes, he smirked as he finally broke the encryption; it had been tough, but not as bad as he'd thought it would be.

Opening up the message, his eyes narrowed as he began reading the contents. It was short, and the language was vague and cryptic, probably as a precaution taken by the writer.

"_The children are making remarkable progress," _it read, _"They've performed beyond expectations in all exercises. They will be able to take the reins of the new steeds." _It was signed _Muruta Azrael._

_I've read that name before_, thought Heero, _He was mentioned briefly in the Alliance files I downloaded. He's a big player in the Atlantic Federation's arms industry. _Other than that, though, there had not been much information about him. One of the files had noted a rumor about supposed ties to the anti-Coordinator organization Blue Cosmos, but other than the mention of said rumor there was nothing else.

The Perfect Soldier's suspicions further increased. _I can see why someone like him would have contact with the top brass… but why would they give a civilian level Five message privileges and access? Is what he's working on that important?_

Knowing he would have to wrap things up soon before the guard got suspicious, he browsed through the other messages as quickly as he could. All of them were similarly worded, and in the end, only one stood out as possibly referring to the information he sought, dated about two days ago.

"_Make sure the Sword under the Earth is ready,"_ it said, _"The hour of reckoning approaches, and it must be prepared to slay the Demons." _Again, the message was from Azrael.

_The 'Sword under the Earth' bit_, he thought, _that could be referring to whatever's underneath this base… and 'Demons' is probably code for Coordinators. So it's a weapon, then… but what kind? How does it work? More importantly, how are they going to get it to the battlefield? The area it takes up beneath the base is immense, so unless they have some gigantic tunnel that runs beneath it, it's not going anywhere. Then again, the singular tense of the word 'Sword' might be misdirection in case someone like me manages to break the encryption, and there could be multiple weapons in that space. It certainly makes more sense, and the excavation required for several smaller tunnels rather than one on the scale needed to move something the size of that area would be much more cost effective._

There was something else that bothered Heero about that message; the tone taken by the writer was one of _command_, in a message from a civilian to the top officers of the Atlantic Federation military. _Does he really have that much influence? Or is there more here than meets the eye? _Once again the rumored Blue Cosmos connection came to Heero's mind, along with his suspicions of the Atlantic Federation High Command. _It would certainly explain a few things._

In the end, though, Heero just had no way to know for sure what dark secret lay at the heart of the Alaska base, and he was not happy about that. He wasn't used to hitting dead ends like this, and while outwardly he kept his composure, on the inside he was seething with frustration and ever mounting suspicion. Once again, his feelings were screaming at him that something was wrong, but he did not know _what_. While Heero believed in acting on his emotions, he also knew that there were practical limitations to doing so, and in this case the actions he wanted to take would make Murrue a traitor in the eyes of her countrymen, and he wasn't prepared to do that unless there was a very good reason for it.

_I'll just have to keep my eyes open_, he thought as he logged out of the system and shut down the console, _for now, it's all I can really do. _Standing up, he made his way out of the communications hub, the security officer not even sparing him a glance as he did so.

Retracing his steps, he quickened his pace as he headed back towards the dock. He'd done all he could; now it was time to get back inside the _Archangel _before something went wrong.

Fortunately, he made it back up to the dock without incident, and the work crews were for the most part preoccupied with loading crates onto the transport sub that had arrived earlier that evening. Walking with the same confidence that he'd displayed throughout his infiltration, he headed towards the stack of shipping containers by the _Archangel_, which he was relieved to see had not been moved during his absence.

Ducking behind the stack, he pulled the dry suit out of its hiding spot. Before putting it on though, he reached into one of the larger pockets of the orange jumpsuit and pulled out a magnetic grappling gun; he'd need it to get back aboard the _Archangel_. The gun was sealed against water, so he wouldn't have to worry about damaging it when he went into the drink.

After he'd put his hat back in one of his larger pockets, put on the dry suit, and made sure the dock crews' attention was elsewhere, he made a break for the edge of the dock and dove into the water. Swimming under the surface until he came towards the rear of the ship, he slowly resurfaced, making sure that the vessel was blocking the view of any security cameras. Confident that he would be unobserved, he took careful aim with the grappling gun and fired. The magnetic dart hit dead on; it stuck to the inside of the portside vertical stabilizer fin. Making sure the line was taut, Heero pulled the trigger again, causing the wire to pull him up. It moved extremely quickly; without properly bracing himself, the Perfect Soldier could've dislocated his shoulder. Fortunately, he was well attuned to the devices workings, and only felt a slight amount of pain as he rapidly ascended.

When he'd reached a specific point of his rise, he pulled the trigger one more time, causing the grapple to release from the hull. Heero dropped about eight feet before landing with catlike grace on the section of the hull that ran between the upraised fin that had been his target and the rear outer deck of the ship. Moving as fast as he could in the awkwardly fitting dry suit, once again pulled as snugly as possible over his mechanic's disguise, he leapt over the guardrail and ran to the door. He sighed with relief as he entered the ship, closing the door behind him.

Moving quickly through the corridors, Heero did his best to avoid any crewmembers that might still be up at those hours. Fortunately, as had been the case when he'd begun his solo mission, the halls were empty, with the few soldiers on duty up on the bridge.

When he finally got to his quarters, he once again looked next door at the entrance to Murrue's quarters. He smiled slightly. "I told you I'd be back," he whispered, before turning to enter his room.

Shedding the dry suit, he practically fell onto his bed, not bothering to remove his mechanic's uniform. Though it hadn't been his most strenuous of missions, constantly being on edge as he'd gone behind 'enemy lines', as it were, did wear on him, and he knew he'd have to get up early in order to put the jumpsuit back in the mechanics' locker room before anyone missed it.

For the moment though, he wasn't concerned about that. As he closed his eyes, his last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were of the woman in the room next to his.

_Murrue, I swore I'd protect you, and if that means from your superiors as well as ZAFT, so be it. I don't want to make things difficult for you… but if keeping you safe means I have to act against the Alliance, then I'll do exactly that. After all we've been through, there's no way I'm letting anything happen to you now._

_I may not be very experienced with matters of the heart… but this much I do know; I'm all but convinced that what I feel for you is love, and I will fight with everything I've got in order to defend you. It's the only way I'll be able to learn if this bond between us can truly become something more… if I'm truly worthy of a relationship with you. I know you care about me, and far more than I deserve after the sins I've committed. All I can do to repay that is keep you safe… and I'll fight the entire Earth Sphere if that's what it takes. _

….

Several weeks after the debriefing, Murrue sat in her office. The time since the _Archangel_'s arrival had been extremely dull, with little more for her to do than monitor activities from the bridge and talk with Heero in the mess and lounge. While the latter she certainly didn't mind, all the useless hours of sitting on the bridge had quickly become tedious, and several times she'd had to struggle just to keep from falling asleep from sheer boredom. The only thing that had happened to break the monotony was one of the dock crews loading some supplies onto her ship, but that had been merely to replace the rations they'd already consumed while sitting idle in the base. They'd also received no word concerning the ZAFT pilot in the brig, and Murrue had to wonder if the top brass had in fact forgotten about the prisoner altogether.

There had been a perk to the lack of activity though, besides the obvious benefit of not being shot at; with all the free time they had available, Heero had begun showing her images on his laptop of not only the Gundams of Operation Meteor and their upgraded forms, but of things from his world in general. Conventional mobile suits, space colony designs, the schematics of the mammoth battleship _Libra_… he'd shown her all that and much more.

As stunning as seeing those pictures had been, Heero managed to top them with something she'd wanted to see since North Africa; images of the people he'd met during the course of his war. There were the other Gundam pilots, Zechs Marquise, Relena Peacecraft, Treize Kushrenada, and many others. Heero had not only shown her what they looked like, but had also described to the best of his abilities their personalities, their reasons for fighting… what made them who they were. It was an incredible experience, and Murrue had lost track of how many times she'd thanked Heero for revealing so much to her. For his part, the amazing young man had simply nodded and smiled slightly before continuing on to the next part of his presentation.

The time she spent with him seemed to go by all too quickly… while her time on the bridge was an eternity of boredom, even when Heero would join her during her watch. After all, there was only so much the two of them could do to pass the time on her shifts, and she did have keep an eye on the rest of the bridge crew, regardless of whether or not there was anything for them to do.

After what had seemed like forever, the High Command had finally seen fit to contact them… though the message they had sent was not what Murrue had been expecting. It was because of said message that she was in her office now, and she wasn't alone; standing in front of her were Lieutenant Badgiruel, Lieutenant Commander La Flaga, and Crewman Flay Allster. The three of them all had the same shocked expression on their faces, which came as no surprise to Murrue considering the news she had given them.

Natarle was the first to speak up. "A transfer? The three of us?" Even the no-nonsense Lieutenant seemed floored by the announcement.

"Why the hell would they do that?" said La Flaga, more than a little angry, "We're all part of a team here. I mean, I know things aren't perfect, but we all work well together!"

Flay, for her part, was apparently stunned speechless. Murrue really couldn't blame the girl, and even felt sorry for her; of all the students from Heliopolis, Flay'd had the hardest time adjusting to military life, and the Captain knew that other officers would not be so understanding with the girl. More to the point, her only friends in the armed forces were aboard the _Archangel_; a transfer away from them would only serve to make her feel isolated and alone, regardless of her new post.

Murrue sympathized with all three of her subordinates, but she had to take responsibility and restore order. "Calm down. I don't like it any more than the three of you do, but these are orders from the top; we have no say in the matter."

"Are these orders effective immediately?" asked Natarle.

Murrue shook her head. "Not quite. Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Crewman Allster will be shipping out to California four days from now. As for you, Lieutenant Badgiruel… you're leaving tomorrow, I'm afraid."

Murrue pulled two files from her desktop and handed one to Natarle and the other to La Flaga. As she did so she gave the former a slightly bittersweet smile. "Though I'm losing your service on the bridge, I should congratulate you… Lieutenant Commander Badgiruel."

The black-haired woman's eyes widened. "I've been promoted?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, and there's more; you're to be given your own command. The details are not there in the file, but you will be briefed upon arrival."

"Where's she going?" asked La Flaga, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"I'm afraid I don't know the exact details of that either," she replied, "However, considering that she's to be escorted to the mass driver facility at 1200 hours tomorrow, I think it's safe to say her next assignment is in space."

Natarle was speechless, but Murrue did see her look over at the blond fighter pilot, with a look that seemed almost… apologetic. For the Captain, that and La Flaga's concern was all she needed to confirm her suspicions that there were indeed romantic feelings that ran between the two of them, though she doubted that either was aware of the other's attraction.

_I'm sorry, you two_, she thought, _for what little it's worth, I pray that the two of you will meet again. I think you're a good match for each other; hopefully fate shares my sentiments and brings you together someday._

After a moment La Flaga turned to the file he'd been given and opened it up. "Flight instructor?" he said, eyebrows rising as he read the first page, "Well… I didn't see that coming."

"I imagine that the top brass are hoping you can train our newest crop of pilots so they'll be able to fight like you," said Natarle, a slight smile on her face, "Looks like they really recognize your skills."

"I guess," said La Flaga, "To be honest though… I feel kinda bad about this new post. I'll be back in the homeland while you guys are risking your necks out on the front lines… not exactly something I like."

"Well, I'm afraid it can't be helped," said Murrue, "Maybe they'll send you back our way eventually… or to whatever ship Lieutenant Commander Badgiruel is put in charge of."

Murrue couldn't help but smile slightly as she saw Natarle blush at her words. _It'd be fun to see that little scenario play out_, she thought, _no doubts there._

"What about me?" asked Flay, finally breaking out of her stupor, "Where am I going?"

Murrue sighed. "I don't know, Miss Allster. However, you are boarding the same transport as La Flaga, so I'm assuming the first part of your journey will be to California as well. From there I don't know what will happen to you. Considering the importance of your late father though, I imagine you will be well looked after."

"But I want to stay here!" she said, "My friends are on this ship… Kira died for the _Archangel_… I can't just leave!"

Murrue once again felt a surge of pity for the girl as she struggled to accept the sudden change that had been thrust upon her. "I'm sorry, Flay," she said, "but the military doesn't work that way. We go where we're ordered to go; we don't get a say in the matter."

"But Captain," said Flay, "can't you do something about this?"

Murrue gave her a soft smile. "I would if I could, Flay, but these orders are from the High Command… and I don't think my opinion means much to them, so I couldn't change their minds even if I wanted to."

She was surprised to see Natarle put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "The Captain's right," she said, "the moment you volunteered up in orbit, you gave the High Command control over where you go and what you do. It's rough, but that's part of being a soldier." She then smiled slightly. "At least they're not shipping you out alone; La Flaga will be with you until you reach California. I'm sure he'll look after you until someone arrives to take you wherever they want you to go."

The blond pilot smiled. "Count on it. Don't worry, little lady, you'll be alright."

She nodded, though Murrue could tell that, try as they might, La Flaga and Natarle would not be able to completely alleviate Flay's fears. _It's only natural, I suppose; of all the Heliopolis students, Flay's the least suited for a soldier's life. I'm still having trouble figuring out why she decided to volunteer in the first place. The best reason I can think of is to avenge her father. It's certainly understandable, but looking at her now… I don't think vengeance is her motivation anymore. Hell, I don't think even she knows why she's in the military now. I'd hope that High Command would discharge her, but in all likelihood they'll find some way to use her; the Allster name has its share of influence within the Atlantic Federation, after all._

Worry as she might, ultimately Murrue knew that there was nothing she could do for the fifteen year old girl, and reluctantly accepted that fact as she moved forward. "That's all I have for the three of you now," she said, "You're dismissed."

….

"Hey," said La Flaga after they left the Captain's office, "You gotta minute?"

Natarle nodded; Captain Ramius had left the room just ahead of them to resume her post on the bridge, and the Lieutenant was on break until early evening. Looking over at La Flaga, she saw a small smile on his face, though it could not entirely hide the worried look in his eyes. _That concern_, she thought, _is that… for me? _Could she dare to hope that the dashing pilot did indeed feel something for her that went beyond friendship, and that the fact that they would be going separate ways tomorrow affected him as much as it was affecting her now?

"What is it… Mu?" she asked, her conflicting desire and sense of duty causing her to use his first name.

The ace pilot must've surely caught her change in name usage, but he didn't make any of his usual jokes or laid-back comments. His smile did grow a little though. "Well, first off, congratulations on getting promoted… and your own command! Whatever ship you get, I know you'll be a good leader, and you'll treat your crew well."

She smiled, encouraged by the faith he had in her. At the same time, she vowed to do exactly what he believed she would; take care of her subordinates. Though she still had her disagreements with how Captain Ramius had run the ship, Natarle knew that the crew appreciated how she looked after them, and she wanted to do the same for her new command. _I now know how it feels to have a superior who truly cares for my well being_, she thought, _If I can give my new subordinates that same feeling, and keep them safe… that'll be enough for me. Captain Ramius… thank you; I learned a lot serving under you._

At the same time though, the prospect of no longer serving on the same ship as Mu La Flaga had her… well, to put it bluntly, upset. She did not allow it to show, but inside she was worried about what the separation would do to the connection she had made with the handsome pilot. _Would he still care about me… would he even _think _about me? _Natarle knew what California was like in the springtime; even with his duties as a flight instructor taking up much of his time, in all likelihood the dashing officer would be quite popular in the social scene. At the very least, he'd certainly have plenty of women after him, and she wouldn't be around to try and stake a claim.

Her doubts were ever present as she spoke to him. "Thanks, I'll try my best to do that. What else did you want, Mu?"

"Well…" he said, and Natarle was surprised to realize that he actually looked a little nervous; his hand was at the back of his neck, and he was looking off to the side in a manner not dissimilar from what she would do from time to time.

Turning to face her again, he continued. "You see, the thing is… I've really enjoyed getting to know you. Even in the midst of all the fighting, we still got to spend time together… and I'd like to be able to do that again sometime." He smiled at her. "Natarle… can I get your email address? I want to stay in touch, and with you being deployed to space, that'd be the best way to do it. And maybe, depending on your next shore leave, we could see each other again; I'll probably have a lot more off time than you will, but we should be able to work out something."

Natarle felt her face flare up, and thought for a moment that she would faint; here she had been worried about how to keep up the connection she'd made with him, and he was offering her a way to do just that! More importantly, he'd said he'd _enjoyed _the time they'd spent together… maybe he _did _feel something for her!

She was practically beaming as she responded. "Yes, of course! I don't have anything to write on, though; mind if I go to my quarters real quick?"

He nodded. "No problem, I'll come with you; now that you mention it, I don't have anything on me either."

"Alright," she said as she turned and headed towards her room. She continued smiling as she walked, her fears subsided for the moment. It was true that there would still be challenges ahead; as long as the war dragged on, the best she'd have a shot at was a long distance relationship… but it would be a start, and she was determined to at least make it to that stage.

_I have a shot_, she thought, _It won't be easy… but there's a chance he likes me too! If he does feel the same way, and this is his way of reaching out, trying to see if we can get something going, then I have to do the same. _

One more idea occurred to her as they made their way to her quarters. _Now that I've been promoted, we're the same rank. If things stay that way for the time being, then I don't have to worry about the rules regarding fraternization with a senior or junior officer…_

It looked like her promotion would have more than the usual benefits. Natarle certainly planned to make the most of them.

….

"Natarle!" said La Flaga, "Wait!"

It was the next day, and the raven-haired beauty was already halfway down the gangway. Mu La Flaga had been inside along with Captain Ramius as they'd said their farewells to her and wished her the best… but the fighter pilot had felt as though a simple 'goodbye' was inadequate, and so he'd decided to temporarily break the confinement order. _Hopefully they won't raise a fuss if I don't leave the ramp_, he thought. He hadn't wanted to cause trouble for the Captain, but… he felt like he had to do _something _before Natarle slipped out of his grasp.

The ace pilot had initially been caught off guard by his growing feelings for the no-nonsense Lieutenant… no, Lieutenant Commander now. He hadn't imagined that he'd ever find himself attracted to such a strict and rigid woman… but that had been before he'd gotten to know her and get a glimpse of her softer side. Before long he'd realized that behind the walls of iron discipline was in fact a shy and slightly scared woman who was trying to survive, and he'd wanted to help her do that. More importantly, he wanted to know more about her, get her to open up more… and slowly but surely, over the course of their journey across the world, she had done so.

The dashing officer was no stranger to romance, of course. However, all his prior relationships had really been little more than flings; a few weeks at most, caught up in the heat of the moment before him and whoever his current partner was realized that in the end they just weren't compatible for a long-term commitment.

Natarle was different, though. Granted, he didn't know if he loved her, but there was an attraction that he could not deny, and he had a feeling there was something on her end as well. Asking for her email as a way to keep in touch had been a way to make sure that he'd have a chance to continue to get to know her, to see if there was the right chemistry between them for a long-term relationship. However, that wasn't enough for him; if he wanted to make sure that she didn't forget about him, that she'd keep him in her thoughts, he'd need to act a bit more… _rashly_.

He smiled as Natarle turned around to face him, her eyes widening slightly. "Mu… what are you doing? You're not supposed to leave the ship!"

It was a fact that he was well aware of, but as he'd rushed out of the hatch Captain Ramius, who had still been standing right by it, hadn't tried to stop him. In fact, the Lieutenant Commander could've sworn he saw her smile and nod slightly as he'd ran past her. _Maybe she sees something between me and Natarle_, he thought, _I wouldn't be surprised; she's very skilled at reading the feelings of others. It's why she's such a good Captain._

He came to a stop in front of her, pausing a moment to catch his breath. As he did so, he saw one of the guards at the bottom of the ramp start to come up, but Natarle stopped him. "It's alright," she said, "This'll just take a moment."

As the soldier went back to his post, she turned back to Mu. "This had better be important, Mu; you could get yourself into a lot of trouble!"

He chuckled at her words. "Hey, I'm a pilot; trouble's what we live for."

She sighed, but still smiled slightly in response. "So I've noticed." Her eyes met his. "Mu… I'm glad you're here, but we need to make this quick; I doubt my escort will wait much longer."

He nodded. "I know. This won't take long. I just… wanted to give you something."

"Oh?" said Natarle, "What is it?"

"This," he said softly, and before he lost his nerve he moved forward and kissed her on the lips.

It only lasted about a second, but as he pulled away he knew he'd made an impression; Natarle's eyes were the widest he'd ever seen them, and there were more than a few shades of pink in her face.

He smiled. "A little something to remember me by. Take care of yourself… and stay in touch."

Natarle nodded, and a soft smile appeared on her face. "I will, but you'd better do the same."

"Count on it," he replied.

"I will," she said, turning to head back down the ramp, "Good luck, Mu… I can't wait to see you again."

He grinned. "Same here, Natarle."

As he headed back towards the ship, he saw the Captain standing in the hatchway smiling. "Ah, great," said Mu, "You saw that?"

She laughed slightly. "Yes. Don't worry, though; it'll stay between us."

He nodded as he entered the ship and she closed the door. "Thanks… and sorry if my little stunt ends up causing you trouble."

Captain Ramius shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Considering the times we live in, it'd be impossible to say when the two of you would see each other again; you had to do that, and I wasn't going to stop you." She sighed. "I need to get back to the bridge. I hope you'll be alright, La Flaga; they say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder', but it can only take so much."

He nodded. "I know, but I'm willing to endure some separation." He then smirked slightly. "You're lucky, Captain; you don't have to worry about that in your case."

Her eyes widened slightly, and she looked like she was about to deny what he was implying, but then she smiled slightly. "I suppose I am. How did you know, La Flaga?"

He smirked. "You're not exactly trying to hide it, Captain. The way you look at him… the others might not see it, but I can; you're in love with him."

The brown-haired woman leaned against the wall. "Yes, I am… it's wrong, I know, considering his age, but…"

"He doesn't act like a sixteen year old boy," Mu finished for her, "Am I right?"

The Captain nodded. "Exactly. After seeing him in action… after getting to know him, learning what he's been through… it's impossible to see him as just another teenage pilot. Mentally, emotionally… Heero's as much an adult as you or I."

"Yeah," said Mu, "that's the same vibe I get from the guy. Strong, smart, and one hell of a pilot… he isn't a kid anymore, that's for sure. "

"You must think the worst of me," said Murrue, looking down at the floor, "I'm ten years older than him… I know how this must look…"

"No, Captain," he said, causing her to look up at him in surprise, "It's true at first that I thought it was odd, but after seeing the two of you work together, and the way you act around each other, I don't think it's wrong at all. The two of you really do care about each other, and the last thing you'd do is take advantage of him." He then smiled. "As long as you two are both willing to see where things go between you, I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

She smiled as well. "Thank you, La Flaga. Although, I'd appreciate it if this could stay between us."

"No problem," he said, grinning, "so long as you do the same for me and Natarle."

Captain Ramius nodded before turning to go. "Deal. I'm going to the bridge now. Stay out of trouble, La Flaga."

"Roger that, ma'am," he replied, "and good luck."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled, knowing that he wasn't referring to her shift on the bridge. "Thanks. You as well, Lieutenant Commander."

Standing by the hatch for a moment, he then made his way towards the hangar. _I'd better do some sim runs_, he thought, _gotta keep my skills sharp, especially if I'm going to be passing them on to the newbies in California. _

He smirked as he thought of the conversation he'd just had with the Captain. _Heero Yuy_, he mused, _you're one lucky bastard, having a woman like her in love with you. I know you care for her too… the question is, do _you _know?_

_As for me… I think I can consider myself a pretty lucky guy too. True, it'll be quite awhile until I can see the woman I care about again… but she's definitely worth the wait. Take care, Natarle… I'll definitely see you again someday._

….

The sea breeze running through his hair, Creuset smiled from his perch on the observation deck of the _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carrier _Vespucci_. Still running on the surface, as were most of the ships of the same class in the fleet at the moment, the Commander's flagship was part of the rear echelon of the massive armada ZAFT had assembled for Operation Spitbreak. As he scanned the horizon, the masked officer saw warships as far as the eye could see; more submarine/carriers, destroyers, surface carriers, troop transports… even to the man that had orchestrated its assemblage, the assault force was nearly breathtaking. DINNs crisscrossed the sky as they conducted their patrols, and were in fact the reason why so many of the _Vosgulov_-class vessels were on the surface, as they were only able to launch and retrieve their flight-capable mobile suits above water. Naturally, they would retrieve all their units and submerge once the final approach to the target was underway.

A shadow fell over the ship, and as he looked up Creuset gave a mock salute as one of the two gargantuan _Everest_-class Flying Fortresses attached to the armada, the _Fuji_, moved into its position in the formation. Ahead in the distance he could see its sister ship, the _Kilimanjaro_, already in its place at the head of the pack.

The armada was still not completely assembled, but it would be once it rendezvoused with the advance elements that had been dispatched several weeks ago. After that, all it would take was the command from Zala, and the offensive would truly be underway. Even then, the ships and MS of ZAFT's surface navy were not the only units involved in the assault; even now, Creuset knew that elements of the orbital fleet were moving into position to drop forces of their own onto the target, in order to maximize the 'shock and awe' affect that would be so crucial in the opening attack.

"Commander Le Creuset," said a man behind him. As the blond officer turned, the green uniformed soldier saluted before continuing. "Comms has the Supreme Chairman on the line for you."

He nodded. "At ease, soldier. Tell them to transfer it to my office; I'll take it in there."

Taking one last satisfied look at the enormous force of warships and mobile suits arrayed before him, he made his way below deck. Like any submarine, the hallways were quite narrow, even on a boat the size of the _Vespucci_. Sliding past officers and enlisted men alike, he wound his way through the labyrinth of cramped corridors until he arrived at his office, which also doubled as his quarters. Closing the door behind him, he sat down at his desk and powered on the monitor.

Zala's visage appeared, and Creuset was reminded of a line out of the _Iliad_; 'The face that launched a thousand ships'. _A grand fleet this is_, he mused, _but Helen of Troy you aren't, Chairman._

The leader of the PLANTs and ZAFT was as arrogant as ever, and grinned as he initiated the conversation. "Ah, Commander. How did the launching go?"

"No incidents to report, sir," he replied, "The combined fleet is underway; we will make our rendezvous with the advance elements tomorrow, and by that evening we will be in position. All it will take is your word, sir, and Spitbreak will begin."

"Excellent," he said, "orbital command is moving its strike force into position now, though it will be three days until all the ships needed will be on site."

"That's still within our timeframe though," said Creuset, "We should be fine holding our position until then, provided the latest batch of Alliance spy satellites were taken care of."

Zala nodded. "The task force Commander in charge of that operation has reported a clean sweep. It will take the Naturals at least a week to have a replacement network ready, by which time it will be too late to make a difference. You're in the clear, Creuset."

He nodded. "Thank you, sir. Just out of curiosity, will any of the new models be joining us for the assault?"

The Supreme Chairman shook his head. "No, we have yet to assign pilots to them. They will be fielded for our march on the Atlantic Federation capital, though."

"I see," said Creuset, "If I may be so bold, sir, I believe your son would be an ideal candidate for one of those machines. Last I heard, he's still at Carpentaria; you've yet to issue new orders for him."

"I wanted to give him time to fully recover," said Zala, "Which he should be nearly so by now. He will be recalled to the PLANTs within the next few days. I was already planning on giving him the Justice, but thank you for your input, my friend."

"Not at all, sir," he replied, "and your choice is an excellent one; I believe the Justice is well suited to his flying style."

"As do I," said Zala, "All the more so after reading his report on the final clash with the Strike; Athrun has an affinity for close-quarters combat." There was more than a hint of pride in his smile.

_It seems the son has finally impressed the father_, Creuset mused, _though he nearly died in the process. _Putting the matter aside, he returned his attention to Zala. "Is there anything else, sir?"

"No," said the Supreme Chairman, "that will be all for now."

As Zala disconnected, Creuset began typing on the keyboard. After a moment, the full list of ships and mobile suits in the combined armada appeared on the screen.

_I daresay I've outdone myself_, he thought with a smirk, _though of course, I could not have pulled this off without the oh so willing backing of Zala. Thank you, Supreme Chairman._

The finally tally was beyond anything yet fielded by either side in the war so far. The vessel count alone was staggering: 68 _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carriers, 97 destroyers, 12 surface carriers with capacity for 12 DINNs each, 16 heavy ground assault transports with 3 BuCues and 3 ZuOOTs in each, 20 assault landing craft to carry the infantry and their light vehicles, and of course the two _Everest_-class Flying Fortresses with their air wings of 40 DINNS apiece.

When the mobile suit compliments of each ship were combined, the numbers were almost mindboggling: 632 DINNs, 272 amphibious mobile suits (majority GOOhNs with Team Commanders in ZnOs), 48 BuCues, and 48 ZuOOTs. That wasn't all; the space fleet would also be dropping 108 GINNs to support the attack. All in all, over a thousand mobile suits would take part in the assault, the most ever to fight in single battle.

_With Schwarze, Grün, and Rot Teams leading the pack_, thought Creuset, _they should be able to keep even Wing Zero busy. Not exactly an elegant solution to such a problem; any idiot can throw sheer numbers at a foe in the hopes of overwhelming it… oh well._

Shutting down the console and leaning back in his chair, the masked Commander had a cruel grin on his face as he looked up at the ceiling.

_At long last, the curtain has fallen upon the first act. Soon, the second act will begin… and it will be a performance unlike any other!_

….

High above the Earth, one of ZAFT's ubiquitous _Laurasia_-class frigates was heading towards its assigned rallying point. The bridge of the green mainline warship was calm on the surface, but no one could deny the aura of tension lying just beneath it. Invisible yet pervasive, everyone felt it in one form or another… and the ship's captain was no exception.

The woman sitting at the center of the bridge narrowed her steely gray eyes as she looked out at the planet below. Her mid-length brown hair was swept forward, framing her face in a manner similar to the wings of a hawk. Her bearing was that of a disciplined but kind woman, one that would do her duty no matter what the cost might be to herself, but would act to spare those serving under her from potentially going down with her.

Talia Gladys, the twenty-seven years old commanding officer of the frigate _Natta_, turned to the ship's radar operator. "Any sign of activity at the rendezvous point?"

The officer, a young lady in her late teens with jet black hair tied in a ponytail, looked closer at her screen. "Hang on, it's at the very edge of our range. Adjusting scopes… I'm sorry, Captain, we should be in clear range in a few seconds."

She nodded. "Very well. In the meantime, any sign of Alliance satellites the sweeper units may have missed?"

The radar operator shook her head. "No, ma'am, picture is clear. The only blips I'm getting are the occasional bits of space junk. Hang on, I'll give the scopes another shot and see if I can get the rendezvous point in clear view."

After a moment she spoke again. "Captain, I have confirmed contacts at the rendezvous point; six _Laurasia_-class frigates. Looks like we're about middle of the pack, ma'am."

"Yes," said Talia, "I imagine the rest of the drop fleet will be arriving over the next few days. Are any of the vessels broadcasting a flagship IFF?"

"Yes Captain," said the girl, "The _Nobel_."

"I see," she replied, "carry on, then."

Talia then turned to the communications officer. "Contact the _Nobel _and ask for a formation assignment. Give the coordinates they send us to helm."

"Aye, Captain," said the man, quickly carrying out her orders.

Satisfied that the _Natta _would soon take her place in the drop fleet, Talia turned her attention to the small monitor and keypad on her chair and pulled up the readiness report sent to her by the mobile suit mechanics an hour ago. Currently five of the ship's six GINNs were fully combat capable; the sixth was in the last stages of repair after it had been damaged during a skirmish with two _Drake_-class escort ships and their mobile armors earlier that week. According to the crew chief, the unit would be fully operational within the next twelve hours.

_That's more than enough time to spare_, she thought, _the operation is still almost three days away. _Relieved that that small issue would soon be solved, she turned her attention back to the forward viewport… more specifically, at the blue and green orb filling up the lower half of it.

Talia knew that many of ZAFT's soldiers were brimming with excitement as the launching of Operation Spitbreak drew ever closer, but all she felt was the familiar heaviness in her heart that came whenever a battle was approaching. _I know the offensive has been thoroughly planned_, she thought, _and our disinformation campaign should have convinced the Alliance to reposition their most important combat units… but no strategy ever completely survives contact with the enemy. Regardless of how surprised our foe may be when we finally launch our attack, they will still fight back… and we will still suffer casualties._

Though her ship would not directly be taking part in the fighting, its mobile suit compliment would be on the front lines assaulting fortified positions. The GINN pilots had held their own in small battles throughout their tour of duty, but they had never taken part in a large scale engagement.

_It is quite possible_, she thought, _that I am sending them to their deaths. Of course, that chance has accompanied every engagement we've had… but the odds are distinctly greater for this battle that some of them will die. The target may be weakened by the transfer of some of its defense forces, but it is not unprotected, and a facility of its nature will have plenty of guardians even after a sizeable redeployment._

_How many… how many sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers… Naturals and Coordinators… how many will die in the coming battle? How many will die… before this war is finally over?_

….

**May 8****th****, C.E. 71**

Murrue stood at the _Archangel_'s starboard hatch alongside Heero. In front of them, in the doorway, were Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Flay Allster. Both of them had bags slung over their shoulders, carrying what little belongings they'd managed to hold onto or acquire over the course of their long journey.

She smiled at them before speaking. "I wish the two of you the best of luck. Hopefully your trip to California will go smoothly."

"Don't worry," said La Flaga, "I'll keep an eye on the little Miss here."

Flay looked down at his words, and Murrue could tell that the transfer still bothered her, though she at least seemed resigned to the fact that she was leaving the ship. "Miss Allster?" said Murrue.

The red-headed girl looked up at the Captain. "Yes, ma'am?" she said.

Murrue gave her a gentle smile. "The Lieutenant Commander will keep you safe for as long as he can. I know the past few months have been difficult for you, but try to cheer up a little, ok? At least where you're going, you won't be caught up in any of the fighting."

The girl nodded. "Ok… thank you, Captain."

"You're welcome, Flay," she replied.

La Flaga turned to Heero and grinned. "I don't suppose I have to tell someone like you to take care, but it never hurts." He held out his hand. "It was fun flying with you, Heero. Stay alive, and keep this ship safe."

The Gundam pilot nodded, and Murrue saw him smirk slightly as he shook the Hawk of Endymion's hand. "Roger that."

Letting go, the fighter pilot gave him and Murrue one last salute. Murrue returned the gesture, and while Heero didn't respond in the same manner, he did nod again at La Flaga. The blond ace then put his arm around Flay and led her out the door. "Come on, missy," he said, "We got a boat to catch."

Watching them go down the ramp, Murrue turned to Heero. "I'm glad Flay's going back to the homeland, but I do wish the Lieutenant Commander was staying; now we have no pilots to back you up."

Heero shook his head. "It's alright, I can handle it. Besides, he'll do well as an instructor; with any luck, having him teach the next crop of pilots will reduce casualties in the long-run."

"You're right," said Murrue, smiling slightly, "I guess I'll just have to step up my own efforts then; if we keep working together, I can cover you quite effectively with the _Archangel_."

Heero nodded. "With the Zero system I can give you pinpoint targeting data while engaging the enemy at the same time; a potent combo if we use it right."

"Which I'm sure we will," she replied, "After all… we said we'd protect each other, and this is the best way to do it."

"Yeah," he said. His eyes met Murrue's as he spoke again. "I'm grateful for your help, Murrue. I fought alone for so long… it's nice to have someone I can trust backing me up."

"I'm sure it is," said Murrue, "I can't imagine what it must've been like, fighting alone… I won't let you go through that again, Heero. Through hell or high water, I'll always have your back."

"Thanks," he said, smiling slightly, "and I'll keep you safe, no matter what I have to do to accomplish that."

Murrue returned his smile. "I know you will, Heero; I believe in you."

…

As he strode through the corridors of ZAFT HQ, Supreme Chairman Patrick Zala was the picture of a triumphant conqueror. Brimming with confidence and pride, excitement pumping through his veins, he carried himself with an imperious air as he headed towards the primary operations center.

Stepping through the doors and out onto a platform overlooking the vast chamber, with its multitude of officers gathering information and issuing orders from their computer stations, he grinned as he stepped up to the microphone mounted at the edge of the deck.

He looked over at his adjutant, who nodded in confirmation; everything was ready.

_At long last_, he thought, _the time has come!_

Clearing his throat, he spoke in the same roaring baritone that had so characterized him on the campaign trail, his sheer force of personality flooding the room and bombarding everyone in it. "As we embark upon this tremendous undertaking, let us not forget that we are acting in the name of freedom and justice! Those who dared to attack our homeland will be defeated once and for all, and be forced to face judgment for the oppression they would've forced upon us, for the atrocities they committed against us. Let providence guide our actions, allow us to bring an end to the war, and usher in a new golden age for our people!"

"Let Operation Spitbreak… now commence!"

….

Sitting in the living room with Lacus and her father, wearing a pair of jeans and a black shirt provided by the latter, Kira was enjoying a cup of tea with his hosts, his wounds almost completely recovered. The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxed, and the young man felt very much at ease.

He was about to once again thank father and daughter alike for their incredible hospitality when the monitor on the coffee table came to life. A brown haired woman was on it, and Kira recognized her as she had visited the Clyne estate a few times over the course of his stay; Eileen Canaver.

"Clyne!" she said, urgency clear in her voice, "Zala's deceived us! Panama isn't the target of Operation Spitbreak. It's…"

….

Looking on as the chamber was engulfed in the tumult of voices scrambling to relay instructions, the Supreme Chairman grinned as his adjutant took the microphone and finished his announcement.

"Operation Spitbreak has begun!" he said.

"The target is JOSHUA, Alaska!"

**Preview for next time!**

_At long last, Operation Spitbreak has been unleashed, and the true target is revealed. Taken by surprise, the Archangel and the forces of the Eurasian Federation scramble to meet the onslaught, but the enemy before them is not their only threat. For the entire battle is in fact a trap, one that even the Perfect Soldier will be hard pressed to fight his way out of. Caught between ZAFT's overwhelming assault and the treachery of the Atlantic Federation High Command, things look bleak for the Archangel... but hope still remains, for in the PLANTs Lacus entrusts Kira with a powerful new weapon. Unlike any other machine in the Cosmic Era, surpassed only by Wing Zero, the new mobile suit gives the reluctant warrior the power to rescue his friends... if he can make it to Alaska on time. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Fifteen: Operation Spitbreak._

_Cry, "Havoc!", and let loose the dogs of war!_

**Author's Notes**: Well, we're here; the halfway point of the story, give or take a chapter or two! How've I done so far? I'm not trying to sound greedy, but a little feedback on the overall progress along with your thoughts on Episode 14 would be greatly appreciated!

Again, sorry this took so long. Unfortunatly, from here on out the rest of my chapters will probably take around the same period of time to do. Not all will be as long as this one, but the level of detail and complexity greatly increases from this point onwards as the political climate and the tides of war shift throughout the Earth Sphere. New weapons, new battles, new plots and intrigues, new romance... it only gets bigger from here, people! Plus, after all the buildup, I'm going to be hardpressed to make sure that Episode 15 lives up to all the hype you guys (and, admittedly, me), have been giving it!

Thanks for sticking with me. Please review, and until next time, my friends!


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Notes: I"M BACK! Lol, I always wanted to say that.

In all seriousness, I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I know you all want to dive on in, but there's something important we need to go over first. Bear with me, it won't take long.

I've always felt that great music is one of the hallmarks of a great show, movie, or video game. Unfortunately, with fanfiction you can't exactly add a soundtrack to it, kinda hard to do that with literature. However, I believe that music can enhance one's reading experience as much as it does watching a favorite movie or anime, and from now on I'm going to try and do that in my fic. How, you ask? Simple; during the chapters, you will encounter prompts for when I want a certain song to begin in the background. Here's an example of said prompt: (Start "Song"). There will be a similar one for when I want it to stop playing.

Of course, I couldn't force you guys and girls to actually go to youtube on a separate tab and find the songs even if I wanted to; kinda hard to do that over a computer, lol! So, naturally, you don't have to go along with this if you don't want to. It's just something I'm adding to my fic. Hell, you can choose different songs if you want to!

Also, not all the pieces I pick will be Gundam ones. A lot will be songs I've encountered through video games or other anime. Again, you don't have to go along with them, they're just what I'm using for the particular scene.

Alright, the ones that are in this chapter, in order, are; "White Devil" and "Fighter" from Ace Combat Assault Horizon by Keiki Kobayashi, and "Rhythm Emotion" from Gundam Wing by Two-Mix.

Oh, one last thing. The Seed canon takes a major kick in the nads towards the end of the chapter. I'm not apologizing for it; I've had this planned for months. Don't worry, other battles from later on in the series will still take place, but the circumstances leading up to some of them will be quite different.

Enjoy!

_There's only one rule in war: survive._

**Episode Fifteen: Operation Spitbreak**

For a moment, the entire room was silent. Kira, Lacus, and her father were all completely taken aback by Eileen's announcement.

The former chairman was the first to regain their voice. "That fool! He thinks he can end the war in a single blow by taking Alaska, but the Alliance High Command can simply retreat if it comes down to it. This will turn into a full scale invasion of the Atlantic Federation mainland, and in the end it'll only bog down, regardless of whether or not he takes JOSH-A! The casualties on both sides will skyrocket!"

"Yes," said Eileen, "the Atlantic Federation will fight bitterly for every square inch of their home territory, and countless civilians will be caught in the crossfire. It'll be a bloodbath!"

"And if you did not know about this until now," said Clyne, "then that means Zala's actions are not sanctioned by the Supreme Council!"

"Yes," she replied, "although with the majority of the Council in the hands of the radical faction, there's no chance of him facing criminal charges, even though going behind our backs constitutes a blatant abuse of power!"

"Has the battle officially begun?" he asked.

"Not yet," said Eileen, "but it will start any minute now; Zala would not have made an open proclamation if the forces necessary to carry out Spitbreak weren't already in place."

As her father and his colleague continued to speak, Lacus looked over at the boy sitting next to her on the couch. Fully recovered, Kira had been a beacon of energy and optimism over the past few days, and the pink-haired songstress had greatly enjoyed the time they had spent together. However, now she saw his eyes widen in fear, and she knew why; the _Archangel_'s destination had been Alaska, and with the indomitable Heero Yuy still protecting it the vessel had certainly arrived there intact after the battle in the Marshall Islands. Now it would be under attack once again, only this time the white warship and Wing Zero would be up against almost all of ZAFT's surface forces.

Kira looked at her, and Lacus saw the look in his eyes change from fear to resolve. She knew exactly what he was going to say, and as much as she wanted otherwise, she knew that she did not have the heart to try and stop him.

"Lacus," he said softly, "I'm grateful for all you've done for me… but I can't stay here anymore. My friends are on the _Archangel_, and I know it's at Alaska. I have to help them!"

Even though she had anticipated what he would say, that did not diminish Lacus's trepidation. "Are you going to return to the Alliance? Are you going to fight ZAFT again?"

The boy shook his head. "No… I'll protect my friends, of course, but ZAFT isn't my real enemy."

He looked at her, his face a beacon of hope and determination. "There are plenty of Naturals and Coordinators… I mean… there are many people on both sides, soldiers and civilians, who are against this war. My real enemies… are those who care only for victory, and don't care how many people have to die for them to achieve it. That's who I'm going to fight."

"If that's how you feel," said Clyne, "then there's something I want you to have. You'll need it to get to Earth and help your friends."

Kira and Lacus looked over at the former Chairman, surprised that he'd been listening in. He turned and smiled at his daughter. "Lacus, those access cards that Bristow sent us… you know the ones."

Her eyes widened at her father's words. _The first of the new models… yes! Kira will need its power, and at the same time we can prevent the radicals from using it!_

She nodded. "I'll go get them now. Father, can you find a uniform for Kira to wear?"

He nodded. "I already have one; Bristow dropped it off five days ago." He chuckled. "I think he anticipated something like this would happen; his knack for contingency planning is truly remarkable."

"Clyne," said Eileen, still on the screen, "are you sure about this? I mean no disrespect towards your guest, but can we entrust him with something like this?"

"Yes, Miss Canaver," he said, "In fact, I can think of no one better suited to it. Kira's ideals… he seeks to fight the source of this conflict. To do that he will need power, and that machine will give him it."

He then turned to Kira, and Lacus saw her father smile again. "That being said, I do have one small favor to ask in return for this."

The young man was obviously confused as to what was going on, but he nodded at Clyne. "Of course. What is it?"

"When you get to Earth and save your friends," he said, "give a message to Heero Yuy for me."

"What do you want me to tell him?" asked Kira.

"Tell him 'Thank you for saving my daughter'," said Clyne, "I am forever in his debt for that."

Kira nodded, and Clyne stood up. "Well then, come along young man," he said, "I need to get you your disguise."

Lacus stood up as well. "I'll go get the access cards."

"Thank you, Lacus," her father said, "Meet us in the garage. You'll take Kira to the facility; Zala still hasn't deigned you worth keeping an eye on, and we'll have to make the most of that."

She nodded. "I understand, father. I will be waiting for you."

She then turned to Kira and smiled. "You'd better hurry up, Kira. After all, your friends are waiting for you."

….

"Captain!" said the _Natta_'s communications officer, "Priority One signal coming from the _Nobel_. It's the drop order!"

Captain Talia Gladys nodded. "Tell the pilots to brace themselves! Eject GINN pods on my mark!"

On the main monitor she saw the lead frigates of the 18 ship fleet launch their pods. Each vessel fired two of the capsules, containing three GINNs apiece; their entire mobile suit complement.

"Stand by!" she shouted, "Three, two, one, mark!"

"Capsules away!" said the ship's mobile suit combat controller, "I have green across the board for both drop pods; no mechanical difficulties to report. They'll be hitting the atmosphere in twenty seconds."

"Well done," said Talia, "Helm, pull us up and match heading with the _Nobel_. Continue on that path until we receive further orders."

As the frigate's pilot carried out her instructions, Talia looked on as the swarm of pods hit the atmosphere, turning red as they did so. Far below, she knew that the surface forces had in all likelihood begun their assault.

_So it begins…_

….

Creuset grinned from his spot on the bridge of the _Vespucci _as the armada came within maximum firing range of the Alaskan coast and the enemy fleet. _Impressive, Azrael_, he thought, _I knew you were conning the Eurasians into sending forces here, but I didn't think you'd convince them to allocate this much resources. This will make things all the more entertaining. Time to get to work!_

He moved over to the communications station and opened a fleet wide channel. "All hands, this is Commander Le Creuset. Commence the attack. _Fuji _and _Kilimanjaro_, release your DINNs and begin saturation bombardment. All submarine/carriers, surface and release both airborne and submersible mobile suits, then commence missile attacks and torpedo salvos. Surface carriers, launch your DINNs at once. Destroyers, concentrate your fire on the enemy forces guarding the beaches outside the bay; clear a path for the landing craft! All mobile suits will attack across the entire front; hit them head on!"

"Helm, bring us up!" shouted the Captain, "MS control, have all units ready for launch!"

Creuset braced himself against the wall as he felt the _Vespucci _rise. After a few seconds the floor leveled out beneath him, and he knew the vessel was on the surface.

Turning to the primary tactical display, he smiled as he saw the grand fleet arrayed on the screen. The submarine/carriers were interspersed with the destroyers, with the flagship _Vespucci _at the rear of the formation. The landing ships and surface carriers were at the center of the armada, though the former would move to the front as soon as holes were punched in the flanks of the Eurasian fleet, which were guarding the shores outside the bay. The Flying Fortresses were over the front of the assault force, with the _Fuji _on the left flank and the _Kilimanjaro _on the right. Swarms of smaller dots began filling the screen as both aerial and underwater mobile suits streamed forth from their assigned carriers. At the same time, a larger amount of even smaller contacts billowed out from the armada; anti-ship and surface-to-surface missiles launched from the capital ships and the Flying Fortresses.

_Heads up, Naturals_, thought Creuset, grinning as the warheads began to arc downward at their targets, _and face a rain of fire._

….

Kira looked around nervously as he stepped out of the elevator. Dressed in the red uniform reserved for elite ZAFT pilots, he followed Lacus as she approached a door with two security guards in front of it. Looking at the pink-haired songstress, he saw that she still had that soft, gentle smile on her face that seemed to be her default expression. If she was feeling any unease at their situation, she was hiding it extremely well.

The two of them had been escorted to one of the capital's military bases by a pair of soldiers loyal to the moderate faction. Once they had reached the entrance Lacus had flashed the access cards Bristow had given her father, and they had been allowed to enter the facility. Their escorts had parted ways with them in the lobby, leaving them to find their way through the base. Fortunately, Lacus seemed to know exactly where she was heading, and Kira figured either Bristow or her father had given her directions for where to go.

The base itself was located near the main docking bays at the center of the colony. It was officially meant to serve two purposes: a rapid deployment platform for the capital's mobile suit teams, and a support facility for the soldiers who maintained security on the docks. However, according to Lacus, the base also had a top secret research and design wing, and it was that section they were approaching.

As they approached the door Lacus's smile grew a bit bigger as she looked at the guards. "Hello," she said, "I was asked by the Chairman himself to bring this young man here. He's been selected as the pilot for the new model, and the Chairman thought it would be appropriate for me to escort him as a reward for all his hard work."

Both the guards' eyes widened and they looked at Kira with a mixture of awe and jealousy. Kira looked down, the attention not particularly to his liking. _I guess I can see why they'd react that way_, he thought, glancing over at Lacus, _Having her as an escort… well, what guy wouldn't want that?_

He saw Lacus show the guards her access cards, and they nodded. "Understood, miss," said one of them, "go on through."

"Thank you," she replied before turning to Kira, smiling, "Come on, let's go."

Kira nodded and moved beside her as they walked through the door. As it shut behind them he saw that they were in a white corridor lined on both sides with doors. At the far end he saw a larger one with what appeared to be a keypad next to it.

Lacus lead the way over to the door at the end, and she ran one of the access cards through a slot next to the keypad. A light above the pad flashed green, and the doors opened, revealing a catwalk that ran through what Kira realized was a hangar. As they entered the facility, he saw that though the area they were walking in was lit, both sides of the hangar were dark, and he couldn't tell if there were any mobile suits along the walls or not.

Eventually they stopped at the halfway point of the catwalk, and Lacus turned and faced the wall. Kira looked the same direction, and thought he saw an outline of something massive in the darkness. _What is it?_, he thought, squinting to get a better view.

He suddenly regretted his decision as several lights came on, and he had to shield his eyes until they could adjust. After a few seconds he pulled his hand away from his eyes… and his all but hit the floor when he saw what was in front of him.

It was a massive mobile suit, far larger than the Strike had been. It was the same dull gray that Kira's former machine had been when it was powered off, and the young man realized that it must've been equipped with Phase Shift Armor.

Like the Strike, it had a four pronged head crest, and the overall frame had a strong resemblance to his old mobile suit. However, this machine was bigger in every area, and on the back he could see what appeared to be folded wings, along with two large cannons. At its waist he could see additional weapons, including two beam sabers. A large shield was mounted on its left arm. The mobile suit seemed to exude a sense of majesty that, for reasons he could not identify, made Kira think of the Wing Zero.

"A Gundam…" he said softly, not even trying to conceal the awe in his voice.

He'd heard Heero call Wing Zero a Gundam before, but he'd actually come across the term before the quiet and deadly young man had joined up with the _Archangel_. To be more precise, he'd seen the word, or rather the acronym, on the Strike's main monitor the first time he'd powered up the machine. The letters had stood for **G**eneral **U**nilateral **N**euro - Link **D**ispersive **A**utomatic **M**aneuver, and Kira had unconsciously combined them to form the word. Since then it had stuck with him, though he'd only said the word in front of a few people, and most of them had raised eyebrows at it. From what the young Coordinator had heard from Heero, Wing Zero was made from a highly advanced material called Gundanium Alloy, which was where it took the name 'Gundam' from. Kira knew that Heero hadn't considered the Strike to be a Gundam in part because of that distinction, though he also hadn't been dismissive of the machine.

Still, looking at the impressive machine in front of him, Kira had to wonder if Heero would be willing to overlook the difference in material used in the construction and call the mobile suit a Gundam. Kira had felt a sense of strength from that word from the moment he'd first uttered it, and both the Strike and Wing Zero had strongly resonated with that same sense of power, so he'd been more than willing to refer to both units as Gundams. That same sense of force and presence was exuding from the mobile suit before him, and the boy felt the moniker was appropriate.

"Actually," said Lacus, snapping Kira out of his thoughts, "this is the ZGMF-X10A Freedom." As he turned to her, she smiled. "Although I think Gundam's better because it sounds more powerful."

The young lady looked up at the mobile suit, her expression becoming more serious. "Kira, this machine is equipped with many advanced technologies… including N-jammer Cancellers."

It took him a moment to process that. "Wait," said Kira, "You mean…"

Lacus nodded. "Yes… this machine is nuclear powered." She turned to him, her expression grim. "After the attack on Junius Seven, the PLANTs swore to abandon nuclear power. The fact that Chairman Zala has worked in secret to develop the means to bypass the N-jammers… means he's planning on using nuclear arms."

"Why?" asked Kira, stunned at her words, "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Revenge," she said sadly, "Kira, don't you remember… what happened to Athrun's mother?"

_That's right_, he thought, _she was killed in the Junius Seven attack. Athrun's father is the new Supreme Chairman… I suppose it all makes sense._

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I do. But… I don't think Athrun's been fighting for revenge… at least, not before our last battle, anyway."

"I agree," said Lacus, "but his father is another matter. 'Blood for blood' is more or less the rallying cry of the radical faction, and Patrick Zala is the most vocal proponent. Operation Spitbreak will not be enough to quench his thirst for vengeance; I fear he plans to unleash Armageddon upon the Earth. One could also argue that the Alliance, or at least the Atlantic Federation, may well be planning to do the same to the PLANTs; according to Field Marshall Bristow's friends in the intelligence community, the anti-Coordinator faction Blue Cosmos has significant influence in the upper echelons of both their military and political organizations."

"That's who I have to fight," said Kira, "The people in both ZAFT and the Alliance who want to completely wipe out the other side… those are my enemies."

Lacus nodded and smiled at him. "Kira," she said, "you have the will to fight, to take on such powerful foes… but that alone isn't enough. You need power in order to confront them, and the Freedom will give it to you. But you can't rely on its power alone… nor can you rely on your will alone. You need both, Kira. One in hand with the other, in balance... neither will alone, nor strength alone. Combine them, and turn them into your sword and shield."

Kira's eyes widened as the girl spoke, her words showing a wisdom beyond her years that he could only marvel at. "Neither will alone," he repeated, "nor strength alone… who _are _you?"

Her smile grew a little as she replied. "I am simply Lacus Clyne, Kira Yamato."

….

Standing up in the control booth, Lacus smiled as she waved at Kira through the window. The boy had just suited up a few minutes ago and was now entering the Freedom. He smiled and waved back, and the songstress felt her heart flutter as he did so.

She then turned to the man standing next to her; Field Marshal Bristow's contact within the facility. "How long do we have?" she asked.

"A few more minutes," the man replied, "It should be long enough."

Lacus nodded and looked around at the staff members lying on the floor. "Will they be alright?"

The soldier nodded. "I just hit them with a knockout gas grenade earlier. They'll wake up in about an hour, a little nauseous but no worse for the wear. My partner's got the security cameras in this room on a loop, so we won't have to worry about guards coming in. However, he wasn't able to pull the same trick with the hangar cameras; when Zala finds out the Freedom's been hijacked and sees the recordings, you'll be on there, Miss Lacus."

"It's alright," the songstress replied, looking back out at the prototype mobile suit, "I knew going in what the risks would be, and I am prepared to go underground. My father has made the necessary arrangements, and our allies are ready to help."

"We all know what's at stake, ma'am," said the soldier, nodding, "We'll do whatever it takes to help you and your father; we won't let Zala get away with mass-murder."

"Hopefully we can stop him before he gets that far," said Lacus. She smiled as she saw Kira power up the mobile suit, its dull gray hull changing color as the Phase Shift Armor activated. The torso was black, the arms, legs, shoulders, and head were white, and the wings were blue and black. _A truly impressive machine_, she thought, _Perhaps now that it is in Kira's hands, it can serve a better purpose than as a harbinger of destruction._

She nodded at the soldier next to her, who went up to the main console and began typing. As the doors at the far end of the hangar opened up, Lacus went to the microphone nearby and spoke. "Kira, we're sending you flight coordinates to get through the homeland defenses. They were designed to prevent an external assault; they're not as good at keeping things in. Still, expect resistance as you make your escape."

"Got it," he said, "Anything else?"

"The coordinates we're giving you pass through the Pendragon Line," she replied, "It's not as fortified as the Jachin Due Line, but there are still a large number of warships and mobile suits stationed there. If you're forced to engage, don't get bogged down in a dogfight; reinforcements will arrive and overwhelm you. The Freedom is the most powerful mobile suit ZAFT's ever built, but it's not invincible."

"I'll be careful," said Kira, "Lacus… thank you."

The songstress smiled. "You are very welcome, Kira. Now, go and help your friends!"

"I will!" he replied. "Kira Yamato, Gundam Freedom, launching!"

….

Gunning the Freedom's engines as the doors opened, Kira was amazed at the power of the machine. The acceleration was far superior to that of the Strike, and as he rocketed out of Aprilius One he saw that the other systems were no less advanced. "Amazing!" he said, "It has over four times the power of the Strike!" The mobile suit's nuclear reactor meant that it had an unlimited operating time; like Wing Zero, the machine's operating capacity was limited only by its pilot.

Warning alarms went off in the cockpit as blips appeared on his radar; his departure had not gone unnoticed. _I hope Lacus made it out of the base alright_, he thought before turning to face his foes and bringing the Freedom's weapons online.

There were eight GINNs approaching, two closer than the rest. Kira decided to engage them first. Drawing and igniting two violet blades, one in each hand, he swooped in on the approaching foes, far faster than he'd ever moved in the Strike. The mobile suit handled so precisely… and Kira knew how he wanted to use it.

Closing the gap with the two lead GINNs, dodging rifle volleys, he struck with his beam sabers. Moving like two violet blurs, the weapons sliced the heads off of the machines, practically blinding them.

_Incredible!_, he thought as he left the disabled units in his wake, _I never could've done that in the Strike! _Turning to face the remaining six GINNs fast approaching, he decided to try out the Freedom's ranged weapons.

Putting the beam saber in his left hand away, he drew the machine's 'Lupus' high-energy beam rifle. At the same time, the two 'Balaena' plasma cannons, which had been folded on the back of the wings, swung forward and mounted on the shoulders, while the hip mounted 'Xiphias' rail cannons swung up and forward as well.

While the Freedom's artillery was arming, one of the displays in the cockpit light up, and Kira started designating targets. The system was far more precise than the more conventional setup he'd used on the Strike, and was able to track and lock on to multiple targets. The young man took a deep breath. _Here goes..._

Kira cut loose, unleashing a barrage of crimson plasma blasts, green energy beams, and yellow cannon shells. The rain of fire slammed into the incoming GINNs. Rifles exploded, maneuvering jets were trashed, heads and the cameras inside them were shot off… but not a single mobile suit was destroyed, not one pilot killed.

_I can do this!_, thought Kira as he flew through the group of disabled machines, _This is how I want to fight! My enemies aren't these pilots; they're the people who are manipulating them!_

His radar lit up with more contacts as he flew away from the capital. Most were too far away to engage him at the speed he was going, but there were some out front that he would have to deal with. Two _Nazca_-class destroyers were turning to face him, launching their GINNs as they did so. _They must be part of the Pendragon Line's forces_, he thought. The twelve mobile suits spread out as they moved to engage him.

"No need to fight all of them," he said to himself, "I'll cut right through the middle."

Weaving through a rain of rifle fire as the GINNs cut loose, Kira swiftly closed the gap. He cut the rifle arm off one machine while at the same time letting loose a shot with his own beam gun, which took the head off of another GINN. The young man then sliced another GINN's sword completely in two while hitting the engines of another with a second shot from his beam rifle. Then he was through the enemy mobile suits, closing in on the two large azure warships.

Once again bringing all his weapons to bear, Kira began picking targets with the Freedom's advanced tracking system. He then opened up, raining crimson, emerald, and saffron fire down on the destroyers. Both vessels forward heavy beam cannons were knocked out of commission, along with the dual rail cannons further back along their hulls.

The major threats to his new machine removed, Kira flew straight past the destroyers. The two warships weren't completely defanged, and released volleys of CIW fire and anti-MS missiles. However, the few shots that did connect barely even rocked the Freedom, and the mobile suit's nuclear reactor ensured that its Phase Shift Armor would never run out of power; he'd never have to worry about losing his protection in the middle of a fight again.

Checking his sensors, he saw that he had cleared the Pendragon Line. Other mobile suits and warships were rushing towards the point where he'd engaged the ZAFT units in his path, but they stood no chance of catching up to him. He turned his gaze towards the Earth, pushing his engines as fast as they could go.

_Hang on everyone_, he thought, _I'm coming!_

….

Athrun sighed as he looked out the window of the shuttle. _Space_, he thought, _when I was down on the surface, I actually missed it. Now, though… _Even after all the time that had passed since the battle in the Marshall Islands and his second encounter with Cagalli, his mind remained besieged by conflicting thoughts. More to the point, he couldn't get that strong willed, fiery tempered yet surprisingly compassionate blond girl out of his head, and she was on Earth. The young man knew that heading back into space meant his odds of seeing her again had shrunk to just about zero… and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

In the distance he could see the telltale hourglass figures of the PLANTs growing larger and larger, and he knew that the shuttle would be passing through the Exclusion Grid soon. After several weeks of languishing in Carpentaria without so much as a peep from the homeland, he had suddenly been ordered to return to the capital. So here he was, sitting on a shuttle with only a handful of other soldiers on board with him, his left arm still in a sling, though that would change within a few days.

As he peered out the window, he saw the telltale blue fire of thruster wash, and realized that something was approaching them. Squinting, he struggled to make out what it was. _It's too small to be a warship or a shuttle_, he thought after a moment as the thing came closer, _I guess it's a mobile suit._

Indeed, after a few more seconds the ZAFT pilot realized that was exactly what it was. However, he realized that it wasn't a model he was familiar with. It certainly wasn't a GINN, though he could see that the strange machine bore some similarities to the prototypes that he'd helped steal in what seemed like a lifetime ago on Heliopolis.

It was moving incredibly fast, and Athrun was only able to catch a glimpse of it up close as it streaked past his side of the shuttle. His eyes widened as he saw just how big the unit was; even in the split second he had to view the thing, he could instantly tell that it was larger than any of the GAT machines. He also was able to make out several weapons on the thing, more than any of the Alliance prototypes had been able to carry. _It must be a new model!_

Then it was gone, becoming little more than a fading pinprick of blue thruster fire before disappearing altogether. Athrun couldn't help but smile slightly. _What a machine_, he thought, _Wish it hadn't been going so fast; I would've liked to study it up close. Oh well, maybe father will show me the schematics when we meet; his message did mention giving me a new unit, after all. Perhaps it's a mobile suit from the same line as that thing. I guess I'll see what happens soon enough…_

….

"Alright, let's do this!" roared Zubov as his DINN Mk. II dropped out of the _Fuji_. Gunning his engines, he and the rest of Schwarze Team swiftly moved to the head of the fleet, leading the charge as the massive swarm of mobile suits filled the sky. His seven squad mates formed up around him, and Rot and Grün Teams moved in on Schwarze's left and right, respectively.

As the Special Operations Squadrons took their place at the tip of ZAFT's spear, the swarm of missiles launched by the armada slammed down into their targets. Several Alliance destroyers, the enemy ships closest to the Coordinator grand fleet, suffered a multitude of hits, with some being outright torn in half as multiple missiles smashed into them at once and detonated. Explosions ripped through the ranks of enemy fleet, and the Natural's forward ranks were already reeling under the carnage.

At the same time, Zubov spotted the telltale white trails in the water of the armada's opening torpedo spread, and hundreds of the warheads ripped through the enemy fleet. Destroyers that were already suffering from missile hits were mauled by explosions below the waterline, while scattered detonations in seemingly empty patches of sea told the Vulture that at least some Alliance submarines had been hit as well.

Not all of the armada's opening barrage was aimed at the enemy's naval force, naturally. A veritable hail of missiles arced down onto the shoreline, ripping apart armored vehicles and fortifications as they paved the way for the landing force that would soon be moving forward. Massive emerald beams added to the carnage as the Flying Fortresses opened up with their ventral cannons, annihilating gun emplacements and tanks.

Contact alarms blaring in his cockpit let Zubov know that the Naturals were not taking their hits lying down; fighters were streaming from the decks of the enemy aircraft carriers, and more planes were also coming from inland facilities. Already scores were in the air, with undoubtedly many more to follow.

Schwarze Teams Commander grinned as he saw the Su-63Ks and MiG-75s fill the sky before him. "Come on, boys!" he yelled, igniting his beam saber and brining his rifle to bear, "There's plenty for everyone!"

The black and grey DINNs, with their silver death's heads displayed proudly on their chests, charged head on as the enemy fighters unleashed a massive opening barrage of missiles; the Alliance's first counter-attack. The mobile suits of all three Special Operations Teams dodged the enemy fire with ease, shooting down any warheads that they couldn't evade. Of course, the sheer volume of missiles that had been launched meant that the ZAFT air units couldn't completely avoid getting hit, and several of the regular forces' machines exploded as some of the multitude of missiles found their targets.

However, the losses were negligible in light of the hundreds of DINNs that filled the sky, and the ZAFT air units quickly retaliated with their own horde of missiles. The sky was chocked with contrails and warheads, and dozens of explosions ripped through the forward ranks of the Alliance air wing, shredding fighters and pilots that were unable to eject.

Both sides were moving too fast to launch an organized second salvo, and Zubov knew from here on out the air battle would be a massive furball; the largest of the war, he reckoned. _Just the way I like it!_

Pulling the trigger as he smashed headlong into the center of the massive fighter swarm, he cackled like a maniac as three planes were torn apart by rifle fire; his first kills of the day. Whirling around to dodge a pair of missiles, he quickly sighted in on the plane that had launched them and slammed the throttle forward, spearing the jet right through the cockpit with his violet blade.

As he threw himself into the thick of the fighting, he howled with joy as the battle became exactly as he had predicted, had _hoped _it would be; a massive free-for-all, with hundreds of fighters and mobile suits racing across the sky, explosions dotting the horizon as far as the eye could see. Schwarze Team was at the heart of the furball, along with Rot and Grün, the three Special Operations Squadrons jockeying for kills in an undeclared contest; the animosities between the units' respective commanders made such a fight inevitable. Despite the fact that both Rot and Grün only had four mobile suits each, they were already making an impressive showing for themselves, with the former's crimson machines fighting with ruthless efficiency while the latter's green units engaged the enemy with their trademark flexible technique, dividing into wing pairs that fought back-to-back in order to maximize coverage while minimizing their chances of hitting their teammates.

Down below, smaller explosions appeared just beneath the surface, along with smaller torpedo tracks; signs of an equally furious underwater battle as ZAFTs GOOhNs and ZnOs clashed with the Alliance's mini attack subs, the Aqua Darts. At the same time, larger torpedo tracks crisscrossed between the two fleets; both sides' larger submarines were already going at it.

Meanwhile, the Alliance's surface ships had recovered enough to return fire. Undamaged destroyers moved forward, along with the larger missile cruisers, and they began trading salvos with both ZAFT's surface ships and the _Vosgulovs_, which were running on the surface in order to recover any DINNs that were damaged but still able to return to their ships.

As Zubov destroyed a fighter with his rifle and sliced another in two with his beam saber, one of his subordinates contacted him. "Sir," the man said, "There's no sign of the legged ship or Wing Zero yet."

"Keep your eyes peeled," said Zubov, "They're probably still inside the base. Once we catch sight of them, we'll tear our way through this rabble and take them both down. There's no way we're letting Rot and Grün have the glory of those kills!"

….

Murrue's eyes widened in disbelief as Admiral Sutherland finished his message. "ZAFT's hitting us here?"

The Atlantic Federation Supreme Commander nodded. "It looks like they tricked us; Panama wasn't their target after all. Captain Ramius, launch your ship immediately! Defend this base at all costs!"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, Admiral; we're moving out."

"Good luck," said Sutherland before he cut the connection.

Murrue wasted no time in issuing orders. "All hands, Level One battle stations! Launch the ship immediately! Bring all weapons online; be ready to fire the moment we leave the dock!"

As the bridge crew scrambled to carry out her instructions, she turned to Heero. The young man who had captured her heart looked at her, his Prussian blue eyes as calm as ever, strength flowing from them.

He nodded. "I'll launch as soon as the hangar doors open."

As he turned to head towards the hangar, Murrue grabbed his arm. "Heero!" she said, knowing that her crew was too busy to be paying any attention to the two of them at the moment, "Be careful, alright? If ZAFT's hitting us here, their force must be massive."

"Roger that," he replied before running to the door. Then he was off the bridge and out of sight.

Turning to face the forward viewport, she saw that the _Archangel _was already leaving its berth and moving towards the exit. Slowly the massive dock door opened up before them, though the waterfall in front of it obscured her view of any actual fighting.

"Get the hangar doors open!" she yelled, "I want Wing Zero to be able to launch the instant we clear the exit."

"Yes ma'am!" said Miriallia. After a few seconds she spoke up again. "Doors are open… hey, hold on, Heero!"

The rest of the bridge crew gasped as Wing Zero shot out of the hangar before the ship had even cleared the waterfall, before even the base door itself had finished opening up. After a second of surprise Murrue found herself smiling. _I should've known he'd do that_, she thought as the ship neared the exit, the door now completely open, _Heero would want to hit ZAFT as soon as possible, especially considering the force they must have marshaled to strike here._

The ship passed through the waterfall, and as the view cleared Murrue was stunned by the sight before her. The entire bay was a battlefield, with explosions all across the area, above, on, and below the surface of the water. She saw what had to be over a thousand fighters swirling overhead, mixing it up with hundreds of DINNs. No one was keeping formation; it was a massive aerial brawl.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the Eurasian fleet was already pulling back. Murrue was shocked to see several vessels already on fire and sinking at the mouth of the bay, while beyond them a massive armada of enemy vessels was pressing forward. _There must be nearly a hundred destroyers alone in that fleet_, she thought, _and their Vosgulovs are running on the surface… they even have conventional carriers too! _That wasn't all; looming overhead were two titanic Flying Fortresses, the same class as the one they had fought over the Indian Ocean. The pair of airborne leviathans was raining missiles and energy beams down on the coastal fortifications and whatever vessels were in front of the shore, and Murrue knew that they were clearing the way for the massive transport ships that were behind the front lines of enemy warships.

"Captain," said the radar operator, "Additional contacts coming in from high altitude; they're drop pods!"

_Carrying GINNs, no doubt_, thought Murrue. "How many?" she asked.

"Thirty-six of them, ma'am," he replied, "Their trajectories are split; half are going for the east side of the bay, the other half to the west!"

_They'll be landing to help clear out the coastal defenses before the landing ships arrive_, thought Murrue, _from there they'll support whatever forces come ashore. Thirty-six pods, three mobile suits in each… that's over a hundred GINNs!_

Murrue knew they had to act quickly if they were to have a chance in hell at turning the battle around. "Form up with the fleet," she said, "We'll support them with everything we've got. Be ready to put up anti-air fire, and get targeting solutions on the enemy warships!"

"Sonar readings are off the charts," said the sensor officer, "Aqua Darts, GOOhNs, ZnOs… Christ, they've got an underwater dogfight going out there!"

"Keep us above the surface!" said Murrue, "Watch out for suits coming to the surface for rocket attacks."

"Wing Zero's engaging the enemy!" yelled Miriallia.

"On screen!" yelled Murrue. An image appeared on the monitor of the Gundam leveling its Twin Buster Rifle and fired as a formation of six DINNs broke through the massive dogfight and headed towards the _Archangel_. The blast wasn't as large as Murrue expected, and only two of the purple machines were destroyed. Wing Zero then gunned its engines and moved in with its beam saber and proceeded to decimate the other four machines.

_Why did he hold back so much with the rifle?_, thought Murrue as she watched Heero slash the DINNs with his emerald blade. An instant later she realized what the answer was; because of all the friendly aircraft in the area, Heero couldn't use the Gundam's massive rifle as freely as he had been able to in their past engagements. _Of course; he's trying to avoid friendly fire!_

As Heero finished off the last of his immediate foes another voice rang out. "Captain," said the radar officer, "Sixteen new contacts are heading this way… they're the same kind of DINNs that the Valkyrie Team uses!"

"Get me a visual!" she ordered. The image on the monitor changed, showing the upgraded DINNs ripping their way through the edge of the massive dogfight taking place at the mouth of the bay. Eight of them bore a chilling black and grey paintjob with a silver death's head emblazoned on their chests, four had a dark green camouflage pattern, and the last four were blood red with black stripes on the arms and wings. All of them had violet beam sabers in their right hands and rifles in their left.

Suddenly the picture changed, and Heero appeared on the screen. "I have upgraded DINNs breaking out of the furball."

Murrue nodded. "We just picked them up. Heero, can you intercept? We need to link up with the Eurasians so we can coordinate our counter-attack."

"I'm already moving to engage," he replied, "They're probably elites, like that group we encountered at the Marshall Islands. I'll eliminate them as fast as I can, then link up with you and fight the regular forces."

"Understood," said Murrue, "We'll throw up an AA curtain and keep any other DINNs from interfering."

"Roger that," said Heero, "If I see an opportunity I'll send you targeting data. Wing Zero out."

As Murrue began issuing new orders to the bridge crew she saw Wing Zero ascend to meet the oncoming enemy squadrons. _He took on twelve such machines in the Marshall Islands_, she though, _Even though I helped him with supporting fire from the Archangel, I know he could've taken them by himself; none of those pilots were of the same caliber as the Valkyrie Team. The same is probably true here, but there are even more of them now than in that last engagement. Heero, please be careful._

As the sixteen upgraded DINNs spread out in preparation to attack, Murrue's heart went out to the Gundam pilot. Gratitude and affection were at the forefront of her feelings even in the midst of such an unexpected and titanic engagement. She smiled slightly, her belief in the young man stronger than ever even in the face of the massive enemy force confronting them.

"Heero," she whispered, knowing her crew wouldn't hear her, "Show them what you're made of. Show them what it means to face the man who took on the military might of the entire world. Show them what it means to fight a Gundam pilot. I believe in you… _I love you_."

….

Admiral Sutherland smiled as he watched the battle unfold on a nearby monitor. The Atlantic Federation Supreme Commander, along with the rest of the High Command, were no longer at the Alaska base, though the forces left behind to defend it did not know that. The top brass had in fact slipped out of the bay in one of the massive transport submarines that had been docked at the base roughly a half hour before the start of the battle. Sutherland had relayed his transmission to the _Archangel _through the base's communications system in order to make it appear that he and the High Command were still at the base… when in fact, save for the soldiers preparing to board the last transport sub, it was already empty.

"Hang in there guys," he said as he watched the white blip that represented the _Archangel _move up to join the Eurasian Fleet, "at least, long enough to keep ZAFT busy until we're ready."

….

"Hey," said La Flaga, turning to Flay. The two of them were standing in line on the dock, waiting to get inside the last massive transport sub in the facility. They were still fairly far back in the queue, and the fighter pilot was surprised at just how many people were boarding the vessel.

Surprised… and suspicious.

"What is it, Lieutenant Commander?" said the girl.

The blond pilot didn't want to worry Flay, so he tried to come up with an innocuous excuse. "I gotta hit the restroom," he said, "Think I ate a little too much for breakfast this morning. Save my spot, ok?"

"Oh," the red-head replied, "Alright."

_Sorry kid_, he thought as he nodded and ran towards one of the doors near the back of the dock, _I don't like lying to you, but something's off about all this._

He'd seen the _Archangel _leave the dock, and knew that the only reason they would be doing so was if there was an enemy attack. Yet the base staff was remarkable calm. There was no rush to battle stations or anything like that. In fact, all they had done was continue to load personnel onto the transport sub.

Though La Flaga, along with the rest of the crew of the _Archangel_, had been confined to the white warship for the past several weeks, that didn't mean he or anyone else aboard was blind. They could still look out the windows and go out onto the observation decks, and from there he had seen an almost non-stop stream of supplies and personnel being loaded onto the massive transport submarines that had been coming and going since the _Archangel _had arrived at the base.

_By now_, he thought as he entered one of the corridors, _this facility must be near empty. Why would the top brass leave an Atlantic Federation base almost completely in the hands of Eurasian forces?_

Something wasn't right, and he was going to find out what the hell it was.

….

**(Start "White Devil")**

Bringing the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, Heero sighted in on the approaching DINNs. Selecting a target, he pulled the trigger. A golden-yellow beam lanced through one of the black and silver mobile suits, and it exploded. The remaining seven black and silver machines, along with the four green and four red ones, spread out further, clearly moving to envelop him.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he picked another target, this time one of the red DINNs. He fired another low-power shot, and the unit met the same fate as its black and silver comrade. The Gundam pilot could've taken out more by firing at a higher setting… but the backstop for his shots was the broiling furball that the upgraded DINNs had just fought their way through, and the chances of hitting Eurasian fighters was too high. Normally that wouldn't have bothered Heero; he had no love for the Eurasians, especially after learning of their attempt to take over the _Archangel _during the ship's stop at their Artemis base.

However… Heero knew that Murrue would not want him to sacrifice their allies just for the sake of taking out more of the enemy. While she had been uneasy upon first seeing the massive Eurasian fleet when they had arrived at Alaska, now that they were fighting to defend the base Heero knew that Murrue would put aside her misgivings and work with them, treating them as fellow comrades. While the Gundam pilot was willing to do anything to protect the woman he'd fallen in love with, including destroying some of the Eurasian fighters as collateral damage if necessary, he knew that Murrue would not want him to do that, and would in fact be saddened and distraught if he did so.

So he would hold himself back, limit the power of the Twin Buster Rifle… for now, at least. He knew from the files he'd read, along with his experience in the orbital battle, that the Earth Forces fighters and mobile armors only had a chance of beating ZAFT's mobile suits if the odds were between four and five to one… and at the start of this battle, they hadn't even been three to one, meaning the Coordinators had the advantage. Even now, as he closed with the upgraded DINNs, he could see on his sensors how the enemy's regular forces were tearing into the Eurasian fighters. The Alliance planes were scoring kills of their own, but those few MS shot down paled in comparison to the carnage ZAFT was wreaking upon them. The kill ratios were clearly in the enemy's favor, and the air battle was already going from bad to worse.

However, there was a grim silver lining to it; at the rate the Eurasians were taking losses, it wouldn't be too long before Heero could truly open up with the Twin Buster Rifle. It may have been a callous way to view the situation, but it was also a simple fact; the more casualties the DINNs inflicted on the Alliance fighters, the clearer Heero's field of fire would be when he decided to stop holding back with the heavy artillery.

Of course, just because he was holding back with the Twin Buster Rifle did not mean that he would be restraining himself with regards to his other weapons and skills. Wing Zero was as deadly in a close-range brawl as it was at long distances, a fact that Heero had demonstrated time and again since arriving in the Cosmic Era.

He veered to the left, dodging a barrage of rifle fire and missiles from the seven black machines as he rushed the formation of green DINNs. They were keeping a loose formation, no doubt in order to minimize casualties should he fire his main gun at a more potent power level, and they reacted quickly. One machine rushed him head on, while two came in on either side and the last one gained altitude before diving at him.

_Not bad_, thought Heero as he blocked the strike from the machine in front of him before ascending to meet the DINN above him. The two machines that had been coming at his sides formed up to chase him, while the mobile suit he'd just warded off let loose a volley of missiles. Heero jinked to the right to evade, then quickly spun around to parry a blow from the DINN that had been diving at him before counter-attacking, driving his green saber into the suit's chest. As the machine exploded he whirled around and let loose a volley of gatling fire at the two green DINNs approaching from below, forcing them to abandon their pursuit and reform with the lead unit.

Into the gap flew the three remaining red suits guns blazing. Heero dropped his altitude before whirling to block a saber strike from the lead machine. As he forced it back, he saw the other two come at him from behind. He spun around and raised his rifle, but as he fired one of the black and silver DINNs got in the way and was disintegrated by the beam.

_What the hell?_, thought Heero as he jinked to the left to dodge the two charging red machines, slicing one of them in half with his emerald blade. At first glance one would've assumed that the black mobile suit had taken the blast meant for the red units on purpose, but to Heero it had not looked that way; the machine's beam saber had been raised for a strike, and its chest-mounted missile launchers had been open and ready to fire. It had been going in to attack, not sacrifice itself.

Gunning his engines, Heero ascended until he was above all three of the teams that were attacking him. As they all chased after him, Heero saw that they were not coordinating their actions. Rather than have one team move on his right, one on his left, and one take him head on as he had expected, they were all rushing up in what seemed to be a competitive frenzy. Indeed, he actually saw one of the black machines fire a rifle volley across the path of one of the green DINNs, forcing it to go evasive and fall behind.

The Gundam pilot smirked as he realized what was going on. _These guys all want the glory of taking me down_, he thought, _to the point that they're not cooperating with each other. Black, red, green… all three teams are fighting as separate entities; there's no tactical coordination whatsoever beyond pilots belonging to the same squad. I can use that…_

He'd have to if he wanted to wrap up his fight with them quickly and move on to the larger battle. Checking his sensors, he saw that the massive engagement was already deteriorating for the Alliance. The drop pods had burst open as they'd neared the surface, releasing 54 GINNs on each side of the bay, just beyond the beach; 108 suits in all. A few were struck by anti-air artillery and destroyed, but the majority completed their descent intact, using their thrusters to outmaneuver missiles and flak while at the same time slowing their fall enough to avoid trashing themselves on impact with the ground.

At the same time, dozens of Eurasian attack helicopters flew forward to meet the incoming GINNs. While not meant for air-to-air combat, the green and grey mobile suits were still formidable even as they fell towards the surface, and swept the sky with machine gun fire. At the same time, several DINNs broke off from the main dogfight to assist their brethren, and with all the fighter jets caught up in the massive furball the helicopters were outmatched. Still, the Eurasian pilots did not retreat, and managed to score a few kills even as their own casualties rapidly mounted, ZAFT's mobile suits savaging their formations.

The two massive Flying Fortresses were continuing to focus their fire on the coastal defenses, with the occasional shot fired into the fleet battle taking place beneath them. Scattered surface-to-air missiles came up at them, but the Eurasians were too occupied by ZAFT's naval forces and DINNs to put up a concentrated counter-barrage. The few warheads that hit the flying behemoths did minimal, if any, damage, and Heero knew that he'd probably end up being the one to take them down. _Another reason I need to wrap this up quickly_, he thought.

The fleet elements that had been defending the coastline outside the bay had been mauled, and ZAFT was pressing its advantage by sending up the heavy transports and the lighter landing craft while blasting the surviving Eurasian warships that had stubbornly decided to remain at their coastal positions rather than pull back towards the mouth of the bay with the rest of the fleet. The _Vosgulovs _and destroyers pounded away at the Alliance ships with missiles, torpedoes, and cannon volleys, while the submersible mobile suits and mini-attack subs continued to thrash each other beneath the waves. Several DINNs swooped in to make attacks on the surviving Eurasian surface ships guarding the coast, ensuring that they would not be able to attack the transports as they moved in for their landings.

At the same time, several GOOhNs and ZnOs were wading ashore, and in cooperation with the recently arrived GINNs were mopping up the rest of the shoreline defenders with rockets and masers. A few of the amphibious MS were knocked out or damaged by fire from the few remaining shore batteries, but the Alliance gunners paid dearly for their kills as GINNs flanked their positions and destroyed them.

Meanwhile, the furball and naval battle at the mouth of the bay was still in full swing, and despite the suddenness and ferocity of the opening attack the Eurasians had at least managed to regroup somewhat after their initial pullback. Granted, they were still being thrashed by ZAFT; Heero counted no less than thirty destroyers, nine missile cruisers, seven escort carriers and five heavy carriers already sinking or sunk, and many other vessels had suffered varying degrees of damage. In addition, several large pieces of debris that had floated up to the surface told the Gundam pilot that the Alliance submarine fleet was taking a beating, though it was difficult to ascertain at the moment just how bad their own casualties were. Scores of smaller explosions were visible below the surface, indicating the fierce fighting between the Aqua Darts and submersible MS, though it was impossible for Heero to determine just who had the upper hand in that theatre of the battle. Two massive fireballs erupted as two of the Eurasians' heavy tankers were struck by torpedoes, and the vessels were quickly consumed in raging infernos.

Still, the Eurasians were hitting back, launching their own missile and torpedo attacks at the oncoming armada. ZAFT's destroyer screen had taken serious hits, with several of the vessels knocked out of action, and there were enough gaps in the line that some of the _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carriers were exposed. Indeed, Heero counted nine of the vessels listing sharply and belching smoke and flames, while several others had taken moderate damage, along with two of the surface carriers.

Meanwhile, the _Archangel _was at the rear of the Alliance fleet, multi-tasking as both a battleship and anti-air battery. The white warship unleashed a barrage with the Gottfrieds and Valiants, though Heero knew Murrue couldn't use the Lohengrins without hitting Eurasian warships along with ZAFT vessels. Still, the heavy weapons that were in use were not to be underestimated; Heero saw the large emerald beams from the Gottfrieds rip apart two destroyers, while the heavy rail cannon shots slammed into two of the _Vosgulovs_, the sheer kinetic force of the massive projectiles all but sheering their targets in two, and both dark green submarine/carriers quickly began sinking. At the same time, secondary explosions erupted on the upper hulls of the ships; the dorsal missile launchers magazines detonating.

The _Archangel_'s heavy missile launchers opened up as well, and four Sledgehammer missiles arced up before plunging into the armada. One was destroyed by a DINN, but the rest impacted their targets, and three more destroyers went up in flames.

At the same time, fresh volleys erupted from the Igelstellung CIWs and Helldart anti-air missile launchers as a formation of six DINNs attempted to break out of the massive aerial battle and join Heero's engagement. The violet mobile suits of the regular forces were ripped apart by the sudden barrage. _Thanks Murrue_, thought Heero even as he dived down towards his approaching foes.

The Zero System had allowed him to take in the entire battle in the space of mere seconds, and guided his actions as he wove through rifle fire and missile volleys from the pilots that were coming up to meet him. Heero rushed headlong at the black squadron, which had six DINNs left. As he closed with the enemy, he saw images and coordinates flash through his mind as the Zero System fed him fresh data and predictions. He gave a slight smile as he engaged his foes while at the same time sending new targeting data to Murrue. _With the way these guys are fighting_, thought the Gundam pilot, _this should decimate their ranks._

As he'd predicted, the black DINNs had surrounded him, and were almost working as hard to keep any gaps for the red and green teams to launch attacks through from appearing as they were at engaging him. As Heero blocked an overhand strike from a machine he assumed was piloted by the leader due to the slightly better performance it was giving when compared to its peers, he pushed it back while whirling around and opening up with his shoulder gatlings, shredding another black and silver mobile suit that had been coming up behind him. He then dropped his altitude to evade a barrage of rifle shots from three more of the units while at the same time parrying a saber strike from the last of the five mobile suits.

As he did all this, he saw the three green and two red DINNs swirling around the fight, trying to get in to engage but always having to break off and attempt new approaches as the black mobile suits got in their way. _Just as predicted_, Heero thought, _any second now…_

Glancing at one of the side monitors, he smiled slightly as four Wombat surface-to-air missiles erupted from the _Archangel _and flew towards the fight. _Great timing, Murrue_, he thought as he dropped his altitude a little further and saw the warheads burst, unleashing their scatter-shot projectiles. The tiny red 'buckshot rounds' ripped through the DINNs at the edge of the engagement, and one of the red and two of the green DINNs were torn apart. The last mobile suit of each team barely managed to escape the barrage, and Heero had no doubt that their pilots were the squad leaders. _They're good_, he mused, _though neither are in the Valkyrie's league._

Both the last green and red DINNs redoubled their efforts to get at Wing Zero, diving through the swirling black and silver machines with reckless abandon, no doubt enraged at the sudden demise of their squad mates. Heero met the red mobile suit head on, parrying its strike and allowing the unit to pass by him while he turned to block an attack from the green machine. Gunning his thrusters, he overpowered the DINN, forcing it out of the dogfight and temporarily isolating it.

A male voice came over an open channel, and Heero assumed it belonged to the pilot he was engaging. "What the hell are you?" he yelled, a noticeable Irish accent in his voice. There was also more than a hint of fear in the pilot's tone.

The Gundam pilot didn't bother to respond, at least verbally; he let his mobile suit do the talking. He fired his shoulder gatlings, and though the DINN had gone into full reverse in an attempt to get some distance between it and Wing Zero, it was unable to completely dodge the barrage. Several rounds shredded the DINNs left wing, and its rifle exploded, taking its left hand and forearm with it. Closing the gap in an instant, Heero attacked the machine's now savaged left side, impaling the cockpit before the enemy had been able to adjust his position and block with his violet blade.

_I'm a Gundam pilot_, thought Heero as he swiftly withdrew his blade and turned around, the green mobile suit exploding behind him, _no more and no less_.

Taking aim at the mobile suits approaching him, he fired another low-power shot with the Twin Buster Rifle. The yellow-gold beam hit one of the black and silver DINNs head-on, and it became a fireball. That left four of those machines left, along with the last red DINN. All five were coming at him head on, a flurry of missiles flying from their chests. Opening up with his shoulder gatlings, Heero destroyed the warheads as he closed the gap, engaging the lead black and silver DINN in saber combat as he flew through the smoke.

Another voice came over the radio, this one a low snarl with more than a hint of hatred in it. "You've got moves, Natural," it said, clearly male, "Or is it merely that machine you're flying? I'm sure it's the latter; one of your kind is no match for us Coordinators!"

_Sure_, Heero thought sarcastically, _you keep telling yourself that as I take down your squadron. _As with the last speaker, the Perfect Soldier had no intention of replying; this foe wasn't worthy of his words, not the least because of his arrogance. Still, his skill was solid, and Heero decided to take out the lesser pilots first before dueling him. Parrying and redirecting the black team's commander's strike so that the machine flew past him, Heero then whirled and sliced another DINN of the same color in half. As the two sections exploded he increased his altitude and fired a low-powered shot with the Twin Buster Rifle. Another black and silver mobile suit was hit by the beam and destroyed instantly, leaving three of those units left, along with the sole survivor of the red team.

The red DINN quickly rushed in now that there were fewer of its black and silver allies to get in the way. Whirling around, Heero blocked its saber strike before slamming down on the throttle. Just as he'd done with the leader of the green team, he used the overwhelming power of the Gundam's engines to push the red mobile suit away from its comrades, isolating it for the kill.

The crimson machine's missile launchers opened up, and Heero had to back off a bit and raise his shield to block the warheads. The DINN then raised its rifle, but before it could fire Heero had once again closed in, and he severed the mobile suit's left arm with his green blade, sending both limb and rifle falling towards the water below.

"Damn vermin!" said a male voice over the radio, and Heero had little doubt it was the pilot he was facing, "There's no way I'm losing to a filthy Natural!" As he spoke, the red DINN charged Wing Zero, its violet blade thrust forward in an attempt to impale the Gundam's cockpit.

Unfortunately for the ZAFT pilot though, his moves were all too easily read by Heero. The Perfect Soldier effortlessly side slipped to the left, swinging his emerald blade as he did so. The beam saber sliced clean through the DINN's cockpit and out the back, leaving the two halves of the machine to plunge to the sea.

_Just three of them left_, thought Heero as he turned to face his remaining foes, _time to end this._

He'd have to if he wanted to have a shot at changing the course of the battle. On both sides of the bay, both ZAFT's heavy transports and assault landing craft had hit the shores, depositing mobile suits, light vehicles, and infantry. BuCues raced ahead to link up with the GINNs and amphibious mobile suits as they assaulted the next line of Alliance fortifications and armored units. Behind them came the ZuOOTs, the heavy cannons on their shoulders already pounding away at concrete pillboxes and gun and missile emplacements. The lighter, faster BuCues went after the Earth Forces' tanks and artillery, and dozens of vehicles went up like a string of firecrackers. The Eurasians punched back, but their shells, rockets, and missiles only destroyed a handful of mobile suits. The Coordinators quickly filled in the gaps in their formations and pressed the assault. DINNs continued to streak overhead, decimating the surviving attack helicopters, while the GINNs, GOOhNs, and ZnOs proceeded to encircle and annihilate targets the BuCues had bypassed. Already the Eurasian line was collapsing, and the surviving defenders pulling back to the next series of fortifications and bringing up any reserves they could muster.

The massive aerial brawl at the mouth of the bay was, if anything, going even worse than the ground engagement. The swarms of Su-63Ks that had launched from the carriers had already been cut down to barely half what their numbers had been at the start of the battle, while the land-based MiG-75 interceptors had been annihilated entirely. The DINNs were simply too well-armed and maneuverable, their Coordinator pilots' reflexes too quick and precise. Although the mobile suits had taken losses since the start of the battle, the kill ratios were overwhelmingly in their favor, and only a few dozen had succumbed to enemy fire.

The naval battle below was less one-sided, but things were still not going well for the Alliance ships. With the _Archangel_'s heavy weapons blasting away at the ZAFT fleet, the Eurasians at least had some reprieve from the enemy warships... but not nearly enough to allow for an organized counter-attack. ZAFT had shifted their attack priorities from the destroyers and cruisers to the carriers, and they were pounding their targets relentlessly. Four more of the heavy carriers were on fire and sinking, while most of the others had taken varying degrees of damage. The lighter escort carriers were taking a similar thrashing, with six more going down and the rest suffering at least some damage. Heero still couldn't tell how the underwater battle was going, but if the amount of debris floating to the surface was any indication, the Alliance's submarines were faring worse than their ZAFT counter-parts.

Still, the enemy wasn't hitting with complete impunity. The _Archangel_'s withering fire was definitely giving ZAFT a bloody nose, with the latest salvo of energy beams and heavy rail cannon rounds gutting two more _Vosgulovs _and ripping one of the surface carriers in half. Large torpedo tracks just below the surface told Heero that at least some of the Eurasian's attack submarines were still in the fight, and their warheads slammed into the enemy destroyer screen or slipped through holes in the formation and hit the submarine/carriers. The surviving missile cruisers and destroyers were throwing everything they had at the enemy fleet, and though several of their shots were destroyed in mid-flight at least some managed to break through and hit their targets. Still, overall the Alliance fleet was slowly falling back, and Heero knew that he would in all likelihood be the only one capable of preventing their destruction.

Diving head on at the last three modified DINNs, he jinked left and right to dodge missile and rifle fire while closing in to attack with his beam saber. The machine he's identified earlier as belonging to the black team's leader rushed to meet him, the two subordinate units moving to either side to position themselves for additional ranged attacks.

Heero wasn't about to let that happen. As the enemy commander closed with him, Heero pulled up at the last possible second, causing the black and silver DINN to streak beneath him, momentarily confused by his move. While the lead pilot spent critical seconds reorienting himself, Heero charge one of the other mobile suits. The machine brought up its violet blade to block his strike, but Heero had already anticipated the move. He lowered his own beam saber before bringing it back up, slashing through the DINN's left leg all the way up to its right shoulder, cutting it in half diagonally. As the machine exploded Heero quickly whirled around and fired the Twin Buster Rifle, completely disintegrating the other DINN. _Only the leader left now_, he thought.

Indeed, the enemy commander was charging at him, spitting bile and vitriol over the radio. "Natural rat!" he growled as he thrust forward with his violet blade, "It doesn't matter how strong your machine is! I am the harbinger of your destruction; the reaper of your pathetic race!"

Heero paid the words no heed, focusing solely on the battle. The enemy's hatred was getting the better of them, and their attack was sloppy. The Perfect Soldier side slipped to the left, effortlessly parrying and redirecting the thrust. He then brought his beam saber around in one fluid motion and slashed the DINNs right wing in half.

Destabilized, the enemy pilot was barely able to turn his machine around as he initiated a last, futile charge against Wing Zero. "I will not lose to scum like you!" he roared, "I am a Coordinator, a member of the Master Race; _I cannot be defeated by the likes of you!_"

Heero didn't even bother to cross blades with his foe. The Gundam pilot simply raised the Twin Buster Rifle and fired.

At point-blank range.

The black and silver machine was disintegrated by the shot, a single garbled scream from its pilot going over the radio before the voice was consumed by static and the man by fire. _Good riddance_, thought Heero, _his ranting was getting annoying._

The young man who had just annihilated three of ZAFT's top mobile suit teams then turned towards the larger engagement at the mouth of the bay. _I'm through with the sideshow_, he though as he gunned his engines, flying head-on into the brawl, _time for the main event._

**(End "White Devil")**

….

Flying low and along the far right side of the bay, practically skimming the surface in an effort to avoid attracting fighter attention, Commander Rau Le Creuset smirked as he watched Wing Zero finish off Schwarze Team's leader. _An impressive performance, Wing Zero_, he thought, _it seems I underestimated you; the Special Operations Squadrons didn't last half as long as I thought they would. No matter; they served their purpose._

Indeed, their clash with the fearsome mobile suit had given the masked ace the cover he'd needed to launch his own white DINN Mk. II and begin making his way towards the Alaska base. The Commander's goal was not to engage in the battle itself, and most certainly did not want to fight Wing Zero, at least not yet. _The Providence is still a ways away from completion_, he thought, _until it's ready, I won't be able to match that machine or its pilot. _It was an admission the man did not like to make, but he knew it was an honest assessment of the facts, and there was no point in deluding himself. After all, his pride was not worth his life, and he still had things he needed to accomplish before he would allow himself to exit the stage.

The Commander had been slightly concerned that Wing Zero would come after him after dispatching Zubov, but to his relief he saw the formidable mobile suit fly headlong towards the massive air battle at the mouth of the bay. _Good_, he thought, _none of those pilots are a match for Wing Zero, but the sheer numbers should keep it busy for awhile. Plus, Yzak's in there as well; the Duel may be a pale comparison to that machine, but it's still better than the DINNs._

Satisfied that he wouldn't have to worry about Wing Zero hounding him, he turned his attention back to his destination. As he approached the cliffs at the far end of the bay he keyed in a code over a specific radio frequency. Sure enough, a small section of rock began to slide away; one of the launching bays for the facility's Spearhead fighters. Of course, the fact that none had been launched into the battle told Creuset all he needed to know; the Atlantic Federation had already withdrawn their own pilots.

"It seems Azrael's information was correct," he muttered to himself as he lined up for his final approach. _Now_, he thought, _I just have to make sure the rest of his preparations went according to plan. I'm sure he's upheld his end of things, but I still want to see it for myself._

….

Flay looked around nervously. The Lieutenant Commander still wasn't back yet, and the line was becoming shorter and shorter as people filed onto the last transport submarine. As far back as the girl and the ace pilot had been in the queue, Flay was now much closer to the sub, and she knew that it would not be long until she would have to board.

Normally she wouldn't be worried about something like this; it wasn't as if she was particularly close to the older pilot. She had hardly spoken to him since she had arrived on the ship after the attack on Heliopolis, preferring to keep with the people she had known from the colony. However, now that they were both off the _Archangel_, the blond pilot was the only person she knew, the only person she felt that she could trust. While she knew that all the other soldiers boarding the submarine were Atlantic Federation troops and therefore not her enemies, the fact remained that she did not know them personally, and therefore they just didn't give her the same sense of security that the Lieutenant Commander did, regardless of how little she had spoken to him up until now.

Looking back at the submarine one more time, she finally made up her mind. Running off in the direction she'd last seen La Flaga go, she hoped she'd be able to find him and make it back to the transport before it left.

….

"The _Akula _and the _Pyotr _have been destroyed!" said Sai from his post in the CIC.

_Damn it_, thought Murrue, _that's two more of our attack subs down. _Based on the readings from the sonar array, the underwater battle was incredibly vicious. While the ZAFT mobile suits were superior to the Eurasian Aqua Darts, the fact that several of the amphibious units had been redeployed to the beach landings had actually served to even the odds and give the Alliance submersible forces a fighting chance.

Still, things weren't going well, and at the rate things were going both sides' underwater units would annihilate each other. The Aqua Darts had been reduced to a third of their starting numbers, though their ZAFT counterparts had fared just as badly since they had to contend with not just the mini subs but also torpedo volleys from the larger Alpha Vs and _Thetas_. However, ZAFT's _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carriers were throwing their own torpedoes into the fight from afar, and the Eurasian's heavier submarines were taking heavy casualties. The Alpha V attack submarines had been reduced from 54 to 20, while the larger _Theta_-class submarine/carriers had lost 11 vessels, leaving just nine remaining in the fight.

The ground engagement was going far worse than the underwater fight. ZAFT's land mobile suits were devastating the Eurasian army, with their BuCues leading their armored thrusts, hitting individual vehicles while the ZuOOTs pounded fortified positions with their heavy guns. The surviving Alliance tanks and artillery were hitting back the best they could, but they had only managed to take out a handful of the land MS; there were still 30 BuCues left in the fray, along with 39 ZuOOTs, more than enough to continue the ground assault. The GINNs, more unwieldy on the ground than they were in space, had taken heavier losses than their surface counterparts, but there were still 74 of them left out of the original 108, which meant that there were plenty available to backup the BuCues and ZuOOTs. The GOOhNs and ZnOs that had waded ashore were still participating in the assault, though they were moving at a much slower pace than the other units and mainly acting as support for the infantry that were moving up with them. The Alliance lines were collapsing again, with the survivors pulling back further inland, attempting to regroup as the battle came closer and closer to the base.

The vicious clash between the surface fleets was still in full-swing, and while the momentum remained with ZAFT the Alliance was hitting back with everything they had. Four more _Vosgulovs _were sinking, leaving 51 of the fearsome submarine/carriers combat worthy. The enemy's destroyers had taken a pounding as well, and they had been reduced from 97 to 59, with several of the surviving vessels having sustained moderate to severe damage. Another salvo from the _Archangel_'s Gottfried heavy beam cannons had just torn through one of the surface carriers, sinking the vessel and leaving 10 of its sister ships remaining.

Still, the Alliance's own losses were far worse, and the fleet was even now pulling further back into the bay. The heavy missile cruisers had been reduced from 22 to 10, while the destroyers were down to 41 ships. Two more escort carriers had been nailed by missile volleys from the _Vosgulovs _and were sinking, leaving 10 of them still in the fight, while the heavy carriers had been whittled down to 8 ships, and all the surviving craft showed one sign or another of battle damage. Half of the fleet's heavy supply freighters were in flames, leaving just three of the vessels intact, while two more heavy tankers had been blown apart by torpedo attacks, with ten of the ships remaining afloat.

Worst of all, though, was the air battle. The Eurasian carrier fighters had been reduced to almost 40% of the numbers they had started with, while ZAFT still had over 80% of its DINNs in the fight. The Su-63Ks were just no match for their mobile suit counterparts, and more were falling from the sky with each passing second. The two massive Flying Fortresses were throwing missiles of their own into the fighting, though the intensity and frenzied nature of the furball meant that they couldn't initiate a full-on bombardment with their heavy beam cannons without hitting their own mobile suits, and were thus only firing sporadically. The fact that the air battle was taking place over the Alliance fleet also meant that the Flying Fortresses couldn't bombard the naval units as well, for the same reason. Still, Murrue knew that it was only a matter of time before the DINNs would pull back and clear the way for the airborne leviathans to open a barrage.

"We have incoming!" shouted the radar operator, "Eight DINNs, ten o'clock high!"

_Shit_, thought Murrue. "Hit them with everything we've got!"

A storm of tracer rounds and Helldart missiles flew from the ship. Three of the purple mobile suits were destroyed, but the other five managed to evade the barrage and continued forward, raising their guns and aiming at the bridge.

They never got the chance to fire. A familiar blast of golden-yellow energy swept through the formation, and all five machines became little more than flaming shards of metal.

Murrue smiled. "Heero!" she cried out. Indeed, the main monitor shifted, showing Wing Zero heading towards the _Archangel_. She wondered for a second why he had used more power with the Twin Buster Rifle in that shot than he had earlier before realizing the simple truth; with the horrendous losses the Eurasian fighters had sustained, there were now far fewer friendly craft to get in his way.

The Gundam pilot appeared on the main monitor. "I've eliminated the upgraded DINNs," he said, his expression as calm and cool as ever, "thanks for the help earlier, Murrue."

She nodded. "You're welcome, Heero. You've certainly returned the favor."

"Yeah," said the Perfect Soldier, and Murrue thought she saw a bit of relief in his eyes, "Sorry it took so long to take them out."

"Don't worry about it, Heero," said Murrue, "It you hadn't taken them down, those pilots would be ripping our forces apart. Well, worse than ZAFT already is, anyway."

Heero nodded. "Alright. I'm engaging their regular forces."

"Understood," she replied, "We'll back you up and continue hitting ZAFT's fleet with our heavy weapons."

"Roger that," said Heero before signing off.

Murrue smiled again as she saw Wing Zero gain altitude as the extraordinary machine flew head-on into the raging furball. _I've got your back, Heero. Now, show them what you've got… and come back to me alive. _

….

**(Start "Fighter")**

Bringing the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, Heero sighted in on a pack of six DINNs that were diving towards the _Archangel_. _I'll take you first_, he thought as he opened fire.

Golden-yellow hellfire tore through their formation, and four of the machines erupted into fireballs. Increasing the throttle, Heero closed in on the two survivors with his beam. Within seconds both DINNs had been slashed in two by Wing Zero's green beam saber, and the Gundam was already moving on to its next targets.

The massive furball was still in full swing, and while there were still nearly six hundred of the Eurasian fighters in the air, that number was down significantly from the 1,560 Su-63Ks they had started the engagement with, and it more were being shot down with each passing second. There were no intact squadrons left, and it was literally every fighter pilot for themselves, with the planes scattered across the sky, isolated into pairs or flying alone, easy prey for the enemy mobile suits. Despite the fact that they still outnumbered the ZAFT forces, who had slightly over five hundred DINNs left in the fight, that meant that the numerical odds were practically even… which meant the Alliance pilots had no chance of winning.

At least, not without some serious help.

Immersing himself in the Zero System as he increased the charge of the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero took in the entirety of the titanic aerial battle in an instant. After a moment he found a suitable firing lane and cut loose.

At _seventy-five percent _power.

A gargantuan blast ripped across the sky, annihilating all in its path. Thirty DINNs were completely disintegrated in the blast, while another eleven caught the edges of the shot. That was still enough to critically damage them, and they plunged from the sky, trailing smoke and fire. Four exploded in midair, while the rest splashed into the sea and disappeared beneath the waves.

However, though taking out several DINNs at once had been one of Heero's goals, the mobile suits were not his main target. For at the same time the enemy mobile suits that had caught the edges of the blast had begun to fall, the massive golden-yellow beam had slammed into one of the Flying Fortresses. The airborne leviathan melted away under the onslaught, briefly becoming a second sun as it burst into a spectacular fireball over the mouth of the bay.

For a moment the combatants on both sides stopped shooting at each other, stunned at what had just happened. All except for Heero, of course. Using the shock and awe to his advantage, the Perfect Soldier destroyed three DINNs with his beam saber before the enemy was able to react. Dozens of the violet mobile suits charged at him from all sides; the Gundam pilot had definitely grabbed their attention.

_Perfect_, he thought as both sides resumed blasting away at each other, _they've made me their primary target. Just like old times…_

Wasting no time, Heero quickly gained altitude, charging the DINNs that were diving down at him. Weaving through a rain of rifle rounds and missiles, Wing Zero was amongst the enemy formation in an instant, slicing and dicing the machines, its beam saber little more than an emerald blur, the Gundam moving too fast for even Coordinators to track. A dozen mobile suits were torn apart in half as many seconds.

Heero then jinked to the right as the mobile suits that had followed him upward opened fire. Dodging their attacks, at the same time the young man turned and opened up with Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings at the DINNs that were approaching from the right. Three machines exploded under the barrage before Heero closed to beam saber range and destroyed another five DINNs with his blade. He then whirled around and fired a low-power shot with the Twin Buster Rifle, disintegrating four of the machines that had flown past him before when he had dodged, their pilots having regrouped for another attack before meeting their demise.

The Gundam pilot then had to go evasive as the second Flying Fortress began an all-out bombardment in a desperate attempt to take him down. _Bastards_, he thought, _they're killing their own pilots! _Indeed, as Heero effortlessly weaved through the barrage, fifteen DINNs were destroyed by friendly fire. However, the Alliance fighters were caught in the bombardment as well, and no less than forty planes were torn to shreds by the storm of emerald beams and air-to-air missiles.

_I have to stop this_, he thought. He had no love for the ZAFT pilots, of course, but the thought of a commander willing to kill their own troops disgusted him. Bringing the Twin Buster Rifle to bear and using the Zero System to find a firing lane, he increased the charge and opened up.

Another wave of golden-yellow energy tore across the battlefield, disintegrating 26 DINNs before ripping through the second Flying Fortress. Like its sister ship, the black behemoth became a massive fireball, raining shards of hot metal down on the armada below.

With the second Flying Fortress eliminated, Heero returned his attention to the DINNs. Dodging rifle fire and swarms of missiles, he took down one machine after another with his beam saber. ZAFT's air forces had been thrown off balance by the sudden addition of Wing Zero into the dogfight, and the Perfect Soldier intended to make the most of it.

The overall shape of the air battle began to change. Scores of DINNs began swirling around Wing Zero in an attempt to overwhelm the fearsome machine. This took some pressure off the surviving Eurasian fighters, but not nearly enough to even the odds against them. As Heero weaved through enemy fire, taking down eight enemy mobile suits in half as many seconds, he saw fighters exploding or falling from the sky one after another. _There's still so many DINNs_, he thought as he impaled another machine with his emerald blade, _they can afford to concentrate all these machines on me. ZAFT still has more than enough units to wipe out the Alliance fighters even with all the mobile suits they're devoting to me._

His attacks with the Twin Buster Rifle had taken the enemy by surprise and eliminated a large number of their mobile suits along with the two Flying Fortresses, but ZAFT still had hundreds of machines left in the fight, and Heero knew that turning the battle around against those numbers would not be easy.

Then again, 'easy' wasn't for Gundam pilots.

Charging a group of DINNs, Heero tore into the enemy machines with his beam saber. Quickly dispatching four mobile suits, he then whirled around and fired the Twin Buster Rifle, destroying five more units that had been about to attack him from behind.

At the same time, a volley of Helldart missiles flew from the _Archangel_, homing in on a group of three DINNs that were moving to join their comrades in fighting Heero. The trio of purple and grey machines was caught completely off guard, and all the mobile suits were destroyed in the barrage. _Thanks Murrue_, thought Heero as he evaded a group of missiles, _I'm glad you've got my back._

Dodging fire from no less than thirty machines, Heero speared another DINN with his beam saber. Then he gained altitude, charging the units attacking him from above. As he closed with them and began attacking, he spared a brief glance at one of the side monitors, which showed the ground engagement.

ZAFT's landing forces were rolling up the Alliance's lines on both sides of the bay. The enemy army had lost a few more machines, but they still had more than enough firepower to overwhelm the surviving Eurasian troops and their remaining armored support. The Earth Forces were falling back yet again, barely able to maintain a semblance of order as they took up new defensive positions.

_Not good_, thought Heero as he slashed another DINN in half, _at this rate ZAFT will penetrate the final defenses long before the air battle is over. _There was little point in him worrying about it though; even the Perfect Soldier could only do so much on a battlefield. He certainly couldn't be everywhere at once.

_Doesn't matter_, he thought, veering to the right to avoid a volley of missiles, _Murrue's not in the base, she's on the Archangel. She's the one I'm fighting for; I don't give a damn about the Atlantic Federation Headquarters._

Firing a low-powered shot with his rifle and taking out two of the DINNs that had fired the missiles, Heero's eyes narrowed in determination.

_ZAFT_, he thought, _I don't care if you take Alaska. You can have that base if you want; it makes no difference to me. However…_

_ …you're not getting Murrue!_

**(End "Fighter")**

….

"Where the hell is everybody?" said Lieutenant Commander La Flaga. Running through the halls of the base, making his way towards the central control room, the ace pilot was becoming increasingly unnerved by the fact that he hadn't run into a single soldier since leaving the dock. _What the hell is going on here? Something's not right; there's no way the top brass would leave Alaska completely in the hands of the Eurasian Federation forces. I can understand transferring forces to other theatres, but there's no way they would withdraw _all _Atlantic Federation personnel. They've left no one besides the Archangel and the Eurasian's to repel a potential attack, and we're under attack right now!_

His suspicions intensified as he saw the entrance to the central control room at the end of the hall. Normally the doorway would be closed and guarded by a pair of soldiers… but it was wide open, and there were no security officers in sight. _Not good_, he thought as he approached, _there's definitely something wrong here!_

The central control room worked in coordination with the base's communications hub, located on the same floor, to run the massive facility. While the later room, as the name indicated, was built for the sole purpose of handling comm traffic, the former had much broader responsibilities. Here was where information from both the surface and space forces was reviewed, campaigns were organized, the base's defenses were managed from, and much more besides. The layout was similar to the communications hub, but it was on a much larger scale; the room was as long as a North American football field, and four times as wide. Massive screens were arrayed on the far side of the room, capable of showing maps of multiple regions of both Earth and space.

Something was on those screens at that moment, but it was not a map. La Flaga thought it looked familiar, and as he entered the room he was about to take a closer look when a gunshot rang out. His eyes widened as a bullet hit the wall behind him, mere centimeters to his right. Instincts taking over, La Flaga dove behind a console and drew his sidearm, though he didn't return fire. In fact, he assumed that whoever had shot at him was a friendly soldier that had panicked, probably believing that an enemy soldier had infiltrated the base. However, there was something about that supposition that rang hollow in his mind. It seemed off, though the Lieutenant Commander had no factual basis for that feeling. Rather, it was based off a familiar tingling in the back of his head, a spike of adrenaline that, in the past, had always signaled the presence of a certain enemy pilot. _It can't be him_, he thought, _the rush from that near miss has to be messing with my senses… there's no way he could be in here!_

"Hold your fire!" he yelled, "I'm Alliance!"

The response chilled him to the bone. It confirmed the sensation he'd felt earlier… which meant that things were even worse than he'd feared.

"Is that you, La Flaga?" yelled Rau Le Creuset, his voice calm and laced with his typical dry wit, "I didn't think I'd run into you here!"

"Yeah, well same here!" La Flaga replied. Peeking over the edge of the console, he saw his rival do the same, the masked ace peering from behind his own cover.

Both men fired, but neither scored a hit, their bullets ricocheting off metal surfaces and igniting sparks as they pierced consoles. Ducking back into cover, La Flaga heard his rival laugh. "Oh, it is good to see you again, my friend… though if you're still hanging around here then your usefulness has come to an end. Oh, Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen!"

La Flaga was about to aim and fire in response when he heard several shots hit his own cover, forcing him to keep his head down. He raised his pistol over the console and returned fire blindly, unable to tell if he'd hit anything. The blond pilot expended his entire clip with the random barrage. As he brought the gun back down to reload, he was struck by the lack of fire coming from Creuset. _Did I get him?_

Slowly looking over the console again, he scanned the room but saw no sign of his foes. Cautiously moving out from behind his cover, he walked down the central aisle, peering between the rows of consoles. There was a blur of movement at his periphery, and he whirled around just in time to see Creuset making a dash for the exit. La Flaga fired, but none of his shots connected. The ZAFT commander returned fire, causing La Flaga to duck behind another console for cover. When he looked back over to take aim, he saw that the masked pilot was gone.

He briefly considered going after him when something at the edge of his vision caught his attention; the image displayed on the massive screens on the far side of the control room. His eyes widened as he saw what was on the monitor.

Dozens of white circles, arrayed in a hexagon pattern, were flashing on the screen. Beneath them were a series of rapidly declining numbers; a countdown timer.

"No…" he said softly as he realized just what he was looking at. He had seen an image very similar to it before almost a year ago. The Lieutenant Commander recalled with perfect clarity the debriefing following the battle that had earned him the title 'Hawk of Endymion'. More specifically, an image one of his superiors had shown him following the utter carnage of the final clash at the Grimaldi Front, or more precisely the Endymion Crater, where both sides had been almost completely annihilated. La Flaga himself was one the only survivor of his own squadron from that engagement; the last of the few pilots skilled enough to pilot the advanced Moebius Zero mobile armors.

Everything fell into place in the ace pilot's mind. The emptiness of the base, the presence of the Eurasian forces, the _Archangel _remaining as the sole Atlantic Federation ship in the area… it all made sense.

"Shit!" he snarled as he turned and ran out of the room. Moving faster than he'd thought himself capable of, spurred on by shock and adrenaline, La Flaga knew he didn't have much time.

_I have to get to the Archangel_, he thought, _I have to tell them what's going on! This entire battle is a trap, and they're the bait!_

….

Stumbling as the floor shook, Flay braced herself against a wall. "Lieutenant Commander?" she called out, unable to keep the worry from her voice, "Where are you?"

When she'd left the docks, Flay had gone through the same door she'd seen La Flaga go through, but of course beyond that she'd had no idea where the man had gone, and she had quickly become lost as a result. The girl had hoped to find someone in the halls that could point her in the right direction, but she hadn't run into a single soldier since leaving the docks. Also, not long after she had begun wandering the seemingly endless labyrinth of corridors in the base, tremors had begun to rock the massive facility with increasing regularity. Flay was no expert in the art of war, but even she was smart enough to realize that all the shaking was no doubt being caused by enemy bombardment, meaning she had to find the Lieutenant Commander soon or else the two of them would never make it out of the base.

Of course, it was possible that La Flaga had already made it back to the docks in the time she had been away and had boarded the submarine without her, but the girl did not believe he would do that. While she didn't know him that well, she remembered his words of reassurance, his promises to keep an eye on her, and she knew he had been sincere. _He won't abandon me_, thought Flay, _but if I don't find him soon, we'll both be in trouble!_

Unfortunately, her faith in the Lieutenant Commander did little to bolster her confidence as she wondered the base. In fact, as the base continued to shake as ZAFT rained fire down on it, Flay was becoming increasingly frantic, a sense of doom welling within her. "Lieutenant Commander?" she cried out, her voice becoming more fearful, "La Flaga? Please, answer me!"

The only response was her own voice echoing through the empty halls. Flay was suddenly thrown off her feet as the base rumbled around her. The barrage was intensifying… as was her fear and despair.

She picked herself back up and started running, but as she rounded a corner she was suddenly knocked back down as she blindly ran into someone.

Her head hit the wall, causing her vision to become blurry. Struggling to look up, her head throbbing, Flay saw a man standing nearby. He had long blond hair and was wearing a white uniform. His face was difficult to make out, and Flay thought she saw a mask, but darkness was already encroaching on her vision; she'd hit her head harder than she thought.

Flay then heard the man speak. "Well, who have we here?" he said.

Perhaps it was the knock to the head, or the combination of fear and despair, but at that moment, the man's calm and confident voice reminded Flay of her father.

"Daddy…" she moaned, before slipping into darkness.

….

_Well now_, thought Creuset as he looked down at the red-headed girl lying at his feet, _I hadn't expected to run into you here, Miss Flay Allster._

While not personally acquainted with the girl, Creuset was familiar with her. Or rather, her family; after all, it had been his ship, the destroyer _Vesalius_, that had fired the shots that had destroyed the battleship _Montgomery_, killing not just the crew but also one very important passenger, the Atlantic Federation Vice Foreign Minister George Allster. After the battle Creuset had received information regarding the man's death, along with the interesting fact that he had been on that ship in order to reunite with his daughter, who had been aboard the _Archangel_.

He recalled all this with perfect clarity as he looked down at the girl. The masked Commander smirked as new possibilities went through his head; she would make a useful pawn, given the proper nudging.

"Well," he said as he picked up the girl, hoisting her over his shoulder before continuing onward to his mobile suit, "It seems fortune has smiled upon me… and you as well, young lady. After all, you're more valuable alive than dead, so consider yourself lucky."

….

"Come on, hurry up damn it!" growled Mu as he strapped himself in while the plane ran its startup sequence. He'd made his way to one of the hangars, the base shaking all around him as ZAFT's ground forces began bombarding the facility, where he had commandeered an F-7D Spearhead fighter. The Lieutenant Commander had been lucky; it was one of the few aircraft left in the hangar, and the only combat capable plane at that. It was fully armed, and the engines were revving up without difficulty.

There was just one problem; the door at the end of the launch tunnel was closed, and La Flaga hadn't had time to find the control room and override it. His plan was a simple as it was desperate; hit the thing with a missile barrage and blast his way out. _The doors are meant to take attacks from the outside, not from within_, he thought, _Still, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to punch through._ There was little point in worrying about it now though; it was the only option available if was to have a chance in hell at making it to the _Archangel _in time.

He thought briefly about the girl he'd promised to take care of. _Sorry Flay, but I have to go. I know there won't be any familiar faces on the transport, but at least they won't be hostile. You should be fine until you get picked up in California. So long, little lady._

After what seemed like an eternity all his displays turned green; he was good to launch. Using the plane's VTOL capabilities, he lifted the jet and had it hover a few feet off the ground while he armed his missiles and targeted the hangar door. "Here goes nothing," he muttered as he fired two pairs of missiles in a staggered volley.

The four warheads streaked down the launch tunnel and slammed into the hatch at the end. The explosion blasted through the door, leaving a hole just barely wide enough for the fighter to fit through.

"Let's go!" said La Flaga, gunning the throttle. The fighter shot down the tunnel and cleared the blasted hatchway with mere inches to spare. The Lieutenant Commander took a little pride in knowing that he was one of the few pilots in the Earth Forces capable of pulling off a stunt like that. Unfortunately, what he saw as he scrambled for altitude dampened the brief high he had gotten from his 'threading of the needle', so to speak.

A massive battle was taking place all across the bay, and the situation was rapidly deteriorating. On both sides of the bay ZAFT's ground forces had advanced to the point where the heavy mobile suits were capable of unleashing a continuous barrage, pounding both the base and the few remaining Eurasian defenders while the lighter units picked off individual Alliance armored vehicles. _They won't be able to hold out much longer_, he thought, _Unfortunately, they don't know they're fighting and dying to defend a deathtrap!_

The titanic air and sea-battle was in full swing, and while La Flaga knew that Heero was capable of dishing out an astounding amount of punishment with Wing Zero, he was just one pilot and could only do so much. Indeed, he soon spotted the Gundam on his radar, hacking into DINN after DINN with his beam saber. Unfortunately, more and more kept coming at him, and La Flaga had to wonder if even the Reaper of North Africa could withstand such an onslaught.

The rest of the air battle was deteriorating. Compared to the over fifteen-hundred planes that they had started the battle with, the Eurasians were now down to a little more than two hundred operational aircraft. ZAFT still had over three-hundred DINNs in the fight, and La Flaga knew that the only reason those MS hadn't already slaughtered the Alliance fighters was because of Heero. Still, even with the scores of machines that were attacking Wing Zero, there were still more than enough MS to take on the Eurasian planes, and more jets were being shot down with each passing second.

Checking his radar, La Flaga found the _Archangel _in the midst of the Eurasian fleet… or what was left of it, anyway. The vast armada that he and his shipmates had seen upon their arrival at Alaska had been reduced to a pale reflection of its former glory. There were only 7 cruisers, 26 destroyers, 6 heavy carriers, 8 escort carriers, 5 tankers, and 1 freighter remaining afloat. Additionally, almost all of the surviving vessels showed signs of damage in one way or another, and La Flaga had no way to tell just how the submarine fleet had fared in the battle, though he doubted they had done much better than their surface counterparts.

Still, the Alliance fleet wasn't down for the count, and the remaining ships were still pouring out as much fire as they could against the oncoming enemy armada. Naturally, the _Archangel _was unleashing the heaviest salvoes, its Gottfrieds and Valiants firing repeated volleys into ZAFT's fleet, but the surviving destroyers and cruisers weren't slacking off either, and were unloading every missile battery and gun that was still operational. La Flaga didn't know how many vessels ZAFT had started the battle with, but he imagined it had been considerably more than what was still afloat. There were 41 _Vosgulovs_, 42 destroyers, and 7 surface carriers still afloat. La Flaga wondered briefly why the massive submarine/carriers were on the surface before remembering that they had to run topside in order to retrieve DINNs that were either damaged or returning to rearm. It made them vulnerable to the Alliance ships' heavy weapons, particularly those of the _Archangel_, but there were still so many of them that they could afford the exposure. Also, with the volumes of torpedoes and missiles they were throwing at the Alliance fleet, their foes were having a hard enough time just staying afloat, much less organizing a coordinated counter-barrage.

_I have to get to the Archangel_, he thought, _and that won't be easy._ Not only was the ship in the midst of the heaviest naval fighting, but it was also beneath the massive dogfight as well.

Steeling his resolve, La Flaga gained altitude and increased the throttle. Focusing on the mobile suits and planes crisscrossing the sky ahead, he lined himself up for the most direct approach to the _Archangel_.

"Alright," he said, psyching himself up, "Time to dive into the fireworks!"

Swooping down into the fight, he let loose four missiles. Half of the warheads were shot down, but the other two impacted a DINN and destroyed it. Pulling back on the stick, he took the fighter into a climb just in time to avoid a fresh volley of rifle fire as another DINN tried to take him out.

_Damn_, he thought as he slammed on the afterburners, doing his best to shake off his pursuer, _a Spearhead just doesn't dance like a Skygrasper. I need to get my old bird back if I'm going to stand a chance in hell at helping out in this fight._

The fighter jet wasn't nearly as maneuverable as the DINN, but it was faster, and eventually La Flaga was able to leave his foe in the dust. Unfortunately, there were still hundreds of DINNs flying around, and the Lieutenant Commander knew they'd make landing on the _Archangel _extremely difficult.

Pulling into a u-turn and setting up for his approach, La Flaga got on the radio and adjusted the frequency. "_Archangel_," he said, "La Flaga here. Open up, I need to land!"

Captain Ramius's voice came over the radio. "Lieutenant Commander?" she replied, her tone one of surprise, "What are you doing out here?"

"I'll explain when I'm aboard!" he replied, jinking hard to the right to avoid enemy fire, "Dodging these guys is hard enough as is, and they won't make my landing any easier."

Another familiar voice came over the radio. "Lieutenant Commander, this is Wing Zero," said Heero, "Initiate your approach; I'll cover you the best I can."

"Roger that," he replied, "Good to know you have my back, Heero."

"Just make it quick," said the Gundam pilot as Wing Zero hacked another DINN apart, "There's a lot of these guys here; I can't guarantee you won't get shot at on the way down."

"Got it," said La Flaga, "Starting my approach. _Archangel_, you copy that?"

"Yes," said Captain Ramius, "I'm turning you over to Miriallia, Lieutenant Commander. Good luck."

Not a second later the young lady's voice came over the radio. "La Flaga," she said, "We're opening the port hangar entrance. We'll hold fire on the Gottfrieds, but stay lined up with the ship; the Valiants and missile launchers will still be active, and if you stray too far to one side you could get hit."

"Copy that," said La Flaga as he began his descent.

It wasn't a moment too soon; several DINNs, sensing a target of opportunity, were already heading his way. However, they soon found that they had much more pressing concerns as Heero swooped in on them, killing two with the Twin Buster Rifle before engaging the others with his beam saber. The Lieutenant Commander couldn't afford to get complacent though; with the sheer number of DINNs involved in the fight, he knew that even a pilot of Heero's caliber wouldn't be able to keep them all off of him.

Making his descent, the Hawk of Endymion was confronted with a twofold challenge; keeping the Spearhead within the narrow corridor designated by Miriallia while at the same time dodging enemy fire. Twisting and turning the aircraft to the best of his ability, La Flaga found himself envying his Eurasian counterparts; their Sukhoi birds were much better suited to the tight maneuvers he needed to perform.

His eyes narrowing as he concentrated on his approach, the Lieutenant Commander barely caught a warning from Heero.

"La Flaga," said the Gundam pilot, "you've got incoming, five o'clock high."

"Damn it," he muttered before replying, "Take 'em out for me. I can't exactly stop to tango right now!"

"I'm on them," said Heero. Glancing up and over his shoulder out the canopy, La Flaga saw Wing Zero open up on the pack of incoming mobile suits. Three were destroyed by the Twin Buster Rifle, while the others scattered. Heero quickly closed to beam saber range and slashed one machine in half before whirling around and impaling another unit. The Gundam moved like lightening, and the DINNs were overwhelmed by its speed and power… not to mention the dominating skill of its pilot.

Unfortunately, that was when Lady Luck decided to be that fickle bitch of legend. One of the DINNs, in a panicked attempt to take down Wing Zero, started firing wildly. Heero dodged the shots with relative ease, but just before he destroyed the mobile suit with a well place low-power shot from the Twin Buster Rifle, a few stray rounds hit the right engine of the fighter.

"Shit!" he snarled as the impacts rocked him in his seat. Warning alarms blared in the cockpit, their shrilling assault tormenting his ears until he muted them, he glanced back and saw smoke billowing from the damaged engine. The fighter dropped several meters before he was able to regain control, and the Hawk of Endymion struggled to keep his approach vector lined up.

"_Archangel_," he said, "I'm coming in hot!"

….

"The Lieutenant Commander's been hit!" cried Miriallia from the CIC, "His starboard engine is damaged, and his control of the plane has been compromised!"

_Damn_, thought Murrue, _things just keep getting worse. _"Have the hangar crews deploy the arrestor nets!" she ordered, "Tell Chief Murdoch to have his team stand by with firefighting gear!"

As Miriallia relayed her orders, Murrue returned her attention to the forward viewport. She could see the Lieutenant Commander's plane making its final approach, smoke trailing from its damaged engine. _It'll be a rough landing_, she thought, _but the Lieutenant Commander will be fine; he's not the Hawk of Endymion for nothing._

Beyond the F-7D Spearhead, the air battle raged on. Wing Zero was savaging the DINNs, and Murrue noted with pride that Heero had accounted for more kills than the entire Eurasian air and naval forces combined. _There's no other pilot like him in this world_, she thought, _the only one who comes close is the Valkyrie, and even she was forced to retreat. Heero, you truly are the best… of course, I knew that long before today._

However, Murrue also knew that, despite Heero's extraordinary skills, along with the fearsome Wing Zero, there was only so much the young man could do. He had already fought and defeated three elite squadrons before engaging ZAFT's regular forces, and though he was dishing out an incredible amount of punishment there were still hundreds of DINNs in the fight, and Murrue knew that even Heero would have difficulty in taking them all on. Also, though ZAFT had devoted a considerable amount of their air units to fighting Wing Zero, there were still plenty of machines left to engage the surviving Eurasian fighters, and they were doing so with savage ferocity.

Also, unlike the rest of her crew, she was keenly aware of the strain Heero was fighting under. It wasn't just due to the efforts needed to engage so many targets at once, but also because of the double-edged sword that was the Zero System. Murrue knew that keeping control over the program, bending it to his will, required an amount of mental energy and focus that she'd never be able to match, and that the young man had to exert a considerable amount of effort into doing so, in addition to the already strenuous task that was mobile suit combat. She did not know just how far Heero's endurance could be stretched, and Murrue could only pray that the Gundam pilot's strength and experience with fighting against impossible odds would be enough to keep him one step ahead of the enemy.

"Captain!" cried Miriallia, "Chief Murdoch has acknowledged your orders. The nets are ready, and fire crews are on standby!"

"Alright then," said Murrue, watching as the Spearhead came in for landing, "It's all up to the Lieutenant Commander now."

Her eyes narrowed as she watched the Spearhead struggle to keep its heading. _The engine damage must be worst than it looks_, she thought, _I'm surprised La Flaga's been able to keep that thing in the air as long as he has. _Then the plane was below her line of sight, and she knew it had entered the hangar. _Moment of truth._

A second later there was a slight rumble. Then Miriallia spoke up again. "The arrestor nets caught the fighter. Chief Murdoch reports that the crews are suppressing the plane's engine fire now. La Flaga is exiting the fighter now; he's unharmed!"

_Some good news at least_, she thought, _though if the Lieutenant Commander's here rather than on his transport, I doubt we'll get any more like it; he may be a little lax when it comes to regulations, but he wouldn't defy orders from the top without a damn good reason. I have a bad feeling about this…_

"Captain," said Miriallia, "La Flaga's on the hangar comm."

"Patch him through," said Murrue.

The Lieutenant Commander appeared on the screen, his face dead serious. "Captain, you've got to get the _Archangel _out of here! This entire battle is a trap!"

Murrue was shocked; that was _not _what she'd been expecting to hear. "What are you talking about, La Flaga?"

"There's a Cyclops bomb beneath the base," he said, "It's basically a massive microwave emitter array, and since N-jammers restrict those waves to smaller areas, its power is amplified to almost that of a nuke. It'll wipe out not just the base, but everything on this battlefield!"

"My god…" she said, horrified at the revelation, "How… how could High Command…"

"I know, it's monstrous," said La Flaga, his expression one of utter revulsion, "Captain, ZAFT's focused almost all of their surface forces here at Alaska. When the Cyclops detonates, it'll take out between 80 to 90% of their air, aquatic, and ground units, leaving the remainder easy prey for a mop up. That's the plan as imagined by the top brass!" He all but spat those last words out.

_It all makes sense_, she thought grimly, _the cold shoulder treatment when we got here, the Eurasian forces, the lack of Atlantic Federation units… not only will ZAFT's fleet and army be wiped out, but the Eurasians will lose a significant portion of their armed forces, and in the process much of their influence in the Alliance. The organization will be completely dominated by the Atlantic Federation._

The enormity of it all fell upon her like a heavy rain. Shock and revulsion raged within her at the sheer barbarism of the plan. More importantly, righteous indignation burned in her heart at her country's betrayal, how it had been so willing to sacrifice her and the people under her command… and the young man she had fallen in love with.

_They wanted us dead_, she thought, _they wanted _Heero _dead! No wonder he was on edge at the debriefing; he could sense their intent! He just couldn't figure out their plan._

"They used us," she said, "The _Archangel_, Heero… they used us as bait, and they expect us to die here!"

"Yeah," said the Lieutenant Commander, "ZAFT has devoted considerable resources in its attempts to take out this ship and Wing Zero… something High Command was well aware of. You and Heero were the perfect lure; adding the Eurasians to the pot was just a bonus to them."

"So we're supposed to stay here and die?" said Ensign Neumann, the helmsman's dismay at the revelation clear in his voice, "Why? Why would they do this to us?"

Miriallia's voice came up from the CIC, quiet and grim. "Because… because we're soldiers. We're supposed to follow orders… even if those orders are to die."

_That's the reasoning of the High Command_, thought Murrue, _to them we're just pawns to be sacrificed… to hell with that!_

In a second her resolve and determination returned as she made her decision. She knew it would have serious consequences down the road, and that neither she nor her crew would ever be able to go home again, but she didn't give a damn. _Our country betrayed us; it's no longer our home!_

"If this ship was supposed to lure the enemy in," she said, "then we have more than achieved our mission. I will not stand by and allow the top brass to sacrifice us just so they can defeat ZAFT!"

Murrue immediately began issuing orders. "Helm, forward on the engines; we'll break out through the right side of the bay! Communications, tell the rest of the fleet to form up on us, and let them know about the Cyclops! Have the Gottfrieds and Valiants focus fire on the ships directly in front of us. The same goes for the missile launchers. Miriallia, have the hangar crews ready the Skygrasper, Launcher load out; the Lieutenant Commander needs his plane!"

Her bridge crew looked at her, their eyes wide as she gave her instructions… her declaration of mutiny. It only lasted a moment though; one by one they nodded and returned their attention to their stations. Murrue breathed an inward sigh of relief. _Of course none of them want to stay here and die… still, we are defying the top brass, committing treason… fuck it! I'm getting my people out of here; the brass can go to hell!_

She saw La Flaga nod and salute on the main screen before he signed off. Murrue then turned to her personal monitor; she needed to tell Heero what was going on.

_Heero_, she thought, _we can make it out of here. We will survive! I have not come this far to lose you now!_

….

Cold fury raced through his veins as Heero listened to Murrue's voice. Outwardly he showed no emotion, but within he was struggling to keep his wrath in check, less it cause him to lose control of the Zero System.

_So_, he thought, _that's the dirty secret they were hiding. It all makes sense… damn it! I wasn't able to pierce that last firewall… I screwed up! _He forced the thoughts out of his mind; he'd have plenty of time to beat himself up over it after the battle.

He nodded as she finished explaining the situation. "Alright, I'll do what I can to keep the enemy mobile suits off us." That would be a tall order, even for him; there were still hundreds of them in the air, while the number of Eurasian fighters had dwindled to less than eighty. Heero was also tracking the Duel at the edge of his radar; the last of the stolen prototypes was still engaging the Eurasian planes, but it could join the DINNs fighting him at any time. Dozens of the machines were still swarming around him, and no matter how many Heero took down the enemy just kept throwing more at him.

"Thank you, Heero," said Murrue, "The _Archangel _will be moving to the head of the fleet; we have the most firepower and the toughest armor, so we're the natural spearhead for the breakout." Her voice was calm, but even over the screen Heero could see the worry in her eyes. He certainly couldn't blame her; the enemy forces remained formidable even after their losses, and a breakout would not be easy.

"Heero," she continued, "please… be careful, alright?"

Heero nodded. The fact that, even in the midst of the fierce battle and the betrayal of her country, she was still concerned for his safety, meant a lot to him. However, he didn't want her to be distracted by him now; she needed to focus on her ship and crew.

"I will," he said, doing his best to reassure her, "I didn't survive the Eve Wars just to die here, after all."

"You're right," Murrue replied, nodding, "Still… watch yourself, Heero."

"Roger that," said Heero, "Wing Zero out."

He closed in on another DINN as he signed off, impaling it with his beam saber. As the machine exploded he gained altitude, both to prepare for his next attack and to assess the battlefield.

The ground engagement was no longer his concern; by now the few remaining Eurasian land units had either surrendered or been killed, and ZAFT's ground mobile suits were focusing all their attention on bombarding the base while the infantry massed behind them, preparing to enter the facility.

No, his areas of focus were the air and sea battle. Both were grim for the Alliance, and the situation was made even worse by the fact that they had been pushed back a ways since the start of the battle, meaning that the _Archangel _and the surviving Eurasian forces had to fight over a longer distance in order to break through the enemy armada.

Still, the Alliance survivors were already moving forward, forming up on the _Archangel _and charging into ZAFT's left wing. The white warship lead a much reduced Eurasian fleet. All but one of the heavy carriers had been sunk, and only three of the escort carriers were still afloat as well. Four missile cruisers were still in the action, along with 17 destroyers. All the freighters and tankers were either on fire or at the bottom of the bay. Nevertheless, the fleet pressed forward while firing every weapon they had.

The shift from defense to offense actually caught the ZAFT forces off guard; they had, for the most part, had the dominant role in the battle, and to face a sudden desperate attack like what the Alliance fleet was making threw them momentarily off balance. The _Archangel_'s Gottfried beam cannons gutted two _Vosgulovs_, while a salvo from the Valiants punched two massive holes in one of the enemy's surface carriers, causing it to begin listing sharply to starboard. A volley of Sledgehammer missiles shot out from the ship's rear launchers and rained down on ZAFT's armada, taking out three destroyers and damaging another _Vosgulov_. The fire from the smaller vessels added to havoc the _Archangel _was wreaking, and Heero was also able to observe the white foam of torpedo tracks; some of the Eurasian submarines were apparently still in the fight.

As he went evasive, dodging volleys of rifle fire and missiles, Heero saw the front portions of both the _Archangel_'s 'legs' open up, revealing the Lohengrin Positron Cannons. _Now that the ship is at the head of the fleet_, thought Heero as the guns began charging, taking on a red-orange glow, _Murrue can cut loose without having to worry about friendly fire._

Indeed, a second later a wave of crimson energy ripped forth. Two destroyers literally melted as the beams swept over them, but they were not the targets. The energy blasts continued onward until they slammed into another _Vosgulov_, and the ship was consume by the flood of red hellfire.

_Another one down_, thought Heero as he destroyed another DINN with his beam saber, _but… there's still a lot of them left._

The ZAFT armada had taken serious losses, but they still had plenty of ships left. 29 _Vosgulovs _remained operational, along with 30 destroyers and 5 surface carriers. Combined with the over 200 DINNs, along with that were still actively fighting and the Duel, the reduced fleet was still more than a match for the Alliance remnant… even with Wing Zero thrown into the mix.

Heero fired another blast with the Twin Buster Rifle, taking out ten machines with the shot. However, scarcely a second after the beam had left the massive gun, Heero felt the Gundam shake as a volley of missiles hit him from behind. The physical impacts and subsequent explosions were not enough to damage Wing Zero, of course, but it was a sign of just how desperate the situation was becoming; even the Perfect Soldier was starting to take hits.

_Damn_, he thought as he ascended, evading a second volley, _not good. All these DINNs still left… I can only track so many targets for so long, even with the Zero System. _He hated to admit it, but the sheer weight of their numbers was beginning to take a toll.

Clenching his teeth as he closed in on another machine and impaled it, the Gundam pilot could feel the sweat on his face, could hear his breathing becoming more labored. Still, his determination burned as strongly as ever; he wasn't finished yet.

There was a beeping coming from one of his displays, and as he glanced at it he couldn't help but smirk slightly. "Took you long enough," he said as La Flaga's Skygrasper scrambled for altitude, having just launched from the _Archangel._ The Agni Hyper Impulse Cannon slung beneath its fuselage opened up, and a DINN was speared by the crimson beam, turning into a fireball.

The Lieutenant Commander appeared on one of his monitors. "Sorry I'm late," he said, "Murdoch's crews were split between outfitting my plane and making sure the Spearhead didn't blow."

"Better late than never," said Heero as he jinked to the right, dodging rifle fire, "Get above the furball and set up for a run."

"I know the drill," said La Flaga, "I can't turn and burn with these guys, so hit-and-run attacks are my best bet."

"Yeah," he replied as he destroyed another missile volley with Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings, "and thanks for the help."

"No problem," said the Lieutenant Commander as the blue and white plane continued its ascent, "You and I have put a lot of work into defending that ship; we can't let her go down now."

"Roger that," said Heero as he fired a shot with the Twin Buster Rifle and took out three more DINNs. He was then forced to dive as no less than a hundred machines opened up on him, and he was barely able to weave through the barrage.

He took out two more DINNs with his beam saber before whirling around and destroying another with a low-power shot from the Twin Buster Rifle. _Damn_, he thought, _the air battle's momentum is shifting back into their favor. _An unbidden image flashed through his mind; his battle at Luxembourg in the last war. Fighting against overwhelming forces, slowly being worn down…

_No_, he thought, _this isn't that battle! I'm not here looking for my own death, and my life isn't the only one on the line. Murrue's counting on me; her life rides on my rifle and sword! I can't fail her!_

La Flaga's voice came over the radio. "Fox One! Fox Two!" Two missiles flew into the fray, each hitting a DINN. One lost half its wing and was forced to withdraw, while the other caught the warhead directly in the cockpit and exploded. A second later a red beam lanced through the fight, destroying another mobile suit.

However, despite the Lieutenant Commander's considerable skill and the firepower of his fighter, he was little more than an irritant to the ZAFT pilots. Five DINNs broke off to engage him, and their places were quickly filled by more machines.

Zigzagging across the sky, dodging fire and striking out when he could, Heero noted grimly that ZAFT could easily afford to devote the amount of resources to him that they were. The Eurasian fighter squadrons were all but finished. A scant thirty planes remained in the sky, and only a handful of DINNs were required to handle them. Heero was now facing almost the entirety of ZAFT's surviving air units himself; a force that, even with the considerable losses inflicted on it, still numbered nearly 200 strong.

Increasing the charge of his rifle, he let loose a large blast, and twenty machines ignited like a string of firecrackers. The enemy made him pay for the shot though, unleashing a maelstrom of rifle fire and missiles.

Even with the aid of the Zero System it was impossible for Heero to dodge all the shots; he was tiring, his reflexes and reaction times slowing. Wing Zero rocked as several missiles slammed into the Gundam.

Suddenly he heard La Flaga's voice on the radio. "Heero, the Duel's heading for the _Archangel_! I can't intercept!"

"_Fuck!_" he snarled as the image appeared on one of his monitors. Indeed, the blue and grey machine was weaving through the _Archangel_'s anti-air curtain, almost casually shooting down two fighters with its beam rifle while doing so. The few rounds and missiles that hit the G-weapon were not enough to deter it, and its Phase Shift Armor assured that physical attacks would not be able to bring it down.

"_Get away from her!_" he growled as he took aim with the Twin Buster Rifle. However, just before he fired, another group of missiles slammed into Wing Zero from the side. The impact threw off his shot; five DINNs were destroyed, but the beam slammed into the water behind the Duel.

Heero felt himself go numb with shock and fear as he saw the machine take aim at the _Archangel_'s bridge.

_Murrue!_

….

As she saw the stolen prototype level its rifle, Murrue was convinced that her luck had finally run out. Her heart and mind went out to the extraordinary young man who had impacted her life in a way she'd never thought possible. There was no blame within them; she knew that Heero was doing all he could to protect her, and that the odds against him were overwhelming… even for a Gundam pilot.

As she looked out the forward viewport, she imagined the young man's face in her mind's eye. _Heero… please, live on for me. The time we had together was the best period of my life. I love you, Heero._

She did not close her eyes as the barrel of the Duel's rifle glowed green, its shot a mere instant away. She would not look away; after the countless times that Heero had stared death in the face, how could she do less?

There was a flash of emerald light, an explosion…

Murrue gasped as an energy beam pierced the Duel's rifle, causing it to detonate. The explosion threw the machine off balance and forcing it back, and another mobile suit interposed itself between it and the ship… one unlike any unit she had seen before, save one.

Hovering in front of the _Archangel_, the newcomer presented a powerful image. It's white and black frame, and blue and black wings, exuded a sense of majesty that Murrue had only felt when looking at Wing Zero.

A voice came over the radio… one Murrue had thought she'd never hear again.

"This is Kira Yamato! I'm here, _Archangel_!"

Her eyes widened in shock, her face paled as though she'd seen a ghost… completely understandable, considering she might as well have.

"Kira?" she said, "_Our _Kira?"

The boy's voice came over the radio again, eliminating all doubts in her mind. "This is Kira Yamato! _Archangel_, please respond!"

"Kira!" cried Miriallia, shock and joy in her voice.

"It is Kira!" said Sai.

"Yeah!" said Kuzzey.

"Get him on screen at once!" ordered Murrue.

The young man's face appeared on the main monitor. He was wearing a red flight suit and helmet, and Murrue knew that they were ZAFT flight gear. She didn't care about that at the moment; she'd find out where he'd come from later.

"Kira," she said, smiling, "You're alive!"

He nodded. "Captain, you need to pull back! I'll help Heero and La Flaga take care of these guys!"

Murrue shook her head. "Kira, we can't! There's a Cyclops bomb underneath the base. When it blows it'll destroy everything on this battlefield. They tricked us; this entire battle was a trap, and High Command used us as bait!"

"What?" he said, his eyes widening in shock, "How could they…?"

"It doesn't matter," said Murrue, "We have to get out of here!"

Kira nodded. "Alright, I'll help clear a path."

"Kira, wait!" she cried, "Please, help Heero! ZAFT's hitting him with almost every DINN they've got left!"

As she spoke she glanced at her personal monitor, which was focused on Wing Zero. Heero had recovered from the hits that had thrown his earlier shot off and was fighting his way through the DINNs towards the _Archangel_, but that did not change the fact that he was still up against nearly 200 mobile suits. Every time he launched an attack of his own he was vulnerable to counter-fire from other machines, and while the Gundanium alloy that gave the unit its name was all but impervious to physical attacks, Murrue feared that the mobile suit's armor would be worn down under a concentrated bombardment.

"Alright," said Kira, "but what about the _Archangel_? The Duel's not out of the fight yet; it could come back at any time!"

That was true, and Murrue could see the mobile suit in question hovering not too far away, as if trying to figure out the best way to get past the newcomer. Still, she was desperate to help Heero… and in that desperation she found inspiration.

As she looked at Kira's new mobile suit, she saw that it was bristling with weaponry. She didn't know the specifics of it, but she felt that, when combined with Kira's own skills, it might just be enough for what she needed.

"Kira," she said, "Charge the Duel and take it out quickly. After that, come back over the ship and open up with every gun that thing has; we'll combine our firepower with yours!"

"Got it," said Kira. Murrue saw his mobile suit grab a beam saber and ignite it with its right hand, the violet blade springing to life as the young Coordinator moved in to attack the Duel.

_Hang on Heero_, she thought as the ship shuddered from a missile hit, the warhead fired by one of the enemy destroyers, _we're coming! Please, stay alive; it's our turn to save you!_

….

"What the hell is that thing?" said Yzak, his jaw dropping as he saw the machine that had destroyed his beam rifle charging at him. He'd never seen a mobile suit like the one coming at him now; the closest comparison he could come up with was Wing Zero.

_Another Alliance secret weapon?_, he thought, _Damn it, that thing showed up at the worst possible time!_

He didn't have time to think of much else though; the machine moved incredibly fast, and was on him in no time. He ignited his own beam saber and raised it to block the attack of his new enemy.

He never even came close to blocking the strike. Moving faster than he'd thought possible of a mobile suit, his foe altered the angle of his attack and severed his sword arm. A split second later it fired its beam rifle and hit his flight platform.

"Damn it!" he yelled as the platform shuddered, smoke and fire pouring from it. He disconnected the Duel from the device just before it exploded. Struggling to adapt to the thruster-techniques he'd seen the Strike use during the battle at the Marshall Islands, he was barely able to raise his shield as the new enemy machine came in for another attack.

Yzak thought he'd be able to block this strike, but the enemy swung their sword beneath his shield, ripping the Duel's legs off. This was then followed by two heavy impacts as the rail cannons at the machine's waist swung into position and fired. The rounds hit the Duel's torso, and when combined with the previous attacks the unit had taken were enough to push the power gauge down into the red zone; he had less than a minute before his Phase Shift Armor deactivated… if his foe didn't kill him before then.

_He's got me_, thought Yzak, _beam saber destroyed, rifle destroyed… all I've got is the Igelstellung CIWs mounted in the head, and they won't even scratch that thing; I can tell it has Phase Shift Armor. Damn it, it can't end here!_

He was surprised to hear a voice over his radio. It was on an open channel, and he somehow knew it war from the pilot that had so soundly beaten him. "You need to get out of here!" the voice said. Yzak was surprised to realize that it sounded like a young man, probably around his age. "If you don't want to die, leave here now!"

His eyes widened in shock. "He's… letting me go?" said Yzak as the machine flew off. Mercy was the last thing he'd expected… but he wasn't going to complain. Completely taken aback at the sudden turn of events, he nevertheless knew that the stranger was right. If he kept trying to fight in his state, Yzak would only be signing his own death warrant.

Doing his best to keep the Duel stabilized, he made his way back towards the ZAFT fleet. His altitude continued to fall though, and it was only with the timely assistance of a DINN that he was saved from plunging into the sea.

As his fellow pilot helped him make his way to his carrier, he looked at one of his monitors, which showed the battle he was leaving. "Who is that guy?" he said as he watched the formidable new mobile suits fly back towards the legged ship.

….

Taking up position in front of the bridge of the _Archangel_, Kira's eyes narrowed as he aimed the Freedom's artillery at the air battle overhead. He could see Heero and La Flaga, slugging it out against a massive swarm of DINNs. Heero was taking out foe after foe with the Twin Buster Rifle and his beam saber, but every so often he took a hit as well. Kira knew that his fellow mobile suit pilot was getting tired, a sign of just how brutal the battle had been before he had arrived, and just how desperate the situation still was. La Flaga was struggling as well, hounded by a flight of DINNs that refused to give up pursuit, and the Lieutenant Commander was only able to get off a few shots amidst his frantic evasive maneuvers.

Locking in on a group of targets, Kira cut loose with the Freedom's beam rifle, plasma cannons, and rail guns. Green, red, and yellow shots flew across the sky, and a dozen mobile suits lost their weapons or head cameras. At the same time the _Archangel _unleashed a torrent of fire from every weapon it could bring to bear on the fight. The white warship's bombardment was focused on the flanks of the enemy air forces so as not to endanger Heero and La Flaga. Emerald beams, heavy rail cannon rounds, Igelstellung fire, and Wombat missiles tore into the DINNs, and several machines were destroyed.

_I wish Captain Ramius could take them out without killing them_, he thought, _but I know she can't. The Archangel isn't like the Freedom; it can't target with the same degree of precision._

The enemy air forces were taken by surprise by the sudden barrage, and Kira saw both Heero and La Flaga immediately move to make the most of their reprieve. The Hawk of Endymion pulled the Skygrasper into a u-turn. As the blue and white fighter faced its pursuers it cut loose with the Agni cannon. A crimson beam destroyed one of the DINNs, while a barrage from the heavy gatling gun took out another. Meanwhile, Heero once again fired the Twin Buster Rifle, destroying ten more machines. He then charged another formation of DINNs and began hacking into them with his beam saber.

Still, though they had regained some momentum, Kira knew that they were all in great peril. The _Archangel _and the other surviving Alliance ships were still moving forward, but their pace was too slow; the ZAFT armada was making their breakout difficult, to say the least.

_I have to get them to stop fighting_, he thought as he adjusted the radio, _I have to warn them about the Cyclops trap!_

….

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly as the black, white, and blue mobile suit opened up with its guns. Supported by the _Archangel_, their combined firepower took the ZAFT machines by surprise, and gave him and La Flaga the opening they needed to counter-attack.

_Kira_, he thought as he destroyed ten DINNs with the Twin Buster Rifle, _I guess you're tougher than I thought. I was sure you'd died when the Aegis and Strike exploded. Then again, considering I survived self-detonating the Wing Gundam, I guess I shouldn't have written you off so quickly. It's good to have you back… my friend._

Heero had plenty of questions, of course. How Kira had survived, where had he been the past several weeks, where had he gotten the mobile suit he was now piloting… those were amongst the many queries floating in the back of his mind. However, the Gundam pilot knew that those questions could wait for later; they had much more important things to worry about at the moment.

He raised an eyebrow as he saw that all of Kira's shots only disabled the DINNs, rather than destroyed him. _The accuracy is impressive_, he mused, _and Kira never really accepted the fact that as a mobile suit pilot he would have to kill people… still, I have my concerns. If he stops trying to kill entirely during battle, he may be unable to react if he's confronted with a situation where he _has _to kill. That could cost him his life, or the lives of others. I'll have to talk with him about that later._

Still, Heero wasn't about to complain now; even if he wasn't destroying the enemy mobile suits, Kira's shots were still enough to take them out of the fight, and they desperately needed to remove as many of them as they could, as fast as they could, if they were to stand a chance at getting out of there alive.

As he destroyed another DINN with his beam saber he heard Kira's voice over the radio, on an open channel. "Attention ZAFT forces! There's a Cyclops bomb underneath the base! When it blows, it'll kill everyone here. Please, stop fighting and withdraw now!"

Heero shook his head as he took down another DINN. _Well intentioned, Kira_, he thought, _but pointless. You may be trying to save their lives, but all they see is another enemy shooting at them. They'll only view your words as a ploy; you're not going to convince them to back off._

Still, something had to be done if they were to survive the battle. Kira's arrival had tipped the scales somewhat, but the Alliance ships weren't progressing fast enough. Even on it left flank, where the _Archangel _had resumed hammering away with its guns in its role as the lead ship of the break out force, ZAFT's forces were still strong, and they were fighting back fiercely. The ragged survivors were taking hits, and thought the _Archangel _absorbed the rounds and missiles that hit her hull with minimal difficulty, the same could not be said for the Eurasian ships.

_At this rate_, thought Heero as he fired another shot with the Twin Buster Rifle, taking out four more DINNs, _they're not going to make it! Murrue… I have to save her!_

He was desperate for a plan, _any _plan… and he knew of only one place he might find inspiration. Going on the evasive, he immersed himself further into the Zero System. He knew that he was increasing the risk of losing control over it, especially considering how much strain his body and mind were already being subjugated to, but he had no other options.

_I need a path_, he thought as images and numbers flashed through his mind, _I need a path out of here. Not just for myself, but the Archangel as well. Literally, metaphorically… give me something, Zero._

And then it hit him. All the other images, all the other possible futures that the system was presenting him with, disappeared.

All but one.

Heero's eyes narrowed, his incredibly sharp mind focusing on the single possibility, the one chance he had to save the woman he loved. It was risky, of course; in fact, it was practically suicidal.

In other words, par for the course for a Gundam pilot.

He had the power and the skill to pull it off… he just needed a little help.

Hitting the radio, he contacted his fellow pilots. "Lieutenant Commander, Kira, listen up. Cover the _Archangel_; I'm going to take care of the Cyclops system."

"What do you mean, Heero?" asked Kira as the Gundam pilot gunned his engines, making a mad dash towards the Alaska base.

"Damn it, Heero!" yelled La Flaga, "You can't shut the Cyclops down! The base is a labyrinth; even if you knew which way to go, there's no way you could get to the bomb before it blows! It's a suicide run!"

"When did I say I was going _inside _the base?" Heero replied.

There was silence on the comm line for a second before La Flaga burst out laughing. "Oh, man," he said after a moment, "I knew there was a reason I liked you! So, you think you've got what it takes to pull it off?"

"Only if you two protect the _Archangel_," he said, "I won't be able to focus my aim correctly if I'm worried about that ship."

Of course, it was Murrue he was worried about more than the ship, but he wasn't about to say that to Kira and La Flaga. Besides, right now keeping Murrue and the _Archangel _safe were one and the same.

"Copy that," said La Flaga, "Good luck, Heero!"

"Don't worry," said Kira, both resolve and a hint of confusion in his voice, "We'll take care of the ship. Uhm… good luck!"

"Roger that," said Heero as he signed off. Slashing his way through the horde of DINNs, destroying no less than twenty before he finally broke out of the furball, he pushed his engines to the max as he flew towards the Alaska base, leaving his enemies in the dust.

All the while he was running calculations through his head. _Two consecutive, full power, in atmosphere…_, he thought, _that's within the structural tolerances, and it should be enough to deal with the fortifications. I haven't gone above seventy-five percent in this fight, so the reactor's been able to keep up with my usage; I have the charge I need. It should be enough; the real trick will be targeting… that, and pulling this off before the Cyclops detonates and kills us all._

….

"What the hell is he doing?" said Ensign Neumann from his post at the helm.

Murrue heard other members of her crew utter similar statements as they saw Wing Zero streak towards the Alaska base on the main monitor. She couldn't blame them for their doubts; they didn't know what he was planning to do.

Murrue, however… even though Heero had not contacted her before he'd made his breakout and begun his run towards the base, knew exactly what he had in mind. Part of it was because of how well she had come to know the incredible young man… and the other part was that she knew _exactly _what kind of power he wielded, and that he would be drawing upon all of it to achieve his goal.

_You can do it, Heero_, she thought as she turned her attention back to the enemy fleet, _I know you can. I believe in you with all my heart; I know you'll succeed!_

….

**(Start "Rhythm Emotion")**

Climbing above the range of the guns of the ZAFT ground forces, Heero moved into position over the base. Charging the Twin Buster Rifle as he did so, he brought up a terrain map of the area on one of his side monitors.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he recalled his infiltration of the base several weeks ago; more specifically, the facility maps he had pulled up on the computer during his hacking attempt. He had not saved them onto any external memory device, but they were stored in something much easier to access; his own mind.

With perfect clarity, he saw the floor plans of the base overlay perfectly with the terrain map in his mind's eye. Aiming the Twin Buster Rifle at the exact center of where he knew the Cyclops system to be located-the giant circular room that had been labeled as a storage facility on the map- he held his position as the barrels of the gun glowed with yellow energy. When the charge reached maximum he double checked his trajectory, took a breath, and pulled the trigger…

…and unleashed Armageddon.

The power to destroy an entire _colony _tore forth from the weapon; a massive torrent of yellow-gold hellfire. The energy blast slammed dead-center into the target area, and Heero's monitors were flooded by yellow light as a titanic explosion ripped through layers of earth, concrete, and steel. The base's mass driver, part of which ran over the area he had targeted, was utterly annihilated, as was the airfield.

The massive blast expanded outward, a gargantuan hemi-sphere of golden-yellow destruction. The ZAFT mobile suits closest to the base were pulverized by the shockwave and Heero knew that he had just killed not only them but any Eurasian ground forces that may have surrendered in the process.

That grim fact did not deter his resolve, and he began recharging his weapon even before the light from the first blast had dissipated. _They're already dead_, he thought solemnly, _if not by my hand, then the Cyclops. It does not change the fact that I killed them, but they were doomed either way. _He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of the woman he had sworn to protect at all costs. _Murrue, forgive me. I know you will; you've always been so understanding with me, and you're smart enough to know that the Atlantic Federation High Command doomed those men and women by putting them in that position. Still… I'm sorry._

As the Twin Buster Rifle built up energy for its next attack, Heero checked his monitors to see what was happening in the rest of the battle. He saw that both sides had actually stopped firing at each other for a moment, as if they were transfixed by what he had just done. _I guess I can't blame them. After all, this is the first time I've used the full power of the Twin Buster Rifle in this world. The ZAFT forces are probably doubly shocked; after all, as far as they know I'm an Alliance pilot, and I just fired on the Alaska base. To say they're probably confused right now would be an understatement._

Still, the pause in the fighting did not last long. Heero saw Kira's new machine open up again with its guns, destroying the rifles of several DINNs. La Flaga joined in with the Skygrasper, taking out a mobile suit with the Agni and another with a pair of missiles. Meanwhile, the _Archangel _and the surviving Eurasian ships resumed firing on the ZAFT fleet in their desperate attempt to break through and escape the battlefield.

As he continued charging the rifle, Heero knew that he was vulnerable. However, none of the DINNs moved to engage him, which was what he had been counting on. _They're still trying to figure out what's going on_, he thought, _I know they didn't believe what Kira said about the Cyclops, so right now they're probably wondering if I'm a traitor or just insane. Either way, they'll keep their distance for a little while at least, which is all I need._

Zooming in on the impact area with his sensors, Heero saw that he had ripped a massive hole in the ground, and had torn through several layers of the base's fortifications. _The next shot should do it_, he thought. It would _have _to; his instincts were telling him that he was running out of time, and quickly.

"Here goes," he muttered to himself. Taking aim again, Heero opened fire, once again releasing a power that none in the Cosmic Era had ever dreamed existed until today. Another massive explosion engulfed the base, and his visual sensors were once again obscured by bright yellow light. Still holding position, Heero knew that now he could only wait and see if he had destroyed his target; if he was still alive in the next few seconds, he would have his answer.

Eventually he could feel himself relax as his instincts told him that the threat had been neutralized. Adjusting his sensors again, he was able to confirm his suspicions; the crater was _deep_, and it had definitely passed the 500 meter mark where the Cyclops system had been stored. What he could make out on the bottom was little more than black and red earth, turned to glass by the incredible heat of the explosion.

Taking one last look at what had once been a combination of base and death trap, Heero gunned his engines and made a beeline for the _Archangel_. Contacting the ship, he saw Murrue's face appear on the monitor.

"This is Wing Zero," he said, "The Cyclops system has been destroyed."

Murrue smiled. "Thank you, Heero. I knew you could do it!"

Heero nodded. "Thanks… but I didn't even tell you what my plan was."

"No," said Murrue, "but I know you, Heero. I know what you can do with Wing Zero. Now, let's get out of here!"

"Agreed," said Heero, "I'll help Kira and La Flaga keep the DINNs away from the _Archangel_. You focus on cutting a path through the fleet."

"I will," she replied, her brown eyes burning with resolve, "We will survive, Heero!"

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly, remembering the words he'd spoken before destroying the falling section of the _Libra_. "Yes, we will, Murrue."

He signed off before he plunged headlong into the horde of DINNs still swarming over the battlefield. Heero didn't dare use the Twin Buster Rifle so soon after firing it twice in row at maximum power; he wanted to give the weapon some cool down time. Instead he would focus on close range combat and leave the long range fighting to Kira; the boy's new mobile suit certainly had enough guns to handle that.

Wing Zero streaked across the sky, slashing three DINNs with its beam saber in as many seconds. Though Heero was tired from the prolonged battle, Kira and his new machine were taking a considerable amount of the pressure off him, and Heero was once again able to avoid taking any major hits while fighting.

He fired his shoulder gatlings, destroying two DINNs before the last of his ammo was depleted. _Looks like I'm stuck with just the beam saber now_, he thought, _that'll have to be enough._

He radioed Kira to give him the news. "Kira, I'm out of ammo, and I need to give the rifle time to cool off, so I can only use my beam saber. You're our heavy artillery for the rest of the fight."

"Got it," said Kira as he let loose another storm of fire with his guns, disabling eight DINNs, "La Flaga and I will handle the long range fighting."

"Take a load off, Heero," said the Lieutenant Commander, "You've gone way above and beyond the call of duty. Stay close to the _Archangel _and play goal keeper for us; you'll never admit it, but I know you're getting tired."

Heero nodded, knowing La Flaga's words were true. "Thanks. Wing Zero out."

Heading for the ship, taking down three more DINNs in the process, Heero took up position above the _Archangel_'s bridge. _I can defend best from here_, he thought.

It also gave him a front row seat to Murrue's struggle to get her ship and crew out of the battlefield. The remaining Alliance forces had suffered further casualties, and the surviving flotilla was damn near pitiful. Only two cruisers were left, along with nine destroyers. The escort carriers were gone, though the last of the heavy carriers still miraculously remained afloat. Scanning the water, Heero also was able to detect the outlines of four Alpha V attack subs and one _Theta_-class submarine/carrier. The radar showed only twelve Eurasian fighters still airborne; the last remnants of the once mighty air force. The surviving DINNs were ignoring the planes, focusing their efforts on Kira, La Flaga, and Heero. _At least they'll all be able to fit on that carrier_, he thought grimly, _assuming any of them survive the last minutes of this fight._

The _Archangel _and her allies were redoubling their efforts to punch through the ZAFT fleet, sensing that they were at long last on the home stretch. The white warship cut loose with its bow-mounted Lohengrins, and crimson fire spewed forth, destroying another _Vosgulov_. The Gottfrieds and Valiants opened up as well, taking down four more destroyers. At the same time, the Eurasian warships fired with everything they had left, damaging several ships in the process.

Of course, Heero wasn't idle as the Alliance ships made their final push. Though Kira was taking a considerable amount of the DINNs' attention, and La Flaga was making himself a thorn in ZAFT's side with constant hit-and-run strikes, there were still plenty of enemy machines left to attack the _Archangel_. A group of mobile suits came down from above, and Heero met them halfway. He tore into his foes, and four DINNs exploded in the space of mere seconds. At the same time, the _Archangel_'s CIWs and Helldart missile launchers cut loose with renewed fury, aiming at the machines at Heero's flanks. Three more were destroyed before the others backed off and attempted to regroup for another attack run.

Heero never gave them the chance. He slashed one DINN in half, and then impaled another through its cockpit. He then bisected another from stem to stern before pulling back, resuming his position over the _Archangel_'s bridge.

The Alliance fleet's final, desperate attack, combined with the withering and incredibly precise fire Kira was dishing out and Heero's own defensive piloting, at last met with success. Firing one last salvo with the Gottfrieds, the _Archangel _destroyed the last _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carrier in its path, and led the allied ships out into the open ocean. At that point the ZAFT fleet commanders apparently decided that enough was enough; the surviving ships on the armada's left wing pulled in to reinforce the center, while the more intact right wing advanced further into the bay. The DINNs pulled back, discouraged from pursuing by a final barrage from Kira. The young Coordinator then made his way towards the _Archangel_, with the Lieutenant Commander's fighter close behind him.

Looking at the black, white, and blue machine on his monitor, Heero nodded at the image; a salute to the capabilities of both the mobile suit and its pilot. _You've definitely gotten better, Kira_, he thought, _and that machine… it may not have the proper alloy, but I think it might be worthy of the title of 'Gundam'. I may have some reservations regarding your… tactics, but that doesn't change the fact that I owe you big time. You saved Murrue when I failed, and I'll never forget that. Thank you… it's good to have you back._

There was another feeling in his heart besides gratitude, and it wasn't directed at his fellow mobile suit pilot. He could feel the wrath smoldering in the depths of his soul, and while he was able to keep it under wraps for now and not let it affect his control over the Zero System, he could not deny that it was there… and that it could prove problematic in the future.

That wrath was not for ZAFT, which would have come as a surprise to others. Though they had attacked Alaska and nearly killed the woman he loved, Heero's attitude towards his foes was the same professional detachment that he treated all his enemies with. The Alaska base was an important strategic target, and ZAFT had a vested interest in taking it out, along with the _Archangel_. Of course, Heero would fight to the death to defend the ship and Murrue from ZAFT, but he would not hate ZAFT while doing so; they were simply the opposing force, no more and no less.

No, his fury was for those who had set Murrue up, who had tried and damn near succeeded to get her killed; the Atlantic Federation High Command. Heero would never, _ever_, forget their treachery… and he would make them pay for it in blood.

_With our actions_, he mused, _we will now be labeled as traitors by the High Command. The Archangel can never return to Atlantic Federation territory; we're on the run now. I doubt we'll be able to take shelter in Eurasia either; though we helped save some of their forces, I have no doubt they'd want to control the Archangel, and I won't allow them to use us as pawns like the Atlantic Federation High Command did._

_ We'll have to find somewhere else to take refuge… and the High Command will no doubt come after us eventually. The Archangel represents a considerable investment, and though they were willing to sacrifice it as bait, now that it's effectively gone rogue I'm certain they will begin efforts to hunt us down and destroy us soon enough. When that happens, when we meet Alliance forces on the battlefield…_

_ …I'll kill them all._

**(End "Rhythm Emotion")**

...

It was fortunate for Creuset that he was both wearing a mask and standing at the rear of the _Vespucci_'s bridge. The Commander had a reputation of remaining cool no matter what happened… a reputation that would have taken a severe blow if the submarine/carrier's bridge crew could see the rage burning in his eyes. His teeth were clenched, all but gnashing together in fury, concealed only by the firmness by which he kept his lips sealed shut.

Everything had been according to plan. He had made it back to the ship, which had been secure at the rear of the armada, well out of range of the impending Cyclops detonation. Creuset had removed the Allster girl from the DINN Mk. II and stashed her away in his quarters after sedating her; he considered her more of a somewhat confined guest than an actual prisoner, along with a potentially valuable pawn for his long-term goals. He had then made his way to the _Vespucci_'s bridge, brimming with anticipation at the coming carnage, the fruition of the next stage of his grand plan, the harbinger of things to come.

And then, in the space of mere minutes, it had been completely derailed.

He had been surprised at the arrival of the Freedom, not the least because it had saved the legged ship. Obviously the prototype had been hijacked, and he had little doubt the Clyne faction had been behind it. He'd resolved to deal with them as soon as he returned to space, but the new mobile suit's arrival had not immediately threatened to throw off his scheme.

Then Wing Zero had made its run towards the base. Creuset had at first been puzzled as to what its pilot had been thinking before seeing the fearsome machine take up position over the facility. Then it had dawned on him what was about to happen… just before the Gundam opened fire. Even then though, he had not believed that Wing Zero's main weapon would have the power needed to breach the base's fortifications and destroy the Cyclops system.

He'd miscalculated. _Considerably_.

Now all his hard work, months of deception and planning… had been reduced to a single, massive hole in the ground.

The ZAFT armada had suffered heavy losses in the fight… but they were not nearly as bad as they would've been had the Cyclops detonated as planned. There were still 20 _Vosgulovs_, 19 destroyers, and 5 surface carriers left, along with all the heavy assault transports and the smaller infantry transports.

The mobile suit count was also far more than it should've been. There were still 54 GINNs, 21 BuCues, 25 ZuOOTs, and, counting the disabled units, 108 DINNs. Only the amphibious units had suffered the losses his plan had called for; 90% of them had been destroyed, either on the ground or in the fierce underwater fighting, taking nearly all of the Eurasian underwater combat forces with them. _The only bit that went right_, he fumed.

Barely maintaining his cool veneer, he excused himself from the bridge, delegating his command authority over the fleet to the ship's captain. He made his way through the ship's corridors, still holding back his rage, until he made it to his private office.

Once inside, he locked the door, walked briskly behind the desk, grabbed the ZAFT flag that hung on the pole behind it, and swung it at his computer. The monitor shattered, but that wasn't nearly enough to satisfy his fury. He then swung the flagpole at one of the chairs, hitting it with such force that the wooden frame splintered. Creuset then hurled the flagpole at the wall like a spear, with enough strength to actually leave a considerable dent in it.

He then whipped out his sidearm and fired at the lamp on the desk. One shot was naturally enough to shatter the light bulb, but Creuset emptied the whole clip into the fixture. After hearing the telltale click due to the empty magazine, Creuset threw the gun at the wall. He then walked over and punched one of the pictures hanging on the wall, this one a watercolor rendering of a _Nazca_-class destroyer trading fire with a _Nelson_-class battleship. Glass shards from its protective covering embedded themselves into his knuckles, and blood dripped on the floor. However, his rage was so great that he did not feel the slightest hint of pain.

"Damn you," he growled before letting lose a howl worthy of a hellhound, "_Damn you, __**WING ZERO!**_"

Preview for next time!

_Having survived the battle at Alaska, Heero and the Archangel's crew are now officially traitors to the Earth Alliance. Desperate for a place to rest and resupply, Murrue pins her hopes on the neutral nation of Orb. Meanwhile, the aftermath of Operation Spitbreak sends shockwaves throughout the Earth Sphere, and both sides scramble to adjust their plans in the wake of the unforeseen turn of events. While Creuset moves to manipulate Supreme Chairman Zala and ZAFT in order to get his plan back on track, another player is at last taking the stage. Though he may have the appearance of an angel, his hatred and ruthlessness are worthy of the deepest pits of Hell. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Sixteen: Enter Azrael._

_Desiring purity, he seeks to purge with fire... ambition and genocide walk hand in hand._

Author's Notes: Whew, finally got this one done. I have to admit, I was really worried about doing it right, especially after all the buildup. Well, I'm happy with the way it turned out, it was a blast to write! Creuset rampaging at the end was just the icing on the cake. Shouldn't have underestimated Wing Zero, Commander...

As I mentioned in the last chapter, updates will take longer to do from now on due to the increasingly complicated geo-political situation in the Earth Sphere, along with the developing character relationships, especially the main pairing. Of course, the battles will be growing more intricate as well; as big and detailed as it was, Spitbreak was really a trial run for me, a test bed for my large scale battle writing techniques, and a harbinger of things to come.

Well, 15 officially kicks off the second half of the story! How've I done so far? As always, please review, I really appreciate the input!

Until next time, my friends!


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes: **Hey guys, sorry this took so long! Ok, warning up front, this is the longest chapter of the story, so make sure you've got an hour or two of free time before you start reading this. Food and drink are highly recommended, and some caffein as well if you're staying up late.

Since the music was a hit in the last chapter, I'm doing more in this one. It's only one song, and it's not until well into the second half of the chapter. It's called "Ephemeral Dream", and it's from the Soul Calibur Three soundtrack. Beautiful piece, one of my absolute favorites in the series.

Lot's going on in this chapter, I've got a little bit of everything in here, including a brief battle scene for all my action oriented readers. Of course, the next big battle won't be until Episode Seventeen, but I think you'll enjoy the small one that's in here.

Alright, enough from me, I know what you're here for.

Enjoy!

**Episode Sixteen: Enter Azrael**

"Captain," said the radar operator, "There's still no sign of pursuit. I think it's safe to say they've had enough for one day."

Murrue nodded. They had been cruising for thirty minutes, still on high alert. After the multitude of close calls in the last battle, Murrue wasn't taking any chances. _After the hellhole we just fought our way out of_, she thought, _there's no way I'm letting us get taken down now._

Checking her personal monitor, she saw Wing Zero still above the bridge; Heero had no intention of abandoning his vigil until they were completely out of the enemy's range. Skygrasper One and Kira's new mobile suit were further back, while behind them was the pitiful remnant of the once mighty Eurasian fleet.

The enormity of what they had done by fleeing the battlefield was still sinking in for Murrue, and she needed time to process all that had transpired and plan her next move. She was also worried about the morale of her crew; Murrue had no doubt that they would all be labeled as traitors to their country, and would never be able to go home again. _Everyone's still running off the adrenaline from the battle, but it'll wear off soon, and one by one they'll start to realize just what kind of situation we're in. I need to give them strength, I need to give them hope… but how?_

She did not yet know how she would lead her crew in the days to come, but as she once again looked at Wing Zero on her screen she felt her resolve strengthen. _Heero, no matter what happens, I know you'll stand with me. I cannot begin to express just how grateful I am for that… I'll need your strength more than ever as we move forward._

However, Murrue was also aware that she was not the only one in need of support. For all his phenomenal strength and skill, Heero was still one man. There was only so much he could do, and the battle at Alaska had driven that point home in a way their previous engagements never could. His abilities enabled him to take on odds that would be suicidal to anyone else… but that did not mean he was guaranteed to succeed. Even Heero needed support on the battlefield, something she had already been aware of before the fight at Alaska, but now felt much more acutely than before.

She also knew that it was not just support in combat that he needed. Murrue was fully aware of Heero's own personal issues, his search for a purpose beyond the battlefield, along with his conflict with his own past. Though she knew the young man was more than willing to fight for her and the _Archangel_, she also knew that all the combat he had engaged in since arriving in the Cosmic Era was only adding to his burden; it wasn't making it easier for him to find a role for himself beyond that of a soldier. He hadn't spoken of his search for a purpose since their voyage through the Red Sea, but she knew that it was still there… along with his doubts as to whether or not he could truly move beyond a life of fighting. He needed someone to stand by him, to give him solace and comfort in their war ravaged world… and Murrue knew that she was the only person capable of giving that to him.

_Heero_, she thought, _that battle was hard on all of us, but for you… you carried the heaviest burden, endured the fiercest fighting. You are by far the strongest person I know… but even your strength has limits. Physically, emotionally… you must be exhausted._

Murrue resolved to find time to talk to him in private once she was able to leave her post. There was a lot she wanted to discuss with him, and she was sure Heero would want to talk as well, especially after all that had happened that day. _We can begin planning our next move_, she thought, _and I can see how he's doing. I know he won't be as worried about being labeled a traitor as the rest of the crew is; hell, he isn't even a part of the Atlantic Federation, so technically he didn't betray anyone. He swore to protect me and this ship, and not once has he broken that vow. Still, after all that happened today, I'm sure there's a lot on his mind. Heero always holds things so close to the chest… I want to give him a chance to air his own concerns and feelings. He would never do that in public, but if it's just us then I know he'll open up… and that he'll allow me to do the same. _

"Captain," said the radar operator, "there's a small island about seven kilometers south of our position. We could stop there… and take stock of our situation. After all, considering what we've done…"

Murrue could tell that the officer was nervous about voicing his opinions, and rushed to reassure him. She gave him a small smile as she spoke. "Yes, you're right. Keep an eye on the sensors and make sure there's nothing in the area that can threaten us."

Murrue then turned towards the helmsman. "Ensign Neumann, head for that island. Take us past the shoreline and inland; we'll stop there and do a thorough inspection of the ship, account for our battle damage and supplies."

"Aye, Captain," he said, "setting course."

"Communications," she said, "Any word from the Eurasians?"

"I just received a message from the carrier, ma'am," the radio officer replied, "It and the rest of the Eurasian vessels are going to break off and head for Vladivostok. Their commander wishes us luck, and asks you to pass on his thanks to Heero."

"Tell him that I will, and that we wish them a safe journey home," said Murrue.

"Understood, Captain," he said.

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "tell Kira and La Flaga to come forward and form up on our flanks. Heero can keep his position above us until we reach the island. They can all land then, and we'll begin to figure out what comes next."

"Yes, ma'am," said the girl, and Murrue was pleased to hear the confidence in her voice. _Of course she's feeling good_, thought Murrue, _Kira's back; her friend is alive. It doesn't change the fact that her boyfriend is dead, but at least she regained someone she thought was lost forever._

"Captain," said Miriallia, "Chief Murdoch wants to speak with you."

"Put him on the main monitor," said Murrue.

The grizzled head mechanic appeared on the main screen. "Captain," he said, "our preliminary investigations haven't turned up any damage to major systems, but the hull took quite a pounding in that fight. Any chance we can find somewhere to stop so my teams can look the ship over and do some exterior work?"

Murrue nodded. "We're already heading towards a small island. The sensors haven't picked up any signs of military activity on it, so we'll be stopping there for a bit."

"Oh," said Murdoch, "alright, thanks ma'am."

"You're welcome, Crew Chief," said Murrue, "Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

"Well," he said, "when we get to that island, could you have both Kira and Heero land their mobile suits outside instead of in the hangar? Judging from the images we've seen down here, Kira's new machine is much more massive than the Strike. I know we still have plenty of space down here, but I'd appreciate it if I could take some time to reorganize all our heavy equipment so we can properly hold that new machine before we take off again. I need to shift some things around in the hangar, and we still haven't completely gotten the Spearhead out of the way and secured."

"That won't be a problem," said Murrue, "However, I want one of your resupply teams to come outside the ship when we set down; Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings are empty, and I want them reloaded ASAP."

"Understood, Captain," he replied, "Murdoch out."

As the Crew Chief signed off Murrue contacted Heero on her personal monitor. The Gundam pilot appeared on her screen, and though his face was still calm and composed, Murrue could sense the weariness he was holding back. Her heart went out to the young man. _Heero, you've done the impossible yet again. Please, stay strong for just a little longer; I promise you can rest soon._

"Heero," she said, "how are you holding up?"

"I'm alright," he replied, though his sweat matted brow and the tired look in his eyes suggested otherwise, "Wing Zero's fine too; the Twin Buster Rifle's cooling off, and the reactor is replenishing the charge. The Gundanium armor suffered no major damage; ZAFT wasn't able to hit me with a concentrated bombardment. They did scratch the paint though."

Murrue smiled slightly at that last bit, a clear attempt on Heero's part to lessen her worries with a bit of humor. "Well, the hangar crews can always fix that. Heero, we'll be landing on an island to the south shortly. Murdoch wants you and Kira to set down outside until he can clean up and reorganize the hangar to more effectively accommodate the mobile suits."

"Understandable," said Heero, "Kira's new machine is definitely bigger than his last unit, and I imagine the tonnage is considerably greater. Alright, I'll pass that on to him; we'll touch down next to the _Archangel_."

"Ok," said Murrue, "Also, I'm going to have Murdoch send one of the tech teams out to reload Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings when you land."

"Thanks," he replied, "It'll be good to have those ready for action as soon as possible. After all… ZAFT's no longer our only enemy."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, you're right, Heero. For now, please keep your position over the _Archangel_. We should reach the island in about twenty minutes."

"Roger that," said Heero. He gave her a nod before signing off.

Murrue leaned back in her chair, and she could feel her own weariness begin to set in. She resolved to hold it at bay for a little while longer; once she was off shift, once she was with Heero, then she could allow herself to take a load off.

_As Captain_, she thought, _I have to appear strong in front of my crew, regardless of how I may feel on the inside. When I'm with Heero, though… I don't have to wear that mask. I can be myself, let out my feelings… thank you, Heero._

...

A little while later Heero could see the island Murrue had mentioned on the horizon. He was relieved at the sight, knowing that he would soon be landing. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his system, sustaining him for the last part of the battle, had worn out awhile ago, and all the strain he had put himself through was catching up to him. His body felt heavy, and his mind, while still alert, was struggling to ward off fatigue. _It'll be good to get out of the cockpit_, he thought, _I could definitely use some fresh air right about now._

Still, his exhaustion did not mean that his guard was down. He was still constantly checking his sensors for threats; there was no way in hell he would allow ZAFT or the Alliance to get within striking distance now.

However, he wasn't just scanning for threats. Heero was also using the Search Eye, Wing Zero's most advanced sensor, to analyze Kira's new mobile suit. He had been impressed by the machine's performance in the battle, especially by the degree of precision with which Kira had been able to operate its weapons. _It must have a very sophisticated targeting system_, he thought, _I know Kira's skills are considerable, but even he would have difficulty acquiring targets for so many weapons simultaneously. I'm betting it has advanced tracking software, possible to use only with the advanced reflexes and mental speeds of Coordinators._

The new mobile suit's firepower was considerable. It had two plasma cannons, two heavy rail guns, a beam rifle, two CIWs mounted on the head, and two beam sabers. On the left arm was a large black shield with a red line down the middle, and Heero was betting it had the same anti-beam coating on it used by the shields of the other GAT-series machines. _I'm sure that armor is Phase Shift as well_, he thought, _that machine bears some resemblance to the stolen prototypes, so I'm betting that aspect of their technology was incorporated into it. _He had little doubt the unit was built by ZAFT and that Kira had somehow hijacked it; the only way the boy could've known where Spitbreak was really taking place was if he'd had contact with people in the PLANTs. _No doubt there's an interesting story there… someone must've recovered him after the battle in the Marshall Islands and brought him to the Coordinator homeland. How he came by that machine, though… I guess I'll have to wait and hear what he has to say about that._

There was one feature, though, that had caught his attention more than any other; its power source. Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the unit's emission profile. _Those energy readings are nuclear, no doubt about that. That should be impossible; I know for certain that mobile suit isn't made out of Gundanium alloy, so the armor can't block N-jammer emissions._

There was only one possible explanation; the mobile suit was equipped with a device that somehow cancelled out N-jammer emissions. That further reinforced Heero's belief that the machine had been developed by ZAFT; they had built the N-jammers, so they were in the best position to develop technology to counteract those devices since they had access to their schematics. The implications of such technology being developed, however… were unsettling, to say the least.

_This was what Erica Simmons feared_, he mused, recalling his talks with Morgenroete's Chief Engineer during the month long stopover in Orb, _the reintroduction of nuclear arms into this conflict. Granted, this is a mobile suit and not an ICBM, but still… from here it's not much of a step towards fitting this technology to nuclear weapons. According to those Alliance files I read, the radical faction within the PLANTs was gaining support. If they've acquired even more power since those reports were written… then this conflict could escalate far beyond what it is now._

Looking at the machine on his monitor, Heero could not help but feel that it was an ominous sign of things to come. The Perfect Soldier felt uneasy as he realized that he would have to interrogate Kira about his time in the PLANTs; who had rescued him, taken care of him, and enabled him to gain access to that machine. He'd do it gently, of course; he knew the boy wasn't naturally deceptive, and Heero was confident Kira would want to share any major developments that concerned them. _He wouldn't want this war to become a nuclear conflict_, thought Heero, _I'm sure of that. Hopefully all that will be required of me is some gentle questioning. _Heero was profoundly grateful to Kira for saving the _Archangel_ – saving _Murrue_ – from the Duel when he had failed, and he felt deeply indebted to him. However, that would not stop him from becoming aggressive in his questioning should the need arise. He wouldn't get physical, of course; he wasn't a torturer. However, that would not stop Heero from using every underhanded trick in his arsenal to get information from Kira… and his knowledge of interrogations was considerable.

_I don't want to resort to those, Kira_, he thought, _and hopefully you'll never have to learn that I have them. _Heero would just have to play things by ear when the time came.

His concerns over the new machine aside, Heero was glad that Kira was back from the dead, so to speak. Having his help would make defending the _Archangel _much easier. More importantly… his _friend _was back. Granted, he'd only called Kira that when he'd spoken to Murrue, and had never said it to his face, but he did consider the young man to be a friend, and knowing that he was alive gave him a small boost of confidence in their situation. Things were still grim, to be sure; now they would be hunted by ZAFT _and _the Alliance. However, he now had another comrade to fight alongside, and that did make a difference.

Setting aside his thoughts on Kira and his new mobile suit, Heero's mind returned to the person he'd been thinking of for the majority of the flight from the battle at Alaska; Murrue. Heero was incredibly relieved that she was still alive… and haunted at just how close she had come to death. The image of the Duel about to fire on the _Archangel_'s bridge was all too near his thoughts, and he knew that he had failed her when she'd needed him the most. It did not matter to Heero that he had taken down more of ZAFT's invasion force than the entire combined Eurasian forces and the _Archangel_, nor did he care that he had destroyed a weapon of mass destruction hidden in one of the most fortified locations on Earth; he had failed to destroy the Duel as it had made its approach. The fact that missile impacts had thrown his shot off meant nothing to him; he had sworn to protect her, no matter what happened. Only Kira's timely arrival had prevented his worst nightmare from becoming reality… and even then, the thought of just how close things had been was enough to send shivers down his spine.

That fear became cold fury as thoughts of the battle inevitably brought to mind those who had done their best to make sure the _Archangel _and her crew would meet their end there; the Atlantic Federation High Command. Heero managed to force those emotions down before they interfered with his control over the Zero System… but they were still there, lurking like a wraith in the dark recesses of his heart. He was not sure how, when, or where, but he knew exactly _what _he would do to avenge their attempted murder of the woman he loved; he would hunt down the four Admirals who sat on the High Command and kill them all.

_Maybe I'll get lucky_, he thought, _and they'll come to me. They all have field commands; fleets they're personally responsible for. I'll have to run through the files later, check which ones have which group, what their flagships are… I want to know if they're on the field when we meet the Alliance in combat._

Fear for what had nearly happened to Murrue – and anger at who had arranged it – were not the only feelings Heero was dealing with. The Perfect Soldier was worried about Murrue, concerned over how she was holding up. He knew that she always did her best to maintain the image of strength and determination in front of her crew… but he had seen the fear and dismay in her eyes when she had contacted him during the battle to inform him of the Atlantic Federation's treachery. Though her resolve to get her subordinates out of that mess alive, and to continue to protect them, had been far stronger than her doubts and fears, Heero knew that they were still there. _She's now a traitor to her country_, he thought, _just because she refused to lie down and die when her superiors ordered her to, because she valued the lives of her crew more than defeating ZAFT. She can never go home again, can never see her parents again… I can't imagine how she's feeling. On top of all that, Murrue still has to figure out her next move; where the Archangel goes from here._

He wanted to help her, in any way he could. More importantly, he wanted to _comfort_ her, to reassure her that no matter what happened, he would always stand by her side, that he would never abandon her, that he would take on the entire world for her… he just wasn't sure how to do it. Helping her deal with the death of Tolle and the apparent death of Kira under her command had given him some insight with regards to Murrue's heart, how she dealt with her emotions, dealt with fear and guilt, loss and pain… but that didn't mean he was an expert at it.

There were also his personal feelings about her to consider. Heero now knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he loved Murrue. What he felt in his heart was simply too powerful to just be a strong bond of friendship; she meant more to him than anyone he'd ever met, any _woman _he'd ever met… Relena included. Just as importantly, Heero was also sure that Murrue felt something for him too, though he could not say for sure just how deep her feelings for him ran.

The passion he felt for Murrue burned within his heart, like a sun had implanted itself in his chest. Holding it back, keeping it inside him, was becoming a monumental struggle, a kind of inner battle that he had never dreamed could take place, and certainly not one he'd ever worried about encountering before.

He wanted to tell her, wanted to land on the _Archangel _immediately, run to the bridge, and confess to her exactly how he felt… but he couldn't. Putting aside the obvious concerns regarding the age difference between them, Heero knew that Murrue had the lives of her crew riding on her shoulders; she needed to be able to focus, to figure out how to keep them safe, especially now that they were on the run from the Atlantic Federation. Confessing his feelings to her now would only distract her at a critical time, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.

There was another issue that was holding Heero back, preventing him from finally revealing what lay in his heart; his own past. Though he had told Murrue of his worst sins and she had still accepted him, the deaths of the innocents slain by his hands, however accidentally, still weighed heavily on his conscience. With their blood on his soul, how could he ever allow himself to feel the same love and desire that many of them had no doubt experienced in their lives? More importantly… if Murrue shared his affection… how could he ever be worthy of that after what he had done?

Those were questions with no easy answers, and Heero had to wonder if he could ever find them. _Murrue would help you_, a voice whispered in the back of his mind, _how many times has she been willing to listen to you, to comfort you? She's already accepted you for who you are, and has not judged you for your past. You may blame yourself for the deaths of those people, but she does not; is that not enough?_

Heero didn't know.

He sighed as he saw the island they were approaching become larger on his monitor, and he pushed his doubts aside for the moment; now was not the time to try and deal with them, and he certainly wouldn't find the answers he was looking for before he landed. _I have to focus_, he thought, _we may have escaped Alaska, but we're not out of the woods yet. Murrue has some difficult decisions to make, and I have to do all I can to help her. She deserves that… and definitely more._

The island was small, only about three kilometers from end to end. Its beaches were gravelly, and the majority of the surface was little more than flat rock. It was barren and lifeless, but a good place for the ship to set down for a little while. Turning his sensors towards the island, Heero detected no signs of human habitation, not even an outpost. _It seems the Alliance was content to leave this island alone_, he thought, _sloppy of them considering its proximity to the Alaska base, although_ _given the circumstances I'm not going to complain._

He increased his altitude slightly as the _Archangel _did the same as the warship passed over the shoreline. Eventually the white warship settled down on the flat rock that made up the majority of the island. Heero followed suit, landing Wing Zero in front of the vessel. Kira's machine touched down on his right, the unit's Phase Shift Armor powering off, while La Flaga's Skygrasper landed on his left.

As he powered down the Gundam, Heero saw the front loading doors of the _Archangel _open up. A single truck drove out, and Heero knew it carried the tech crews and the ammo they would be loading Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings with, along with the heavy equipment they would need to accomplish the task.

Heero opened the hatch and lowered the lift line before grabbing the cable and using it to descend to the ground. As the truck pulled up in front of Wing Zero, Heero was surprised to see Murrue climb out of the vehicle with the tech crew.

The Perfect Soldier was caught off guard as an intense emotional wave came over him. The incredible relief he felt at her survival, his guilt at having been unable to adequately protect her, the sheer affection for her that dominated his heart… those powerful emotions overcame the calm, disciplined front he had worked so hard throughout his life to maintain.

Abandoning restraint, Heero ran forward as Murrue approached. He saw her eyes widen as he did so, and he couldn't blame her for her surprise, especially considering how he had conducted himself throughout their voyage until now. Not giving a damn that the mechanics could see everything, along with Kira and La Flaga as they climbed out of their units, he took Murrue into a fierce embrace, holding her tighter than he'd ever done so before.

For a moment he'd feared he'd gone too far, but almost immediately he felt Murrue's arms return the hug, pulling him in with an incredible passion and strength. Heero struggled for words, to find some way to give the storm of emotions swirling within him a voice. After a moment he spoke. "Murrue… I… I'm glad you're alright."

Those words seemed horribly inadequate to him, utterly pathetic in light of what they had just gone through. However, Murrue did not seem to mind. In fact, Heero was surprised to feel her already considerable hold on him become even tighter. "I know, Heero," she replied, "I feel the same way… oh, thank goodness you're not hurt!"

The two of them pulled back a bit, enough so that they could look each other in the eye. Heero saw that Murrue was smiling, and her beautiful brown eyes were full of gratitude and relief. The Gundam pilot could not help but smile slightly in return, and also felt a bit of warmth go to his face. Even though he did not care that people were watching them, he was aware that his and Murrue's actions would cause a stir amongst the crew. _I hope I haven't made her situation more difficult_, he thought, _she has enough problems to deal with as is._

After a few seconds they separated, and Heero thought he saw a hint of red in Murrue's face. She was still smiling as she looked at him though, and it was enough to reassure Heero that his actions had not made her uncomfortable.

The two of them looked over at the tech crews, who only stared for a moment before continuing on with their duties, setting up the equipment they would need to assist them in reloading Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings. Heero and Murrue then turned towards La Flaga, who was walking over from the Skygrasper.

He gave them one of his typical care-free smiles, though Heero could tell that this one was more forced than the usual ones. _He knows what kind of trouble we're in now_, he thought, _it's natural that his usual laid-back attitude is more subdued._

"Man," he said as he came up to them, "Talk about a close call. That was one of the worst battles of my career."

Murrue nodded. "I imagine the same could be said for the rest of us." She then turned to Heero. "Although I wouldn't presume to speak for you, Heero. Only you can really be the judge of that for yourself, especially considering none of us experienced your war."

Heero shook his head. "It's true I've been in bigger battles, with higher stakes… but your High Command's betrayal added a whole different level of savagery and brutality to that engagement. That battle… was definitely the worst I've fought in." Unspoken was the horror he had felt when the Duel had been about to attack the _Archangel_, to kill the woman he loved… _that _was what had made the engagement at Alaska the worst he'd been in, and only Kira's timely arrival had prevented it from becoming his own hell on Earth.

Murrue's eyes widened slightly for a moment before she nodded solemnly. "I can understand that, Heero. It's still hard to believe… but the facts are unmistakable; they used us as bait, they _wanted _us to die there."

"Our survival threw a wrench in their plans," said La Flaga, "You can bet they'll be gunning for us soon enough."

"We need a plan," said a new voice, and everyone turned to see Kira approaching them, his helmet cradled under his left arm, "We need to find somewhere to go, a place that will offer sanctuary from both ZAFT and the Alliance."

Heero nodded, his eyes narrowing as Kira came up to them. "I agree… but not quite yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're still alive… but you've got some explaining to do."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "like that uniform, for starters. Were you with ZAFT the whole time you were missing? Were you captured by them after the battle in the Marshall Islands?"

"Yes and no," the boy replied, "I was brought to the PLANTs, but I was never a prisoner."

"How is that possible?" asked Murrue, "You were wearing an Alliance flight suit; any ZAFT soldier would've recognized it. Also, we asked Orb to conduct a search and rescue operation in the area after the battle, and they never reported finding you. The only logical conclusion we can make is that ZAFT took you into custody… unless someone else found you and treated your wounds."

Kira nodded. "Someone did, Captain. It's… kinda a long story… and it's complicated."

Murrue gave the boy a small smile. "We're not going anywhere right now, Kira; we have time."

Heero nodded and did his best to soften his expression a little. "Murrue's right, Kira. Take your time, and try to be thorough; we need to know exactly what happened in the time between the fight in the Marshall Islands and the battle today."

"Alright," he said, "Uhm… you guys mind if we sit down? This will take awhile."

"Fine by me," said the Lieutenant Commander, "I wouldn't mind taking a load off… and I'm sure Heero could use it."

The Perfect Soldier turned to Murrue, who smiled at him. "He's right, Heero. I know you're strong… but you must be exhausted after the fighting you did today."

He gave her a small smile in return and nodded, grateful for her consideration. The four of them sat down in a circle on the flat rocky ground. Murrue was on Heero's right, La Flaga on his left, and Kira right across from him.

The young Coordinator began his tale, and Heero was relieved to see that Kira's sincerity and honesty had survived the destruction of the Strike and his brush with death intact; he never once detected a single hint of deception from his fellow mobile suit pilot. Heero did not have to put his interrogation skills to use beyond a few questions here and there as Kira continued his story.

When the young man finished awhile later, a thoughtful silence fell upon the group for a few minutes. Eventually Murrue motioned for everyone to stand up, and as they did so she gave a weary smile. "Well, I'm certainly glad you're back with us now Kira, but that doesn't change our situation. Let's head back inside for now; I'm sure we could all use some rest. We'll have a meeting later to plan our next move."

Kira nodded. "Alright Captain. Can I bring the Freedom inside the _Archangel _now?"

She nodded. "Crew Chief Murdoch should've completed his hangar rearrangements, so you should be good."

"Heero and I will bring our machines in as well," said La Flaga.

The Gundam pilot nodded, and the three pilots began heading towards their separate units. Before Heero had gone more than a step, though, Murrue put her hand on his shoulder.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to the beautiful Captain. "What is it, Murrue?"

"Listen, Heero," she said, "When I've finished my shift on the bridge later, I'd like to talk to you in private. After all that happened today…"

He nodded and smiled slightly, doing his best to reassure her. "I understand, Murrue. I'd like that."

She smiled at his words. "Thank you, Heero. I know you're exhausted, and you've more than earned the right to rest… forgive my selfishness."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Murrue," he replied, gently grabbing her hand, "I'm always willing to talk to you… just as you are to me."

Her smile grew at his words… and became a little playful as his stomach gave an audible growl. The extended battle and the arduous fighting had taken its toll on the Gundam pilot in more ways than one, and he knew he needed to attend to that.

Heero looked down for a moment before returning his gaze to hers, his smile becoming a little sheepish. "You don't mind if I grab something to eat first though, do you?"

Despite all that had happened that day, Murrue laughed a little at his words. "Not at all, Heero."

They smiled again and nodded nodded before separating, Heero heading for Wing Zero while Murrue climbed inside the tech crew's truck. As Heero boarded the Gundam he was pleased to see that the mechanics had finished reloading his shoulder gatlings, and that all systems were fully operational.

Powering up the mobile suit, he watched as the truck below drove up the main loading ramp and into the hangar. _Whatever you need, Murrue, I promise I'll do all I can to help you. After all, you're the best friend I've ever had… and the woman I love._

….

Murrue smiled as she left the bridge, Heero by her side. After securing Wing Zero in the ship's hangar, the young man had gone to the mess and grabbed a quick meal before taking his usual place by her command chair. The ship was still on the island as the sun began to set; Murrue wanted to give the mechanics time to inspect and repair all the hull damage they could before moving out. She knew it would have to be soon; the shock both the Alliance and ZAFT were no doubt going through after what Heero had done at Alaska would only last so long, and Murrue wanted to be underway as soon as possible. Of course, where the _Archangel _would go from here was another matter, one that she hoped her greatest pilot would be able to help her figure out.

She turned to the Gundam pilot as he spoke. "Do you want to stop by the mess? I know you haven't eaten since before the battle; you must be hungry."

She nodded, and it warmed her heart to see and hear his concern for her. His sudden, passionate embrace of her when she had gone out earlier to meet him when they'd first landed on the island was still at the forefront of her thoughts, and she knew it was a sign of just how deeply Heero cared for her. _To have him looking out for me_, she thought, _how did I get so lucky?_

She smiled as she responded to Heero's concern. "I'd appreciate that, Heero. I'll fill up a tray there and then we'll head to my office; I'll eat in there."

Heero nodded, and the two of them continued onward in relative silence. It wasn't an awkward one though; there was an air of relief and quiet joy between the two of them, mainly due to the fact that they had both narrowly escaped death earlier that day. It gave them a chance to reflect upon what had happened earlier… and their feelings for each other.

Murrue recalled how tightly she had held Heero as he'd embraced her, how overwhelming the passion burning in her heart at that moment had been. It had taken every ounce of restraint she could muster to not kiss the incredible young man at that moment, regardless of the fact that other members of her crew had been watching. The thought of being under observation had not mattered to her; Heero's feelings were the only thing she cared about.

Heero's actions were a confirmation of just how much she meant to him, but Murrue was still cautious about… _evolving _their relationship. She knew she loved Heero with all her heart, and while she was now certain the young man felt some form of romantic attachment to her as well, she was unwilling to put him on the spot, to force him to react to it. _I can't force him to act before he's ready_, she thought, _for all his strength and wisdom, matters of the heart are something Heero has little experience with. Even if he knows what he feels, I have no doubt he'll struggle to figure out how to act on it. I want to help him… but I can't rush him in the process. The best thing I can do is give him more time, and give him whatever support he needs; after all he's done for me, how can I do anything less?_

Now was not the time to distract her guardian angel in any case. Murrue was well aware that the two of them, along with everyone aboard the _Archangel_, were now enemies of both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. The Earth Sphere's two superpowers now had them in their sights, and Murrue knew that they would need to focus on finding a way to survive in a world that was almost overwhelmingly hostile to them.

_I imagine he feels the same way_, she thought, looking once again at her handsome protector, _Heero's always been so considerate of my own thoughts and feelings, and I'm sure he's trying to figure out how to help me save this ship and its crew. His mind works so fast, sees angles I never could… his insights may well mean the difference between life and death for in the next few days._

As they entered the mess and Murrue filled her tray with a sandwich, fruit and chips, she found herself reflecting on part of Heero's past; more specifically, Operation Meteor. _Back then_, she thought, _Heero and the other Gundam pilots were up against the entire world. Our current situation certainly has some parallels, though there are also differences. I wonder if that might give Heero any ideas as to how we'll move forward from here._

As she grabbed her food she saw Heero move up beside her and grab a pair of water bottles. Once she had everything she needed she nodded at him, and the two of them left the mess and headed towards her office.

When they got there and went inside, Murrue placed her tray on her desk before pulling a chair up for Heero. She then took her own seat and leaned back in the chair, finally allowing herself to relax a little. Looking over at Heero, she saw he was doing the same, all the exertion from the battle finally catching up with him. Murrue had never seen him look so _tired _before, and for a moment wondered if it would not be better for him to go get some sleep before they talked.

Then her eyes met his, and though she could see the weariness in them, they still possessed the same strength and compassion that she had come to treasure. She could tell that, though he was tired, he still wanted to stay and talk to her. Once again her heart went out in gratitude to the young man. _He really is something special…_

She spent a few minutes eating her meal, allowing Heero a little time to collect his thoughts and enjoy his drink. Eventually she saw him set the water bottle down on the desk, and she pushed her tray back a bit, the contents having taken a considerable dent.

Murrue spoke first, wanting to finally let out some of the feelings she'd been forced to hide for the sake of the crew. "I can't believe what happened today. I knew our leaders were willing to sacrifice many lives for the sake of victory… but I never imagined they could be _that _monstrous."

"It's disgusting," said Heero, "I've seen rotten leaders, corrupt rulers, ruthless commanders… but never anything quite like this."

"They'll go to any lengths to win!" she said, her voice rising in outrage, "They treat us as little more than pawns, practically cannon fodder… and now as _bait_! They hung us out to dry, just so they could kill as many Coordinators as they could!"

"Yes," said Heero, and Murrue was surprised to see his expression become contemplative, "as many as they could, no matter what… they seem almost obsessed with it."

"What are you getting at, Heero?" asked Murrue.

"Remember what we talked about after the debriefing with the High Command?" said Heero, "About possible Blue Cosmos sympathies among your superior officers?"

Murrue nodded, calming down somewhat as she thought about what Heero had said then, and how it applied to now. "I do, Heero… and I think what happened today lends further credence to that theory. It would explain their actions… both today and throughout this war."

"All the way to the start," said Heero, "The nuclear attack on Junius Seven… it wasn't a major military or political target, but an agricultural colony. One of only ten, in fact… which I think was why it was destroyed. Had ZAFT not deployed the N-jammers in response, and strengthened their homeland defenses, the Alliance may well have gone after the other nine colonies in the Junius cluster."

Murrue's eyes widened as pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "You're right, Heero! The PLANT colonies are grouped according to specialization, and the one for the Junius cluster is agriculture; it's the source of food for the entire Coordinator homeland. High Command was aiming to destroy their food supply and starve them into submission!"

"Or extinction," said Heero, "With the vast majority of their population concentrated in the PLANT colonies, they're easy targets for a genocide campaign once the defenses are breached. Taking out their food supply would've made things easier; starvation would've decimated their numbers, and the rest would be easy prey for a mop up."

"I should've seen this from the beginning," said Murrue, looking down in shame, "how could I have been so blind?"

Heero reached over and put his hand on hers. "Murrue, it's not your fault. From the start of this war, you've been doing your best just to keep the people serving under you alive. You've been in no position to really think about the wider picture, the Alliance's long-term goals; you've been focused on your own responsibilities, which is far more than can be said of your superiors."

Murrue looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Heero… thank you. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Murrue," he replied, returning her smile, "You bear no responsibility for the actions of the High Command. You've gone far beyond the call of duty just to keep your crew alive. There's no one I respect more than you… in this world or any other."

Murrue felt a familiar surge of heat rush to her face at his words, and could only hope that it was not as red as it felt. She already knew that he had the highest confidence in her… but it always impacted her emotionally to hear him say it. Pride, gratitude, embarrassment… all ran through her heart at the same time.

Murrue didn't know how to respond, so overwhelmed was she by her feelings. Fortunately she was saved by Heero, who withdrew his hand as he spoke again, his tone becoming more serious. "From what Kira said, it seems the Alliance isn't the only power under the control of extremists. I don't know much about this Patrick Zala beyond the official biography in the Alliance files I downloaded, but it seems he and his followers are as bad as the High Command, with the only difference being who the target of their hatred is."

Murrue nodded. "It's hard to imagine… but if Kira got the information from Lacus and her supporters, it must be true. She wouldn't have gone through all that effort and risk to aid his recovery only to lie to him about something like that. I remember the time she spent aboard the _Archangel_, and she struck me as a very compassionate and honest young lady. She was very kind to Kira, especially since he rescued her from dying alone in outer space, so I imagine she would feel obligated to tell him the truth."

"There's also her family's supporters and their sources of information to consider," said Heero, "I was very impressed with Waltfeld when I met him in Banadiya, and I have no doubt he'll be a valuable ally to the Clyne family. The fact that one of his friends is a fellow Field Marshal and a member of ZAFT's Defense Council, not to mention Zala's deputy chief of staff, gives him access to very sensitive information."

Murrue saw the Gundam pilot smile slightly. "Commander Rehema and her team has sided with them as well… the Valkyrie Team's support would be very helpful to Lacus and her father." The smile then faded as his expression became grim. "I remember that file you showed me on her; she's a First Generation Coordinator, which means her parents are Naturals. If Zala hates Naturals as much as Kira says, then the Commander's parents are in great peril, especially since they're residing in the PLANT capital. Rehema's stake in this is as much personal as it is moral."

Murrue nodded, and found herself feeling sorry for the Valkyrie. Though the legendary Commander had fought fiercely against Heero in North Africa, Murrue knew the Gundam pilot bore her no ill will; if anything, Heero had the utmost respect for her skill and bravery. Therefore, despite remembering how much she had worried as Heero had clashed with the Valkyrie Team, she could not bring herself to feel any form of hostility towards the ZAFT Commander or her subordinates. _How awful for her_, she thought, _to have to live everyday knowing that her parents could be the target of her own government…_

Murrue knew that there was a chance that her own actions that day could have repercussions for her own family, but the key difference was that they were Naturals living in Natural territory, and the Atlantic Federation's most lethal hatreds seemed to be directed at Coordinators. She doubted that her parents would be arrested or anything too serious, but she was still aware that they could face some unwanted attention from their government.

_Mother, father_, she thought, _I'm sorry. I promise I'll try to contact you and explain someday… I pray you'll be alright._

Turning her attention back to Heero, she nodded. "Hopefully her involvement in the Clyne family's activities will remain hidden from Zala. Speaking of which, I was shocked when Kira said that his friend was that man's son… and that he'd been flying the Aegis." She looked down, feelings of guilt weighing upon her. "All this time, he's been fighting his childhood friend…"

She once again felt Heero's hand upon hers. "Murrue, stop. This wasn't your fault. There was no way you could've known who the pilot of the Aegis was; Kira never said anything about it. Besides, even knowing that he'd be fighting his former childhood friend, Kira still choose to keep piloting the Strike even after he was given the chance to stop. You bear no blame in this."

Murrue smiled as she looked up, her eyes meeting Heero's. "You're right, Heero. I appreciate you saying that."

"No problem," he replied.

They were quiet for a moment as they stared at each other, each finding comfort and strength in the eyes of the other. Then they continued their conversation.

"I have to admit," said Heero, "I'm impressed with Lacus Clyne. When I first saw her I thought she was just the daughter of a politician, but it seems there's more to her than meets the eye. She actually reminds me of Relena, in a way."

"I can imagine," said Murrue, "I remember you saying how Relena was devoted to peace. Lacus seems to hold the same ideals in her heart, along with the same passion and strength to act on them."

Heero nodded. "Yes, they are quite similar… though there's a key difference."

"What's that?" she asked.

Heero sighed. "Relena… her convictions were strong, and she did everything in her power to make them a reality, to make the world a better place for everyone… but at heart, I don't think she could ever accept the fact that the only way to overthrow those that were oppressing the people and make the change to a truly peaceful world possible was through fighting. Lacus, on the other hand… she may not _want _to resort to violence, but she does seem willing to acknowledge it as a means to accomplish her side's goals, albeit as a last resort."

"As it should be," said Murrue, "This world has too many people for whom violence is the first and often _only _means to an end… and several of them seem to be in positions of great power and influence now. The conflict will only escalate; the death toll will only increase…"

"…and we can't do much about it from where we stand now," said Heero, "I know it sounds selfish, but right now we need to focus on our next move. We can figure out how to stop the escalation of the war once we've found a place to resupply and do it from."

Murrue nodded. "Of course, Heero…although, that's certainly easier said than done."

"Agreed," he replied, "Between the Alliance and ZAFT, our enemies control most of Earth and space. Our options at this point are limited."

"Precisely," said Murrue, "I can only think of one place where we might be safe… and even then, it's a long shot."

"Orb," said Heero.

Murrue couldn't help but smile slightly at the Perfect Soldier. "You know, sometimes I think you're reading my mind, Heero. I don't suppose the Zero System's made you telepathic, has it?"

Heero smirked as he shook his head. "No, at least not outside the battlefield. It was more just process of elimination. They're the only neutral nation left in the Earth Sphere with a military powerful enough to ensure that they can't be conquered easily, and we have past experience with them. The fact that we aided their mobile suit development program, not to mention saved their princess, may make it easier for us to request asylum, or at least seek temporary shelter as refugees."

Murrue nodded, her smile fading as she continued. "Yes… but they'd be undertaking a great risk while doing so. Not only is this ship and its crew now considered renegade by the Alliance, but it's carrying ZAFT's latest model mobile suit… and it can use nuclear power without a Gundanium alloy construction. I can't imagine the lengths ZAFT will go to in order to get it back… or those the Alliance will undertake in an effort to capture it."

"And there's my own unit to consider," said Heero, "I was able to keep the Alliance at bay through the threat of the self-destruct system, but now that we're traitors to them they'll devote considerable resources to either capturing it or destroying it. Not to mention the fact that the entire Earth Sphere has now witnessed the full power of the Twin Buster Rifle; Alaska showed them exactly what Wing Zero can do with that weapon."

"Yes," said Murrue, "before the battle, I imagine the top brass on both sides thought the Twin Buster Rifle's power was limited to that of an anti-ship weapon. Now, though… from the ruins of the Alaska base, they have a much more potent gauge by which to measure Wing Zero's might. Considering that base's fortifications, they'll have no problem imagining what you could do to an orbital construct; ZAFT will see Wing Zero as a direct threat to the PLANTs, and they'll do anything to destroy it… or capture it, especially in light of the new regime's ideology."

"They won't be underestimating me anymore, that's for sure," said Heero, "still, they haven't seen all the tricks up my sleeve yet. They still don't know about the Zero System, though they have seen the results of its impact on my piloting."

"Hopefully they'll never learn of that system's existence," said Murrue, "You're the only pilot in this world that can handle it, of that I have no doubt. If ZAFT or the Alliance learns of it and tries to replicate it…"

"They'd be turning their pilots into mass-murderers," Heero finished for her, "Don't worry, Murrue; I'll never let them get their hands on the Zero System."

"I know you won't, Heero," she said. The two of them were quiet for a moment before Murrue spoke again. "Heero, do you think Orb would allow us to enter their country again? Should we go to them for help? I know we need a place to shelter and resupply… but we'd be putting them at great risk by doing so."

The Gundam pilot's expression was grim. "I don't think we have a choice, Murrue. The only other truly neutral nation on the planet is the Kingdom of Scandinavia, and they're both too far away and too weak militarily for us to even consider asking them to help. Orb is our only option. It may not be as strong as the Alliance or ZAFT, but it has power, and both sides recognize that. Our personal connection to the nation's nobility gives us a chance of being accepted into the country. Our success is not guaranteed, of course, but it's the only real shot we have."

"You're right, Heero," said Murrue, "I'll call the Lieutenant Commander and Kira in here tomorrow morning to brief them before telling the crew. Could you join us here when I do that?"

Heero nodded, and a small smile appeared on his face. "Of course, Murrue. I'll stand by you while you explain the situation."

Murrue returned the smile. "Thank you, Heero. Your support means the world to me."

"You're welcome, Murrue," he replied.

There was another momentary lull in the conversation as Heero reached over to grab his water. Watching as he gulped down the rest of the bottle, Murrue was once again keenly aware of just how tired he was. She would let him rest soon… but she needed him a little while longer.

_Forgive my selfishness, Heero_, she thought, _I know you're exhausted... but please, let me lean on you for just a few more minutes._

She needed to let out the feelings she could not display in front of the crew… her fears, her worries for the future.

"Heero," she said softly as he put down his drink, "I… I'm scared. For my crew, for myself… for _you_… the forces arrayed against us now are greater than any I dared to imagine before. We're the targets of both the world's superpowers… I don't know how long we'll be able to survive, especially if Orb doesn't grant us asylum. I…"

Murrue began to tremble in her seat; all the fears and sorrows so long suppressed were now coming to the surface. The weight on her shoulders felt heavier than ever… it was practically overwhelming.

She looked down, determined not to lose her composure, not to shed tears at the seeming hopelessness of their situation. Still, the emotions evoked within her were now quite active, and threatened to crush her resolve.

Suddenly she felt two strong hands gripping her shoulders, slowly pulling her to her feet. Her eyes widened as she saw that Heero had almost instantly moved behind her desk, and his Prussian blue eyes met her brown ones. Once again she saw the same strength and compassion, courage and kindness, flowing from them.

The extraordinary young man she had fallen so deeply in love with pulled her into a fierce embrace, as powerful as the one he had given her hours ago outside the _Archangel_. Murrue stopped shaking, and felt her strength being renewed as Heero held her. Once again, she felt that, despite the fact that her ship and crew were in more danger now than ever before, nothing could hurt her. She was in the safest place she could imagine; within the arms of Heero Yuy.

"It's alright, Murrue," he said softly in her ear, "No matter what happens, I swear I will not let the Alliance or ZAFT harm you or your crew. I'll fight with everything I have to protect you; we will survive!"

Heero pulled back just a little, enough so that his eyes once again met hers. Murrue felt her resolve come back, conquering her fears. They were still there, of course, and she knew that they would always be at the back of her mind… but she would never let them overtake her again, would never let them prevent her from doing her duty to the people she was responsible for.

And if they ever threatened to do so, she knew she could count on one man to help her find her strength again; Heero Yuy.

Murrue smiled, and her faith and gratitude for the young man before her had never been stronger. "Heero… yes, you're right. We will survive… and we will protect each other. I know you'll protect me… and I'll do the same for you; you won't be fighting alone."

Heero nodded, but Murrue was surprised to see something in his eyes, an emotion she had not expected to find there; guilt.

"Heero?" she said, "What's wrong?"

The Gundam pilot let go of her and looked at the floor. "Murrue… at Alaska… when the Duel attacked… I failed to stop it. I had sworn before to protect you… but I failed when you needed me most. If Kira hadn't arrived when he had…"

Heero looked up at her, and Murrue was confronted with something she had never expected to see on his face; fear. Murrue knew that for Heero to actually show something like that was a sign of just how deeply he cared for her… and how viciously he was beating himself up inside over what had happened.

Murrue realized that it was now her turn to comfort the Gundam pilot, to show him the faith she had in him, to give him the reassurance he so desperately needed, whether he would admit it or not… and she acted without hesitation.

She pulled him into her arms, holding him close as she spoke. "Heero, you never failed me! I know you fought with all your skill and strength, all your heart, to protect us in that battle. You're the most amazing pilot I've ever seen, but even you can only do so much. ZAFT's forces were overwhelming, even for you."

"It doesn't matter," said Heero, "I swore to protect you from anything, and I failed."

"You're wrong, Heero!" cried Murrue, tightening her grip on the young man, "What you did during the battle, taking on that massive force… that was incredible. No one else could've done that; without you we would've been killed long before the Duel had a chance to attack! You fought against what was probably the largest force ZAFT had assembled the entire war, and did more damage to them than the entire combined Eurasian fleet and air force."

"Heero," she continued, pulling back just enough to meet his gaze, "when the Duel broke through… I never once blamed you. I knew that you had fought with everything you had, and were still doing so. When… when I thought I was about to die… I wanted you to live on for me, Heero."

She then smiled at him. "But I didn't die, Heero… and while Kira's arrival may have saved us from the Duel, there was still the threat of the Cyclops system. Even with his help, we were moving too slowly; we never would've escaped the blast radius in time. The only one that had the power to truly save us was _you_, and you _did_. Firing the Twin Buster Rifle at maximum power, punching through the base's fortifications, destroying the Cyclops… _you _saved me, Heero. You saved all of us… you _never _failed me."

Heero's eyes widened, and Murrue thought she saw a hint of red appear on his face. "Murrue… I…"

Murrue put her finger to his lips. "You don't have to say anything, Heero. From the moment we met, you've protected me, supported me, given me strength when I needed it the most. This is the least I can do to repay you."

Heero then smiled slightly, and Murrue withdrew her finger, allowing him to speak. "Murrue… I… thank you."

Murrue hugged him one more time, and felt Heero return the gesture, his slender yet strong arms wrapping around her. "You're welcome, Heero."

They stood like that for awhile, neither willing to break the embrace, both finding solace and comfort in the arms of the other. Eventually, though, Murrue and Heero parted. Their eyes met, and Murrue was pleased to see that they were once again calm and determined, his doubts and guilt banished. However, Murrue was all too aware of the weariness that still lay within them, and knew that she had to let Heero get some much needed rest.

"Heero," she said, "I'm grateful for all that you've done today. Now it's time for you to rest; you need it more than any of us. Come, I'll walk you to your quarters."

Heero nodded and joined her as she headed towards the door. However, before they exited her office he grabbed her arm. "Murrue, wait," he said quietly, looking down at the floor, "there's something you should know."

"What is it, Heero?" she said.

He looked up at her as he continued. "The second night we were at Alaska… after the debriefing with the High Command… I snuck off the _Archangel_ and infiltrated the base. I was sure they were hiding something, and I wanted to find out what it was. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but…"

"You wanted to protect me by giving me deniability," Murrue finished for him. She smiled slightly as she saw his eyes widen a bit at her response. "I know you, Heero. I know that when you say you'll protect someone, you mean from more than just physical threats. I'm grateful that you wanted to prevent any blowback from your actions from falling on me… but I still wish you'd told me."

Heero nodded. "I didn't like hiding it from you… especially since I couldn't find the information I was looking for in the base. I managed to hack into their system, but I couldn't breach their final clearance firewall, and I know now that the plans for the Cyclops system were behind it. I screwed up…. I'm sorry I hid that from you, and that I couldn't find out what High Command was up to."

Murrue put her hand on his shoulder, still smiling. "It's alright, Heero. You did all you could, and put yourself at great risk by doing so. Please, don't apologize for your actions; you undertook them to protect myself and my crew, and I am very grateful for that. Even if you were unable to learn about the Cyclops, you still did not fail me… just as you did not fail me in the battle."

Heero nodded. "Alright."

"Come on," said Murrue, "I've kept you up for far too long; you need to get some sleep."

Heero smiled slightly. "So do you, Murrue; you must be as tired as I am."

Murrue blushed slightly, flattered at the young man's words, as they implied that she had fought as hard as he had. _I did the best I could to command the Archangel in the battle_, she thought, _that's never easy… but it's also nothing compared to what you did, Heero._

Still, she couldn't deny that she was exhausted, and was grateful for Heero's concern. "Yes, I suppose you're right, Heero. Let's go."

The two of them left her office, and were quiet as they went down the hall towards the officers' quarters. A sense of tired relief lay between them; their long day was at last coming to an end, and both would finally be able to get some much needed sleep.

Stopping outside Heero's quarters, the two of them shared one more hug before they went inside their separate rooms. As they parted, Heero and Murrue both gave each other a weary smile.

"Good night, Heero," said Murrue, "Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."

"You as well, Murrue," he replied, "Get some rest."

She nodded, and the two of them entered their quarters. As the door shut behind her, Murrue didn't even bother to change out of her uniform. The beautiful Captain went right for the bed, and was asleep the instant her head hit the pillow.

….

"Welcome back, Athrun Zala," said a man in a black uniform.

Athrun nodded as he walked up to the soldier, who he recognized as one of his father's aides. It was early evening in the PLANT capital, and his shuttle had arrived and docked less than an hour ago. He had been picked up by a jeep belonging to ZAFT and brought to the organization's central HQ. The young man had just been walking into the main lobby when the aide had waved him over.

The large room was bustling with activity; staff officers, secretaries, and soldiers were bustling about, and there was a very intense energy about the place. _I guess that's natural_, he thought, _Spitbreak was launched today, after all. I wonder if the battle is still ongoing._

As Athrun approached the aide, he saw that, while the man tried to put up a welcoming smile, his expression seemed strained, and the young pilot could detect anxiety in the man's body language.

"It's good to be back," said Athrun, "I was summoned here to meet with my father."

The aide nodded. "Yes, I know; I've been ordered to escort you to the waiting room by his office. Please, come with me."

"Is something wrong?" asked Athrun as he followed the man through the hall.

"Well," said the man, "we're still getting reports from the ground, but… it seems Operation Spitbreak did not go entirely according to plan."

"What do you mean?" inquired Athrun, becoming a little nervous.

"From what I've been able to piece together," answered the aide, "it seems our forces won the battle… but our losses were extremely heavy. I believe at least sixty percent of the armada was lost, quite possibly more. Also, our mobile suit losses were around seventy percent."

Athrun was shocked at what the man said; that meant that ZAFT's presence on the Earth was severely weakened. _I wonder if that victory was worth all those lives_, he thought.

"There's more," said the aide, "the legged ship and Wing Zero were present at the battle, and were responsible for the majority of our casualties. Also, we weren't able to take them down; they managed to break through our armada and escape, along with the remnants of the fleet the Alliance had in the region. The three Special Operations Squadrons assigned to the armada were completely annihilated by Wing Zero and the legged ship, and your father is quite angry about that… among other things."

The man looked over his shoulder at Athrun. "I assume by now you've heard what the true target of Spitbreak was, yes?"

Athrun nodded. "I was read in on the way here. It was the Alaska base."

The aide nodded. "Correct. The main objective of the battle was to occupy that base, followed by reinforcing it with additional forces before sending an ultimatum to the Alliance. If they did not come to the bargaining table, the base was to be used as a staging area for a full on invasion of the Atlantic Federation."

"Wait," said Athrun, "What do you mean, _was_?"

The man sighed. "The Alaska base was utterly destroyed. A few secondary facilities on the fringes are still intact… but the main headquarters is now one giant hole in the ground."

Athrun was stunned. "How is that possible? The fortifications of such a base would be extensive, and I know we don't have the firepower to completely destroy that kind of facility. More to the point, if the goal was to occupy the base, why would our forces destroy it?"

"They didn't," replied the aide, "the Alaska base was destroyed by Wing Zero."

"What?" he said, his eyes becoming wider than he'd thought possible, "That can't be… there's no way a single mobile suit has that kind of firepower, not even Wing Zero. To inflict that kind of damage… that's something only nukes could do!"

The aide nodded. "So we all believed… until today." His face was grim. "We've underestimated Wing Zero yet again… and this time the price was far greater than we could ever have imagined."

"Why would Wing Zero destroy the Alaska HQ?" asked Athrun, "Was it carrying out scorched-earth protocols, denying us the facility before withdrawing?"

"I don't know, Athrun," said the aide, "There are a lot of rumors going around, and I don't know what's true and what's false. You'll have to ask the Chairman about that."

The two of them were quiet as they continued walking towards the waiting room. When they finally arrived, the aide turned to leave, but not before giving Athrun one last bit of news. "Athrun," he said, "one of the reason's your father is angry is that one of our newest mobile suits was hijacked just before the start of the battle. It actually made it to Alaska and aided the legged ship's escape from the fight. That unit has top-secret technology that the Chairman was hoping to use to help bring the war to an end if the Alliance didn't surrender after Spitbreak… which, judging by what happened at Alaska, I doubt they'll do. Watch yourself when you go in there."

Athrun nodded. "Thanks. I will."

"Good luck," said the aide before leaving the room.

As the door closed behind him Athrun walked over to the secretary's desk. "Excuse me," he said, "My name is Athrun Zala. I'm here to see my father."

The woman sitting at the desk, wearing a headset and had short-cropped black hair and appeared to be in her mid-twenties, looked up and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but the Chairman is still in the middle of a meeting at this time. I'll let him know you're here, but you may not get to go in for a little while."

Athrun nodded. "I understand. Thank you." He turned to go grab a seat by the wall.

He watched as the secretary hit a button on her keyboard. "Mr. Chairman," she said, speaking into her headset, "Athrun Zala is here for his appointment." After listening to the elder Zala's response she spoke again. "Alright, I'll let him know."

She looked over at Athrun. "The Chairman is wrapping up his meeting, and will be ready for you in about five minutes. I'll let you know when you can go inside."

"Thanks," said Athrun. The young man actually didn't mind the wait time; it would give him a chance to process all that he had heard so far.

_Father's aide said we won the battle_, he thought, _but from all I've seen and heard since arriving here, I don't really think we scored a victory. Everyone's too tense, too nervous for something like that. I have a bad feeling about all this…_

Athrun knew his father did not take setbacks well; to say Patrick Zala was a sore loser was a considerable understatement. It didn't even have to be a straight up defeat to tick the man off; if something didn't go exactly according to plan, the elder Zala could easily become irritable.

_Father always had trouble adapting to sudden deviations from a plan_, he thought, _and it seems like the outcome of Operation Spitbreak is one giant wrench in his plans. How will he react to all this? What else have I missed, what wasn't I told?_

"Athrun," said the secretary, jarring him out of his thoughts, "the Chairman is ready for you."

He nodded and stood up. As he walked towards the door to the office the woman gave him a sympathetic smile. "Please be careful," she said quietly, "the Chairman's mood is… rather foul."

"I will," said Athrun before opening the door.

His father's office was a rather plain room. The only signs of decoration were the ZAFT flag behind his desk, a few military photographs on the wall, and a picture on the desk of Lenore Zala, Athrun's mother.

The Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs and head of the armed forces was sitting behind his desk, while three officers were standing in front of it. Two wore the signature purple and black uniforms reserved for the upper echelons, while the third had on a blue and white ensemble. Athrun recognized the latter as Field Marshal Eric Bristow; he'd met the man a few times and had found him to be quite friendly, and was also impressed by his military record and successes in the East Asian campaign.

All three men turned to leave, but while the first two brushed past Athrun without any acknowledgement, Bristow gave him a slight nod and smile. "Good luck," he whispered as he passed the young pilot.

_I have a feeling I'll need it_, he thought as he nodded at Bristow before the man left the room. Then the door closed, leaving him alone with his father.

The elder Zala had his hands clasped in front of him, and Athrun was taken aback by just how hard his expression was; there was barely a trace of welcome on it, no sign of relief that his son was alive, no joy at seeing him again.

_I suppose informality would be pointless here_, Athrun mused as he approached the desk. He saluted his father. "Athrun Zala reporting as ordered, sir."

Patrick Zala nodded. "At ease." The man then stood up and opened a drawer on his desk, pulling out a small black case with a transparent top. He then handed it to Athrun. "Congratulations on taking down the Strike," he said, "you destroyed a significant threat to our forces in that battle… and fought with great courage and little thought for your personal safety in doing so. In recognition for your efforts, Athrun Zala, you have been awarded the Order of Nebula."

Athrun's eyes widened as he accepted the case and saw the violet medal inside it. The young man's feelings on being granted such a reward were mixed. On the one hand, that medal was a rare sign of approval from his father. However, it was also a reward for killing his best friend, and that was something that Athrun took no pride in. Looking at the medal through the glass covering, it seemed to him to summarize his plight as a soldier; he was supposed to follow orders… but at what cost to himself?

Now was not the time to voice his doubts though; Athrun knew that his father would not look kindly on it, and the air around him was filled with thick tension. Still, he felt it wouldn't be appropriate for him to display enthusiasm considering the circumstances under which he had 'earned' the medal he now held, so he settled for nodding at his father. "Thank you, sir."

Apparently that was enough for Patrick Zala, as he decided to cut right to the chase. "A lot has happened in your absence, Athrun. As you've already been told, Operation Spitbreak was launched today, and the target was the Alliance's HQ at Alaska. We defeated the enemy fleet and ground forces protecting the base, although a few survivors managed to escape the battlefield."

His eyes then narrowed, and Athrun's nervousness was heightened as his father's voice became a low, menacing growl. "However… the situation as it is now can hardly be called a victory. I had three Special Operations teams assigned to our assault force: Rot, Grün, and Schwarze. They were all completely wiped out by Wing Zero and the legged ship… both of whom managed to escape the field. That ship and mobile suit were responsible for the majority of our losses; over sixty percent of the assault force was destroyed in the battle."

Athrun nodded, having already heard as much from the aide that had escorted him there. "Father," he said cautiously, "I heard a rumor on the way in here… that Wing Zero completely destroyed the Alaska base."

If the elder Zala had noticed his son's slip out of formality he showed no sign of it. "That rumor is correct," he replied, "With two shots from its main weapon, Wing Zero was able to destroy roughly ninety percent of the Alaska base; all that's left is a few auxiliary facilities that were at the edge of the blast radius. The headquarters, the docks, the air field, the mass driver and the accompanying spaceport were totally wiped out. I'm still waiting on Creuset's final report, but his preliminary messages and the attached video feed make one thing abundantly clear; Wing Zero is a direct threat to ZAFT and the PLANTs. If it could take out a base as heavily fortified as Alaska, then it easily posses the firepower to destroy an entire colony in a single shot."

"Also," he continued, "one of our newest mobile suits, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, was hijacked prior to the battle, and arrived in time to aid in the escape of the legged ship and Wing Zero. That machine was equipped with our latest technology, including one of our new N-jammer cancellers."

If Athrun had been surprised before, he was _shocked _at this announcement. _We have N-jammer cancellers now? That machine… it's nuclear?!_

The young man's nervousness and restraint flew out the window; this was too big to be worried about formalities now. "Father, why? The PLANTs swore to abandon nukes after the Bloody Valentine Tragedy! How could you do this after what happened to mother?!"

The elder Zala's voice became ice cold. "If we want to win this war now, we need that power. In order to assure our survival, we must be willing to use any means necessary, including nuclear energy. The Freedom is not the only machine equipped with N-jammer cancellers; it is but the first. That technology will be the key to our triumph in this war… and defeating Wing Zero."

"Athrun Zala," he continued, his voice taking on a commanding tone, "You have been given a new assignment, which you will embark upon once the necessary intelligence has been gathered, as well as a promotion. From this point on you are now part of Special Operations, and you report directly to me."

Athrun did his best to swallow his shock at all that was unfolding in front of him, but it wasn't easy, and he was barely able to focus as he responded. "Will I be assigned to a squadron?"

"No," the Chairman replied, "you will be given the position of Special Operations Agent, and will undertake your mission independently. You will also be given a new mobile suit, from the same line as the Freedom; the ZGMF-X09A Justice."

"I understand," said Athrun, "what is my mission, sir?"

"You have two objectives," stated his father, "the first is to recapture or, failing that, destroy the Freedom. We're still trying to sort out its whereabouts after the battle, but there is a strong possibility it is with the legged ship. The Alliance cannot be allowed to analyze it and reverse engineer its technology. I assume you can figure out what will happen if they do."

_Of course, Father_, he thought bitterly, _they'll fit N-jammer cancellers to their nukes and come after the homeland. After how mother died, do you really think I wouldn't be able to draw that conclusion?_

"Yes," he said, nodding, "what is my second objective, sir?"

"Hunt down and destroy Wing Zero," said the Chairman, "That machine and its pilot are a direct threat to the survival of our race, and have been designated as Top Priority targets. You will most likely encounter it with the legged ship as well, so you should be able to accomplish that and your first objective within moments of each other." He then smiled at Athrun. "I have every confidence that you will succeed. You destroyed the Strike in single combat, and with the power of the Justice your incredible skills will be amplified tenfold; nothing will be able to stand against you!"

Athrun did not share his father's confidence, and though outwardly he remained calm, his mind was another matter. _Father, are you insane?! Wing Zero has taken on entire armies, air wings, and armadas and triumphed. It beat the Valkyrie Team, our best mobile suit squad! You just told me that it and the legged ship wiped out THREE of our Special Operation's Squadrons at Alaska, and I saw them annihilate Ofnir and Grabacr in the Marshall Islands! All that's not even counting the fact that the Freedom may well be with them now… I can't beat them. It's a suicide mission!_

Athrun Zala was a soldier, and he knew he could not disobey orders from his commander-in-chief. However, he could not help but despair at the realization that his father was so willing to send him to certain death. The elder Zala might not have seen it that way, wrapped in his Coordinator Supremacist ideology… but his son had never shared those beliefs, and his appraisal of the situation was unclouded by the arrogance inherent in them.

His father had signed his death warrant… and he had no choice but to obey.

So he simply nodded at his father's words. "I appreciate your confidence, sir. I won't let you down. When do I leave?"

"As soon as we've located the legged ship," said his father, "we lost track of it after the battle, and it may take some time to find it. Consider yourself on leave until then."

"Understood," said Athrun, "when will I be able to see the Justice? I wish to examine my new unit."

"Within a day or two," the Chairman replied, "The tech crews are making final adjustments to it now. So far all reports have been positive."

"That's good to know," said Athrun.

His father nodded, and then his expression darkened. "There is one more thing that you should be aware of."

Athrun had a feeling he was not going to like what that thing was. "Yes, sir?"

The elder Zala typed on his computer for a few seconds before turning the monitor so his son could see it. "We have obtained footage from the facility where the Freedom was being kept, and have a recording of when it was stolen. We were unable to identify the pilot… but we have no doubt as to who aided him in the theft."

Athrun saw two figures on the screen, their backs to the camera that had taken the footage. The one on the left was a young man with brown hair, and Athrun thought for a moment that it was Kira before chastising himself. _Kira's dead; you killed him yourself. Your mind's just playing tricks on you; a lot of people would look like Kira if you only saw them from behind._

The person on the right, though… there was no mistaking who it was… who _she _was. The long, flowing pink hair, the slender figure, the purple and white dress… anyone in the PLANTs would recognize the girl on the screen.

Lacus Clyne.

His face paled, and his mind went numb with shock. _This… this can't be right! There has to be a mistake… she would never do something like this!_

But there was no mistaking what was on the screen, and as dearly as Athrun wanted it all to be just a bad dream, he knew what he was looking at was real.

"Lacus Clyne," said Athrun's father, "and former Chairman Clyne aided and abetted this traitor in stealing the Freedom. They are now traitors themselves, and our security forces are hunting for them now; they've gone into hiding, along with several suspected anti-government activists."

Even in the midst of his shock, Athrun was wary of his father's words. _Anti-government_, he thought, _or anti-radical? Father… there must be more to this. Lacus would never betray our people!_

"It goes without saying," the Chairman continued, "that Lacus is no longer your fiancé. An official announcement will be made to the public regarding that fact, along with the nature of her crimes. I'm sorry, my son."

There was little sign of apology or comfort in his father's voice, but Athrun was not going to confront him on that now. He simply nodded and did the best he could to regain control over his emotions.

It was not an easy task, and more than a hint of shock remained in his voice as he answered. "I… I understand, sir," he said, "Still… why would she do this?"

"Hopefully we will find the answer to that question when we capture her," the Chairman replied, "Assuming she is captured, of course; treason is a capital offense after all, and the security forces have been authorized to shoot to kill if they are unable to capture Miss Clyne or her father."

_A shoot to kill order on Lacus?_, he thought, _That's insane! Father, what are you thinking? Are you even _trying_ to bring her in for a trial?_

"For now," said his father, "the hunt for the Clyne family does not concern you. Go home and get some rest; you will be contacted when the time comes for you to commence your mission." He then handed Athrun a red and white plastic card. "This will grant you access to the facility where the Justice is stored, should you wish to examine the unit; I will send you the exact location via e-mail within the next two hours. Dismissed."

Athrun nodded. As he turned and walked out of the office, an overwhelming sense of despair came over him. In the space of a few minutes he had been given a mission tantamount to a death sentence and had learned that his friend and arranged fiancé was now being hunted by his own father.

The former had been pushed to the back of his mind; his thoughts were focused on Lacus. While Athrun knew that he did not truly love her, he did care about her as a friend… and could not believe that she would betray her people.

_Lacus has always believed that we should live in peace with the people of Earth_, he thought as he made his way through the headquarters and towards the front entrance, _but I know she would never put our own soldiers in danger just because she disagrees with Father's policies. There has to be more to this, she wouldn't just betray us… I have to find her!_

He wasn't sure where she had gone, but he knew where he would start looking for clues; the Clyne estate. It was possible that she had left a message for him in one form or another. The odds were slim… but he had to try.

….

"Hey," said Shemei as Eric stepped aside to let her in, "Sorry I'm late; I had to ditch a tail after I left my apartment. Thanks for the heads up on that, by the way; I wouldn't have noticed him without your message earlier."

She smiled as Eric closed the door then moved to grab her brown jacket and hang it on the coat rack in the entrance way of his condo. Shemei had been at her residence when her friend had called, having just wrapped up a series of simulator exercises an hour beforehand. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a grey sweater. Eric, for his part, was still in his custom Field Marshal's uniform; he had just returned from the ZAFT HQ about an hour ago.

"No problem," he said as he walked with her into the living room where they sat down on the couch, "My Secret Service buddies had just gotten word to me that Zala had assigned Military Intelligence agents to shadow you right before Spitbreak kicked off. I'm glad they were able to identify the operatives; it'll make it easier to evade them in the future."

"Yeah," she said, sighing, "damn it, I hate this cloak-and-dagger shit. I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around."

"At least you're not wanted for treason," Eric replied, "I've got the Clyne family in my safe house network, and I'll be rotating them between contacts every day from now on; I doubt they'll be able to have a permanent residence again until the war is over. Lacus seemed to be ok with it on the outside, but I know it'll be rough on her. At least Waltfeld and Aisha will be with her; those two will be able to keep her spirits up when she needs a morale boost."

Shemei nodded. "Everyone sees her as the heart of our little opposition movement. They look to her as much as they do her father for strength and guidance. She'll do all she can, I have no doubt of that… but she'll need people of her own to turn to for strength." She looked at Eric and smiled slightly. "You did well in making sure Waltfeld and Aisha will accompany her as she goes through safe houses. Those two have been living underground for months now, so we know they can handle it."

Eric sighed. "I know, though I wish it were otherwise. I've got the girls' parents already transferred to September One; Councilor Canaver was very helpful in setting up new IDs for them. I can get Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla into hiding as well at anytime. They'll be safe in the event that Zala turns his ire towards the rest of the Valkyrie Team; right now you're the only one he has under watch."

"It's tough being famous," Shemei replied, chuckling ruefully, "I just had to go and survive two rounds with Wing Zero, and last longer in both than Creuset did in his encounter with Heero in the orbital battle. It seems I really pissed Zala off by upstaging his favorite Commander."

Eric nodded. "The man is petty, even for a politician… and vindictive. Of course, the latter goes without saying."

"Yeah," said Shemei softly, looking down at her lap, "Honestly, I don't care so much that _I'm _under surveillance now; it's more an annoyance than anything else. But…"

"Your parents," said Eric, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Shemei, I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him and shook her head. "It's alright, Eric; it's thanks to you that I know they're under watch at all. At least Zala hasn't made a move on them… yet."

"I can still get them out," said Eric, "Shemei, just give the word and I can smuggle them out of the capital on the next shuttle. Thanks to Councilor Canaver I've got more contacts and safe houses set up in September City than I know what to do with; I can make your parents completely disappear there."

Shemei gave her dear friend a sad smile. "I know you do, Eric, and I'm grateful you're willing to go to such lengths to help them… but they refuse to go into hiding. Father doesn't believe Zala will make a move on Naturals living in the PLANTs; he says the Chairman would just be stirring up resentment and make a disturbance in the civilian population that he doesn't need, especially in a time of war. Personally, I think his pride is getting the better of him; he never liked the idea of hiding from a threat. Hell, it was hard enough to convince him to move to the PLANTs to get away from Blue Cosmos. As for Mother… where Father goes, she goes. I try almost every time I see them to convince them otherwise, but they're adamant in their decision; they won't run from Zala."

"I can still move them," said Eric, "I'm not asking them, I'm asking _you_. Say the word and I'll get them underground… whether they're willing or not."

She was touched by how far he was willing to go to help her, but Shemei knew she could never agree to what he was suggesting. "No, Eric, you're not kidnapping my parents… as much as I might want you to."

Eric sighed. "Shemei, I know you don't want to put your parents through any trauma; I don't either. But we don't have many options; the radicals are putting together a set of 'public safety ordinances' all aimed at Naturals in the homeland. They can word it however they want, but everyone knows they're preparing a pogrom… if not a complete round up. They'll move in weeks, Shemei, maybe sooner; I haven't been able to figure out their timetable."

Shemei nodded. "We all knew this was coming… but I can't force my parents to leave against their will, regardless of the fact that it's for their own safety." She looked up at the ceiling. "If there's a god or goddess, it's in their hands now." She then turned to Eric and gave him a weak smile. "Never was one for religion, personally."

"Can't say I blame you," he replied, "not after all you've seen and done."

"No, I suppose not," she said. The two of them were silent for a moment before Shemei spoke again. "As important as it may be, I know Zala's plan for Naturals in the homeland wasn't the only reason you called me here. What happened on Spitbreak, Eric? I've heard a lot of rumors, and normally I wouldn't believe some of them… but after witnessing what Heero was capable of in North Africa, I'm inclined to keep a more open mind."

Shemei was surprised to see Eric chuckle slightly, especially in light of their rather somber previous topic. "You'd be right in that respect. Even after all the carnage it's wrought, our top military and political officials still underestimated Wing Zero… and they paid dearly for it today."

"Start from the beginning," said Shemei, "I want to know everything."

The handsome Field Marshal obliged her, and gave her a full rundown of Operation Spitbreak. It took quite some time for him to get through all the details, and the capital's artificial evening had turned into night by the time he was finished.

Shemei whistled softly, and couldn't help but smile slightly even in light of what the outcome of the battle most likely meant for the overall war. "Damn… Heero was holding back in North Africa."

Eric nodded. "Considerably. Based on the complete destruction of the Alaska base, the Defense Council has been forced to seriously revise its estimates of Wing Zero's power. Its main rifle is now being viewed as less of an anti-ship weapon and more along the lines of anti-_colony _artillery. Needless to say, Zala was furious when he was shown the new data… while the rest of the Council is now trembling in their boots."

"Zala will use Wing Zero's power to rally further support behind him," said Shemei, "he'll portray it as a direct threat to the homeland. Heero would never use it against a civilian colony, of course; of that I am certain. However, Zala has never met him, and even if he had he would still assume that Wing Zero would eventually be unleashed against the PLANTs themselves."

"Agreed," said Eric, "I, for one, am glad Heero is the pilot of that machine; the fact that he hasn't unleashed that kind of power until now just shows how responsible he is with it. It speaks volumes of his character."

Shemei smiled. "I know what you mean. All that power, and at such a young age, yet he doesn't seem the least bit tempted to use it for his own benefit. That was the impression I got from him back in North Africa, and it seems I wasn't mistaken." Her expression then became more contemplative. "Still… why do you think he targeted the base? I wouldn't think he'd care about whether or not it would fall into our hands; the woman he wants to protect is on board the _Archangel_, and it was already moving to break through the armada and escape the battlefield. Why destroy the Alaska base when he could've been using that firepower to clear a path for the _Archangel_?"

"I have a theory on that," Eric replied, "and I actually have a little proof to back it up. Well, it's not proof Zala or the rest of the Defense Council would believe, but it comes from a certain young man who was staying with Lacus not too long ago, so it's enough for me."

"You mean Kira Yamato," said Shemei, "I know you told me that Lacus had helped him hijack the Freedom, and that he made it to Alaska in time to help his friends on board the _Archangel_. What did Kira do to make you believe that he knew why Heero destroyed the base?"

"He did an open channel broadcast," the Field Marshal replied, "claiming that there was a Cyclops bomb underneath the base, and that it would annihilate everyone in the area. He tried to talk our forces into withdrawing; of course, no one listened. Heero must've realized that Kira's words would go unheeded, so he decided on a more direct approach to the problem."

Shemei nodded. "Makes sense… but how would Kira know about a Cyclops bomb inside the base?"

"My guess," said Eric, "is that someone inside the base either knew of the plan and had an attack of conscience, or that they found out about the plan and rushed to warn the surviving Alliance forces that they'd been set up."

"Hold on a second," said Shemei, her eyes widening in realization, "A Cyclops system is not like an ordinary bomb; it takes a lot of time and effort to set one up. We learned that after the fiasco at the Endymion Crater. Also, you said earlier that the forces defending the Alaska base were composed of Eurasian units, according to recorded IFF transponder signals… Eric, that whole battle was a trap!"

She saw her friend slam his palm into his forehead. "Shemei, you're right! If that bomb had gone off, it would've annihilated most of our fleet and definitely all the defenders. Since the Alliance forces taking part in the battle were composed of Eurasians, the Atlantic Federation would not lose any personnel… except for those on the _Archangel_, along with Heero and Wing Zero. That machine and that warship, along with the Eurasian forces, were bait to draw us in! The Atlantic Federation would've not only wiped out most of our surface forces, but with the losses incurred by the Eurasians they would've completely blunted their offensive power, leaving the Alliance as a whole under their control! Two birds with one stone… shit, I should've caught that sooner!"

"Hey, Eric," said Shemei, putting her hand on his shoulder, "don't go beating yourself up over this; there's no way you could've known what the Atlantic Federation had planned."

He sighed. "You're right Shemei… still, it goes deeper than that. If their High Command knew where we were going to strike, regardless of Zala's disinformation campaign claiming Panama was the target… Shemei, there's a leak within ZAFT, and it's at the highest levels."

"But who would leak that information?" asked Shemei, "The upper echelons of the military are almost entirely in line with the radical faction, and even those that aren't wouldn't warn the Alliance of Spitbreak's true target; they wouldn't sacrifice our own soldiers just to spite Zala."

"I know," Eric replied, looking down, "Shemei… I have no idea who could've leaked the information."

There was a hint of fear in his words, and Shemei knew why; Eric was fully aware that the budding anti-Zala movement counted on him more than anyone else for intelligence gathering. If he'd screwed up on something like this, then he would begin to wonder what else he had missed, what other threats lurked in the shadows that he had not taken into account. It would invite self-doubt that Shemei knew he could not afford, especially not now.

"Eric, look at me," she said, grabbing him by the shoulders. As he raised his head to meet her gaze she smiled. "This wasn't your fault. With all you've been doing, organizing safe houses, trying to stay a step ahead of Zala, keeping moderates safe… there's no way you could've found a traitor within ZAFT; you've had no time to do that kind of investigation, and _none of us _would've dreamed that one of our own could turn against us… especially after Junius Seven."

"What you've accomplished in the past few weeks," she continued, "has been nothing short of miraculous. Were it not for you, I doubt we'd have even the beginnings of the resistance movement that we have now. You may no longer be fighting on the front lines, but the war you're waging here at home is far more important than the battlefields we're used to. Stop blaming yourself; you can't afford to doubt yourself now."

After a moment Eric returned her smile, and she saw the fire of renewed confidence and determination blazing in his eyes. "You're right, Shemei… thank you."

"Anytime," she replied. Acting on impulse, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Pulling back, feeling the heat rush to her face as she did so, she was surprised to see a hint of red in Eric's face. She felt a little awkward at her sudden display of affection, but that didn't stop her from speaking again. "I've always got your back, Eric, just like you have mine."

Eric nodded. "Roger that."

The two of them were quiet for a moment, and Shemei realized that she was still holding her friend by the shoulders. She let go, her face becoming even warmer as she did so. Shemei looked down for a moment, and as she faced her friend again she saw that his face still had a bit of red in it. His smile looked a bit sheepish, and Shemei thought it was quite cute. _I wouldn't mind seeing that a little more often_, she mused.

After a moment Eric spoke again. "I suppose I owe Heero one for what he did in the battle; he killed not just Zubov but his entire squadron. Far too quick an end for what they did in China… but I'll take what I can get."

Shemei grinned. "I think it was karmic; all of Schwarze Team was staunchly radical to the point of openly committing genocide in the Far East against the Naturals, and they were killed by a Natural. If there is a Hell, then Zubov's agony will be all the greater from the knowledge that he was so soundly beaten by one of the 'vermin' he so despised."

"You have a point there," said Eric, smirking. Then his expression became thoughtful. "With all the losses they've suffered, Special Operations is now at about half strength. Zala may start promoting teams from the regular forces to bolster them."

"Any possible candidates come to mind?" asked Shemei.

Eric nodded. "A couple, though they're not really radical material, just career soldiers with no political leanings. Zala might choose to elevate them because he'll know they'll follow orders no matter what. Off the top of my head I can think of two teams most likely to get promoted; Sorcerer and Wizard."

"I know of them," said Shemei, "they both have impressive combat records, and they're both eight man teams. Last I heard Sorcerer was on the Hydrian Line, while Wizard was operating with the 6th Fleet between L1 and the Debris Belt."

"That information's still accurate," said Eric, "there's one other unit that might get picked, though I can't be certain."

"Why's that?' asked Shemei.

"Well," said Eric, "they're private military contractors, not ZAFT. I know Zala ran a major recruitment drive for mercenaries about a year ago, despite the protests of then-Chairman Clyne; these guys were part of it. It's actually a two man unit, but they have an impressive battle record. Hell, they were both actually allowed to purchase CGUEs from the government, something that no other mercenary team has been allowed to do. Zala may decide to offer them posts in Special Operations in order to bolster the organization; since they're mercenaries they'll be paid more than the other pilots, of course, but with their skill it would be a worthwhile investment for the Chairman. He may decide to give them new mobile suits too, though I don't know if it would be the GuAIZ or another unit. They're almost as good as your unit, Shemei. Hell, by now they might be your equal."

"Wait a minute," said Shemei, "I know the guys you're talking about; the Galm Team, right?"

"Yup," said Eric, "that's the unit. Team lead goes by the name Cipher; doubt that's his real name, but there's not a whole lot of background info on the guy. The number two is Larry Foulke, aka "Solo Wing Pixy"."

"Right," said Shemei, "I actually met that guy back when our forces used space-fighters, before the ADB built the GINN; he used to be regular military, and I did a few exercises with his squadron. He got that nickname because he lost his fighter's right wing during a skirmish at the edge of PLANT space. The enemy craft weren't broadcasting IFFs; it was probably an Alliance black squad, though of course we can't rule out pirates. Anyway, he lost his wing during a collision in the fight. The guy he hit was worse off; the wing went right through the enemy craft's cockpit, so he wasn't walking away from that one."

"Ouch," said Eric, wincing, "not a pretty way to go."

"No argument there," Shemei replied, "anyway Pixy, as we called him, managed to limp back to base and land the fighter. I actually saw the footage of the landing; it was rough, but impressive considering he didn't have much to work with in the way of stability." She looked down for a moment, taping her finger on the coffee table in front of the couch in thought. "I knew he'd gone mercenary a few months before the war started, but I lost track of him after that. I'd only heard about the Galm Team a few weeks before me and the girls got transferred to surface operations."

"What was your personal impression of him?" asked Eric.

Shemei shrugged. "Easy going, a dry sense of humor… he was pretty low key, really. I don't think he really had the same kind of ego you find in a lot of other pilots; he was proud of his skills, yes, but it wasn't bordering on arrogance like many of the others. One thing's for sure; the guy's a good pilot… which means that if he's flying Number Two, then this Cipher must be even better."

"Have you ever heard of him?" asked Eric.

Shemei shook her head. "Not really, other than the fact that he's the flight lead of the Galm Team. I don't know if he's ex-military like Pixy… hell, I don't know much of anything about him."

"Same here," said Eric, "like I said before, there's not much information on file concerning his past."

"Do you know where the Galm Team's operating at now?" asked Shemei.

"Out by L2," Eric replied, "Zala has them probing the defenses of the Atlantic Federation colonies and shipyards in that region. I don't know if he's preparing for a move on that region. I hope he's not; we're already skirmishing with the Alliance fleets from L1 to the Debris Belt to damn near L3, and our offensive capabilities in space are pretty stretched at the moment. Unless Zala pulls some ships from the Exclusion Grid, which is unlikely, we're in no shape to march on L2."

"That's probably a good thing, considering Zala's ideals," said Shemei, "I can see attacking that area to get at the shipyards, but I'm afraid Zala wouldn't stop an assault there; he'd hit the Natural colonies too."

Eric nodded, and the two of them were quiet as they imagined the carnage that would ensue from such a scenario. The silence was then broken by the ringing of a cell phone. Shemei saw Eric pull one out of his pocket, and she realized it was the same kind as the ones he had distributed at their meeting over a month ago; the ones that were secure from government eavesdropping.

"It's Waltfeld," said Eric as he checked the caller ID, "I wonder what's up."

Shemei watched as he answered the phone. "Hey," said Eric, "What's going on, buddy?" He spent a few seconds listening to his friend's reply before sighing and responding. "Well, that's her call. I can see why she'd want to do it… yeah, I hear ya. Want me to send a few guys over?" Another pause as Waltfeld responded. "Good idea; DaCosta will have her covered well. I've still got my reservations about the whole thing though." One more pause. "Alright; give me a heads up if things go south. Tell Lacus Shemei and I say good luck, and to take care of herself. Later."

"What's going on?" asked Shemei as Eric put the phone away.

"On the way out from my meeting with Zala," he replied, "I saw Athrun come in to the office. I passed on word to Lacus that he was back in the capital; figured she might want to know her former fiancé was in town. I thought she'd try to send him a message in some way, but I didn't think she'd set up a meeting."

"How do you think Athrun will respond?" asked Shemei.

"I imagine he'll want to see her," said Eric, "no doubt his father's told him about her aiding Kira in stealing the Freedom by now. He'll want answers, but I doubt he'll be hostile… at least at first. DaCosta and some of Waltfeld's men will have her covered anyway, so I'm not worried about Athrun doing something rash. The real problem is his father; knowing the Chairman, it's entirely possible that he'll have someone following Athrun in the hope that Lacus will do exactly what she's doing, and that his son will lead him to the songstress. Patrick Zala is more than capable of using Athrun like this."

"I wish we could help Lacus," said Shemei, "but if either of us is caught in the area where she and Athrun are meeting, then the Chairman will have us both shot. We have to trust in Lacus and DaCosta now."

"I know," said Eric, sighing, "I hate sitting on the sidelines like this… but we don't have a lot of options."

Shemei gently grabbed his hand. "Have faith, Eric. Lacus is smart, and DaCosta and his men are more than capable of getting her out of harm's way should the need arise. They'll be alright."

She was heartened to see Eric nod, a small smile on his face. "Yeah… Waltfeld doesn't choose just anyone to serve under him; DaCosta is more than competent, and there's a reason Waltfeld brought him in to our opposition movement. The guy's smart and resourceful; he'll keep our songstress safe."

"Maybe Athrun will help him out, should it come to that," said Shemei, "by now I'm sure their marriage has been called off, and while I'm not sure if Athrun ever loved Lacus, I do believe he cares about her. He may have doubts about her now, and will probably demand answers as to why she betrayed ZAFT, but he won't allow his father to put her before a firing squad."

"At this point," said Eric, "all we can do is hope."

Shemei nodded, and closed her eyes while giving Eric's hand a tight squeeze. _Lacus… please, be careful. Your father may be our political leader, and Waltfeld and Eric represent moderates in the military… but you're the heart of our movement. We can't afford to lose you now._

….

The Clyne estate looked strangely serene as Athrun drove up its driveway. In the calm of the artificial night, the house's white paint seemed to shimmer slightly in the moonlight that came through Aprilius One's massive windows. As he parked and climbed out of the jeep he'd borrowed from the HQ motor pool, he couldn't help but grimace as he saw that same moonlight reflected on the Order of Nebula that was now on his chest. Athrun didn't wear the thing out of pride; he had only put it on because he knew his father would get suspicious if he didn't have it on his uniform.

Shaking thoughts of his father out of his mind, he focused on the Clyne estate. There was not a sole in sight as he walked up to the house. After finding that the front door was locked, he decided to head around back rather than break in. Navigating his way through rows of tall bushes, he eventually found the wrought-iron gate that was the only way into the back yard. Opening the gate, he headed over towards the patio, scanning for any possible clues Lacus may have left for him.

As he walked up onto the patio, images of the times that he had spent there with Lacus flashed through his mind. Sitting at the table having tea, surrounded by bouncing Haros… it all seemed like a lifetime ago. The shadow of their arranged marriage had hung over his head, but he had still enjoyed the moments of peace he had shared with her. She was a good friend, a kind and gentle girl… and he could not just accept the fact that she was a traitor without talking to her first.

Finding nothing out of place on the patio, he made his way down the stairs that led to the garden. If he didn't find anything out here, then he would have to break into the house. Fortunately that option proved itself to be unnecessary, for no sooner had he begun passing between rows of white roses did he hear a familiar voice.

"Haro! Haro! Athrun!"

Looking to his right, Athrun saw one of Lacus's many spherical Haro robots hop out from under one of the white rose bushes. His eyes widened when he saw that this was not just any Haro, but the pink one; Lacus's personal favorite of the bunch.

Scooping up the automaton in his hand, he looked the machine in its 'eyes'. "What are you doing here?" he asked, "Where's Lacus?"

"Underneath," it said, "Underneath."

"Huh?" said Athrun, taken aback by the strange answer.

The Haro tried a different approach. "Belly. Belly."

Then Athrun realized what the machine was talking about. Rolling the Haro over in his hand, he saw a message written on the bottom of the pink orb.

_'I await you at The White Symphony.'_

….

Pulling into the parking lot, Athrun could detect no obvious signs of activity. Of course, there was no reason there should be anyone there; the building before him had fallen into disuse quite some time ago.

As he got out of the jeep, the pink Haro cradled in his left arm, which was still in the sling, Athrun couldn't help but feel sense of nervousness as he walked towards the entrance of The White Symphony.

A concert hall built in the early days of Aprilius One, The White Symphony held the distinction of being the first public venue that Lacus had sang at. The young, almost angelic songstress had become an instant sensation, and her subsequent shows had all been sell out performances. As her fame grew Lacus had eventually been forced to move her performances to the capital's primary sporting arena, where there were more seats, but Athrun knew that the White Symphony would always hold a special place in her heart.

Now the concert hall was a shadow of its former glory. No more shows were held there, and Athrun knew there were discussions as to what to do with the place, though no major decision had been reached yet. So the building was left to languish, lingering on, a pale reflection of its old splendor.

Athrun discovered that the front door was unlocked, and slowly opened it. The only light inside the entrance hall was the moonlight filtering through the colony's massive viewports and in turn through the building's window. Athrun wasn't sure if it made the interior look eerie or serene.

He found no sign of Lacus in the entrance hall and decided to make his way towards the amphitheatre. As he walked through the halls he began to hear a voice. It was soft, gentle, beautiful… and all too familiar. It was singing, and Athrun knew beyond a shadow of a doubt who it was.

"_The night time fills the sky  
>Stars alive go floating by"<em>

She sounded as lovely as ever, and for a moment the lyrics seemed to calm the turmoil of doubts and questions in Athrun's heart. But the effect was fleeting, and the young man continued to follow the voice with an ever growing sense of foreboding; he was not looking forward to the inevitable confrontation.

"_So still the evening air  
>So warm and soft peace everywhere"<em>

Athrun was now, more than ever, mindful of the weight of his sidearm at his waist. He was keenly aware of his father's standing order to either capture or kill her. His father may not have been ordering him personally to attack her… but Athrun knew that the command was meant for all ZAFT soldiers… and that included him.

"_I see a world in harmony  
>A world of peace and humanity<br>Where people walk free  
>Like water in a stream<br>Flowing on forever more"_

At last he entered the amphitheater, and he could see her sitting on a piece of rubble on the stage, bathed in moonlight coming through a hole in the ceiling left from an unrepaired collapse. It lent an ethereal affect to her already angelic appearance.

"_The breezes softly blow  
>Caressing warm so sweet and low<br>Upon my cheek I can feel tenderly  
>A kiss so real"<em>

She looked _beautiful_. Athrun had always thought that, regardless of his personal feelings towards her, but tonight she looked even more so. Lacus wore a light blue dress. It was strapless, and showed off her slender frame more than her usual gown; her shoulders were bared, as was her upper back, and her pale skin seemed to almost glow in the moonlight. A collar the same color as the dress was around her neck. Her pink hair was done up in a twin-tail style, held in place by two elaborate blue head pieces. Her usual small yellow-gold hair clip had been replaced by a bright yellow one, consisting of three circles with silver lining.

"_Like the brush of a hand  
>That I cannot see<br>The sound of a voice  
>Deep inside of my heart<br>So I dream of a new day coming  
>For all the world to see"<em>

Could he bring himself to arrest her, to turn her into his father? Could he bear the thought of the brutal interrogation she would have to go through, followed in all likelihood by a swift tribunal and firing squad? Would he have to kill her himself? As a soldier of ZAFT, he was duty bound to either option… but could he truly bring himself to actually do it? Would he ever be able to look himself in the mirror again if he allowed himself to follow his father's wishes? The storm of emotions whirling through his heart picked up speed, building up to a typhoon that threatened to rip him apart from within.

"_Lift your eyes and see a new day dawning  
>A dream that will soon come true<br>The day we waited for"_

"Lift your heart and see the future for us all  
>A dream that will soon come true<br>The day we've waited for"

It was at that moment that the pink Haro hopped out of Athrun's arm and went over to Lacus. She smiled and held out her hands, and the Haro jumped right into them. She then looked up at Athrun. "Hello, Athrun. It has been awhile. I'm glad you're safe."

"Lacus…" said Athrun, struggling for words. Lacus had to know about the orders that had been issued regarding what to do with her if any ZAFT soldier found her. Yet she was so calm and relaxed, speaking to him like it was just another one of his visits to her house… it wasn't what he had expected.

He wasn't sure why, but he found himself grabbing his sidearm and aiming it right at her head. "Lacus," he said, his voice shaking, "is it… is it true what they say? That you've betrayed ZAFT?"

The songstress did not even blink in response to the gun pointed at her. She simply shook her head. "I did not betray anyone. All I did was give Kira a new weapon."

Athrun froze, and his eyes widened. "That… that's impossible! Kira's dead! I…"

"Killed him yourself?" Lacus finished for him.

It had to be a ploy of some sort. Athrun knew that Lacus was way smarter than most people gave her credit for; she was certainly capable of playing on his emotions like this.

And yet… he also knew that it was against her personality to manipulate people in such a manner. Lacus had always been so honest, so sincere… she would never lie about something like this.

"Kira," Lacus continued, "is very much alive. I had him brought here after a friend of mine recovered him in the Marshall Islands, and he has since made a full recovery from the injuries he sustained in your battle. My father and I gave him the Freedom so he could return to Earth and save his friends… and fight against those who truly desire war, whose hatred threatens even now to destroy all of mankind."

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" cried Athrun, "The Freedom…"

"Is equipped with N-jammer cancellers, and is nuclear powered," Lacus finished for him, "I am well aware of that, Athrun, as am I of the consequences of what would happen should that technology fall into the hands of the Earth Alliance."

"Then why did you give it to Kira?" said Athrun, "He'll take it right back to the Earth Forces!"

Lacus shook her head. "No, he will not, Athrun. Kira is no longer with the Earth Alliance… nor is he with ZAFT. He is going to fight for what he believes in, and help his friends find a way to end this war without consuming the Earth Sphere in the fires of extremism."

Her face became more serious as she continued. "Athrun Zala, what are you fighting for? Is it for your father's approval? For honor? For that medal on your chest?"

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. There was a time when he would've been able to answer her question honestly; that he was fighting for the PLANTs. Now, though… he didn't know, and he realized that he had lost his original reason quite some time ago.

"If that is the case," said Lacus, "Then Kira may still be your enemy… and I will be too."

"If you believe that following your father's orders is what is right," she continued, her light blue eyes looking at him with a piercing intensity he'd never seen in them before, "then you should shoot me now, Athrun Zala, soldier of ZAFT!"

There it was; the moment he'd dreaded. The confirmation that she had turned against ZAFT, against the PLANT Supreme Council Chairman… his orders demanded that he arrest or shoot her.

But… her words and the conviction behind them, along with his personal feelings, meant that he was unable to pull the trigger. What she had chosen to stand for, to believe in… he could not truly think of her as a traitor; she wanted to end the war, to save as many lives as she could. Her actions were in accordance with those beliefs, and she was doing something that Athrun realized that for quite some time now he had been afraid to do; following her heart.

His heart did not agree with his father's political stance. His heart did not see Coordinators as superior to Naturals, nor did it desire vengeance for the tragedy that had inaugurated this long and brutal war. He wanted justice for the victims, yes, especially his mother… but not by swallowing the Earth Sphere in a sea of blood and fire.

In his heart Athrun knew that Lacus's decision to turn against ZAFT was the right thing to do. Also, as strange as it seemed, he accepted that her and her father's choice to entrust Kira with the Freedom was the right thing to do. Regardless of his feelings towards Kira now, after Nicol's death and his own apparent demise, Athrun knew that Kira would never allow the Earth Forces access to the technology that would allow them to once again use nuclear weapons.

Lacus was right; Kira was no longer part of the Earth Forces. He had gone to Earth to help his friends… and find the right path to ending the war.

He was about to lower his gun when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. There was a shadowy form lurking in the middle section of the audience chairs… and Athrun saw them drawing a bead on Lacus with a rifle.

"Get down!" he yelled. Knowing she wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time, Athrun tackled Lacus. A shot rang out, and Athrun could feel the bullet pass mere millimeters over his back as he pushed Lacus to the ground.

As he turned to fire at the assassin, Athrun knew that his unidentified foe was at the same time shifting their aim to him. They were in cover amongst the seats, and Athrun knew that he would never be able to draw a bead on them and take them out in time. He made sure to keep himself between the sniper and Lacus; he had no doubt that whoever was shooting at them had been ordered by his father to follow him in the hopes that he would lead them to Lacus. He had been foolish for not noticing a tail, and he would not let that mistake claim Lacus's life… even if that meant losing his own.

Taking aim, Athrun saw that the shadowy figure already had him squarely in their sights; he was dead to rights. In what he was convinced would be his last moments, Athrun was surprised to find that his thoughts turned to none other than that blond, fiery tomboy he'd met down on the Earth.

_I would've liked to see Cagalli again…_

A gunshot echoed through the amphitheater.

Athrun's eyes widened in shock as he saw the assassin go down. Turning to the right, he saw that the source of the shot was a tan skinned, red haired man who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. He was holding an HK-190, the standard issue assault rifle used by ZAFT infantry, and wearing a tan uniform typical of officers assigned to desert theaters of war.

"Carson, Mike!" he yelled. Two soldiers appeared behind him, one with black hair and a trimmed beard, the other with dark skin a very short haircut. Both had rifles slung over their shoulders, and were wearing olive drab jumpsuits.

"Sir!" they said.

"Grab the body and get it to the van," said the red-haired man, "we'll dispose of it later! Make sure to grab their weapon and anything else they might've dropped as well!"

"Yes, sir!" they said.

As the two men rushed to retrieve the fallen assassin, the red-haired man turned to Athrun. "We have this building under a signal jammer curtain," he said, "it only covers this property, and since the building isn't used by anyone ZAFT won't notice. The shooter wouldn't have been able to get off a message, so they'd have to get outside the jammer radius to alert your father, Athrun. We'll make sure the Chairman can't find the body; none of this will fall back on you."

Athrun nodded as he stood up, helping Lacus to her feet. "Thanks. Uhm… not that I'm not grateful for the help, but who are you?"

"It's better if you don't know," he replied, "that way they can't beat it out of you in interrogation. Let's just say I'm helping Miss Lacus realize her vision and leave it at that."

"Why didn't you shoot me when I pulled my gun on Lacus?" he asked.

The man smiled slightly. "You weren't going to shoot her; I could tell just by the look in your eyes. You were angry, confused, looking for answers… but you're not the type that kills an unarmed woman, nor would you haul her off when you knew that what awaited her was torture and death."

"You seem to have a knack for reading people," Athrun replied.

The man chuckled. "I had to get good at that, considering who I've been serving under. Even then, I've never completely been able to understand my own commander… and he knows that all too well."

His expression became serious as he turned to Lacus. "We need to get going, ma'am. Someone outside could've heard the gunfire and alerted the authorities, and Zala could have more operatives nearby."

Athrun looked behind him at Lacus, who nodded and moved towards the strange red-haired man. "I understand. Thank you for your help. Now, let us leave this place."

The two men that had been sent to retrieve the body of the assassin came back to the stage and made towards the emergency exit at the rear, and their commander and Lacus followed suit. Before she left though, Lacus looked over her shoulder and smiled at Athrun.

"I believe Kira will stay with the _Archangel _and his friends now that they are clear of Alaska," she said, "find that ship, and you will find him. I believe that the two of you have much to talk about. I do pray you don't try to fight them; as I'm sure you know, Wing Zero is with them as well. You are a superb pilot, Athrun… but you're no Heero Yuy. You barely survived your clash with Kira in the Marshall Islands; it would be a shame for you to die in a pointless battle with the man who beat the Valkyrie Team."

"Look inside yourself," she said as she walked out the door and into the night, "and find what you truly wish to fight for."

Then she was gone, her words echoing in Athrun's mind long after they had faded from the wind.

….

The next morning, Heero was once again in Murrue's office, where she sat at her desk. He was standing slightly behind and to the right of her, facing Kira and La Flaga, who were on the other side of the Captain's desk.

The ship's other two pilots nodded as Murrue explained the situation. When she had finished, both were quiet for a moment, contemplating her words.

La Flaga was the first to speak up. "Well, I can see the reasoning behind it. Still, why not try for the Eurasian Federation? They owe Heero after what he did in Alaska, after all; maybe they'll help us out."

Murrue shook her head. "As far as we know, the Eurasian Federation is still a member of the Alliance. I have no doubt the Atlantic Federation High Command's treachery at Alaska has soured relations between the two nations, but Moscow is still part of the organization. Besides, though the fleet remnants Heero saved may be grateful to us, we cannot assume that sentiment is shared by the Eurasian High Command or the Kremlin."

"There's also their past treachery to consider," said Heero, "They've already shown an active interest in the _Archangel _and its mobile suits, and did try to seize them at Artemis. The Strike may be destroyed, but we do have the Buster in the hangar bay, along with Wing Zero and now the Freedom. Moscow would be quite eager to analyze those machines and use their technology for their own gains. The Eurasian Federation would see us as no more than pawns, the same as the Atlantic Federation."

"Heero is right," said Murrue, "and I will no longer allow the fate of the ship and the people aboard her to be dictated by officers and politicians who see us as nothing more than a piece in a game. It's true that Orb may want something from us in return for offering us sanctuary, but we also have a personal connection with their leadership. We saved Cagalli, and I believe it's safe to say she counts us as friends, or at least considers Kira to be one."

She looked over at Kira. "I don't want to use your friendship with her as a tool, but I will if I must. I hope you can understand that, Kira."

The young Coordinator nodded. "I do, Captain… though I don't think Cagalli would really think of us as using her. She's a kind person, and I know she was grateful for the help we gave her and Kisaka. I think she'd want to help us even if we weren't friends."

Murrue smiled. "I hope you're right, Kira."

"Well, it'll be nice to see our fiery princess again," said La Flaga, smirking slightly. His face became more serious as he continued. "What do we do after we've resupplied, Captain? Assuming Orb allows us to enter the country, of course."

"We plan our next move," she said, her eyes narrowing, burning with resolve, "The battle at Alaska was as clear a sign as any that the war is escalating, and the leadership of neither side gives a damn as to how many people have to die before it is over. We can't let the conflict continue like this."

"Orb may be willing to help us to that end," said Heero, "at the very least, Lord Uzumi has to be aware that the Alliance and ZAFT will not leave his country alone forever. He may see allying himself with us and finding a way to bring the conflict to an end without further escalation as in his nation's interest. At the very least, we should make an attempt find out where he stands; word about what happened at Alaska will spread quickly, and even neutral nations will be affected by that battle."

"We have to try," said Kira, "I know there are plenty of people in ZAFT who want to bring this war to an end without making it worse, and there must be others in the Alliance as well. Orb's neutrality could help us find a way to bring those people together and figure out how to stop the extremist that have taken over both sides. At the very least, I'm sure Cagalli would want to help."

"It's decided, then," said Murrue, nodding, "we'll head for Orb and request asylum, or at least temporary shelter as refugees. I believe Lord Uzumi will want to meet with us after what happened at Alaska." She then smiled slightly. "At the very least, I'm sure Cagalli will want to see us, and will want her father to hear what we have to say."

La Flaga grinned. "Aren't we lucky, being friends with the boss's daughter? We'll have to milk that connection for all it's worth."

"We'll worry about that when we approach their territorial waters," said Murrue, "that's it for now; dismissed."

As Kira and La Flaga left, Murrue stood up and turned to Heero. "I need to get to the bridge. You should relax today, Heero… well, as much as you can, considering our situation; we have pissed off both the Earth Sphere's superpowers, after all."

"I don't think the Alliance or ZAFT will begin pursuit of us quite yet," said Heero, "the fallout from Alaska will keep them occupied for a little while at least. Still, I'll stay on guard. I'll join you on the bridge later; there are some things I want to check up on in the hangar."

"Wing Zero and the Freedom?" Murrue asked.

Heero nodded. "I want to run a system's check on Wing Zero; everything was in working order when I landed in the hangar yesterday evening, I just want to do some calibrations and make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I want to check out Kira's new machine and ask him a few questions about it."

"I can't blame you for that," said Murrue, "I have to admit, even after what he told us yesterday I'm still curious about the Freedom."

They walked out of the office together, and smiled at each other before turning to go their separate ways.

_Murrue_, thought Heero, nodding at her before heading towards the hangar, _if the Alliance or ZAFT thinks they can take this ship, they've got another thing coming. If they need another demonstration of the power of Wing Zero, I'll give them that and more… much more._

….

Down in the hangar, Kira was looking up at the Freedom. The technicians had been worried about keeping the mobile suit secure in its berth as the ship got under way, but ever since the _Archangel _had started moving a half an hour ago there'd been no sign of trouble.

Kira wasn't down there because he was worried about the Freedom; he trusted Chief Murdoch and his teams to do a good job with securing and maintaining the machine. Rather, he was there because he'd needed to do some thinking, and while the hangar wasn't the first place he'd normally go for doing that, there was something about the Freedom that got his brain ticking. Maybe it was the power of the machine itself, or memories of the girl who had entrusted it to him; he couldn't say for sure.

He was relieved to be back on the _Archangel_. Kira had been happy to see his friends again, though it bothered him knowing that Flay was no longer on the warship. While it was true that she was now safe, Kira remembered that she had wanted to talk to him about something prior to the battle in the Marshall Islands. He knew that she had been mad at him in the days leading up to the fight, but that morning she had actually seemed worried about him, and he could tell that something important was on her mind. _I guess I'll just have to ask her the next time I see her_, he thought. Of course, he had no idea when that would be.

After his time in the PLANTs, Kira's feelings regarding Flay were somewhat… mixed. On the one hand, he still cared about her, but as he recalled how he'd felt around her versus how he'd felt with Lacus, he realized that there had been something wrong with his relationship with the red-headed girl. He didn't know what it was, but looking back on things, recalling the time he'd spent with Flay after the _Archangel_ had landed on Earth, he couldn't help but feel that something had been off about her feelings, something that he should've caught onto. Though she had said she'd cared about him, and he had believed her, he now felt as though she had not been entirely sincere. Kira had no factual basis for this feeling, but when Flay's actions with him were compared to those of Lacus… he didn't know _what _it was, but something about her just seemed off, like there was something behind her feelings, an ulterior motive for caring about him.

By contrast, Kira knew that the concern Lacus had shown him was genuine. It had felt pure, honest, and refreshing in a way that he'd never thought possible. Though he'd been determined to return to Earth and help his friends, Kira now realized that he'd actually been a bit sad to part ways with Lacus. In the weeks they'd spent together, the songstress had created a bond between the two of them that Kira had never experienced before. Just being with her had had a soothing affect on him, and he had known that he could tell her anything without hesitation. Now he was back on Earth, Lacus was still in space… and he missed her.

Looking up at the Freedom, he could not help but be reminded of Lacus. Kira was worried about her, knowing that that the aid she had given him had the potential to land her in hot water with her government. _I hope she's alright_, he thought, _I know Mister Waltfeld and Miss Aisha will look after her and her father… all I can do now is trust them._

"It's an impressive machine," a familiar voice said behind Kira, causing him to jump, "though the implications behind its creation are unsettling."

Kira turned around to see Heero approaching him, wearing his usual green tank-top and blue jeans. "Hey Heero," said Kira after recovering from his surprise, "what are you doing down here?"

"Just running some checks on Wing Zero," he said, looking back at his Gundam before turning to Kira again, "I also wanted to take a look at this unit. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," said Kira, "Did you want to see the cockpit?"

Heero nodded, and followed Kira over to a ladder that went up to the boarding platform. Kira opened up the Freedom and then stood back to allow Heero to board it. Kira then stepped onto the hatch and watched as Heero began the startup sequence.

He saw his fellow mobile suit pilot's eyes narrow as he ran through the Freedom's systems one by one, occasionally nodding to himself or shaking his head. After a few minutes Heero brought up the tracking system and started one of the mobile suit's target practice programs.

Kira's eyes widened as he saw Heero quickly adapt to the system, taking down targets with precision and efficiency. _No way!_, he thought, _That system was designed for a Coordinator's reaction times and mental speed! How's he doing that?_

After a minute Heero had apparently decided he'd seen enough. He powered down the simulation and the rest of the Freedom's systems before exiting the mobile suit and motioning for Kira to follow before climbing down the ladder.

When they got back down to the hangar floor Kira turned to Heero. "How did you do that?" he asked, "No offense, but there's no way a Natural should be able to handle a system like that."

Heero shook his head. "None taken. Let's just say that piloting Wing Zero isn't like flying any other mobile suit."

"You mean it has some kind of system like the one on the Freedom?" asked Kira.

"Yes and no," he replied, "There is a system, but it's not just for targeting. I won't go into the details, but I'll tell you this much; it's vital to Wing Zero's operations, and using it is very demanding. It is powerful, it is complex….and it is extremely dangerous. No offense, but compared to that system, utilizing the Freedom's tracking program was easy."

Kira nodded, surprised that Heero had told him as much as he had; the young Coordinator had rarely heard Heero speak of Wing Zero's capabilities or features. _I don't think he's given anyone any particulars_, he thought, _except for Captain Ramius, of course._

"None taken," Kira replied, "So, what did you think of the Freedom?"

Kira saw Heero look up at the machine for a moment before turning back to Kira. "Come with me," he said.

Raising his eyebrow a bit, Kira followed Heero as he headed towards the hangar exit. As they entered one of the corridors Heero started talking again. "As I said before, it's an impressive machine. The weapons layout makes it a potent multi-role unit. Anti-ship combat, MS engagement, close-quarters fighting, bombardment… it has a lot of potential."

"I hadn't thought about all that yet," said Kira, "but yeah, I guess it is pretty well rounded. It's like the Strike, except I don't have to worry about changing weapons packs."

"Yes," said Heero, "though the specializations of the Strike packs weren't necessarily a bad thing. The Launcher's Agni is more powerful than any of the Freedom's weapons singularly, though your new machine's combined guns make up for the one-on-one strength difference, while the Sword pack's anti-ship blade made it just as formidable in close combat. The Freedom is more like the Aile pack on steroids, especially when it comes to mobility; you have full high-speed flight capabilities rather than the Strike's limited ones, making for a much more potent fighting machine."

"Yeah," said Kira, "and unlike all three of those packs, I don't have to worry about running out of power for the weapons or Phase Shift Armor."

"Indeed," said Heero as he led the way through the ship's corridors, "you now have, in theory, the same operating time as I do with Wing Zero; your limits are set only by your physical and mental endurance."

"What do you mean 'in theory', Heero?" asked Kira.

"It's a matter of experience," he replied, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling you an amateur; you've been in enough fights to lose that title. However, you haven't been in as many prolonged engagements as I have, nor do you have my training. It doesn't matter how much the human body is modified or enhanced; in the end, our full potential as soldiers is realized once we've built up experience and honed our body and mind through the fiercest engagements, battles that are long and brutal. They show us what our limits are, and therefore give us something to strive towards, to overcome and set new benchmarks to reach. We repeat this process until we reach the peak of our abilities, or at least climb as high as we can at a certain point in time."

"Are you saying you've reached your peak, Heero?" asked Kira.

Heero shook his head. "No, I've still got plenty of time to become stronger, to hone my skills further, to improve my endurance beyond that what it is now; I am only sixteen, after all."

_That's right_, thought Kira, _I keep forgetting that he's my age._

"However," he said as he opened the door to the rear observation deck, stepping outside into the fresh air, "I do have my limits. Even with all my experience and training, there is only so far my body and mind can be pushed… and I was came very close to that in the battle at Alaska."

Kira was surprised to hear Heero make that kind of admission. Following him out onto the deck, he came to a stop as Heero leaned against the railing. Kira came up next to him, and was surprised to see Heero smiling slightly as he turned to face him.

"As strong as I am," said Heero, "it wasn't enough to protect the _Archangel_ against all those mobile suits. Your arrival saved the ship… and Murrue. Thanks, Kira; I owe you one."

Kira smiled. "No problem, Heero. Besides, with all you've done for this ship, you've saved my friends several times, including from the Cyclops system in the last battle. I don't think any of us should have to owe each other; we both have people on this ship we want to protect."

Heero chuckled before looking over the railing at the sun as it rose higher and higher in the morning sky. "Works for me."

As his fellow mobile suit pilot looked out over the ocean, Kira was struck by how Heero had mentioned Murrue separately from the _Archangel_. _He really cares about her_, he thought, _I wonder if he…_ After a moment Kira decided Heero's feelings towards Murrue were none of his business. He knew what it was like to protect someone he cared about, and knew that if Heero felt that way about someone aboard the _Archangel_ then that was his own reason to fight; Kira had no place in butting in.

There was something else about Heero's attitude and mannerisms that made Kira curious. The pilot of Wing Zero was still somewhat aloof, but… he seemed a lot looser than he had been when he'd first come aboard the _Archangel_.

_Hell_, thought Kira, _for Heero, I'd practically call this friendly. _The proverbial light bulb went off in his head as he realized that was _exactly _what Heero's demeanor was right now; calm, cool… and _friendly_. Granted, others who did not know Heero might be hard pressed to call it that, but Kira had spent enough time around the Gundam pilot to be able to tell that he had loosened up considerably towards him.

Kira, for his part, had actually considered Heero to be a friend ever since the events of North Africa. A distant friend, granted, but the way he had acted towards him and Cagalli during the trip to Banadiya had gone a long way towards helping Kira get some understanding of his fellow mobile suit pilot. Of course, it had only been a very limited understanding given how much Heero kept to himself and only spoke at length with Captain Ramius, but it was still something. It had actually improved somewhat during the stopover in Orb, especially when Cagalli had come down to Morgenroete's testing hangar to speak with the two young men.

Now Kira realized that Heero actually returned the sentiment to a degree, and that he really had made a new friend. He'd take all he could get in the days ahead; he knew things would only get more difficult as events played out.

_Both the Alliance and ZAFT will be hunting this ship_, he thought, _friendship and comradery will be important to keeping everyone together and focused._

"Kira," said Heero, and the young Coordinator realized his tone had become more serious, "the way you fought at Alaska… is that how you intend to fight from here on out?"

Kira nodded. "Yes. The people we fight on the battlefield… they're just being used by their governments. They're not our real enemies; I'm not going to kill them!"

"I understand where you're coming from," said Heero, "however, I disagree with your decision."

"What?" said Kira, his eyes widening, "Why, Heero?"

"Don't get me wrong," he replied, "I agree with you that the soldiers we engage in combat are being used by ZAFT and the Alliance, and that for the most part are not our real enemies. There will, of course, be those that agree with the extremist stance of their rulers, but they will always be in the minority."

"However," he continued, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Kira, "that does not change the fact that, in fighting against us, they're trying to kill the people we care about, not to mention us. Our actions have made us top priority targets of both the Earth Sphere's superpowers. They will show us no mercy when we meet on the battlefield, and it is both foolish and dangerous to give it to them."

"But Heero," said Kira, "if I disable their machines, I remove them as a threat without killing them! You saw that I was able to do that at Alaska, and you just finished trying out the Freedom's targeting system; you know I can fight like that! Why should I kill enemy pilots when I can just disarm them?"

"The answer is twofold," said Heero, "First, in allowing them the chance to withdraw, you've shown the enemy how you fight and are giving them the chance to repair, rearm, and come at you again. What's to stop them from using any knowledge of your fighting style against you in your next encounter?"

"But didn't you do the same thing with the Valkyrie Team in North Africa?" said Kira.

"Their ability to survive fighting me," replied Heero, "was due in no small part to their own skills. It's true that I was not going all out in our first engagement, but I was still trying to kill them. Also, the dynamics are different when you and your foe have a sense of mutual respect and professional courtesy. I allowed Shemei Rehema and her subordinates to withdraw after our first engagement because that was the feeling I got from them; they weren't just soldiers trying to kill us, but highly skilled pilots with a sense of honor… and they were looking for a challenge, just as I was."

Heero smirked. "At the time of that first battle, no one other than that CGUE pilot in the orbital battle had been able to stand against me for a prolonged period, and I wanted to fight them again. When you've spent your entire life on the battlefield, Kira… you can't help but feel a rush when you come up against someone that can push you. Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy war or killing… but a fight against someone who can stand against me despite using an inferior mobile suit… I won't deny getting a certain thrill from it."

"Was it the same in your second battle?" asked Kira, "Our final fight in North Africa?"

Heero nodded. "I did pay a price in allowing them to survive the prior fight; their skills had improved, and they were much better prepared for what I could do. However, that was the _point_; I was looking for that challenge, as was Shemei Rehema. Neither of us disappointed each other. Also, unlike our enemies now, both the Valkyrie Team and Waltfeld's army in North Africa would have given the _Archangel _the chance to surrender if it had come down to it; we can't expect similar conduct from the Alliance or ZAFT now. Of course, that didn't happen, and it would've been a very last resort for Murrue if it had come down to it."

"Was that why you let Commander Rehema go at the end of that battle?" asked Kira, "Because you could still expect professional conduct from her in the future?"

"Not really," said Heero, "My motives there were entirely selfish. I wanted her to have the chance to get a more powerful machine so we could fight each other on even footing. I respected her too much to really consider our battle to be fair, even if it had started four-on-one in her favor. Her skill is incredible, far beyond any other pilot I've seen in the Cosmic Era, and I want a chance to fight her on even ground… and I know she feels the same way."

"The point to all this," he continued, "is that the dynamic between the Valkyrie Team and myself is that of mutual respect for each other's capabilities, along with the desire for a fair fight. There's no real animosity between us; in fact, were we not at war I'd imagine we'd be friends with them. You will find no such sentiments among the forces the Alliance and ZAFT send after us now, and would be wise to fight with the same lethality as you did before acquiring the Freedom; allowing your foes the chance to withdraw and find new ways to fight you after analyzing your tactics may well prove to be your undoing. It also serves to increase the enemy's corps of experienced pilots; they would be at a greater disadvantage if you killed their pilots and forced them to send new ones without prior experience against you."

Kira knew Heero's reasoning was sound, but he couldn't just accept it. Perhaps it was because of their different life experiences, or maybe just a fundamental difference between their own natures… but now that Kira knew he had the ability to fight and protect his friends without killing, he couldn't imagine fighting any other way.

He then remembered that Heero had said that there were two reasons why he had disagreed with his new combat tactics. "What was your second reason, Heero?"

"That soldiers kill because it is necessary," he replied, "we accept that we have to kill in order to survive the battle and protect those we care about. We don't have to like it, and in fact I would say that no true soldier enjoys killing, but we're willing to kill without hesitation. We also accept that there are some enemies that are too dangerous to spare, even if you have that option. Sometimes you _have _to kill; there is no other option available in those situations."

Heero's eyes met Kira's, and the boy was struck by his piercing glare. "Kira," said Heero, "if you don't accept the fact that there are times when you may _have _to take your opponent's life, how will you react when confronted by such a situation? When you can't disable your foe's mobile suit, or if they decide even after being disarmed to charge you and self-destruct in the hopes of taking you with them, will you be able to do what is necessary? In such a scenario, a split second of hesitation may cost you your life… or the life of someone you care about."

Kira sighed. "I don't know, Heero. I admit I haven't really thought about it that way… but even so, how I fought at Alaska is how I want to fight from now on. The Freedom gives me the power to stop my foes without killing them, and I'm going to use it."

Heero nodded. "If that's how you feel, then I won't say any more on the matter."

He started walking towards the door, leaving Kira standing by the railing. Before Wing Zero's pilot went inside though, he looked over his shoulder and gave a parting warning.

"Kira, if there's an enemy on the battlefield that I believe must be destroyed, then I will do so without hesitation… regardless of whether or not you try to disable them. When that time comes… don't get in my way."

With that Heero disappeared inside the ship, leaving Kira alone with his thoughts.

….

"What did I miss?" a familiar voice asked behind her.

Murrue looked over her shoulder and smiled as Heero came up and took his usual place beside her command chair. "Nothing much," she replied, "we're heading southwest; we'll need to steer pretty wide around Hawaii to avoid their patrols. We'll be brushing up against the edge of ZAFT-held waters in the process; there's a chance we could be engaged eventually."

"I don't think that's likely," said Heero, "judging by the armada we fought at Alaska, I would imagine that the rest of their surface navy is stretched pretty thin, and their casualties were severe. It'll be much harder for ZAFT to patrol the wide areas they held prior to the battle, and they may pull back their forces to reinforce their key bases. We may see a couple recon drones or an occasional warship at the edge of our scopes, but nothing that would be a serious threat."

Murrue nodded. "You're probably right. Still, I want to stay on guard. I'm having the wide array sonar ping every ten minutes, and the rest of our scopes are covering as wide an area as possible."

"Of course," said Heero, "letting our guard down now would be foolish. I could take Wing Zero up and act as forward reconnaissance; we could rotate between La Flaga, Kira, and myself so we can always have one unit in the air. It would expand our radar capabilities and allow us to already have one fighter or mobile suit airborne in the event of an attack."

"That's a good idea," said Murrue, "especially since Kira's new mobile suit has much greater flight capabilities than the Strike did. I'll set up a rotating flight schedule; what shift do you want?"

"I'll head up now," Heero replied, "I'll stay airborne until early evening, then Kira can take my place for the night, and La Flaga can fly until late morning."

Murrue smiled. "Alright, I'll make sure to let them know. Are you sure you want to head up now, though? Even after a good night's rest, you must still be feeling some of the effects from yesterdays fighting."

"I'll be alright," said Heero, "compared to my usual sorties, a recon flight will be relaxing." He then gave her a slight smile. "Besides, this way we'll be able to grab dinner together in the mess; I like having your company during the evening meal."

Murrue felt her face warm slightly at his comment. She felt the same way, of course, and she knew he enjoyed the time they spent together… but it was still something else to hear him say it out loud, especially in front of the bridge crew.

_Then again_, she mused, smiling again, _we're not officially Alliance military anymore… so regulations don't apply to us now… not that I paid much heed to them before when it came to Heero._

"I enjoy sharing dinner with you as well, Heero," she said, "I look forward to later."

Heero nodded. "I'll be getting airborne. Radio if you pick up anything on the sonar."

"I will," she replied, "take care, Heero."

"Roger that," he said before leaving the bridge.

Murrue returned her attention to the forward viewport, the ocean waves gleaming in the morning sun. _Such a peaceful picture_, she thought, _it's almost enough to make one think we aren't being hunted by nearly the entire world._

A few minutes later Heero appeared on the main monitor. "I'm ready to head out," he said, "I'll go to Wing Zero's fighter mode and climb to twenty thousand feet; I'll stay up there for the time being."

"Understood," said Murrue, "we'll maintain our present course for now and keep an eye out for submarine patrols."

"Roger that," said Heero. He nodded before cutting the feed.

"Get the hangar doors open," Murrue ordered.

"Yes, ma'am" said Miriallia, "opening the launch bay now." A few seconds later she spoke again. "Doors are open. Wing Zero, you are cleared for launch."

Murrue watched as Heero shot out of the ship, Wing Zero shifting into its fighter mode as it climbed for altitude. It soon became little more than a pinprick in the sky before Murrue lost track of it entirely.

_Hopefully we'll be able to stay clear of the Alliance and ZAFT on our journey to Orb_, Murrue thought, _if not… then we'll just have to make them regret coming after us. I know Heero will have no problem doing that._

….

Sitting down at his desk, Creuset turned on the new monitor that had been set up to replace the one he'd smashed the day before in his fury. His office as a whole had been cleaned up, though there was still a dent in the wall from where he had thrown the flagpole at it. Typing on the keyboard, the masked Commander established a connection with the capital and saw the image on his screen shift to that of the Defense Council chambers.

The entire Council had been assembled for the video conference, and Creuset was amused to see Field Marshal Eric Bristow among the top brass. _We kept him in the dark about Spitbreak's true target_, he mused, _but there's no need for secrecy now. Or perhaps Zala's trying to sooth any ruffled feathers; Bristow's father is one of the leading directors of the Asimov Design Bureau, after all. Alienating him would create political problems for the Chairman, especially since the elder Bristow is a major financial backer of the radical faction._

Patrick Zala sat at the head of the table. The Supreme Council and Defense Council Chairman's expression was as hard and fierce as ever, and Creuset knew that the man was anxious to hear his latest report.

"Commander Le Creuset," said Zala, "this conference has been called in order to ascertain the current situation on the ground, as well as to plan our next campaign. We have already read your preliminary reports, but we know require a more detailed debriefing. Are you prepared?"

The masked Commander nodded. "Yes, Chairman. What do you wish to know first?"

"The extent of the damage to the Alaska headquarters," said Zala, "I trust that by now our ground forces have been able to conduct a more thorough analysis of the area?"

"They have," said Creuset, "Chairman, Council members, I regret to inform you that the base is a near total loss. All primary command and control facilities have been destroyed, along with the mass driver, spaceport, airfield, and docks. There are no useable barracks, the medical wing is destroyed, and all primary storage facilities are demolished; there is little, if anything, to salvage, and no suitable structures for garrisoning troops."

"What about the base's data storage servers?" asked Zala, "The Atlantic Federation would've had those in a hardened facility, and they would also have backup server rooms distributed across the area; surely those must've survived.'

"I'm afraid I have little good news to report on that front," said Creuset, "Wing Zero's attacks were even more destructive than we originally thought. The primary data storage facility was completely destroyed, along with most of the backups. Our engineers have managed to uncover one server bank that did survive the base's destruction, and data mining efforts are underway. However, the devices did suffer some damage, and much of the data is corrupted. We did manage to extract one interesting bit of information, though."

"What is it?" asked Field Marshal Keitel, Zala's Chief of Staff. The man was not a particularly pleasant sight to look at; an over-indulgent lifestyle had resulted in him becoming much more heavyset than a Coordinator should've been, and the thick mustache on his face seemed almost comical to Creuset rather than intimidating, as he knew the man wanted it to be. Creuset also knew that the senior officer had practically no backbone, and held nothing but contempt for him because of it; the man was little more than a rubber stamp for anything Zala wanted to get done in the armed forces.

Creuset actually had more respect for Bristow than the Chief of Staff; while the 'Wolf of the Far East' was a thorn in both his and Zala's sides with his attempts to rein in Special Operations and get several of its members, particularly Schwarze Squadron, tried for war crimes, Creuset appreciated the man's nerve and his refusal to kowtow before superiors. _His conscience is a problem for us_, Creuset mused, _but the fact that the man's no sycophant like Keitel does warrant him more respect… and caution. He is cunning, and his network of contacts is quite wide… and I know less about it than I'd like to._

Returning his attention to the matter at hand, Creuset turned to Keitel. "It would seem, Field Marshal, that the Atlantic Federation knew we were coming."

A collective gasp went through the assembled officers… except for Bristow and Zala. The former simply raised an eyebrow and looked more curious than surprised, while the latter's eyes narrowed, his expression becoming that of restrained anger.

"Commander Creuset," said Zala, "elaborate on you answer. What data was recovered that suggested the Naturals knew of Spitbreak's true target?"

"According to the files we managed to salvage," said Creuset, "the Alliance installed a Cyclops microwave emitter system beneath the base. We have encountered such a weapon before, during the last stage of the fighting along the Grimaldi Front on the moon."

"Yes," said Bristow, speaking up for the first time since the conference had begun, "that campaign lasted over a month… which was enough time for the Alliance to install and conceal the Cyclops bomb in the Endymion Crater, where the final battle took place. Commander, the fact that such a device was present at Alaska implies that the Alliance High Command knew of the attack's true target well in advance." He then turned and glared at Zala. "Certainly well before _half this Council did._"

Creuset resisted the temptation to smirk, sensing even through the video feed the tension racketing up in the Defense Council chambers. Perhaps it was because Bristow was the youngest member of the Council, but he had a nerve his fellow senior officers lacked. Creuset knew that he would not remain quiet over such a decision by Zala, unlike the other officers that had been left in the dark.

Zala, for his part, brushed aside the Field Marshal's remarks. "The need for secrecy was paramount," said the Chairman, "it was necessary that the true aims of Spitbreak be known to as few people as possible." He then scowled, looking around the room. "Even then, it seems such precautions were not enough."

Once again, only Bristow remained calm and firm in his seat; the rest of the Council members were fidgeting nervously in their seats, nervously trying to anticipate where the Chairman's wrath would fall.

Creuset, for his part, knew he had to act quickly in order to turn the Chairman's fury at the betrayal of Spitbreak's true goals towards his own aims… and keep suspicion from falling on him. Fortunately, he had already prepared for such an event.

"Chairman," he said, "I believe we all know what party was responsible for this leak; the former Chairman and his supporters. They did help hijack the Freedom, after all, and that machine's pilot knew where the battle was taking place, or else he would not have arrived there."

It was a bold accusation to make, primarily because everyone was well aware that Clyne had been kept in the dark as to Spitbreak's true target; Creuset was counting on his skills at manipulating Zala and his cronies to convince them that the former Chairman had betrayed them.

As he'd anticipated, Bristow immediately pounced on the fault of his accusation. "Mr. Clyne was kept in the dark regarding Spitbreak's true target," he said, "along with the rest of the Supreme Council and the majority of ZAFT and the PLANT leadership. Neither Clyne nor his political supporters had no way of knowing where the attack would take place until Chairman Zala's announcement."

"By official means, that would be correct Field Marshal," Creuset replied, "however, it is possible that some of Clyne's more technologically savvy supporters managed to hack into ZAFT's systems; such cyber attacks have happened in the past."

It was true, but the hacking attempts he was referring to had not come from inside the PLANTs… as Bristow was quick to point out.

"Those cyber attacks," said Bristow, "were initiated by the Alliance prior to the start of the war. Back then we still maintained network connections with major service providers on Earth; those attacks were the catalyst for the PLANTs isolating themselves cyber wise on their own network, and those of friendly nations like Oceania. Those were external attacks, not internal; Mr. Clyne and his supporters would gain nothing by hacking ZAFT's secure systems and sharing the true target of Spitbreak with the Alliance. Besides, our cyber warfare specialists have already completed diagnostics of our system, and have found no traces of internal hacking attempts."

"They would also gain nothing by hijacking the Freedom," Creuset pointed out, "yet they did anyway. We may not know why, but the former Chairman and his daughter, along with some of their political allies, were willing to betray the PLANTs when they stole that weapon. Who's to say they would not attempt to sabotage Spitbreak? Also, just because our specialists did not detect traces of hacking attempts in the system does not mean such attacks did not occur."

The logic had its share of holes, and Creuset knew that there was still a chance that Bristow could hit them and turn the Council against him. Fortunately, the masked Commander also knew that Zala's prejudices and personal animosity with the former Chairman would make him less inclined to listen to reason… and he did not disappoint.

"Clyne was always opposed to taking the steps necessary to truly defeat the Naturals," said Zala, "He wanted to put us on parity with them, bring them to the negotiating table and discuss things 'as equals'. He never would've gone along with Operation Spitbreak, and I can easily see him sabotaging the plan. His aiding in the theft of the Freedom is all the evidence I need of his betrayal of us."

_Perfect_, thought Creuset, once again resisting the urge to smirk, _you are so easy to control, Chairman… it's pathetic, really. _Having achieved his short-term objective of deflecting suspicion away from himself, the masked Commander knew it was time to move on to the next step needed to get his plans back on track.

"Chairman, Council members, if I may?" said Creuset, "While Clyne's treachery is important, the man and his daughter are now on the run, and other than keep our security forces on the lookout for them there is little we can do about the matter at this time. I believe our larger concern now is our campaign on Earth."

"Agreed," said Zala, "with our forces now on the North American continent, we can now begin pushing inward, keep the Naturals off balance."

"With all due respect, sir," said Bristow, "the position of our surface forces is tenuous, to say the least. We're in no shape to launch an offensive, especially with the losses we incurred in the battle. With the destruction of both the airfield and space port the only way we can bring large numbers of reinforcements to Alaska is by sea from Kaoshiung, and that will take time. Orbital drops can alleviate the situation to a degree, but we can only spare a limited amount of ships for such an operation at this time; most of the fleet is either on the Exclusion Grid or skirmishing with the Alliance space forces, keeping them from organizing for a large scale assault. Also, according to IFF data, aside from the legged ship and Wing Zero the forces we faced at Alaska were Eurasian; the Atlantic Federation suffered no losses apart from the base itself, and if the data recovered by Creuset's men is accurate then they were planning to destroy it anyway. They may have shifted much of their offensive forces to the south, but they still have plenty of reserve divisions on the North American continent to throw at us should we begin an advance. I recommend holding and fortifying our position until we can reinforce. We also need to reorganize the rest of our surface forces; with the amount of units we put into Spitbreak, several of our key points elsewhere on Earth are now vulnerable, even with most of Eurasia's offensive might now destroyed."

"Your concerns are noted, Field Marshal," said Zala, "but we cannot afford to waste time; we must strike again and keep the Naturals off balance. With Alaska HQ reduced to a crater our position there is not well suited to defense; we need to attack."

"Launching a new offensive will only spread out our forces on the mainland," Bristow retorted, "we may make some gains, but the Atlantic Federation reserve divisions still vastly outnumber our current forces at Alaska; eventually our soldiers will get bogged down and eventually be overwhelmed."

"I believe I have a solution to this conundrum," said Creuset, causing the Defense Council to look at him, "while I do agree that a new offensive is needed, Field Marshal Bristow's concerns are valid. Therefore, I propose our next attack be not by land, but by air and sea… and not in North America."

"What do you mean, Creuset?" asked Zala.

"Wing Zero's destruction of the Alaska base created a significant complication for our plans," said Creuset, "but it does have one benefit; with the facility's mass driver destroyed, the only one left for the Alliance to use is at Panama. If we strike there, we can cut them off from outer space."

"Panama has been reinforced, Commander," said Bristow, "with the resources we devoted to Spitbreak, we no longer have the ships and mobile suits needed for such an attack unless we divert some from Alaska, which will weaken our position there."

"Not if we just take some of the _Vosgulovs _and their DINNs," Creuset replied, "if we combine those with orbital dropped GINNs and the rest of Carpentaria's forces we will be able to take Panama."

"At the expense of our position in Alaska," said Zala, "I do not see how this solves our problem, Creuset."

"Twenty _Vosgulovs _survived the battle," said Creuset, "along with over a hundred DINNs. Each ship has a carrying capacity of six DINNs; I propose we send ten vessels south for the attack, with full compliments. We cannot do the same for the submersible mobile suits, of course; the few that survived will be needed at Alaska. However, taking this size of a force will not severely impact our ground units, and the Alliance has moved most of its naval assets away from the north so we will be at no risk of a fleet attack to our rear. There will still be over forty DINNs at Alaska, more than enough to provide sufficient air cover to our ground forces there until we can send reinforcements from Kaoshiung."

"Halving the naval and air arms," mused Zala, "while keeping the surface forces intact… it's a gamble, but the potential payoff is substantial. The Naturals are in no position to strike Alaska immediately, so this could work."

"I disagree," said Bristow, "recent analysis has showed a substantial increase in Atlantic Federation industrial activity, and all indications point to a large buildup of their forces. The specifics are unclear; their counter-intelligence efforts have been aggressive, to say the least. However, the sheer scale makes one thing clear; they are producing a _lot _of new weapons, and their large populations means they'll have more than enough people to use them. They may have moved their mainline forces to South America and Hawaii, but those in North America will be no pushovers."

"They still lack the capacity at this time to make an assault on Alaska," said Field Marshal Keitel, "our position there will hold even with this redeployment."

"Agreed," said Zala, "Creuset, begin preparations for the assault. The fleet you take from Alaska will rendezvous with Carpentaria's forces near Easter Island; I will leave it to you to work out the details."

"Thank you, Chairman," the masked Commander replied, "Also, if I may suggest, the Gungnir device would be most useful in the attack on Panama… that is, if it is ready for deployment."

"It is," said Zala, "unfortunately the cost that went into it means that we will not be building more of them anytime soon, but the prototype is fully functional and has been test fired successfully. We will airdrop it in with the orbital forces we assign to the operation."

"Excellent," said Creuset, "then I will ensure that our units are properly equipped to escape the effects when the time comes."

Bristow folded his arms. "I would like to go on record as being against this whole operation. I will follow orders, Chairman, but I do not believe this attack is a good idea, and suggest concentrating on reinforcing our current positions."

"Once again your concerns are noted, Bristow," said Zala, "however, we must keep the Naturals off balance, and this is the best way to do it. We will attack Panama. You need not concern yourself with the operation, Field Marshal; you will have other matters to attend to."

"Understood, Chairman," said Bristow. The man remained calm, but Creuset knew he had to be fuming underneath. _And for good reason_, he mused, _Zala will most likely saddle him with more paperwork regarding our defensive forces; always plenty of that to do, and it will temporarily remove a thorn from the Chairman's side. Bristow is a man who prefers to lead from the front; not having a field command these days must irritate him to no end._

"Chairman, Council members," said Creuset, "there is one other matter that I believe must be addressed."

"And that is?" said Zala, folding his arms.

"Wing Zero," he replied, "it was seen leaving the battlefield with the legged ship and the Freedom, as I mentioned in my earlier reports. Unfortunately, we have since lost track of them. I would like to increase our aerial reconnaissance flights along their last known trajectory in order to pick them up. Wing Zero is a threat to all we have worked so hard to achieve; it has more than proven how much power it wields. We must capture or destroy that machine."

"You're shooting yourself in the foot here, Commander," said Bristow, "with the forces you've requested for your Panama assault, we will be stretched even further than before; we won't have the resources to deal with Wing Zero."

"I am aware of that, Field Marshal," said the masked Commander, "I am not suggesting we fight that beast at the same time we strike Panama. As the old saying goes, 'he who chases two rabbits at once will end up with neither', and I have no intention of us playing the part of the foolish hunter. Rather, I would like to focus our reconnaissance forces on finding and tracking Wing Zero for the moment; once Panama has fallen we can assemble the forces necessary to taking it out."

"I have already attended to the matter, Creuset," said Zala, "Athrun Zala has been elevated to Special Operations Agent and has been assigned the Justice to track down and destroy Wing Zero, along with the Freedom. Additional recon drones will be shipped to Kaoshiung and Carpentaria and distributed to our naval patrols in order to find the legged ship and Wing Zero; once they've confirmed their heading, Athrun will hunt them down and destroy them."

_That will not be enough_, thought Creuset, _even with the Justice there is no way Athrun can defeat Wing Zero. Chairman, your arrogance blinds you here as it does everywhere else… only now it may prove to be more of a problem to me than an asset._

Still, at the moment there was little Creuset could do about it; going against the Chairman now would earn him ire that he could not afford at the moment. He would just have to wait until the inevitable failure of Athrun's mission before resubmitting his proposal.

_At least Athrun will be taken care of_, he mused, _the boy's a good pilot and was a useful pawn, but he has the conscience his father lacks, and it will prove to be a liability in the days ahead; better he die at the hands of the legged ship's mobile suits and further fan the flames of hatred in his father, make him all the easier for me to manipulate. Perhaps Athrun will at least be able to take out the Freedom before Wing Zero kills him; that would work out nicely for my plans._

"I understand, Chairman," he said, "I wish your son the best of luck in his hunt." It was difficult for him to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

Zala smiled. "Thank you, Commander. I will pass that on to him." He then looked at the assembled Council members. "I believe this concludes our business… except for one matter."

"Creuset," he continued, "though Spitbreak was not the decisive blow we had imagined, thanks to the operation and your leadership in the assault we now have a presence on the Atlantic Federation mainland. In recognition of your achievements and service, you are hereby promoted to Field Marshal."

The masked officer bowed his head. "I am honored, Chairman. I promise I will not disappoint you."

"Of course, Field Marshal Creuset," Zala replied, "Council adjourned. Creuset, I will contact you later to discuss plans for the attack on Panama."

_You promote me, yet you still wish to micromanage_, he thought, _Zala, you can really be a nuisance sometimes. Your only saving grace is that you're a useful pawn._

"Yes, Chairman," said Creuset, "I will have a preliminary draft prepared by the time you call."

"Good," said the Chairman, "Dismissed."

After the video link was terminated Creuset leaned back in his chair for a moment, contemplating all that had just occurred. _Well, I suppose that went well. A few bumps in the road, but nothing that can't be adjusted for. So long as I keep my cool… I can ill afford to let my hatred of Wing Zero cloud my judgment now._

But that hatred was still there, seething in the depths of his heart. His plans had been going so smoothly up until the battle at Alaska that he had been caught completely off guard by the demonstration of Wing Zero's true power. The realization that he had so badly underestimated that machine was just one source of his fury; the other was the fact that months of work had been completely derailed, and he had spent nearly every waking hour since then scrambling to get things back on track. It had been difficult, and there were still hurdles in his path… but his efforts were already beginning to payoff, especially with what he had accomplished during the video conference.

He smirked as he pulled up his encrypted e-mail system and began composing a message to his pawn in the Atlantic Federation. _The withdrawal of the ten Vosgulovs and their DINNs will be enough to tip the balance at Alaska_, he thought, _once Azrael knows what the next move is, he will waste little time in responding… and he'll play right into my hand. I know the Atlantic Federation has moved most of their new model mobile suits to South America, Hawaii, and the East Coast in preparation to attack Africa, but with the increase in industrial output their factories in North America will churn out more than enough units to supplement their reserve divisions in a push on Alaska._

After spending a few minutes composing a message he leaned back in his chair, grinning as he sent the e-mail. "The ball is in your court now, Azrael," he said, "I hope you don't disappoint me."

….

Dearka sat up on the bed and smiled as he saw Miriallia approach his cell. "Hey," he said, "I don't suppose you mind telling me what all the racket was yesterday. I could feel shaking even down here."

"We were in a battle," the girl replied, "ZAFT attacked Alaska; we barely managed to escape."

Dearka was surprised to see that the girl was smiling. "You seem in an awfully good mood considering all that. What happened?"

"One of my friends," she replied, "one I thought dead, returned to us during the fight. He and Heero were able to save us all… both from ZAFT and the Alliance."

Dearka raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're losing me here; why would you need saving from your own side?"

Miriallia sighed. "The battle was a setup; the Alliance had planted a massive bomb beneath the base, and if it had detonated it would've killed everyone on the battlefield, whether they be friend or foe. This ship and Wing Zero, along with the Eurasian Fleet, were bait for the trap."

Dearka was stunned at the news. "They were planning on killing you guys just to beat ZAFT? That's… that's sick! What the fuck is wrong with them?"

"I know what you mean," the girl replied, "I'm still having trouble wrapping my own head around it, to be honest. To think they'd be so willing to sacrifice us… I'm just glad Kira showed up when he did, and that Heero was able to destroy the base."

Dearka's eyes widened in shock. "Hang on, that's Wing Zero's pilot right? That mobile suit has enough firepower to destroy something like the Alaska base?"

Miriallia nodded. "Yeah, I was surprised to see that too. I'm glad he's on our side… although what 'side' we're on now is hard to say. We're now on the run from both the Alliance and ZAFT… we may have escaped the trap at Alaska, but our situation now seems worse than ever."

The girl was clearly worried, and Dearka found himself wanting to reassure her in some way. "Well, having both the Alliance and ZAFT after you guys will be tough, but I'm sure you'll be alright; with what you've just told me about Wing Zero, I don't think anyone can take you guys on now."

Miriallia smiled slightly. "Yeah… though I'm sure even Heero has his limits. Still, I think both sides will think twice before coming after us… at least right away. Hopefully that will give us some time to find a place to rest and figure out what our next move is."

"Any idea where that might be?" asked Dearka.

"We're heading for Orb," she replied, "we have prior history with their leadership, and they're the only neutral nation with a powerful military. We're hopeful that they'll grant us asylum."

Dearka saw a strange look in her eyes, a combination of longing, nostalgia, and worry. "Orb's my homeland," Miriallia continued, "I was studying up in Heliopolis with my friends when ZAFT attacked the colony, but I'm from the Orb mainland, along with them. I hope they'll let us in… but I'm also worried about what will happen to them if they do accept us; I don't think the Alliance or ZAFT will just let that slide after what happened at Alaska."

"Are you afraid they might invade your homeland?" he asked.

She nodded. "I am. Our government has worked hard on building a military capable of preserving our neutrality… but we're no match for the Alliance or ZAFT, even with the losses they've taken in this war. I… I don't know what will happen to my country if they accept us as refugees."

"I'm sorry," said Dearka softly. It sounded pathetic to him, but he wasn't sure what else he _could _say in response to her words.

He was surprised to see her smile. "It's alright, it's not your fault we're in this mess. I appreciate your concern, though… it means a lot."

Dearka smiled slightly in return. "No problem. You guys may have captured me, but you've also been pretty decent to me since then, not counting that bit of craziness in the sickbay."

"Yeah," she said, looking down sheepishly, "sorry about that."

"Ah, it's cool," he replied, leaning back against the wall, "I'm too lazy to hold a grudge." His expression then became more seriousness. "I don't suppose I'll be getting out of here any time soon, will I? I mean, now that you guys aren't Alliance…"

"We have no real reason to hold you," she finished for him, "They're not going to let you out quite yet, but I heard the Captain saying that if Orb lets us in then she'll ask them to arrange for you to be transferred back to ZAFT. If we aren't allowed entry… well, I'm not sure what the future will hold for you then, but you won't be harmed; no one on this ship will kill you. Unless you try to escape, of course. Please don't do that, ok?"

"Wasn't planning on it," said Dearka, "I couldn't get out of this cell anyway, and I'm not keen on getting shot by security."

"Oh, good," said Miriallia, "well, I've got to go… I hope we'll be able to let you go soon."

"Yeah," he said, "so do I… hey, thanks for coming down. You're better company than the guards, that's for sure."

She smiled at his comment. "No problem. See you later."

As she left, Dearka was surprised to find that he was having mixed thoughts on his possible eminent release. On the one hand, he'd be able to get back to his people. On the other… well, it was doubtful that the ship's crew would let him leave with the Buster, and then there was the matter of Miriallia. He was surprised to find himself growing fond of the Natural girl, and he had come to enjoy talking to her.

_I don't know if I'd ever see her again after this_, he thought, _I'd like to, but with the new situation this ship is in that might not happen; they're now the target of both ZAFT and the Alliance, and even if Orb grants them sanctuary they could still be in danger._

He was worried for Miriallia's future… and he wanted to protect her.

….

Admiral Sutherland fidgeted nervously in his seat. After the submarine transport bearing the High Command had arrived at a naval base further south along the Canadian coast, he and his fellow senior officers had caught a jet to the Atlantic Federation naval base in San Francisco. They had spent their time since then composing and submitting their reports to the man they would be meeting today… and it was a meeting Sutherland was not looking forward to.

Looking around the pale conference room, with its gleaming metal walls, display screen at the end of the room, and the large circular holographic table around which he and the other three admirals were seated, he saw that his colleagues appeared to be as nervous as he did, and were doing little to hide it. He certainly couldn't blame them, especially considering why the meeting had been called.

_Damn you, Wing Zero_, he thought, _we should've shot its pilot the moment he entered the base; then he couldn't have used that machine to ruin our plans! Alaska was a complete debacle; we had no idea Wing Zero had that kind of firepower… and how the hell did they learn of the Cyclops system beneath the base in the first place? Who tipped them off?_

He had his suspicions regarding that last bit; according to reports, neither Lieutenant Commander La Flaga nor Flay Allster had boarded the last transport submarine to leave the base. It was possible - though Sutherland didn't know how - that the two of them had somehow found out about the Cyclops trap and had fled the base in order to warn the _Archangel _and Wing Zero. He had no proof, but the theory was the only one that made sense at the moment.

Now everything was a mess; not only had ZAFT's losses been far fewer than they were supposed to, but the Coordinators now had a foothold on the Atlantic Federation mainland. Granted, they held a bay and a hole in the ground, but they were not supposed to have gained even that much, and they still had roughly forty percent of their invasion force, rather than the projected ten percent survivors had the Cyclops system detonated as planned.

There were also the reports of a new mobile suit to consider, one that had aided the _Archangel _and Wing Zero, along with the surviving Eurasian forces, in their escape from Alaska. Details were sketchy, but it appeared that the new machine was agile, heavily armed, and could fire with pin point accuracy the likes of which had never been seen in the war until now. Analysts were still going over the footage recovered from recon drones that had been positioned at the edges of the area in order to confirm the detonation of the Cyclops bomb and subsequent destruction of the ZAFT and Eurasian forces, along with the _Archangel _and Wing Zero. The footage was not of the best quality, but it was clear that the new unit was capable of putting out a large volume of fire very quickly.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the overwhelming power that Wing Zero had demonstrated when it had destroyed the Alaska base and the super weapon within. Sutherland was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that that mobile suit's rifle possessed the power of _at least _a nuclear weapon; it was impossible to know for certain, but considering that the Alaska base had been designed to take a direct hit from an ICBM and survive and Wing Zero's main weapon had cut through all the fortifications in two shots it was logical to assume that its strength surpassed the mightiest warheads in the Atlantic Federation's massive stockpile.

Not only was it powerful, but Wing Zero had also been able to focus that destructive energy into two precise shots; Sutherland knew from maps and blueprints of the base that the machine's shots had hit right in the center of where the Cyclops was stored, and that precision had played no small part in punching through the bunkers and destroying the weapon. _The only way that pilot could've known where to fire_, he thought, _was if he had access to our base's blueprints. He must've slipped off the ship and infiltrated the facility sometime before the battle… damn that Heero Yuy!_

The boy and his machine had proven themselves to be the ultimate wild card in the war; the origins of both the pilot and the mobile suit were a mystery, their full skill and power still impossible to determine, and the boy's motives were completely unknown. The only thing Sutherland knew was that Heero Yuy was determined to protect the _Archangel_, and it was a task the Admiral had to grudgingly admit the boy had performed _par excellence_.

Intentions and origins aside, Sutherland was now well aware that Wing Zero and its pilot posed a great risk to the future plans of the rulers of the Atlantic Federation, and that considerable resources would be devoted to dealing with it and the rogue warship. _We have no choice_, he thought, _the power they wield is too great to ignore, and their ideals are clearly not our own; they are not with us, and are therefore against us. They must be destroyed._

There was a chime as the door to the conference room opened, and the Admiral sat up in his chair as the man of the hour entered the room and took his place at the only unoccupied chair, the backdrop to which was the large screen at the back of the room that was currently displaying a map of the Earth's surface. Four men in black suits came in behind him, and each took up a position behind the chair of one of the senior officers. Sutherland could not help but note the pistols holstered at their waists.

The man who held the entire Atlantic Federation in the palm of his hand, wielding more power than even the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court combined, had an appearance that many had described as almost angelic. He had bright blond hair, piercing pale blue eyes, and light skin. Supplementing this was the suit he was wearing, with robin's egg blue jacket and pants, a maroon shirt, and a pink tie. One anyone else the attire would've looked silly, but on him it seemed to enhance his aura, giving him the air of a man destined for greatness… and indeed, he had already achieved it, and still sought to ascend even higher.

Admiral Sutherland and his fellow officers had the utmost faith in the man before them, knowing that this visionary was the only one worthy of leading them in their quest to purify the world, to purge it of the abominations known as Coordinators. Still, despite this… or perhaps _because _of it… Sutherland thought that this man was something more than just a visionary; he was a devil in human form.

_Fitting, I suppose_, he thought, _according to the Christian beliefs,_ _the Morning Star Lucifer was the fairest of all the angels before he tried to overthrow the heavens themselves… our cause is not dissimilar in the sense that our own foes reside far above our world. But while his foe was divine, ours is simply a freak of nature; it is not omnipotent or invincible, and we will burn the scourge from the Earth Sphere, leaving not even the ashes of the abominations and their hourglass homes to remain once the deed is done._

Admiral Sutherland and his three colleagues all looked anxiously at the man the acknowledged as their true leader; the current head and chief financier of Blue Cosmos, Muruta Azrael.

He seemed eerily calm, and that unnerved the Admiral and his cohorts more than they already were; Azrael was cold and calculating, but it was well known that he did not take failure lightly, and the debacle at Alaska certainly qualified as one.

"Gentleman," he said, looking around the table, "I have finished going over your preliminary reports, and there are several matters that need to be addressed. To say that Alaska did not go according to plan would be an… _understatement _to say the least, and accounts need to be settled."

The tension in the room ratcheted up even further, and Sutherland had the sinking feeling that someone would be leaving the room in a body bag. This impression was not helped by the presence of the armed man behind him, and Sutherland realized that the gunmen were here not for Azrael's protection, but to help him make an example of one of the top brass should the need arise. His disquiet only grew as Azrael turned to him.

"Admiral Sutherland," said Azrael, "your reports prior to the battle stated that the power of Wing Zero's primary weapon was that of an anti-ship cannon; strong, but nothing we couldn't build on our own."

Sutherland nodded nervously. "Yes, Lord Azrael. Our estimates were based on recording from the _Archangel _of the mobile suit's performance in battle. We had no way of knowing that Wing Zero's firepower was on the level of magnitude displayed at Alaska…"

"Due to the security precautions taken by the pilot," Azrael finished for him, an icy edge to his voice, "I am aware of that, Admiral. However, you wasted a golden opportunity to interrogate the pilot when he entered the base along with the command staff of the _Archangel _for debriefing; you could've learned of the mobile suit's power then."

"My lord," Sutherland replied, "you did not issue any orders on the matter other than the fact that Wing Zero was to meet the same fate as the _Archangel_."

"So you are unable to take initiative?" Azrael asked sarcastically, "You are not helping your case, Sutherland."

"Taking the pilot for a separate interrogation would've aroused the suspicions of the _Archangel_'s crew," said Sutherland, "they could've mutinied; it was noted in the XO's report that Captain Ramius and Heero Yuy have developed a strong friendship, and she would've viewed any hostile action towards him on our part as a reason to rebel against us."

"You mean to say that you were prevented from acting by the possible actions of a woman who had a bond with a teenage boy?" Azrael sneered, "Are you really so weak willed, Admiral?"

"No, my lord," said Sutherland, "I simply felt that the situation would be taken care of when the Cyclops detonated."

"_WHICH IT DID NOT!,"_ Azrael roared. As Sutherland and the other officers cringed in their seats, Azrael continued, though his voice had lowered to an ominous hiss. "It was destroyed by a mobile suit you and your colleagues greatly underestimated and did not take the proper measures to uncover more information about. Now, thanks to the giant hole in the ground that is the base and Cyclops system, we now know that it has more firepower _than our strongest nuclear warheads!_"

A deathly silence came over the room. All four of the senior officers traded frantic glances with each other, and they also looked behind them, as if to gauge the intent of their possible executioners.

Azrael cleared his voice before speaking again. "Putting aside the matter of Wing Zero for the moment, there is also the fact that some of the Eurasian forces survived the battle. While it's a meager flotilla compared to the fleet they sent to Alaska, the fact remains that there were not supposed to be _any _survivors from the Eurasian forces."

"Lord Azrael," said Bernard, "with all due respect, do they even matter anymore? Eurasia's offensive might has been blunted, and their influence in the Alliance diminished considerably."

"Not as it should be," said Azrael, "when the survivors make their personal reports, it will harden the Eurasian Federation against us; the detonation of the Cyclops would've scrambled all recording and scanning equipment in the area that survived the initial blast, meaning that they would've had no proof beyond the words of the ZAFT survivors. Now they'll have personal accounts of how we set them up, and that only Wing Zero and the _Archangel _were able to save them and help them break through the ZAFT armada to safety. The Eurasian Federation will become isolationist, and will focus on hardening their defenses; we will not be able to sweep in and claim the rest of their forces as easily as we'd hoped, and they will be well motivated to resist us."

"But if they isolate themselves," said Vickers, "then our power over the Earth Alliance is still increased."

"But not to the degree it could've been had the Cyclops been allowed to detonate," said Azrael, "faced with the complete annihilation of their offensive fleets and having only rumors to go off of as to how they met their end, the Eurasians would've been thrown into confusion, their resources easy pickings for us to grab. That is not the case now."

He then smiled. "Fortunately I did have a contingency plan in the event that something went wrong… though I didn't expect our original operation to be so utterly derailed. With our financial backing, our sister group in the Eurasian Federation, the Chistaya Partiya Krovi, is making preparations for a coup in Moscow. It will still be some time before they are ready to launch it, but they should be ready to stage their takeover of the Eurasian Federation within two to three weeks."

The Chistaya Partiya Krovi, or Pure Blood Party, was an anti-Coordinator organization based in the Eurasian Federation. Founded in 44 C.E. by a group of army officers and Parliamentary officials, the group had gotten off to a rocky start, and in the first decade of its existence hadn't grown beyond more than a few thousand members. However, as relations between the Earth and the PLANTs deteriorated the party gained more support, its platform of preserving Natural humanity and opposing the 'perversion of life by genetic tampering' playing well with the conservative establishment. In surprising moves, both the Orthodox Church and the Vatican had pledged support to the party, and their influence had given the Chistaya Partiya Krovi a more religious flavor than its founders had intended.

The support of the two powerful religious bodies served to draw in more followers, particularly several key senior officers in the Eurasian military. The party had yet to achieve the same level of wealth and influence – and notoriety- as the Atlantic Federation based Blue Cosmos, but it had become a much more powerful organization in the years leading up to the war. However, it still lacked the resources and popular support to become the official ruling party of the Eurasian Federation, so they had reached out to Azrael for assistance. Sutherland had known that Blue Cosmos had provided financial and material support to Chistaya Partiya Krovi, but had not been aware that Lord Azrael had been working to move them into position for a coup d'état.

"In the meanwhile," said Azrael, "we cannot sit by while ZAFT forces defile our mainland. Admiral Sutherland, you must prepare our forces for an attack on their beachhead before the abominations can reinforce their position."

"My lord," said Sutherland, "our forces are out of position for such an attack; our frontline units have all been sent to either Hawaii, Panama, or the East Coast in preparation for the coming African offensive."

"That's not all," said Thompson, "the new GAT-series prototypes are already en route to Pearl Harbor, along with several units of Strike Daggers and Neo-Aile flight packs. Most of the other first-round production units are also being transported to staging areas well away from the North; the only units available to strike the Coordinator beachhead are our homeland divisions; they have little combat experience."

"But they do have numbers," said Vickers, "Massing all the reserve divisions in Canada and Alaska alone would be more than enough to overwhelm the enemy ground forces… of course, their air cover is another matter. According to recon drones ZAFT still has over one hundred DINNs operating in the area; we'd need at least five hundred fighters to have a decent chance at beating them, and massing that many planes will take time."

"That will not be necessary," said Azrael, smiling, "According to my source within ZAFT, the enemy will soon be redeploying over half of its air assets at Alaska, along with ten submarine/carriers, to attack Panama; there will be only 48 DINNs left behind to provide air cover for the ground forces in the area."

"That will make things easier on land," said Sutherland, "and we can turn our planes against their remaining warships once the DINNs are eliminated, but the enemy's ground forces are still considerable, and our losses will be heavy; with all the material we are reallocating for our coming campaigns, those kind of losses will severely weaken our homeland defenses until new recruits can be trained and new machines built."

"When our attack is over ZAFT will have more important things to be worrying about than attacking North America," said Azrael, "besides, though the other mobiles suits are already being shipped out, we do have a freshly made corps of Buster-Daggers still in our homeland army bases; it will be a simple matter to deploy them in support of the reserve divisions when the time comes for our assault on the Coordinator beachhead."

Sutherland nodded, going over everything in his head. There was no reason it wouldn't work; when combined with the tanks and artillery the new Buster-Daggers would be more than sufficient to take the enemy ground forces, and in fact would be well suited to replacing their weaker conventional equivalents in the future. Azrael's source in ZAFT had never been wrong before, so if they said the Coordinators would be diverting forces south to attack Panama then he saw no reason to doubt the information; hell, it had been that same source who had leaked the true target of Operation Spitbreak.

ZAFT's coming attack on Panama did pose a concern, though; even with the reinforcements that had been sent to the spaceport and mass driver there, if ZAFT hit hard enough the facility could fall. If that happened, the Atlantic Federation would be cut off from outer space entirely, and without shipments of supplies from the surface the orbital fleets would be crippled when their own stocks eventually ran out.

That was a serious issue, one Sutherland felt he had to address. "Lord Azrael, if ZAFT's assault on Panama does succeed, what is our plan? We cannot afford to be cut off from outer space for very long."

"I am well aware of that," the Blue Cosmos leader replied, "and that is why I've had you and your colleagues concentrate on building up our forces at Pearl Harbor and the East Coast. The latter fleet and invasion force will be used to take Africa and the Lake Victoria spaceport, with help from the Eurasians once the CPK have seized power in Moscow. As for the former… that will be the sword held over Orb's head when we deliver our ultimatum."

Sutherland nodded. He knew that Azrael had had designs on the neutral island nation for some time, and the Admiral himself was disgusted at how Orb had remained on the sidelines throughout the war. The nation's Morgenroete company and its expertise had been needed to build the prototype mobile suits and warship at Heliopolis, but Sutherland had always resented that backroom deal.

_Orb should be unconditionally on our side_, he fumed, _instead Uzumi tries to play us against the Coordinator scum, and even has diplomatic relations with the space monsters! He used us to enable his country to develop their own mobile suits base on our collaboration, and he refuses to join our struggle against the genetic abominations. He's a traitor to all Naturals; the day we bring that conniving aristocrat and his country to heel is one that cannot come fast enough._

Whether it be by coercion or all-out invasion, Sutherland knew that it would only be a matter of time before Orb was forced to join the Earth Alliance, and he looked forward to adding their considerable resources – including the Kaguya Mass Driver – to their own.

"Now," said Azrael, his eyes narrowing, "returning to the matter of Wing Zero, we must capture that machine; if it could destroy the Alaska base, then it could easily wipe out the Coordinator colonies. The power it wields must be made ours!"

"Agreed," said Bernard, "we greatly underestimated just what that machine was capable of before Alaska. Now we must make every effort to seize that mobile suit, especially before ZAFT has a chance to do the same."

"That will be far easier said than done," said Thompson, "we lost track of both Wing Zero and the _Archangel _after the battle. Yuy has displayed an almost fanatical willingness to protect that ship, so if we find it then we will find him."

"I will increase the amount of recon flights out of Hawaii and Midway," said Vickers, "when they find the _Archangel_ we will then be able to marshal a fleet capable of taking back both the ship and that mobile suit."

"Aren't we forgetting something?" said Sutherland, "Our drones observing the battle at Alaska recorded another mobile suit join the battle on the side of the _Archangel_. While not as strong as Wing Zero, this new machine still wielded considerable power, and was able to protect the warship while Wing Zero destroyed the Alaska base. That unit's presence will complicate our attempts to capture Wing Zero."

"There is also the Hawk of Endymion to consider," said Thompson, "according to our reports he did not board his transport submarine; it is possible that he somehow found out about the Cyclops and fled the base in order to warn the _Archangel_. It would explain why Wing Zero broke off from the main engagement to target the base."

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga is just one pilot," said Vickers, "the Skygrasper he pilots, even augmented with Strike packs, is hardly a threat when compared to Wing Zero and the new mobile suit."

"Yes," said Azrael, "especially since that new machine is also nuclear powered."

Sutherland's eyes widened at that announcement. "It has a nuclear reactor? How is that possible?"

"According to my source," said Azrael, "ZAFT has created a device that counteracts the affects of N-jammers, allowing for the use of nuclear power. Unfortunately my source was unable to provide us with the schematics for such a device, but the fact remains that ZAFT has now developed that technology. We must make every effort to capture that machine along with Wing Zero."

"Agreed," said Bernard, "if we can reverse engineer that technology we can finally bring our most powerful weapons back into the fight!"

"We will finally be able to purge the abominations through nuclear fire," growled Vickers.

Sutherland cleared his throat. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but capturing those two machines will be an extremely costly undertaking. They are extremely powerful, and if our forces our ordered to engage with the intent to capture rather than destroy they will have to hold back, and we will take heavy losses."

"Those machines are worth any expense on our part," said Azrael, "now is not the time to be squeamish, Admiral."

"I am not concerned with the sacrifices that will be needed in order to capture those machines," Sutherland replied, "however, if our material losses are too heavy then we will not have the forces needed to drive ZAFT from the Earth, even with Eurasia's might combined with ours once the coup in Moscow is complete."

"That is why we will not be moving to capture those units right away," said Azrael, "for now, retaking Alaska, reinforcing Panama, and preparing for the African invasion are our top priorities. That being said, I still want our fleets at Hawaii bulked up and augmented with as many of the new mobile suits as we can give them, along with the Neo-Aile flight packs; we must begin our preparations now so we will be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Reinforcing those fleets will also serve us well when the time comes to bring Orb into line."

"Understood, Lord Azrael," said Sutherland, "We will begin assembling the reserve divisions and air wings for an attack on Alaska as soon as possible. When shall we strike?"

"Once the ships ZAFT is redeploying to attack Panama are underway and well south of that position," Azrael replied, "I will inform you when it is time to begin the assault, Admiral. The new Buster-Daggers will be assigned to the reserve divisions, and any more units that we complete within the next few days will join them as well." His eyes then narrowed. "I expect better results this time, Sutherland; if you fail, the consequences will be dire, both for our war effort and for you personally."

The Admiral nodded. "I understand, my lord. Victory will be ours."

"Good," he said, looking around the table, "the same goes for the rest of you. Admiral Sutherland may be in charge of the Alaska campaign, but the rest of you won't be standing by doing nothing. Vice-Admiral Vickers, you will head out to Hawaii to take charge of the buildup there; you will also be commanding the invasion fleet should Uzumi refuse to join us. I will personally join you for that campaign."

"Yes, my lord," said Vickers, bowing his head.

"Rear-Admiral Thompson," said Azrael, "You will be heading to Panama to take charge of the base there." His voice then took on an icy edge. "You will hold that facility, or you will die in the attempt; retreat is not an option."

The rail-thin officer bowed his head, unable to completely mask his fear despite how hard he worked to convey resolve. "Understood, my lord. Panama will not fall."

"You will be held to that, Thompson," Azrael replied, "see to it that it doesn't become your epitaph."

He then turned to Bernard. "Rear-Admiral Bernard, you will fly out to Norfolk to take command of the buildup for the coming African campaign; the carrier _Kennedy _will be your flagship. That vessel and the fleet's other carriers are being modified to hold mobile suits along with their fighters. Once the buildup is complete the fleet will set sail for Ireland and rendezvous with our British Isles naval squadrons. You will then standby for the assault order; your landing points will be Casablanca and Tangiers. From there you will sweep through North Africa all the way to the Suez Canal before turning south and making your way to the Lake Victoria spaceport. By the time the invasion begins the CPK will have taken complete control of the Eurasian Federation, and their forces will be launching simultaneous attacks through the Caucasus as well as an amphibious assault on the Libyan coast."

"Understood, my lord," said Bernard, "Will the Eurasians have access to the new mass-produced mobile suits?"

"Not for this invasion," Azrael replied, "but once Lake Victoria is taken we will send them the schematics for the Strike-Dagger and Buster-Dagger as a reward for their cooperation, along with the new Operating System. The Eurasians will then be able to build those units and use them to help us finish driving ZAFT from the Earth."

The head of Blue Cosmos looked around the table again. "Gentlemen, the hour of our counterattack is fast approaching. It is imperative that our operations go according to plan; we cannot afford another fiasco like Alaska. Failure is not an option… and the consequences for any who forgets that will be fatal."

He stood up, but before Sutherland and his colleagues could follow suit they were pushed back down into their chairs by the men standing behind them. The Admiral's apprehension increased when he saw a cruel grin appear on Azrael's face.

"You all claim to understand the price of failure," he said, "but I believe having a reminder to take with you to your new assignments will serve you well."

In the blink of an eye Azrael's underlings drew their pistols and fired in unison. Sutherland felt a searing pain go through his right shoulder and could not suppress a yelp of pain. His fellow three senior officers had been shot in the exact same spot, and were clutching their wounds and grimacing in pain.

Azrael continued to smile, and when he spoke his voice was eerily calm. "Do not worry, gentlemen; your wounds will not be fatal, and medical personnel will be here momentarily to treat them. Consider them the price paid for the failure at Alaska… and a warning against doing so again. Next time I will not show such tender mercy. Good day, gentlemen."

With that Azrael and his gunmen left the room. A few seconds later medics came into the room and began treating the top brass's wounds. Clenching his teeth in pain, Sutherland felt both fear and resolve war within him; the former from knowing what would happen should he fail again, and the latter from the desire to triumph in the coming campaigns and make the Coordinators pay for the humiliation he had suffered today.

….

Three days had passed since the _Archangel _had begun its trip to Orb. The vessel was past the halfway point, and Murrue knew they would be at the edge of the neutral nation's territorial waters within the next thirty-six hours. She was pushing the engines as hard as she dared within atmosphere in order to get their as soon as possible, ever mindful of the vast forces now arrayed against them.

So far the voyage had been relatively uneventful. There had been no sightings of either ZAFT or Alliance forces and no major incidents with the ship's crew. Murrue was proud of her subordinates; they had continued to work together as a team just as they had before and during the battle at Alaska. Though she was sure they were worried about the future, especially now that they were officially traitors to the Atlantic Federation, they had not let their fears and doubts interfere with their duties, and Murrue could not ask for more than that.

Looking over at her personal monitor, she saw Wing Zero displayed on it. The Gundam was in its fighter mode once again, flying at a lower altitude than previous flights. Heero hadn't given a reason, but Murrue had a feeling it was because he wanted the _Archangel _within visual range. Murrue was well aware that the path the ship was on took it though a narrow strip of ocean between Alliance and ZAFT naval and air patrols, and enemies could appear from any direction. Undoubtedly Heero knew this as well, and Murrue surmised that the Gundam pilot wanted to keep close to the ship so that he could quickly move into a defensive position in the event of attack.

_He felt that he failed me at Alaska_, she thought, _when the Duel got through our anti-aircraft fire and attempted to take out the bridge… I never once blamed Heero for that, and I told him as much. I'm sure he knew I was sincere... he must be trying to make sure that never happens again._

She was touched by his protectiveness, but she also felt that he was still beating himself up internally over what had happened at Alaska, and that the way he was flying now was a result of that self-incrimination. Murrue knew that there was little she could do about that other than continue to show Heero the faith she had in him; she had already told him that she did not hold him responsible for the close call at Alaska, and all she could do now in hopes of convincing him to let go of his guilt was to continue to show her gratitude for his efforts on their behalf.

_At least he knows he's not the only one flying for us_, she thought, _Lieutenant Commander La Flaga is back, along with Kira and his new mobile suit. We may only have three air combat units to field, but they're the most formidable machines in the Earth Sphere, and their pilots are all extraordinary. The burden of defending this ship does not rest on Heero's shoulders alone… I just hope he's aware of that. He's so used to fighting by himself… I imagine he's still getting used to having allies to back him up._

Miriallia's voice came up from the CIC. "Heero's on the line, Captain. Patching him through."

The Gundam pilot appeared on the main monitor. "I've got a contact at the edge of my sensors, altitude fourteen kilometers. It's not broadcasting an IFF; might be a recon drone. Moving to intercept."

Murrue nodded. "Understood, Heero. I'll have Kira and La Flaga on standby in case they need to launch."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

As the screen went blank Murrue began issuing orders. "All hands, Level Two battle stations; we'll go to Level One if hostiles appear. Miriallia, contact Kira and La Flaga; have them get to their machines and standby."

"Yes ma'am," said Miriallia.

"Weapons checks," said Murrue, "Have all our missile tubes loaded, and all warheads primed and ready to fire! Have all heavy weapons ready to fire, and prepare the anti-air defenses. Increase rate of active sonar pings to one a minute."

The atmosphere on the bridge became tense as the crew carried out Murrue's orders. Everyone was alert, on edge, waiting anxiously for the next report from Heero.

A minute later Heero contacted the ship again. "Contact destroyed. I ran the profile through Alliance files and came up with a match; an Apollo long-range reconnaissance drone. If the Atlantic Federation didn't know our heading before, they do now."

Murrue nodded. "I suppose it was only a matter of time; a ship this size can't stay hidden forever. Do you have any suggestions, Heero?"

"There's no sense in changing our plan now at this point," said Heero, "on the bright side, there's no way they can bring forces to intercept us before we cross into Orb territory; the distance is too great. As long as we maintain our current course and speed we'll be fine."

Unspoken of course was the question of whether or not Orb would allow the _Archangel _to even enter their territory, but there was little point in worrying about that at the moment. Murrue knew they'd deal with that problem when the time came, and could only hope that their past relationship with that nation's leadership would help their case.

"You're right, Heero," she replied, "Have you picked up any additional contacts?"

"No," said Heero, "but I wouldn't be surprised if we have a ZAFT flyover soon; their patrol coverage overlaps with the Alliance's in this area. I'm returning to my previous position; I'll keep an eye out for any additional contacts."

"Got it," said Murrue, smiling, "good work, Heero."

The Gundam pilot nodded, and Murrue saw a hint of a smile on his face before he signed off. Returning her attention to the forward viewport, she saw the afternoon sun shining down from its perch in the clear sky. The view would've been beautiful on any other occasion, but to Murrue and her crew it just meant they had no cloud cover to aid in concealing their presence from high-altitude patrols.

Still, Murrue wasn't too worried; they were ready for anyone that tried to attack them. More importantly, to her at least, Heero was on watch right now; any hostiles approaching would be swiftly greeted by a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle.

_By now ZAFT and the Alliance are aware of the full power of that weapon_, she thought, _and they must have a great deal of fear and respect for its capabilities. Granted, that means they won't underestimate Heero as much as they might've previously… but it also gives him a psychological weapon to use against them. The prospect of having to go up against Wing Zero now will have a severe impact on the morale of both ZAFT and Alliance soldiers, and I'm sure Heero is aware of that. If he's not their worst nightmare yet, it's only a matter of time before he will be._

….

Slowly but surely, Flay Allster began to regain consciousness. Her vision was blurry as she came to, but eventually she was able to make out her surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a cabin on a warship of some sort; the accommodations were Spartan enough to give her that impression. The room consisted of little more than a bunk, a small storage closet, and a washroom.

"Where am I?" she groaned.

"On the ZAFT submarine/carrier _Vespucci_," said a voice coming from the edge of her vision. Turning around, she saw a man leaning against the cabin door, arms folded. He wore a uniform that was clearly not Alliance, which meant he served on the other side.

She recognized him immediately as the masked figure she had run into at the Alaska base before losing consciousness. It took her a moment to process what he said; there was a minor throbbing in her head, making it a little difficult to think clearly.

"You've been unconscious for over three days," said the man, "you hit your head pretty hard."

"I remember you…" said Flay, "you were at Alaska… did you bring me here?"

"Yes," said the man, "and it is quite fortunate for you that I did so; the base was destroyed shortly after we left. Had you remained there any longer you would be dead."

A shiver went down her spine as the girl realized just how narrowly she had escaped death. That was soon overridden though by what he had said earlier. "Wait, this is a ZAFT ship? Then am I…"

"Normally you would be a prisoner and locked in the brig," said the man, "however, I do not believe that is necessary. After all, you and I want the same thing, don't we Flay Allster?"

Her eyes widened at his words. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I hear things from time to time," he relied, smiling slightly, "such as the fact that the daughter of the Atlantic Federation's Vice-Foreign Minister was aboard the warship _Archangel_… and had volunteered to avenge the death of her father."

That had been the original reason why she had decided to join the Alliance forces, manipulating Kira into staying as well and using him as the tool of her vengeance. Now, though… well, things had certainly changed, that much was certain.

Her _feelings _had changed… but by the time she was ready to admit that, it was too late, and the boy she had manipulated and then genuinely come to care about had been killed.

Killed… by _ZAFT_.

A burning rage took hold of her, a combination of grief for Kira and rage at being held on a ship belonging to the forces that had taken his life. Shrieking like a banshee, she flew off the bed and lunged at the masked man with the intent of grabbing his neck and wringing the life out of him, slowly and painfully.

She never got the chance. The masked soldier effortlessly caught her arms and twisted them around behind her back. Glaring at him over her shoulder, Flay saw the man smirk.

"I can understand your reaction to what I just said," he stated, "it is natural to want revenge for the death of your father, along with your friends. I believe the pilot of the Strike was a fellow classmate of yours from Heliopolis; Kira Yamato was it?"

"Don't you _dare _say that name!" she growled, "Your forces took the life of a boy who never wanted any part of this war, who only wanted to protect the people he cared about! Kira was kind, thoughtful, sensitive… and ZAFT murdered him! You have _no right _to say his name!"

"I understand your grief," he said, "but you need to open your eyes, Miss Allster; the words you use to describe that boy, while no doubt true, can also be applied to any number of the soldiers in this army. Many of them fell fighting the Strike, or against Wing Zero and the _Archangel_. Many more have died in this long war as a whole; would it not be fair to say that they were murdered by this conflict as much as Kira was?"

Flay could not come up with a response. Her feelings on the matter were conflicted, to say the least. On the one hand, the hatred she still felt for Coordinators had not completely abated. However, by getting to truly know Kira as a person, Flay had slowly come to realize that her views on both him and his kind were not entirely accurate. Intellectually, she knew that there were probably other Coordinators a lot like Kira serving in ZAFT, fighting to protect the people they cared about. The fact that the war had started with a nuclear attack on one of their colonies undoubtedly made the stakes personal for many of them, and Flay had to wonder how many of them were like her, having joined the armed forces to avenge the death of a loved one.

Her fury subsided, and she felt herself go limp. Flay's legs went weak, and she fell to her knees as the masked soldier let go of her. The fight had gone out of her, and she could only wait to see what her captor would do to her next.

She was surprised when he knelt down and cupped her chin in his hand, raising her face so she would look at him. "You may not believe this now," he said, "but eventually you will be able to help me put an end to this war. If Kira was as kind as you say he was, then surely he would want you to do all you could to help end this conflict, wouldn't he?"

Flay nodded. _It's true_, she thought, _Kira knew he had the power to make a difference, to protect people from suffering. That was another reason why he fought; he wanted to find a way to end this war. Now he's gone… so I have to carry on for him. I may not be able to fight like him, but if what this man say's is true, if I have the potential to help end this war… who am I to refuse?_

"Alright," she said, "I'll help you. What do you need?"

"For now," he replied, "I'm afraid there is little you can do; the time has not yet come for you to play your part, and it will be quite awhile before it does. Until then, I would suggest you try to stay out of trouble."

He let go of her and stood up to leave. "There is a uniform in the closet. It should fit you. This cabin will be yours for the time being. You may leave to go eat if you wish, but other than that I think you should stay in here. I will come get you when the time comes to leave this ship." After that he walked out of the room, the door shutting behind him.

After a few minutes had passed Flay stood up and went over to the closet. Opening it, she saw that there was indeed a green uniform in there, and it was her size. Her stomach growled, and she knew that she should go grab something to eat.

_I shouldn't be walking around a ZAFT ship in an Alliance uniform_, she thought as she grabbed the clothes in the closet, _I guess I'm stuck with this for now._

As she changed her clothes, her thoughts wandered to her friends on the _Archangel_, as well as the rest of the crew. Even Heero briefly entered her thoughts; it was true that her limited encounters with him hadn't exactly been friendly, but she knew that that was more her fault than his.

_Be safe, everyone_, she thought, _I hope I'll be able to see you all again soon._

….

The chill wind of the far North seemed to cut right through Admiral Sutherland's jacket, its frigid edge stinging the still healing gunshot wound in his right shoulder. Even in mid May the Arctic breeze still held bite, and the Supreme Commander of the Atlantic Federation armed forces looked forward to heading below deck soon. However, he felt that it was imperative that he make this final visual inspection of his fleet before it began its journey out of the Bering Sea and towards the now-occupied ruins of the Alaska base.

While most of the Atlantic Federation's naval assets had been redeployed to priority theaters, one group of warships had remained untouched; the Arctic Fleet. Comprised primarily of submarines and supplemented by a few destroyers, cruisers, and _Angler_-class escort carriers, along with one heavy carrier, the task force mainly served as a kind of field-training post for fresh Academy graduates, giving them a taste of life on patrol and hands-on experience with combat maneuvers before sending them into the fray. Now its untested sailors and airmen would be taking part in the naval portion of Sutherland's attack on ZAFT's Alaska beachhead.

By itself an attack with the Arctic Fleet against ZAFT's forces at Alaska would be suicide; even with the heavy losses they had taken in the battle, along with the redeployment of ten _Vosgulovs _and sixty DINNs to the south for the coming invasion of Panama, the remaining ZAFT naval forces at Alaska were still formidable, and with shore based fire support from the ground forces they would make short work of Sutherland's ships and planes.

But the Arctic Fleet, consisting of twenty _Barracuda_-class attack submarines, fourteen destroyers, seven cruisers, three tankers, two _Angler_-class escort carriers and one _Spengler_-class heavy carrier was only one part of the pincer attack that would soon be hitting Alaska. Sutherland's naval force was merely intended to catch the ZAFT ship's that survived the initial attacks from Alliance strike planes off guard and keep them penned in the bay until they could be finished off. The true muscle behind the coming assault had just finished massing fifty kilometers east of ZAFT's beachhead under Atlantic Federation General Martin Bradford.

Consisting of nearly all the Canadian reserve divisions and American West Coast divisions, along with twenty fighter squadrons and eight bomber wings, the assault force was a marvel to behold… at least as far as the numbers were concerned. Like the Arctic Fleet the forces assigned to the ground and air attacks were untested, recruits fresh out of the Academy; all the Atlantic Federation's veteran combat units were far removed from Alaska, and Sutherland would have to make do with the rookies.

Fortunately, the Admiral was sure that their sheer weight of numbers would more than make up for their lack of fighting experience. The ground armies alone had over five hundred tanks and seven hundred artillery pieces of varying types. A formidable force, but its true fangs were to be found in the new mass produced mobile suits assigned to it; the Buster-Daggers.

Based upon the GAT-X103 Buster, the Buster-Dagger was a cheaper version of the long-range combat unit developed in the Heliopolis project. Sharing the same color scheme as its predecessor, the unit lacked the Phase Shift Armor of the prototype, which gave it increased operating time at the cost of defensive capability. Its armaments were similar to the original Busters, with a 350mm Gun Launcher, a 94mm high energy rifle, and missile pods on its shoulders, though these only had three barrels apiece instead of six. The unit's greatest deviation from the original model was the inclusion of a pair of beam sabers for close quarters combat. Sixty-eight machines had been built so far, and all of them were present in the force that would soon be assaulting ZAFT's Alaska beachhead.

_I wish I could've gotten my hands on some Strike-Daggers as well_, thought Sutherland, _but the completed units are already assigned to other theaters, and we're trying to ship as many additional machines from the factories as we can to space before ZAFT hits Panama. I suppose I'll just have to make due._

Though the Alliance mobile suits were outnumbered by their ZAFT counter-parts, when combined with the conventional units they would be more than enough to defeat the Coordinator forces. Of course, given the fact that nearly all the Atlantic Federation soldiers committed to the attack were green heavy casualties were to be expected, but that did not matter to Sutherland; only driving the humanoid abominations from North American soil concerned him. The Admiral viewed his soldiers as just pawns in the larger game; he had long ago ceased to care about them as actual human beings.

In addition to the tanks, artillery, and Buster-Daggers was a massive force of trucks, APCs, and transport helicopters ready to bring the infantry to the front lines. All in all, combining the grunts, officers, and support personnel, the ground army had over two hundred thousand soldiers to throw into the fray.

Numerically speaking, the air wings were quite impressive as well. Alliance fighter squadrons were composed of twelve planes each, and as there were twenty squadrons taking part in the assault that meant that there would be 240 F-7D Spearheads taking part in the attack. Bomber wings were composed of six B-97 Olympus heavy strategic bombers, massive eight-engine planes each capable of carrying over 45,000 kg, or approximately 100,000 pounds of ordinance. Forty-eight such aircraft would unleash a massive saturation bombardment once the fighters had engaged the DINNs. The Arctic Fleet would be contributing its own aircraft to the attack as well, with the _Angler_-class escort carriers holding two squadrons of fighters each while the _Spengler_-class carrier _Halsey _had a compliment of four squadrons.

In a departure from tradition the larger carrier would not be serving as the Admiral's flagship. Sutherland had thoroughly studied the battle at Alaska, and he was well aware of the heavy casualties suffered by the Eurasian carriers. Therefore he had made the attack submarine _Tiger Shark _his flagship; the boat would be at the rear of the formation, only firing occasional torpedo volleys while the rest of the fleet engaged in the heavy fighting. This would ensure that the Admiral didn't have a bull's eye on him, so to speak, as he would if he had made the fleet's sole heavy carrier his flagship.

"Admiral," said an aide from behind him, "a message just came through from Lord Azrael. He has ordered that we begin the operation."

Sutherland nodded. "Relay the transmission to General Bradford. I will head to the con and address the fleet."

The aide nodded and disappeared below deck, with the Admiral quickly following him. As the hatch closed over his head Sutherland allowed himself a cruel smile. It had been over four days since the first battle of Alaska. That engagement had not inflicted nearly as many casualties against ZAFT as it had been supposed to; now they would make up the difference.

….

It was another clear day as Heero flew above the _Archangel_. Wing Zero was once again in its fighter mode, and the Gundam pilot was constantly scanning the horizon for signs of enemy activity.

It had been nearly two days since the encounter with the Alliance recon drone, and they were now fast approaching Orb's territorial waters. Heero refused to let his guard down now, though; earlier that morning he had found and destroyed another recon drone, this one belonging to ZAFT. Now both the Earth Sphere's superpowers knew which way the ship was heading, and Heero was alert for any signs of hostile activity.

_ZAFT has already proven itself willing to attack practically on Orb's doorstep in order to get the Archangel_, he thought, _and there's no reason to assume that the Alliance wouldn't try a similar move._

Truth be told, he wasn't too worried about the Orb military, mainly because he didn't think there would be a fight with them. Heero felt that the chances of the _Archangel _being allowed entrance into the nation were actually higher than most of the crew suspected, due not just to the personal connection established between them and the ruling family but also due to the time Heero and Kira had spent working for Morgenroete. The Gundam pilot suspected that Erica Simmons had made quite a bit of progress with the data he and Kira had given her company since their departure, and he was willing to bet that the Chief Engineer would want his input on what they had accomplished. He also knew that she had enjoyed working with him and sharing technical expertise, and that was another point in their favor.

_The real question_, he thought, _is what will the terms of our being allowed to stay in Orb be? Lord Uzumi is a stern but fair ruler; I think he'll allow us in as refugees, but he must be aware of the risks that poses to his country. He'll want something in return, just like last time._

Due to their desperate situation, Heero was willing to be a little more generous with the data he had in his possession than during their previous visit should the need arise. He would not, of course, give Orb schematics for any of the Gundams, nor would he share the Zero System with them. However, he was willing to give them select combat recordings from the mobile suit as a bargaining chip. They wouldn't be of any of his battles in his old world, but he would give them all the footage of his engagements in the Cosmic Era. Of course, this was assuming Lord Uzumi would want something from him personally as opposed to the rest of the _Archangel_'s crew and combat units.

Still, Heero liked to expect the worst. There was always the chance he'd be pleasantly surprised and be proven wrong, and he was ok with that, but until that time came he would be ready for anything.

Checking the map on his sensors, he saw that the ship's position now less than ten kilometers from Orb's borders. _We should be seeing patrol flights soon_, he thought, _from there it will be only a matter of time before they assemble a flotilla to intercept us. Hopefully the commanding officer will be as reasonable as the last one; the last thing we can afford now is a fight due to a misunderstanding._

Indeed, mere seconds later two contacts appeared on his long-range radar. Running the profiles through the databanks, he came up with a match; I-220 Suzume interceptors. Sleek, silver delta-winged aircraft each armed with a 20mm machine gun and six missiles, the jet fighters were the mainstay of the Orb Army Air Force; the Navy air arm preferred the CF-89 Washi.

Heero contacted the _Archangel_. As Murrue's face appeared onscreen he spoke. "Murrue, I've got a pair of Orb fighters to the south, looks like a recon flight."

"Have they turned to intercept?" she asked.

Heero shook his head as he saw the planes pull back on his radar. "No, they're withdrawing, probably sending word to their superiors that we're inbound. We'll probably be seeing ships from the Orb fleet on the horizon soon enough."

"Ok," said Murrue, "in that case I want you to lower your altitude and take up position over us; we need to be ready for anything. Hopefully we can avoid a confrontation, but I'm taking no chances."

"Roger that," he said. Signing out, he began to descend, changing Wing Zero back into its mobile suit form as he did so.

Positioning himself about two-hundred meters over the warship's bridge, Heero settled into a quiet watchfulness as he and the _Archangel _continued south under the afternoon sun. At the rate the ship was going it would be a matter of minutes before they were hailed by vessels of the Orb Navy. By now Heero was sure that word had reached high government officials that the _Archangel _was approaching Orb, and Lord Uzumi was doubtlessly considering how to handle the situation… if he didn't already have a plan formed; Heero wouldn't be surprised if the Lion of Orb had already drawn up a contingency or two for such a scenario.

_He's a very intelligent leader_, Heero mused, _he _has _to be, considering Orb's delicate position in the world. I may not particularly like politicians, but that doesn't mean I can't admire the way Lord Uzumi's managed to walk the tightrope up until now. Playing both ZAFT and the Alliance against each other, taking what he can and giving some assistance in return while not truly allying himself with either… the guy's got nerve, no questioning that. He's no Treize, but it's not for lack of trying._

His thoughts turned from Orb's leader to the woman he regarded as its greatest ace in the hole; Erica Simmons. Heero had to admit to himself that he was looking forward to seeing what Morgenroete's Chief Engineer had done with the data he had given her, along with the work Kira had done regarding the M1 Astray's operating system. Considering the state the Orb-designed machines had been in before, Heero wouldn't have been surprised if they were now in a limited production run. However, the M1 was only suited for ground and space warfare, and as an island nation Orb would need other mobile suit types to be able to effectively defend its sovereignty.

_That's where the data I gave Erica Simmons comes into play_, he thought, _Cancer, Pisces, Aries… those three models alone would give a considerable boost to Orb's combat capabilities. That's not including the other designs I sent her. Taurus could augment the M1s in the space forces, while the Tragos would work well as an artillery platform for defending the coastline. I doubt they'll produce the Leo; it would end up serving the same role as the M1 Astray, so there's little point in wasting resources on it. That just leaves the Tallgeese… knowing Simmons, I doubt she was able to resist the temptation to work on it. I don't know if Morgenroete's completed a unit yet, much less found someone able to pilot it… I guess I'll just have to wait and see._

Heero hoped that Morgenroete had made serious progress with their mobile suit program since the _Archangel _had left the country. With the escalation of the conflict, Orb's status as a neutral nation would eventually be unable to protect it as it once had… and Heero had a sinking feeling that that day would come much sooner than later.

_If they're not ready_, he thought grimly, _then we might be the only one's able to defend them from invasion. I'm sure Uzumi's considering that now, if he hasn't already. Still, even with the Archangel, Wing Zero, and the Freedom there's only so much we can do to help them._

It felt like the Sanc Kingdom all over again. True, unlike the fallen pacifist nation of the After Colony world Orb had a strong military… but the forces that would soon be arrayed against it would be far greater than Romefeller's invasion of the Sanc Kingdom, and Heero had to wonder if Orb could withstand the coming onslaught.

Despite the grim situation, Heero found himself smirking slightly as an odd thought went through his head. _Looks like I'm heading towards another losing battle… just like old times._

He spent the next several minutes contemplating the similarities and differences between his last war and the one he found himself in now. Unfortunately his thoughts were eventually interrupted by a beeping coming from his sensors, and Heero knew that the moment of truth had come; Orb warships were approaching.

It was a squadron of five vessels; four destroyers and a cruiser. There were also a dozen attack helicopters overhead along with half as many Suzume interceptors. It wasn't nearly enough to take on Wing Zero should a fight occur, and Heero had a feeling the Orb leaders were aware of that. That alone reinforced the Gundam pilot's belief that Lord Uzumi had already decided to let them into the country, and that the squadron in front of him and the _Archangel _was meant as an escort more than a deterrent or show of force.

Heero established a link with the _Archangel_. "Murrue," he said, "we've got incoming."

"We see them too, Heero," she replied, "We'll begin broadcasting over an open channel." She gave him a nervous smile. "I hope this works."

Heero nodded, and gave her a small smile in the hope that it would reassure her. "It will, Murrue; I'm sure of it."

Murrue nodded. "Alright. Well, here goes nothing."

Her image faded from his monitor, but her voice remained on his speakers as she began broadcasting. "Attention Orb forces. This is Captain Murrue Ramius of the _Archangel_. We are here to request asylum in your country; we are no longer part of the Earth Alliance armed forces."

The response came swiftly. "This is Captain Takeshi of the cruiser _Kumano_. We heard about what happened at Alaska, and your arrival here was expected. We're under orders to escort you to dock; Lord Uzumi wishes to meet with you and your command staff."

_I thought so_, Heero mused, _now we'll see what he wants this time in return for helping us._

He was sure Murrue was thinking along those lines as well, but to her credit that suspicion was not apparent in her voice. "Thank you, _Kumano_. We'll follow your lead."

As the _Archangel _entered formation with the Orb squadron Murrue's face appeared on Heero's screen. "Well," she said, smiling, "we're off to a good start. I just hope Lord Uzumi doesn't ask for what we can't deliver when we meet with him."

Heero nodded. "The ball's in his court now, and he knows he has the upper hand. Still, I don't think he'll be unreasonable; now that we're no longer part of the Earth Alliance he may be seeing us as a potential asset for Orb's defense forces when ZAFT or the Alliance invade the country."

"Do you really think either of them will undertake such an operation?" asked Murrue, "I know the war is escalating, but Orb is still a neutral nation, and its armed forces are not to be taken lightly."

"I think it's inevitable," said Heero, "the battle at Alaska has shifted the balance of power. With the mass driver there destroyed, the only one left for the Atlantic Federation is at Panama, and ZAFT is well aware of that. Even with the losses they suffered at Alaska, they could still decide to pool their resources and launch an assault in South America to take the last mass driver. If that happens, Orb will have the only mass driver not in ZAFT hands; it'll make the country a prime target for both sides."

"And there's the Atlantic Federation leadership to consider," said Murrue, a thoughtful look on her face, "I'm now more convinced than ever that the country is in the hands of either Blue Cosmos members or people sympathetic to them, and their extremist views will not allow for a nation as powerful as Orb to stand on the sidelines. They will take the stance that if Orb is not with them, it is against them, and must be dealt accordingly."

"A possibility that Orb's leadership has no doubt already considered," Heero replied, "that's probably one of the main reasons Lord Uzumi is allowing us to enter the country; he'll need our help if Orb is to stand a chance against an invasion force."

Murrue nodded. "If Orb is willing to give us shelter, then I will do all I can to help them preserve their independence… but I can't force the rest of the crew to do the same. When the time comes, I'll only ask for volunteers to stay on board the _Archangel_; anyone who wishes to leave will be free to do so."

"We can always ask the Orb military to provide replacement personnel should it come down to it," said Heero, "I'm sure they would be willing to do that if it meant having us on their side."

Murrue smiled. "You're probably right about that, Heero. And… thank you, for staying with us. We would never have made it this far without you… and we'll need you now more than ever."

Heero nodded, giving her a slight smile in return. "I told you before, Murrue; I will never abandon you. I'll stand by you and the _Archangel _for as long as you'll have me, through hell or high-water."

Murrue's smile grew at his words, becoming more genuine. "Heero… you have my sincerest gratitude, and that of my crew. We're forever in your debt."

Heero shook his head. "No, Murrue. You and your crew have done as much for me as I have for you. No one owes anyone anything; I think we're well past that."

Murrue nodded. "You're right, Heero. Still… thank you."

Heero nodded as well. "You're welcome, Murrue."

"Why don't you bring Wing Zero inside now," she said, "if Lord Uzumi wishes to meet with us then I doubt the Orb task force will attack."

"Roger that," he replied, "I'm coming in for landing."

….

As the _Archangel _made its way towards Orb with its escorts, Murrue took a moment to observe her bridge crew. She was pleased to see a sense of tired relief on all of their faces, and she understood the sentiment perfectly. There had been no confrontation with the Orb military, and they were being allowed entry into the country. Of course, there was still the meeting with the nation's leadership looming over their heads, but for now at least one hurdle had been cleared.

A familiar hand gently fell on her shoulder, and Murrue smiled as she looked up at Heero, who had just entered the bridge and had taken up his place beside her chair.

"You doing ok?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Heero. It's a relief that Orb's letting us through the border, though I know we're not out of the woods yet."

"It'll be alright," said Heero, "I'm sure Lord Uzumi wants something from us in return for this, but I doubt he'll be unreasonable. He was willing to compromise the last time we were here, after all.'

"Yes," she said, smiling again, "and I'm sure Cagalli will do all she can to help us as well… plus I imagine she will want to see Kira again, especially considering what happened in the Marshall Islands."

Heero nodded. "She'll be relieved that he's alive… and probably a little upset at the same time; she thought he was dead for quite awhile, after all."

Murrue couldn't help but laugh a little. "Knowing her temper, she'll probably want to slap him for putting her through that. Kira had better be ready when we hit the dock."

"He'll be fine," said Heero, smirking slightly.

Their eyes met briefly, and Murrue was reassured by the calm confidence that radiated from Heero's Prussian blue irises. _We'll be alright_, she thought, _the coming days will not be easy, but we'll get through them. I know we will, Heero._

The two of them then turned their gazes towards the forward viewport. The late afternoon sun slowly crept across the sky, and soon it would begin its descent as dusk approached. The silhouette of an island appeared in the distance, growing larger with each passing minute. Eventually Murrue realized that it was the same island that they had been taken to during their first visit to Orb.

Sure enough, they eventually came upon the hidden docking facility, the massive fake-cliffs parting to reveal the top secret ship berth. Ensign Neumann expertly maneuvered the _Archangel _into position before setting the ship down.

A familiar voice came over the ship's radio. "_Archangel_, this is Kisaka. I will be at the dock in about five minutes. Captain Ramius, Lord Uzumi wishes to speak with you and your command staff, along with pilots Heero Yuy and Kira Yamato."

_So they do know Kira's alive_, she thought, _Orb's intelligence network is quite extensive… then again, Kira did make that open channel broadcast at Alaska when he showed up in the Freedom; Orb probably managed to hack into radio transmission logs and found those easily._

"Understood," said Murrue, "we'll meet you down on the dock."

Standing up, she turned to Heero. "Well, shall we?"

He nodded. As they turned to go Murrue looked over at the radio officer. "Contact Lieutenant Commander La Flaga and Kira; have them meet us at the starboard hatch."

"Yes ma'am," the officer replied.

The two of them then left the bridge and headed for the hatch. As they walked through the corridors Murrue turned to Heero. "I wonder if the Alliance or ZAFT know we've arrived here."

"Likely," the Gundam pilot replied, "with the data from their recon drones they'd have little trouble plotting our course, and they know that we've had dealings with the Orb leadership in the past. The real question is when they will decide to strike. ZAFT would have to withdraw a significant amount of its forces from Alaska in order to amass a sizeable invasion force, and even then they'd still need to combine it with whatever ships are left at Carpentaria and Kaoshiung in order to win. The Alliance would have an easier time of it, at least logistically; from the files and communiqués I read during my infiltration of the Alaska base they've been undertaking a massive fleet buildup at Pearl Harbor. We saw some of that during our stopover there, but I'm sure it's gone well above what we witnessed since then. They've also diverted a considerable amount of material and personnel to South America; they could stage an invasion from either location."

"I don't think they'll attack from South America," said Murrue, "now that the Alaska mass driver has been destroyed, the one at Panama is the only one left for the Atlantic Federation; any forces they divert there will in all likelihood stay there to defend the spaceport."

"Good point," said Heero, nodding, "in that case, we can expect the attack to come from Hawaii. It will take time for any fleet setting sail from there to reach Orb, and it would be picked up by recon flights, so at least we'd have some advance warning… a small favor, considering the likely size of the invasion force."

The two of them were quiet for the rest of the way, each contemplating the battle that they could well be fighting in the near future.

As they approached the hatch they saw La Flaga and Kira already standing there. The blond fighter pilot smirked at Heero. "No fancy uniform this time?"

Heero shook his head. "That thing takes awhile to put on properly, and Orb hasn't given us the same amount of time as they did during our last visit. Besides, I don't think they'll care much about what I'm wearing this time."

_I don't think it matters_, thought Murrue. Even in his typical jeans and tank-top Heero still had a way of exerting his presence, along with an aura of quiet intensity; no one would be taking him lightly just because he wasn't in formal military attire.

La Flaga nodded. "Good point. I thought our own uniforms could be a hassle, but yours is something else. Ah well, no point in worrying about that sort of thing now."

"We should head out there," said Kira, "Kisaka's probably waiting for us."

"Agreed," said Murrue, "let's go."

The hatch opened and the four of them made their way down the gangway. At the bottom they were greeted by Kisaka, who had exchanged his desert combat gear for an Orb military uniform; white pants and shirt with purple trim.

He smiled as they approached him. "It's good to see you alive," he said as he looked them over, "we heard Alaska was a bloodbath, and that's without the planned detonation of the Cyclops system."

"How do you know about that?" asked Murrue, "I wasn't aware that that had been made public knowledge."

"Lord Uzumi will explain," he replied, "a lot has happened since you left Alaska."

"We've been out of the loop," said La Flaga, "we're persona non grata with both sides now, to put it lightly."

Kisaka chuckled. "Understatement of the year, Hawk of Endymion. Still, you all don't look much worse for the wear. Where's Lieutenant Badgiruel? Last I remember she was the ship's Executive Officer, and part of your command staff."

"She was transferred," said Murrue, "Natarle left Alaska via the mass driver four days before the battle; High Command reassigned her to the space forces."

Kisaka nodded. "I see. Well, let's get a move on; as you might imagine, Lord Uzumi has a great deal he wishes to discuss with you."

"Of course," said Murrue.

As they started walking Murrue saw Kisaka look at Heero and smile. "As eager as I am for that sparring match, I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the mat with you anytime soon; Lord Uzumi has me working near round the clock these days, and I think it will only get busier from here on out."

Heero nodded. "Understandable, considering your country's situation. Maybe when all this is over we can have that fight."

"I'd like that," said Kisaka, "you may be a mobile suit pilot, but I know your skills extend far beyond mechanized warfare; I can only imagine what you're capable of in hand-to-hand combat."

"You'd be surprised," said Heero, and Murrue thought she saw a hint of a smirk on his face. She remembered what Heero had said when they had left Orb the first time, about Kisaka sizing him up back in North Africa, along with his message about wanting a sparring match the next time he was in the area. _I have no doubt Heero would be deadly in hand-to-hand combat_, she thought, _and that he'd be more than capable of beating Kisaka, regardless of his training in Orb's Special Forces. Still, I'm glad they're not going to go at it any time soon; I want Heero to have a break from fighting, and that includes sparring matches. He needs time to relax, even if it's only for a few days._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice yelling their way. "Kira!"

Murrue smiled as she saw Cagalli running towards them. Like Kisaka she was dressed in an Orb military uniform, though hers also had yellow shoulder epaulets added to the ensemble. Any sign of professionalism that might've gone with the uniform, though, had already been thrown out the window as the girl ran to and all but tackled the boy she had thought dead in the Marshall Islands several weeks ago.

Kira was caught off guard, but to his credit the young Coordinator recovered quickly, returning her embrace and smiling as she continued to yell at him. "You idiot!" she cried, "I thought you were dead!"

She pulled away from him slightly, though still keeping her hands on his shoulders. "You're… you're too reckless, you know that? You have to be more careful! I… I thought I'd lost you."

As she spoke she calmed down, and Kira put his hand on her shoulder. "It's good to see you too, Cagalli. I'm… sorry I worried you."

She let go of him and smiled. "It's alright… I'm just glad you're ok. I don't need to know the details right this minute, but I do expect you to tell me what happened later, you got that?"

Kira nodded. "Sure, no problem."

Cagalli then turned to Heero, and Murrue was amused to see her gentle smile once again be replaced by a mixture of anger and worry. "And you! I heard about what happened at Alaska; what the hell were you thinking? Instead of trying to get out of the Cyclops blast zone, you flew right towards the bomb! What if it had detonated before you could destroy it? Were you trying to commit suicide?"

Heero shook his head. "At the rate the ship was moving, there was no way the _Archangel _would've made it out before the Cyclops system detonated; I wasn't going to abandon Murrue to save myself. I knew I had the firepower needed to punch through the base's fortifications and destroy the bomb, I just needed Kira and La Flaga to cover the ship while I took the shots."

Murrue felt a hint of red come to her cheeks at Heero's words; she had expected him to just say that he wouldn't abandon the _Archangel_, not her specifically. Though she already knew that she was the real reason he had refused to leave the battlefield, she was still touched by how he was willing to say so in front of others without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Cagalli looked over at Murrue for a second, and the lovely Captain was surprised to see her smile slightly before turning back to Heero. "I see… well, I still think you're crazy, but I understand why you did that. I'm just surprised you were able to pull that off; I didn't think Wing Zero had that kind of firepower."

"You were holding back in North Africa," said Kisaka, smirking slightly.

Heero nodded. "That sort of power isn't something I throw at just anything; the environmental damage from such a blast is severe, and nearby residential areas would be affected. Normally I would only use the full power of the Twin Buster Rifle in outer space; the Alliance and ZAFT forced my hand."

"And now the entire world knows that you wield a weapon stronger than anything else in it," said Kisaka, "you must realize that you've made yourself a priority target for both ZAFT and the Alliance."

Heero shrugged. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Kisaka chuckled, while Cagalli shook her head. "Crazy…" she muttered. After a moment she looked at Heero again and smiled. "All that being said, I'm glad you're ok, Heero. It's good to see you again."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Likewise."

"You haven't changed a bit, have you little lady?" said La Flaga, smirking.

"Neither have you, Lieutenant Commander," she replied, "I guess that's a good thing though. Considering how much the rest of the world is changing… well, it's good to have some constants in life, I suppose."

Murrue was pleasantly surprised at the girl's display of wisdom and insight. _She still has her temper_, she mused, _but she appears to have gained a little more control over it. That will serve her well in the days ahead. I wonder how much of an influence the time she spent with us played on her personality…_

Orb's tomboyish princess then turned to Murrue, smiling again. "It's good to see you again as well, Captain Ramius."

Murrue nodded, returning the smile. "You as well, Cagalli. How have you been?"

"It was rough going for awhile," she said, looking down, "after we heard about what happened in the Marshall Islands… and when we didn't find Kira there… I don't like to think about it." She then looked over at Kira before turning back to Murrue. "But that's changed now, so I'd say things are definitely looking up."

"On a personal level, at any rate," chimed in Kisaka, "but the larger picture is another matter, and one Lord Uzumi is rather anxious to discuss. We really should get going now."

"Of course," said Murrue, "it was nice seeing you again, Cagalli."

"Hey, I'm not leaving yet," she replied, "I'm coming with you guys." She then folded her arms and glared at Kisaka. "Whether my father likes it or not."

Kisaka chuckled at her words. "Lord Uzumi expected you'd say as much, Lady Cagalli; he said to bring you along with them."

"Good," said Cagalli, a smirk on her face, "then let's get going."

….

They took the same route to the meeting room as they had the last time they were on Onogoro Island. Once again Heero was on alert, checking the locations of security staff and cameras, noting any features that had been changed since their last visit. He noted only a few minor deviations, and chalked them up to routine maintenance and schedule changes among the facility's personnel.

When they arrived at the meeting room they found only two people standing behind the long mahogany table; Lord Uzumi and Erica Simmons. Both of them smiled and nodded as the entourage entered the room and the doors closed behind them.

"It is good to see you all alive," said Lord Uzumi, "when our intelligence agencies first heard word of what was happening at Alaska we feared the worst. Fortunately subsequent reports carried word of your survival."

"We're grateful for your concern," said Murrue, bowing her head slightly, "though I am surprised that were worried for us. I mean no offense, but I would've thought after we ceased to be of use to you that we would no longer be worth you worrying about."

"Under other circumstances you might've been right, Captain Ramius," he said, "but I'm a man who keeps an eye towards the future; our collaboration proved to be very helpful to my country, and I was hopeful for a future venture between our two groups."

"Now you have that opportunity, it seems," said Murrue, "after all, we're not exactly in a position to make demands right now."

"No," said Lord Uzumi, "but the situation has changed. You and your crew are no longer Alliance soldiers… or freelance fighters." He looked over at Heero as he said those last words for a moment, and the Perfect Soldier once again felt himself enter a silent contest of wills with the man. It was the briefest of staring contests, both men sizing each other up, taking the measure of the other. After only a second though Uzumi turned back towards Murrue, though it did not feel to Heero like a concession of defeat; merely an acknowledgement of his own strength and influence.

"You have come to us as refugees," the Lion of Orb continued, "aligned with neither of the two great powers, seeking safety for your comrades and yourselves." He then smiled. "Orb has not turned away refugees in the past, and we will not start doing so now; you have our hospitality, and we will provide you with sanctuary and asylum. This I offer without any preconditions; Orb welcomes you with open arms."

Looking to his left, Heero saw Murrue smile, and he knew a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She bowed her head again, and when she spoke it was with the utmost gratitude and respect. "On behalf of my crew," she said, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Uzumi." She raised her head. "You have no idea how much this means to us."

"Perhaps," he replied, "but you are welcome all the same, Captain Ramius."

Kira and La Flaga bowed as well, and Heero tilted his head down slightly too. Uzumi nodded at them before gesturing to the chairs in front of them. "All that being said, please sit down; there is much we need to discuss. While you are free to stay in our country, I'm afraid it may be a less than idyllic refuge, especially in the near future."

"You are referring to the Alliance and ZAFT," said Heero as he sat down, "have they already sent you ultimatums?"

Lord Uzumi chuckled. "You are as perceptive and cunning as ever, Heero Yuy. No, I have yet to receive demands of allegiance from either side yet, though I am sure it is now only a matter of days until word comes through their consulates."

"Has the situation truly deteriorated that quickly?" said Murrue, "I would've thought both sides would still be regrouping after Alaska."

"The aftermath of the battle did throw them into disarray," he replied, "but it was a much shorter reprieve than I had hoped for. The violence has already resumed… in the worst possible manner."

"What's happened?" asked La Flaga, grim anticipation in his voice.

"Yesterday," said Lord Uzumi, "the Atlantic Federation launched an assault on the ZAFT forces at Alaska."

Heero saw Murrue's eyes widen. "How is that possible? The Atlantic Federation's primary combat forces are far from Alaska; the only units available in the area would be the North American reserve divisions, and none of them have frontline combat experience. Even with overwhelming numbers they would only be able to drive ZAFT from their beachhead at exorbitant losses; they'd lose almost eighty percent of the army! That would cripple their homeland defenses."

"The High Command caught a lucky break," said Erica Simmons, speaking for the first time since the meeting began, "ZAFT withdrew ten of their _Vosgulov_-class submarine/carriers, along with sixty DINNs; that weakened their air defenses in the region enough to give the Alliance an opening."

"Where did the _Vosgulovs _go?" asked Kira.

"South," said Lord Uzumi, "though for the moment we do not know what their intended destination is."

"The Alliance made a classic pincer attack," said Kisaka, "the reserve divisions and fighter squadrons attacked from inland, while the Arctic Fleet hit them from behind. Once the DINNs were occupied Olympus bombers carpeted the area; the Alliance took significant losses due to friendly fire from the sheer weight of ordinance dropped, but ZAFT caught the bulk of the barrage."

"That's not all," said Erica, "according to our reports, the Alliance fielded a new mass-production mobile suit based on the Buster. They only had a few dozen at the battle, but they were enough to help the conventional ground forces take on ZAFT's surface mobile suits in coordination with the aerial bombardment."

"The bombers also hit ZAFT's naval forces," said Uzumi, "in cooperation with the Arctic Fleet. We believe that Admiral Sutherland himself planned and commanded the attack."

The wrath that had been smoldering in the depths of Heero's heart since the battle of Alaska heated up a notch at the mention of one of the four members of the High Command… one of the men that Heero had sworn to personally hunt down and kill. His eyes narrowed, and it took him a moment to force the seething fury down again. Glancing furtively around, he saw no sign that anyone had noticed his reaction to the name. The beast that had taken up residence in the dark pits of his soul was subdued for the moment… biding its time until it could break its bonds and tear into those that had earned its burning wrath.

"What was the outcome of the battle?" asked Murrue, trepidation in her voice.

"Utter carnage," said Erica, shaking her head with dismay, "ZAFT may have been taken by surprise, as well as outnumbered and outgunned, but they put up one hell of a fight. Alliance losses were staggering; over seventy percent KIA, and more than half of the survivors wounded or missing."

"What about ZAFT's losses?" asked Heero.

Uzumi sighed. "All but total; the only survivors were two destroyers and a _Vosgulov _that managed to break through the Arctic Fleet and withdraw, along with their crew and whatever wounded they were able to evacuate… which wasn't many."

"The Atlantic Federation killed every soldier they found," said Kisaka, disgust clear in his voice, "including those who had surrendered. The last stage of the battle was nothing less than a massacre."

"My god…" said Murrue softly, putting left hand to her mouth. Heero reached over and gently held her right hand with his left, giving it a small squeeze. He was surprised by how tightly Murrue returned the gesture; the news of the slaughter had greatly upset her, and Heero couldn't blame her.

_Considering the amount of ZAFT forces that survived the first battle at Alaska_, he thought grimly, _her homeland just committed one of the greatest war crimes in history. I can't begin to imagine how she must be feeling. Murrue… I'm here; I won't let you face this alone._

The beautiful Captain wasn't the only one affected by the news; Heero saw the others react in their own way. La Flaga had a grimace on his face that was quite similar to Kisaka's, while Kira's eyes were widened in utter horror at the news. Cagalli's response was uncharacteristically subdued; Heero was surprised to see her head bowed and her eyes closed in what could only be prayer for the victims of the monstrosity committed by the Atlantic Federation. It was truly a sign of just how repulsive an act it was; it might not have been equal to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, but it was definitely a close second.

"The shockwaves from the battle have already begun rippling across the Earth Sphere," said Uzumi, "ZAFT's propaganda machine has gone into overdrive, and Patrick Zala is fanning the flames of hatred to a fever pitch with cries for vengeance. The Atlantic Federation has put its own spin on the matter, but they aren't working very hard to deny the fact that they committed a massacre."

"The need to deceive the public is waning," Heero mused aloud, "Blue Cosmos has consolidated its hold on power. Now they're becoming more open as to their intentions."

"Correct," said Lord Uzumi, nodding at Heero, "once again your insights impress me, young man. Our agents report that the Executive branch is firmly under the control of Muruta Azrael and his cohorts. They've also corrupted much of the Judiciary and Legislature; they have taken the Atlantic Federation firmly by the reins, and have harnessed its massive resources for their campaign of genocide."

"This will not be the last such atrocity they commit," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing, "if they have their way it will be only the beginning of the horrors to come. They will drown the Earth Sphere in an ocean of blood."

"And ZAFT will be all too willing to return the favor," said Uzumi, "the first battle of Alaska had already stoked tensions, especially with the revelation of the true firepower Wing Zero wields; the second already has them howling for blood."

"They'll destroy the entire word if they continue like this," said Kira, his voice rising, "we can't let this continue!"

"Agreed," said La Flaga, "too many people have already died in this war; the body count will become astronomical now that both sides are escalating things again!"

"We have to find a way to stop them!" cried Cagalli, "We can't just sit on the sidelines any longer!"

"Everyone, please calm down," said Lord Uzumi, holding out his hands, "passion and outrage are understandable, but we must keep our wits about us. If we act rashly we may well destroy what slim hope remains for peace before the Alliance or ZAFT does."

"Yes," said Murrue, nodding, "there's nothing wrong with acting on our emotions, but we can't let them control us and compel us to act without thinking." She turned to Heero and smiled, giving his hand another squeeze as she did so.

He nodded and smiled slightly in return, pleasantly surprised to see that she had taken his own words to heart and adopting them for herself. _Murrue… you're really something special, you know that?_

It was little wonder that he had fallen in love with her.

"Wise words, Captain Ramius," said Lord Uzumi.

"Thank you," she replied, "but I cannot take credit for them; the one who gave them to me is Heero."

The Lion of Orb looked at the Gundam pilot and chuckled. "Is that so? You are full of surprises, young man."

Heero shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far. I'm just a soldier who's drifted from one battlefield to the next trying to survive; I've simply picked up a few bits of wisdom along the way."

"I'd say more than just a few," said Erica, "your skills and insights may be our key to survival in the days ahead."

"I couldn't agree more," said Murrue, once again smiling at him, "don't sell yourself short, Heero."

Heero nodded, smiling slightly at the woman he'd sworn to protect. "Alright, Murrue."

"That skill and insight allowed you to throw a severe wrench in the plans of both the Alliance and ZAFT," said Lord Uzumi, "but it has also garnered you their full attention. Destroying the Alaska base and the Cyclops demonstrated to both sides that the power you wield is far greater than anyone had ever thought possible for a mobile suit; it would not be a stretch to say that they view you as the ultimate wild card… one that must be neutralized post haste."

"About Alaska," said Heero, "how do you know about the Cyclops system planted beneath the base? We only learned of it because La Flaga stumbled across the countdown sequence for it in the base's control room and then warned us about it. Setting up their Eurasian allies to die is not something the Atlantic Federation would publicize. ZAFT might view it as a useful propaganda tool, but the only word they have of the system's presence at Alaska is Kira's open air broadcast, and as he had just hijacked one of their prototype mobile suits and was fighting against them he would not be viewed as a credible source."

"Not by ZAFT, certainly," said Lord Uzumi, "but our spies have managed to break into ZAFT communication logs before, and Kira's broadcast was easy enough to find; we consider his statement to be proof enough. Your destruction of the base merely reinforced his claim."

"And there is more," said Kisaka, "before the Atlantic Federation's counter-attack, ZAFT excavation teams apparently uncovered one of the base's auxiliary data storage server rooms, and were able to extract data regarding the Alliance's plan for the battle. We know this because Zala is indeed using it as a propaganda tool in order to paint all Naturals in the same barbaric light as the Atlantic Federation High Command."

"There's a problem with that though," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "according to La Flaga, a Cyclops system takes a considerable amount of time to set up. Combine that with the fact that, aside from us, the majority of the Alaska base's defenders were composed of Eurasian forces and only one conclusion can be drawn; the High Command knew what the true target of Spitbreak was all along."

"That's right!" said Murrue, "And the only way they would know that would be through a leak in ZAFT!"

"A fact that Zala would not be eager to include in a propaganda statement," said Heero, "but I'm sure plenty of viewers would be able to read between the lines and discern the truth for themselves, especially among intelligence and military circles."

"Actually," said Uzumi, "Zala did name a traitor, though I doubt he was the true source of the leak; former Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne."

"Using him as a scapegoat," said Heero, nodding, "makes sense, considering he and his daughter helped Kira hijack the Freedom. It paints them and their supporters as enemies of the PLANTs and gives Zala a pretense under which to begin purging his rivals."

"I know Waltfeld and Aisha were helping Lacus and her father get underground," said Kira, "I hope they're alright."

"Wait," said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "those two are alive? I thought you killed them in North Africa!"

Kira nodded. "So did I. It turns out they managed to survive, and are now working with the moderates in the PLANTs to undermine the new Chairman and find a way to keep the war from escalating further."

"A noble goal," said Lord Uzumi, smiling, "it would seem we are not as alone in our struggle as I'd first imagined. If we could find a way to contact them…"

"I doubt you'd be able to do so," said Heero, "by now the Coordinator homeland is in all likelihood under martial law; contacting an underground opposition movement in that environment would be extremely difficult, and you could wind up exposing them to the authorities by accident."

"Sir, Heero is right," said Erica, "reaching out to the Clyne family and their supporters right now could end up inadvertently endangering them; we must look to our own problems for the time being."

"Yes, I suppose you are correct, Miss Simmons," Lord Uzumi replied. He then turned to Heero and the others. "This is where I must ask for your help. I know that you have already fought many battles, and have struggled hard just to survive them all… but we need your aid in defending our country. As I said earlier, it is only a matter of time before the Alliance and ZAFT send messages demanding our allegiance. Orb will not join either side in this bloodbath… and they will consider our refusal to do so to be equivalent of a declaration of war. If our nation is to have a chance at surviving the inevitable onslaught, we need your help. I will not force you to do so; as I said before, we are allowing you to stay in our country without preconditions. However, as you are all now traitors to the Alliance and remain enemies of ZAFT, I doubt either party will leave you in peace once when they attack Orb."

Murrue nodded. "I understand, Lord Uzumi. I would be more than willing to lend you the aide of the _Archangel _when the time comes… but I will not force my crew to fight in this battle. I will ask for volunteers, and I wish that anyone who desires to leave the ship be allowed to do so and join your citizens as they evacuate."

"Of course, Captain Ramius," Uzumi replied, "if you will let me know how many chose to stay and leave when the time comes I can have the military send replacement personnel to man their stations."

"I appreciate it" said Murrue, "also, if it is not too much of an imposition, the _Archangel _did not leave Heliopolis with a full crew to begin with, and I would be grateful if you could send additional personnel to fill those vacancies."

"No problem," said Orb's leader, "I will leave that matter in Kisaka's hands."

"If Murrue's staying, then I'm staying," said Heero. He looked to his left and gave the brown haired beauty a small smile. "I swore to protect you, and to stay by your side no matter what; no way in hell I'm going back on that now."

Murrue smiled in return, her brown eyes gleaming with gratitude. "Thank you, Heero."

"I would like to thank you as well, young man," said Lord Uzumi, smiling, "I do not know the details of your past, but I can tell that you have been down a long, difficult road, one fraught with war and death. Orb will be forever in your debt, and we will not forget it."

"I'm staying too," Kira chimed in, "I believe that your country has chosen the right path, Lord Uzumi; I won't let the Alliance or ZAFT force you to join their cause."

"Guess I'm in as well," said La Flaga, smirking, "can't let you guys have all the fun, and it'd be a dick move for me to cut and run now."

"Thank you, all of you," said Cagalli, smiling.

"I will talk to the crew within the next few days," said Murrue, "I want to give them a little time to rest before I push such an important decision onto them."

"Of course, Captain," said Lord Uzumi, "please contact Kisaka once you know how many replacement personnel you need."

"On that note, sir," said Murrue, "one of the specialists the ship did not have when leaving Heliopolis was a counselor officer. Does Orb have anyone filling a similar role in its armed forces that can take that position?"

"I will put together a list of candidates," said Kisaka, "I'm sure we have someone that would be able to work in that capacity on board the _Archangel_."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Colonel Kisaka."

"I believe we've covered everything of major importance today," said Lord Uzumi, "however, I know Chief Engineer Simmons has something she would like to ask of you, or rather your pilots." He then turned to Erica and nodded.

Morgenroete's lovely top scientist returned the gesture before looking across the table. "Captain Ramius, if you do not mind I would like to bring Heero, Kira, and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga to one of our research and testing facilities tomorrow morning; there are some things I would like their expertise on."

Murrue nodded. "I understand, though I won't speak for them; it's their call."

"Of course, Captain," said Erica before turning to each of the pilots in question, "I cannot force any of you to come, naturally, but I would be very grateful if you did so."

"It's alright," said Kira, "I don't mind coming by again."

"I'll come along too," said La Flaga, "though I'm not sure what you need me for, considering I have no mobile suit flight experience."

"You are still a highly skilled pilot, Lieutenant Commander," Erica replied, "as for not having any mobile suit flight experience… we may be able to change that." A small smile appeared on her face at those last words.

La Flaga grinned, anticipation and excitement coming to the surface. "Is that so? Well, then I'll be looking forward to tomorrow."

Erica then turned to Heero. "What about you, Heero? The data and expertise you provided to us last time was invaluable to our work, and I would very much like your input on what we've managed to accomplish with it."

Heero nodded. "Sure, no problem. I was wondering when you'd get around to extending that invite."

Morgenroete's Chief Engineer laughed slightly. "As perceptive and intelligent as ever, I see. I look forward to working with you again, Heero."

"Likewise," the Gundam pilot replied, "I'm interested in seeing what you've done with the data I gave you."

"You will not be disappointed, I assure you," said Erica, "we may not be able to make something like Wing Zero, but our work is still top quality."

"I don't doubt that," said Heero.

"We appreciate your cooperation," said Lord Uzumi, standing up. As everyone else followed suit the Lion of Orb gave them a small formal bow. "With your help I believe we may yet survive the approaching storm."

"We'll do all we can to help you in that endeavor," said Murrue.

"Likewise," said Heero, "we will be ready when the time comes to fight."

Ready… and _eager_. Heero was now sure that, with the losses ZAFT had just suffered in the Second Battle of Alaska, it would be the Alliance that would eventually march on Orb; they would be the only force with the numbers and resources needed for such an invasion. The Perfect Soldier knew that such an important attack would be led personally by at least one of the members of the Atlantic Federation High Command… and they would pay the ultimate price for their betrayal of Murrue at Alaska.

However, Heero's feelings weren't entirely that of eager anticipation. He was keenly aware of the need to keep his desire for vengeance under control so that he wouldn't lose control of the Zero System, and did not want to risk going on a rampage… but the wrath that lay in the depths of his heart was stronger than any fury he had ever felt before, and even the Perfect Soldier had to wonder if he was strong enough to contain it and keep it from ruling his actions.

For the moment, he could keep the dark beast that lurked within him at bay, but when the battle started, when he would engage Atlantic Federation forces on the field… that was another matter, and one that troubled him considerably.

He looked to his left at the woman who had come to mean more to him than anyone else ever had in his life. Heero knew that the love he had for Murrue was at least in part responsible for the intensity of the wrath he felt towards her treacherous superiors. He didn't blame her for the new fight he was in to keep his emotions from ruling him, but he was aware that the affection he held for her was impacting the way he handled his feelings, and he was struggling to adapt to that. The passion that Murrue had awoken within him, the fierce desire to protect her from any danger the world threw at her, was unlike anything Heero had ever felt before, and he knew that he still didn't have it entirely under control. He needed to figure out a way to sort out what he felt, to make his newfound passion more manageable so that it wouldn't interfere with his control over the Zero System, and he had to do as soon as possible.

Of course, Heero didn't know whether or not he'd be able to do that before the Alliance attacked Orb.

_All I know for certain is this_, he thought as Murrue turned and smiled at him, _I love Murrue, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her. I may still not know exactly how to handle these feelings… but I'll find a way. For her sake, I have to._

"Heero," said Murrue, "everything alright?"

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'm ok, Murrue." He didn't want to worry her; Heero knew Murrue had enough concerns hanging over her head as it was, and he had no intention of adding to them.

For now, though, Heero knew her worries were somewhat alleviated simply by the fact that Lord Uzumi had so easily allowed them to stay in Orb. Of course, the threat of the inevitable Alliance invasion still loomed on the horizon, made all the more ominous by the fact that they knew the _Archangel _had been heading for Orb, but for the moment it was enough to know that they could take a small breather and relax without worrying about getting shot at.

The Lion of Orb began to head towards the door, but stopped short when a soldier burst into the room. "Lord Uzumi!" he said, "Colonel Kisaka! Urgent news from Intelligence, sirs!"

"What is it?" asked Uzumi, "Has the Alliance fleet already set sail for Orb?"

The soldier shook his head. "No sir. It's ZAFT; they've just launched an assault on Panama!"

Uzumi's eyes widened in dismay. "So soon? Spitbreak was less than a week ago, and they just lost their Alaska beachhead yesterday! Is this Zala's idea of retaliation?"

"No," said Kisaka, "this was probably planned before the Atlantic Federation attacked ZAFT's beachhead."

"Now we know where those ten _Vosgulovs _and their DINNs were heading," said Heero.

Lord Uzumi shook his head. "I should've seen this coming. There was activity a few days ago at Carpentaria; several warships left dock and headed east. We thought they were going to harass Alliance patrols though; there was no way the squadron that left the base would be enough to take Panama by itself."

"Even with the ships that left Alaska they would still be facing an uphill battle," said Kisaka, his eyes narrowed, "ZAFT is probably dropping additional MS from orbit in coordination with the naval and air attack."

"Damn it," said Cagalli, "after what happened at Alaska, ZAFT will be eager for payback. They may have launched before that attack, but I'm sure they've heard about what happened by now, and their commanders will want payback. All they'll be doing is furthering this cycle of hatred!"

"That's why we need to find a way to stop it," said Kira, "otherwise it'll eventually consume the entire Earth Sphere!"

Heero nodded. "Agreed, but for the moment there's little we can do. There's no point in us rushing off to Panama; the battle will be over long before we can get there. All we can do now is look to our own defenses and prepare for the next stage of the conflict."

"Heero's right," said Murrue, "we have to stay focused and make sure we're ready for when the Alliance and ZAFT turn their attention towards Orb. We can find a way to end the war after we've survived whatever the extremists on both sides decide to throw at us."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, looking out the window, "still… I think we all know what's going to happen at Panama. It doesn't feel right just sitting here while… well, you know what I mean."

_Indeed_, thought Heero, following the Lieutenant Commander's gaze out the window as the sun set on the horizon. The sky had turned a mix of orange and red, and would be considered beautiful under other circumstances… but the hue towards the bottom of the vista looked all too much like blood.

And considering how much had been spilled at Alaska, how it would inflame the hearts and minds of the ZAFT soldiers attacking Panama… it seemed like a harbinger of the slaughter to come.

_Massacre repaid by massacre_, he mused grimly, _a vicious cycle indeed, and one that will continue to play out unless we find a way to end this war._

Of course, how to accomplish that was another matter entirely. There was no Treize Kushrenada or Zechs Marquise to orchestrate a grand endgame, nor a Relena Peacecraft to bring people together after the final campaign. Heero supposed that Lacus Clyne might be able to fill the latter's role at some point, but she would first have to survive Zala's assassins and security forces. As for a final confrontation, one that would end the war without destroying humanity in the process… that was a much more complicated issue.

_One that is still a ways off in any case_, he thought, _and I can't afford to waste time worrying about it. Protecting Murrue and the Archangel is all that matters right now, and the Alliance and ZAFT will not make that easy._

Of course, he never expected they would in the first place.

….

Weaving through a volley of missiles coming up from the ground, Yzak took the Duel into a dive. Raising his beam rifle he quickly dispatched the two mobile launchers that had fired the warheads before gaining altitude to take a quick assessment of the situation and find new targets. The dark green flight platform responded perfectly to his commands, blue thruster fire jetting from its engines as he ascended, aided by the Duel's own propulsion.

The mechanics aboard the _Vespucci _had outdone themselves in their repairs of Yzak's unit; he had expected to be grounded for weeks, but replacement parts had been flown in and installed four days after the mauling he had taken at the hands of the strange and powerful new mobile suit that had so easily defeated him at Alaska. The silver haired young man was still puzzled as to why the pilot had let him live, but he wasn't going to complain. He was glad to be alive, and more so to be able to fly again… but this latest battle was dampening his mood considerably.

The assault had begun in the early evening after the _Vespucci _and its accompanying warships had rendezvoused with a task force out of Carpentaria. The squadron had been comprised of three _Vosgulovs _and ten surface destroyers. Even when combined with the group from Alaska it would've been extremely difficult if not impossible to attack the Alliance fortifications at Panama, but a GINN drop by orbital forces had helped matters considerably.

Still, the battle was not going as well as Yzak nor his superior, newly promoted Field Marshal Creuset, would've liked it to. It had been clear the instant the attack had begun that the Atlantic Federation had considerably reinforced the spaceport, both on the ground and at sea. The presence of an Alliance naval task force had meant that the DINNs and ZAFT ships had had to first take care of the enemy ships before supporting the mobile suits dropped from outer space. The forty-eight GINNs had thus spent the first few crucial minutes of the battle without air support as the DINNs and Yzak, along with Creuset in his DINN Mk. II, had focused on eliminating Alliance carrier planes and helping the _Vosgulovs_, destroyers, and the twelve underwater MS operating with the Carpentaria ships neutralize the Atlantic Federation navy. In that time the GINNs had been forced to confront attacks from both the ground and the air as land-based fighter squadrons commenced strafing runs while enemy land forces had fired at them from fortified positions in the hills and mountains around the spaceport.

The GINNs had taken losses, with a quarter of the drop force destroyed before ZAFT's air units had thinned out the Natural fighters enough to begin providing critical air support. Now ZAFT had the upper hand, but it was by a slim margin, and the battle had bogged down and dragged on for far longer than Yzak had thought it would. Night had fallen on the battlefield, and the young pilot could see flames dotting the sea as burning warships floated off the coast.

The Alliance naval forces, comprised of two _Spengler_-class carriers, two _Angler_-class escort carriers, eight cruisers and twenty-five destroyers, along with five submarines, had been completely eliminated. However, their destruction had come at a high cost to the ZAFT fleet; all the destroyers were either burning or already beneath the waves, and seven _Vosgulovs _had been sunk. The underwater MS, consisting of nine GOOhNs and three ZnOs, had survived the naval battle without losses, but had since been whittled down to six and one machines respectively after they had waded ashore to support the GINNs. The main ground forces had suffered additional losses as well, and there were now thirty GINNs left. ZAFT's air forces had taken casualties too, and fifty-four DINNs remained airborne out of the original seventy-eight.

However, the battle had turned in ZAFT's favor, with the GINNs beginning to advance closer towards the spaceport while isolating Alliance positions and taking them out piecemeal. Scores of tanks and artillery pieces had been reduced to flaming wrecks, and more were being destroyed with each passing second. There were still several squadrons worth of fighters in the air, but they were falling into increasing disarray, and unit cohesion was breaking down. Yzak noted that the pilots were more frantic and desperate by the minute, and it was becoming easier to score kills. Twisting and jinking to avoid missiles from a dozen planes, the young man let loose a volley of emerald beams from his rifle, taking down five of his attackers in as many seconds. A white and grey DINN Mk. II then swooped in and destroyed the other seven; Field Marshal Creuset's machine, and the only one of its type taking part in the battle.

The masked officer appeared on his monitor. "Yzak, drop altitude and provide support for fire team Foxtrot; they need help clearing the LZ for the Gungnir."

"Yes, sir," he replied. He began a descent towards the three-GINN team Creuset had designated; the green and grey machines were trading fire with a formation of tanks.

As he came into range he opened up with the rail-gun on the Duel's right shoulder. Three yellow slugs hit three targets, and they all exploded. He let loose a volley from the missile launchers on his left shoulder as well, and two more tanks were destroyed in the barrage. The reprieve from enemy fire allowed the three GINNs to take down the other seven tanks without difficulty before they turned their attention to the infantry that were peppering them with shoulder-fired missiles.

Yzak turned away, preferring not to watch what he knew would be a mess as the mobile suits shredded their attackers with their heavy machine guns. Thankfully a group of attack helicopters provided a welcome excuse to distance himself from the gruesome scene below, and he swiftly engaged the incoming enemies.

A new blip appeared on his radar at high altitude as he destroyed three choppers, and Yzak knew it was the drop pod that contained the Gungnir device. _I sure hope that thing works_, he thought, _along with the electronic hardening gear the techs distributed to our units before the battle. Otherwise both sides units will be shut down, and this will turn into an ugly man-to-man fight on the ground._

It was then that several new contacts appeared on his sensors, both on the ground and in the air. Yzak's eyes widened in shock as images of them appeared on his monitors. "No way…" he muttered.

Concealed doors had opened up along several of the hillsides, and out of them were pouring dozens of mobile suits. They were all clearly based on the Strike frame wise, though their paint jobs were different; dark blue and grey base, along with red, white, and yellow shields mounted on their left arms. The mobile suits carried beam rifles in their left hands and yellow beam sabers in their right. The machines ran down the hillside and began engaging the GINNs in both mid and close-range combat.

That wasn't all; Yzak saw that several of the machines had red and black packs mounted on them, similar to one of the Strike's load outs. However, as their wings unfolded Yzak saw that their wingspans were wider, and that they had their own high-powered engines mounted on them in addition to the mobile suit's own thrusters. Thirty such machines took to the sky and began dogfighting the DINNs, and Yzak realized that their packs allowed for full sustained flight unlike the limited capabilities of the Strike's high-mobility load out. Supported by the remaining fighter squadrons, who had regrouped around the Alliance mobile suits, the new machines were enough to even the odds in the air battle.

_The Alliance now has mass-production MS_, thought Yzak as he dodged emerald beams from two machines, _damn it, not good! _Things became even worse as Yzak saw the machines on the ground systematically begin to eliminate GINNs by attacking from multiple directions with their rifles or closing in to impale them with their beam sabers. The GINNs metal swords were hopelessly inferior to the yellow energy blades, and the broad shields of mass-production Strikes were well suited to blocking their return fire from their heavy machine guns. Still, some of the new MS took hits, and Yzak noted that they did not appear to have Phase Shift Armor like the original Strike or the other Heliopolis units did.

_They sacrifice armor protection for greater battery power_, he thought as he managed to get a shot past one of his enemies shields, sending an emerald beam right through the unit's chest, _still, the lack of Phase Shift Armor would make them much cheaper to produce, and the Alliance has the resources needed to build an army of them. _The young man grimaced as the new reality set in; ZAFT had finally lost its greatest advantage.

The playing field was finally even.

"So you've got new mobile suits now," he growled, "you're still no match for me!"

Zigzagging low to the ground, Yzak took advantage of the mobility allowed by his flight platform to flank the enemy ground mobile suits before either shooting them or stabbing them with his beam rifle. The silver haired pilot decided to focus on supporting the GINNs while entrusting the skies above to Field Marshal Creuset and the remaining DINNs.

_My orders are to keep this LZ clear_, he thought as he dodged beam rifle fire from three machines, _and that's just what I'll do!_

The three GINNs of fire team Foxtrot were still in one piece, but the other ground units were taking losses as they struggled to adapt to their new foes. The kill ratios seemed to be even for the moment, with the ZAFT pilots' greater experience with mobile suit combat helping out considerably, but the Alliance's new machines were clearly superior in the technology department, and it was hard to say who had the advantage as the engagement became a series of running firefights between both sides' MS teams, each one slowly picking off the other's units whenever they got the chance.

_Shit_, he thought as he impaled one of the new mobile suits from behind before whirling around and shooting another through the chest with his rifle, _this is going to become a battle of attrition, and that favors the Alliance!_

Working with fire team Foxtrot to hold the perimeter they had established around the LZ, the ZAFT Red was able to keep the new mass produced Strikes from taking over their position. Checking his sensors he saw that the air battle, which had before been a sweep in ZAFT's favor, had bogged down as much as the ground fighting, with both sides slugging it out and taking losses. Though the DINNs were actually more agile than the new enemy machines, the fact that the Alliance units had beam weaponry gave them more firepower, and the addition of a beam saber gave their mobile suits a critical edge in close combat since ZAFT's mainline aerial MS had no such weapon to counter with; only the DINN Mk. II had a beam saber, and the only one at Panama was piloted by Creuset.

The masked Field Marshal was more than holding his own; he'd already downed three of the new mobile suits and another dozen fighters, and the way he maneuvered his machine made the enemy pilots look like bumbling amateurs. However, the rest of ZAFT's air units were having a much harder time of it, and several DINNs had already been destroyed. Though they still outnumbered the new enemy air mobile suits, their foes technological edge combined with the fighters supporting them meant that, like the ground engagement, the air battle would soon become one of attrition, and even if ZAFT won the price would be so high that the victory would be pyrrhic at best.

Yzak swore as he saw a group of six of the mass-production Strikes approaching his position. He fired a volley of emerald beams at them, but they were all blocked by the enemies' large shields. His three allies were likewise unable to get past their enemies defenses, while the Alliance units were able to fire from behind their shields, protected from most of their foes' shots. One of the GINNs exploded as a beam pierced its chest, and Yzak knew the other two wouldn't last long.

"Hold position," he ordered his comrades, "I'm going to take them from above!"

"Yes sir!" they both said.

Gaining altitude, Yzak cut loose with the last of the missiles in the Duel's Assault Shroud shoulder launchers. The warheads were all blocked as the Alliance units raised their shields, but this left them vulnerable to rifle fire from Foxtrot, and one of the machines took machine gun fire to its knees and fell to the ground. As the other five mobile suits attempted to adjust their position Yzak dove in, hitting them from the right flank. He destroyed one unit with his beam rifle before impaling another in the side with his violet energy blade. He then pulled back as the last two machines turned their guns on him, and he raised his shield to block their shots. Yzak was about to return fire when the two units were destroyed as another fire team of three GINNs hit them from behind.

_The Field Marshal must have sent them to reinforce the LZ_, he thought. The prideful pilot did not like to admit it, but he knew that Creuset had been right in sending him backup; more of the mass-production Strikes were already advancing on his position.

Checking his sensors, he saw that the pod containing the Gungnir device had deployed its parachute and was now less than a hundred meters from the ground. "Alright guys," he said, "we just have to hold here a little longer. One of you get ready to activate the Gungnir! The rest of us will hold the enemy back!"

One of the GINNs turned away from the fighting and moved towards the point where the dark green pod was projected to touch down. The other four reformed their perimeter and redoubled their outgoing fire, with Yzak providing close air support.

_Damn it_, he thought as he watched the device land while at the same time he fired his shoulder mounted rail gun at an enemy mobile suit, _hurry up! _The ground forces were slowly being worn down; there were now eighteen GINNs remaining in the fray out of the original forty-eight. The Alliance mobile suits had taken losses as well, but as soon as one fell another took its place, freshly deployed from one of the many hangars scattered around the battlefield, hidden in the hillsides. The enemy was clearly determined not to lose Panama, and it was obvious that the spaceport had been heavily reinforced prior to the attack.

Things were looking slightly better in the sky, if only due to Creuset's presence. The masked ace was on a tear, mauling the Alliance fighters and taking down another four of the new mobile suits as well. However, the DINNs had suffered additional losses, and there were now forty of ZAFT's airborne mobile suits left operational.

A welcome announcement came over the radio on the tactical channel. "Gungnir armed! Firing sequence initiated; t minus ten seconds to EMP burst!"

_Finally_, thought Yzak. The young man quickly ran one last check on his systems, double checking the mobile suit's hardening and countermeasures against the Gungnir. Everything was reading fully operational, and all he had to do now was evade enemy fire until the device activated.

It didn't take long. A bright flash of blue and white light illuminated the night, and Yzak had to maximize the tint on his visual scanners to avoid being blinded. A bright blue hemisphere radiated out from the Gungnir, rippling across the battlefield, small bolts of lightning arcing ahead of it as it swept over the spaceport and the surrounding area.

Yzak felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the pulse went over the Duel, but to his relief none of the systems failed; the countermeasures installed by the techs had worked perfectly. _I owe those guys a drink_, he thought, _well, I guess they'll have to wait until I'm old enough to buy alcohol in the first place._

The rest of the ZAFT forces were similarly unaffected, but the Alliance machines weren't so lucky. The armored vehicles and mobile suits on the ground ceased to fire or even move, and the remaining fighters and airborne MS fell from the sky. The former exploded as they hit the ground, while most of the latter simply crumpled on impact, their tougher hulls preventing out-and-out detonation.

Yzak sighed, knowing that the battle was over. _They'll have to surrender now_, he thought, _their radios won't be working, so they'll have to fire white flares or run up a flag of truce to signal it… we've won._

Indeed, mere seconds later he saw several flares arc into the night sky, and in their light he saw Alliance soldiers exiting their vehicles and coming out of cover, their hands raised and weapons thrown to the ground. GINNs and DINNs alike advanced towards the defeated soldiers, and Yzak waited for orders from Field Marshal Creuset. In the meanwhile, he continued watching as more Alliance soldiers joined their comrades in surrender, grouping together and waiting for instruction from the victors. The young pilot wondered what they were thinking, if they were ashamed to have to admit defeat or simply relieved that they no longer had to fight anymore.

_The war's over for them_, he mused. Strangely, Yzak's feelings on the matter were mixed. The prideful pilot had tended towards a disdainful attitude towards Naturals in the past, but months on active duty had opened his mind a little more. Though he was proud of his service, Yzak was now also beginning to tire of the fighting. The loss of Nicole and Dearka had played a significant part in that, and he found himself wondering how many of the soldiers below had lost friends as well, either today or in some other battle in the war. They might've been Naturals… but they were soldiers like him as well.

_Man, I feel strange_, he mused, _I never would've thought like this a few months ago. I guess war really does have a way of changing one's perspective on things. I wonder what mother would think of this…_

Then the ZAFT mobile suits started shooting.

Yzak's eyes widened in horror as he saw his comrades begin to mercilessly gun down the men and women that had just thrown down their weapons. _No! What the hell are they doing?_

He immediately got on the tactical channel. "Cease fire at once!" he shouted, "They've surrendered! _Cease fire!_"

The voices that replied were full of a vicious hatred the likes of which he had never seen before. "My sister died at Alaska!" one said, "The Naturals killed her and the rest of our soldiers there even after they surrendered! This is for them!"

"Kill em all!" said another.

"Ha ha ha," another cackled, "not so tough now that your new toys don't work, are ya?"

Yzak gritted his teeth as he watched hundreds of unarmed people be shredded by the heavy machine guns of the GINNs and DINNs. "Enough!" he yelled, aiming his rifle at one of the units. He may not have had much love for Naturals… but this slaughter was going too far. He knew about the massacre that had taken place at Alaska, but that was no excuse for them to sink this low.

However, before he could fire, Yzak was shocked to see Field Marshal Creuset's machine interpose itself between him and his target. "Field Marshal!" Yzak cried, "We have to stop this!"

"No, Yzak," Creuset replied, his voice as calm as ever, "our soldiers were shocked and disgusted by the Alliance's actions at Alaska, and they have a great deal of pent up anger and hatred within them. This way they can vent it without harming our own forces."

"Sir!" cried Yzak, appalled at what his superior officer was saying, "We can't allow this! How can you say that? This is barbarism!"

"This is war, Yzak," the Field Marshal replied, "and by its nature, war is barbaric. Besides, the Chairman wishes for the blood spilt at Alaska to be avenged; we will not interfere with that desire."

"Creuset!" he yelled.

"Enough, Yzak," said the masked ace, his voice taking on a cold edge, "If you cannot stomach this, then you have leave to return to the _Vespucci_. However, you are forbidden to interfere with any friendly actions. If you do so you will be charged with treason and dealt with accordingly. Is that understood?"

Yzak nodded numbly. "Yes sir." What choice did he have? The Field Marshal had pretty much said that interference would result in him being shot down, and in all likelihood by Creuset himself. Yzak was confident in his own skills and the power of the Duel, but he knew he was no match for Creuset.

As he began his withdrawal the silver haired young man looked back one last time at the unfolding massacre. An unbidden image flashed through his mind; the unarmed shuttle he had shot down during the orbital battle.

At the time he had thought it was full of soldiers attempting to flee, but he had later learned, much to his horror, that it had been attempting to transport civilians to Orb. They had had nothing to do with the war, they had been trying to go home… and he had incinerated them just to get a shot at the Strike.

Yzak had not told anyone this, but ever since that revelation he'd begun having nightmares. Ghostly figures haunted his dreams, the innocent victims of his rash and selfish actions. They hadn't occurred every night, but they were intense enough that he could never forget them, and the ghosts came back usually once or twice a week.

Now, as he flew away from the slaughter, he knew that more ghosts would soon be haunting his sleep. The fact that he had refused to take part in the massacre itself meant nothing to him; he hadn't been able to stop it, and to him that made him as guilty as those who were doing the shooting.

_What's happening to us? Is it just because of how long the war has dragged on, or is something more sinister at work? How… how has it come to this?_

….

Rear-admiral Thompson looked on from the command post as the slaughter unfolded. His thoughts were not full of sympathy and sorrow for the soldiers under his command, but fury that they had surrendered after the EMP bomb had detonated. _They should've fought to the death_, he thought, _this serves the cowards right!_

He now had to tend to the final stage of the battle himself. The EMP burst may have knocked out all combat vehicles and mobile suits, along with many of the spaceports systems, but a few crucial ones were hardened against such an attack, and Thompson set about initiating the one he had hoped he wouldn't have to use.

_I've failed to hold Panama_, he thought grimly as he armed the self-destruct sequence for the command post and the mass driver, _I'm a dead man no matter what happens, if not by the abominations' hands then by Azrael's agents. This way I can at least make my exit honorable, and deny ZAFT their prize._

He turned a key, which removed the security panel covering the detonation trigger for the explosives, and hit the button.

His world became fire and pain, and then nothing at all.

….

Looking on the massacre taking place below with approval, Field Marshal Creuset saw a series of explosions light up the spaceport. The command post and several important buildings went up in flames, and charges began to detonate along the length of the mass driver.

_Exactly as planned_, he thought, smiling, _Azrael's information was once again correct; the self-destruct system was hardened against an electromagnetic pulse. Things are back on track now._

With the loss of the Panama mass driver, the Alliance was now cut off from space. All the other mass drivers on the planet were in the hands of ZAFT… except for one.

The Kaguya facility in Orb.

_I know Azrael has already begun preparing an invasion force_, he thought, _now he will accelerate his plans for the attack. Orb's military is potent, but they won't be able to withstand the Atlantic Federation's overwhelming force. Not even the legged ship and Wing Zero will be able to save them. At least one wild card will be removed from the game, perhaps another as well if I'm lucky._

He began chuckling to himself, and it built up until he was cackling wildly. Grinning as he watched the mass driver collapse and the Alliance soldiers die in droves below him, he reveled in the carnage surrounding him.

"That's it, that's it!" he yelled, "Kill, burn, destroy… let your hatred build into a crescendo until it consumes the Earth Sphere itself!"

….

Sitting at her desk in the temporary quarters assigned to her on the moon base while she awaited the completion of the warship that was to be her new command, Lieutenant Commander Natarle Badgiruel leaned back in her chair and sighed. Over a week and a half had gone by since her transfer from the _Archangel_… and she'd had plenty to think about in that time.

There was, of course, the usual mix of nervousness and excitement that came with a promotion, though this was magnified by the prospect of commanding her own ship. A whole new list of responsibilities would soon be upon her, and Natarle could already feel the weight of them on her shoulders.

_I haven't even officially taken charge of the ship yet_, she thought, _and I already feel like I'm carrying a mountain on my back. How on Earth did Captain Ramius command the Archangel like she did without buckling under the pressure? _Natarle's respect for her commanding officer had gradually increased over the course of their voyage from Heliopolis, but know that she was about to be saddled with the same responsibilities that admiration had increased tenfold. Now she wanted to talk to her former Captain, to ask her just how she had dealt with the duties of command without losing her mind.

However, that was no longer possible, and not just because of her transfer to outer space. Natarle had been shocked when she had learned that the entire crew of the _Archangel_, save for herself, had been declared to be traitors. She had tried to get more information, but had been unable to learn much other than the official story; the ship had abandoned its post at the battle of Alaska, and Heero Yuy had gone rogue and destroyed the base to distract ZAFT while the ship made its escape.

That was the line being spouted by the Atlantic Federation and OMNI Enforcer, but Natarle was sure there was more to it. While Captain Ramius repeatedly bent or defied rules and regulations, Natarle knew that it was always for the sake of the people serving under her. More to the point, she wasn't a coward; she wouldn't just take her ship and leave the battle.

There was Heero to consider as well. Though Natarle had always been a little uneasy around him due to the fact that he was outside the chain of command, she knew that the young man was loyal to the Captain and the _Archangel_, and steadfast in his resolve to protect both; she had seen more than enough proof of that in the many battles they had fought since their first encounter with Wing Zero. Also, Natarle had a hard time believing Heero would destroy an entire allied base just as a distraction; there had to be more to it, just like Captain Ramius's decision to withdraw.

Finally, but certainly not least, there was Lieutenant Commander La Flaga. Natarle had been shocked to see his name added to the list of traitors as well; there had been no way he could've been involved since he had been due to ship out to California and would not have taken part in the battle. Yet the official reports stated that he had joined the _Archangel _in its desertion, and was now an enemy of the state. _This can't be right_, she had thought, _Mu may not have the highest reverence for the rules, but he wouldn't betray his country. What's going on here?_

She had been unable to get any satisfactory answers through official channels... but as of ten minutes ago, that no longer mattered. Natarle once again leaned forward and looked at the computer monitor on her desk, on which was displayed an email that she had just finished reading. It was from none other than Mu La Flaga, the man she had slowly but surely begun to fall in love with… and who was now officially stated to be an enemy of the Atlantic Federation.

_Natarle,_

_I'm sure the Alliance has spies trying to read its soldiers emails by now, but you don't have to worry about that. I asked Heero for help in getting this to you securely, and he did some sort of encryption trick. Not sure how it works, but that's not important. What matters is that no one will be able to read this other than you. Don't worry, Heero didn't read what I wrote in here; the guy's actually pretty respective of other people's privacy. Personally I think he knew why I was writing to you, but that's to be expected really; you know how sharp he is._

_ By now I'm sure you've heard the worst about us; that we've betrayed the Alliance and ran from Alaska during the battle. I have no doubt that's the official line, anyway. As for the rumor mill, well, you know how stories wind their way through the military, getting distorted with each retelling. I'll understand if you view what I'm about to tell you with some skepticism, but I swear it's the truth. You need to know what really happened, Natarle... and I care about you too much to lie to you._

_ The entire battle was a setup. I'm not sure how, but apparently there's a leak in ZAFT, and whoever the double agent is managed to get word to the Atlantic Federation High Command that the true target of Operation Spitbreak was Alaska. In response, the High Command set up a Cyclops system within the base. It's a massive microwave emitter array, and its power is amplified to that of a nuke due to the effects of ZAFT's N-jammers. Anyway, the top brass were planning to detonate it and wipe out the entire ZAFT armada… along with the base's defenders. _

_ They stacked the deck; the Archangel was the only Atlantic Federation ship taking part in the fight, while the rest belonged to the Eurasians. I think Captain Ramius's conduct, along with Heero's refusal to share Wing Zero's technology with the Alliance, made the High Command view them as expendable. At any rate, they were more than happy to use the Archangel and Wing Zero, along with the Eurasian fleet, as bait for ZAFT. _

_ I thought something was up, so rather than board my transport I headed to the control room. That's how I found out about the Cyclops system. I was able to get out of the base and return to the Archangel, and I warned them about the trap. The Captain decided she wasn't going to let the top brass sacrifice us just so they could inflict mass casualties on ZAFT, so she ordered a breakout attempt. It was rough going, and for a moment I thought we were done for, but Kira of all people showed up to help us out. Apparently he'd actually survived the battle in the Marshal Islands, and someone took him to the PLANTs for treatment. Anyway, I guess some people who disagreed with the government's current policies helped him hijack an advanced prototype mobile suit, and he brought it to Alaska to help us. He showed up at the perfect time; ZAFT's force was massive, and Heero and I really had our work cut out for us. Kira managed to take some of the heat off us, and his new machine was capable of covering the Archangel while Heero went to destroy the Cyclops system._

_ I know it's hard to believe that one mobile suit has enough firepower to destroy a base with the kind of fortifications that Alaska has… hell, I had a hard time wrapping my head around it as well. But Wing Zero really is one incredible machine; its rifle destroyed the entire base in two shots, taking out the Cyclops system along with it. You don't need to worry about our own personnel; the base was empty when I was heading towards the control room, and I'm sure that last transport submarine left well before Heero attacked. Anyway, the fact is that Heero destroyed the base and saved our lives; we were moving too slow to get out before the Cyclops system would've detonated. We only survived thanks to Wing Zero's raw power… a power I'm sure the top brass want now more than ever._

_ Natarle, our superiors set the Captain and her crew up to die at Alaska. I can't serve under them anymore, and the others feel the same way. That's why we left the Atlantic Federation armed forces; we won't let ourselves be used as tools of a regime that wants to commit massacres. And we sure as hell won't just sit back and let them try to kill us._

_ We're in Orb now; they've granted us sanctuary and political asylum, free of charge. Of course, I know this means the Alliance will come after them now; with the Archangel, Wing Zero, and Kira's new mobile suit they'll view us as a wild card and a major threat, not to mention they want Orb's resources anyways and will use us as justification to invade. The Captain, Heero, and Kira want to help them defend their country, and I'm going to pitch in too; these people deserve to live free of foreign rule, and shouldn't be forced to take sides in this war. I'll understand if this is hard to accept to you; after all, they'll soon be fighting against the Atlantic Federation, your country… sorry, but I can no longer call it mine. I think helping them is the right thing to do, so if it comes down to it I'll stand against the Alliance._

_ Natarle, I know you believe in following orders and regulations regardless of personal feelings. Most of the time that serves you well; your discipline keeps you calm under fire, and you're a model soldier. Sure, it makes you a little stiff sometimes, but I actually like that side of you; when you were on the Archangel it helped keep me sharp, kept me from getting too relaxed. But if you keep following orders without question you could find yourself being commanded to do something horrible… like that slaughter at Alaska yesterday. Yeah, I've heard about that battle, and while I'm sure you weren't part of it I'm afraid you could be forced into a similar situation eventually._

_ You're a good person Natarle. You're strong, intelligent, responsible, and you have a soft side as well. Not many people on the Archangel saw it, but in the time we spent together I saw it come out. At heart you're a kind and gentle woman, and I know you would never order such a slaughter like the one at Alaska to take place. However, the Atlantic Federation High Command has proven itself capable of issuing just such orders, and if you continue to follow their commands without question then you could wind up partaking in something monstrous. Natarle, I don't want you to get caught up in something like that, and I know you don't want to face such a situation either._

_ There comes a time when we have to start questioning what we've been taught, what others would have us believe. Natarle, the others and I left the Alliance because we finally realized something; what our leaders believe in is an ideology of hatred and genocide, and they won't be satisfied until everyone they perceive as an enemy is dead. They won't limit themselves to just members of ZAFT; every Coordinator man, woman, and child is a target in their eyes. I've heard there's a faction within the PLANTs and ZAFT that feels the same way towards Naturals, and that they're the ruling elite now. However, I don't believe that their feelings towards Naturals are those shared by the majority of the Coordinators; most of them want to live in peace, just like the majority of us Naturals. They're normal people, just like us; the only difference is genes._

_ Too bad that's the one thing the leaders of both sides seem to be so hung up on._

_ Natarle, please, think about what you're doing, what you're fighting for. I don't believe you wish for the deaths of everyone who isn't a Natural, but your superiors desire exactly that. If you stay with the Alliance then you'll just be making yourself a tool in their campaign of genocide. I don't want to see you become an accessory to mass murder. I don't want the woman I've come to know and care about lose her humanity in this war. _

_ Natarle, it may sound strange for me to say this, but the months we spent together aboard the Archangel were the best time of my life. Sure, we were in near constant danger, never knowing when the enemy would hit us next… but I shared that danger with _you_, and that made it special. Becoming friends with you was the best thing that ever happened to me, of that I have no doubt. Getting to know you was an incredible experience… and it was only towards the end, when you received the order to leave us… that I realized I wanted more. Natarle…_

_ …I think I'm in love with you._

_ I know, it's not exactly romantic to confess one's feelings over email, but it's all I've got to work with right now. God, I was such a fool; I probably started falling for you back during our time in North Africa, but I didn't even notice. Our outing together in Orb… no, our _date _in Orb, because I know it was exactly that, was incredible. That, along with the times we just spent sitting together in the officers' lounge talking, or sharing meals in the mess hall… moments like those, when it was just us, were what made our journey bearable. No, more than bearable, enjoyable. Again, strange to say, I know, but every minute I spent with you made all the battles and narrow escapes more than worth it. If I'd known going in that I'd have to put up with all that just to get to know you, I wouldn't have changed anything, would've jumped headlong into the fireworks._

_ I can't begin to describe how much it hurts to not have you around anymore. I keep expecting to hear your voice over the comm, or to run into you in the hall… I miss you, Natarle. I never thought I'd feel this way about a woman; all my previous relationships have really been little more than flings. But you… well, you're something special. Your bravery, your intelligence, your beauty… hell, even your stiffness… you're an incredible woman, Natarle._

_ I don't know what the future holds, and what scares me more than anything is the possibility that we might end up fighting against each other. The last thing I want to do is to engage a ship commanded by you on the battlefield. Hopefully it won't come to that._

_ Natarle, I don't know when we'll meet in person again. When we do, though… I think we should talk, find out where we go from here. I don't know if you'll be able to reply to this message; Heero's encryption trick only works from the sender's end, and I have no idea if you're skilled enough with computers to pull a similar stunt. If you don't think you can reply without the chance of someone else reading your message, then don't; I don't want you to risk your life just to reply to me._

_ Until the next time we meet, stay safe, wherever you are now. Please, think about what you're fighting for, and don't let yourself be ordered to commit an atrocity. Don't let this war destroy the woman I've come to love._

_ Be careful, and think about what I said._

_ Love,_

_ Mu La Flaga_

Natarle could've cried, though from happiness or despair she did not know. On the one hand, the message was proof that the man she had fallen in love with did return her feelings, more than even that brief kiss as she'd left the _Archangel _had been. The affections that had so shaken her world, that had created a storm of conflicting emotions within her, were shared by the one whom they were for. Were La Flaga in the room with her at that moment she would've tackled him to the floor and kissed him without a second's hesitation.

On the other hand, the message was confirmation of her worst fears; the man she loved was now an enemy of her country. Granted, the circumstances were much different than what had been reported through official channels, and Natarle did not doubt La Flaga's story… but that did not change the fact that he was now regarded as hostile.

She was confronted by a dilemma she had never expected to face; a choice between duty to her country, to the military, or the man she loved. Natarle had never felt so torn, so conflicted, in her life. She had always followed the rules, first by trying to be a good daughter, then a perfect student, an exceptional trainee, and now a model officer. Her adherence to the regulations along with tried and true military tactics had won her praise and promotion, eventually leading to her being assigned to the _Archangel _and G-weapon project. Following orders from above and maintaining discipline were to her the foundations for what it meant to be a good soldier.

But to do so now meant denying what she felt in her heart to be true; that to bring herself to fight the man she loved would crush her very soul, inflict an agony upon her that no physical wound could ever come close to matching. Just as important was the haunting prospect of being ordered to take part in a massacre such as what had occurred at Alaska; when she'd made inquiries, senior officers had made little effort to hide what had happened to the ZAFT soldiers that had surrendered, and she'd been horrified at her side's actions.

Natarle held no personal animosity towards Coordinators. It was true that she had some distrust towards them, but that was only because ZAFT was comprised exclusively of them; it was their military, after all. That suspicion had played itself out in her initial reactions to Captain Ramius's decision to let Kira pilot the Strike, but over time it had lessened as she'd witnessed the boy's courage and willingness to put himself in danger to protect his friends. He was as human as the rest of them, and that was Natarle's opinion of Coordinators in general. Were they not at war, she could easily imagine herself having met and made friends with at least a few of them by now.

She did not hate them, and believed that as enemy combatants they should be afforded the same respect and rights as any foe under the conventions of war. Natarle regarded what had taken place in the Second Battle of Alaska as a clear-cut war crime, and was appalled not only at the fact that it had happened at all, but also that nothing was being done to arrest and bring to trial those who had ordered the massacre.

And she had the sinking feeling that that was because the orders had come from the highest levels of the government and the armed forces.

What La Flaga had said about the First Battle of Alaska was all she needed to know that the Alliance top brass were more than capable of ordering such a slaughter… but that did not change the fact that they were her lawful superiors. To defy them was treason, and as the child of a military family to Natarle the very word was equated with the lowest and most vulgar profanity. She had been raised to despise and loath traitors…

… but she could not bring herself to do that for Captain Ramius and the crew of the _Archangel_, and especially not Mu La Flaga.

Natarle looked down at her desktop, a feeling of utter hopelessness falling over her. _Either I abandon my duties, refuse to serve my country… or I may have to fight against the man I love, or take part in a war crime. What do I do? Do I follow orders… or my heart?_

She would've given nearly anything for answers… and _everything _for a chance to see Mu again.

For now, there was little she could do but wait; she was on standby at the lunar base until her new command was ready for launch, and she had received no word yet as to when that would be. Natarle could only sit back, watch the days go by… and pray for an answer to her questions, along with the safety for the people that were now officially her enemies.

"Mu," she said softly to herself, struggling to hold back tears, "please, be safe. I love you… I just don't know what to do. I'm sorry…"

….

**(Start "Ephemeral Dream")**

Winding his way through the bushes, Eric finally emerged in the clearing that Shemei had asked to meet at. It was a secluded area in the capital's main park, one that in the past had been a favorite hangout spot for the two of them and Waltfeld and Aisha; it was a place that, when they were younger, they had gone to from time to time to kick back, pop open a few beers, and relax without a care in the world. It was also removed from any surveillance, one of the main reasons he knew she had chosen this place.

Shemei was already there, of course; she had been the one who had arranged the meeting, and Eric had expected her to be there first. She wasn't just standing by idly, though; the Valkyrie was in midst of a practice routine with her saber, her blade moving almost too fast for the Field Marshal to follow.

Eric knew that his dearest friend loved fencing and sword fighting, and had seen her practice and spar a few times. It was always an incredible thing to watch; she was leagues beyond any of her peers, and her moves were swift and graceful.

Her performance now was no exception as far as skill went, yet it was different from what he had witnessed before. Dressed in a white button up t-shirt and a black skirt, her long purple-black hair tied up in a pony tail, she was bathed in moonlight filtered through the colony's massive windows, and it gave her blade an elegant gleam, scintillated in the drops of sweat on her brow. Shemei's attacks, blocks, and parries all flowed together seamlessly, an elegant sword dance the likes of which Eric had never seen before. It was beautiful…

…_she _was beautiful.

Her eyes were closed, yet Eric was sure that she was aware of his presence. She continued her exercise under his gaze, weaving circles and figure eights through the air with her saber. She would balance on the tips of her toes or on the back of her heels, on the edge of losing her footing yet at the same time completely in control, as if she were a performer walking a tightrope. There was not an instant of hesitation or second guessing as she transitioned from one sequence to the next; her moves were guided by pure instinct, yet at the same time there was method to them, and not a single strike or parry was out of place or mistimed. Shemei had a perfect balance of speed, power, and grace in her blade work, and while Eric was nowhere near the expert she was in the art, he knew that this was her best swordplay yet.

It was incredible, awe inspiring… but the sword dance also had a tragic feel to it. Eric felt as if Shemei was abandoning herself to her swordplay in an attempt to exorcise inner demons, trying to find some way to relieve a sense of sorrow that had fallen upon her. When she had called Eric she had not mentioned specifically why she'd wanted to meet, but the 'Wolf of the Far East' had a feeling he already knew the reason. He would, of course, let her tell him what had happened, but if the news he had received earlier that day from his allies in the Secret Service was correct, then Eric was sure he already knew what she was about to tell him.

His heart went out to her, unable to imagine the burden she was struggling under now, wanting to do something, _anything_, to help her. The affection that had been growing within him over the past months now felt stronger than ever, and he knew that the only thing that it could be now was love. He had fallen for his dearest friend, and he would deny it no more.

He continued to watch as Shemei continued her practice routine. Her pace built, her already swift movements becoming even faster, more precise. Yet there was also a sense of frantic energy to them, as if she was accelerating her performance to a crescendo, hoping against hope to purge the doubts that assaulted her heart and mind through physical action.

Her performance became more acrobatic as she leapt into the air, performing a series of wide slashes as she curled into a back flip. Shemei came back down to the ground and landed with the catlike grace Eric had come to expect from her, an instantly moved into one final, ferocious series of cuts and thrust, releasing the last of her pent up energy. Eventually she began to wind down, going into one last sequence of parries before finishing up with a final stab at where her foe's heart would've been.

Shemei then sheathed her saber before turning to Eric. She smiled slightly, but there was little joy behind it; her gleaming silver eyes were full of pain. She reached up with her left hand undo the hair tie, letting her purple-black hair fall freely. Her light brown skin glistened with drops of sweat, but to Eric they did nothing to detract from her beauty.

"Eric," she said softly, "I'm… I'm glad you came."

"Shemei," he replied, walking up to her, "of course I came. I will always come when you call, you know that."

She nodded. "Yes… you always do. You've always been so dependable… I don't know what I'd do without you… especially now."

Eric put his hand on her shoulder. "Shemei, why did you call? What's happened?"

Her smile faded. "I would've thought you'd already know, Eric."

"I think I have an idea," he said, "I've heard a few things. Still, I want to hear it from you."

Shemei nodded. "Of course." She looked down for a moment, and when she turned to face him again he saw her struggling to hold back tears. "Eric… Zala's had my parents arrested."

There it was; confirmation of what he had learned just hours ago. Foreknowledge, though, did not make hearing Shemei say it any easier, especially not when she looked so despondent. Her beautiful silver eyes, normally burning with life and energy, were now windows into a soul in agony. She was a warrior confronted with a foe she did not know how to fight, a maiden of the battlefields who could not face down her enemy without forfeiting the lives of her mother and father.

"Shemei…" he said softly, struggling to figure out what else he _could _say. Even though he had learned of the arrests before she had called, that had not made it any easier to prepare for meeting her face to face when she broke the news herself. All he could do was keep his hand on her shoulder as she spoke again.

"Zala didn't name charges," she said, "he just called me to HQ and informed me that they had been taken to Charon Prison, to be held indefinitely." Her voice took on a low growl as she continued. "Bastard was smirking the whole time… I wanted to take my knife and jam it right in his neck."

"I can't blame you for that," Eric replied, "Shemei… I'm so sorry. I'd heard about it just before you called. I… I was still trying to figure out how to tell you when you contacted me."

She nodded, and gave him a sad smile. "I figured as much, Eric. I don't blame you at all… Christ, you've done so much for us, for _me_; you've put yourself in grave danger… I know you've been doing all you can to figure out Zala's next move, to find a way to stop him… you offered me a way to get my parents into hiding, but my father wouldn't hear of it. Now he and mom are locked up, at Zala's mercy… but it _wasn't _your fault."

"Still," he said, looking down, "I should've done… _something_."

Shemei shook her head. "No, there was nothing you could've done about this."

They were quiet for a moment before Eric spoke again. "Did Zala say anything else?"

"Yeah," said Shemei, "he's giving me a new unit soon, one of the prototypes you've been trying to dig up info on; the ZGMF-X14A Judgment." She grimaced. "Zala may not trust me, but he still needs my piloting skills. With the threat to my parents' lives hanging over my head, he knows I can't use the new mobile suit against him, no matter how strong it is."

"Have you been given access to it yet?" he asked, "Or an assignment?"

"Not yet for either," she replied, "but it will be within a few weeks, I think. I have a feeling I know what my first target will be."

"What is it?" said Eric.

"The Chairman may be arrogant enough to think Athrun has a chance against Heero and Kira," she said, "but he's not a complete fool; he'll have a contingency plan in the works. If Athrun fails… _when _he fails, Zala will send me against them."

"What about the girls?" asked Eric.

"He didn't mention them," said Shemei, "I've been the only one on the Valkyrie Team to earn his personal animosity so far, and I don't think he's taken them into consideration yet. Besides, you already got their parents underground, so he's lost that leverage against them."

"He could still find a way to come after them," said Eric.

Shemei nodded. "I know… Eric, I want you to get them underground with Lacus; they can help Waltfeld and Aisha protect her."

"I'll do it," he replied, "but you know they won't want to go into hiding without you."

"I'll talk to them," she said, "I may not have been able to convince my parents to take your offer, but I can get the girls to accept."

"It still won't be easy on them," said Eric, "I know they'll be able to adapt to life on the run, but the guilt about leaving you behind is another matter; it'll stick with them."

"I know," said Shemei, "but they're strong; they'll survive it. Adaline will look after the other two; she has a knack for leadership." She smiled slightly. "I always thought she'd make a good commander. She'll lead them well in my absence."

"When are you going to tell them?" he asked.

"Tomorrow morning," she replied, "can you start making arrangements for them?"

"No problem," said Eric, nodding, "though I won't have to do much other than call Waltfeld; he'll take care of the rest."

"Still," said Shemei, a weak smile on her face, "thanks, Eric. Knowing the girls will be safe… that means a lot to me."

"I know how much you care about them," said Eric, putting both hands on her shoulders, "Shemei, I swear I won't let Zala hurt them."

"Eric…" she said. She looked down for a moment, and when she turned back to face him he saw that her silver eyes were struggling to hold back tears, "I know you won't… I believe in you."

A strange quiet fell between them. There she was, his dearest friend for the past six years, a woman in his eyes of unmatched valor, wit, and beauty. She was a fearsome soldier, a pilot that was practically a living legend, a daring and cunning Commander. She was a woman with a playful, mischievous spark to her, a lady who desired above all else to live, laugh, and love with the people she cared about.

Shemei Rehema was all of these things, and yet, at this moment, she was none of them. Now she was a frightened girl, whose parents had been taken hostage by someone who had already expressed vile hatred against their kind, who would kill them without hesitation or remorse. She was lost and alone, turning to the one person she felt that she could trust absolutely, who had always stood by her side even when they were thousands of miles apart.

To all others she was ZAFT's Valkyrie, but to Field Marshal Eric Bristow she was the woman he had fallen in love with… and she needed his help. She needed someone to give her comfort, solace… some form of shelter and protection against the dark night that had fallen over her life.

The 'Wolf of the Far East', a cunning strategist and tactician, a leader who always had a plan and was quick to adapt to the ebb and flow of both warfare and politics, found himself in a situation where he did not have a conscious idea about what to do. His mind had no answer to how to help the woman he loved… but his instincts did.

Slowly at first, practically unconsciously, he pulled her closer to him. Shemei's silver eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then they closed, and she leaned in to meet him halfway as Eric's lips met hers.

The kiss was soft at first, tentative, both of them excited and nervous that the other might break it off at any second. After that first moment though the realization hit; they finally knew how the other felt about them. Eric put his hand behind Shemei's head and pulled her in, the fires of passion finally coming to the surface.

Shemei's response was swift and fierce. Fueled by a combination of despair at her situation and desperation for hope, she wrapped her arms around Eric's neck and pulled him to her as the kiss deepened. Their mouths opened slightly, tongues meeting as they explored where they had been longing to go, finally granted permission to do so.

The two of them stayed that way for as long as they could, until finally the need for air forced their lips to part. They did not let go of each other though, and after brief gasp for oxygen they plunged back in for more, this time without any hesitation. Eric felt as though his body was on fire, the fierce passion burning inside him, and his response to it was to hold Shemei tighter than he'd previously thought possible, pressing his lips to hers so hard that it was almost painful.

Eventually their lips parted again, though they still held each other close. As his eyes opened Eric saw Shemei's do the same, a fire unlike any he had ever seen before gleaming in her sliver gems. There was still pain there as well, sorrow at the situation of her parents… but there was also life, passion… _love_.

Neither of them spoke for a minute or two, both coming to grips with what they had just done. Eric felt himself smiling; he was almost giddy with the heat that burned within him. He'd thought she'd felt something, was almost sure of it… and now he had proof. He felt a little selfish, thinking that while Shemei's parents were essentially held hostage by Zala, but he couldn't help himself.

He saw that Shemei was smiling again, and while the pain did not completely leave her face, there was also affection and adoration in her expression.

She was the one that broke the silence. "Eric… how long have you…?"

"Felt this way about you?" he finished for her.

She nodded.

"I first realized I felt something… more…" he answered, "when you came back to the capital, after North Africa. It still took a little time to realize exactly what it was. At first I thought it was just relief that you had made it back alive, and that I was simply happy to see you again. But really, now that I think about it… I probably fell for you a long time ago. I was just unable to see it. Maybe I was worried about what would happen to us if I made a move… I don't know."

She leaned forward and kissed him again, a brief one compared to their previous lip locking. Pulling back, she smiled again. "I understand. Believe it or not… I think it was the same for me. At first I thought I was just happy to see you again, and that you'd gotten out of Asia unscathed, but… as time went on, as you started risking your neck to help us… to help _me_… I became terrified that something would happen to you. I didn't want to lose you… and I finally realized just what my feelings for you actually were. They were so far beyond the friendship we developed over the years, but I didn't realize it until a few weeks ago. Eric… I love you."

This time it was Eric that leaned in for the kiss, though again it was brief. Like Shemei had before, he smiled as he pulled away, though he still held her in his arms. "I love you too, Shemei."

They stared at each other for a moment, content to stay in each other's arms, not wanting to part. Both of them were smiling, despite the shadows that hung over them. Here, in the quiet, secluded clearing in the park, with the moonlight shining down on them through the colony's windows… it was just the two of them, and nothing else.

Still, they both knew it couldn't last forever, despite how badly they wanted it to be otherwise. They had to return to reality, to the new challenges before them… ones that Eric would face undaunted, determined to do what he could to help his people and the woman he loved.

"Shemei," he said, "I don't know what I can do now, but I promise I will find a way to save your parents. It probably won't be any time soon, but I'll find out exactly where in Charon Prison they're being held. I find out what the security measures are, who's guarding him, what their shift schedules are, when they're vulnerable… I won't let Zala use them against you like this."

"I appreciate that," she replied, "but… please, don't do anything risky. You're already putting yourself in danger by helping Lacus and her supporters covertly; focus on them for now. If we can help them remove Zala from power, then my parents will be freed."

"I'll still try to find a way to get them out," said Eric, "I'll let Waltfeld know what's happened too. Between the two of us we should be able to work something out eventually."

Shemei nodded, clearly knowing that she wouldn't be able to dissuade him. "Alright, Eric… and thank you."

They were quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "We should get going… tomorrow's going to be a busy day."

Eric nodded, and the two of them made their way towards the edge of the clearing. Slowly working their way through the bushed in order to avoid being seen by any potential spies, they eventually came to the more public area of the park.

"Shemei," said Eric, grabbing her hand. As she turned to him, he pulled her close. "Listen… I… I don't think you should be alone tonight."

Her eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment Eric thought he had gone too far. However, a familiar mischievous glint came to them a second later, and she smiled again. It was a relief to see that look in her eyes, especially considering the pain he knew she was still hiding behind them.

"I think you're right," she said, taking her free hand and caressing his cheek with it, "I could use the companionship. So… your place or mine?"

Eric chuckled, heat rushing to his face as images of what would be happening in the very near future flashed through his mind. "I was thinking mine; less chance of Zala operatives hanging around there. Plus… well, my bed's bigger than yours."

"Indeed," she said, smirking, "I guess I'll ride with you over there then; you can drop me off here so I can pick my car up tomorrow morning." She looped her arm through his and leaned against him. "Lead on, Wolf."

He nodded, smirking as well. "As you wish, Valkyrie."

**(End "Ephemeral Dream")**

….

Murrue smiled and nodded as she saw Erica Simmons heading their way. It was early morning, and the beautiful Captain was standing on the dock beside the _Archangel _with Heero, Kira, and La Flaga. The whole scene reminded her of what had happened the first time they had entered the country nearly two months ago, only now one more person was joining her two mobile suit pilots in their trip to Morgenroete's testing facility.

Murrue was surprised to see that Cagalli was with the lovely engineer as well, wearing the Orb uniform she'd had on yesterday. _She probably wants to see Kira again_, she thought, _I know those two talked quite a bit while she was on the ship with us, along with during our last stay in Orb._

She then turned over to Heero, who was nodding in greeting at Erica and Cagalli as they approached. Her guardian angel then looked over at her. "What is it, Murrue?"

"Oh, nothing important," she replied, "I was just thinking how much this reminds me of the last time we were here."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean… only the stakes are higher now, I think."

"You're right, Heero," said Murrue, "Orb will need all the help we can give them to prepare for an invasion by either the Alliance or ZAFT. I hope that they put the data you and Kira gave them to good use."

"I'm sure they did," the Gundam pilot replied, "still, if they need my expertise, I'll give them everything I've got… minus Wing Zero's data, of course."

Murrue smiled. "Of course, Heero. I can't say I blame you for that."

"Neither can I," said Erica as she came up to them, "especially considering the power it wields. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Wing Zero is the ultimate weapon in this war." Morgenroete's Chief Engineer smiled and looked over at Heero. "I'm glad Heero's the one piloting it; he's more than proven that he's capable of handling such power responsibly."

Murrue nodded and looked at Heero again. "I couldn't agree more."

The young man gave her a slight smile. "Thanks, Murrue."

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied, still smiling.

"Well," said Cagalli, smiling at the three pilots, "you guys ready to go?"

Kira nodded. "Sure… but what are you doing here, Cagalli?"

"Hey," she said, "I wanted to come with you guys today. I like hanging out with you all. You're definitely better company than my handmaidens, that's for sure."

La Flaga smirked. "So the princess doesn't like the royal lifestyle, does she?"

Cagalli folded her arms. "Took you that long to figure that out, La Flaga? For an officer you're not that sharp."

"Hey, ease up there, little lady," he replied, "I'm not the one who flew off on their own and got shot down by a transport plane."

"That was months ago," said Cagalli, "it hardly matters now."

"No," said La Flaga, chuckling again, "but I'm still gonna rub you on it."

Murrue was expecting a fiery outburst from Cagalli, but to her surprise the blond tomboy just sighed. "Alright, fine," she said, "I guess I kinda brought that on myself anyway."

"Now that we've got that out of the way," said Erica, "shall we get going?"

"Sure, why not?" said La Flaga.

"Alright," said Kira.

Heero nodded. "Before we do," he said, "there's something I'd like to ask."

"What is it?" said Erica.

"Do you have any news regarding Panama?" the Gundam pilot asked, "Other than what the messenger said to Lord Uzumi at the meeting yesterday, we don't have any idea what happened in the battle."

"We're cut off from Alliance tactical and strategic broadcasts now," said Murrue, "so we have no way to get news with the _Archangel_'s communication's suite; the Alliance has changed their encryption codes, and anything that we can get through N-jammer interference we can no longer decipher."

Erica nodded. "I see. We just received word from our intelligence service late last night; Panama has fallen. Reports are still coming in, but apparently ZAFT took heavy losses in the attack on the spaceport… and they repaid the massacre at Alaska with one of their own."

Murrue shuddered, unable to guess how many had died in the bloodbath that was implied in that statement. She felt Heero's hand gently grab her own, and was able to take some small comfort in the gesture. Murrue nodded her thanks at the young man, which he returned.

"Do you have anything else?" the Perfect Soldier asked Erica.

She nodded again. "A few things, and they don't bode well for Orb. The first is that the mass driver was destroyed in the battle; even if the Atlantic Federation retook the base, they could no longer use it to ship material and personnel into space."

"Making an invasion of Orb even more likely now," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing, "The Kaguya mass driver would allow them to regain access to space, and it's the last such facility that's not in ZAFT hands."

"Precisely," said Erica, "and I'm afraid the bad news doesn't end there."

"What do you mean?" asked Murrue.

"Just like at the Second Battle of Alaska," said Erica, "the Alliance deployed new mass production mobile suits. The ones fielded at Panama were based on the Strike, and were used on both the ground and the air. The latter units had upgraded Aile packs, allowing for sustained flight."

"All the ones at Panama were probably wiped out," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "but the Alliance will be sure to deploy more with any invasion force that comes for Orb."

Erica nodded. "I'm sure you're right, Heero. The only questions now are how many and of what types; a combined force of mass-production Strikes and Busters would be a formidable foe, even if they lacked the Phase Shift Armor of the prototypes."

"It sounds like your company's work is now more important than ever," said Murrue. She felt sorry for the lovely engineer, knowing that she was under an enormous amount of pressure to help her homeland prepare for the coming assault.

"I couldn't agree more, Captain Ramius," Erica replied, a haunted look in her eyes, "the odds against us now are even more severe. If you and your crew were not here now… I think I would've already written us off. As it is… we face an uphill battle, no doubt about that."

"The Alliance won't defeat us," said Cagalli, her amber eyes burning with determination, "we can't let them force us to join them, no matter what; Orb will remain independent."

Erica sighed. "I hope you're right, Lady Cagalli. Come, let's get going."

"Engineer Simmons," said Murrue, "If I may ask, when do you think my pilots will be back by?"

"We'll be pretty busy today," Erica replied, "but I won't overwork them; they'll be back around three or four in the afternoon."

Murrue nodded. "I see. Thank you."

She saw Heero turn to her and smile slightly. "Looks like I'll be back before your watch is over. We'll be able to have dinner together later."

Murrue smiled in return, aware of the slight flush of heat going to her face. "Yes, I'll be looking forward to that, Heero."

Heero nodded. "Likewise." He then turned to Erica. "Let's go."

Erica nodded, and she led the three pilots and Cagalli towards the exit. As they left Murrue saw Heero look back and give her one last nod, a slight smile on his face again.

Murrue returned the gesture, her heart fluttering as her eyes met his. _I'll be waiting for you, Heero. I know you'll do your best to help Orb. I'll see you later...take care of yourself._

As Heero and the others passed out of sight, Murrue turned and headed up the ramp into the _Archangel_. She had work of her own to do: going through the files Orb had sent her regarding candidates for the ship's counselor officer, figuring out how to address the crew when the time came to prepare for battle, coordinating with Orb to make sure those who didn't want to stay would be able to evacuate with the civilians, making sure the ship was properly restocked with supplies and ammunition… she was going to be busy for awhile.

….

Erica took Heero and the others to the same building they had gone to during their last visit to Orb. The Gundam pilot looked around as they entered the facility and began making their way towards the underground research and design areas, noting that very little had changed security wise from the last time he had been there. There was an increase in activity amongst the staff though, and Heero could feel a mix of tension and excitement coming from the workers. He couldn't blame them for feeling the way they did. On the one hand, Heero was sure word was already spreading about what had happened at Panama, and that it was likely Orb would soon become the target of the Alliance. On the other, the Perfect Soldier figured they were excited because of the progress they had made on their MS program since the last time he had been there.

_I wonder what Erica Simmons and her team were able to do with the data I gave them_, he thought. He figured that they had at least focused on a few of the OZ mass production suits that were in the blueprints he'd provided, though he was also curious as to whether or not they had done anything with the Tallgeese design. That unit was high spec, and would be a challenge to work on… one he suspected that Morgenroete's Chief Engineer wouldn't be able to resist.

"Quite the facility you guys got here," said La Flaga as they made their way through a long white hallway.

"This is where our most sensitive and advanced research takes place," Erica replied, "great care was taken in its construction, and it is a very large facility. The buildings up top are just for show; most of the actual structure is underground."

"It's really useful for avoiding satellite surveillance," said Cagalli, "and considering how many of those things the Atlantic Federation has in orbit, building underground was the only real way to keep our work secret."

"Quite so," said Erica as they approached the door to the primary control room overlooking the main storage hangar. She slid her ID card in a slot and peered into a retina scanner. "This way please," she said as the door opened.

The control room was much the same as it had been the last time Heero and Kira were there, though the Gundam pilot noted that there were more technicians and scientists in it than there had been during their previous visit. Several of them looked up as Erica and Cagalli led the three pilots into the room and towards the large windows overlooking the hangar, and Heero saw more than a few of them glance at him before turning to their neighbors and whispering. He couldn't make out their individual words, but their attitudes seemed to be a mix of awe and fear.

_I guess they've heard about what I did at Alaska_, he mused, _word travels fast. _

"Got a few things I'd like to show you guys," said Erica as she approached the control console at the front of the room. She hit a switch, and a set of lights illuminated three MS slots on the far wall, each with an M1 Astray in it. The Chief Engineer then spoke into a nearby microphone. "Ok, ladies, fire them up. Your favorite pilots are back; give them a show."

"Yes ma'am," three female voices replied, and Heero instantly recognized them; Juri, Mayura, and Asagi. _Should've guessed they'd be here today_, he thought, _they've been working with the M1s for quite awhile, and if Erica wanted to demonstrate how far the units have come then they're the perfect test pilots._

The white, black, and red machines all powered on and began to move. Heero was impressed to see that the three machines appeared to be operating normally now, walking around the hangar with no difficulties. They even fired off their thrusters briefly, hovering a few feet of the ground before touching back down. _I imagine they don't have true flight capabilities, at least in atmosphere_, he thought, _still, the mobility provided by those thrusters will be helpful even in surface engagements. As far as space battles go, I wouldn't be surprised if they're as agile as GINNs, or even the Strike for that matter._

After a few minutes Erica spoke into the microphone again. "Alright girls, take them back to their slots and power down."

As the three pilots acknowledged and returned their machines to their berths, Erica turned to her guests and smiled. "Well, what do you think?"

"Amazing!" said Kira, "They're operating much better than last time."

"Nice job," said La Flaga, smiling, "I can't wait to try one of those out!"

Heero simply nodded, maintaining his cool, professional image. "Well done," he said, "did you just apply Kira's OS, or did you use elements from the other system I gave you?"

"We combined elements of the two, actually," she replied, "We experimented with a few different setups until we found one that best fit the specs of the M1. Follow me, please." She headed over towards the elevator on the right side of the control room, and the others followed suit.

"Has Orb begun mass-production?" asked Heero as they entered the elevator.

Erica nodded as they began their descent. "We already have a few squads outfitted with the units, and more are rolling off the factory lines as we speak. Of course, we haven't reached the point where we can outfit the entire army with them yet; that's still a long ways off, and there's no way it'll happen before the Alliance invades. Still, it's progress. Pilot training is going well too; we certainly don't lack for volunteers now that we have a working OS."

"They're actually really simple to operate," said Cagalli, smiling, "I've done some training in them as well, and they handle great."

"Are you planning on fighting in a mobile suit, Cagalli?" asked Kira, looking a bit nervous.

"Hell yes!" she replied, "I'm not about to sit back and do nothing while my homeland is invaded!"

"Whether you fight or not is up to your father, Lady Cagalli," said Erica as the elevator reached the hangar floor, "and I sincerely doubt he'll want you on the front lines."

"Bullshit," Cagalli growled, "I'm going to fight alongside Kira and Heero, and there's nothing father can do to stop me!"

"Sorry," said Heero quietly, "but you won't be anywhere near me when the fighting starts."

"What do you mean, Heero?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"The M1 wouldn't be able to keep up with Wing Zero," he said matter-of-factly, "besides, in all likelihood I'll be directly engaging the enemy fleet, and I can't have you getting in my way."

"Hey!" she snapped, "I wouldn't get in your way!"

"So you say," Heero replied, "you still won't be on my wing. Perhaps Kira's, but not mine."

He wasn't trying to be mean, just deliver an honest assessment of the facts. There was more to it than that, though; he was well aware of the wrath that was for the moment still lying in wait in the depths of his heart, and he didn't want anyone getting caught up in the ensuing carnage should he lose control. When the time came for battle, he was planning on fighting separately from the others, and preferably in the heart of the enemy's main offensive force.

_Sorry, Murrue_, he thought, _I know how much you want to support me with the Archangel… but I don't want to risk you getting caught in the crossfire if I lose control of the Zero System. I'll do my best to avoid that, but still…_

As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he had serious doubts about his ability to keep his fury in check once the battle with the Alliance forces got underway. The sheer wrath that the Atlantic Federation High Command had earned when they had betrayed Murrue at Alaska was unlike any that Heero had ever felt before, and even the Perfect Soldier did not know if he would be able to restrain it when the time to fight those responsible for the treachery finally came. The best he could do was take steps to ensure that the woman he loved, along with his allies, were out of reach should he slip into a rampage.

Shaking his head, he turned back to Erica, who was watching the argument play out. "As I said before, Lady Cagalli, whether or not you fight will be up to your father. There's no point in discussing it right now anyways; there's something I want to show our guests."

Cagalli huffed. "Fine. I'll deal with the old man myself when the time comes."

"This way, please," said Erica, leading them off towards the far right side of the hangar. There were no lights on, but as Heero squinted he could make out a silhouette in the shadows… a very familiar one. _So she _did _work on it_, he thought, _well, this should be interesting._

They came to a halt right at the edge of the darkness. Erica grabbed a radio that had been clipped to her belt. "Alright, hit the lights," she said into it.

Everyone else shielded their eyes as several floodlights snapped on. After they had adjusted to the glare, the three pilots and Cagalli saw a single mobile suit along the wall. Kira, La Flaga, and Cagalli's eyes all widened in surprised as they took in the machine, while Heero simply folded his arms, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. Glancing over at Morgenroete's Chief Engineer, he saw that she was looking at him, clearly trying to gauge his reaction. He gave her a small nod before returning his attention to the new mobile suit in front of them. Or, more specifically…

…the new Tallgeese.

Frame wise, there was little difference between it and the original Tallgeese, and Heero was surprised to see that its blue and white color scheme was actually similar to Treize's Tallgeese II. The unit still had the high powered vernier engines mounted on the back, and a round blue shield was attached to the left forearm. The head crest was the same red vertical flare that had been on Zech's machine.

However, Heero's expert eyes quickly zoomed in on the key differences, the improvements and modifications Erica Simmons and her team had made to the original design. The dober gun had been replaced by the same type of beam rifle used by the Strike, and at its hips were a pair of Armor Schneider knives along with the standard beam sabers. On its shoulders were two green disk-like devices each, and Heero instantly recognized them as Planet Defensors. Two Vulcan cannons had been added to the mobile suit's head, and the Perfect Soldier saw several small slots along the outside of the legs; smoke grenade launchers.

"Wow," said Kira, clearly impressed, "I've never seen a mobile suit like this before!"

"Man," said La Flaga, grinning, "this is really something… I've gotta get inside that cockpit."

"Incredible," said Cagalli, "I knew we had improved the M1s… but I had no idea we'd built a whole new unit."

"New for us," said Erica, smiling, "but to someone else in this room, it's only a modified machine… isn't that right, Heero?"

The other three turned towards the Gundam pilot. "Wait a minute," said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "you mean this machine…"

"… Is from your world, Heero?" Kira finished for her.

Heero nodded. "Yes. It's called the Tallgeese, and it was the first true combat mobile suit developed in the After Colony era. However, the design was too high spec for it to be put into mass production, so a less powerful version called the Leo was created shortly afterward, and the Tallgeese was put into storage. The design was not forgotten though, and the scientists that designed it would go on to build new mobile suits based off its design; the Gundams. This machine is the base on which the units my allies and I used in our own war were built off of… including Wing Zero."

Even Erica seemed surprised at his statement. "I wish you had told me that when you had first given me the designs for it," she said.

Heero shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered; even with the Tallgeese, you still can't build a true Gundam like Wing Zero or the other machines that the other four pilots and I used in our war."

"I suppose you are right," said Erica, turning to the others, "This mobile suit is called the Tallgeese Kai. Its armor composition is not the same as Wing Zero's, so it can't use a nuclear reactor. However, we've installed a new model high-capacity battery pack, and since the machine doesn't use Phase Shift Armor its operational range is far greater than that of the Heliopolis prototypes, and it even exceeds the M1s and the MS used by ZAFT, though we can't say for certain whether or not that is also the same for the new Alliance mass-production units."

"It's still damned impressive," said La Flaga, "I don't suppose there's any chance I can give it a whirl, is there?"

Erica smiled. "Actually, I was hoping you'd ask that, Mister La Flaga. The fact of the matter is that, even with the new OS we've developed with Kira and Heero's help, we haven't been able to find a pilot capable of effectively piloting the Tallgeese Kai. As Heero said before, it's simply too high spec, too sophisticated, to be flown by just any pilot."

"What makes you think I can handle it?" asked La Flaga, "Not to go against myself, but if none of your pilots have been able to handle it, then why should I be different? I know Orb has a sizeable population of Coordinators in it; you couldn't find one to try it out?"

"It isn't a matter of being a Natural or a Coordinator," Erica replied, "as a matter of fact, members of both races have tried and failed in simulations to truly master the sheer speed provided by the Tallgeese Kai's vernier engines, let alone actual flight exercises."

"For a mobile suit like this," said Heero, "genes are not the determining factor when it comes to a pilot, especially since Erica Simmons was able to install an OS that either Naturals or Coordinators could use. Skill and experience are what matter, and you have both."

"I'm flattered, Heero," said La Flaga, looking from him back to the machine, "still, you sure about this?"

Heero nodded. "La Flaga, you yourself are one of the few pilots that are able to fight against mobile suits in a plane and come out ahead. More importantly, you were able to master the multi-gun pod system of the Moebius Zero, which takes a very advanced degree of spatial awareness, honed reflexes, and skill. You're perfect for the Tallgeese Kai."

La Flaga grinned and looked at Erica. "Well, if Heero says so, then who am I to argue? Do you mind if I check out the cockpit, start familiarizing myself with the machine?"

Erica nodded. "Please, feel free to do so. The techs will give you full access. Kira, Cagalli, why don't you stay here in the hangar for now; I know the girls are eager to give you an up close look at their own units now that we've gotten them operational."

"Hey, what about Heero?" asked Cagalli.

"There are a few things I need to discuss with him in my office," she said, turning back to Heero, "you don't mind, do you Heero?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. Let's go."

As Heero and Erica headed towards the elevator he saw Juri, Asagi, and Mayura wave at him. He gave them a brief nod before he entered the elevator. Before the doors shut he saw the three of them gather around Kira and Cagalli, looking very pleased to see the teenage Coordinator again.

"They're quite taken with you," said Erica, smiling slightly, "and Kira as well. They were overjoyed to hear that the two of you were coming today."

"I see," said Heero coolly, nodding.

"Am I to take that as a lack of interest on your part?" she asked coyly.

Heero couldn't help but smirk slightly. "They're good girls, all three of them… but my heart belongs to someone else."

"I never thought I'd hear you admit something like that," said Erica, "I don't suppose you'll tell me who the lucky woman is."

Heero shook his head. "Sorry, that's private."

"Fair enough," said Erica, "although… I have a feeling I know who that woman is. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

_She's quite perceptive_, he thought, mildly impressed. Still, he didn't feel comfortable talking about the affection he held for Murrue with Erica, at least not now. He simply shook his head again.

For her part, Erica seemed willing to let the matter go for the time being. "Alright," she said as the elevator door opened, "well, follow me."

The two of them made their way through the control room and down the halls towards the Chief Engineer's office. When they arrived she pulled a chair in front of her desk for Heero before moving to her own seat.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, "Coffee or tea, perhaps?"

"I'm fine, thanks," said Heero, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Talk and show, more like," Erica replied, powering on the computer on her desk. After a few seconds of typing she turned the monitor so Heero could see it. "The M1 Astray and the Tallgeese Kai are not the only units I've been working on; I wanted to show you what we've done with the data you've given us."

A slideshow program appeared on the screen, and the engineer began scrolling through the pages one at a time as she spoke. "The M1 will be our main ground and space unit," she said, "but it will hardly be the only mobile suit model in our armed forces. The data you gave us has allowed Morgenroete to construct a well balanced mix of MS, though production only began recently, so we don't have anywhere near the numbers of ZAFT… or the Alliance, for that matter."

"It's still better than nothing," said Heero.

"True enough," said Erica, nodding. A click of the mouse brought a familiar image on the screen. "The Aries," she continued as OZ's mainline air combat mobile suit appeared, "is in the process of being integrated into the Army Air Force. We've changed the weapon load out from the original specs; the machine gun has been replaced with the M1's Type 71 Beam Rifle, and we've also given it a beam saber as well. We managed to improve on the original engine design, so mobility is superior to the ones you fought against. The missile launcher will still be kept as an alternate weapon, and we'll have squadrons operating with units armed with both guns in order to have a well-balanced load out."

"Smart move," said Heero, nodding.

"Unfortunately," said Erica, "the Navy's been slow to modify our aircraft carriers to accommodate the units; most vessels are currently out on patrol, with only one at berth right now. I asked Lord Uzumi to recall the fleets, but he wanted them at sea as a visible deterrent. I think he now realizes the futility of that gesture though; I received word earlier that our carrier groups are coming home. Still, I doubt we'll have more than the one vessel outfitted with Aries MS by the time the Alliance strikes."

"So we'll be stuck with land-based air support mobile suits and carrier fighters," said Heero, folding his arms, "that'll restrict the reach of the Aries teams."

"Yes," Erica replied, "underwater MS are another matter, though."

She clicked and brought up the next slide, which had yet another familiar unit on it; the Pisces.

"The Navy was very quick to adopt the Pisces," she said, smiling, "we don't have any designated carrier craft for it like the Eurasian _Theta_-class submarines or the Atlantic Federation _Angler_-class escort carriers, but we are in the process of refitting several freighters to serve that role. Granted, their armaments will be poor, but they'll be operating with fleet support, and will be under escort. The vessels will carry four Pisces underwater mobile suits each. We'll also have units based in shoreline facilities."

"Any major upgrades to the units?" asked Heero.

"Not really," sighed Erica, "we did manage to improve on dive depth and acceleration by modest amounts, and we've installed our latest passive and active sensor arrays. Underwater beam weaponry is an area we've always struggled in, but we do have a prototype maser device that has been tested successfully; each Pisces is in the process of being modified to house one such device."

"How's it stack up compared to the Alliance Aqua Darts?" asked Heero.

Now the Chief Engineer had a downright predatory smile on her face. "It blows them right out of the water in all categories. Better armaments, better armor, better engine specs, superior dive depth and maneuverability… and the ability to transform between sub and mobile suit forms is a huge advantage; for an underwater MS the Pisces is remarkably flexible. If the Atlantic Federation beats us beneath the waves, it'll only be due to superior numbers, and even then we'll make them pay dearly for it."

"Good to hear," said Heero.

Erica nodded and moved onto the next image. "Tragos we're adopting as a heavy artillery platform. We're using it in both mobile suit and hovercraft forms; the latter can actually operate in the shallows, making it a very useful coastal defense unit. The armor plating has been reinforced; it can take tank rounds head on without suffering significant damage, though a concentrated barrage will still bring it down. Of course, that armor's no defense against beam weaponry. We've redone the shoulder armaments; the weapons are now two heavy beam cannons. For additional firepower the suit is also armed with a beam rifle and a variable warhead missile launcher; it can fire both surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles. Like the original, it has no close in weaponry, and its mobility is crap, even with the hovercraft configuration. Still, it packs more of a punch than our conventional artillery, and when used in combination with other units its firepower will more than make up for the fact that it's basically a heavily armed turtle."

"It sounds like you have your homeland defenses covered, then," said Heero.

"As much as we can, given the odds that we'll be up against," said Erica, "however, that's not all I wanted to show you."

The next slide that came up was not an image of a mobile suit, but a map of the L3 Lagrange point. "Heliopolis was our most well known colony and resource satellite," said Erica, "but it wasn't our only one. We actually have a larger presence out at L3 than the Alliance, though they don't like to advertise that fact; makes them look weak."

Heero nodded, his eyes narrowing as he studied the map. He had studied the blueprints of the Heliopolis colony, and on the map he saw two more colonies that were of the same design, well removed from their ill fated sister and the ruins of the Eurasian Federation Artemis Base. There were also a half-dozen smaller resource satellites, little more than hollowed out asteroids. Heero surmised that they were probably now used as bases for expeditionary craft to dock at in between trips to richer asteroids further out in the Earth Sphere.

The two colonies were highlighted in green, while the location of the former Heliopolis colony was colored red, indicating its destruction. "Morgenroete has facilities at our Elysium and Eden colonies as well, and I sent some of the data you gave us to them," said Erica. Another click of the mouse brought an image of OZ's Taurus space mobile suit to the screen.

"The Taurus," Erica continued, "is being built at those colonies, and will supplement the M1s we have in space. Though the unit lacks the shield of the M1 and has lighter armor, it is faster and more maneuverable. To be honest, apart from adding a beam saber there was very little we could do to modify the Taurus; it's already well suited to our needs. Its high mobility allows us to use it as an interceptor and long range patrol unit, and we've already begun positioning teams of them at our resource satellites for defense. Operating in cooperation with the M1s we've shipped to our space forces will increase their effectiveness."

"That doesn't help us much down here," Heero noted.

Erica shook her head. "No, but the colonies have another purpose other than simple expansion into space; they're a redoubt for the government in case our homeland is overrun. When… if that time comes, those mobile suits will be vital to protecting the people that manage to evacuate to the colonies. Elysium and Eden are younger than Heliopolis, and still have room for population growth. They can survive an influx of refugees… up to a point, anyway."

"What about those that can't take the mass driver to flee the country?" asked Heero, "Orb will want to reserve it for priority flights, after all."

Erica nodded. "Yes, you are correct. Orb has maintained diplomatic ties with the Central Asian Republics – the last non-aligned nations in Asia – and they will accept the bulk of our refugees. We have a similar agreement with Oceania, though their friendship with ZAFT complicates the matter; the Alliance would be all too eager to conquer the region… and kill any Coordinators they find there. That's why we'll be giving evacuation priority to space to our Coordinator minority; we can best protect them in the colonies."

"Until the Alliance space fleet comes calling," said Heero.

"I never said it was a foolproof plan," said Erica, sighing, "but it's all we have. The only good news is that the Alliance space forces are too busy dealing with ZAFT's fleet to pay much heed to our colonies; with the destruction of Artemis and Heliopolis, the Alliance presence has vanished from L3. That's our saving grace."

"I hope it lasts until the war ends," said Heero.

Erica nodded, and the Gundam pilot could sense the concern in her voice. "As do I."

They were quiet for a moment before Erica spoke again. "Well, that's all I really had to show you. Would you mind working in the control room with me for the rest of your time here? I could use your expertise in coordinating tests for the Tallgeese Kai and the other mobile suits."

"No problem," said Heero.

Erica smiled. "Thank you, Heero. Regardless of how high the stakes are, it's good to be working with you again."

….

"Bullshit!" yelled Lan, slamming her fist on the coffee table, "We're not abandoning you, Commander!"

She was at Field Marshal Bristow's apartment, along with Adaline and Priscilla. The three of them were sitting on the couch in the living room, while Eric and Shemei were standing in front of them. It had been mid-morning when Lan and her teammates had received the call from the Valkyrie, and they had rushed over to Bristow's place as fast as they could.

Lan and the others had listened with shock and sorrow as their Commander told them about her parents' arrest. The Chinese Coordinator had felt a righteous fury take hold within her as she'd listened, burning inside like nothing else she'd felt before. _Patrick Zala_, she'd fumed, _you will pay _dearly _for what you've done, you son of a bitch!_

"That's right!" said Priscilla, the usually soft spoken blond being unusually loud and forceful, "We're a team; we should stick together!"

"You brought us together," said Adaline, "you helped us develop our skills, forged us into the squadron we are now. There's no way we can just go into hiding and leave you to face Zala and his cronies alone!"

Commander Rehema gave the three of them a sad smile. "Girls… you have no idea how much that means to me. Training and fighting alongside the three of you, becoming friends with you, has been an incredible experience. If I could I wouldn't split us up… but this is too important; Zala will not ignore the three of you forever."

"You won't just be hiding," said Bristow, "Waltfeld has an operation in the works, and he needs skilled pilots to help him out. You three are the elite of the elite; Shemei would've picked nothing less to fly at her side. Also, you going underground will eliminate another vulnerability Zala can use against Shemei; the threat to her parents is bad enough, but having you three held hostage would be even worse."

"Eric's right," said Shemei, "your families are already in hiding, which means Zala can't use them against you. Lacus, Waltfeld, and the others will need your help if they're going to be able to find a way to remove Zala from power and end this war before it escalates into a genocide campaign. I know you don't like this, but you can do more to help me by going underground and helping the opposition movement."

Lan gritted her teeth, and she could see the others doing the same, looking down and begrudgingly accepting the fact that their Commander and the Field Marshal were right. _I hate this_, she thought, _after all the Commander's done for us, to just leave her like this… god damn it!_

Adaline was the first to speak up. "Alright, Commander. I don't like it, and I know Lan and Priscilla feel the same way… but we'll go underground, join Waltfeld and the others."

Shemei nodded, and turned towards Lan and Priscilla.

The blond European Coordinator nodded as well, resignation in her emerald eyes. "Alright, ma'am. I'm… I'm sorry we can't do more."

Shemei smiled softly. "It's alright, Pris. This isn't your fault, and there's nothing you could've done to change it." She looked over at Bristow, who put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll be alright," she said.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Lan saw the two of them share a slight smile. It was a special kind that she had seen before… from couples.

_So they actually hooked up_, she thought, _I wonder when that happened._

Shemei then turned to her. "Lan, please… I know this isn't how you'd prefer to handle things, but…"

The Chinese Coordinator shook her head, forcing a small smile as she replied. "I know, Commander. It makes me sick, having to slip away instead of facing Zala and his thugs head on… but I understand why we have to do it."

She then turned to Bristow. "Field Marshal, you're staying, right?"

He nodded. "Zala may not like my recent stances, but he still trusts me as his deputy chief of staff and a member of the Defense Council. I'll use that to forward all the information I can to you guys and find a way to stop whatever it is they're planning."

"What about Commander Rehema?" asked Lan.

Bristow's eyes narrowed, a determined look in them. "I'll do all I can to protect Shemei. I may have been unable to prevent Zala from taking her parents hostage, but that's as far as that bastard's going to get. If he does _anything _to try and hurt her, I'll kill him myself."

"Eric," said Shemei, grabbing his hand, "I appreciate the thought, but please, don't do anything reckless. I don't want to lose you."

"I know, Shemei," said Eric, "still, if that scumbag tries anything…"

Lan smiled again, confident that her Commander would be in good hands. "I'll hold you to that, sir. Protect the Commander, and we'll do our part to help Lacus and Waltfeld."

Bristow nodded. "You got it, Miss Zhao."

…

After her subordinates left, Shemei turned to Eric. "Well, I don't suppose you can give me a lift to the park; I need to pick up my car."

"In a minute," he replied, and Shemei was surprised when he gently pulled her in for a kiss. She swiftly returned it, looping her arms over his shoulders.

When their lips parted she looked into his brown eyes and saw the fires of determination and passion within them. "Shemei, I meant what I said earlier. If Zala does anything else to try and hurt you, I'll put a bullet between his eyes."

She smiled as she shook her head. "Eric, I believe you, but please, don't go that far. I don't want you to become an assassin, even if it's for my sake."

"Shemei…" he said, looking down for a moment before facing her again, "...alright. I just… I don't want him to get away with what he's done, both to you and to countless others. Back in the East Asian Federation, I had a chance to kill Zubov, and I didn't take it. Because of that, the bastard was allowed to walk free and keep killing until Heero took him down at Alaska. I don't want to give Zala the same chance, and the damage he can do is far greater than any Schwarze Team could."

"We'll take him down," said Shemei, "but we'll do it right. Eric, please… I don't want the man I love to become a murderer. Promise me you won't kill Zala unless there's no other choice."

He nodded, and gave her a brief kiss before replying. "Alright, I promise, Shemei."

Shemei smiled again. "Good. Just keep doing what you've been doing; spy on him, gather information for us, and help Waltfeld get ready to move against him."

Eric grinned. "I've actually made some big progress on that last bit. Remember that support ship I showed you awhile back? The one that was supposed to operate with the Freedom and the other new model mobile suits?"

Shemei nodded. "What about it, Eric?"

"Waltfeld's got a plan to hijack it," he replied, "and I'm helping. I've managed to access the list of personnel assigned to the dock where it's at, and I've made some alterations to it. Now several soldiers that are secretly Clyne faction supporters are on the _Eternal_, along with a couple key members of the dock security staff. When the time comes we'll be able to take the ship with little resistance; hell, I can set it up so the regulars and Zala loyalists will be off duty and off the vessel when we make our move."

"Nice job," said Shemei, "that'll be a huge blow to the radicals if you can get that ship away from them."

"It gets even better," Eric said, "three more new model mobile suits have already been moved onto the ship. They're all nuclear powered MS, but unlike the Freedom or Justice they're all the same model; the ZGMF-X08A Wraith."

"Three of a kind?" said Shemei, raising an eyebrow, "They must be meant to operate as a team."

"Not sure about that," Eric replied, "I don't know much about their intended use. However, I was able to get a key bit of information on them; they're all outfitted with Mirage Colloid systems."

Shemei whistled softly. "With nuclear reactors their cloaks would have an infinite run time… they'd be lethal in a fight."

"Provided that they could avoid getting hit," said Eric, "they still can't use the Mirage Colloid system without powering down their Phase Shift Armor. Think of them as a more heavily armed version of the Blitz that was stolen from Heliopolis. Even uncloaked I imagine they'll still be formidable machines."

"And you want the girls to fly them," said Shemei knowingly.

Eric nodded. "Exactly. I've managed to hack their schematics from ZAFT's network, and I've sent them to Waltfeld. He'll be showing them to the girls, giving them a chance to study their new machines before they have to fly them."

"Will Lacus and her father be taking part in the hijacking of the _Eternal_?" asked Shemei, unable to completely hide her concern.

"They'll have to," said Eric, "Zala's intensifying his hunt for them; we need to get them out of the capital before he finds them. With the _Eternal _they'll have a mobile base of operations, and a well defended one at that. I'm going to get one of the new GuAIZs rotated to the ship as well so Aisha will have something to fly. Waltfeld will command from the bridge; with his wounds he's not fit for MS piloting, at least until he gets a prosthetic."

"I hope he can adjust to space naval warfare," said Shemei, "It's a different animal from surface operations."

"He'll be fine," said Eric, smirking, "you know how flexible he is, not to mention crafty."

Shemei smirked as well. "Good point. I'm sure he can handle it."

"That's what I thought," said Eric. The two of them finally let each other go as Eric led the way towards the door. "Come on, let's get you back to your car."

Shemei nodded. After she had put her shoes on and grabbed her sword she turned to her newfound lover and smiled. "Hey, Eric… thank you. For everything."

"You're more than welcome, Shemei," he said. He looked down for a moment before continuing. "I know it doesn't make up for your parents' situation, but I'm glad I could do something to help ease the weight on your shoulders."

She gave him a coy smile. "You were doing more than 'easing' last night, lover boy."

He blushed at her words, and Shemei moved closer to him, putting her hand on his cheek, her smile becoming softer. "Seriously, Eric; thanks. You've always been there when I've needed you, and you made all the difference yesterday." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll never forget that."

Eric nodded. "Anytime, Shemei."

….

"Welcome back," said Murrue, smiling as her three pilots walked up towards the ship. She was standing out on the dock, the gangway lowered behind her. She gave a small nod to Erica as the Chief Engineer turned to go her separate way. It was a little past four in the afternoon, and Murrue had just ended her shift when she had seen Heero, Kira, and La Flaga approaching the _Archangel_.

"Good to be back," said La Flaga, smiling, "man, I'm beat. Think I'll go take break, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," said Murrue, nodding.

"So will I," said Kira, "unless you need me for something, Captain."

Murrue shook her head. "Go ahead, Kira. You've worked hard today, and have more than earned some rest."

As the young Coordinator and the Hawk of Endymion went up the gangway, Murrue turned to Heero. "The same goes for you, Heero; you don't have to stay up on my account if you want to go lie down for awhile."

Heero shook his head. "It's alright, I'm not really tired. I just had a meeting with Erica, and after that I helped her and her staff oversee testing for the MS they've been developing. It wasn't exactly labor intensive work."

Murrue smiled. "In that case, would you care to join me for a bite to eat?"

Heero nodded. "I was about to suggest the same thing, actually."

"Perfect," Murrue replied, "let's go."

As they entered the ship and made their way towards the mess hall Murrue listened as Heero gave a brief description of the work being done by Morgenroete's top scientists. She was impressed at the progress they'd made, especially with the construction of the Tallgeese Kai. _I never thought they'd actually build a machine like that_, she thought, _I hope La Flaga has what it takes to master it. Heero has faith in him… that's enough for me._

After they'd arrived and dished up they grabbed a table by the viewport. As they sat down they had a clear view of the dock crews as they scrambled to load fresh supplies and munitions onto the ship.

"I take it things have been busy on your end," said Heero as he glanced out before digging into his food.

Murrue nodded. "It's mostly been logistical work here. Restocking, requesting specific personnel from Orb… boring stuff, but necessary."

"Better to get it out of the way now than just before the next battle," said Heero, "this'll make it easier to prepare for the coming assault."

"Yes," said Murrue. The two of them spent a minute eating before Murrue spoke again. "Do you think Orb is ready?"

"Hard to say," Heero replied, "Even if they know it's coming, it's still not easy to prepare for an assault of the magnitude that the Alliance will throw at Orb. The new mobile suits will increase the strength of their armed forces, and we'll be able to provide a significant boost as well, but I'm sure the Alliance will be thorough in its preparation for the invasion. They may have lost any forces that were stationed at Panama, but they still have most of the Pacific Fleets at Hawaii and Midway; plenty of firepower to bring Orb to its knees."

"The sheer numbers it would take is hard to imagine," said Murrue, "It would be a massive undertaking, especially since they know by now that we're in Orb. I have no doubt they'll take the _Archangel_ and Wing Zero into their calculations when planning for the attack, along with the Freedom."

"They might underestimate that last one," said Heero, "Alaska would've been the only time the Alliance witnessed the Freedom in action, and even then it would've been at a distance, probably through drones they set up to monitor the battle and give visual confirmation of the Cyclops detonation. Sure, they might have some idea of its power, but one engagement isn't enough to truly take the measure of a machine like that. They might consider it a threat, but how much of one is another matter."

"True enough," Murrue replied, "I remember when you first saved us, when the _Montgomery _was destroyed. In that first battle, we could see that Wing Zero was strong, and that you were a skilled pilot… but it wasn't until much later that we learned just _how _powerful you really were."

"A good comparison," said Heero, "but there is a difference. Kira's not hiding what he can do with the Freedom. However, I held back with the Wing Zero for quite some time after we met. I didn't want to reveal its full power unless I had no other choice."

Murrue smiled. "I know, Heero, and I understand your decision perfectly. If the Atlantic Federation High Command had known that the Twin Buster Rifle could rival a nuclear weapon… well, I think they would've made it much more difficult for us to let you stay on board the _Archangel_. They would've been determined to drag you off to some research facility. I'm glad that didn't happen."

"They wouldn't have been able to," said Heero, "you know what I'm capable of, Murrue."

She nodded. "Yes, I do. I'm glad you're with us, Heero; we'll need you more than ever in the days ahead."

_I'll need you_, she thought as she gazed at the young man before her, _I'll need your strength, your cunning, your courage… it's the only way I'll be able to lead my crew in the coming battles. Heero… thank you._

….

The following day Heero stood in the conference room with Murrue, Kira, and La Flaga on one side of the table, while Lord Uzumi, Cagalli, and Colonel Kisaka were on the other. The Lion of Orb's demeanor was grim, and the Perfect Soldier had a feeling he knew what the nation's leader had called them there to tell them.

"Please," said Lord Uzumi, "sit down."

After everyone did so he spoke again. "This morning we received a message from the Atlantic Federation through their consulate. It was an ultimatum; Orb has one week to officially declare its support for the Earth Alliance and put its military and economic resources at its disposal."

"And if you refuse?" asked La Flaga.

The Lion of Orb chuckled ruefully. "You have to ask, Hawk of Endymion? The bulk of the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleets will set sail for Orb to commence the military takeover of our country."

"How will you respond?" asked Kira nervously.

"The way we have always responded to such messages," Lord Uzumi said firmly, "we will not support either side in their campaigns against each other."

"The envoy from the PLANTs has sent an offer of support," said Kisaka, "but we know that they would ask for our own allegiance in return; it would be the same as accepting the Atlantic Federation's offer."

"At least you won't have to worry about an attack from ZAFT," said Heero, "with the losses they've suffered at Alaska combined with the forces they're using to hold Panama, they won't have much left that they can use in an invasion of Orb."

"That's the only bit of good news in this mess," said Lord Uzumi, "The hour of decision is upon you all. We will not demand that you stay and help us fight the Atlantic Federation's invasion; whether or not you do so is entirely up to you."

"We're staying," said Murrue, her brown eyes burning with resolve, "I will inform my crew of what has happened, and give them the chance to evacuate with your civilians, but the _Archangel _will remain to help defend Orb. We owe you that much, and we will not stand by while the Alliance drags you into this war."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "count us in."

"I'll do all I can to help," said Kira, "Orb has the right to remain out of this war, and I'll fight to protect its people."

Everyone then turned to Heero, who nodded. "I'm in," he said, looking over at Murrue and smiling slightly, "I haven't come all this way just to cut and run now."

Murrue smiled at him in return before turning back to Lord Uzumi. "You have our answer then," she said, "we will fight against the Atlantic Federation invasion."

Lord Uzumi smiled. "Thank you, all of you."

Kisaka and Cagalli bowed their heads in gratitude. When they looked back up, Cagalli smiled. "With you all on our side, we'll make the Alliance wish they'd decided to leave us alone."

Kisaka seemed more reserved, but didn't say anything that would dampen the Orb princess's optimism.

Heero, for his part, had mixed feelings. One side of him was already preparing for the coming battle, thinking of possible strategies and outcomes in the same calm, analytical manner that had helped define him as a Gundam pilot. His determination to protect Murrue was in there as well, and he vowed once again to do whatever it took to keep her safe.

However, a small part of him was not nearly as cool, professional, or noble. The beast that was the wrath lying in wait in his heart stirred, as if testing the chains that bound it. For the most part, Heero was determined to keep the beast at bay, to prevent his fury and desire to make the Alliance pay for their betrayal of Murrue at Alaska from taking control of him.

But part of him didn't want to hold back the flame of wrath, the beast of vengeance that was now eager for blood and battle.

Part of him…

… wanted to unleash it.

**Preview for next time!**

_The Atlantic Federation launches a massive attack against the nation of Orb. Murrue takes the Archangel into battle in support of the Orb military, with Heero and the other pilots flying into the fray. The Gundam pilot attacks the largest part of the enemy armada head on in an effort to blunt the offensive. However, over the course of the fighting, the wrath that has slowly been burning in the back of Heero's heart comes to the surface, and he begins to lose himself to the Zero system. As he rampages across the battlefield, Murrue come up with a desperate plan to save the young man she's fallen in love with from himself. Meanwhile, Zala moves in force against Siegel Clyne and his daughter in the PLANT capital, and a violent raid kills the former chairmen and forces Waltfeld to accelerate his plans to challenge the radicals. Next time, on 'Journey to a New Battlefield', Episode Seventeen: Wrath of the Perfect Soldier._

**Author's Notes: **Phew, glad that's done, I was really struggling to find a good place to end the chapter, hence the insane length. Sigh, really got to work on that in future! On a brighter and unrelated note, went to Sakura con in Seattle this weeked, and it was a blast! My cosplay was Lelouch from Code Geass, and I must say it's one I pulled off quite well.

As always, please review, I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions after this chapter. I'll do the best I can to answer, but if it involves a major spoiler then all bets are off. Sorry, but that's the way I'm playing this.

Take care my friends, and see you next time!


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes: **Hey, long time no see! Ok, seriously, I'm sorry this took so long. Roughly the first half of this chapter is content that I cut from 16, because that one was already ridiculously long… so now 17 is also ridiculously long as a result! Yeah, pretty sure I have a problem with chapter length… I'll TRY to make 18 shorter, but no promises.

Anyway, there's a lot more going on in here besides the big battle; hell, the invasion of Orb actually doesn't kick off until the second half of the chapter! I know most of you just want to get to the big action scenes, but trust me, all the other content is just as important as the explosions, as hard as that might be to believe!

Also, usual warning; have a couple hours set aside before you start reading, along with provisions. You're going to need them…

Disclaimer again: I don't own Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed, Sunrise does. There, now scram, lawyers!

Also, song list for the chapter, in order of appearance, for those of you who care about such things: "The Wings of a Boy Who Killed Adolescence", "Use the Cloak of Darkness", and "Legend of Zero – XXXG-00W0" from the Gundam Wing soundtrack, "If There Were Any Other Way" from Soul Calibur Three, and "Anna Ni Issho Datta No Ni", performed by See-Saw, from Gundam Seed.

Thanks for all your patience and support.

Enjoy!

**Episode Seventeen: Wrath of the Perfect Soldier**

Down in the _Archangel_'s hangar bay, Murrue stood in front of her crew, with Heero at her side. It had been three days since Orb had received the Alliance's ultimatum, and preparations for battle had been almost nonstop ever since then. There hadn't been time to properly address the crew… until now.

Murrue had had difficulty in preparing for her announcement and what she was about to ask of her crew. She wanted to let them all go and evacuate with the rest of Orb's citizens, but she needed as many people she could get that were familiar with the _Archangel _to operate the warship during the coming battle. This was why she would ask for volunteers; she would not force anyone to stay, but would still ask for the support of any willing to brave the coming battle. Murrue was nervous to say the least, and she struggled to maintain a calm image in front of the people assembled before her.

"Murrue," she heard Heero say quietly. She turned to him, and he gave her a small nod. "It'll be alright. All you have to do is tell them what's at stake, what the situation is. After that it's their call as to whether or not they stay. You're doing the right thing; don't doubt yourself now."

She smiled, his words giving her a considerable boost in confidence. "Alright, Heero."

Murrue then turned to her crew and cleared her throat before speaking. "Everyone, I would like to begin by thanking you all for everything you've done since our sudden departure from Heliopolis. Our voyage hardly took place under ideal circumstances, and we were in near constant danger, with the enemy hounding our every move. Throughout our journey you have all performed your duties far beyond anything I could've asked for. Your courage and strength never once faltered, although it was severely tested time and time again." She then smiled. "Serving as your Captain has been an honor and a privilege… the greatest of my career. No commanding officer ever had a better crew; of this I have no doubt. I am both proud and humbled to have been given the chance to journey and fight alongside you all."

Murrue then bowed her head. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your bravery, your sacrifice… for all you have endured and struggled through. None of us wanted to go to war, but you all fought with the courage and tenacity of true soldiers. You have my sincerest gratitude."

She closed her eyes and was silent for a moment, reflecting on all that had happened since the destruction of Heliopolis and their journey across the Earth Sphere. _We were unprepared, untested_, she thought, _but we survived. None of us made it through unscathed, whether it was physically or emotionally, but we managed to keep this ship in one piece against all the odds, and suffered minimal casualties. That's a win in my book… though I wish _everyone _had made it here._

Raising her head and opening her eyes, she saw the assembled men and women before her smiling, and she knew her words had given them a sense of accomplishment, of pride. It felt incredible to see them all like that… but not any easier to continue her announcement, to ask what she was about to ask of them.

Murrue sighed. "I had hoped that, with our arrival in Orb, we could at last find sanctuary from the fighting that has gripped our world. I wanted nothing more than for us to be able to sit back and take a breather, a reprieve from this war. We fought so hard, only to be betrayed by our own country… I wanted you all to find the peace and safety in this land that you have so dearly earned."

"Unfortunately," she continued, "though we have abandoned the war, it has not abandoned us. Three days ago Orb received an ultimatum from the Atlantic Federation; they are to join them in their fight against ZAFT within one week or face an invasion." Her eyes narrowed. "Our homeland…no, our _former _homeland seeks to take control of this country that we have sought shelter in, and to add its resources to their own to wage their campaign of genocide."

A collective gasp went up from the crowd, and the pride that had been on their faces earlier was now replaced by shock and fear. Murrue couldn't blame them; to the Atlantic Federation they were now considered traitors, and if they were captured by their former homeland the only thing that awaited them was death.

"I have spoken with Orb's leadership," said Murrue, "and I have committed the _Archangel _to the defense of Orb when the time comes; Lord Uzumi refuses to accept the Atlantic Federation's ultimatum. I believe that Orb's path, though perilous, is also the right path, and I will do all I can to help them in the coming battle."

She then gestured to the extraordinary young man at her side. "Heero has volunteered to stay and fight as well, along with Kira and Mu La Flaga. They too believe that Orb has the right to determine its own destiny, and to not bow to either the Alliance or ZAFT, not allow itself to be used by regimes whose intent is nothing less than the greatest acts of genocide in human history."

"The four of us," she continued, "have decided to fight for Orb… but I will not force you to follow us. Anyone who wishes to leave this ship and join the evacuation of Orb's citizens is free to do so; you need only to tell me, and I will pass your names on to the Orb government so that they can provide you transport and shelter when the time comes. No one will think less of you, least of all myself; I believe that you have all fought and suffered far more than should ever be asked of anyone, and you deserve a chance to escape this war."

Murrue paused for a moment to catch her breath before speaking again. "This is an important decision for all of you, and I urge you to give it serious consideration. As I said before, I will not force you to follow me into battle against our former comrades… but I will ask for your assistance, nonetheless. I never thought I would say this of our homeland before, but the Atlantic Federation has long ceased to be the great nation we originally signed up to protect. It has become a regime whose sole intent is to kill an entire race of people simply because they were born different, because their genes were altered while they were in the womb. It regards any nation that does not stand with it as an enemy, including neutral countries like Orb. The Alliance will not stop with this land; they will conquer the entire world before turning their might against the Coordinator homeland in outer space."

"There are those among ZAFT," she continued, "who hold a similar mindset when it comes to Naturals; that we must all be killed. However, like those in the Atlantic Federation I believe these extremists are in the minority, and that most of the Coordinators want peace, just like we do. Unfortunately, just like in our former homeland, the extremists who seek genocide are in power, and both sides are escalating this war to the point that the outcome may well end up being the mutual destruction of both races… and the death of humanity itself."

"Orb," said Murrue, "stands against the radicals in both the Alliance and ZAFT. Its leaders seek to bring a peaceful resolution to this long, brutal conflict before it consumes us all. The ideals of this nation, a land where Naturals and Coordinators have lived together in peace since before the start of this war, may be the last slim hope this world has to end the fighting before it destroys everything and everyone. I will do all I can with the _Archangel _to preserve that hope… and to that end, I ask for your help once more. I ask you to lend me your strength and courage in the struggle ahead; you know this ship better than anyone else in the Earth Sphere, and in your hands its effectiveness in battle cannot be matched."

Murrue then gave her crew a soft smile. "But as I said before, I will not force you to commit yourselves to this struggle, especially given the odds against us. Three days have passed since Orb received the Atlantic Federation's ultimatum; in four more the deadline will come and go, and the Alliance fleet will set sail. From there it will only be a matter of days until the invasion begins."

"Think hard over the next four days," she continued, "again, for those who wish to leave, no one will think any less of you; you all have endured far too much already, and have earned the right to leave this war behind. However, please do not make your decision in haste; take your time over these next four days to do so. You are more than welcome to leave, but your continued service on this ship could make the difference between ending this war with humanity still alive or consumed by the fires of hatred. For those who choose to stay, I can only offer my sincerest gratitude and the slim hope that, with the help of Orb and others throughout the Earth Sphere who are willing to risk their lives for peace, that we may yet save mankind from destroying itself."

Murrue then saluted her crew. In light of the fact that they were no longer truly military personnel such a gesture might have seemed unnecessary, but Murrue was not doing so out of protocol. Rather, she wanted to give her crew one more acknowledgement of all that they had been through, and how much their continued support would mean to her. "That concludes my address. You are dismissed."

….

Heero had watched Murrue throughout her speech, admiring the strength and conviction with which she had addressed her crew, how she had explained her decision to help defend Orb and pleaded her case to the assembled audience. She had been calm yet passionate, and had made it clear that whether they would support her decision and stay or evacuate with Orb's civilians that she was both proud of them and grateful for all that they had done. She was unwavering in her beliefs and determination, but would not force others to follow in her footsteps, and had reassured them that she would not hold anything against those who no longer had the will to continue fighting.

In a way, it had reminded Heero of hearing Relena's speech during her coronation ceremony as Queen of the World Nation. However, while his friend from his old world had spoken with the purity that came with the lofty ideals of the Peacecraft family, Murrue had been much more down to earth, addressing her crew in a way that was both an honest appraisal of the situation and a simple appeal to do what they felt was right. Both women had spoken to the hearts of their audiences, but while one had the air of youthful yet regal idealism, the other had an aura of maturity and humility, a simple kind of grace and decency, and above all the determination to fight for what she believed was right.

_The total pacifism of the Peacecraft family was held as the ultimate of ideals in my old world_, he thought, _but I could never truly embrace it, no matter how much Relena may have wanted me to. Murrue, though… she understands that sometimes the only way to bring about peace is to fight, to battle for her beliefs and for what's right. In this kind of situation with the two major powers hell bent on the annihilation of countless innocent people, negotiation and an appeal to their hearts will not be enough to stop them. The only way to truly end this war is to fight and defeat the extremists who cannot accept the existence of those they see as their enemies. I don't think it's something Relena could ever truly understand, but Murrue does, and she's willing to risk her life, to have blood on her hands, in order to protect the innocent and do all in her power to end this war. _

It spoke to the courage and strength Heero so admired in Murrue, the willingness to risk her life and fight against overwhelming odds just to do the right thing. Her sense of justice and simple moral decency would not allow her to stand by and watch as her former homeland embarked on a campaign to subjugate a neutral nation and turn its resources towards the goal of genocide. She had the chance to evacuate with Orb's citizens, and Heero had no doubt that she was aware of that, but she had refused, deciding to face her enemy head on, to endure a war that was growing more brutal and monstrous by the day for the chance to bring the conflict to some form of peace that did not involve the mass-murder of countless innocent people.

For Heero, the thought of taking his leave from Orb had never once crossed his mind. If Murrue was willing to put her life on the line to defend its ideals and the hope it represented, then of course he would stay with her. He would stand by her side and support her decision, fighting for her ideals… fighting for _her_.

Heero may have been a novice when it came to matters of the heart, but there was one thing he knew for sure; one did not abandon the woman they loved, did not leave her to fight her battles alone.

As the crew dispersed Heero saw Murrue turn to him, a mixture of relief and guilt on her face.

"Well," she said, "I made my case, though I hated to ask them to even consider staying on in light of all they've been through. No one's earned a reprieve from this war more than them… but I need their help if the _Archangel _is to truly operate at peak efficiency." She gave him a weak smile. "It's out of my hands now. Four days from now I'll know how many have decided to stick around."

Heero nodded. "You did the right thing, Murrue. This is a struggle that they should only take part in if they're willing to, if they're truly committed to fighting for peace."

Her smile grew a little at his words. "Thank you, Heero. At the very least, I'm glad you're willing to fight with me."

He smiled slightly in return. "You're welcome, Murrue, though you don't have to thank me for this."

"I will anyway," she replied, "you deserve at least that much considering all you've done, especially with no real reward. Hell, you don't even draw salary like the rest of us do… or did, before we left the Alliance."

"And here I told you when we first met to consider me a mercenary," said Heero, unable to resist a small smirk, "I guess I'm pretty lousy at fighting for reward, or at least getting a contract set up."

In spite of all the pressure she was under, Murrue laughed. "That's true, though you have gotten room and board out of us."

Heero nodded, glad simply to see her laugh a little. _With all the responsibilities on her shoulders_, he thought, _it's a marvel she can even smile… I have to do all I can to help her bear that burden._

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, a mutual, silent acknowledgement of the gratitude and respect they held for each other. They were both well aware of the challenges that would be upon them in the coming days, but knew that they would not have to face them alone, that the person they cared about more than anything else would be standing right beside them, fighting with everything they had to protect them and survive to see the end of the war.

Murrue then gestured towards the hangar exit. "Well, I have to head to the dock; I know Colonel Kisaka was scheduled to bring by the new counselor officer right about now, along with a replacement XO now that Natarle is no longer on the ship. Care to join me?"

"Sure," said Heero, "it'll be good to meet them face to face."

Murrue nodded, and the two of them began making their way towards the hangar exit and through the ship's corridors towards the starboard hatch. "I've gone over the files Kisaka gave to me," she said, "and I'm impressed with their backgrounds. Still, there's nothing quite like an in person meeting to truly take the measure of someone; a personal and career history report can only tell you so much."

Heero nodded. "I hope they're up for serving on the _Archangel_; this ship never seems to draw the easy assignments."

"That's true now more than ever," said Murrue, "I know both of our new arrivals have field experience; that will serve them well in the days ahead… I imagine they will have to draw upon all of it over the course of their assignment with us."

The two of them were quiet for the rest of the way, each contemplating the near-future. Heero could only begin to imagine the kind of force the Alliance would be massing for the invasion of Orb. _I hope this nation's intelligence service has eyes on the Alliance's Pacific forces_, he thought, _and that they'll be able to get a sense of the composition of the enemy fleet. I don't like flying into a battle blind. Alaska was bad enough, what with it being a surprise attack on one base. A force needed to conquer an entire country with Orb's military might… we're going to need all the advance information we can get if we're going to stand a chance of repelling their assault._

As they exited the starboard hatch and made their way down the gangway Heero saw two women in Orb military officers' uniforms standing on the dock. One had raven hair that fell slightly past her shoulders, pale skin, and light blue eyes with a fierce, determined gleam in them. She had a lean frame, and stood ramrod straight, rigid and inflexible. Her demeanor was that of a cool professional, and the small smile she had on her face was one of proud confidence in her abilities. In a way she reminded Heero of Lieutenant Badgiruel, though he hoped that this new officer would be willing to show a greater degree of flexibility than Murrue's former XO.

The other woman had a much gentler, almost soothing feel to her. She was about the same height as her companion, perhaps an inch shorter, but her frame was more curvaceous, and taken with her relaxed, almost empathic demeanor it gave her a feeling that Heero thought would be suited to a mother. _Not that I'd know_, he mused, _I never knew my own mother. _Still, that was the feeling he got from her. Like her companion she had pale skin, but her hair was blonde and tied up in a simple bun, and her dark blue eyes seemed to radiate compassion and understanding, a considerable contrast to her companion. Her smile further accentuated that aura, and it was much more open and genuine than that of the officer standing next to her.

Both the women appeared to be in their mid-twenties, and they saluted as Murrue and Heero approached. The Gundam pilot and the lovely Captain both nodded in acknowledgement, and the latter smiled at the new arrivals. "At ease, both of you," she said.

They nodded, and while the blond woman's stance became more normal, the raven haired officer barely budged, save for lowering the hand she had saluted with.

"I'm Murrue Ramius," said Murrue, still smiling, "Captain of the warship _Archangel_. I'm pleased to meet both of you, and am grateful for your willingness to join my crew."

They both nodded, and the raven haired woman was the first to reply, holding out her hand. "I'm Lieutenant Kimi Tsukino. It's an honor to meet you, Captain Ramius. Colonel Kisaka's report spoke very highly of you."

"I'm flattered, Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue, bowing her head slightly as she shook the Lieutenant's hand, "I look forward to working with you."

The blond woman held out her hand. "My name is Dr. Claudia Monroe. In the Orb military I hold the rank of Ensign, though I'm more commonly referred to by my civilian title. It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Ramius." Her voice was soft and gentle, and Heero noted the mild British accent she had.

"Likewise," said Murrue, shaking her hand. As she let go she then looked at Heero. "And this is Heero Yuy, my best pilot."

"Wing Zero's pilot," said Tsukino, smiling and nodding at Heero as she held out her hand. Heero was surprised to see that her smile had suddenly become much more energetic than the cool one he had observed earlier. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Yuy," she said, "I've studied all the reports Colonel Kisaka was able to provide regarding your combat abilities, and I was amazed at what I learned about you. It will be a privilege to serve with you."

Heero nodded and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you," he said.

After the handshake he turned to Claudia, who gave him a warm smile as she held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Heero," she said, "your name has spread quite widely in the Orb military, along with rumors of your accomplishments. You've built up quite a reputation."

"Thanks," he said as he shook her hand, not sure what else to say in response.

As he let go Murrue spoke up. "I'm sure you're eager to get oriented on the ship, but I would like to talk to the two of you a bit in the officers' lounge. Please, come with me." She then turned and smiled at Heero. "You're free to tag along if you'd like, Heero."

He nodded. "Sure, let's go."

As the four of them headed up the gangway Lieutenant Tsukino gazed at the ship, her cool professionalism replaced by awe and excitement. "I've heard so much about the _Archangel_," she said, "I wanted to see this ship up close when you guys first came to Orb, but I was out on patrol aboard the destroyer _Yamagumo_. When we finally made port the _Archangel _had already left… I was so disappointed."

Claudia giggled a bit. "You'll have to forgive Lieutenant Tsukino; she loves ships, whether they are space going or aquatic. The more advanced they are, the better, and the _Archangel _is the most sophisticated warship in the entire Earth Sphere."

Murrue smiled. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Lieutenant. I trust it won't interfere with your duties."

"No, ma'am," she said, once again becoming calm and rigid, "I will keep my personal feelings in check while carrying out my responsibilities as your XO."

"That you can count on," said Claudia, "the Lieutenant and I have served together before, and I can assure you that she is a model officer."

"Good," said Murrue, "the personnel files said as much, but I still like to make my judgments based on meeting people face-to-face."

"An admirable quality," said the doctor, "and one that many others would do well to embrace."

_I couldn't agree more_, thought Heero as they moved through the ship, _if more people shared Murrue's outlook, her willingness to get to know others… this world would be a very different place._

They were quiet for the rest of the journey to the officers' lounge, and the trip went without incident save for a brief stop at Murrue's office, where she picked up two files from her desk. When they arrived Murrue led the group over to a table, and everyone grabbed a seat around it, the Captain laying the two files on the tabletop. Heero was on Murrue's left, while Claudia and Lieutenant Tsukino were on the other side of the table.

"As I said before," said Murrue, "I have reviewed your personnel files, but I would still like to get to know the two of you a bit in your own words before you settle in."

"Understandable," said Claudia, nodding, "may I ask why Heero Yuy is with us for this? Not that I mind, I'm just curious. Forgive me if I sound offensive."

Murrue smiled. "It's alright. I want Heero here with us because I value his insights and opinions. They've served me well in the past, and I want him to be able to form his own impressions of the two of you, ones that go beyond your files."

"I see," said Lieutenant Tsukino, looking at the Gundam pilot with renewed interest and respect, "I knew Mr. Yuy was a formidable pilot, but I was unaware that you sought his counsel for matters unrelated to mobile suit combat."

"Heero's been fighting for a very long time," said Murrue, looking down for a moment, a hint of pity in her eyes and voice, "far longer than anyone should've had to." Her voice then became stronger, with more than a bit of pride in it. "Through that he has gained an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge, and I value both as much as I do his piloting abilities."

She looked at Heero and smiled again before turning back to the two women sitting across from her. Heero gave her a slight smile in return, while at the same time feeling his face warm ever so slightly. He knew she valued his experience gained from the battles he'd fought in his old world, but to hear her say it with such pride in front of two people she had just met was something else. It felt good… better than he'd thought something so simple could feel.

Heero saw Claudia's expression actually become one of concern. "Heero," she said, "Colonel Kisaka said you were sixteen years old. That may be the age at which many soldiers have enlisted and are fighting at, but it is still in my opinion too young for anyone to be on the battlefield… and Captain Ramius's words imply that you started fighting at an even younger age. You're a former child soldier, aren't you?"

It was a question to which the woman no doubt knew the answer, but one that Heero still wouldn't answer directly. It wasn't out of disrespect or rudeness towards Claudia, but because it was something he only felt comfortable talking about with Murrue. "When I started fighting doesn't matter anymore," he said, "I know that I have to fight now in order to protect the woman… the people I care about. That's why I'm piloting Wing Zero; I'm not fighting because of my past, but because of the danger the _Archangel _faces here and now, and will face in the future."

The slip of the tongue caught him off guard. He had no problem admitting to people he knew that he was fighting to protect Murrue, but to two women that he had just met… that was another matter.

He was surprised to feel Murrue's left hand gently grab his right. It was in his lap under the table, so Lieutenant Tsukino and Claudia couldn't see what was happening. Still, there was no hiding the smile she gave him as her eyes met his. Heero nodded and gave her a slight smile in return while gently squeezing her hand in a gesture of acknowledgement and appreciation.

The two of them then turned back towards the two women on the other side of the table. The Lieutenant didn't react to what had happened, but there was a knowing look in Claudia's eyes, like she had just come to a realization of some sort. However, she kept any thoughts of hers to herself and did not comment on Heero and Murrue's behavior.

"I just want to briefly review your personal histories," said Murrue, "and then we'll get the two of you settled in. Lieutenant Tsukino, do you mind if I start with you?"

"Not at all, ma'am," she said.

"Alright," said Murrue, opening one of the files to the front page and briefly glancing at it before speaking again, "You've lived in Orb all your life, and the past two generations of your family have all served in the armed forces. Was that a major influence your decision to enlist, or were your reasons unrelated to your family?"

"It was a mix, Captain," she replied, "as the file states, I'm a military brat; the service, in one form or another, is a major part of my family's history. My mother's a Chief Medical Officer in the main Naval Hospital, while my father was a destroyer Captain before being transferred to Navy HQ and being assigned as a staff officer. I'll admit there was some encouragement on my father's part to join the military, and our family history added a bit of pressure, but I really did want to join the armed forces and protect my country." She smiled. "Plus, as you've already noticed, I like ships, and the Navy's full of them. I couldn't think of a better career path for me."

"You never considered the civilian merchant fleet?" asked Murrue.

Tsukino shook her head. "Too much paperwork, and working on a freighter just sounded way too boring. I wanted a little adventure, and the Navy provided for it."

Murrue smiled. "Fair enough. Your record's free of any major blemishes; you don't have a single reprimand on file. The fact that you have actual combat experience will serve you well here, especially considering the fight we'll no doubt have on our hands soon enough."

"I wouldn't go that far, ma'am," she said, looking down, "the 'engagements' listed in that file are encounters with pirates, who were in small boats armed with machine guns and RPGs. Against an Orb destroyer that's hardly an even fight, and certainly nowhere near the actual experience crew members in both the Alliance and ZAFT navies have now."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, "but it's still battle experience. You joined the Navy at the age of sixteen, and have been involved in no less than ten direct engagements with pirates and another five supporting missions for Special Forces units over your ten year career. There are several commendations listed in your file for keeping a cool head under fire and taking initiative. While serving as an Ensign aboard the destroyer _Shimushu _you were stationed on the auxiliary bridge and took command of the ship when the main bridge was hit by a rocket volley from a pirate ambush and your immediate superiors were either killed or seriously wounded."

"It was blind luck I wasn't among them, Captain," said Tsukino, "I had been sent to the auxiliary bridge to help coordinate with the amphibious assault teams that would be storming the pirate base under our fire-support. It was dark, and the pirates managed to strike first; damn wooden skiffs have a minimal radar cross-section. Their attack gave away their position and made them easy targets, but their opening volley did maul the _Shimushu_."

"Regardless of what you think," said Murrue, "the fact remains that you were in the right place at the right time, and you not only took command of the destroyer but managed to coordinate a counter-attack; according to the file, no less than five pirate skiffs were obliterated by fire from the _Shimushu_. Your performance was exemplary, and I'm not surprised you were promoted to Lieutenant after that engagement."

Tsukino smiled slightly and bowed her head. "Thank you, Captain Ramius."

Murrue nodded in return. "You're welcome, Lieutenant. I did note something odd though; you were offered a two rank jump to Lieutenant Commander after the battle. Why did you settle for just Lieutenant?"

"I didn't want to skip ahead, so to speak," said Tsukino, "and, truth be told, commanding the _Shimushu _was nerve wracking, and I didn't think I was ready for the responsibility of being in charge of a ship at that point; Lieutenant Commanders are frequently the COs of destroyers, and the _Shimushu _was no exception. I wanted to build up more experience before taking a crack at my own command."

"I understand, Lieutenant," said Murrue, "and I think your caution was prudent… though personally I believe you were ready for your own command at that point, judging by your performance in the battle."

Tsukino's eyes widened slightly in surprise before the Lieutenant regained her composure, and a bashful smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Captain… I'm honored by your praise."

"It's well earned," said Murrue, "now, it's been two years since your temporary command of the _Shimushu_. As my XO, you will be expected to be able to command the _Archangel _if I become unable to do so; are you prepared for that level of responsibility?"

The Lieutenant's expression became more determined, the cool confidence that she had exhibited down on the docks now back in place. "Yes ma'am," she said, "and I promise I will not disappoint you."

Murrue nodded. "I'm sure you won't, Lieutenant. I look forward to working with you."

She then closed the first file and opened the second one while shifting her attention to Claudia. "Ensign Claudia Monroe," said Murrue, "or do you prefer Dr. Monroe? I'll go with whichever one you're comfortable with."

"Actually, if you don't mind I'd prefer Dr. Claudia," the blond woman replied, and Heero was surprised to see her expression become somewhat uneasy, "I… I'm not comfortable with my family name."

"I see," said Murrue, "I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but I'd like to know the reason for that. Your file mentions you had a falling out with your family, but the details aren't mentioned."

"Of course, Captain Ramius," she said, "I don't wish to hide anything from you, especially since you're entrusting me with the mental and emotional well-being of your crew. I'll start from the beginning."

"I appreciate that," Murrue replied, a sympathetic look on her face, "Please, take your time, Dr. Claudia."

The blond woman nodded and closed her eyes for a moment before replying. "As you've no doubt read in the file, I was born in the Atlantic Federation, more specifically London. I spent my entire early life there, only leaving the city for vacation or when I headed off to college at the age of sixteen. I was a prodigy, and was accepted into the University of Cambridge. I earned my doctorate in Counseling Psychology in four years and started practicing as a therapist shortly thereafter. My patients ran a wide variety, but eventually I began to specialize in two categories; people suffering from PTSD, and victims of aggressive harassment and bullying."

"It must have been difficult work for you," said Murrue, compassion and understanding clear in her voice.

Claudia nodded, a soft smile on her face. "I won't argue with that, but it was also rewarding. I took people who felt that they had no one else to turn to and showed them that there was someone who _did _care about what they were suffering, who wanted to help them face their fears and sorrows and overcome them. I met some truly wonderful people… including my lover. His name was John Harper. He was an engineer working for a major construction company, and he had just lost three of his friends in an on-sight accident, and had barely managed to escape that fate himself. It understandably traumatized him, and as I worked with him I discovered who he was on the inside; a kind, hard working, and very intelligent young man. Eventually I found I could not maintain my professionalism while working with him; I'd fallen in love. More importantly, he reciprocated my feelings. We began a relationship… it was the happiest time of my life."

"What happened to him?" asked Murrue, trepidation in her voice.

Claudia sighed. "I accepted him for who he was, _what _he was: a Coordinator. Unfortunately, my family did not share my sentiments. Both my mother and father were very religious people, and viewed the genetic modification that went into creating Coordinators was an affront to god, that the people that resulted from it were inhuman monsters. I could never embrace their beliefs; I wasn't particularly religious to begin with, and as I grew older I became more distant from them. Still, I thought that I could change their minds. I felt that if they would only meet with the man I had fallen in love with, see just what kind of a person he was, that they would understand." She looked down. "I was a fool. A young, hopeless, romantic fool."

"No," said Murrue, shaking her head, "you were in love, and you wanted to share that love with not just your boyfriend but your parents as well. There's nothing foolish about that."

Claudia looked up and gave Murrue a sad smile, and Heero could see a mixture of pain and gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Ramius. I'm grateful for your words."

"We can stop if you'd like," said Murrue, "I have a feeling I know where this is headed, and I don't wish to make you relive something painful."

Claudia shook her head. "I appreciate that, Captain, but as I said before I don't want to hide anything from you. Anyway, one night I told my parents I was bringing John over for dinner, to give them a chance to get to know him. I was surprised at how calm their reaction was, and thought I'd have a chance to get them to like him. When I brought him over though, my father greeted us at the door… with a pistol."

"My god…" said Murrue, putting her right hand to her mouth. Her left hand, still holding Heero's right, tightened its grip.

"He shot John in the chest," said Claudia, struggling to maintain her composure, "no words, no nothing, just shot him. I grabbed him as he fell to the ground, held him close… he died in my arms, while my father just stood by and watched."

"I'm so sorry…" said Murrue softly.

Heero nodded. "As am I." The words felt horribly inadequate to him, but he didn't know what else to say.

"I appreciate your condolences," said Claudia. She took a deep breath for continuing. "After that, my father just went back into the house and closed the door. He didn't look at me, didn't say anything… he just slammed the door while John lay in my arms, a pool of his blood spreading around us. I briefly saw my mother in the doorway behind him. She looked so… _cold_, like the warm and gentle woman who had raised me no longer existed. Her eyes were _empty_, soulless blue orbs… I'll never forget that image."

"What did you do next?" asked Murrue.

"I called the police and an ambulance," she replied, "I knew John was already dead, but I still called for one anyway. I… I wasn't really operating on conscious thought at that point. My mind was overwhelmed with shock and grief, so my body just went on autopilot. My father was arrested and charged with first degree murder, while my mother was charged as an accessory; she had known what he was planning and had done nothing to stop him. They were both convicted and sent to prison; my father's serving life without parole, while my mother got a ten year sentence."

"Please do not take offense at this," said Murrue, "but I'm surprised they were given those sentences. I completely agree with the punishment of course, but given the Atlantic Federation's prejudice against Coordinators…"

"You wouldn't expect them to go for the maximum sentence," said Claudia, finishing Murrue's words, "I understand and agree with what you're saying, and take no offense from it. The British Isles may be part of the Atlantic Federation, but their justice system is not as corrupted as that of the mainland… though this was four years ago, so I'm not sure if that still applies. Anyway, the judge and jury were honest, untainted by the anti-Coordinator bias. They saw not a monster but a man who had been murdered in cold blood, and they acted accordingly. Justice was served, though of course it would never bring John back."

"I know," said Murrue sadly, "but at least he could rest in peace after that."

"You're right, Captain," said Claudia, a sad smile on her face, "wherever John is now, I'm sure it's the gentle place he wished our world could be."

"I take it you left the Atlantic Federation after the trial," said Murrue.

Claudia nodded. "I couldn't stay in the Atlantic Federation after what had happened, and I couldn't go to Eurasia either; their status as an allied state did them no favors in my eye. I needed a fresh start, and more importantly a place removed from the foolish hatreds and prejudices that had led to John's death. I had heard of the Orb Union's willingness to protect Coordinators from discrimination, and that both races lived there in peace and friendship. That was why I decided to go there."

"Did you have any friends or family in the country?" asked Heero.

She shook her head and smiled slightly at the Gundam pilot. "I had no one, Heero. I realize this sounds foolish, but when I packed my belongings and headed for Orb, I had no connections there, no one to help me land on my feet when I arrived, to help me begin my new life. It was a rushed move, and one I knew was fraught with risk, but I did it anyway. Fortunately I had saved up a considerable amount of money from my practice, so I had some resources to aid my transition. A few friends of mine also gave me some cash to help me get started. They were good people, and like me were unable to accept the beliefs that had led to my tragedy and decision to leave the Atlantic Federation. Without their help… well, my new life in Orb would've gotten off to a much rougher start."

"It still must've been difficult when you first arrived," said Murrue, "you were in an unfamiliar land, trying to make a new home and life for yourself… that couldn't have been easy."

"No, Captain Ramius," said Claudia, "though I had enough money to rent an apartment for a few months, it was difficult to find work; like I said before, I had no connections, and more importantly I had no one I could use as a reference for job hunting. I still had my resume and practical experience, of course, but it was still challenging to figure out how to set up my career again."

She smiled. "As my funds ran low I became desperate, and in that desperation I found inspiration. At the time it seemed like such a wild idea, but in hindsight I believe it was a conclusion I should've come to much sooner. As I stated earlier, one of the areas I specialized in was counseling people with PTSD. During my time in the Atlantic Federation I had helped primarily police officers and people involved in accidents, like John, but I realized that my experiences could also help soldiers. Of course, just like now the Orb Union was a neutral nation, but its armed forces still got into engagements with pirates and terrorists, and inevitably there were casualties. I decided that I could help those people by joining the Orb military as a counselor officer, while at the same time honoring John's memory by serving in the force that protected the nation that allowed Naturals and Coordinators to live in peace together."

"I can understand that decision," said Murrue, nodding, "according to your file you joined the Naval Medical Academy and quickly rose to the top of its psychology section. If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose the Navy rather than the Army?"

"A flight of fancy, you could say," said Claudia, "I've always loved the sea, and I wanted to get an assignment as a counselor officer aboard a ship, so the Navy was the natural choice for me. It wasn't anything profound or noble… I just couldn't resist the call of the sea."

"You served on several ships over the course of the last three years," said Murrue, "and your file notes that quite a few of them saw action against pirates. By now you must have considerable experience working with soldiers suffering from PTSD."

Claudia nodded. "Though naturally the ships of the Orb Navy are far more powerful than anything pirates could field, that doesn't mean all our engagements went according to plan or were easy victories for us. There were casualties on our side, fatal and otherwise, and while the medics treated the physical wounds I helped mend the hearts and minds that had suffered as much as the body. It was not easy work; soldiers go through so much more than civilians, are under so much more pressure… but I'm proud to say all my patients made improvements, were able to overcome their trauma. Not a single one committed suicide; I consider that to be the greatest accomplishment of my career."

"As do I," said Murrue, smiling, "there are so many people that never consider the emotional well-being of soldiers, never thinking that they are only human and need as much support as anyone else. However, you were able to give them that support, to help them see that someone did care about them and could help them through the worst points of their lives, and keep them from succumbing to despair."

"Thank you, Captain," said Claudia, bowing her head, "that's the highest praise I could ask for."

Murrue returned the gesture. "It's well earned, Dr. Claudia."

Claudia smiled. "My most recent assignment was the destroyer _Yamagumo_. That's where I met Lieutenant Tsukino. I've served on that ship with her for the past six months, and we've been friends since day one."

"I was glad both of us got asked to volunteer for transfer to the _Archangel_," said Tsukino, smiling as well, "I talked with Claudia pretty much every day aboard the _Yamagumo_; I think it's safe to say we're best friends now."

"Well," said Murrue, "I'm certainly glad the two of you were able to join us." She closed Claudia's file and stood up. "I think that's enough. I appreciate the two of you being willing to talk with me like this."

The two women stood up as well, along with Heero. "No problem, Captain," said Tsukino.

"Likewise," said Claudia.

"Alright," said Murrue, "Lieutenant Tsukino, if you'll come with me I'll get you oriented on the bridge." She then turned to Heero. "Could you show Dr. Claudia to the med bay, Heero?"

Heero nodded. "No problem, Murrue."

Murrue smiled. "Thanks, Heero."

"Captain," said Claudia, "when you have the time, I'd appreciate it if you would send me the personnel files for the crew; I'd like to get some background information before I begin working with them."

"Of course, Dr. Claudia," said Murrue, "I'll send you the files as soon as I'm done helping Lieutenant Tsukino settle in."

"Thank you, Captain," said Claudia, "after I've done an overview I'll compose a list of those I would like to meet with for evaluations; I don't think your crew has had any since before Heliopolis."

Murrue nodded, sighing. "That's correct, Dr., and that's something I'd like to begin correcting. I'm sure a few of them could use someone like you to confide in. I've already addressed the crew regarding my decision to help defend Orb, and have asked only for volunteers to stay aboard the ship. I'll send you a list of who decides to stay once I have it; that should be in about four days."

"Understood, Captain," Claudia replied.

They split off after exiting the lounge, with Murrue and Lieutenant Tsukino going right and Heero and Claudia going left. The Gundam pilot and the ship's new counselor officer walked in silence for a few seconds until the blond woman broke it.

"I don't suppose the Captain has a personnel file on you, does she?" she asked.

Heero shook his head. "No. Sorry, but you won't be getting any dossier on me when Murrue sends you those files."

"That's too bad," said Claudia, "Colonel Kisaka's report was thorough with regards to your accomplishments on the battlefield while he and Lady Cagalli were with the _Archangel_, but there was little info as to your psyche." She looked at him with concern in her eyes. "You said earlier that you aren't fighting because of your past, and while I do believe you I know it's not that simple. The motivations you have for fighting now may be focused on the present and the future, but the morality and emotions that guided your decision was shaped by your past experiences... and I imagine many of them were very traumatic."

"I fought and survived," said Heero coolly, "that's all that matters." He wasn't trying to be rude to the doctor, and he could tell that she wanted to understand him in order to help him, but the ground she was treading on was something that he only felt comfortable talking about with Murrue.

"Survival isn't everything," Claudia countered, "and I have a feeling you know that as well as I. I may not know where you're from or what you went through in your past, but I know how to read people, and I can see that your past has left its mark on you, and in a big way. You carry yourself with the calm confidence of a battle-hardened soldier, and your strength and courage is obvious to anyone who looks you in the eye… but there's far more to you than just the mind and body of a seasoned fighter."

She stopped in her tracks, and Heero turned around to look at her as she continued speaking. "In my time with the Orb Navy I had patients who, outwardly, looked to be the picture of emotional and mental health. But there was something in the way they held themselves that spoke of hidden burdens that they were carrying, though of course it was impossible to know the details without speaking to them. Still, in a way I could sense the severity of the psychological wounds they were trying to hide… and your own scars run deep. Something terrible happened to you, beyond the battles you took part in over the years, something that marked you in a way that simply growing up and fighting as a child soldier, while traumatic enough in and of itself, could not. When I look in your eyes I see the same calm strength that everyone else who's encountered you has witnessed and respected, but behind that there's pain and guilt the likes that they could never imagine, the likes that I've rarely seen in the people I've worked with."

Claudia walked up to Heero and put her hands on his shoulders. The Gundam pilot was slightly taken aback by her action, but he did not push her away. He simply looked into her eyes, and thought they were a different color than Murrue's he still saw the same incredible compassion that the beautiful Captain had within hers.

"I know that we have just met, and that it's natural for you to find it difficult to trust me as such with information about your past, especially that of a tragic nature," she said, "but please, give me a chance to try and help you. What you say will not go beyond the two of us; I give you my word.

Heero shook his head. "Dr. Claudia… I appreciate your willingness to try and understand me, to help me deal with my personal issues. You're right in that something terrible did happen in my past, something beyond the many battles I fought… but it isn't something I can talk about with you. I'm sorry."

"Can you talk about it with anyone?" she asked, "Heero, it's not healthy to keep pain bottled up, especially something so traumatic; talking about it with someone is the best way to overcome it."

Heero smile slightly, remembering that night a few months ago, when Murrue had come to his room while they were journeying through the Red Sea… when she had comforted and supported him after his nightmare about the little girl and her dog. When she had listened to his tragic tale, had held him close as she reassured him that he was not a murderer, that she did not blame him for what had happened that night two years ago, did not believe he was a monster with the blood of innocents on his hands.

"Dr. Claudia," he said, "there _is _someone I feel comfortable talking about it with, and I've already done so. I told her everything that happened, and her comfort and support did a great deal to help me manage the pain and guilt."

It was true. While Heero still hadn't been able to bring himself to forgive himself for what had happened that terrible night two years ago, talking with Murrue, being held in her arms while she had expressed her belief that he was not a murderer, that he was a good man who had made a terrible mistake, had made living with the memories of the tragedy more bearable. He was still haunted by what had happened, but the nightmare, which had been a semi-regular occurrence during the Eve Wars and the beginnings of the new peace, had not visited him since that night they had been journeying through the Red Sea.

_It's because of Murrue_, he thought, _I know that I can talk to her about what happened that night, about the pain and the guilt that I still carry from it, and she won't judge me for it, never would. She accepted what I did, believed that it was a mistake, and wanted to give me peace and solace, shelter from that nightmare. I know that she still does, would still be willing to if I asked… that means more to me than I could ever find words to express, and I'll never be able to truly repay her for it._

Claudia smiled at his words, and there was a hint of mischievousness to it. "You said 'her', Heero. I don't suppose you'll tell me just who the woman you're speaking of is?"

Heero shook his head. "No, sorry."

"It's alright, I understand," she replied, a knowing look in her eyes, "I'd wager it's the same woman you're fighting to protect, but I won't press the issue." She removed her hands from his shoulders, her smile softening as she did so. "Still, if you ever need someone else to share what happened with, another perspective, please do not hesitate to come see me."

Heero nodded before he turned around and started walking again, Claudia right behind him.

….

Murrue smiled as she watched Lieutenant Tsukino introduce herself one by one to the rest of the bridge crew. _She seems more personable than Natarle_, she thought, _though her demeanor is disciplined and rigid, she's making more of an effort to be friendly. I think she'll be alright with us. _

That being said, Murrue still wished she had her old Executive Officer. While it was true that Natarle's no-nonsense, by the book attitude had caused her to clash with Murrue on several occasions, the Captain knew that her former Lieutenant was an extremely competent officer in her own right, and while Murrue did not doubt Lieutenant Tsukino's abilities she knew that it would take the Orb officer time to truly acclimatize herself to the _Archangel_. Natarle, on the other hand, had already had most of the ship's features, major and otherwise, committed to memory even before the attack on Heliopolis, and her accrued experience with the new warship over the course of their journey meant that she had been well suited to helping Murrue lead the crew both in and out of battle. The Captain had also appreciated Natarle's willingness to argue with her to a degree, as it allowed her to see alternate viewpoints and to have a more complete picture when making her decisions. It was true that her more humane instincts would always win out over military regulations, but she had still taken her former XO's advice into consideration before issuing orders.

_Natarle_, she thought, _wherever you are, I hope you're doing well. I can take some comfort in the fact that you left Alaska via the mass driver, meaning you're in space now and that there's no chance of us fighting against you when the Alliance invades Orb. We may not have always seen eye to eye, but I bear you no ill will; you were a superb second-in-command, and an excellent soldier. I'm glad I had the chance to serve with you._

As she looked on as Lieutenant Tsukino began familiarizing herself with her station down in the CIC she heard the familiar sound of the bridge doors opening behind her. Looking over her shoulder she smiled as she saw Heero come up to her chair. "Is Dr. Claudia settling in ok down in the med bay?"

Heero nodded. "Since the _Archangel _departed Heliopolis without a full medical staff compliment there's plenty of room in there for her to set up shop. I think she's going to convert one of the offices into a private interview room for when she starts seeing patients."

"That's good," said Murrue, "there's a few people on this ship that I think could use a good one-on-one session with her."

"Who'd you have in mind?" asked Heero.

She looked down at the CIC, where Miriallia was chatting with Sai. "Miriallia Haw for starters," she said quietly, "I know it's been almost two months since Tolle died, and she seems to be doing better, but I'm still a little worried about her. Kira's return did wonders for her emotional state, but I still think some time with Dr. Claudia would help her; I don't think she ever really talked about Tolle's death with the other Heliopolis students, though I'm sure they tried their best to comfort her."

"Will you order her to see the doctor?" asked Heero, "Or will you ask Dr. Claudia to approach her and invite her to the med bay for a talk?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," said Murrue, "I might end up ordering Miriallia to see her. I've heard from the guards down in the brig that she's been visiting the prisoner on a regular basis, and while their chats have been friendly I'm worried about what talking to that young man might be doing to the wound in her heart; we did capture him in the same battle that Tolle died in, after all. However, the guards have reported that both Miriallia and the Buster's pilot seem to cheer up considerably when they talk to each other, so perhaps my fears are misplaced."

"Speaking of the prisoner," said Heero, "have you heard anything from the Orb government about transferring him back to ZAFT?"

"Only that they're having difficulty making an arraignment with the PLANT consulate," said Murrue, "apparently Lord Uzumi has asked repeatedly that they take the boy, but the PLANTs keep pressing for Orb to align with them rather than simply take the Buster's pilot back."

"That's stupid," said Heero, "Orb's trying to return an experienced pilot to them at no cost to ZAFT and they're wasting the opportunity by trying to press them into joining their own genocide campaign."

"I agree," said Murrue, "if this keeps up I'm sure the Orb government will allow the Buster's pilot to join the evacuation of the country's Coordinator minority. Granted, they might have him under surveillance since he won't be going back to his homeland, but it'll still be better than being locked away in our brig."

"What about the Buster?" asked Heero, "Has the Orb government expressed any interest in it?"

Murrue nodded. "We're handing it over to Morgenroete for study; we have no pilot for it, so it's just wasting space in our hangar."

"Maybe they'll be able to adapt the OS and find someone to fly it in time for the invasion," said Heero.

Murrue smiled. "That'd be a great help, no doubt about that. Ultimately that's their call though; we have no say in the matter."

"You're right," said Heero. He glanced down at the CIC, where Lieutenant Tsukino was running checks on the _Archangel_'s weapons. "Do you think Lieutenant Tsukino is up to filling Badgiruel's shoes?"

"I think she'll be alright," Murrue replied, "She has prior experience in this sort of role, though the _Archangel _is a much larger ship than the destroyers she's served on in the past. It'll take some time for her to familiarize herself with its workings. Still, by the time the battle comes I think she'll have a solid handle on the ship's capabilities. The crew's another matter; it'll take her longer before she'll be able to know instinctively how to act with them on a personal level, at least when we're not in combat. Still, I think she'll settle in with them eventually. So far she's been very polite with them, so that's a good start."

Heero nodded before looking out the forward viewport, his expression thoughtful. "How do you think Badgiruel would react to the battles at Alaska?"

Murrue sighed. "I don't know, Heero. I'm sure she would take issue with our own actions in the first battle… but I don't think she would've approved High Command's decision to sacrifice us and the Eurasian Fleet just to destroy ZAFT's forces with the Cyclops system. Natarle's mindset is to follow orders and regulations no matter what, but she does have a conscience. I think she would've been shocked by the High Command's actions and outright horrified at our forces' conduct in the second battle; Natarle would never condone such a massacre."

"But she may well still serve those who issued those orders," said Heero quietly.

"Yes," Murrue replied, "despite their monstrous actions, the High Command is technically the lawful authority for all Atlantic Federation soldiers, and I don't know if Natarle could bring herself to openly defy their orders like we did. I'd like to think that ultimately her conscience would win out over her sense of duty, but… I don't know, Heero. All we can really do right now is hope that, wherever she is, we won't end up fighting against her, and that she won't be put in a position where she's ordered to carry out a massacre."

_That would devastate her_, Murrue thought, _along with La Flaga. I can't begin to imagine how they must feel, knowing that they're now on the opposite side of the person they love._

The two of them were quiet after that, both caught up in their own thoughts. Eventually they were interrupted from their musings by the radio officer. "Captain," he said, "we have a message from Cagalli. She said she wants to meet with you down on the dock; she'll be there in five minutes."

_I wonder what she wants_, thought Murrue. "Alright," she said, "tell her I'll be waiting for her."

She then turned to Heero. "Well, care to join me?"

Heero nodded. "Sure."

The two of them left the bridge and made their way to the starboard hatch. As they exited the ship Murrue could see Cagalli approaching in the distance, wearing her usual red t-shirt and khaki pants. The Captain and the Gundam pilot descended the ramp and waited at the bottom as Cagalli came up to them.

"Thanks for meeting me Captain Ramius," said Cagalli. The blond tomboy then turned to Heero and smiled. "Hey, Heero. I guess I should've expected that you'd be with her." She then turned to Murrue, and the Captain thought she saw a knowing look in her eyes before the girl's expression became more serious.

Murrue looked at Heero out of the corner of her eye and then back to Cagalli, an odd thought running through her head. _Does she suspect how I feel about him? _It was certainly possible. Though Murrue hadn't outright stated her romantic feelings for Heero to anyone else other than La Flaga, she knew that she acted differently with him than other members of the crew, and that people like La Flaga would eventually notice. She was far more informal with Heero, and there were plenty of times where she had allowed a hint – or more than a hint – of her affections for the Gundam pilot to come to the surface even when they were in front of others. The fiery princess may have had a temper, but she was also intelligent and insightful when she wanted to be, and Murrue wouldn't have put it past her to notice something when she was in a calmer state of mind.

She put the musings out of her mind for the moment and focused on the reason why Cagalli was here. "It's no problem, Cagalli. Is there something you need from me?"

"Sort of," Cagalli replied, looking down for a moment, clearly trying to gather her thoughts.

Murrue smiled again in an effort to put the young lady at ease. "Cagalli, there's no need for nervousness or formality with me. After all we've been through since North Africa you don't need to hesitate if you need something from myself or the _Archangel_. Please, tell me what's on your mind."

Cagalli nodded. "Alright then… Captain Ramius, I'd like to join the crew of the _Archangel _again when the battle begins. I want to pilot the Skygrasper and fight with you guys to defend my country!"

Murrue was surprised at her request, and she saw Heero's eyes narrow a bit in response to the Orb princess's words. "With Orb's M1s now operational," he said, "along with the other mobile suits they've brought online, you could do a lot better than the Skygrasper as far as a fighting platform, and you could get those either from the military or Morgenroete. Why come to us?"

The proverbial light bulb clicked on in Murrue's head. "It's your father, isn't it? Lord Uzumi doesn't want you to take part in the battle."

"That's right, Captain," she replied, "My father wants me to remain in the command center with Kisaka and the generals to help coordinate our defenses with the fleet admirals, but I know he doesn't need me for that. It's true that I helped lead some of our actions while I was with the Desert Dawn, but a resistance group is very different from the Orb military. More importantly, I fought on the front lines with the Desert Dawn; I never sat back and issued orders from the rear. It's not what I'm good at; I'd be useless in coordinating our defenses, and my father knows that!"

"Cagalli," said Murrue, giving her a soft smile, "your father wants to protect you. He knows that the coming battle will be far more dangerous than any you've fought in before, and he's very much afraid that your participation will mean your death. He wants his daughter to be safe and removed from the fighting; any father would. Besides, you are not just his daughter; you're his successor, the heir to Orb's most powerful noble family. The governance of the nation and its future rests upon your family's shoulders, and your father wants to ensure that you will be alive to lead the country when the time comes."

"Safeguarding the line of succession is common sense for any nation," said Heero, "otherwise there's the very real possibility of internal conflict over the right to rule. Orb is a nation with only a limited democratic system; the ultimate power lies in the aristocracy. Therefore having a surviving blood family member is the key to a smooth transition of power. If you are lost in battle Orb's noble families will begin jockeying to position themselves as the future rulers of the nation; your father will not live forever, after all, nor will the brother he's using as a puppet ruler. If Orb is to survive beyond the Alliance invasion it must have a united ruling body; an internecine fight amongst the nobility could destroy the nation even if it wins the battle."

"But none of that matters if we _lose _that battle!" said Cagalli, "We need every fighter, every combatant we can get, and while I may not be as good a pilot as you or Kira I can still hold my own in a battle, and you know that! Plus I have prior experience with the Skygrasper, and with La Flaga now training on the Tallgeese Kai you have no one else with the necessary skills to pilot that fighter aboard the _Archangel_. I'm the natural choice, and you know that. Please, let me pilot it; let me _fight_!"

Murrue sighed, her thoughts conflicted. It was only due to Lord Uzumi's generosity that the _Archangel _had been allowed to enter Orb and take refuge there in the first place, and if the ruling aristocrat had forbidden his daughter from taking part in the coming battle then Murrue was uneasy in acting against that decision. She knew that Heero's points on protecting the line of succession and preventing infighting amongst the ruling families were valid; such a power struggle would weaken the country and make it even more vulnerable to foreign forces than it already was.

However, Murrue could not deny Cagalli's argument; she was experienced with the Skygrasper, having flown it in three battles, and with La Flaga having switched over to the Tallgeese Kai the jet fighter was now sitting idle in the _Archangel_'s hangar bay. Of course, it would be no trouble for Murrue to contact the Orb military and request that they transfer one of their own fighter pilots over to man the aircraft, but they would still need time to acclimatize themselves to the plane and get a feel for how it handled when compared to their own jets.

There was logic in favor of both the girl's argument and her father's decision, but in the end it wasn't logic or rationale that helped Murrue make up her mind. It was the look in Cagalli's eyes; her two brown gems were filled with passion and desperation, and they were pleading with Murrue for the chance to let her fight, to let her fly to protect her friends, her family, and her country. It was unprofessional as Captain for Murrue to let herself be swayed by emotional appeals… but then again, much of her conduct throughout the _Archangel_'s journey had been unprofessional, and yet it had allowed her to command her crew more effectively and helped her lead them through their perilous voyage. In the end, Murrue knew she was a woman that made her decisions with her heart; logic and reason were valuable aids, but in the end she acted on her emotions.

She glanced over at Heero again, a small smile on her face. _Just like you, Heero… I think I may have embraced your own path for living even before we met. I certainly have over the course of our time together, and I'm not going to change that now._

Murrue returned her gaze to Cagalli and nodded. "Alright, Cagalli, I'll allow you to pilot the Skygrasper."

The girl's eyes widened as a big smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Captain Ramius! I promise I won't let you down!"

Murrue smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about letting me down, Cagalli; with your bravery and determination I know you'll fight well. However, I want you to understand this now; you will not have free reign to do as you like. If you're going to fly the _Archangel_'s last Skygrasper, you will do so under my orders. No breaking off and ignoring orders like you did during our passage through the Indian Ocean, understood?"

Cagalli nodded, her stance becoming a little more rigid, her facial expression more serious. "Yes, Captain; I promise I'll obey your orders."

"It's not just me you'll have to listen to," said Murrue, "depending on the situation, I may have you flying on La Flaga's or Kira's wing; if that happens, you'll be taking your cues from them."

"What about Heero, ma'am?" she asked, "I flew with him during that battle at Orb's border, and we worked well together."

"That's true," said Murrue, "but that battle will seem like a minor skirmish compared to the assault the Alliance will mount, and I want Heero to be able to fly without distractions… and that includes a wingman in this case. Please don't take offense at this, Cagalli, but you would only slow him down in the coming battle."

While Murrue still wanted to be able to support Heero, she knew that he had experience in fighting against such massive forces, and that he had done so in the past often without a partner of any kind. More to the point, though Cagalli's skills as a pilot were solid, her abilities were nowhere near Heero's league. If Cagalli flew with Heero into the thickest of the fighting – which Murrue had no doubt was where the Gundam pilot would head – the young man would doubtlessly end up worrying about the Orb princess and be unable to unleash his full piloting skills. _I know those two have argued occasionally_, she thought, _but it's clear to me that they've also developed a kind of friendship, similar to the one Heero has with Kira. He would keep an eye on her during the fighting, and that sort of distraction could prove fatal given that Heero will likely engage the largest concentration of enemy forces he can find._

"Murrue's right," said Heero, "Cagalli, you're a good pilot, but you don't have the same kind of experience that I do. It's true that when you fought with us in the past the forces arrayed against us were always superior in numbers, but the coming battle will not be like those engagements. This will be a clash of fleets, air wings, and armies, and that's a very different animal from the fights you were in with us. I have experience with precisely that sort of thing though, and it's not just from the First Battle of Alaska."

Cagalli nodded, and Murrue was surprised to see her accept the Gundam pilot's words in a calm and dignified manner. "You're talking about the war you fought in your old world… I understand, Heero. I wish it were otherwise, but you're right; I don't have that same kind of experience." She then smiled slightly. "I may have been able to keep up with you in that battle at the border a few months ago, but I'm pretty sure that you were holding back then, as you no doubt have for most of your fights in our world."

She then turned back to Murrue. "Alright, Captain, I'll stick with Kira or La Flaga, or do whatever it is you order me to."

"Good," said Murrue, "also, I'd appreciate it if you could keep this little arraignment of ours to yourself; I'm pretty sure your father would not approve of it."

Cagalli smirked. "You're right there. He doesn't need to know until I'm already in the air; easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, right? Do you think I could go to the hangar and get some practice in on the Skygrasper simulator? It has been awhile since I've flown that fighter after all, and I want to sharpen up my skills as much as I can before the battle."

"I think that's a good idea," said Murrue, "You can start right away."

"Great," said Cagalli, nodding. With that she turned and made her way up the gangway and into the ship.

Murrue and Heero remained on the dock. The Captain turned to the Gundam pilot. "What do you think?" she asked.

"It was your call," said Heero, "not mine."

"Come on, Heero," said Murrue, smiling, "give me something more than that."

He smiled slightly in return. "I think you did the right thing. It's true that Lord Uzumi has the right to refuse to allow his daughter to fight on both personal and political grounds, but Cagalli's an able pilot, and we'll need as many of those as we can get for the coming battle. Besides, I could see as well as you her desire to protect the people she cares about, along with her country. She has more than just the ability to fight; she has the will, and a reason."

"My thoughts exactly," said Murrue, "plus… well, I couldn't refuse her when I saw the passion with which she argued, her determination to fight. I think I acted on my emotions in my decision more than logic and rationale."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Murrue," Heero replied, that slight smile still on his face.

"No," said Murrue, nodding, "there's not. I know that's the philosophy you live by, and I think it's the right one. We can't just be ruled by cold logic and calculation; we have to decide with our hearts. Otherwise we're little more than machines, and human lives get reduced to mere numbers and statistics."

_Like the Atlantic Federation High Command_, she thought, _of course, there's more to it than that. Their hatred of Coordinators is certainly not the result of cold logic and calculation; it's an emotional response. However, the way they so whole-heartedly embrace it and think nothing of sacrificing countless numbers of their own soldiers in order to fulfill a campaign of genocide is nothing less than the vilest of evils. It's almost as if they've taken the philosophy that Heero and I live by and have so horribly corrupted it as to be unrecognizable. The emotion they act on is hate, and when logic and calculation are mixed with it the result is twisting an army and a nation for the sole purpose of the greatest act of mass-murder in human history._

"Murrue," said Heero, breaking her out of her thoughts, "are you alright?"

Murrue realized that she had tensed considerably during her internal monologue; her brow was furrowed in concentration, her stance was stiff, and her hands had become balled into fists. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before smiling at the Perfect Soldier, who had a concerned look in his eyes. "I'm ok, Heero. I just… got a little wrapped up in my thoughts there for a moment."

Heero nodded in understanding. "Come on; let's get back aboard the ship."

"Right," said Murrue, "I should return to my post."

As they headed up the gangway Murrue unconsciously found herself sidling up to Heero and taking his hand in hers. The Gundam pilot looked at her and smiled slightly, and though Murrue blushed a little upon realizing what she had unknowingly done she did not let go, and in fact gave his hand a squeeze.

_If I keep thinking about the Alliance or ZAFT's campaigns I'm only going to get myself worked up. That's not healthy for me, especially not now, and it might cause Heero to worry; he's a very perceptive young man. I don't want to distract him; he needs to focus just as much as I do._

She was still grateful for his concern though, yet another sign of the compassion that lay beneath Heero's calm and cool demeanor. Murrue smiled as she glanced from Heero to the blue stone of the necklace he had given her months ago during their time in North Africa. She had worn in proudly since the day he had given it to her, even in settings where it might have been wise to hide such a thing, like the meetings with Orb's leadership or the debriefing with the Atlantic Federation High Command. _Such a little thing_, she thought, _but it's become a symbol to me; a token of his selflessness. He always puts others before himself, especially me… when we get some time together, when we don't have a massive battle looming on the horizon, I want to return the favor. It's the least I can do for him… and he's earned a great deal more than that. So much more…_

….

"It's already been five days," said Vice-Admiral Vickers, leaning back in his chair, "With all due respect, Lord Azrael, at this point I do not think Orb will accede to our demands. There hardly seems to be any point in waiting for the final two days to go by."

The two men were sitting in the main conference room of the Pacific Fleet HQ at Pearl Harbor. It consisted of a large circular metal table in the middle of the room, with a large screen along the far wall, which currently displayed a map of the Pacific theatre of the war.

"I never expected Uzumi to bow to our will in the first place," said Azrael, "he's a stubborn and arrogant man, and I imagine those traits have grown considerably with the arrival of the _Archangel _and its mobile suits in his country. He probably thinks we can't touch him now."

"He's in for a harsh lesson then," said Vickers, "one that I do not believe we should delay in giving him. We should set sail at once, my lord; all the ships of the armada have arrived, and all the new mobile suits have been loaded onto the carriers and transport planes. We're ready to attack."

"_Our _fleet is ready, true enough," said Azrael, "but it is not the only armada that will be launching against Orb. The Chistaya Partiya Krovi is in the final stages of its preparations for their coup d'état; they will make their move at midnight tonight. They will need these last two days to take and consolidate power in Moscow and the wider Eurasian Federation, and to prepare their own fleet for the coming invasion."

"My lord," said Vickers, "the Eurasian's offensive fleets were all but wiped out at Alaska. The handful of ships that managed to escape will hardly be of any help to us in our invasion, nor are they needed."

"Their _offensive _fleets were destroyed at Alaska," said Azrael, smirking, "but their home fleet remains intact, and the CPK has pledged its full support for our invasion of Orb."

"I thought they would be using that fleet in the Mediterranean for the landings in North Africa once Rear-Admiral Bernard begins his invasion of the continent," said Vickers, raising an eyebrow.

"Only a single task force will take part in that operation," said Azrael, "the bulk of the Eurasians' contribution will be several of their reserve divisions invading through the Caucasus and Asia Minor. That will leave plenty of ships for them to send to aid our offensive. Their carriers will not be outfitted with mobile suits, true, but the sheer numbers of planes they carry will still be an asset for our attack."

"Can we count on the CPK to commit the fleet?" asked Vickers, unable to completely hide his skepticism despite knowing he ran the risk of earning Azrael's wrath, "It is their last naval defensive force, after all; they would be loath to leave their homeland defenseless."

"It is a gamble that the CPK knows is necessary to make in order for us to win this war," said Azrael, smiling, "the current government in Moscow lacks the will needed to take such a risk, but our comrades in the CPK have the necessary backbone and daring. You needn't concern yourself with the Eurasians, Vice-Admiral; I can assure you that their forces will be ready. They will not be able to join us in time for the initial assault, unfortunately, but they will make it shortly afterward, and they will be the guarantee of our victory over Orb. Even with the _Archangel_, Wing Zero, and that new mobile suit, Uzumi's forces will be unable to withstand the fleets arrayed against him. Even if they are not defeated in the first round, they will be worn down sooner or later, and when they have expended the last of their energy we will finish them off."

Vickers nodded, the Vice-Admiral's doubts put at ease for the most part. However, there was still one lingering concern in the back of his mind. "What about… _those _three? Will they be ready in time for the invasion; they'll be an important part of our spearhead, after all."

"You're referring to the Biological CPUs?" asked Azrael, raising an eyebrow.

The Vice-Admiral nodded. "Forgive me, my lord, but I have concerns about their reliability in a combined arms operation; their psychological profiles made several mentions of instability. I understand that the three machines are ready; would it not be easier to rewrite the OS and have three veteran pilots fly them instead of those… _things_?"

"The Biological CPUs are our secret weapon in our fight against the Coordinators," said Azrael, "and they've been training extensively with the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider for quite some time now. They're the best pilots we have, and certainly the most qualified to fly those three machines."

"But I need soldiers that will follow orders," said Vickers, "and those three boys have a flagrant disrespect for any authority!"

"They respect _my _authority," said Azrael, his eyes narrowing, "and they will be operating under my direct orders in any case; you need not concern yourself with them, Vice-Admiral."

The Vice-Admiral felt otherwise, though he would not say so in front of Azrael. The senior officer had supported the Biological CPU program, and had full faith in the concept, but the three pilots that had been drawn from the operation to pilot the second generation GAT-series prototypes were another matter.

The Biological CPU Program, which was also referred to as the Extended Institution, was a joint venture between OMNI Enforcer and Blue Cosmos. Its purpose was to modify humans on biochemical and mental levels so that they could achieve the same efficiency in battle as the hated Coordinators. It was not a volunteer program; the only 'candidates' had entered it as children, the vast majority of whom were war orphans or just urchins nabbed off the streets. No one cared about them, and no one would miss them; they were the perfect test subjects.

Despite the fact that the project was based upon altering humans, it had not meant the same vehement opposition that the creation of the Coordinators themselves had elicited from Blue Cosmos. The given and accepted excuse for this was that they were altering humans that had already been born rather than still in the womb, and that the modifications were not genetic but biochemical and mental. To an outside observer the whole enterprise would still stink to high heaven of hypocrisy, but true believers like Vickers and Azrael saw no such philosophical or ethical issues with the program. There was also no concern given for the test subjects. The children and adolescents involved in the project were expendable, and in any case those that died did so for the noblest of goals; destroying the Coordinators and advancing the human race as a whole.

The three subjects that had been selected as pilots for the second generation GAT-series prototypes were part of what was referred to as the First Stage Biological CPUs. In another sense, people like Vickers and Azrael viewed them as proof-of-concept prototypes, units to be used, tested, and refined in order to arrive at a production model. In addition to their physical modifications and alterations to their brain chemistry, the First Stage Biological CPUs had undergone an extreme program of mental conditioning designed to erase their sense of fear and instill a hyper-aggressive mentality in combat.

A key ingredient in turning these once-normal humans into super soldiers capable of matching the Coordinators in combat was the drug called Gamma Glipheptin. While it generated the boost in mental processing power and reaction speeds needed to match Coordinators, the drug was a highly experimental cocktail, and had severe drawbacks. For starters, its duration was brief, and the performance enhancements it provided barely lasted long enough for the pilots to fight in standard tactical engagements; prolonged combat was not possible. As the performance boosters wore off the pilots would begin exhibiting withdrawal symptoms which would quickly escalate into crippling seizures, incapacitating the pilots. The violent withdrawals had the potential to be fatal if new doses of Gamma Glipheptin were not administered quickly, leaving the pilots utterly dependent on the drug. This was not a downside to Vice-Admiral Vickers or his like-minded comrades though; quite the opposite, in fact. The Biological CPUs addiction to the drug would ensure their loyalty; after all, without it they would die in short order.

The Vice-Admiral did want the duration of the drug to be expanded to allow for longer combat sorties by the pilots, and he knew that research into the matter was already underway. A new concoction would by no means be ready in time for the invasion of Orb, and he doubted that one would be viable by the end of the war, but it didn't matter to him. Prolonging the drug's effects was in the end a matter of curiosity for him; it would have its applications in the future, but for now there was little point in concerning himself with it.

There were other downsides to the Biological CPUs that did warrant his concern, though. The main one was the decrease in the pilots' mental stability, causing them to act with little regard to discipline in battle. They were less trained soldiers and more like loose cannons, and though their knack for violence was a useful tool, it was also one that had proven difficult to harness and direct in training exercises. They had little respect for concepts like chain-of-command, combined arms tactics, and keeping formation; once let loose on a battlefield, their only concerns were destruction and proving their superiority to their fellow pilots, to the point that a vicious rivalry had developed between them.

_The only authority they'll obey without question is Lord Azrael_, fumed Vickers, _they'll completely disregard any orders I give them, meaning the lord must be present at every engagement they fight in. This exposes him to danger, all the more so with menaces like Wing Zero and that new model mobile suit running amok._

There was little Vickers could do about that problem for the time being though; he needed the Biological CPUs for the invasion of Orb, thus necessitating Lord Azrael's presence on the battlefield. Of course Azrael himself had no complaints on the matter; having three super-soldiers utterly loyal to him was a major boost to his ego, not to mention the fact that he personally wanted to witness the conquest of Orb and the destruction of the Coordinator lovers.

He nodded at his leader. "I understand, my lord."

"Good," said Azrael, "in any case they will not be operating aboard your flagship; they'll be with me on the carrier _Powell_, while you'll be commanding from the _Clinton_."

_Any vessel with Lord Azrael on it will automatically be viewed as a flagship itself_, Vickers thought ruefully, _this will complicate the chain of command. Any orders I issue from the Clinton will have to be routed through the Powell for Azrael's approval; it's inefficient!_

Still, there was no choice but to go through with it; it was the plan Azrael had come up with and decided upon. The only benefit from it was that the fleet would not lose both its leaders if one ship was destroyed, though the loss of Lord Azrael would be a much bigger blow to the Atlantic Federation as a whole than the death of the Vice-Admiral.

There was little chance of either flagship being destroyed in Vickers' eye though; both would be towards the rear of the fleet, with Azrael's ship the furthest back and under the heaviest possible protection. Vickers' carrier would be closer to the front, but even then there was little chance of it being destroyed by enemy action. _Not even Wing Zero will be able to penetrate that far into the fleet's lines_, he thought with supreme confidence, _the force we've amassed surpasses any other in history, including ZAFT's Operation Spitbreak armada; our overwhelming power will neutralize Wing Zero long before it can threaten either flagship!_

Wing Zero had been designated as a top priority target, along with the new model mobile suit that had shown up at Alaska. Lord Azrael had made it clear that he wanted both units captured, though if that proved impossible he would settle for their destruction. The two machines had demonstrated their true power quite clearly at Alaska, and Vickers could not deny his desire to get his hands on the units, a feeling shared by Azrael and the high echelons of Blue Cosmos.

However, there was another target that was rated as even more important than Wing Zero and the new mobile suit, and this one _had _to be captured at all costs; the Kaguya mass driver.

It was an objective that Azrael had been sure to remind Vickers of at every opportunity, and he did so again now. "Vice-Admiral, our loss of the Panama mass driver is already having an effect on our forces. The shipyards at L2 and the moon are now relying solely on resources from our colonies and asteroid mining operations to continue their work, and the construction of the new fleets is suffering as a result. We need to reestablish a connection with outer space as soon as possible, and Orb holds one of the keys to doing so."

He looked Vickers in the eye as he continued. "We need the Kaguya facility, Vickers. Above all else, your primary concern in the coming operation is to capture Orb's mass driver intact." Azrael then smiled wickedly. "In fact, you could say that your own survival is tied to that of the mass driver. Do you understand where I'm going with this, Vice-Admiral?"

_All too well_, he thought grimly, the gunshot wound on his right shoulder aching as memories of that humiliating meeting after the First Battle of Alaska surfaced in his mind.

He nodded. "I take your meaning perfectly, Lord Azrael. I promise you that the Kaguya mass driver will be captured."

"Good," said Azrael. The leader of Blue Cosmos then turned to the map displayed on the screen, studying it thoughtfully. "Orb has a large population of Coordinators residing within it. We'll need to hunt them down as soon as we've secured the country; we cannot let such an infestation remain to taint our pure and blue world."

"Agreed," said Vickers, "the CIA has already begun compiling lists of known Coordinators living in Orb; they will be running the cleansing operation as soon as we've taken the nation. Special hunter units are already being prepared as we speak; they'll lead the regular forces in flushing out the rats and dealing with them."

Azrael grinned. "Excellent. I trust they are preparing similar measures for our African campaign?"

"I believe so," said Vickers, "though you would have to speak to Rear-Admiral Bernard; you did make Africa his responsibility, after all."

"True," Azrael replied, "I'll contact him later on then."

The Blue Cosmos leader then pressed a button on the keypad built into the table, and the image on the screen changed from the map to schematics of three unique mobile suits, along with pictures of their pilots. He smiled as data on the machines and the Biological CPUs began scrolling under the images.

"The second generation GAT prototypes and our super-soldiers," he said, "our invasion of Orb will be the perfect final proving ground for them. The data we collect from the battle should help us iron out more of the trouble spots in the program; perhaps we'll finally be able to go into a limited production run."

"Regardless of that, the feedback we receive from our pets will prove useful," said Vickers, smirking, "and with this war ravaging the planet we don't lack for sources of new candidates. The Lodonia facility's latest sweep was particularly successful; our supply of test subjects now surpasses five-hundred."

"That's good news," said Azrael, "especially considering the rate at which we run through them."

"We're on the cutting edge of human advancement," Vickers noted, "the experiments for the biochemical and mental enhancements run outside normal scientific conventions; a high mortality rate was inevitable given the risks involved in the program."

"Losses do not matter," Azrael replied, "so long as the final products meet our needs. You're not going soft on me, are you Vice-Admiral?"

"Hardly," Vickers replied, "the subjects were little more than gutter rats when we picked them up; their prior existences scarcely counted as lives. The Extended Institution will give these rejects purpose, and if they are not strong enough to survive the enhancement project, that just means they're not worthy of the honor we're bestowing upon them. Their sacrifices will mean mankind's survival and advancement as we spread our dominion across the stars."

The fates of the children and adolescents picked up by the program really did mean nothing to the Vice-Admiral. To them they were the same as any tool or weapon; they were to be tested and used until they were no longer fit, then discarded. The sentiments were echoed by his fellow officers on the High Command, along with both the higher echelons and the rank-and-file of Blue-Cosmos. The program's body count, which had already surpassed the two-thousand mark when it had crossed its one year anniversary, was irrelevant; if millions of the pathetic street urchins and war orphans had to die in order to produce a perfect super-soldier, then so be it. What mattered was the end result; ethics and morality were for the weak, and they had no place in the war that raged across the Earth Sphere.

Azrael nodded in agreement with Vickers' words. "Precisely, Vice-Admiral. Our predecessors were unwilling to make such sacrifices, which is why the Coordinator threat has been allowed to grow, why those abominations were able to gather enough strength to wage war against us in the first place. We have spent years trying to correct their failures, and only now are we on the verge of doing precisely that. The old expression remains as true now as it did centuries ago; 'one cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.' If we have to kill a few thousand adolescents in order to create the super-soldiers that will spearhead our new offensive against the Coordinators, then so be it; it's a very small price to pay for such a grand goal."

Azrael then stood up and walked over to the conference room window, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked out at the setting sun. "We are fast approaching the final stage of this conflict," he said, "it is now only a matter of time before our cleansing fire purges the Earth Sphere of the abominations mankind so foolishly created at the start of this era. We will rectify our past mistakes, and once we've exterminated the last of the Coordinators we can once again focus on expanding the greatness of humanity. We will push further out into the solar system and surpass the exploits of the first Coordinator; our new explorations will put George Glenn to shame. Pure, untainted humans will be the ones to conquer the final frontier… and Blue Cosmos will lead the way."

….

His hands clasped behind his back as he looked out at the setting sun, Lord Uzumi let out a sigh. Six full days had passed since the Alliance had delivered its ultimatum to Orb, and the seventh was drawing to a close all too quickly.

_My reply to their demands was as adamant as it was final_, thought the Lion of Orb as he watched the orange-red light of the sunset reflect off the ocean surface in the distance, creating the marvelous vista that he had come to love observing at the end of his work days, _and they were no doubt what Azrael expected. He spent the whole week building up his fleet, and the Alliance forces didn't even try to shoot down our recon drones as they entered Hawaii's airspace. The Atlantic Federation _wanted _us to see the armada they have amassed to attack our country, of that I am certain. Their hubris grows by the day… and they have every right to be so confident._

The hourly intelligence reports he received were sobering to say the least. The force that the Atlantic Federation was amassing to invade Orb surpassed even ZAFT's Operation Spitbreak armada, and with the new mobile suits they had developed their advantages were multiplied considerably. Lord Uzumi had every confidence in his own military, but against the might of the Earth Alliance his own fleets and armies seemed wholly inadequate for the monumental task of defending their country against the coming onslaught.

Still, the Lion of Orb was nowhere near ready to throw in the towel, and would not change his mind in the final hours before the deadline passed; Orb would never submit to a foreign power under his rule, whether it be the Alliance or ZAFT. More importantly, he would not allow his nation's resources to be utilized for the greatest organized campaigns of mass-murder since the Second World War, and he would die before becoming an accessory to such atrocities. Orb would stand and fight against the evil that was posed to consume it; there would be no surrender, no subjugation.

Lord Uzumi knew that his stance, and that of his supporters, would put his own people in considerable danger, and his government was already acting to preserve the safety of the people. Shuttle flights were launching from the Kaguya mass driver hourly, taking the nation's considerable Coordinator minority to outer space. Thousands had already been evacuated, but there were still so many left in the country, and the Lion of Orb was afraid that not all of them would make it out of the nation before the battle began. Orb's Natural citizens were beginning to evacuate as well, though with time still left before the passing of the deadline the exodus had been a slow one, with the majority reluctant to leave their homeland. Lord Uzumi knew that that reluctance would vanish once the Atlantic Federation made their official declaration of war the next day; a confirmed threat was much more intimidating and motivating than a potential one.

His mind was assailed by his fears for the future of his people. Would those that chose not to evacuate survive should the Alliance forces occupy Orb? Would the Coordinator minority be able to completely evacuate before the invasion began? Would any members of the nobility turn traitor in an attempt to preserve their own position and ingratiate themselves with the Atlantic Federation leadership? Would Orb itself survive the war, or would its territory simply be absorbed into the Alliance, its culture and ideals lost forever?

Most importantly of all, what would become of Cagalli? Would she be able to survive in a world where her homeland no longer existed, where the ideals she so dearly believed in counted for nothing?

_The shadow has fallen across the world_, he mused grimly, _the few scattered flames of hope, of the desire for true peace, are in danger of being extinguished one by one. The days have gone down in Orb… and the night that follows may prove to be eternal._

"How," he said quietly to himself, "how did it come to this?"

"You speak as though the game is already up," said a familiar voice behind him.

Lord Uzumi chuckled and turned to see Kisaka standing in front of his desk. "And you seem to have forgotten your manners, Colonel… or is it now routine for soldiers to enter the office of their Commander-in-Chief without announcing themselves?"

"If I recall correctly," said Kisaka, smirking, "you said that I had free run of this place."

"True," Uzumi replied, "that slipped my mind… other concerns occupy it for the moment."

"Understandable, my lord," said Kisaka, bowing his head.

"What brings you here, Colonel?" asked Uzumi.

"Status updates from Engineer Simmons, among other things," the Colonel replied, "Unfortunately for us, the Strike Rouge will not be ready in time for the battle; they're having issues with the new batteries and the upgraded thrusters, along with the improved Aile-pack."

"Have her continue to work on it for as long as she can, and then load it onto the _Kusanagi_," said Uzumi, "we'll need that unit operational in the future, especially if the battle goes ill."

"Understood, sir," said Kisaka.

"Any other news from Morgenroete's brightest?" asked Uzumi.

"Yes," he replied, "Engineer Simmons has finalized the plans for the Akatsuki, and will send you a copy of them later this evening. Per your instructions, construction of the unit will begin once the war is over… though I still don't quite understand why we did not build it already; a unit like that would be a major boost to our capabilities in the coming battle."

"That is true," said Uzumi, "but I want that unit to serve as an ace in the hole for the next conflict Orb finds itself in… Cagalli's ace in the hole. Should the worst come to pass it will be my legacy for her, my final gift as her father. I've already recorded an audio testament and sent it to Engineer Simmons; it will be installed in the unit once it is built and activated should the unfortunate day comes that Cagalli has need of its power… and I am no longer there to help her."

"Very well, sir," said Kisaka, nodding, "I won't press the matter any further."

Uzumi closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Kisaka again. "Kisaka, has Cagalli been asking to be allowed to fight on the front lines lately?"

"No sir," said Kisaka, "she's been strangely quiet on the matter for the past few days."

"Which means she's up to something," Uzumi chuckled, "she's normally feisty and bold, but she can be sneaky if she puts her mind to it. Please continue to keep an eye on her for me, Kisaka."

"Of course, sir," said Kisaka, smiling slightly, "she seems to be spending most of her time down at the _Archangel_; I imagine she's been in the company of Kira Yamato and Heero Yuy."

"It's good for her to be spending time with people her own age," said Uzumi, "she has had so few real opportunities to do so in her life… still, I have my concerns. Wing Zero's pilot is calm, professional, and rational; the kind of personality Cagalli so easily clashes with. As for Kira Yamato… well, you already know about that, Kisaka."

Kisaka nodded. "I understand your concerns, sir, though I don't think you should be worried. Kira and Cagalli seem to view each other as good friends, nothing more. As for Heero Yuy, I think being around someone like him is good for your daughter; his cooler nature may help her learn to better control her temper. In fact, I believe it already has, if her attitude since our first encounter with the _Archangel _back in North Africa is any indication."

"True," said Uzumi, smiling, "she has become a little more level headed… though she still has a long way to go if she is going to succeed me in the future."

"She'll be ready when the time comes," said Kisaka, "Cagalli is strong willed, and she cares deeply for our people; she will serve Orb well when she is called to take the reins."

"I believe you, Kisaka," sighed Uzumi, "however, I fear that that day may come far sooner that we would like it to. I do not wish to cast doubts upon our ability to triumph in the coming battle, but someone in my position must always be prepared for the worst… something Cagalli does not understand."

"She's young and optimistic," replied Kisaka, "It's to be expected. Still… should the worst come to pass, I'll do all I can to help her assume the mantle of leadership."

"Thank you, my friend," said Uzumi, "that is all I can ask of you. Thank you for watching over her, both now and in the future."

Kisaka bowed his head. "Think nothing of it, my lord. Protecting Cagalli has been an honor and a privilege, and I will be glad to continue carrying out that duty for as long as you would ask of me."

"A task I'm sure she won't make easy for you," said Uzumi, smirking slightly. He then became serious again. "Was there something else you wished to discuss?"

Kisaka nodded. "Regarding your earlier proposal… I've given it some thought, and have come to the conclusion that it would be a mistake. The boy's disciplined, a true combat professional, but he's also independent and unpredictable. More importantly, giving him forces to command may actually hinder his fighting abilities, as he will be unable to completely focus on just attacking the enemy. In short, officially integrating Heero Yuy into the Orb military, at least in a command position, would not work, at least not for the coming battle."

"Are you sure?" asked Uzumi, "His name and accomplishments have already spread throughout the militaries of the Earth Sphere, and our own forces are no exception. The mention of something like 'Colonel Heero Yuy' could do a great deal for the morale of our forces, and I think the young man would make for a capable field commander."

"I have no doubt of that," said Kisaka, "but Yuy's true strength lies in his abilities as a single combatant, in his capability to deal tremendous damage to the enemy with little or no support. Even giving him a single squadron to lead would slow him down; none of our pilots would be able to keep up with him, even with the new Aries mobile suits. The only pilots on our side that would be able to coordinate and fight effectively with him are Kira Yamato and Mu La Flaga, and they like Yuy will be operating under the aegis of the _Archangel_."

Kisaka then chuckled before continuing. "More to the point, I believe he would refuse any such offer of rank that we put forward, regardless of any power or privileges that came with it. Yuy is determined to fight for the _Archangel_; nothing else matters to him. Giving him rank within the Orb military would be meaningless; I doubt we could even talk him into wearing our nation's uniform."

Uzumi nodded. "Independent, defiant, determined, and deadly… I suppose that combination would make him unsuited to official integration with our armed forces. Still, we need some way to coordinate with him, at least so our own forces don't get caught in his line of fire. Any thoughts on that, Colonel Kisaka?"

"Just one," he replied, "find the largest concentration of firepower in the Atlantic Federation's armada, and then ask him to attack it. The enemy will no doubt deploy across a wide front, but the center of their fleet will still have the largest amounts of heavy warships, not to mention a considerable amount of mobile suits. We can use Wing Zero as the spear, having him hit the enemy forces head on, while the _Archangel _and our own units attack the wings of the armada, along with the forces that bypass Yuy and move in to attack us. They'll also coordinate with our ground forces in order to defend the coastline. Some enemy units making it ashore is inevitable, but we do have a shot at limiting how many are able to do so, and isolating and destroying them."

"So," said Uzumi, "we essentially have Wing Zero hit the bulk of the enemy fleet head on and stay the hell out of Yuy's way? That's certainly a… straightforward strategy."

"Given the sheer size of the enemy fleet," said Kisaka, "it won't be quite that simple… it's just the best way to limit the chances of friendly fire. Yuy is an incredibly skilled pilot, but he would still be forced to hold back if our own forces were mixed up with the enemy he was trying to engage. In this battle, we don't want that; we need Wing Zero to have free reign to cut loose. Even with Yuy tying up a considerable amount of Alliance resources there will still be plenty of enemy ships and mobile suits for the rest of our forces to worry about."

"Very well," said Lord Uzumi, nodding, "I'll leave it to you and the top brass to hammer out the details and present your plan at the briefing once we've determined the final composition of the enemy forces. I'll invite Captain Ramius and her pilots to join so they can coordinate their own strategy with that of our military."

"Will Cagalli be attending as well?" asked Kisaka.

Lord Uzumi nodded. "When she becomes the head of state she will have to chair briefings such as the upcoming one eventually, so it will be a good experience for her. Besides, I'm confident she will want to attend it anyway, and that anything you or I might do in order to prevent her from doing that would not work. She is a stubborn girl, but she truly cares for our people; I imagine she will feel an obligation to attend and contribute whatever she can."

"I'll let her know when the time comes," said Kisaka.

"Thank you," said Uzumi. He then turned and looked back out the window, pondering what the future would be like for his country… assuming it _had _a future in this world. With the forces arrayed against it, the odds of Orb's survival as a sovereign nation-state were low to say the least… but the Lion of Orb had not given up on his country just yet.

_We never wished to be part of this war_, he thought, his eyes narrowing, _but if the Alliance wants a fight, then they will get one!_

….

Leaning back in his chair, Yzak sighed as he looked out the lounge window at the tarmac. It was early evening, and the silver-haired pilot could see dusk setting in over the Carpentaria spaceport and base. The young man had arrived at the facility with Field Marshall Creuset earlier in the day, but their shuttle flight had been delayed due to mechanical problems. Now the young man was waiting for news as to whether or not the craft would be departing at all in the near future, or if he would be stuck at Carpentaria for the foreseeable future.

The Field Marshall himself had gone off to make a call to the capital, though he hadn't specified the details. Yzak assumed that Creuset would be speaking to the Supreme Chairman; from what little bits of info his masked superior had dropped, he and Patrick Zala had been in practically daily contact. The Field Marshall had not given Yzak a reason as to why they had been recalled to outer space, leaving the young man to ponder the question on his own. He had not felt comfortable in attempting to press his commanding officer for details… in fact, he had become increasingly uneasy around Creuset since the battle at Panama.

_No_, the young man mentally corrected, _not battle, slaughter. I mean, I suppose the first part was a fight… but _definitely _not the second. That was complete barbarism, a massacre of men and women that had surrendered and thrown down their weapons… and the Field Marshall just let it happen! No… he was practically encouraging it! Why?_

The young man noticed his reflection in the window, and saw the rings around his eyes, the small shadows that had grown around them. Yzak had _not _slept well since the events of Panama, unable to go for more than a couple hours a night before waking up in a cold sweat, the imagined screams of the dying and the silhouettes of those that had been gunned down without pity or remorse still fresh in his mind.

_I should've done something_, he thought, a guilt like he'd never felt before that battle weighing down on him, _I know the Field Marshall all but threatened to kill me if I'd interfered, but that shouldn't have mattered; I shouldn't have been afraid to die acting to stop that slaughter. It didn't matter that they were Naturals; they were human beings, damn it! I could've at least tried to save them, I could've disabled a few of the GINNs before the Field Marshall took me down… but I did _nothing. _I left those people there to die, did nothing to stop my own side from committing that atrocity… just so I could live. Some soldier I am… I'm a damn coward._

He gripped the edges of his seat, frustrated and angry over his shameful withdrawal, despairing for the lives that had been so brutally and pointlessly cut short. _We should be better than this… _I _should be better than this! What's happening to ZAFT? Why did our soldiers act that way, and why didn't the Field Marshall rein them in?_

"Excuse me," said a voice, soft and clearly female, "are you alright?"

Yzak looked up to see a girl that had become an increasingly familiar, if odd sight over the past week. She was in her mid-teens, probably Nicol's age, with light skin, light blue-gray eyes, and long flowing red hair. She wore the standard green uniform of the ZAFT forces, and Yzak had first encountered her in the cafeteria aboard the _Vespucci _a few days after Operation Spitbreak. Strangely enough though, he could not recall having ever encountered the girl on the submarine/carrier before the battle, and while the _Vosgulov_-class vessel was certainly large the odds of him having never encountered her during all his time spent aboard the ship prior to the battle were all but nonexistent. It was even stranger because the girl was actually quite attractive, with her uniform being snug in all the right places, accentuating a slender yet curvy figure that a young man like Yzak would not easily forget. He'd asked Creuset about the girl, but had only received the reply that she was one of his aides, a particularly odd statement considering that the then-Commander had never been in the presence of an aide throughout the voyage from Kaoshiung to Alaska.

The girl's demeanor in and of itself was another oddity. For starters, she didn't carry herself like a soldier, or for that matter like she even belonged on the _Vespucci_. She seemed to go out of her way to avoid making eye contact with any of the ship's crew, and the few times Yzak had seen her look his way or at another soldier she had been either afraid, edgy, mildly hostile, or strangely curious. More to the point, the one time he had seen her in the company of the Field Marshal she had seemed to be torn between terror, loathing, and resignation, an odd combination of emotions if Yzak had ever seen one. She never addressed Creuset, and had done all she could to avoid meeting his gaze. For a supposed aide, to say that her behavior was strange was a considerable understatement.

Her sudden approach had caught Yzak off guard, and as he looked at her he was surprised to see that she looked genuinely concerned. Granted, there was still a considerable amount of nervousness in the way she carried herself, that strange sense of fear and unease that he had noticed in her before, but those feelings seemed to be subordinate to actual worry, and not for herself.

Though Yzak was taken aback by the girl's sudden willingness to initiate a conversation, he didn't want to be rude to her, so he simply leaned back in his chair and nodded. "I'm alright. I just haven't been sleeping well the past few days, so I'm a little tired."

The girl nodded. "I see. I guess… I can kind of relate to that."

Yzak realized that her words were not far from the mark; on closer inspection he could see faint rings and shadow around her eyes, just like those around his. _Why? She's not a direct combatant, so she wouldn't have to watch people die firsthand. Did someone she know die? What keeps her up at night?_

Then another stray thought flashed though his mind; he didn't even know the girl's name.

Giving his head a slight shake in an effort to dispel some of the weariness and despair hanging over him, he held out his hand. "I'm Yzak Joule."

The girl seemed to freeze for a moment as she stared at his hand. Yzak was puzzled by her reaction, the stiffening of her body, and wondered if he had somehow acted inappropriately. He was about to withdraw his hand when the girl tentatively reached out and shook it. Her grip was weak, and as Yzak took her slender hand he felt it tremble slightly. Her skin was soft and cool to the touch, and for some reason it made Yzak think of the girl in front of him as a distressed damsel rather than a fellow soldier.

"My name… is Flay Allster," she said quietly.

_Allster_, he thought, _I've heard that name before, but where? _He felt like he should know it, but the reason for that remained just beyond his grasp. After a moment he decided not to worry about it; if it was important, it would come back to him eventually.

He patted the seat next to him. "Want to sit down? I'm not sure how much longer we'll be here; no point standing around the whole time, especially if you're tired."

The red-head nodded and sat down. She kept her hands in her lap, and seemed determined to keep a respectful distance from him. Once again Yzak felt as though there was a hint of animosity in the way she regarded him, but at the same time there was also curiosity in her expression.

There was an awkward silence between them for a few seconds before Flay spoke. "Uhm, Mr. Joule… what happened to your face? How did you get that scar?"

It was a question Yzak had received plenty of times in the past few months; the scar he had received during one of his early battles with the Strike was quite prominent, running from above his left eye across his face diagonally down to his right cheek. He didn't mind the inquiries, though the nervousness with which people asked him that question might make one think otherwise. It was natural after all; it did make him look more intimidating.

"I got it in a fight with the Strike a few months ago," he said.

Flay gasped, and Yzak saw her eyes widen in shock. "You fought Ki… you fought against the Strike?"

She had stopped herself from saying something else, and Yzak realized that she knew something that he had been wanting the answer to for quite some time; the identity of the Strike's pilot. This set off alarm bells in his head, and he reacted instantly. "Hang on, what were you about to say? You knew the Strike's pilot, didn't you?"

Flay's demeanor changed instantly, and Yzak was surprised to see her light blue-gray eyes narrow, a fierce intensity in them. "Did you… did you destroy the Strike?" Her voice was a menacing hiss, a mixture of suspicion and barely contained anger.

Yzak shook his head. "No. I fought against it several times, but it always beat me. Now tell me, what do you know?" He raised his voice. "What are you hiding? Answer me!"

The girl shrunk back in her seat, the sudden strength that had taken hold of her evaporating, turning into fear and sorrow. "I… I can't… I won't!"

"You have to!" said Yzak, grabbing her by the shoulders, "You knew the Strike's pilot, I know you did! Tell me his name!"

"No!" she shrieked, trying to push away from him. However, her efforts seemed incredibly weak, and Yzak had no trouble keeping his grip. Her pitiful resistance set off additional alarms in his head; a fellow Coordinator would've been much stronger. Then the pieces suddenly fell into place.

_She's a Natural!_, he thought, his eyes widening in shock, _Her name, Allster… that was the name of the Atlantic Federation's Vice-Foreign Minister… the one who died in that first battle Wing Zero showed up in. She must be his daughter!_

Another thing that had been bothering Yzak for awhile suddenly made sense; why he had not seen her aboard the _Vespucci _prior to Operation Spitbreak. During the battle he had seen then-Commander Creuset's DINN Mk. II fly into the Alaska base, though he'd only briefly glimpsed it in the midst of the raging dogfight he had been in at the time. Later on in the engagement he had seen the mobile suit leave the base and make for the _Vespucci_ without bothering to engage the enemy. _Creuset must've taken the girl prisoner while he was inside the base_, he thought, _but… why? More importantly, why did he give her one of our uniforms? He's treating her more like a guest than a prisoner… what the hell's going on?_

He became so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot to focus on the girl, and his grip weakened enough for Flay to finally get loose. She managed to stand up before Yzak collected himself and moved to grab her again.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, raising her hand to slap him.

With his superior strength and reflexes it took little effort for Yzak to catch the incoming blow. "Tell me who the Strike's pilot was!" he said.

There was silence for a moment as the girl struggled to break free of his grasp. Then Yzak suddenly felt her arm go limp, like the fight had suddenly gone out of her. Flay looked down at the floor, her demeanor that of a girl consumed by grief and despair. "Please," she said, her voice a small, pitiful whimper, "let me go… I can't talk about it… about him." She then looked up at him, and Yzak was surprised to see tears welling up in her eyes. "Please…"

Yzak didn't know why, but he suddenly felt ashamed of his actions, like he had just done something terrible. After a moment's hesitation he nodded and let go of her hand. The two of them stood there in silence, neither able to move.

Yzak looked down at the floor. "I… I'm sorry I grabbed you like that," he said quietly; apologies came difficultly to the proud young man, but for some reason he knew he owed the girl one.

As he looked up he briefly met Flay's gaze, and the red-headed beauty gave him a small nod. She then moved away from him, sitting down in a row of chairs opposite of where Yzak's spot was. The ZAFT pilot remained standing for a moment before taking his own seat, his gaze alternating between the floor and the girl across from him.

He then heard footsteps approaching, and he saw Field Marshall Creuset coming up to them, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. The masked ace smiled at the two teenagers. "Ah, I see the two of you have finally become acquainted. Is everything alright, Yzak?"

The young man nodded, knowing it would be pointless to ask the questions that were whirling through his mind; there was no way he'd get a straight answer from Creuset. "Yes sir," he said, "no problems."

"Good," Creuset replied, "grab your things; our shuttle is now ready to leave. You too, Miss Allster."

The girl nodded and walked over towards the window to grab a duffel bag that was lying next to it. Yzak reached beneath his seat to grab his own bag, and the two teenagers moved to join the masked Field Marshal as he headed for the exit. Yzak was surprised to see Flay doing her best to keep him between herself and Creuset; even with what had happened just moments ago between them, she was apparently less afraid of him than she was of the Field Marshall.

_What's the link between those two?_, Yzak thought, _Why did he enter the Alaska base and return with her? I know she's the daughter of the late Atlantic Federation Vice-Foreign Minister, but she doesn't seem to be particularly valuable in her own right… no, not valuable as a strategic resource in this war. _She had value as a human being, whether she be Natural or Coordinator; Panama had gone a long way towards removing Yzak's disdain for Naturals.

As they exited the building and made their way across the tarmac towards their shuttle, Yzak made sure to keep Flay within his line of sight… and to make sure he stayed between her and Creuset. It was strange, but regardless of his suspicions of the girl he also felt the desire to keep her safe. Again, the recent battle at Panama played a considerable influence on his actions; he had seen how his own side was now willing to treat unarmed Naturals, and if any other ZAFT soldiers realized that there was one in their midst, Flay would be marked for death… or worse. She was helpless, a stranger in hostile territory, and to make matters worse she was physically much weaker than everyone around her; she was incredibly vulnerable. Yzak would do all he could to keep her safe. He knew in part he was doing it in a pathetic attempt to atone for his inaction at Panama, his inability to save the unarmed men and women who had been mercilessly gunned down by his comrades. Trying to save one life could never make up for the thousands that had perished in that atrocity… still, he would do his best to help Flay stay alive, regardless of how meaningless the effort might be in the grand scheme of things.

There was also the fact that he no longer trusted Field Marshall Creuset, and that went double with regards to Flay. Yzak's admiration in ZAFT's legendary masked ace had been completely destroyed after his commanding officer had allowed the slaughter of surrendering soldiers to go on unchecked under his watch. He no longer respected Creuset, no longer trusted him. He still was aware of his capabilities as a pilot and a leader, and would not underestimate him, but now his view of the man who he had once looked up to as a source of inspiration was through the lenses of suspicion.

_What are you planning?_, thought Yzak as they boarded the shuttle, glaring at Creuset out of the corner of his eye, _Why bring the daughter of a late enemy official into ZAFT? Why allow our forces to commit war crimes? Why are we going back to space with Flay in tow? What's your end game, Field Marshall?_

….

As she came out onto the _Archangel_'s observation deck behind the bridge Murrue was greeted by a familiar sight; Heero Yuy, dressed in the usual tank-top and shorts, running through a morning practice routine with his saber. Murrue smiled as she watched the Gundam pilot execute a series of swift slashes before transitioning into a sequence of blocks and parries. His blade work reminded her of the way he fought with Wing Zero; his moves were efficient, precise, and brutal. The young man's brow was furrowed in concentration as he weaved the metal blade through the air, but Murrue was sure he was aware of her presence.

_This is something I never get tired of seeing_, Murrue thought as she looked on, _I'm no expert when it comes to sword fighting, but even I can tell that his skill is top tier. Hell, if I'm not mistaken I think he's doing even better now than the last time I watched him, though of course it's hard for me to tell; every time I watch him practice with his saber I'm always amazed, and now is no different. It wouldn't surprise me if he has improved; with the way he focuses on a task, he can excel at whatever he sets his mind to._

Murrue felt her face warm slightly as she gazed at the young man who had captured her heart. Heero's tank-top and shorts gave a clear view at his toned figure, a body that had been through what she had no doubt had been an utterly brutal training regimen as he had prepared for Operation Meteor, to be a Gundam pilot. His frame was rather slender for a young man's, but there was no doubting that it was all muscle, and she could see it at work in front of her. Heero's form was relaxed, but not lethargic; on the contrary, Murrue could almost feel the energy pumping through the young man's veins as he continued his work out. There was a fierce intensity about him; he was ever alert, ever vigilant, while at the same time completely focused on the task before him.

She could see the sweat matting his brow, and Murrue knew that Heero was putting a lot of effort into his practice session. As she watched him she felt her gaze zooming in on his Prussian blue eyes, had a calm yet intense feel to them, hinting at the energy that lay beneath the surface. _I wonder_, she thought, _is this what he looks like when he's fighting a skilled opponent like the Valkyrie? I mean, when I've spoken to him during battles over the monitor his eyes had a similar look to them as they do now, but I've never dared to contact him when he's fighting enemy elites._

Murrue looked on as Heero continued his solo fight, thinking about all the young man had done on her behalf, and how she had slowly but inexorably fallen in love with him due in no small part to it. After a few more minutes the Gundam pilot wound down his practice session until he finally allowed the blade to come to a stop, pointing it down at the deck. He then looked over at Murrue and gave her a slight smile as he sheathed the saber.

"Good morning," he said as she approached him, "did you sleep well, Murrue?"

Murrue smiled. "Yes, thank you for asking. It seems strange though now that I think about it; the Atlantic Federation's deadline for Orb's declaration of allegiance passed last night. I should've felt more nervous, should've been more restless. I guess it's because I knew it was inevitable, and that there was no point in worrying about it more than I already have."

"You're probably right," said Heero, nodding, "by the way, do you know how many members of the crew will be staying with the _Archangel_?"

Murrue's smile grew bigger as she answered. "It's incredible… only twelve people decided to leave the ship! They're packing up now; I thought I'd see them off personally, just so they'd know for sure that I didn't hold their decision against them. I… I have to admit, I expected that more would want out, that few if any of them would be willing to join us in the coming fight."

"Something you said must've reached them, convinced them that staying on, fighting to defend Orb and find a way to end this war was the right thing to do," Heero replied, his eyes meeting hers, "Now they'll be fighting not just because they're ordered to, but because they want to; they have a reason beyond military discipline and duty to fight. It's probably different for each of them… but your speech no doubt helped them find it."

Her face warmed slightly at his praise. "Maybe… though I'd like to think that they made up their minds without any interference from me."

"It's not interference," said Heero, grabbing her hand, "It's inspiration. As Captain one of your responsibilities is to motivate your crew, and you've done an incredible job of that throughout our voyage. Your address to them was a perfect example of that; it helped them realize that there was more at stake now than there had been before, and that they could help make a difference and save countless lives. Your speech did influence their decision, and that's not a bad thing; it's something you should be proud of, Murrue."

Murrue smiled. "Thank you, Heero."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue."

She was content just to keep looking into his eyes for a moment, to feel the calm strength and the belief in her that radiated from them. To know that an incredible soldier like Heero had such confidence in her abilities was an amazing feeling, a morale boost like no other.

Eventually Murrue broke the silence between them. "So, what are your plans today, Heero?"

"Engineer Simmons wants me to help with the latest flight exercises for the Tallgeese Kai in a little while,' he replied, "La Flaga's managed to get the hang of that machine in an incredibly short amount of time, but he still hasn't completely mastered the mobile suit's extreme acceleration and maneuverability yet." He then wiped a hand across his brow in an attempt to remove some of the sweat. "I should probably shower before she comes by to pick me up."

"Indeed," said Murrue, her smile becoming a little playful, "you did work up quite a sweat during your exercise."

Heero nodded. "Yeah. I'd better get going. I'll be back around the same time as usual, so we can grab dinner together again later."

"That's great," said Murrue, "I'm looking forward to it."

….

Kuzzey sighed and looked down at the floor rather than face Sai, Miriallia, and Kira. He had decided to leave the _Archangel _because he felt like he wasn't making a meaningful contribution to the ship's operations, and because he just wasn't really cut out for military life. It had felt like the right decision for him on a personal level, but he still felt bad about leaving his friends behind.

Standing there in the middle of the hallway, the young man didn't know what to say to his fellow surviving students from Heliopolis. He missed Tolle, and wished the cheerful and confident young man was here now so he could get his own input on the situation. He knew that Tolle would never have left the ship, especially since Miriallia had decided to stay, which made Kuzzey feel even more like he was abandoning his friends. Still, he had made up his mind and had already informed the Captain of his decision; it was too late for him to turn back now.

"I'm… I'm sorry guys," he said after a moment.

He looked up as Sai put a hand on his shoulder. "Kuzzey, you've got nothing to apologize for," he said, smiling, "you did your part, just like the rest of us. If you don't feel that you really belong on the _Archangel_, then you have every right to leave. None of us will hold it against you, and the Captain said she wouldn't either."

"Yeah," said Kuzzey, "but still… you guys are staying, and you were just students like me before the war came to Heliopolis."

"We found our own personal reasons to keep fighting," said Miriallia, "we have stakes in this war… but you don't, Kuzzey, and there's nothing wrong with that." She smiled at him. "Besides, I'm sure your family has been worried about you all this time; they'll be overjoyed when you rejoin them."

"Miriallia's right," said Kira, "Kuzzey, you've done more than enough fighting, and you don't feel the same way about staying on board the _Archangel _as we do; that's fine." He smiled. "We all wish you the best of luck, and I hope that wherever you and your family go it's far away from any fighting."

Kuzzey couldn't help but return his friends' smiles, the weight that had been on his shoulders lightening considerably. "Alright… thanks guys. Take care of yourselves, ok?"

"We will," said Sai, "and you do the same."

"Yeah," said Miriallia, "good luck, Kuzzey."

"Tell your family we all said hi," said Kira.

He nodded. "I will. You guys had better come back alive, you got that? I want to hear all about what you guys did to end this war once it's all over."

They all grinned. "You got it," said Kira.

….

"Hello, Miss Haw," said Dr. Claudia, smiling, "please, sit down."

Miriallia nodded as she entered the small office the _Archangel_'s new counselor officer had set up shop in. It was just to the right of the med bay, and normally would've been used by another doctor to study up on crew medical files, but since the ship was still understaffed in that department it was available, and Dr. Claudia had taken up residence there. Looking around, Miriallia saw that there was a small desk with a computer on it, a file cabinet in the corner, and three chairs. One was behind the desk, while the other two were in front of it. The lovely doctor was sitting in one of the latter chairs, and motioned for Miriallia to take the other.

As the teenage girl sat down she found herself wondering again why she had agreed to see the counselor officer. Captain Ramius had broached the subject during a brief encounter in the hallway, saying that it might be good for Miriallia to visit Dr. Claudia and talk with her a bit. It had been shortly after the girl had made up her mind to stay aboard the _Archangel_, and Miriallia could not deny that there were a few things she needed to get off her chest… subjects she didn't quite feel comfortable talking about with her friends. Still, she wasn't sure where to start, and wondered if she had made a mistake in coming to see the counselor, that she would only be wasting Claudia's time.

She fidgeted nervously in her chair, prompting Dr. Claudia to speak. "Miss Haw, please, try to relax. I promise that whatever we discuss in here will not go beyond these walls; you have my word." Her voice was soft and gentle, and it gave her words a comforting effect that Miriallia very much needed.

"It's not that," Miriallia replied, "I just… there's so much that's happened since we came to Earth… it's all kind of overwhelming when I actually stop and think about it."

Dr. Claudia nodded. "You've all been through a great deal of hardship… and you in particular have suffered terribly. I've read your file, Miss Haw… I know that you lost someone very dear to you."

"Yes…" said Miriallia softly, struggling for a moment to keep her composure, "my… my boyfriend, Tolle… he was flying one of the ship's fighters during a ZAFT attack. I know he was doing that because he wanted to protect me, even though I told him not to, to stay on the bridge with me, but he still volunteered to become a pilot. He… he died during our battle in the Marshall Islands. That… that was over a month ago… almost two months now, I think."

"Would you still consider yourself to be in mourning?" asked Dr. Claudia.

"I… I think so…" said Miriallia, "I… I miss him so much. I've lost count of how many times I've expected to suddenly run into him in the halls, or in the mess, or on the bridge. It's like I can feel him… we spent so much time together on this ship that it feels like his memory has become imprinted on it; I can't go anywhere on the _Archangel _and not find something that reminds me of Tolle."

"That's only natural," the counselor replied, "When we lose someone we love, we feel as though an important part of us has been torn from our heart and soul. In that pain, that agony, we cling desperately to the memories of the one we lost, and when we're in a place that we spent a great deal of time with the one we loved, we cannot help but expect to see them there, for them to be there like nothing had happened."

Miriallia nodded, impressed by Dr. Claudia's insight into her thoughts. The girl knew that, as a counselor, she would of course have had an advanced education in human psychology, but she was still surprised at just how well she understood her situation.

"Miss Haw," Dr. Claudia continued, "in light of all that, why did you choose to stay aboard the _Archangel_? Certainly you must've known that no one would've held it against you had you decided to leave and evacuate with you family, especially in light of the death of the young man you loved. So… why remain?"

"I… it's hard to explain," she replied, "I mean… it's not just one reason, now that I think about it."

"Is there one that you would consider more important than the others?" asked the counselor.

The images of her friends flashed through her mind… followed by that of the Coordinator down in the brig. "Well… one of my friends did decide to leave, but the others were willing to stay. I didn't want to abandon them."

Dr. Claudia smiled. "You have a strong bond with them. What else kept you from leaving?"

Miriallia sighed. "After Tolle died in the Marshall Islands… we took one of the enemy pilots captive. At that time, I was a mess, torn by grief, sorrow… and anger. Our prisoner was a Coordinator, of course, and even though I knew Kira was a Coordinator as well… I couldn't stand the thought of our prisoner still being alive while Tolle had died… and at the time, I thought Kira had died as well."

"I read about the incident in the med bay in your file," said Dr. Claudia, "you attacked the prisoner when he was in for an exam, and Heero stopped you. Shortly after that, though, you placed yourself between the prisoner and another friend of yours, one who was pointing a gun at the young man. So…why the sudden change from wanting to kill the prisoner to risking your life to protect him?"

Miriallia gave the counselor a soft smile. "When Heero stopped me, he said that I wasn't a killer, and that Tolle wouldn't want me to become one. I realized that he was right, and my anger just… faded. I remembered something Tolle had said back when we were students at Heliopolis, when we found out that Kira was a Coordinator. Tolle said that it didn't matter to him that Kira was a Coordinator; he was our friend, and his genes didn't matter. I realized it was the same for Dearka… the prisoner… in a way. He may not have been our friend… but he was still a human being, and it didn't matter if he was Natural or Coordinator. Killing him would've been the worst possible way I could've chosen to honor Tolle's memory. So instead I chose to protect him. I don't regret my decision, and wouldn't have even if it had cost me my life; it was the right thing to do, and Tolle would've done the same thing."

"I'm sure he would've been proud of you," said Dr. Claudia.

Miriallia nodded. "I'd like to think so. Anyway, as we continued on our journey, with the war escalating around us, I started talking to Dearka down in the brig. I found out that he wasn't really all that different from us, just like Kira. And after Alaska… well, we all realized just how far the Alliance would go to kill people like Kira and Dearka, just because they were born different. In hindsight, I suppose we all should've come to that conclusion a long time ago; this war did start off with a nuclear strike against a Coordinator colony, after all."

Dr. Claudia nodded. "All too true, Miss Haw. So, would it be safe to say that part of the reason you chose to stay was to help end this war, and to create a world where Naturals and Coordinators could live together in peace?"

"I guess so," she replied, "I know it sounds silly of me to think that; I mean, all I do is help coordinate the _Archangel_' mobile suits, fighter, and mobile armors from the bridge. It's not like I play a major role in all this, unlike Captain Ramius, Heero, or Kira… but I still wanted to help in any way I can."

"I don't think that's silly at all," said the counselor, "and no matter how small you believe your role in all this is, the fact that you have chosen to keep fighting in that role speaks volumes of your character. Regardless of how insignificant our individual parts may seem in the grand scheme of things, together those small parts can become something profound; a force for good that none of the hate-filled powers that wish to continue escalate war could ever hope to match."

Miriallia's eyes widened in surprise. "I… I never thought of it that way."

Dr. Claudia laughed softly. "You've had a lot on your mind, far too much to be able to really ponder such things. I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you." Her expression then became more serious. "Now that you have made up your mind to stay aboard the _Archangel_, you must do all you can in your role to help the others bring this war to an end. In choosing to stay, that is a responsibility you have taken upon yourself; is it one you are prepared to bear?"

Miriallia nodded. "I am. Kira and the others made the same commitment; I can't do any less, especially if I want to help them."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Dr. Claudia, "We'll all need that same level of commitment and dedication if we're going to have a chance at surviving the coming battle, not to mention bring this foolish war to an end that doesn't involve mass-murder."

"Do you think it's even possible?" asked Miriallia, "I mean, I don't want to sound pessimistic, but…"

"With the way the conflict has escalated since Alaska, is a peaceful resolution truly possible?" the counselor finished for her, "That's a very good question, Miss Haw. I wish I could give you a clear answer; alas, I cannot. All we can do now is fight, and hope that somehow cooler heads will prevail in the end."

Miriallia nodded. "I guess you're right."

"There's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you, Miss Haw," said Dr. Claudia, "Regarding that young man down in the brig, Dearka. You are aware that he will be released before this ship goes into battle, correct?"

"I am," Miriallia replied.

"How do you feel about that?" the blond woman asked, "As you said earlier, he was captured in the same battle that Tolle lost his life in. He was your enemy, trying to kill you and your friends. Also, if I understand correctly, you have developed a sort of friendship with him in the time since the incident in the sickbay. You must have mixed feelings about his impending release."

Miriallia nodded. "I do. I mean, I don't hold it against him that he's a ZAFT soldier, nor that he was fighting against us; he was just doing his duty, the same as Tolle and I were."

"So you have no residual hard feelings towards Dearka regarding the battle in the Marshall Islands," said Dr. Claudia, "What about your other feelings towards him? According to reports from the guards down in the brig, the two of you have become quite friendly, and your respective demeanors and attitudes brighten up considerably when you talk to each other."

Miriallia looked down for a moment. Truth be told, she was well aware of what the counselor officer was speaking of; she _had _become friends with Dearka. She liked him as a person, as a fellow teenager… and now that she thought about it, she realized she might just like him a little more than just that.

"It's… hard to say," she replied, "I mean, once he's off the ship Orb will make sure he's taken to safety; since he's a Coordinator the Atlantic Federation will want to kill him after all. So no matter what happens, at least I know he'll be alive. But at the same time… I'm a little worried. I mean, I don't know where he'll be going, not to mention his homeland is the PLANTs, while mine's Orb… I don't know if I'll ever see him again once he leaves."

Dr. Claudia gave her a soft, knowing smile. "Miss Haw… you like him, don't you?"

The way she said 'like' left Miriallia with little doubt as to what _kind _of 'like' the counselor officer was referring to.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise, and she struggled to come up with a reply. "Well… that is… I mean, he's not a bad guy. He's actually pretty nice once you get to know him. I mean… I enjoy talking to him, and he's friendly, but… I… we've only known each other for a little over a month or so. Besides…Tolle died literally the day before I actually met Dearka. I… I _can't _like him!"

"The lady doth protest too much," said Dr. Claudia, "Miss Haw, considering how flustered you are now, I believe you may be deluding yourself."

"But it's wrong!" said Miriallia, "It has to be!"

"Why?" asked Dr. Claudia, "Is it because he's a Coordinator?"

Miriallia shook her head fervently. "That's not it at all! I would've loved Tolle even if he had been a Coordinator; how he was born has nothing to do with this!"

"Then what does?" the counselor pressed, "Miss Haw, there's something about your feelings that clearly troubles you. Please, tell me… and let me try to help you."

Miriallia sighed. "It's just… like I said; Tolle dies right before I met Dearka. I mean, he's only been gone a month and a half, two months at the most. I… I'm still mourning him… so I _can't _already be developing feelings for someone else. It… it…"

"It would be a betrayal of Tolle?" Dr. Claudia finished for her.

Miriallia nodded. "I… how could I do something like that? I loved Tolle with all my heart… how could I begin to like another boy so soon after his death?"

"I may have an answer to that," said Dr. Claudia, "First of all, think of the circumstances you two live in now; nearly the entire world is in a state of war. Death could come at any time, whether it be the next hour, the next day, the next week, or the next month. In such an environment, our emotions and feelings do not behave the same way that they do in peacetime."

"I understand that," Miriallia replied, "but still… it can't be so soon. It… it's like I'm betraying him!"

"I believe you are mistaken in that, Miss Haw," said the counselor, "Tell me something; when the two of you were together, when you were in love, what did you want more than anything else?"

"That's easy," said Miriallia, "we wanted to be happy. It wasn't just about our own happiness either; we wanted each other to be happy, and I would do anything to bring joy to Tolle's heart… as he would for me."

Dr. Claudia nodded, her smile becoming nostalgic and… bittersweet. "Miss Haw, believe it or not, I've been in your position. I was in a happy, loving relationship years ago, only for the man I cared so dearly for to be cruelly taken from me. I know how it feels to have loved and lost. I mourned for quite some time before I came to a realization, one that helped me to truly get back on my feet and live my life again."

"What was it?" asked Miriallia.

"The same thing you just told me," Dr. Claudia replied, "the people we love want us to be happy no matter what… and I realized that that meant whether or not they were still with us. I knew the man I loved would've wanted me to move on with my life. Not forget him, of course; that I could never do. I still remember him fondly, but my heart is open to the prospect of falling in love again, and I know that, wherever he is now, he would not hold that against me. It's true that I did not face the same feelings towards someone else that you are now so soon after his death, but if I had I am sure he would've understood perfectly."

"So… if I did like Dearka," said Miriallia tentatively, "I… I wouldn't be betraying Tolle?"

The counselor officer shook her head. "Not at all, Miss Haw. Remember Tolle fondly, but do not close your heart off to the possibility of a new affection, especially if it is for someone that makes you happy… which by all accounts, Dearka seems to be."

Miriallia nodded slowly. "Alright, Dr. Claudia… though I don't know for sure that I feel _that way _about him… at least not yet."

Dr. Claudia laughed a little at that. "Of course, Miss Haw. You should take time to examine your feelings… but as you said, once he is released you may never see him again. You should figure out some way for the two of you to stay in touch, especially if you wish to meet again someday."

Miriallia smiled slightly at her words. "I will." She then stood up. "Thank you, Dr. Claudia. This… this really helped. My mind feels a lot clearer now; I think I have a better handle on where to go from here."

"I'm glad to hear that, Miss Haw," she replied, nodding.

"I should get going," said Miriallia, "oh, and doctor? You can just call me Miriallia."

The counselor officer smiled. "In that case, take care, Miriallia. Please, if you need to talk again, do not hesitate to come to me."

"I won't," she replied, "see you later, Dr. Claudia, and thanks again."

….

"Everyone, please settle down," said Waltfeld, "We've got a lot to go over, and not much time to do it."

The Desert Tiger was standing near the far wall in the living room of the lower middle-class apartment that was being used as the site for the day's meeting. Besides Aisha and himself, present were Lacus and her father, Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla, and several low-to mid level officials from varying government ministries that were sympathetic to the moderates' cause. There were quite a few people in the room that Waltfeld was meeting for the first time face-to-face, many of them having been recommended to him by the former Supreme Council Chairman. All in all there were twenty people crammed into the living room… more than Waltfeld was comfortable with, and not just because of personal space issues. DaCosta and several of his former subordinates from the North Africa Corps were keeping a lookout, dressed in plain-clothes and scattered around the apartment complex and down on the street below. They were all armed with pistols and submachine guns hidden beneath their jackets, though if they had to actually use their weapons Waltfeld knew that meant the situation had gone from bad to worse very quickly.

_Zala's internal security apparatus_, he mused grimly, _grows tighter and more paranoid by the day. According to Eric, he's turned one of Military Intelligence's divisions into his own secret police, and that they've also co-opted several civilian law-enforcement departments into their efforts. I've been seeing more and more plain-clothes agents in the capital with each passing day... it's getting ridiculous. What is this, Aprilius One in the year C.E. 71, or Berlin in the Second World War? Then again, considering the agenda of the ruling party… I suppose this sort of escalation on the home front was inevitable. It's not quite as bad as what's going on down on the surface though… at least, not yet._

The PLANTs, particularly the capital colony, had changed considerably since the launching and aftermath of Operation Spitbreak. In the name of 'preserving the safety and stability of the homeland' the Supreme Council had enacted a series of sweeping emergency laws, each more draconian than the last. As always, they were opposed by Councilors Eileen Canaver and Yuri Amalfi, the last two moderates in the ruling body, but the radical supermajority meant that their efforts to halt the new measures were to no avail, and in the end were little more than symbolic gestures.

_At least Eileen Canaver is able to give us some advance notice of what's coming down the pipeline_, thought Waltfeld. The representative for the September City colonies had become the political equivalent of Eric Bristow; a spy in the upper echelons. While Eric was able to give them advanced intelligence on military developments, Canaver was able to do the same with regards to the civilian government and domestic policy.

In response to the theft of the Freedom and the Clyne family's subsequent evasion of the authorities, a series of new laws giving broad powers to the security forces had been enacted. Warrantless wiretapping, increased photo and audio surveillance, the power to hold people indefinitely without charge or the right to counsel, the severe limiting of freedom of assembly, shutting down several papers and news networks with columnists and analysts critical of the government… and that was just the small stuff.

The amount of arrests recorded in the PLANTs had quadrupled in the past week alone. According to both Canaver and Bristow, the majority of said arrests were either of people who had defied the new censorship laws and spoken out against the war… or Naturals that were still living in the PLANTs. The latter were not even charged with any crimes, simply rounded up like Shemei's parents had been and thrown into cells. For those sweeps, the police always came in the middle of the night, and the arrests were never mentioned in any official reports or statements. The only colony clusters in which there was some defense for Naturals still living in the PLANTs were the September and Maius Cities, where moderates still held sway over local governance. There Councilors Canaver and Amalfi were able to use what little power they had left to help the Naturals living under their protection go underground or flee the PLANTs all together; for the latter, the neutral Kingdom of Scandinavia was a popular destination.

_According to Bristow_, he thought grimly, _the radicals are already beginning to run out of holding facilities for everyone they've taken, and Zala's having freighters converted into prison ships for the overflow. Damn… how did it come to this so quickly?_

Waltfeld sighed as he turned his attention back to the people gathered around the room. He was surprised to see one of the newcomers edging towards the door. "Hey, where are you going…Avery, was it?"

The blond man looked over at Waltfeld. "Sorry, it's just… I'm a little claustrophobic, and with how crammed the room is… I'm not feeling too well. Mind if I step out for some air?"

"Go ahead, Avery," said Siegel Clyne, smiling, "someone will fill you in later on what you missed."

The man nodded and left the room. There was something about his demeanor that didn't feel right to Waltfeld, and he was uneasy over letting him leave. Avery seemed to be nervous, and something about the way he had held himself had Waltfeld's instincts on edge. Still, the Chairman was the leader of their group, and the Desert Tiger wasn't about to countermand him in front of everyone else. _Hopefully I'm just being paranoid_, he thought, _all this sneaking around, jumping at shadows… damn, I hate this. Give me a field command any day; I prefer a straight fight to running around and looking over my shoulder every other minute._

"Andy," said Aisha quietly, touching his right arm, "you ok? You seem a little on edge."

Waltfeld shook his head and smiled slightly at his lover. "It's nothing, Aisha. Don't worry."

She returned the smile and kissed his cheek. "Alright. Better start talking now; everyone's waiting on you."

The Desert Tiger nodded. "Right." He then turned to everyone else in the room. "There's a lot of new information coming in from Source One, some of it pretty big. It seems that both sides are making moves to even further escalate the war, and we're running out of time to counteract them."

'Source One' was the codename for Bristow. Only a select few people including Waltfeld, Aisha, the Valkyrie Team, Councilor Canaver, Lacus, and her father new that the Field Marshal was working as their mole in the Defense Council. None of the newcomers in the room knew of Source One's real identity; Waltfeld wanted to take every possible precaution to protect his friend and keep him in a position where he could get access to vital intelligence.

"What's going on, Mister Waltfeld?" asked Lacus, "What's the news from Source One?"

Waltfeld turned to the songstress, and he had to keep the concern from his face as he saw the weariness in her face. To her credit, the young girl had not once complained about her new life on the run with Waltfeld and Aisha, but the Desert Tiger knew it was wearing on her. According to Aisha, who had taken it upon herself to see to Lacus's well being while her father worked to coordinate the growing opposition movement, the young lady wasn't sleeping well, and had become understandably nervous as she'd tried to adjust to living as fugitive, always looking over her shoulder.

Despite all the stress she was under, Lacus had been determined to do all she could to help the moderate faction in its struggle to stop the radicals from turning the war into a massive genocide campaign. Several times now she had delivered broadcasts to the people, with DaCosta and his men using their gear to pirate radio and television signals to get her messages of peace and reconciliation out. Her father may have been the political leader of the moderates, with Waltfeld and Bristow the top military experts, but Lacus had become the heart and face of the movement. Her speeches and songs never failed to captivate an audience, regardless of how briefly they were played before the government managed to kill the feed. DaCosta and his men were playing a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with the radicals by helping her continue broadcasting, and Waltfeld was proud to see how quickly his former aide and second-in-command had adapted to his new role as Lacus's go-to guy for tech support and personal security, and that he still managed to have time to act as Waltfeld's assistant as well..

_I always knew you had it in you, DaCosta_, he thought, _hell, were things different I'd imagine you'd make one hell of a good Commander, or even Field Marshal eventually. As it is, I'm glad you were willing to join our little resistance movement. I owe you one._

He sighed as he answered Lacus's question. "Nothing good, that much is clear. Activity in the shipyards and mobile suit production facilities has increased ten-fold in the past few weeks. Zala's undertaking a massive fleet buildup, and the dock crews are working overtime to meet his demands. The ADB's new frontline mobile suit, the GuAIZ, is now in a limited-production run, with the units being assigned to team commanders and the surviving Special Operations Squadrons. It's not at the point where it can be mass produced yet; most of the factory lines are still tooled for building GINNs. Still, its presence in our space forces is increasing considerably."

"What about the surface forces?" asked Priscilla, "What's going on down on Earth?"

"Things have been quiet on our end since Panama," he replied, "the only odd thing to report is the withdrawal of Silber Team from Africa; now all the surviving Special Operations Squadrons are back in outer space. Also, Field Marshal Creuset was called back to the PLANTs as well, though the reasons are unclear at this time."

"What about the Alliance?" asked Adaline. The red-headed young woman was leaning against a wall, peeking through the blinds of the apartment's only window, furtively scanning for signs of activity.

"That's another matter," said Waltfeld, "the Alliance has been busy to say the least. The Atlantic Federation's fleets are massing for two separate invasions; one in Orb, the other in Africa."

"Orb?" said Siegel Clyne, his eyes widening in surprise, "Why? That nation is still neutral, is it not? The Atlantic Federation would just be wasting resources launching an assault against them."

"The loss of the Panama spaceport has made them desperate, Mr. Clyne," said Aisha, "The Atlantic Federation has lost its ability to move large quantities of troops and material from Earth to space, and they need to regain control of a mass driver in order to regain that critical access."

Waltfeld nodded. "Aisha's right, sir. That's why they're preparing to invade both Orb and Africa; both areas have functioning mass drivers. Also, there are other reasons why Orb in particular is being targeted."

"Such as?" asked Lan.

"First off," the Tiger said grimly, "it's no secret that Orb has a sizeable minority population of Coordinators, and considering the fact that Blue Cosmos now leads the Atlantic Federation in all but name… well, they no doubt see such an enclave as a threat, and will kill any Coordinators they find in Orb, along with those who attempt to shelter them."

"How monstrous…" said Lacus softly.

"Agreed," said Waltfeld, "as for the other reason, according to Source One intelligence has finally tracked down where the _Archangel _went after the First Battle of Alaska; its destination was Orb."

"After that ship's escape from Alaska," said Priscilla, "combined with how Heero completely wiped out the base… I guess it's no surprise that the Alliance would be willing to invade Orb to get them."

"Indeed," said Waltfeld, nodding, "that's why the armada the Atlantic Federation has assembled for the invasion of Orb is in fact larger than the one they'll be sending against ZAFT forces in Africa; they know full well what the _Archangel _and its mobile suits can do… especially Wing Zero. Heero alone will be able to do a considerable amount of damage to any invasion fleet…" The Desert Tiger chuckled grimly. "I feel sorry for the soldiers that have to go up against him… Azrael's just begging for a bloodbath with this invasion. Even if he wins, the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet will take extremely heavy losses."

"A high price to pay just to take a mass driver," said Lan.

"As I said before," replied Waltfeld, "they're desperate to get a mass driver, whether it be in Africa or Orb. They'll go to any lengths to capture one, and the Atlantic Federation has already proven to have little regard for the lives of its own soldiers; they'll sacrifice tens of thousands of lives to win the upcoming battles if that's what it takes."

"Victory over a rampart of their own dead," said the former Chairman softly, "how barbaric… then again, Zala and the radicals are just as bad."

"All too true," said Lacus, a haunted look in her eyes, "that slaughter at Panama… how could anyone order such an atrocity?"

"I'm afraid that's a moot question at this point, Miss Lacus," said Aisha grimly, "both sides have proven themselves to be willing to do the unthinkable… nothing's off the table for them now."

"Orb is the only nation with any real power that has not embraced the path of hatred," said Lacus solemnly, "if it falls, I fear for what comes next. For the people of Earth, for Kira and the others aboard the _Archangel_… I fear a dark night will fall, one that may be eternal."

It was at that point that several of the other moderates in the group began to whisper nervously amongst themselves, clearly unnerved by what they were hearing. Waltfeld decided to give them a few minutes to get their fears out of their systems; aside from the Valkyrie girls, Aisha, and himself, no one else in the room were soldiers, so they did not have the same sense of discipline and priorities.

_Politicians_, he mused, _they talk far more than is necessary… well, most of them do, anyway. I always thought Clyne was good at keeping his speeches to the point, and his daughter has a certain grace and sincerity about her that makes her worth listening to._

It was at that moment that the radio clipped to his belt chirped, and Waltfeld felt a familiar tingle go down his spine. It was a feeling he usually had before things were about to go south, and he could already feel the beginnings of adrenaline begin to course through his veins as he answered the radio.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Sir," said DaCosta, "we've got incoming! Two black vans approaching the south side of the complex, and my guy around back reports one from the north!"

As he was listening the Desert Tiger glanced towards Adeline's spot by the window, and he saw the Australian girl's face go pale as her eyes focused on something beyond Waltfeld's vision. "Chopper inbound!" she cried, "Kamov-490; it's a military craft! ETA's 30 seconds!"

"What the hell?" said Aisha, "How did they know we were here?"

Waltfeld briefly scanned the room and instantly realized what had happened. "Avery's not back," he growled, "bastard was a mole!"

"Impossible!" said Clyne, his eyes widening, "I thought…"

"It doesn't matter now!" said Waltfeld before contacting his aide again, "DaCosta, we'll head towards the emergency stairway! Don't stop the enemy from entering the building; you're not outfitted to fight commandos head on! Come in after they're inside and take them from behind; we'll hit them with a pincer attack and hijack their vans once we break out!"

"Better get a move on then sir!" DaCosta replied, "There's a chopper coming in fast for the roof, and it's loaded with gunmen! They'll be hitting you from the rear if you don't get going now!"

"Roger," said Waltfeld, "we'll meet you downstairs. Good luck!"

"You too, sir!" he replied.

The Desert Tiger then turned to the others, putting his radio away and then drawing his pistol. _Damn it_, he thought, _I miss my left arm right now. _Fighting a gun battle with only his right arm was going to be a pain in the ass.

"Everyone, let's get out of here," he said, "We'll go to the emergency stairwell and head towards the ground floor!"

"Pris, on point!" said Adaline, instantly taking charge, "Aisha and I will back you up!" She then turned to Waltfeld. "Sir, please help Lan with covering the others."

Waltfeld nodded. "No need to 'sir' or 'please' me, missy," he said, smirking, "Consider this your show!"

Adaline nodded in return before turning to the others. "Alright, let's move!"

The group made their way to the door and out into the hallway. They were on the third floor of a seven story apartment complex, which meant that they'd have a little bit of time before the troops the chopper was dropping on the roof would be able to take them from behind, but not much.

_Damn it_, thought Waltfeld, _I don't know how many gunmen we're up against, and I've only got five people counting myself capable of fighting in my group. DaCosta's got seven men patrolling the perimeter; hopefully they were able to stay out of the enemy's way, otherwise they won't be able to make their part of the pincer attack, and this won't end well for us._

He turned towards Lan, and the Chinese Coordinator looked at him before glancing over at Lacus. When she looked back at Waltfeld he saw her dark brown eyes narrow, burning with determination. The Desert Tiger nodded at her, the unspoken message between them perfectly clear; no matter what happened, they would defend Lacus Clyne at all costs.

_She's the heart of our movement_, he thought, _she stands for everything we represent, she's the embodiment of the resistance to Zala's campaign of hatred against the Naturals. If we lose her, we've lost everything. I'm not about to let that happen!_

….

Leading the mad dash towards the emergency stairwell, Priscilla Dalca's normally gentle green eyes were now fierce jade gems, narrowed in focus as her combat instincts took over. Her pistol was drawn and at the ready, and the Italian/Romanian Coordinator had every confidence in her abilities for when the time came to engage the enemy.

Few would suspect that the quiet girl was in fact the best small-arms shot in the Valkyrie Team, not to mention ranked as a top-tier markswoman in ZAFT. Priscilla was better known for her love of books, video games, and computers than her firearms skills, but it was an undisputed fact that amongst the four ladies of the Valkyrie Team she spent by far the most time at the firing range, and her accuracy was scary even by Coordinator standards. The eighteen year old girl was practically an artist with the ZAFT standard issue Glock-series pistols, showing as much grace and precision with her sidearm as Commander Rehema did with her blade.

_I've always felt right at home with guns_, she thought as she opened the door to the emergency stairwell, _I wish it were otherwise though… I guess that's why I try to put more emphasis on my other hobbies and downplay this particular talent of mine. Still, right now it's a skill set I'm thankful for; it's going to be getting a real workout shortly._

Briefly glancing up to check for enemies coming down the stairwell, she saw that that direction was clear, though she knew it wouldn't be for long. She then peered over the railing looking down, and her eyes narrowed as she saw two figure clad in black jumpsuits and ski-masks making their way up the first flight of stairs. She couldn't get a clear view of their weapons, though she caught a glimpse of a snub-nose on the end of one, and was willing to bet they were armed with submachine guns.

_Disguised as common thugs_, she thought, _not really much point in doing so, considering everyone knows the military is after us… I guess old habits die hard, especially for ZAFT's black ops division. _Aiming her pistol downward, just over the railing, Priscilla patiently waited as the two men passed briefly out of her sight before they reappeared on the flight of stairs just below and opposite of her own.

She pulled the trigger, hitting the first man in the head. Before her first foe's body even started to fall she had already shifted her aim and her second shot hit the next enemy in the exact same spot.

"Clear!" she said as Adaline and Aisha came up behind her.

"Nice shooting, Priscilla," said Aisha.

"We need to keep moving," said Adaline, "someone will have heard that."

Priscilla nodded and led the way down the stairs, glancing back quickly to make sure the others were keeping up. She was relieved to see Lacus safely between Waltfeld and Lan. The songstress was understandably scared, but she still had her wits about her, and Priscilla was confident that the girl would be alright.

A loud slamming noise echoed from above, and Priscilla knew that the commandos from the chopper had already zeroed in on the gunshots and had made it to the emergency stairwell; they'd be on top of the escaping moderates in moments.

Quickening her pace, the blond girl was practically a blur as she rushed down the stairs. Her eyes were constantly darting over the railing, checking to make sure the path ahead of her was clear. As she rounded the final corner and began making her way down the last flight of stairs to the ground floor she saw the doorknob begin to turn.

Time seemed to slow as she focused on the sights of the pistol. As the door opened Priscilla instantly pulled the trigger, hitting another radical gunmen right between the eyes. Shifting her aim, her next shot took the second man in the chest. She saw a third gunman bringing his weapon to bear on her, and she knew that she would not be able to shift fast enough to take him out. Priscilla wasn't afraid though; she knew her friends had her back.

A shot rang out from right behind her and over her left shoulder, and the gunman went down with a round to the throat. He fell to the floor, but he still clung to life, and Priscilla quickly moved in and administered the coup de grace.

She then looked over her shoulder at Adaline, whose dark blue eyes were narrowed, with a fierce glare in them. Priscilla nodded at her friend and savior. "Thanks for covering me," she said.

"Anytime," said Adaline.

The sounds of additional gunshots rang out up ahead, and Priscilla realized that they were from DaCosta's men; they had launched their rear attack against the enemies still on the ground floor. "Let's move," said Aisha, "DaCosta's already hit the enemy; we need to strike too!"

"Copy that," said Priscilla, once again moving to take point.

She moved towards the sounds of the firefight, and as she peered around a corner she saw DaCosta and his men taking cover behind the pillars in the entrance lobby while shooting it out with eight commandos. Both sides had submachine guns as their primary weapons and pistols as backups, but the enemy had the advantage of being able to call for backup, which Priscilla had no doubt they'd already done. With reinforcements on the way along with the commandos that had landed on the rooftop coming down behind them, the moderates' could not afford a prolonged battle.

Against DaCosta and his men, the enemy had perfect cover… but they were wide open to an attack from Priscilla's angle. Still, it wouldn't be an easy job to make the most of her temporary advantage.

_Gotta make every shot count_, she thought as she sighted in on the nearest target. "I've got the right side of the room," she whispered to Adaline, "you and Aisha hit the left. Once we've nailed our first targets we'll move up and pin the rest between us and DaCosta before finishing them off."

The Australian girl nodded before passing the word on to Aisha. Meanwhile, Priscilla lined up her shot, took a split second to account for all the other fighters involved, and let fly.

The gunman she'd targeted went down with a shot to the back of the head. Adaline nailed her foe through the heart, while Aisha's shot went through her target's spinal cord. Dashing up as the enemy looked around in confusion, Priscilla emptied the rest of her clip in an effort to force the rest of her foes to keep her head down while she advanced to a better position. Taking cover behind the column that her original target had been using, she ejected the spent magazine and slammed a fresh one home. Chambering a round and sighting in on a fresh target, she once again opened up, dropping two men with two headshots.

Adaline and Aisha laid down additional fire, and while none of their shots dropped a target their barrage allowed DaCosta and his men to flank the remaining three men and mow them down with short, controlled bursts from their submachine guns.

Fresh gunshots rang out from the back of the lobby, and Priscilla whirled to see Waltfeld and Lan firing through the entrance of the emergency stairwell; the commandos from the chopper had caught up with them.

"Get the others out of here!" yelled Adaline, "We'll hold them off and then fall back and regroup at Point Delta Five!"

DaCosta nodded, and he and his men moved to begin escorting the politicians out of the building while Priscilla, Aisha, and Adaline rushed to help Waltfeld and Lan. The Desert Tiger had just spent his clip, and was forced to hold his gun between his teeth while he reloaded it with his right-hand. She then heard what sounded like a loud _crack _coming from the building's exit, but she didn't have time to see what the source of it was.

_Not exactly what I'd call proper firearms handling_, Priscilla mused as she glanced at Waltfeld while taking cover behind the doorframe before taking shots at the incoming commandos, _but then again, it's not like he has a whole lot of options. _She quickly picked off two attackers, while Aisha and Adaline nailed one more each. The gunfire coming from the stairwell subsided, and Priscilla guessed that at least some of the commandos had gone back up to the second floor to make their way to another stairwell, from which they would then proceed to flank her and her comrades.

Adaline apparently had the same thought, because she grabbed Lan by the shoulder and gestured for the Chinese Coordinator to come with her. The two girls made a mad dash for the opposite stairwell, and arrived just in time to open up on a group of three commandos that had nearly made it to the door. They polished off their enemies just as Priscilla, Aisha, and Waltfeld finished dealing with their own foes.

"Let's move!" said Aisha, and the five of them rushed towards the exit.

Just then another large _crack _rang out… followed by a piercing cry… in a familiar, female voice.

"_FATHER!_"

….

Taking cover in the doorway, Lacus risked peeking her head around the corner. Her eyes widened as she saw DaCosta and his men shooting it out with a fresh group of gunmen piling out of two more vans. She covered her mouth as she saw one of her protectors go down from a shot to the chest. The songstress saw the man's eyes go blank before he hit the ground, and she knew that the soldier was dead.

It was then that Yousef Bashir, one of the political allies recruited by her father, began to panic. "Come on, we have to get out of here!" he said frantically, looking around at the others, "We can make a break for that alley over there; let's go!"

Lacus turned to her father, who shook his head. "We have to have faith in DaCosta and his men. They'll secure our escape route!"

Bashir wasn't paying attention to the former-Chairman though, instead choosing to rally support from the others. "We can make it; the enemy's focused on DaCosta's men. Let's go!"

"Yousef!" said Clyne, attempting to get him to back down.

But the man would have none of it, and he broke from cover, running towards the nearby alley he had pointed at, with four others in his wake. He didn't get more than five meters before a loud _crack _rang out… followed by a spurt of blood coming from his chest as he dropped to the ground.

"Sniper!" yelled DaCosta, "Everyone, pull back to the entrance until we can find his location!"

His subordinates followed his orders, but it was too late for the four men that had followed Yousef; they were cut down by a hail of bullets.

Shielding her eyes from the carnage, Lacus turned to DaCosta and saw his gaze narrowing at a nearby rooftop. "Gotcha," she heard him mutter to himself. He then turned to his men. "Carson, Mike, Aaron, lay down a barrage on the roof of that café!"

"Sir!" they said, and they opened fire in the direction he'd ordered them to.

"Mr. Clyne," said DaCosta, "the rest of us will make a break for the vans!"

"What about Carson and the other two?" he asked.

"They can take care of themselves," he replied, "and they know where our nearest safe houses are; they'll make their withdrawal once we're clear. We have to go now, sir!"

Clyne nodded, and he turned to his daughter. "Come on, Lacus," he said. The girl was amazed at just how calm her father appeared right then; he was as solid as rock. He gave her an encouraging smile. "Let's go!"

She nodded, summoning a strength she didn't know she'd had before, forcing her legs to stop shaking as she followed DaCosta, his other four men, and her father as they made a break for the vans. Glancing back, she saw the other six politicians hesitate for a moment before they too ran to catch up to the former Chairman and the others.

Suddenly a loud _crack _rang out.

Time slowed to a crawl for the pink-haired idol singer as she looked ahead at her father. She could practically see a glint of light reflecting off the round as it made its way through the air… and hit the elder Clyne in the gut.

Lacus's eyes widened in horror. She felt as though she had been doused in Arctic water. That single, horrific second seemed to go on for an eternity. She felt herself freeze, shock paralyzing her, and the only muscles she could move were her mouth and vocal chords… with which she cried out like she had never done before.

"_FATHER!_"

She couldn't move, even as she watched him fall to his knees. She barely felt one of DaCosta's men grab her and take her to cover, barely noticed as two others laid down a barrage at the _second _sniper, who was standing just behind yet another van parked twenty meters away. The songstress was completely numb, unable to register what was going on around her… her gaze locked on her father and the soldier that had slung him over his shoulder and was taking him to cover.

Everything blurred around her, and she lost track of time. The only clear image was her father, his blood leaking from the wound in his gut onto the man that was carrying him. A single thought echoed in her head, repeating like a mantra.

_Father….Father… Father…_

….

Watching the second sniper go down via a volley from DaCosta's weapon, Adaline turned towards Carson, Mike, and Aaron. "Let the first one poke his head out!" she ordered, "Pris will take him down!

The three men nodded and ceased their barrage, pulling back while Priscilla moved up to take their place. Her emerald eyes narrowed as she sighted in on her targets, and Adaline prayed that she would be able to hit her target on the first shot; it was unlikely she'd get a second.

She'd heard Lacus's scream earlier, and though she hadn't seen the former Chairman go down, she knew that the elder Clyne had been hit. Adaline could still hear Lacus's scream echoing in her ears; never had such a beautiful voice sounded so haunting, like a banshee crying out in despair. _Lacus_, she thought, _hang on, we'll be there soon! We'll save your father!_

She watched as Priscilla took a deep breath, let it out… and pulled the trigger. Following the angle of her pistol, Adaline saw a figure dressed in black slump over the edge of the café roof, blood slowly spilling down the ledge of the building.

"Let's move!" she yelled.

As they made their mad dash across the street, they fired at another group of gunmen that had appeared to the right… and were responsible for the bodies of the remaining six politicians that littered the street. Adaline saw only one of her shots hit, winging a man in the shoulder. Priscilla, by contrast, was on a roll, dishing out two head shots and hitting another man right through the heart. Adaline saw that her normally gentle emerald eyes were now fierce jade, and were filled with an unholy fury. She couldn't blame the Italian/Romanian girl for her wrath; Adaline could only imagine what her own face looked like as she fired at the enemy, all the while Lacus's cry still echoed in her mind. _Zala_, she thought, _I swear, we will take you down and make you answer for today's bloodshed!_

They managed to get across the street and into cover with DaCosta and the others. Adeline's eyes widened in horror as she saw the former Chairman lying on the ground while one of DaCosta's men worked desperately to stop the bleeding. The elder Clyne's face was already extremely pale; the blood loss was severe, if not critical.

Lacus, meanwhile, was in hysterics, trying desperately to get to her father despite two men holding her back. "Father!" she cried out, "Father! Let me go to my father!"

Adaline moved towards her. "I'll take her," she said grimly to the two men, knowing that they would be desperately needed to hold off enemy reinforcements while they tried to move the former Chairman. They both nodded, and the instant they let go Adaline grabbed a hold of Lacus. She was amazed at how fiercely the songstress struggled, and it wrenched at Adeline's heart to have to hold her back like this, but she knew the man tending to her father needed space to work if he was going to have a chance at saving his life… a chance that looked slimmer by the second.

"We can't stay here," said Aisha, "more of them will show up any second; we have to get out of here!"

"I can't move Clyne," said the man working on him, "the round went right through his spinal cord; who knows how I added to the damage by carrying him like I did!"

"Can he move his legs?" asked Waltfeld.

"No…" came the former Chairman's voice, little more than a hoarse whisper, surprising them all, "I can't… I can't even feel them… I'm sorry."

"Mr. Clyne," said Aisha softly, "please, don't try to talk; save your strength."

He shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "It doesn't matter… I know… I'm dying."

At those words Lacus redoubled her efforts… and Adaline lost the will to hold her back. Letting her go, she watched as she rushed to her father's side, cradling his head, oblivious to the growing pool of blood that she was kneeling in..

"No!" she cried out, tears streaming down her face, "Father… you can't die! Please, stay with us… you can't die! I can't lose you! Mother's already gone… I can't lose you too!"

The small smile on the former Chairman's face became slightly more genuine. "Lacus… you've… always made… me proud… and I know… your mother is too."

"Father…" she said softly, struggling to speak through her tears, "Father… don't go! Please, stay with us… we can save you!"

He shook his head. "It's… too late… my daughter. I'm… sorry."

"Company!" Lan yelled. Adaline whirled around and saw yet another group of gunmen approaching, weapons raised.

"Damn it!" she said, dropping to her knee before opening fire. She was backed up by Lan, Priscilla, and Carson, Mike, and Aaron as they made a dash across the road to join them.

_We need to get out of here!_, she thought as she traded shots with the enemy, _We can't stay here; we'll be overwhelmed any minute now!_

….

Assessing the situation, a grim idea formed in Waltfeld's mine. He didn't like it; hell, he _hated _it, but it was the only one he had.

"We can still get away in the vans," he said, nodding over to two that were parked not too far away from where they were taking cover, "but we need someone to stay and lay down covering fire… a rearguard."

It was a suicide mission, and everyone there knew it. The only question now was who would stay. DaCosta looked ready to volunteer, but before he could speak up he was beaten to the punch… by the dying Siegel Clyne.

"I've got… a little strength left," he said, determination in his voice even as he struggled to speak. "Waltfeld… prop me against the wall… and give me a gun… I should be able to last… long enough."

"Father, no!" cried Lacus, "We're not leaving you here! You're coming with us!"

"I'm sorry… my dear," the former Chairman replied, "It's…. the only way."

"_NO!_" the songstress shrieked, throwing herself over her father as she embraced him, "_I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!_"

Waltfeld turned to Aisha, who gave him a grim nod; his lover knew what needed to be done.

She grabbed Lacus and pulled her away from her father, giving the former Chairman an apologetic look. Amazingly enough the man seemed to catch it, and turned to give his daughter one last smile. "I love you, Lacus… and I always will."

"_FATHER!_" she cried out as Aisha pulled her away.

"Forgive me," said Aisha softly. Waltfeld then watched as she swiftly whirled the songstress around so that she was facing her, moving faster than Lacus could possibly hope to react… and gut-punching her. _Hard_.

The girl's eyes widened for a moment in shock before she slumped over, breathless, the fight leaving her along with her consciousness. As Aisha caught Lacus Waltfeld motioned for one of the soldiers to hand over his submachine gun, which he then gave to the elder Clyne as DaCosta began to move him into a suitable firing position.

"It's got a full clip," said Waltfeld, "you sure you can use it?"

Clyne nodded. "Zala… showed me how… back when we… were still friends." He smiled grimly. "Feels like… a lifetime ago… but I'll manage."

Waltfeld nodded. "Clyne… it's been an honor serving under you, Supreme Chairman."

Clyne nodded. "Please… protect my daughter… no matter what."

The Desert Tiger nodded again, grim determination in his eyes. "From Hell itself if I have to," he replied.

"I can see them… forming up for another attack," said Clyne, his eyes focused past Waltfeld, "go… now."

Waltfeld nodded. As he drew his pistol and prepared to make a break for it, he spared one last look over his shoulder at Clyne. "Goodbye, Siegel Clyne."

….

Holding the gun with both hands, Siegel Clyne smiled as he watched Waltfeld, Aisha, the Valkyrie girls, and DaCosta and his men rush towards the two nearby vans. _My time has come_, he thought, _but my legacy will live on in them. Be strong, Lacus. In the end, it must be you who will lead them towards the better tomorrow we all desire. I know you have it within you to do so… you are my daughter, after all._

The former Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council grimaced as he struggled to stay sitting upright against the wall. His blood was pooling in his lap, and the darkness was already encroaching at the edges of his vision; he did not have much time left.

_Not much_, he thought as he brought the submachine gun up to bear on the approaching gunmen, _but enough._

"Zala," he growled, "you… will not get… _my daughter_."

He fired, catching the lead gunman in the gut. Another burst of fire blew a man's knees out, and the others dropped back behind cover. They then began a more methodical advance, ducking in and out of cover. However, Clyne was still able to get them to keep their heads down, buying precious time for Waltfeld and the others to escape.

He briefly glanced over his shoulder and smiled as he saw two of the vans go speeding down the road, and he knew that Lacus and the others were safe. Turning his attention back towards the advancing gunmen, he emptied the rest of the submachine gun's magazine as he sprayed fire everywhere in a last effort to buy Waltfeld a few extra seconds to get away. He then let the weapon fall at his side, the last of his strength rapidly giving out.

His vision became increasingly blurry, the approaching gunmen now little more than vague black shapes growing steadily larger. His throat felt drier than a desert, and it was a tremendous struggle just to breath. Strange noises surrounded him, and he realized that his hearing was fading as well.

One of the shadowy blurs approached him, raising its arm, and Clyne knew that it was going to finish him off. He managed to muster one last rueful smile for his foe. "Go ahead… you've already lost."

There was a muffled _bang_, a brief flash of pain… and then eternity.

….

Sitting on the couch with her newfound lover, her head resting on his shoulder, Shemei smiled as she as her eyes met Eric's. The two of them were at his condo, taking advantage of one of his rare days off to simply relax and enjoy each other's company. _It's rare that we get days like this_, she thought, _his schedule's so busy, we usually only get a few hours together when he gets away from HQ in the early evenings._

They were just kicking back, watching the news, plates with half-finished sandwiches laying on the coffee table in front of the couch, along with the Field Marshal's laptop. Eric had his right arm around Shemei, holding her close, and while he was for the most part relaxing she could also detect a little bit of stiffness in him. She knew it wasn't from her, though. Rather, it was because he knew there was a meeting underway between Waltfeld, the Clyne family, and other members of the moderate faction, and he was worried about the possibility of them being discovered. Shemei knew that Waltfeld, Eric, and DaCosta always took precautions, but she was also aware that the former Chairman had been inviting more and more people to join their resistance, and with the increase in participation came a greater risk of infiltration by the radicals.

_We've been careful up to this point_, she thought, _and I know Waltfeld, Aisha, and the girls will protect Lacus, but still… her father's been increasing the rate at which he approaches people with the offer to join us, and we don't have the resource to vet everyone so quickly. Eric does his best to help, but he's already got enough things on his plate to deal with; he can't run background checks on everyone, so we're forced to rely more and more on Clyne's personal connections with these people to ensure that they're loyal to our cause._

She heard a buzzing sound and realized it was one of Eric's phones vibrating. As he pulled it out of his pocket, Shemei saw that it was one of the secure network phones. "It's Waltfeld," he said as he glanced at the caller ID, "something important must have come up; I wasn't supposed to be involved in today's meeting at all."

Shemei watched and listened as he answered the call. "Hey, what's going on?" He was quiet as Waltfeld spoke, and though Shemei couldn't hear what the Desert Tiger was saying, she realized that it was bad news; Eric's face was growing grimmer with each passing second. Eventually he closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When he opened his eyes Shemei was startled to see a haunted and sorrowful look in them, mixed with hardened resolve. Not knowing what to do but recognizing that something terrible had happened, Shemei reached over and grabbed his hand. She felt him respond by gripping her hand tightly, and she knew that something had gone _very _wrong with the meeting.

After a minute he finally spoke. "Alright… I guess we have no choice then." There was a pause as he listened to Waltfeld. "It'll be tight… everything's loaded, and all the systems are good, but the people we need are out of position; it'll take me some time to get them into place." Another pause. "Ok… it'll be tight, but I can have everything setup by nightfall. Use safe house Alpha until then; it shouldn't be compromised if Avery was the leak. Alright, I'll get things started on my end. Watch yourself, buddy… and keep an eye on the girl. After what she saw today, who knows what's going through her head right now. Later."

He closed the flip-phone and put it away, looking down for a moment, his expression one of quiet mourning and grim determination. Eventually Shemei decided she needed to break the silence and find out what had happened. "Eric?" she asked, "What's wrong? What happened at the meeting?"

Eric sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them and meeting her gaze. "The meeting was attacked; one of the former Chairman's newest recruits, Avery, was actually working for Zala. Siegel Clyne… is dead."

Shemei gasped, and felt as the blood in her veins had turned to ice. She'd never dared imagine things had been that bad. Fear gripped her as her thoughts quickly turned to the others that had been at the meeting. "What about Adaline and the others?" she asked frantically, "What about Lacus and Aisha? Eric, are they alright?"

He nodded. "They're safe. DaCosta's ok too, though a couple of his guys didn't make it. The other civilian government workers that were there were all killed. Lacus was right behind her father when he got hit… she freaked out. Aisha had to knock her out cold in order to get her away. Clyne was mortally wounded… he stayed behind to buy Waltfeld and the others time to escape."

"Oh my god…" Shemei said softly. Then another thought occurred, one that sent chills running down her spine. "Eric, what if you're compromised now? You have to get out of here!"

The Field Marshal calmly shook his head and gave her a small smile. "I'm fine, Shemei. Waltfeld and I took precautions against someone leaking my position as an insider on the Defense Council to Zala. The only people that know about that are you, Lacus, the girls, Waltfeld and Aisha, Representative Canaver… and the former Chairman. Everyone else in the movement knows me simply as Source One. My back's covered, and I've been careful about erasing my footsteps, so to speak. I may not like all this sneaking around… but I'm _very _good at it."

He then sighed. "At least, good at keeping myself one step ahead of the hounds. As for the others… damn, this is my fault. I was planning on running some checks on Avery and some of the other newbies Clyne had recruited, but I've been focusing my efforts on the shipyards and mobile suit factories the past few days, and I put the vetting on hold. I figured that if Clyne knew them personally then I could relax a little. I was still going to run the checks, but I didn't think I needed to do it right away… I screwed up, damn it, and Clyne's dead because of it!"

Shemei shook her head and grabbed Eric by the shoulders, turning him to face her. "No, it's not, Eric! You've been working your ass off to help us, and what you've done is nothing short of phenomenal, but you can't do everything by yourself." She sighed. "I know it's harsh of me to say this, especially now, but Clyne made a bad call; this is on his head, not yours. You did nothing wrong!"

She saw his eyes widen at her words before a small smile appeared on his face. It was weak, but Shemei would take what she could get. "I guess… you're right, Shemei. Thank you."

Shemei knew that he would still beat himself up inside over what had happened, but his reply was at least a start in the right direction. She vowed to do all she could to support him, just as he had done for her.

She gave him a soft smile in return before leaning in to kiss him. "You're welcome, Eric," she said as their lips parted, "I'll always have your back, you know that." Her expression then became more serious. "So… now what?"

"Now I do in six hours what I was originally going to do over the course of six days," he said, leaning forwards and grabbing the laptop off the coffee table, "get everyone I can in position to hijack the _Eternal _and help Waltfeld get Lacus and as many others as he can out of the PLANTs, not to mention set them up a clear path through the Exclusion Grid."

"Should I go, then?" she asked as he powered up the device and logged in, "I don't want to get in your way."

Eric shook his head. "Believe it or not, I can arrange everything from here. I can log into the ZAFT network from anywhere in Aprilius One. The trick is making the necessary adjustments to the security at the dock where the _Eternal _is kept, along with the patrol routes of the warships that would be in their flight path, without leaving any traces leading back to me. It'll be difficult… but I can pull it off. After that I just have to contact everyone who'll be acting as Waltfeld's crew and tell them that we're moving ahead of schedule."

He then looked up at her and smiled. "Besides, I'd really appreciate it if you could stay longer. I'm grateful for your support, Shemei… and I want you here with me while I do this."

She smiled as she leaned over and put her arm around him. "If that's what you want, then I'll stay as long as you want me to; I've got nothing going on today anyway."

"Thanks," said Eric, "although, you might get bored after a while; I'm going to be on this thing for quite some time."

"I don't mind," she said, "it'll be interesting to watch how you work your crafty backstage magic, as it were. You always were the sneaky one of the four of us, not to mention the best when it came to computers."

Eric nodded. "Yeah, you're right… and I'll need every bit of that skill if I'm going to pull this off without landing myself in Zala's crosshairs."

She saw his eyes narrow as he focused on the screen and got to work. Leaning her head against his shoulder, Shemei closed her eyes for a moment, sending a silent prayer to the soul of the late Siegel Clyne.

_ Chairman_, she thought _it was an honor to know and serve under you. Rest in peace, Mr. Clyne. I swear on my life, I'll do all I can to help bring about your vision of peace and cooperation between Coordinators and Naturals. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, I promise!_

….

The artificial night was falling on the PLANT capital as Lacus approached the security checkpoint. She had ditched her disguise, which had consisted of a blond wig, a black skirt, white shirt, and brown jacket, back in the bathroom along with Aisha, Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla. Now her pink hair was on display for all to see, tied up with a red ribbon in a ponytail, her yellow-gold hairclip back where it belonged above her left eye. She was wearing a black dress with purple trim, tied off with a pink sash. Over that was a white jacket with purple sleeves and pink trim. It was a slightly more practical outfit than her usual dresses, though it was still quite flashy, and she had only changed out of her disguise when she had gotten confirmation from Waltfeld that they were now in an area controlled by soldiers loyal to the moderates, men and women that had been contacted personally by Field Marshal Bristow.

Everyone else had ditched their disguises as well, and they were now walking down the corridor in their original military uniforms with the exception of Waltfeld and Aisha; the former wore a long brown trench coat over his khaki pants and black shirt, while the latter was clad in a black and pink pilot's jumpsuit. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla were in red uniforms that symbolized their status as elite pilots, while DaCosta wore his tan desert uniform and his men wore the standard green attire.

Her father had died over six hours ago, giving his life so that she could escape. Mentally, Lacus knew that the wound her father had suffered when he had been shot by the sniper had been mortal, and that he would not have survived much longer anyway… but she still felt as though she had abandoned him. It didn't matter that Aisha had knocked her out and dragged her away; Lacus could not shake the guilt that was in her heart, weighing down upon her shoulders along with her sorrow and pain.

When she had initially regained consciousness several hours ago, she'd hoped against hope that what had happened had just been a nightmare, and that her father was still alive. However, mere seconds later she had seen the grim look in Aisha's eyes, and she knew that it hadn't been just a bad dream. Grief and anguish crashed into her like a tidal wave, and she had practically collapsed into the arms of the Desert Tiger's lover, crying harder than she'd ever had in her life.

In other circumstances she would've had more time to grieve, but less than an hour after she had awoken she had been approached by Waltfeld and the three former subordinates of Commander Rehema. They had expressed their deepest condolences before telling her in no uncertain terms just what the situation was; the hunt for them was intensifying even greater than before, and they had to flee the capital post haste. Still in shock over the death of her father, Lacus had only been able to nod numbly, realizing that she would have to hold her grief within, at least for the time being, if she was going to be able to survive long enough to escape the PLANTs and carry on her father's wish to end the war before it could escalate into all-out genocide.

Sorrow and anguish still tore at her heart even now, threatening to overwhelm her, but Lacus was determined to remain strong, at least until they were out of the reach of the radical faction. She turned to Aisha, who immediately proceeded to look towards the floor, unable to meet her gaze. Lacus knew that the woman felt guilty over knocking her out in order to get her to safety, but the girl did not hold it against her. _If she hadn't done that_, she thought grimly, _I would never have left my father's side… and I would've died with him._

"Miss Aisha," she said softly, "will you please look at me?"

The black-haired beauty was caught off guard, but she still turned to face Lacus, though her eyes constantly glanced towards the floor, as if meeting the songstress's gaze was incredibly difficult.

"Miss Aisha," she continued, reaching over to grab her hand, "thank you… for what you did. Had you not acted… I would not be here now. You saved my life… and you have my sincerest gratitude."

"Lacus…" said Aisha softly, "I… I'm sorry."

The songstress shook her head and smiled weakly. "Please, do not apologize, Miss Aisha. In my… emotional state, there was no way I would've been able to run away with the rest of you. You and Mister Waltfeld recognized that, and you did what you had to do in order to get me to safety. I owe you my life… and I'm sure my father would've wanted you to do what you did. Please, do not burden yourself with guilt; you will need all the strength you have if we are to get out of here alive."

The woman nodded, a determined look appearing in her dark green eyes. "Alright, Lacus… and thank you."

The pink-haired girl nodded. "You are welcome, Miss Aisha."

She then turned her attention forward, where Waltfeld was talking with one of the guards at the checkpoint. He turned around and nodded as rest of the group approached. "Everything's ready; we've got supplies, ammunition, a crew, and exit clearance. Hell, even the mobile suits are loaded and ready to go."

"Good," said Adaline, "let's get out of here."

Lacus nodded. "Agreed. The time has come for us to depart, Mister Waltfeld."

The doors opened, and Lacus and her entourage walked out onto the dock, the two door guards joining them; they certainly wouldn't be able to stay in the capital after what they had just helped enable, after all.

The top secret facility was alive with activity as the last members of the new warship's crew rushed to board her. The _Eternal _was even more impressing in person that it had been in the files Waltfeld and Field Marshal Bristow had shown her. Lacus looked at the large pink-burgundy vessel in awe, even in the midst of her grief not failing to be amazed at being up close and personal to the ship that would from now on be serving as her home and base of operations. _What an incredible ship_, she thought, _it may not be as powerful as the Archangel, but it is still very impressive._

"Lacus," said Lan, grabbing her attention, "come on, we need to get on board."

She nodded. "Right, Lan. Sorry, I was… distracted."

The Chinese Coordinator gave her a soft, understanding smile. "I understand. How are you holding up?"

"As well as can be expected under the circumstances," she replied as they headed up the gangway towards the starboard hatch, "I will have time to properly grieve and mourn my father once we are clear of the PLANTs and ZAFT forces."

Lan put her hand on her shoulder. "When that time comes, if you need anything, don't hesitate to come to us, alright? We want to help you however we can."

"Lan's right," said Adaline from behind them, "You're not alone, Lacus."

"We're all here for you," said Priscilla, smiling, "and we will never abandon you. That's a promise."

Lacus smiled at the three of them, feeling nearly overwhelmed with gratitude. "Thank you… all of you."

"Anytime," said Lan.

As they entered the ship the Valkyrie girls, along with Aisha, split off from the group. "We need to head to the hangar and prep our mobile suits in case we have to launch," said Aisha, "Lacus, you go with Andy to the bridge, alright?"

She nodded. "Ok. Please be careful."

"Don't worry about us," said Adaline, "just concentrate on doing your part, and we'll focus on ours. Do that and everything will be fine."

"Come on," said Waltfeld as the four of them disappeared around a corner, "let's move, Miss Clyne."

"Right," said Lacus, following in his wake. After a couple of minutes they arrived at the bridge. It was quite spacious, with the captain's chair situated up and above the crew stations. About halfway between the two was another chair with several keypads and monitors nearby.

"Lacus," said Waltfeld, pointing at that seat, "that'll be your station." He then smiled. "Unless you'd rather stand all the time."

Lacus shook her head. "I'll go there. What do you want me to do, Mister Waltfeld?"

"Just get yourself oriented," said the Desert Tiger as he sat down in the captain's chair, "that station has a few unique features I think you'll appreciate."

She did as he told her, and began experimenting with the keypads and monitors. Lacus was surprised to realize that she had her own independent communications array, capable of broadcasting on a wide range of frequencies as well as allowing her to monitor comm chatter of units broadcasting on friendly channels. At the same time, she saw that the monitors allowed her to view both ship schematics and images from the cameras stationed both inside the vessel's hangar and on the outer hull. One of the monitors also had a camera above it pointed at her, allowing her to make full-visual-audio broadcasts.

Looking up at Waltfeld, she saw that the former Field Marshal was running through final launch checks with the rest of the bridge crew. "Weapons status?" he asked.

"Heavy beam cannon and the METEOR batteries are online," said the chief gunnery officer, "defense missile launchers and CIWs are fully loaded and operational; no malfunctions to report."

"Engineering," said Waltfeld, speaking into the monitor mounted on his chair, "are things good to go on you end, Miss Daniels?"

"Aye, sir," said a female voice with a Scottish accent, "we're all powered up, and the engines are raring to go. We're ready to put this girl through her paces anytime you are."

"Comms," said Waltfeld, "transmit the launch clearance codes; let's blow this joint."

"Yes sir," said the radio officer, a woman who appeared to be in her late teens, with brown hair tied up in a pony tail, "transmitting now… codes accepted, bay doors are opening."

"Helm," said Waltfeld, smiling, "take us out."

"Roger that, sir," said the helmsman, a man with dark skin, short cropped hair, and a deep baritone voice. Lacus felt the engines roar to life, _thrumming _with power, audible even from the bridge. Slowly the ship began to move out as the docking bay doors ahead finished opening.

"Sir," said DaCosta as he entered the bridge, "hangar crews report that all four machines are good to go; they can launch any time you want them to."

"Good," said Waltfeld, "In that case why don't you get yourself situated, DaCosta?" He then smirked. "Looks like you're back to being my XO."

DaCosta nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes sir… I wouldn't have it any other way."

"To your station, DaCosta," said Waltfeld.

The Tiger's second-in-command nodded and made his way down to the crew pit, where he took his seat at the XO's station.

"Sir," said the radio officer, "we're receiving a communication from Source One; it's course telemetry, sir."

"Pass it on to sensors and helm," said Waltfeld, "along with Miss Clyne's station."

Lacus saw one of her screens light up with data, showing a map of the PLANTs with a dotted line representing the _Eternal_'s escape course. _Incredible_, she thought, _Field Marshal Bristow managed to alter the patrol routes of the capitol ships that would be in our path! We'll be able to pass right through the Hydrian Line! _Of course, there was no way the support cruiser would remain undetected as it made its escape, but the alterations and sabotage Bristow had managed to set up in the ZAFT defenses would buy enough time for them to clear the Exclusion Grid before the military was able to organize a pursuit force.

Looking out the forward viewport, she saw that the warship had cleared the dock and was moving away from Aprilius One. "Helm," said Waltfeld, "open her up, and don't spare the juice; we need to get clear ASAP."

"Aye sir," said the helmsman.

As the ship picked up speed, Lacus brought up the image of Aprilius One on one of her monitors. She watched for a moment as the place that had been her home for all of her life rapidly became smaller and smaller as the _Eternal _pulled away.

_No_, she thought grimly, _it's no longer home. What made it home is now gone; I have nothing to go back to. My old life ended as of today… my new life begins now. Father, I love you, I miss you… rest in peace. I promise I'll do all I can to carry on your work; I will not allow ZAFT or the Alliance to destroy mankind in the name of their selfish hatreds! I will stop them!_

….

Shemei smiled as she sat across the table from Eric, chowing down on waffles and bacon. It was the morning after the cunning Field Marshal had orchestrated what was without a doubt the most brazen and audacious ship-jacking in the history of mankind.

_An entire warship_, she thought, giddy with excitement, _not only that, but a one-of-a-kind cruiser with advanced weaponry and mobile suits… and from a high security dock in the heart of the capitol to boot! _She giggled slightly as she watched Eric fumble a bit as he attempted to slice a piece of waffle up, only for the bit of food to slip off the plate and fall into his lap. _And it was all set up by the man I love… a guy who apparently can't cut up waffles for the life of him!_

Her lover looked up and smiled sheepishly as he grabbed the offending bit of food and munched it down while trying to wipe up the syrup that was now staining his green bathrobe. The two of them were in his condo, both dressed in casual morning attire, with Shemei wearing one of Eric's shirts… and not much else.

She grabbed her napkin and reached across the table, wiping a bit of syrup off Eric's face. "Having trouble, lover boy?" she asked playfully.

"Hey, cut a guy some slack," he replied, "you poured way too much syrup on these… my food's sliding around my plate whenever I try to cut it!"

"That's because they're too rigid," she shot back, smirking, "you kept them in the toaster too long, and they're a bit crispy. I needed the extra syrup to improve the taste!"

They both laughed at that. "Gourmet chefs we aren't," said Eric, "at least when it comes to breakfast foods, anyway."

"No arguing there," said Shemei, "though I believe you were singing a different tune a few months ago when I invited you over."

"That was dinner food," Eric replied, "and you were using your mother's Egyptian recipes… which were superb. We didn't do the same here."

"True," said Shemei, "we kind of just threw this together… you don't keep a whole lot of breakfast food on hand."

"Mostly I just grab something on my way into HQ," said Eric, "I usually don't take the time to actually make a decent meal like this... but with you spending the night, I had to make an exception."

"You mean 'we'," said Shemei, giggling again, "This was a collaborative effort… and definitely not our best."

The two of them finished their meal in relative silence, a content peace falling between them. The worries that both of them had been shouldering for so long just didn't seem to exist at the moment. They were enjoying a meal with the person they loved; nothing else mattered.

After they cleared their plates they cleaned up the table and the kitchen before going to get changed into their uniforms. As she was putting on her uniform Shemei heard her cell-phone buzz on the nightstand. Checking the caller ID, she saw that it was ZAFT HQ. She sighed as she answered the phone. _Back to reality_, she thought as she listened grimly to the voice on the other end, _to the dark night that's fallen over my life._

"Hey," said Eric as she closed her phone, putting his hand on her shoulder, "you don't look so good. What was that about?"

She sighed before turning to look at him. "Command wants me to report to Fort Jupiter ASAP. I'm to officially receive the ZGMF-X14 Judgment today… along with my first assignment."

"Are you being sent against the _Archangel _and Wing Zero?" he asked.

Shemei shook her head. "No… I'm to be assigned to the task force charged with hunting down the _Eternal_."

Eric's eyes widened. "Shemei… I'm so sorry."

She shook her head. "Don't apologize, Eric; this wasn't your fault."

"Something's not right," said Eric, "if Command wants you to help hunt down the _Eternal_, why wait until now to call you?'

"I'm politically unreliable, remember?" said Shemei, "Zala had to take my parents hostage after all; even with my skill, I'm hardly the first person they'd call to take part in this mission. They probably sent forces from the defense lines in pursuit first, only for Waltfeld and the others to fight clear of them." Despite the gravity of the situation, she couldn't help but smile slightly. "He underestimated Waltfeld and the girls, and he's paying for it now. Assembling this task force will require resources that he needs elsewhere… including me."

"But you'll be going up against your former teammates!" said Eric, "Don't tell me this doesn't bother you, Shemei."

"I never said it didn't, Eric," she replied, looking down in despair, "but… what choice do I have? Either I follow orders… or my parents die." She struggled to hold back the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I have to join the taskforce… fight against the girls, Waltfeld and Aisha, Lacus… _my friends_… or my parents will be executed. Damn it… damn it all!"

She felt Eric put his arms around her and pull her close, and she did not fight it. Shemei buried her head in his shoulder, choking back tears. "Eric," she said softly, "I… I don't know what to do. No matter what path I take, no matter what I choose… someone I care about is going to die!"

"Not necessarily," said Eric, causing her to look up. "Shemei, you know how cunning Waltfeld is, how skilled Aisha and the girls are at mobile suit combat. The _Eternal_'s a formidable warship, and the girls all have state of the art mobile suits to fly. He'll be able to stay a step ahead of the hounds, and fight his way free of pursuit if the enemy gets too close. And even if you do end up fighting them, you can hold back while dueling the girls. They'll hold back too once they realize you're on the field. Together you can stall long enough for Aisha and Waltfeld to orchestrate a withdrawal, and then find a way to disengage from the girls without arousing suspicions. It's not a perfect plan, I know… but it's still something."

"Do you really think that would work?" asked Shemei, a sliver of hope in her heart.

"Shemei," said Eric, "everyone in the military knows how skilled a pilot you are, but few know exactly _how good_ you are. The same goes for your teammates; people know they're good, but not the actual extent. The four of you know each other better than anyone else. If anyone can put on a convincing show long enough for Waltfeld to figure out a way to disengage, it's you and the girls."

Shemei smiled softly, realizing that he was right. As he'd said, it was by no means a perfect plan, but it was still something, and definitely better than nothing. It didn't change just how desperate her situation had become, but it offered a ray of light, a slim possibility that she could get through this without killing someone she cared about.

"Eric," she said, pulling him in for a kiss, "thank you."

"You're welcome, Shemei," he replied as they parted, smiling. "Listen… do you need anything before you go? Anything at all?"

"Oh, I can think of something," she said as she leaned up for another kiss. It was longer than the last one, with both of them using it to release the passion and sorrow that was building up within them. Their mouths opened, tongues meeting and intertwining as they had several times now over the past few days, and they stopped only when the need for air became too great to ignore.

Gasping for breath, the two of them smiled again. "Well…" said Eric, "you don't ask for much… do you?"

"Only what I know you can deliver, love," said Shemei. Her expression then became more serious. "Eric… please, be careful while I'm gone, alright? I know you're good at covering your tracks, but Zala will be more paranoid than ever now that the _Eternal_'s been hijacked. I know you want to keep helping us… but please, keep your head down, ok?"

"I'll do my best," Eric replied, "but I'm not going to cease my activities. I'll watch my back, but I'm still going to do all I can to help the opposition; I've come too far to stop now. Besides… I owe Clyne that much, and no doubt more."

"I know you feel responsible for what happened to him," said Shemei, raising her hand up to caress his cheek, "but please, don't put yourself in danger out of some misguided sense of guilt. I can't lose you, Eric… especially not now. Don't sacrifice yourself; no one would want that. Not Clyne, not his daughter, and certainly not me. _Stay alive_, you got that?"

Eric nodded. "I will, Shemei. I love you."

Shemei smiled, giving him another brief kiss. "I love you too, Eric," she said.

….

From the bridge of the _Spengler_-class fleet carrier _Powell_, Muruta Azrael had a perfect view of the massive armada as it sailed through the Pacific Ocean. Ships filled the surrounding water as far as he could see, and fighter jets and mobile suits crisscrossed the sky as they flew their assigned patrols.

The head of Blue Cosmos and the _de facto _ruler of the Atlantic Federation and the entire Earth Alliance smiled as he looked out upon the invasion force. "Everything is proceeding as planned," he said quietly, "the Lion of Orb reacted just as I predicted he would. Soon that stubborn old man and his nation of Coordinator sympathizers will be crushed, and its resources will be ours to wield."

It was not just the assembly and launching of the armada that had gone according to plan. In Moscow the CPK had staged its coup and deposed the sitting government of the Eurasian Federation. The takeover had gone off without a hitch; a silent power grab. The people at large were unaware that they were now under the control of the Blue Cosmos' ally in Eurasia, as the CPK had puppet ministers already installed in the most important government institutions. All the nation's military facilities had been seized as well, and its reserve divisions and Home Fleet were being marshaled for offensive operations. Like the Blue Cosmos, the CPK's doctrine was one of attack; they had no issues with using their homeland defense units as frontline attack forces. After all, they would be used in the campaign that would drive the Coordinators from the surface of the Earth; there was no need to hold forces in the homeland beyond those necessary to maintain internal security.

Of course, it would still take time for the new rulers of Eurasia to mobilize the fleet they would be sending to aid the invasion of Orb, along with the reserve divisions and the task force that would be assisting Rear-Admiral Bernard with the invasion of Africa. The Eurasian Home Fleet would not arrive in time to join the Atlantic Federation armada for its opening assault on Orb. That did not matter though; the Eurasian Home Fleet would be needed only to help complete the victory. Azrael did not expect the entire nation to fall in a single day, though he did believe that the most important institutions and facilities, particularly the Kaguya mass driver, would be taken within the first twenty-four hours. The Eurasian fleet would arrive near the end of the first day or the beginning of the second day of the offensive, and would replenish any losses suffered by the Atlantic Federation and fill in gaps in the armada as it continued its assault.

Azrael smirked as he looked out over the armada. _The former Eurasian Federation rulers lacked the backbone to fully commit themselves to our war effort_, he thought_, but the Chistaya Partiya Krovi is a different matter. They see the world through the same lens as we do. It's is unfortunate that Eurasia's frontline units were all but destroyed at Alaska; they would've been useful under the leadership of the CPK. However, their loss was a necessary sacrifice, though of course the original strategy that required said loss did not go according to plan. That's irrelevant now; the last Eurasian military units are now committed to our offensive operations, and that's all that matters. They may not have the same experience level as the units lost at Alaska did, but that doesn't matter; their numbers alone are what counts, and when combined with our own forces they will be more than enough to secure our victory over the Coordinator forces that remain on Earth, along with their sympathizers in the Orb Union._

The Eurasian Home Fleet had not yet been given access to any of the Atlantic Federation's new model mobile suits; they would be fighting with conventional weapons. After Orb was taken Azrael planned to send them the schematics for the Strike-Dagger and Buster-Dagger as rewards for their cooperation. It would no longer be necessary for the plans for those machines to be kept exclusively to the Atlantic Federation; after all, the leaders of the CPK had already pledged their loyalty to Blue Cosmos, and were in effect under the control of Azrael. Eurasia would essentially be united with the Atlantic Federation, in fact if not in name.

The final warship tally for the Atlantic Federation armada was staggering: 30 _Spengler_-class fleet carriers, 32 _Angler_-class escort carriers, 48 missile cruisers, 124 destroyers, 32 heavy transports, 30 of the gargantuan _Titan_-class troop transports, 14 supply freighters and 12 tankers. There were no conventional submarines in the fleet; the underwater fighting would be done by the Aqua Darts stored in the bellies of the _Angler_-class escort carriers. Even without the larger underwater vessels the fleet was still an incredibly formidable force. It was the largest ocean-going force assembled by the Atlantic Federation in the entire war to date, and when the Eurasian Home Fleet arrived to reinforce it the armada would gain an additional 10 heavy carriers, 15 escort carriers, 23 missile cruisers, 79 destroyers, 9 _Theta_-class submarine/carriers, 12 Alpha V attack submarines, 7 freighters and five tankers.

The armada's air arm was just as fearsome as it's aquatic one. The larger _Spengler_-class carriers had all been refitted to carry 18 Strike-Daggers apiece equipped with Neo-Aile flight packs (three of those units had been removed from the _Powell _to make room for the second generation GAT-series prototypes), while the _Angler_-class vessels were outfitted with 24 of the conventional F-7D fighters per ship to augment the mobile suits, along with 12 Aqua Darts in their bottom hulls.

The heavy transports carried mixed compliments of mobile suits, with 6 normal Strike-Daggers and 2 Buster-Daggers each in their holds. These would in turn be reinforced by an additional 108 Strike-Daggers that would be air-dropped by a transport flight of 36 planes whose arrival would be synced up to match that of the fleet.

The combined mobile suit count for the invasion force was impressive to say the least: there were 537 Neo-Aile pack-equipped Strike Daggers, 300 regular Strike-Daggers, 64 Buster-Daggers, and the second generation GAT-series prototypes. With a grand total of 871 mobile suits it was actually less than the amount of machines used by ZAFT's Operation Spitbreak force, but the units would be augmented by a far greater amount of conventional warships than their Coordinator Counterparts, along with 768 F-7D fighters and 384 Aqua Darts. When the Eurasian Home Fleet arrived they would add an additional 840 Su-63K fighters and another 108 Aqua Darts to the Alliance forces; the final nail in the coffin for the Orb Union.

To follow up the mobile suits as they advanced into Orb territory was the infantry aboard the _Titan_-class troop transports. Each vessel was the size of a luxury liner, and could carry 5,000 soldiers to the battlefields apiece, making for 150,000 men and women that would be storming the beaches in smaller landing craft deployed from the mammoth transport ships. An additional 10,000 paratroopers would be dropped in behind enemy lines once air-superiority had been established.

"Orb will fall before our overwhelming power," Azrael whispered, grinning sinisterly, "not even the _Archangel _and Wing Zero will be able to save them. We will be able to wipe out both the traitors and the Coordinator sympathizers in a single attack. Once Bernard's forces have retaken Africa we can then turn our attention completely to outer space… and wipe out the abominations once and for all."

….

Athrun Zala was conflicted as he made his way down the hall of the research facility to the top secret berth where his new machine was being held. Bits of the briefing he'd just had with his father kept playing through his mind, outlining his first assignment since his fateful duel with Kira over the Marshall Islands months ago.

_"Intelligence has confirmed that the legged ship is in Orb," said Patrick Zala, "The Alliance has amassed an invasion fleet and is moving to attack that nation in order to bring it officially under their umbrella. After what happened at Alaska, we believe the legged ship, along with its mobile suits, will be fighting against the Alliance forces."_

_ "This is an ideal opportunity," his father continued, "You will be able to use the confusion of the battle to secure the Freedom and then take down Wing Zero. Kill anyone who witnesses your actions; the Justice must remain a secret for the time being."_

The young man looked down at the floor, the burden on his shoulders having never felt so heavy. His father's words were not the only ones going through his mind; he remembered his conversation with Lacus, her revelation that not only was Kira alive, but that he was the pilot of the Freedom, and was back with the legged ship. Just as important was Lacus's statement that Kira was not fighting for the Earth Forces, but to bring the war to an end in a manner that did not involve acts of mass-murder.

_Can I… can I really fight Kira again?_, he thought, _After all that's happened since that battle… after my father tried to kill Lacus… can I truly keep following his orders?_

It wasn't just his assignment to fight both the Freedom and Wing Zero that had him so worried. His father's last orders had shocked him, chilled him to the bone.

_Kill all witnesses_, he thought, _but what if those witnesses are innocent civilians, or Orb soldiers? What if… what if one of them is Cagalli? Orb's her homeland, and I bet she'd be willing to fight for it. I… I can't kill her!_

As he continued down the hallway, the young pilot found himself torn between two imperatives. One was his duty as a soldier of ZAFT, to follow the orders of his superiors. The other was his own heart… which was desperately looking for a way out of the situation that did not involve killing either his old friend or the girl he had come to care about, and practically screaming at him that something was _very _wrong with his father. The latter feeling was only amplified by the news he had received of Siegel Clyne's death and Lacus's flight from the capitol. He didn't know many of the details regarding the raid on the moderate meeting, but the rumors he had heard were of a brutal firefight with casualties on both sides. More importantly, he'd also heard that Lacus had been present at the meeting… meaning Athrun's father had once again been trying to kill her as well.

_Father_, he though, disgusted, _how could you even think of trying to kill Lacus? I know she aided in the theft of the Freedom, but… you're going too far! Lacus didn't want to hurt anyone, and I'm sure she still feels that way… even after your men killed her father. She just wants this war to end without further escalation. Why are you so dead set against that?_

"Hello, Special Operations Agent Zala," said a voice, causing Athrun to look up. He realized that he was standing in front of the door to the top-secret hangar, and a security guard was right next to it. "Everything alright, sir?" the guard asked.

Athrun nodded, forcing his mind back to the here-and-now, doing his best not to dwell upon what would happen when he finally encountered Kira and his comrades. "It's nothing," he replied, "May I go in? The Supreme Chairman wants me to get my mission underway."

The man nodded. "Yes, we were told to expect you and let your through at once. Good luck in your mission, Agent Zala."

"Thanks," said Athrun as he passed through the door.

The hangar was alive with activity, with techs racing to make final adjustments to the magnificent machine within it. Even in its dull gray form, with its Phase Shift Armor powered off, the ZGMF-X09A Justice was an imposing sight to behold. It was definitely larger than his old Aegis, and the sense of power it exuded was impossible to ignore.

_Was this how Kira felt_, thought Athrun, _when Lacus gave him the Freedom? _Despite the grimness of his situation, the young man could not help but be in awe of the prototype mobile suit in front of him. At its waist were two beam sabers and a beam rifle, while on the shoulders were mounted two beam-boomerangs, similar to the one mounted on the Strike's Sword configuration. Attached to the back of the unit was a large flight backpack, which according to the files Athrun had read could detach from the mobile suit and be operated remotely, or be used by the Justice as a platform for increased mobility in atmosphere. Two beam cannons were attached to the backpack. In the normal configuration they would aim over the Justice's shoulder, while in use as a flight platform they would be aiming forward beneath the machine's feet. A large shield was mounted on the mobile suit's left arm, offering much more coverage than the smaller one that had been on the Aegis.

A mixture of trepidation and excitement went through Athrun as he made his way towards a nearby locker room to change into a flight suit. On the one hand, what the machine represented was very unnerving; a nuclear powered machine, a violation of the PLANT vow to never use such power after the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. However, the pilot in Athrun couldn't wait to take control of the mobile suit and put it through its paces. The young man had a fondness for machines, and the mobile suit he had been entrusted with was one of the most advanced pieces of technology in the Earth Sphere; to say he was curious as to what it could do was an understatement.

After he changed into his flight suit he left the locker room and made his way towards the boarding platform. One of the mechanics nodded at him as he approached. "Agent Zala," he said, "the unit's all ready to go. Just give our tech crews a minute or two to get clear before you fire her up."

"Understood," said Athrun, nodding in return, "thank you for having it ready on time."

"Good luck in your mission, sir," said the mechanic before he began making his way towards the hangar exit.

Entering the mobile suit and closing the hatch, Athrun sat idle for a couple minutes as he gave the mechanics ample time to clear the area around the Justice. He took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm his nerves, but they had little effect. Try as he might, he could not quell his inner turmoil regarding the mission. The gap between his duties as a soldier and his personal feelings was just too wide, and the young pilot knew that there was no way he would be able to reconcile the two. He would have to choose: loyalty to ZAFT, to his father… or to Lacus and Kira, their friends and their ideals, their hope for a future where Coordinators and Naturals could truly live in peace.

"Damn it," he whispered, "I don't… I don't know what to do."

Deciding that enough time had passed, and desperate to take his mind, however briefly, off his conflicting thoughts, he began the power-up sequence for the mobile suit. The screens and consoles around him flashed to life, and he could practically feel the energy provided by the machine's nuclear reactor coursing through the unit's wires and control surfaces. He initialized the Justice's Phase Shift Armor, and a separate display showed a graphic representation of the mobile suit changing color from gray to burgundy.

Scanning the myriad of monitors around him, he ran through his pre-flight checks. _Weapons, engines, power, N-Jammer Canceller, sensors, hydraulics, armor…_, he thought, running over the major components one by one, _…everything looks good._

"This is Special Operations Agent Athrun Zala," he said over the radio, "requesting launch clearance."

"This is Control," came the reply, "we're opening the doors now. You're clear for launch. May our Justice illuminate the stars."

_ I didn't ask for crappy poetry_, thought Athrun, grimacing.

"Athrun Zala," he said, "Justice, launching!"

He was rocked back in his seat as he hit the throttle and the engines roared to life, rocketing him down the launch-way and out of the colony. _Wow_, he thought, his eyes widening, _these thrusters have some serious kick to them!_

As he hit open space he further increased the acceleration, rapidly leaving Aprilius One in the dust. The Earth was visible far in the distance, though it would be several hours before the Justice would be entering the atmosphere.

He had time to think about what he would do when he arrived in Orb… though of course, it was not nearly enough time for Athrun to make such a heavy and consequential decision.

_My father_, he thought as the Justice zoomed through space, _or Kira? My last remaining family, or my old friend? The military and government I swore to serve and protect… or the people that are trying to bring this war to an end without escalating it? Damn it, what's the right choice?_

He knew he would have to make up his mind soon. If Athrun's heart was still torn when he entered the battle, if his mind was not focused… then he would be flying to his death.

….

"Everyone, please take your seats," said Colonel Kisaka, "time is of the essence, and we need to get this briefing underway post haste."

Heero looked over at Murrue, who nodded at the Orb Special Forces officer before moving to sit down in the front row. Heero settled in to her left, while Kira and La Flaga sat down to the Gundam pilot's left. Cagalli was with them as well, and Orb's tomboy princess grabbed a seat next to Kira. Scanning the room, Heero saw several admirals and generals that he assumed would be leading the various defense forces in the coming battle break up their private conversations and take their seats. In addition to them, Heero also saw Erica Simmons and Lord Uzumi standing off to the side of the large screen in front of the amphitheater, which currently had displayed on it a map of Orb's main island and the surrounding ocean.

It had been three days since the Alliance deadline had passed, and Heero was sure that by now the enemy fleet was closing in on Orb. The early morning briefing had no doubt been called because the battle was now less than a day away, or perhaps mere hours now. The air was thick with tension and anticipation, and the promise of the imminent confrontation had everyone on edge. Heero was no exception; the wrath that he had kept hidden in the depths of his heart was once again stirring, eager to make its presence known, to unleash itself upon the Atlantic Federation armada. Of course, outwardly he showed no signs of this; his demeanor was as cool as ever. However, that image of calm and control that had been so natural for him to exude was a little more forced now as the Gundam pilot found himself fighting an inner battle with the beast that he was trying to keep locked away within himself; the slow-burning fury at the Atlantic Federation, whose forces he would soon be engaging. Once again the memories of their betrayal of Murrue at Alaska flashed through his mind, a treachery that had nearly cost the woman he loved her life. It was something that the Perfect Soldier would never forgive, _never _forget… and the time to make those responsible for it answer for their crimes was fast approaching.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to center himself and bring a temporary calm to the struggle he was waging with himself, Heero turned to Murrue again. The beautiful Captain was a picture of determination and courage, and her lovely brown eyes burned with resolve. She had made her choice to stay and fight, and would do all she could to protect the nation that had offered her and her crew a dearly needed sanctuary. Seeing her like that was enough to, for the moment, bring a sense of calm focus over the young man. _Keep it together, Heero_, he thought, _Murrue needs to concentrate on the coming battle; the last thing she needs to do is worry about you. Get a grip; if you want to protect her then be the soldier she expects you to be._

Murrue looked over at Heero and smiled. "Well, we've done all we can to prepare," she said, "I guess I'm about as ready as I'll ever be for something like this. How about you, Heero?"

He nodded, giving her a slight smile in return. "I'm ready, Murrue."

The two of them turned back to the front of the briefing amphitheater where Kisaka was busy making adjustments to the screen. Eventually groups of dots representing ships, mobile suit and fighter squadrons, and ground units appeared all over the map. The Atlantic Federation forces were in blue, while the Orb Union's were yellow.

There was a _lot _more blue than yellow.

Kisaka cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Atlantic Federation armada is now approximately six hours away from our territory. Muruta Azrael, the head of Blue Cosmos, has sent us one final surrender demand, which we have refused. There is no turning back now; we have to fight."

He pressed a button on the remote in his hand, and the screen zoomed in on the blue icons representing the Alliance forces. "The entirety of the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Combined Fleet," Kisaka continued, "with the exception of the forces lost at Panama, is in bound for Orb. We have pulled back all forces from our smaller outlying islands; we will concentrate our defenses on our mainland, as Intelligence has already indicated that it is the enemy's primary target."

"What's the word on the forces they're throwing at us?" asked La Flaga, "How many bad guys we looking at?"

"More than we've ever seen in an armada before," said Kisaka grimly, "our analysts believe this force rivals the fleet ZAFT assembled for Operation Spitbreak, if not surpass it."

Stunned whispers and gasps rippled through the audience. Kira, Cagalli, and La Flaga all had expressions of pure shock on their faces, while Heero saw Murrue's expression become grim. He certainly couldn't blame her, considering how bad the First Battle of Alaska had been.

"The ship count for the armada," Kisaka continued, "stands at 322 vessels. This figure includes both direct combat warships and support craft such as transports, freighters, and tankers."

"God damn…" whispered La Flaga.

"I'm afraid the bad news doesn't end there," said the Colonel, sighing, "according to Intelligence, all of the Atlantic Federation's _Spengler_-class fleet carriers have been modified to carry mobile suits; specifically, mass production Strikes outfitted with full-flight capable Aile-packs. The units lack Phase Shift Armor, but their sheer numbers will make up for the defensive deficiency. Also, the fleet's heavy armor transports have been refitted to carry mobile suits as well. Based on photographs taken by high-altitude drones we believe they are carrying a mix of ground based mass production Strikes and Busters."

"They're not wasting time in fielding those machines," said Murrue, "given the Atlantic Federation's industrial capabilities I suppose it's no surprise that they've already been able to build so many of the new units. Still… it's hard to imagine they've already completed enough to completely replace conventional armored units for a force like this."

"Agreed, Captain Ramius," said Kisaka, "unfortunately, all evidence points to exactly that."

"They're eager to reclaim the initiative in this war," said Heero, causing the others to look at him, "now that they have their own mass production mobile suits the Alliance no doubt wants to use its greater resources to field a force ZAFT can't hope to match. Up until now the only way they could win battles was through overwhelming numbers, and even then their losses were heavy; now that they have mobile suits that Naturals can use they can fight ZAFT on a more equal footing."

"Indeed," said Kisaka, nodding, "and the Alliance wants to make the most of their newfound power by seizing complete control of the Earth. Once they've achieved that objective we have no doubt they will turn their full attention to the PLANTs."

"We can only imagine the kind of buildup ZAFT will initiate to counter this, if they haven't begun one already," said Lord Uzumi, "Patrick Zala will not stand by while the Alliance builds a mobile suit force to rival his own; their factories are probably working overtime to replenish their recent losses."

"It's ominous," said La Flaga, "but what ZAFT's doing in orbit doesn't really affect us at the moment."

"True," said Kisaka, "in addition to the mobile suits on the ships, a large group of transport planes was loaded with additional machines. They're on their way to Orb as well, and we predict they will sync their arrival with that of the armada; then they'll drop their units."

"What's your estimate of the enemy mobile suit count?" asked Murrue.

"Our best guess," said Erica Simmons, her expression grim, "is around 800 machines, including both land and air units."

"How many we can we field?" asked Cagalli.

"We'll come to that in a moment, Lady Cagalli," Erica replied, "Colonel Kisaka has not finished outlining the enemy's strength."

"Oh, come on," Cagalli replied, exasperated, "what else can they hit us with?"

"Quite a bit," sighed Kisaka, "the armada includes several _Angler_-class escort carriers. These ships have not been refitted to carry mobile suits; they have their standard compliments of conventional craft. While they are naturally not nearly as strong as mobile suits, their numbers are still formidable; Intelligence estimates they have around 760 F-7D Spearhead fighters and 380 Aqua Dart attack submersibles."

Orb's fiery princess slumped in her seat. "I wish I hadn't asked," she muttered glumly.

"Looks like they still haven't completely ditched their old combat doctrine," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing, "overwhelming numbers of conventional fighting vehicles is still the order of the day. They're just starting to replace them with mobile suits; the transition isn't complete."

"That is true," said Kisaka, "however, that does not change the fact that we are heavily outnumbered in this fight."

"So what do we do?" asked Kira, "How does Orb plan to fight against the Alliance invasion fleet?"

"As I said before," Kisaka reiterated, "we've pulled back all our forces to our mainland. Only through coordination between our air, naval, and ground forces do we stand a chance at surviving this battle."

"Our backs are to the wall, so to speak," said Lord Uzumi, "the only way Orb will remain an independent nation is if it inflicts such losses on the Alliance fleet that they deem conquering our nation to be more costly than it is worth." He sighed. "With fanatics like Muruta Azrael leading their forces that will not be an easy task."

"So what's our game plan?" asked La Flaga, "You guys refused to surrender, so I'm assuming you're not going to just sit back and do nothing while they invade your country. Like the princess asked earlier, what do we have to hit back with? Aside from the _Archangel _and its mobile suits, I mean."

Kisaka nodded and hit another button on the remote. This time the screen zoomed in on the Orb forces. Heero's eyes narrowed as he focused on the units arrayed, particularly the Orb Navy. Its fleet was roughly half the size of the Alliance invasion force, and its warships were top of the line combat vessels. There were ten heavy carriers, broken up into five pairs, with each pair heading up a battle group. The rest of the fleet's ships were allocated evenly through the battle groups. Each group had 3 light carriers, 5 missile cruisers, and 18 destroyers. In addition, 6 _Wanizame_-class attack submarines each were allocated to the task forces. Finally, each battle group had 4 modified freighters attached to it, listed as Underwater MS Carriers. From his discussion with Erica Simmons nearly two weeks ago Heero knew that each vessel had a compliment of four Pisces submersible mobile suits. The total number of ships in the Orb fleet was 190 vessels, and of those 145 were direct combat units; the carriers and modified freighters naturally had minimal weaponry beyond their CIWs, anti-air cannons and surface-to-air missile launchers.

"Unfortunately for us," said Erica, "only one of our _Akagi_-class fleet carriers, the _Kaga_, has been completely refitted to carry the new Aries air combat mobile suits; it holds sixteen of them. The other nine ships, along with all 15 of the _Zuihō_-class light carriers, are outfitted with the standard CF-89 _Washi _fighters."

"The _Akagi_-class fleet carriers," said Kisaka, "hold 75% the fighter compliment of the Eurasian Federation heavy carriers; they have 36 aircraft each. As for the _Zuihō_-class light carriers their fighter capacity is also 75% that of the Eurasian and Atlantic Federation escort carriers, at 18 planes apiece."

"This doesn't mean that the only Aries suits flying in the battle will be those launched form the _Akagi_," said Erica, smiling, "we've managed to produce quite a few of those machines, and have positioned them at our main airbases along with our I-220 _Suzume_ interceptors. We have 162 Aries mobile suits ready to launch from ground facilities. When combined with the 16 units aboard the _Kaga_ that will be 178 machines."

"What about underwater mobile suits?" asked Heero, "You told me before that each of your modified freighters carriers 4 Pisces submersible MS; since there's twenty of the ships that holds them that gives the fleet 80 machines. Are those all you have to fight the Aqua Darts with?"

"We have an additional 20 units standing by at shoreline facilities," said Erica, "of all our new mobile suits the Pisces is among those with the fewest machines built, only beaten out in that category by the Tragos, but the ones that we have completed should be enough to take on the Atlantic Federation Aqua Dart squadrons. The odds against our Pisces teams will be slightly less than four-to-one, which is actually a slight edge in our favor; remember, Heero, that the Alliance conventional forces normally only achieved victories over ZAFT mobile suits when the odds were around five-to-one. The fighting will still be difficult, of course, and our pilots have only been training on the new machines for a few weeks while the Alliance Aqua Dart pilots are all veteran soldiers. Still, the Pisces is by far the superior unit, and we believe it will allow us to go head to head with the Alliance underwater combat forces on an even footing and give us a chance to triumph… a chance we would not have had without you, Heero."

"Indeed," said a fleet admiral sitting near the back of the room, "the Orb fleet is in your debt, pilot Yuy; without the Pisces the Atlantic Federation Aqua Darts would overwhelm our warships and conventional submarines. Thank you, Yuy. We are in you debt."

Heero shook his head. "Don't mention it."

"What about fighters?" asked Murrue, "You said Orb can only field 178 Aries mobile suits for aerial combat, which means your conventional combat aircraft will still have a major part to play in the coming battle."

"For the carrier based fighters," said Kisaka, "we have 594 CF-89 _Washi_ multi-role fighters. In addition to that we have 300 I-220 _Suzume _interceptors stationed at various air bases."

"That's a total of 894 aircraft," said La Flaga, smiling, "we actually outnumber them in terms of fighters."

"Yes," said Erica, nodding, "however, many of those fighters will be busy helping the Aries mobile suits engage the flight-capable mass production Strikes… and we're expecting heavy losses. You've been flying mobile armors and fighters for a long time now, La Flaga; you know how they typically fare against their mobile suits counterparts."

The blond ace's expression became grim. "Yeah, you're right about that. Considering how many you'll have to divert to fight the enemy airborne mobiles suits, even with Kira, Heero, the Aries units, and myself in the fray it'll be quite the uphill battle."

"Indeed," said Kisaka, "and the ground engagement won't be any easier. Between the mobile suits carried in the transport ships and those we're expecting to be air dropped, we're anticipating that the Alliance will field between 340 to 380 ground units. We don't know the exact composition of their ground forces yet, but are expecting a mix of the mass production Strikes and Busters."

"How many ground mobile suits do we have to counter with?" asked Heero.

"140," Kisaka replied, "120 of which are M1 Astrays, while the remaining 20 are the Tragos heavy artillery mobile suits."

"Why do we have so few of the M1s ready for battle?" asked Cagalli, "I thought they were supposed to be the main mobile suit for our forces."

"Because the M1 isn't just meant for the defense of the Orb mainland," said Erica, "we've also been shipping suits to our Eden and Elysium colonies to support the Taurus units that are being built to defend them. We're determined that they avoid the fate of Heliopolis, especially since a large number of refugees are fleeing to those colonies."

"It's also a simple matter of resources," said Lord Uzumi, "there are only so many machines we can build so quickly, and our industrial facilities have been stretched to the limit in building up our forces in preparation for this day. We are not the Atlantic Federation or ZAFT; our raw materials and work force are considerable, but they can't hope to match those of the two superpowers."

"In constructing several different types of mobile suits for the defense of Orb," said Kisaka, "we've been forced to limit how many of each we can build. It was a tradeoff we had to make in order to maximize the ability of our military to be able to respond to the widest possible variety of enemy attacks."

"It's a difficult choice," Murrue chimed in, "but I understand why you took that course of action; you need mobile suits capable of supplementing your conventional forces in the air, sea, and on land. If you'd focused on just the M1 you'd have a more powerful ground force, but you'd only have regular fighters and naval units to meet the rest of the Alliance's assault. Your casualties would be horrendous against something like their new full flight-capable mass production Strikes."

"An astute observation, Captain Ramius," said Erica, nodding, "even with mobile suits like the Freedom, Tallgeese Kai, and Wing Zero on our side and capable of fighting in the air, the sheer number of flight-capable Strikes the Alliance is fielding would be overwhelming if we only had conventional fighter jets to back up Kira, La Flaga, and Heero." Morgenroete's Chief Engineer then sighed. "As it stands now, with units like the Aries acting in cooperation with our conventional fighters and your own pilots, we have a chance to survive, but I'm under no illusions as to the price we'll pay; even in victory, our losses will be very heavy."

"Our soldiers knew that there was the chance that they would be called upon to make this sort of sacrifice when they enlisted," said Lord Uzumi grimly, "they are aware that even winning, preserving Orb's sovereignty, will likely have a high price attached to it. All we can do is deploy them in the manner that gives us the best possible chance to drive back the Alliance forces and ensure that those that die will not have perished in vain."

Looking to his right Heero saw Murrue lower her head slightly and close her eyes for a moment, and he surmised that it was in grim contemplation of just how many would die in the coming battle. _For someone who fights so hard to keep the people serving under her safe_, Heero thought, _knowing that losses will be unavoidable, even if they may not be of the men and women directly under her command, is a difficult prospect for Murrue to face. As a soldier of course she's trained to expect it, and she dealt with it well with regards to the orbital battle, the losses suffered by the resistance fighter in North Africa, and our allies at Alaska, but it still weighs heavily upon her, all the more so because as Captain any order she makes could result in the death of someone under her command._

For Murrue to have the strength to be able to constantly make decisions with many lives riding on them was something Heero marveled at, along with the fact that she showed such concern and compassion for both those directly under her command and those that were not, like the allied forces of the Orb military. For her, having a command role was a difficult burden to bear because she empathized with both her crew and her allies on a level that very few high ranking officers did. She refused to dehumanize people even though it would make dealing with the losses inevitable in war easier. She had chosen a difficult path for a commanding officer, but to Heero it was also the right path, and he had vowed to do all he could to help her bear the burdens that came with it.

Heero gently took Murrue's left hand in his right. She opened her eyes and turned to him, and Heero did his best to give her a reassuring look. He nodded slightly, and he saw her do the same while giving his hand a quick squeeze. It was a silent acknowledgement, thanks for his continued support and loyalty to her.

The two of them then returned their attention to the front of the room as their hands parted, listening intently as Kisaka continued the briefing. He pressed a few buttons on his remote, and the screen zoomed out far enough to encompass both the Alliance and Orb fleets. Orb's five battle groups were arrayed with their backs to the coast facing north, where the Alliance Fleet was coming from. The enemy armada was arrayed into three groups, with the central one appearing to be made up of half the ships in the fleet, while the formations flanking it were half the size of the one in the middle. The destroyers, cruisers, and light carriers made up the forwards lines, while the heavier carriers, transports, and supply ships were naturally further back in the armada. Turning his attention to the Orb fleet, Heero saw a single white blip in the middle of the centermost of the five battle groups, and he knew it was the _Archangel_.

"Based on their current heading and formation," said Kisaka, "we're now certain that the enemy will focus their attack on our northern coast. The Kaguya mass driver and spaceport is near the center point of this area, and we know the Alliance is desperate to take the facility in order to regain access to outer space. The _Archangel _and the Orb Third Fleet will defend the coastline in front of the spaceport, and will also be assisting the Army with the defense of Kisiragi."

Kisaka input more commands into the remote, and the yellow dots that represented the Orb fleet, air force, and ground units began to move around on the map. "The First and Second Fleet," he said, "will advance to engage the right wing of the armada, while the Fourth and the Fifth will hit the right. We'll be throwing all our Aries mobile suits into these two pincers, along with a considerable amount of our conventional fighters. Our goal here is to keep the enemy's forces from spreading out and landing troops at too many locations. If we can force them to land on a narrower front we have a better chance at beating them back even if they manage to get units ashore."

"That will funnel most of their forces towards the beaches along Kisiragi," said Cagalli, "the city will be destroyed in the ensuing fight!"

"Which is why it has already been evacuated," said Lord Uzumi, "the only people in Kisiragi now are our own soldiers fortifying their positions. If we can bog the Alliance forces down there we can contain their advance and eventually drive them back into the sea. Yes, the city may well be destroyed in the process, but better Kisiragi be demolished then all of Orb fall to Azrael and his ilk."

"Not all of the enemy landing forces will be funneled to Kisiragi," said Kisaka, "the Kaguya spaceport will also be within that front. Both locations are being reinforced as we speak in preparation for enemy action, though we are willing to bet the Alliance will tread more carefully with regards to Kaguya than Kisiragi."

"They can't risk destroying the mass driver," said Heero.

"Precisely," said Lord Uzumi, nodding, "that will give our forces stationed at Kaguya some added cover. The Alliance forces will advance on the spaceport cautiously; that will give us a chance to drive them back."

"What about the enemy air units supporting the landing?" asked Murrue, "You said most of your airpower would be focused in the pincer attack, along with all the Aries mobile suits; how are you planning to counter what will likely be a substantial portion of the Alliance's full-flight Strikes and fighter jets?"

"The carrier aircraft of the Third Fleet will provide some support," said Kisaka, "and the anti-air firepower of the _Archangel _and our own warships will be able to take down some of the enemy mobile suits and fighters. However, the heaviest burden will fall upon the Freedom and the Tallgeese Kai." The Colonel looked at Kira and La Flaga, his eyes narrowing. "Are the two of you prepared to shoulder that responsibility?"

Kira nodded. "If it's the best way for us to protect Orb, then yes."

"Hang on a second," said La Flaga, his brow furrowing, "I've got no problem with this plan, but aren't you leaving someone out of it? What about Heero? I know you haven't forgotten about Wing Zero, Kisaka."

"No, I have not," the Colonel replied, "I did not mention pilot Yuy because we have another role in mind for him, should he chose to accept it."

"What do you want Heero to do?" asked Murrue.

"Simply put," said Lord Uzumi, "attack the center of the Alliance fleet."

The Gundam pilot could feel all eyes in the room turn towards him. Everyone was looking at him with expressions ranging from dubious to shock. Heero couldn't blame them for their surprise and skepticism; even with word getting around about what he had done at Alaska, he knew hearing Orb's leaders ask him to attack a fleet that was larger than the entire navy of their country head on would not be an easy thing to swallow. For his part, the Perfect Soldier would not deny that it was certainly a daunting task; he would be flying into the teeth of the armada, after all.

Still, in a way there was a sense of familiarity to such an assignment. It had a lot in common with his early missions after the launch of Operation Meteor, namely the objective of doing as much damage as possible to the enemy forces. The fact that he would once again be fighting a fleet that was part of an 'Earth Alliance' further added to the strange sense of nostalgia he was now feeling.

And there was another, darker aspect to the role they wanted him to play in the battle; it would give him free reign to maul the heart of the enemy fleet, something that the wrath locked away in his heart was all too eager to do. With no friendly forces nearby, surrounded only by enemies, he would have the freedom to truly cut loose. The calm, rational part of him resisted the idea; for all his power and skill, Heero knew he was ultimately less effective at fighting when he allowed the Zero System to take over than when he imposed his own will on it. Unleashing his pent-up cold fury against the enemy fleet would give the Zero System a perfect window to take control, to drive him into an indiscriminate rampage. He would not be acting in accordance with his core belief of 'acting on his emotions'; rather, he would be allowing himself to be _ruled _by them, letting his wrath become his driving force. It was a path that the Perfect Soldier would normally be adamantly opposed to going down… but the memory of the Atlantic Federation's betrayal of Murrue at Alaska burned fiercely in his heart and mind, and the darker side of his protectiveness towards the beautiful Captain _demanded _that it be avenged.

"Heero," said Erica Simmons, "we need you to hit the Alliance forces head on. Their central battle group has by far the most firepower, and between the pincer attacks and defending the coast our fleet will have its hands full. Wing Zero has the speed and the firepower needed to make such an attack, and you have the skills necessary to pull it off."

"Hold on," said Murrue, concern clear in her voice, "there has to be another way! You can't ask Heero to take on such a force without support!"

"Murrue," said Heero, causing her to look at him, "it's alright." He smiled slightly in an effort to alleviate at least some of her worries. "There's no other way we stand a chance at surviving the coming battle; Wing Zero has to hit the enemy center in order to blunt the invasion."

"Heero," said Murrue, "you still don't have to do it by yourself. At least let me use the _Archangel _to support you!"

Heero shook his head. "Murrue, the _Archangel _will be needed to support the Orb Third Fleet in protecting Kaguya and Kisiragi. Even with me hitting the enemy fleet head on plenty of the Alliance forces will be able to go around me and move to support the landings. The _Archangel _is the most powerful warship in the Earth Sphere, and its strength will be vital in keeping the enemy from establishing a solid foothold on Orb soil."

There was another reason Heero didn't want Murrue to back him up with the _Archangel_, though of course he'd never tell her; if she was concerned now, she would be terrified if she knew that there was the possibility that he could go on a rampage. More importantly, the further away from Murrue Heero was, the less risk there would be of her getting caught in the crossfire should he begin to lose himself to the Zero System. Heero was determined that that did not happen.

Murrue sighed. "Alright, Heero. I still don't like this… but I understand why it has to be this way."

"I'll be fine, Murrue," Heero replied, "I just have to inflict enough damage to make the Alliance fleet withdraw; I don't have to fight the entire armada."

"Precisely," Lord Uzumi chimed in, "while the fleet pincers hit the flanks and the Third Fleet and the _Archangel _support our ground forces in defending the coastline, Wing Zero can hit the largest concentration of enemy vessels, not to mention their command-and-control capabilities. With the leadership of the armada under direct threat, the Alliance forces eventually have no choice but to retreat."

"Regarding their leadership," said Heero, "who's commanding the invasion? What's the flagship?"

"According to intercepted radio transmissions," said Kisaka, "Vice-Admiral Vickers is in charge of the armada; his flagship is the _Spengler_-class carrier _Clinton_."

Heero's eyes narrowed, the beast of vengeance in his heart rearing its head as it recognized the name of one of the four members of the Atlantic Federation High Command… one of the four officers that had tried to have Murrue killed at Alaska. To know that one of the bastards responsible for that treachery would be personally present on the battlefield… it was an opportunity Heero could not pass up.

_The carrier Clinton_, he thought, grim anticipation mixing with a dark excitement in his heart, _I'll remember that… no matter what else happens, that ship will _not _leave the battle in one piece. Vickers… you're mine!_

"Heero," said Murrue, snapping the Gundam pilot back to the briefing, "Are you alright?"

Heero realized that he had tensed up a bit at Kisaka's announcement, and that he was practically glaring at the Alliance fleet up on the screen. He forced himself to relax and turned to Murrue, nodding. "I'm alright Murrue, really."

She nodded, but the Perfect Soldier could tell that he had not completely allayed her worries. It meant a lot to him to know that she cared so much for him, but he also knew it was a distraction she could ill afford right now.

"There is one more thing," said Lord Uzumi, "we have received unconfirmed reports that Muruta Azrael himself will be with the invasion fleet. We have no word on whether or not he will be aboard the _Clinton _or will have his own ship; it's really just a rumor right now."

"He must be feeling really confident if he's with the armada," said Kira.

The Lion of Orb chuckled. "Well, it's hard to blame him for it, Kira Yamato. Besides, as I said before, the reports are all unconfirmed. Depending on signal traffic intercepted in the coming fight we may learn the truth. If he is here, then it just underscores how much importance the Atlantic Federation has placed on this operation."

"They really want the Kaguya mass driver," said La Flaga, "they're pulling out all the stops with this invasion force."

"Yes," said Erica, nodding, "and we must do the same if we hope to withstand their assault."

"We are past the point of no return," said Kisaka, "and our backs are to the wall. The only way out now is to fight. The odds against us are greater than any this nation has ever faced before, but if we give this battle everything we've got, then we have a shot at preserving our independence, our ideals, and our way of life."

"Orb is the last light of hope in this dark world," said Lord Uzumi, "it shines as an example that both races can live together in peace and harmony. Should it be consumed by the Alliance, I fear that will serve to accelerate the march to mankind's destruction."

"We'll do all we can to stop them," said Murrue, "We're ready to fight."

"That's right," said Kira, "we won't let the Alliance impose its will on Orb."

"You got that right," said La Flaga, grinning, "plus, I think we owe the Atlantic Federation a little payback for trying to kill us at Alaska."

_More than a little_, thought Heero, _for what they did at Alaska… I'll show them no mercy._

….

Dearka sat up on the bed in his cell as he saw Miriallia approach. His eyes widened in surprise as the guard opened the cell and Miriallia passed him his neatly folded pilot's jumpsuit.

"Come with me," she said quietly.

"What's going on?" he asked as he followed her out of the brig.

"This ship will be going into battle soon," Miriallia replied, "The Captain wanted you to be released before the fighting begins."

Dearka was taken aback by the sudden announcement. "Wait, who are you guys going to fight? I thought we were in Orb; this nation's neutral. Who'd attack it?"

"The Earth Alliance" said Miriallia, "they demanded that Orb join them in their war against ZAFT. Orb refused, so the Alliance is preparing to invade the country and force them to submit; they'll be here in a matter of hours. We're going to do our part to defend Orb and fend off the attack."

"Hold on," said Dearka, "I thought you guys were with the Alliance. Why are you helping Orb fight against your country?"

"I'm not from the Alliance, remember?" said Miriallia, her eyes burning with determination, "Orb's my homeland, and I'll do all I can to protect it!"

"Right," said Dearka, "I forgot… sorry."

Miriallia sighed. "It's fine, don't worry about. Anyway, this ship and its crew abandoned the Alliance after they tried to kill us at Alaska. To them, we're traitors to be executed on sight. Orb was willing to offer us protection and asylum, so we're going to do all we can to help them in their hour of need. I'm no longer an Alliance soldier, nor is anyone else on this ship. We're just people who share Orb's ideals, who believe that they have the right to their independence, and that Coordinators and Naturals can live together in peace. That's all there is to it."

Dearka nodded. "I understand." He couldn't help but be worried about the girl as they continued through the ship's corridors. Knowing the Alliance, he was sure they would send a massive fleet to fight against Orb. Miriallia and her allies would be severely outnumbered… perhaps fatally so.

Another thought occurred to him. "Hey," he said, "what about the Buster? What about my machine?"

"It was the Alliance's originally," said Miriallia, "and Orb helped develop it; ZAFT simply stole it, remember? Anyway, it's already been removed from the ship; Morgenroete took it to their testing facility a few days ago." She looked over at him. "You didn't really think they'd let you leave with the Buster, did you?"

He sighed. "No, I guess you're right… I've just become sort of fond of it, that's all."

"I see," said Miriallia.

The two of them were quiet for the rest of the way. When they reached the starboard hatch the silence between them became awkward, as both of them seemed to want to say something but could not figure out exactly what it was.

After a moment Miriallia finally spoke up. "Listen, Dearka," she said, "I… I know we didn't meet under the best of circumstances, but I've enjoyed getting to know you. You're… a good person, and I'm glad we met."

Dearka nodded, smiling. "Yeah… you too, Miriallia."

She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, giving it to him. Looking at it, Dearka saw an email address written on it. _Why give me this?_

Dearka saw her smile at him, looking a little bashful. "You can contact me through that… if you want to," she said, "I mean, it's not like I have a working phone right now, so that's the best I can do. Look, I… I want to stay in touch, ok? We come from two different countries, and… well, there's a chance we could never see each other again. I… I would like to meet you again sometime in the future, when this is all over."

Dearka's eyes widened a bit before he smiled again. "Yeah… I'd like that too, Miriallia. I'll contact you as soon as I can, I promise."

Miriallia nodded. "I'll hold you to that. Take care of yourself, Dearka."

The young Coordinator nodded. "You too, Miriallia. Stay alive."

Their eyes met for a moment before they parted ways. As he walked down the gangway, Dearka felt mixed emotions war within him. On the one hand, he was finally free. He could get in contact with ZAFT, arrange for transport to Carpentaria, and finally rejoin his own side.

However, he was all too aware of the fact that Miriallia would soon be in grave danger. Regardless of how powerful the _Archangel _and it's mobile suits were, the sheer numbers that the Alliance was likely to field in the coming battle could very well be too much for them to handle, even with the help of the Orb military. There was a very real chance that Miriallia could die in the upcoming engagement… and that terrified Dearka.

_I could leave_, he thought as he walked through the docks towards a nearby exit, _it would be so easy... but Miriallia can't leave. She's staying to defend her homeland, and… damn it!_

It was in that moment that the young man knew that he could not return to ZAFT. He had become too attached to the young girl he had met during his time aboard the _Archangel_. Now, with her going into what would no doubt be an incredibly fierce battle… there was no way he could walk away now.

He had to help. He had to stay and fight.

_But how?_, he thought, _I doubt I'd be able to convince the Orb or the Archangel's crew to let me fight with them; I was their prisoner until a few minutes ago, after all. What am I going to do?_

Then Miriallia's words echoed in his mind. _"Morgenroete took it to their testing facility a few days ago."_

_ The Buster_, he thought, his eyes narrowing, _I can use that! _He remembered the Morgenroete testing facility from his infiltration mission with Athrun and the rest of his old team a few months ago. It wouldn't be easy to get inside and find his machine, but it was the best option he had.

_Hang on, Buster, I'm coming_, he thought, determination coursing through his veins, _You and I have another battle to fight, and a girl to protect! We've been sitting on the sidelines for too long now; time we got back in the game._

….

Kicking back in the special ready room aboard the carrier _Powell _reserved for him and his comrades, Orga Sabnak turned the page of the novel he was reading. One of the three Biological CPUs that had been chosen to accompany the Atlantic Federation Pacific Fleet for the invasion of Orb, Orga was the unofficial leader of the trio. His appearance was normal enough, with blond hair that was swept back save for the bangs that framed his face and pale blue eyes. He wore a simple black and blue pilot's jumpsuit.

_I'm bored_, he thought, _can we get this show on the road already? _He was eager to get into battle, to prove what he could do; it was his first actual engagement after all. The same went for the other two pilots in the room with him.

They were kicking back as well, distracting themselves with their personal hobbies, which was good because normally they were constantly at each other's throats. To say that their personalities did not go well together was an understatement; they barely functioned as a team during their training exercises, and in fact mostly fought on their own unless the situation demanded that they work together. Orga had become more or less their leader because his personality was the most conventional and stable of the three, and even that was a stretch. The young man was reckless and aggressive, counting on the heavy firepower of his mobile suit, the GAT-X131 Calamity, to overwhelm his foes in exercises and keep him alive. His 'tactics' more or less consisted of throwing himself and his teammates headlong into the fray, each acting independently from then on out.

His fellow pilots were on opposite ends of the emotional and personality spectrums. Clotho Buer, a boy with light red hair and icy blue eyes, was… _confrontational_, to put it mildly. Wearing a black and yellow flight suit, the young man was currently occupying himself with a handheld game system, giving his teammates a welcome break from his usual griping. He was by far and away the most aggressive of the three Biological CPUs, and his personality during a fight was a lethal mix of pride and psychotic fury. His preferred method of engagement was to wildly charge in with the GAT-X370 Raider, mixing it up with the foes right in front of him while not paying any attention to his flanks. This meant that his teammates were constantly bailing him out of trouble, a fact that pissed Orga off to no end.

The third Biological CPU, Shani Andras, was a sharp contrast to the hot-blooded Clotho. The green haired young man, with a purple right eye and a gold left eye, and wearing a white and black flight suit, was quiet and anti-social. In between fights he would put on his headphones and tune out the rest of the world, preferring isolation to interaction. One thing he did share with Clotho was his preference for independent engagement, taking the GAT-X252 Forbidden into close-range fights with his foes and relying on its unique abilities to keep him out of trouble.

The three of them were quiet now, but Orga was already getting edgy, and he knew the others were too. It wasn't just due to the fact that their first real battle would be starting soon, but also because they would be receiving yet another dose of the performance enhancer that they needed to pilot their machines; Gamma Glipheptin. The spike in adrenaline, reflexes, and the ability to process information was like nothing Orga had ever felt before in his life. He was hooked to the substance, just as the other two Biological CPUs were. When they weren't piloting their machines they were given a suppressant drug that helped to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay, but it just wasn't the same as the super-soldier narcotic cocktail that gave the three young men their deadly piloting abilities. The longer they were kept off it, even with the suppressant drug in their system, the edgier they got, more irritable, until they were suffering almost as bad as they would under the actual stages of withdrawal from Gamma Glipheptin.

_The last dose was a day ago_, he thought, _when Lord Azrael had us doing simulator exercises. We've gone longer than this without it, but still… damn it, I need that injection soon or I'm gonna start going crazy._

At that moment the door to the ready room opened, and Lord Azrael walked in. He smiled at the three young men. "I see you're ready to go," he said, "that's excellent. We'll be launching our attack in two hours, so you three need to get to the hangar and prep your machines. The doctors will be waiting for you there, and you'll get your doses before you launch."

"Understood, Lord Azrael," said Orga, nodding. Shani and Clotho nodded as well before putting their entertainment devices away, while Orga put his book down on the couch.

"You three are clear on your objectives, correct?" said Azrael.

"Yes sir," said Orga, "attack the Orb ground forces and help clear a beachhead for our landing forces."

"What about Wing Zero?" said Clotho, "Will we have to fight it too?" The young man actually sounded nervous, and Orga couldn't blame him. The three of them had been briefed on all of the enigmatic and powerful mobile suit's actions and battles since it had first appeared several months ago, and there was no denying that it was a formidable machine… perhaps too much even for the three of them to handle.

Azrael shook his head. "Our air squadrons will take care of Wing Zero. The three of you just need to focus on attacking the Orb military, along with that new mobile suit if you get the opportunity."

"Good," said Shani, "I can't wait to fight that guy."

"Yeah," said Clotho, grinning, "same here."

"Remember our mission," said Orga, "we'll attack the new model when we encounter it, but our main objective is to destroy the coastal defense forces."

"Orga is correct," said Azrael, glaring at them, "you will follow my orders… or you will not like the consequences. Is that understood?"

The three of them nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good," said Azrael, smiling again, "now, I believe you three should get going."

Orga and his teammates made their way out of the ready room and towards the hangar. The young man could feel the excitement building in his veins. _Finally_, he thought, smiling, _no more simulator runs or training exercises; a real battle! This is going to be fun!_

….

The bridge of the _Archangel _was alive with activity as the crew ran through the pre-launch checks. From her perch in the Captain's chair, Murrue observed her subordinates making the final preparations for the battle, a sense of pride swelling up within her. _After all they've been through_, she thought, smiling, _most of them decided to stay and continue fighting. I'm sure each of them had their own reasons… regardless of what they were, I'm glad they're here. They're the best crew I could ever ask for, and I wouldn't go into battle with any other._

Checking her personal monitor, which was currently linked to one of the hangar cameras, Murrue saw the tech crews making final adjustments to the Tallgeese Kai, Freedom, Wing Zero, and the Skygrasper. The three mobile suit pilots were already inside their machines running through their own pre-flight checks; only the Skygrasper remained empty. Murrue was growing concerned that Cagalli might not make it in time.

Just then Lieutenant Tsukino's voice rang out from the CIC. "Captain, someone's approaching the ship from the dock. Bringing up the image… what the hell?"

Murrue smiled as she saw Cagalli running up towards the ship. The tomboyish princess had ditched her military uniform and was wearing her usual khaki pants and red shirt. "Let her on board, Lieutenant," said Murrue.

Tsukino looked up at her Captain for a moment. 'Ma'am, are you sure? I don't think she's supposed to be here."

Murrue nodded. "I've already spoken with Cagalli about this; she wants to pilot the Skygrasper and help us in the battle. I gave my consent. Now, let her come aboard, Lieutenant."

Tsukino nodded. "Aye, Captain." She then smiled slightly. "I have a feeling Lord Uzumi doesn't know about this, does he ma'am?"

Murrue shook her head. "Don't concern yourself with it, Lieutenant." She then smiled as well. "Cagalli summed it up nicely a few days ago; easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission."

The Lieutenant nodded again, smirking. "Roger that, Captain."

Murrue returned her attention to the bridge at large as Cagalli boarded the ship. A few minutes later she heard the doors behind her open. Looking over her shoulder she saw the tomboy princess run up to her before stopping to catch her breath.

"Sorry… I'm late… Captain," gasped Cagalli.

"It's alright, Cagalli," said Murrue, "I'm just glad you were able to make it before we launched."

The blond girl smiled. "It took me a little longer that I thought it would to sneak away from the others and get here; Kisaka was watching me like a hawk until my father finally called him over to discuss something. That was when I made a break for it. I doubt it will take them long to realize I've gone missing."

"Well, you're here now, and we'll be launching shortly," said Murrue, "get down to the hangar and get ready for takeoff. They Skygrasper's being fitted with the Launcher load out and will be ready soon. All you need to do is run through your preflight checks."

"Alright," said Cagalli, "I'll get a move on then." She smiled before she left. "Captain? Thank you for letting me fight with you guys. My father would never have understood… I'm glad you do."

"You're welcome, Cagalli," said Murrue, returning the smile, "I'm glad to have you with us."

"Happy to be here, Captain Ramius," said Cagalli before leaving the bridge.

_I'm going to catch hell for this from her father_, Murrue thought as she watched the girl exit the bridge, _but I'm alright with that. I need every pilot I can get, and though Cagalli's past experience with the Skygrasper wasn't exactly stellar, she still knows how to pilot the fighter and put its capabilities to good use. Pairing her up with La Flaga and the Tallgeese Kai will increase her effectiveness. Besides, the two of them flew together during our big clash in North Africa, and they did quite well there; hopefully they can repeat that performance here._

"Message from dock control, Captain," said the radio operator, "they're opening the doors now."

Murrue nodded before turning to Ensign Neumann. "As soon as you have clearance, take us out and set a course for the north shore of the main island; we'll enter formation with the Orb Third Fleet as soon as we make contact with them."

"Yes ma'am," said the helmsman.

Murrue watched as the massive dock doors opened up in front of the _Archangel_. Then she felt the ship's engines _thrum _to life, and the massive white warship began to move out.

_I won't launch the mobile suits yet_, she thought, _it'll be best to wait until we have confirmation of the enemy on our radar. Hopefully things are going well down in the hangar._

The main island wasn't too far removed from Onogoro. In fact, it was actually visible on the horizon, and at the speed the _Archangel _was going it would be only a matter of minutes before they would be cruising around the eastern side of the island and making their way towards the rendezvous point with the Orb Third Fleet in front of Kaguya.

Bringing up a map of the Orb mainland, Murrue's eyes narrowed as she studied the deployment of the allied forces. The left wing of the Third Fleet was able to provided some defense for the city of Kisiragi, but the bulk of the force was stationed out in front of the beach that ran from the city's edge to the Kaguya spaceport. _The fleet will be able to give some fire support_, she thought, _but the bulk of the city's defense will fall to the ground forces stationed there. If they need help I suppose I can dispatch either Kira or La Flaga and Cagalli to aid them, though that will detract from the Third Fleet's own air power. Hopefully it won't come to that…_

The overall situation was grim no matter how she looked at it, but what worried her most was not the defense of Orb's northernmost city or the Kaguya mass driver, but the safety of the incredibly young man who would be involved in the most dangerous part of the battle; attacking the center of the Alliance Fleet head on.

_Heero_, she thought as the _Archangel _cruised towards the Orb mainland, _I know you've faced long odds before, and I have absolute faith in your abilities… but I do not like this plan. This forces too much onto your shoulders, and I'll only be able to support you from afar. _She was hoping that Heero would remember to send her firing coordinates for the _Archangel_'s missiles and heavy weapons so she could at least provide him some backup. Murrue knew that the bulk of the white warship's firepower would be needed to aide in the defense of the Orb coastline, but if Heero asked her for help then she would instantly deliver; supporting him had top priority in her heart and mind, regardless of what the _Archangel_'s primary role in the battle was.

The ship moved swiftly over the waves, rapidly approaching its destination. There was still no word from the radar operator on the approaching Alliance armada, but Murrue knew it would not be long before that changed. _Another large scale battle_, she thought grimly, _and so soon after our escape from Alaska. Our reprieve in Orb did not last nearly as long as I'd hoped it would. At least those who wanted to leave were able to do so; after all they've been through already, I have no right to force anyone to fight against their will. I'm glad they were able to evacuate with Orb's citizens… I just hope that wherever they go, the Alliance will not pursue them._

"Captain," said the radar operator, "I have the Orb Third Fleet on sensors."

Murrue nodded. "Helm, bring us into formation with the fleet."

"Aye, Captain," said Ensign Neumann.

As they moved towards the front-center of the Orb Third Fleet the communication's officer spoke up. "Captain, Lord Uzumi is on the line."

"Patch him through," said Murrue. _I'm pretty sure I know why he's calling_, she thought.

Orb's leader appeared on the main monitor. "Captain Ramius," he said, "Kisaka has reported that Cagalli is nowhere to be found in our Command Center." His eyes narrowed. "I know my daughter, Captain; she's aboard the _Archangel_, isn't she?"

Murrue nodded, not wanting to lie to the man that had given her crew sanctuary. "Yes sir," she said, "Cagalli approached me and asked that she be allowed to rejoin my crew and fly the Skygrasper. I gave her my consent… and I knew that you did not want her to fight on the front lines."

"Then why did you allow her to board the _Archangel_?" said Lord Uzumi, his voice rising, "Does my hospitality mean nothing to you, Captain?"

"On the contrary, Lord Uzumi," said Murrue, "I am very grateful for all you have done for us since we arrived in your country. However, Cagalli approached me out of the desire to defend her country, and to help her friends. She had prior experience with the Skygrasper, and had the determination and passion to fight for her beliefs and her people." She bowed her head. "I apologize for aiding in her defiance, Lord Uzumi, but please understand that this was not a decision I made lightly."

She then looked up at the Lion of Orb, meeting his glare. "I acted with the interests of both my ship and your country in mind, sir. We need every skilled pilot we can get our hands on if we're going to survive through today, and your daughter more than qualifies as one. I know that you wish to protect her as both your daughter and the heir to your throne, but Cagalli does not want to be held back and coddled. You need to give her the freedom to act on her emotions!"

"Do not tell me how to look after my daughter, Captain Ramius!" said Lord Uzumi, "I am sending a boat to retrieve her, and you _will_ hand her over!"

It was at that moment that the radar operator interrupted. "Captain, multiple contacts approaching from the north… it's the Alliance!"

_Saved by the enemy_, she mused, _I hope they're not expecting a thank you, because they won't get it._

Her eyes narrowed as she faced Lord Uzumi. "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir," she said firmly, "we've just picked up the enemy on our radar, and I need my pilots in the air at once… _all _my pilots, Lord Uzumi."

The Lion of Orb sighed, recognizing that he wasn't going to win this one. "Very well, Captain Ramius. In that case… please watch over my daughter."

"She'll be flying with La Flaga," said Murrue, "Cagalli's in good hands, I assure you."

"I hope you're right, Captain Ramius," said Lord Uzumi, "good luck."

As the Lion of Orb disappeared from the screen Murrue immediately began issuing orders. "All hands, Level One Battle Stations! Get the hangar doors open at once; Wing Zero and Freedom will launch first, followed by Tallgeese and the Skygrasper!"

She then turned to her personal monitor and contacted Wing Zero. She saw Heero appear on her screen, a fierce intensity in his Prussian blue eyes.

"Heero," said Murrue, "we've spotted the enemy on our long range sensors. Are you ready to launch?"

The young man nodded. "I'm good to go, Murrue."

His voice was calm, strong, and focused; not a hint of fear or hesitation. However, Murrue could not help but feel that there was something else behind the words. She didn't know what it was, and for all she knew she was imagining it… but it felt dark, almost _menacing_. It reminded her of his demeanor during the briefing earlier that day. There was a sort of ominous intensity about him, almost like he was _looking forward _to the fight. Something about the incredible young man that she had fallen in love with felt _wrong_, but she could not describe exactly _what _it was. She had asked him during the briefing, but he just responded that he was fine.

_Heero_, she thought, _I know you don't want to worry me, but there are some things you can't hide from me. I _know _you, Heero, and whether you want to tell me or not, I can tell that something's not right with you._

Still, now was not the time to be second guessing him, to show any hint of doubt in him. Murrue had to believe that whatever was bothering Heero was something he would keep under wraps during the battle, and that he would be willing to come to her for help when things were calm again. She trusted him with her life… but she still couldn't help but worry for him.

"Heero," she said, "please be careful, alright? I know that the only way for us to get through this is for you to hit the enemy center head on while we defend the coastline… but please, don't hesitate to call for support if you need it. I swore to do all I could to back you up; I won't go back on that now."

"Roger that," said Heero. Then he signed off.

"Doors are open," said Miriallia, "Wing Zero, Freedom, you are clear to launch!"

Two blue comets shot out of the two 'legs' of the _Archangel_. The two powerful mobile suits soon split off, with the Freedom decreasing its speed and lagging behind while Wing Zero soared on ahead. Seconds later the Tallgeese Kai and the Skygrasper left the ship as well, forming up behind the Freedom.

"Radar," said Murrue, "get me a tactical overview of the battlefield!"

"Yes ma'am," said the sensor officer.

The image on the main monitor became a copy of the map that had been show in the briefing earlier that day, with the Alliance forces in blue, Orb in yellow, and the _Archangel _in white. Both sides were deployed in the manner that had been predicted earlier, with the Orb First and Second Fleets moving to engage the right wing of the Alliance armada, while the Fourth and the Fifth were mirroring them on the left. Meanwhile, the Orb Third Fleet and the _Archangel _were positioned to defend the northern coast, with much of their forces concentrated in front of the Kaguya mass driver and the surrounding shoreline. Behind them were the coastal defense forces; mobile suits and conventional ground vehicles in position and ready to fire on anyone that made it past the fleet.

_Even with us concentrating on Kaguya and the shoreline that runs from it to Kisiragi_, she thought grimly, _we're still very spread out. If the Alliance brings forward enough ships, fighters, and mobile suits they'll be able to punch enough holes in our lines for the landing craft to get through. Not to mention there's the entire western side of Kisiragi that we can't cover directly; we can only direct some of our fire onto that approach. It doesn't matter how fiercely we fight out here, the Orb ground forces will have to engage the enemy eventually._

Swarms of smaller dots poured out from the larger blips on both sides; fighters and mobile suits launching from their carriers. Additional air units were launching from Orb's air bases, moving to give critical support to the naval aviation squadrons.

"Captain," said the sensor officer, "radar is picking up multiple high-altitude contacts over the Alliance fleet. They're C-350 transport planes, 36 of them!"

_They'll be airdropping mobile suits from those_, she thought, _no doubt they'll sync their timing so they'll hit the ground just before any naval landing forces. _The Orb air units would be unable to intercept them; the amount of fighters and flight-capable Strikes the Alliance was fielding would take up all their aerial combat strength.

"Sonar readings are off the scale!" cried the sensor officer, "Pisces underwater MS are moving to engage, and Aqua Darts are launching from the Alliance carriers!"

"Make sure to keep us elevated over the surface," said Murrue, "I don't want us catching any of their torpedoes!"

"Aye, Captain!" said Ensign Neumann.

"Weapons," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "coordinate anti-air fire with the Orb fleet. We need to help screen the carriers. Open up as soon as enemy air units come within range!"

"We have a visual on the enemy fleet!" said the sensor operator.

"Bring it up!" ordered Murrue.

The image on the main monitor shifted, and Murrue could see the silhouettes of the Alliance surface ships on the horizon. They were spread as far as she could see; carriers, destroyers, cruisers, transports, landing craft… the whole gamut of naval military might. No one had fired any shots yet, but it was only a matter of seconds before that changed.

Adjusting her personal monitor, Murrue brought up two images side by side on the small screen. On the right was a miniaturized version of the tactical map that had been displayed on the main screen earlier, while on the left was the image of Wing Zero rushing to meet a swarm of oncoming full-flight capable Strikes.

_Heero_, she thought as she watched the Gundam bring the fearsome Twin Buster Rifle to bear on the enemy formation, _please, take care of yourself. Fly like I know you can, and come back to me alive._

_I love you._

….

**(Start "****The Wings of a Boy Who Killed Adolescence****")**

Sighting in on the center of the enemy formation, Heero's eyes narrowed as his finger rested over the trigger. The sky ahead of him was full of enemy mobile suits and fighters, hundreds of them. Beyond them he could see the heart of the Alliance armada, his primary target. The young man's expression was that of focus and resolve, giving little hint of the struggle raging within him. The beast that was his wrath knew that battle was at last upon it, and was doing everything in its power to break free from the chains that bound it and wreak absolute havoc. For the moment, Heero's restraint was holding… but he did not know how long it would last.

In the midst of his inner turmoil his mind flashed back to the beginning of Operation Meteor… more specifically, to one of the orders he had been given regarding the mission. It was one that in the past he had obeyed on an irregular basis; it all depended on who he was facing. He had followed it when fighting against enemy soldiers during the Eve Wars, but had been unable to do so when it came to civilians.

_"Those who see a Gundam shall not live to tell about it."_

The Perfect Soldier decided now was the time to resurrect that order; none of the Alliance forces he encountered would be leaving the field alive. It was a dark omen to the start of the engagement; already he was giving his wrath an avenue to come forth. If he wasn't careful, it would slip its bonds entirely.

He pulled the trigger, unleashing a torrent of yellow-gold hellfire. It ripped through the center of the enemy formation, destroying a dozen mobile suits. _I'll punch right through the middle_, he thought as he gunned his engines, _Kira and the others can handle whatever gets around me. Once I begin pounding the Alliance armada they'll recall some of their mobile suit and fighter squadrons to try and take me down; that'll take some of the heat off the others._

Igniting his emerald beam saber, he weaved through a veritable rain of green energy beams as the mass-produced Strikes returned fire. Closing rapidly with his foes, he impaled the nearest enemy machine, then whirled around and sliced another one clean in two. Diving to avoid another barrage of energy beams, he brought up the Twin Buster Rifle and cut loose with another large blast.

Ten more mass production Strikes burst into flames like a string of firecrackers. Several others caught the edge of the energy wave and began to retreat, their pilots struggling to keep their damaged machines airborne.

Heero didn't give them a chance to return to their carriers. Falling upon them like an avenging angel, he impaled one mobile suit through the back, then charged another one and cut it in half. He then struck down three more damaged units in rapid succession, his emerald blade tearing his foes apart.

The Perfect Soldier was brutal and ruthless as he cut down the last of the machines that had been damaged by his earlier attack… a clear indicator that, already, Heero was beginning to let his wrath take over his actions. While his fighting style always revolved around efficiency and maximizing enemy casualties, the Gundam pilot was normally not in the habit of finishing off damaged, retreating enemies.

A small part of Heero's mind was telling him something wasn't right, that he was descending down a dark road that he should not be taking… but the rest of it didn't care. The forces he was engaged with answered to the men who had set Murrue up to die at Alaska. For that kind of treachery, he would treat them to Hell on Earth.

He slashed another mobile suit with his beam saber, and then whirled around to block an attack as another unit ignited its yellow energy blade and struck at him. The Gundam pilot quickly parried the blow before slicing the machine's sword arm off and impaling it through the cockpit.

He gunned his thrusters to gain altitude, crossing blades with several more mass production Strikes in the process. Heero hacked and slashed his way through the pack, eviscerating eight mobile suits before he broke out of the enemy formation and set up for another shot with the Twin Buster Rifle. His position gave him a great view of the overall battle, and he took it all in at a glance as he prepared to fire on the mobile suits rushing up at him.

Off in the distance to both the northeast and northwest explosions dotted both the sky and the ocean; the pincers of Orb's naval and aerial attacks on both flanks were engaging the wings of the Alliance armada. Wing Zero's tactical display showed both sides fiercely slugging it out, though it was far too early into the clash to see who had the upper hand. The enemy had superior numbers, of course, but the simultaneous attacks on both sides had caught them temporarily off guard, and the Orb forces were holding their own for now.

Beneath him he could make out torpedo tracks and scattered explosions, signs of a vicious underwater battle unfolding just below the surface. Once again, the Orb underwater forces were severely outnumbered, but Heero knew from past experience how formidable the Pisces mobile suit could be when wielded properly, and Erica Simmons's upgrades had increased their effectiveness; numbers alone would not enable the Alliance Aqua Darts to win the day.

Meanwhile, the several of the destroyers and cruisers that made up the forward lines of the Alliance's center part of the armada were moving forward to engage the Orb Third Fleet and the _Archangel_. Both sides were already opening up, and while the Alliance could bring more guns and missiles to bear, the white warship at the head of the Orb forces defending the approach to the shoreline had firepower far surpassing any other vessel in the fight, and its beautiful Captain was already cutting loose with it. Four large emerald beams ripped into the charging enemy as the Gottfrieds opened up, turning two destroyers into fireballs. The _Archangel _opened fire with the Valiant heavy rail cannons as well, and a cruiser and another destroyer were torn in half as the massive rounds ripped through their hulls. Adding to the punishment was a quartet of Sledgehammer missiles arcing down from above, fired in two pairs. Each pair slammed into a destroyer, mauling their upper decks and sending shards of metal flying everywhere.

But the Alliance ships weren't taking the punishment lying down. The rest of the warships were already trading fire with the Third Fleet. Cannon shots and missiles sailed back and forth between the opposing forces, and both sides took hits. Still, even with their advantage in the number of warships they could bring to bear, the Alliance would not be able to punch through the Third Fleet without a fierce struggle, and it was one the Orb Navy and the _Archangel _were more than willing to give them.

However, even with the backing of the most powerful warship in the Earth Sphere, the Orb Third Fleet was unable to completely cover the beach approach, with its left flank ending just before the center of Kisiragi. While the Alliance's frontline warships pressed their assault, the enemy's armor transports and infantry landing craft were already moving up, doing their best to skirt along the side of the naval battle and make for the city's western coast, which was guarded only by the Orb Army. The large transport planes high above the confrontation were moving up as well in preparation to drop the mobile suits carried in their cargo bays.

The Alliance's surface and underwater units weren't the only ones moving to attack the center of Orb's defenses. Squadrons of fighters and mobile suits that had bypassed Heero were already moving up the field. However, just because they had gotten around Wing Zero did not mean they had an open shot at the Third Fleet. The Freedom, Tallgeese Kai, and the Skygrasper were in their path, supported by fighter squadrons from the nearby Nakajima airbase and the Third Fleet's carriers, along with anti-air fire from its warships.

Kira was wasting no time in going to work, opening up with the Freedom's impressive array of artillery. Green energy beams, crimson plasma blasts, and yellow rail cannon rounds impacted oncoming mobile suits with incredible precision, destroying weapons and knocking out the primary cameras located in the heads of the machines but not doing lethal damage. Igniting one of the Freedom's violet beam sabers, Kira began mixing it up in close quarters combat with the enemy, slicing off arms and heads of enemy mobile suits, parrying attacks from the yellow energy blades used by the mass-produced Strikes before severing the hands that held the weapons. The young Coordinator then broke away and set up for another bombardment with his ranged weaponry, cutting loose with a pinpoint accurate barrage that neutralized the combat capabilities of several more mobile suits and sending them packing.

The Tallgeese Kai dove into the fray, the machine's incredibly powerful vernier thrusters giving it such speed that it made its foes look like they were barely moving. The Hawk of Endymion speared one machine with his violet beam saber and then shot another one through the back with his beam rifle. He then whirled around to face several full-flight Strikes as they leveled their own rifles at him. Before they could fire thought, the four green disk-like Planet Defensors detached from the Tallgeese Kai's shoulders and arrayed themselves in a square in front of the mobile suit. A crackling energy shield materialized, and the enemy's shots dissipated against the barrier. La Flaga quickly returned fire, his own shots passing through the barrier and destroying three mobile suits. The Hawk of Endymion then deactivated the barrier, recalling the Planet Defensors as he zeroed in on another enemy unit to engage in close-quarters combat; the energy shield's power was not limitless, and it was in fact more restricted on the Tallgeese Kai due to the fact that the machine use a high-capacity battery rather than a nuclear reactor. Therefore the barrier was best used in brief bursts in order to maximize its effectiveness. Fortunately La Flaga had the skill necessary to fight with that limitation, relying more upon his mobile suit's incredible speed and agility and using the Planet Defensors only when he could not dodge enemy fire.

Crimson energy blasts took down two machines as they attempted to attack the Tallgeese Kai from behind, courtesy of Cagalli's Skygrasper. The Orb princess had learned a great deal from her past experiences with the fighter, and she was using it in a hit-and-run capacity, firing a few shots at the enemy before breaking off and setting up for another approach. Two Strikes tried to close the distance and engage the Skygrasper with their beam sabers, against which the plane had no defense, but they were intercepted by the Tallgeese Kai and promptly dispatched, one with the unit's beam saber and the other with the rifle. The Hawk of Endymion and the tomboyish princess worked well as a team, watching each other's back and covering their weak points.

Meanwhile, the Orb carrier and land-based fighters were joining the fray, launching missiles from afar before opening up with their machine guns as they closed the distance. The Orb pilots tried to avoid the enemy mobile suits and concentrate mainly on the Alliance's F-7D Spearhead fighter jets, against which they had a much better chance at prevailing, but the sheer numbers of full-flight mass production Strikes involved in the battle meant that some were inevitably able to engage the Orb planes, regardless of how hard Kira, La Flaga, and Cagalli tried to cover their allies. A vicious dogfight was already underway, and only time would be able to tell if the conventional fighters and their powerful allies would be able to drive back the enemy onslaught.

The Zero System and the Gundam's advanced sensors allowed Heero to take in all this activity in the blink of an eye; his combat awareness was unmatched. Sighting in on the full-flight Strikes coming up to meet him, he opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle. A comet of yellow-gold energy tore into the enemy formation, and nine machines became fireballs. Gunning his engines, Heero dove right back into the enemy ranks and cut down three more machines in rapid succession. He side slipped to the left to dodge a charging enemy attempting to impale him with its yellow blade and slashed out with his own weapon, cutting the unit in two. He then opened up again with the Twin Buster Rifle, destroying five machines in front of him. Taking advantage of the gap in the enemy ranks he had created, the Perfect Soldier charged headlong towards his true objective; the enemy fleet.

The enemy warships were spread out over a vast area, and Heero had no doubt it was to avoid having them all taken out at once by a full-power shot with the Twin Buster Rifle. He had anticipated that deployment, and was fine with it; he didn't intend to use the maximum charge of Wing Zero's main weapon anyway. Rather, he would use it at a lower power level and take down one ship at a time in order to avoid expending too much energy and outpacing the Gundam's fusion reactor's ability to recharge the Twin Buster Rifle.

_Let's get started_, he thought as he hacked two more full-flight Strikes to pieces, _the more damage I do to the fleet, the more mobile suits they'll send back to fight me. That'll make things easier on the others… and I intend to do a _lot _of damage._ He went evasive as the warships below began putting up an anti-air curtain. Shells and missiles filled the sky, but the Zero System allowed Heero to weave his way through the enormous volume of fire coming up at him, as well as dodge shots thrown his way by enemy mobile suits. Leveling the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero singled out a destroyer as his first target and opened up at twenty-five percent power.

Even at that low setting the Alliance vessel was completely obliterated by the shot, consumed in a massive fireball. Diving towards the waves, Heero proceeded to weave his way between the assembled warships; at such a low altitude they would have to restrict their fire in order to avoid hitting their allies, and the enemy mobile suits would have to be more careful as well. Heero wouldn't stay down low the whole time, of course; that would allow the enemy to pin him between the ocean and their air units. Rather, he would alternate between high and low altitude attacks.

The Gundam pilot charged at a missile cruiser. Flying along its starboard side, Heero lashed out with his beam saber, tearing a large gash into the Alliance warship. Multiple detonations occurred inside the ship as the emerald blade tore into ammunition stores and the engine block, and the vessel quickly began taking on water. As he cleared the ship and regained altitude Heero saw the badly damaged warship was already listing sharply to starboard; within minutes it would slip beneath the waves.

He raised his beam saber to block an attack from a mass production Strike. Redirecting the blow so the mobile suit would pass to his right, he whirled around and impaled the enemy through the back. Side slipping to the left to dodge a volley of missiles and anti-air shells, he opened up with Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings. His barrage took two mobile suits in their right flanks, uncovered by their shields, and destroyed them. He then increased his altitude and put his beam saber away before splitting the Twin Buster Rifle into two smaller guns.

Selecting targets, Heero quickly opened fire. Two golden-yellow beams ripped forth, one hitting a destroyer and the other an escort carrier. Both vessels were consumed by fireballs as the Perfect Soldier rejoined the two guns into the larger main rifle and reignited his beam saber just in time to fend off another round of attacks from the enemy mobile suits.

Scanning the IFF beacons of the assembled warships, Heero quickly found the one he was looking for; the _Spengler_-class carrier _Clinton_, flagship of the armada. It was towards the rear of the fleet, and a veritable swarm of mobile suits and fighters were between it and him.

_That's fine_, he thought as he weaved through anti-air fire and sighted in on a fuel tanker, _as long as I know where it is, I can cut through its defenses at anytime. I need to focus on mauling the fleet for right now and drawing attention to myself… which shouldn't be too difficult. _He opened fire, and the tanker became an inferno as it was consumed by a massive explosion. _Vickers, your time will come… you won't be leaving this battlefield alive!_

His heart and mind were becoming increasingly torn as he continued his attack on the fleet, his internal struggle between the desire for vengeance and the need to maintain control becoming more difficult now that he was engaged with the enemy. The soldier in him was determined to keep the situation within tactical and strategic parameters; focusing on the fight, on dealing as much damage to the enemy fleet as possible, forcing a withdrawal. However, the wrath that had been held at bay since Alaska, biding its time and gathering strength, had finally tasted blood, and it wanted _more_. Like a shark about to join a feeding frenzy, it wanted to cut loose, to abandon all restraint and tear apart everything in sight. The desire was growing stronger by the minute, and it was already influencing his actions… and the Zero System.

_No_, he thought as he fired on another destroyer, annihilating the vessel, _I have to maintain control. I can't afford to be ruled by the Zero System._

But part of his mind _wanted _the Zero System to take over, to turn him into an instrument of its will and allow it to take the wrath he had held at bay since Alaska and fully unleash it against the Alliance forces. It was an incredibly dangerous mindset, one that Heero had never found himself confronted with before, one that he was struggling to adapt to, to bring under control… and loosing.

He continued to rain down destruction on the Alliance fleet, obliterating another escort carrier with the Twin Buster Rifle before taking down two more mobile suits with his beam saber, all the while evading anti-air fire coming from the ships below and energy beams and missiles from airborne machines. As he did so, the fire burning in his heart was growing, the beast eager to wreak havoc on the armada as vengeance for the disgusting betrayal at Alaska of the woman he loved. A small part of his mind kept insisting that it wasn't right to let his wrath guide his actions, to let it rule him and give the Zero System a chance to completely take over, and that Murrue would not want him to do that… but it was drowned out by the howling of the beast, by the sight of the flaming remnants of warships below, and the desire to inflict far greater carnage in the name of punishing the Alliance for their barbarism and treachery at Alaska.

"None of you," he snarled as he opened up on another destroyer, ripping the ship in two with Wing Zero's fearsome rifle, "will leave here alive."

**(End "The Wings of a Boy Who Killed Adolescence")**

….

"Damn it, Orga," snarled Clotho, "when are you going to get off my back?"

Most people would be speaking metaphorically, but in this case it was actually quite literal. Orga's mobile suit, the Calamity, was incapable of independent atmospheric flight, unlike the other two prototype mobile suits used by the Biological CPUs. To compensate for this, it was being carried into the battle by Clotho's Raider, which was transformed into its mobile armor configuration. In that second mode the Raider looked like a large black and red bird of prey with steel-gray talons, and the blue, black, and orange Calamity was carried on its back, the former acting as a flight platform for the latter.

Clotho looked to his left, glaring at Shani's mobile suit, the Forbidden. The green and gray machine had full-independent flight capabilities, and unlike the Raider it did not have the capacity to carry another unit, meaning Shani was spared the indignation of having to bear Orga into battle. Clotho's pride chafed considerably in his role. He was a super soldier, damn it, not a courier!

"Shut up, Clotho," growled Orga, "It's just until we get to the shoreline. Then I'll gladly take my Calamity off your machine. Riding atop your pathetic unit is demeaning as is."

"What was that?" he shot back, "You want me to dump you into the sea, douchbag?"

"God, could you two shut up?" quipped Shani, "Can't I fly into a fight without you two filling the radio waves with your damn chatter?"

"Fuck you, Shani!" both Clotho and Orga snapped simultaneously.

The three of them had launched from the _Powell _almost immediately, but unlike the mass-production full-flight Strike squadrons they had not been ordered to engage the Orb fleet and its air units. Rather, the three of them were skirting the left flank of the enemy battle group and making a beeline for the beachfront along the western half of the Kisiragi, which the Orb navy could not defend directly due to concentrating most of its might on protecting the Kaguya spaceport and the coastline that ran between it and the city.

_We have to hurry_, thought Clotho, _the airdrop will begin any second, and the heavy armor transports are coming up behind us. We need to clear the landing zone! _Clotho didn't care one bit about the other Alliance soldiers… but he did care about carrying out Azrael's orders. After all, Azrael was the one who controlled their access to Gamma Glipheptin, and Clotho did not want to undergo an extended withdrawal phase again. He shivered, recalling the last time he'd suffered from the symptoms, after screwing up in a training exercise. Azrael had denied him immediate access to the suppressant drug as punishment, forcing Clotho to through half an hour of excruciating pain. Seizures, muscle cramps, intense migraines… it had felt like his body was tearing itself apart from within. The young man was determined not to go through that hell again. His teammates had been through the same punishment before at different times in their training, and all had come to fear the very thought of failing Azrael.

"Orga!" said Clotho, "I can see enemies on the beach. Start shooting, damn it!"

"Hey," snapped Orga, "I'm in charge, not you! Don't try to boss me around."

Nevertheless, the large machine on top of the Raider leveled its weapons as its pilot selected targets. Clotho was disdainful of the unit due to its limited mobility, especially in atmosphere, preferring the agile Raider. However, he was grudgingly willing to admit that the Calamity was the strongest of the three mobile suits used by the Biological CPUs in terms of raw firepower.

The unit was a walking arsenal. Mounted on its shoulders were two Schlag High-Energy Long-Range Beam Cannons, powerful artillery pieces that were capable of punching through heavy armor. Mounted in its torso was a Scylla Multi-Phase Energy Cannon, similar to the one used on the hijacked and now destroyed Aegis. On its left arm a shield was attached, and mounted on that were two Kaefer Zwei Ram Cannons, more conventional shell-based guns still capable of dishing out punishment to vehicles and mobile suits. In its right arm it held a large Todesblock Plasma-Sabot Bazooka, a weapon that fired physical shots that were energized in a small plasma field as they flew through the barrel, increasing their stopping power and armor penetration.

The Calamity brought its heavy artillery to bear and opened up, spewing out emerald beams, a crimson lance of energy, and physical shots. Several enemy units down on the beach, including machines similar to the Strike-Daggers and broader, heavier mobile suits of a type Clotho had never seen before, were hit by the barrage, and were either heavily damaged or completely destroyed. However, Orga's shots had by no means taken care of all the enemy opposition at the LZ, and a storm of missiles, shells, and emerald beams came up to meet them. The enemy mobile suits weren't alone; backing them up were conventional armor battalions. There were self-propelled guns, multi-rocket launchers, tanks, anti-air artillery and missile launchers…the whole range of regular armaments.

"Get off, Orga!" yelled Clotho as a missile hit the Raider, causing it to shudder though doing no real damage due to the unit's Phase Shift Armor, "I can't dodge with you on my back!"

"I was just about to do that anyway," Orga shot back, hitting the Calamity's thrusters and beginning a controlled descent towards the shallows, firing as he went.

"Finally," growled Clotho, grinning, "my turn!"

Jinking through the air dodging enemy fire, Clotho hit a button on his console, causing the Raider to shift into its mobile suit form. He preferred flying the machine as an MS, mainly because he could use most of its weaponry. Mounted on its right arm was a Dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon, while in the mobile suit's 'mouth' was a Zorn energy cannon. However, its most distinctive weapon was the large Mjolnir sphere-breaker, a heavy spiked ball attached to a long, thick cord, capable of even damaging Phase Shift Armor. It was Clotho's favorite bit of armament on the Raider, and there was nothing he liked more than slamming it into targets during live-fire exercises. Now he would get to use it in actual combat.

To his right, Shani's Forbidden was undergoing a transformation of its own. Its large backpack shifted up and over its head, bringing the mobile suits main weapons and special features to bear. Two large Eckzahn 88mm railguns bracketed the machine, while just above its head was a Hresvelgr plasma cannon. In its right hand it held a long, wicked metal scythe for close quarters combat, and on both forearms were mounted Armfeuer 115mm machine guns. The most striking feature of the unit though was the two shields that jutted out from the weapons platform. Called the Geschmeidig Panzer, integrated into these two shields was a unique system that utilized a combination of powerful magnetic fields and Mirage Colloid particles in order to form energy deflecting barriers. The system also had offensive potential, namely the ability to 'bend' the beam fired by the Hresvelgr plasma cannon. The whole setup made the Forbidden a very unique, unpredictable, and dangerous machine.

"Let's go!" yelled Clotho, charging head on at the enemies down on the beach. Opening fire with the Zorn energy cannon, he destroyed one of the black and white mobile suits with the yellow beam. Then he swung the Mjolnir sphere-breaker forward, crushing another unit. Bringing up the Raider's hyper velocity shield cannons he let loose a volley, annihilating a group of three tanks.

The Forbidden opened up with its railguns, decimating an artillery platoon. It then fired its Plasma cannon, curving the crimson beam with the Geschmeidig Panzer and cutting through two mobile suits like they were butter. Charging forward, the Forbidden sliced another unit in half with it scythe. Several other mobile suits returned fire with their beam rifles only to watch as their shots were harmlessly deflected by the Forbidden's barriers.

Then both the Raider and the Forbidden were forced to scatter as Orga opened up from behind them with the Calamity's weapons. "Damn it, Orga!" growled Clotho as energy beams flew past the Raider with scant meters to spare, "Watch where you're shooting!"

"You should stay out of my way," their leader replied smugly.

Though it had nearly resulted in friendly fire, the barrage was effective in pummeling Orb's defenses; several rocket batteries were annihilated, and three mobile suits were destroyed as well.

"Ha ha ha!" Clotho cackled as he and his teammates pressed their assault, "Just try and stop us, you weaklings!"

"Airdrop's starting," said Orga, "we need to step it up, you two!"

"Whatever," said Shani, destroying a group of tanks with the Forbidden's railguns before cutting down another mobile suit with his scythe.

"I know," grumbled Clotho as he pulverized another black and white mobile suit with his sphere-breaker before dodging fire from one of the heavier units, "shut up already, Orga!"

As he continued fighting his radar lit up behind him as over a hundred Strike-Daggers began falling from the transport planes overhead. The units were normal machines, lacking the Neo-Aile packs, but their thrusters would be enough to soften their landings. Meanwhile the heavy armor transports were closing in on the shoreline and would soon be in a position to deposit their own Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers in the shallows.

_This is easy_, thought Clotho smugly as he fired on a missile battery with his energy cannon, _we'll have this beach taken in no time! Then we just sweep around overland, demolish that city, and take the mass driver, just like Lord Azrael said! Nothing can stop us now!_

….

Gripping the arms of her chair, Murrue's eyes narrowed as she focused on the battle raging around the _Archangel_. "Hit that cruiser," she ordered, "it's pounding the _Kutone_!"

"Gottfrieds, target and fire at will!" said Lieutenant Tsukino.

The two large beam cannons mounted at the joints of the ship's 'legs' opened up, spitting emerald death at the enemy. Four energy beams tore through the cruiser, turning it into an inferno. The destruction of the ship gave the destroyer it had been attacking a chance to pull back, though it was moving at a slow pace. The _Kutone _had taken two missiles from the cruiser, knocking her rear gun turret and missile launchers out of action. The ship could still fight with its forward weapons, but it was no longer suited to slugging it out at the head of the pack and would have a better chance at surviving the engagement by moving further back into the Orb battle group.

Though it had taken casualties the Third Fleet was holding its own in the fierce battle, thanks in no small part to the _Archangel_. The powerful white warship had almost singlehandedly blunted the forward thrust of the Alliance warships, knocking out target after target with its Gottfried beam cannons and Valiant railguns. The destroyers and cruisers of the Orb Third fleet were acting as reinforcements, supplementing the _Archangel_'s fire with their own missiles and guns, further adding to the chaos in the forward ranks of the Alliance naval squadrons.

In addition to the relative success they were thus far having on the surface, the _Archangel _and Third Fleet's air combat units had utterly stonewalled the Alliance's fighters and full-flight mass production Strikes. Kira and the Freedom were proving to be especially potent, with the young Coordinator unleashing incredibly precise barrages with his mobile suit's artillery, neutralizing several mobile suits at once without killing any of the pilots. La Flaga and Cagalli were adding their own firepower to the mix, and the Tallgeese Kai and Skygrasper had proven to be a deadly wing pair. The blue and white mobile suit practically danced through the enemy squadrons, cutting down machines with its violet energy blade and taking down others with precise shots from its beam rifle. Occasionally it would deploy the four green disk-like shield drones on its shoulders to soak up enemy fire before outmaneuvering the attackers and striking them down in rapid succession. Cagalli, for her part, had continued to utilize the hit-and-run tactics proven to be so deadly with the Skygrasper, particularly when combined with the Launcher pack. The fighter jet let loose a crimson lance of energy from the Agni slung beneath it, piercing a mobile suit and detonating it like a firecracker. It then opened up with the Launcher pack's heavy gatling gun, shredding two fighters, before breaking off and setting up for another run.

The Third Fleet's fighter squadrons, along with the planes reinforcing them from Nakajima airbase, were still mixing it up with the Alliance F-7D Spearheads. Neither side had truly gained the upper hand, though some of the full-flight Strikes had managed to work their way into the brawl and were inflicting more damage than their conventional counterparts. The Orb fighters hadn't suffered severe losses yet, but if La Flaga, Cagalli, or Kira weren't able to intervene soon then that was likely to change.

_They're facing a large amount of enemy mobile suits_, she thought, _but still… it could be a lot worse. _Murrue glanced at the right side of her personal monitor, which showed Wing Zero's assault on the center of the Alliance armada.

To say Heero was on a roll was an understatement. The Gundam pilot had already destroyed nineteen ships and was just claiming his twentieth, hacking a destroyer in half with his beam saber. The Perfect Soldier was gradually working his way through the fleet's forward lines and had yet to hit any of the _Spengler_-class carriers, but Murrue knew it would not be long before Heero started taking them down with the fearsome Twin Buster Rifle.

The young man who had captured her heart unlike any other before him was indomitable, tearing into the enemies surrounding him without an instant's hesitation, not an ounce of concern for his own life. Wing Zero fought like a demon, its speed unholy, and its attacks brutal and efficient. The Alliance fleet had been forced to hold back many of its airborne mobile suits in order to counter the Gundam, and they were not enough; Heero ripped through every machine that tried to attack him. His emerald beam saber parried attacks by the few mobile suits that managed to get within striking range of their own yellow blades before launching vicious counter-attacks, slicing enemy machines in half or impaling them through their cockpits. The Twin Buster Rifle blasted away, destroying several mobile suits with each shot and forcing the Alliance to withhold or recall more full-flight Strikes from their main assault just to keep Heero at bay.

Murrue was both grateful and worried, the latter feeling the more prominent one. Wing Zero's withering assault meant that the _Archangel _and the Orb Third Fleet had far less enemy airborne mobile suits to deal with than they otherwise would have, but by the same token this meant that Heero was fighting almost as many units as he had during the First Battle of Alaska. It was early in the fight, so Murrue wasn't worried about Heero wearing down yet; the young man's endurance was phenomenal. Still, Murrue could not deny her concerns, nor that they were growing as she watched Wing Zero fight, and they weren't just due to the sheer number of enemies Heero was engaging.

Murrue had seen Heero fight with Wing Zero often enough to get a feel for his flying style, even if that observation had been from a distance. The young man's movements were quick and efficient, his attacks always maximizing the amount of damage they could inflict on the enemy while at the same time paving the way for his next strike or putting him into position to evade return fire. This was still very much the case in this battle, but Murrue could not help but feel that Heero was being far more vicious than in previous fights. She had been given good reason for her concerns a few minutes ago, when Wing Zero had blown away a group of three full-flight Strikes with the Twin Buster Rifle… after they had returned to the fleet from engaging Kira, meaning that their combat capabilities had already been neutralized.

Intellectually, Murrue knew that those machines had probably been doomed anyway; at the rate Heero was going, it would not be long before he started tearing into the fleet carriers, meaning the ship that the three mobile suits would've touched down on could well have been on his target list. Also, destroying those machines meant that the Alliance couldn't repair them and send them back into the fray. It was logical to take them down… but Murrue knew it wasn't something Heero would normally do. In past engagements she had seen him allow damaged units that were retreating to do so without finishing them off.

Not here.

_He's growing more brutal_, she thought as she watched him destroy another pair of full-flight Strikes with the Twin Buster Rifle, these ones also having been disarmed from an earlier clash with Kira, _he's not showing any restraint. I know it would be hard for Heero to do so, of course, considering that he's surrounded by the enemy, but still… something's wrong here, I know it!_

Her mind flashed back to the earlier briefing, to the dark intensity that seemed to surround the Perfect Soldier as the meeting went on, particularly when the commander of the Alliance forces had been revealed to be a member of the Atlantic Federation High Command. _When he heard Vice-Admiral Vickers' name_, she thought, _there was something in his eyes, something lurking behind that calm strength that I normally see in them. Heero almost seemed… excited. That's not like him; I know he doesn't look forward to a fight! It's true that the battlefield gives Heero a sense of purpose, but that's because war is all he's known in life. He doesn't enjoy combat; quite the opposite. I know that the lives he's taken weigh heavily on his shoulders, even if he's accepted the fact that he must kill his enemies in order to survive. The way he was acting in the briefing, the way he's fighting now… this isn't right. This isn't the Heero I know!_

Something was happening to the young man she had fallen in love with, but before she had a chance to figure out exactly what that was she was snapped out of her thoughts by the radio officer. "Captain!" he said, "The Orb ground forces are requesting our aid. They're under heavy attack and taking casualties!"

"We can't move to reinforce them," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "If the _Archangel _leaves the Third Fleet the Alliance will redouble its assault on it!"

Checking the tactical display on the left side of her personal monitor, Murrue saw that a large bulge had appeared in the lines of the Orb ground forces. The Alliance had begun attacking the beach on the western side of Kisiragi, just as Murrue had feared they would. The Strikes that had been airdropped in the shallows were working their way up the beach, while the armored transports were depositing their own mobile suits behind them. At the head of the Alliance attack were three contacts that registered as unknown signatures, and Murrue guessed that they were probably prototypes. _I'm sure the Atlantic Federation's research teams redoubled their efforts after the theft of the four machines at Heliopolis_, she thought, _whatever units are leading the attack on the Orb ground forces now are most likely the fruits of their labor. Combined with the mass-production Strikes and Busters moving up behind them they could overwhelm the ground forces and press on to the Kaguya spaceport. Damn it, we have to do something!_

Still, Murrue was aware that Lieutenant Tsukino's words were correct; the _Archangel _could not leave the Third Fleet. Its weapons would be invaluable for bombarding the Alliance forces as they made their way inland, but said guns and missiles were also the key to staving off the Atlantic Federation fleet units attacking the Orb navy. Fortunately, Murrue had an idea. It was risky, but it was the only real option she had under the circumstances.

"Miriallia, contact Kira and tell him to go help the Orb ground forces!" she ordered, "The Freedom should be able to help our allies halt the enemy's advance!"

"Yes ma'am," said Miriallia, "but what about La Flaga and Cagalli?"

"They'll have to pick up the slack," she said grimly, "I just hope they're up to it."

….

"Got it," said La Flaga as he listened to Miriallia relay Captain Ramius's orders, "we'll get by somehow, don't worry about us!"

Miriallia nodded on his screen. "Good luck, Mr. La Flaga. Be careful."

She signed off, and her image was replaced by Kira's. "I'm heading to the mainland," he said, "I'll try to get things under control as fast as I can. Then I'll come back here and help you guys."

La Flaga gave the kid a confident smile. "Hey, I'm old, but not that old pal; I can dance with these guys for awhile. Especially with this beastie under my control."

"Alright," said Kira, "be careful." Then he signed off.

_Jeez_, he mused as he impaled a mobile suit with his violet beam saber, _the kid worries too much. I mean, I know the Freedom's stronger than my machine, but still, it ain't like the Tallgeese Kai is just an average mobile suit. Besides, I do have a little backup._

He contacted Cagalli. "Hey, princess," he said, "looks like we're gonna be on our own for a little while. Think you can handle the workload?"

The girl smiled on his screen. "Who do you think you're talking to, flyboy? I'm good for as many rounds as these guys can take as long as you keep them from getting too close to me."

La Flaga grinned as he dodged a volley of emerald beams from several approaching mobile suits. "Glad to hear it, little lady. Alright, let's do this!"

He gunned the throttle and was practically thrown back in his seat as the Tallgeese Kai surged forward. Adrenaline surged through his veins as the Hawk of Endymion was forced to call upon all his skills to maintain control over his mobile suit as he zeroed in on his targets.

_Damn_, he thought as he sliced a mass production Strike in half, _even after all the time I spent practicing on it, this thing's acceleration is brutal! And Heero said Wing Zero was developed from the original Tallgeese design… which means he's mastered maneuvering and fighting at these speeds! Hope I can measure up to that someday._

As it was, the Hawk of Endymion had gotten a fairly solid handle on controlling the Tallgeese Kai's incredibly powerful vernier engines. The hours of training sessions during the lead up to the invasion were definitely paying off now, more than making up for how exhausted he had been after each run. La Flaga recalled practically collapsing after his first major exercise with the new machine, his body feeling like it had just run a marathon while carrying 20kg weights on his back; it had been _brutal_. Even now it was still rough going, and the blond ace pilot knew that he would be sore as hell after the battle, but he was much more confident in his flying abilities with the Tallgeese Kai than he had been two weeks ago.

Climbing above his foes, the Hawk of Endymion then went into a steep dive, bringing his beam rifle to bear as he did so. He fired two quick shots. One was deflected by a mobile suit's shield, but the other hit its target dead center, punching through the cockpit and turning the machine into a fireball.

La Flaga swiftly turned his unit around, grimacing as the G-forces exerted by the maneuver pummeled his body. His fingers dancing across a keypad, he brought up the Tallgeese Kai's four Planet Defensors to soak up a barrage fired by machines he had passed during his attack. The emerald beams dissipated harmlessly against the barrier, but each impact did drain a bit of energy from the shield, and it could not be used for prolonged periods.

La Flaga's attackers were forced to scatter as a crimson beam lanced through their formation, courtesy of Cagalli. The Agni's shot destroyed one mobile suit while three others formed up to attack the blue and white fighter jet.

"Hey," said La Flaga, dropping his shields and rushing at them, "I'm the one you guys should be paying attention to!" He stabbed one mobile suit through its engine block, pulling away just in time to get clear of the explosion. La Flaga then opened fire with his beam rifle, nailing another unit in the torso and taking it down.

His actions gave Cagalli time to break off and set up for another run. As La Flaga blocked an attack from an Alliance machine's yellow beam saber the Orb princess launched another attack. It fired another shot with the Agni while at the same time launching a pair of missiles into the fray. The red energy beam destroyed a mobile suit that had been rushing in to attack the Tallgeese Kai from the right side, while the missiles forced two more machines to raise their shields to take the hits, interrupting their own attacks.

La Flaga took full advantage of the girl's fire, rushing at the two mobile suits that had blocked the missiles. He swung his beam saber beneath one's shield, slicing it in half, before flying behind the other and sending an emerald beam through its back, destroying it.

_We're doing pretty well so far_, he thought as he deployed the Planet Defensors to block incoming fire from four machines, _but there are plenty of these guys left to go. _He then glanced at his sensors and smirked as he saw the familiar golden-yellow flash of Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle in the distance, a beam lancing down from the sky and destroying an Alliance cruiser. _Of course, with Heero playing one-man-army against their main fleet, they can't deploy enough mobile suits to overwhelm us over here. Good thing he's tying up so many of their resources, or things would be a lot more difficult for us._

Dropping his shields and going evasive, La Flaga struck back at his attackers. Using the Tallgeese Kai's extreme speed he flanked one of the Alliance mobile suits and impaled it through the side with his beam saber. He then climbed for altitude and laid down a barrage with his beam rifle, destroying one machine and forcing the other two to raise their shields to block his shots.

"Bring it on, guys," he said, grinning as he charged another machine while Cagalli launched another hit-and-run strike from a different angle, "you want Orb, you're gonna have to go through us first!"

….

Gunning the Freedom's engines, Kira rushed towards the western shoreline of Kisiragi, where the enemy had landed ground troops in force. Checking his sensors he saw that over a hundred mass-production Strikes were spread across the beach and advancing, firing as they went, with more units wading through the shallows as they made their way forward, both Strikes and mass-production Busters.

Their advance was far from unopposed; the Orb ground forces were throwing everything they had at them. M1 Astrays opened fire with their beam rifles, Tragoses cut loose with their formidable artillery, and the Army's conventional vehicles were launching shells, rockets, and missiles into the fray. In some parts the line was holding fast, but Kira was quick to spot the breach in the Orb formation on his sensors, and the fighting had already entered the western suburbs of Kisiragi.

The young Coordinator grimaced as he saw the smoke from scores of fires rising up from residential blocks. _I know the city was evacuated_, he thought, _but still, all this destruction… a lot of people will be homeless by the time this is over._

Kira spotted a group of mass-production Strikes near his current position, engaged in a firefight with a trio of M1 Astrays. The three Orb machines were holding their own, and the wrecks of four mass-production Strikes surrounded their position, but they were now being attacked by eight machines: they needed help.

Kira's eyes narrowed as he engaged the Freedom's advanced targeting program, sighting in on the enemy. Bracketing six of the Strikes in his crosshairs, he cut loose with the advanced mobile suit's heavy artillery. Rail cannon rounds knocked off heads and the cameras within them, plasma beams pierced and ignited rifles, and lances of emerald energy destroyed mechanical hands holding beam sabers.

"Gotcha," said Kira. The young man then ignited one of the Freedom's beam sabers and rushed at the remaining two machines. Closing the distance in seconds, he cut the legs out from under one unit and literally disarmed the other. Just to be safe, he swiftly whirled around and plunged his beam saber into the head of the first unit; now it couldn't use its weapons even from its awkward position on the ground.

A trio of familiar voices came over the radio. "Thanks a lot, Kira!" said Asagi.

"We owe you one," said Juri.

"Great timing," chimed in Mayura.

Kira smiled. "I'm glad I was able to make it before you three were overrun."

"We'll be ok from here on out," said Asagi, "but the units in the southwest districts need help; they're under heavy attack, and the enemy has three new models leading the charge. They're the ones that opened up the breach in our lines, and they're destroying everything in their path!"

"Our squad leaders have called for reinforcements," said Juri, "but most of our frontline units are already committed at either the beach or are positioned at the Kaguya spaceport. Reserves are on the way, but even they won't be able to stop those three prototypes!"

"We know you can take 'em, Kira!" said Mayura, "So go find them and give them hell! We'll join up with another squad and help keep the rest of the enemy bottled up here; they won't get past Kisiragi!"

"Got it," said Kira, "be careful."

"You too," they all said.

Rushing towards the southwestern part of Kisiragi, Kira had no problem identifying the three new mobile suits the girls had mentioned. Each one of them was very distinctive… and ripping into the Orb forces with reckless abandon. At the head of the trio was a black and red machine, with a combination gun-shield on its right arm and swinging around a large spiked sphere, crushing a Tragos suit under the force of its impact. On its right flank was a green and grey machine with a strange shield/weapons mount slung over its head. It fired two shots with the pair of railguns mounted in the unique device, destroying two tanks, and then took a swing with a wicked looking metal scythe, cutting an M1 in half. Backing the two of them up was a large blue, black, and orange machine with an arsenal of heavy weapons rivaling even the Freedom's load out. It was tearing into an Orb armored division with its guns, obliterating two multi-rocket launchers with the large beam cannons on its shoulders, annihilating a tank with its chest-mounted Scylla, and destroying a self-propelled gun with the massive bazooka in its right hand. The two guns mounted on its shield were being put to use as well, taking down two of the attack helicopters that had arrived to reinforce the Orb ground forces.

_No wonder the Alliance was able to break through Orb's first line so quickly_, Kira thought, _these things are more than a match for their forces, even with Morgenroete's new mobile suits. I've got to help them out!_

Once again utilizing the Freedom's advanced targeting system, Kira locked onto his enemies with the advanced mobile suit's artillery. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he did so; he had to hit the Alliance units without endangering the Orb forces… or the enemy pilots. It would've been much easier if he was willing to shoot to kill, but now that he knew he had the ability to fight without taking life he was loath to restart that practice.

Letting out the breath he'd unconsciously been holding, Kira pulled the trigger. Lances of crimson plasma, emerald particle beams, and yellow rain cannon rounds flew at his foes. Kira's eyes widened in shock as the three machines scattered and evaded his attacks, albeit barely. _They're fast_, he thought, _way faster than the other Alliance machines! _His brow furrowed as he realized that taking these three units out of the fight would not be nearly as easy as he'd first thought.

He brought up the Freedom's shield as the large blue machine turned its guns on him and opened up. Fortunately the Freedom's shield was strong enough to withstand the attacks, but Kira knew that playing defensive would leave him open to attacks from the flanks by the other two machines. He gunned the Freedom's engines, climbing for altitude and going evasive, putting some distance between himself and the heavy artillery mobile suit, giving himself more room to dodge incoming fire. The blue unit stayed on the ground, but the other two machines quickly followed his ascent.

_So_, he thought as he squared off with his new foes, _the heavy artillery unit lacks independent flight capabilities, but the other two machines _can _fly under their own power. Good to know; at least this way I'll only have to worry about the artillery unit acting as an anti-air battery, and if it does that it'll leave itself open for counterattack from the Orb ground forces. As long as I can keep these two occupied Orb should be able to reinforce its lines and contain the third unit… though I doubt it'll be without cost._

Kira knew that, even with him taking on the other two machines, the third would continue to inflict losses on the Orb ground forces. However, its focus on heavy weaponry meant it was vulnerable to close-in attacks, and the fact that it lacked full-flight capability meant that it was much less mobile than its compatriots. In short, it was rugged and powerful, but lacked agility. If the Orb military could coordinate a concentrated barrage against it, the walking artillery battery would be forced to pull back to more defensible ground, or regroup with other Alliance units. Either way, it would give Kira's allies some much needed breathing room.

The young pilot did not have time to worry about the Orb Army in any case; the two flight-capable prototypes were moving in to engage him. Brining his beam rifle to bear, Kira fired at the black and red unit, forcing it to dive to evade his shots. He then sighted in on the green and grey machine, opening up with the Freedom's plasma cannons.

Kira's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the air around the upper part of the unit ripple, and the two crimson beams were deflected away from the machine, impacting the ground below. "He has an energy shield…" he said, "Damn, not good!"

A target lock alarm rang, and Kira was forced to dodge to the left as the black and red machine reentered the fight, firing a yellow beam from a small cannon stored in its 'mouth'. He was then forced to dive as the green unit opened fire with the pair of railguns attached to the shield/weapons pack slung over its head.

As he evaded the yellow rounds he saw an emitter in the center of the shield/weapons mount glow crimson for a second before unleashing a plasma beam. Kira wondered for a second why the unit's pilot had even bothered taking the shot; the Freedom was already out of the line of fire. His question was answered a moment later when the beam suddenly _curved _downward, forcing him to bring up the Freedom's shield to take the shot.

"He can control the direction of the beam!" he cried out in shock as the Freedom shuddered. The shield had taken the beam head on, and while it had held together the power of the shot had been enough to stagger Kira's mobile suit.

He had no time to sit back and analyze this new development; the other unit was closing in fast. It took a swing with the large sphere-breaker in its left hand. Kira gunned the Freedom's engines, ascending and barely avoiding the flail as it passed beneath him. The young man decided he had to change his tactics; the way he was fighting now just wasn't cutting it.

As he dodged the sphere-breaker he charged the mobile suit wielding it, violet beam saber blazing. He attempted to cut off the arm that held the huge weapon, but the black and red machine managed to pull back and dodge the blow. Kira's attack wasn't completely in vain though; the very tip of his beam saber slashed across the mobile suit's 'mouth', damaging the energy cannon within. It hadn't been his intended target, but Kira was relieved to at least have removed one weapon from the unit's arsenal. Unfortunately, the damage to the Alliance machine's head didn't extend to its cameras or other sensors; it was still very much capable of combat.

Kira adjusted his angle and opened fire with the Freedom's rail cannons. The shots impacted the machine in the chest. While the mobile suit's Phase Shift Armor meant that the physical rounds would not be able to damage it, the impacts from the heavy weapons would momentarily stun the pilot, which was exactly what Kira needed.

He jinked to the right just in time to avoid another curved shot from the green and grey unit's plasma cannon. Kira then opened fire with his own plasma cannons and beam rifle. The shots were deflected once again by the enemy's energy shield, but forcing the machine to play defensive gave Kira the opening he needed to close in with his beam saber.

Moving in fast and hard, Kira swung his energy blade downward, attempting to sever one of the two shields attached to the strange pack mounted above the unit's head. Unfortunately the pilot managed to evade his attack, albeit barely. The Freedom's beam saber grazed the left side of the unit's chest, leaving a black furrow but doing little real damage.

_Damn it_, he thought as he dodged to the left to evade fire from the black and red unit, it's dual shield gun spitting yellow rounds at him, _these guys have incredible reflexes, and their machines are very advanced! Individually I doubt they could match the Freedom, but working together like this… crap, it's taking me too long to fight them!_

Kira and his two foes were locked in a stalemate, evading and blocking each other's fire while at the same time launching their own attempts, neither able to truly gain the upper hand. While the young Coordinator knew it was important to keep the two machines he was facing focused on him and away from the Orb Army, at the same time he knew his allies could really use the Freedom's support.

The young pilot was able to take comfort in one key fact; based on the sensor readings he was getting from the two machines, he knew that they were not nuclear-powered. They may have been advanced prototypes, but they were not giving off the unique signature of N-Jammer Cancellers or nuclear reactors. The two mobile suits may have been advanced prototypes, but they were also proof enough to Kira that the Earth Forces still had not made the same deadly breakthrough that ZAFT had. The two units, along with their ground-based comrade, were running off of high-capacity batteries, just like the Strike had, and the combined burdens of powering their Phase Shift Armor, weapons, and unique individual systems meant that they did not have the same infinite runtime as something like the Freedom or Wing Zero. If need be, Kira could outlast them, though he would much rather force them to withdraw, and quickly at that.

_Hang on everyone_, he thought as he continued his two-on-one fight, _I'll take these guys down as fast as I can, and then I'll be able to help deal with the rest of the Alliance forces!_

….

**(Start "Use the Cloak of Darkness")**

Impaling another full-flight Strike on his emerald blade, Heero quickly whirled around and brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, sighting in on what would be his first _Spengler_-class carrier kill of the day. The warship's IFF transponder labeled it the _West Point_; not the flagship of the Vice-Admiral whose blood had yet to be spilled this fight, but it didn't matter. The Perfect Soldier had already singled out the carrier _Clinton _and marked it on his radar; he knew where it was, and would keep track of it, working his way through the fleet, carving a path through the armada towards the flagship, leaving a trail of debris floating in his wake as he inexorably made his way towards the man he was determined to kill. It wasn't enough just to take him down though; Heero wanted the bastard to tremble in utter terror as Wing Zero tore its way through the fleet and towards his ship, want the son of a bitch to go mad with horror as he saw the mobile suit that would be his Reaper bear down upon him.

The cool, rational part of his mind warned him that such thoughts were unprofessional and dangerous, all the more so given the double-edged nature of the Zero System. It warned him that his conduct was extremely reckless, that he should worry more about efficiency and the overall battle than a personal vendetta… but the rest of him didn't care. The beast that was his wrath wanted to savor the vengeance for the betrayal at Alaska, to let it cook and simmer like a steak on the grill until just the right moment, when the time finally came to sink its fangs into the meat.

His eyes narrowing in a fearsome glare, Heero pulled the trigger, letting loose yet another torrent of golden-yellow hellfire. The large carrier below was hit dead-center, and was consumed by a massive explosion. It was his 27th vessel destroyed that day, and the battle was still young; plenty more would be added to the count before it was over.

The Gundam pilot wasted no time admiring his handiwork, instead taking Wing Zero into a dive right almost immediately after the beam had hit the ship. The maneuver came not a moment too soon, as a flurry of emerald beams flew through the airspace he had occupied just seconds ago. A veritable swarm of full-flight Strikes still flew over the fleet, each and every one of their pilots trying to get a shot at the Gundam that was thrashing their fleet. They had met with no success thus far, and Heero intended to keep it that way.

He gunned Wing Zero's engines, closing in on a trio of mobile suits far too quickly for their pilots to react. Heero tore into them with his beam saber, bifurcating one unit and slashing another across the torso. The third actually managed to raise its yellow energy blade in an attempt to block the blow coming towards it, but Heero simply altered the angle of his attack and sliced off the unit's sword arm before impaling the machine through its cockpit.

The Perfect Soldier then sighted in on another vessel with the Twin Buster Rifle, this time one of the massive troopships. It had already begun launching its compliment of much smaller hovercraft used to transport infantry to the beaches, but given its sheer size Heero knew that there was no way all the soldiers inside it had departed yet. He wouldn't waste time targeting the individual landing craft; the Orb forces could deal with them. However, the troopships themselves carried not just infantry but arsenals of the weapons they needed for combat operations and also aided the armada's freighters in the role of carrying supplies. They were valuable targets, critical to the Alliance's long-term operations in the Pacific theatre… and with their minimal defenses, were all but begging to be destroyed by Wing Zero.

Heero opened fire, and the troopship met the same fate as the carrier _West Point_; consumed by a massive fireball. Dodging to the right to avoid another barrage of energy beams from more full-flight Strikes, Heero positioned himself to fire on another warship, sighting in on a smaller escort carrier. He once again pulled the trigger, and the Twin Buster Rifle cut loose, its large yellow beam annihilating the ship.

"Target eliminated," he said, "moving on to the next one."

There was no point in saying that out loud; he wasn't in communication with his allies. Rather, it was an unconscious utterance, giving voice to the Zero System's input. The dangerous program was already beginning to gain the upper hand, taking Heero's wrath at the Alliance forces and using it as a gateway to extend its influence. It took a delicate balance of logic and emotion to truly handle the Zero System without slipping into a rampage or just becoming a cold heartless killing machine, and an incredible force of will to impose one's own conscious and morals onto it. It was a constant struggle the pilot was forced to wage with the Zero System in order to assert and maintain dominance, to drive the System and the Gundam towards the outcomes desired by the pilot. It required the pilot to have reached a state of perfect balance between their feelings and cold rationality… and that balance was now disrupted in Heero, tilting further and further towards the darker aspect of his protectiveness towards Murrue, his desire to destroy all who dared to threaten her. Since the First Battle of Alaska, the primary threat had been the Earth Alliance, and their treachery during that fight had given a very personal edge to that threat.

Now that he was engaging the Atlantic Federation in battle, surrounded by their forces and able to strike back, his focus had narrowed to just their destruction, forgoing all other motivations for fighting. His desire to protect Murrue, his determination to defend the new friends he had made in this world, his wish to prevent the overall conflict from escalating into all-out genocide… none of those mattered now, none of those factored into the possible outcomes that the Zero System was constantly generating. All that mattered was killing as many of the enemy as he could, and the Zero System was more than willing to oblige. Forcing an Alliance withdrawal had been his objective at the start of the engagement, but that strategic goal was becoming increasingly marginalized by the combination of Heero's wrath towards the Atlantic Federation and the Zero System's push for destroying all the enemies before him.

_Destroy all targets. _That was the Zero System's command, growing stronger and stronger in Heero's mind. Everyone that attacked him was a target. Every Alliance ship, plane, and mobile suit was a target.

The armada surrounding him fulfilled both categories perfectly.

Swiftly dodging to the left to evade a storm of anti-air rounds, missiles, and energy beams, Heero charged into a formation of full-flight Strikes. He slashed one in half from head to toe, stabbed another in the side, and then swiftly blocked a saber strike from a third before shredding it with his shoulder gatlings. He then opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, blasting a hole in the swarm of mobile suits flying around him, looking for an opening. Eight machines detonated like a string of firecrackers.

Taking advantage of the chaos he was sowing in the Atlantic Federation's air forces, he sighted in on another _Spengler_-class carrier, this one identified as the _Yorktown_. Targeting the ship dead-center, Heero pulled the trigger, and a wave of yellow-gold energy tore the carrier apart.

He then dove towards the sea, weaving through anti-air fire and energy beams from the mobile suits swirling around. He closed in on a supply freighter, using it as shield against the enemy air units, forcing them to take greater care with their shots. Heero then impaled the port side of the vessel at the waterline and dragged his emerald blade through the ship until he reached the stern. Water poured into the ship, and as Heero regained altitude he saw that the freighter was already beginning to list to port; it would sink within minutes.

Not bothering to watch, Heero charged a group of mass-production Strikes, cutting down two with his beam saber and destroying a third with his shoulder gatlings. He then whirled around to target an Alliance destroyer and opened fire. The Twin Buster Rifle turned the warship into a fireball.

_Enemy destroyed_, he thought, his mind echoing more and more with the Zero System's imperative, its cold and ruthless tactics, its heartless approach to battle, _move on to the next target._

_Destroy all enemies._

**(End "Use the Cloak of Darkness")**

….

"Enemy fighters have broken through the Orb squadrons!" cried the radar operator.

_Had to happen eventually_, thought Murrue, her eyes narrowing, _I'm impressed they were able to keep the enemy at bay this long._

"Weapons," she ordered, "target and fire at will!"

"Helldart launchers," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "fire missiles! Engage all forward Igelstellungs!"

Murrue watched as a swarm of small red missiles took to the sky, followed by streams of yellow tracer rounds from the _Archangel_'s CIWs. The four F-7D Spearheads at the head of the enemy formation were blown apart by the warheads, and the planes behind them were forced to scatter. Two flew right into streams of anti-air fire and were torn to metallic shreds, while three more caught surface-to-air missiles from Orb destroyers right up their fantails.

_That takes care of their first incursion_, thought Murrue grimly, _but there will be more shortly; our air squadrons are beginning to falter._

The Orb fighters continued to struggle valiantly, and if the fight had been strictly one of planes then they would still be at parity, but the few Alliance mobile suits that had managed to avoid Cagalli and La Flaga and enter the fray had tipped the scales in the enemy's favor. The Orb naval and land based fighters working with the Third Fleet had been worn down to a little over half strength, though they had made the Atlantic Federation aircraft pay a high price for doing so, and had been reduced to 60% of their starting numbers even with a few full-flight Strikes in the mix; the Orb pilots were putting up a vicious fight.

For their part, La Flaga and Cagalli continued to hold their own against the enemy mobile suits fighting them. The Hawk of Endymion was pushing the Tallgeese Kai's extreme speed and maneuverability to its limits, flying circles around the full-flight Strikes, picking them off in ones and twos with his beam saber and rifle, blocking the shots he could not evade with the disk-like Planet Defensors. Cagalli complemented her partner's agility with the powerful Agni cannon slung beneath her Skygrasper, forcing the enemy units to scatter repeatedly with crimson energy blasts, taking down one machine at a time before breaking off and setting up for another attack run.

_The amount of enemies they're up against is considerable_, thought Murrue, _but they've done an excellent job so far in containing them. Of course, no small part of that is due to the fact that the Alliance can't bring as many of its air combat-capable MS to bear on the center of Orb's defense; they've got a few other matters that demand their attention._

She once again glanced at the two displays on her personal monitor. The interactive strategic map on the left side showed both of the Orb Navy's pincers still fiercely engaged with the wings of the Alliance armada. It was a brutal air and sea battle, with several ships and dozens of mobile suits lost on both sides, and the casualties were climbing every second. The losses amongst the fighter squadrons on both sides were even higher, especially since the dogfight between the conventional combat aircraft was intermingled with the vicious mobile suit clash. Orb's new Aries mobile suits, though outnumbered by their Atlantic Federation counterparts, were still holding their own, and the MS battle raging in the skies was currently at a dead heat. The same was true for the fighter squadrons clashing with each other; both sides had reached a bloody stalemate. Neither side had yet to gain headway, though the battle showed signs of becoming a contest of attrition… which in the end would favor the Alliance, though they would buy victory at a heavy price. The Orb and Atlantic Federation surface ships were pounding away at each other with missiles and guns, while intermittent explosions beneath the waves served as a reminder of the fierce underwater battle still raging as well.

The ground engagement had stabilized somewhat, with the Orb forces managing to hang on to their current positions. Kira's earlier aid had put a stop to the initial enemy advance, and with the Freedom tying up two of the formidable new machines Orb had been able to bring up reinforcements and reorganize their defenses. M1s and Tragos suits clashed with mass-production Strikes and Busters, and while the enemy, as in every other theatre of the fight, had numerical superiority, the Orb mobile suits had superior position, familiarity with the terrain, and combined arms support from both conventional ground units and several attack helicopter squadrons.

The M1 Astrays, with their beam rifles and sabers, clashed head on with the mass-production Strikes, engaging those that got in close with their energy blades while coordinating their ranged weaponry with the Army's artillery regiments to blast the enemy from afar. The new Tragos suits were pouring a considerable amount of fire into the Alliance forces as they tried to advance from their positions on the beach and in the western side of Kisiragi, their shoulder mounted beam cannons punching through the enemy's armor effortlessly. Tanks, rocket-launchers, and self-propelled guns lent whatever support they could to their more powerful cousins, while attack helicopters flitted in and out of the fight like gnats, firing rockets and missiles before pulling back to evade counter-fire.

_The ground battle's going well for now_, thought Murrue, _but the Alliance is bringing more and more mobile suits ashore with every minute, and that third prototype is still fighting against the Orb Army. It may not have the other two machines working with it, but its firepower is still considerable, and it is dealing damage. _

Indeed, the third machine, which had been described as a heavy artillery platform, was pounding Orb's conventional tanks and self-propelled guns. It wasn't as effective against the M1s due to an apparent lack of a beam saber for close-quarters combat, but with so many other Alliance mobile suits taking part in the attack there weren't enough available to use to mount a concentrated attack against it. What few M1s that were close enough to engage it could not get within beam saber range due to the sheer volume of fire the Alliance prototype was throwing out. The unit's bloody advance may have been halted when Kira had drawn off its two compatriots, but it was still in the fight and still dealing damage. If things kept going the way they were the Alliance would eventually be able to press further inland, though their casualties would be very heavy.

However, the most vital part of the battle, at least in her mind, was Wing Zero's solo assault on the center of the Alliance fleet. Murrue watched as Heero opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, destroying his third _Spengler_-class carrier and 33rd ship of the day. Immediately after the massive yellow-gold beam annihilated its target Wing Zero went evasive, dodging fire from the massive swarm of full-flight Strikes that were trying desperately to take him out. Scores of them had already fallen to the Gundam, and more were being recalled from the various theatres of the battle in an attempt to deal with the powerful mobile suit that was mauling the Alliance Fleet.

They weren't meeting with any success. The Perfect Soldier weaved through their fire and hit back, cutting down three full-flight Strikes with Wing Zero's beam saber before opening fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, cutting a swath through the enemy horde. Eight units were destroyed, and the rest of the attackers once again scattered, trying desperately to regroup yet again and mount an organized attack… giving Heero an opportunity to line up another shot, this time on one of the armada's massive troop transports. The Twin Buster Rifle cut loose yet again, and the vessel became a fireball.

Despite the success Heero was having in his attack on the armada and forcing them to hold back resources, Murrue's concerns for the young man were only growing stronger as the battle went on. _By now_, she thought, _he should've at least sent us some targeting data for our missiles and long range guns. He's done that in the last two fights; used the Zero System to anticipate the enemy's moves and give us precise targeting solutions so we can support him. We swore to protect and support each other, and I know that's something Heero took to heart. So why… why hasn't he contacted me since the battle began?_

That was only a small part of her fears. Far more important and worrying to Murrue was the increased level of brutality Heero had shown in the fight, especially when it came to destroying mobile suits that were already disabled and attempting to withdraw. It wasn't like him at all. She knew Heero's fighting style was centered on efficiency, dealing as much damage to the enemy forces as possible, relentlessly attacking and giving them no opportunity to regroup and counter, but there were limits to how far he would go. If an enemy was no longer a threat and withdrawing, Heero would let them go. The fact that he wasn't doing so now was, to Murrue, a huge indicator that something wasn't right with the young man.

Murrue watched him open fire on a group of mobile suits, destroying three with the Twin Buster Rifle. Two more machines caught the edge of the golden-yellow beam, and their left arms, which held their rifles and shields, were disintegrated by the blast. They began to pull back, but Heero never gave them the chance to withdraw, destroying them both with Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings.

_Heero_, she thought, _what's happening to you? Why are you fighting like this? You're not yourself right now; something's wrong, I know it!_

She was about to contact him over the radio when the radar officer called out. "More fighters inbound!"

_Shit_, she thought, _they're getting through more often now. Orb's pilots are wearing down!_

"Ready anti-air artillery!" Murrue ordered.

"Helldarts, Igelstellungs," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "acquire targets and open fire!"

Murrue watched as the flight of six F-7D Spearheads closed in on the ship. The Captain expected to see the _Archangel_'s anti-air weapons open fire, but was surprised to see the six planes get shot down before the white warship could fire, annihilated by a large scattershot blast.

"Where did that come from?" she cried out.

"Tracking," said the radar operator, "from the shallows… it's the Buster!"

….

Dearka Elsman smiled, admiring his handiwork. "Looks like we picked a good time to crash this party, eh Buster?"

Gunning his engines, the tan-skinned, blond haired Coordinator took the Buster into a high jump and made his way towards the _Archangel_. Utilizing the same thruster technique the Strike had during the battle in the Marshall Islands, he let the mobile suit fall until it came close to the water before hitting his engines again to regain altitude. It was a very awkward way to fly, and the young man was hoping he'd be allowed to land on the _Archangel _and use it as a firing platform.

_Here's hoping that shot bought me some good will_, he thought as he adjusted his radio frequency to an open channel to contact the ship.

It had taken him quite some time to regain the Buster. He'd found the Morgenroete testing facility without difficulty, but he hadn't been able to figure out how to get inside. He struggled to come up with a plan, but couldn't think of one, and began to fear that he wouldn't be able to reclaim his machine and help out in the battle. Then, much to his surprise, a large truck had moved towards the exit, carrying the Buster on the flatbed trailer behind it. Moving closer to listen to the gate guards, he'd discovered that they were transferring it to an Army base, and that the OS had been adapted so that a Natural could pilot it. Dearka had hidden behind a nearby bush, and as the truck left the facility and began to pick up speed he'd dashed out from behind his cover, using every bit of the increased speed and strength given to Coordinators to jump onto the back of the truck before it could leave him in the dust.

"_Archangel_," he said, "this is Dearka Elsman, calling from the Buster. I'm here to help!"

A female voice came over the radio, and he assumed it was the ship's Captain. "I thought you were evacuated! How did you get that machine?"

"It doesn't matter," he replied, "Please, let me land on the _Archangel_'s upper hull; I can use it as a platform and support the fleet from there!"

There was a moment's pause before the Captain replied. "Very well," she said, "take up position and then use the Buster's artillery to back up our mobile suit and Skygrasper, along with taking out any fighters that make it past the Orb squadrons. Understood?"

"Got it," said Dearka.

"I'm transferring you to our flight coordinator," she said.

There was some static in the bottom right corner of his screen before a familiar face appeared on it. "Dearka!" cried Miriallia, her eyes widening in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

He smiled at her. "I wanted to help you protect your homeland, Miriallia. Figured I owed you that much after you saved my neck in the med bay."

That wasn't his real reason, of course, but his pride wouldn't let him admit that he'd come back solely to protect her.

The girl nodded, and Dearka thought he saw a knowing look in her eyes, like she did not entirely believe what he'd said but was willing to go along with it for now. "I see… thank you, Dearka. I'm glad you're here."

"Wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he replied, smirking.

"Right," said Miriallia, stifling a laugh, "Ok, hotshot, take up position on the upper deck in front of the bridge. Concentrate on picking off the enemy's full-flight Strikes. Don't use your scatter-shot attack; we do have our own units in the fray, after all."

"I figured that," said Dearka, gunning his thrusters again for his final approach to the _Archangel_, "and if enemy fighters get past the Orb squadrons again?"

"I'll set you up a feed to our anti-air weapons telemetry," she said, "coordinate your fire with that if the enemy manages to break through again."

"Got it," said Dearka, "wish me luck."

Miriallia nodded and gave him a soft smile. "Godspeed, Dearka… and be careful."

"Thanks," he replied, "Buster out."

He touched down on the _Archangel_'s upper deck just as she'd instructed and reconfigured the Buster's Hyper Impulse Cannon to its concentrated blast mode so he could fire more precise shots. Dearka focused on the air battle raging ahead of the _Archangel _and its allied warships, and saw a familiar blue and white fighter jet engaged with the enemy mobile suits, launching hit-and-run attacks with the large beam cannon slung beneath its fuselage. Fighting alongside it was a strange new blue and white mobile suit, displaying an incredible degree of speed and maneuverability, picking off enemy units with its beam rifle and violet saber. Any enemy shots that it could nod dodge were blocked by an energy shield generated by four green disk-like devices.

_Nice machine_, he thought, impressed at its performance, _must be a new Orb model._

Dearka's eyes narrowed in concentration as he sighted in on an enemy machine. He felt a strange mix of pressure, anxiety, and relief within him. On one hand, he was now acting as part of the _Archangel_'s defenses. Not only had he put the responsibility for Miriallia's well being on his shoulders, but his actions could also be construed as treason by ZAFT. However, the young man also felt a sense of comfort and certainty at the thought that he was helping with the _Archangel_'s defense; after so many encounters with the ship, he knew that the crew was competent, especially the gunners, and he would be able to effectively coordinate his fire with them. Also, having an active role in protecting Miriallia gave him a sense of control, which worked well to offset the pressure he had put on himself by taking responsibility for her safety.

He smiled as he opened fire, his shot nailing an Alliance mobile suit that had been attempting to attack the blue and white fighter jet. _I've still got my skills_, he thought, _I was afraid all that time down in the brig would've dulled them a bit, but it looks like they're still sharp. Alright, time to rock and roll!_

….

**(Start "Legend of Zero – XXXG-00W0")**

_Destroy all enemies._

That was the only thought in Heero's mind as he opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, blowing a fleet tanker to flaming bits. Not even pausing to watch the fireworks, the Perfect Soldier quickly sighted in on another target and fired again, annihilating a troopship. He was in the heart of the Alliance armada now, striking at their most vulnerable vessels. The fleet was in a state of panic, with ships scattering in every direction in a futile attempt to get clear of the Gundam that was decimating their ranks. More and more full-flight Strikes joined the units that were swirling overhead, trying desperately to take Wing Zero down, only to become the latest victims of the wrath of the Perfect Soldier.

Weaving through a storm of enemy return fire, Heero charged headlong into a formation of mobile suits, cutting down three machines in mere seconds. He then brought up the Twin Buster Rifle and opened fire, turning six more units into fireballs and damaging two more that caught the edge of the blast, disintegrating the arms that held their shields. The Perfect Soldier instantly turned to the two vulnerable mobile suits and shredded them with gatling fire.

Any sense of restraint was gone, crushed under the combined forces of the cold, ruthless Zero System and the ravenous beast that was Heero's wrath, the desire for vengeance that had taken hold of his heart. There were no other thoughts in his mind beyond the complete annihilation of the Atlantic Federation fleet, and the Gundam pilot was doing all in his considerable power to make that a reality… at the cost of allowing the Zero System to take over, to force him down the path to the outcomes that it desired rather than guiding it with his own will and morals.

Dodging a swarm of missiles and anti-air shells, Heero sighted in on what would be his fourth _Spengler_-class carrier kill of the day, the _Saratoga_. Bracketing the target, the Perfect Soldier opened fire, obliterating the massive warship.

Diving towards the water almost immediately after taking the shot, Heero took Wing Zero alongside one of the fleet's freighters and rammed his beam saber into it. He cut down past the waterline before withdrawing his blade and pulling back. The ship quickly began listing sharply to the portside, and would slip beneath the waves within minutes.

Climbing for altitude, Heero put the beam saber away before splitting the Twin Buster Rifle in half and opening fire with both guns. One beam annihilated a flight of six fighter jets, while the other destroyed four full-flight Strikes. He then reformed Wing Zero's main gun and reignited his beam saber just in time to block a sword strike from another unit. Hitting the thrusters, Heero used Wing Zero's raw power to push back the enemy before impaling it through the cockpit.

Glancing at his radar while dodging fire from all angles, the Gundam pilot saw that he was getting closer and closer to his true target; the flagship _Clinton_. He had carved a massive swath of destruction through the Alliance armada to get this far; soon he would reap the rewards for his bloody efforts.

_Vice-Admiral Vickers_, the beast in his heart roared as he targeted a smaller escort carrier, blowing it away with the Twin Buster Rifle, _I'm coming for you! You won't leave this battlefield alive!_

**(End "Legend of Zero – XXXG-00W0")**

….

The sweat was building up on Kira's brow and dripping down his face, but the young Coordinator had no time to wipe it away. His two-on-one clash with the Alliance's new machines was still ongoing, and it was starting to take its toll on him. Though the Freedom was more than a match for either of the mobile suits in a one-on-one fight and still capable of outperforming them in the current matchup, the enemy pilots had proven to be of a far higher caliber than the Atlantic Federation regulars, rivaling the ZAFT team that had so doggedly pursued the _Archangel _months ago.

The black and red machine and the green and grey one exhibited a sense of reluctant teamwork, attacking from different angles in an effort to breach Kira's defenses. Their timing wasn't well coordinated though, enabling him to avoid taking a lethal blow. It was fortunate for Kira that the Freedom was powered by a nuclear reactor, giving its Phase Shift Armor an infinite runtime; the enemy was starting to land hits. It was nothing major, only physical rounds from the green unit's railguns and the black and red one's dual shield cannon, but the impacts were still jarring and took effort to compensate for. Kira had also been forced to use the Freedom's shield to block several blows from the black and red unit's massive sphere-breaker, and the sheer force of the blows severely shook the Gundam, even if they hadn't been direct hits on the machine itself.

The young Coordinator was giving as good as he got, though. He had landed several hits on the black and red unit with the Freedom's railguns, not damaging the machine but knocking it off balance and giving him chances to attack the other mobile suit. The green unit's energy shields were still functioning, and had sent several of his shots flying wildly toward either the Orb mainland or the ocean, and Kira could only hope that none of them had hit anyone below. Kira had been able to land a couple close up strikes with his beam saber, though they had all been grazes. One had struck along the right side of the mobile suit's chest, giving it another black scar to match the one on its left. A few sparks flew from it every couple seconds, but Kira knew that he hadn't done any major damage. He'd had more success with a blow to the unit's left arm, not managing to sever it but damaging the machine gun mounted on it, rendering it inoperable.

_Damn it_, he thought as he narrowly evaded another curving plasma beam from the green unit, _this is taking way too long! The Orb ground forces need help, and fast!_

The Alliance invasion force was slowly but surely pressing forward, and fierce fighting was raging in the western side of Kisiragi and the surrounding countryside. The ground-based prototype heavy-artillery mobile suit was still inflicting punishment on the Orb forces, pounding away with its guns. The Alliance had begun landing infantry in force now that their mobile suits had gained a gradual momentum, and they had already begun clashing with Orb foot soldiers. Matters had been made worse by a large-scale paratrooper drop initiated mere minutes ago, with Alliance soldiers landing behind Orb lines, hitting several units from the rear and sowing confusion. The ground fighting was growing more vicious by the second now that infantry had become involved in the battle, and the body count was rising sharply. Orb was deploying reinforcements in an effort to contain the Alliance offensive, but Kira knew that by now they had to be running short of reserve units; if they hadn't committed everything they had yet, they would soon.

The carnage on the ground was staggering, the fighting more brutal than anything Kira had ever dared to imagine. Burned out wrecks of mobile suits and armored vehicles were everywhere. M1s and Strikes clashed with their rifles and beam sabers, Tragos suits and mass-production Busters pounded away at each other with their heavy artillery, Orb's conventional units added whatever fire they could to the fight, and both sides' infantry were now going at it with machine guns, rifles, small arms, grenades, and even knives. The young Coordinator was only able to catch brief glimpses of the fighting as he continued his deadly dance with the two Alliance prototypes, but what he saw made him want to hurl.

_I thought our earlier battles were horrible_, thought Kira, _the fights we had in space, the North Africa campaign, our journey to Orb, the Marshall Islands… but this is just monstrous!_

He had no time to ruminate on the grim events unfolding around him; the two machines he was currently fighting were pressing their assault. Kira barely managed to evade a swipe from the green unit's wicked scythe while at the same time taking another blow from the black and red machine's sphere-breaker on his shield. He returned fire with the Freedom's artillery, but the former simply blocked his shots with its energy shield while the latter was able to dodge his fire, albeit barely.

It was no good; the combined skills of the enemy pilots and the unique capabilities of their machines meant that Kira was unable to gain the upper hand. If anything, Kira was actually being forced onto the defensive, spending more time blocking and dodging their attacks than launching his own strikes. He needed help if he was going to turn the tide… but Kira doubted that aid would be forthcoming anytime soon.

La Flaga and Cagalli were still wrapped up with protecting the _Archangel _and the Orb Third Fleet from the enemy's full-flight mass production Strikes. Kira had been surprised to see that the Buster had joined the fray, firing shots from its perch on the white warship's upper deck. Its assistance was valuable, and while Kira did not know why it had been deployed now he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Still, even with the Heliopolis prototype in the mix there was no way La Flaga or Cagalli could break away to help Kira; they had their hands full dealing with the attacking enemy units.

The only other pilot on the battlefield with the skills needed to help Kira out of the mess he was in was also engaged. Heero was at the heart of the Alliance armada, mauling the enemy fleet with Wing Zero's overwhelming speed and power. The Twin Buster Rifle rained down destruction like a wrathful god, carving a swath of ruin and death through the Atlantic Federation fleet. Heero's one-man assault had also forced the Alliance to withhold many of their full-flight mass production Strikes in an effort to drive him off… one that was failing miserably. The enemy mobile suits seemed to do little more than add to the number of targets Heero had to choose from, and Kira could only wonder how many the Gundam pilot had taken down; he'd been too busy to keep track of his comrade's progress, but he had no doubt that Wing Zero's kill count was astronomical.

Diving to dodge railgun fire from the green unit, Kira felt the Freedom shudder violently as an attack from the black and red machine's sphere-breaker finally connected with the mobile suit's armor rather than its shield. He was alarmed to see the Freedom's power usage suddenly spike as the unit's nuclear reactor struggled to compensate for the heavy blow, allocating more energy to its Phase Shift Armor.

_A few more hits like that and I'm in trouble_, he thought grimly, cutting loose with the Freedom's guns in an effort to buy himself some breathing room, _damn it, I have to find a way to turn things around, and quickly!_

The only problem, of course, was that he had no idea how to do that.

….

Pulling out of his atmospheric reentry dive, Athrun had no problem spotting the battle taking place at Orb's northern shore. His reentry vector had put him mere kilometers northeast of the island nation, a distance he would have no problem closing.

His fingers flew over the Justice's controls, and the Fatum-00 backpack detached from the mobile suit and flew under the machine's feet. Athrun then landed the unit on the newly formed Subflight lifter and set a course towards the fighting in the distance. He scanned his sensors, making adjustments to them until he was able to bring up a strategic map of the battlefield.

Athrun's eyes widened as he saw just how massive the engagement was in scope. There were hundreds of warships, mobile suits, jet fighters, and ground vehicles spread across the battlefield, going at it with a tenacity he'd rarely seen before. Four Orb fleet groups had engaged the wings of the Alliance armada, preventing them from spreading out across a wider front, while a fifth defended the most vital beaches; the ones that allowed easy access to the Kaguya mass driver. The central Orb fleet was holding strong, and Athrun had no doubt it was due to the fact that the _Archangel _was at the front and center of its formation; he knew full well how formidable the legged ship' was in battle, and had no doubt that it was capable of wreaking havoc on conventional naval forces. However, the four fleet groups attacking the wings of the Alliance armada had clearly taken a beating, and while they were not letting up their offensive efforts it was clear that their enemy was beginning to gain the upper hand. Still, the Orb fleet pincers were fighting fiercely; they weren't down for the count yet.

Happening concurrently with the sea battle were massive air engagements, both on the wings of the Alliance armada and at the head of Orb's middle fleet. Fighters and mobile suits clashed with everything they had, and while the Orb forces were giving a good accounting for themselves Athrun could tell that they were slowly being worn down, especially the squadrons that were operating as part of the pincer attack on the Alliance armada. He was surprised to see new model mobile suits participating on both sides. The Alliance's units were obviously mass production versions of the Strike, but Orb was fielding new air combat mobile suits as well, of a type Athrun had never seen before. They were blue and gray machines armed with beam rifles, sabers, and missile launchers, and were both fast and maneuverable. There was another new machine fighting the Alliance forces attacking the Orb fleet in the center, a blue and white mobile suit that was displaying an incredible amount of speed and agility, picking off enemy units with its beam rifle and beam saber. Athrun noted that it was fighting alongside a familiar white and blue fighter jet with a large beam cannon slung beneath its fuselage; one of the _Archangel_'s planes.

Looking for the white warship itself, Athrun found it at the front and center of Orb's middle fleet. His eyes widened as he saw a familiar mobile suit standing on its upper deck, taking shots at both Alliance mobile suits and fighters that managed to get past the Orb squadrons; the Buster.

_So it wasn't destroyed after all_, he thought, _the Archangel's crew must've captured it after the battle in the Marshall Islands. I wonder… is Dearka alive too? Is he being held aboard the ship… or is he actually piloting that thing again? _The latter thought was something he normally wouldn't have considered, but after all the surprising twists and turns his life had taken since he had returned to Aprilius One in the wake of Operation Spitbreak, even the most unlikely scenarios could no longer be discounted.

Orb wasn't just deploying MS in the air battle. Athrun could see new models taking part in the ground engagement as well. Orb was using two distinct models. One was a black and white machine that bore some similarity to the Strike, using beam sabers, beam rifles, and a large shield to take on the Alliance's mass production Strikes. Another was a large machine with broad shoulders, each of which had a large beam cannon mounted on them, along with heavy guns in its hands. It came in two variants; one type had normal, if quite thick, legs beneath its torso, while the other had some kind of hover platform. Both were obviously heavy artillery units, and they were operating in conjunction with Orb's conventional units in their defense of the island nation. Athrun also saw mass produced Busters on the Alliance's side. They were fewer in number than the mass production Strikes, and even though they were colored Athrun could tell just from the amount that had already been destroyed that they did not have Phase Shift Armor. Still, they did have the original Buster's weaponry, and they were proving to be tough foes in their own right, taking losses but still managing to advance with the rest of the Alliance forces.

The ground fighting wasn't just taking place on the beach or in the countryside; the western half of a coastal city had become a bloody battleground. Firefights between mobile suits were wreaking havoc on the urban area, leaving craters in some buildings and completely demolishing others. Smoke from scores of fires drifted skyward, and the fighting did not seem to be letting up. One machine in particular, a large blue mobile suit with an impressive array of artillery, was firing indiscriminately, demolishing entire city blocks by itself as it engaged the Orb forces.

_Orb's in trouble_, thought Athrun, _they may be making the Alliance pay for every meter they advance, but that does not change the fact that the Alliance _is _advancing, if slowly. This battle is becoming one of attrition, and the Alliance has always favored that kind of fight._

One more theatre of battle caught his attention. Bringing up the center of the Alliance armada on his monitors, Athrun looked on in awe as a very familiar mobile suit carved a swath of destruction through its ranks; Wing Zero. The unit's pilot had thrown himself into the heaviest concentration of enemy forces, and was wreaking utter carnage on them. Athrun could only imagine how many ships and mobile suits Heero Yuy had already taken down; the trail of burning debris that had been blazed through the fleet implied that the former count was quite high, perhaps close to forty by now, and it was impossible to determine how many of the Alliance's new full-flight mass production Strikes had been taken down by the formidable pilot and mobile suit.

_This guy's incredible_, thought Athrun, watching as a tanker was blown to fiery bits by Wing Zero's deadly rifle, _because of his attack, the Alliance is being forced to hold back a considerable amount of their warships and mobile suits, units that would otherwise be used to support the assault on Orb's coast and overwhelm the defenses. _Lacus's words echoed in his mind. _"__You are a superb pilot, Athrun… but you're no Heero Yuy."_

_ No kidding_, he mused, shaking his head, _there's no way I could match the kind of damage this guy's dishing out. _It was all the more daunting to watch as he remembered one of his father's orders; take down Wing Zero. Even if the unit was surrounded by enemies and focused on fighting the Alliance fleet, Athrun knew that the moment he went in for an attack the pilot would become aware of him and move to counter, and that wasn't even factoring in the very real possibility that, even if he was attacking Wing Zero, the Atlantic Federation forces could fire on him while he was doing so; his mobile suit was flying under a ZAFT IFF, after all.

But Wing Zero was not his true concern. Scanning the battlefield, Athrun at last found what he was really looking for, the other main objective of his mission, and one of the sources of his inner conflict; the Freedom.

Kira.

His childhood friend was engaged in a fierce battle with two Alliance mobile suits, unique models that Athrun had never seen before and assumed to be advanced prototypes. One was a black and red machine, the design of which appeared to be based upon the principle of fast, hard strikes. It was quick, highly maneuverable, and the massive sphere-breaker it was swinging around looked like it could do a lot of damage, Phase Shift Armor or not. Two cannons were mounted within the shield on its right arm, and they looked like they could deal out serious punishment. There was a black slash across where its 'mouth' would be, and Athrun assumed that Kira had used one of the Freedom's beam sabers to take out a weapon that had been mounted there.

The other unit was a green and gray mobile suit, and while it was not quite as fast or agile as its ally, or the Freedom for that matter, it made up for it with a wicked-looking array of weapons and equipment. Athrun was shocked to see the air ripple around the upper portion of the unit as an energy shield materialized and deflected two beams fired from the Freedom's plasma cannons. His surprise only increased when the Alliance unit returned fire, and the energy shield rippled and shifted, bending the unit's plasma beam into an arc, one that Kira was barely able to evade. The unit then charged in with its metal scythe, but it was forced to pull back to dodge a slash from the Freedom's violet energy blade.

It was obvious that Kira was in trouble. Despite his own considerable skills and the Freedom's incredible combat capabilities, the unique weapons and equipment of the two units fighting it were, combined with the surprisingly sharp reflexes of the Alliance pilots, were enough to bridge the power gap. Individually, the Freedom was no doubt the superior mobile suit, and Athrun was sure that Kira was a better pilot than the two people he was fighting against, but the Alliance pair was working together, albeit with some apparent reluctance, to negate their foe's advantages. Whatever initiative or advantage Kira had held before was no more, and if anything the Alliance mobile suits were beginning to take control of the battle.

Had the situation been unfolding before him months, or even weeks ago, Athrun may well have used the opportunity to stab Kira in the back, to take revenge for the death of Nicole for real this time and earn his father's praise. Now, though… while Nicole's death still weighed on his mind, avenging it was no longer a priority for the young Zala. After listening to Lacus's words, contemplating both them and his late friend, Athrun was no longer driven by the desire for revenge. What had it gotten him the first time around? He remembered waking up aboard the Orb jet and his subsequent confrontation with Cagalli. He'd never felt so low in his life at the time. Killing Kira, or having apparently done so, had not brought him any sense of satisfaction or justice. No, it had only given him misery, pain and sorrow beyond any he had felt since the death of his mother in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy.

_Cagalli_, he thought, _you were right about me; revenge isn't something I can truly fight for. When I tried to do so, back in the Marshall Islands… the only thing I got out of it was the anguish that came with having apparently killed my best friend. After that battle, after you called me out on that plane… I wanted nothing more than to die. Yes, Kira killed Nicole, my friend… but I don't hate him for it. I know Kira; he's kind, a bit of a crybaby, kind of lazy… and devoted to his friends. From the start, he told me he was fighting to protect his friends. I didn't really listen, since those friends were with the Earth Forces, and I thought he was just being used and manipulated… but that was what truly drove him. He didn't care about the Alliance or its ideals; he just wanted to protect his friends, and was willing to fight to do that. Kira didn't want to kill anyone, and I should've known that from the start; he was always so gentle… had things been different, I doubt he would have ever gone anywhere near a mobile suit._

The orders from his father still weighed upon his mind, to recapture or destroy the Freedom, and take down Wing Zero… but they were not as pressing as they had been when he had departed Aprilius One. They were not what was driving him, were not what his heart truly desired. What mattered more to him, here and now, was saving Kira… _saving his friend_. It wouldn't be that simple, of course; Athrun was sure that they would have to talk after the battle, and that it would be a tense confrontation. Still, it was one he was willing to face. As for Wing Zero… well, if he wasn't going to follow the first half of his orders, he saw no reason to bother with the second.

Especially since it was a suicide mission; even the formidable ZGMF-X09A Justice, a mobile suit on par with the Freedom, was no match for the overwhelming speed and power of Wing Zero, and Athrun held no illusions that his skills were equal to those of Heero's. The young man was sure that he'd be able to give both machine and pilot a good fight… but he had no confidence in his ability to defeat them, nor survive the confrontation.

His eyes narrowed as Athrun steeled himself for what he was about to do; defy his father. He would be taking one of ZAFT's most advanced mobile suits and saving the target he had been ordered to capture or destroy, and by the Supreme Chairman himself no less. His actions would be of treason, and ZAFT's penalty for that was death. It didn't matter if he was the scion of what was now essentially the PLANT's military dictator; he would not be exempt from the firing squad.

He could never go home again.

_So be it_, he thought, grim determination in his eyes as he gunned the Justice's engines, racing towards the battle, _I already followed my father's orders to kill a friend once, even if I didn't succeed; I won't do it again!_

He recalled Lacus's parting words to him that night in the concert hall: that he should look inside himself, and find out what he was truly fighting for. Athrun had struggled with that idea throughout the long flight from Aprilius One to Orb, and he found it slightly amusing that only now, as he was flying headlong into battle, did he finally know what that reason was. It was not for his father's ideals, or even his approval. From now on, he was going to fight to protect the people he cared about… starting with his childhood friend.

Athrun couldn't help but smile slightly at the sense of certainty he felt as he flew towards the battle. Here he was, charging headlong into a life or death struggle, yet he had never felt more sure of himself in his life than he did right now. There was no fear, no doubt, no apprehension over the possibility of death or the consequences of the actions he took today. For the first time in what felt like ages, Athrun knew he was doing the right thing. It energized him, invigorated him in a way he'd never dreamed possible.

His father would hate him for what he was about to do, but Athrun felt that another family member would be proud of him, along with a recently departed friend of his.

_Mother_, he thought, _you always told me to follow my heart, to always do the right thing. Well, I'm going to do that now, and live by that ideal from here on out. Watch over me, Mother… I love you, and I miss you. Nicole… I'm about to save the life of the guy that killed you. It's strange, I know… but I don't think you'd hate me for it. It's too bad you never got to meet Kira off the battlefield; I'm sure you two would've been great friends. You guys are a lot alike… not the least because of just how kind you two are. You might fight against someone, but you'd never hate them; hate was the last emotion you knew how to feel. Rest in peace, my friend… and put in a good word for me, just in case things go south down here._

….

Barely managing to dodge another curved beam attack from the green mobile suit, Kira fired off a volley with the Freedom's weapons. He was trying to hit the enemy from below, where their energy shields did not seem to have effective coverage, but his foe managed to adjust his angle and deflect the shots. The young Coordinator had no time for a second attack; the red and black unit was closing in, swinging its massive sphere-breaker. Kira was barely able to bring the Freedom's shield up to block the incoming attack, and even then he felt the Gundam shudder under the impact.

The enemy's teamwork was getting better; their strikes were more coordinated, and they were giving Kira less openings to counterattack. More importantly, the two Alliance machines had kept him away from the main engagement, which Kira knew was gradually deteriorating in favor of the enemy in some theatres, particularly the ground battle. The Atlantic Federation's advance was slow and bloody, but the fact was undeniable that they _were _advancing all the same.

Kira was determined to end his two-on-one fight with the Alliance prototypes, but all his attempts to do so without killing his foes had ended in failure. The red and black unit's speed and maneuverability, the green machine's shield system, and the sharp reflexes of both pilots meant that his attempts to take them down non-lethally had resulted in little more than minor damage, blocked attacks, or dodged shots. Meanwhile, the Alliance pilots were fighting with no such compunctions over taking his life, and their combined assault was pushing Kira to the edge of his abilities.

The conversation he'd had weeks ago with Heero echoed in his mind, more specifically one of Heero's latter statements. _"Kira, __if you don't accept the fact that there are times when you may have to take your opponent's life, how will you react when confronted by such a situation?"_

Was this one of those situations? Would Kira once again have to take the life of another human being?

_No_, he thought, determination and desperation driving him on, _I won't go back down that path. I know a soldier is supposed to be able to take life if they have to, but I can't do that! I have the power to defeat my enemies without killing them, thanks to the Freedom. It may not be easy to do against all my foes, but that doesn't mean I should fight non-lethally only when it's convenient. I'm not going to kill anyone!_

It was the ideal he was determined to live and fight by, and to Kira it was the right path… but that did not change the fact that it had handicapped him in this situation. It would've been so much simpler to impale the green machine through its cockpit with his beam saber; the unit's shield would not have been able to block such a strike. As for the black and red mobile suit, a concentrated bombardment with the Freedom's guns, focused on the unit's torso, would've taken it down. But fighting without killing meant eschewing those tactics… and he was paying for it.

Kira raised his shield again, blocking another curved beam fired from the green unit. The crimson energy lance dissipated against his shield, but the move left him open to a strike from the red and black unit, which was swinging its sphere-breaker at the Freedom's right side. Kira braced himself for the impact, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge or block the attack.

It never connected. Kira was shocked to see a large burgundy mobile suit interpose itself between him and the enemy. It was riding a flight platform of the same color, and it was wielding a double-bladed beam saber, which it used to slice the incoming sphere-breaker in half. Both Alliance mobile suits blacked off for a moment to reassess the new arrival.

Analyzing the large mobile suit with the Freedom's scanners, Kira's surprise only increased when he saw that the model was actually in the unit's databanks; the ZGMF-X09A Justice. Kira noted several similarities in the overall frame of the machine to the Freedom, though it had less artillery and seemed to be more oriented towards close-quarters-combat. He also caught energy readings coming from it that indicated it had N-Jammer Cancellers and a nuclear reactor. _It must've been built as part of the same program as the Freedom_, he thought, _which means it's a ZAFT machine. What's it doing here? Why's ZAFT getting involved in this battle?_

Suddenly the lower right hand corner of Kira's monitor shifted, and Kira was completely taken aback by the person that appeared on the screen and started speaking.

"This is Athrun Zala. Kira, are you there? Kira, respond!"

"Athrun…" Kira said, struggling to react to this surprising development, "what… what are you doing here? Why is ZAFT involving itself in this battle?"

"I'm not operating under ZAFT's orders," his old friend replied firmly, "this intervention… is my decision alone!"

Out of the corner of his eye Kira saw the two Alliance prototypes coming towards them, having apparently decided to take on the new arrival along with the Freedom.

Athrun clearly noticed as well. "Look," he said, "we can talk later. Let's take down these guys first."

Kira nodded. "Right." He had mixed feelings about working with Athrun, especially considering what had happened between them in the Marshall Islands, but right now he could not afford to refuse a new ally.

"I'll take the green one," said Athrun, "you take the red and black one."

"Watch out," said Kira, "the green one has some kind of energy shield; ranged weapon's are no good against it."

"Good to know," he replied, "but the Justice has a few tricks up its sleeves… and so do I."

"Alright," said Kira, turning to meet the charging black and red mobile suit. Now that he had only one foe to deal with, things would be much simpler.

The unit still had half of its sphere-breaker, and wasted no time in using it, swinging the weapon wildly in an effort to keep Kira at bay. This time, though, without having to worry about an attack at his back, Kira was able to go completely on the offensive. Evading the attack he swiftly struck out with his beam saber. Unfortunately the enemy was still able to make the most of their sharp reflexes and pulled their unit back, only catching the very edge of Kira's violet energy blade across its left shoulder, leaving a black furrow rather than cutting off the whole left arm. Still, the momentum of the fight had clearly shifted, and Kira followed up his close-quarters attack with a full-on bombardment with the Freedom's guns. He was aiming to disable the enemy's arms and legs with his shots, but the black and red unit's mobility combined with the pilot's considerable skills negated his efforts. One of his crimson plasma beams did connect and take out the right hand, but that one held no weapon; the dual cannons were mounted in the arm shield, so they were still operational. It was progress, though, a sign of the shifting tide in Kira's battle.

Now that he had put his foe on the defensive, Kira was able to check on Athrun's progress. His old friend was now wielding a single beam saber in his unit's right hand, having apparently disassembled the double-bladed weapon and put one of the blades away. With its left hand it grabbed at a handle shaped device on its shoulder, one that Kira instantly recognized as a beam boomerang projector similar to the one used on the Strike's Sword Pack. The Justice let fly with the projectile, and Kira was shocked to see the violet beam boomerang actually cut through the green unit's energy barrier and graze the right shield protrusion, leaving a long black scorch mark across it.

_The beam boomerang utilizes the same kind of energy as beam sabers_, he thought, recalling how he had been able to inflict grazes on the green unit with the Freedom's own energy blades, _that must be why it was able to pierce that machine's barrier. _It didn't directly help Kira, since the Freedom had no such weapons, but it was still good to know, and there was always the chance that knowledge could come in handy somewhere down the road.

Athrun pressed his assault, closing in and lashing out with his beam saber. The violet blade pierced the green mobile suit's energy shield and sliced one of the unit's railguns in half. The Justice then moved in for a finishing blow but was forced to pull back as a flurry of emerald particle beams and a crimson lance of energy narrowly missed it.

Scanning the direction from where the sudden attack had come from, Kira saw the third Alliance prototype, its guns aimed up at their air battle. The machine was still on the ground, not even using its thrusters for temporary flight; it was instead acting as an anti-air battery.

_At least it's not attacking the Orb ground forces now_, thought Kira, _still, this will complicate things on our end. Time to end this!_

Evading another attack by the black and red mobile suit's damaged sphere-breaker, Kira closed the distance and took a swing at the unit's right arm. His enemy managed to pull back just enough to avoid losing the entire arm, but the tip of the Freedom's beam saber managed to slice one of the barrels of the dual shield cannons in half. His foe was running low on offensive options, and Kira wanted to capitalize on that to end the fight.

He took aim with all the Freedom's guns, but before he could fire he was forced to jink to the right in order to avoid a barrage from the third prototype firing from the ground. As he evaded enemy fire he saw his damaged foe shift into a bird-like mobile armor form and dive towards the surface. Kira wondered for a moment what was going on before he saw the blue mobile suit gun its thrusters and leap onto the black and red machine's back.

_He's acting as a flight platform for the heavy artillery unit_, Kira realized, _damn, not good!_

Kira's foes climbed to meet him, the blue, black and orange machine firing volleys from its mobile perch. Kira returned fire with the Freedom's artillery, and though most of his shots went wide one plasma beam managed to hit the large cannon mounted on the mobile suit's right shoulder, turning the front half of the barrel into a twisted, smoking wreck. _One less gun to worry about_, thought Kira, _now let's hit the others!_

….

"Shit!" snarled Orga as the Calamity shuddered, the heavy beam cannon mounted on its right shoulder taking a hit from one of the black, white, and blue unit's plasma guns.

_I can't believe he managed to hit me_, he thought, _why the hell weren't Clotho and Shani able to take this guy out earlier? Damn it, they're useless without me! _The arrival of a new mobile suit had made matters worse, and Orga could tell that it was from the same series as the other unit. Shani was fighting it for now, though he wasn't fairing too well against it. That didn't matter to Orga though; the only thing he cared about was repaying the first mobile suit for hitting his Calamity.

"You'll pay for that, you son of a bitch!" he yelled as he sighted in and prepared to open fire. Before he could pull the trigger though, a sharp lance of pain went through his head.

"Aaagh!" he cried out, clutching his head with his left hand… which was beginning to spasm. His right barely managed to keep its grip on the Calamity's controls, shaking violently as well.

Over the radio he heard his teammates cry out as well, and he knew that they were suffering the same pain he was; the beginnings of withdrawal from Gamma Glipheptin. They'd been on the battlefield for too long, and the serum that gave the three of them their super-human abilities was wearing off.

"Clotho," he growled, grimacing from the pain, "get us out of here!"

"I know," his teammate said, his normally cocky and abrasive attitude now replaced by an agonized whimper.

Orga felt the Raider begin to pull away, taking the Calamity with it back to the Alliance fleet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shani manage to fire off one last shot with the Forbidden's plasma cannon, getting the two powerful enemy mobile suits to back off a bit while the Biological CPUs made their getaway.

_Damn it_, thought Clotho, _we weren't able to take out that machine or the new one… Azrael's going to be pissed. _The young man shuddered, and it wasn't just a pain-induced tremor; he knew what Lord Azrael would do to him and the others as punishment for their failure. The suppressant drug would be withheld until they were well into the more painful stages of withdrawal, and it would be administered just before things turned lethal for Orga and the others. The fact that they would be spared from death did not do much to comfort the Calamity's pilot; advance stages of withdrawal from Gamma Glipheptin were a nightmare to go through, enough to make anyone beg for an end to the pain, even if it meant departure from the mortal world.

Doing his best to shove aside those thoughts for the moment, Orga managed to contact the _Powell_. "We're pulling back," he hissed, "the drugs are wearing off."

The calm and ice-cold face of Lord Azrael appeared on his screen. "Very well," he said, "when you land, do not exit your machines; you'll be shot if you attempt to do so."

Orga nodded. "Understood… my Lord." Going through the withdrawal in the confines of the Calamity's cockpit was _not _going to be a pleasant experience, but he had no choice in the matter.

"I'm disappointed in you, Orga," Lord Azrael continued, "I thought you and the others were the best pilots in the world… clearly I was mistaken. You will have to work hard to change that, do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Azrael," he replied. He had no doubt that said 'hard work' would involve more brutal training… along with increased punishment for failures.

"Good," said Lord Azrael before signing off.

….

"We should finish them off," said Athrun as the three machines retreated, "They're vulnerable, Kira."

His childhood friend's face appeared on the Justice's monitor. Kira shook his head. "They're retreating, Athrun… they're not a threat to us anymore. We don't need to kill them… let them go."

Athrun sighed. "Fine. I guess we have more important things to worry about anyway." He was glancing at his radar as he did so, more specifically the portion that covered the ground engagement.

"Yeah," said Kira, "let's go help out the ground forces; we need to push the Alliance back!"

The two of them made haste towards the city of Kisiragi, where the enemy was pressing hard. Athrun glanced over at the Freedom on the way, once again having mixed feelings about the pilot.

_Kira_, he thought, _I saw how you were trying to fight those two machines earlier, and how you kept fighting even after I joined you. You were going for disabling attacks, not lethal strikes… you've changed since our battle in the Marshall Islands. Then again… perhaps you would've fought this way earlier if you'd had the ability to; the Freedom's a much more sophisticated mobile suit than the Strike, and I'm sure it has a more precise targeting system than your old machine. If you'd been able to fight like that in our last battle… would Nicole still be alive?_

There wasn't much point in ruminating on the past right now, and it was hardly Athrun's only concern regarding Kira's new fighting style. Had his childhood friend been fighting with the intent to kill, Athrun doubted that his two-on-one fight with the Alliance machines would've gone on nearly as long as it had. While Athrun didn't know the details regarding the Atlantic Federation's new models, he'd seen enough to know that, even with their unique armaments and capabilities, they were no match for the Freedom, especially with a pilot of Kira's caliber at the controls. Had Kira been willing to fight lethally, Athrun had no doubt that he would've beaten his two foes long before the Justice had joined the fray.

While Athrun himself by no means enjoyed killing, he had long ago acknowledged that, as a soldier, it was something he would have to do. He had steeled himself to the reality that he had to take life in battle, both to survive and to ensure that his enemies could not threaten the people he cared about. It wasn't pleasant, and it had left its mark on his psyche, making him more prone to brooding, along with adding a sense of edginess to his interactions with civilians. Lacus had been a prime example of that; there encounters prior to the theft of the Freedom had been, while still cordial, laced with a hint of awkwardness on his part, the sense that he did not belong in the presence of someone who had managed to keep her hands free of the blood of others. However, regardless of his personal feelings, Athrun had still been able to accept the unfortunate reality of being a pilot; the burden that came with ending the lives of others.

_Focus, Athrun_, he chided himself, _how Kira fights right now doesn't matter so long as he can survive and defeat the enemy. You two will have plenty of time to talk things over later. For now, concentrate on the fight._

Hands flying over the keyboard, Athrun disconnected the Justice's feet from the Fatum-00 subflight lifter. The weapons and flight pack returned to its position on the Justice's back, its beam cannons rotating forward, over the mobile suit's shoulders. The Justice could still fly with the pack on its back, but this configuration would make it easier for Athrun to fight on the ground should the need arise, offering greater versatility.

Now that he no longer had to worry about any unit's with energy shields like his previous foe, Athrun drew the Justice's beam rifle in the machine's left hand while keeping the beam saber in its right. He dove towards a formation of two mass-production Strikes and one mass production Buster and attacked. Firing with his rifle, he destroyed one of the Strikes before closing in on the other and stabbing it with his beam saber. He then dodged to the right to avoid shots from the Buster's Gun Launcher and beam rifle before closing in and impaling the enemy through the cockpit.

Kira, for his part, was flying overhead, aiming the Freedom's guns at a group of mobile suits advancing further into the city. He let loose a rain of precision fire, knocking the heads off a Strike and a Buster and destroying the rifle of another Strike. The three units began to pull back, with the first two units stumbling awkwardly as their pilots were forced to rely on their less sophisticated auxiliary cameras and backup sensors.

Athrun smirked as several other units turned to fire at him and Kira, giving the Orb forces some much needed breathing room. _Good, we've got their attention. Orb will be able to solidify its lines, maybe even start pushing the Alliance forces back towards the beach. We just need to keep this up._

In spite of everything that had happened between them over the course of the war, Athrun couldn't help but admit that it felt good to be fighting alongside his old friend again. There was still an unspoken tension between them, of course, but for now it was a background concern. They were working together to protect a neutral nation from a superpower that wanted to conquer and dominate them. Athrun felt invigorated, his confidence soaring, his heart and mind centered.

This was the path that he _wanted _to take, and it felt _good_.

….

Gripping the arms of his command chair, his face pale, Vice-Admiral Vickers could only watch in dismay as Wing Zero claimed an escort carrier, the _Bunker Hill_, with its devastating rifle. The _Archangel_'s deadliest mobile suit was devastating the Alliance armada, taking down ship after ship with no sign of slowing down. Vickers had recalled nearly half of the Atlantic Federation force's full-flight Strike-Daggers in an effort to take down Heero Yuy, but the mass production mobile suits were doing little more than occasionally distracting the fearsome pilot, adding more foes to an already target-rich environment.

_Damn it_, he thought, _we're finally pushing back the Orb squadrons that attacked our flanks, and we had their ground units on the ropes… and yet nothing we've done has deterred Wing Zero. _Matters had only been made worse by the combination of the arrival of the new burgundy mobile suit that was supporting the black, white, and blue machine and the withdrawal of the Biological CPUs from the field. Now the new machine was helping its partner attack the Alliance ground forces, and together they were helping the Orb Army stabilize their front lines. If things kept going the way they were then the Orb forces would soon be in position to begin driving back the Atlantic Federation mobile suits and infantry. The confrontation with the rogue warship _Archangel _and its mobile suits, along with Orb's center fleet, was still at a dead heat; the renegades and their allies had completely stonewalled the forces Vickers had sent to break through their lines.

As grim as all that was, those were only secondary concerns to the Vice-Admiral. Vickers's chief worry and threat was Wing Zero. Since the start of the battle the powerful mobile suit had been carving a swath of destruction through the Alliance fleet and mobile suit squadrons, and said path was advancing slowly but steadily towards Vickers's flagship, the carrier _Clinton_. Wing Zero had become a mechanical Angel of Death, one that Vickers feared was out for _his _blood and not just that of the Atlantic Federation forces in general.

His fears were edging closer and closer to full-on panic. Cold sweat dripped down his face, his skin had become considerably paler in the past few seconds alone, his breathing was fast and shallow… the man felt as though he were on the verge of heart-attack, if he wasn't having one already.

_I have to do something_, he thought frantically, _I have to take that monster down!_

"Recall the 14th and 15th Aerial Strike Squadrons!" he ordered, "Tell them to get Wing Zero away from the fleet!"

"Sir, that will weaken the force we have attacking Orb's center," said the ship's Captain, "the enemy's mobile suits and fighters could gain the advantage on that front!"

"Follow my orders, damn it!" he yelled, "If we don't stop Wing Zero now then the center front doesn't matter!"

The Captain nodded. "Yes sir," he replied before relaying the instructions to the communications officer.

Glancing at the _Clinton_'s main monitor, the Vice-Admiral's eyes widened as he saw Wing Zero once again open fire with its main weapon. For a moment he thought the mobile suit was aiming at his flagship, but the shot was angled to the left of the _Clinton_… where it annihilated the _Spengler_-class carrier _Essex_.

_His fifth heavy carrier kill of the day_, Vickers thought, _how could our mighty Pacific Fleet be so impotent against one damn mobile suit? Damn it, we should've focused everything we had on Wing Zero from the start! We underestimated it yet again, and its ripping us apart!_

A flurry of emerald beams forced Wing Zero to go on the evasive, and when combined with the fleet's anti-air fire Vickers dared to hope for a moment that the fearsome machine and pilot may yet be driven off. It was a short-lived hope; Heero Yuy wasted no time in charging headlong at a group of Strikes that were firing at him, hacking into them with his mobile suit's emerald blade. Two went down in flames in mere seconds, and a third was torn apart by a flurry of heavy rounds from Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings.

The indomitable, unstoppable mobile suit then turned towards the _Clinton_, bringing its rifle to bear. Vickers froze in his seat. He tried to bark out an order, but his throat had suddenly gone dry, and he could not find his voice. He tried to stand up, to make a futile run for the exit, but his legs felt like jelly. He tried to draw his eyes away from the twin barrels of Wing Zero's rifle as golden-yellow energy built up in them, as if in slow motion, but his head felt as if it was locked in place.

He was completely paralyzed by sheer abject terror, horror in the dawning realization that he was about to die, and that there was _nothing _he could do to change that. His mind could not accept that reality, but it could find no way to escape it… so it simply broke, shattered, utterly destroyed, and unable to function beyond the primal instincts of self-preservation. Even those were not capable of lifting the panic that had set in, nor did they present any outcome that ensured his survival.

Vice-Admiral Vickers, a man with a reputation for being utterly ruthless when commanding a battle, cold and unfeeling when it came to the lives of his men, felt as if the blood in his veins had turned into ice. He felt nothing but an arctic chill throughout his body as Wing Zero fired… and then he was consumed by fire.

….

Azrael sighed as he watched the _Clinton_'s destruction from the bridge of the _Powell_. The armada's primary flagship had been positioned at its heart, and Azrael's own ship was to the rear of it; if Wing Zero kept up its rampage the Blue Cosmos leader knew that its path would eventually take it to his own carrier.

It was time to get the hell out of dodge. The destruction being wrought by Wing Zero, combined with the withdrawal of the Biological CPUs and the entry of the new mobile suit that was now working with the other nuclear powered machine to push back the Atlantic Federation ground units meant that the invasion force would not be able to complete its objectives today; they would have to pull back and regroup for another assault.

_A pity_, he thought, _I had hoped that we could conquer the entire nation before the Eurasian Home Fleet arrived tonight… oh well. Once they've rendezvoused with us we'll prepare for our second attack; given the damage the Orb forces sustained today, they will not be able to hold out when we strike again with reinforcements. The resistance they put up today only delayed the inevitable; Orb _will _be mine._

"Captain," said Azrael, "issue the withdrawal signal; we're pulling back for today."

The man nodded. "Understood, my lord."

"Make it quick too," Azrael continued, "I have no desire to be immolated by Wing Zero."

"Yes, my lord," said the Captain before turning to relay the orders.

Azrael glared at the image on the _Powell_'s main monitor of the mobile suit that had done so much damage to the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet, going after two Strikes with its beam saber. Over forty ships had been destroyed by the powerful machine, and Azrael had lost count of the number of full-flight Strike-Daggers it had taken down; his own ballpark estimate was around 120 units, and in all likelihood it was probably even higher.

_Wing Zero did almost as much damage to us as the entire Orb fleet combined_, he fumed, _and that machine's power is beyond reckoning… I suppose any capture attempts now will have to be written off as infeasible; it must be destroyed. No matter, we can still go for the other machine, along with its new companion; sensor readings showed that that mobile suit was nuclear powered as well. Their performance in this fight was quite impressive, yet it is clear that they are not quite as dangerous as Wing Zero; capture should be quite possible provided we can find some way to isolate one of them._

Azrael gave a cold smile as the _Powell _began to turn around, with other ships following suit as they began to retreat north. "Enjoy your 'victory' for now, race traitors," he spat, "it will be short lived."

….

"Captain," said the sensor officer, "I have white flares being launched from the Alliance carriers; they're signaling a withdrawal!"

Murrue sighed in relief as she saw the Alliance fighter jet and mobile suit squadrons that had been trying to fight past the Orb air units and strike the Third Fleet begin to fall back towards their fleet. The cruisers and destroyers still standing began to withdraw as well, firing off parting shots in an effort to discourage pursuit. It was unnecessary; Murrue had no intention of continuing the battle if the enemy had decided to retreat.

_I guess they got tired of the punishment Heero's been inflicting upon them_, she thought, _he was really mauling their main force; even officers as cold as Atlantic Federation admirals would have to pull back under such an assault. It's a good thing they've decided to back off for now. We need time to rest and regroup… we've taken more than our share of losses, after all._

The Orb Third Fleet had lost 20% of its vessels, and twice as many had taken moderate to severe damage. The _Archangel _had taken a few hits herself, but the massive white warship's armor was much tougher than that of conventional naval vessels, and its damage was minimal; nothing Chief Mechanic Murdoch and his crews couldn't fix given a few hours without being shot at. The fighter squadrons operating with the Third Fleet had taken more severe losses though; roughly half of the jets had been shot down, and most of the survivors were sporting varying degrees of damage. Cagalli and La Flaga were thankfully still in one piece, though Murrue knew that by now the two of them had to be getting tired. _They'll be able to rest now_, she thought, _and I have no doubt that they need it. _The Buster had taken no serious hits as well, and while Murrue still had some reservations about having a ZAFT pilot, and a former prisoner at that, defend the ship, she would not deny the fact his efforts had been a great help in defending both the _Archangel _and the Orb Third Fleet.

The overall picture for the rest of Orb's forces was considerably grimmer than that of the Third Fleet and the _Archangel_. While the Orb Navy's pincer attack had succeeded in keeping the Alliance fleet from spreading out and launching a broader assault, the battle groups that had taken part in the action had suffered severe losses. All in all, the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Fleets had taken over 50% casualties in warships alone, and their air squadrons had lost considerably more. The Alliance battle groups engaging them had suffered nearly proportional losses, but the much larger scale of their fleet meant that they could afford such casualties. The carrier aircraft and the land-based squadrons supporting Orb's ships had been reduced to a third of their former strength, though they had made the Alliance fighter squadrons pay dearly for inflicting such losses. As for the Aries mobile suit teams, they had successfully managed to tie up several squadrons of the Alliance's full-flight Strikes and had inflicted heavy losses, but the price that they had paid for doing so was a dear one; of the 178 air combat mobile suits Orb had started the battle with, only 53 remained in one piece.

The underwater battle had been vicious as well, and though the new Pisces submarine mobile suits had allowed the Orb forces to hold their own against the Alliance Aqua Darts, their numbers had been significantly reduced in the process: only 37 remained operational. The losses that they had inflicted upon the Alliance underwater combat units had been substantial, though; of the 384 Aqua Darts the Atlantic Federation had started the battle with, only 107 had managed to survive the engagement and were retreating back to their carriers.

Worst of all by far had been the ground battle. The initial Alliance assault on the beaches, with their three new model mobile suits leading the charge, had inflicted heavy losses on the Orb Army. Even after Kira had successfully drawn off two of the Atlantic Federation prototypes, the third had continued to lend its considerable firepower to the enemy's assault, and the battle just to contain it had been fierce and bloody. Much of the west side of Kisiragi had been damaged in the fighting, with entire city blocks decimated by the Alliance unit's heavy artillery. The damage had only increased as the Alliance forces advanced and more mobile suits and infantry hit the beaches. Right now both machines and foot soldiers were pulling back towards their landing craft, with the Orb forces opting to hold their positions and tend to their wounded rather than pursue.

Murrue was relieved to see that Kira was still in one piece, though she had concerns over the unit that had joined him during the fighting. The burgundy mobile suit had a similar frame design to the Freedom, and since Kira's machine had been stolen from ZAFT Murrue could only conclude that the new unit had the same origin. However, it had fought alongside Kira, probably even saved his life, and had been very helpful in aiding the Orb ground forces after the three Alliance prototypes had been dealt with. She had heard nothing yet from either Kira or the new unit itself, no explanation of its intentions or mission, but for the moment that didn't matter. It had joined their forces, at least for this battle, and had helped drive back the Alliance assault, providing much needed relief to a much reduced Orb Army.

Losses had been severe to say the least. The M1 Astray teams had been hit hard, especially in the opening drive by the three Alliance prototypes. Of the 120 units that the Orb Army had started the battle with, 70 had been destroyed. The 20 Tragos heavy artillery mobile suits had been completely wiped out, and Orb's conventional armored divisions had suffered appalling losses, and Murrue estimated that only 45% of their vehicles were fit for fighting. The Alliance mobile suits had paid dearly in return; the mass production Strikes had lost 185 units, and the mass production Busters had been reduced to 22 machines. Murrue couldn't begin to guess how many foot soldiers on both sides had been killed or wounded… and frankly, she didn't want to know: in clashes involving mobile suits, infantry units caught up in the mix could and frequently were wiped out entire platoons at a time.

_Fighting from the bridge of a warship makes everything seem so… clean_, Murrue thought grimly, _you see other vessels, fighters, and mobile suits get destroyed, but you rarely see the true human cost, the dead and the wounded. Mechanized warfare can desensitize you if you're not careful; it can almost make you forget about the lives that are taken with every ship and machine that go down. The same is not true when it comes to a gunfight between infantry, or when foot soldiers are targeted by mechanized units; there's no way to hide the blood and carnage._

Murrue could at least take some solace and comfort in the fact that the battle was at last over, at least for now. The Atlantic Federation would of course regroup and prepare for another attack, but that would take several hours, perhaps a day. It would give Orb time to remove the wounded from the field and at least make some repairs to their ships, planes, mobile suits, and armored vehicles. More importantly, it would give everyone some much needed time to rest.

The battle was over… until a familiar flash of golden-yellow energy in the distance proclaimed otherwise.

Murrue's eyes widened in shock as Wing Zero opened fire with the fearsome Twin Buster Rifle, annihilating a supply freighter. The Gundam was still engaging the Alliance fleet, paying no heed to the very visible withdrawal flares. The Perfect Soldier then turned on a formation of full-flight Strikes and flew at them head on, hacking into them with his beam saber.

_Heero_, she thought, _what are you doing? Stop this! The battle's over!_

"What the hell's he doing?" yelled Lieutenant Tsukino, "The enemy's withdrawing; there's no reason to keep fighting!"

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "contact Heero, quickly!"

"I'm trying, Captain," the girl replied, "but all my hails are being ignored!"

Murrue frantically typed on the small keypad on the arm of her chair, trying desperately to get a hold of the Gundam pilot.

"Heero," she said, unable to keep her growing desperation out of her voice, "Heero, please respond! Talk to me, Heero! You don't have to fight any more; the enemy's retreating! Please, pull back. Heero!"

It was no good; Heero wasn't responding on any frequency. _Why is he doing this_, she thought, _why isn't he responding to me? We swore we'd protect each other, fight together to survive… why has he cut himself off from me? And why's he still attacking the Alliance fleet? They're retreating, and Heero's let withdrawing forces go in our past battles! What's going on?_

Then it dawned on her, a very grim and horrific realization, one that Murrue had hoped and prayed that she would never have to come to. It was terrifying to even think about, not because of the risk it might pose to her, but because of what it meant was happening to the heart and mind of the man she loved… but she knew what she was witnessing now, and looking back at Heero's behavior both before and throughout the battle, there was only one conclusion Murrue could come to.

The Zero System, the extremely advanced and sophisticated program that served to amplify Heero's already incredible abilities as a soldier and pilot, expanding his very consciousness and awareness to the point of precognition… had taken control of the Perfect Soldier.

Heero was on a rampage. The quiet, intelligent, and compassionate young man that Murrue loved had become the conduit for the cold, brutal tactical urges of the Zero System. His mind had shut out all other concerns except for his next targets, the next lives to be taken. The best pilot Murrue had ever seen, perhaps the best in all the Cosmic Era, was now the living embodiment of destruction, an instrument to the will of the deadliest mobile suit operating system ever designed and implemented.

It was horrific to even contemplate, and it struck a dear blow to Murrue's heart to know that the withdrawn yet kind young man with whom she had forged such a powerful bond had been taken over by such a ruthless system, and that his incredible talents as a pilot and soldier were now the tools of a heartless machine, wreaking havoc on everything around him.

Murrue could feel despair threatening to overwhelm her, but another, powerful emotion pushed it back; resolve. Resolve to save the young man she loved from the Zero System, to save his humanity, to keep him from becoming something she knew he did not want to be; a heartless killer.

She had the tools to do it, too; Murrue had not forgotten that evening in North Africa, when Heero had taken her inside Wing Zero and given her the override command and the frequency to implement it, to render the Gundam inoperable. However, there was a problem, and that was the fact that Heero was still in the midst of the Alliance armada. If Murrue used the override command now, Heero would be completely vulnerable, and she had no doubt the Atlantic Federation would seize the opportunity to capture him and Wing Zero. There was no way in hell she was going to let that happen.

_But what do I do?_, she though desperately as she watched Wing Zero blow a troopship to flaming bits, _I have to save Heero, and that override code is the only way to do it! _

Desperation quickly became inspiration as a plan formed in her mind. It was incredibly dangerous, but it was Murrue's only option… and there was only one pilot and mobile suit she knew of that had a chance at pulling it off.

"Miriallia, contact Kira!" she ordered, "Quickly!"

The young man's face appeared on the main monitor, his violet eyes wide shock and a hint of fear. "Captain!" he said, "What's going on? Why's Heero still attacking the Alliance fleet? We have to stop him!"

Murrue nodded grimly. "I know, Kira. Listen carefully; Heero is no longer in control of Wing Zero. The Zero System has taken over."

"What?" Kira replied, "I don't understand, Captain! I thought the Zero System was just the operating system! How can it take control of Heero?"

Murrue shook her head. "It's much more than just a simple operating system, Kira. The Zero System works by expanding the awareness and consciousness of the Gundam's pilot. It shows Heero all the possible outcomes in a given battle… in a sense, I suppose you could call it precognition."

"Wait," said Kira, "you mean it lets him see the future?"

"Not quite," said Murrue, "the Zero System may present outcomes, but the System itself is a cold and ruthless program; the outcomes it favors involve killing everything in the pilot's path. When Heero fights, he's in a constant battle of wills with the Zero System, imposing his own consciousness and morals onto it, directing it towards the possible outcome that he desires. It requires an incredible degree of discipline and strength of will to do this, otherwise the pilot will be overwhelmed by the information given to him by the Zero System; pure sensory overload. Heero must constantly maintain a balance between logic and emotion, between rationality and his personal feelings, in order to control Wing Zero. If he doesn't… the System takes over his mind, and drives him into a rampage!"

"And that's what's happening now?" asked Kira, "You mean the Zero System's now driving Heero's actions completely?"

Murrue nodded. "I'm certain of it, Kira. Heero wouldn't do something like this, I know it! You've fought alongside him through many battles now too; you must know that this isn't like him!"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, you're right Captain. It's true that Heero kills without hesitation… but not like this! I've seen him let the enemy go when they want to retreat, and the Alliance has already sent up flares signaling their intent to withdraw. Yet Heero's still attacking… this isn't him, he wouldn't do this!"

Murrue was relieved to see that Kira had managed to grasp the situation. She was also aware of the concern in the young man's eyes, and she realized that it was for Heero, his _friend_. He wanted to help stop him, to save Heero from himself, to keep him from becoming a mass-murderer. _As do I_, she thought, _I'm not going to lose the man I love to a damn operating system. I won't let the Zero System destroy Heero's humanity! I'm glad Kira was so quickly able to understand what was happening, and he seems more than ready to help… this plan of mine might just have a shot!_

"Kira," said Murrue, "Heero was aware that there was a chance that this could happen to him. Back in North Africa he gave me the override code for the Zero System and the Gundam, along with the frequency to use it on; I can shut Wing Zero down remotely."

Kira's eyes widened. "What? Why would Heero give you something like that?"

"Heero… said he trusted me with it," Murrue said hesitantly, "He said that… I was the only one he trusted with such knowledge."

She knew that the entire bridge crew was listening to her words, and doubtlessly drawing their own conclusions. Murrue didn't care. What they thought about her and Heero did not matter at the moment. All she cared about was helping the young man she had fallen in love with.

"Listen, Kira," she continued, "I can use that override command to stop Wing Zero, but not yet; he's still in the heart of the enemy fleet. If I used it now, Wing Zero would be inoperable, and the Alliance would capture Heero!"

"Right," said Kira, "so what do we do?"

Murrue took a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to ask of Kira would be the most dangerous thing the young Coordinator had ever done in his life. "Kira… I need you to draw Heero away from the fleet." She looked into his eyes, unable to keep the desperation from her voice as she pleaded for his help. "Kira, I know what I'm asking of you is incredibly risky, and I dearly wish there was another way… but this is the only plan I can think of. The Freedom is the only mobile suit on our side that's strong enough to go against Wing Zero. Please… help me save Heero from the Zero System… from himself."

Kira nodded, and his expression was one of resolve and determination. "I will, Captain. I promise I'll stop Heero and bring him back!"

"Thank you, Kira," Murrue replied, "Please, be careful… we've already lost you once; we can't do so again. And… I'm sorry, for asking this of you."

She was surprised to see the boy smile softly. "It's alright, Captain. You said it yourself; I'm the only one that stands a chance at stopping him. Besides, though we do have our differences, Heero's my friend, and I'll do whatever it takes to help him, to bring him back to us!"

Murrue nodded. "I understand. Good luck, Kira… and again, thank you."

"You're welcome, Captain Ramius," said Kira, "Freedom out."

Murrue watched as Kira flew off towards the Alliance fleet, the new burgundy mobile suit following behind him. _I never did ask him about that machine_, she thought, _I suppose it'll have to wait. If it's working with Kira, then he must know the pilot… hopefully they'll be able to help him stop Heero._

She turned to her personal monitor, which showed Wing Zero slicing two full-flight Strikes in half before turning its attention to an escort carrier, which it promptly destroyed with the Twin Buster Rifle. _Heero_, she thought, _I'm sorry that I have to send Kira against you like this… but I swore that I would protect you, even from yourself if that were the case, and I'm going to do exactly that. I won't lose you to the Zero System! I _will _save you!_

….

"Ready, Athrun?" asked Kira as he streaked towards the Atlantic Federation fleet, his childhood friend right on his heels.

"Yeah," Athrun replied, "we'll cut through the Strike squadrons that are surrounding Wing Zero. Then you draw him off while I discourage pursuit… that's our plan, right?"

"Pretty much," said Kira, "Unless you have a better idea."

Kira saw his friend shake his head on the monitor. "Wish I did… Kira, I've been on the receiving end of what Wing Zero can do, and comparing that to what I'm seeing now, I know Heero Yuy was holding back before. This plan… it's one hell of a gamble, but I guess it's all we've got to work with."

"Yeah," said Kira softly as he looked at the battle raging ahead. The airborne Strikes were frantically engaging Wing Zero in an attempt to draw his attention away from the warships below. They were succeeding… at a steep price. The Gundam cut down one machine after another with its beam saber, and annihilated entire flight groups at a time with the Twin Buster Rifle. It moved with cold, ruthless efficiency, and attacked with unmatched power and brutality. Wing Zero moved like lightning, weaving through beam fire and deflecting saber strikes before counterattacking, blocking any shots it couldn't dodge on its shield.

Though they had been much reduced over the course of the battle, there were still roughly 200 full-flight Strikes in the fight. Heero was a phenomenal pilot, but Kira knew that even he had his limits, and after fighting so long the Gundam pilot had to be getting tired. The Alliance mobile suits may have taken heavy losses, but there were still enough left to overwhelm him with sheer numbers eventually. Kira needed to draw him away before he reached the point that the enemy could start doing damage to him. Of course, this meant that the young Coordinator would be facing a rampaging Heero who wasn't as weakened by fatigue as he would if Kira let him continue, but the boy was hopeful that the battle had gone on long enough to at least exert some toll on the Gundam pilot's endurance.

_Heero said even he had his limits_, thought Kira, his eyes narrowing, _his endurance can only be stretched so far. Considering he's been involved in the heaviest fighting of the battle, he should've exerted far more energy than I did… hopefully it'll be enough to give me an edge._

Bringing the Freedom's guns to bear, Kira selected his targets and opened fire. A flurry of rail cannon shots, emerald beams, and plasma blasts flew forth, disarming five airborne Strikes in his path. To his left he saw Athrun open fire as well with the Justice's shoulder cannons and beam rifle, and three mobile suits were destroyed. Athrun had clearly not embraced Kira's preferred method of fighting with his new mobile suit, but now wasn't the time for Kira argue with him about that; the two of them had much more important things to deal with.

"You've got a window," said Athrun, "go! I'll cover you!"

"Thanks," said Kira as he charged forward.

_Sorry about this, Heero_, he thought as he zeroed in on his friend, _but I can't let you keep attacking like this, and I definitely won't let some operating system turn you into a mass-murderer!_

….

Slashing his emerald blade through an Alliance mobile suit, Heero saw out of the corner of his eye a pair of new contacts approaching. One was a large burgundy mobile suit that he'd never seen before. He watched as it broke off its approach and moved to draw fire away from its partner, which was charging right for Heero.

The Freedom.

There was a brief instance of hesitation as a small part of Heero's mind tried to tell him that it wasn't an enemy, that it was Kira's mobile suit, _his friend's _machine. However, it was quickly drowned out by the powerful commands of the Zero System, to destroy all enemies… and the Freedom was flying towards him with its guns brought up to bear, and its violet beam saber ignited.

It was on an attack run.

It was an enemy.

And Heero would destroy it.

….

**(Start "If There Were Any Other Way")**

Sighting in with the Freedom's guns, Kira opened fire in an effort to grab Heero's attention. To say he succeeded was an understatement; as Wing Zero weaved through the Freedom's barrage it brought its own monstrously powerful rifle to bear, and cut loose. Kira dove, barely able to dodge the blast. _I can't afford to try and block those shots_, he thought grimly, _even at a low power setting they could destroy the Freedom… and that was a _big _blast! I doubt he's firing it at full power right now, but he's not messing around either!_

Right on the heels of the shot Kira saw Heero charge straight at him. Kira brought his beam saber up to block the incoming strike from Heero's weapon, and was staggered by the sheer power behind the attack. The Freedom was strong enough to block the blow, but the power Wing Zero was able to put behind it sent a shudder through the mobile suit, and pushed it back slightly.

Kira's eyes widened as he struggled to pull back and set up for a counterattack. He'd had no idea Wing Zero's physical strength was _that _intense. He found himself with a new measure of respect for the Valkyrie Team; how they'd been able to fend off such attacks in their much weaker DINNs was beyond him.

Still, though the force of the blow had caught him off balance, now that he knew what to expect Kira would be able to compensate for it. He still had a hard fight ahead of him, of course, but knowing he could at least fend off Heero's attacks gave him a measure of reassurance. Gunning the Freedom's thrusters in reverse and bringing its artillery to bear, Kira opened up, attempting to score hits on Wing Zero's shoulders and legs, not shooting vital spots but putting Heero off balance.

None connected, and Kira's eyes widened as Heero once again weaved through the barrage with inhuman speed and precision. _Is this the power of the Zero System_, Kira thought as Wing Zero once again brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, _this is the kind of precognition it gives Heero? To the point that it allows him to read the angle of my guns, predict the path of my shots? Unbelievable!_

Kira jinked to the right as Heero opened fire again with the Twin Buster Rifle, narrowly avoiding the wave of golden-yellow hellfire. Checking his sensors, Kira saw that they were still above the heart of the fleet, though they had moved slightly southward. _Not enough_, he thought, _I have to get us completely out of the Alliance's range. This will be tricky… and that's probably the understatement of the year right there._

Adjusting his tactics, Kira let loose a volley of shots with the Freedom's rifle, using the single weapon to draw Heero's attention without having to risk shots fired from his other guns potentially hitting and destroying Alliance units. Wing Zero brought up its shield and blocked the shots while at the same time gunning its engines and charging at him head on.

Bringing up his beam saber, Kira managed to block Heero's emerald blade as it came down in a brutal vertical strike. The powerful impact cause Kira to lose some altitude, but the blow didn't shake him as badly as the first one had; he had managed to compensate to a degree, continuing to fire the Freedom's reverse thrusters in order to take some of the bite out of the hit and offer less straight-on resistance.

The move worked, but it also gave Heero room to press his assault, which he did with ruthless efficiency and brutality, hammering down with another blow. Kira applied the same tactic to block while at the same time lessening the impact, but quickly realized that he could not sustain a pattern like this; Heero would drive him down into the sea otherwise.

"Damn it!" he hissed, swerving to the right in an attempt to parry the next blow instead of taking it head-on. It worked, but Wing Zero quickly adjusted its position before Kira could turn the parry into a counterattack, and lashed out with a vicious horizontal slash. This time Kira took the blow on his shield, but the speed at which Heero had adapted and delivered his assault did not give the young Coordinator any space or time to compensate for the blow, and the Freedom once again shuddered under the powerful impact.

Kira struck back, thrusting forward in an attempt to pierce Wing Zero's left shoulder, but the Gundam side-slipped to the left, evading the attack. The fearsome mobile suit then brought the Twin Buster Rifle up and fired, forcing Kira to hit his thrusters and ascend to dodge the shot. The golden-yellow beam had barely left the rifle when Heero responded, chasing after the Freedom and closing in to attack from below.

Adjusting his angle, Kira launched an attack of his own, lashing out with the Freedom's violet blade. Wing Zero blocked the blow and redirected it downward, and Kira was hard pressed to bring the Freedom's shield up to block the near instantaneous counterattack. The slash hit the large slab of metal hard, pushing the Freedom back.

But it was back in the direction Kira wanted to go; south, closer to the Orb forces and away from the Alliance fleet. Granted, they were still over the enemy armada, and Kira knew that he wasn't nearly out of the woods yet. Still, it was progress.

_At least Athrun's keeping the mass production Strikes occupied_, he thought. Sparing a brief glance at one of his other monitors, Kira saw that his old friend was indeed leading the swarms of Alliance mobile suits on a merry chase, flitting all over the sky like a fly, peppering his foes with a few well placed shots from the Justice's ranged weapons. Athrun truly had a knack for defensive and diversionary tactics; his flying style allowed him to keep the enemy at bay while at the same time drawing their attention, and he was able to give himself openings to launch attacks while maintaining enough distance to evade return fire.

He'd only glanced away for a fraction of a second, but Heero made him pay dearly for even that much, hammering down with a brutal diagonal strike. Unable to properly compensate this time, Kira was forced to take the full impact of the blow on his violet blade. Struggling to pull back and counterattack, Kira was stunned to see Heero near-instantaneously pull his blade back only to lunge in for another attack, this one a horizontal slash. Once again Kira was able to block the blow, but it was quickly followed up by another slice.

_Is it just me_, thought Kira as he struggled to fend off the withering assault and find an opening to counterattack, _or is he actually getting faster? _After a moment Kira realized that was indeed the case and he also knew why. His plan to have Athrun keep the Alliance's air squadrons at bay had had an unintended consequence. Kira may not have had to worry about anyone trying to interrupt their fight… but neither did Heero and, more importantly, the Zero System. The Freedom was now the sole target of Wing Zero, and its lethal operating system only had to predict the moves of one unit as a result. The Zero System was thus able to focus all its power on Kira, driving Heero into a ferocious single-minded assault, using the Gundam pilot's incredible talents in the art of war as a hammer to beat the Freedom into submission.

Sweat dripped down Kira's brow, his breathing becoming more strained as the fierce clash continued. Whatever fatigue Heero might've been suffering wasn't slowing him down half as much as Kira had hoped it would, and in fact it was the young Coordinator who was beginning to wear down. His prolonged clash with the Alliance prototypes had already exacted a toll on him, but compared to the fight he was in now that previous engagement seemed like a brief skirmish.

Bringing his shield up to block another vertical strike, Kira was at last able to put a bit of distance between himself and Wing Zero. Bringing the Freedom's guns to bear, he opened up, trying to drive Heero down towards the sea with his barrage.

It didn't work. Heero weaved through the rain of fire, raising his shield to block one rail cannon round that he could not dodge. A second later the Twin Buster Rifle was once again pointed squarely at the Freedom, and Kira narrowly managed to side slip left to evade the blast of energy that ripped forth from the gun.

He was yet again forced on the defensive as Heero pressed his assault, closing the distance with Wing Zero's incredible speed and thrusting forward with its beam saber. Kira took the blow on his shield and moved to counterattack with his violet blade, but Wing Zero parried the strike and launched its own counter. Kira managed to pull the Freedom back enough to avoid the worst of the hit, but the emerald blade did brush across the mobile suit's left shoulder, doing no damage but leaving a furrow that even Phase Shift Armor could not dispel. Heero had scored first blood, and he wasted no time in moving in to claim more.

Trying to redirect Heero's next strike but only succeeding in a head-on block, Kira frantically checked his sensors to find his position. Their duel had moved to the edge of the Alliance fleet, and with the Atlantic Federation withdrawing to the north they would soon be completely removed from the enemy. Athrun had pulled back as well, taking up position between the Alliance fleet and the duel, firing potshots with his guns to discourage the enemy from regrouping trying to take advantage of the fight between Wing Zero and the Freedom. _I just have to hold on a little longer_, Kira thought, _just a little more…_

Whether he'd be able to do so was a serious concern; Wing Zero's assault was only intensifying as their battle continued, its pilot unleashing a series of powerful and brutal beam saber strikes, one after another. Kira was able to weather the attacks, but he was forced to remain on the defensive as a result. The Gundam then pulled back unexpectedly, but it wasn't an opening the Kira could exploit as he was forced to dive in order to avoid another blast of energy from the Twin Buster Rifle. Evading the shot, Kira desperately countered with a barrage from the Freedom's artillery. Amazingly enough Wing Zero was briefly thrown on the defensive, evading a few shots and taking the others on its shield.

Kira made the most of the brief change in momentum, pulling back and cutting loose again with the Freedom's guns. This time Wing Zero reacted truer to form, weaving through the bombardment and closing in fast to attack with its beam saber. Raising the Freedom's shield, Kira was able to deflect the strike, and he swiftly unleashed his counterattack in the form of a horizontal slash. Heero reacted instantly, blocking and redirecting the violet blade before whirling around to strike back, and Kira was barely able to adjust his angle and block the powerful slash.

"Shit," he hissed, reeling under the blow, "I'm so close…" Their duel was now at the very periphery of the Alliance armada, the borderline between hostile and friendly airspace. It would be a serious gamble for Captain Ramius to use the override code here… but Kira feared that she might have no choice in the manner. His breathing was becoming ragged; his arms felt heavier with each passing minute… he could not hold out much longer. Kira was wearing down, his reaction times slowing… if things kept going much longer then there was no way he was getting out alive.

He raised his shield to block a vertical strike, and then lashed out with his beam saber in a desperate move to buy himself some space. It didn't work; Heero blocked the blow with Wing Zero's shield before countering with his emerald blade. The strike grazed the edge of the Freedom's right arm, and Kira barely managed to pull back in time to avoid losing the entire limb.

Unfortunately, the move gave Heero the space he needed to bring the Twin Buster Rifle to bear… and as he watched the barrels of the gun begin to glow with golden-yellow energy, Kira knew that Wing Zero had him dead to rights.

**(End "If There Were Any Other Way")**

….

Watching as the two mobile suits clashed at the very edge of the Alliance armada, Murrue knew that she would have to make her own move soon. It was becoming all too apparent that Kira was being worn down under Heero's vicious assault; the boy wouldn't last much longer.

_Timing is critical_, she thought, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at the tactical display, _if I act too soon then there's still a chance that the Alliance could bring units up to capture Heero. If I act too late… then Kira's dead._

They were _so close _to being over friendly territory, and the new mobile suit that had joined the Freedom was doing a remarkable job at keeping the remaining Alliance squadrons at bay… but Murrue was hesitant to use the override command now, unsure if it was the right time. The Atlantic Federation fleet was still pulling back, but if they sensed vulnerability then they would surely pounce.

Turning her gaze back to the monitor displaying the fight, Murrue watched as Wing Zero once again closed in on the Freedom and the two mobile suits crossed blades. There was a brief, furious exchange before Kira pulled back to avoid losing his sword arm… leaving himself open to attack from the Twin Buster Rifle. As Murrue saw Wing Zero bring its powerful main weapon to bear, she knew that it was now or never.

The radio frequency was already set to her private console; with a quick press of the button it was active, and she spoke the words she had prayed for so long that she would never have to say.

"Zero Override Command: Operation Meteor!"

_Heaven forgive me if this doesn't work…_

….

Bombarded by the Zero System's commands, his mind and body a conduit for its will, Heero was caught completely by surprise as the cockpit screens suddenly flashed gold, and then went dark. The incessant, powerful urgings that was the Zero System abruptly ceased, causing the Gundam pilot to look around frantically, his breathing fast and ragged, his eyes wide as he struggled to cope with the sudden, eerie _silence _that had enveloped him. The commands of the system still echoed in his mind, but there was no force behind them, no compulsion to obey. In the midst of this unnatural void, Heero frantically tried to figure out what had happened.

And then the realization hit him. The reason for the abrupt silence, the cessation of activity. He knew why it had happened, who had caused it… and what he had done to force her to resort to it.

"No…" he said softly, numbly, "I couldn't… I didn't…" But all the evidence pointed to what he did not want to face. He had even heard the voice that had issued the command; the frequency that was reserved for it was one Heero had made sure to lock in, so it could never be deactivated or silenced.

He had heard, with perfect clarity, Murrue's voice as it spoke those five words.

"Zero Override Command: Operation Meteor!"

The code that he had given to her for only two express uses. The first, to stop Wing Zero if it had been hijacked and he was not around… and since he was in the cockpit, that option was instantly eliminated. That left only one possibility…

He'd lost control. He'd gone on a rampage.

Heero was scarcely able to even begin comprehending what he had done. His mind had gone numb, and not just from shock. When the Zero System took over a pilot's mind, it increased their level of brain activity beyond even what he or she experienced when they were in control of the system. As a result, going into a rampage took a severe mental toll on the pilot, far worse than if they had maintained control of the Zero System, and _if_ they managed to snap out of it their mind would need to recover from the incredible amount of raw data they had absorbed; it didn't just leave their minds all at once. Even though the Zero System's compulsions were no longer guiding Heero's actions, he could still see after images of targets, tactics, and possible outcomes, whirling through his head, overwhelming his mind.

Heero could already feel himself losing consciousness, darkness encroaching on his vision. As he passed out he could still hear Murrue's voice echoing in his mind. An image of the beautiful Captain flashed through his mind, and the Gundam pilot could only think of one response before he completely lost consciousness.

_Murrue… I'm sorry…_

….

Kira breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the golden-yellow glow fade from the barrels of the Twin Buster Rifle. At the same time the green glow dimmed in Wing Zero's eye and chest sensors, and the emerald beam saber was extinguished. _That was close_, he thought, wiping the sweat from his brow, _thank you, Captain Ramius._

It was then that Kira saw the blue thruster fire from Wing Zero's engines die as well, and the Gundam began to fall. Putting away his beam saber and rifle, Kira quickly gunned his engines and managed to grab Wing Zero from behind. The Freedom's nuclear reactor provided enough power for Kira to keep Wing Zero airborne… but just barely.

_Damn_, thought Kira, _whatever Gundanium alloy is composed of, it certainly isn't lightweight material._

La Flaga's face appeared on his monitor. "Hey, kid, need a little help?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, thanks… Wing Zero is _heavy_."

"Hang tight," the Hawk of Endymion replied, "I'll be there in a few seconds. Have your buddy watch our backs until we get to the _Archangel_."

"I will," Kira replied. As La Flaga signed off Kira contacted Athrun. "Is the enemy still back there?"

"They're holding off for now," said Athrun, "though with the Freedom carrying Wing Zero like that you make for a really tempting target."

"The Tallgeese Kai is coming to help," Kira responded, "can you keep them off us until we get to the _Archangel_?"

"Tallgeese Kai?" Athrun repeated, raising an eyebrow. Kira saw him glance at another monitor before he spoke again. "Oh, that blue and white machine flying towards you… I was wondering what that thing was called. Alright, I'll cover you… just make it quick."

"We will," said Kira, "and… thanks, Athrun."

His old friend nodded. Even after working together, there was no denying the tension that still existed between the two young Coordinators. Kira could only hope that they would be able to work out all their differences latter on, and preferably without having to fight each other again. The fact that Athrun hadn't attacked him when he'd had the chance was certainly promising, and signaled that Kira's childhood friend was willing to at least talk things over with him.

He saw the Tallgeese Kai pull up in front of Wing Zero, grabbing it beneath the shoulders in the same manner Kira was doing from behind. It was an awkward sight to say the least, but with another mobile suit helping out Kira felt his momentum increase, and the three of them were steadily approaching the _Archangel_.

A few seconds later Athrun contacted him again. "Alright, the Alliance mobile suits are breaking off; looks like they're heading back to their carriers. I think it's safe to say that they're done for the day."

"Alright," said Kira, "come with us then, Athrun. I'll ask the Captain to let you come aboard the _Archangel_. We can… talk later."

Athrun nodded. "Ok… I'll be right behind you, Kira."

….

"Freedom and Tallgeese Kai have landed," Miriallia reported, "Kira and La Flaga both report no damage to Wing Zero. They're moving it to its berth now. That new mobile suit has landed behind them as well."

"What about Heero?" asked Murrue, trying and failing to keep the concern from her voice, "Has anyone been able to get through to him?"

"No ma'am," Miriallia replied, "Chief Murdoch and the tech crews are trying radios and even megaphones, but they're not getting a response… and they're concerned about trying to force the hatch open."

_Of course_, thought Murrue, _I'm the only one Heero told about adjusting Wing Zero's security precautions, about not having the self-detonation system set to blow if anyone gets to close. _

"Tell them I'm coming down!" she ordered, standing up as she did so, "Lieutenant Tsukino, you have the bridge!"

The black haired woman nodded at her, raising an eyebrow but not objecting to her words or conduct. Murrue quickly walked out of the bridge, and the moment the door closed behind her she broke into a full-out run. The only thing on her mind now was the safety of Heero. Murrue didn't know how the Zero System affected pilots who went on a rampage, but from what Heero had told her she had no doubt it took a serious toll on their minds, and she was _extremely _worried about Heero's condition, both mentally and physically.

_Is he even conscious right now_, she thought frantically, _or is he in shock? Heero didn't tell me what the override code would do beyond stopping the Zero System from controlling him and immobilizing Wing Zero… what if the sudden shut down had some kind of backlash effect? I don't know what to do… if he doesn't open the cockpit, should I have the tech crews force it? Would they even be able to get it open? Heero… please, be ok! I'm coming to you, Heero!_

She flew through the halls, running faster than she ever had in her life. Charging through the hangar door, she nearly barreled into Chief Mechanic Murdoch as she rushed to Wing Zero.

"Captain!" the head mechanic cried out, taken aback by her sudden appearance, "Hey, wait a second ma'am!"

She blew right past him, climbing up the ladder and onto the maintenance gangway that had been extended in front of Wing Zero's torso, level with the hatch. The mechanics were keeping a good distance from the machine, and Murrue saw several pairs of eyes widen in shock and alarm as she approached the Gundam.

"Captain!" one of the techs cried out, "Don't get any closer, it could blow!"

"It won't!" she yelled back, "Heero adjusted the security systems after that mess with Sai and the Strike; it's not set to self-detonate anymore!"

_I'm sorry, Heero_, she thought as she approached the machine, _I know you wanted that kept secret, but this is too important! For all I know your very life could be on the line here! After coming so far, getting so close to you, falling in love with you… there's no way I'm going to lose you now!_

Her pace slowed as she got closer, until finally she came to a stop right in front of the Gundam. She could see the cockpit hatch in front of her, but she didn't have the faintest idea how to open it, nor did she know how to get Heero's attention; if he hadn't responded to the tech crew's attempts to contact him or transmissions from the bridge, then what the hell was she supposed to do now?

Still, the overwhelming strength of the affection, the _love _she had for the young man inside the mobile suit would not allow her to sit back on the bridge and do nothing. Murrue was determined to do something, _anything _to help Heero… unfortunately, beyond the override command she had used earlier she did not know what she _could _do.

"Heero…" she said softly, at a loss for any other words, her mind struggling desperately in search of a way to get to the young man who meant more to her than anyone or anything else in the world.

It was then that she felt something, a _presence_… one that she had felt before, several months ago. Back in North Africa, when Heero had brought her inside Wing Zero and given her the means to stop the machine and him should he lose control of its incredibly dangerous operating system.

_It can't be_, she thought, her eyes widening, _I used the override command… it should be shut down!_

But there was no denying what she was feeling now; the sense that she was being watched, evaluated... by the Zero System. It was strange; the feeling Murrue was getting as she looked up at Wing Zero was that of passive awareness, like the machine knew she was there, and was waiting for her to act in some way.

_Maybe the override command doesn't completely shut it down_, Murrue thought, _maybe it immobilizes the Gundam and stops the Zero System from actively influencing the pilot, but the program still maintains a degree of awareness. _If that was the case, then maybe… a desperate idea was forming in Murrue's mind, one that she would've dismissed as foolish a few months ago, and would not have a chance of working with any other mobile suit.

But Wing Zero was not just any other mobile suit. Murrue remembered the recording Heero had shown her back when they had first met, of the Barge incident and his subsequent journey to the Cosmic Era. She recalled how Wing Zero had begun to move on its own, without any prompting from Heero.

The Gundams of Heero's world were unlike any other mobile suits in existence. As impossible as it seemed, those unique machines had some semblance of awareness that went beyond simple sensors and programming. There was a _will_, a _conscience_, however vague and indistinct it might be.

And Wing Zero's was observing her now. Amplified by the now passive Zero System, it waited patiently for her to make a move.

Murrue took a deep breath, looking up at the cold mechanical eyes of the Gundam. She knew the tech crews were watching her. It might've been from a cautious distance, but they would still be able to hear what she was about to say.

Murrue didn't care.

"Please…" she begged, unable to keep the desperation from her voice, "give him back… give Heero back to me! Don't… don't take away the man I love!"

It was an anguished plea, one that by any rights should've been dismissed outright as an act of irrational romanticism, one that should not have had any effect on the cold, unfeeling, mechanical weapon to which it was being made to.

And yet…

**(Start "Anna Ni Issho Datta No Ni")**

Murrue's eyes widened as she heard a low _thrum_, saw the green optical sensors in Wing Zero's head briefly flash green, along with the emerald orb in its chest.

There was a hiss, the sound of a latch unhooking… and the cockpit opened.

Murrue raced forwards, leaping into the cockpit the instant she was able to. Fear clenched her heart when she saw Heero… passed out in the pilot's chair.

"Heero!" she cried, grabbing him by the shoulders, "Oh, god, please be alright! Heero!"

Recalling the basic first aid training every Atlantic Federation soldier received, she frantically felt for a pulse, barely able to calm herself to the point that she would be able to detect one. After a moment she found it, and at the same time saw that Heero was breathing, though it was in small, shallow breaths.

"Heero," she said, putting one hand on his shoulder and the other to his cheek, "please, wake up! Heero!"

His eyes fluttered open briefly, and it tore at Murrue's heart when she saw the combination of weariness and shock within them.

"Murrue…" he said softly.

"Heero, it's alright! I'm here, I'm with you!" she cried, "Heero!"

There was a brief flash of… _something… _in his eyes. Acknowledgement, gratitude, _affection_… Murrue didn't know which; it could've been any of them.

And it didn't matter, because the Gundam pilot passed out in her arms a second later.

"Heero, stay with me!" she cried out, "_Heero!_"

**Preview for next time!**

_Recovering from the toll exerted on him by the Zero System, Heero lies unconscious in the Archangel's medical bay. Murrue stays at his side, desperate for his recovery and at the same time trying to figure out what cause him to lose control of the Zero System. Meanwhile, Athrun and Kira at long last confront each other. Will they allow the past to once again tear them apart, or will they come together in order to protect the future? With the Alliance fleet regrouping on the horizon, bolstered by the Eurasian Home Fleet, Lord Uzumi knows that Orb cannot survive a second assault, and begins preparations to insure the survival of Orb's legacy and ideals. Though the island nation will soon fall, the hope for a better future embodied within it will live on in those that will escape into outer space, carrying on the struggle to bring an end to the Bloody Valentine War without destroying humanity in the process. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Eighteen: A Light for the Future._

_From the Lion's ashes, the phoenix will take flight, burning wings lighting the way for those who fight for tomorrow._

**Author's Notes: **Man, this was not an easy chapter to do, and not just because of the length! Still, it was a lot of fun, in no small part because of the challenge. So many different character interactions, intricate battles, drama, backroom plotting, romance… I love it all!

Special thanks to EpyonZero23 for his support throughout this chapter's creation, especially all the discussions we had over PM. Highly recommend reading his Gundam Wing/Amagami SS fic, "Haruka's Wings", an absolutely beautiful piece of drama/romance literature. Keep up the good work, buddy!

Also, thanks to everyone else who has read this story so far, whether you have reviewed or not. Knowing you guys and girls want to read this fic is part of what makes writing it so much fun!

Please review, and until next time, my friends!


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's notes: **Alright, I finally managed a short chapter… kinda. For those of you keeping track at home, this one is, not counting the author's notes, about 95 pages long. So, for perspective, it's a little more than half as long as 17 was.

Lot's going on in here, drama is the focal point, combined with romance for the main pairing, but there are also a few action scenes in here as well. For those of you who want a more battle focused chapter, you'll just have to wait until 19!

Song list for the chapter, in order of appearance: "Heartbreaker," by Pat Benatar, the Super Robot Wars W version of "Last Impression" from Endless Waltz, and "Leaving Earth" by Clint Mansell, from the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack.

Enjoy!

**Episode Eighteen: A Light for the Future**

After docking the Freedom in its berth, Kira slumped back in his chair. Adrenaline letdown was in full swing, and the young Coordinator was _exhausted_. His arms and legs felt like lead, his breathing was slow and lethargic, his skin was soaked in sweat… to say that the boy had had a trying fight was a considerable understatement. The duel against Wing Zero, against a Heero completely controlled by its lethal operating system, had been _intense_, more so than any other battle Kira had ever fought in. True, it had not been as brutal as his clash with Athrun in the Marshall Islands, but it was a much more prolonged engagement, one that had pushed his abilities to their limits and taxed his body severely.

As much as he might've wanted to, though, Kira knew that he could not spend too much time sitting around in the Freedom. There would be time to rest later, but right now he needed to exit his machine. Athrun had just set the Justice down in the center of the hangar, and Kira had seen the ZAFT flight suit his old friend had been wearing when they had spoken earlier; when he got out of his machine wearing that, things would get… _tense_. After finally reuniting with Athrun, the last thing Kira wanted was for a member of the _Archangel_'s crew to end up shooting him over a misunderstanding.

Popping open the hatch, Kira saw the Tallgeese Kai and Skygrasper touch down behind the Justice, with the Buster moving in after them. _It's getting pretty crowded in here_, he mused, _Crew Chief Murdoch's going to have a fit reorganizing everything._

Climbing out of the Freedom and closing the hatch, Kira made his way across the maintenance catwalk and down the ladder. When he got to the bottom he headed towards the Justice. Looking up, he saw the hatch open and Athrun climb out, descending on a pilot wire. The ZAFT ace removed his helmet and cradled it in his left arm. Turning to face Kira, Athrun's face was difficult to read. There was a definite tension to his expression, but Kira thought he detected something else; longing, perhaps, the hope that maybe, just _maybe_… they could be friends again, that they could bridge the enormous gap that the war had driven between them.

Off to the side, Kira saw La Flaga climb out of the Tallgeese Kai and head towards them, his right hand edging towards his sidearm, his eyes narrowing as he saw Athrun's crimson flight suit. Close behind him was Cagalli, her own brown eyes widening in surprise as she saw the pilot of the Justice. A young man with tan skin and blond hair was exiting the Buster, a pilot that Kira had never spoken to before, only knowing that he had been captured during the same battle that he had gone M.I.A. in months ago. Two security officers were approaching as well, weapons held in their hands.

Kira raised his hands in an effort to ward off any preemptive and rash actions. "He's not an enemy," he said, his voice calm and firm.

His words had more or less the desired effect; the two soldiers lowered their weapons, though their hands did not leave them. La Flaga, for his part, simply nodded and moved his hand away from the sidearm at his hip.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kira once again turned his attention towards Athrun. The two young pilots walked towards each other, their pace slow yet inexorable, both boys apprehensive about this confrontation but unable or unwilling to avoid it.

When they came to a stop the two of them were scarcely half a meter apart. Kira's heart seemed to lodge itself in his throat, and he struggled to find the right words for the occasion. After all that had transpired between them since Heliopolis… would words alone be enough to remove the wedge that had driven them apart? Could something as simple as communication be enough to heal the wounds, or at facilitate the process of recovery?

Memories swirled through Kira's mind like a cyclone, blurring by with incredible speed, yet each one distinct, perfectly visible. Their days growing up together on the moon, the years spent together in the Lunar prep school, their fateful reunion in the raid on Heliopolis, all their subsequent battles… each bit lasting less than a second, yet seen and felt with absolute clarity. It was surreal to say the least, and Kira felt as though he was reliving his entire life in that brief moment in time, all the memories and the sensations that came with them as tangible as the very present he found himself in now.

And as impossible as it seemed… as he looked at Athrun, Kira knew he was experiencing the exact same thing.

He met Athrun's gaze, still struggling to find the right words for the occasion… if there were any. "Athrun…" he said after a moment, "hey… I…"

Nothing else would come out, and it appeared that Athrun was beset by the same problem, trying to speak but unable to find the right way to vocalize his thought. "Hey… Kira…"

"You guys!" Cagalli cried out. The two of them turned in surprise as she ran up between them… and pulled them both into a hug.

"You two…" she said, "You guys… _are such idiots!_ Idiots! You know that?"

Perhaps it was due to her sudden interjection into the mix, or maybe it was the sheer surrealism, the sheer _absurdity _of the whole thing… but Kira found himself smiling. And as he looked over at Athrun, he saw that his old friend was smiling as well.

That was when Kira realized something simple, something he should've grasped long ago; sometimes words aren't _needed_ to express your feelings. Sometimes they just weren't adequate, _couldn't _describe the emotions and thoughts you held inside; your face said it all, and someone who knew you as well as Athrun knew him, as well as Kira knew Athrun, would not need to say anything to grasp what the other wanted to convey.

The emotions in Athrun's face, in his eyes, were a mixture of apology, regret, forgiveness, and hope… the same ones that Kira had no doubt were in his own. The last thing either of them had wanted was to fight against each other in this war. Both had killed someone the other had cared about, and had tried to kill each other in the name of vengeance… and they _deeply _regretted doing so, regretted even contemplating it. There were no words to describe just how sorry they were for having done so… yet both of them could see the depths of that regret in the eyes of the other. Kira had lost one of his dearest friends, and he had no doubt that the pilot he had killed in the Marshall Islands had held a similar place in Athrun's heart… but he didn't hate him for it. Athrun had never wanted to kill Tolle, nor had Kira wanted to kill Athrun's friend. They had been on opposite sides in a war that should never have happened, fighting in a conflict that they had never wanted to take part in.

As impossible at it had seemed months ago… Kira was willing to _forgive _Athrun for what had happened between them, for what had happened to Tolle. And Athrun… was willing to do the same. Whatever hatred there had been between them was gone… if it had ever been there to begin with. As Kira reflected on it, he realized that, even in the Marshall Islands, after Tolle had died, what he had felt towards Athrun had never been hatred. Yes, the boy had been outraged at Tolle's death, as Athrun had been towards the demise of his own comrade, but it had not been hatred that had driven the two of them to clash so fiercely. It had been the grief and sorrow at losing someone so close to them, and the anguish that came with knowing that the guilty party was your best friend, the _last _person that you had ever wanted to fight.

More than anything else, what Kira wanted, what he so dearly hoped for, was that he and Athrun could once again be friends, that they would not have to fight each other. That same desire, that same _hope_, was in the eyes of the ZAFT pilot. There was no animosity, no lingering thirst for vengeance; only the wish for a dear friendship to be renewed.

It was a realization that made Kira want to both laugh and cry at the same time, and he knew Athrun felt the same… and all the while, Cagalli was berating them.

"Idiots!" she cried, "Dumbasses! Morons!" The outpouring continued, and both Kira and Athrun could not help but give each other bemused smiles as Cagalli ran the gamut of idiot insult vocabulary.

"You two are so _stupid_!" she said, looking up at them, "All you two have is each other! Say _something_, damn it!"

There was no need for words between the two of them at the moment, but they would make an attempt for Cagalli's sake. "Athrun…" said Kira, "I'm sorry… about everything."

Athrun nodded. "Yeah… me too, Kira. It's… good to see you again."

"Same here," Kira replied, smiling, "I'm… I'm glad you're here, Athrun."

Cagalli finally released the two of them. Stepping back, she shook her head, smiling slightly while she did so. "That's… a start," she said, her expression one of relief and exasperation.

"It'll do for now, little lady," said La Flaga, walking up to the three of them, smirking.

"Hell of a machine you got there, kid," he continued, looking at Athrun, "and judging by your uniform, I'm assuming it's a ZAFT unit."

Athrun nodded nervously. "Yes… sir. It's part of the same line as the Freedom, and is called the ZGMF-X09A Justice. I was given it as part of a… special assignment."

"What was it?" asked Kira.

Athrun looked at his friend, his expression apologetic. "The purpose of my mission was two-fold. The first objective was to hunt down the Freedom and recapture it… or destroy it. Either way… I was supposed to kill the pilot."

"I take it you don't plan on doing that anymore," said La Flaga, looking between him and Kira, "Or am I reading this little thing you three have going here wrong?"

Athrun shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, sir. I have no intention of retaking the Freedom, or attacking Kira."

"Good to hear," said La Flaga.

"I'll say," said the tan skinned, blond hair boy as he walked up to join the group, "I'd hate for us to have to fight you, Athrun."

Athrun nodded. "Good to see you again, Dearka. How've you been?"

The Buster's pilot shrugged and smiled slightly. "Alright, really. Been locked up in the ship's brig for most of the past couple months, but things could've been worse. This ship's crew's been pretty decent to me. Still, glad they decided to cut me loose."

"I take it you two are friends?" asked Kira.

Athrun nodded. "Kira, this is Dearka Elsman. Dearka, this is my friend Kira Yamato."

The two of them shook hands. "You never even came down to visit the whole time I was here," said Dearka, chuckling slightly.

"Sorry," said Kira, looking down.

Dearka shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Miriallia mentioned you a couple times when we were talking. You were the Strike's pilot, right?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I was."

"Well," said Dearka, smiling, "glad we never wound up killing each other."

"Same here," said Kira.

Kira then turned to Athrun, a thought crossing his mind. "Athrun, you said the purpose of your mission was two-fold. What was your second objective?"

Athrun sighed. "My second objective… was to destroy Wing Zero."

A chilled silence fell amongst them for a second before La Flaga spoke up. "Do you still plan on completing _that _part of your mission?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

Athrun shook his head. "No, I do not… and, to be honest, I don't think I ever really had a chance from the beginning. I know I'm good... but taking on Wing Zero would've been a suicide mission; I knew that from the start."

"No kidding," said Dearka, "glad you're not going through with it, Athrun."

"Hey," said Cagalli, "speaking of Wing Zero, what the hell happened earlier? Why did Heero keep attacking the Alliance Fleet after they sent up those withdrawal flares? And why did he attack Kira? What happened to him?"

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "we saw that whole show from a distance… Kira, do you know what's going on?"

"Sort of," he replied, "it's… complicated. I can tell you this much, though; that wasn't Heero I was fighting, at least not the Heero we know."

"What are you talking about?" asked Athrun.

Kira turned towards Wing Zero, where two medics and Captain Ramius were removing Heero from the cockpit. He watched as they, with considerable effort, lifted the young man onto a gurney and began heading for the med bay.

"Come on," said Kira, "let's go to the infirmary. I'll try to explain on the way."

….

"How is he?" asked Murrue as the ship's chief medical officer, Dr. Trent Clark, examined Heero. The Gundam pilot was lying in one of the med bay's beds, an IV attached to his arm along with a pulse reader. There was also a small sensor device over his forehead, which the doctor was removing.

Heero's breathing was light, almost imperceptible, but the steady beeping of the pulse reader seemed to indicate that, whatever his problems were, oxygen flow wasn't among them. However, Murrue could clearly see the sweat that was building up on his forehead and dripping down his face, and his skin looked a little pale.

Murrue and the chief medical officer were not alone in the room; standing off to the side was Dr. Claudia Monroe, her expression one of concern. Murrue could only imagine what her own face looked like right now. Her heart seemed to be caught in her throat, and it was hammering away at a frantic pace. Murrue was struggling to maintain what little composure she had managed to give herself during the frantic run from the hangar to the med bay. To say that she was worried about the young man lying in the bed before her would've been a massive understatement; every fiber of her being was now devoted solely to Heero's well-being, his physical, mental, and emotional health. She was desperate to do something, _anything_, to help him. Not knowing what actions she could take to do so pained her heart in a way she couldn't begin to describe, and scared her more than all the battles she had been through combined.

Looking at Heero now, lying in the infirmary bed, she did not see the indomitable super-soldier that she knew the rest of the crew thought him to be. She didn't even see the strong, cunning, and courageous warrior in whose hands she was willing to place her very life without a second thought. What Murrue saw was a very vulnerable young man whose mind had been taken over by the deadliest mobile suit operating system ever conceived. She saw a kind and gentle young man who had been turned into an incredibly brutal and efficient killing machine by a cold, heartless program, and who was now suffering for it.

Murrue saw the man she loved unconscious and defenseless, wounded not in body but in his heart and mind. Heero had sworn to protect her, and had gone far above and beyond all expectations to do so, with a strength and determination that Murrue could only marvel at, but now _he _was the one who needed protection. It was not enough, in Murrue's mind, that she had saved him from the Zero System, that she had stopped him from killing his friend and countless other people, had prevented his rampage from consuming people outside of the Atlantic Federation invasion force, had kept it from destroying Heero's very humanity. Now that he was in the _Archangel_'s med bay, exhausted and passed out, he was at his weakest; Murrue had not seen him so vulnerable since that night several months ago, when they had been crossing the Red Sea and he had been tormented by the nightmare that was his worst memory.

_I was able to help him then_, she thought, remembering how she had held him tightly, reassuring him that he was _not _the murderer he believed himself to be, _I was able to comfort him, give him a sense of hope and peace. Now he needs my help again… but I don't know what to do!_

She continued looking down at him as Dr. Clark spoke. "It's difficult to say, Captain. Physically, apart from a slight fever pilot Yuy is fine. His temperature should drop over the course of the next few hours, and the fever should be completely gone by tomorrow morning."

"But it's not that simple, is it?" asked Murrue softly.

"No, Captain," said the doctor, "I was going over the readings on the neural scanner, and they're unlike anything I've ever seen before. The best way I can put it is that Yuy's mind entered a state of cascading hyper-activity, one that was suddenly interrupted. From what you told me it's easy enough to see the source of both; the 'Zero System', as you called it, was the source of the surge in brain activity, and the override command you used caused the interruption. The combined stresses from those two factors completely drained Yuy's mental energy; his mind is in a state of severe exhaustion, and his body passed out as a result."

"Did I… did I do this to him, when I used that override command?" Murrue asked, a sense of dread swelling up within her.

"Yes and no, Captain," the doctor replied, "Your action caused the Zero System to suddenly cease functioning, which would've imparted a significant shock to Yuy's mind… but it would've been _much _worse had he been allowed to continue flying in such a state with the Zero System active. Ultimately, had he gone on much longer it's probable that Yuy's mind would've been destroyed by sheer sensory overload. At the very least, he would've caused an incalculable amount of death and destruction, far beyond the damage he was able to inflict on the invasion fleet; the Orb military may well have been completely wiped out had Yuy's rampage continued long enough to put them in his crosshairs."

"Captain," Dr. Clark continued, causing Murrue to look at him, "I realize that this may be difficult to believe considering the state he's in now, but you saved Yuy's life. I do not know how much longer his mind could've continued functioning under such hyperactive stimulus, but eventually it would've destroyed him, of that I have no doubt. He is alive, and able to recover, thanks to you, Captain Ramius."

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief. She still felt somewhat guilty knowing that her use of the override command had helped put him in this state, but the knowledge that things could've turned fatal, both for the young man she loved and for her allies, helped offset it.

_And if I hadn't acted when I did_, she thought, _then Kira would be dead. That would've devastated that boy's friends; it would've _broken _Miriallia. And if Heero had managed to recover afterwards and learn what he had done… I can't begin to imagine the pain he would suffer as a result._

Still, that did not change the fact that Heero was weak and vulnerable now, and that Murrue was desperate to help him. "Dr. Clark," she said, "is… is there anything I can do to help him?"

"Some small things, yes," he replied, "but… with all due respect, Captain, shouldn't you be up on the bridge?"

"The battle is over," said Murrue, "and my watch would be ending right about now in any case. Lieutenant Tsukino can manage the ship for now; I have faith in her abilities. She is scheduled to watch the bridge until late night, and Ensign Neumann will take over for her afterwards. I have plenty of time to remain here with Heero, Dr. Clark."

The chief medical officer raised an eyebrow at his superior officer but otherwise did not protest or comment on her decision to remain with the Perfect Soldier. "In that case, Captain," he said, "if you are so inclined to help Yuy, a wet washcloth on his forehead would help with his fever, and you could also wipe away the sweat; the poor boy's face is practically soaked in it. I'll leave a thermometer if you wish to monitor his temperature, and you can call one of the nurses if his IV bag runs dry before he regains consciousness. Other than that, the best thing anyone can do for him is allow him to rest and recover from his mental exhaustion. I can't say for certain, but he should wake up sometime during the night if all goes well."

"I understand," Murrue replied.

Dr. Clark smiled at her, and the Captain thought she detected a knowing look in his eye. "I'll bring out one of the spare office chairs for you," he said.

"Thank you, Dr, Clark," said Murrue, "I'll go to the sink and get a wet towel."

"Captain Ramius," said Dr. Claudia, speaking up for the first time since Heero had been brought in, "if you don't mind me asking, why did you request my presence here? I'm a psychologist; neurology and physical health are not my areas of expertise."

Murrue gave her a soft smile. "I'll tell you in a moment, counselor. Once I've cleaned Heero's face up a little… and we have some privacy."

"Of course, Captain," she replied.

Murrue went over to the sink, found a towel, and ran cool water over it. Giving it a brief squeeze to wring out excess water, she quickly returned to Heero's bedside, where she found a chair already set up, along with a thermometer on the small desk next to it. Placing the white cloth on Heero's forehead, she began to wipe the sweat from his brow when she heard several other people enter the med bay.

Looking up she saw Kira, Cagalli, La Flaga, and Dearka Elsman enter the med bay, along with another pilot that Murrue did not recognize, a young man with black-blue hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a red and white pilot's jumpsuit, one that Murrue recognized as a ZAFT uniform, and she surmised that he had been the pilot of the new mobile suit that had helped Kira earlier in the battle.

"Captain Ramius," said Kira, nodding at her before looking over at Heero, "how's Heero doing?"

Murrue forced a small smile as she replied. "He'll be alright, Kira. He's running a slight fever, but the doctor said it should go down over the next several hours. His mind is suffering from severe mental exhaustion, and he needs time to rest and recover from it."

"How long do you think he'll be out for?" asked Cagalli.

"According to Dr. Clark," said Murrue, "for the rest of the day at least. He should wake up sometime tonight or tomorrow morning, but… it's impossible to say for certain."

"Man," said La Flaga, "I never thought I'd see the guy laid up like this. The way he carries himself, the stuff he's able to pull off in battle… it always seemed like nothing could touch him. I mean, I know he's not invincible, but still…"

"He's one hell of a tough pilot," Dearka finished for him.

Murrue looked down at Heero, wiping a trickle of sweat off the Perfect Soldier's left cheek. "Heero is an extraordinary pilot and soldier," she said softly, "but he's still human, just like the rest of us. His limits may be beyond our own… but he still has them."

"A few days ago I wouldn't have believed that," said the new pilot, "I've flown against him before, and he was just indomitable… it was like fighting a force of nature."

Murrue looked up at the young man. "Forgive me if this sounds rude; I am grateful for the help you gave us during the battle earlier. That being said, just who are you?"

"Sorry, ma'am," the young man replied, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Athrun Zala. I was the pilot of the X303 Aegis… and I'm an old friend of Kira's."

She nodded. "I'm Captain Murrue Ramius, commanding officer of the _Archangel_." Murrue's mind suddenly flashed back to the raid on Heliopolis all those months ago. "You were the ZAFT soldier from the hangar… the one that shot me in the shoulder."

Athrun nodded, looking down at that remark. "Yeah, that was me. You'd killed a friend of mine, Rusty, earlier in the fight. I was about to kill you… before I saw Kira with you."

Murrue nodded. "I see. I understand if you do not believe me… but I'm truly sorry about your friend. I'm sure he was a nice young man."

"He was," said Athrun, "Rusty was a good friend and a comrade. That being said… I do believe you… and forgive you. It wasn't anything personal… just this damn war." He looked up at her. "I'm sorry I shot you."

Murrue gave him a soft smile. "It's alright, Athrun Zala. Like you said, it was nothing personal; we were soldiers on opposite sides of a war. That's just the way things turned out." Her expression then became more serious. "All that aside… are you _still _acting as a member of ZAFT?"

He shook his head. "No, ma'am. I was given my machine, the ZGMF-X09A Justice, as part of a ZAFT mission, but it's an assignment I have no intention of carrying out. I came to Orb to find Kira, work out our differences… and help end this foolish war."

Murrue nodded. "I understand. In that case, welcome aboard, Athrun Zala."

The young man smiled slightly. "You can just call me Athrun, ma'am."

"Alright," Murrue replied before turning to Kira. "Kira, could you show Athrun to the crew quarters; I'm sure we have an extra bunk he can use."

"Sure, Captain," he replied.

"Ma'am," said Dearka, "I don't suppose you've got one more bed available? I… want to stay and help too.'

"Of course," said Murrue, nodding, "we'd be grateful for your assistance, Dearka; having the Buster and its pilot with us will be a great help. Welcome to the crew, both of you."

With that the three boys left the med bay, followed by Cagalli. La Flaga remained behind, smiling slightly at the retreating teenagers. "I never thought we'd be recruiting two of the ZAFT pilots that hounded us for so long since Heliopolis."

"Neither did I," Murrue replied, "perhaps I'm reading too much into this… but it could be a sign of a growing rift within ZAFT, a greater divide between moderates and radicals. Of course, drawing such a conclusion from the defection of two pilots is quite a step, but still…"

"It's worth considering," the Hawk of Endymion finished for her, "More importantly, it offers the chance for us to pick up some much needed allies."

"Yes," Murrue said, nodding absently, her attention drawn more to the young man lying before her than the blonde ace pilot.

La Flaga caught it, but to his credit he showed no signs of being offended by his Captain's divided attention. "So, this 'Zero System'… Kira was telling me about it on the way over here. I'd heard Heero mention it in passing before… but I had no idea it could do something like this to a pilot."

Murrue nodded. "It's one of the reasons why Heero's been so determined to keep the secrets of Wing Zero to himself. The Zero System offers an incredible boost to a pilot's awareness and fighting abilities… but at a tremendous cost. It truly is a double-edged sword, one only Heero's truly capable of wielding effectively."

"Until today," said La Flaga, "Something went _very _wrong; that much is clear. Can't say what, though."

"Yes," said Murrue softly. After a moment she turned to the pilot. "La Flaga, I want you to go back down to the hangar and have our tech crews close Wing Zero's cockpit. Tell them that no one is to attempt entry or tampering with the Gundam."

"I don't think that will be a problem, Captain," he replied, "The crews have always given it a respectful distance unless Heero tells them otherwise. Even now that they know he no longer keeps the self-detonation sequence primed to blow 24/7 I don't think that will change, especially after what happened today. Besides, everyone down there stayed out of loyalty to this ship and each other; none of them would mess with Wing Zero."

"I know," said Murrue, "still, I don't want to take any chances. If someone else activated it and fell under the control of the Zero System…"

La Flaga nodded. "I hear you. I'll head on down then. Any other orders, Captain?"

"Make sure the Tallgeese Kai is prepared to sortie should the need arise," she said, "I doubt the enemy will launch a second attack today, but we still need to be on our guard. After that, go grab a bite to eat and get some rest; I'm sure you could use it."

"No arguing there, Captain," said La Flaga. Then he left the infirmary.

There was silence for a moment as Murrue finished wiping the sweat from Heero's face before placing the washcloth back on his forehead. She then turned to Dr. Claudia, who had been standing by patiently the whole time.

"Dr. Claudia," said Murrue, "La Flaga was right; something was wrong with Heero today. He's never lost control of the Zero System in all the time he's served aboard the _Archangel_."

"I understand, Captain," she replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Murrue, "If you could elaborate for me on how the Zero System works, and how Heero controlled it before, I may be able to help you figure out exactly what happened today."

So Murrue recounted, to the best of her ability, what Heero had told her about the Zero System. Dr. Claudia listened patiently throughout her explanation, nodding and occasionally asking for clarification on a few points.

After a few minutes the counselor officer spoke. "So, in order to use the Zero System to achieve the outcomes Heero desires, he has to impose his own will on it. He must act with logic and emotion balanced within himself, and force that same balance onto the Zero System. By doing so, he gives it his values and ethics, and works with it to accomplish his objectives. Through this he gains a sense of battle precognition, and is able to read the moves of his opponents and act accordingly, anticipating their actions and taking the necessary steps to engage and defeat them. That's the gist of it, right?"

"In a nutshell, yes," said Murrue, "It's such an intricate and complex system, far beyond anything the Alliance, ZAFT, or Orb has ever attempted to make… but that is a fair summary."

"I see," said Dr. Claudia, "in that case, I would guess that something happened to disturb the balance between logic and emotion Heero requires to maintain control over the Zero System, either before or during the battle."

Murrue nodded. "I suppose that's the most likely explanation… but if that's the case, then what was it? I know Heero; his mind is incredibly strong and disciplined. It would take something enormous to disturb the balance he keeps within it."

"Aside from Heero's losing control," said Dr. Claudia, "was there anything out of the ordinary regarding the battle? Anything that set it apart from all your previous engagements?"

"Every battle is unique, Dr. Claudia," Murrue replied, "No two fights are ever exactly the same."

"True, Captain," said the counselor officer, "let me rephrase that, then; was there anything about this battle that would cause Heero to behave differently than in you past engagements? Anything that may have triggered a strong emotional reaction such as shock or outrage?"

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment, running the entire battle through her mind to the best of capabilities. Her attention at the time had been torn between her duties as the _Archangel_'s commanding officer and her growing concern for Heero, but she could still recall most of Heero's actions, and there had been no singular event in her mind that would've elicited the kind of strong emotional response Dr. Claudia had mentioned. There had been no major standout event that would've upset his mental balance as he'd engaged the Alliance forces…

Murrue's eyes snapped open as the realization hit her, the key distinction that had set the last battle apart from all their previous engagements; the factor that had driven Heero into a rampage.

They had been fighting the _Earth Alliance _forces. All their other battles thus far had been against ZAFT; this was their first engagement with the Atlantic Federation.

Their first engagement with the nation that had set them up to die at Alaska.

Everything fell into place. The dark intensity that had seemed to radiate from Heero throughout the briefing earlier that day, especially when it had been mentioned that one of the members of the Atlantic Federation High Command would be personally leading the invasion force, suddenly made sense. He'd wanted to pay the Alliance back for their betrayal of the _Archangel_ at Alaska.

For their betrayal of _her_.

_I know it sounds egotistical to think of it like that_, Murrue mused, _but I know Heero; he swore to protect me, and he values the bond, the friendship we've forged together more than anything else. He's been incredibly protective of me throughout our voyage, and I know he cares deeply for me… the High Command's actions at Alaska must've infuriated him! I know he's good at keeping his feelings hidden beneath that calm demeanor of his, but still… I should've caught that!_

"From the look on your face, Captain Ramius," said Dr. Claudia, snapping her out of her thoughts, "may I assume that you've figured out just what set Heero off?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, though 'set off' may be the wrong way to describe it. This was a slow burning fury, one that had been building up inside Heero since Alaska."

Dr. Claudia's eyes widened in dawning comprehension. "Where you were set up to die by the Atlantic Federation, betrayed by your own High Command... yes, it makes sense. However, Heero himself is not an official member of the Atlantic Federation armed forces, and I do not believe he held any measure of attachment towards that nation; its betrayal would not affect him in the same manner as it would people like you and your crew."

"It wasn't their betrayal of _him _that made Heero angry," said Murrue, "it was… their betrayal of _me_. Heero and I… we've… we've developed a very strong bond since he came aboard the _Archangel_. When we first met… I was grateful for his help, and curious about who he was. He was quiet and withdrawn, strong and intelligent; everyone could see that. But I saw something else that no one did… weariness and sorrow. It was in his eyes, just beneath the surface. It was just a glimpse… but I saw _pain_, and a deep sense of guilt and self-loathing within him. I wanted to help him, to let him know that he wasn't alone, that I was there if he needed someone to talk to."

Murrue then smiled slightly. "It wasn't long before we became friends, and I learned so much about him. He told me about his past, what he'd done and been through before we met… the trials, battles, and tragedies that turned him into the man he is today. I'm… one of the few real friends he's ever had, Dr. Claudia. That's why the bond between us is so strong."

The counselor officer smiled as well. "I could tell as I watched the two of you interact during your interviews with me and Lieutenant Tsukino. You two care deeply for each other, and I don't think I'm wrong in saying that you would do anything for each other. I know that you are the real reason he's staying aboard the _Archangel_; Heero would challenge Heaven and Hell to protect you."

Murrue nodded, once again looking down at the young man who meant so much to her. "Yes, he would," she said softly, "and I would do the same for him."

"Captain Ramius," said Dr. Claudia, "You love him, don't you?"

Murrue hesitated for a moment before realizing that it would be pointless to deny it, especially to a woman who was so adept at reading the feelings and emotions of other people. "Yes… I do. I… I know how it must look to you; I'm ten years his senior, after all. I know what kind of… implications that would give you."

"From other women, perhaps it would," the counselor officer replied, "but not you, Captain Ramius. I can see as clear as day how deeply you care for him. You are not after him out of purely physical desires; you're not that type of woman. Yes, Heero is sixteen, but his biological age is far from a true reflection of his maturity, which I believe you are fully aware of. The phrase 'wise beyond his years' is quite fitting for him. Any act of intimacy between the two of you would be as equals, true lovers. You would never, _could _never take advantage of Heero… though you are afraid of precisely that, aren't you?"

Murrue nodded. "Heero… all he's ever known is war. His romantic experience is more or less non-existent. I don't want to pressure him into anything… but I just can't deny the way I feel about him. It's true, I love him dearly, more than I have anyone else… and I think he feels something for me as well. I… god, I _want _him, more than I could ever hope to describe to you. I want so badly to tell him that _I love him_, and I want to show him just _how deep _the love I have for him goes. I have never felt so strongly for anyone else in my life, and I believe he has feelings for me too, but…"

"You've been giving him time to come to grips with those feelings," said Dr. Claudia, smiling again, "to truly understand what it means to be in love with someone, and to know that he can entrust the entirety of his being, his body, mind, and soul, to the person who has his love. Captain Ramius, that is all the proof I need to be able to tell you that you would _never _take advantage of him."

Murrue smiled as well, looking up at woman who had so astutely and effortlessly described her internal conflict, the swirling emotions that her love for Heero evoked within her, who had just done a great deal to reassure her that her feelings were not wrong. "Dr. Claudia… thank you."

"You're welcome, Captain Ramius," she replied, "and though you may not wish to look at it this way… the fact that the Alliance's betrayal of you at Alaska elicited such wrath from Heero shows just how deeply devoted to you he is in return. I believe that he does indeed return your feelings… though of course, only Heero can say that for certain."

It was heartening to hear the psychologist say such a thing, but it also brought a sense of guilt to Murrue as she came to another realization. "So that rampage," said Murrue, "that… was for me, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps not intentionally," said Dr. Claudia, "I'm sure he knows that you would never want him to lose control to the Zero System… but the fury he must've felt towards the Alliance probably overruled that."

"Captain Ramius," the counselor continued, "you cannot blame yourself for this. I can understand why you would feel responsible for Heero ending up in this state, but it was _not _your fault. As Dr. Clark said earlier, you saved Heero's life. Though the bond the two of you share may have been the reason he was so furious at the Alliance's betrayal, his reaction to it, his failure to control that wrath, is on his head. Heero must find a way to deal with those feelings himself, must find a way to keep the fury he feels towards them in check if he is to continue piloting Wing Zero."

"But I can help him do that, can't I?" asked Murrue.

"I'm sure there's a way for you to do so," said Dr. Claudia, "but you must tread carefully in the process. When Heero wakes up, he'll have a lot to process; you cannot allow him to become overwhelmed… especially with the Alliance invasion fleet still on our doorstep. It will be difficult enough, I think, for him to deal with the fact that he lost control of the Zero System to the point that he fought against his own friend. The knowledge that he did that, and could well have endangered all of us, will be a heavy burden for him to deal with, especially so soon after regaining consciousness. I have no doubt that you can help him come to terms with what happened and find the focus and balance needed to truly wield the Zero System as he did in all your previous battles… but it will require a delicate touch."

The counselor was right; Murrue would have to be extremely mindful of Heero when he regained consciousness. She would have to do all she could to be understanding towards him, to offer comfort and reassurance, to show her continued faith in his abilities. _I have no doubt that Heero can find the balance again that he needs to properly control the Zero System_, thought Murrue, _I just have to show him that I believe in him, that I know he can do it. Beyond that, all I can do when he wakes up is show him that I care for him, and make sure that he gets any aid he needs in completing his recovery._

It would be _very _tempting to simply spill all, to finally let out the magnitude of affection that she felt for Heero… but Murrue would have to hold herself back. As Dr. Claudia had said, she couldn't let Heero become overwhelmed, especially with the high likelihood of another battle with the Alliance in their immediate future.

Now wasn't the time for romanticism, regardless of how much she may have wanted it. When Heero was fully recovered and they weren't under the threat of an imminent attack… perhaps then she could finally let loose her feelings.

_The situation is already delicate, no, _desperate_, as it is_, thought Murrue, _Heero and I both need to be completely focused and ready for the next battle as quickly as possible. It's the only way we'll have a chance at getting out of this alive. Besides, even with what Dr. Claudia said… if I acted now, right when Heero wakes up, I'd still feel as if I were taking advantage of him. Heero is incredibly vulnerable right now, and will be so when he comes to. The shock of what he did, combined with the severe mental fatigue… it wouldn't be right if I acted while he's in such a state._

Still, it would not be wrong for her to show at least _some _signs of affection, to let him know that, if he did indeed have truly romantic feelings towards her that she was open to them, and more than willing to reciprocate. Murrue smiled slightly, and felt her face warm noticeably as a few images flashed through her mind, all featuring her and the Gundam pilot.

"Captain Ramius," said Dr. Claudia, once again bringing Murrue out of her thoughts and back to the here-and-now, "is there anything else you wish to discuss with me?"

She shook her head. "No, Dr. Claudia. Thank you for coming here to speak with me."

"You're quite welcome, Captain," the counselor officer replied. She smiled as she stood up. "Would it be safe for me to assume that you will be staying here until Heero wakes up?"

Murrue nodded. "Dr. Clark said he should regain consciousness sometime tonight… I want to be here when he does. As you said, he'll have a lot to process when he comes to; I want to help him deal with it all."

"Alright," said Dr. Claudia, "in that case I'll run by the mess and grab you something to eat and drink before I turn in for the evening."

"I appreciate that," said Murrue.

"Don't mention it," said Dr. Claudia, "and Captain, if you need to speak with me again, or if you believe I may be able to help you with Heero when he regains consciousness, please contact me."

"I'm grateful for the offer," Murrue replied, "but… I want to help him myself."

The counselor gave her a knowing smile. "I understand, Captain. I'll be back shortly with some food and water."

Murrue watched as she left the room, thanking whatever deity or fortune that existed that she had been able to recruit such a competent woman to take the role of the _Archangel_'s counselor officer. Dr. Claudia's skills, her ability to read the emotions of the ship's crew and empathize with them, were invaluable, and Murrue found herself wondering just how she had gone for so long without someone like her on board.

She then smiled, knowing the answer to her own question as she once again looked down at the young man next to her. _It's because I had Heero by my side_, she thought, _his strength, his courage, his compassion… I was able to lean on them when I needed to. He supported me without hesitation, without any thought to himself… and I'm going to do the same._

Murrue took the white washcloth and wiped it across his forehead to get rid of the sweat that was building up there again. She then leaned down and kissed his brow, caressing his left cheek as she did so.

"Heero," she said softly, "I'm here; I'm with you. I promise that I'll never abandon you. Rest, Heero; I'll watch over you."

….

"So," said Kira, "are you two sure about staying with us?"

He was sitting on a bunk in one of the ship's crew quarters. Dearka was next to him, while across from them Athrun and Cagalli were sitting on another bunk.

"Yeah," Cagalli chimed in, "I mean, up until now the two of you have just been fighting the Alliance forces, but in the future you could well end up battling ZAFT. If you guys went back now, they'd probably still welcome you."

The Orb princess tried to keep her voice nonchalant, but Kira detected some reluctance in it, like she did not really want them to do what she was suggesting. He also saw her looking at Athrun as she spoke, and there was something in her eyes that seemed to hint at her wanting _him _to stick around more than Dearka, or at least he was the one she was really concerned over.

Athrun shook his head. "I can't go back, Cagalli. My mission objectives were clear; capture or destroy the Freedom, and destroy Wing Zero. I failed to do either, and in fact worked to save both units. My actions would be viewed as treason… and I'd be executed."

"But your father's the head of ZAFT and the PLANTs now, isn't he?" said Kira, "Wouldn't he step in to help you?"

Athrun chuckled ruefully. "For what I did, Kira, my father would probably insist on killing me himself."

"Athrun…" said Cagalli softly. Kira raised an eyebrow as he saw her reach over and put her hand on his shoulder, but otherwise said nothing. _I wonder what's going on there…_

Kira then turned to Dearka. "What about you? I mean, I doubt the Captain would let you take the Buster, but if you wanted to go back she'd probably ask Orb to arrange transport to Carpentaria for you."

Dearka sighed. "It's tempting, I'll give you that… but I'm not going back. If what Athrun's saying about his father is true, then the ZAFT I signed up to serve may no longer exist. Patrick Zala is the head of the PLANT radical faction… and their as bad as the Atlantic Federation's Blue Cosmos. Besides… there's someone here I want to protect." He looked at Kira and smiled slightly. "So I'll be sticking around. Hope you don't mind flying with one of the guys that was shooting at you a couple months ago."

Kira smiled in return, and looked back and forth between Dearka and Athrun. "I think I can deal with it."

The room was quiet for a moment before Athrun spoke up again. "You know, Dearka," he said, "There's a chance we could end up going against Yzak if we do this."

"Is that another friend of yours?" asked Kira.

They both nodded. "He was in our squad," said Dearka, "he's the Duel's pilot."

Kira's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean he's the one that fired on that shuttle during the orbital battle?"

Both Athrun and Dearka looked down uncomfortably. "At the time," said Athrun, "he thought that it was full of Alliance soldiers; he didn't know it was a civilian shuttle."

"That shouldn't have mattered!" said Cagalli, "The shuttle was still unarmed; he shouldn't have fired!"

"Troop transports are valid targets under the rules of engagement practiced by both sides," said Dearka grimly, "of course, I'm not sure either nation is following the conventions of war now…"

"He still shouldn't have fired on it!" said Kira.

"I think he wishes he hadn't," said Dearka. He looked over at his fellow ZAFT pilot. "Not sure if you're aware of this Athrun, but once Yzak found out that that shuttle had been carrying Orb civilians… well, let's just say he started catching a lot less sleep at night than the rest of us."

Athrun shook his head. "I didn't know. You really think he regrets his actions that much?"

Dearka nodded. "Yeah… he never talked about it, but I'm pretty sure it's been eating away at him since then."

Everyone in the room fell silent at that, and Kira realized that he actually felt somewhat sorry for Yzak. To have unknowingly killed innocent people… that was a guilt that Kira couldn't begin to imagine dealing with.

"So…" said Cagalli after a moment, "if we do wind up meeting him in battle… what will you guys do?"

Athrun sighed. "We'll have to fight… hopefully we'll be able to get him to withdraw before things get ugly."

"Yeah," said Dearka, "other than that, there's not much else we can do… damn, I hate this war."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. The mood in the room was becoming quite somber, almost grim, and Kira tried to figure out a way to relieve some of the tension, or at least change the subject.

Much to his surprise, Athrun beat him to the punch. "So," he said, clearing his throat, "this ship's CO, Captain Ramius… she seemed very worried about Heero."

Kira nodded, thinking back to their conversation in the med bay. "Yeah, you're right. I mean, I know they're good friends; Heero talks to her more than anybody else on this ship, and I know he trusts her absolutely. They probably spend most of their time off-duty together. Still… there was something up with her behavior."

"No kidding," Dearka chimed in, "the way she was looking over him… she was tending to him, watching over him. I'm sure the Captain cares about all her pilots and crew, but still… I'm pretty sure that wasn't normal."

There was a groan, and all three of them turned to see Cagalli shaking her head exasperatedly. "Oh, dear god," she sighed, putting her palm to her face, "you mean you guys really couldn't tell what was going on there?"

The three boys raised their eyebrows, prompting another groan from Orb's princess. "You're kidding… you three really didn't see it?"

"See what?" asked Kira, "I mean yeah, something was up with Captain Ramius, but I don't know what it was? Do you?"

"Ugh," she sighed, looking down for a moment "you thickheaded morons…"

"What?" said Athrun, his voice growing nervous. Kira couldn't blame him, given his friend's proximity to Cagalli and the tomboy's well-known temper.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, looking up at them again, "She's in love with him!"

There was silence in the room for a few seconds before all three boys blurted out the exact same thing.

"What?"

"Captain Ramius loves Heero Yuy," said Cagalli, "What, do I have to spell it out for you guys or something?"

"Sorry," said Kira, "It's just… well, it's a little hard to believe."

"Why not?" asked Cagalli, "You saw the way she was looking at him, trying to care for him. You said it yourself; they spend practically all their off duty time together, and Heero talks to her more than anyone else on the _Archangel_. The Captain loves him, and I'm willing to bet Heero has feelings for her as well."

"Whoa, whoa," said Dearka, "that guy actually likes her? I mean, don't get me wrong; Heero has a cool demeanor, but I don't think he's heartless, and Captain Ramius is a beautiful woman. Still, Wing Zero's pilot being attracted to the Captain? I don't buy it; the guy just seems like too much of a professional to have those kinds of feelings towards a comrade, especially the Captain of the ship he's serving on."

"Besides, she's gotta be like ten years older than him!" said Athrun.

Cagalli shook her head. "Idiots… age and looks have nothing to do with it. It's the way they act around each other… god, I probably saw it long ago and just didn't believe it until now. There's a connection between them… they _trust _each other more than anyone else. Why do you think Captain Ramius knows so much about Wing Zero and its operating system? Heero told her all about it!"

"Why would he do that?" asked Kira.

"Probably to help her," said Cagalli, "I bet he wanted her to have a way to stop him if he ever got out of control, like in the battle today. The last thing he wants is to hurt her, so he gave her that override command as a way to avoid that."

"That's quite a conclusion to jump to," said Athrun.

"Is it really?" said Cagalli, "Look, I'm sure Heero considers Kira and I to be friends, but he's barely told us anything about himself or Wing Zero. Yet she knows so much, and they're always talking together when they're not on duty… hell, when I was on the ship Heero spent a ton of his time on the bridge with her when she _was _on duty, at least when he wasn't down in the hangar with Wing Zero. They like spending time together, that much is obvious… and they support each other. I mean sure, Heero may be the best pilot and soldier any of us have ever seen, but he's still human; he's got his own issues. It's probably why he's so withdrawn most of the time."

"So you think he opened up to Captain Ramius?" asked Dearka, "I can't really see it."

Cagalli looked down, and Kira was surprised to see her demeanor soften somewhat. "I can. Aside from the Captain, and occasionally us, Heero tends to keep to himself… and I don't think it's just coincidence. I don't know the details, but I'm sure he's been fighting a long time, and it's more than left its mark on him. He holds himself apart from others as a defense; he doesn't trust easily. I think Captain Ramius saw all that, and she wanted to show him that he wasn't alone… that she _cared _about him. She's a very kind woman, and in the time I spent aboard the _Archangel_ I saw how reasonable and compassionate she is with the ship's crew, and even passengers like me and Kisaka. Considering Heero's the best pilot on this ship, it's natural that she would reach out to him, to make sure he's ok. That's probably where it all started. She showed Heero that she wanted to help him, and he reacted to it… that's where their bond began."

Kira was surprised at all this sudden insight from the normally fiery princess. He knew she was capable of it, of course, but it still caught him off guard.

Athrun shook his head. "I don't know… it still seems like there'd be some major issues there, especially the age gap."

"I'm sure the Captain's put plenty of thought into that," said Cagalli, "She's not a fool; she knows that any relationship between them could get them into serious trouble if the wrong people found out. Still… I think she wants to give it a shot; she really loves him."

"And you think Heero feels the same way?" asked Dearka, raising an eyebrow.

"Given how protective he is of her, I'd say yes," Cagalli replied, "I bet Captain Ramius is the real reason he's stayed aboard the _Archangel _as long as he has; it sure as hell wasn't due to loyalty to the Atlantic Federation."

"Especially considering he wiped out their base at Alaska," said Kira.

Cagalli nodded. "Every time I see him look at her, there's this feeling I get from him. The way he carries himself shifts somehow, and there's this look in his eyes… I didn't know what it was before, but now it's obvious; he likes her too."

"Then why haven't either of them made a move yet?" asked Kira.

"They're probably worried about what will happen between them," said Cagalli, "along with getting each other into trouble. Like I said earlier, I'm sure Captain Ramius has thought about the age difference between them, and I'm willing to bet Heero's done the same. I know their friendship means a lot to them, and they're probably worried about jeopardizing it."

"What do you think they should do?" asked Athrun.

Cagalli smiled. "Hook up already! It's obvious they both care about each other, and I doubt Captain Ramius would take advantage of Heero's age. Their love wouldn't destroy their friendship; quite the opposite. It would be stronger than ever; it would grow and deepen beyond anything they could imagine!"

"Now you're just being a romantic," said Dearka, shaking his head, "girls… they get so crazy when it comes to these sorts of things."

"It's not crazy, it's love!" Cagalli shot back, glaring, "Besides, look at the times we live in. Look at how the war continues to escalate with each passing day! Millions have already died since the conflict began, and countless more lives are at risk. In the end, one of the most important things we have as people is love. It's precious, beautiful; it offers hope and comfort in a way that nothing else can match. Captain Ramius and Heero need to realize that they're fighting for more than just a peaceful end to this war, or even to protect each other; they're fighting for the love they have for each other! If they would just completely open up with each other, finally share their feelings, then they'd see that they have nothing to fear from loving each other. Any obstacles they face can be overcome together!"

"Are you speaking from experience?" asked Athrun.

Cagalli blushed and looked down. "Well, no… but I know I'd feel that way if I was with someone I loved."

Kira was surprised to see her glance sideways at Athrun. The ZAFT pilot looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. After a moment Cagalli sighed, and Kira could've sworn he heard her mutter "_boys_" under her breath.

"I still think you're going way overboard with all this," said Dearka.

"Well, I think you're an idiot!" she shot back, throwing a nearby pillow at him.

The tan skinned Coordinator ducked the fluffy projectile with comical ease, a bemused expression on his face.

"Cagalli, calm down," said Kira.

"Yeah," said Athrun, putting a hand on her shoulder, "you're getting too worked up."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Alright, fine."

"Look," Athrun continued, "we don't _know _for certain if the Captain and Heero really have feelings for each other. Let's just not worry about it, ok?"

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Cagalli groaned and brushed his hand off her shoulder. Athrun's eyes widened as she brusquely stood up and stormed out of the room. "Idiot," she said, not looking back as she did so.

The three young men remained seated, looking at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces. After a moment they all shook their heads, and Kira had a feeling that they were all thinking the exact same thing.

_Man, girls are weird…_

….

On the bridge of the carrier _Powell_, Azrael narrowed his eyes as he reviewed the reports from the hangar crews in charge of maintenance and repair for the three prototypes used by the Biological CPUs. Each mobile suit had suffered varying degrees of damage, and they would not be fully ready for combat operations until at least late morning the next day. The Blue Cosmos leader wasn't too concerned about that, though; the Eurasian Home Fleet would not link up with the Atlantic Federation forces until around midnight, and it would take time to reorganize both groups into a single armada for the next push. In addition, Azrael had sent another ultimatum to the Orb leaders, demanding their surrender in return for their cooperation in the war against the Coordinators. He wasn't expecting Lord Uzumi himself to acquiesce; rather, he hoped that the damage Orb had suffered in the earlier battle would convince the other nobles to turn against the Athha family, overthrowing Uzumi and his ilk before turning around and offering their allegiance to the Atlantic Federation.

_Even if the nobles do not rebel against the Lion of Orb_, mused Azrael, _this will give us time to repair more of our ships and mobile suits before reengaging the enemy. _He would not tolerate too long of a delay, though; the attack would commence by late afternoon if there was no reply from the Orb Union.

Inputting new commands on his personal monitor, Azrael brought up the casualty figures from the battle. The lives lost meant nothing to him, but he was enraged at the amount of warships that had been destroyed during the fighting.

_Over one hundred twenty ships lost_, he fumed, _over a third of the armada… and Wing Zero was responsible for almost half those kills! _Granted, the 170 ships of the Eurasian Home Fleet would more than make up for the losses in vessels, but the damage to the armada was still far greater than Azrael had anticipated going into the battle. Despite his reputation for being cold and calculating under any circumstances, Wing Zero's rampage through the heart of the Alliance fleet had… unnerved Azrael. It had been one thing to read reports on the mobile suit's destructive power and observe grainy footage of the Alaska engagement. However, witnessing Wing Zero's sheer dominance firsthand was another thing entirely. It had posed a very real threat to his personal safety, which had been the chief reason Azrael had ordered the fleet to withdraw after Vice-Admiral Vickers had been killed; self-preservation trumped all.

_I was wrong to have the Biological CPUs focus on opening up the beachhead_, he thought, _I should've had them fighting with our Aile Strike-Dagger squadrons against Wing Zero. We could've finally removed that abomination from the game, or captured it for ourselves. I won't make the same mistake twice!_

It had been interesting to observe the unexpected fight between Wing Zero and the new mobile suit that was operating with the _Archangel_. Azrael had no idea what had caused the two allies to start fighting each other, though he had attempted to capitalize on it by having the Aile Strike-Daggers move in to attack. However, yet another new model mobile suit had come between them and the duel, holding them off long enough for the two combatants to get clear of the Alliance armada.

_That machine_, he thought, _I bet it was nuclear powered, just like the other unit. Its strength was undeniable… we must capture it!_

Once again the fires of his desire for the technology that allowed the new mobile suits to utilize nuclear power burned within him, for Azrael knew that it was the key to finally wiping out the Coordinators once and for all. However, this obsession also burned alongside the one for Wing Zero's removal from the game. Both objectives would require enormous amounts of resources to achieve… and in not prioritizing one over the other, Azrael was unwittingly making a grave mistake.

For as the ancient Far Eastern proverb goes, "he who chases two rabbits will acquire neither."

In addition to being cold, ruthless, and outright genocidal, Azrael was also incredibly greedy… and he refused to believe that said greed could work against him.

….

Natarle leaned in closer as she read the report on her personal computer. She was still stuck on the lunar base, and other than review crew dossiers and technical files regarding the new ship she would soon be taking charge of she had scant little to do. The former XO of the _Archangel _had difficulties when it came to socializing, especially when it came to people she did not know. Though she carried herself with the authority and confidence that came with her new rank of Lieutenant Commander, the power of her position did not transition into a newfound ability for her to form friendships with other people. It was times like this she missed her former crew; the months she had spent aboard the _Archangel _meant that she was constantly encountering the same people several times a day, and that interaction had allowed her to form bonds that went beyond mere superior-subordinate roles.

Natarle had become _friends _with the people she had served with on the _Archangel_. Not all of them, of course, but she had come to know her fellow bridge officers reasonably well, and though she and Captain Ramius did not always see eye-to-eye that had not stopped Natarle from respecting and admiring her commanding officer and developing a kind of rapport with her. She also knew that although her Captain had not always agreed with her input she had at least taken it into consideration, and Natarle knew that her former commander not only had confidence in her abilities as XO but faith in her as a person.

_Despite our arguments and disagreements_, she thought, a feeling of nostalgia running through her heart and mind, _we trusted each other to act in the manner we felt was best for the ship. That trust… it's not just something that comes with rank or the superior-subordinate relationship, though we were always taught to believe that it did. I understand now; it comes from working with someone, getting to know them not just as a fellow soldier but as a person, understanding their own motivations beyond mere duty and regulations. Captain Ramius… she saw me not just as her second-in-command, but as a trusted colleague and a _friend_. I wish…_

…_I wish we could still serve together._

Of course, with the _Archangel_'s desertion at Alaska that possibility was off the table. Her former Captain and the rest of her friends were now her enemies… along with the man she loved.

_Mu… _

She missed the Hawk of Endymion more than anyone else. A few months ago she would've thought such feelings to be selfish, but then again she had never fallen for someone as hard and fast as she had for the calm, cocky, laid-back, and devilishly handsome mobile armor pilot. He'd surprised her with sudden moments of insight, with an underlying kindness that she hadn't noticed at first, with his own ethics and morality that ran beyond the black and white rules and regulations that Natarle had for so long sworn to live by. She'd fallen head over heels for the man, and had been caught off guard when she had discovered the possibility that he did indeed return her feelings. Her cheeks reddened as she remembered the brief kiss they'd shared before she'd departed Alaska… a gesture she'd barely dared to dream that she'd ever receive from him. The contents of the email he had sent her after the First Battle of Alaska were practically seared into her mind; she'd read his message so many times she had it nearly memorized. Natarle had been _dearly _tempted to respond, but she knew she did not have the level of encryption skills needed to ensure that she could send her own email without the Atlantic Federation OMNI Enforcer's Cyber warfare division reading the contents… as she had no doubt they were already doing to the messages of other soldiers.

_After all that time I spent trying to get your attention, your _affection_… to succeed only to be forced to become your enemy… _The pain that gripped Natarle's heart was unlike any she had ever felt before. It went beyond the mere ache one might feel from separation from their beloved; this was a cruel serpent, twisting and squeezing her heart like a vice, a prolonged torture that she was desperate to alleviate in any way she could.

Natarle was not sleeping well, and she could only hope that it would not affect her performance. She'd tried every trick in the book to get a solid night's shuteye short of medication; she refused to become dependent on pills just to fall asleep. The best she'd been able to do was dull the ache in her heart by burying it under facts relating to her own assignment and the ongoing conflict, doing all she could to keep her mind occupied by something other than the people she was now officially fighting against, and her successes at even that were temporary. It was all too easy for her personal feelings to sneak up on her at night, when her defenses were down, and her sleep was suffering considerably as a result.

_If this keeps up I'll end up mainlining coffee just to get through the day_, she thought, grimacing. Natarle drank the Atlantic Federation military's crap excuse for brew as a means to help her wake up in the mornings and occasionally recharge while on a break, but never more than was absolutely necessary. The thought of becoming dependant on the substance just to keep functioning to be able to carry out her duties made her want to puke.

She turned her attention back to the report she was reading in an effort to shake the grotesque thought out of her head. Her new position did have a few benefits, chief of which was new levels of access to information. It wasn't just due to her rank alone; Natarle had no doubt that her role as the commander of the soon-to-be completed new warship gave her status more weight.

Natarle was viewing one of the first preliminary reports she'd been able to get her hands on regarding the invasion of Orb. She by no means had the whole picture, but from what she had access to and had viewed so far told her that the Alliance had paid a dear price for its frontal assault on the island nation. _To be expected, really_, she thought grimly, _according to Mu's email, the Archangel is in Orb, which means Wing Zero is there as well, along with the prototype mobile suit Kira took from ZAFT. I have no doubt they're responsible for quite a bit of the losses suffered by our forces in the battle._

From what she had been able to piece together so far, the battle had ended with a tactical withdrawal by the Alliance forces after suffering far heavier casualties than had been anticipated. Natarle assumed the fleet was regrouping at the moment and preparing for a second assault, likely to be launched sometime the next day… but that wasn't what she was focused on at the moment.

Attached to the reports were brief film bits, combat recordings taken by mobile suits and fighters during the battle, showing either key moments or unique events or units. Natarle had been surprised to see several new model machines fielded by both sides… and one in particular stood out to her.

Or rather, the way it flew.

It was a white and blue mobile suit, its frame unlike any other Alliance or ZAFT machine Natarle had ever seen, and also quite different from the new units Orb had fielded in the battle. Its armament was simple enough, as it was shown wielding a violet beam saber and a beam rifle, but it was incredibly fast and maneuverable. The frame reminded Natarle of Wing Zero, and she wondered if it had been inspired by Heero's machine. The unit's pilot fought with a style that was best described as bold and precise, favoring hard, fast strikes. The technique itself was reminiscent of a certain mobile armor pilot Natarle knew, and her suspicion had been aroused… which turned into shock as she saw what happened a few seconds later.

Several Alliance Aile Strike-Daggers leveled their guns at the new machine and fired. Rather than dodge though, the mobile suit launched four green disk-like drones from its shoulders, which quickly generated an energy shield and blocked the attacks. The use of such a barrier was a surprise in and of itself, but what had shocked Natarle was the use of drones to create it. Using such devices effectively required an incredible degree of spatial awareness, one possessed by _very _few pilots... and the ones Natarle knew that were capable of wielding such devices were all present in the battle, fighting for Orb.

Heero would be piloting Wing Zero, naturally, and images of the fearsome machine taking part in the battle had been included with the reports, meaning Natarle could instantly rule him out. As for Kira, Mu had not described the boy's new machine in detail, but Natarle had spotted a black, white, and blue unit that was among the most advanced mobile suits on the field, and she was able to reasonably assume that that was the young Coordinator's unit. The fact that an image showed it flying with the blue and white mobile suit, a Skygrasper, and Wing Zero early on in the fight before the craft had all split off added weight to that conclusion. As for the Skygrasper itself, while it was possible that Mu himself had been piloting it, Natarle knew that the blue and white fighter jet was relatively simple to fly, and that it would've been a simple matter for Captain Ramius to find a capable pilot in the Orb forces to operate the plane… and she doubted any of Orb's pilots had the skills required to operate the blue and white unit's shield drones.

Which left just one pilot capable of doing so.

Mu La Flaga.

It was impossible to say for certain, of course; there were many possibilities, many variables at play, and Natarle did not have access to nearly enough information to be able to come to a concrete conclusion. But as she watched the blue and white mobile suit streak across the sky, taking down Aile Strike-Daggers one by one with precise rifle shots and saber attacks, weaving through return fire and blocking volleys with well timed use of the shield drones, her heart became convinced that she was watching none other than the Hawk of Endymion in combat.

Fighting against the Atlantic Federation forces.

"Mu…" she whispered.

Just seeing him in action, even if it was only in brief film segments, elicited a storm of conflicting emotions within her. Joy that he was still alive, awe at his piloting skills with a mobile suit, sorrow that he was fighting against the forces of her country, dread at the possibility of a confrontation with him… all this and more whirled through her heart and mind.

Today was the first day he had fought against Atlantic Federation forces, and Natarle knew that it would not be the last. The battle lines had been drawn, and the Hawk of Endymion had chosen his side… had chosen to fight against his homeland.

Against Natarle's homeland.

That increasingly familiar sensation, of being torn between the man she loved and the nation that she had sworn to serve, was stronger than ever, threatening to rip Natarle's heart in two. All she could do was pray to whatever divine power there was that she did not end up fighting against Mu. If she was ever forced to lead her new command into battle against her former colleagues, against Mu… she did not know if her heart could survive such a confrontation.

….

Late afternoon was shifting to early evening as Miriallia's shift came to a close. Smiling at Lieutenant Tsukino, the brown haired girl stood up and made her way towards the doors at the back of the bridge. When they opened her eyes widened for a moment as she saw Dearka standing in front of her.

"Hey," he said, smiling slightly, "I figured your watch would be ending right about now… want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Miriallia nodded, smiling in return. "Yes… I'd like that."

The two of them made their way down towards the mess hall, an odd silence between them. The young man's decision to come back and help the _Archangel _during the battle had caught Miriallia completely off guard. Though his departure from the ship had left her feeling a little down, at the same time she had been relieved to know that he would at least be evacuated to safety. Now he was back, in harm's way with the rest of the crew, no longer as a prisoner but a willing combatant. Part of Miriallia was concerned… but the rest of her was actually _glad _that he had returned.

Her heart fluttered as she glanced over at him. _Do I… really like him? _That thought had only been amplified since her chat with Dr. Claudia several days ago. It was now ever present in her mind, like a background humming that she could not get rid of, no matter how hard she tried. In fact, part of her was wondering if she actually _wasn't _really trying to get rid of it, if she was only kidding herself when she tried to convince herself that she didn't like the ZAFT pilot.

"So," said Dearka, snapping her out of her thoughts, "you doing ok? I mean, that was one hell of a fight back there… things were pretty tense."

She nodded. "I'm alright. I mean, I've been in many battles now… though I admit I got scared near the end, when Heero went on that rampage."

"Can't blame you there," he replied as they entered the mess, "that guy's a frighteningly good pilot, and Wing Zero is a beast of a machine... I'm just glad the Captain and Kira were able to stop him."

Miriallia nodded. "Speaking of Heero, I heard he was unconscious when Wing Zero's cockpit was opened. Do you think he'll be alright?"

"That guy?" said Dearka, smirking, "He'll be fine. Remember, he was there during that little fiasco in the med bay back when we first met. I may not know much about him, but I could tell he was a tough soldier. He probably just wore himself out and needs to sleep it off."

Miriallia smiled as the two of them grabbed sandwiches and waters. "You're probably right."

They sat down and focused on their meals for a little while. Despite her mixed emotions regarding her possible attraction to the young man in front of her, Miriallia felt surprisingly at ease in his presence. Though he had not said so directly, she was smart enough to figure out that she was part of the reason he had come back to the _Archangel_. Whether it was because he valued the friendship that had developed between them, or he wanted to repay her for protecting him from Flay during the incident in the med bay, or if he actually felt something for her as well… she could not determine his exact motivations. Perhaps it was a combination of the three; she didn't know.

And it didn't matter. Dearka was here, with her, now, and that was what counted. He'd came back, and had helped protect the _Archangel _during the battle, had protected _her_, and that was all Miriallia cared about at the moment. She was very grateful towards him for doing that… and in that gratitude, she supposed her fondness for him was growing.

"So," said Dearka, "have you heard from your family at all?"

Miriallia nodded. "I was allowed to contact them a couple days before the battle. They were in the early evacuation waves, so they were out well before the fighting started. Right now they're settling into temporary housing in the Philippines."

"Will they be alright?" he asked.

"I think so," she replied, "Mom's a nurse, and I'm sure she'll be able to find work helping refugees. Dad's an accountant, so I'm sure he'll have a little more trouble finding a role for himself, but he's resourceful; he'll be ok. As long as he's with Mom, I know he's happy, and that's what counts."

Talking about her parents made her realize that she knew nothing about Dearka's own family, and she decided to rectify the situation. "What about your own parents? I mean, I'm sure they're safe in the PLANTs, but still… you must be worried about them."

Dearka looked down for a moment, and Miriallia saw his expression become uncertain. "Well… it's true they're in the homeland, so they don't have to worry about the Earth Forces, but…"

"What is it?" asked Miriallia, growing concerned at his hesitancy, "Dearka, what's wrong?"

Dearka sighed. "Both my parents work for the government. My mother works in the Februarius City Prosecutor's Office. She's one of the mid-level managers for the paralegals on staff, so her position shouldn't be too affected by my actions here. My father, though… he's the Supreme Council Representative for Februarius City."

Miriallia's eyes widened in shock. "Wait a minute, you mean you're Coordinator royalty?"

Dearka shook his head. "Councilors are elected officials; the position isn't hereditary. However… I won't deny that having your father being one of the PLANT bigwigs puts quite a bit of pressure on your performance in the field. Whether I like it or not, I have a certain amount of name recognition within ZAFT. The same went for my teammates; we were all children of members of the PLANT Supreme Council."

"That must've been tough," said Miriallia softly.

"It wasn't easy, I'll be the first to admit that," he said, nodding, "Expectations were high for us, and it's why we were selected to take part in the raid on Heliopolis. We were given elite status; I'd like to think we'd earned it with our skills and performance, but I've wondered off and on whether or not my father's position played a role in my elevation, and I'm sure the others had similar doubts."

"I can see why you might have those doubts," said Miriallia, "but I think they're unnecessary. I've seen you fight, both against us and for us, and you truly are a skilled pilot." She did her best to give Dearka an encouraging smile. "You earned your rank, Dearka, of that I have no doubt."

She was heartened to see the young Coordinator return her smile. "Thanks, Miriallia; I appreciate that."

"Anytime," she replied. She then became more serious. "About your father… do you think he'll be ok?"

"I'm not sure," said Dearka, looking down, "I don't know the details regarding my father's political activities. However, he has tried to keep himself between the two main political movements; he always said playing the middle was the best way to get ahead."

"No offense," said Miriallia, "but he sounds like a consummate politician."

Dearka chuckled. "None taken. I know my father can be pretty slippery and ambitious, and he's determined to keep advancing his career. Still, he does care about the people he represents." He then sighed. "Last time we spoke he talked about the Clyne family being on the decline, and that it was important to ingratiate himself with the Zala family; he said they were the rising star in the PLANTs. If he keeps up that approach, then I think he'll be ok, even with my defection; it'll rattle him, but he'll survive."

"That's good," said Miriallia, "I… I'd feel terrible if your joining us meant you lost your parents."

"Hey," said Dearka, reaching across the table to grab her hand, "it's ok, really. I knew my leaving ZAFT and helping you guys would have consequences. I mean, I was hoping my parents wouldn't pay the price for it… still am hoping… but I don't regret my decision." He smiled at her. "Miriallia, this is where I want to be. Right here… with you guys."

Miriallia smiled in return… and couldn't help but feel that what he'd really wanted to say was just 'with you'.

Maybe… just _maybe_… her possible romantic feelings towards him weren't one sided.

The thought made her a little nervous… and excited.

….

Leaning back in his chair after finishing the latest of many, _many _reports, Lord Uzumi let out a long and heavy sigh. Never more so had the burdens of high office weighed so greatly upon his shoulders than they did now as he was examining the post-action reports of the day's battle. Damage to Orb's infrastructure, warships sunk, planes shot down, mobile suits and armored vehicles destroyed, the amount of soldiers dead and wounded… and the civilian casualties.

Though an evacuation of the areas within the immediate range of the fighting had of course been ordered well before the start of the battle, not everyone had left. The majority of the populations in the areas estimated to be affected had indeed complied with the order to leave, but some had stayed, primarily out of stubbornness and the refusal to abandon their homes. This development had not been unanticipated, and emergency shelters had already been prepared for such people. Most had chosen to make use of those facilities, but some had not, and Lord Uzumi had been reluctant to have them forced into the bunkers at gunpoint. In the end, the Orb security forces had been left with no choice but to leave those that refused to either evacuate or take shelter to their own devices. Some had weathered the battle unscathed… while others had not.

_Stubborn fools_, he thought, closing his eyes for a moment, _and yet… I understand their reasons completely. Orb is my home, and I would rather die than abandon it… I suppose I am as foolish as those people that decided to risk being caught in the fighting to remain where they have built lives for themselves. _Search and rescue crews were combing through rubble at that very moment, searching for survivors. However, the teams were stretched thin, all the more so due to the heavy losses that had been suffered by the Orb military in repelling the enemy's massive assault; emergency personnel, medical and otherwise, were tasked well beyond capacity.

_Almost half the fleet is at the bottom of the ocean_, he thought, _and casualties among the fighter squadrons, mobile suit teams, and army divisions were even worse! We may have repulsed the Atlantic Federation's fist attack, but the price we paid for doing so was steep. _According to estimates from intelligence analysts, the Alliance armada had lost somewhere between a third and half of its own warships, but given the massive scale of their fleet the enemy could stomach the casualties better than Orb could. Losses among their mobile suits and fighters were estimated to run at similar figures, with their airborne Strikes in particular having been guessed at being reduced to around 200 machines out of the original number, which had been calculated to be over 530 units. Still, as with their warships they were losses the Atlantic Federation could deal with much better than Orb could… especially in light of the latest radio intercepts from Intelligence.

"Everything alright, sir?" said a familiar voice from the doorway.

Lord Uzumi looked up as Colonel Kisaka entered the office. "What do you think, old friend?" he replied, a rueful smile appearing on his face.

The Colonel shook his head as he closed the door behind him. "Sorry, I suppose that was a poor choice of words on my part." He walked up and took a seat in front of the Chief Representative's desk. "How bad is it?"

"Casualties were within our estimates for the first day of fighting," said Lord Uzumi, "Wing Zero's assault on the center of the Atlantic Federation armada helped considerably… though Yuy's actions in the final stage of the battle are a concern. Have you heard anything about that?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," he replied, "only that Kira Yamato and the Freedom, along with Captain Ramius, were able to stop him eventually, and that Yuy is now unconscious in the _Archangel_'s med bay. We don't know why he continued attacking after the Alliance issued their withdrawal signal."

"I see," said Lord Uzumi, sighing, "well, whatever happened, let's hope the wakes up quickly; having him out cold makes our situation even worse. You were right about using Yuy and Wing Zero as a single combatant rather than integrating him as an officer in our command structure; though his actions at the end of the battle are troubling, the fact remains that he was incredibly effective at keeping the Alliance fleet occupied, and inflicted a phenomenal amount of damage on them."

"No arguments there," said Kisaka. He smiled slightly. "The _Archangel_'s pilots as a whole acquitted themselves very well in the fighting… including Lady Cagalli."

Lord Uzumi nodded, unable to resist a smirk. "Defiant child, and Captain Ramius was no help in that regard… yet I find myself proud of her all the same. Isn't that strange, old friend?"

"Not at all, sir," he replied, "Lady Cagalli has more than proven that she has the strength and the will needed to protect our people, and that she will be ready to lead them when the time comes. I think any father would be proud of her, even if she went against your orders."

"She will have to learn eventually that a leader cannon always afford to place themselves on the front lines," said Lord Uzumi, "I trust you will be able to help her learn that lesson, Colonel?"

"I would think you would be the one to teach her that, sir," said Kisaka.

The Lion of Orb sighed. "I would like to teach her that, and many other things… alas, I will not have the time."

"Sir?" said Kisaka, his expression one of concern, "What is wrong, my Lord?"

Lord Uzumi slid a file across his desk to the Colonel. "The latest radio transmission intercepts from our recon drones observing the Alliance armada. I believe you will find them to be… interesting."

Kisaka opened the file and spent a few moments browsing the contents. His eyes widened in shock before he looked up his superior. "How… how did we miss this?"

"A simple case of narrowing our focus too sharply," said Lord Uzumi, "We've put so much effort into observing the Atlantic Federation… that we forgot that they are not the only member nation of the Earth Alliance."

"I can't believe the Eurasians would send their Home Fleet to reinforce the Atlantic Federation armada," said Kisaka, "especially after the setup at Alaska!"

"Their former leadership would not have done so," said Lord Uzumi, "but as you can see in that file, Moscow's old rulers have been swept aside by the CPK."

"A silent coup," said Kisaka, scanning the contents of the file again, "and the CPK's in power now… damn, just when we thought things couldn't get worse. Those guys are vicious bastards…"

"Cut from the same cloth as the Atlantic Federation's Blue Cosmos," said Lord Uzumi, nodding, "They're a vile and ruthless bunch, and as reckless and profligate as Azrael when it comes to the lives of their soldiers. They're willing to do what the old Moscow Centre was not; commit the Eurasian Federation's last fleet and reserve divisions to the war."

"Along with its considerable mineral resources," said Kisaka, "if they gain control of a mass driver, then those will go straight to the lunar facilities and the L2 shipyards."

"A possibility that is becoming increasingly likely," said Lord Uzumi, "according to Intelligence, the Atlantic Federation's North and South Atlantic Fleets are massing in the British Isles under Rear-Admiral Bernard; they'll be ready to hit North Africa within weeks if not sooner, and the Eurasians are committing their reserve forces to the offensive."

"They're planning to drive ZAFT out of the Suez Canal," said Kisaka, "then they'll swing south and take Victoria."

"Giving them access to outer space once again," said Lord Uzumi, "It doesn't matter if we deny them Kaguya or not; in the end, it only delays the inevitable."

"Still, any delay we can force on them must help in some way," said Kisaka.

Lord Uzumi nodded. "True. It would give the forces that wish to bring a peaceful resolution to this conflict time to organize and build up strength... and recover from a great loss."

"You are speaking of Orb on that last point, aren't you sir?" said Kisaka.

Lord Uzumi sighed. "Our nation is doomed, Kisaka. When the Eurasian Home Fleet links up with the Atlantic Federation forces, the armada will have more than replenished its lost warships. The Eurasians still do not have access to mobile suits, but their carriers hold plenty of fighters, enough to compensate for the Atlantic Federation's losses. Today was the twilight of Orb; tomorrow will be nightfall."

"I can't believe that," said Kisaka, shaking his head, "surely we can still stand against them. I know our losses were grave, but we're not out of the fight. The Buster's pilot has reclaimed his machine and joined the _Archangel_'s crew, and we've gained another defector from ZAFT with a powerful new mobile suit. Those two young men and their units alone boost our power considerably, and if Yuy comes to in time to help fight against the Alliance's next assault…"

"It will only delay our fall a little longer," said Lord Uzumi, smiling grimly, "Colonel, I appreciate your refusal to give up, and your continued loyalty to both Orb and my family… but I believe you know as well as I do that the game is up."

The Lion of Orb chuckled ruefully. "Azrael has come to the same conclusion. A half an hour ago we received another ultimatum. In return for our surrender and cooperation with the Alliance, Orb's leadership has been promised a reprieve from reprisals for our resistance, as well as continued governance over our territory."

"The bastard wants to make you and the other nobles puppet rulers," Kisaka snarled, "Azrael must've known you'd never agree to such a deal!"

"I'm sure he did," said Lord Uzumi, "just as I am sure that the message was not truly for me, but the other noble families… the ones who have longed to supplant the Athha line as the head clan of Orb."

"You mean he's trying to encourage a coup by one of the other houses?" asked Kisaka, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes," said Lord Uzumi, "fortunately this outcome was not unanticipated. I sent the other four families to the Elysium colony as soon as the Alliance issued its first ultimatum over a week ago. The Seirans, the Sahakus, and the other clans are already well removed from our mainland, and have no knowledge of Azrael's latest ultimatum. Our defeat will not come through a knife in the back, I assure you. The only member of Orb's leadership left here on the island is our nation's core; I and my cabinet."

"Good to hear," said Kisaka.

Lord Uzumi sighed. "That being said, our defeat is nigh; there is no getting around that. We must look to Orb's legacy now, and plant the seeds for our nation's rebirth. This is a land where Coordinators and Naturals have proven that the two races can live together in peace and harmony. Orb is one of the last lights remaining in a very dark world, and we cannot let it be extinguished forever."

"I agree, sir," said Kisaka, a determined look on his face, "and I will do all I can to ensure that that light will not die."

"Thank you, old friend," said Lord Uzumi, "I have already begun preparations for precisely that, but I will not be able to carry them out without your help."

"You can count on me, my lord," said Kisaka, "So, what's the plan?"

"The Kaguya mass driver will be quite busy tonight," said Lord Uzumi, "I'm having as many of our M1s and their pilots as possible transported to Elysium, Eden, and our resource satellites; if the Alliance Fleet plans on going after L3 after taking our mainland, I want to make it as uninviting a target as possible."

"What about the rest of the armed forces?" asked Kisaka.

"I've spoken to other member states of the Equatorial Union," said Lord Uzumi, "the Philippines and the Central Asian Republics have given permission for us to send our surviving Army divisions to their countries as refugees; troop transports are being loaded as we speak, along with as many civilian freighters as we can get our hands on." The Lion of Orb then sighed. "Unfortunately, we cannot do the same with our air squadrons or the Fleet."

"We need them to buy time," said Kisaka grimly, nodding in understanding.

"Precisely," said Lord Uzumi, "specifically, to cover mass driver, and keep the Alliance forces away from it for as long as possible. We'll be launching shuttles full of soldiers and government workers into space up until the last minute; the final vessel to go will be the _Kusanagi_, with Chief Engineer Simmons and Morgenroete's top design teams aboard, along with you and Cagalli."

"Does she know about that yet, sir?" asked Kisaka.

Lord Uzumi shook his head. "No. I'll summon her tomorrow morning while final preparations are underway, along with the _Archangel_'s Captain and top pilots; they'll be briefed on the situation then."

"Speaking of the _Archangel_," said Kisaka, "what role will that ship play in the final evacuation?"

"I've spoken to Engineer Simmons," said Lord Uzumi, "and Morgenroete's prototype positron space boosters are compatible with the _Archangel_; in fact, she's the best candidate for them, considering only the central section of the _Kusanagi _is down in Orb and the other two parts are up in space. The _Archangel _will be fitted with those boosters, and will therefore be able to achieve escape velocity without using the mass driver. This will allow us more time to prepare the _Kusanagi _for launch; we'll only have one shot to get her into space, and we'll have to make it count."

"What about its mobile suits?" asked Kisaka, "We can't have them even temporarily aid our fleet in its holding action?"

"I'm sure we can convince Captain Ramius to at least let us use the Freedom and that other new model machine, the Justice, to help stave off the Atlantic Federation's attack until the _Kusanagi _is ready to launch," said Lord Uzumi, "however, I suspect that she will want to hold onto Wing Zero, and I am inclined to let her. The _Archangel _will need Heero and his mobile suit to respond to any attacks the Alliance tries to launch against it while it sets up for its exit run. The same goes for the Tallgeese Kai. Besides, with the M1s and the Strike Rouge loaded on board, the _Kusanagi _will only be able to squeeze aboard two more machines at the most; might as well be the Freedom and the Justice."

"Will those machines be able to break off in time to join the _Kusanagi_?" asked Kisaka.

"It'll all come down to the skill of their pilots," said Lord Uzumi, "Kira Yamato has more than proven himself, and the pilot of the Justice seems to be quite competent; the two of them should be able to latch their mobile suits onto the _Kusanagi _as it goes down the mass accelerator."

"Quite the risky maneuver," said Kisaka.

"Unprecedented as well," said Lord Uzumi, sighing, "still, it's the only option available; those two machines will be needed if the enemy breaks through the fleet and heads towards the mass driver before the _Kusanagi _is away. It will be challenging for both pilots; all we can do is hope that we have not overestimated their skills."

Kisaka nodded. "My lord, what about you and the cabinet? Will you be leaving on board the _Kusanagi_?"

Lord Uzumi shook his head and gave his friend a small smile. "No, Kisaka. We will remain behind in Kaguya… and trigger the self-destruct sequence once the _Kusanagi _is away."

Kisaka sighed. "So you really mean to go through with it then… I had hoped to talk you out of this, sir."

The Lion of Orb chuckled. "I appreciate the sentiment, old friend… but my time has come. The world has changed drastically in the past few years; by the end of this war I doubt I would recognize it anymore, assuming mankind even existed after it. I have devoted my life to the service and stewardship of this nation, but the time has finally come for me to step aside. The old guard must give way to the new, and help send off the next generation."

"But do you have to stay and trigger the charges yourself?" said Kisaka, "Surely it could be done remotely! You could still escape with aboard the _Kusanagi_, or take a shuttle to Elysium or Eden and have someone at a distance but within eyesight of Kaguya trigger the detonation."

Lord Uzumi shook his head. "If I went to our L3 colonies, it would only encourage the Alliance to attack them. I must keep my distance if they are to stand a chance at flying beneath the radar and surviving this war. As for the _Kusanagi_… I have no place aboard a warship, Colonel. I would have no purpose, contribute nothing to the struggle. Besides, I must take responsibility for what has happened to our people, our nation. So many good men and women have already died defending the ideals my family and government have sworn to uphold, and I played a part in putting them in that situation. Our cooperation with the Alliance in their Project-G may have been given with the overall intent to strengthen Orb, but I cannot hide from the fact that it also dragged us into the war. Whether the Alliance still would've ultimately invaded Orb or not, I cannot say, but in involving us with them I cannot deny that my actions helped bring about this turn of events. Far too many people have already perished because of this; I have no right to flee while they lie beneath the waves or in unmarked graves. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the idea that is Orb; I can do no less."

"Soldiers enlist knowing full well that that sacrifice may well be asked of them," said Kisaka, "it is a very different matter for the leader of the nation."

"Nevertheless," said Lord Uzumi firmly, "this is the decision I have made. I have already discussed this matter with my ministers, and they have come to the same conclusion. We are willing to give our lives to ensure that the Atlantic Federation does not claim the Kaguya mass driver; we refuse to allow them to turn Orb into the staging ground for their campaign of genocide."

Kisaka nodded grimly. "I understand, my lord."

"Good," said Lord Uzumi, "I will need you to stand by Cagalli's side tomorrow, old friend. She will not understand the decisions that we have made, at least not yet. She will fight them tooth and nail, of that I have no doubt. No matter what happens, you must make sure she is taken on board the _Kusanagi_. My time may be coming to an end, but hers is just beginning. The future of Orb will lie in her hands, and I need you to make sure she lives on to carry on this nation's ideals, and aid her when the time comes to rebuild."

"I'll look after her," said Kisaka, "and I will make sure she is aboard the _Kusanagi _before it launches tomorrow; you have my word."

Lord Uzumi smiled. "Thank you, Kisaka. With your guidance I believe Cagalli will grow into the leader our people need. She has already come so far… so long as she continues to learn under your wing, I believe our people's future will be in good hands. She already has the passion and devotion needed to lead them; it will be up to you to teach her restraint and discipline."

Kisaka chuckled. "No easy task, my lord… but I will do my best."

"I'm sure you will, old friend," said Lord Uzumi.

He then reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a photograph. In it was a brown haired woman with gray eyes, holding two infants; a brown haired boy, and a blond haired girl.

_I'm sorry, my daughter_, he thought as he gazed at the picture, _I will be leaving you forever tomorrow. I dearly wish it were otherwise, but my time has come. Do not be afraid, my child. Though I will be gone, you will not be alone…_

….

Andrew Waltfeld sighed as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his right hand over his good eye. The Desert Tiger had not had much time to sleep since the _Eternal_'s sudden departure from the PLANTs; ZAFT patrols had been hot on the cruiser's tail shortly after it had broken through the Hydrian Line. Waltfeld had only been able to catch a few hours of shuteye each 'night'; he was pulling extended shifts commanding the hijacked warship as it attempted to shake off pursuit. While DaCosta was capable of commanding the vessel in his own right, he just didn't have the same level of tactical and strategic savvy as the Desert Tiger.

_As things stand now_, he thought, _we're barely a step ahead of the hounds. Eric's modifications to the patrol routes of the ships on the Hydrian Line gave us a little breathing room, but ZAFT's closing the gap fast._

The _Eternal _may have been a new model warship, but it lost out in terms of speed to ZAFT's _Nazca_-class destroyers, several of which had wasted little time in chasing after the hijacked cruiser and now mobile headquarters of the PLANT moderate faction. In order to negate that critical advantage, Waltfeld had plotted a course right into the Debris Belt. The cruiser had barely been able to get inside the massive thicket of wreckage in time, and the engines had been pushed to their limits in the process, but the effort had paid off. Now the _Eternal _was weaving through the vast fields of starship parts, pieces of wrecked space stations, and random bits of scrap in a deadly game of hide and seek with the ZAFT Navy, one that had been going on for a few days now.

"Andy," said a soft feminine voice behind him, "you doing ok?"

Waltfeld forced a smile as he looked over his shoulder and saw Aisha floating over to him, clad in her black pilot's suit. "About the same as you and the girls, I suspect. Are you holding up alright, dear?"

The Desert Tiger wasn't the only one running on minimal sleep. Aisha, Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla had been forced to sortie several times as the _Eternal _had engaged in skirmishes with the ZAFT ships and mobile suits that had stumbled across them. The four female aces had acquitted themselves very well over the course of a dozen brief battles, and it was due in no small part to their efforts that Waltfeld had been able to keep his ship in once piece so far. However, the frequent fighting was playing hell with the girls' sleep cycles, and whenever they weren't flying they were either sleeping, eating, or taking turns keeping an eye on Lacus.

The daughter of the late former Supreme Council Chairman had been in a state of mourning since they'd left the PLANTs. Though she had managed to contain her grief during the initial breakout through the Exclusion Grid, once they'd cleared the Defense Lines the songstress had excused herself from the bridge and had gone to her cabin. Aisha and her fellow pilots had done their best to make sure that at least one of them was able to be with Lacus at all times, and they had told Waltfeld what he had already known; the poor girl was now grieving in earnest. Lacus hadn't appeared on the bridge since the _Eternal_'s departure from the PLANTs, and Waltfeld could only imagine the state of depression she was in. If there was any silver lining to the mess, it was that, according to Aisha, the young lady had weathered the initial storm of sorrow and despair. There were no massive outpourings of grief now, no burying her head in the shoulders of Aisha or the girls. Rather, Lacus had simply become quiet and somber, speaking to her friends when they came to visit her, but not yet exhibiting signs of her characteristic energy and optimism.

_I can't blame the poor girl for that_, thought Waltfeld, _the loss she suffered was devastating, made all the worse by Clyne taking that hit right in front of her. Still, the people of this movement look to her for strength and leadership. They understand that she needs time to mourn, but still… whether Lacus likes it or not, she's a symbol to them, and a powerful one. I don't expect her to stop grieving for her father's loss anytime soon, but she will have to come out of her quarters in the near future; her very appearance does wonders for the crew's morale. I need her to be visible, to be able to look at people and offer them the kind of hope and reassurance she was able to do so before that raid. She understands that, I know she does… all I can do now is wait, I guess._

Aisha leaned down and kissed his cheek. "I'm alright, love. I managed to catch a couple hours of sleep before it was my turn to check in on Lacus."

Waltfeld nodded. "How's our songbird doing?"

"A little better," said Aisha, "I finally managed to get her to crack a smile. It was small, but it was there all the same."

Waltfeld raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. How'd you pull that one off?"

"It actually wasn't that hard," she replied, "I wish I'd thought of it sooner. I was desperate for something to talk about, so I brought up our little encounter with Kira, Heero, and Cagalli in Banadiya all those months ago."

"Didn't Shemei tell her about that when she returned to the PLANTs?" asked Waltfeld.

"Yes," said Aisha, "but that was quite awhile ago… and like I said, I was getting desperate. Anyway, I told her about how nervous and flustered Kira was during that little affair, how Lan was teasing him, how cute and sweet he was… anyway, long story short, Lacus perked up a little at that. I'm sure she knew I was retelling that tale just to get that kind of response out of her, but I don't think she smiled like that just for my sake. It was small, but it had a natural feel to it; it wasn't forced. The two of us wound up just talking about Kira for a little while after that, and she had that little smile on her face the whole time."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Well, she is pretty fond of that kid. I wish we'd thought of that sooner."

"I don't think it would've worked had I tried it earlier," said Aisha, "she needed time to let out all that grief she was forced to hold back during our breakout. If I'd brought it up then I doubt I would've gotten such a genuine response from her. But now that she's had a few days to get over the initial shock… she still has a long ways to go, and we can't blame her for that, but I think she's turned a corner. She'll still be mourning for awhile, but I think it'll be subdued, beneath the surface. The girls and I will keep watching her, of course, but I think bringing up Kira's name helped her find some of her old strength again; that boy's a powerful motivator for her."

"No surprise there," said Waltfeld, "You and I did suspect she was sweet on him, after all."

"I think it's safe to say it's more than just that by now," said Aisha, smiling, "She likes the boy; no doubt about that. I think talking about Kira helped her realize the need to keep moving forward, to fight to not only carry on her father's legacy but to create a future that her and that boy can be together in."

"A nice sentiment," said Waltfeld, smirking, "though of course that is rather dependent on how Kira feels about her."

Aisha playfully slapped his shoulder. "I think you and I both know that there's an attraction on that boy's end. Of course, whether he's truly aware of his feelings or not is another matter, but the interest is there."

"We'll know for sure the next time they see each other," said Waltfeld, "of course, no telling when that might be."

Aisha nodded. "True. I do hope we see that boy and his friends sometime soon; it'd do wonders for Lacus, and I imagine it would be a boost to everyone else's morale if we managed to join forces with the _Archangel_."

"No arguments there," said Waltfeld, "but they've got their own problems to deal with right now, what with the Atlantic Federation attacking Orb and all. For now all we can do is pray that they find a way to survive the onslaught and hope for a way to contact them in the future. At the moment… well, we've got our hands full."

"Though things seem calm right now," said Aisha, looking at her lover, "Andy, you should get some rest while there's a lull; you need to sleep."

Waltfeld shook his head and gestured at his personal monitor. "Much as I'd like to, love, I can't; things won't be quiet for long."

Aisha peered over his shoulder, her eyes narrowing as she saw the image on the monitor; a ZGMF-LRR704B GINN Long Ranger Reconnaissance Type. Using the same basic frame as the standard GINN, the scout variant of ZAFT's mainline mobile suit had a grayish purple paintjob with yellow trim. There were two advanced radomes on its shoulders, giving it far superior sensor range when compared to regular mobile suits. However, it was lightly armed, carrying a single sniper rifle.

"An annoying fly," said Waltfeld, "it's out of our weapons range, and I wanted to give you ladies more time to rest; that's why I didn't ask you four to scramble."

"I appreciate the thought, dear," said Aisha, "but with that thing at our tail ZAFT's going to have another capital ship bearing down on us in minutes."

"We would've encountered one soon anyway," Waltfeld replied, "the Debris Belt's crawling with scout GINNs now, and whoever's commanding ZAFT's pursuit force is refining their technique; it won't be long until we're engaged again."

"Contacts!" cried the sensor operator, a girl with mid-length blond hair, "Two capital ships inbound, profiles register as _Nazca_-class destroyers!"

"Speak of the devil," muttered Waltfeld before turning to the officer, "Get me their position!"

"Off our portside, thirty degrees down angle," she replied, "They're launching GINNs!"

"Helm," said Waltfeld, "rotate us thirty degrees to port! CIWs and defense missiles, prepare for intercept! Bring the METEOR batters up ninety degrees, and get our main turret at maximum elevation!"

The position he was moving the _Eternal _into would have the two oncoming destroyers facing the ship's topside. This would allow Waltfeld to bring the largest amount of CIWs and missile launchers to bear on their GINNs, and the METEORs could still rotate high enough to track the capital ships. However, the downside was that it would be presenting a bigger target profile to the destroyers than if he had brought the _Eternal _about to face the enemy head on.

_The girls should be able to deal with the capital ships before they get into heavy weapons range_, thought Waltfeld, _hopefully all we'll have to contend with is the GINNs._

He then turned to Aisha and smirked. "Time for us to go to work, dear. Watch yourself out there."

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss. "I love you, Andy."

"I love you too, Aisha."

….

**(Start "Heartbreaker")**

Zipping up her crimson flight suit on the run, Adaline made a mad dash for her machine. Glancing sideways at the mechanics as they cleared out of her way, she saw one of them give her the traditional thumbs up; her unit was fit for combat. _Good_, she thought as she put on her helmet, _can't afford any delays right now._

Leaping up, taking advantage of the nonexistent gravity in the hangar, the redheaded Australian beauty floated into the cockpit of her mobile suit with cat-like grace and speed. Closing the hatch, she quickly powered up her machine; the ZGMF-X08A Wraith.

Based on the stolen GAT-X207 Blitz, the Wraith was a much more formidable version of the machine built at Heliopolis. The unit's frame was considerably larger, and its weaponry had been markedly increased. The Trikeros Integrated Offense/Defense was now mounted on both arms, giving the machine a pair of shields that also contained beam rifles, beam sabers, and Lancer Dart missiles, the last of which had been increased in capacity from three to six warheads in each launcher for a total of twelve. The Gleipner Anchor had been removed from the left arm as a result, and had been replaced with two smaller rocket anchors mounted in the unit's upper torso. At the hips was a pair of Xiphas rail cannons, the same type wielded by the hijacked Freedom. Like the Freedom, the Wraith was equipped with N-jammer Cancellers and a nuclear reactor, giving its Mirage Colloid System an unlimited runtime. However, the unit had the same drawback as its predecessor; the cloaking device was still too energy inefficient, and as a result it could not be used at the same time that the mobile suit's Phase Shift Armor was active.

As the mobile suit powered up Adaline checked her monitors, which showed the other two Wraiths initializing their startup sequences as well. The girls had modified the color scheme of their Phase Shift Armor, and the units now had a black base with red trim on the shoulders, arms, and legs; the ensemble of the Valkyrie Team.

There was a fourth unit in the _Eternal_'s hangar as well; Aisha's machine. Unlike the Wraiths it was neither nuclear powered nor equipped with Phase Shift Armor, but the Tiger's lover still flew a formidable mobile suit. It was a ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, the ADB's intended replacement for ZAFT's mainline GINN. The mobile suit sported a black paintjob with emerald trim. The armor sported a few dents; souvenirs from their earlier skirmishes with ZAFT patrols. Still, Adaline knew that the tech crews had the unit fully operational, and the damage was strictly cosmetic.

Her sensor display lit up as a telemetry feed was established with the _Eternal_'s bridge. Adaline's eyes narrowed as she studied the incoming data, a plan already forming in her mind. There was a reason the Australian Coordinator was unofficially considered to be Shemei Rehema's second in command, and had now assumed a leadership role over her two teammates; Adaline had just the right combination of initiative, cunning, and daring needed to effectively lead such an elite outfit should the occasion arise.

"You guys getting this?" she asked while she waited for the hangar door to open.

"Crystal clear," said Priscilla.

"Only two _Nazca_s?" said Lan, raising an eyebrow, "I'm insulted; I think Zala's mocking us. It'll take more than a pair of destroyers and twelve GINNs to beat us."

"More are no doubt on the way," Aisha chimed in, "We need to neutralize the threat quickly and clear out before enemy reinforcements arrive."

"Agreed," said Adaline, "Aisha, Lan, you two are on defense; support the _Eternal_ and take out the GINNs as they come into range. Pris, you're with me; we'll hit the destroyers."

"Copy that," they all replied.

DaCosta then appeared on her screen. "Valkyrie Team, Tigress, you are clear to launch. Good hunting."

Adaline couldn't resist a smirk. She had proposed including Aisha in the ranks of the Valkyrie Team, but Waltfeld's lover had refused, stating that her skills and machine would be better suited to supporting the _Eternal_. Adaline had begrudgingly conceded, prompting Lan to give Aisha the unofficial call sign Tigress. Waltfeld had quickly gotten wind of it and had had a good laugh before ordering DaCosta, who was acting as both XO and flight coordinator, to use the moniker.

"Understood," said Adaline, "Adaline Bellerose, launching!"

Her Wraith shot out of the hangar, and as she cleared the ship Adaline immediately pulled up, orienting herself to face the approaching enemy. Her three comrades flew out of the hangar one after another, with Priscilla moving onto Adaline's wing while Aisha and Lan took up position above the _Eternal_.

The redhead opened a private tactical channel with her partner. "Cloak and break; we'll hit the destroyers in a pincer attack. I'll take the one on the left; you hit the one on the right."

"Roger that," Priscilla replied.

Adaline activated her mobile suit's Mirage Colloid system, and as she glanced to her right she saw the lines of Priscilla's Wraith blur as she did the same, her suit briefly becoming a silhouette before vanishing entirely.

Breaking hard to port, Adaline took her Wraith into a long arc that would bypass the oncoming GINN formations on. The hair on the back of her neck was on edge as she weaved through bits of floating scrap metal; with her Phase Shift Armor inactive, the unit was much more vulnerable to damage. Still, despite the added danger, the redheaded Australian couldn't deny getting a certain thrill from the experience.

_I guess I'm a lot like Commander Rehema in that regard_, she mused, _we both like dancing on the razor's edge between life and death; she's just a lot better at it than I am._

Going wide and setting up for her attack on her targeted destroyer, Adaline took a brief glance at her long-range sensors to check on Aisha and Lan. Her eyes narrowed for a second when she only saw the black and emerald GuAIZ before she realized that Lan had cloaked her machine, and Adaline smirked as she realized what was happening; her teammate was setting an ambush, with Aisha as the bait.

As the GINNs fanned out to surround the Tigress they were suddenly hit from the right flank by a flurry of six Lancer Dart missiles that had seemingly come out of nowhere. The warheads had been launched in three pairs, and each set of missiles impacted a GINN, turning three mobile suits into fireballs. As the remaining nine units scattered and tried to figure out where the attack had come from, the Tigress lashed out, taking down one GINN with her beam rifle before closing in and ripping another apart with the twin violet beam claws mounted on her GuAIZ's Composite Shield. An emerald energy beam fired from seemingly empty space, destroying one more GINN before Lan finally decloaked her Wraith and ignited the beam saber stored in its right Trikeros and moved in for close-quarters-combat. At the same time, a flurry of missiles flew forth from the _Eternal_, destroying two more GINNs and sending the surviving four into a state of near panic; each was now flying without a wingman, isolated and easy pickings for the two Amazons facing them.

Satisfied that the remaining GINNs would be dealt with shortly, Adaline turned her attention back to her target. Coming in high over the ship's starboard side, she sighted in on the bridge and opened fire, cutting looses with a barrage of six Lancer Darts, both beam rifles, and the Xiphas rail cannons. The sudden rain of fire hammered the destroyer and cratered the bridge. Knowing she had bought herself a few moments before officers in the ship's auxiliary bridge took over, Adaline pressed her assault, decloaking the Wraith as she moved in and hit the vessel's dual railguns with her beam rifles. Her decision to cut the Mirage Colloid paid off when a storm of wild anti-air fire blazed forth from the destroyer's CIWs.

Priscilla had launched her own attack simultaneously to Adaline's, only she had struck from a different angle. Coming up from below and to port, she'd nailed the two main beam cannons in her opening assault with the rifles in the Trikeros shields before moving along the keel of the ship towards its engines and hitting them with a bombardment of Lancer Darts and rail cannon fire. Priscilla had then been forced to decloak as the destroyer's CIWs opened up wildly, spewing shells everywhere. Coming up over the back of the ship, Priscilla dove straight down at the bridge and impaled it with her beam sabers.

_A little bolder than usual for her_, thought Adaline as she fired her remaining six Lancer Darts at the hangar, following up with her beam rifles, gutting the ship in the process, _still, it was an effective attack. _Priscilla launched her own follow up attack in a similar manner, pounding the hangar with Xiphas fire while hitting her target's dual railguns with her remaining Lancer Darts. Meanwhile, Adaline turned around and hit the bow cannons of her target, neutralizing the threat they posed to the _Eternal _before breaking off her attack.

Adaline whistled as she and her partner pulled away, admiring their handiwork. Both destroyers had been mauled by the surprise attack, their main weapons knocked out and primary command and control centers destroyed, as well as having suffered severe internal damage with the added bonus of Priscilla's target having its engines ravaged. Adaline briefly considered doing the same to her own target before deciding against it; the ship was already defanged, and it was more important to mop up the remaining GINNs and get the hell out of dodge before reinforcements arrived.

"Well, they're done for the day," she said, "let's go help Lan and Aisha."

"Copy that," said Priscilla, nodding on her screen.

Flying back towards the _Eternal_, Adaline saw that there really wasn't much for her and Priscilla to do. Aisha and Lan had already reduced the number of remaining GINNs from four to one, and were finishing off the last unit in a double-team attack. Lan had hit the machine in the back with her Wraith's rocket anchors, immobilizing it as Aisha calmly lined up a shot with her rifle and fired, destroying the mobile suit with a single well-placed emerald beam.

"All GINNs destroyed," said Lan.

"Good job," said Adaline, "we knocked the destroyers out of the fight."

"Excellent work, ladies," came Waltfeld's voice, "now get back to the ship; time for us to bug out. DaCosta's already opening the hangar doors."

"Roger that," said Adaline, "coming in for landing."

"Once you're inside, you four go get some rest," said Waltfeld, "that's an order."

"Yes sir," they all replied.

Adaline sighed as she entered the hangar and moved her Wraith to its berth. _Don't need to tell me twice_, she thought as she powered down her mobile suit. Yes, the battle had been brief, but it had been one of the many quick skirmishes that characterized the deadly cat-and-mouse game they were playing with the ZAFT fleet. The engagements were only increasing in frequency, indicating that either the commander leading the task force was narrowing his search area, or that they had been given more ships to assist with the hunt… or both.

_I don't know what's harder_, she mused as she exited the cockpit and made her way towards the locker room, _one large, prolonged engagement, or a bunch of quick fights over the course of a couple days. I've had my share of both, but the latter were never quite like this. Yeah, we've got some powerful new machines, but we are severely outnumbered, and our endurance isn't unlimited. There are only so many attacks we can beat back before it begins to wear on us… if it isn't already._

**(End "Heartbreaker")**

….

Like a ship sailing through a thick fog, guided only by the faint beam of a distant lighthouse, Heero Yuy began the slow journey back to consciousness. The dark, heavy haze that had engulfed him was at last beginning to clear, with a pinprick of light piercing the black curtain. The Perfect Soldier focused on that light with all the effort he could muster, not an easy thing to do when his mind and body felt heavier than Wing Zero. The sensation was vaguely familiar to the Gundam pilot, though he was nowhere near at the point that he could place where or when he had felt it before, or what had caused it. Slowly but surely the faint, miniscule bit of light began to grow, driving back the black curtain of unconsciousness. He groaned softly from the effort, and was dimly aware of a voice calling out to him; his hearing was as muddled as his mind, though clarity was slowly returning to it. The voice was feminine and familiar, though Heero could not yet identify it.

The darkness receded a little more, revealing the blurry silhouette of a person leaning over him. Bit by bit their features became more distinct; long, flowing brown hair, light skin, brown eyes, a curvaceous figure…

It was Murrue.

The realization prompted a boost in Heero's climb out of unconsciousness. His muffled hearing cleared noticeably, and his vision became much less blurry. "Murrue…" he said softly as his senses returned to him.

At last he could hear her voice clearly... her gentle, _beautiful _voice, as angelic as her appearance. "Heero! Thank god, you're awake!"

The Gundam pilot moved to prop himself up on his arms, not an easy task considering his body felt like lead. As he did so was at last able to get a clear look at Murrue's eyes, and he saw that they were wide with both relief and worry. There was a cool sensation on his head, and he felt a wet washcloth slide off him, landing squarely in his lap. At the same time there was a pricking sensation in his left forearm, and as he glanced over he saw that there was an IV hooked up there.

Murrue leaned forward, grabbing him by the shoulders gently yet firmly, trying to push him back down. "Heero, lie back down! Please, don't push yourself!"

Heero shook his head, grimacing as he tried to dispel some of the haziness from his mind. "No… I need to be up…"

"Heero…" she said softly, her hands sliding from his shoulders. Heero looked around for a moment, realizing that he was in the _Archangel_'s infirmary, before turning back to Murrue. Once again meeting her gaze, he realized that the emotions in her expression were much more intense than simple relief and worry. As he looked into her lovely brown eyes he could see desperation, joy, apprehension… and _affection_. He was startled to see the moisture gathering at the edges of her eyes; she was _holding back tears_!

The eye contact only lasted for a second before Murrue threw herself at him, taking Heero into the fiercest embrace he'd ever experienced in his life. The strength of the beautiful Captain's arms seemed overwhelming to his dazed body as she held him with a passion and desperation the likes of which the Gundam pilot could've scarcely imagined existed mere weeks ago. Her hands gripped his shoulders so tight that her fingernails were digging into his skin, so sharply it was almost painful… a sensation he was distracted from as he felt her ample breasts press tightly against his chest, eliciting an increasingly familiar surge of heat to Heero's face.

Murrue spoke softly, her voice almost breaking, though from desperation or joy Heero couldn't tell. "You're finally awake… god, I've never been so worried in my life! I was _terrified _when they brought you in… I wanted _so badly _to help you, but I didn't know how! Heero…" As she spoke Heero felt two drops of cool moisture fall onto his shoulder; tears of joy and relief that Murrue could no longer completely hold back.

Acting on instinct alone, Heero managed to bring his right arm up and around Murrue while still propping himself up with his left. As impossible as it seemed, his actions prompted her to tighten her grip even further, pulling him in with a strength the young man could only marvel at. Her long, flowing hair was brushing against his face, caressing his cheek like a fine silk cloth, and her fragrance wafted about him like the sweetest perfume. Another teardrop fell upon his shoulder, the cool bit of moisture soaking into the skin exposed by his tank-top. Adjusting himself, the Gundam pilot brought his right hand to the nape of Murrue's neck, gently pulling her head closer to his.

"Murrue…" he said softly. All other words failed him; nothing seemed adequate for the situation Heero found himself in.

"Heero," Murrue whispered in his ear, "its ok, I'm here. Everything's alright, Heero. You're safe; I'm with you."

The Gundam pilot gave a slight grunt of acknowledgement and closed his eyes for a moment, resting his head against hers. The rest of the world didn't exist right then and there; there was only Murrue. Her powerful embrace, her sweet scent, the softness of her hair against his cheek, her firm yet supple body against his… at that moment, she was his entire existence. His mind was still in a daze, brief flashes of memory swirling through it at lightning speed, trying to sort themselves into a format he could comprehend. It was chaotic, almost to the point of overwhelming… but in the arms of the woman he loved, the Perfect Soldier found peace, shelter, and _protection_ from the maelstrom that was his own mind. It was a single, perfect moment; tranquil, serene, and, dare he say, _divine_. In her arms, shielded by her compassion, engulfed by the powerful affection and devotion she had for him, for the bond that existed between them, he felt something he'd rarely experienced in his life… and only with her; absolute safety. There was no threat, no enemy at the gates, no danger looming on the horizon; nothing could touch him… save for Murrue.

He wanted it to last forever.

Unfortunately, the young man knew that they would have to release each other eventually. Slowly, reluctantly, the two of them parted, though not completely; as Heero's arm slid back down to the bed he felt Murrue's hands still on his shoulders, gently yet firmly holding him, helping him stay upright.

Their eyes met again, and Heero saw more tears gathering at the edges, threatening to fall. Acting on instinct, he brought his right hand back up, slowly and gently wiping away the few that escaped and tried to make their way down Murrue's cheeks. His efforts were rewarded by a warm, soft smile from the angelic beauty before him, and the gathering moisture at the edge of her eyes receded. There was a long silence before Heero was finally able to break it. "Murrue… how long… was I out?"

"Since the end of the battle," she replied, "several hours; it's almost midnight now. You woke briefly… when Wing Zero's cockpit opened… but you then you passed out again."

Peering closer, Heero noticed the red surrounding Murrue's eyes, along with a few thin rings, and he was hit with the realization that she had been right beside him the entire time he'd been out cold. Glancing around he saw an empty water bottle and a granola bar wrapper on the table next to his bed, further evidence to support his conclusion.

_She's been here, by my side, since the battle_, thought Heero, stunned by the realization, _I know she cares about me, but this… _Never before had someone gone to such lengths just to _care for him_; her devotion to him was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before. The Perfect Soldier could not begin to find words to describe the upwelling of gratitude he felt towards her; he'd never dared imagine that someone could find him worthy of such compassion and concern.

He sure as hell didn't think he was.

Heero looked down, humbled by the lengths to which Murrue had gone for him, for the close and powerful bond that they shared. "You've been here this whole time…" he said softly, "…because of me. I'm sorry; you must be tired, and I'm sure you could use some sleep."

"What?" said Murrue loudly, causing Heero to look back up at her, "Heero, don't apologize for this. I stayed here out of my own free will; I stayed because _I care about you!_"

Her hands tightened their grip on his shoulders as she continued. "Heero, I would do _anything _for you, to take care of you, to protect you! After all you've done for me, how could I do anything less?"

A soft smile appeared on her face, and before Heero could react she leaned in and kissed him on the left cheek. His already warm face heated up even more, and his eyes widened in surprise. As Murrue pulled back she raised her right hand and gently caressed the spot where her lips had met his skin.

"You've fought so hard to protect me," she said, "not just in today's battle, but in so many others. As you swore to protect me, so did I for you, and that is a vow I will _never _break. Watching over you was no burden, no imposition to me; please, do not think for a moment otherwise."

It was reassuring to hear such words from her, but the mention of the earlier battle brought the flashes of memory swirling through his mind back into full focus. Heero grimaced, closing his eyes as he tried to focus and make sense of everything. The sense of his mind being filled with data to the brink of bursting hit him… a sensation he'd felt before.

"Heero?" said Murrue, concern in her voice, "What is it? Are you alright? Heero, talk to me!"

Heero was _not _alright, not by a long shot. The sense of incredible heaviness and weariness in his mind, the storm of data in his head swirling around, slowly recompiling itself into a recognizable format, the inexplicable and intangible weight that seemed to weigh down his entire body… Heero had felt all this before, and he could now remember _exactly _when and where.

The Sanc Kingdom, after fighting against Romefeller's invasion force in the Epyon Gundam, after engaging a newly arrived Zechs Merquise and Wing Zero… after he'd lost control of the Zero System.

_No…_he thought numbly, _I couldn't have… not again…_

"Murrue," he said softly, "what… what happened to me?"

The question was pointless; Heero knew _exactly _what had happened to him. More and more images of the battle against the Atlantic Federation fleet flashed through his mind, slowly but surely assembling themselves into a coherent framework. However, there were still bits and pieces that were unclear, as if they were obstructed by a black haze. Heero knew that he was asking the wrong question; it was not what had happened to him that he needed to know, but _what he had done next_.

Murrue sighed. "Heero… I… I'm not sure how to tell you this…"

"Just… tell me what I did," said Heero, "There's no need to sugar coat it. I just… I can't remember everything yet." He looked up at her, and could see the trepidation in her eyes. "Please… tell me what I did, Murrue."

Murrue looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again, her expression a mixture of resignation, apologetic, and worry. "You… you went on a rampage, Heero. It wasn't right away, but… I could tell as the battle went on that something was wrong with you. You weren't fighting like yourself, you weren't contacting me for support… you weren't _you_, Heero. The deeper you cut into the Alliance armada, the more vicious and ruthless you became… and you just kept attacking, even after they sent up withdrawal flares. I know what happened; the Zero System took over your mind, Heero."

Bits of memory that had been blurry cleared themselves up; more images of his attack on the enemy ships and mobile suits. Cutting down damaged mobile suits, annihilating vessels with the Twin Buster Rifle… Heero was getting a more complete picture, but there were still fragments missing.

"That… that wasn't all I did, was it?" he said softly, "Murrue… what happened next?"

"We had to stop you, Heero," said Murrue, "I remembered the override command… but I couldn't use it right away. You were at the heart of the Alliance armada; they could've captured you easily if I had shut down Wing Zero then. So I… I sent Kira against you, to draw you away from the enemy; the Freedom's the only mobile suit we had that I thought had a chance of pulling such a stunt off."

She looked down, unable to meet his gaze, her grip on his shoulders tightening uncontrollably. "I… I ordered your friend to fight you. Heero… I'm _so sorry_… but I didn't have a choice. I had to stop you… I had to _save you_!"

The rest of the haze was burned away by the revelation, and Heero could now recall, with perfect clarity, his fierce duel with the Freedom. His relentless attacks against Kira, his withering assault… how he'd nearly killed him with the Twin Buster Rifle.

Nearly… but he _hadn't_; Murrue had stopped him.

It was a shock to take all that in, but that didn't stop him from bringing his right arm up and putting his hand on Murrue's shoulder. "Murrue," he said, causing her to look up at him, "it's alright. I… I didn't leave you any other choice. This was my fault, not yours; don't apologize for what you did."

"Heero…" she said, her eyes widening. After a moment she gave him a soft smile before pulling him into another embrace, not as fierce as the one before but still quite powerful.

"Oh… thank you, Heero," she whispered in his ear, "I felt _horrible_ asking Kira to fight you… sending your friend against you. I… I was afraid I'd get him killed; Kira's good, and the Freedom is a powerful machine… but neither are a match for you and Wing Zero. I was _terrified _that I was sending him to his death… at your hands."

"I'm sorry," said Heero as they slowly parted, "I… I can't imagine how hard that was on you. I… I never meant to put you in such a position." He looked down, unable to meet her gaze, ashamed at what he'd forced her to do, at the pain he had put her through.

_I told myself that I loved her_, he thought, _after all she's done for me, all her selflessness and compassion… how could I have done that to her? I swore to do all I could to protect and support her, and instead I forced her to send Kira against me!_

He remembered all too well how torn up Murrue had been following the battle in the Marshall Islands, when Kira had been believed to have perished, and Tolle had died as well. He remembered how she had beat herself up mercilessly for her actions in the engagement, how the guilt over her perceived responsibility for what had happened to them had so dearly hurt her, and how it had torn at him to see her that way.

_After supporting her through such a trying time_, he thought ruefully, _I could've forced her to relive that pain… hell, it would've been _worse _than the first time! Damn it... and after my actions today, she _still _cares about me, is _still _willing to go to such incredible lengths to care for me… how can she see me as worthy of such affection and compassion?_

"Heero…" said Murrue's voice, a soft caress in his ear, a gentle breeze that somehow managed to blunt the wave of self-incrimination the Gundam pilot was pounding himself with, "please, look at me."

As he looked up at her she took her right hand off his left shoulder and brought it up to his face. Caressing his cheek, her lovely brown eyes were full of concern as she spoke to him. "Heero, I know you never wanted to put me through that; I know you care about me too much for that."

She was right, though she had no idea just _how much _Heero cared, just how deeply he _loved her_. However, it was precisely because of how dearly Heero cared for Murrue that he felt so ashamed of his actions, and what they had forced her to do. How she could be so understanding with him, how she could _forgive him _for what he had put her through, the Gundam pilot had no idea; the compassion she held for him was beyond anything he'd ever even imagined existed in a human being.

"Heero," Murrue continued, "I… I need to know what drove you into such a rampage, to lose control of the Zero System. You've fought in many battles since we've met, and not once did the Zero System take over your mind… until today."

She looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "When we got you out of Wing Zero… when we brought you to the med bay, I called Dr. Claudia to join us here. The two of us tried to figure out what had caused you to lose control of the Zero System. I… I think I know what drove you to fight the way you did… and how the Zero System was able to overpower you. Still… I want to hear it from you, Heero."

Heero nodded; she deserved that much, and definitely more.

He sighed. "It was Alaska, Murrue. When the Atlantic Federation set us up… betrayed _you_… I was _furious_. It wasn't all at once, not a sudden bursting of rage… but as we fought our way out of that hellhole I swore that I would make them _pay _for their treachery. I was able to keep my anger in check back then; I was focused on the fight, on making sure that you got out of there alive. But in the days and weeks that followed… the seed that was planted at Alaska grew. I couldn't stand the idea of the Atlantic Federation High Command setting you up... trying to _murder _you, and getting away with it. I vowed to kill them all… and one of them was commanding the invasion fleet in today's battle."

Murrue nodded slowly. "Vice-Admiral Vickers on the _Clinton_, the flagship of the combined Pacific Fleet. You destroyed that carrier and killed him today… a measure of vengeance for Alaska. Heero… was that what this was about? Avenging the Atlantic Federation's betrayal of us… of _me_… at Alaska?"

Heero looked down. "Yes. I… I almost lost you in that battle, Murrue. I can't do that… I _need you_, Murrue. The fact that the Atlantic Federation was responsible for putting you in that position, deliberately trying to get you killed… I couldn't just set that aside, I _couldn't _let it go. I tried to suppress it… but my wrath kept building, and when we finally met the Alliance in combat… I lost control."

"I thought as much," said Murrue, startling him and causing him to look up at her, "Dr. Claudia and I… we figured the roots of your rampage lay at Alaska, and the Atlantic Federation's treachery. You've never lost control in a battle since you've arrived in the Cosmic Era… but today's engagement was our first fight against Earth Alliance forces, commanded by one of the officers that set us up at Alaska. It was our first battle _since _Alaska… and you had a lot of time to brood over what happened in that fight."

Despite the gravity of their conversation, Heero couldn't help but smile slightly. "You know, you're an incredibly insightful woman, Murrue."

"Well, I had help," she replied, "remember, I said Dr. Claudia was with me."

Heero nodded. "Yeah… she's a bright woman too. We're lucky you were able to get her aboard the _Archangel_."

"Indeed," said Murrue. They were quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "Heero, why didn't you talk to me about this after the battle at Alaska?"

Heero shook his head. "I… I didn't want to worry you, Murrue. After that battle, it was all we could do just to figure out a way to survive, especially with both the world's superpowers now after us. You had the lives of everyone on the _Archangel _riding on your shoulders, and I couldn't afford to distract you. Besides, this was my problem, my own emotions to deal with…" He then looked down and sighed. "Though I clearly failed to do so. I… I'm sorry I didn't come to you. I just…"

"It's alright, Heero," said Murrue, "I wish you had come to me, but I understand why you kept it to yourself. I'm grateful for your concern for me, and your points are valid. We were so desperate for a way to survive, a path that would give us a future… we had to focus on that. Still, remember that I said that you could come to me for anything; this certainly fell into that category."

"I agree," Heero replied, looking up at her, "if I had done so… I might not have lost control; I could've found a way to handle my emotions better."

"The past is the past," said Murrue, smiling slightly, "you can't afford to beat yourself up over this, Heero."

Heero shook his head. "If I don't then who will? We must carry the weight of our sins, Murrue."

"Heero, stop this!" cried Murrue, "Yes, you made a mistake in how you handled your emotions after Alaska, but you're only human; it's _ok _for you to make a mistake!"

"Not like this, Murrue," he said, "I have to maintain a perfect balance between my emotions and rationality when I'm fighting; it's the only way I can keep control over the Zero System, you know that! I can't afford to let rage over the Atlantic Federation High Command's betrayal influence my actions in any way, regardless of how human it may be for me to do so."

"I understand that," said Murrue, "but it's not wrong to _feel _those emotions. You told me yourself; the best way to live a good life is to act on your emotions!"

"Yes, but not be ruled by them," Heero replied, "Murrue, I _gave in _to my wrath! I let it take over, and through it allowed the Zero System to override my will. All because I wanted to pay back the Alliance for what they did at Alaska; for petty revenge!"

He brought his right hand up, gently caressing her left cheek, the feeling of her soft skin against his palm more precious to him than all the money or power in the world. "Murrue," he said softly, unable to keep the _fear _from his voice, "I… I could've _killed you _today. I may have been fighting at the heart of the Atlantic Federation armada, but if I'd kept going, eventually I would've killed Kira… and then began targeting the Orb forces… and the _Archangel_. It would not have been my will, but it would've happened all the same! I failed to control my wrath, _gave into it_, gave the Zero System an opening to override my mind, and it could've _led to your death_! All because I wanted to kill some bastard of a Vice-Admiral… no way _in hell _Vickers's death was worth me doing something so _stupid_, putting your life at risk."

"Murrue," he continued, his eyes narrowing, conviction and resolve burning in his chest, his voice regaining his characteristic strength and determination, "I _swear_, no matter what happens, I will _never _give the Zero System a chance to control me again. I will _never _give into my anger like I did today, will _never _let myself be ruled by the desire for revenge, _never _let _anything _compromise my ability to wield the Zero System… or to protect you. I will _die _before I allow myself to do _anything _that puts you in danger."

It was a vow he swore to himself that he _would _keep, no matter _what _happened. Yes, the Atlantic Federation's betrayal at Alaska had been monstrous, the way that they had set Murrue up _unforgiveable_, but Heero should've been stronger, should _not _have let his wrath at the bastards sitting on the enemy High Command dictate his actions. Yes, he had killed one of the four men responsible for the disaster at Alaska, tearing through the Alliance armada to get to him, but the price that had come with letting his wrath fuel his fighting was far too high. Not only had he lost control of the Zero System, but he had created the very real possibility of him targeting the _Archangel_ during his rampage. That was _absolutely unacceptable_; repaying the Atlantic Federation for their betrayal at Alaska was not worth even _thinking _about fighting the way he had during the battle off Orb's shore if it put Murrue in danger.

"Heero" said Murrue softly, bringing Heero's attention back to the beautiful woman in front of him, "I believe you." She smiled at him before pulling him into another embrace, one that Heero was quick to return. "I _believe in you_," she said into his ear, her breath gently caressing his ear, "I know that you would never do anything to endanger me. What happened today was a mistake, one that I know you will take to heart and learn from. I _know _that you will be able to maintain control of the Zero System in all your future battles; you have the strength, the _will _you need to keep the balance you need in your heart and mind to wield that system to its full potential, _without _losing yourself to it."

The two of them parted briefly before Murrue leaned back in, this time to kiss Heero's left cheek. Yet another surge of heat went to the Perfect Soldier's face, and it was only amplified as Murrue pulled back and gave him a _radiant _smile, her lovely brown eyes practically glowing with affection, reassurance, and _belief_.

"Heero," she said, "I have the _utmost faith _in your abilities, your strength, you _will_. What happened today will never happen again; of that I have no doubt whatsoever."

Those words were _exactly _what Heero needed to hear. The doubts and guilt that had been weighing down his heart and mind since realizing what he had done earlier that day were purged, wiped away by the _incredible _woman before him.

The woman he loved.

A small voice began whispering in the back of his mind that he should tell her, _now_, exactly how he felt about her. It was certainly tempting, but Heero forced himself to quell those thoughts. The Atlantic Federation armada had been mauled, but not destroyed, and the two of them would need to be completely focused tomorrow if they were going to have a chance at beating back the second assault that he had no doubt the enemy was even now preparing for.

_Not right now_, he thought, _but… soon. I… I'll _have _to tell her soon. This… affection, attraction… this _love_… it's stronger than anything I've ever felt before. Hell, it's starting to hurt, keeping it bottled up like this… but I can't spill all right now. We need to focus on the here and now, surviving the next battle._

But Heero would not deny that things were coming to a head. The fact that the Atlantic Federation's betrayal of Murrue at Alaska had elicited such a powerful wrath within him was proof of just how strong his feelings for the beautiful Captain had grown. Also… seeing her like this, staying by his side for only-she-knew how many hours, comforting and reassuring him the way she had after he had woken up… the evidence was growing that she might well share his feelings. Heero still wasn't completely sure, and he still couldn't shake the feeling that if she did that he _wasn't worthy _of such affection… but the possibility was there, nonetheless.

His thoughts were derailed as a feeling of light-headedness swept over him. He leaned forward, closing his eyes, raising his hand to wipe away the cold-sweat he felt gathering at his brow.

Suddenly he felt a cool and refreshing sensation against his skin, and as he opened his eyes he saw that Murrue had grabbed the white washcloth that had fallen into his lap and was wiping it over his forehead.

"Heero," she said, putting her left hand on his right shoulder, "you're still a little feverish, and I imagine you haven't completely dispelled your mental fatigue yet. Please, lie down."

He did as she said, her command enforced by her hands gently but firmly pushing him back down onto the mattress and pillow beneath him. She smiled at him as he looked up at her, wiping his face with the washcloth. "You should go back to sleep for awhile," said Murrue, "the chief medical officer told me that your fever should be completely gone by morning; you'll be fit to fly. Still, you need to get as much rest as you can."

Heero nodded, smiling slightly for her sake. "Alright, Murrue. You should get some rest too; I'm sure you're exhausted."

"I admit I'm pretty tired," she replied, "but still, I'm not leaving your side."

"Murrue…" said Heero, attempting to argue.

Murrue put her finger to his lips, smiling as she did so. "Don't worry, Heero. I'll take the bed next to yours. I said I'd stay by your side… but I will get some sleep. I finally can now that I know you're alright."

"Sorry I kept you up so long," said Heero.

Murrue leaned down and kissed his brow. "It's alright, Heero," she said softly as she pulled away, "I don't regret a second of it, and would do it again in a heartbeat." She gave his left cheek one last caress with her right hand. "Goodnight, Heero. Sleep well."

He nodded. "I will Murrue… and thank you… for everything."

"You're welcome, Heero," she replied.

….

It was a little after six in the morning as Murrue stood up beside her bed in the infirmary, doing her best to smooth the wrinkles out of her uniform. _I should've brought my bathrobe with me and changed into that to sleep in_, she thought, grimacing as her efforts met with only slight success, _I look terrible right now…_

Sighing in defeat, she turned to the small mirror on the wall space between her bed and Heero's, doing what she could to straighten her hair out. She had better luck with that than she did her uniform, though Murrue knew her long, flowing brown locks still looked a bit disheveled. She couldn't help but give herself a bemused smile as she looked in the mirror. _I suppose it's a good thing I'm no longer formal military_, she thought, _I'd be chewed out for looking so unprofessional otherwise._

Murrue then looked to her right, her smile becoming more genuine as she saw Heero sitting on the side of his bed. With a quick tug the Gundam pilot pulled the IV out of his arm and took off the pulse reader before standing up and turning around to face her. The young man's beautiful blue eyes were full of gratitude… and something else, a glimmer of an emotion that Murrue had only dared to hope she might someday see in them; affection. It was a trace, struggling to break through the walls of stoicism Heero had built up over the years, but it was there all the same. Murrue's heart fluttered as she stared into his eyes for a moment, a strange silence hanging between the two of them.

"Hey…" Heero said softly, attempting to strike up conversation but clearly unsure of how to proceed.

"Hey yourself," said Murrue, taking the initiative and walking around the bed and over to him, "how are you feeling, Heero?"

"I'm alright, Murrue," he replied.

That didn't stop her from putting her left hand on his forehead and her right hand to her own. Closing her eyes for a moment to concentrate, she then opened them and smiled again as she let her hands drop to her sides. "Well, it feels like your temperature's back down to normal, so I'll have to take your word on that. You'd tell me if it were otherwise, right Heero?"

The Gundam pilot looked down, his expression becoming guilty; no doubt Murrue's words had reminded him of how his not telling her about his feelings after Alaska, and how that had bitten him in the ass in the battle against the Alliance fleet. "Yes… I would, Murrue."

Murrue put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her. "I know you would, Heero," she said, smiling, "just checking. I'm sorry; I suppose that was a poor bit of teasing on my part."

She was heartened to see the Perfect Soldier smirk slightly at her remarks. "It's alright; I had it coming."

Murrue had to stifle a small laugh. "Indeed you did, Heero." She softened her smile, doing her best to exude the warmth and compassion she wanted to give him. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Heero… I was really worried about you last night."

He nodded. "I know... and I'm sorry I put you through that."

"Heero," said Murrue, giving his shoulder a squeeze, "I already told you not to apologize for that. As long as you're ok, that's all that matters to me."

"Alright," Heero replied, "and… thank you."

"You're very welcome, Heero," said Murrue, "Come on, let's head up to the bridge. No one called me during the night, so I'm assuming that there haven't been any major developments yet, but we still need to assess the situation."

Heero nodded, his expression now all business. "Agreed… though are you sure you want me on the bridge right now? Shouldn't I head down to Wing Zero?"

Murrue shook her head. "It's alright for now; I had La Flaga order the tech crews to close up the cockpit. Other than reload Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings, Chief Murdoch has ordered his mechanics to keep their distance from your machine. Besides, if the enemy is spotted on long range sensors you'll have plenty of time to get down to the hangar and power up your Gundam."

"Alright," said Heero.

Together the two of them walked out of the infirmary and made their way to the bridge. "Heero," said Murrue, "I forgot to tell you this earlier, but yesterday, when we were trying to figure out a way to get you out of Wing Zero… well, I let slip that you no longer had the self-detonation device ready to blow at a moment's notice. I'm sorry, but…"

"It's ok, Murrue," said Heero shaking his head. His eyes met hers, and Murrue could once again see the gratitude within them. "You did what you felt was necessary… and you were trying to help me. Don't apologize for that."

It was a relief to hear the Gundam pilot say such a thing, and Murrue felt as though a weight were lifted from her chest. _Silly girl_, she chastised herself, _yes, that was a secret that had originally existed between you and Heero, but revealing it in order to save his life would never anger him. After all… so few people ever even _cared about him _before he met you, and your actions were purely to help him. That must mean a great deal to him._

Before she realized what she was doing she felt herself reaching out and grabbing Heero's hand. Looking over at the Gundam pilot, Murrue saw his eyes widen slightly at the unexpected contact before he turned to her and gave her a small smile. She returned it, and tightened her grip slightly as well. There was no need for words between them at that moment; the silence between them was a comfortable one, the kind shared by two people who cared deeply for one another, whose trust in each other was implicit and absolute.

They were like that for the rest of their brief journey to the bridge, their hands parting reluctantly as the bridge doors opened. As they walked in Murrue saw Ensign Neumann sitting in the command chair.

"I'll take over, Ensign," she said, smiling, "why don't you go get some rest."

"Aye, Captain," he said, nodding as he stood up and returned the smile, "I caught some shut eye earlier when Lieutenant Tsukino was on watch, but a quick nap and a bite to eat wouldn't hurt. One of the naval officers Orb sent us to fill in the gaps in our roster is at the helm; she'll carry out my duties until you need me."

"Good to hear," said Murrue, glancing over at the helmsman's station, where a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, with orange-red hair tied in a pony tail and wearing an Orb military uniform, was sitting, "Dismissed, Ensign Neumann."

He nodded, and the Captain saw him briefly turn to Heero and nod again before leaving the bridge. Looking back at the backup helmsman, or helmswoman in this case, Murrue realized that she had not yet personally introduced herself to the girl, and decided to rectify that situation.

"Hello, miss," she said, causing the young woman to turn and look at her, revealing her pale skin and bright green eyes, "I'm Captain Murrue Ramius. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet."

The girl smiled and saluted. "Ensign Emily McBride, Orb Navy, ma'am" she replied. There was a slight Irish accent to her voice.

_She must've immigrated to Orb from the British Isles_, Murrue thought, _just like Dr. Claudia. I'm sure there's a story there… but now's not the time for that._

She nodded at the girl. "It's nice to meet you, Ensign McBride. Carry on."

As the helmswoman turned back to her station Murrue took her seat. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled as she saw Heero settle in at his customary spot right behind her, scanning the bridge and the vista beyond the main viewport like a hawk. Relieved to see that the extraordinary young man was seemingly back to normal, or close to it, Murrue then turned her attention to her personal monitor. Hitting a few keys, she brought up the sensor and communication logs for the previous night. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the latter, but she was surprised to see a major increase in activity on the former, most of it centered on the Kaguya mass driver.

_There's a lot of traffic at the spaceport_, she thought, her eyes narrowing, _it looks like they had a shuttle taking off nearly every half an hour since early evening. The Orb fleet's repositioned itself too; the bulk of the surviving warships are now concentrated in front of Kaguya. What's going on?_

Double checking the communication logs, she confirmed that there had not been any top priority messages from the Orb leadership during the time Murrue had spent by Heero's side. _I'm sure they'll contact us soon_, she thought, _judging by the way Orb's military has adjusted its posture, particularly the Navy, it's pretty clear that something's up. The Archangel is the most powerful ship on the field, so whatever Lord Uzumi and Colonel Kisaka's plan is, I have no doubt we'll have a role in it. I suppose I'll just have to wait for them to contact us and fill us in._

Hitting some keys again, she exited out of the two logs she had on her screen and brought up the damage reports and status updates. The _Archangel _had taken a few hits during the battle yesterday, but the ship's tough armor had weathered the blows well, and only minor damage had been suffered overall. Murrue was pleased to see that Crew Chief Murdoch and his technicians had already made the necessary repairs; the warship was in top shape. The same also went for its mobile suits and the Skygrasper.

Murrue then brought up the casualty estimates for yesterday's battle, and her eyes narrowed as she skimmed over the reports. The Alliance forces had taken a severe pounding, but so had the Orb military. Given the far greater numbers of ships, fighters, and MS under the enemy's command, Murrue knew that their foe was much more capable of dealing with heavy losses than her allies were.

As she closed out of the reports she heard the bridge doors open behind her. Looking over her shoulder she saw Kira and Cagalli approaching. The boy was in his Alliance uniform, while Orb's princess had ditched her red shirt and khakis in favor of more formal Orb military attire.

"Hello you two," said Murrue, "what brings you here?"

Cagalli smiled. "We passed Neumann in the hall, and he said that Heero was up here. We came to see him."

Kira nodded, and Murrue watched as he and Cagalli turned to face the Gundam pilot standing by her chair.

"Hey…" said Kira, smiling hesitantly.

There was more than a hint of uncertainty in the boy's actions, and Murrue couldn't blame him after what had happened the day before. Looking over at Heero, she saw the Perfect Soldier nod in return. "Hey, Kira. Cagalli."

The blond girl nodded, and Murrue could see the concern in her brown eyes. "Hey, Heero… how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright," he replied calmly.

He then turned to his fellow mobile suit pilot. "Kira, about yesterday… I'm sorry about what happened. I may have lost control… but that's still no excuse for what I did."

Kira's eyes widened for a moment before the boy smiled again. "It's ok, Heero. You lost control of the Zero System; you didn't attack me on purpose."

"Still," said Heero, "I did almost kill you…"

"But you didn't," said Kira, "Captain Ramius stopped you in time, and that's what counts."

"Kira's right," Cagalli chimed in, smiling again, "It all turned out ok in the end. Besides, you're not going to let something like that happen again, aren't you Heero?"

Murrue was pleased to see Heero shake his head firmly, that familiar strength and resolve visible in his eyes. "No, I won't Cagalli. Losing control of the Zero System was a grave mistake on my part, one that I won't repeat."

"I thought so," said Cagalli, "Still, I'm glad to hear that from you." She then held out her hand. "Welcome back, Heero."

The Gundam pilot shook it, then turned and did the same with Kira, who had his arm held out as well. There was a hint of a smile on his face as he replied. "Thank you… both of you."

"No problem," said Kira.

"Yeah," said Cagalli, "after all, we're all friends, aren't we?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah… we are."

_Some of the very few he's ever had_, thought Murrue, a warm feeling in her heart as she watched the three teenagers interact, _from what he told me, I'm sure he considered his fellow Gundam pilots to be friends, but they were all very independent young men as well, so the bonds developed between them would not have been the same as what he's forged with Kira and Cagalli. As for Relena, I know Heero said he and she had become close friends over the course of the war, but with her ideals and her new role in the government versus his past experiences, his own morals, and the lifestyle he chose… I'm sure there was some divide there. It's different with Kira and Cagalli though; they're both fighters, just like Heero, and they've shared many battles together now. None of them may have wanted to go to war, but they did so as a means to protect the people they care about. Heero can relate to them with that, and bond with them… as he has with me. It's not as deep as the one we share, of course, but there are ties between the three of them now, and that's a good thing._

Heero must've felt her gaze on him, because the handsome Gundam pilot then turned towards Murrue. The Captain gave him a warm smile, and he returned it with a small one of his own. _You've come so far since arriving in our world, Heero_, she thought, _you've opened up… more to me than anyone else, but you've still shared some things with Kira and Cagalli. I'm glad; you deserve to have more friends, especially in this world since you know so few people here. We're all here for you… _I'm _here for you._

It wasn't something she would say in front of the bridge crew, but the words weren't needed; there was something in Heero's eyes that told her all she needed to know, that he'd gotten the message. It was a faint glimmer, something just beyond his incredible strength, determination, and compassion, but it was there all the same. A tiny nod from the young man was all Murrue needed to confirm her feelings.

Heero's expression then became more serious. "I'm sure we hurt the enemy yesterday," he said, "but I don't doubt we took losses of our own. Murrue, how bad were our casualties?"

She sighed. "Better than expected, and worse than we'd hoped. You're right in that we did some serious damage to the enemy; estimates from the recorded combat data show that the Atlantic Federation fleet lost over a third of their ships, and far more in terms of mobile suits and fighters. However, Orb's military was hard hit in repulsing their first assault. The Navy has been reduced to a little over half its warships… and it's the most intact branch of the armed services."

"What about the Army and the air squadrons?" asked Kira, his expression one of worry.

"Less than half of Orb's fighters, naval and ground-based, are still operational," said Murrue grimly, "and their ground forces were hit even harder. Yes, they were able to slow down and even contain the Alliance forces' advance, but they paid a steep price to do so. A lot of good men and women died yesterday…"

Kira looked down solemnly, and Cagalli did the same. Heero, for his part, simply closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and looking out the main viewport, grim determination within them.

Murrue shared the sentiment. Despite the losses suffered the day before, she was by no means ready to throw in the towel; they'd come too far to give up now. _Percentage wise_, Murrue thought grimly, _we caught the worst of the casualties, but if you go by the numbers then the Alliance forces took heavier losses due simply to the fact that they have so much more ships, vehicles, and soldiers than we do. It's not something I'd like to take consolation in, but… well, frankly it's all we have. With the Buster and that new mobile suit Kira's friend brought with him now on our side our forces have been bolstered, but we still have an uphill climb ahead of us, no doubt there. _

Murrue hated measuring success or failure, winning or losing, by the amount of lives and material lost by both sides; the cold calculus of war made her sick. What made it even worse was the knowledge that her former superiors hardly gave a thought to sacrificing countless good men and women to achieve their definition of 'victory'. It was little wonder that reliance on sheer numbers had become the order of the day for the Earth Alliance forces; human lives had been reduced to mere statistics, currency to be thrown away until 'victory' was bought under a mountain of their own dead. Most of the truly talented pilots, with a few aces like La Flaga proving to be the rare exception, were thrown away in large scale frontal assaults, attacks lacking any real sense of tactical subtlety or long term strategic regard for the lives of the soldiers involved in them.

Murrue actually found herself admiring ZAFT for the way that they had managed to fight against such tactics with a numerically inferior force. Granted, the technological superiority of their mobile suits against the Alliance's mobile armors, along with the enhanced strength, reflexes, and mental speed of the Coordinators, gave them a significant edge, but that did not change the fact that at the start of the war ZAFT forces had been outnumbered by a staggering ratio of nearly ten to one. The fact that they had not only managed to survive but bring the overall strategic situation to a near dead heat over the course of nearly two years, at times even gaining the initiative, was astounding. ZAFT had of course mounted its share of large-scale frontal assaults and battles, but their field commanders had taken greater care with the lives of their troops in most circumstances. Operation Spitbreak had been a clear sign of how things had begun to change within the Coordinator military; the tactics used there had been more of a reflection of the brute-force and superior numbers methodology favored by the Alliance.

_No doubt influenced by more extremist elements gaining control of their armed forces and government_, Murrue thought grimly, _from what Lord Uzumi told us weeks ago, it seems a faction has taken power within the PLANTs that has the same views regarding Naturals as the Atlantic Federation holds for Coordinators under the leadership of Blue Cosmos. They're a reflection of my former superiors, and the way that they so willingly threw away the lives of their troops in Spitbreak's frontal assault only shows that their depravity and ruthlessness is as boundless as their enemy's._

"Captain," said the communications officer, bringing her focus back to the bridge, "Colonel Kisaka is hailing us!"

Murrue nodded. "Put him on the main monitor."

The dark-skinned Orb officer appeared on the large screen overhead. "Captain Ramius," he said, nodding. She saw him glance to the side, and she knew that he had spotted Heero, Kira, and Cagalli. "Yuy, glad to see you're up."

"Colonel," said Heero, nodding in acknowledgement.

"Kira Yamato," said Kisaka, nodding at the young Coordinator before turning to Orb's tomboyish princess, "Ah, Lady Cagalli, I'm glad you're up there with them. This will make things easier."

"What's going on, Kisaka?" the blond girl asked.

"Lord Uzumi wants to see you," he replied, "along with Captain Ramius and whoever she deigns to bring with her; we're holding an emergency meeting at Kaguya."

"Will you be sending a helicopter out to pick us up?" Murrue asked.

"No, Captain," said Kisaka, "Lord Uzumi requests that you take the _Archangel _to the spaceport; one of the waterfront docks has already been prepped for your ship. We're sending telemetry to you as we speak."

"Understood," said Murrue, "we'll get underway at once."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," said Kisaka, "we'll have an escort prepped and waiting at the dock to take you and your companions to the conference room. See you shortly."

….

The conference room they were shown to was a rather plain chamber, consisting of a large black circular table with several chairs around it, and a large screen on the far wall. Glancing around as he, Murrue, Kira, Cagalli, and La Flaga entered the chamber, Heero saw Lord Uzumi seated in the chair directly in front of the large monitor, which for the moment had the black and yellow crest of the Orb Union displayed on it. Seated to his right was Colonel Kisaka, and to his left was Morgenroete's Chief Engineer Erica Simmons. The brown haired genius behind Orb's mobile suit program gave Heero a small nod of acknowledgement, which the Gundam pilot returned.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," said Lord Uzumi, standing up along with the others to greet them, "time is of the essence; the situation has rapidly deteriorated over the past several hours."

"How so, Lord Uzumi?" asked Murrue as they all took their seats, "While I know our losses yesterday were heavy, so were those of the Alliance. The situation may be grim, but we're not beaten yet."

"Murrue's right," said Heero, "our position's still tenable, and we've even managed to gain some new allies. Granted, it's only two more pilots, but their skills combined with their mobile suits make them formidable soldiers."

"Yeah," said Kira, "with Athrun in the Justice and Dearka in the Buster fighting with us, we can make up for some of the firepower we lost yesterday."

"We're still in this, father!" said Cagalli, "We can't give up now!"

Lord Uzumi sighed. "Were things as they were at the end of the battle yesterday, I might be inclined to agree with you, and all the more so since Heero has regained consciousness." He looked at the Gundam pilot for a moment and nodded before continuing. "Unfortunately, as of last night the situation has taken a turn for the worst… one we cannot hope to rectify."

"What happened?" asked Murrue, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

The Lion of Orb nodded at Kisaka, and the Colonel pressed a button on the remote he was holding. The image on the screen behind them shifted, becoming a tactical display similar to the one used in the briefing before the battle the previous day. Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw the surviving vessels of the Orb Navy arrayed in front of the Kaguya spaceport, represented by yellow dots along with a single white one for the _Archangel_, while the Alliance fleet was to the north, shown as a much larger mass of blue dots.

_No_, Heero thought, realizing something was amiss, _according to Murrue the Atlantic Federation invasion force lost over a third of their warships yesterday… but this armada's back at full strength! No… there's actually _more _ships now. They've been reinforced!_

To his left he heard Murrue gasp, and Heero knew that she had come to the same conclusion. The reactions of Kira, La Flaga, and Cagalli were a little delayed, but their expressions became ones of shock as they eventually caught on to what they were seeing.

"Yes," said Erica Simmons grimly, "the enemy has replenished their numbers… and then some."

"How is that possible?" asked Murrue, "The Atlantic Federation hit us with the entirety of their Combined Pacific Fleet yesterday; they _can't _have any more ships in this theater! The rest of their Navy is in the Atlantic Ocean, and there's no way that they could send vessels to reinforce the invasion force in such a short period of time!"

"You are correct, Captain Ramius," said Colonel Kisaka, "Unfortunately, the enemy reinforcements are not from the Atlantic Federation; they're Eurasian."

"That's impossible!" said La Flaga, "The Eurasian Federation's offensive fleets were all but wiped out at Alaska, and after the betrayal there by the Atlantic Federation there's no way the Eurasians would commit their Home Fleet to any joint effort!"

"Normally you would be right, Hawk of Endymion," said Lord Uzumi, "but the situation within Eurasia has changed. The Chistaya Partiya Krovi, an extremist party in the same vein as the Blue Cosmos, has seized power in Moscow. They've thrown all of Eurasia's remaining military might behind the Atlantic Federation, along with its considerable economic resources."

"When did this happen?" asked Murrue, "And why did we not learn of it until now?"

"The coup occurred a few days prior to the Atlantic Federation's opening assault," said Kisaka, "as for how we did not learn of it sooner, that's simple; we devoted so many of our intelligence assets to monitoring the Atlantic Federation that we completely ignored the other member states of the Earth Alliance."

"You had no reason to believe that Moscow would act against Orb, especially after Alaska," said Heero, "It was a logical move to make; you were just thrown a curve ball by Eurasia's internal politics."

"A small consolation, Yuy," said Lord Uzumi, "and it hardly matters now in any case."

Heero nodded. "True. So, what's our next move?"

"We've been issued one final ultimatum by the Atlantic Federation forces," said Kisaka, "More specifically, by Azrael himself; turns out he is with the armada, on board the carrier _Powell_."

"Too bad you didn't nail that ship during your rampage," said La Flaga, looking over at Heero.

"Too late to worry about that now," said Heero, glancing at the blond pilot before turning back to Kisaka, "How much time do we have until they attack again?"

"About nine hours," the Colonel replied, "and we're going to need every one of them, and a little more time beside, if we're going to pull this off."

"Pull what off?" asked Kira.

"Our final evacuation," said Lord Uzumi, "We cannot stand against the forces that face us now; it's only a matter of time before we fall. It falls to us to ensure the survival of Orb's legacy and ideals. The physical lands may soon be conquered, but the heart of the nation cannot be taken by fleets and armies. We will sow the seeds for the future, for the light that is our country's beliefs… for a better tomorrow where Coordinators and Naturals can live together in peace and friendship."

Heero saw Murrue nod. "That light may be small, but it burns brightly with us. We will do everything in our power to help you protect your country's beliefs and preserve them for the future, Lord Uzumi. The _Archangel _and her crew will fight to keep the hope we've created here alive; we won't let the Alliance or ZAFT plunge the world into utter darkness."

The Lion of Orb smiled. "Thank you, Captain Ramius. Your ship and crew will play a critical role in that fight… and the future of Orb; of that I have no doubt."

"So what do we do now?" asked Cagalli, "I know we evacuated the civilians from areas that had the highest chance of being caught up in the fighting, but this is another matter entirely."

"We've already put our plan into motion," said Erica, "We've been sending transports filled with M1's, their pilots, and as many additional soldiers as we could squeeze in to our surviving L3 colonies. We've also sent several ships full of Orb military personnel to nations of the Equatorial Union, along with refugee ships for civilians who wish to leave the country; they'll be looked after until the war is over."

"Unfortunately," said Lord Uzumi, "it is simply impossible to evacuate the entire civilian population. All we can do is hope that the occupiers will take some measure of mercy on the people who have no choice but to remain in Orb."

"Luckily we've already managed to evacuate our Coordinator minority population," said Kisaka, "We have no doubt the Atlantic Federation forces will attempt to purge any that they come across, and we've nipped that threat at the bud… well, the best we could at any rate; there will always be those who refuse to leave their homeland."

"We are taking measures to hide those that refused to leave in the initial evacuation," said Lord Uzumi, sighing, "but only time will tell if the remaining Orb Coordinators will be able to elude the CIA hellhounds."

"I pray that your civilians will be alright," said Murrue, "Coordinator and Natural."

Lord Uzumi nodded. "Your concern is appreciated, Captain Ramius."

_What a disgusting war_, thought Heero as he listened, _devoting intelligence assets just towards hunting down and killing civilians because of their race… not even OZ, the old Alliance, or White Fang stooped anywhere near this low in their battles with us. It's true that the conflict escalated to the point that mankind on Earth and in space was endangered, but the motivations and campaigns were very different; it wasn't about the kind of hatred and brutality that the Earth Alliance and ZAFT have for each other, nor was it about genocide. And in the end, Treize and Zechs made the final confrontation's true purpose into turning mankind away from war, wagging a fight so massive, with almost impossibly high stakes, ultimately making humanity lose all taste for battle. It wasn't about murdering an entire race of people simply because of their genes. The Alliance and ZAFT just want to completely eradicate each other, down to the last man, woman, and child. Treize and Zechs would be appalled by a war like this._

Heero found himself wondering how the two cunning and charismatic leaders, amongst the greatest warriors and commanders of the After Colony timeline, would bring the war the Gundam pilot found himself caught up in now to an end. It was difficult to even begin contemplate the methods the former White Fang leader and ruler of the Earth Nation would go about in manipulating and ultimately concluding the conflict; the workings of both men's minds were difficult to understand. While it was true that fighting Zechs had given Heero a better read on that man than Treize, and that the Lightning Count was more straightforward than the Colonel who had taken over the Earth not once but _twice_, the pilot of the Tallgeese and later the Epyon still maintained an air of enigma about him.

Treize and Zechs were both charismatic and idealistic, yet at the same time pragmatic and ruthless. They had their own unique codes of honor, yet were quite willing to use underhanded tactics and strategies to secure a long-term goal. They had both lived for battle, yet the final, massive confrontation that the two of them had orchestrated had proven to be the catalyst needed to push mankind into embracing pacifism. One had died and the other had vanished… though Heero doubted that the latter had gone on to meet the Grim Reaper. The similarities and contradictions between the two men were quite difficult for Heero to truly grasp. Granted, he had been able to predict Zechs' moves to a degree during his tenure as the leader of White Fang during the Eve Wars, but his ultimate motives had been another matter, and that wasn't even counting having Treize and his plans thrown into the mix.

After a few moments Heero shoved his musing aside; he was getting nowhere, and focusing on the here and now was more important. He could pick back up on his train of thought latter on, when he and the others weren't in the middle of planning an evacuation.

He looked to his left as Murrue spoke again, her eyes narrowing. "You mentioned that you were already evacuating your ground forces to other member states of the Equatorial Union, but you've made no mention of the Orb Navy or the remainder of you ground-based fighter squadrons. I'm assuming you have a role in mind for them in the coming battle."

Kisaka sighed. "Yes… we will need them for the final holding action. We may have nearly nine hours until Azrael's deadline passes, but even that amount of time is not enough to complete our final preparations. We will need both the fleet and the land-based squadrons to buy us the final moments we need to ensure that the last ships take flight; the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_."

"This is not a sacrifice we make lightly," said Lord Uzumi, his expression grim, "all nonessential crew have already been ordered to leave their ships and join the Army in its evacuation… but we cannot have all personnel leave the fleet. The crews that remained behind have already been informed of their task, and have accepted the part they must play. They will shield Kaguya with their lives and hold back the Alliance assault for as long as they can. All we can do is make sure that their sacrifice will not be in vain."

"You can't just order them to their deaths like that!" cried Kira.

"Kira's right," said Cagalli, "Father, you can't do this!"

"Don't you think I know that?" said Lord Uzumi, his eyes narrowing, "_We have no choice! _If the Navy and fighter squadrons do not perform their delaying action, then Orb _has no future_!"

"So you'll just throw thousands of brave men and women to the wolves?" cried Cagalli, "This is wrong, Father!"

"Once the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi_ are clear," said Kisaka, "the survivors have been given leave to either surrender or attempt a breakout. It is by no means a perfect plan, but they do have a hope for survival."

"You're still sacrificing their lives!" cried Cagalli, "Father, how can you do this?"

"It's the lesser of the evils Orb is confronted with," said Heero, causing the others to look at him, "The unfortunate truth about any war is that sometimes you're given no choice but to make sacrifices. There is no true right answer in such a situation; all you can do is try to make the most out of it, to make sure that any lives lost _mean something_. Cagalli, your father isn't just throwing away his troops lives, nor has he deceived them about their role in the coming battle; they know that their duty today will be to fight as a rearguard, something that they were aware that they could be called upon to do when the enlisted."

"Heero's right," said La Flaga, "none of us have to like it... hell, it would be wrong if we _did_… but those are the cards Orb's been dealt. It's not right, princess, but at least your father isn't setting his troops up for slaughter just for the chance to kill more of the enemy; he's sacrificing them to make sure that the ideals and culture of their country have a chance to live on, and that future generations of their people will be able to live in peace in the land that they gave their lives for. Lord Uzumi isn't acting like the butchers that sit on the Atlantic Federation High Command; this isn't Alaska."

"Eloquently put, Hawk of Endymion," said Erica Simmons.

La Flaga shrugged but made no comment.

Murrue sighed. "It's unfortunate, but given the situation there truly is no other alternative… though I dearly wish it were otherwise." She looked up at Lord Uzumi and the others, and Heero could see the resolve in her eyes. "I swear that we will do all we can to make the sacrifices of the brave men and women of the Orb military count for something; I _refuse _to let them die in vain."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," said Lord Uzumi, bowing his head slightly, "your commitment and bravery mean a great deal to us, and the _Archangel _will be invaluable in planting the seeds for Orb's future. Between you, your crew and pilots, and the _Kusanagi_, I believe that the fire of this nation and its ideals will survive, and may yet flourish again when this war is finally over."

"You've spoken of the _Kusanagi _several times now," said Murrue, "I'm assuming it's a warship of some kind?"

"Correct," said Lord Uzumi. He nodded at Erica Simmons, who took that as her cue to grab her own remote and point it at the monitor behind the Orb delegation. The tactical display disappeared, replaced by an image of a formidable-looking spaceship.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the _Kusanagi_. Design wise the Perfect Soldier noted several features similar to the _Archangel_, particularly with regards to the rear section of the ship and its upraised bridge. The bow had a two-pronged design similar to Murrue's command, only instead of the prongs being side by side they were one over the other, like the open jaw of a shark or whale. In between the prongs was a single hangar door, and Heero assumed that the prongs were part of the linear catapult system used by warships of the Cosmic Era to launch mobile suits. The ship's color scheme was a mixture of light blues.

"The _Kusanagi_," said Erica, "is the second in our line of _Izumo_-class battleships. The line served as the basis for our collaboration with the Atlantic Federation in the construction of the warship _Archangel_."

"I saw mention of that in the reports I was given when I was read into the project," said Murrue, "though I wasn't given access to any schematics regarding the _Izumo_-class ships. I can definitely see some level of resemblance between it and the _Archangel_, at least based on that image."

Erica nodded. "The _Archangel _is more advanced and formidable than the _Kusanagi_, but the ship is still powerful in its own right. The vessel is 290 meters in length, and uses the same Laminated Armor installed on the _Archangel_. Armaments include two retractable Gottfried heavy beam cannons mounted above and below the hangar, two retractable Lohengrin positron cannons mounted at the sides of the rear section of the ship near the engines, twenty Igelstellung CIWs, and several ship-to-ship and ship-to-air missile launchers. The vessel can carry eight mobile suits, though if pressed we can cram one or two more inside the hangar."

"If this ship is currently on Earth," said Heero, "why wasn't it used in the battle yesterday? It may not be as powerful as the _Archangel_, but it would've still been a valuable asset in the fighting."

"Unlike the _Archangel_," said Erica, "the _Kusanagi _is not composed of one seamless hull." She hit a few buttons on her remote, and Heero saw the ship split into three sections. "The frame was built as three separate components: the bow, the central body, and the main engine block. The bow and engine block were constructed at our resource satellites at L3; the body was built in Orb. This was done so we could load M1s onto it directly from our factories here. Unfortunately, in this state it is completely defenseless."

"So the plan is to launch it into space and have it link up with the other two components?" asked La Flaga.

"Correct," said Kisaka.

"We are currently in the final outfitting process," said Erica, "we're running final systems checks and loading the necessary supplies. Since this will be the _Kusanagi_'s maiden voyage, we are trying to be as thorough as possible given our time constraints. Unfortunately, there is only so much we can rush the process, and it will not be ready to launch before the Alliance's deadline passes. That's why we need the Orb Navy to perform the holding action."

"What about the _Archangel_?" asked Murrue, "Will it be launched from the mass driver before the _Kusanagi_?"

"Actually no," said Erica, "while the _Archangel _will be departing prior to the _Kusanagi_, it will not be via Kaguya."

Morgenroete's Chief Engineer hit another key on the remote, and the image of the _Kusanagi _was replaced by that of the _Archangel_. Heero was quick to zero in on a modification to the white warship; two gray and blue fin-like structures mounted over the vessel's Valiant rail cannons.

"The _Archangel_," said Erica, "will be fitted with two of our prototype positronic space boosters. This will allow the ship to exit the atmosphere without utilizing the mass driver, allowing us more time to launch additional refugee transports, along with preparing the _Kusanagi _for departure."

"How do the boosters work?" asked Kira.

"They operate in cooperation with the _Archangel_'s Lohengrin positron cannons," said Erica, "the ship will ascend to its maximum operating altitude and fire its main cannons at a 45 degree angle, which is theoretically within the vessel's atmospheric flight limitations. When the Lohengrins are fired, the boosters take the positronic interference created by the blast to form an energy cone that literally disintegrates the atmosphere in front of the ship. This eliminates all forms of air resistance, allowing the _Archangel_'s engines to be pushed to maximum and achieve escape velocity. Due to the mass of the ship, doing so without the boosters would rip the _Archangel _apart from the atmospheric pressure exerted combined with the sheer force of gravity."

"I've never heard of this procedure for atmospheric exit," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, the positron boosters are prototypes," said Erica, "and we've been testing them under the strictest secrecy. They're for use purely as a means of emergency atmospheric escape, and the only reason we want the _Archangel _to utilize them here is due to the time constraints placed on us. Otherwise we would use the mass driver to boost your ship into orbit."

"That's why you wanted us to bring the _Archangel_ into dock," said Heero, "to install the boosters."

"Correct," said Erica, "along with replenishing the ship's munitions and loading as much supplies on board as we can. Once we're in space… well, who knows when we'll find another friendly port?"

"You're coming with us, Miss Simmons?" asked Kira.

"In a manner of speaking," she replied, "I'll be on board the _Kusanagi_, along with my top engineering and research teams. We'll be helping maintain both the ship and its mobile suits, and will also help analyze any new vessels, mobile suits, or technology that we encounter in our coming travels."

"Judging from the image on the screen," said Murrue, "those boosters are quite large, and it will take time to install them on the _Archangel_, and that's not even counting resupplying the ship. We should get started immediately."

"Agreed," said Lord Uzumi, standing up, "this meeting is adjourned." The Lion of Orb turned towards his daughter. "Cagalli, go with Kisaka; he'll bring you up to speed on all the key details regarding the _Kusanagi_, along with your new mobile suit."

"Wait," said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "I get a machine now?"

"Yes," said Kisaka, "and it's not an M1, though I believe you will recognize it instantly."

"Alright," said Cagalli. She looked over at Heero and the rest of the _Archangel _delegation. "I guess I'll catch up to you guys later. Take care, ok?"

Heero nodded, along with the others. He saw Murrue smile as she replied. "We will, Cagalli. We'll see you later."

"Captain Ramius," said Erica, "one of my aides will meet you at the dock; you can coordinate the installation of the boosters with her. I need to go supervise the loading and system checks of the _Kusanagi_."

"Alright," said Murrue.

"There is one favor I wish to ask of you, Captain Ramius," said Lord Uzumi, "I would be grateful if you would allow Kira and the pilot of that new machine that's now aboard the _Archangel _to transfer over to Kaguya."

"You want them to act as a final line of defense for the _Kusanagi _in case the Alliance forces break through the Orb fleet," said Murrue.

Lord Uzumi nodded. "Precisely, Captain. Both machines will be able to latch onto the _Kusanagi _as it heads down the mass driver. They can then board the ship once it clears the atmosphere; we will make sure there is enough space in the hangar for both units."

"Very well," said Murrue, "Heero and La Flaga will be more than enough to cover the _Archangel _until we've reached maximum altitude." She turned towards the Gundam pilot and the Hawk of Endymion.

Both pilots nodded. "We'll return to the ship before you fire the Lohengrins and activate the boosters," said Heero.

"Right," said La Flaga, a confident smile on his face, "leave it to us, Captain."

Murrue nodded before turning back to the Lion of Orb. "Is there anything else you need, Lord Uzumi?"

"No," he replied, "that is all. Thank you for your cooperation, Captain." With that he strode out of the room, with Kisaka, Erica, and Cagalli following suit.

Heero and the others stood up to leave. As they did so Murrue turned to Kira. "Kira," she said, "go inform Athrun of what we discussed here; I want the Freedom and the Justice transferred to Kaguya as quickly as possible. Make sure to pack your things too; I'm sure Engineer Simmons can arrange for quarters for both of you onboard the _Kusanagi_."

"Are you sure, Captain?" asked Kira, "We could both return to the _Archangel _once we reach outer space."

Murrue shook her head. "Between Wing Zero, the Tallgeese Kai, and the Buster, the _Archangel _has a formidable mobile suit force. The _Kusanagi _will only have the M1s and Cagalli's machine though; they could use the boost in firepower."

Kira nodded. "Alright, I'll go tell Athrun. We'll take our machines to the spaceport and coordinate with Colonel Kisaka."

As the boy left the room Murrue turned towards Heero and La Flaga. "I'm sorry for dumping so much responsibility on your shoulders, but Wing Zero and the Tallgeese Kai are our only full-flight capable machines without the Freedom or the Justice. The Buster can't maneuver at the altitudes we'll likely be fighting at, and with Cagalli leaving the _Archangel _we don't have another pilot trained on operating the Skygrasper."

"It's alright, Murrue," said Heero, nodding, "La Flaga and I can handle whatever air units the Alliance throws at us."

"Heero's right," said La Flaga, "so long as we're mindful of our position and the _Archangel_'s altitude, we'll be fine."

"Hopefully the two of you won't have to launch at all," said Murrue, "You'll be on standby in your mobile suits the moment the _Archangel _leaves port, but I only want you to leave the ship if we pick up enemy mobile suits and fighters on an intercept trajectory, and only if it's clear that they'll catch up to us before we can reach our maximum altitude and fire the Lohengrins. If that happens, the two of you will have to wipe out the enemy as quickly as possible and return the ship, understood?"

"Roger that," said Heero.

"Got it," said La Flaga.

Murrue looked at Heero for a moment, and the Gundam pilot could see the concern in her eyes. She may have had faith in his abilities, but that did not stop her from worrying about him all the same. It meant a lot to Heero; it was a sign of just how much she cared for him. He gave her a small smile and nod in an attempt to offer reassurance.

His efforts seemed to work, for Murrue returned the smile before looking at both Heero and La Flaga. "Alright, let's get back to the ship. We've got a lot to take care of before we launch, and not nearly as much time to do it as I'd like."

_Agreed_, thought Heero as the three of them headed towards the exit, _less than nine hours to mount the boosters, adjust the Archangel's systems to work with them, completely provision the ship for an operation that will likely go on for several months… it'll go by all too quickly._

….

Sitting on the bridge, Murrue checked her personal monitor, which was currently linked to one of the portside exterior cameras. Through it she saw the Orb dock crews mounting the positron space booster over the Valiant rail cannon, and she knew that the same thing was happening on the starboard side of the ship.

_Almost six hours have already gone by_, she thought, _those boosters are large and cumbersome; getting them into position alone was a difficult task for the dock crews. At least now we can begin synchronizing them to the Lohengrin cannons._

Mounting the boosters was not the only task the dock crews and the _Archangel_'s personnel were engaged in. Since Murrue and the others had returned from the meeting everyone had been working non-stop to load supplies onto the ship. Rations, water, spare parts, munitions… all that and much more were being brought aboard the _Archangel_. New crew members for the white warship were trickling in as well, personnel that Orb had been unable to allocate to the vessel before the initial Alliance assault. For the first time in her career the _Archangel _would be launching with a full crew compliment, which would greatly ease the burdens of those that had stuck with the ship since Heliopolis. The greatest relief would be for the tech crews and the bridge staff, both of whom had been forced to pull the longest hour shifts over the course of their long journey.

_Now we have enough personnel to run three full-staffed shifts for all departments_, thought Murrue, smiling slightly, _before now many of the crew were pulling ten or twelve hour stints at their posts… I'm glad we can finally fix that._

The only members of the crew that would not have such relief were the _Archangel_'s combat pilots. However, Murrue knew that Heero and La Flaga had already accustomed themselves to such conditions, and Dearka seemed disciplined enough to work with them. Besides, other than actual battles the pilots were usually on break, so in that regard they actually had more time to rest than most of the crew.

_Of course_, Murrue thought as she looked over her shoulder, _how they spend that break time is another matter._ Just over her right shoulder was Heero, having just come up to the bridge about an hour ago after running through a very thorough systems and maintenance check on Wing Zero. The incredible pilot had reported that his fearsome machine was in peak condition before settling in at his usual place at Murrue's side.

Their eyes met, and Heero gave her a small nod. His eyes were full of the familiar strength and determination that had become Murrue's rock amidst the sea of chaos that seemed to always surround the _Archangel_, a place where she could always turn to for reassurance and stability. She nodded in return, smiling in an effort to convey her gratitude. It appeared to work, as the handsome young man gave her a small smile in acknowledgement.

"We've got less than three hours until the Alliance begins its second assault," said Murrue, "how long do you think the Orb fleet and air squadrons can hold out?"

The Perfect Soldier looked out the forward viewport, his expression becoming grim. "Were the Alliance forces at the strength they were at the end of yesterday's battle, I'd give the Orb fleet and air squadrons about three hours. With things as they stand now, though… they'll be lucky to last one."

It wasn't an optimistic prediction, and as much as she wanted to believe otherwise Murrue had long ago learned to trust Heero's instincts and his ability to analyze a situation. It was a grim assessment, and all Murrue could do was try to make sure their own plans would work with it.

She closed her eyes, doing some quick estimates in her head before opening her eyes and looking at Heero. "That won't leave us a lot of room to spare; we'll be getting out near the last moment."

Heero nodded. "Agreed, and it'll be even closer for the _Kusanagi_. It's a good thing they'll have Athrun and Kira acting as their final line of defense; they'll need all the power the Freedom and Justice can bring to the table."

"Especially if, no, _when _those three Alliance prototypes break through the Orb forces," said Murrue, "with the way those three units fought yesterday, combined with the weakened status of the Orb fleet… they'll cut through like a hot knife through butter."

"Yeah," said Heero, "I'm not too worried if they come after us; La Flaga and I can take them. It might be a little more challenging for Kira and Athrun though."

"How so?" asked Murrue, raising her eyebrows, "They were able to handle those three yesterday."

"They're handicapped," said Heero grimly, "by Kira's unwillingness to kill. If he was still capable of taking life when necessary he would've destroyed all three prototypes before the Justice arrived, but the fact that he won't go for a lethal blow combined with the unique abilities of those machines and the skills of their pilots means any confrontation between them will be far more drawn out than it should be. From the combat data you showed me earlier it's clear Athrun doesn't have the same compunctions when it comes to killing on the battlefield, but he'll still be hamstrung by Kira's inability to fight lethally."

Murrue looked down. "I suppose you're right. Still… Kira was so torn up over the fact that he had to kill in order to protect his friends. Fighting non-lethally seems to have allowed him to finally come to terms with his role as a mobile suit pilot."

"You and I kill in battle, but we're able to deal with the burden," said Heero, his eyes meeting hers, "we both understand that it's necessary to take down the enemy with lethal force in a fight in order to permanently neutralize the threat they pose to us and the people we care about. We don't like it, but we're still able to do it without hesitation. I know Kira had difficulty accepting that, and it's natural given the fact that he never had any military training prior to the attack on Heliopolis, but he's been fighting for months now; enough time to make up for that deficiency."

The young man then sighed. "Kira… he's just too soft to truly be a soldier like us. Yes, he's a very good pilot, and his abilities are invaluable, both now and in our coming struggles, but the fact remains that his refusal to kill his opponents now that he has the Freedom is more of a hindrance than a help to us. Any foes he takes down may be removed for an engagement, but they'll be back in the next, and they'll be bolstered by the experience they gained from surviving the previous fight. That goes for the pilots of those three new Alliance mobile suits as well; they'll know what to expect from him, and they'll make full use of the knowledge that he doesn't fight lethally. Athrun will provide an effective counterbalance… that is, if Kira doesn't try to stop him from killing the enemy."

Murrue nodded. "I suppose you're right. I may not be a mobile suit pilot, but I know full well that the orders I give as Captain of the _Archangel _during combat lead to the deaths of those opposing us. When I give the command to open fire with the Lohengrins, Gottfrieds, and Valiants, or launch a barrage of Wombat or Sledgehammer missiles, I'm as responsible for killing the enemy as the gunners that pull the trigger. The same goes when I have you or La Flaga launch an attack; the blood that is spilled is as much on my hands as it is on yours. It's a burden I was trained to deal with… one I know I _must _deal with if any of us are to have a chance at surviving this war. You and I know that the lives of many others ride on our shoulders, and that any hesitation on our part could well get them killed."

Her eyes narrowed as she continued. "I don't want to say anything against Kira, especially after all he's done for us since Heliopolis… but his new style of fighting smacks of self-righteousness bordering on arrogance. All that time he spent fighting those three damn machines yesterday was time he wasn't reinforcing the Orb Army and driving back the Alliance landing forces. How many good men and women lost their lives because he was more concerned with fighting his own foes non-lethally? Like you said, you and I may not like killing the enemy, but we understand that we have to in order to protect those we care about, our allies, and ourselves. Having blood on our hands is a burden, but one we're willing to bear so that others don't have to. Every enemy we kill is one less enemy that can threaten us or the people we care about, now and in the future. Kira's methods may remove the immediate threat, but not the future one. More importantly, the fact that his tactics force him to take longer fighting skilled opponents means that more of our own allies are put in danger because he's not there to support them; the battle yesterday was a perfect illustration of that. Kira may not directly be killing anymore… but how many lives could he have saved yesterday had he been willing to shoulder the same burden that you, I, and so many others do every day of this war?"

"My thoughts exactly," said Heero.

"Are you going to confront him on this?" asked Murrue.

Heero shook his head. "I've already discussed the flaws of his new flying style with Kira, though I did leave out the aspect of his allies lives that he may be endangering as a result of his actions. Still, I made my point. I also told him that if he was determined to stick with that style that I wouldn't press the issue… and that he shouldn't get in my way while I'm fighting, as I don't share his compunctions. He knows that the consequences of his actions are his to deal with; there's little point now in rehashing that argument with him… unless you want me to."

Murrue shook her head. "No, Heero. I know that despite your differences, you two are friends; I don't want to start a fight between the two of you. Besides, right now we can't afford one."

"True," said Heero, nodding, "Kira can thank the Alliance for that."

They were both quiet for a few minutes after that, contemplating the coming battle. Granted, the _Archangel _would only engage if she was attacked while setting up for her atmospheric exit, but Murrue knew the value of planning for worst case scenarios.

_With Heero and La Flaga on standby_, she thought, _we'll be alright. Between fighting the Orb forces and trying to take Kaguya, the Alliance's resources will be split; any squadrons they send after us will be taken care of by Wing Zero and the Tallgeese Kai._

What would happen after they made it to outer space was another matter altogether. Murrue was concerned over the vagueness of their new 'mission'. It was all well and good to say that the purpose of the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _leaving Orb was to find a way to bring the war to a conclusion that did not involve genocide, but how to accomplish that was, at the moment, beyond her.

_The two largest militaries in human history are clashing in this conflict_, she mused grimly, _and both are determined to wipe the other out, not just to the last soldier but their civilians as well. The power, numbers, and resources behind the Alliance and ZAFT dwarf any other nation in the Earth Sphere, and we're just two ships and a handful of mobile suits. If we can make contact with members of the PLANT resistance movement our odds will improve… but we'll still have a long ways to go. The task before us may as well be moving mountains…_

Still, despite the challenges that lay before them, Murrue refused to be intimidated. She would not give up; after coming so far, how could she?

She turned to the incredible young man at her side and smiled. _It's true that saving mankind from annihilating itself is part of why I'm fighting now_, she thought, _but my true reasons are much more personal. I'm fighting for a future for Heero and myself… for a future with the man I love. I don't care if others might view that as selfish in light of what's at stake; protecting Heero, securing a future for the two of us… _that _is why I'm fighting!_

….

Muruta Azrael chuckled as he watched the timer on his personal monitor tick down inexorably towards zero. The deadline was about to pass, and as he had predicted there had been no response from Lord Uzumi to his demands. He had been hoping for the other noble families to overthrow the Athhas and make an overture, but that hadn't happened. It hardly mattered; with the arrival of the Eurasian Home Fleet, the Alliance armada was now a truly overwhelming force. The pitiful remnants of Orb's military could not hope to survive the coming assault; they were doomed.

Minimizing the timer, Azrael brought up another image, this one of the _Powell_'s main hangar. He had a clear view of the Raider, Forbidden, and Calamity. All three units had been fully repaired from the damage they had taken the previous day, and they were ready for battle. The pilots were already inside, having just received new doses of Gamma Glipheptin mere minutes ago.

_It's too bad we don't have a second line of Biological CPUs ready for battle yet_, he thought, _having only these three to draw on is a real pain… no matter. With the funding they have access to, it will only be a matter of time until Lodonia and our other facilities will be able to churn out more front-line fighters. They certainly don't lack for test subjects; I've made sure of that._

He brought up another file, this one labeled 'Phantom Pain'. A black organization established by Blue Cosmos and its chief financial backer Logos several years prior to the start of the war, the group had its hands in not only the Biological CPU project but dozens of other top secret programs as well. MS and warship research, weapons development, biological enhancements… all that and more fell under the purview of the organization forged by Azrael and his associate, Lord Djibril. Its official designation within the Atlantic Federation was the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group. The title wasn't entirely non-indicative; Phantom Pain did utilize a significant number of the Alliance's new mobile suits, participated in active theaters of war, and had the authority to commandeer warships at will. However, the unit was outside the Alliance chain of command, and reported directly to Azrael. Designating it as the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group served as a means of concealing its more research oriented departments, which in fact made up the bulk of the organization.

Scrolling though the file, making a brief overview of the operations his private army and science group was currently running, Azrael smiled as he came to the tag he was looking for. Accessing the link labeled 'Phantom Commander', his eyes narrowed as he studied the latest updates.

_So far so good_, he mused, _he's still with Bernard's North Africa invasion force. That campaign will give him more battle experience as a mobile suit pilot; can't have him just participate in exercises to hone his skills. Now, let's check his physical health…_

He smiled as he browsed the medical records of the project's sole surviving subject. _Excellent_, he thought, _he still hasn't shown signs of the degenerative conditions found in others like him. Considering how long the project has been going, along with all the failures, this is marvelous news. If things continue along these lines, he should prove to be a worthy representative. I cannot physically take part in battles; my skills lie elsewhere. Through _him_, though, I will have a field commander and a warrior that embodies everything I seek to achieve. _

Anyone else would've called what he was trying to do little more than trying to live through a being that could do what he lacked the skills to do, but Azrael considered himself above such foolish sentiments. To him, the top subject of 'Phantom Commander' would be an agent of his will on the battlefield, an executor of his agenda in the military. However, despite all the intense training that the subject had been put through, he was still untested in actual battle. Fighting in North Africa would begin building the field experience necessary to complete the process of turning the subject into the warrior and leader destined to lead Phantom Pain's combat operations in the future.

Exiting out of the file, he returned to the timer just in time to see it enter the final minute of its countdown. Sitting back in his chair, Azrael decided to use that last moment to bask in the glory of all that he had accomplished in but a few short years… and how he would propel himself and the Earth Alliance, nay, the entire human race to even greater heights in both the coming battle and the campaigns to follow.

Azrael grinned as the timer finally ticked down to zero. "Captain," he said to the _Powell_'s commanding officer, who was now also charged with military leadership of the armada, "the time has come; begin the attack."

….

"Holy hell," said the sensor operator, "they're getting decimated…"

_No argument there_, thought Murrue grimly as she watched the tactical feed of the battle displayed on the main monitor. Like the battle yesterday, there was no sense of subtlety or finesse to the Alliance's attack; their forces had simply slammed into the Orb fleet and air squadrons like a tsunami.

The battle was nearly a half an hour old, and despite being heavily, hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned the surviving warships of the Orb fleet were putting up a valiant fight. Bolstered by the remaining carrier fighters, surface-based aircraft, and shoreline artillery, the Orb military was determined to stand their ground, buying every extra minute they could for the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi _to finish their final launch preparations.

Unfortunately, the sheer weight of the enemy's numbers meant any effort on the part of the Orb forces was doomed to failure. Dozens of Alliance warships were damaged or sinking, and their fighter squadrons were slugging it out in a vicious dogfight with the Orb planes, but the enemy was more than capable of absorbing the losses, and had more than returned the favor. The Orb Navy was being pounded relentlessly under a rain of missiles and cannon fire, along with torpedoes from the Alliance Aqua Dart mini-attack-subs. The last of the Pisces mobile suits had been destroyed in the opening act of the engagement, taking scores of Aqua Darts before succumbing to the sheer weight of numbers thrown at them in a massive frontal assault. The remaining Aries mobile suits had met a similar fate, destroying dozens of full-flight Strikes and Spearhead fighter jets before being ground down and ultimately wiped out by the enemy.

Matters were only made worse by the three Alliance prototype mobile suits tearing into the Orb forces. The black and red machine was in its mobile armor form, carrying the blue heavy artillery unit. While the latter mobile suit pounded away with its formidable array of cannons, the former fired off yellow energy beams from the cannon in its 'mouth'. Several smoking wrecks of Orb warships lay in their wake, slipping beneath the waves. Meanwhile, the green and grey mobile suit was ripping a swath of its own through the Orb fleet, hacking ships in half with its wicked scythe and demolishing others with its railguns and plasma cannon.

_If only Kira had destroyed those three units the day before_, Murrue thought, griping the arms of her chair as she watched the brutal battle unfold on the tactical display, _yes, our position would still be untenable, but we could've saved more people, the fleet would be able to last longer. Thousands of brave men and women have already died in the course of half an hour; how many more will perish before this is over? If Kira had been willing to take the lives of three enemy combatants, how many of our allies might've been spared?_

There was no point in ruminating on such things. Murrue had no way of knowing how the Alliance would treat any surviving Orb soldiers that surrendered after the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi _had made their escape. For all she knew her former comrades would carry out another massacre. As much as she hated to even think such a thing, it was not a possibility Murrue could rule out. Still, there was always the chance the enemy would abide by the laws and customs of war in this scenario. The Orb forces taking part in the holding action were entirely made up of Naturals; all Coordinator personnel had already been evacuated to the Elysium and Eden colonies at L3.

As things were now, the Orb forces were being mauled. Heero had been right in saying that their allies would be lucky to last an hour; at the rate the Alliance forces were tearing into them, the Orb military would be wiped out in another fifteen or twenty minutes. The Navy had been reduced to a third of the ships that they had started the engagement with, while the fighters had been worn down to a quarter of their numbers. They had made the Alliance pay for it, of course, but the sheer weight of numbers, especially in the form of the swarms of newly arrived Eurasian fighter squadrons and Aqua Dart mini-attack-subs, meant that any losses the enemy suffered were ultimately negligible.

Murrue had a feeling that they were running out of time, and contacted Heero on her private monitor. "Heero, are you getting all this?"

The Gundam pilot nodded. "I'm patched into your sensor feeds. Orb's getting thrashed… looks like them lasting even an hour was a generous estimate. We need to get underway."

"Agreed," said Murrue. She turned to her new XO. "Lieutenant Tsukino, status report!"

"Final system checks complete," she replied, "and the last dock workers just left the ship a minute ago. We're fully stocked and ready to go. Just say the word and I'll get dock control on the line."

"Do it!" ordered Murrue. She turned back to the Perfect Soldier. "Heero, how's Wing Zero?"

"Ready to go if needed," said Heero, "and La Flaga's all set in the Tallgeese."

"Good," she replied, "I'm going to get us out of here ASAP. I'll contact you if I need you to launch."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

As he signed out Murrue turned her attention to the main monitor, which now showed the dock chief. "Captain Ramius," he said, "you're clear to go. Once you clear the dock, run west parallel to the mass driver. We're sending your vector now. Good luck."

"Understood," said Murrue, "you as well."

The dock chief nodded before the screen went back to the tactical display. A thin red dotted line appeared on, just behind the rear line of the remaining Orb warships. _It's going to be close_, Murrue thought, her eyes narrowing, _at the rate Orb's losing ships and planes, we'll probably be engaged by a few MS teams before we reach maximum altitude. Heero and La Flaga can take them, though… alright, here we go!_

"Ensign Neumann," she said, "take us out. Once we clear the dock, begin our ascent."

"Aye, Captain," the helmsman replied.

There was a familiar rumble as the _Archangel_'s powerful engines roared to life. It would take time for them to lift the massive warship to its maximum altitude; Murrue could only hope that the Orb forces would be able to hold out long enough for them to get clear.

Slowly but surely the white behemoth made its way out of the dock. Once they were clear the ship adjusted course and headed out towards the side of the mass driver.

"I'm opening her up," said the helmsman, "beginning ascent."

As the ship began its climb Murrue looked to the starboard side of the forward viewport. The vicious battle raging between the Orb rearguard and the Alliance invasion force had begun encroaching on the immediate area surrounding the Kaguya spaceport; stray missiles and cannon rounds were impacting the water and the tarmac, though thankfully the mass driver hadn't taken any hits.

A massive explosion lit up the horizon as the last Orb fleet carrier, the _Hiryū_, was hit dead center by a combination of fire from the blue heavy artillery mobile suit, the green and grey special weapons unit, the beam cannon from the red and black machine serving as a mount for the blue one, a barrage of torpedoes from the Aqua Darts swarming beneath the waves, and a concentrated missile bombardment by no less than seven cruisers and thirteen destroyers. Murrue theorized that the fuel tanks must've ruptured, because the large ship was ripped in half in a huge burst of fire and smoke.

Several Orb destroyers moved in quickly to fill the breach in their lines caused by the carrier's destruction, but Murrue knew that the effort would only buy them a few minutes. She could feel the _Archangel _slowly rise higher and higher… too slow for her tastes.

_Damn it_, she thought, _we need to move faster! _However, Murrue knew that her helmsman was doing the best he could; he could only push the ship's engines so hard in the Earth's atmosphere before redlining them, which was why it was much slower on the planet than in outer space.

Ten meters became twenty, twenty became forty, forty became eighty... they were picking up speed, and the _Archangel_'s altitude was increasing. _Come on, girl_, she privately urged the warship that had served her and her crew so faithfully throughout their trials and tribulations, _give it all you've got!_

They had just hit five hundred meters when the sensor operator cried out an alarm. "MS teams have broken through the last line! We've got incoming Strikes, forty of them!"

"Open the hangar doors!" she ordered, "Miriallia, tell Heero and La Flaga to launch as soon as they can!"

Not waiting for a response from the girl, Murrue hit her private monitor and contacted Wing Zero. "Heero," she said, "we've got incoming; forty Strikes."

"Understood," said Heero, nodding calmly.

"Heero, listen,' said Murrue, "we'll hit maximum altitude in three minutes. You have to beat the enemy and get back here before then!"

Heero nodded again, and Murrue could see the cool confidence radiating from his eyes. He gave her a small smile. "We'll only need two, Murrue."

Murrue returned the smile, the uncharacteristic boast from the Gundam pilot doing wonders for her own confidence. "I'll hold you to that, Heero."

"Roger that," he replied.

….

**(Start "Last Impression – SRW W Version")**

"So," said the Hawk of Endymion, his image on the bottom right hand corner of Heero's main monitor, "what's the game plan?"

The two pilots were waiting for the doors at the end of the ship's 'legs' to finish opening. They only had a few seconds to work out a strategy; fortunately, Heero already had one in mind.

"I'll hit them with the Twin Buster Rifle," he said, "as soon as I take my shot, you dive in and hit them while their disorganized; I'll be right behind you."

"Blast and blitz, eh?" said La Flaga, smirking, "I like it!"

"Let's move," said Heero as the doors finished opening, "Wing Zero, launching."

"Tallgeese Kai, launching!" said La Flaga.

Wing Zero shot out of the _Archangel_'s left 'leg', while the Tallgeese Kai flew out the right. Heero's sensors lit up with a swarm of contacts approaching the portside of the white warship, and he turned to meet them head on, La Flaga hot on his tail.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he sighted in on the flock of forty mass production full-flight Strikes. They were spread out across the sky… but not as much as they should've been. The Alliance had been slow to learn the lessons that the ZAFT forces had been taught the hard way; Heero would make them pay for their mistake. He split the Twin Buster Rifle and took aim with both guns, their barrels glowing with golden-yellow energy as they built up a charge. Then he fired.

At _maximum _power.

The enemy machines had begun to scatter just before Heero fired, but it hadn't been nearly soon enough. Twin torrents of energy, each strong enough to annihilate an entire _colony _in a single blast, ripped through the Alliance formations. One shot obliterated fourteen mobile suits, the other seventeen, leaving just nine machines left to oppose Wing Zero and the Tallgeese Kai.

La Flaga wasted no time in diving right into the enemy's midst. The Tallgeese Kai shot forward just as the golden-yellow beams cleared the rifle barrels, and as Heero was reassembling the Twin Buster Rifle the Hawk of Endymion was already tearing into the Alliance mobile suits. One unit went down with an emerald beam through the chest, and another was cut in two by the Tallgeese Kai's violet blade. The remaining seven machines frantically returned fire with their beam rifles, but La Flaga was able to block their shots with the Planet Defensors.

With the enemy focusing on the Tallgeese Kai, they were vulnerable to another attack from Heero, and he wasted no time in making the most of the opportunity. Igniting Wing Zero's emerald beam saber, he dove straight into the fray, stabbing one Strike in the back and slashing another in half in a manner of seconds. Capitalizing on Heero's entry, La Flaga struck again, taking down another mobile suit with his beam rifle. One Strike tried to take him from behind, but it was shredded by a barrage of gatling fire from Wing Zero.

The pilots of the last three machines were in a state of panic. Their flying was frantic and uncoordinated, making them easy prey for the two aces that had so effortlessly wiped out their comrades. Firing a low-power shot with the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero turned two of the Strikes into fireballs, and the last was taken down by a slash from La Flaga's beam saber.

"That wasn't too hard," said the Hawk of Endymion, admiring their handiwork.

"Come on," said Heero, turning Wing Zero around and gunning his engines "we need to get back to the _Archangel_."

"Right behind you," La Flaga replied, following suit.

Approaching the ship, Heero contacted the bridge. "Murrue," he said as her face appeared in the lower right hand corner of his monitor, "enemy forces neutralized."

"We saw it from here," she replied, smiling, "excellent work… and in one minute, not two. You still don't give yourself enough credit, Heero."

"I had help," he replied. Still, he couldn't help but smile slightly at her praise. "We're coming in for landing."

Murrue nodded. "We're opening the bay doors now. Get inside as fast as you can!"

**(End "Last Impression – SRW W Version")**

….

"Heero and La Flaga have landed," Miriallia reported, "closing hangar doors now!"

"Have the hangar crews secure both suits immediately," Murrue reported, "we have a minute thirty until we reach maximum altitude."

_And not a moment too soon_, she thought grimly as she checked the small tactical display she had brought up on her personal monitor. While Heero and La Flaga's swift and complete curb-stomping of the Alliance Strike squadrons had been a major source of relief for her, along with their safe landing in the hangar, the fighting taking place far below them was sobering to say the least. The Orb fleet was on its last legs, with the handful of ships still afloat all suffering various degrees of damage. The waterfront before Kaguya was littered with flaming wrecks, and the Alliance forces were making their final push. Still, as impossible as it seemed, the enemy still did not have a clear shot at the spaceport. The last remnants of the Orb fleet and its supporting air squadrons were making a last stand for the history books, refusing to go down just yet, stalling the enemy through sheer tenacity alone. Mauled destroyers and cruisers were firing non-stop with every functioning weapon that they had left, supported by shoreline batteries manned by Army volunteers who had chose to stay and help cover the flight of the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi_. The Orb fighter pilots were shooting it out with the last of their missiles and machine gun ammo, and the only planes that withdrew were ones that had exhausted their munitions.

Unfortunately, it was clear now that it would only be moments before the Alliance forces would be able to begin an assault on Kaguya itself. They would naturally want to take the mass driver intact, but the surrounding facilities would be severely damaged as the enemy moved in.

_The Kusanagi has to launch soon_, thought Murrue_, otherwise they'll be caught on the ground, and they could well be destroyed._

Murrue could only hope that they were ready to launch; right now she had to tend to her own duties. Exiting out of the tactical display, she brought up another image, this one showing the _Archangel_'s current altitude and ascent angle.

"Stand by to fire Lohengrins!" she ordered.

"Aye, Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "positron cannons are synched with boosters; all systems green!"

"Ten seconds until we hit maximum altitude!" yelled the helmsman.

Murrue nodded as the final countdown began on the main monitor. After a few seconds she spoke. "Three… two… one… fire!"

The two massive bow guns opened up, sending twin blasts of crimson-orange energy skyward. There was a noticeable thrumming as the positron boosters activated, and a swirling tunnel of energy surrounded the ship. Positron particles formed a 'cone' in front of the _Archangel_'s, their colors running the entire width of the spectrum.

"Positronic interference achieved!" cried the sensor operator, "Atmospheric resistance decreasing rapidly!"

"Helm, punch it!" ordered Murrue.

"Hang on tight!" yelled Ensign Neumann as he gunned the throttle.

Murrue braced herself in her chair, but that didn't stop her from being pressed against the back rest, and she struggled to hang on. The ship shuddered violently for a few moments before their ride began to smooth out as the atmosphere in front of them was disintegrated by the positrons.

"Altitude increasing rapidly," said the sensor operator, "we've achieved escape velocity!"

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," she said softly.

Normally such a momentous event would be a cause for celebration; a ship the size of the _Archangel _had never achieved escape velocity without the aid of a mass driver. They had just carved their names into the history books… if their previous accomplishments hadn't done so already.

However, instead of cheers and applause, a somber silence fell over the crew. Everyone knew that as they flew towards outer space thousands of brave men and women of the Orb military were still fighting and dying on Earth. Their sacrifices had given the _Archangel _time to escape, and would hopefully do the same for the _Kusanagi_.

_So many lives lost today_, Murrue thought solemnly as she closed her eyes for a moment, _all we can do now is make sure those soldiers didn't die in vain._

….

Sitting in the cockpit of the Freedom, Kira jumped as Erica Simmons appeared on his monitor. "Kira, Athrun," said the engineer, "the last line is collapsing, and those three prototypes are closing in. Launch immediately and deal with them; we just need a couple more minutes!"

Kira nodded. "Got it. Open the doors and we'll head out!"

The Freedom and Justice had been moved to a shuttle hangar after they had left the _Archangel_. They had been on standby since the battle had begun, and both boys were well aware of the deteriorating situation.

"Miss Simmons," said Kira as the doors opened, "What's the status of the _Archangel_?"

"It's clear," she replied, "they just fired the Lohengrins about a minute ago, and our sensors indicate they've achieved escape velocity. Your friends are fine, Kira; focus on the enemy now."

"Alright," said Kira, feeling as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders, "Kira Yamato, Freedom launching!"

"Athrun Zala," his friend said over the tactical channel, "Justice launching!"

The two ZAFT prototypes flew out of the hangar. Climbing for altitude, Kira had little trouble finding the three Alliance prototypes. They were closing in rapidly on the spaceport, a trail of destruction in their wakes. The red and black one was in its mobile armor form, serving as a flight platform for the blue heavy artillery unit, while the green and grey machine was flying independently. The young Coordinator grimaced as he saw the flaming wrecks of dozens of Orb warships in the water, slowly slipping beneath the waves.

_Such a waste of life_, he thought, _this whole battle should never have happened…_

There was little point in brooding over it now; if the three prototypes were allowed to go any further, they would find the _Kusanagi _and destroy it before it could launch. Kira was determined not to let that happen.

"Kira," said Athrun, "I'll take the one with the scythe; you focus on the artillery unit."

Kira nodded. "Got it. Let's go!"

He gunned the throttle while at the same time bringing the Freedom's array of weapons to bear. Kira tried to target the flight unit's wings and the heavy cannons mounted on the blue machine's shoulders. He cut loose with a barrage of plasma bolts, energy beams, and rail cannon shots, but the enemy was able to successfully evade most of his shots, with the blue machine blocking a rail cannon round with its large shield.

_Damn it_, he thought as he closed in, igniting his beam saber, _this won't be easy._

Athrun, for his part, had initiated contact with his foe much the same way Kira had, opening fire with the Justice's ranged weapons. The green and gray machine had little problem with blocking the shots with its energy shields, but unlike Kira, Athrun's ranged fire was just to keep the enemy on the defensive. The maroon mobile suit quickly closed the gap, and Athrun put away his beam rifle and ignited both the Justice's beam sabers, quickly combining them into a double-bladed weapon. Charging head on at his foe, weaving through railgun and plasma fire, Athrun swiftly closed the gap and unleashed a powerful downward strike, attempting to cut his foe in half. The green and gray unit managed to sideslip to the right though, and the violet blade only managed to leave a scorch mark along one of the shield prongs. However, utilizing the unique nature of his weapon, Athrun was quickly able to transition into a lateral strike with the opposite blade. Once again, his foe's quick reaction times prevented the blow from being lethal, but the violet blade did succeed in slicing through the barrel of the left railgun, crippling the weapon.

Kira had only glanced at Athrun's fight for a couple seconds, but in that time his enemy was able to launch a counterattack, opening up with not just the heavy artillery unit's guns, but also the flight platform's beam cannon. Weaving through the fire, Kira dodged most of the shots and took the yellow beam from the flight unit on the Freedom's shield. Then he went back on the offensive, closing in and swinging his blade in an effort to take out one of the flight platform's wings. The machine was already going into a climb as Kira launched his attack though, and all he succeeded in doing was swiping the tip of his blade across the underside of one wing.

"Kira," said Athrun, "now's not the time to try and take them down non-lethally! We have to beat them quickly, and you won't do that by playing nice!"

"We don't have to kill them," Kira replied as he opened fire, keeping his foes on the defensive but failing to land any hits, "all we have to do is keep them at bay until the _Kusanagi _can launch!"

"Technically yes," said Athrun as he lashed out with his double-bladed beam saber, trying to stab his foe's cockpit but instead hitting the right shoulder, only dealing moderate damage, "but these guys are too dangerous to spare, you know that! If they survive this fight, what's to stop them from coming after us in the future, or helping the Alliance massacre innocent people or surrendered soldiers?"

"They're just following orders," said Kira as he dodged his foe's return fire, though for some reason his argument rang hollow even in his own years.

"Orders from a bunch of genocidal monsters!" Athrun spat back as he dodged a curving plasma shot from the green and gray machine, "Without nuclear weapons or the _Archangel _and the Heliopolis prototypes, these three mobile suits are the deadliest armaments the Alliance's arsenal; they have to be destroyed!"

Kira shook his head as he unleashed another barrage at his enemy, attempting to take out the heavy artillery unit's guns but only succeeding in hitting one of the flight platform's 'claws' with a plasma beam, destroying it but dealing no serious overall damage to the machine. "I'm not going to kill them! The Freedom gives me the power to fight without killing people, and I'm going to use it!"

Athrun sighed. "The enemy could try to do the same with their new mobile suits, but they aren't. They don't share your compassion, Kira."

"It doesn't matter, Athrun," said Kira, "this is how I'm fighting."

His friend shook his head. "Alright, I'll lay off; now's not the time for us to be arguing anyway. Just don't get yourself killed, you got that?"

Kira nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Be careful, Athrun."

"Copy that," he replied before signing off.

_I hope Cagalli's ship is able to launch soon_, thought Kira as he traded fire with his foes, _Athrun and I can take these guys, but it won't be long until more Alliance mobile suits and fighters join the fray. They have to hurry!_

….

"Hurry up, Cagalli," said Lord Uzumi.

The fiery princess winced as her father grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her along the catwalk towards the _Kusanagi_'s starboard boarding hatch. Stray cannon rounds and missiles had begun impacting the spaceport, and the massive hangar containing Orb's newest warship shuddered occasionally as it took hits. The facility was armored and reinforced though, despite being officially a civilian installation, and it was able to absorb the impacts without suffering major damage. Under a concentrated bombardment, though, that was liable to change.

Looking ahead, Cagalli saw Kisaka by the hatch, apprehension on his face. The rest of the crew was already on board, along with Erica Simmons and her top scientists. All that was left was for the Orb leadership to board, and they would be able to launch. Cagalli was concerned though; apart from her father, there were no signs of other members of Orb's central government. She had been with several of them earlier in the spaceport's control center when her father had suddenly grabbed her and pulled her away, but Cagalli had not seen any of the other cabinet members or the official Chief Representative, her uncle Homura, leave the room.

There was also the demeanor of her father to consider. There was a tension in the man that Cagalli had never seen before. Most people would've chalked it up to stress caused by the Alliance attack, but Cagalli knew better; her father had nerves of steel. No, something was very wrong, but she had no idea just what it was.

Another missile hit the facility, and Cagalli had to catch herself on the railing as the catwalk shuddered. "Lady Cagalli," called Kisaka, "Come on, quickly!'

She nodded as she regained her footing. "Right." Looking up at the Orb Colonel and her unofficial bodyguard/caretaker, she realized that something was not right with Kisaka as well. He had the same sense of foreboding that emanated from her father. It was subtle, but it was there all the same, and Cagalli's own sense of disquiet was only increased as a result.

"Kisaka," said her father, "is she ready?"

He nodded. "The ship's completely set into the mass driver, and final checkouts are complete." He then looked down for a moment before speaking again. "Just waiting on our final passenger, sir, and she's here now."

"Wait a minute," said Cagalli as she approached Kisaka, "what do you mean 'final passenger'? What about the cabinet and my uncle? Aren't they coming?"

"No, they are not, Cagalli," said her father, causing her to turn around and look at him. Her heartbeat increased to a fever pitch as she saw the somber expression on his face, and she found herself dreading what he would say next.

He spoke again, and his words confirmed her worst fears. "And neither am I."

Cagalli was floored by the announcement. "What… father, you can't be serious! You our leader; we need you! You have to come with us, father!"

The Lion of Orb shook his head. "The world that I lead our nation through is changing, Cagalli. It is ending, in a way, and I will not be fit to oversee the rebirth of our country in the new world that follows. That task, that responsibility, belongs to you."

Cagalli shook her head. "That… that's ridiculous, father! _You're _our leader, and you always will be! I'm not ready to govern, and even if I were, that's still no reason for you to stay behind!"

"That is not the only reason I am staying, Cagalli," her father replied, "Once you are clear, I will trigger the self-destruct sequence for the Kaguya spaceport, along with our major armaments factories, shipyards, and research facilities; they cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Alliance."

"So do it remotely!" cried Cagalli.

Lord Uzumi shook his head. "We cannot; there is the chance that the Alliance could intercept the signal and hack it, or that interference could disrupt it. No, it must be done manually… and I will not leave anyone else behind to do so; it is my responsibility."

"Father, no!" she cried, attempting to throw herself at the man. However, she was grabbed from behind by Kisaka and pulled into the _Kusanagi_.

"Let me go!" she cried, struggling in vain against the powerful hands that gripped her shoulders, "Father!"

Her father walked up to her, standing just outside the ship at the edge of the catwalk, smiling sadly. He pulled a photograph out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I'm sorry, Cagalli. Take heart, though; you will not be alone."

Taking the picture, Cagalli saw that it was of a brown haired woman holding to babies, one with brown hair and the other with blond hair. Flipping it over, her eyes widened in shock as she read the names written on the back.

_Kira and Cagalli._

"No way…" she said softly, "impossible…"

She looked up again at her father, who was still smiling that bittersweet smile. "You'll be with you brother."

"Father…" she said, struggling to cope with the bombshell that had just been dropped on her… along with everything else that was happening.

"I feel honored," said Lord Uzumi, "to have been your father."

Cagalli's heart leapt up into her throat as she realized what was about to happen. "_Father!_" she shrieked.

She tried to reach out, but it was too late; the hatchway slammed shut. There was a small window in the door, through which she saw her father give her one last smile before looking over her shoulder at Kisaka. He then nodded before turning around and walking away.

"_Father!_" she cried.

Dimly she heard Kisaka speak into an intercom mounted on the wall. "The princess is aboard! Launch immediately!"

"_No, we can't leave!_" Cagalli screamed, pressing herself against the hatch, looking desperately out the window for her father, "_We can't leave like this! Father!_"

….

"Kira!" yelled Athrun over the radio.

He nodded. "I see it. Come on, let's go!"

At long last, the central body section of the _Kusanagi _was heading down the mass driver. Its speed was incredible, and Kira had to push the Freedom's engines to maximum in order to have a chance at intercepting it.

Athrun's position had been closer to the mass driver when the ship had begun its launch, and he was able to latch onto it first. Grasping part of the hull with one hand, the Justice shifted around and reached out with the other. "Kira, come on!" yelled Athrun.

Kira's eyes narrowed as he concentrated, reaching out with the Freedom's hand to grab the Justice's. _Come on_, he thought, leaning forward in his seat as the meters closed, willing his machine to stretch out its arm as far as it could go, _just a little more… _The three prototypes were hot on his tail, and they were setting up for shots; it was now or never.

"Come on!" he yelled. Finally the Freedom was able to grab the Justice's outstretched hand. With his friend's help Kira was pulled aboard, and he locked his machine into the place that had been set up beforehand by the dock crews for his mobile suit. He then turned around and faced the incoming Alliance machines and cut loose with a final barrage from the Freedom's guns, and Athrun did the same with the Justice's weapons. The Alliance prototypes were forced to break off to avoid being hit, and as the _Kusanagi _continued down the mass driver its speed increased, and it left the enemy in the dust.

"Brace yourself," said Athrun, "we're about to hit the ramp!"

Kira nodded, gritting his teeth as he made sure the Freedom was gripping the hull mounts as tightly as it could. Checking his sensors, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the _Kusanagi _clear the mass driver and begin its ascent towards outer space.

….

Lord Uzumi smiled as he watched the _Kusanagi _clear the mass driver and begin climbing into the sky. Standing in the Kaguya spaceport's primary control room with his cabinet and his brother, he took a deep breath and let it out, a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment filling him. His had been a long life, one full of happiness and sorrow, good choices and bad, and many momentous changes and events witnessed along the way. Now, as his hand hovered over the button that would trigger the explosives planted in the facility and send the signal down the hardened wires that would cause the demolition charges in other key installations to activate, he felt a combination of peace and pride within him.

"The seeds have flown," he said as he looked out the window. Turning briefly to his cabinet members and his brother, he saw them all nod in acknowledgment, the same content smiles on all their faces; they were at peace with what they had done, with the end that they had chosen. Their legacy was taking to the stars at that very moment; Orb would survive, and be rebuilt anew.

Looking down towards the waterfront, Lord Uzumi saw Alliance landing craft closing in on the outskirts of the facility, along with mobile suits and fighters. "We can't leave Orb," he said, "in the hands of those bastards."

Then he pressed the button.

….

**(Start "Leaving Earth")**

_No_, thought Cagalli as she pressed her face against the window, watching the Kaguya spaceport recede into the distance as the _Kusanagi _cleared the mass driver, _this can't be happening._

She couldn't be doing this, leaving her father behind. This had to be some kind of nightmare, one that she would wake up from at any second. But deep down in the pit of her heart she knew that she was not asleep; there would be no waking up from this dream.

Suddenly a huge explosion ripped through the spaceport, gutting the facility. This was quickly followed by a string of smaller explosions along the mass driver, causing it to crumble into the sea.

"_No_," she cried out, tears falling freely, "_Father!_"

As the _Kusanagi _gained altitude she could see more explosions erupting all over the Orb mainland. Factories, military bases, shipyards, research installations… the sources of Orb's might, the true reasons for the Atlantic Federation's invasion, were consumed by fire.

Cagalli felt as though she had been gut punched. Here she was, flying away on an advanced warship, while her homeland burned behind her…

… while her _father _died.

"_Father_," she whimpered as she watched fire and smoke engulf parts of her homeland. It was her worst fears come true, a scene straight from hell. Night had fallen on Orb, and in her despair she had to wonder if dawn would ever come again. Sorrow and anguish welled up in her chest and tore free from her throat in another tortured scream.

"_**FATHER!**_"

**Preview for next time!**

_Orb has fallen, its mainland conquered by the Earth Alliance. The crews of the Archangel and the Kusanagi have managed to escape into outer space, but will have little time to rest and recover from the trials they faced on the surface, nor to mourn those who gave their lives to facilitate their flight. For shortly after making orbit they intercept a signal from none other than Lacus Clyne. The Eternal is engaged by ZAFT forces, and in desperate need of assistance. The Kusanagi is not yet ready for battle, so the Archangel and her mobile suits rush to the rescue, with Wing Zero, Freedom, and Justice leading the charge. Upon their arrival they find not only Lacus but several old acquaintances from their time in North Africa locked in fierce battle. And old friends are not just found in the ranks of the Eternal's crew and mobile suit pilots. For among the enemy squadrons is a soldier that the Archangel and her crew are quite familiar with… especially Heero Yuy. Amidst the fighting between the rebels and the ZAFT forces, the Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie will at long last meet in battle once again. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Nineteen: Three Ships Alliance._

**Author's notes: **Alright, it took less than a month to finish this chapter. I feel mighty proud of myself. Also, my mouth is numb; had a damn visit to the dentist today to get two small cavities filled. So yeah, that kinda sucked. Ah well, you're not here to listen to me complain.

The 'surface arc', which is comprised of all but the first four chapters of this fic, is finally at an end! Man, such a milestone, feels good to have the action finally move back into space. As always, please review, I look forward to reading what you guys and girls have to say!

Again, special thanks to EpyonZero23, all those in-depth PMs are always helpful in helping me think creatively and move the chapter along. Also, if you guys haven't checked out his fic "Haruka's Wings" yet… well, shame on you! Get on it! Ok, ok, I know drama/romance isn't for everyone, but come on, that fic's just beautiful! Keep at it, my friend, can't wait for your next chapter!

Until next time!


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes: **Alright, another short chapter… kinda. This one is, on Word, 94 pages long, so it's one page shorter than the last one! Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is entirely up to you… ok, moving on!

Song list for the chapter, in order of appearance: "Daybreak's Bell" by L'Arc-en-Ciel, "Ash Like Snow" by The Brilliant Green, and "The Round Table" from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack.

**Enjoy!**

**Episode Nineteen: Three Ships Alliance**

"We're leveled out, Captain," said Ensign Neumann, "positron boosters are detached and falling; they'll burn up in the atmosphere. What heading should I set?"

"Hold position here," Murrue ordered, "we need to wait for the core block of the _Kusanagi _to join us. Without its other components it's completely defenseless aside from the mobile suits inside it; they'll need our protection while they link up with the bow and engine blocks."

"Understood, Captain," the helmsman replied, "Setting thrusters to station keeping."

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue, "give me a status report."

"No damage suffered during our exit run," she replied, "we're rebalancing power distribution now that the positron boosters are detached; engineering reports a few minor fluctuations, but nothing serious. Electrical systems are almost completely restored to pre-booster configuration; in a few more minutes we'll be back in optimal running form."

"Captain," said the sensor officer, "I have the _Kusanagi _core block on sensors. I'll bring up their course projection."

The image on the main monitor shifted, and Murrue saw a blue dotted line representing the _Kusanagi_'s trajectory. Their exit course would bring them along the portside of the _Archangel_.

"We're being hailed by the _Kusanagi_," said the communications officer.

"Put them on screen," said Murrue.

Morgenroete's Chief Engineer appeared on the main monitor. "Captain Ramius," said Erica, "what's you status?"

"We're fine," she replied, "your boosters worked perfectly, Miss Simmons."

Erica nodded. "Glad to hear it, Captain. They were highly experimental pieces of technology; even with all the trial testing performed there was still a certain level of risk involved."

"I think you can now consider them field-proven," Murrue replied.

"That'll be some comfort to my scientists," she said, looking down for a moment, "things are… somber over here right now."

"I can only imagine," Murrue said softly, nodding in understanding, "Miss Simmons, are you now the commanding officer of the _Kusanagi_?"

Erica shook her head. "No, Captain Ramius. I was involved in the design of the _Izumo_-class line of battleships, and I have enough familiarity to run one if need be, but Colonel Kisaka will be acting as the military commander of this ship."

"Where is he now?" asked Murrue, "Shouldn't he be on the bridge?"

Erica sighed. "The Colonel is attending to… personal matters right now. I'm acting in his stead until he's able to come to the bridge."

_'Personal matters' no doubt refers to Cagalli_, thought Murrue solemnly, _the poor girl just lost her father…_

Murrue nodded. "I understand. Please, pass on our condolences to Cagalli. My crew and I are forever in her father's debt, both for his taking us in after we left the Alliance and for giving us the chance to escape into outer space. Lord Uzumi's sacrifice will not be forgotten by us; I give you my word on that. Also, you and the rest of the _Kusanagi_'s crew have my sympathy."

Erica bowed her head. "Thank you, Captain Ramius. I will pass your words on to Lady Cagalli and the others when I get the chance. Right now though, I must focus on getting this ship linked up with the other two modular sections; they were launched from L3 a few days ago, and they should be coming within sensor range soon."

"Captain," said the radar officer, "I have two large contacts on long range sensors. Their IFF beacons register as Orb, and their profiles match data given to us by Morgenroete; it's the other two blocks of the _Kusanagi_."

Murrue nodded before turning back to Erica. "Did you catch that, Miss Simmons?"

"I did," she replied, "we just picked them up on our end as well. We'll begin the linkup procedure now. It's done through tight beam transmissions, so we'll need a clear line of sight between us and the two components."

"Understood," said Murrue, "I'll adjust our position so we're out of the way. By the way, how are Kira and Athrun?"

"They're fine," said Erica, "the Freedom and Justice are both incredibly tough machines; they were able to ride out our exit on the core block's hull with no ill effects. They're coming inside the _Kusanagi _now."

"Glad to hear it," said Murrue, "proceed with the linkup; we'll keep you covered."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," said Erica before signing out.

Murrue turned to Ensign Neumann. "Helm, adjust our position, bearing five hundred meters over the _Kusanagi_."

"Yes, ma'am" said the helmsman as he carried out her orders.

Murrue then turned to her private monitor and contacted the hangar. "Crew Chief Murdoch," she said as the ship's head mechanic appeared on the screen, "what's the situation down there?"

"We're fine, Captain," he replied, "a few things got bumped around during the first part of our ascent, but the ride smoothed out fairly quickly, and the mobile suits, Skygrasper, and Moebius Zero were already secured. We've already got the place cleaned up and ready to go."

"Excellent work, Crew Chief," said Murrue.

"By the way," said Murdoch, "Heero just left Wing Zero about a minute ago. My guess is he's on his way up to the bridge."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Crew Chief. Carry on."

Mere seconds after Murrue cut the connection she heard the familiar sound of the bridge doors opening behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled as she saw Heero approaching her. "Heero," she said, "I'm glad you're alright."

The Gundam pilot nodded in acknowledgement. "We made it back to the ship with a little time to spare. Good thing we took down the Strike squadrons so quickly."

"Agreed," said Murrue, "I just finished speaking with Crew Chief Murdoch; he said the ride was a little rough down in the hangar at first, but it smoothed out in short order. How's Wing Zero?"

"Fine," he replied, "I didn't take any hits in the fighting, and the hangar crews managed to secure it before you hit the boosters. I wasn't expecting our exit flight to be as smooth as it was; Morgenroete outdid themselves with those boosters."

Murrue nodded. "I won't argue with that."

"What's our situation?" asked Heero.

Murrue sighed. "Safe for now, but where we go from here… I don't know, Heero. To be honest, I hadn't really planned further than getting us out of Orb in once piece. Right now we need to cover the core block of the _Kusanagi _while it links up with the bow and engine sections, but after that… I haven't the faintest idea."

Heero put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry; we'll get it figured out. For now, let's just focus on one thing at a time."

Murrue nodded and smiled, the Gundam pilot's words doing a great deal to ease her concerns. Heero was as calm as ever, and the quiet strength he exuded did wonders for Murrue's anxiety.

"You're right, Heero," she said, "one thing at a time; that's how we'll get through this. Thank you."

He gave her a small smile and nod as he replied. "You're welcome, Murrue."

….

"How could you?" cried Cagalli, glaring at Kisaka through tear-soaked eyes, "How could you just leave him like that? You were his best friend… probably his _only _real friend… _and you left him to die!_ You made _me _leave him to die!"

Kisaka responded by grabbing her by the shoulders. "Do you think I _wanted _to do this?" he growled, startling the girl, "I tried to talk him out of it! I told him he needed to come with us! Nothing would dissuade him, though; this was how he wanted to deal with the situation."

"Kisaka…" said Cagalli, unable to formulate a reply.

"Lady Cagalli," he continued, his voice softening a little, "your father made me promise to look after you in his stead, to help you become the leader our people need you to be. Were it not for that I would've stayed by his side until the end. Yes, he was my friend, and the best I ever had, but I gave him my word that I would take care of you no matter what. You lost your father today… but do not think that you are the only one pained by that loss; you are not the only one mourning Lord Uzumi right now."

Cagalli looked down, ashamed at the accusations she had leveled at the man. "I… I'm sorry, Kisaka," she said, her voice trembling, her grief making it difficult to speak, "I… didn't mean… I just…"

All the while she tried to speak, tears were falling freely. Orb's tomboy princess did her best to choke them back, but it was to no avail. Her shoulders were shaking involuntarily, her hands were balled into fists… her entire body seemed to seize up in her sorrow.

The strong hands that held her shoulders softened their grip as they took her into an embrace. Cagalli buried her head in the Colonel's chest, unable to hold back her sobs, and her tears soaked into her caretaker/bodyguard's uniform.

"Cagalli," said Kisaka softly, "it's alright. I know you did not mean what you said."

"Kisaka…" she cried, "I miss him so much. This past year… all I ever did was argue with him. I defied him… ridiculed him… I was a horrible daughter."

"No," the Colonel replied, "you were not, Cagalli. Your father knew that you acted ultimately out of the love you have for Orb, just as he did. Yes, you're stubborn and headstrong, and you went against his will many times, but he was proud of you all the same. You fought with your father, but he knew you still loved him. You've grown so much, Cagalli, and Lord Uzumi knew that no father ever had a better daughter than he did in you. The two of you had your differences, but every father and daughter have those, and it does not mean that they love each other any less."

Cagalli managed to choke back her tears for a moment and look up at her guardian, managing a tiny smile. "Kisaka… thank you."

He nodded at her before looking over her shoulder. Following his gaze, Cagalli saw Kira and Athrun standing behind them in the corridor. The two Coordinators looked nervous, clearly feeling that they were interrupting something, but at the same time there was concern in their expressions.

"Sorry," said Kira, "we came up here as fast as we could from the hangar…"

"We were worried," said Athrun, looking down, "excuse us, we'll go…"

"No," said Cagalli, shaking her head, "please, stay… both of you."

The two of them nodded before looking at Kisaka. The Orb Colonel returned the gesture. "I have to get to the bridge," he said, "I'll leave you three alone."

As he headed off down the hallway the two boys approached Cagalli. There was a moment of silence between the three of them before Cagalli threw herself at them, taking them both into a hug.

"Thank you… both of you, for being here," said Cagalli, struggling to keep her tears in check, "I… I'm glad you guys made it out ok."

"Of course," said Kira.

"Cagalli," said Athrun, "I'm sorry about your father… we both are."

The tomboyish princess nodded as she let them both go. "I know, Athrun… thank you."

Remembering what her father had given her, she reached inside her pocket and pulled out the photograph. "Kira, my father gave me this before we left… you need to see it."

"This sounds private," said Athrun, "I'll get going."

Cagalli shook her head and grabbed his arm. "No, Athrun… I want you here too. I think you should see it."

The former ZAFT pilot's eyes widened slightly in surprise before he nodded. Leaning in with Kira, the two boys looked at the picture Cagalli was holding. "A mother and her two children," said Athrun, "it's cute… but what's it got to do with us?"

"Look at this," said Cagalli softly as she flipped the picture over, revealing the two names written on the back.

_Kira and Cagalli._

"What the…?" said Athrun softly.

"No way…" said Kira, his eyes widening in shock. He looked from the photo to Cagalli and then back to the picture. "You said… you said your father had this?"

Cagalli nodded. "Yes, but…" She flipped the picture back over to show the woman and the children. "This woman… I've never seen her before. My mother… she died in a car accident when I was ten. Yes, I was young, but I still remember what she looked like… and this isn't her."

"I've never seen her either," said Kira, "but... the names on the back of the photo… Cagalli, I don't think your father would give this to you if it was a lie."

Cagalli nodded. As hard as it was to believe, she knew that Kira was right. There was no way her father would give her something like this if it wasn't important… or true. The photo with the names on the back might not have been incontrovertible proof in the eyes of some, but to Cagalli it was. The woman in the picture… was her real mother. The babies in the image were her and Kira.

Kira was her brother.

"But… why?" asked Cagalli, "Why did he never tell me?" She then looked at Kira. "And what about your own parents… or I guess we should say adopted parents. Why did they keep this from you… from _us_?"

"They must've had a good reason," said Athrun, causing both of them to look at him, "Cagalli, remember what I told you back on that plane about Kira and me being friends? We went to school together on the moon, and I met Kira's parents… I guess adoptive parents now, many times. They're both good people, and I know they love Kira. They wouldn't have kept something like this from him unless they thought it was for the best. I imagine they did it to protect him, just as Lord Uzumi and your adoptive mother did for you." He looked back and forth between the two of them and smiled. "Whatever they were to the two of you biologically, they loved you as their children, and nothing will ever change that."

Despite all that had happened in the past few hours, Cagalli couldn't help but smile. She turned to Kira and saw that her friend… no, her _brother _was smiling as well, comforted and reassured by Athrun's words.

"Athrun," said Cagalli, "you're absolutely right. They may not have been related to us by blood, but the people who raised us are still our parents, and nothing can change that. They loved us, and we loved them."

Kira nodded. "I know… I know I've had my own difficulties with my… my parents in recent months. Why they made me a Coordinator… now I know they didn't. But even if they had, even if they were the reason why I was the way I am… I still love them, and I know they love me."

The three of them were quiet for a few seconds before Athrun spoke again, his expression becoming more serious. "But still, you guys are right to wonder why they hid this from you. I want to know too; why keep something this important from you two? You're both more than old enough now to handle such a revelation; why keep you both in the dark for so long?"

Cagalli shook her head. "I… I don't know, Athrun. When my father gave me this, he didn't say anything about who the woman in it was. He must've had his reasons for doing so, but… I just don't know."

"I'm getting nothing out of this either," said Kira, studying the picture, "There's nothing here that helps us figure out who she is or where she was when she gave birth. That could be any hospital room she was in. It could've been in space or on Earth; it's impossible to tell."

Cagalli nodded as she looked at the picture. _Father_, she thought, _why did you give me this? Was it just to show me that Kira and I are brother and sister? I mean, that's definitely important… but now I have even more questions. Father…_

….

"Looks like things are going well so far," said Murrue as she checked her monitor.

Heero nodded as he looked over the beautiful Captain's shoulder. The image on the screen showed the core section of the _Kusanagi _well into the linkup process with the other two blocks. The bow section had just finished attaching itself, and the main engine block was lined up and moving in for the hook up.

"Looks like they'll be done in a few minutes," he said, "though I'm sure they'll have to run systems checks afterwards."

Murrue nodded. "I'm sure you're right. Still, at least they're not completely defenseless now; in addition to their mobile suits they can now use the bow weapons."

Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the image on the monitor. _It'll be good to have another warship on our side_, he thought, _from what Engineer Simmons said, the Izumo-class was the basis for the Archangel, and even if it's not as strong as Murrue's ship, it's still quite formidable. Its own firepower combined with the mobile suits it carries will give us more options in battle. We still need to work out a chain of command, though._

Heero looked over at Murrue, knowing without a doubt who he wanted coordinating actions between the capital ships. It wasn't just because he loved her; with all the combat experience she had accrued, not just as the _Archangel_'s commanding officer but throughout her career in the military, she was clearly the best choice. Orb had stayed out of the fighting until very recently, meaning Murrue's experience in large-scale ship and mobile suit combat was far greater than anything that their ally's own surviving officers could bring to the table.

And there was more. Though Heero knew the burden of command weighed heavily on Murrue's shoulders, she had proven herself to be a very capable leader. She had an intuitive grasp of the capabilities of both her ship and her crew, and was quick to adapt to the rapidly changing circumstances that always seemed to surround the _Archangel_. That grasp could easily be applied to the _Kusanagi _in a short amount of time; Heero knew that Murrue had studied the designs that had been sent to her by Morgenroete, and that she was more than capable of utilizing its considerable capabilities in conjunction with those of the _Archangel_.

She was courageous and intelligent, strong and determined… and most importantly, in Heero's mind, _compassionate_. Murrue genuinely cared about both her immediate crew and her allies, and did not risk their lives lightly. Yes, she would take risks, ask them to undertake dangerous tasks, but that was the duty of a commander, and she never ordered people into a situation where they were guaranteed to die. She always did her best to make sure that those fighting under her command had the support they needed, that they did not go into battle alone unless absolutely necessary. Heero knew that from personal experience; he was well aware of how determined she was to back him up, to make sure he did not fight alone, regardless of how skilled he was at doing precisely that.

"Heero," said Murrue, looking up at him, "something on your mind?"

Heero was startled to realize that he'd been staring at Murrue for several seconds now. The Gundam pilot quickly recovered though, giving his head a slight shake. "Just running through a few things in my head," he replied, "we're no longer operating as a single ship and its mobile suit compliment; the _Kusanagi _and her units open up a lot of new potential strategies for future engagements."

Murrue nodded. "You'll have to share whatever plans you come up with later on; it'd be good for us to run some exercises with the _Kusanagi _and her MS compliment so we can improve our effectiveness in battle."

"Yeah," said Heero, "if we can find a place far enough removed from Alliance and ZAFT patrol routes, we should definitely do some drills."

The two of them were interrupted by the communications officer. "Captain, I've got an open channel transmission originating not too far from our position!"

"Play it," ordered Murrue.

A female voice came over the bridge speakers… one that Heero was surprised to realize that he knew. He hadn't heard it in months though... in fact, he hadn't heard it since the day he'd first arrived in the Cosmic Era. There was some interference in the transmission, but the identity of the speaker was unmistakable.

"… is Lacus Clyne. We have no desire to fight you! We… end the war! Please…"

"N-jammer interference is playing hell with long-range communications," said the radio officer, "I can't clean this up any further."

"Can we at least pinpoint their position?" asked Murrue, "It sounds like they need help."

"Ma'am," said the sensor operator, "I have the source; it's at the very edge of our radar. There are multiple contacts, but I can't make out any distinct profiles at this distance!"

Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the image the radar officer brought up on the main monitor. It showed the current position of the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_ in relation to the source of Lacus's transmission, which was in the space between Earth and the Debris Belt. The general direction was towards L5; ZAFT space.

_ZAFT probably has patrols within the Debris Belt and along the inner rim in that area_, he thought, _if we go to help, enemy reinforcements could join the fight. Still, according to Kira Lacus is heavily involved in the opposition against the current PLANT government. She could well be the key to making contact with the moderate faction and getting us some much-needed allies. We can't pass this up._

He turned towards Murrue, and as she looked at him and nodded he knew that she had come to the same conclusion. It was a gamble, but one that they would have to take.

"Get me the _Kusanagi_ immediately!" she ordered.

The image on the screen was replaced by the face of Colonel Kisaka. "Captain Ramius," he said, "did you…"

"If you're talking about that transmission, then the answer is yes," said Murrue, "Colonel, what's the _Kusanagi_'s status?"

"The engine block is in the final stages of attachment," he replied, "but the ship's still not battle-ready yet. We can launch our mobile suits to screen us though while we finish the linkup."

Murrue nodded. "I see. Colonel, in that case I'm taking the _Archangel _to assist Miss Clyne. I need you to release Kira and Athrun to my command; we don't know what we'll be facing when we arrive, and I want those two flying with Heero as my vanguard."

"Got it," said Kisaka, "I'll let them know. We'll be able to get underway in a few minutes, so we'll try to catch up as fast as we can. _Kusanagi _out."

Murrue then turned to Heero. "Heero, you're my spearhead for this operation. I want Wing Zero's sensor data streaming to the _Archangel_; that'll help me prioritize targets for when we catch up to you, Kira, and Athrun."

Heero nodded. "Understood."

Murrue then smiled at him. "Suit up and get out there, Heero… and be careful."

Heero gave her a slight smile in return, grateful for her concern. "Roger that, Murrue."

….

"Lacus?" said Kira, his eyes widening as he listened to Kisaka's voice over the intercom.

"Yeah," he replied, "apparently she's under attack. We don't know the details, save that she's close by and towards ZAFT space."

Kira looked at Athrun, who appeared as surprised at the announcement as Kira was. "She must've fled the capital," he said, "after what she did to help you… my father wants her dead, Kira. Lacus and her allies must've no longer been able to stay hidden, and were forced to leave the homeland."

_That's right_, thought Kira, a sense of dread growing within him, _Athrun's father is the ruler of the PLANTs now, and the head of the radical faction. Lacus and her father were working against him, trying to find a way to bring the war to a peaceful end, just like we are. If ZAFT catches her..._

"We have to hurry!" he yelled.

Athrun nodded before looking over at Cagalli. Following his gaze, Kira was surprised to see the girl's brown eyes burning with a resolve he hadn't seen since the battle in Orb. "Kira's right," she said, "we have to save her!"

"Yeah," said Athrun, "Kira and I will launch and join up with Heero and the _Archangel_. Hopefully we'll get there in time!"

"Go!" said Cagalli, "We'll follow as soon as we can!"

Both boys nodded and made a break for the hangar; they were still in their flight suits, so there was no need to stop in the pilots' ready-room. As they rushed down the corridors Kira could feel his heart hammering away in his chest. Images of the lovely pink-haired songstress that had taken care of him and nursed him back to health during his time in the PLANTs rushed through his mind.

_Lacus_, he thought, fear and determination whirling inside him, _hang on, we're coming! We'll save you!_

….

The _Archangel_'s powerful engines were getting up to speed as Murrue contacted Heero on her personal monitor. The white warship could move much faster in outer space than it could on the surface, but even then it would still take time for it to reach the point of origin for Lacus's transmission, hence her decision to have Wing Zero, Freedom, and Justice go ahead as a vanguard for the vessel. The latter two machines would launch shortly from the _Kusanagi_, and Murrue knew that Heero was about ready to take off as well.

The young man appeared on her screen, clad in the black pilot's suit he had worn when they'd first met. His helmet was on this time as well, but she could still see his features clearly through the visor.

"Heero," said Murrue, "what's your status?"

"I'm ready to go, Murrue," he replied, "I just set up a sensor feed to the _Archangel_; you should be getting my data now."

Indeed, her personal monitor split into two images, the one on the right showing Heero and the one on the left streaming information from Wing Zero. "I have it, Heero," said Murrue, "once you're on scene I'll use your data to get a feel for the overall battle. Once we're in range I'll open up with the big guns."

"Roger that," said Heero.

"You'll be flying with the Freedom and Justice," said Murrue, "I'm holding the Tallgeese Kai and the Buster back until we arrive; since they operate on batteries, they can't fight for as long as you, Kira, and Athrun can. Once we're on scene they'll launch. La Flaga will join the engagement directly, while Dearka will act as support for the _Archangel _and supplement our defenses."

Heero nodded. "Understood. Anything else, Murrue?"

She gave him a small smile. "Just take care of yourself, Heero. We're still too far away to get an accurate fix on what Miss Clyne's situation is; be on your guard."

"I will," Heero replied, "Wing Zero, launching."

Murrue looked out the forward viewport just in time to see the fearsome mobile suit fly out of the _Archangel_'s hangar, its engines trailing blue fire like a comet. Checking her sensors she saw Kira and Athrun launch from the _Kusanagi _and quickly move to form up with Heero, with the Freedom on Wing Zero's left and the Justice on the right.

"Miriallia," she said, "set up a tactical channel between us, Wing Zero, the Freedom and the Justice. I want to address all three pilots."

"Yes ma'am," Miriallia replied, "connection established; go ahead."

The main monitor split into thirds, with Kira on the left, Heero in the middle, and Athrun on the right. "Listen up," said Murrue, "I'm giving Heero operational command over your team; he has the most combat experience amongst you. You will follow his orders, understood?"

Both Kira and Athrun nodded. "Yes, ma'am," they said.

Heero nodded as well. "Roger that."

"Be careful, all of you," said Murrue, "We'll catch up as fast as we can, but you will be operating without support for a short period of time. Assess the situation and protect Miss Clyne, but take no unnecessary risks."

"Got it," said Kira.

"Alright," said Athrun.

Heero nodded. "Mission accepted."

Murrue returned the gesture. "Good luck you three. _Archangel _out."

She leaned back in her chair as the transmission ended. Murrue had been pleased to see Kira and Athrun accept her decision without complaint. She hadn't been worried about the former, but the latter had fought against Heero in the past as a ZAFT pilot, and she had feared the possibility of lingering resentment on his behalf. Fortunately, the former pilot of the Aegis had given all appearances of acknowledging her orders with the professionalism of a true soldier.

_This is the first time I've ever really given Heero an official command role_, she thought, _I mean, I know he's taken charge in previous fights when I've given him a partner like Cagalli or La Flaga, but this is different; I've actually issued an order granting him the authority of a team leader._

Despite Heero's independent tendencies in battle, Murrue was not nervous over giving him such a responsibility. With his invaluable experiences in both his world and hers, combined with his instincts, his ability to analyze a situation, and the Zero System amplifying his battlefield awareness, Murrue knew that Heero would have no problem leading Kira and Athrun in combat. It was true that she had thrust that duty upon Heero out of the blue, but the incredible young pilot that she had fallen in love with had shown not an instant of hesitation in accepting the role she had given him.

_Between the three of them_, she thought, _Heero's perfect to play the role of a leader, and it's not just because he's the best pilot among them. He never said so directly, but I'm certain that part of the reason the other four Gundam pilots ultimately banded together in his world was because of him. They were all independent minded young men like him, yet they were able to unite and fight under one banner, as a single entity… and I know it was due to Heero. They must've respected his courage and determination. Yes, Quatre led the others in combat on occasion, acting as a tactical commander, but Heero helped put him in that position. Heero brought them together, and he can do the same in our world, with our pilots._

Murrue had no intention of making Heero the official leader of all the combat pilots aboard both the _Kusanagi _and the _Archangel_. She knew that it was a duty the Gundam pilot would not like, and it would in all likelihood lessen his overall effectiveness in combat. Still, Murrue also knew that Heero could very well lead a small team of elite pilots and still fight in top form, and that was exactly what she had set him up to do now.

_Heero_, she thought, _please, be careful. I have absolute faith in your abilities… but I still can't help but worry about you. After all…_

_ …I love you._

….

Waltfeld braced himself against the arm of his chair as the _Eternal _shuddered. "Damage report!" he yelled.

"We took that shot on the portside, forward of the engine block," said DaCosta, "armor's holding for now, but another heavy hit there and we're in trouble!'

_Like we're not already_, the Desert Tiger mused grimly, checking the tactical display on his personal monitor. Three _Nazca_-class destroyers were at their tail in a staggered formation: one ship coming from on high, another level with them, and the third coming from below. The blue warships were closing in, and Waltfeld was having difficulty evading their fire… not the least because they weren't the only enemy capital ships he had to deal with. Two more destroyers were in front of the _Eternal_, one coming in from high port and the other low starboard.

The running battle had started ten minutes ago when the cruiser had encountered the three destroyers that were now chasing it. Waltfeld had immediately had the girls launch, with Aisha sticking with the _Eternal _while the Valkyrie trio took the fight to the enemy. The original plan had been for Adaline to lead her two teammates in cutting through the GINN formations and hitting the destroyers while the _Eternal _kept her distance. The attacking Wraiths would hopefully force the enemy to recall their mobile suits and eventually pull back, allowing the _Eternal _to disengage while Adaline and her comrades cloaked their units and rejoined Aisha and Waltfeld.

Unfortunately, that plan had been thrown out the window when the enemy launched their mobile suits. Seventeen of the attacking units were GINNs, but it was the eighteenth machine that had derailed Waltfeld's strategy. The instant he had seen it on the _Eternal_'s sensors he'd known that this battle was going to be a lot tougher than their previous fights.

It was a large mobile suit, roughly the same size as the Freedom or the Justice, and Waltfeld knew that it was part of the same series as the other two prototypes. The unit was very well armed, with two heavy beam cannons mounted on its shoulders, two CIWs in its head, two multi-warhead micro missile launchers attached to the legs, a violet beam saber in its right hand, and a large plasma rifle in its left. On the left arm was mounted a large black shield.

However, by far the most unique feature of the machine was a pair of sharp spikes that were mounted on the back, bracketing the engines. At first Waltfeld had thought that they were a new kind of flight stabilizer system for when the unit was fighting in the atmosphere, but he had been quickly proven wrong when they had suddenly detached from the mobile suit and opening fire with the beam cannons mounted inside them; they were gun-drones.

_It takes a very high degree of skill and spatial awareness to use a system like this_, Waltfeld had thought, _the Alliance had their gun barrel-pods on the Moebius Zero, which were similar to this, and only the Hawk of Endymion was ever to really unleash their full potential. Even Coordinators would have difficulty utilizing this kind of weapon, and there are only a few pilots in ZAFT with the talent to wield these drones to their full potential._

Obviously, the pilot of the new mobile suit was one of those elite individuals… and to make matters worse, it was one that Waltfeld knew. He could've said it was due to the way the unit was handling, and it wouldn't have been a lie; he knew that flying style anywhere. The unit moved and fought with astonishing speed and grace, precision and power… and more than a little daring.

However, even before it had engaged the three Wraiths, Waltfeld had instantly been able to identify the pilot… as he knew that Adaline, her subordinates, and Aisha had done so as well. The moment the new mobile suit had appeared, they had all known who they would be fighting against… all because of the unit's Phase Shift Armor color scheme.

Black base and red trim.

The ensemble of Commander Shemei Rehema. The Valkyrie herself.

Waltfeld had, of course, heard from Bristow that Shemei had been given a new prototype from the same line as the Freedom and the Justice, the ZGMF-X14A Judgment, and that she had been assigned to the task force charged with hunting down the _Eternal_. He'd prayed, along with Aisha and the girls, that they would never have to fight her, and in the first few days of their flight they'd been fortunate enough avoid her, but he'd always known down in the pit of his gut that their luck wouldn't last forever. Now the legendary Valkyrie was locked in a three-on-one clash with her former teammates, and Waltfeld knew that it was breaking all their hearts to have to fight like this.

Despite the tragic nature of their battle, Waltfeld could not help but find a sense of beauty in the way the four ladies flew their mobile suits in their engagement. The four of them had flown together for so long now that they were damn near telepathic, and the Desert Tiger knew that that familiarity was what had kept them from killing each other so far. He knew that Shemei was holding back; even wielding units as formidable as the Wraiths, the other three members of the Valkyrie team were no match for their former Commander, and they knew it. Still, to even a seasoned military observer it would appear as though both sides were going all out and fighting to a stalemate, and Waltfeld was only able to see through their performance because of his familiarity with the four maidens of war. Their shots were precisely placed, with the opposite side appearing to barely dodge the other's fire but in fact moving in advance to evade before the attack was launched. The same went for their beam saber attacks, each one appearing to be narrowly parried or blocked but in fact part of an intricate sequence of moves.

Waltfeld knew that this was not the first time Shemei had gone three-on-one against her subordinates; they had staged more than their share of mock battles throughout their time together. They knew each other's tendencies and tactics as well as they did their own, which was what had made them such a fearsome team. That kind of familiarity allowed for cooperation that bordered on prescience, as if the four of them all shared one mind. It was that teamwork along with their own individual skills that had allowed them to survive their battles with Wing Zero in North Africa despite flying vastly inferior units, and it was what allowed them to give all appearances of engaging in a lethal battle right now. A single mistake meant death for any of them, but their unit cohesion was still holding strong even as they engaged in a battle that they'd never dreamed they'd actually have to fight.

Every second they battled against each other they walked the razor-thin line between life and death, working to convince the other ZAFT forces that they were trying to kill each other but in fact simply prolonging their fight… and interfering with the enemy's efforts to hit the _Eternal_. Their fight had taken them multiple times across the firing lanes of the destroyers' heavy guns, and several 'stray shots' had forced individual GINNs to break off attack runs on the _Eternal_, giving both the cruiser and Aisha a little breathing room. Still, there was only so much they could do while maintaining their delicate balance, and the sheer weight of numbers ZAFT had brought to the table meant that they had the capability to box in the _Eternal_, and they were working very hard to do exactly that.

The _Eternal _had been forced out of the Debris Belt shortly after the battle had begun, and the battle was now raging in open space. Waltfeld had done this in order to give his ship more room to maneuver, along with Aisha and the girls. They had been engaged near the border of the Debris Belt and open space in any case, so it had been a simple matter to get clear of the massive field of floating scrap.

However, the enemy had positioned forces on both 'rims' of the Debris Belt, and while the ZAFT patrols were less thick on the inner rim, Waltfeld had known that there was a chance that they could run into more hostile ships… which they had. It had been as they had exited the Debris Belt that they had first spotted the pair of destroyers that were now bearing down on them from the front. Between the five capital ships and the GINNs swirling around, Waltfeld was finding it very difficult to keep the _Eternal _one step ahead of the enemy. He'd managed to evade most of their heavy weapons fire until now, and the cruiser's armor was strong enough to shrug off scattered hits from capital ship-grade guns, but a concentrated barrage was another matter.

The flock of GINNs launched from the five destroyers was swarming the _Eternal_, pushing the ship's anti-air defenses well past their limits, not to mention putting a severe strain on Aisha. Because Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla had been forced to engage Shemei at the start of the battle, ZAFT had been able to send all their GINNs straight for the cruiser without having to worry about the Wraiths intercepting them. The 29 mobile suits had quickly converged on the _Eternal_, but Waltfeld, his lover, and his crew was not making it easy for them to launch their attacks.

Aisha may have been severely outnumbered, but her ZGMF-600 GuAIZ gave her a technological edge over her opponents, and she was putting it to good use. Working in tandem with the _Eternal_'s CIWs and missile launchers to avoid being overwhelmed, the Tigress had begun picking off her foes one GINN at a time, sniping a few machines with her beam rifle and ripping others apart with her Composite Shield's beam claws. However, her unit's lack of Phase Shift Armor made her far more vulnerable to counter attack than the Wraiths piloted by Shemei's former subordinates, and Aisha had to be much more careful when picking her targets as a result. She was forced to spend far more time evading enemy fire or blocking it with her shield, doing all she could to draw attention away from the _Eternal _and meeting only limited success. Aisha had managed to destroy five GINNs so far, and Waltfeld's gunnery crews had taken down three more with the cruiser's weapons, but that still left 21 units on the field, more than enough to keep her tied up and attack the _Eternal _while the capital ships attempted to line up shots with their heavy guns.

_Damn it_, thought Waltfeld, _the Eternal was designed to operate with the Freedom, Justice, Judgment, and the Wraiths as a support cruiser; it's not built for this kind ship-to-ship fighting. Were there only one or two destroyers we could take them, even with Shemei being forced to fly against us, but against a task force like this… we're in trouble._

He glanced down and to his right, where Lacus was sitting. Waltfeld had been surprised when the songstress had entered the bridge shortly after the start of the battle and had taken up her personal station. The pink haired young lady had a fire in her eyes, a determination that Waltfeld hadn't seen within her since the death of her father. The heart of the moderate faction had wasted no time in getting on the radio and trying to convince the enemy to let them go. Amazingly enough, Waltfeld had detected some signs of hesitation amongst the mobile suits that were attacking the _Eternal_, but they had been fleeting, and after a few moments they had renewed their assault on the cruiser.

Nevertheless, Lacus pressed on with her efforts, refusing to give up. Waltfeld admired the girl's renewed strength and vigor, along with her determination to find a way out of their current situation that did not involve the Tiger and his allies killing former comrades, though he knew that her dove's song was falling on deaf ears.

"We have no quarrel with you!" she said into the small microphone at her station, "We do not wish to fight! Please, stand down! This is Lacus Clyne speaking… please, listen to me!" Her voice was strong and passionate, but Waltfeld could detect a growing distress within her words as well. He doubted it was out of fear for her own life; the girl's selflessness was as renowned as her talents as a songstress. Rather it was because the fighting and killing was continuing around her unabated, and she was trying to fight the knowledge that her efforts were by this point an exercise in futility.

Regardless of how pointless her appeals were now, Waltfeld didn't have the heart to stop her. He knew that her father's death was still all too fresh in her heart, and her actions now were serving to distract her from that pain, giving her some sense of focus. Waltfeld did not want Lacus to be crushed by despair, and not just because of her value as a symbol for the moderate faction; he genuinely cared about her. With Siegel's death, Waltfeld knew that, in addition to his other responsibilities, he was now the closest male figure in Lacus's life to a father figure. His vow to the dying former Chairman to protect his daughter was still firmly entrenched in his mind, and he knew that Clyne had not just been asking her to safeguard her from Zala's forces. It was now his duty to help guide her as she made her final transition into a full adult, from a teen idol singer to a grown woman.

It wasn't a role he felt he was ready to take. Fortunately he had help in the form of his lover; Aisha had quickly become a substitute mother to Lacus. While Waltfeld had been forced to remain on the bridge most of the time in order to oversee the _Eternal_'s operations and focus on evading ZAFT's pursuit forces, Aisha had been able to care for the grieving songstress in his stead, with Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla aiding her, taking on the role of older sisters. The Desert Tiger was profoundly grateful for their help, not the least because he felt more than a little guilt at not being able to spend a serious amount of time with Lacus since their departure from Aprilius One. Now that she was up here with him on the bridge, he was loath to stop her desperate entreaties to the enemy, regardless of their ultimate futility. In coming here and taking up her post, the girl had placed herself directly under Waltfeld's wing whether she knew it or not, and the former Field Marshal of ZAFT would not cut off her transmissions, would not take away the sense of purpose they gave her.

_Lacus_, he thought, _I told your father I'd take care of you, but since we left the PLANTs I've delegated that responsibility to Aisha and the girls. I can make excuses for it all I want, and some of them may have a bit of validity to them, but I've still wronged you in not taking any time for you on a personal level. If we get out of this mess… no, _when _we get out of this mess, I promise I'll try to fix that. _

Despite the grim situation the _Eternal _and her mobile suit pilots were confronted with now, Waltfeld was determined to get them out of it. The odds against their survival were considerable, but he hadn't thrown in the towel yet. He was the Desert Tiger, after all; his tenaciousness was as legendary as his battlefield prowess.

"Helm," he ordered, "take us down forty-five degrees to starboard! Weapons, I want METEORs and the main turret brought to bear on that destroyer coming up from below; we'll rake their upper decks!"

It was a gutsy move to say the least. The lower _Nazca_-class ship was making the grave mistake of coming up at a shallow angle, and if the _Eternal _could move quickly enough then it could bring its guns to bear on the destroyer's upper hull before it could target them with its own heavy weapons. However, it would give the vessel coming in from on high a chance to get in behind them for a shot at their engines. In order to pull the maneuver off, Waltfeld could only give his gunners time for a brief volley before pulling the _Eternal _back up again and repositioning to confront the second destroyer, and all the while the other three _Nazcas _would still be coming up from the rear, lining up for more shots of their own. The few hits they'd landed so far had been either glancing blows or isolated impacts, all taken by the vessel's armor. If they were given the opportunity for a concentrated barrage, then things would get ugly very quickly.

The cruiser began its dive, and each second that passed felt like minutes to the Desert Tiger. _This is why I hate bridge duty_, Waltfeld fumed, _capital ships maneuver like drunken rhinos. Give me a mobile suit any day._

The Tiger tensed as he watched his personal monitor, which currently displayed the _Eternal_'s projected firing lane and the arc that its forward guns could cover. With their greater rotation the MEREOR batteries would be brought to bear on the destroyer well before the cruiser's heavy turret would, but Waltfeld wanted to hit the enemy with all three guns in order to maximize the power of his volley.

The instant the firing arcs of all three weapons converged on the destroyer Waltfeld gave the order. "Open fire!"

A torrent of emerald beams ripped forth from the METEORs and the heavy cannon and pounded the destroyer's upper hull. The ship's dual railguns were instantly destroyed, and several shots impacted around the bridge, ripping holes in the armor and bulkheads.

Waltfeld didn't have time to perform a detailed inspection of the damage they had dealt their foe; the other destroyer in the pair was fast bearing down on them, along with the trio at their tail.

"Pull us up," he ordered, "sixty degrees up, eighty-five to starboard! Rotate the METEORs to maximum dorsal elevation; same goes for the main gun!"

It was a desperate attempt to deal with the destroyer that was closing in from on high. The move would allow Waltfeld to rake the second destroyer with a volley from the _Eternal_'s heavy weapons, but it would also present a wider target cross-section for the other three _Nazca_-class ships. He could only hope that the cruiser's armor would hold unit he could maneuver the vessel into a better position.

_Damn it_, he thought as the ship began its climb, setting up to bring its guns to bear on the destroyer coming in from above, _we've damaged one of them, but we're still horribly outmatched here. I'm good, but I have my limits; I can't work miracles._

Several small tremors shook the ship as it moved, impacts from the machine guns wielded by the GINNs still swarming around it. Aisha was doing her best to draw fire towards her, but for all her piloting prowess the Tigress was as human as her lover; she wasn't perfect. She managed to take down another GINN with her beam rifle, but that still left 20 of ZAFT's mainline mobile suits left on the field. CIW fire and missiles from the _Eternal _forced them to make more cautious attacks, but they could only do so much to keep the enemy at bay.

_At the rate things are going_, Waltfeld thought ruefully, _we might not last much longer. I need a game changer, and fast!_

….

Her silver eyes narrowed in concentration, her purple-black hair standing up on the back of her neck, Shemei Rehema fought to maintain the delicate balance she had reached in a battle she had never dreamed she would ever have to wage. Blocking a saber strike from a Wraith she was certain was piloted by Adaline, she swiftly, elegantly redirected the blow, causing the Australian girl's machine to slide past her while the Valkyrie set up to parry an attack from Lan. All the while the two DRAGOON wireless gun-pods that were part of the ZGMF-X14A Judgment's incredible arsenal peppered Priscilla's mobile suit with volleys of emerald beams, forcing the Italian/Romanian Coordinator to keep on the evasive, able to only fire sporadic shots with her own guns which Shemei was able to dodge or block with her shield.

Her new mobile suit was an incredible machine to say the least. She could recall with perfect clarity the fascination she had felt as she had beheld it for the first time in the top-secret testing hangar of Fort Jupiter. The large machine had exuded a sense of power and sophistication that Shemei had gotten from only one other mobile suit; Wing Zero. Indeed, the technicians had proudly told her that the Judgment had been built in part to take on Wing Zero in combat, and had boasted of the power of its shoulder mounted beam cannons and the massive 'Tartarus' heavy plasma rifle, capable of annihilating a warship in a single shot.

Of course, the Judgment had been designed and built _before _Operation Spitbreak, meaning the designers had been laboring under the impression that Wing Zero's main gun was a piece of anti-ship artillery. They'd had no idea that it was in fact far more than that, capable of annihilating a heavily fortified structure like the Alliance's Alaska base in two shots… meaning it had the firepower to obliterate an entire _colony _in a single blast. Compared to that kind of destructive force, the 'Tartarus' heavy plasma rifle was a pale and pathetic attempt at a knock off, even with a nuclear reactor powering the weapon. Still, the Judgment's main gun was a powerful piece of artillery, and it would've been more than capable of taking down something like the _Eternal _in a single shot… had Shemei given herself a chance to target that ship.

When she had first scrambled, Shemei had been terrified that she would have no choice but to open fire on the _Eternal_; with the lives of her parents being held over her like a sword, there was no way she could miss the cruiser and come up with an excuse that would satisfy Zala and the radicals on the Defense Council. However, the moment she had seen the three Wraiths fly at her, the Valkyrie knew that she had dodged that horrific bullet… only to be confronted with another twisted and tragic situation as she began her three-on-one battle with her former subordinates.

_We've done sparing matches like this before_, she thought, _in CGUEs and DINN Mk. IIs… but this is different. We have to keep up the illusion that we're trying to kill each other, to satisfy the observers Zala's no doubt placed within the task force… but one mistake and any of us could die._

It was a razor's edge that Shemei had to balance herself on as she dueled the three girls who had become a mix of younger sisters and daughters to her during the time that they had spent under her command. However, dancing upon the thin boundary between life and death had a way of sharpening the Valkyrie's focus. The fear and concern was still in her heart, but Shemei was able to use it to heighten her senses, to hone her already unholy combat abilities to an almost divine level of precision and grace. This, combined with the intimate familiarity she had with her former comrades' fighting styles, allowed her to put on a performance that would fool any observer, save for one that was just as familiar with her own tactics and tendencies as the girls were… and all but one of the people who possessed that quality were in the moderate faction.

As for the last one… well, there was no chance that the pilot of Wing Zero would ever be counted among the radicals' numbers.

And so the four mobile suits danced across the stars in a mechanized ballet. Emerald beams flew forth from Shemei's shoulder cannons and the Wraiths beam rifles, large crimson lances of plasma cut loose from the 'Tartarus' rifle… a deadly rainbow of energy weapons' fire crisscrossed the sky between them. The fighting wasn't just limited to ranged combat, either; Shemei's former subordinates were just as willing to go in for saber strikes as well, and the Valkyrie naturally returned the favor.

Gunning the Judgment's engines, Shemei swiftly closed in on the Wraith she knew was piloted by Adaline and brought her beam saber down in a powerful overhand strike. Her former subordinate expertly caught and redirected the blow, forcing Shemei to whirl around and block the Australian beauty's counterattack. The Valkyrie then dove and brought up her shield to block a thrust from Lan before lashing out with her beam saber. The Chinese girl took the blow on her Wraith's left shield and was forced to pull back as Shemei opened up with her shoulder cannons, dodging the large emerald beams her former Commander sent her way. All the while this was going on Shemei was still hounding Priscilla with the Judgment's DRAGOONs, the two black, dagger-like gun-pods flitting around the Italian/Romanian woman like dragonflies, keeping her on the defensive as she weaved through the emerald beams they sent her way, dodging most of them and taking the few she could not evade on her shields while returning fire with her own beam rifles and railguns.

Lan and Adaline quickly regrouped and came back in for another round. Shemei leveled the 'Tartarus' plasma rifle and fired, letting rip with a large blast of crimson energy at Adaline. The girl expertly side slipped to the left to dodge the attack, just as Shemei had known she would. The Valkyrie used the brief opening to close in with Lan and launched a diagonal strike with her violet blade. Lan responded by parrying and redirecting the attack, forcing Shemei to slip past her. The Egyptian born Coordinator quickly raised her shield to block Lan's counterattack before whirling around to deflect a saber strike from the incoming Adaline. Firing another blast with the Tartarus and forcing them to scatter, Shemei then climbed towards Priscilla to engage her in close-quarters combat, withdrawing the two DRAGOONs as she did so and sending them after Adaline and Lan to keep them occupied while she fought her third subordinate.

She thrust forward with her beam saber, an attack that Priscilla took on her left shield head on. The power behind the Judgment's blow forced her back slightly, but she was able to retaliate with a lateral slash from the violet blade in her right shield. Shemei caught and redirected the blow, forcing the Italian/Romanian girl to slide past her right side. Priscilla quickly responded by firing her Wraith's rocket anchors as she moved around Shemei, and the Valkyrie was barely able to dodge the attack. Meanwhile, Adaline and Lan were still trading shots with the DRAGOON gun-drones, but all the while they were moving closer and closer to the duel Shemei was having with Priscilla.

Deciding to return to her earlier engagement pattern, Shemei fired off a blast from her plasma rifle to force Priscilla to put some distance between them. She then whirled around and dove head on at Lan and Adaline, the Judgment's shoulder cannons blazing while the two DRAGOONs pulled back and reoriented themselves to keep Priscilla off Shemei's tail. As Shemei crossed blades with Adaline and blocked a strike from Lan on her shoulder she had her two gun-drones attack Priscilla head on, knowing the Italian/Romanian woman could evade most of the shots and block the rest on her Wraith's shields.

Utilizing the DRAGOON system, or **D**isconnected **R**apid **A**rmament **G**roup **O**verlook **O**peration **N**etwork as it was officially designated, in conjunction with the Judgment's other armaments was an incredibly complex task. It pushed the Valkyrie's spatial awareness to its limits, and it almost felt as though she were managing three mobile suits instead of one. Nevertheless, in the short time she had spent practicing simulation runs since being assigned the Judgment the Valkyrie had already come a long way towards adapting to the system. It was a challenge to say the least, and the additional level of multi-tasking it piled onto the already complex feat that was mobile suit combat did not make it any easier, but Commander Rehema was already beginning to appreciate the new options the system opened up for her in combat, especially when it came to engaging multiple foes.

_If only I didn't have to use it against the girls_, she thought, unable to completely keep the sorrow that threatened to overwhelm her heart from her face. Fighting the three of them like this was tearing at her soul in a way she'd never thought possible, hurting her as much as the thought of her parents being held hostage by Patrick Zala and his thugs. Even if the four of them weren't really trying to kill each other, the fact remained that this was not a training exercise but an actual battle with potentially lethal consequences.

She wasn't going all out, of course, and in a way she could tell that the girls were holding back as well; they weren't using the Wraiths' Mirage Colloid System. Certainly if they had done so it would've made it harder for Shemei to fight them, but not impossible; she was so familiar with their flying styles that she would still have been able to read their moves, and the instant the attacked they would've exposed their position, and the fact that they could not use Phase Shift Armor in conjunction with their cloaking devices was a major weakness. Regardless of the fact that neither side in their three-on-one fight was truly playing for keeps, it did not remove the constant threat of death hovering over their shoulders.

And yet, despite the pain in her heart, Shemei could not help but feel a sense of pride within her as well as she dueled her former subordinates. Their flying was better than ever, their skills amplified by the powerful new mobile suits that they had stolen from ZAFT. Their teamwork had already been top tier during the North Africa campaign, but the three girls had taken their skills beyond even that now, working together in a way that almost bordered on telepathic.

A swift forward thrust by the Valkyrie was expertly parried by Lan, who quickly countered with a saber strike of her own. Shemei caught the blow on her shield before pulling her beam saber back to deflect a slash from Adaline. She then threw the Judgment into reverse and opened fire with her shoulder cannons while simultaneously bringing the 'Tartarus' plasma rifle to bear. Adding its large crimson energy lance to the emerald beams already flying forth from her unit, her barrage forced the two girls to break off and go evasive. It was only momentarily though, and the quickly reoriented themselves for a fresh attack, coming in from the right and the left.

Shemei shifted her position and fired another salvo from her shoulder cannons at Lan, forcing the girl to raise her shields and catch the energy beams. The Valkyrie took advantage of the halt to Lan's advance to close in on Adaline, swinging her violet blade in a lateral slash. Adaline caught the blow on her left shield and retaliated with her right beam saber, which was deflected off of Shemei's shield. The Australian girl followed through with her attack and let the momentum carry her past the Judgment, and she quickly turned around and opened fire with her hip-mounted rail cannons.

Shemei gunned her engines and ascended, dodging the heavy rounds. She then jinked to the right to dodge a pair of energy beams fired by Priscilla, who had impressively managed to get in an attack even while continuing her dance with Shemei's DRAGOONs. The Italian/Romanian woman swiftly moved back into her fight with the wireless gun-drones, blocking their coordinated shots with her Wraith's shields.

_You've all come so far_, thought Shemei as she blocked a saber strike from Lan with her shield, _your precision, your speed, your teamwork… the growth you three have shown me today is simply breathtaking. You've become so strong… _A small, bittersweet smile appeared on her face as she pushed Lan back with her shield before whirling around to parry a slash from Adaline. _Oh, I'd give almost anything to be fighting alongside you three again…_

Of course, that 'almost' was her parents, locked away in Aprilius One's Charon Prison, their lives hanging over Shemei like the Sword of Damocles. So long as they were within Zala's and the radical faction's grasp, Commander Rehema would be forced to battle against her former comrades, to go against what her heart was begging her to do; join them and Lacus in rebellion against ZAFT and the PLANTs.

_How ironic_, she thought bitterly as she crossed blades with Lan while firing the Tartarus rifle at Adaline, causing her to break off and reorient herself for another attack, _I'm a rebellious girl at heart, yet I've been collared and chained by Zala and his cronies. I've been forced to become their dog… damn it, I've never felt so low! I'm not one of their Special Operations thugs or their stooges in the regular forces; I at least have a sense of honor and respect for the conventions of war! Zala… I swear I'll find a way to make you pay for this!_

For now though, her desire for payback had to take a backseat to her current priorities; the survival of her parents and her friends. As she continued her 'dance' with her former subordinates Shemei was able to take some comfort in the fact that the equilibrium she had reached with her three-on-one clash with the Wraiths meant that she was 'legitimately' tied up and couldn't go after the _Eternal_; Waltfeld, Lacus, Aisha, and the others were safe from her.

However, the same naturally did not hold true for the rest of the ZAFT task force. The five destroyers and their GINN squadrons were moving to box in the _Eternal_ and Aisha's GuAIZ and take them down, though so far they were having trouble sealing the deal. Even in the midst of the delicate balancing act that was her duel with Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla, Shemei was able to spare brief glances towards the maroon support cruiser and the black and green GuAIZ as they fought against the ZAFT task force. Both capital ship and mobile suit were fighting _very _well, and between them had not only downed 20 GINNs but had damaged two of the _Nazca_-class warships as well, though Shemei had no time to determine the extent of the latter.

_You always hated the thought of bridge duty, Waltfeld_, Shemei thought, _whether it be on our land-ships or in outer space, but you're doing pretty damn well with the Eternal. Kudos, Desert Tiger. Same goes for you, Aisha; it's good to see you flying a mobile suit again._

Still, all the skill in the Earth Sphere could not change the fact that Waltfeld and Aisha were outnumbered, outgunned, and outflanked. The destroyer pair in front of the _Eternal _had been damaged and temporarily thrown into disarray, but the trio of capital ships that had been tailing them was still coming on strong, and Waltfeld's latest maneuver had put the support cruiser in a very dicey position. Coming out of its attack on the destroyer pair in front of it, the cruiser's turn took it onto a path across the enemy trio's firing arc, with the central _Nazca_ in a position to do serious damage to the ship with its main guns. Shemei could tell that Waltfeld was trying to orient the _Eternal _so that it would be facing the center ship head-on, minimizing its target profile and allowing it to meet the destroyer with maximum firepower, but capital ship's maneuvered slowly even in the vacuum of space, and the Tiger's move was not yet complete. At that moment the cruiser's starboard flank was exposed to the enemy warships, and Shemei could already see the barrels of the center destroyer's main guns begin to glow green, their energy beams mere moments away from leaving the barrels.

_Damn it_, she thought as she parried a saber strike from Adaline with her own blade while simultaneously blocking rifle fire from Lan on her shield, _there's nothing I can do from here to help them! The Eternal's armor is heavier than our regular capital ships and can take some punishment, but a concentrated barrage… _All she could do was pray that the ship's hull would be able to stand up to the punishment it was about to receive.

The Valkyrie's heart leapt up into her throat, beating like a jackhammer. Time slowed to a crawl, the single second between the destroyer's guns charging and firing feeling like an eternity. Shemei's heart was filled with dread as she prayed that the ship's salvo would impact a non-critical part of the _Eternal_, or at best not even penetrate the cruiser's armor.

But the shot never came. Shemei's eyes widened as she saw a massive golden-yellow beam tear through the blue warship from below, disintegrating armor and bulkheads in the blink of an eye and ripping the destroyer apart in a massive explosion. All the combatants froze, taken completely off guard by the sudden attack. The Valkyrie then heard a beeping coming from her sensors, indicating the arrival of new contacts. Glancing at the display while quickly pulling back from Lan and Adaline and keeping her DRAGOONs between her and Priscilla, Shemei's surprise was compounded as she identified the three mobile suits that were coming up from below the battle.

The mobile suits on the left and right of the center contact were the Freedom and the Justice; units Shemei knew were piloted by Kira and Athrun. While she was well aware that the former was now an ally of the PLANT moderate faction, she had heard little of the latter's activities other than the fact that he had been assigned the Justice and sent to Earth. The fact that he was flying with the Freedom indicated that he had joined forces with Kira, but that was a secondary concern for her. In fact, neither the Freedom nor the Justice really mattered to her at that moment; it was the mobile suit they were flanking, the one that had fired the shot, which had her full attention.

It was a machine that she would've recognized anywhere.

Wing Zero.

Suddenly the whole situation had changed, and Shemei could feel something coursing through her veins that she hadn't felt in days; _excitement_. She was instantly taken back to her two duels with the amazing pilot of the machine that had just saved the _Eternal_, those heart pounding, hair-raising, thrilling battles against over the sands of the Sahara against the young man that had rocked the Earth Sphere in a way no one else could ever hope to match. Shemei recalled with perfect clarity the words that literally otherworldly pilot had spoken to her at the end of their second battle.

_"__I was thinking… what could you do in a more advanced mobile suit?" _

It had been just after he had defeated her for the second time, the second loss she had ever experienced in her career as a pilot. Waltfeld's army had been beaten and was withdrawing, and theirs was the final clash playing out in that epic battle. He'd had every right to kill her after he had cut off her DINN Mk. II's sword arm, and as he had pointed his emerald beam saber at her cockpit she had indeed been expecting him to finish her off.

But he hadn't. He had let her live. It would've been more prudent, more efficient, to kill her, but he had not. The battle was over, and her side had lost… and he had treated her with the respect and courtesy of a true, professional soldier by allowing her to withdraw with her allies. That alone would've already increased the considerable admiration she's held for him at that point, but he had surprised her by going a step further and asking the question that had quickly become a new driving force for her, a new motivation to hone her skills even further than they were already, causing her to seek out old friends in the PLANT capital and propel her down the path that had led her to where she was now.

Now she _had _the new mobile suit that she had so desired. Granted, it hadn't been given to her under the circumstances she would've preferred, but that did not change the fact that she was now wielding a machine that far surpassed any other unit she had flown before… and the very pilot and mobile suit she so dearly wanted to match the Judgment against had just taken the field.

Shemei wasted no time in getting on the task force tactical channel. "This is Commander Rehema to all ZAFT forces; leave Wing Zero to me."

It was a bold move on her part, especially considering just how limited the powers that came with her rank were now in light of her parents' situation. Though as a Commander Shemei technically had the authority to issue such an order, the task force Commander was a Zala loyalist, and the Valkyrie knew that the real power in the squadron lay with him. He was the one sending reports directly to Zala, meaning that the lives of Shemei's parents essentially rested on his words.

However, Shemei was banking on the task force Commander going along with her proclamation for a very simple reason; fear. Not of her, but of Wing Zero. The fearsome mobile suit and its extraordinary pilot had gone from just a source of concern amongst the military elite to an almost demonic figure, the very names of both man and machine eliciting awe and dread from even the most seasoned officers. The carnage it had wrought on the Operation Spitbreak invasion force, combined with the complete annihilation of the Alaska base, a facility designed to take direct hits from _nuclear missiles_ and survive, had thrown both the military and political establishment into a state of quiet panic. ZAFT had to save face in front of the civilian population, of course, so any public reports regarding the extremely powerful mobile suit were naturally downplayed, and any fear was hidden beneath the mask of confidence and professionalism.

However, behind the scenes, in the halls of power, Shemei knew from Eric's accounts that the raw power of Wing Zero and the supreme skills of Heero Yuy were considered a threat to all ongoing operations. New orders had gone out regarding the mobile suit; it was not to be treated as a single combatant, but as an entire combat wing unto itself, and to be countered with overwhelming force. If it was spotted within the vicinity of one of the front line fleets, then said fleet had orders to abandon all other operations and concentrate solely on taking down Wing Zero, and all other active combat units within or near the sector the engagement was taking place in were similarly ordered to drop everything and reinforce their comrades.

The orders were somewhat different if an entire front line fleet wasn't within interception range. If Wing Zero was encountered by units operating on a task force level or smaller, then the new doctrine was for any pilots designated elite and wielding advanced mobile suits were to engage the enemy, while their allies supported them, withdrew, or called for reinforcements.

Shemei and the Judgment more than qualified for the role of 'elite pilot' and 'advanced mobile suit', something she knew the task force Commander was well aware of. The man had made no effort to hide his distrust of her, but he had also exhibited a grudging respect for her skills as a pilot, even going so far as to admit that she was the best one operating in the task force.

Just as she'd expected, the task force Commander's voice came over the radio. "Very well, Commander Rehema. Engage at will. We're calling for reinforcements to deal with the Freedom and the Justice; you will be the only one engaging Wing Zero."

"Understood," Shemei replied, "Rehema out."

_That went well_, she thought as she broke away from Lan and Adaline, firing the Tartarus rifle and forcing them to scatter while pulling the DRAGOONs away from Priscilla, _and from the Commander's point of view it's a perfect setup. I engage and tie up Wing Zero, and either I defeat it and rid Zala of a major threat or am defeated myself and thereby ridding the radicals of a pilot they suspect is aligned with Clyne's daughter and supporters but can't prove. They'd also lose the Judgment, but I'm sure they'd be fine with that if I was removed from the picture. It'd also give them license to murder my parents…_

That last thought served to darken the excitement she'd felt at the prospect of her long awaited rematch with the young man she viewed as the ultimate soldier. Then again, it had darkened every aspect of her life since she'd received the news from the Supreme Chairman. Her new relationship with Eric, her acquiring the Judgment… everything that should've made her happier than before was dampened by the thought of her parents sitting helplessly in Charon Prison, their lives dependent on the whims of genocidal monsters.

And so it served to dampen her mood as she prepared to engage Wing Zero. The unbridled respect and admiration she held for the unit's incredible pilot felt tarnished by the knowledge that she was now fighting as a dog of the radical faction. This was a battle she had wanted, more than anything else, to fight of her own free will. Engaging her opponent from North Africa under coercion tainted everything that made her friendly rivalry with Heero so unique and thrilling in her eyes. The knowledge that there was a pilot out there that could go beyond what she had believed to be possible as far as combat ability went, who could drive her to train anew and strive to reach such heights, who she looked forward to engaging in combat with as much excitement as she did to being taken into her new lover's embrace and feeling his lips pressed against hers… it was all shadowed by the threat to her family.

Gunning her thrusters and charging headlong at her opponent, Shemei could only hope that she'd be able to shake off that shadow, if only briefly, in the rush that was combat with a foe more than capable of matching her in battle.

_It's been a long time, Heero Yuy_, she thought, a feral smile appearing on her face in spite of the gravity of her situation, _shall we pick up where we left off? No… let us dance anew, flamenco along the razor's edge between life and death. I have a new machine and months of training piled onto my own experience, and you have a host of new battles under your belt, against odds that would be suicidal for any other pilot. Let's see which of us will spit in the face of the Reaper today. Let's show the world how true aces do battle! Game on, Heero Yuy!_

….

**(Start "Daybreak's Bell")**

"Kira," said Heero, mere seconds after he had fired the Twin Buster Rifle and obliterated the destroyer that had been about to open up on the maroon cruiser before it, "Lacus's signal is originating from that ship. Get over there and deal with the GINNs attacking it. Mind the black and green unit; it looks like it's protecting the vessel, so I'd designate it as friendly. The same goes for those three black and red machines, the ones that look like heavy versions of the Blitz."

"Got it," said Kira, gunning the Freedom's engines as he broke away from their three-suit formation and made a beeline for the vessel.

"Athrun," said Heero, "go for the two destroyers that were flanking the one I just took out. Whether you disable or destroy them is up to you; I want them neutralized ASAP."

"Understood," said Athrun, "what about you, Heero?"

"That's easy," the Gundam pilot replied, glancing at one of his monitors, which showed a large mobile suit heading his way… one with a _very _familiar color scheme for its Phase Shift Armor. "I'm engaging the Valkyrie."

Athrun's eyes widened for a moment before he nodded. "Alright." The he signed out and broke away from Wing Zero, leaving Heero to face his rival from North Africa.

Indeed, the advanced-looking black and red machine that was heading for him now had caught his attention the instant Heero and his comrades had come in close enough to identify individual units. Even without the distinctive color scheme Heero would've known right away who was piloting the mobile suit; the way it was flying had instantly reminded him of his two clashes with Commander Rehema back in North Africa. His conclusion was supported by the Zero System, which had noted just as Heero had the grace and precision with which the unit was flying.

The three mobile suits the Valkyrie had been facing off against were likewise of a new design, though Heero was instantly able to recognize similarities between them and the destroyed GAT-X207 Blitz. Their units bore the same black and red color scheme as Shemei Rehema's new machine, but even without that Heero would've instantly recognized them by their flying styles as the Valkyrie's subordinates.

Or rather, former subordinates. The fact that they were now clashing with ZAFT's legendary Commander was not something Heero had expected to see upon his arrival at the battle zone, all the more so after fighting against the Valkyrie Team in North Africa. Though he had only known them briefly, the loyalty and friendship the four women had with each other had been readily apparent, and Heero found it difficult to imagine them fighting against each other. More importantly, the Perfect Soldier did not think that Rehema was the type to willingly give her loyalty to the new regime that now ruled the PLANTs; he doubted honorable pilot would support the government that had ordered the massacre that had taken place at Panama.

_Why is she fighting with the ZAFT task force_, he thought, _more importantly, why is she doing battle with her former subordinates? I can tell that they weren't going all out, but the fact remains that they were engaging each other with lethal force until just now. Something's not right here…_

He had little time to ponder that mystery at the moment, though; Rehema was closing in fast, and the Gundam pilot had to focus his attention squarely on her. Adjusting his aim with the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero opened fire, sending a blast of golden-yellow energy at the Valkyrie. The fearsome new black and red machine jinked to the right, evading the shot, and brought up its own large rifle in response. Heero dove to the left as Rehema opened fire, dodging the lance of crimson energy that spewed forth from the new mobile suit's main gun.

_A powerful shot_, he thought, _nowhere near the levels the Twin Buster Rifle can reach, but a formidable weapon all the same. ZAFT's R&D teams have been busy. _Gunning the throttle as he closed in with the Valkyrie, Heero weaved back and forth as the two large cannons on the new unit's shoulders opened up, spewing emerald energy beams his way. Checking his sensors, he saw that the mobile suit was emitting the exact same energy readings as those of the Freedom and the Justice; it was nuclear powered and using N-Jammer Cancellers. With the aid of the Zero System the Perfect Soldier was able to thread his way through the barrage, and he ignited his green beam saber as he moved in for close-quarters-combat.

Rehema was quick to respond in kind, bringing the violet blade in her mobile suit's right hand up in anticipation of the clash to come. The gap between them quickly vanished, and Heero wasted no time in bringing his beam saber down in a powerful overhand strike. The Valkyrie took the attack head-on with her blade, and Heero noted that, as was to be expected, her new machine had much more power than her old DINN, and was able to block the strike without being forced back nearly as far as her former unit would've been.

A sudden flash of warning from the Zero System caused Heero to pull back and go evasive, and not a moment too soon. The two spine-like projections on the back of the mobile suit had detached and were coming at him from the right and the left in a pincer attack, their tips glowing with emerald light. Heero quickly ascended as the two gun-drones opened fire, their energy beams flying through the space that had mere moments ago been occupied by him.

_Remote beam cannons_, he thought, his eyes narrowing, _this just got a lot more complicated. _Were it not for the Zero System expanding his awareness and giving him the sense of battlefield precognition that increased his lethality in a fight a hundredfold, combined with the brief glimpse he'd caught of the new weapons as the Valkyrie had engaged her former subordinates before breaking off and heading for him, the two gun-drones would've destroyed him right there.

Now the Valkyrie was on the attack, closing in with her beam saber, thrusting the weapon forward, the two gun-drones flanking her machine. Reacting without hesitation, Heero instantly parried and redirected the blow, causing the mobile suit to move past him. He then dove to avoid fire from the drones before bringing the Twin Buster Rifle to bear and cutting loose. A torrent of golden-yellow hellfire spewed forth, and Rehema jinked to the right to dodge the blast. This gave Heero the breathing room he needed to go back on the offensive, and less than a second after the beam had left his weapon he had already hit the throttle and was moving in for a follow-up attack.

He lashed out with a horizontal strike, one that Rehema took on her mobile suit's large shield. She quickly retaliated with a vertical chop, one that Heero swiftly parried. The Valkyrie dove, following through with her strike in order to make the most of her forward momentum. The move briefly exposed the back of her machine to Heero, but it wasn't an opening the Gundam pilot could exploit; the twin gun-drones were already angling for more shots at him, and he had to climb to evade their fire.

The Valkyrie quickly reoriented herself for a follow-up attack, unleashing a horde of micro-warheads from the missile launchers attached to her unit's legs. Heero responded by opening up with Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings, ripping the missiles to shreds. At the same time he once again took aim with the Twin Buster Rifle and opened fire. Rehema responded swiftly, dodging to the left to evade the shot and opening fire in kind with her large plasma rifle, along with her two shoulder cannons. At the same time the two gun-drones had flanked Heero from both sides, and they added their own beams to the mix.

The Perfect Soldier dove, rushing head-on at the Valkyrie, barely dodging the large crimson lance of plasma fired from her main gun, weaving through the barrage from her shoulder cannons and leaving the gun-drones in the dust. He lashed out with his emerald blade in a vicious forward thrust, one that Rehema barely managed to deflect with her own violet saber. Heero countered by raising Wing Zero's left knee, slamming it into the lower torso of his foe. The sudden impact forced Rehema back a little and gave Heero an opening for a follow-up strike with his beam saber. The Valkyrie narrowly managed to block the slash with her unit's shield, and Heero was forced to jink to the right as the two gun-pods closed in from behind.

The Perfect Soldier didn't back off completely, though. Rather, he quickly rushed in again and pressed his assault with a vertical strike. The Valkyrie blocked the attack with her own blade and countered by attempting to shield-bash Wing Zero, and Heero responded by taking her hit with his own shield. He then ducked left and made a thrust with his beam saber, one that Rehema barely managed to parry and redirect. Heero slid to the side of his foe and swiftly transitioned into a diagonal slash, forcing Rehema to block the blow with her shield.

All the while he was doing this, Heero was mindful of the gun-drones' position. By keeping the battle close-quarters the Gundam pilot knew that he was actually limiting the effectiveness of the Valkyrie's new weapons, as she now had just as good a chance of hitting herself with their beams as she did Wing Zero, forcing her to take greater care in lining up her shots.

Indeed, the two black dagger-like weapons were now hovering at the edge of the fight, constantly darting around in an attempt to get a clear shot. Heero wasn't going to give them a chance, and he continued to press his offensive against the Valkyrie, limiting the amount of exposure he had to the gun-drones and staying as close as possible to Rehema.

He opened fire with his shoulder gatlings, knowing that while the physical rounds were useless against Rehema's Phase Shift Armor the impacts would disrupt her balance. The volley hit his foe in the right side, but to her credit the Valkyrie recovered extremely quickly. Shifting her position and raising her shield to take the rest of Heero's volley, the fearsome Commander swiftly lashed out with her violet blade, and the Gundam pilot had to take the blow on his shield. Heero was then forced to pull back as the Valkyrie opened fire with her shoulder cannons, along with the micro-missiles stored in the launchers mounted on her unit's legs.

Heero evaded the emerald beams and obliterated the missiles with a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle, but his response had given Rehema the opening she needed to attack the Perfect Soldier with her gun-drones. The two black weapons once again flanked Heero from both sides and opened fire, and he dove to avoid their shots. He was then forced to evade to the right as Rehema cut loose with another blast from her plasma rifle.

As Heero dodged the shot he returned fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, once again forcing the Valkyrie to go evasive. The Perfect Soldier then seized the initiative and launched a renewed offensive, swiftly closing in and launching a powerful overhand strike with his beam saber.

_She's even better than last time_, thought Heero as their blades met, _Having a new mobile suit, no doubt from the same line as the Freedom and Justice, has given her greater combat capabilities, but that's only part of it. She's been retraining, improving her skills, pushing herself to the edge of her abilities and beyond… she's been preparing for this rematch for quite some time._

The Gundam pilot realized that a very small smile had appeared on his face. _Fighting her… it's almost like fighting Zechs again. I didn't have the same mentality as that man, but I think I understand him a little better now. Back in North Africa, when Rehema and I first clashed… she was really the first pilot to push my abilities in this world, even more than that CGUE pilot during the orbital battle. I don't have the same passion for battle as Zechs and Treize did… but fighting the Valkyrie helped me understand a little why they felt that way. Finding someone that can truly push your skills, force you to call upon all your abilities and experience, flying with them on the razor's edge between life and death… there's a certain thrill to it, one I just can't deny._

Just as he had back in the North African campaign, he felt that same thrill, that same adrenaline rush, coursing through his veins. As he and Rehema crossed blades again and again, broke off and pounded away at each other with their guns only to dive back in for yet another swordfight, Heero felt the same excitement that he'd experienced during his final duel with Zechs. At the time he hadn't understood it, especially given the gravity of the situation as the largest remaining block of the battleship _Libra _plummeted towards the Earth, and it had puzzled him for quite some time afterwards.

Now, though, he understood what it was; the thrill of fighting a _rival_, not an enemy. Though they were on opposite sides, Heero held Shemei Rehema above and apart from the other pilots in ZAFT, even her former teammates. She was more than just a skilled enemy ace; she was a _colleague_, someone who had ascended to that incredibly rare level of piloting ability… someone worthy of the title of Gundam Pilot. It was impossible for him not to respect and admire her, and he knew that she felt the same way about him. Just as Heero had forged a bond with Murrue, he had unwittingly created a tie between himself and the Valkyrie. This one, though, was not based upon compassion, or the fires of the passion and affection that Murrue had awakened within Heero's heart, but on a powerful mutual respect shared between the two pilots that had ascended to heights beyond practically all others in their fields. They could only find a true competitor in each other, and each drove the other to further improve their skills, to push their abilities beyond what they had previously thought possible… all in preparation for their next confrontation.

Of course, that level of respect did not mean that they would avoid fighting to kill, and their clash was one of soldiers engaging each other with lethal force. If any of them had tried to do anything less, then that would've spelled their doom. Nevertheless, as Heero continued his battle with Rehema he found part of himself regretting that they had to clash like this. It didn't matter that she was the closest thing he had in this world to an equal on the battlefield, and that their clashes had elicited a heart-pounding excitement that was usually brought forth by the powerful affection and passion Heero had for Murrue; at heart, the Gundam pilot did not want to kill the Valkyrie. Of course, he had taken no joy in any of the lives he had ended throughout his long career as a soldier, but as he fought Rehema he could not deny wishing that the contest they had found themselves in did not have to be waged with such deadly force.

The words she had spoken near the end of their conversation in Banadiya all those months ago echoed in his mind as he crossed blades with her yet again. _"It's too bad, really. You're a decent guy, and I have no doubt you've seen a lot of action. I wouldn't have minded swapping stories sometime."_

_Indeed_, thought Heero as he blocked one of her attacks and moved swiftly to counter, _I would've liked that as well. You and I at some bar, Murrue by my side, the three of us sharing drinks and tales… I'd infinitely prefer that to fighting you like this._

**(End "Daybreak's Bell")**

….

Brining the Freedom's impressive array of artillery to bear, Kira sighted in on his targets and opened fire. Crimson lances of plasma, emerald energy beams, and yellow rail cannon rounds tore through space and nailed five of the GINNs swarming around the maroon cruiser, taking out head cameras and destroying rifles. With the number of enemies it was faced with suddenly reduced by a full quarter the black and green mobile suit that had been defending the warship went on the attack, taking down one GINN with its beam rifle and another with the two violet energy claws its shield was emitting. CIW fire from the cruiser destroyed another GINN, leaving just twelve of the machines left.

At the same time Kira had thrown himself into the fight, Athrun had launched an attack against the destroyer that had been to the right of the vessel that Heero had annihilated upon their arrival. The Justice weaved through the blue warship's anti-air fire with ease, almost seeming to taunt the vessel's gunners in the process. There was nothing taunting about its own attack, though; with precise fire from his beam rifle and the two cannons attached to the Fatum-00 backpack/subflight lifter, Athrun quickly proceeded to knock out the destroyer's powerful bow beam guns. He then turned his attention to the dual rail cannons by the bridge, hitting them with a barrage of emerald beams as well before moving on to hit the ship's engines.

The three black and red machines Kira had seen earlier, the ones that, as Heero had pointed out, looked like more advanced versions of the stolen Blitz, had proceeded to hit one of the two destroyers that had originally been damaged by the cruiser, and they were now in the midst of ripping the ship apart with their beam rifles and rail cannons. The cruiser itself had oriented itself on the sole undamaged destroyer and had brought its bow guns to bear on the ship before the ZAFT vessel could do the same. Kira saw the twin batteries mounted on both sides of the bow, along with the central beam turret, open fire. The bow guns of the destroyer were quickly reduced to bits of twisted and molten metal, and the cruiser began raking its fire up along the hull, emerald beams working their way towards the ship's bridge.

Kira established an open channel to contact the cruiser. "This is Kira Yamato on the Freedom. Unidentified cruiser, please respond! Lacus, can you hear me?"

The pink haired songstress appeared at the bottom left corner of Kira's main monitor, a smile on her face. "Kira!" she said, her light-blue eyes gleaming with joy and gratitude, "It's so good to see you again! I'm glad you were able to make it here in time. Thank you for saving us!"

Kira nodded. "No problem, though I'm hardly alone here."

"So we can see," said a familiar voice, and Kira's eyes widened as he saw the Desert Tiger appear on his screen, "you brought quite the rescue party, kid!"

"Mister Waltfeld!" cried Kira, "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled. "Trying to keep our songstress here alive, and not doing a very good job at it. Thanks for the help, Kira; you're timing was perfect."

"Heero's the one you should thank, sir," said Kira, "he's the one who took out that destroyer, and Captain Ramius put him in charge of our team."

"Did she now?" said a third voice, and the face of Waltfeld's lover appeared on the bottom part of Kira's display as well, "I like this Captain already; she knows just who to send into a hot spot. That shot of his earlier saved the _Eternal_ from one hell of a beating."

"Indeed," said Waltfeld, smirking, "alright, enough chatter people; we've still got a battle to fight here!"

"Kira," said Lacus, "please, help Miss Aisha take care of the remaining GINNs; we need to force ZAFT to withdraw!"

Kira nodded. "Got it."

Lacus smiled again. "Be careful, Kira." Then she cut the connection.

"Come on, kid," said Aisha as she evaded fire from two GINNs, "let's take care of these guys!'

Kira nodded. "Right." Gunning his engines, he closed in on a different pair of GINNs and ignited one of the Freedom's beam sabers. In a matter of seconds he had cut the rifle arm off of one and speared the head of the other, forcing them both to withdraw.

"Nice work, kid," said Aisha as she destroyed another GINN with her beam rifle, leaving just nine enemy mobile suits to go, "Although… you sure about letting them off easy like that?"

"They're fleeing now," said Kira as he evaded enemy fire, "they're no longer a threat."

"For this battle at least," Aisha replied, "well, how you fight is your call. At least they won't be shooting at us for the rest of this round. Still, don't expect _me _to hold back against these guys." As if to make her point she tore another GINN apart with her violet beam claws.

Kira nodded grimly. "Right."

He then returned his attention to his own fighting, once again picking targets with the Freedom's advanced tracking system before opening up with the mobile suit's artillery. Three GINNs lost their rifles to plasma blasts and particle beams, causing them to quit the field.

_Alright_, he thought, _only five GINNs left. We'll have this wrapped up in no time!_

Unfortunately, that was when fate decided to spit in his face. Glancing at his sensors to check up on the surrounding forces, Kira's eyes widened as he saw the other destroyer that had been damaged prior to their arrival bringing its main guns to bear on the _Eternal_. The three black and red machines had just finished destroying the other vessel and were rushing to hit the blue warship, but Kira knew that they would not make it before the destroyer opened fire.

"Lacus!" he cried out over an open channel, "Move!"

The songstress did not respond, but the maroon cruiser that she was aboard did begin to break off its attack on its current target, which had already been heavily damaged, in an attempt to go evasive. However, Kira was well aware that capital ships could not turn on a dime; there was no way the _Eternal _would be able to avoid the coming salvo.

The destroyer's main guns glowed green… before the vessel was annihilated in a blast of crimson-orange energy.

A new contact appeared on Kira's sensors, a very familiar one; the _Archangel_. Coming up fast from below, the white warship was certainly a sight for sore eyes in Kira's case. As the red-orange glow faded from the barrels of the Lohengrin positron cannons that had obliterated the ZAFT vessel the two hangar doors opened, and the Tallgeese Kai and the Buster launched from the ship. The former rushed headlong towards the _Eternal_, while the latter took up position over the _Archangel_, its Gun Launcher configured in its sniper- setting.

"Hey, kid," said La Flaga as he quickly joined the fray, picking off a GINN with his beam rifle, leaving just four enemy mobile suits to go, "mind if we crash your party?"

Kira couldn't help but smile. "Go ahead, La Flaga."

"Don't think I'm going to let you guys have all the fun," said Dearka over the radio, cutting loose with the Buster's artillery. A yellow beam lanced through a hapless GINN, detonating it like a firecracker.

"Nice shot," said La Flaga as he impaled another GINN with his beam saber.

Captain Ramius appeared on Kira's screen. "Kira, La Flaga, secure the space around that cruiser and coordinate with their forces. Dearka, stay with the _Archangel_; we'll deal with the remaining capital ships and screen Kira and the others."

"Yes ma'am," said Kira.

"Copy that," said Dearka.

"Understood," said La Flaga.

As Captain Ramius signed off Kira saw the white warship continue to move in, bringing its weapons to bear on the destroyer that the _Eternal _had hit earlier. The blue vessel's bow weapons were wrecked, but it still had the dual rail cannons further along the hull, and it was bringing them to bear on the maroon cruiser.

Captain Ramius never gave them a chance to fire. The _Archangel_'s Gottfried beam cannons and Valiant rail cannons opened up and pounded the destroyer with a brutal barrage. At the same time the Buster opened fire as well, adding its Gun Launcher to the mix. The central section of the ZAFT ship, including the bridge, railguns, and hangar, took the brunt of the bombardment. Armor plating was breached, bulkheads ruptured, and a sudden explosion ripped the destroyer in half.

At that the last two GINNs had apparently decided they'd had enough, and began pulling back towards the sole remaining destroyer, which had been mauled by Athrun's solo attack in the Justice. Its primary engines were wrecked, but its auxiliaries appeared to be functioning, meaning the GINNs still had a ride out of there.

Kira sighed in relief. _It's over for now_, he thought.

Well, not quite. As he glanced at his sensor display, Kira saw that Heero's duel with the Valkyrie was still in full-swing. Wing Zero and Commander Rehema's new mobile suit were going at it with everything they had, and their battle was a marvel to behold. The two combatants clashed with a speed, power, grace, and efficiency that Kira had never seen before. He was awed by the supreme level of skill demonstrated by both pilots; it was beyond anything he'd ever imagined.

Kira was torn as to what he should do. On the one hand, Heero was his friend, and Kira wanted to help him in his fight. However, he had a feeling that the last thing the fearsome pilot wanted was assistance; indeed, he hadn't communicated with Kira or Athrun since engaging the Valkyrie.

Kira was saved from his dilemma by Captain Ramius. "Heads up everyone," she said, "we've got additional warships on long-range sensors, closing fast!

Indeed, an alarm went off in his cockpit mere seconds after the _Archangel_'s CO had spoken, and as Kira checked his radar he saw five vessels approaching from the direction of the Debris Belt. Their IFFs registered them as ZAFT ships, two destroyers and three frigates.

_Crap_, he thought, _they'll be launching mobile suits any second now!_

"Captain Ramius," he said, "what should we do?"

Ramius wasted no time in issuing orders. "Kira, I want you, Athrun, and La Flaga to take on the enemy's mobile suits. The _Archangel _and Buster will attack ZAFT's capital ships as soon as they come into range!"

"This is the _Eternal_, Waltfeld speaking" came the Desert Tiger's voice over the radio, "Mind if we lend a hand, Captain Ramius?"

"Depends," Ramius replied, "What's the status of your vessel and mobile suits?"

"We took some light hits earlier," the Desert Tiger replied, "but we're still in fighting shape."

"This is Tigress," came Aisha's voice, "I'm ready for another round."

Kira's eyes widened as he heard another familiar voice follow that of Waltfeld's lover. "This is Adaline. The girls and I are good to go. We've expended all our missiles, but we still have our other weapons."

"Understood," said Captain Ramius, "In that case, we'd more than welcome your support. " Her voice then took on a slightly amused tone. "Although… I never thought we'd be fighting side by side with the Desert Tiger, not to mention the subordinates of the Valkyrie."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Can't argue with you there, Captain." His voice then became more serious as he continued. "Unfortunately, we don't have the full Valkyrie Team with us."

"I know," Captain Ramius replied solemnly, "Wing Zero's been streaming its sensor data to my ship from the beginning; I know Heero's fighting Commander Rehema."

"I see," said Waltfeld, "the situation's rather complicated, Captain. The Valkyrie may be fighting against us now, but believe me when I say it's the last thing she wants to be doing. I'll elaborate latter; right now we have bigger problems to deal with."

"Agreed," said Captain Ramius, "All hands, prepare to engage enemy reinforcements!"

"This is Waltfeld," said the Desert Tiger to his own forces, "Tigress, you hang back and cover us. Adaline, you, Lan, and Pris join the _Archangel_'s forces and attack the enemy mobile suits and capital ships. Captain Ramius, we'll support the _Archangel _against the enemy vessels."

"Understood," Captain Ramius replied, "we'll send you our telemetry so we can coordinate our fire."

"Much obliged, Captain," said Waltfeld.

As the two leaders readied their warships and subordinates to engage the enemy, Kira gunned the Freedom's engines and moved out ahead of his allies. He was soon joined by La Flaga, Athrun, and the three black and red machines that he now knew were piloted by the Valkyrie's subordinates… or rather, former subordinates.

_Why_, he wondered, _why are they fighting against their Commander? Why aren't they all on the same side anymore?_

….

**(Start "Ash Like Snow")**

Raising the Tartarus rifle, Shemei cut loose with a blast of crimson plasma. Wing Zero almost effortlessly side slipped to the left, replying in kind with its awesome main gun. Dodging to the right, the Valkyrie readied herself for the inevitable charge, and Heero didn't disappoint. The young man swiftly closed the gap between them and launched a powerful slash with his beam saber.

Shemei blocked the attack with her own violet blade while trying to set up her DRAGOONs for an attack on Heero's flanks. It was a case of easier said than done, though; the incredible pilot had already adapted to the presence of the gun-drones and had become quite skilled at putting himself into positions where Shemei ran as much risk of hitting herself as him if she opened fire.

_You never cease to amaze me, Heero_, she thought as she opened up with her shoulder cannons, forcing her foe to dive to evade the attack, _your spatial awareness is incredible! I would've been able to hit any other pilot with the DRAGOONs by now, but you've been able to keep track of them while fighting me… god, what I wouldn't give to know how you do it!_

Of course, she hardly expected her rival to tell her the secret to his seemingly prescient battlefield awareness. Whether it had something to do with Wing Zero itself or the phenomenal pilot at its controls, Shemei doubted she'd know for sure any time soon. In the end, it was academic really. All that mattered was that Heero's ability to read the flow of battle was greater than any other pilot Shemei knew of, herself included.

The space she had created with by firing her shoulder cannons now gave her the opening she needed to send the DRAGOONs after Heero in earnest, and she wasted no time in doing so. She moved the gun-drones to hit Wing Zero from the front and the back, but Heero had anticipated her move and jinked right to break away from the pincer. Shemei then settled for a more head on attack, firing with both drones from the front while at the same time cutting loose with her shoulder cannons and the Tartarus rifle.

Amazingly, and yet to Shemei not surprisingly, Wing Zero managed to weave through the barrage of energy beams and evade the large crimson plasma blast. Just after the Valkyrie had opened fire with her main gun Heero replied in kind, and golden-yellow hellfire ripped forth from Wing Zero's powerful rifle. Shemei climbed to avoid the blast, but the move put her on the defensive once again, and Heero wasted no time in moving in for another round of close-quarters-combat.

Their duel had fallen into a pattern similar to that of their fights over the sands of the Sahara all those months ago, with alternating exchanges of long-range fire and beam saber strikes. Of course, Shemei was now fighting with a machine vastly superior to the unit she had wielded in her first two clashes with Heero, but there was still a sense of familiarity between her battle with Wing Zero's pilot now and their earlier duels.

_The only real difference here_, she thought solemnly, _is that the girls aren't with me this time. _She had to wonder how Heero would've countered the full Valkyrie Team if Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla had been working with her now in their Wraiths. Shemei had no doubt in her mind that Heero would've found a way to fight the four of them – he was just that phenomenal of a pilot – but she also knew that it would've been much more of a challenge to him.

In the end though, as she once again crossed blades with her rival, Shemei knew that it didn't matter. More importantly, she knew that she didn't _want _the girls working with her in this particular battle. It had been fine in their first two battles with Heero given the young man's vastly superior mobile suit, but now that the technology gap had been narrowed by a significant margin both for Shemei and the girls the Valkyrie knew that she would only be truly satisfied in fighting Wing Zero one-on-one.

_I owe him a fair fight_, she thought as they went at it in a series of vicious strikes, slashes, thrusts, blocks, and parries, _he fought against all four of us back in North Africa and defeated us with no help from anyone else… and he did it _twice _for that matter. He didn't kill any of us either, though I'm sure he was fighting lethally even then. He was holding back, but he still had the will to kill; we were just good enough to take his blows in places that would damage but not destroy our mobile suits, not to mention avoid taking direct hits from that rifle of his. He still could've finished us off after he'd damaged our DINNs, but he let us withdraw. He showed us a professional respect and courtesy that's almost non-existent nowadays. I owe him nothing less than the same!_

There was more to it than Shemei's sense of honor or her determination to hold herself to the high standards of respect and courtesy she felt every soldier should have for another. As strange as it may have seemed, the Valkyrie had actually come to view Wing Zero's pilot as something akin to a _friend_.

_This is the fourth time we've met_, she thought as she lashed out with her blade, only for Heero to block it with his shield and retaliate with a horizontal slash that she was barely able to block with her own shield, _three times in battle, once out of it… and yet, I long ago stopped seeing him as a real enemy._

It was impossible for her to do so. The level of admiration she held for Heero's abilities was simply too high for her to have even the minimal animosity a soldier does for their opposite number. That, combined with their conversation at Waltfeld's headquarters in Banadiya, made it impossible for her to view Heero in the same manner that she knew the practically everyone else in ZAFT did; as a demon of war, a masterful killer, feared and hated from the Defense Council down to the rank and file.

_Heero_, she thought as their beam sabers met again, _you truly are an amazing young man. It's more than just your skills as a soldier; in the brief time we spoke in Banadiya I could tell just what kind of person you are. You're strong, courageous, and cunning, but you're also kind and insightful as well. You're as humanistic as the girls, Waltfeld and Aisha, and me. I would much rather be your friend than your enemy._

Unfortunately, Shemei didn't really get a say in the matter. Her personal feelings were meaningless as long as her parents were in the clutches of Zala and his cronies. She dearly wanted to join forces with her former comrades, now more than ever since it was apparent that Heero and the _Archangel _had joined their side, but she couldn't. She had to fight them; there was no other choice.

Shemei opened fire with the Judgment's shoulder cannons, forcing Heero to back off and once again putting some space between them. As she prepared to attack Wing Zero with the Tartarus rifle and the DRAGOONs she spared a quick glance at her wide-view sensor display.

_Only one destroyer left_, she thought, _along with a handful of GINNs… we've been decimated. Truth be told… I'm actually rather grateful for that. That destroyer's captain will have to issue a general withdrawal order now, meaning I can get out of here. I won't be able to finish my duel with Heero, but I can deal with that. Besides… it just feels wrong fighting him like this, with my parents' live hanging over my head. This is a battle I wanted to fight of my own free will, not with a gun to my head._

She was then surprised to see that five new warships had appeared on the radar and were closing in fast. _They all have ZAFT IFFs_, she thought as she fired on Heero with her gun-drones and rifle, _two destroyers and three frigates. Damn, I guess this battle isn't over after all. They'll be launching mobile suits any time now._

Shemei could not afford to give the reinforcements or the wider battle any more attention though; Heero had once again evaded her attacks and was returning fire with Wing Zero's powerful rifle, forcing her to go back on the defensive. She would just have to hope that Waltfeld and the others could take care of the new threat.

_I'm sure they'll be fine_, she thought as she blocked a vertical strike from Heero's emerald beam saber, _the Archangel's here now, along with the Freedom and the Justice. They'll be more than capable of working with the Eternal and her forces to deal with the newcomers. I just have to focus on my duel now._

So she continued her battle with Heero, the Judgment and Wing Zero clashing with unholy speed, grace, and power. The adrenaline was still pumping through the Valkyrie's veins, driving her on like it never had before… but it wasn't what it should've been. It was tainted, corrupted by the fears she had for her friends and family.

_For months I longed for this chance to face you again, Heero_, she thought, _but here and now, with my parents held hostage, with my friends under attack… this isn't how I imagined our rematch would go. Yes, your allies are helping the Eternal and the girls, and that's a huge weight off my chest, but still… I don't have the _freedom _I had in our previous battle. I want to fight you as I did back then, in our last duel over the sands of North Africa, with only you and me to concern myself with. Just you, me, and our blades…_

**(End "Ash Like Snow")**

….

"Helm," said Waltfeld, "bring us along the _Archangel _one and a half kilometers to her starboard side; I want our CIWs and missiles to have overlapping coverage."

"Aye sir," the helmsman replied.

"Sir, I have telemetry from the _Archangel_," said DaCosta, "They're setting up to engage the left wing of the enemy task force."

"We'll concentrate our fire on the right then," said Waltfeld, "Weapons, I want our main guns focused on the destroyer on our half of the task force; that's our first target. Once they're in range, open up."

"Yes sir," said the chief gunnery officer.

"Sir, we have mobile suits launching from the enemy capital ships," said the sensor officer, "unit count is eighteen GINNs, twelve GuAIZs! Scanning squadron IFFs… _shit_!"

"Calm down, missy," said Waltfeld, "What's wrong?"

The young lady took a moment to compose herself before replying. "Sir, IFF transponders register the GuAIZs as being piloted by Special Operations Squadrons; Schnee and Silber Teams, to be precise."

Waltfeld's good eye narrowed as he processed this new information. "Hillenberand and Kellerman," he muttered, "damn… why'd it have to be those two?"

Erich Hillenberand and Dietrich "Boss" Kellerman, the heads of Schnee and Silber Teams respectively, were the cream of the crop for Zala's Special Operations Squadrons, surpasses only by the Chief Commander of the organization, Anton Kupchenko, and his fearsome Gault Team. Though aligned with the PLANT radical faction, the two Commanders and their pilots were on the mild side of the party, feeling that Coordinators should conquer and lead the Earth Sphere rather than embracing the increasingly genocidal tendencies of the group's more hard line members. They did not have the same reputation for viciousness and barbarism that the notorious Schwarze Team did, but they more than made up for it with the sheer skill of their pilots. Both were six-man teams, each capable of making their comrades that had fallen to Wing Zero look like rank amateurs in battle.

_They're not as good as Gault or the Valkyrie Team_, thought Waltfeld grimly, _but they're still very sharp units, and now they're outfitted with GuAIZs to boot. Kellerman's a strict professional, but Hillenberand… he's a real daredevil, and I'm willing to bet that attitude's rubbed off on his subordinates. He's the biggest threat on the field, not counting Rehema, and Heero's got her occupied right now anyway. People have compared him to Zubov, claiming both are true warriors, but that's a mistake. Zubov lived for slaughter; Hillenberand lives for _battle.

"Get me the _Archangel _immediately!" he ordered.

A brown haired, brown eyed woman with light skin appeared on the _Eternal_'s main monitor. She was certainly a beauty, but what really caught Waltfeld's attention was the small blue stone laying against her white uniform.

_A Tear of Isis_, he thought, _so Kira was right; Heero _has_ bonded with the Archangel's Captain. The guy's got good taste in women, no doubts there… if he's truly romantically inclined towards her._

Waltfeld shoved his musings aside; now was certainly not the time for them in any case. "Captain Ramius," he said, "two of the squads that launched from the task force are Special Operations units. They're the ones flying the new mobile suits, the GuAIZs."

She nodded, instantly grasping the situation. "Understood, Waltfeld. I'll have Kira and Athrun deal with them; that will free up the rest of our forces to hit the GINNs and capital ships."

Waltfeld nodded, impressed with how quickly the woman had been able to adapt her plans to the new information. _No wonder the Archangel's lasted so long_, he mused, _it has a very sharp commanding officer. The Alliance lost more than just a powerful warship when it left their forces; they lost one of their best Captains._

"Sounds good," said Waltfeld, "_Eternal _out."

….

"Got it," said Kira as he listened to Captain Ramius's new orders, "Athrun and I will take care of those two squadrons."

"I want both of you to watch your backs," said the Captain, a stern expression on her face, "your foes are elite pilots flying new model machines; don't underestimate them."

"Understood," said Athrun, who was on the same channel.

"We'll be careful," said Kira.

"Good luck," said Captain Ramius, "_Archangel _out."

As the Captain signed off Kira adjusted his visual sensors, focusing on the two teams the _Archangel_'s commanding officer had just singled out to him and Athrun. They were both six-person units, and they were flying the same kind of mobile suits as Waltfeld's lover. The team on the left sported a dark grey paint job with small white triangles along the edges of their shields, along with their shoulders. The one on the right had a light gray base with black stripes running horizontally across the units from head to toe, like tiger sharks.

"I recognize those color schemes," said Athrun, "the one on the left is Schnee; the right squadron is Silber. I'll take Silber, you take Schnee."

"Ok," said Kira, "any words of advice?"

"Schnee Team has a reputation for being risk takers," said Athrun, "more so than most mobile suit pilots. They're gutsy, aggressive, and talented; as Captain Ramius said, watch your back."

"Alright," he replied, "you too."

Athrun nodded before signing out.

Kira gunned the Freedom's engines, breaking left as the Justice went right. The two advanced mobile suits rushed ahead of their allies in order to engage the Special Operations Squadrons as quickly as possible and keep them away from their friends.

**(Start "The Round Table")**

Brining the Freedom's artillery to bear on the Schnee Team, which was approaching him as three wing pairs, Kira picked his targets with his advanced tracking system and opened fire. His foes reacted quickly, scattering but not panicking, and raised their shields to take any shots that they could not evade. The six GuAIZs fanned out around Kira, beam rifles brought up to bear and violet energy claws igniting from the emitters on their shields.

The young Coordinator brought up his own beam saber in response, and not a moment too soon; the centermost mobile suit charged him head on, taking a swipe with its beam claws. Kira was barely able to block the attack, but he was unable to counter; incoming rifle fire from three of the other machines forced him to go evasive, climbing over his initial attacker. He was quickly met by the other two machines as they flanked him from both sides, moving in for the kill.

Kira blocked the beam claws of one unit on his shield and managed to parry the other's attack with his beam saber. Throwing the Freedom into reverse, he then opened fire with its guns again. One of his beams hit the rifle of a GuAIZ and destroyed it, but other than that he did no damage.

_Crap_, he thought as he dodged fire from the five machines still armed with their rifles, _I can destroy their guns, but those beam claws are emitted from their shields. Cutting off their shield arms will be a lot harder than taking out the sword arm of a GINN or mass production Strike. Maybe I should target the emitters with the Freedom's guns…_

He tried doing precisely that, but the emitters were awfully small targets, and his foes were able to take his shots on the center or upper parts of their shields, away from the beam claws. Then the unit that had first attacked him rushed in for another head on strike, forcing Kira to bring his shied up to take their slash. He tried to retaliate with his beam saber, but he was forced to dodge to the right to avoid two rocket anchors that suddenly shot out from his foe's hips.

_Damn, that was close_, he thought as he blocked slashes from two more GuAIZs while evading fire from the rest, _he could've tied up my sword arm with the wire attached to one of those anchors; I would've been a sitting duck!_

He spent the next few seconds blocking another round of beam claw swipes from two more machines while dodging rifle fire, trying to figure out how he was going to work his way out of the mess he'd found himself in. Gunning the Freedom's engines and climbing above his foes, Kira let rip with another barrage from his artillery. He managed to knock out another mobile suit's beam rifle, but like its comrade it still had its rocket anchors and beam claws, and that still left four machines with their full range of armaments.

Kira was then forced to go evasive as the four rifle-armed GuAIZs surrounded him and opened fire while the two that were now limited to close-quarters-combat attempted to take him in a pincer attack. Taking the initiative, Kira charged one of the attacking machines and lashed out with his beam saber, aiming for the emitters on the unit's shield. Unfortunately his foe managed to adjust their position and take the strike on the center of their shield. Still, Kira's attack did disrupt his enemies' pincer attack, and he was able to dive and temporarily break out of the surrounding squadron.

The damage he'd done in the opening minute or two of the dogfight had been negligible, but Kira had gained some insight into the new machines' capabilities. They were fast and well armed, but the Freedom had them beat in both categories. Kira could outmaneuver his opponents, and in a one-on-one fight he had them outgunned; the trick was to figure out how to make the most of those advantages against the entire squad, not to mention do so without killing his opponents. Taking out their head cameras would be his best bet, though it would not be easy; his foes were quite maneuverable in their own right, and their shields would present a considerable obstacle to attacks on their main sensors. The units would still have their backups as well, and while it was much harder to fight with the lower-resolution auxiliary visual sensor on a mobile suit, it was not impossible.

Kira's position also gave him a brief view at the wider confrontation. Athrun was in the thick of his engagement with Silber Team, and the fact that he did not share Kira's compunctions about killing had allowed him to take down one of his foes already with a well-placed rifle shot to the back. It was still relatively slow going for Kira's old friend, but in terms of foes neutralized the pilot of the Justice was definitely doing better in that regard.

Meanwhile La Flaga, Dearka, and Aisha were tearing into the GINNs that were attempting to attack the _Archangel _and the _Eternal_. Despite being outnumbered six to one the three pilots were more than holding their own, thanks to the lethal combination of their own skills and superior mobile suits. Six of ZAFT's grey and green mainline mobile suits had already been destroyed by the deadly trio, while CIW fire and small anti-air missiles from the _Archangel _and the _Eternal _had destroyed three more, leaving just nine GINNs left.

The two capital ships themselves weren't sitting by idly. The _Archangel_ had opened fire with her Lohengrins the instant one of ZAFT's destroyers had come into range, annihilating the vessel. The white warship was now facing off two of the task force's frigates, pounding them with the Gottfried beam cannons, Valiant railguns, and heavy Sledgehammer ship-to-ship/surface missiles. The two frigates were trying to respond to the _Archangel_'s withering barrage, but they were severely outgunned by the massive assault ship, and the loss of their companion destroyer right off the bat had disrupted their original order of battle. Their return fire was uncoordinated, and the few shots that hit the _Archangel _were shrugged off by the vessel's incredibly tough laminated armor.

The _Eternal_, for her part, was focusing its main batteries on the second ZAFT destroyer. Lacking positron cannons it could not go for a one-hit knockout punch like the _Archangel _could, but the combination of the METEOR batteries and its heavy turret actually allowed it to outgun a single _Nazca_-class ship in a straight-up fight, and it was mercilessly punishing its foe with a rain of emerald beams. The destroyer got off a few shots in return, but they did not hit any vital areas of the _Eternal_.

The other two _Laurasia_-class frigates were trying to support their companion destroyer, but they were having a hard enough time fending off attacks from Commander Rehema's former subordinates. The two green ships were firing their CIWs in all directions, meaning that the girls couldn't rely on their Mirage Colloid systems, but they were still more than capable of posing a threat to the frigates even while visible. With their Phase Shift Armor shrugging off the occasional hit by an anti-air gun round, Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla hammered away at the two ships with their beam rifles and rail cannons. The first two were focused on one vessel, while the third was soloing the second.

And last, but certainly not least, there was Wing Zero and the Judgment, locked in their own private battle. Heero and the Valkyrie's epic clash did not look like it would be letting up any time soon. The two of them alternated between trading shots at range before diving in to cross blades. Commander Rehema's new mobile suit actually had more weapons than Wing Zero, but none could match the overwhelming firepower of the Twin Buster Rifle. The additional weapons, particularly the gun-drones and shoulder cannons, did give the Valkyrie an edge in close quarters combat, but Heero's raw skill combined with the Zero System was enough to negate that advantage. To Kira's eye their fierce duel had reached a stalemate, and he had to wonder what would happen when the rest of ZAFT's forces in the area were defeating, leaving Rehema as the last enemy combatant. Kira was sure Heero would want him and the others to stay out of the fight, but whether or not they would abide by that desire was another matter entirely.

_Focus Kira_, he thought as the Schnee Team closed in on him, _you'll have to deal with these guys before you can help anyone else anyway. _

Not waiting for the enemy to surround him, Kira cut loose with the Freedom's guns. His foes once again scattered, either evading the shots or taking them on their shields, but Kira was fine with that; it gave him the opening he needed.

Gunning the throttle, Kira closed in rapidly on one of the gray and white machines. Firing his guns again to keep his foe on the defensive, Kira swooped in and slashed the head off the GuAIZ with his beam saber. He then turned around and attacked another mobile suit, once again firing all his guns and forcing his opponent to raise their shield to protect their center, giving Kira the opening he needed to slice off his foe's rifle arm.

_Alright_, he thought, _that's three that don't have guns now, and of the other three that do one's lost its head camera, so it should be withdrawing now._

He raised his shield to block a beam claw attack from one unit and then parried another with his beam saber. Kira was then forced to dive as another unit tried to spear him from behind, and as he evaded the attack he was shocked to see that it was the one he had just beheaded.

_No way_, he thought, _he only has his auxiliary backup cameras now; their resolution is low quality even at close range, and just basic flying with them is hard. How the hell is he still fighting just by using the backups?_

Kira climbed before reorienting the Freedom to face his foes and unleashed another rain of fire. One of his plasma beams caught a GuAIZ in its head, removing its primary visual sensors. However, that did not stop the unit from continuing its charge, and Kira had to raise his shield to block a swipe from its beam claws.

Suddenly he heard a chuckle coming over the radio. "So, the rumors are true; Freedom's pilot lacks the will to kill. Don't get me wrong; you're good kid, very good… but trying to play nice won't help you against us."

"Who are you?" asked Kira, working frantically to trace the source of the signal. A second later he found it; the sole undamaged GuAIZ, which was closing in on him from head on.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you," said the pilot as he opened fire with his beam rifle, forcing Kira to raise the shield to block the shot, "Erich Hillenberand, Schnee Team Commander."

"Commander," said Kira as the GuAIZ moved into beam claw range, "your allies are being beaten back by my friends; you've lost this round. Please, withdraw!"

Hillenberand laughed. "Don't insult me, kid! This fight's still in full-swing! Allow me to let you in on a little secret; we Schnee Team pilots are suckers for a good fight, and even if you lack the will to kill you're still putting up one hell of a scrap. Besides, this is our turf, and we'll fly how we please!"

Kira didn't have time to reply as he was forced to dodge a rapid succession of rocket anchor shots; if any of them managed to snare the Freedom then he was screwed.

_I guess there's no point in trying to reason with them_, he thought grimly, _but still… I can't just kill them!_

It was clear though that simply removing their head cams and beam rifles would not be enough to defeat his foes though. The way the GuAIZ was designed made it difficult for Kira to employ his usual tactics; the beam claw emitters were mounted in the shield, and the way it covered the arm it was mounted on made removing it a very daunting task, while the rocket anchors were only exposed when they fired.

Glancing over at Athrun's fight again, Kira saw his friend slash an enemy unit in half, leaving four mobile suits left for him to deal with. _Is that what I'll have to do here? Do I… do I really have no choice but to kill them?_

Heero's words echoed clearly in his mind at that moment. _"When you can't disable your foe's mobile suit, or if they decide even after being disarmed to charge you and self-destruct in the hopes of taking you with them, will you be able to do what is necessary? In such a scenario, a split second of hesitation may cost you your life… or the life of someone you care about."_

_ None of my friends have been endangered yet_, he thought, _these guys are focused on me. If this goes on though… I don't know._

"Come on, kid!" said Hillenberand as he charged in for another attack, "Stay focused, or we're going to kill you! I want to beat you at your best, not when you're spacing out!"

Kira blocked his enemy's beam claws on his shield before lashing out with his violet blade. This time he managed to destroy his foe's rifle, but he knew that would not dissuade the Commander. He was then forced to climb as two more machines tried to impale him with their beam claws while the last two that still had their rifles took shots at him. Frantically dodging the Schnee Team's relentless assault, Kira realized he'd lost track of their leader. He quickly glanced at his sensors, and his eyes widened as he saw Hillenberand closing in fast from behind.

Kira whirled around, raising his shield to block the coming beam claw attack… only to watch in shock as a violet blade materialized out of thin air, impaling Hillenberand from behind.

"Damn… bitch…" said the Commander, just before his machine exploded.

"What the…" said Kira, but before he could finish his query Hillenbrand's attacker revealed itself, or rather _herself_, by deactivating its Mirage Colloid.

"If _you_ won't kill them," said the voice of Lan Zhao, an arctic chill in her tone as she swiftly whirled around and destroyed another GuAIZ with her beam rifle, "then _I _will."

"When did you…" said Kira as he blocked an attack on his shield.

"Adaline ordered me to get over here," she interrupted coolly, evading fire from the rifle duo, "She sent me to bail you out while she and Pris keep fighting that frigate pair. They're both concentrating on the same ship instead of attacking both like we were earlier. I have to say I'm disappointed, Kira; I thought you were better than this."

"They're just pawns being used by the PLANT radicals," said Kira as he blocked more attacks, "they're not the real enemy."

"If you said that of the regular army I'd be inclined to agree," said Lan, who had ignited both her beam sabers and was mixing it up with two GuAIZs at once, "but these are Special Operations pilots, Kira; Zala's right hand, if you will. They were all selected to join his 'elite' organization because they share his ideals to one degree or another. They're not just grunts fighting for their homeland and loved ones; they're agents of death and destruction, and must be dealt with accordingly."

As she spoke she blocked a GuAIZ's beam claw on her right shield before impaling it with the beam saber imbedded in her left. She then swiftly whirled around and opened fire on another unit with her rail cannons, causing it to raise its shield and go evasive. Her piloting since entering Kira's fight was a testament to the skill Commander Rehema had required of her subordinates; in the brief time since she had intervened she had killed half the enemy squad. Granted, she had done so via the element of surprise, but it in no way detracted from her accomplishment.

"Look," said Lan as she closed in on her foe while Kira warded off strikes from the other two machines, "if you want to play nice, save it for the regulars; you've got the skills and the mobile suit needed to pull it off against them. Against guys like these, though… well, either suck it up and play for keeps or draw their fire while we professionals neutralize them." She punctuated her sentence by bisecting her foe from head to toe before whirling around and opening fire with her rail cannons on Kira's foes, forcing them to scatter.

Kira once again opened fire with the Freedom's guns, attempting to force the last two members of the Schnee Team to withdraw before Lan caught up with them. It didn't work, though. On the contrary, as they raised their shields to take Kira's fire they left themselves wide open to the Chinese Coordinator, who quickly finished them off with a pair of beam rifle shots.

"Well," she said, "glad that's over with. Now we'll just… oh, _fuck_! _Eternal_, dive now!"

Whirling around, Kira saw one of the frigates, damaged by the former Valkyrie girls' attacks but not destroyed, lining up for a shot with its main guns. The other frigate in its pair had been mauled by Adaline and Priscilla, with evacuation shuttles streaming from its hangar, but the destroyer was still alive, albeit severely damaged by the _Eternal_. It wasn't finished though, requiring Waltfeld to continue concentrating his fire on it until it fell. Adaline and Priscilla were rushing over to open

_Oh crap_, thought Kira, _because Lan had to come help me, she and the other's couldn't finish off that frigate fast enough. Now it has a shot at Lacus!_

But the frigate never got a chance to fire. Two large crimson energy blasts washed over the ship, completely obliterating it.

_Was that the Archangel?_, he thought. Checking his sensors he saw that that could not be the case; the _Archangel _was still engaging the other frigate pair. Both of the green ships had been heavily damaged, but they had not attempted to withdraw yet.

Several new contacts appeared on his radar, coming up from below to join the fight. Zooming in on them with the Freedom's cameras, Kira smiled as he saw the _Kusanagi _rushing up to lend assistance. It was surrounded by eight mobile suits, seven of which were black and white M1 Astrays. Kira's eyes widened as he saw the eighth machine; it was a pink version of the original Strike.

Kira heard Lan whistle over the radio. "Phew! I don't know who you guys are, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Great timing!"

Suddenly Cagalli's face appeared on his screen. "Hey, Kira," she said, smiling, "sorry we're late!"

"Cagalli!" he said. He then realized that she was wearing a white and red Orb pilot's jumpsuit; she wasn't hailing him from the _Kusanagi_. "Are you in a mobile suit?"

She nodded. "Yup, the Strike Rouge. We built it using the debris from the original Strike, along with fresh parts from Morgenroete. We've upgraded the batteries so it can fight longer, but other than that it's the same unit you fought with before."

"Are you sure you should be piloting that thing?" asked Kira.

"Hell yes!" she replied angrily, "I'm not going to let you, Athrun, and the others take all the risk. I'm going to help you guys, and I can do it better on the front lines than by sitting on the _Kusanagi_! Now come on, let's give Athrun a hand!"

Kira nodded. "Right."

"I'm going to rejoin my friends," said Lan, "you guys can finish off Athrun's foes."

As Lan pulled away Kira turned towards his friend's fight and gunned the Freedom's engines. The Justice seemed to have things in hand well enough on its own, though; there were now only three GuAIZ's left out of the original six in the enemy team. Picking targets, Kira opened fire, destroying two of the machines' rifles and forcing the third to raise its shield to block the incoming shots.

Athrun wasted no time in capitalizing on his foes' distraction, rushing in to impale one unit with his beam saber before taking down another with rifle fire. The only unit left now was the one that had blocked Kira's first shots, and the boy expected it to withdraw. That was not the case, though; the GuAIZ redoubled its efforts, lashing out at the Justice with its beam claws before firing at Kira with its rifle to keep the Freedom at bay.

"Back off!" said Kira over an open channel, "This battle's over; you can't win!"

"It doesn't matter," the enemy replied, "you killed all of my subordinates, and I will be damned if I do not make you pay for that before you take me down!"

"Kira," said Athrun grimly as he fended off his foe's attacks, "there's no point in trying to reason with this guy. Go cover our capital ships; I'll finish him off."

Kira sighed, resigning himself to the facts. "Alright, I will."

As Kira pulled away he watched Athrun continue his close quarters clash with his foe. The Freedom's pilot wondered how his old friend would end the fight, only to be surprised to see an emerald beam pierce the GuAIZ from behind, destroying it. Checking his sensors, he saw that Cagalli had fired that shot.

_Now it's really over_, he thought. Looking over the wider battle, he saw that the destroyer that the _Eternal _had been pounding was beginning to pull back, and the same went for the two frigates that the _Archangel _had been bombarding. For their parts, both Captain Ramius and the Desert Tiger seemed content to reduce the pressure they were putting on their foes, firing only a few shots in order to dissuade their retreating enemies from turning around and trying to restart the fight. All the GINNs had been destroyed by La Flaga, Aisha, and Dearka.

"All units," said Captain Ramius over the tactical channel, "form up around the _Eternal_. The _Archangel _will take the left flank, and the _Kusanagi _will move onto the right."

"Hang on," said Lacus, "what about Heero and Rehema?"

Kira could've smacked himself; he'd forgotten all about Wing Zero. Scanning his sensors, he was quickly able to find Heero… and was surprised to see that he was still going at it with the Valkyrie.

Captain Ramius spoke again, and Kira thought he heard a bit of reluctance in her voice. "We'll standoff away from their duel. I… I don't think Heero would want us to interfere."

Kira nodded; the Captain was probably right. Taking up position over the _Eternal_, all he could do was watch as two of the best pilots in the Earth Sphere continued their lightning-paced duel.

**(End "The Round Table")**

….

Jinking to the right to avoid another large blast of crimson energy, Heero wasted no time in returning fire with the Twin Buster Rifle. As Rehema dodged his shot the Perfect Soldier dove at her, zigzagging to evade fire from the gun-drones and shoulder cannons. He swung his emerald blade in a horizontal slash, one that the Valkyrie blocked with her own violet saber, and the two of them once again began another sequence of strikes and parries.

They had continued their clash uninterrupted by the wider battle, locked into the familiar pattern of long range bombardment followed up by beam saber combat. Neither of them had let up, but Heero could not help but feel that Rehema wasn't truly going all out. It was subtle, but as they had fought he could sense a kind of forcefulness to her movements that hadn't been there during their duels in North Africa. It was as though something was weighing her down, something that she was trying to shake off via the thrill of a duel with a skilled foe but not having complete success at it.

Heero had subconsciously begun holding back a bit as well the instant he had sensed this. He respected her too much to go all out when she wasn't able to do the same. As they clashed the Gundam pilot had tried to figure out what was wrong with his foe, but that was easier said than done. He could've just contacted her over the radio, but he had a feeling that whatever was distracting her wasn't something she could discuss over an open channel.

Checking his wide-range sensors as he pulled back to dodge a volley from the Valkyrie's shoulder cannons he saw that the greater battle had begun to wind down; ZAFT was slowly pulling back. The _Archangel _was still laying down fire on the last two frigates, along with the sole surviving destroyer from the original task force, but Heero could tell that Murrue was only using her ship's weapons to dissuade her foes from turning around and trying to attack them again; if she'd wanted them destroyed, she would've done so already.

_All our capital ships are secure_, he thought as he weaved through cannon fire and shots from the gun-drones, _let's see if the people on that cruiser have any information that'll clear things up on my end._

"Attention unknown cruiser," he said, "this is Wing Zero; identify yourself."

A smaller screen opened up on the lower right corner of his main monitor, showing the face of Lacus Clyne. The idol singer smiled at him. "Hello, Heero Yuy. It's good to see you again. Thank you for your help earlier!"

"I don't mean to be rude," the Gundam pilot replied as he opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle after dodging a blast from Rehema's main gun, "but I don't have time for pleasantries; I need information, and fast."

"About what?" she asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Let me take this," said a familiar male voice, and the image shifted to none other than the Desert Tiger. "Heero, fancy meeting you here. What do you need?"

"What's up with Commander Rehema?" he asked as he began another round of sword strikes with the Valkyrie, "Why is she still with ZAFT? I know she was fighting her former subordinates earlier. What's going on, Waltfeld?"

The former ZAFT Field Marshal sighed. "The radical faction has taken Shemei's parents hostage, Heero. She's a First Generation Coordinator, meaning her parents are Naturals. Combine that with the open secret that the Valkyrie doesn't support the hard line stance of the new ruling party, and that put them near the top of Zala's shit list."

The pieces quickly fell into place in Heero's mind as he continued trading slashes and blocks with his foe. "They were taken to ensure her loyalty to ZAFT. Were it not for that, she'd be with you guys now, right?"

"Exactly," Waltfeld replied, "I think Zala would prefer to simply kill them and her, but despite his hatred of her he knows that she's the best pilot he has… and the only one that's fought you twice on near-even terms, not to mention lasted the longest against you. That's why she was given her new machine, the ZGMF-X14A Judgment; the radicals may not trust her, but they need her if they want a shot at killing you."

"Why not pull the same trick with her subordinates' families?" asked Heero as he and Rehema once again parted and began trading rifle shots.

"Because we moved first," said Waltfeld, "we got the girls' families into hiding. Shemei's parents were stubborn, though; her father in particular didn't like the idea of going into hiding, and we couldn't persuade them to get into our safe house network before Zala's thugs rounded them up."

Heero nodded. "Thanks for the information. Wing Zero out."

As he dodged fire from Rehema's shoulder cannons and gun-drones something he'd said to Murrue months ago flashed through his mind.

"…_a soldier who's forced to fight will never be as good as one who fights of his own free will."_

_That's why she's flying like this_, thought Heero as he took another shot with the Twin Buster Rifle, _She's fighting with the knowledge that if she doesn't, her parents' lives are forfeit. _It was a grim bit of news, and Heero felt as disgusted with Zala and his cronies as he had with the Atlantic Federation High Command, though this time without the overpowering wrath that had accompanied the latter. _To think they'd stoop that low… then again, their endgame is genocide, so nothing's off the table for them now._

There was little he could do about it right now though save for continue his duel. With the ZAFT survivors beginning to pull back it was probable that Rehema would soon receive a recall order and would have to break off their engagement. That was fine by Heero; after what he had just learned, he didn't have the heart to keep up their battle longer than was necessary.

As their blades crossed again Heero could not help but feel sorry for his rival. He'd had no family of his own, so he could not imagine what it was like to live with the knowledge that their lives rested on his shoulders, but he had no doubt that it was a very heavy burden for the Valkyrie. He wanted to contact Rehema, to show her that he was now aware of her situation, but there was the very real risk that her communications were being monitored, and any chatter between him and her could be taken by her superiors as a sign of collusion with the enemy. If that happened then Heero had no doubt that the lives of Rehema's parents would be forfeit.

At the same time there was a fresh upwelling of determination within the Gundam pilot. Not just to survive their battle and continue the fight for peace, but out of the desire to help his rival. It wasn't just so they could have a true rematch, one without anything weighing them down, though that was certainly a part of it. He wanted to help Rehema because it was the right thing to do.

_No one should have to go through what she's enduring right now_, he thought as they continued trading saber strikes, _this _has _to be set right!_

….

_You're as strong as ever, Heero_, Shemei thought as she parried her foe's slash with her own beam saber, _and your perception is truly remarkable; I can tell you're holding back again, matching the level I'm fighting at. _A small, bittersweet smile appeared on his face. She did not know if the young man was aware of the circumstances under which she was fighting, but she knew that he had been able to figure out that something was keeping her from truly going all out. She wanted to contact him, to acknowledge what he was doing now as she had done so back in North Africa when she had been momentarily distracted by the destruction of the LaGOWE until she had learned that Waltfeld and Aisha had survived. Unfortunately she knew that she could not do so; she was well aware that the radicals were monitoring all communications coming from the Judgment.

_Damn it, Zala_, she fumed as she continued her clash with Wing Zero, _thanks to you I can't even give Heero the simple courtesy of conveying my gratitude. Honor and mutual respect may have no meaning to scum like you, but they do to me! _

She sighed as she tried to attack Heero from the flanks with her DRAGOONs, only for her incredibly gifted foe to dive and evade her fire. _I'm sorry, Heero_, she thought, _after what you did for me in North Africa, you deserve better than what I can give you now. I've tried, but with the lives of my parents hanging over me like this… I just can't give you the fight I know we both want, nor the respect and courtesy you've earned a hundred times over. I can't even thank you for recognizing that I can't go all out against you right now…_

Shemei had a hard time recalling when she had last felt so low. With both her parents having been officers in the Egyptian Air Force before immigrating to the PLANTs, both of them had gained a strong sense of respect and courtesy as a result, something that they had worked hard to instill into their daughter. Shemei was truly grateful for that, recognizing such qualities as being important to developing truly meaningful relationships with other people, as being essential to friendship and cooperation. They were also vital in war, even towards the enemy, as they kept soldiers from lowering themselves to the levels that the Alliance and ZAFT were stooping to now, committing fresh atrocities and crimes with each passing day, dishonoring the military uniform and all it was supposed to stand for.

_That's one of our biggest problems_, she thought as she traded rifle fire with Heero, _our new leadership has a complete disregard for the laws and customs of war, and the same goes for that of the Alliance. It's been a slow process, but that sense of cruelty and barbarism has now seeped into the ranks of our front-line fighters. I'm sure the majority of soldiers on both sides conduct themselves in accordance with their oaths and the conventions of war, but more and more fighters on both sides are starting to embrace the brutality of their leaders now. It's sickening, disgusting, horrifying… and it will destroy us all if it continues._

At last she received the command she'd been praying for; the withdrawal order. It hadn't come from the task force commander; his ship had been destroyed by the _Archangel_'s powerful positron cannons. Its origin didn't matter though; all Shemei cared about was that she could at last quit the field.

She fired off one last blast with the Tartarus rifle, one which Wing Zero easily dodged, before gunning her engines and retreating towards the two surviving frigates from the second task force and the last destroyer from the initial group. Checking her sensors she saw that Heero was not pursuing and was merely holding his position, letting her go.

"Thank you, Heero," she whispered under her breath, "and… I'm sorry."

….

Murrue sighed in relief as she watched the black and red machine that had been engaging Heero move to join the three retreating ZAFT warships. "All weapons cease fire," she ordered, "this battle's over. Let them go."

"Understood ma'am," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "guns, hold fire!"

Turning to her personal monitor, Murrue wasted no time in contacting Wing Zero. "Heero," she said as the Gundam pilot appeared on the small screen, "are you alright?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded, though even through his helmet visor Murrue could see a little bit of sweat on his brow. "I'm fine, Murrue."

She smiled in response. "I'm glad to hear that. We saw your duel from here… you were fighting the Valkyrie, weren't you?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah…"

Murrue became concerned at the young man's reply; he seemed distracted by something. "Heero, is something wrong?"

Heero sighed. "Our fight… it wasn't what it should've been. I'll explain when I get back."

Murrue nodded, giving him a soft smile as she did so. "Alright, Heero; I trust you."

She was pleased to see him give her a small smile in response. "Thanks, Murrue." His expression then became more serious. "So, what's our next move?"

"I'll contact the _Eternal _and try to figure that out," she replied, "for now, I want you to take up position over the _Archangel_."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

"And Heero," said Murrue, "excellent job today. Your flying… you were _spectacular_."

Thought Murrue had done her best to focus on commanding the _Archangel_, she had kept a part of her personal display monitoring Heero's duel with Commander Rehema throughout the battle. The two pilots' fearsome clash had easily put both their battles in North Africa to shame, not the least because the Valkyrie was now flying a significantly more advanced mobile suit than her modified DINN. Murrue had instantly been able to determine that Rehema's new machine was part of the same line as the Freedom and the Justice, and was an incredibly dangerous unit, made all the more deadly by the phenomenal skills of its pilot.

Murrue had been worried, but at the same time her faith in Heero's abilities had never wavered. She had known, without a shadow of a doubt, that Heero would triumph in his duel with the Valkyrie. He would survive, she had been absolutely certain of that. He would come back to her.

And he had.

Murrue felt that familiar warm feeling in her chest as she watched Wing Zero fly towards the _Archangel _and take up position over the white warship, the mixture of relief, pride, and affection that always came from witnessing Heero return to her from a successful mission. The young man she loved more than life itself had once again gone through the fires of battle and come out unharmed, returning to once again stand by her side, ready to face whatever came at them next, to support her in her ongoing struggle to protect the lives of her friends, subordinates, and allies.

_Heero_, she thought, smiling, _you survived, you won, just like I knew you would. You're safe, and this battle is over… and you can come back to me._

Heero nodded, and Murrue saw a small smirk through his helmet visor. "I didn't know you were watching. Didn't you have a warship to command?"

Murrue couldn't help but laugh a little in response. "Yes, I did, but I can multi-task, Heero."

Heero gave a small chuckle in response. "No argument there. Alright, I'm assuming defensive posture over the bridge. Wing Zero out."

Murrue turned her attention back to the bridge. "Get the _Eternal _on the line."

"Yes ma'am," said the communications officer, "connection established."

The Desert Tiger appeared on the main bridge monitor. "Captain Ramius," he said, smiling, "you really bailed us out of a nasty situation there. Thanks for the help."

Murrue nodded. "You're welcome, Field Marshal… or should I call you something else?"

The man chuckled. "I suppose it should be ex-Field Marshal, but it doesn't have quite as good a ring to it. You appear to have kept the rank you formerly held as an Alliance officer though, so I think I'll keep my original title; Field Marshal will do, Captain."

"Excuse me," said a familiar female voice, "Mister Waltfeld, may I speak to her?"

Waltfeld smirked. "Of course, not everyone will actually use that title, especially not this little lady. Go ahead, Miss Clyne."

The image shifted to none other than the pink-haired songstress that had graced the _Archangel_ with her presence so many months ago. Lacus smiled as she greeted Murrue. "Hello, Captain Ramius; it has been quite awhile since we last met. I'm glad to see you're well."

Murrue smiled. "As well as one can be, all things considered. It's good to see you too, Miss Clyne."

"Please, just call me Lacus," the girl replied, "you and your crew saved my life, both today and several months ago; you need not use formalities with me."

"That's a generous attitude," said Murrue, "still, I insist upon it, if only for myself, out of respect for the cause you represent."

Lacus bowed her head. "I'm honored that you hold me in such regard, Captain Ramius. Thank you very much."

"You're most welcome, Miss Clyne," said Murrue, "what is your current situation?"

"We've taken some damage," said Lacus, her face becoming more serious, "but it is not critical, and we can still move under our own power. The _Eternal _has a large conference room/amphitheater, and I would like to hold a meeting there between parties from all three ships as soon as possible. There is much we need to discuss."

"I'm sure," said Murrue, "but here may not be the best place to do that; I'm sure ZAFT reinforcements will be converging on this area soon. We need a quieter place to have that meeting."

"Agreed," said Lacus, "Mister Waltfeld is trying to find such a place right now. Hang on, I'm transferring you back to him."

The screen shifted, and the Desert Tiger once again appeared on the main monitor. "Captain Ramius," he said, "I've found us a spot where I think we can meet up without being interrupted. It's a few hours cruise away from here, just along the inner rim of the Debris Belt."

"What makes you think that ZAFT or the Alliance won't have patrols in the area?" asked Murrue.

"There used to be an Atlantic Federation supply depot there," he said, "it was nuclear powered, and about a year prior to the war there was a malfunction in the reactor, blowing the facility to kingdom come. The entire area was blanketed in heavy radiation, not to mention a few hundred unexploded missiles that were blown free when the place was destroyed."

"I heard about that mess," said Murrue, "I believe the facility was called Caravel station. What makes you think we can safely travel in that area now?"

"It's been over two years now, Captain," replied Waltfeld, "the radiation's dispersed on solar winds to the point that its harmless now, no way it'll penetrate our ship hulls, and as for those missiles the reason they didn't detonate in the first place is because their trigger mechanisms were inert; they'd been freshly shipped to the depot and slated for use in its defense missile launchers, but they hadn't been armed yet. That detail was noted in the shipping manifest but not in the station maintenance logs though, so the Alliance slapped a massive hazardous waste/undetonated explosives label on the whole area and pulled the rest of their forces out. They didn't even bother to try a salvage operation. I imagine by now the Junk Guild's picked the area clean of anything valuable, so there's no reason for anyone to go out that way, and ZAFT won't touch it for the same reason the Alliance won't. It's the perfect place for a meeting."

Murrue nodded. "Very well, then. We'll set a course for that location. Lacus said the _Eternal _can still move under its own power, but how hard can you push your engines?"

"We can go full bore, no problem," said Waltfeld, "most of our damage is to the armor plating and some of the minor systems. It's nothing we can't patch up either en route or while we're there. We'll fire up the engines and get moving now if you're ready."

"We are," said Murrue, "I'll recall my mobile suit pilots and we'll get underway. We'll pass word on to the _Kusanagi _as well."

"Good," said Waltfeld, nodding, "by the way, regarding the meeting, I've got a favor to ask."

"Oh?" said Murrue, raising her eyebrows, "What is it?"

"Regarding the _Archangel_'s delegation," said Waltfeld, "I don't suppose you could bring Heero along, could you? I found him to be very insightful during our chat back in North Africa, and I think having him attend the meeting will be a great help in planning out where we go from here."

Murrue smiled. "I couldn't agree more, Field Marshal. In fact, I was going to ask him to come with me anyway."

"Glad to hear it," Waltfeld replied, "_Eternal _out."

As the Desert Tiger's image vanished Murrue began issuing new orders. "Lieutenant Tsukino, recall Wing Zero, Buster, and the Tallgeese Kai. Then make our heading for the site of the former supply depot Caravel station. Contact the _Kusanagi _and inform them of our new plans."

"Aye Captain," said Murrue's XO, who wasted no time in carrying out her commands.

Murrue then stood up. "You have the bridge, Lieutenant. I need to go speak with Heero and La Flaga; they'll be joining me later as the _Archangel_'s delegation."

The Lieutenant nodded and saluted. "Understood, Captain."

….

Closing the hatch behind him, Heero leaned against the railing of the maintenance catwalk that had been run out in front of Wing Zero after it had docked in the _Archangel_'s hangar bay. The Gundam pilot removed his helmet and wiped his arm across his forehead, trying to get rid of some of the sweat that had built up there.

_This is why I don't like fighting with this thing on_, he though, glancing down at the helmet cradled in his left arm, _it gets so damn stuffy during heavy action._

"Well that's a rare sight," said a familiar voice, and Heero glanced to his left to see the Hawk of Endymion floating over in the low gravity, "you don't usually work up a sweat while fighting."

Heero shrugged. "The duel was… intense."

"No arguments there," said La Flaga, shaking his head, "we were all watching the last part of it; you put on one hell of a show."

"One that I'm glad is now over," said another familiar voice, and Heero smiled slightly as he turned to see Murrue floating over to him.

The beautiful Captain returned his smile. "Thank you for keeping the Valkyrie at bay, Heero. Things would've been much worse had she been allowed to intervene."

"Yeah" said Heero, nodding. _Not just for us_, he thought grimly_, but for Rehema as well; she may well have been forced to kill one of her friends had we not arrived when we did._

"Is there something you needed from us, Captain?" asked La Flaga.

Murrue nodded. "In approximately three hours a meeting will be held on board the _Eternal_ between representatives from Orb, the PLANT moderate faction, and the _Archangel_. I want both of you to come with me as this ship's delegation."

Heero nodded. "Alright."

"This a fancy shindig?" asked La Flaga, smirking, "Full uniform occasion?"

"It would certainly be better than a flight suit," said Murrue, "I want both of you to grab a quick bite to eat, get cleaned up and make yourselves presentable. We'll be taking a shuttle over to the _Eternal _once we hear from them."

"Yes ma'am" said La Flaga, saluting.

"Understood," said Heero, nodding.

The two men turned to leave, but Heero was held back by Murrue putting her hand on her shoulder. "Heero," she said, concern in her eyes, "may I speak to you in private for a moment?"

Heero nodded; he had a feeling he knew what was bothering her. "Sure. Let's get out of the hangar."

The two of them floated over towards one of the hangar exits and stepped out into the hallway. There was no one around at the moment, and Murrue apparently felt it was a good place to have their chat.

"Heero," she said, "what was bothering you earlier? You said that your fight with Commander Rehema wasn't what it should've been; what did you mean?"

Heero leaned back against the white wall of the corridor. "There was something wrong with the way she was flying against me. She wasn't going all out like she did back in North Africa. It wasn't because she didn't _want _to do it, though; that much I could feel. It was as though she _couldn't_, like there was some weight on her shoulders that she just couldn't shake off."

"You wanted her to be at her best," said Murrue, an understanding smile on her face, "I know how much you respect her abilities, Heero. She's the only pilot from our world to have pushed you almost as much as Zechs did in your own, and you wanted her to be able to do the same in your rematch."

Heero nodded and gave the woman he loved another small smile. "You know, your perception is truly remarkable, Murrue."

The Perfect Soldier could've sworn he saw a hint of red briefly flash over Murrue's face. "Oh… thank you, Heero," she said, looking almost embarrassed by his praise. She recovered her composure quickly enough though, and her expression became more serious. "So, do you know what was holding Rehema back?"

"Yeah," he replied, "I managed to contact the _Eternal _during our duel, and Waltfeld gave me the information I needed. The PLANT radical faction has taken Rehema's parents hostage; she's being forced to fight us."

"Oh my god…" said Murrue softly, putting her to her mouth, "… that's… that's _horrible_!"

Heero nodded grimly. "She's a First Generation Coordinator, meaning her parents are naturals; they were always going to be targets for the new PLANT regime. Still, the fact that they were taken like this, to be held as a sword over her neck…"

"It's disgusting!" said Murrue, her voice rising, her hands balling into fists and shaking in anger, "It's _monstrous_! Those damn bastards… do they not have a shred of decency left in them? Does anyone in this twisted world have any sense of humanity left in them?"

"_We _do," said Heero firmly, moving over and gently but firmly grabbing her by the shoulders, "and that's why we're fighting against both the Alliance and ZAFT. We're going to take down the bastards that would dare to even _think _of stooping as low as they have."

He saw Murrue's eyes widen for a moment in surprise before she mastered her emotions, regaining her composure and giving him a smile, her face glowing in renewed strength and confidence. "You're right, Heero," she said, nodding, "we _will _take them down, and we _will _restore this world's sense of decency and humanity!"

Heero nodded as well. After a moment he realized he was staring at her, and still holding her by the shoulders at that. He backed off awkwardly, looking down for a moment in embarrassment. He then looked up in surprise as he felt Murrue's hands grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Heero," she said, her lovely brown eyes full of warmth and gratitude, a radiant smile on her face, "thank you."

The Gundam pilot felt a familiar surge of heat rush to his face, but that did not stop him from nodding in response. "You're welcome, Murrue."

The amazing woman then pulled back a little, her smile becoming a bit playful. "Now, you'd better go rest and get yourself cleaned up, Heero; I want you at your best for when we head over to the _Eternal _later."

Heero nodded, his mind instantly flashing to the uniform he had worn during their first visit to Orb a few months ago. _That should do nicely for the occasion_, he thought, _and I'm pretty sure Murrue likes it…_

"You got it," he said.

"And Heero?" said Murrue. Her eyes met his, and before Heero could react she took him into an embrace. "I'm glad you're alright," she said softly into his ear, "I was worried about you. I knew you would survive, but still… I just can't help but fear for your safety whenever you go into battle."

Heero nodded, returning the embrace, grateful for the concern she showed for him. "Thank you, Murrue," he replied, "that… that means a lot to me."

_More than I could ever hope to put into words…_

….

"Murrue," said Heero, looking at her, "are you alright?"

Murrue forced a smile for her greatest pilot, and could only hope that her face wasn't as red as it felt at that moment. It was the second time he'd asked her that question… the second time he'd caught her staring at him.

As she had requested, Heero had gone to his quarters to rest a little and clean up prior to the meeting on board the _Eternal_, which they were now headed to via one of the small shuttles that was kept within the _Archangel_'s hangar. The next time Murrue had seen him, as he met her and La Flaga in the hangar bay, she had not been able keep her face from flushing deep red as he headed towards her… wearing that magnificent uniform she had first seen all those months ago during their initial stop in the Orb Union. Murrue had suspected, no, _anticipated_ that Heero would wear the uniform for the meeting on board the _Eternal_, but that had still not prepared her for seeing him in it again.

It was certainly not helped by the fact that she had dreamed about him wearing that uniform several times since she had first seen it on him.

Now here he was, sitting right next to her on the shuttle, once again looking like an _extremely _handsome aristocrat or an officer straight out of the Napoleonic Wars or any other 19th century European conflict. His close proximity to her, combined with her powerful affection for him and his protectiveness of her, only served to increase the pace of her heartbeat and the heat that was surging to her face, and she thanked whatever divine power there was that they were alone in the shuttle's cabin, La Flaga having gone up to the cockpit to take on co-pilot duties for the craft.

_I need to get a grip_, she thought, _the upcoming meeting is very important, and I can't afford to be distracted, but… I just can't take my eyes off him!_

It was all she could do to nod and reply. "I'm ok, Heero. I was just thinking… there's a lot riding on this. Where we go from here, how we try to bring the war to an end… we have a great responsibility on our shoulders."

It may have been true, but the words still rang hollow in Murrue's ears; as wrong as it seemed to her, she was far less concerned about the upcoming meeting than she was with the incredibly handsome young man by her side. Matters weren't helped in the least when Heero reached over and took her hand, giving her a small smile.

"I know it's a lot of pressure," he said, "but we'll be fine. You're the strongest person I've ever met, Murrue; you can do this."

She didn't think it was possible, but Murrue could feel her face becoming even redder at his remarks. It was compounded by the fact that Murrue knew Heero was being completely honest with her; flattery was not his style.

_He truly sees me as having that strength_, she thought, _of all the incredible people he's met in his life, he sees _me _as the strongest! I want to prove to him that I'm worthy of the faith he has in me!_

"Thank you, Heero," she said, "coming from you, that means a great deal to me."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue."

They rode out the rest of their brief trip in a comfortable silence. Murrue kept her hand within Heero's, gently squeezing it, finding comfort and reassurance in his touch. Her heart was still hammering away in her chest, and she was sure her face still had more than a hint of red in it, but for some reason his words had turned the initial flustering effect of his gesture into a strengthening one. Once again hearing him voice his confidence in her did wonders for her inner strength.

"Hey you two," said La Flaga over the intercom, "the shuttle from the _Kusanagi _just finished pulling into the _Eternal_'s hangar; it's our turn now."

Murrue nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."

"We'll be landing in a minute," he replied, "figured you two would want to be ready. I'll come join you once we touch down."

"We'll be by the hatch," said Murrue. She stood up and turned to Heero, who promptly followed suit. "Come on, let's go."

The two of them floated over towards the hatch, grasping the handrails along the wall to keep their orientation. _We spent so much time on Earth_, she thought, _now we have to readjust to the peculiarities of space travel all over again._

Eventually they felt the shuttle touchdown, and they were soon joined by La Flaga at the hatch. "Ready whenever you guys are," he said.

Murrue nodded before unlocking the hatch and stepping through it, the two pilots right behind her. As they exited the craft Heero moved to Murrue's left, and she couldn't help but smile slightly as she saw him scan the hangar for threats.

_It doesn't matter that this is an allied ship_, she thought, touched by his protectiveness, _he's taking no chances. Heero, I am truly blessed to have you as a guardian angel._

The ship's hangar was very impressive. It wasn't as spacious as the _Archangel_'s, but that was to be expected as the _Eternal _was not as big as Murrue's vessel. Four mobile suits occupied berths in the hangar, and Murrue could tell that three of them used Phase Shift Armor based on the dull-grey color their hulls were now, signaling that their systems were powered down. The fourth had a black and green color scheme, and was the same model as the units that had been used by the elite squadrons that Kira and Athrun had faced off against during the earlier battle. There was still space in the hangar for additional units, and Murrue assumed that the machines in there at the moment were whatever the PLANT moderates had been able to steal before fleeing their homeland.

Looking around, Murrue instantly picked out Lacus's pink hair amidst all the people in the hangar and gave her a warm smile. The songstress waved at them and made her way over towards them, and she was not alone. With her was the Kusanagi's delegation, consisting of Cagalli, Erica, Kira, and Athrun, along with three girls in ZAFT red uniforms and an older woman in a black jumpsuit. Murrue could not help but notice that all the women were now staring at Heero… if not ogling him. It was understandable, of course, given the _incredibly _handsome figure he cut in his uniform, but that did not mean that Murrue had to like it.

She suddenly found herself tempted to put her arm through Heero's, pulling him closer to her. Such a gesture would be inappropriate given the situation though, but that did not stop her from inching a bit closer to Heero all the same. Her smile remained on her face, but it became a bit cooler, and she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. The gesture was lost upon the men, but Murrue was fairly sure that the women had taken notice of her subtle territorial claim.

_You can look, but don't even think about touching him, ladies_, Murrue thought, _he's mine. _She'd allow a handshake for the sake of politeness, but anything beyond that was off limits. It was an uncharacteristic bit of possessiveness on her part, all the more so since she wasn't even in a relationship with the young man who had elicited such feelings from her, but it didn't matter. She was in love with him, was almost certain that he felt something for her as well, and would be damned if she was going to give any other woman a chance to cut in.

Lacus smiled in greeting and held out her hand to Murrue. "Captain Ramius," she said, "it is my pleasure to welcome you aboard the _Eternal_."

Murrue shook it and nodded. "Thank you, Miss Clyne.

Lacus then turned to Heero and held out her hand. "The same goes for you, Heero Yuy. I'm glad you're here; I'm sure your insights and experience will serve us well in the days to come. Also, it is good to see you again."

Heero reached out and shook her hand. "Thanks," he said before pulling away.

Lacus then turned towards the Hawk of Endymion. "I saw you during my time on the _Archangel_, but we were never properly introduced. You are…?"

La Flaga grinned and held out his hand. "Mu La Flaga, former Lieutenant Commander in the Earth Alliance forces."

Lacus shook it. "Pleased to meet you."

"The Hawk of Endymion," said the black-haired woman in the same colored jumpsuit, smirking, "I didn't think we'd run into someone like you out here…" She then turned towards Heero. "Nor the pilot of Wing Zero, I might add. It's been a long time, Heero Yuy."

"Miss Aisha," said Heero coolly, nodding. Murrue recalled having heard read that name in the file of Andrew Waltfeld, and realized that Aisha was the Desert Tiger's lover.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about us, you handsome devil!" said one of the girls in the red uniforms, a young woman with Far Eastern features. She smiled and winked, causing Murrue to bristle ever so slightly.

"Lan Zhao," said Heero, nodding. He then turned towards the other two girls, a blond and a redhead respectively. "Priscilla Dalca, Adaline Bellerose."

"You _did _remember," said Adaline, folding her arms and smirking, "We're flattered."

"It is good to see you again," said Priscilla, nodding.

"Likewise," said Heero, and Murrue was relieved to see that throughout his interactions with the women whom she now realized were the Valkyrie's former subordinates Heero had maintained his normal calm and cool demeanor.

_Of course he did, silly_, she chastised herself, _Heero's not the type to be swayed by simply a pretty face, nor remarks on his own appearance. He knows these women as former enemy combatants and the subordinates of the Valkyrie; he's not attached to them, nor attracted to them. Just because they're ogling him doesn't mean he'll respond. _Still, the attention he was receiving from the girls had made her a little uncomfortable , and seeing Heero handle them the same way he did almost everyone else helped put her at ease; none of the women before her were a threat, regardless of any attraction on their own parts.

"Hey, Heero," said Cagalli, smiling, "I almost forgot you had that uniform; wasn't expecting to see you wear it today."

"And we didn't even know he had it!" said Lan, grinning, "God _damn_, you look _good _in that, Heero! Boy, what I wouldn't give to…"

"Shouldn't we be moving along?" Murrue cut in, "I can appreciate the need to catch up, but we should get the meeting underway."

Lacus nodded. "Captain Ramius is right; we need to head to the conference room."

"Come on, Lan," said Adaline, and Murrue was satisfied to see the redhead give the Chinese girl an elbow to the ribs before dragging her towards the hangar exit with Priscilla in tow, "get your mind out of the gutter."

"Alright," said Lan, wincing a bit. As she joined her companions though Murrue could've sworn that she heard her mutter under her breath, "think I'm gonna need a long shower later though…"

Lacus and the others all had a puzzled expression on their faces as they watched Lan and her teammates leave the hangar, but it only lasted for a moment. The songstress then turned back towards her guests and smiled. "Please, follow me."

As they made their way towards the exit Murrue could not help but feel as though she were being watched. She glanced over at the woman Heero had identified as Aisha, and Murrue saw that she was looking at her with a small, knowing smile on her face. The Tiger's lover gave her the smallest of nods and mouthed two words at her; _'well played'_.

Murrue couldn't help but give a slight smile and nod in response, knowing that Aisha had caught how she had cut Lan off midstream and redirected the conversation back towards the reason they were all there. _It seems I gave myself away_, she thought, _at least to her. I wonder how much she suspects…_

Murrue decided to shove the matter aside for the moment. Whatever she suspected, Aisha had clearly decided to remain quiet, and that was fine by her. Murrue also took some comfort in the fact that Aisha would not be inclined to go after Heero since she was already in a relationship with Waltfeld, removing her as a potential threat.

Murrue turned her attention back to Lacus as she guided the group through the _Eternal_'s corridors. "I'm sure you must have several questions," she said, "I promise that I will do all I can to answer them during the meeting."

"Kira gave us some information after he rejoined us in the Freedom," said La Flaga, "he said that you guys are the moderate opposition to the hard liners in the PLANTs, and that you're after pretty much the same thing we are."

Lacus nodded. "Simply put, but accurate, Mister La Flaga. Everyone in the moderate faction, whether they be aboard this ship or back in the PLANTs, wishes for nothing more than a resolution to this conflict that does not involve the greatest act of mass-murder in human history. My father had a vision of a peaceful future between Coordinators and Naturals; he dreamed of making what Orb had achieved a reality for the entire Earth Sphere. The rest of us believe in that dream as well, and we will do everything in our power to bring both races together in peace and friendship; we refuse to let a few extremists take them down the path of mutual annihilation."

Murrue became concerned as she noticed a shift in Lacus's tone as she replied to La Flaga. When she had began speaking of her father her voice had taken on a somber edge, and the girl's slender body had stiffened somewhat. Glancing to her left, Murrue saw Heero's eyes narrow slightly, and she knew that he had caught it as well.

"Miss Clyne," said Murrue cautiously, "Kira told us that your father is the leader of the moderate faction. Is he on board this ship, or did he remain behind in the PLANTs to give guidance and support to those who could not join you in your flight?"

Lacus stopped moving altogether, and Murrue saw her shoulders begin to shake. The pink haired songstress turned to face Murrue, and the beautiful Captain's heart went out to the poor girl as she saw her trying desperately to hold back tears; she suddenly knew the answer to her question, and instantly regretted asking it.

"My father…"said Lacus softly, her voice cracking, "is dead, Captain Ramius. He… he gave his life so I could escape."

Almost everyone in the group gasped at her words, the sole exceptions being Aisha, Murrue, and Heero. The first had undoubtedly already known, and Murrue had come to that conclusion the instant Lacus had turned to face her, and she had simply lowered her head out of respect to the grief she knew the songstress was suffering. Heero had a similar reaction, closing his eyes for a moment and bowing his head.

"Lacus," said Kira, moving closer to her, "I'm… I'm sorry." The boy hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder. For a moment Murrue though the songstress would brush it off, but instead she turned around and flung herself at Kira, throwing her arms around him, abandoning her restraint. The Freedom's pilot responded by taking her into a tight embrace.

"Oh, Kira," said Lacus, sniffing, "thank you… thank you."

They held each other for a bit, and none of the others dared to separate them; it was obvious to all that Lacus needed to let herself out, if only briefly, to Kira. She didn't break down and cry, but Murrue could see a couple tears work their way down her cheeks as she choked back sobs.

The two of them separated of their own accord, and Lacus turned to the other as she wiped away her tears and forced a sad smile for them. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"Don't apologize," said Cagalli, coming closer and putting a hand on her shoulder, "I… I know what it means to lose a father. You have every right to grieve; none of us would ever even think of holding it against you."

Lacus nodded. "Thank you, miss… I'm sorry, I know you told me your name earlier, but right now I can't…"

Orb's tomboy princess smiled. "My name is Cagalli Yula Athha. I'm the daughter of Orb's Chief Representative…" Her expression then became more somber. "Our late Chief Representative."

"Lord Uzumi stayed behind to ensure that Orb's mass driver and major military and industrial infrastructure did not fall into the hands of the Alliance forces," said Erica Simmons softly, "he gave his life to deny them to Azrael and his thugs."

Lacus bowed her head. "I had not heard… I am sorry, Miss Cagalli. We knew that the Alliance had launched an assault on Orb, but beyond that we did not know the details. I suppose we should've realized that the nation had fallen when you came to help us; I do not believe you would abandon your people."

Cagalli shook her head. "I… I didn't want to leave, but I had to in order to carry out my father's will, to ensure his legacy could live on."

Lacus smiled slightly. "It seems you and I have a lot in common, Miss Cagalli. I think we're going to be good friends."

"If we are," said Cagalli, smiling again, "then please, drop the 'Miss'. I'm just Cagalli to my friends, Lacus."

"Very well, Cagalli," said Lacus.

"You've both endured terrible pain in recent days," said Murrue, smiling, "I'm truly sorry for your losses. Still, I'm glad to see that the two of you can forge new friendships even in the midst of your grief. You are both remarkably strong young women; both your fathers would be proud."

The two girls bowed their heads. "Thank you, Captain Ramius," they both said.

"Come," said Lacus as she raised hers, "we really should get moving again; I'm sure Mister Waltfeld and the girls are ready to start now."

"Mind if I ask you something?" said Heero as they continued down the corridor.

"Please, go ahead Heero Yuy," Lacus replied.

"Who's running things on board the _Eternal_?" he asked, "Both you and Waltfeld responded to my hail when I contacted you during the battle."

Lacus nodded. "I'm sorry for any confusion we may have caused you in doing so, Heero Yuy; I had wanted to thank you for the help you'd given us when you'd arrived. Mister Waltfeld is in charge of all our combat operations, while I have taken up my father's role as the political leader of the moderate faction."

"Thanks for clearing that up," said Heero, "and just call me Heero; I'm not too big on formalities."

Lacus smiled. "I will keep that in mind, Heero."

The group rounded a corner and came to a large door. "Here we are," said Lacus as she pressed a button on the wall next to the doorway, opening the entrance.

_Impressive_, Murrue thought as Lacus led them into the conference room. At the center was a large black circular table with seating for twenty people around it. In the center was a white projector, and there was another one on the ceiling directly above the table, giving the table the capability to utilize holographic displays during meetings when necessary. Surrounding the table were three rows of seating along the walls, and Murrue estimated that they had room for nearly sixty people at full capacity.

Four of the seats around the table were already occupied by Waltfeld and the Valkyrie girls. They all stood up in greeting as Murrue and the others entered the room, and Waltfeld came around the table to meet Aisha halfway, who had moved ahead of the pack to get to her lover. The two of them shared a brief kiss before turning to face the others.

"It's good to see you all," said Waltfeld, "I appreciate your willingness to trust us and come aboard the _Eternal _for this meeting."

"You had some good character references," said La Flaga, smirking, "namely Kira."

Waltfeld chuckled before turning to the Freedom's pilot and nodding. "Guess I owe you one there, kid; thanks."

"Uh, no problem," Kira replied.

The Desert Tiger then turned back to La Flaga. "I've spoken to most of the people in this room by now, but you're one of the exceptions. You are?"

"Mu La Flaga," the Hawk of Endymion replied.

Waltfeld grinned. "I know that name. I never thought I'd meet the Hawk face to face. I'm glad you're on our side."

He then turned to the brown-haired woman beside Cagalli. "And you are, Miss?"

"Erica Simmons, Chief Engineer of Morgenroete," she replied, smiling, "I took my top research teams with me when we fled Orb, and we're now serving as technical advisors on board the _Kusanagi_. We will do all we can to support Lady Cagalli as she carries on the will of Orb's late leaders."

"The best and brightest engineers and scientists Orb has to offer," said Waltfeld, returning Erica's smile, "I'm sure we'll find a use for your considerable talents, Engineer Simmons."

He then turned and winked his good eye at Cagalli. "Nice to see you again too, Princess… though when I first called you that, I never considered it literal. Show's what I knew."

Cagalli folded her arms and smirked. "Got that right, Desert Tiger."

He then turned towards Athrun. "You're Zala's kid," he said, "You sure you want to be on the same side as us?"

Athrun's eyes narrowed. "I share the same blood as my father… and nothing else. I joined Kira and the others to stop him from further plunging the Earth Sphere into bloodshed."

Waltfeld smiled. "Good man."

He then turned towards Murrue and Heero, and the _Archangel_'s Captain noticed his gaze linger briefly on the necklace the Gundam pilot had given her. He then turned to Heero and smirked. "So she was the woman you spoke of in Banadiya; the one on the _Archangel _that you wanted to protect."

"That's right," said Heero, his eyes narrowing.

"Easy there, Heero," said Waltfeld, chuckling, "you should be happy; she's wearing your gift proudly."

Murrue felt herself blush slightly at his words. Looking over at Heero, she saw that the young man she loved had turned towards her as well. Their eyes met briefly, and, not knowing what else to do, Murrue gave Heero a small smile. The Gundam pilot nodded, giving her a small smile in return before turning back towards the Desert Tiger.

"Indeed I am," said Murrue, "Heero is my dearest friend, and this necklace is a token of that friendship, one I'll never relinquish."

It was a rather bold proclamation to make in front of such a crowd, especially given the fact that Murrue knew most of them perceived her as Heero's superior, though she would never think of herself in that manner. However, it did not bother Murrue in the slightest. In fact, her words actually felt a bit hollow to her, though this was more in light of just how powerful the bond between her and Heero had grown since their days in North Africa… how she had deeply, inescapably fallen in love with him.

The men in the group, with the exception of Heero and Waltfeld, gave her raised eyebrows, but it was the reaction of the female half that Murrue found more interesting. Cagalli and Lacus both had open and genuine smiles on their faces, while Erica and Aisha's were softer and smaller, those of mature women who looked as though some private suspicion of theirs had been confirmed. The Valkyrie girls' reactions were varied; Priscilla had a warm smile on her face, Lan an amused smirk, and Adaline the same small, knowing smile that was shared by Erica and Aisha.

After a moment Waltfeld joined his lover in sharing that same small smile. "I'm glad to hear that, Captain Ramius. In times like these, we need the bonds we've developed with the people around us more than ever. In the end, they're our true source of strength, and I believe that they will be what will get us through this conflict." He then shrugged and chuckled. "Then again, I have been accused of being a bit of a romantic."

"And that's a quality you're not allowed to lose," said Aisha, giving him a quick peck on the cheek."

"Whatever you say, love," he replied, "alright, I think we've spent enough time on small talk. Everyone grab a seat; we've got a _lot _we need to go over."

Everyone nodded and moved to the table. Murrue glanced to her left as she sat down, where she saw Heero settling in beside her. She once again drew strength from the calm, cool confidence that seemed to always radiate from the young man.

_There's so much riding on what happens here_, she thought, _the future of my ship and the people I swore I'd lead and protect, how we go about bringing this war to an end, who we have to fight to accomplish that… _It was a lot of pressure to say the least, but having Heero by her side made it more than bearable.

"I think we should start by getting everyone up to speed on our current situation," said Lacus, looking at Waltfeld, "our allies from the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _are not up to date regarding the state of our own faction. Likewise, we do not have a complete picture of what happened in Orb's final hours before the Alliance conquered it."

The Desert Tiger nodded. "Good idea, Miss Clyne." He looked between Murrue and Cagalli, and she knew that he had just unofficially recognized them as the head of their respective delegations.

It made perfect sense, of course; Murrue was the Captain of the _Archangel _and the ship was the closest thing the Alliance had to a counterpart to the PLANT moderate faction, while Cagalli was now the leader of the Orb government in-exile. It still made her mildly uncomfortable though, primarily due to the fact that it implied that she was Heero's superior since he was part of her delegation, a sentiment that Murrue did not share. The Gundam pilot may have consented to take orders from her, but Murrue did not truly consider herself to be his commander. The way she saw it, Heero was her equal, and they simply worked together to defeat the enemies that they came up against and ensure the survival of the _Archangel _and each other. Heero had consented to following Murrue's instructions because _he_ _trusted her_; it wasn't due to any traditional sense of military rank. However, for the sake of diplomacy, Murrue would accept the role as head of her delegation.

"We'll go first," said Lacus, "since you trusted us to host this meeting, I think it's only fair that we tell you what's happened on our end since Kira left the PLANT capitol and returned to you."

"Speaking of which," said Murrue, smiling, "I want to thank you for saving Kira, treating his wounds, and helping him hijack the Freedom, at no small risk to yourself I might add. You gave us back not just a pilot but a friend, and you saved our lives in the process."

To her left she saw Heero nod in agreement. "Kira saved the _Archangel _from the Duel during the fighting at Alaska, and he gave me the opening I needed to destroy the base. If you hadn't gotten him the Freedom, things would've turned out very differently. Thanks."

Lacus smiled at both of them. "You are most welcome Captain Ramius, Heero."

"All that being said," La Flaga chimed in, "enabling the theft of the Freedom no doubt put you in some serious hot water with your government. I'm assuming you went underground after that?"

Lacus nodded. "That is correct, Mister La Flaga. Fortunately, a friend of Mister Waltfeld's had forged an extensive net of contacts alongside my father, and we were able to use that to evade the grasp of the radical faction and build up our own organization. We were hoping to build up enough support and gather enough evidence to expose Zala's plans to wage a war of extinction against the Naturals. Unfortunately, we were betrayed and forced to flee."

"Zala had slipped a mole into our organization," said Waltfeld, "he gave up the location of a meeting between several key figures of our group. Many of them lost their lives in the ensuing gun-fight, including former Chairman Clyne. From there we had to accelerate our plans. My friend helped us hijack the _Eternal_, along with the three prototype mobile suits used by Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla, and Aisha's limited-production GuAIZ. We've been on the run ever since."

"Who's this friend you speak of?" asked Heero.

Waltfeld hesitated for a moment and looked at Lacus and Aisha. The former nodded and smiled, while the latter gave his arm a squeeze. "Andy," she said, "we invited them over as a gesture of trust, and there's no chance that Zala has agents among them; we can share this with them."

The Desert Tiger nodded and gave his guests an apologetic look. "We spent a lot of time living underground in the PLANT capitol, evading the radicals. Living like that…"

"It heightens your sense of suspicion," Heero finished for him, surprising the others, "you're jumping at shadows, always looking over your shoulder… it makes it hard to trust people again, to open up to them, even when you know they're your friends."

"Indeed," said Waltfeld, chuckling, "would I be wrong to assume that you're speaking from experience? To be specific, from your own war… your own world?"

Heero nodded.

"Wait, hold on," said Athrun, "what are you guys talking about?"

"Sorry," said Cagalli, smiling meekly, "with all that's been going on, I forgot that you don't know about where Heero's from."

"Yeah," said Kira, "it kinda slipped our minds." He then turned to Wing Zero's pilot. "Heero, do you…?"

"It's fine," said Heero, "no sense in hiding it from him now."

"This is going to sound hard to believe, Athrun," said Murrue, "but Heero's not from our world."

The former ZAFT pilot's eyes widened at that announcement. "What the… what do you mean?"

"She means exactly that, Athrun," said Lacus, "Heero and Wing Zero are not from the Cosmic Era, but a completely different timeline, an alternate Earth Sphere. An accident during a mission tore a rift in space and time and sent him to ours."

"That's right," said Murrue, nodding at the songstress, "I'd forgotten that you watched that video log Heero showed Kira and I, Miss Clyne."

"Hold on," said Athrun, turning towards Lacus, "I heard that you were called before the Supreme Council because you'd had contact with Heero while you were on the _Archangel_. You mean you hid something that important about him and Wing Zero from them?"

"Of course, Athrun," said Lacus matter-of-factly, "for starters, they would not have believed such a tale from me, and secondly, Heero saved my life; I was not about to betray such important information about him to Zala and his allies."

Heero nodded at her in acknowledgment. "I'm grateful for your discretion, Miss Clyne."

"It was the least I could do after you saved the _Archangel _and myself in the process," Lacus replied. She then turned back towards the former ZAFT pilot. "Athrun, forgive me for my bluntness, but even back then I did not trust your father, and the only way he would've gotten such information out of me would've been through torture."

Athrun lowered his head. "No, it's… it's fine, Lacus. I should've seen even back then what he was becoming, but I couldn't because I was too busy trying to please him."

"Well," said Waltfeld, "there's no sense in beating yourself up over that now. You're here, with us, and that's what counts."

Athrun nodded.

"Well," Waltfeld continued, "getting back to the matter at hand; yes, Heero's from another world. More importantly, he fought in a whole different war before coming to the Cosmic Era, which means he's just about the most experienced combatant on the field."

"Indeed," said Aisha, looking at the young man beside Murrue, "and judging from what you said, Heero, I imagine you are no stranger towards fighting against the dominant government."

Heero nodded. "You are correct, Aisha… more than you could possibly imagine."

"What do you mean, Heero?" asked Lacus.

The Gundam pilot seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning towards Murrue. She saw him give her a small nod, and she realized that he wanted _her _to elaborate for him. It made sense in a way; if the words came from a mouth other than his own, they would be easier to believe. Telling the others would also help further solidify to them the level of trust that Heero had built up with Murrue, showing them just how much faith Wing Zero's pilot had in the _Archangel_'s Captain.

"Heero was part of a rebellion by his world's space colonies against the Earth government that ruled them," said Murrue, "He and four other young men flew powerful mobile suits called Gundams in their battle against the corrupt military dictatorship that oppressed their homes with an iron fist."

"Hold on a second," said Adaline, her eyes widening in shock, "you mean Heero and four other pilots took on _the entire planet_?"

Murrue nodded solemnly. "Yes… and they were only fifteen at the time."

A stunned silence fell over the table as the enormity of what Murrue had said sunk in. The entire PLANT delegation sat back in their chairs, their expressions ones of complete shock. The reactions from the others were more subdued, as they were a bit more familiar with Heero than Lacus and her comrades, but it still took them a moment to absorb the full impact of the revelation.

Cagalli was the first to break the silence. "Well," she said, looking at Heero, "now I know why you've got no problem with throwing yourself against long odds; you were doing it way before you met us."

Waltfeld whistled. "God damn… no wonder you pulled that stunt against us back in North Africa; that was probably a cake walk compared to some of your other fights."

"I'll say," said Lan, "that should've been an impossible scenario for you to live through; a god damn suicide mission."

"It was tricky," said Heero, "but hardly what I'd call impossible. When it comes to suicide missions, Gundam pilots are the best at them… or the worst, depending on your perspective; we're _really _bad at dying."

"So let me get this straight," said Priscilla, "there are four other pilots in your world that are as good as you?"

"Five, actually," said Heero, "one of our foes that survived the war was good enough to fight us several times and live. In fact, he and I fought the last mobile suit duel of the war."

_He's talking about Zechs_, Murrue thought, _I know Heero said that man disappeared after he blew the reactor in the falling block from the Libra, but he's also convinced that Zechs is still alive. I don't see how it's possible, but I believe Heero all the same; I've learned to trust his instincts._

Heero then turned back to Waltfeld and Aisha. "Returning to your earlier point, yes, I do know what it means to fight against forces far more powerful than you. I also know what it means to move from safe house to safe house, constantly suspecting every person that crosses your path… I lived that life for far longer than I would've liked to, and I know how hard it is to open up to people after having done so. However, alliances are built on trust, and there's a two-way street when it comes to that."

Waltfeld nodded, and Murrue saw a strange, almost sagely look on his face. "I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, Heero," he said, "but you truly are wise beyond your years."

"Perhaps," said Heero, and Murrue became concerned as she saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes, "but it hasn't been without cost."

Murrue's mind flashed back to that night over the Red Sea when she had rushed into the young man's room after she had heard him cry out in utter anguish, tortured by the nightmare that was his worst memory. She recalled with perfect clarity how she had held him tightly in her arms, doing everything in her power to protect him from the demons of his past.

_The price he paid for that wisdom_, she thought solemnly, _was far too high. Heero… _Acting impulsively she reached under the table and grabbed his right hand in her left, squeezing it tightly. She saw his eyes widen ever so slightly before he returned her fierce grip, though he was careful to be gentle with her hand. He glanced over at her and gave her a tiny nod of acknowledgement, the barest hint of a smile appearing on his face, a glimmer of gratitude in his eyes. Murrue returned the subtle gestures, knowing that they gave the young man comfort and solidarity far beyond any words she could speak at that moment.

If anyone else at the table noticed their covert actions, they gave no sign of it. Waltfeld simply closed his good eye for a moment before speaking. "My friend's name is Eric Bristow. We were in the same academy class... the first one in ZAFT's history, actually, along with Aisha and Shemei. The four of us go back quite a ways, and we trust each other with our lives. Eric's a Field Marshal now, and you've probably heard of him too; he's the one ZAFT sent to take Kaoshiung back in February."

Murrue nodded. "I have heard of him; 'The Wolf of the Far East'. His reputation is almost as fearsome as your own, Desert Tiger."

"With good reason," said Waltfeld, "he's very cunning, and not just when it comes to the art of war; as much as he might hate it, he's a real pro at intrigue and intelligence gathering. It's thanks to him we were able to get out of the PLANTs alive."

"Bristow was removed from frontline command shortly after taking Kaoshiung," said Aisha, "he was 'promoted' to Zala's deputy chief of staff and made a member of the Defense Council. The radicals wanted to get him off the field and away from the massacres that units aligned with them were committing… especially Schwarze Squadron."

"Eric tried to launch a war crimes investigation into them," said Waltfeld, "they're part of Zala's elite Special Operations unit… or at least, they were." The Desert Tiger then smiled at Heero. "You ended their career of slaughter at Alaska, and not soon enough as far as we're concerned. I know Eric wants to thank you for that when you two finally meet in person."

"I take it he's not here right now," said Heero.

"No," said Lacus, shaking her head, "Field Marshal Bristow remained in the PLANTs to serve as an intelligence source for us within ZAFT. His father also sits on the board of directors for the Asimov Design Bureau, one of our chief mobile suit manufacturers. Eric has access to some of that company's databases, and when combined with his position on the Defense Council it makes him our best agent inside Zala's government."

"He's not just staying to act as a spy though," said Aisha, smiling, "he wants to look after Shemei as well. The two of them… well, they've become quite close recently. They were good friends since our academy days... personally, I thought they should've hooked up back then. Ah well, better late than never."

"Hold on," said La Flaga, "you mean this Bristow is _the Valkyrie's _lover?"

"Yes," said Waltfeld.

The Hawk of Endymion smirked. "Lucky son of a bitch."

"I'm sure Eric agrees," said Waltfeld, "Shemei's the real reason he's staying in the PLANTs; so long as Zala's holding her parents hostage, she can't join us. So long as she's trapped in ZAFT, Eric's determined to stick around as well."

"That's very noble of him," said Murrue.

"Yeah," sighed Waltfeld, "but it could also get him killed. From what I last heard from him, Zala's paranoia is growing by the day. Eric's good at covering his tracks, but there's only so long he can stay ahead of the hounds."

"Sounds like you need to extract him," said Heero.

"Exactly," Waltfeld replied, "but so long as Shemei's forced to fight for ZAFT, he won't budge; it's just the kind of guy he is. I've got a plan as to how to fix that, but we'll come to that later."

"We've shared our situation with you," said Aisha, "we've blown the coop and are on the run, so to speak. Now I believe it's your turn."

"I'm afraid there's not much we can tell you that you don't already know," said Murrue, "Orb has fallen to the Alliance, and we escaped to carry on its legacy and figure out a way to end this war.

"The mainland is conquered," said Erica, "but our remaining colonies and resource satellites at L3 are still intact and free. With the Alliance fleet currently focused on ZAFT's space forces, along with the destruction of Artemis back in February, the enemy's presence in the area is more or less nonexistent."

"I don't want us to go near them," said Cagalli firmly, "those colonies may be friendly to us, but if we attempt to use them as a base that will only draw the attention of the Alliance and ZAFT. Many of our refugees fled there before and during the battle in our homeland, and I refuse to put them in danger."

"Of course, Cagalli," said Lacus, nodding, "we do not want to put your nation's colonies at risk."

"That being said," Waltfeld chimed in, "we could use their help, if only indirectly. Is there any way you could get into contact them, maybe arrange for them to send us periodic supply shipments?"

"That could be arranged," said Erica, "however, that is Lady Cagalli's decision."

Cagalli nodded. "If we can find a way to arrange shuttle flights and rendezvous without drawing attention, then I'm in favor of it."

"It's not something we need to devote attention to right away," said Murrue, "we have enough supplies to last us for quite awhile. The Alliance may be watching L3 in light of the fall of Orb and our subsequent escape, and trying to arrange supply shipments from their colonies right away could convince the enemy to move in on the area."

"True, Captain Ramius," said Erica, "I propose we wait for a few weeks before trying to coordinate a supply run from the colonies. If we can draw the Alliance and ZAFT's attention towards another part of the Earth Sphere, then L3 can begin acting to support us logistically without coming under threat."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Waltfeld, "our activities in the near future should be more than enough to draw any Alliance or ZAFT attention away from L3; they'll have much more important things to worry about than a few colonies and resource satellites soon enough."

Murrue's eyes narrowed at Waltfeld's remarks. "What do you mean by that?"

"I've had an operation in mind for a few days now," he replied, "it's risky, but it could help solve a few of our problems. I'll outline it in a few minutes, there are still a couple minor details we need to work out first."

"Like what?" asked Kira.

"Mainly our command structure," said Waltfeld, "things worked out alright in the last battle, but if we're going to be working together in the future then we need a solid delegation of authority, both in battle and out of it."

Murrue nodded. "I agree. That matter was something that I'd been planning to discuss with Lady Cagalli and the _Kusanagi_'s compliment after the ship had finished linking up with its other components, but we heard Miss Clyne's transmission before we could get around to it and rushed to help. Now that we're in the clear for the moment, I do believe that this is a matter we should settle before conducting any new operations."

"Agreed," said Lacus, "for our combat operations, I would like to nominate Mister Waltfeld as our overall field commander; as a former ZAFT Field Marshal he has the necessary experience for commanding multiple warships and large numbers of mobile suits. If anyone disagrees and has another nominee, please speak now."

Murrue shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary, Miss Clyne. You are right in that Waltfeld has the most large-scale command experience among us. My own experience is in single-ship command, along with the mobile suit compliment of that vessel, and I believe it is what I'm best at."

"Don't sell yourself short, Murrue," said Heero, causing her and the others to look at him, "you led us in the final clash in North Africa against Waltfeld's forces; you're more than capable of leading the rest of us in combat."

"Heero has a valid point," said Waltfeld, "considering that you took on my North Africa Corps with a single warship, two mobile suits, two fighters, and a bunch of rebels in converted trucks and a few combat vehicles and were able to beat us, I'd say you have a gift for large-scale combat."

Murrue shook her head. "The plan we were operating under was Heero's idea, not mine. Without Wing Zero acting as bait for encirclement, I doubt I could've come up with a strategy to defeat your forces, Waltfeld."

"You still commanded our combined force during the fighting," said Heero, "it's thanks to your leadership that we were able to force ZAFT to withdraw and were subsequently able to break out of North Africa."

"Heero…" said Murrue, unable to suppress a blush. Having him praise her abilities in front of the others elicited a warm feeling inside her. She did not feel she was entirely worthy of his praise, but she could not deny how good it made her feel.

"Are you putting Captain Ramius forward for nomination, Heero?" asked Lacus.

"Only if she's comfortable with it," the Perfect Soldier replied, looking over at Murrue again.

Murrue couldn't help but smile. "Heero, your confidence in my abilities means the world to me, but I still believe that Waltfeld would be better suited for leading our combined forces in combat. I will be much more effective in my current role; leading the _Archangel _and her mobile suits."

Heero nodded, giving her a small smile in return. "Alright, Murrue." He then turned towards Waltfeld, his expression becoming more serious. "I'm fine with you leading us, Waltfeld, but I want to make one thing clear; any orders I receive from Murrue supersede yours. Understood?"

Murrue feared for a moment that Heero's bold claim would start an argument, but to her surprise Waltfeld actually laughed at Heero's words and smiled as he replied. "Of course, Heero; I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

The Tiger and his lover both glanced at Murrue, a knowing look in their eyes. It made her a little uncomfortable, and she once again found herself wondering how much they suspected regarding her bond with Heero.

"So we are agreed, then?" said Lacus, "Mister Waltfeld is to serve as our overall military commander?"

"Sounds good to me," said Cagalli.

"I'm fine with that," said Murrue.

"Sure," said Heero.

All three of the Valkyrie girls nodded, and Aisha gave her lover a quick peck on the cheek.

"I think it's a good idea," said Kira, and Athrun nodded in agreement.

"It's settled, then," said Lacus, "all military operations will be led by Mister Waltfeld."

"What about our civilian leadership?" asked Priscilla, "This is more than just a military rebellion; we have regular government officials in our camp as well, whether they be here or back in their homelands."

"Pris is right," said Adaline, "I know the PLANT moderate faction has more or less chosen Lacus as their leader in the wake of the former Chairman's death, but we now have people from Orb and the Alliance to consider."

"You needn't worry about the Alliance," said Murrue, "I severed all ties with the Atlantic Federation and its allied governments the moment I rebelled against their plan for the First Battle of Alaska. Even then, neither my crew nor I had any contact with the Alliance civilian government. Flay Allster was the daughter of the late Atlantic Federation Vice-Foreign Minister, but she is no longer on board the _Archangel_; she was transferred back to the Atlantic Federation homeland prior to the battle at Alaska, and we have no way of getting into contact with her. The _Archangel _is the sole ship involved in any military opposition within the Earth Alliance; if there are other moderate factions, I have no knowledge of them."

"What about Orb?" asked Lan, looking at Cagalli and Erica, "The crew of the _Kusanagi _and the people at its surviving colonies and resource satellites are now essentially their government in-exile."

"I propose a duumvirate," said Erica, "Lady Cagalli and Miss Clyne can head up the civilian section of our organization."

"Hold on," said Cagalli, "I'm still going to be piloting the Strike Rouge; don't even think of trying to remove me from the front lines!"

"No one is, Cagalli," said Murrue, smiling, "but we will not always be in combat, and your people need you to be more than a pilot; they need their leader. You can serve them in that role by working with Miss Clyne."

Cagalli smiled and nodded. "Alright, Captain Ramius; I'll do it."

"I have a concern of my own," said Lacus, "while I have no problem with representing the civilian PLANT moderates, and I welcome Cagalli's help in coordinating action between our civilian organizations, there is no such representative for the _Archangel_. Captain Ramius, I would feel much better if you would join Cagalli and I in this capacity."

Murrue shook her head. "Miss Clyne, I appreciate your concerns and desires for equality between our three groups, but in this case it is unnecessary. As I said before, to my knowledge there is no coordinate civilian moderate opposition within the Earth Alliance, and even if there was I have no way to contact them. My role in all this is simply to command the _Archangel_ and do everything in my power to protect those that serve aboard her."

"Nevertheless," said Lacus, "the _Archangel _still serves as a symbol for those moderates within the Alliance, and I believe that you should join Cagalli and me to speak for them."

"I cannot, Miss Clyne," Murrue replied, "if only for the simple reason that neither my crew nor myself consider us to be citizens of the Atlantic Federation or the Alliance as a whole after what happened at Alaska. Our own government set us up to die, Miss Clyne; that is something we cannot overlook or forgive. Orb welcomed us into their land, gave us sanctuary at great risk to their own country, and that was why we decided to join them in their struggle against the Alliance. The _Archangel _now serves the dream that Lord Uzumi passed on to Lady Cagalli; it serves the ideals of Orb. Therefore I would argue that Cagalli represents us as much as she does the people of Orb."

"Captain Ramius," said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "I don't… are you sure about this?"

Murrue gave the tomboyish princess another smile. "I am, Cagalli. I trust you to act on the behalf of the _Archangel_in your dealings with Miss Clyne as you would for the people of Orb. We believe in the ideals, in the _future_, that you represent, Cagalli; we've placed our faith in you, and I know that you will ensure that our trust is well given."

Cagalli nodded, returning the smile. "Ok, Captain. I promise I won't let you down."

"Does everyone here find this acceptable?" asked Lacus.

Everyone gave varying gestures of consent, from nods to thumbs up to vocal affirmation.

"Very well," said Lacus, turning to Cagalli, "you and I will have much to discuss later, though for now well must focus our attention on our military activities. I do look forward to working with you later though."

"As do I, Lacus," said Cagalli.

"I'm assuming one of those military activities involves the operation you spoke of earlier, Waltfeld?" asked La Flaga.

The Desert Tiger nodded. "I suppose now's a good time to get the ball rolling on that now that everything else is out of the way. The simple truth of the matter is that we are outnumbered and outgunned in this struggle by odds that I don't even want to think about. We're challenging both superpowers of the Earth Sphere, and we need every edge we can get… every skilled pilot we can get."

"You're referring to Rehema," said Heero, and Murrue saw his eyes narrow.

Waltfeld nodded. "We need her skills, along with that new mobile suit she's flying, on our side. Unfortunately, so long as her parents are being held hostage by the radicals, she can't join us."

"I take it you're planning a jailbreak," said Murrue.

"Correct," said Waltfeld, hitting some keys on the table in front of him, "and it's not going to be easy."

The holoprojector on the table activated, and several rows of light-blue hourglass-shaped structures appeared over the table; PLANT-class colonies, the Coordinator homeland. There were a hundred-twenty of them in all, and one in the middle was blinking red.

"Soran and Akila Rehema are being held in Charon prison in Aprilius One, the PLANT capital," said Waltfeld, "The prison itself is located in the upper half of the colony."

The colonies disappeared, and in their place appeared a large building. Five stories tall, it was essentially a big concrete box surrounded by a thick wall, four guard towers, and barbed wire.

"I'm surprised such a facility exists in the heart of the PLANT homeland," said Murrue, "I would've thought another colony would be used for incarceration purposes."

Waltfeld shook his head. "Every group of PLANT colonies has their own specializations, and the individual colonies within the groups have unique traits and purposes. However, they do still follow a universal layout, and every colony has its own prison facility. Usually they're never anywhere near full to capacity, but… well, it's amazing how fast a military dictatorship can round people up."

"Where are Rehema's parents located?" asked Heero.

"Here," said Waltfeld, hitting another key. The image zoomed in on the east side of the building, and a section of the fifth floor was blinking red. "They're on the top floor, E Block, Cell E15. It's directly against the east wall."

"That place looks heavily guarded," said La Flaga, "is this gonna be an inside job, with us covering their escape once they clear the PLANT Defense Lines?"

"Not quite," said Waltfeld, shaking his head, "Eric has a few contacts in the prison staff, but no one in a position to help us with the breakout other than giving us the location of Shemei's parents. Our plan for getting them out is a little more…straightforward."

_I don't like the sound of that_, thought Murrue grimly.

The Desert Tiger hit a few more keys, causing the image to change again. The PLANTs themselves reappeared, only this time the image was zoomed out much further than before, and the colonies were surrounded by a wide red cube of dots, which Murrue realized represented warships.

"This is the PLANT Exclusion Grid," said Waltfeld, "the defenses of our homeland. Due to the three-dimensional nature of space, warships and mobile suits must be placed to cover all possible attack vectors. In response to the near back-to-back thefts of the Freedom and the _Eternal_, the Defense Lines have been significantly beefed up over the past few weeks."

"I'm assuming Zala withdrew ships from the frontline forces to accomplish that," said Murrue.

"Not entirely, Captain Ramius," Waltfeld replied, "a few vessels were recalled, but most of the reinforcements came from the PLANT shipyards; Zala initiated a massive increase in armaments production a couple months ago, and new warships are already coming off the line. Some have been dispatched to the front lines, but most have actually been allocated to the Defense Lines. All sectors of the Exclusion Grid have undergone considerable reinforcement… all but one."

Waltfeld pressed another button, and the bottom section of the cube began flashing.

"According to Eric," Waltfeld continued, "the Avalon Line has not received new forces, and as far as warships goes it has the least of all the Defense Lines; only two hundred capital ships."

"_Only _two hundred?" said Cagalli, her expression incredulous. Murrue couldn't blame her; half the table had a similar look on their faces, and Murrue was sure she was among them.

"The Defense Lines cover a vast amount of territory," said Aisha, "hundreds of thousands, if not millions of cubic kilometers of space. The warships and mobile suits on the Avalon Line are stretched out over that huge area, and will take time to react to an attack against one specific point."

"And like I said," Waltfeld continued, "the Avalon Line, in terms of warships, is the least powerful of the Lines; most of the others have at least double that amount of ships, and the Jachin Due Line's at almost a thousand now."

"So your plan's a blitz," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "a concentrated strike on one section of the Avalon Line, breaching it and getting a team inside the PLANT capitol and breaking Rehema's parents out of prison."

Waltfeld smirked. "You catch on quickly, Heero." He then sighed. "Unfortunately, it's not going to be as easy as you make it sound; there are… complications."

Murrue sighed. "There always are."

"As Heero stated," Waltfeld continued, "our strategy essentially boils down to a hard, fast strike. A group of our most powerful mobile suits will breach the Avalon Line, and one will enter Aprilius One and extract Shemei's parents from Charon Prison. The other pilots will keep the enemy from sending reinforcements into the colony to attack our infiltrator from the rear. Once Shemei's parents are recovered the strike team will withdraw under covering fire from our warships."

"Simple enough in theory," said La Flaga, nodding, "but I can already see some of those 'complications' you mentioned earlier. For starters, how the hell are we supposed to get one of our pilots inside Aprilius One? There's no way we can just send them through the front door; the main docking bay will be way too heavily guarded."

"Indeed," said Waltfeld, "which is why we won't be using the front door."

The holoprojector image shifted, becoming a picture of Aprilius One. A long red line ran through the colony, representing the axial shaft. "This isn't widely known," said Waltfeld, "but the axial shafts of PLANT-class colonies are not solid all the way through; there's a large maintenance passageway that runs the length of them so mechanics can make repairs inside them operating large mechanical exoskeletons. Basically, they use unarmed mobile suits… meaning the maintenance corridor is large enough for combat units to fly through. There are hatches that allow for access to the corridor at both ends of the colony; that's our entry point."

"How do we get our pilot inside?" asked Murrue.

"The hatchways are opened via transmitted codes," Waltfeld replied, "These codes, while important, are not highly classified. After all, they're used by civilian maintenance crews, and our defense planners haven't even considered the possibility of an enemy making it past our fleets and using the axial shaft maintenance corridor as a means to infiltrate our colonies. Eric has sent us the latest codes that are in use for the shaft, and is monitoring the network used by colony maintenance crews in case the codes are changed prior to our arrival. He's also sent us the radio frequency used by the repair crews. The pilot that goes in will transmit those codes on that frequency, which will open the shaft. From there they fly through the shaft until they get to the second half of the colony, and then use their beam saber to slice a hole in the shaft and head towards the prison."

"Won't that destabilize the shaft and cause it to collapse?" asked Kira.

Waltfeld shook his head. "A hole the size of a mobile suit won't cause that level of disruption; PLANT shafts are very sturdy, more than enough to handle that degree of damage."

"What about entering the prison itself?" asked La Flaga, "How does one pilot extract two people detained in a high-security facility?"

"That won't be a problem," Heero cut in, "according to the layout we saw earlier, Rehema's parents are detained on the top floor. A simple cut with a beam saber can remove the ceiling, and then the pilot can pull away the wall, removing the section that the energy blade would've superheated. Then the pilot gets Rehema's parents into their unit's cockpit; a cramped fit, but still doable. It'd be a quick, surgical extraction."

_Very surgical_, thought Murrue, _using a mobile suit's beam saber in that precise of a manner is no easy task… _She was feeling more and more unsettled as the details of the plan were laid out; her instincts were telling her who would be called upon to take the biggest risks in it, including entering the capitol, and she did not like it one bit.

Murrue looked to her left, at the extraordinary pilot who she had little doubt would play the biggest role in Waltfeld's plan… and the most dangerous. _Heero…_

"What about interior forces?" asked Adaline, "Whoever is charged with entering the colony will have to deal with them, and their back will be exposed while they're extracting Commander Rehema's parents from Charon Prison."

"They'll be covered," said Waltfeld, "I've already spoken to Eric, and he's going to make his own flight during this extraction. He's got a mobile suit picked out for his escape run, and he'll use it to cover the pilot that makes the extraction from Charon Prison. He'll then join that pilot on the run out of the colony."

"What unit is he grabbing?" asked Lan.

"He wouldn't say," Waltfeld replied, "beyond the fact that it's a unique unit the ADB's been working on. It doesn't really matter anyway; Eric's a good pilot, and he's more than capable of covering the pilot we send inside Aprilius One."

"It sounds like we've got all our bases covered, then," said Athrun.

_No_, thought Murrue, remembering something she had heard about the PLANT defenses, _not quite. Every PLANT Defense Line is anchored by a large base covering the most direct approach to the colonies… more specifically, Aprillius One. The Avalon Line will be no exception… in fact, I can vaguely recall hearing something about the base on that Line being different from all the others. What was it…? _Murrue felt as though she was grasping at something just out of reach; the key detail was on the tip of her tongue, but she could not remember exactly what it was.

She turned her attention back to the meeting as Waltfeld continued. "Unfortunately that's not the case, Athrun. All those problems that were brought up before were important, but our biggest hurdle is still before us… and it has to be dealt with if this plan has a chance of working."

_Here it comes_, thought Murrue, her apprehension increasing. She found herself unconsciously tightening her grip on Heero's hand as the image on the holoprojector once again changed.

"Each of the six Defense Lines that make up the Exclusion Grid," said Waltfeld, "has a large base at the center of them, along the most direct approach to the capitol. In a raid like ours, speed is everything; the longer we take, the more time ZAFT has to bring in reinforcements and overwhelm us with sheer numbers. We have to take the most direct approach to Aprilius One, meaning we have to deal with the base anchoring the Avalon Line… and it's a fortress unlike any other."

A large white disk-like structure appeared over the table, and Murrue realized she was looking at a completely artificial space station rather than the asteroid bases she knew ZAFT was fond of, like Boaz and Jachin Due. The surface bristled with beam cannons, missile launchers, and CIWs, but what instantly caught Murrue's attention were four massive guns, each as long as the station was thick. Her sense of trepidation only increased as bits of info she'd heard in reports and rumor over the course of the war came to the forefront of her mind; she knew what she was looking at, and could've slapped herself for not being able to remember it sooner.

"Back in 67 C.E.," said Waltfeld, "about the same time we put the GINN into full production, ZAFT began serious planning for the defense of the Coordinator homeland due to increasing tensions between the PLANTs and the Earth governments, particularly the Atlantic Federation. . In July of that year Dr. Anton Kupchenko, a premier engineer and a talented pilot who would go on to head up Zala's Special Operations Squadrons in this war, laid out the first schematics for a large-scale defense battle-station. Construction was approved for a station the following year, but budget constraints and the enormous cost of the project meant that defense planners were more inclined to seek out and repurpose existing resource satellites, converting them into asteroid-fortresses like we did early on in the war with Jachin Due and Boaz. As a result, only one space station was approved for construction. Battles over funding and resources between the project team and the growing ZAFT fleet led to several delays in construction, and the station was finally completed three days after the Battle of Jachin Due on April 20th, C.E. 70."

"I remember hearing about that," said Murrue, "the Atlantic Federation 5th and 6th Fleets attempted to launch a conventional assault on the PLANTs, and they were intercepted by the ZAFT fleet out by Jachin Due, which back then was a resource satellite. The Alliance fleets were repulsed after sustaining heavy losses, and it was after that battle that ZAFT converted Jachin Due into the fortress that would anchor the Defense Line that would bear its name."

"Correct, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "while ZAFT was towing Jachin Due into its new position as anchor of its Line, the Alliance was preparing for a second assault on the PLANTs, this time from beneath the homeland. They knew about the Avalon battle-station, but they thought that, thanks to the struggle for resources between the project teams and the ZAFT fleet, the fortress was still incomplete, and that its weapons were not operational."

"Mistake of fact?" asked Heero, "Or a disinformation campaign?"

Waltfeld smirked. "It was the latter, Heero. ZAFT wanted the Alliance to underestimate the lower defenses of the PLANTs, so there was no official announcement regarding the completion of the Avalon battle-station. They still sent a large force for the attack though, larger than the one that was repulsed at Jachin Due. It was composed of the Atlantic Federation 7th, 9th, and 11th fleets along with the Eurasian Federation 4th and 5th fleets. On our end, our fleets were still recovering from the Battle of Jachin Due; even in victory they had taken considerable losses. The majority of our forces were out of position, and only a few task forces were able to support Avalon during the opening phase of the battle, which took place on April 26th, C.E. 70. The Alliance assault was subsequently repulsed, with the enemy suffering over fifty percent casualties to the ZAFT Navy's twenty-five, thanks to the Avalon battle-station."

"It must be quite the fortress if it was able to make up for the firepower gap between the Alliance and ZAFT forces involved in the battle," said Heero.

Waltfeld sighed. "Indeed, Heero. The station is 8km in diameter, 800 meters thick, has a crew compliment of around 12,000 people, and is armed to the proverbial teeth and then some. It carries 300 GINNs, and has dry docks for the maintenance and repair of up to ten warships. Avalon's firepower makes it an entire fleet unto itself. The conventional weapons alone are staggering: it has 80 heavy beam cannons, 60 surface-to-air missile launchers, and 200 CIWs."

Murrue noted that the four massive guns, whose length doubled the thickness of the station, had gone unmentioned. She doubted it was an oversight on Waltfeld's part; the Desert Tiger had thus far only mentioned Avalon's conventional weaponry, and Murrue highly doubted that those four guns counted in that category.

Indeed, Waltfeld hit a few more keys on the table, causing the four guns to flash red. "As formidable as all that is, it pales in comparison to these monsters; the Tunguska cannons. They're 80m linear-magnetic accelerator cannons; essentially, the biggest railguns in the Earth Sphere. Their firepower is beastly; they can one-shot capital ships and are capable of ripping a PLANT-class colony in half. Not counting nukes and Wing Zero's rifle, they are the most powerful weapons in the Earth Sphere. Fortunately, thanks to the enormous costs inherent in constructing such weapons, only four were ever made. Unfortunately for us, all four of them are mounted on the Avalon battle-station."

"Those guns, combined with its conventional weapons and mobile suits," Aisha chimed in, "are what allowed the Avalon battle-station to repulse the Alliance assault force when working in cooperation with ZAFT fleet units; the fortress has enough firepower to be considered a fleet unto itself. That's why the Avalon Line has the least warships placed on it of all the PLANT Defense Lines; the Defense Council knows the battle-station can more than make up for the discrepancy."

"I'd say that thing is more than just a hurdle," said Murrue grimly, "it completely trashes your plan, Field Marshal, especially the latter section; there's no way the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi_ can provide covering fire for the strike team as they make their withdrawal with the Tunguska cannons pointed at us. They can take us all out in a single volley."

"The Tunguska cannons are astronomically powerful," said Waltfeld, "but they have a critical weakness; rate of fire. The guns are massive in scale, but they operate on the same principle as more conventional linear cannons, using a series of electro-magnets to accelerate projectiles down their barrels, allowing them to achieve deadly impact velocity. All linear guns after firing must go through a recharge cycle, or more specifically, the electro-magnets along their barrels must do so. On most weapons, including those used by capital ships, this recharge time is usually no more than a couple seconds at most, but the Tunguska cannons operate on a scale never attempted before in railgun history, and draw upon enormous amounts of power to accelerate their massive projectiles. After firing a single shot, a Tunguska cannon requires a period of five minutes to build up the charge needed for its next attack."

"The station's gunners are well aware of this weakness," said Aisha, "To compensate for this, the guns are usually fired cyclically, with each weapon going off every one minute and fifteen seconds for maximum rate of fire; one shot with each gun for four shots total every five minutes."

"The only time the gunners have ever deviated from this cycle," said Waltfeld, "was during the opening shots of the Battle of the Avalon Line; they fired all four guns at once, and took out four of the fleet's _Agamemnon_-class carriers before they could launch their mobile armors. It was a devastating blow to the Alliance fleet, but it came at the cost of all four guns being down for the next five minutes of the battle, a window the enemy used to move in on the station and the ZAFT Navy. The fighting was fierce, but our task forces combined with the station's conventional weapons and GINNs were able to keep the enemy at bay long enough for the guns to recharge. From then on the station's commander decided to stick to the one minute fifteen seconds cycle rather than take another risky four-gun volley."

"That's all interesting information," said La Flaga, "but it doesn't change the fact that those guns will rip apart our warships, regardless of whether they fire all at once or in their cycle."

Waltfeld nodded. "True enough. However… what if the guns weren't operational by the time our capital ship trio arrived on scene? In fact… what if Avalon itself was already dealt with?"

"Dealt with how?" asked Athrun, folding his arms and arching an eyebrow.

A smirk crept onto the Desert Tiger's face, and Murrue realized what he had in mind as his gaze settled on Heero. Everyone else followed his stare, their own minds taking a bit longer than Murrue's to come to the conclusion that she had reached… and was completely against.

Murrue shook her head vehemently before anyone else could speak. "No, absolutely not! You can't ask Heero to take on Avalon!"

"He's the only one who can," said Waltfeld, "If Wing Zero's rifle was capable of destroying a hardened base like Alaska, then it has the power to take out the Avalon battle-station in a single shot. As long as that fortress stands, our plan can't work."

"Then let's hit one of the other Defense Lines!" said Murrue, desperate for a way to avoid what she knew in her heart had to happen, "You said that Avalon is the only place that has the Tunguska cannons, meaning the other fortresses are more conventionally armed; Heero can take out one of those easily."

"Every other Line also has at least twice as many warships as Avalon does," said Aisha grimly, "ZAFT would be able to reinforce our breaching point much more quickly, and our strike team would be overwhelmed; no amount of fire from our own warships would be able to cover their flight from Aprillius One."

"ZAFT is spread thinnest on the Avalon Line," said Waltfeld, "destroying the battle-station will create a massive hole in that Line, and it will open up the quickest route to Aprillius One. They'll be able to get some warships on-scene to confront our strike team, but given the sophistication of our mobile suits and the skills of our pilots they'll be able to hold their own long enough for Heero to enter the PLANTs, retrieve Shemei's parents, and get out. Our own warships will be able to destroy any ZAFT vessels that move to block their path out, and they can lay down a barrage to ward off pursuit before pulling out."

"So now you not only want Heero to take out Avalon," said Murrue angrily, "but also enter the PLANT capitol? You're giving him the most dangerous tasks; he'll face the greatest risk!"

"He's the best pilot we have," Adaline chimed in, "everyone here knows that, including you Captain Ramius. Hell, you and your crew have been with him since he made his debut in our war; you know what he's capable of better than anyone else."

"It's still not right!" yelled Cagalli, surprising Murrue and the others by joining the _Archangel_'s Captain in dissent, "After all he's done, you're asking Heero to throw himself against _impossible _odds!"

"He'll have support," said Priscilla, turning to the Desert Tiger, "Field Marshal, would I be safe in assuming all our nuclear-powered mobile suits will be operating in the strike team?"

Waltfeld nodded. "That's correct, Miss Dalca. The Wraiths, Freedom, and Justice will operate to give Wing Zero cover while it takes out the Avalon battle-station and makes its run to Aprillius One. They'll then keep any mobile suits from entering the colony behind Heero, while Eric covers him while he gets Shemei's parents out of Charon Prison and makes his flight back down the colony's axial shaft. Heero won't be fighting alone, Captain Ramius."

"It doesn't matter!" Murrue cried, "You're still putting the greatest burden on his shoulders!"

Murrue knew she was fighting a losing battle, but she didn't give a damn; she would not stay silent while the _Eternal_'s delegation tried to pressure Heero into taking on such a momentous task. Murrue knew better than anyone else what the young man she so dearly loved was capable of, and Waltfeld's plan was not beyond his abilities. However, it would push Heero's skills to their utmost limits, and it would force the Gundam pilot to confront what were perhaps the longest odds of his career, and the biggest threat; the Tunguska cannons might not have the same level of strength as the _Libra_'s massive main gun, but there were four of them, and when combined with the station's conventional weaponry, its mobile suits, and the supporting ZAFT Fleet Murrue knew in her heart that taking them on would surpass everything else Heero had done as a Gundam pilot.

Her faith in Heero's abilities was as strong as ever, but that did not change the fact that the tasks he would have to undertake in the role Waltfeld had designated for him would put him in more danger than he had ever been in before. Murrue was terrified for his survival. It didn't matter how much confidence she had in Heero's skills; the young man she loved was being asked to challenge _suicidal _odds, and the fear that now gripped her heart would not let her stay silent.

Lacus chimed in then, and Murrue was surprised to hear the songstress take her side. "Mister Waltfeld, Captain Ramius is correct; your plan asks more of Heero than it does of any other pilot, perhaps too much. Is there no alternative strategy available to us?"

"Believe it or not, Miss Clyne," said Waltfeld grimly, "there isn't; this is the only plan I have that has a shot at success."

"So you're going to throw Wing Zero into the heart of the meat grinder?" said La Flaga, folding his arms, "I know warfare requires some cold calculation on our parts, Desert Tiger, but this just feels wrong."

"No one said it felt right," Aisha responded, "but it doesn't change the fact that it's the only way we can pull this off. And like we said earlier, Heero won't be alone; he'll have some of the best pilots and mobile suits in the Earth Sphere backing him up."

"Backing him up, yes," said Murrue, glaring, "but Heero will still be the tip of the spear. He'll be exposed to the most fire, the most enemy units, and after what happened at Alaska I'm certain ZAFT considers Wing Zero a top priority target now, if they didn't before; they'll throw everything they have at Heero!"

"I can do it."

Silence fell over the table as everyone turned towards Wing Zero's pilot. Heero had remained calm and collected throughout the debate, and Murrue had been wondering when he would speak up. As she looked at Heero Murrue saw that his expression was one of grim resolve and determination. This only served to heighten Murrue's concerns, for she did not see the usual cool confidence in his features. His strength and determination were still there, but there was a flicker of something else in his Prussian blue eyes; apprehension. Heero knew better than anyone else the limits of his abilities, and Murrue realized that he had come to the conclusion that blitzing the Avalon Line, taking out the fortress that anchored it, and breaking Rehema's parents out of the PLANT capitol would be a severe test to his skills.

"Heero," Murrue said softly, squeezing his hand underneath the table, "you don't have to."

Heero shook his head. "Yes, I do, Murrue. Waltfeld's right; we need every edge we can get, and that includes Commander Rehema. Her skills combined with her new mobile suit will be an invaluable addition to our force, and they're worth the risks needed to get them." He looked up at the hologram of the giant disk-shaped fortress floating over the table. "Avalon is a very formidable target… perhaps as powerful as the _Libra _was… but I can take it down." He closed his eyes for a moment, leaving Murrue and the others to wonder what was going through his mind. "It will be… difficult," he said as he opened his eyes, "but I can do it."

The fact that he was openly admitting the challenge the task would pose only served to confirm what Murrue already knew; that it would push him to the edge of his considerable combat prowess. Still, the determination and resolve in his eyes had not lessened, and Murrue knew that he had made up his mind.

_I can't say anything to dissuade him_, she thought solemnly, _and… he's right. The fact that the Valkyrie is capable of fighting him one-on-one is testament enough to her battlefield prowess. If she were on our side, leading her team, working with Heero and the rest of us… who know what we could accomplish? This is an incredibly risky operation, but the potential payoff is enormous. If Heero says he can do it, they I have to trust in him; I have to show him that I _believe _in him._

Murrue gave the young man she loved a small smile. "Alright, Heero. I've witnessed you fight more than enough to know that you can do the impossible, and I've always had your back in those battles. I won't do anything less here; I'm behind you all the way."

"As are we," said Adaline, her two teammates nodding beside her, "You may be our spearhead for this operation, Heero, but you will not be alone. As Field Marshal Waltfeld said, all our nuclear powered mobile suits will be part of the strike team. I don't know how Kira and Athrun wish to operate in this mission, but I know how my unit will play its part; the Valkyrie Team is yours to command, Heero."

"Are you sure about this?" said Heero, "We've never worked together before. You'd trust your unit to the hands of a pilot whom you've only met before now as an enemy combatant?"

"Absolutely," Adaline replied, "I know Commander Rehema has the utmost respect for you, and the rest of us share that sentiment."

"You were able to take us all on at once," said Lan, "and not only survive, but _win_. No other pilot's come close to pulling that off since we became a unit. As far as we're concerned, in the absence of Commander Rehema you're the only pilot here fit to lead us into battle."

"We have complete faith in your abilities as a soldier," Priscilla chimed in, smiling, "we will follow you without hesitation."

"As will Kira and Athrun," said Murrue, looking at the pilots of the Freedom and the Justice, "the two of you were willing to accept commands from Heero during the previous battle, and I'm expecting you to do the same in this operation."

Both boys nodded. "We will," said Kira.

"Heero didn't give us too many orders," said Athrun, "he just told us who to engage and left us to do so at our own discretion. Still, it worked well for the last battle, and we'll follow his orders in this one."

"All of you will establish telemetry feeds between your mobile suits and our warships," said Waltfeld, "The instant Heero destroys Avalon we'll move into position. By the time he gets out of the colony we'll be ready to help clear the escape route."

"We won't let the enemy cut you off," said Murrue as she once again turned to Heero, "We'll hit them with everything we've got."

Heero nodded as his eyes met hers. "Roger that."

"Alright," said Waltfeld, grinning, "there are still a few operational details we need to work out, but we've got ourselves a plan. Let's blitz the Avalon Line!"

**Preview for next time!**

_The Archangel and her allies make their way towards the Coordinator homeland and a battle unlike any they have fought in before. Though all have faith in each other's abilities, none can deny that the odds they are up against are nigh beyond comprehension… including the Perfect Soldier. The looming engagement promises to surpass all of Heero's previous operations in terms of the risks he must undertake, and the Gundam pilot acknowledges the very real possibility that the coming battle could well be his last. Aware now more than ever of his own mortality, Heero knows that he cannot go into this fight with any doubts or regrets, prompting him to at last act upon the affection and passion that have been awakened and nurtured in his heart by Murrue Ramius. For Heero, the stakes in this more personal and private confrontation are higher than any in the coming battle, but he cannot escape the feeling that it is now or never. Next time, on 'Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty: The Eve of Battle._

_Time to roll the dice… lay the cards on the table… and take a shot at destiny._

**Author's Notes: **Schnee Team, Silber Team, and their respective Commanders were inspired by the elite units in Ace Combat Zero that bear their names.

The next chapter is going to be a unique one in this fic's history; a purely romantic episode. If you want combat, you're going to have to wait until Episode Twenty-One.

As always, please review! Until next time, my friends!


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's notes: **For those of you that thought that just because this chapter's focus was romance meant it would be a short one… well, you really haven't been paying attention to this fic, especially with regard to the attention and care I've given my main pairing. It's true that this episode is shorter than the last few I've done, but it still weighs in at 85 pages.

Moving on, in the canon Gundam Wing Heero stood at about 5'1". I've had him grow a couple inches since then, he now stands at 5'3" to Murrue's 5'6". The height difference was really something I should've pointed out a long time ago, but it hasn't really affected the story… until now.

Warning out front, some of the content latter on in the chapter pushes the boundaries of the Teen rating. It's nothing explicit, but… well, I had to be very careful when writing in order to achieve the balance I was able to get in those delicate scenes. In other words, suggestive-themes abound, though I think I've still managed to keep to this fic's Teen rating.

Lastly, song list for the chapter, in order of appearance: "Fields of Gold", by Sting, "Eternity ~ Memory of Lightwaves" from the Final Fantasy X-2 soundtrack, and "Prologue" from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty: The Eve of Battle**

The meeting had officially ended a few minutes ago, but no one had left the conference room yet. Rather, everyone had broken off into small groups, both to discuss mission details and to exchange simple small talk and catch up with each other. Murrue and Heero were no exception, and the two of them had gotten up from their seats at the large table and settled in on the first row of the smaller chairs than ran along the rim of the chamber.

Murrue could once again not take her eyes off of her dear companion and guardian, though this time it was not just because of the handsome figure he cut in his Sanc Kingdom uniform. The Gundam pilot was still very much a calm and collected young man, but Murrue could now sense grim resolve exuding from him as well. That quiet, solemn determination had hung around Heero since he had volunteered to destroy the Avalon battle-station, and it had Murrue worried to no end. She was so used to seeing him carry himself with cool confidence, but now there was a slight sense of anxiety surrounding the young man. It was subtle, and Murrue doubted anyone else had noticed it, but she had; after all, she knew him better than all the others.

_He's fully aware of what will be required of him_, she thought, _Heero does not shy away from long odds; he faces them head on. It's a true testament to his bravery and strength, but it also means that he does not even try to delude himself about what he goes up against. He homes right in on the cold hard facts of the matter, and in this case that's the sheer strength of the Avalon battle-station and the overwhelming numbers in its supporting forces. Yes, the Line it anchors holds the least amount of warships, but there are still roughly two hundred of them, and combined with their own mobile suits and the 300 GINNs carried by the fortress they form a force that rivals anything Heero's faced before, if not surpass it. And all that isn't even counting what he must do next; enter the PLANT capitol and extract Rehema's parents. The task he has put upon himself is one of monumental proportions, and that is a truth that Heero will not shy away from. His courage and tenacity allow him to be brutally honest with himself at times when other pilots would delude themselves about the truth. However, because Heero faces that truth head on, it means the full weight of it is on his shoulders._

"Heero," she said softly, gently grabbing his hand, "about what I said earlier, about not wanting you to take on Avalon… it's not that I doubt that you can do it. I know just how incredible a pilot you are, and my faith in you abilities is absolute. It's just… I'm afraid for you, Heero. I know I've said this before, but I can't help fearing for your safety every time you go into battle, and the raid on the PLANT capitol will be the riskiest operation we've ever attempted. I still believe in you, I truly do, it's just…"

"I know, Murrue," Heero replied, and she was surprised to see a small, knowing smile appear on his face as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "I know that you have faith in my skills, and that means a lot to me… and so does your concern for my safety. When you spoke up on my behalf, arguing against the role Waltfeld wanted me to play in the operation… I was _grateful_, Murrue, and I still am. No one's ever cared about me the way you do, not even Relena. I… I've never known anyone like you. Thank you, Murrue."

Murrue felt a familiar surge of heat rush to her face, and could only hope that she was not blushing as fiercely as she thought she was. Hearing the incredible young man next to her speak of her in such a manner caused her heartbeat to quicken considerably, and she had to work to keep her composure, to keep the passion and affection she held for him from manifesting in an overt fashion.

_I'm not sure how much longer I can hold back these feelings for him_, she thought to herself, _this attraction… this _love_… it's stronger than anything I've ever felt before. Keeping it bottled up like this, unable to truly share my feelings with him… it actually hurts, more so than I thought something like this could. _

Her chat with Dr. Claudia back in the infirmary, while Heero had lain unconscious before her, had helped her considerably in overcoming most of the lingering reservations she's had regarding her affection for the Gundam pilot. The most considerable hurdle, the age gap between them, was no longer as great a concern for her as it had been before, and the counselor's belief that Heero felt something for Murrue as well had done much to reassure her that her feelings for him weren't wrong… but not knowing for certain, not hearing it from the young man that had captured her heart, still left a small bit of doubt hovering at the back of her mind. Murrue was torn between confessing her feelings to Heero and waiting a little longer for him to do the same. On the one hand, the last thing she wanted to do was pressure him in any way, especially in light of his non-existent romantic experience… but keeping the burning passion she had for Heero locked up in her chest was becoming harder and harder to do with each passing day, and that struggle was now exacerbated by the knowledge that, within a few days, the man she loved would be flying into battle against odds that even he acknowledged would be a challenge for him to overcome.

Doing her best to impose some measure of calm on the storm of emotions whirling within her, Murrue smiled at Heero, hoping that her blush was not too obvious. "Of course I care for you, Heero. After all you've done for me and my crew, how could I not? Even without that, you and I know each other very well now. You entrusted me with the knowledge of your past, including your worst memories, and I did the same for you. Only people who have a strong bond between them would do something like that." She grabbed the blue stone of the necklace that hung around her neck and held it up before him. "You gave me this as a token of that bond, to show me just how much you value the connection we've forged, how important our friendship is to you. I value it just as much as you do, Heero. You are… my dearest companion."

Murrue resisted the temptation to sigh in relief; she had barely caught herself in time to adjust her sentence and keep from uttering what her heart was urging her to say.

_You are… the man I love._

Murrue was surprised to see Heero's eyes widen ever so slightly at her words, and she could've sworn there was the faintest hint of red in his face. "Murrue…" he said, "I… I feel the same way. You're… the most important person in my life."

Murrue couldn't help but notice the hesitation in Heero's voice. It was as if he, like her, was forcing himself to say something different than what was in his heart. _Is he feeling this same pressure that I am?_, she thought, _His feelings towards me… are they as strong as mine for him? Are we both holding back the same passion, the same affection? Oh, this is driving me crazy, not knowing for sure, being torn like this…_

"I can certainly believe that," said a familiar female voice, causing both parties to jump slightly in their seats. Murrue and Heero turned to see Lacus Clyne standing in front of them, and she was shocked to realize that she had not noticed the songstress approaching them; she'd been so focused on Heero and the feelings she held for him.

"Miss Clyne…" said Murrue, another blush coming to her face. How much had the girl overheard?

Lacus bowed her head to both of them. "I'm sorry, it was not my intention to startle you, nor eavesdrop on you. Please forgive me."

Murrue smiled at the girl. "It's alright, Miss Clyne."

Heero nodded. "Don't worry about it. We didn't see you coming over."

Lacus smiled at them. "Thank you, both of you."

"If I may ask, Miss Clyne," said Murrue, "just how much of our conversation did you hear?"

"Only the end, Captain Ramius," Lacus replied, smiling, "I think it's wonderful that you two care so much for each other. You've obviously become dear friends since we all met so long ago."

Murrue nodded and looked over at Heero as she spoke. "Yes… Heero and I have been through a lot together since that day. His friendship and support have given me the strength I need to lead my crew, to help them survive through all our struggles. I owe him a debt that I can never repay."

Heero shook his head, a small smile on his face. "You don't owe me anything, Murrue. I promised that I would protect you, and that's a vow I will never break. From the moment we met you've given me a place to stay and get my bearings in an unfamiliar world, and you've show me nothing but kindness throughout our journey. If anything, I'm the one that has a debt to repay."

"My father had a saying," said Lacus, causing the two of them to look at her, "he believed that, to quote him, 'there are no real debts between true companions'. I think that phrase fits the two of you perfectly." She smiled at them again. "Each of you feels that they owe the other something, but that is not the case; both of you act without any thought for yourselves, both in your friendship and this war. I am not mistaken, am I?"

Murrue looked over at Heero and saw that the Gundam pilot had a slightly bemused expression on his face. Their eyes met, and they both turned back to Lacus and smiled slightly. "No," said Heero, "you are not, Lacus."

"Indeed," said Murrue, "your insights are truly amazing, Miss Clyne."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," the songstress replied, "when you are the daughter of a high ranking public official, you quickly learn the value of perception. You learn to see whether or not people are being genuine in their interactions with you, if they care about you as a person or as a means to an end. I have the gift of being able to read the intentions and motivations of people, whether they be friend or foe. Perhaps some of this is also due to my former public role; as a singer I dealt with people who saw me as many things other than myself. I had to learn to discern who truly cared about me and who simply sought to use me."

"It is a gift that you have clearly honed," said Murrue, "your perception is remarkable, Miss Clyne." Murrue's words were genuine, but there was also a slightly unsettled feel behind them as the beautiful Captain wondered if Lacus suspected that her feelings for Heero ran much deeper than simply a strong friendship.

If Lacus noticed her muted uneasiness, she gave no sign of it. "I appreciate your praise, Captain Ramius. My father felt the same way, though at times I thought he was simply doting on his daughter."

"Fathers seldom need an excuse to do that," said Murrue softly, "Miss Clyne… I am sorry about what happened to your father. I realize my condolences come late and may offer little comfort, but you have them all the same."

"Mine as well," said Heero, nodding, "from what I've heard about him, it sounds like he was a good man. I'm sorry for your loss."

Lacus nodded, her smile becoming bittersweet. "Thank you, both of you. I… I wish he could've met you two; I think you would've gotten along quite well."

Murrue nodded. "I have no doubt of that, Miss Clyne." A somber silence fell between the three of them for a few seconds, and Murrue realized she needed to change the direction of the conversation in order to take Lacus's mind away from the tragic loss she had suffered. "Miss Clyne, if I may ask, what brought you over here in the first place? Is there something you need from Heero and me?"

Lacus's eyes widened for a moment before she responded. "Oh, of course, Captain Ramius. I actually wanted to speak with Heero. Given that he is from another world, I was hoping to get his perspective on a few important issues. Please, forgive me for any rudeness, but may I speak to him in private?"

It was a question that Murrue had not expected to hear, and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she studied Lacus's face. Her territorial instincts regarding Heero were once again coming into play, and Murrue was a little uneasy with Lacus's request. However, as she looked at the pink-haired songstress Murrue was struck by the sense of gentle sincerity she found in her pale cerulean eyes. There was no hint of any kind of desire towards Heero in the girl's expression. It was hard for Murrue to understand why she felt this way, but her heart was telling her that Lacus was being honest with her. The songstress had a very open feeling about her, as though she was trying to show Murrue that she had no designs on the young man that she had fallen in love with.

_And there was her earlier behavior with Kira_, Murrue mused, _when he held her in the corridor. Granted, she just lost her father and is still grieving in her heart, but still, the way he held her, the way she threw herself at him… _Murrue also recalled how Kira had mentioned that, during his time in the PLANTs, Lacus had hardly left his side, and had gone to great lengths to care for him and facilitate his recovery. _Her heart may already belong to Kira_, she thought, _the signs are there, certainly._

Last but certainly not least there was Murrue's own faith in Heero. His behavior during their arrival in the _Eternal_'s hangar bay had impressed her as she had watched the Perfect Soldier calmly and coolly handle the bevy of women that had approached them as they had departed the shuttle, and he had shown no sign in returning the flirting from the Valkyrie girls. That, combined with Dr. Claudia's belief that Heero held feelings for her along with her own suspicions, her own _hopes _regarding the young man, was enough for Murrue to put her heart at ease. She could trust Heero with Lacus; she _would _trust him with her.

Murrue nodded and smiled. "Of course, Miss Clyne. I'll leave you two alone for as long as you need."

Lacus smiled in return. "Actually, Captain Ramius, I was going to ask Heero to follow me to this ship's officers' lounge. It's still rather noisy in here, and I wanted to talk with him in peace."

"Good idea," said Heero, glancing at their allies, who were all holding separate conversations, "it is a little loud in here." He then turned to Murrue, and she was struck by the strange look in his eyes; it looked like a combination of asking for permission and an apology.

Murrue gave him another warm smile. "Go ahead, Heero; I'll be waiting right here until you get back."

Heero nodded. "Alright."

"Thank you, Heero," said Lacus as he stood up, "I appreciate this." She then turned towards Murrue and gave her a small nod and smile, and the beautiful Captain could not help but feel that the songstress was attempting to relay a reassurance to her, a promise that she would not take advantage of her privacy with Heero.

_ Her perception truly is incredible_, Murrue mused, _especially for a girl her age. I wonder how much she suspects…_

The two of them headed towards the exit, with Heero looking over his shoulder at Murrue one more time before they left the room. Murrue smiled at him. _I'll be here, Heero_, she thought, _I'll wait for you… and I'll believe in you. You have my faith, my _trust_, Heero, and I know that you will honor it._

….

There journey through the ship's winding corridors was quiet, much to Heero's surprise; he had expected Lacus to being asking questions the moment they had left the conference room. That had not been the case though. Instead the songstress seemed content to lead him through the hallways in silence, and the Gundam pilot figured she was using the time to put her own thoughts in order.

He was curious as to what she wanted his perspective on, along with why she wished to speak with him apart from the others. He had no problem with getting out of the conference room and away from the others' chatter, but he had been slightly taken aback when Lacus had asked to speak with him apart from Murrue.

_What can't she discuss in Murrue's presence?_, he thought, _I know they don't know each other very well, but the same can be said of Lacus and me. Why did she feel the need to get me away from Murrue?_

The thought bothered him, but as he studied Lacus he could detect no signs of ill-intent in her body language. Indeed, the girl had a sense of honesty and sincerity about her that reminded Heero of Relena. She was open, not attempting to disguise anything about herself. Heero also noted, with no small measure of relief, that Lacus was displaying no sign of the not-so-subtle lust that had been so evident with the Valkyrie girls, particularly Lan Zhao.

The encounter back in the hangar had made him uneasy, though he had been able to handle it without any noticeable change in his demeanor. The fact that he had drawn such blatant attention from the Valkyrie girls hadn't surprised him, but his proximity to Murrue combined with his romantic feelings for her had made the whole situation awkward from his perspective. Fortunately he'd received an unexpected bit of help when Murrue had cut Lan off midstream, which had been followed by Adaline dragging her away with Priscilla in tow.

As he followed Lacus through the corridors he wasn't getting the same vibe from her as he had from the Valkyrie girls. Heero did note a sense of curiosity coming from Lacus, but like everything else about her it was open and honest. Heero knew that it was also natural, especially given the circumstances under which they had first met all those months ago. He still didn't know why she could not indulge her curiosity in the presence of Murrue or anyone else, and something about the whole situation still felt a little off, but Heero didn't feel threatened or uneasy. He was cautious and guarded, but that was normal for him; he acted that way with everyone… save for Murrue.

_I guess I'll just have to play this by ear_, he thought as Lacus led him through a doorway.

"Here we are," she said, smiling, "would you like something to drink? Perhaps a cup of coffee or a glass of water?"

Heero shook his head. "No, thanks."

Lacus nodded. "Very well then." The pink-haired songstress then headed over towards a large window, and Heero followed suit.

The two of them stood in front of the viewport for a moment, looking out at the stars. The lounge was on the ship's portside, and the _Archangel _was clearly visible, keeping its flanking position next to the vessel.

"It feels like yesterday," said Lacus softly, "when I first saw that ship, when I first met you, Captain Ramius, Kira, and the others. Yet at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago. So much has happened… so much has changed."

Heero nodded. "War has a way of doing that, and the changes it brings about are seldom gentle."

"All too true," Lacus replied, "so many lives have been lost, many more changed forever, and the entire Earth Sphere is in a state of turmoil that continues to spiral further and further into darkness and madness." She then turned towards Heero, her expression completely serious. "I don't think any of us here have experienced a war like this… save for you."

"Every conflict has its similarities to another," said Heero cautiously, "but also many differences. The same can be said of the war I fought in my old world and the conflict we're in now."

"Well put," said Lacus, "however, while your last war and the one we find ourselves fighting now may be literally worlds apart, I believe that the experience you gained in that conflict gives you a very unique perspective on our own conflagration. As I told Captain Ramius earlier, I need that perspective, Heero Yuy; I need your insight."

"What makes you so certain it's my perspective you need?" asked Heero, "I've learned a lot since coming here, but I still lack the inherent familiarity with the Cosmic Era's politics and ideologies that you and the others have. Wouldn't Murrue or Waltfeld serve you better in this regard?"

"Their own experiences are very valuable," Lacus replied, "but yours is truly unique in that you are literally from outside this world, this war. That gives you a certain objectiveness that no one else has, and I believe it allows you to see angles that others may not be aware of, even people as mature and wise as Captain Ramius and Mister Waltfeld."

Heero could not help but be impressed as Lacus laid out her reasoning to him. He'd known from Kira's own words that she was intelligent, and her conduct during the meeting had only confirmed that about her, but the level of insight she was displaying now was definitely not the kind of wisdom one would expect from a girl her age, and an idol singer to boot.

_People have called me 'wise beyond my ears' a few times in this world_, he thought, _but that phrase may actually be better suited for Lacus._

He gave her a small nod. "Alright. What do you want my opinion on?"

"Well, I guess the best place to start would be the war as a whole," said Lacus, "What do you find the most striking, the most intriguing? What parallels can you find between it and your own? Is there something from your own experience that we can use to bring this conflict to an end that does not involve the murder of countless innocent people?"

Heero couldn't help but give her a slight smirk. "You don't ask for much, do you?"

She gave him a rather sheepish smile in reply. "Forgive me; I suppose that is a lot to go over all at once. Still, they are questions that I need answered, to the best that you are able to do so."

"It's fine," said Heero, "and I can definitely understand their importance to you."

He looked out the viewport for a moment, giving himself time to put his thoughts in order. After a few seconds he turned back to Lacus.

"Well," he began, "on the surface, the conflict as a whole is between people residing on Earth and in outer space. That's an over-simplification, but it's also not too far from the truth; the bulk of the Alliance is concentrated on Earth, while ZAFT is based in outer space. There are notable exceptions, of course, with the Alliance dominating the moon, L2, and L1 while ZAFT has made significant gains on Earth; they've taken all of Australia and Africa now, along with much of Southeast Asia, and with the attack on Panama they've begun making inroads into South America. Not to mention they've taken Gibraltar, which is on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula and a fortified foothold in Europe."

Lacus nodded. "A succinct generalization when looking strictly at the territory held by both sides. I remember Captain Ramius saying during the meeting that your own conflict was a rebellion of the space colonies against the oppressive Earth government. The situation of the PLANTs was not entirely dissimilar in the past, though by the time the war broke out they had been an independent entity for a few years by that point."

"I'm aware of that," Heero replied, "still, looking at it from a very broad perspective, the dynamic of a conflict between Earth and space is still there, much as it was for my own war."

"As a general similarity, that is important," said Lacus, "but I would imagine that it is overshadowed by the key differences. Could you give me those you feel are most important?"

"Of course," said Heero, "though I hope you don't mind a little history lesson in the process."

"Not at all," she replied, smiling, "I actually enjoy the subject."

Heero nodded. "You said the PLANTs had already gained independence from the Earth prior to the start of the war. As you know, in our case it was quite different, though you're unaware of the extent. The struggle for independence from the United Earth Sphere Alliance began well before I or my fellow pilots were born. In the year After Colony 139, fifty-six years before we began open warfare with the Alliance, the Colony Autonomy Organization was created as a movement to gain independence from the Earth. It started as a strictly political organization, hoping to achieve freedom through peaceful demonstration and working within the system, but the Alliance responded by increasing their military presence within the colonies. Within less than a year the colonies were forced to yield to the increasing pressure from the Earth, and the organization was officially disbanded. However, in the relatively short period of its existence it had already spawned a more militant faction, and the members of that faction went underground and began a guerrilla campaign against the Alliance occupation forces. The conflict continued to escalate over the years, with the colonial civilians caught in the crossfire… and taking the brunt of the casualties."

"How awful…" said Lacus softly.

Heero nodded. "The militants may have been fighting in the name of colonial independence, but their methods grew more indiscriminate as the conflict raged on. You wouldn't be wrong to call them terrorists at that point."

"What stopped the escalation?" asked Lacus, "I do not believe you would've fought for terrorists, Heero."

"In the year After Colony 165," he continued, "several dissident groups, mainly those inclined towards less violent resistance, elected a new leader; Heero Yuy. His message was one of total pacifism, and it gained great popularity and support both in the colonies and the Earth Sphere as a whole. Even the more hardened and radical members of the colonial resistance wound up getting behind it, and the violence slowly but surely dwindled until it was practically non-existent; the colonial independence movement regained its non-violent roots."

"You said the leader's name was Heero Yuy?" asked Lacus, "Would I be wrong to assume you were named for him?"

Heero hesitated momentarily before deciding to go along with her assumption; she didn't need to know that he had been given the moniker as a code name for Operation Meteor, and that he did not know what his real name was. That knowledge was for Murrue alone.

"You're correct," he stated, "I was named for him."

If the songstress had noticed his hesitation, she gave no sign of it. "I take it the good times didn't last," she said solemnly, "not if someone as young as you was forced to become a fighter for the independence of the colonies."

Heero nodded. "The Alliance was ruled from the shadows by the Romefeller Foundation, a group of powerful industrialists whose premier business was in arms production. The spread of Yuy's message of total pacifism was gaining serious ground, and was a threat to their revenues. Therefore, in the year After Colony 175 the Foundation had their private military force, OZ, assassinate Yuy. The non-violent protest movement in the colonies fell apart in short order, and the militants once again gained dominance. From there the march to open war was inexorable, and culminated in Operation Meteor twenty years later. That was the codename for the descent of the five Gundams, which had been built in secret by the colonies, to Earth and the beginning of our war against the Alliance and OZ."

"I see," said Lacus, "I'm assuming that you and the other four pilots were bankrolled by the militant faction. Still, I cannot see you adopting terrorist tactics in you struggle."

"Correct," said Heero, "they wanted us to wage a total war, but we restricted our activities to attacks on strictly military targets; bases, weapons factories, supply depots, etc." He then smirked slightly. "In a way, we rebelled against our own rebellion. The Alliance may have called us terrorists, but we refused to target civilians; we were _not _of the same mold as the hard line colonial militants."

Lacus smiled. "No, Heero; you and your comrades were true soldiers. You fought not just with skill and power, but with a conscience, and I believe that is why you have allied with us in our own struggle."

Heero nodded. "You're right… partially. I have my own motivations for fighting with you guys."

_Actually, only _one _motivation_, he thought, _protecting Murrue._

Lacus simply continued smiling. "Of course, Heero." Her expression then became more serious. "From what you've told me, I can already spot one of the major differences between your war and our own; ideology."

"Yes," said Heero, "though not in the manner you may think. It started as a war of independence, but as the conflict dragged on an even more radical group emerged from the colonies; White Fang. Rather than mere independence, they sought to escalate the conflict even further by eliminating the Earth entirely, claiming that it was the true source of war by virtue of it being the root of humanity, tying us to our blood soaked past. To this end they hijacked a massive battleship called the _Libra_. It had a powerful beam cannon as its main weapon, a gun that would put Wing Zero's rifle to shame. To demonstrate its capabilities they used it to annihilate an island. However, the beam gun alone would not be enough to render Earth uninhabitable, but the vessel's sheer size would, and they set it on a collision course with the Earth."

Lacus gasped. "That's monstrous! They were no better than Zala!"

"Agreed," said Heero, "that's why we stopped them. The ensuing battle was the largest in the history of the Earth Sphere, with practically all of Earth and space's armaments thrown into the fighting. The casualties surpassed any other battle in human history, but White Fang was defeated, and the way was paved for a new, peaceful future."

"I remember now," said Lacus, "Kira told me during his stay in the PLANTs about how you equated humanity's history to that of an endless waltz, danced to the three beats of war, peace, and revolution. He said that your world broke its cycle by waging a battle so destructive that it actually defeated mankind's very will to fight. That was the battle you just spoke of, wasn't it?"

"Yes," said Heero grimly, "and such a battle may well be the only way we can end _this _war as well."

"I pray that you are wrong, Heero," said Lacus, her expression solemn.

Heero nodded. "So do I… but the alternative may be the complete annihilation of the human race."

"There must be another path," said Lacus.

Heero looked out the viewport for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Perhaps I'm projecting my own experience a little too much onto the current conflict. The final stage of my war wasn't as simple as I made it out to be."

"Care to elaborate?" asked Lacus.

"The Romefeller Foundation was overthrown from within," said Heero, "and it was replaced by a new organization called the World Nation. The former head of OZ swiftly seized control of the World Nation and devoted all its military assets towards combating the threat posed by White Fang. At the same time, White Fang gained a new leader, a man who just happened to be a friend of the new ruler of the World Nation. Together those two men orchestrated the final confrontation; they deliberately set up the largest battle in the history of the Earth Sphere. The leader of White Fang claimed that the organization's goal was to eliminate the Earth as a source of conflict, while the leader of the World Nation declared his intent to defeat White Fang and protect the world. Their publicly stated goals were easy enough for the general public to understand, but the underlying purpose of the battle did not become apparent until it was actually over."

A look of dawning comprehension came to Lacus's face. "Those two men, the leaders of White Fang and the World Nation… they set up such a titanic, high-stakes battle to destroy mankind's will to fight!"

Heero nodded. "Exactly. The Gundam pilots, including myself, wound up siding with the Earth forces to take down the _Libra _and White Fang, but we still played into the larger objective of the battle… as both sides' leaders knew we would. To the casual observer and the frontline soldiers we were the wild card in the game, but to those two men, our roles had already been predicted. We played into their hands, but in the process we at last brought the war to an end. A new government was forged, the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, encompassing both the planet and her colonies in a truly democratic society."

Lacus nodded. "A happy ending, though it came at a high price. I appreciate you sharing this with me, and from it I can already draw some conclusions of my own regarding the key differences between your last war and the one we are in now."

Heero nodded. "Go ahead."

"As I stated earlier," she said, "one of the key distinctions between the conflict your world went through and this war is ideology. From the information you just gave me though, I believe I can narrow it down further. In your war, the Earth government ultimately sought control, while the colonies originally sought independence. However, their motives evolved over time. With the dissolution of Romefeller and the birth of the World Nation the Earth government became much less oppressive. However, the colonial militants had been hardened and embittered by years of fighting against a nation that had dominated them with an iron fist, and when you and the other Gundam pilots did not follow the plans they originally had for you they took matters into their own hands. Guided by hatred and the desire for vengeance as much as independence, if not more, they prepared to enact a much more destructive campaign, ultimately culminating the in the elimination of what they saw as the source of all their problems; the Earth."

Heero nodded. "The hatred embraced by the more radical colonial militants towards the Earth does have some similarities to the attitude embraced by Zala and his followers. That parallel is only further emphasized by their actions in the final stage of the war. The battleship _Libra _was an enormous vessel; had it fallen to Earth, the environmental damage would've been devastating, perhaps irreparably so. Billions of innocent people would've been killed, either immediately or in the aftermath. White Fang's intent with that operation was implicitly genocide, a goal that the PLANT radicals, according to you and your allies, aspire towards."

Lacus nodded. "I know not how Zala plans to achieve his goal. Were he to pursue it through conventional means it would be a long, drawn-out process, and Zala is the type to pursue decisive action versus a protracted campaign. The recent development of N-Jammer Cancellers suggests, to me at least, that the radicals are opting for another method, one most likely involving nuclear power. Whether it be with nuclear missiles or a new kind of weapon is at this point an exercise in speculation. However, I can imagine that Zala would find the use of nuclear power in the genocide of the Naturals to be fitting given the Alliance's attack on Junius Seven at the start of the war."

"Understandable, if monstrous," said Heero grimly, "in Zala's eyes that would be a very karmic retribution. I'm glad you brought up the attack on Junius Seven, because it actually serves as another key distinction between this war and my own."

"How so?" asked Lacus.

"The Earth Alliance may not have openly stated this," said Heero, "but their use of nuclear weapons against an agricultural colony perfectly illustrated their true intent in this war; complete eradication of the Coordinator people. Had ZAFT not developed and deployed the N-Jammers so quickly after the attack, I imagine further nuclear strikes would've been inevitable."

"A reasonable conclusion to draw," said Lacus, "but I do not see how this serves to contrast your war and ours."

"I'm getting to that," said Heero, "the government that I and the other Gundam pilots rebelled against did not wish to annihilate the colonies, but merely to subjugate them. There is no Natural or Coordinator divide in the After Colony timeline; genetic engineering on that scale never took place. The United Earth Sphere Alliance fought for more conventional reasons; domination, resource acquisition, etc. The colonies response was also based along conventional reasoning; drive out the oppressors and gain independence. Some factions on both sides may have harbored deep grudges or hatreds for their opposite number, but it wasn't along genetic lines."

Lacus's eyes widened. "Now I get it; you're saying that the most important distinction between your war and ours is the motivations behind the hatred and hostility expressed by both sides!"

"Precisely," said Heero, "though it is true that the hatred of some of the colonial militants, White Fang in particular, evolved towards a genocidal extreme, the roots of the hostilities in my war were not based upon race. It was a war of independence with escalating tensions and animosity on both sides, but it ultimately boiled down to a conflict between the people of the colonies and those that lived on Earth. This war, on the surface, has a similar appearance, but the fact of the matter is that this conflict's true nature is based upon racial prejudice. The ruling elite of the Earth Alliance, particularly the Atlantic Federation, view the Coordinators as abominations, while Zala and his allies see Naturals as savages, lower forms of life. The ultimate goal of both camps is the complete annihilation of the other race, and it has been for most if not all of this war."

Lacus nodded. "Zala may not have initially held such extreme views, but with the death of his wife three days into the war at Junius Seven no doubt hardened his heart. He may have helped found ZAFT to protect our people from the aggression of the Atlantic Federation, but after Junius Seven his views probably evolved to the point that he eventually came to see our military as the means to avenge Lenore's death by way of the eradication of all Naturals."

"A logical assumption," said Heero, "as for the Alliance, or more specifically the Atlantic Federation, I believe that they've considered the extinction of your people to be their goal from the beginning; the attack on Junius Seven is evidence enough of that."

"You're right," she said softly, "though I cannot believe that the entirety of the Alliance wants us wiped out, and even within their government there must be an equivalent to our own moderate faction."

"There most likely is," Heero replied, "but with the stranglehold Blue Cosmos and their affiliates have over the upper echelons of the Alliance government and their military, I doubt their internal foes have the strength to act against them, openly or otherwise. We can expect no help from Earth, Lacus."

"No," said the songstress, shaking her head in resignation, "I suppose not."

A somber silence fell between the two of them as they both once again turned to stare out the window. After a few seconds Lacus once again turned to him, her expression one of trepidation. "Heero, based on your past experience and what you've been through so far in the Cosmic Era, how do you think our own war will end? What possible conclusions to this conflict do you see?"

"Hard to say," he replied, "I'm no seer, Lacus; I can't predict the future."

"Of course not," said Lacus, "but still, you must have a few possible scenarios in mind."

Heero sighed. "Only the two I mentioned before, Lacus. A battle bloody enough to convince both sides that they cannot afford to keep fighting… or mutual annihilation. Believe me, I want there to be another path, but with the way events continue to spiral out of control, I cannot see one."

"I cannot accept that," said Lacus, "there must be another way!"

"I haven't accepted it either, Lacus," said Heero firmly, his eyes narrowing, "just because those are the only two outcomes I can envision right now does not mean I don't want there to be others. These two are simply the most likely outcomes. I'm not just going to sit back and let mankind march forward towards its own destruction though; I'm going to fight with Murrue and the rest of you to save your world, in whatever way we can."

"Heero…" she said softly, her eyes widening.

"Back in my war," Heero continued, "the other Gundam pilots and I originally took to the battlefield to liberate our colonies, but as the conflict dragged on and the situation evolved we all eventually settled on a new goal; to bring the war to an end, and protect the innocent people of the Earth Sphere in doing so. Whether they lived on the planet or in space, it didn't matter; we refused to let them be destroyed by war."

He looked back out the viewport, an image of Murrue flashing through his mind. "I'll do the same here, Lacus. I'll fight alongside you guys to protect your world, to ensure that the people of the Cosmic Era are not consumed by the fires of war."

Of course, the rest of the people of the Cosmic Era were a secondary concern; the person he wanted to protect above all others was Murrue. He wanted to save the Cosmic Era because it meant saving Murrue. It meant giving her a future where she could be happy and pursue her hopes and dreams in peace… and maybe, just maybe, with him by her side.

Lacus bowed her head. "Heero… thank you. I'm truly grateful that you are on our side, that you are willing to help us protect our world." She then looked up and smiled, and Heero was struck by a strange, knowing look in her eyes. "Although, I know that it is not our world that you are fighting to protect. Do not get me wrong; you are a brave, noble, and selfless person, but I believe that the true reason you are fighting is much more personal than the fate of countless strangers. I'm sure defending the innocent people is important to you… but I know that is not what is truly driving you to fight alongside us… and it is certainly not why you have stayed with the _Archangel _since the day you came to our world. The true reason you're fighting, your sole purpose for doing battle in our war, is to protect one person… one _woman_."

_That _got his attention more than anything else she had said over the course of their conversation. Heero was tempted to feign ignorance, to ask what she was talking about, but the look of certainty in her eyes was enough to convince him of the futility of such an effort. Heero couldn't explain how, but he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that _she _knew what his true reason for fighting in the Cosmic Era was; to protect Murrue.

To protect her… because _he loved her_.

He tried to maintain his usual calm and cool expression, but he could not help but widen his eyes slightly. "How… how do you…?"

Lacus giggled at his surprise. "For all your battlefield prowess, Heero, you lack an understanding of women's intuition. The way you were acting with her during the briefing, the way you looked at her, spoke up for her, supported her… I could see it plain as day, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. In fact… I think the only person that does not see the truth is her… and the same could be said of you, regarding her own feelings."

Her eyes met his, a sense of serenity and wisdom emanating from her pale cerulean gems. "Heero Yuy… you love Murrue Ramius."

It wasn't a question; she spoke with the authority that came with certainty, with the knowledge that she was right beyond a shadow of a doubt. It did not matter that what little evidence she had was based upon observing two people that she had only met months ago and had not seen again until today; her faith in her intuition and the conclusion it had brought her to was absolute. Her gaze was piercing, and Heero was struck by how it seemed to stab right through the emotional armor he'd built up over the years, the layers of stoicism that had helped him survive a lifetime of war, which had enabled him to become a Gundam pilot. It was an otherworldly feeling, and more than a little unnerving. Still, despite the fact that it made him uneasy, Heero was also struck by the honesty that was in her eyes. It spoke a silent message; _I know what lies in your heart. Please, do not be afraid. Give me your confidence; it will not be betrayed. _

Heero sighed as he turned back towards the viewport. "Was I really that easy to read?"

Lacus shook her head. "Not at first, no. After all, it has been a long time since we have seen each other. I had to observe your mannerisms, your demeanor. It took some time, but you unknowingly gave me clues even from the beginning."

"How so?" asked Heero.

"When you got off the shuttle and stepped into the hangar," said Lacus, "you became alert and tense. I saw your eyes darting around, though you minimized your head movement. You were scanning the hangar for threats, and though you were a little behind Captain Ramius I could tell that you were ready to spring in front of her the instant you detected danger."

"Very perceptive," said Heero, "but to see that and make the leap that my caution and protectiveness was born out of love from that one instance seems to be quite a stretch in logic."

Lacus nodded. "Well put, Heero. There is, naturally, more to my observations. Your behavior during the meeting was the key to my deduction. You were subtle, at least when compared to how other people might display their affections, but I could still see the feelings you were both expressing and holding back in your actions. The way you looked at Captain Ramius several times, meeting her gaze and trying to support her, speaking up for her when we discussed who should lead us in battle and backing down only when she made it clear that she wanted to keep her current role… all that spoke to something deeper than just a close friendship." She then smiled softly. "And there was a subtle shift in your demeanor a ways into the meeting, the way you were sitting in your chair. It wasn't overt, but a slight adjustment... you were holding her hand underneath the table, weren't you?"

It may have been phrased as a question, but the way she spoke made it seem more like a statement of fact… which it was. Heero recalled with perfect clarity Murrue grabbing his hand when he had been briefly discussing his past with Waltfeld and the others at the meeting. True, it had been the beautiful Captain that had initiated the contact, but Heero had responded without hesitation by firmly gripping her hand.

_I thought for sure no one had noticed that_, he thought as he looked at Lacus, _this girl… she's sharp._

Despite the fact that she was right on the money, Heero did not answer Lacus. It wasn't that he would not admit that she was right; he just didn't know how to respond. The conversation had rapidly shifted into a territory that he had very little familiarity with, and he was struggling to find his footing.

Lacus wasted no time in filling in the silence. "Your actions during the meeting strengthened my suspicions, but even then they would not have been enough by themselves to confirm my intuition. However, I had something else that did."

"And that was?" asked Heero.

"My time with Kira while he was recovering at my estate," she said, "during his stay we talked a great deal about his adventures on board the _Archangel_, along with the people on that ship… including you and Captain Ramius. He spoke very highly of both of you, and also brought up a few things that stood out regarding your interactions. He said that, though you were quiet and withdrawn when dealing with most people, you were quite ready to converse with Captain Ramius. Kira noticed that any time you were not asleep or working on Wing Zero you spent with Captain Ramius, whether it be while both of you were on off-duty or if she was on the bridge. What was most important in my mind though, was that he said you _trusted _her, more than anyone else on the _Archangel_. He didn't know the details of your conversations with her, but he believed that you had opened up to her, and that is a belief that I share."

"And there is one more bit," she continued, "during the time I spent in the PLANTs between my return from the _Archangel _and my flight on the _Eternal_ I had several conversations with Mister Waltfeld and Miss Aisha. We discussed many matters, but one of the topics that commonly came up was the meeting they had with you, Kira, and Cagalli in Banadiya. They both think quite highly of you, and they both said that you had given them the reason that you were fighting for the _Archangel_; that there was someone on board that you wanted to protect. More specifically, a _woman _you wanted to protect. Just to drive the point home, they also mentioned how you bought this woman a necklace, one not of great monetary value but with far more sentimental and emotional weight, a charm of sorts that one gives to someone that they have a strong bond with, one that they wish to defend no matter what. Waltfeld also mentioned just before the meeting that Captain Ramius was wearing your gift proudly."

The trinket Heero had given Murrue all those months ago instantly flashed through his mind, and was quickly followed by the woman herself. He was once again struck by how she had never taken it off or hid it; she had worn it openly and proudly since the day he had given it to her, even in situations where it might have been more appropriate to conceal such a thing, like in their debriefing with the Atlantic Federation High Command at Alaska.

"Again," said Lacus, drawing Heero's attention back to the present, "those details by themselves would not amount to much, but taken in conjunction with everything else… well, there is only one real conclusion I can make." Her eyes once again met his. "Heero Yuy, you're in love with Captain Murrue Ramius."

The Gundam pilot hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yes… I am. Truth be told, I have been for quite a while now. Months, I think, maybe as far back as North Africa. I… I'm not sure exactly where or when it started."

"And it doesn't matter," said Lacus, smiling, "you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the feelings you have in your heart for her are indeed love, and that you have had them for quite some time now." Her expression then became one of concern. "So why… why haven't you told Miss Murrue how you feel about her? I can tell that the passion you feel for her is very strong, and that you're struggling to hold it back. Why are you keeping your love for her bottled up?"

"How do you know that I haven't told her already?" he asked.

"Your hesitancy," she replied, "you're willing to admit that you love her, but it wasn't straightforward; you had to push yourself to do so. If you were already in a relationship with her, I do not believe that hesitancy would exist." She took a step closer to him, her voice softening as she spoke again. "Heero, you haven't talked to anyone about this, have you? Why?"

Heero looked down. "It's… it's not a simple matter, Lacus. There's a lot more involved than my own feelings."

"Perhaps," said the songstress, "but still, you should not be keeping it all bottled up like this. I know you do not trust easily, but you do have friends, people aside from Captain Ramius that you can have faith in. Kira and Cagalli come readily to my mind. I know Kira has great respect for you and considers you a friend, and when I spoke with Cagalli earlier she displayed similar sentiments. You have maintained a distance from others since you came to our world, Heero, but you have made friends, and I think you know that those friends would not betray your trust, especially not after all you've done. So why not open up to them, let out at least some of your feelings, ease at least some of the pressure that is building within you?"

"I can't," said Heero, turning back towards the viewport, "it's true that I consider both Kira and Cagalli to be my friends now, but still… this isn't something I can talk to them about."

"Why not?" she asked, "You are speaking of it with me now."

"Because you've figured it out," said Heero, "there's little point in hiding it from you now."

"And you do not think that they at least suspect that there is more to your devotion to Captain Ramius than just a strong friendship?" asked Lacus, "Your friends are not blind, Heero. I don't know if they've come to the same conclusion that I have, but surely they must feel that there is something more to your loyalty and protectiveness towards Miss Murrue."

The songstress had a point, and Heero supposed it had been careless of him to not consider the possibility of his friends taking notice of how he acted with Murrue when compared to the other people he encountered during his time on the _Archangel_. "Perhaps they do," he said softly, "but still, there's more at stake than my own feelings."

"Are you worried about how they'll affect Captain Ramius?" she asked.

"Of course I am!" he replied, unable to keep his voice from rising, "There's a ten year age gap between us, for crying out loud! I could get her into serious trouble!"

"That is true," said Lacus, her eyes narrowing, "However, if that were the real reason then I do not believe that you would allow yourself to continue to have such strong feelings for her, nor would you continue to interact with her in the manner that I observed during the meeting. The age gap between you two is a hurdle, but it is one that I believe the two of you could overcome together… and I think that you feel the same way, deep down in your heart. Also, I do not believe that anyone among us would raise serious concern over the age gap between the two of you, especially given how clear it is that you two care deeply for each other. It is admirable and noble of you to have such concern for the possible trouble that a relationship between the two of you could cause for Captain Ramius… but it is not what is truly holding you back, is it?"

Her words were as piercing as her gaze, and dead on the money. While Heero had recognized since the moment he'd first become aware of his attraction to Murrue that the age gap between them was a matter of some concern, he also had faith that, as Lacus had said, it was a hurdle that he could overcome with Murrue if she actually returned his feelings. It had still been imposing at first, but as his journey with the amazing woman had continued it had been slowly but surely pushed into the background as his love for her had grown.

_In fact_, he mused, _I actually haven't thought about the age gap between us in quite some time now. When did I stop seeing it as some huge obstacle? Alaska, maybe? Sometime in the run up to the battle there, or right afterwards? I don't know… _In the end, it didn't even matter; as Lacus had said, the age gap was not what was truly holding him back, forcing him to keep his true feelings for Murrue hidden.

No, it wasn't conventional worries like age or status that were keeping him from taking that leap of faith, from confessing his love to Murrue. It was something deeper and darker, something that no one else had seen in him save for Murrue, and even then she had not witnessed its true depths; guilt.

It was guilt for the lives he had taken, for the blood that would forever stain his hands. Between his actions in his own world and the battles he had fought in the Cosmic Era Heero knew that he had become one of the greatest killers in human history, and it was _not _something he was proud of. Quite the opposite; he _hated _himself for it.

_How many lives have I personally ended?_, he thought ruefully, _Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands… millions, maybe? _Granted, his personal body count did not match the likes of those such as Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, or the other notorious mass murderers that humanity had produced, at least not when it came to sheer numbers. However, unlike those men that had used their legions of followers and soldiers to carry out their atrocities on their behalf, Heero had built up his own mountain of corpses _personally_. When it came to single combatants, it was hard to imagine that anyone could rival the amount of lives that had been claimed by his unholy skills as a soldier.

_The Reaper of North Africa_, he thought, recalling the moniker that had been floating around the _Archangel _after his mauling of Waltfeld's army, _A nickname I never wanted, but one that fit the deeds of that campaign. If they knew the true extent of the bloodbath I've left in my wake, though… well, I'd imagine they'd come up with a more sinister title for me; after all, I've reaped lives in places far beyond the sands of the Sahara, and far more than the casualties I inflicted upon Waltfeld's forces._

He sighed as he once again turned to face the pink-haired songstress. "I'm a murderer, Lacus. I've claimed more lives than any single combatant in the history of the Earth Sphere, regardless of timeline. Murrue… she deserves better than the love of a killer."

Lacus shook her head. "Heero, you are _not _a murderer. Yes, you have taken lives, and I do not doubt the number of people that have fallen to you in battle is more than I can comprehend, but you were acting as a _soldier_. You were trying to survive in a war-torn world, and being forced to kill, while awful and tragic, is the necessary reality that comes with being a soldier. You yourself are well aware of this, Heero, and so is Murrue. You are not a murderer, and she does not see you as one, I'm sure of it!"

Heero shook his head, images from his old nightmare, his worst memory, flashing through his mind. "Lacus, the lives I've taken… include more than just enemy combatants."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

For a moment Heero hesitated, wondering why he was even considering sharing the tale of _that _tragedy with a girl that he had only met for the second time today. The only person he had ever told about that disaster two years ago had been Murrue, and that had been because he trusted her more than anyone else, because she had already by that point become the most important person in his life, though at that time he wasn't entirely sure why. The bond between them had already been established and recognized, and had even been paid tribute to in the form of the necklace Heero had gotten for Murrue in Banadiya. He had no such connection with Lacus.

And yet… here he was, talking to her about feelings that he had shared with no one else, even his friends Kira and Cagalli. Heero barely knew Lacus, but the girl had already worked her way past his defenses and had convinced him to finally give voice to the passion that was burning in his heart for Murrue. It was completely illogical, but Heero could not help but _trust _Lacus, in a manner very similar to the trust he had in Murrue. The songstress had an air of honesty and sincerity about her, and it was not forced or projected; it was completely natural. From the moment he had begun speaking with her Heero could almost feel an unspoken promise coming from her, that she would not betray his trust.

_She inspires confidence in others, and at the same time promises to keep it_, he mused, _all without even trying. No wonder the PLANT moderates wanted her to lead them after her father died; she can naturally get people to trust her. She's completely sincere, she gives people hope and strength… she's a lot like Relena._

He looked down at the floor as he spoke. "Over two years ago I was working for one of the colonial militant groups, the one that was constructing the Gundam I would use in Operation Meteor. I was given an assignment to destroy a base the Alliance had built on a colony. To that end I infiltrated the facility and planted demolition charges at key places. I got out and came back at night to detonate the charges."

"That sounds like a fairly straightforward mission to me," said Lacus, "why bring it up now?"

Heero sighed. "The mission itself was straightforward… but not the results. I…I screwed up, Lacus."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I underestimated the power of the charges I'd been given for the mission," he replied, "I planted them correctly, but I had been laboring under a mistaken assumption regarding how strong they were. When I detonated them that night, the entire base was annihilated as planned… but the explosion consumed more than just the base."

"What happened?" she asked, her voice soft and with a hint of trepidation.

"There… there was a residential block just across the street from the base," said Heero, his voice beginning to waver, "there was an apartment complex… it must've housed hundreds of people, maybe thousands. When the charges went off, they blew one of the mobile suits at the base across the street… and into the block. Then the machine exploded…" He looked up at Lacus, and he had no doubt that his expression was one of a very haunted young man. "The residential block was wiped out, Lacus. The people that lived there… they weren't Alliance soldiers… they were innocent civilians. They wanted no part of our war… they were the people I was fighting _for_, to liberate… and I _slaughtered them_."

"Heero…" said Lacus, her voice barely over a whisper.

The Gundam pilot looked down again, unable to meet her gaze. He didn't know to say next; images of that terrible night and the following morning were whirling through his mind, threatening to overwhelm him. His hands were clenched in fists, trembling as he struggled to once again hold back the anguish, despair, and overwhelming _guilt _that the memory of that tragedy never failed to stir within him.

He was startled to feel a slender hand land gently on his shoulder. "Heero, look at me. Please."

His eyes widened as his mind flashed back to that night all those months ago over the Red Sea… the last time he had been tormented by the nightmare that was his worst memory. An image of the woman that had rushed to his quarters when he had cried out in anguish and sorrow, who had woken and embraced him, shielded him from the demons of his past, flashed through his mind… along with her voice.

_"Heero, look at me. Please."_

_ Those words_, he thought, _they're the same ones Murrue said that night…_

He looked up, and was struck by how similar Lacus's expression was to the one Murrue had worn that night all those months ago. Like the mature and beautiful woman he was so deeply in love with, the look on Lacus's face was full of concern; there was not a hint of incrimination or disgust anywhere in her features.

"Heero," she said softly, "have you told Miss Murrue about this?"

Heero nodded. "After North Africa, while we were going through the Red Sea towards the Indian Ocean… I had a dream about that night. No, dream is the wrong word for that memory; it was a nightmare. I guess I cried out in my sleep, because Murrue ran to my room and woke me up; our quarters are right next to each other, and she heard me through the wall."

"She rushed to your side out of fear for your safety," said Lacus, "no doubt she was very worried about you. What happened next?"

"I… I told her everything," said Heero, "the mission, the aftermath, the dead civilians… I didn't hold anything back."

"You were completely honest with her," said the songstress, smiling slightly, "even back then you already had such faith in her… you had already begun to love her."

Heero nodded. "Yeah… maybe it did start then…"

"Heero," said Lacus, "how did Miss Murrue react after you told her about what had happened?"

Heero closed his eyes for a moment, recalling with perfect clarity every detail of that night over the Red Sea. He then opened his eyes as he responded. "Murrue… she pulled me close, embraced me… I'd never been held so tightly before. She told me… that I wasn't a murderer, that what had happened was a tragic mistake. Murrue... she believed that the fact that I still showed such remorse two years after what I did was proof enough that I wasn't the monster I thought I was."

"And she's _right_, Heero," said Lacus, her smile growing, "You would _never _deliberately target civilians; this I believe without a shred of doubt, and I know Miss Murrue feels the same way. She didn't accuse you of murdering those people because she knew that you would never commit such a heinous act; she _knew _that what had happened was a terrible mistake. Miss Murrue saw the same remorse and anguish in you that I see now, and she sought to comfort you and protect you from it."

Once again his mind flashed back to that night. He once again remembered standing in the doorway of his quarters, Murrue mere inches away from him. He saw her lean in to kiss him on the cheek, and he could still feel the phantom touch of her warm, moist lips on his skin.

"Yeah…" said Heero absently, the image in his mind warming his face considerably.

"Heero," said Lacus, pulling his attention back to the present, "what you've told me shows me all I need to know; Miss Murrue accepted what you had done as a tragic mistake. It did not cloud the way she looks at you; she still cares deeply for you even with the knowledge of what you did two years ago. She's accepted you for who you are and what you've done in your past, and she's done so without any hesitation. In fact… I would say she's done more than just that."

"What do you mean?" asked Heero, noting a strange shift in the girl's tone.

Lacus giggled. "Oh, Heero… you still can't see it, can you?"

"See what?" he asked, though he was beginning to suspect what she was talking about. She was broaching a possibility that he had considered many times now, though he hadn't dared believe that there was truth behind it. It had been a small but growing suspicion in the back of his mind, one that had gained a little more fuel in each of his interactions with the woman that had captured his heart, but he had still not allowed himself to truly embrace it; how could he, when he did not believe that he was worthy of it?

"Heero," said Lacus, "what I'm about to tell you is something that I cannot back up with any definitive form of evidence or proof. I'm basing it solely on what I've observed today, so the details supporting it can be called circumstantial. Nevertheless, I do believe that I am right."

"Right about what?" asked Heero.

Lacus smiled. "Heero, you've already admitted to me that you love Miss Murrue. Tell me though; have you considered _her_ feelings towards _you_?"

Heero hesitated for a moment, trying to work out a proper response. "I… I know she cares about me. We've developed… a powerful friendship over the course of our travels, and I know she trusts me more than anyone else. She… she knows me better than anyone else, and she swore to protect me as I said I'd do for her."

Lacus nodded. "I can definitely see her making such a vow, and the same goes for you. However, I believe that there is more to her feelings than just those of a friendship forged in the fires of war. I remember what she called you in the conversation you had with her earlier; her 'dearest companion'. That tells me that she holds the bond between the two of you as something truly precious… with feelings that I believe run as deep as your own."

Heero's eyes widened as her words sunk in. "Lacus… are you saying…"

She nodded, smiling again. "Heero… I believe Miss Murrue is in love with you as well."

Heero froze, his mind struggling to take in her words. Her statement had been so simple… and yet, it was also ground-breaking. He'd barely dared to allow himself to hope that Murrue might maybe, just _maybe_, feel the same way about him that he did about her. To have someone else state their belief that she actually _did _love him was a shock to the system, unlike any other that he had felt before.

He took a step back, shaking the songstress's hand from his shoulder, still trying to absorb what Lacus had just said. "Murrue… why…"

"Why would she love you?" asked Lacus, "Heero, do you truly see yourself as unworthy of her affections? Because I'm all but certain that Miss Murrue does not share that sentiment."

"But I… I'm…" said Heero, struggling for words.

Lacus's eyes narrowed, and the Gundam pilot was struck by the intensity in them. "Do _not _say it, Heero; don't even _think _of calling yourself a murderer again! What you've told me has already made it perfectly clear that Miss Murrue does _not _think of you that way; she _never _has! I _know _she doesn't, just as _I _do not. She _understands_, Heero; she knows what happened that night was not what you had intended to do!"

"Even without that," said Heero, his voice barely over a whisper, "all the lives I've taken…"

"You've done so as a _soldier_," Lacus finished for him firmly, "You killed because you were in a war; you had to take life in order to survive. More importantly, you fought not for yourself, but for others, both in your last war and in this one. You fought to protect people, both those you knew and those you did not; you fought to make sure that they did not have to suffer the same pain that you did. You took on the burden of having so much blood on your hands so that others would not have to endure it!"

"Heero," Lacus continued, "Miss Murrue understands, I'm sure she does. She's a soldier like you; she knows what it means to bear that kind of responsibility! She has the strength to do that, and she sees that same strength in you, and she _loves you _for it! And it's not just that; it's far more. She sees your bravery, your intelligence, your determination… and your _compassion_, Heero! You may act cool and calm, but she sees what lies beneath that surface, as do I; you're a kind and gentle young man at heart, one who never wanted to kill. She's seen that kindness within you, the warm heart that you keep hidden from everyone else, and she _loves you _for it!"

Her expression then softened as a warm smile appeared on her face. "Heero, remember in the meeting how Miss Murrue was so opposed to you taking on the Avalon battle-station?"

Heero nodded slowly. "Yes… I do."

"You saw just how passionate she was in her objections to us using you as the spearhead of the operation," said Lacus, "she was angry at Waltfeld and the rest of us, and not without reason; I agree with her in that we're asking far too much of you. However… while I'm sure Miss Murrue cares about all the people that sever under her, I do not think she would've given such a passionate resistance to any of them being used in such a plan as she did for you. There was more to her opposition than just her looking after one of her pilots… and I believe that it went beyond the strong friendship the two of you share as well. She was desperate to keep you from having to take on the deadliest roles in the operation… because it meant that the man she loved would be confronting suicidal odds. You told me how the two of you had sworn to protect each other; in her mind, I'm sure she saw her actions as her carrying through with her own vow."

Heero closed his eyes, recalling Murrue's fiery defense of him before he had spoken up, volunteering to take on the role that she had fought so hard to keep him from. He had appreciated her struggle on his behalf, but he also knew that Waltfeld had been right; him taking on that role was the only way the operation had a chance at succeeding.

Once he had vocally stated his intention to take on the Avalon battle-station, Murrue's attitude had shifted. Heero could tell that she was still against the plan, but she had decided to support him anyway, to show her faith in his abilities and her determination to support him in whatever way she could.

_She was against the plan_, he thought, _and I'm sure she still is… but she's supporting my role in it now despite that opposition. Her vocal opposition ended when I volunteered. She did try to dissuade me, and I'm grateful for that, but she was quick to get behind me after I made it clear that I was willing to take on the role that the others wanted me to. She never once doubted my abilities… she hasn't since we became friends…_

His mind flashed back as images of their time together flew through his head. The talk they had had that night in North Africa, her staying by his side to comfort him after his nightmare, their outing together in Orb, her allowing him to hold her in her bed as she mourned the loss of Tolle and Kira after the battle in the Marshall Islands, their firm support of each other during the debriefing at Alaska, their fierce embrace after escaping the battle that had taken place at the Alliance base, her staying by his side while he had recovered in the infirmary after his rampage during the Battle of Orb… all those memories and more flashed before his eyes.

All their time together, their deepening bond, his growing feelings for her, her devotion and loyalty to him… bit by bit, the evidence was assembling in front of him. The suspicions he'd barely dared to even _think about _were gaining traction, encouraged by the firm belief of the songstress standing before him.

He loved Murrue… and there was the very real chance that she loved him too.

Heero opened his eyes and met Lacus's gaze. When he spoke, his voice was barely over a whisper. "Murrue… you truly think she… _loves me_?"

Lacus nodded. "Yes, Heero. Naturally, I cannot say for certain; the only person that can truly know what lies in her heart is Murrue herself. However, I do believe that she returns your feelings, Heero… and that holding her affection back is hurting her as much as keeping your own passion for her at bay is doing so to you."

"What?" said Heero, his eyes widening, "I'm… I'm _hurting _Murrue?"

"Not intentionally, Heero," said Lacus, once again putting her hand on his shoulder, "I know that that is the _last _thing that you would ever do. But given just how passionately she fought for you today in the meeting, I can only imagine just how powerful her feelings for you are. The fire of her love that I believe she is keeping at bay… I'm betting it burns as strongly as the feelings you have for her. The struggle you've been putting yourself through to hold back your love for Miss Murrue… I imagine that she's going through something quite similar. This isn't directly your fault, Heero, nor is your own pain directly hers… but in suppressing your true feelings, I feel that you are both doing each other far more harm than good, especially now."

Heero nodded slowly; her using his own struggle to keep his emotions regarding Murrue at bay put things in perspective. _If she really does feel the same way about me_, he thought, _then the pain I feel at holding back this passion… she'd be suffering that as well, or something close to it._

"Heero," Lacus continued, "I will not pretend to understand all that you have gone through in your life, and I know I lack the knowledge of the engagements you fought in during your last war, but I do not believe I am mistaken when I say that the coming battle will put your skills to the test, perhaps more so than any other fight. If you truly wish to survive and return to the woman you love, then you cannot allow yourself to have any doubts or regrets holding you back. The same goes for Murrue as well; she will be commanding the _Archangel _after all, and it along with the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _will play a vital part in the operation. Both of you must be fully focused, and your resolve must be ironclad… and there's only one way for you to do this."

"Heero," said Lacus firmly, her eyes narrowing, "you have to tell Murrue how you feel about her. You _have_ to tell her that _you love her_."

It was the natural conclusion to Lacus's little speech, but it still rocked the Gundam pilot to his core. What Lacus was telling him to do was something he had absolutely no experience in doing; romance was certainly _not _his area of expertise. Yes, the bond he'd had with Relena back in his old world had bordered on the romantic, but in the end their relationship had been one of good friends brought together by unlikely circumstances. Heero had absolutely no idea how to confess romantic feelings to a woman; somehow he doubted it was a simple as just walking up to a girl and saying 'I love you'.

And there was more. His current relationship with Murrue, the incredibly strong friendship he had forged with her, was by itself valuable beyond measure to him. Though Lacus had stated her belief that Murrue did indeed love him, and the evidence was growing that she did indeed share Heero's feelings, the fact remained that there was still a chance that the beautiful Captain's affections for the Gundam pilot were _not _of a romantic nature. If Heero confessed to her only to find out that she did not feel the same way, would it in some way alter the dynamic between them? Would the bond they shared be altered, diminished, or maybe even destroyed?

That thought, the idea of possibly damaging or even breaking the bond he had with Murrue, _scared _Heero. It frightened him more than any battlefield foe ever had, more than any odds he had been forced to confront over his career as a soldier. It terrified him almost as much as he had been during the First Battle of Alaska when the Duel had lined up to take a shot at the _Archangel_'s bridge, when it had been about to kill Murrue. If something went wrong this time, Heero doubted that Kira and the Freedom would be able to swoop in and save the day.

"Heero," said Lacus, startling him, "are you alright?"

The Perfect Soldier realized that his hands were shaking, and he was sure that the expression on his face reflected at least some of the fear that now gripped his heart, regardless of his attempts to suppress it. Unable to meet her gaze, he looked down at the floor. "I… I don't know, Lacus. I've… I've never done anything like this before. What… what am I supposed to do?"

"Simple," said Lacus, and as Heero looked back up at her he saw that she was smiling again, "_be yourself_, Heero. Granted, my own experience in this kind of situation is… limited, to say the least, but I believe that if you simply stay true to yourself when you talk to Miss Murrue, everything will be alright. Be the man you know you are; be the man she's fallen in love with."

Her words had a soothing affect on Heero, but they did not completely put him at ease. "I…I understand. Still… how do I do this?"

"That's entirely up to you, Heero," said Lacus, "I don't have much experience with this sort of thing, so there's very little I can offer you as far as advice goes. The best I can say is that I think you should tell her when the two of you are alone. Of course, I imagine that's quite often given how much time you two spend together. You should also do it somewhere that has a special meaning to you, though on board the _Archangel _the places that fit that criteria may be limited; it is a warship, after all, not to mention you and her have already spent months on board it. Finding a special place in such a setting may be a difficult task… still, I don't believe it's an impossible task."

"And Heero," she continued, her smile growing, "You don't have to do it right away. It will take us several days to move into position to launch the operation. Use that time to think things over, to figure out how you want to confess your feelings to Murrue. However, you _must _do so before the battle begins. After all… you may not get another chance."

She was right, especially given the odds he would be confronting during the battle. Heero knew that if he flew into the operation with any lingering doubts or regrets regarding his untold feelings for Murrue, he would likely not survive the mission.

The task before him was still quite difficult, given that it lay so far outside of what he was familiar with. However, Lacus's words had given him a place to start, a seed from which ideas could grow. Of course, planning out when and where he would tell Murrue how he felt about her was the easy part. Working up the courage to actually do the deed… well, that would be a much bigger challenge. Still, Lacus had helped provide him the beginnings of a framework for his confession, and that helped him regain some of his focus.

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and let it out. The simple action helped him find a sense of stability, allowed him to regain his footing, as it were. He would still be treading upon unfamiliar ground in his upcoming confrontation with Murrue, but now that he had a place to start the task now seemed just a little bit less daunting. It would still take every ounce of strength and courage he could muster, though… but he _had _to do it.

_For Murrue's sake_, he thought, _I _have _to. If Lacus is right, and she does indeed feel the same way about me as I do for her, then the longer I put this off, the longer she'll suffer the same anxiety and fear that I am. I _refuse _to put her through that pain any more. I won't be able to tell her right away, of course; I still need a little time to figure out how I'm going to do this. I _will _tell her before we launch our attack on the PLANTs, though, and not just so I'll be able to give my full focus to the coming battle; I'll do it for _her.

He opened his eyes and met Lacus's gaze. "Lacus," he said quietly, "thank you."

The songstress smiled at him again. "You're very welcome, Heero. Will you be alright?"

Heero nodded. "I… I think so. It won't be easy… but I'll figure out a way to do this."

"I'm sure you will, Heero," Lacus replied, "you're a very brave and intelligent young man; I know you can do this."

Heero couldn't help but give a small chuckle. "Brave… that's the last thing I feel right now, Lacus."

"Perhaps now," said Lacus, "and I know that the task before you will not be easy… but I have faith in you, Heero. True bravery, as they say, comes from facing your fears, acknowledging them, and confronting them head on; I'm sure you've heard this before. It's alright to be scared, Heero; I know you'll find your courage when the time comes. Remember, the most important thing is that, no matter what happens, you _be yourself_. Do that, and I believe that everything else will come together. Be true to yourself… and true to Miss Murrue."

Heero nodded. "Any other pearls of wisdom?"

The look on the songstress's face became a little playful. "Well, perhaps nothing quite so profound… but one small bit of advice."

"I'll take whatever I can get," said Heero.

Lacus looked him up and down before meeting his gaze again, her smile still on her face. "That uniform… wearing it while making your confession couldn't hurt your chances. You look quite… _dashing_ in it, if I do say so myself, and I don't think I'm wrong in my belief that Miss Murrue shares the sentiment. In fact, I'm sure Miss Murrue's feelings regarding it are considerably stronger than my own."

Heero looked down at himself. At the same time he thought back to his first visit to Orb with Murrue, when he had first worn the uniform. He recalled her reaction upon seeing him in the uniform of the Sanc Kingdom Royal Guard for the first time. She had certainly seemed to… _appreciate _it.

He looked back up at Lacus and gave her a small smile. "That simple, is it?"

"Oh no, not at all," said Lacus, shaking her head and giving a small laugh, "Heero, you know as well as I do that Miss Murrue would not care for someone just based upon appearance; she is far from a shallow woman. That being said, any woman can appreciate the figure you cut in that uniform, and I'm sure that Miss Murrue is no exception. The uniform merely adds just a tiny bit more weight to what I have no doubt will be a heavy and heartfelt confession on your part. It adds just a little more emphasis to the thought you have given the matter… it gives Miss Murrue another small sign of just how much you love her."

Heero nodded. "Alright; I'll keep that in mind."

"Good," said Lacus, "I'm glad to hear it. Now, shall we head back? I'm sure Miss Murrue must be concerned about you."

"Yeah," said Heero, "let's go."

As the two of them walked towards the exit of the lounge, an odd thought crossed Heero's mind, and he had to give voice to it. "Lacus," he said, turning to face the songstress, "my feelings for Murrue… was that the real reason you wished to speak to me alone?"

Lacus simply smiled. She did not verbally reply to his query… and she didn't need to; her silent sincerity was all the answer Heero needed.

….

"Care for a little company, Captain Ramius?"

Murrue jumped slightly in her seat as the voice shook her from her thoughts and brought her back to the here and now. Heero and Lacus had been gone for awhile now, and while her trust in the Gundam pilot, along with the songstress, remained strong, she still could not help but be a little worried. It was a natural emotional response for a woman in love when the man that had captured her heart was alone with another girl, even if the young lady he was with had subtly tried to convey to Murrue that she had no designs of her own on the incredible pilot she cared so deeply for.

Murrue looked up and saw none other than the Desert Tiger's lover standing in front of her. A small, warm smile was on her face, though there was a small glint of amusement in her emerald eyes.

Murrue nodded and returned the smile, hoping she did not appear to be too flustered. "I'd like that, Miss Aisha. Please, sit down."

The black-haired beauty nodded and took the seat next to Murrue, and the _Archangel_'s Captain could not help but notice that it was the chair that Heero had occupied before leaving the conference room. It should've meant nothing, but it once again drew Murrue's mind towards the Gundam pilot and his current absence from the conference room.

"I'd hoped we'd get the chance to chat a little," said Aisha, "Andy and I heard a lot about you from Kira during his stay in the PLANTs. That boy thinks highly of you, both as the _Archangel_'s Captain and as a person."

"I'm honored that he feels that way," said Murrue, "truth be told, I wouldn't blame him if he resented me. After all, I played a major role in tearing him away from the peaceful life he enjoyed before coming on board the _Archangel_…before being dragged into our war."

Aisha shook her head. "I can assure you that he feels nothing of the sort, Captain Ramius. Kira told us all about the attack on Heliopolis, and we know how you pushed him into the Strike's cockpit during the fighting. You did that to protect him, and you had no idea at the time that he was a Coordinator; to you he was simply a civilian caught in the crossfire. I'm not mistaken in that, am I?"

Murrue shook her head. "No, you're not, Miss Aisha. My actions were to protect that boy, but… what happened next was another matter."

"I wouldn't put it that way," said Aisha, "it's true that you took Kira and his friends on board the _Archangel _against their will, but you did not have much choice in the matter; they had witnessed highly classified military equipment and secrets, and you had to confine them until you could figure out the best way to deal with the situation. Even then, you still treated them well, more as passengers than as prisoners."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, looking down, "but when ZAFT continued the attack, I pushed Kira into piloting the Strike again… I pulled him deeper into the conflict; I sent a _civilian _into battle!"

"I don't think Kira sees it that way," said Aisha, "and neither do I. From what that boy said, you gave him the choice of piloting the Strike or not. Of course, if he had not done so there was a strong likelihood that you all would have perished then, but the fact remains that you still gave him a chance to refuse. From then on he piloted that mobile suit to protect his friends, and he did it of his own free will. You gave him the chance to leave before the orbital battle, but he stayed along with his friends because they wanted to make a difference, to help bring the war to an end. From the moment he came on board the _Archangel _you treated him with respect, courtesy, and kindness, and I know he's grateful for that, Captain Ramius."

Murrue looked back up at the woman and smiled. "Thank you, Miss Aisha. Hearing that… well, it means a great deal to me."

Aisha nodded and returned the smile. "You're very welcome, Captain Ramius."

The two women were quiet for a moment before Murrue spoke up. "Tell me, was Kira's opinion of me the only reason you came over here?"

Aisha shook her head. "It wasn't, really. I saw you over here earlier talking with Heero before Lacus came along and joined you two. I know that girl's been wanting to speak with him for awhile now; she's a very inquisitive young lady, and considering that Heero's from another world I'm sure there's a lot she wants to ask him. Anyway, I saw her take off with that young man in tow, and you've just been sitting here by yourself since then." Aisha gave her a wink. "As you're one of Andy's guests, I felt it would be wrong just to leave you here by your lonesome. I hope you don't mind the intrusion, or my earlier spying."

"Not at all, Miss Aisha," said Murrue, "I appreciate your concern."

"It's the least I can give you," said Aisha, "you're one of our most important allies in this struggle, and you deserve personal consideration."

"Your attitude is quite generous," said Murrue, "forgive me if this sounds rude, but… well, given our prior history, I'm a little surprised at it."

Aisha laughed softly. "Ah, our battles in North Africa… those feel like just yesterday, and yet at the same time they're almost a distant memory. Rest assured, Captain Ramius, I do not feel any sense of lingering animosity towards you or any of your pilots and crew regarding the fighting that took place in the former Libya and Egypt, not does Andy. He and I both know that you were a soldier and the commanding officer of a warship doing her best to survive and keep those serving with her alive as well, and we do not hold it against you at all. Your conduct in the fighting was professional, unlike the actions that have been undertaken of late by the Alliance and ZAFT."

Murrue nodded. "I'm glad to hear that, Miss Aisha. As for the Alliance and ZAFT now… honestly, it appalls me to watch the depths that both sides are willing to sink to in their desire to completely destroy each other. It's disgusting… I almost want to throw up just _thinking _about it."

"I feel the same way," said Aisha, her tone solemn, "that's why it's so important that we all come together like we've done so today. In cooperation and trust lies our hope for the future survival and friendship for our races. That's the belief espoused by Lacus and her late father, and it's what all of us in the moderate faction have embraced."

"As have the rest of us," said Murrue, "we're all ready to fight for a future in which both Coordinators and Naturals can live together in peace, We'll do all we can to help you and Field Marshal Waltfeld achieve the dream of Miss Clyne and her father."

Aisha smiled. "Thank you, Captain Ramius; your words mean a great deal to me."

Murrue nodded. "You're quite welcome, Miss Aisha."

"Please, Captain," she replied, "just call me Aisha." She laughed softly. "The 'Miss' bit makes me sound old, and while I'm not as young as our songstress and Orb's hotheaded princess I'm not exactly far along either. And besides, I don't like it when my friends use formalities for me, and I think you and I will get along quite well in the coming days."

Murrue smiled. "Very well, Aisha. In return, please feel free to call me Murrue, at least in this sort of setting."

"Not a fan of formalities either, are you?" said Aisha.

"Not among friends," Murrue replied.

Aisha nodded. "You're a very accepting and trusting person, Murrue. I'm glad you're the one that wound up commanding the _Archangel_."

"It wasn't supposed to be like that," said Murrue, "the senior command staff were killed during the attack on Heliopolis, including the original Captain; I was simply the highest ranking survivor."

"Perhaps," said Aisha, "but still, don't sell yourself short, Murrue; the fact that the _Archangel _and her crew have survived up until now is testament to your skills as a leader."

"Maybe," said Murrue softly. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering Tolle's death in the Marshall Islands, the apparent death of Kira, and the departures of Flay and Natarle at Alaska. She then opened her eyes before speaking again. "I did the best I could to keep everyone together, to protect them all in what manner I could during our journey. Unfortunately, we didn't get through entirely unscathed, and I bear responsibility for that. One of my pilots… a friend of Kira's from Heliopolis… died in battle. Two other crew members were taken via transfer at Alaska, and the rest of us did not get through our voyage unscathed, whether it was physically or emotionally. We all took wounds of one form or another…"

"And every blow your crew took," said Aisha, "whether to the body or the soul, you felt as though you were taking as well. Am I right?"

Murrue's eyes widened at the woman's insights. Aisha smiled softly at her reaction. "I may be Andy's partner and lover, but I have also lead teams of my own into battle. I know what it means to see those serving under you get hurt or even killed, and so does Andy. It's the last thing we want, but we know that it is inevitable in war time, and we must have the strength to endure that burden that comes with leading people into battle. In front of our fellow officers and crew we can show no sign of pain; we must constantly project the image of strength and authority. That constant struggle to hide our true feelings wears on us very quickly, something I'm sure you're well aware of."

Murrue nodded. "Yes… that's true, every word of it. Tell me… how did you shoulder that burden?"

"Partly by reminding myself that I had to stay strong for the sake of those serving under me," she replied, "if I allowed myself to be overcome by despair, then the people I was leading would die, along with many others. The determination to keep both those serving under and others beyond them alive helped me power through the pain."

"I see," said Murrue, "I know that feeling, believe me."

"Oh, I do, Murrue," said Aisha, "you may not be aware of this, but everyone else can see the strength that flows from your heart and soul, your determination to keep the people around you alive. There's a certain sense of warmth around; you exude both courage and compassion. I imagine your subordinates have taken great comfort in it during times of hardship."

Murrue smiled. She wasn't aware that she was projecting that sort of energy towards others. _Am I doing it unconsciously?_, she thought, _Has it become reflexive for me at this point?_

"I appreciate that, Aisha," said Murrue, "You said that determination was part of what helped you shoulder the burden of leadership. Tell me, what was the other?"

"Simple, Murrue," said Aisha, "I had people close to me that I could rely on, lean on when the burden became too great to shoulder alone. It wasn't just Andy, though he helped considerably, and I served the same role for him. I had good friends in Shemei and her fellow pilots, and other people both in the armed forces and among civilians. So long as we're willing to open our hearts to the people we care about, they'll be more than willing to do the same, while at the same time giving us much needed support in trying times. It is in that companionship, I believe, that we find the true source of our strength."

Murrue felt a familiar rush of heat go to her face as her mind flashed back to that night over the Pacific Ocean after the battle in the Marshall Islands. She saw herself lying in her bed, in Heero's arms, taking comfort in the Gundam pilot's strong embrace as she at last allowed the guilt and sorrow she had held back from the others for Tolle's death and Kira's apparent demise to finally come to the surface.

_I was at my worst that day_, she thought, _it was all I could do to maintain my composure in front of the crew. When I was alone with Heero, I could no longer keep my despair at bay. I no longer had the strength to hold back my guilt… and so he gave me his. He accepted my weakness without any judgment, and gave me shelter and protection from my despair in his arms. He held me close, took my burden onto his shoulders… and gave me the strength to fight on._

"Yes…" she said softly, "I… I know what you mean, Aisha."

A knowing smile appeared on the black-haired woman's face. "As the commanding officer of the _Archangel _you would naturally have very few people that you could truly turn to for personal comfort, what with military regulations and all… but you found someone that lay outside the chain of command, didn't you?"

Murrue's eyes widened, and if she hadn't been blushing before she knew she definitely was now. "What are… what are you implying?"

Aisha giggled mischievously. "Oh, Murrue, there's no need for you to be feign ignorance here. Your actions since you've come on board the _Eternal _have not gone unnoticed… especially with regards to Wing Zero's pilot."

Murrue glanced around the room to make sure that no one else was paying attention to them before turning back to Aisha, lowering her voice. "It… it's not like that…"

"Perhaps not entirely," Aisha replied, hushing her tone as well, "I'm not inexperienced when it comes to the art of love; I can tell when a couple has consummated a relationship. You and Heero have not gotten that far, and aren't even a couple yet… but you _want _him, Murrue. You can deny it to the others… but not to me."

Murrue hesitated for a moment before recalling the silent exchange she'd had with the Tiger's lover shortly after her arrival on the _Eternal_. The black haired beauty had observed her reactions towards all the female attention Heero had been receiving after they'd left the shuttle, and Murrue knew that she had caught how she had interrupted Lan before she could continue on what was certainly turning into a… lascivious line of conversation. Murrue had known then that the former ZAFT pilot had suspicions regarding her and Heero, but she did not know just how deep they went.

Murrue sighed before giving Aisha a weak smile. "So… you did figure it out, didn't you?"

Aisha nodded. "Your attitude and demeanor down in the hangar, your cutting Lan off midstream, the way you acted around him during the meeting, your passionate opposition to what we wanted him to do in the coming operation… all that together will lead an experienced woman to only a few conclusions, and I believe mine is right. Murrue… you love Heero, don't you?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes… I do. I… I understand if that gives you pause, what with the age gap between us."

Aisha shook her head and smiled. "Not at all, Captain Ramius. From what I've observed, along with what Kira said regarding the two of you during his stay in Aprilius One, it's obvious that the two of you care very deeply for each other. You have a very strong bond with him, and it's only natural that your feelings for him would evolve in a more romantic direction. He's strong, brave, cunning, and he has that certain calm and cool aloofness about him that would draw in the curious. He's also one handsome devil, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Believe me, I'm _well _aware of that," said Murrue, her face once again flushing deep red, "but… that's not the only reason I've fallen for him. There's… there's so much more to him than just the qualities you mentioned. Yes, he is a phenomenal pilot and a brilliant soldier, not to mention _very _good looking… but he has deeper qualities, ones that draw me to him like nothing else ever could."

"I'm sure I could imagine a few of those," said Aisha, "still, I'd like to hear it from you."

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She then opened them and began speaking. "Heero… he's lived a life of incredible hardship and pain. He's gone through struggles and trials that would've broken lesser men, if not outright killed them, but he's survived. More importantly, through everything he's experienced, all the battle's he's fought in, he's still managed to hold on to his humanity. That calm and cool aloofness you mentioned earlier is a defense mechanism; it's not the real Heero. Underneath that reserve is an incredibly gentle and compassionate young man. He's selfless beyond anything I've ever seen before, and he's gone to incredible lengths to protect me. His loyalty… it's amazing how strong it is, Aisha. He truly values the bond we've forged… and the devotion he's shown me because of that bond has been nothing short of divine. The true Heero is a kind and compassionate young man, one that would take on Heaven and Hell in the name of protecting the people he cares about. The fact that he's held onto his warm heart despite all he's suffered… it's a miracle, Aisha."

"I can't tell you what he's gone through," she continued, "Heero told me about his past in confidence, and I will never betray the trust he gave me. All you need to know is that he endured pain the likes of which no human should ever have to face, and it scarred him deeply… but he still held onto his humanity despite that. He became stronger, and adopted those layers of stoicism as a response to the pain, but beneath it all he refused to let go of his warm heart… and that's why I love him."

Aisha smiled. "I thought it was deeper than simply looks and ability. You don't strike me as a shallow woman, Murrue; what's within someone's heart and mind is just as important to you as their appearance and skills. That's why I don't take issue with the age gap between you and Heero; you're not the type to go after a young man like him just for his body. You love him for who he is as a person." Her smile then became more than a little playful. "Of course, that doesn't mean you're immune to your more… _carnal _desires."

Aisha's words only served to deepen the already considerable blush on Murrue's face. "No… I suppose I'm not. Do you… do you think it's wrong… that I feel this way about him?"

"Not at all, Murrue," said Aisha, "he's a very handsome young man, after all... and I can only imagine what the fire of his loyalty towards you would turn into in the bedroom. More to the point, it's not wrong for your desire for him to include your more… _physical _needs… because you could never truly take advantage of him; the bond between the two of you runs too deep for that. If the two of you became intimate, then that intimacy would be of equals, of _lovers_, Murrue."

Murrue smiled, recalling the words Dr. Claudia had spoken to her when they had discussed her feelings for Heero while the young man in question had lain unconscious mere inches away from her. "Another woman," she said, "my counselor officer, told me something along those lines, Aisha."

"And she wasn't wrong," said Aisha, her smile once again becoming warmer and softer, losing its mischievous edge. Her expression then became one of concern and curiosity. "Murrue, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't you told Heero how you feel about him? I can tell that the passion you have for him is truly strong; why hold it back after all this time?"

Murrue sighed. "Because… I'm afraid of what would happen if I did, Aisha. Heero has no romantic experience to speak of; his entire life has been spent trying to survive from one battlefield to the next. No one has truly loved him before, and he's never been able to truly explore the feelings that lie within his own heart. I know that he values the bond we have more than anything else in this world, and it's why he's stayed on board the _Archangel _as long as he has. His friendship is invaluable to me, and…"

"You're afraid that if something goes wrong, that friendship could be ruined," Aisha finished for her.

Murrue nodded. "Yes… though there's more to it than that. Heero… I can't be certain, but I think he has feelings for me as well. My counselor officer certainly believes so… and there is evidence to support that. His protectiveness towards me, the way he selflessly supports me, gives me strength when I need it, his loyalty and devotion for the bond we share… he might actually _love me_, Aisha."

Aisha smiled. "Murrue… I think he does as well. The way he looked at you during the meeting, the way he argued for you as our military leader until you told him that you did not want that role, the way he subsequently backed down and supported your decision… and the way he watched you as you argued on his behalf against us pushing him into the most dangerous role in the upcoming operation. It was subtle, but I saw it, Murrue; there was gratitude in his eyes… and _affection_. He truly does care for you, and may well return your feelings." Her expression then became more serious. "You yourself have acknowledged that possibility… so why the hesitation, Murrue?"

Murrue looked down. "I… I don't want to rush him. If… if I am the first woman he's truly fallen in love with, then I want to give him time to really understand his feelings. I want him to process them for himself, and act on them when he's ready."

"That's very understanding of you," said Aisha, "but… something tells me this has been going on for quite awhile now, hasn't it? You've known for a considerable amount of time now that you love him, and you've also had the suspicion that he feels something for you as well, haven't you?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Murrue.

"It's in your interactions with him," she replied, "no one would doubt that you two care for each other, but there's also a sense of restrain, hesitancy… and tension, Murrue. I don't doubt that the love you have for Heero is very strong… but now there's worry mixed in with it, isn't there?"

Murrue sighed, knowing that the Tiger's lover had hit the nail right on the head. "Yes… you're right. I love Heero, I think he loves me, and I've been trying to give him time to come to terms with those feelings… but while that time passes my own passion grows within, and there's only so much I can do to keep it under control. At the same time, I find myself wondering if… if…"

"If Heero will ever actually tell you how he feels about you?" asked Aisha.

Murrue couldn't help but smile slightly. "You're getting good at finishing my sentences for me, Aisha."

"Because I've been where you are before," she replied, "Not with a younger man, mind you; Andy's older than me. However, I understand what it's like to be in love with someone, to suspect that they share your feelings, but don't know for sure… and to wait for them to make their move."

Murrue nodded. "If that's the case… then you surely know how much this uncertainty is killing me."

"I think I have an idea," said Aisha, nodding, "you're torn between letting him act on his own emotions and confronting him yourself. You're also worried that you may in fact be mistaken, that his feelings for you are not in fact romantic and just those of a strong platonic friendship. Does that sound about right, Murrue?"

"That's it exactly," said Murrue softly, "I… I don't have absolute certainty that Heero shares my feelings, and that frightens me. I want to believe he does, and his behavior towards me over the course of our travels does give me evidence of that… but I don't have one-hundred percent certainty. I don't know if he's simply facing the same fears I am or if I've misjudged his feelings altogether."

"For what it's worth, Murrue," said Aisha, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I don't think you've misread Heero's feelings towards you. You wouldn't be as effective a commander as you are if you could not gauge the emotions of the people under your command, and while Heero may not officially be one of your subordinates he has consented to follow your instructions. You're also a mature woman, and would I be wrong in assuming that you have experienced love before?"

Murrue nodded. "I've had a few relationships, people that I've cared for romantically… but none as strongly as I do for Heero."

"Of course you haven't," said Aisha, smiling, "yours is an affection sown and nurtured in the fires of war. More importantly, you and he have together been forced to take on forces far larger than those at your disposal, have confronted odds that would've killed anyone else, yet the two of you survived. Through that process it's hardly a surprise that the feelings you have for him have become so powerful… and I believe that you were not the only one affected by it; I'm sure Heero's affection for you has only been further stoked by the near-constant danger the two of you have found yourselves in since you first met."

Murrue smiled, Aisha's words having a slight calming effect on her nerves. The fact that she was the second person, and another mature woman at that, to voice the belief that Heero did indeed return her feelings was a considerable confidence booster. "I'm glad you feel that way, Aisha. It… it helps to hear that from someone else."

"I'm sure it does," said Aisha, nodding, "like I said earlier, I've experienced the same uncertainty before that you're feeling now."

"Between you and Waltfeld," said Murrue, "if you don't mind me asking, what finally brought you two together?"

"The threat of death," said Aisha matter-of-factly.

Murrue was surprised by the response; she had not expected Aisha to reply so readily, or so bluntly. "Would… would you care to elaborate, please?"

"Sure," said Aisha, smiling, "it's an old tale now, one I don't mind retelling. I had actually fallen for Andy early in our days at the ZAFT academy, and I eventually found out that he had felt the same way regarding me, but neither of us had been able to work up the nerve to confront the other about it until close to the final exercises."

"I'm not sure I see how the threat of death plays into academy exercises," said Murrue, "I mean, if they're live fire sessions there's always the chance of an accident, and I can see that serving as a possible motivator, but any military takes sensible precautions to minimize the risk of a fatal accident."

"Quite true, Murrue," said Aisha, "but our graduating class had a special exercise for the students in the top percentile. Waltfeld and I were among those cadets that were chosen for it, as were Shemei and Eric."

"What was the exercise?" asked Murrue.

"A live-fire skirmish with target drones in the Styx Field," said Aisha.

"What's the Styx Field?" asked Murrue.

"The ruins of a large asteroid that had been converted into a resource satellite," Aisha replied, "it was out at the edge of L5, and a reactor malfunction caused the whole thing to explode way back in 56 C.E. Anyway, our class had been assigned to fly the space-fighters we were using back then out in that debris field against several squadrons of training drones. We had live ammo, while the drones had paint rounds and electronic simulation missiles; basically, if it got you in a lock, you had a few seconds to execute evasive maneuvers and deploy countermeasures before you were automatically designated as 'killed'. The drones weren't the deadly part; it was all the rock fragments from the resource satellite."

"Now I see," said Murrue, nodding, "the armor on the space-fighters used back then wasn't very tough, and it was one of the reasons why ZAFT worked so hard to develop mobile suits. A small fragment moving fast enough could seriously damage a craft, if not destroy it, and that's not even counting the larger fragments floating around. Even with all possible precautions there was no way the trainers could make the area anywhere near safe. Hell, that's probably one of the deadliest live-fire space warfare exercises I've ever heard of!"

"Exactly," said Aisha, nodding, "our instructors felt we had the skills to complete the exercise, but there was just no denying that it would be far more dangerous than any of the other live-fire sessions we had done before. I'm sure every cadet that had been chosen for it was contemplating their mortality by the time the briefing was done. I know I was… and, as it turned out, so was Andy."

Murrue smiled, realizing where Aisha was heading. "He wasn't afraid of his own death though, wasn't he? He was afraid of losing you."

Aisha smiled. "Correct, Murrue. He came to my quarters that night; the top cadets were all moved to solo accommodations for the final period of training. Things had been building up between us for quite awhile by then; we'd been on a couple dates, and had teased each other a considerable amount of time before that."

Her smile became nostalgic, and Murrue could see her mind drifting back into the past. "He was always so relaxed and confident, laid-back and witty… not that night, though. I could see the fear in him; he wasn't even trying to hide it. We'd been assigned to operate as a wing pair in the exercise, and he was the flight lead… meaning he bore responsibility for my life. That was a pressure that tore at him like nothing else ever could, and he was terrified that he'd make a mistake, a bad call that would result in my death. I reassured him that he would do nothing of the sort; I had complete faith in his abilities, just as you do with Heero, Murrue. Still, he was afraid… and that fear had finally compelled him to act on the feelings within his heart. Eventually he took me in his arms, looked me in the eye, and told me that he could never live with himself if he allowed any harm to come to me… because he loved me. After that…" Her smile took on a naughty edge. "Well, let's just say I didn't let him leave my room until dawn."

"I… I see," said Murrue, her face once again warming considerably. It wasn't images of Aisha and her lover that were running through her head, though; it was flashes of her and Heero as she imagined the two of them in rather…_compromising _positions.

"Murrue," said Aisha, drawing her attention back to her companion, "you situation with Heero is not entirely dissimilar from mine with Andy all those years ago. The shadow of death hangs over the two of you… now more than ever."

Murrue nodded. "Yes… although I will not be exposed to nearly as much danger as Heero will be. If the gaze of the Reaper falls on anyone in this mission, it's him."

"A fact that he is no doubt aware of," said Aisha, "along with the fact that if he fails, your life could well be endangered as a result. I won't pretend to know what kind of battles he fought in up until now… but would I be wrong in saying that this one would rank close to the top of the list of the deadliest engagements Heero's ever been involved with?"

Murrue shook her head, recalling all the battles she had been through with Heero, along with the campaigns he'd told her about regarding his own war in his old world. "You're not wrong at all, Aisha. Blitzing the Avalon Line, taking out that battle-station, breaking into Aprilius One… this may well be the deadliest mission Heero's ever undertaken."

"A fact emphasized by your reaction towards the role that we've asked him to play," said Aisha, "your impassioned argument against him being the spearhead of the strike team made one thing very clear to us all, Murrue; you fear for Heero's survival…as Andy did for mine."

"I do," said Murrue, "but… I don't mean to belittle your experience, Aisha, but this is so far beyond what happened between you and Waltfeld back then… and the dynamics between us are quite different."

"Of course, Murrue," said Aisha, an understanding smile on her face, "and I take no offense at that, believe me. The situation here is vastly more dangerous… and the balance that exists in the bond between you and Heero is fundamentally different than that which lay between Andy and I before we hooked up. We may have been younger back then, but we were still adults who both fully knew what love was, and what we wanted from each other. You have that understanding, but as you said before, Heero does not; you've been giving him time to fully explore his feelings, to learn what it truly means to be in love. That speaks volumes of just how much you care for him, Murrue, and is a true show of your inner nobility… but now time for both of you is running out."

Her expression became more serious as she continued. "Murrue, from what you've told me, it's quite clear that this operation will present quite possibly the gravest threat to his life that Heero has ever faced. It will be incredibly dangerous to all of us, of course, but Heero by far tops the list of those most likely to die in the coming battle. You are well of aware of that, and I'm sure he is to… and I can already see how that knowledge is weighing upon you."

"Of course it is!" said Murrue, struggling to keep her voice down in order to avoid drawing attention from the others, "Your lover wants Heero to lead a raid on the most heavily defended area in all of outer space! Not only that, but he wants Heero to take on a battle-station that can destroy entire _colonies _with a single shot, and that's not counting all the mobile suits it holds or the capital ships and _their _mobile suits that are supporting the fortress. And after _that _he wants the man _I love _to break into the heart of your homeland and bust the parents of his rival out of a high-security prison! Aisha, forgive me, but you can't _possibly _know how heavy that knowledge is weighing on my shoulders! Yes, Heero's done the impossible before, and has practically made a reputation out of it, but the odds you and your friends want him to take on now are _suicidal _even by _his _standards!'

"I know, Murrue," said Aisha softly, looking down, "believe me, none of us are thrilled about asking this of him… but that doesn't change the fact that he's the only one with a shot in hell at pulling it off. Heero himself said he could do it, though it would be very difficult… and you _did _throw your support behind him."

"_Of course I did!_" said Murrue, putting much more effort now into keeping her voice low, "What would that say to Heero if I doubted him? I have to show him that I _believe in him_, to let him know that no matter what happens I've always got his back. Do I think he can do this? Yes, I do… but that does not change the fact that it will be quite possibly the deadliest assignment he's ever undertaken. My faith in his phenomenal abilities as a pilot and a soldier does not change the fact that this mission stands a good chance of _killing the man I love!_"

"Yes, Murrue," said Aisha, "which is why neither you nor Heero can afford to go into this battle with any lingering doubts or regrets in your minds."

"Aisha…" said Murrue, "what… what are you saying?"

"I think you know what I'm getting at, Murrue," Aisha replied, a soft smile on her face, "before we begin the operation, you and Heero have to resolve the tension that's been building between you two. You have to tell each other how you truly feel."

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself process what Aisha had told her. It made sense, of course… but it presented a new set of challenges.

"How, Aisha?" she asked, "I can't just thrust something like that upon Heero, especially considering how the operation must be weighing on his mind. He needs to be able to focus…"

"Which he won't be able to do as he is now," said Aisha, "Murrue, I told you earlier that I believe Heero shares your feelings… which means he also shares your doubts. He's well aware of the odds he must face in this mission… and I have no doubt that it's brought his own mortality to the fore. I doubt he fears for his own life per se, but were he to die without revealing to you the feelings he holds for you within his heart… well, I'm sure he's thinking about that now. The same goes for you, Murrue; can you honestly tell me that you'll be able to play your own part in the operation to the best of your abilities as you are now, with the doubts in your heart and mind?"

Murrue shook her head, knowing her companion was right. "No… I won't, Aisha. I'll be too focused on Heero, my own feelings for him, whether or not I should've acted on them before the battle… I'll be distracted, and I could get everyone killed because of that."

"Exactly," said Aisha, "and I think Heero will be confronted with the same problem… and the same solution as I've given you."

Murrue's eyes widened. "Aisha… what are you…"

"Hear me out, Murrue," said Aisha, smiling again, "It will take us several days to get into position to begin our strike on the Avalon Line; probably close to a week tops. In that time not only will we be traveling and evading ZAFT patrols, but also running drills to increase the cohesion and cooperative abilities of our forces. That will be most important for Heero and Shemei's former subordinates; they've never flown together as a unit after all. Anyway, most of our travel time will be spent running exercises with our mobile suits to prepare for the raid, along with some drills on our warships. However, I know Andy will want everyone to be well-rested on the final approach, so the last forty-eight hours or so of travel will probably not include exercises. In that time period is when you and Heero must bring your feelings out into the open."

Murrue nodded slowly. "Alright… but… how should I do it?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" said Aisha, "You may not be the only one who wants to confess, Murrue."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly, her face flushing red, "Aisha, do you truly think…"

"I can't speak with certainty, Murrue," Aisha replied, "but I do have a plan that I think you should use."

"I'm listening," said Murrue.

"Give Heero a little more time to move on his own, to act on his emotions," said Aisha, "however, if he hasn't done so before you turn in to rest on the last night before the operation begins… then _you _need to be the one that initiates things. Ask to speak with him in private before he goes to bed; I'm sure he'll grant you that request. From there… follow your heart, Murrue. Remember, if he hasn't already made a move by then, it's not necessarily because he doesn't love you; as you said before, he has no experience with romance, and he may be uncertain as to how he should act on his feelings. However… make sure you give him as much time as you can before 'nightfall' to move on his own." Her smile then became playful. "Who knows, Murrue; he may surprise you."

"Yes," said Murrue, smiling as images of the young man she loved flashed through her mind, "he may well do so…"

"And speak of the handsome devil," said Aisha, looking over Murrue's shoulder, causing the _Archangel_'s Captain to jump in her seat. Looking over her shoulder, Murrue saw Heero and Lacus reenter the conference room, and she knew she had only seconds before they approached her and Aisha.

"Remember, Murrue," Aisha whispered quickly, "give him a little more time, but not too much. And above all… follow your heart."

Murrue nodded, and the two women then turned to greet Heero and Lacus as they approached. Murrue looked at the two teenagers and smiled. "Welcome back you two," she said, "was your conversation productive?"

"Quite so, Captain Ramius," said Lacus, giving her a warm smile, "Heero's insights were as valuable as I'd thought they'd be, if not more so. Thank you for letting me borrow him."

Murrue returned the smile with a genuine one of her own; there was just something about the young lady's sincerity that let her know that she had indeed not taken advantage of the alone time with Heero to make a move on the Gundam pilot. "Of course, Miss Clyne."

Lacus then turned and smiled at Heero as well. "And thank you, Heero. I will keep your words in mind as we move forward in our campaign."

Heero simply nodded before turning towards Murrue and Aisha. "Are we interrupting anything?"

"Oh no, not at all," said Aisha, standing up, "I was just having a lovely chat with Murrue." She then turned and smiled at Murrue. "I daresay we're already becoming friends."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, I agree. I enjoyed our conversation, Aisha, and I look forward to speaking with you again sometime."

"Same here, Murrue," said Aisha. She then turned to the pink-haired songstress. "Lacus, your timing is excellent; I was hoping to have a word with you."

"Sure, Miss Aisha," said Lacus. She looked over at Heero and Murrue. "Thank you for your time, both of you. Take care."

Murrue and Heero both nodded. "You're welcome," said Murrue, "we'll see you around, Miss Clyne."

As the two ladies headed off towards another part of the conference room Heero returned to his seat next to Murrue. "I'm sorry I left you for so long; Lacus had a lot she wanted to ask me about."

Murrue gave him a warm smile. "It's quite alright, Heero. Besides, I really can't blame her wanting to speak with you; I'm sure all the things you've experienced both in our war and your own gave you a valuable perspective into the questions she had, and helped her greatly."

Heero nodded. "They did. I was glad to be able to help, and I know Lacus will need all the support she can get in the days ahead considering her role with Cagalli as a leader in our organization."

"That's right," said Murrue, "she may not be able to act in a military capacity like most of us, but that does not mean her position is any less important or challenging; she has her own burdens to deal with."

"Yeah…" said Heero.

The two of them were quiet for a moment before Heero turned to Murrue, and the beautiful Captain could not help but notice a mix of emotions in the Gundam pilot's eyes. She could still see the same calm courage and strength that had sustained her throughout their journey together, but within them now were flickers of concern, apprehension… and, dare she believe it, _affection_.

"Murrue," said Heero softly, "I… I want you to know that, no matter what happens next… I'll do all I can to support you as we move forward. I swore to protect you back in North Africa, and I'll keep that vow even if it kills me. If… if you need anything, Murrue, you only have to ask."

Murrue smiled, touched by his words, and once again felt her face warming considerably. The young man had been slightly hesitant in his word choice, and Murrue could not help but feel that maybe, just maybe, he was struggling to keep himself from blurting out something else entirely… the same thing that she was holding within her heart; his true emotions.

Aisha's words echoed in her head; _"Give Heero a little more time to move on his own, to act on his emotions…"_

_I will, Aisha_, she thought, _it's true that this uncertainty is killing me, but… I'll wait a little longer. And I think… no, I _believe_... my faith in him will be rewarded._

For now, she simply responded to Heero's heartfelt words by taking his hand in hers. "Heero… that means the world to me, it truly does. You've had my back ever since we met… and I'll do the same for you. I'll protect _you_, support _you_… just as you've done for me."

The Gundam pilot's eyes widened slightly at her words before he simply nodded and gave her another one of his small smiles. "Murrue… thank you."

Murrue's smile grew, and she gave his hand a tight squeeze as she replied. "You are most welcome, Heero."

….

Leaning back in the pilot's seat, Heero studied the readings on Wing Zero's main monitors. Five full days had passed since the meeting on board the _Eternal_, and though the three warships had spent that time carefully maneuvering past ZAFT patrols as they moved to get into position for their strike on the Coordinator homeland, Heero and his fellow mobile suit pilots had not been sitting by idly. The six nuclear powered mobile suits that would make up the Avalon strike team had been running precision flying exercises for much of the trip, getting a handle on how their fellow pilots operated and refining their team work, with the three warships also participating from time to time. The Valkyrie girls naturally had little problem working together since they had been together for so long, while Athrun, Kira, and Heero were already beginning to adapt to each others' tendencies, but for the six pilots operating as a single cohesive unit was another matter entirely.

_Things were a little rough on the first day_, Heero thought, _but we've come a long way in a very short amount of time since then. Waltfeld was right in having us run through so many exercises; we've gotten a much better handle on how our fellow pilots operate now. Blitzing the Avalon Line will be hard enough as is; if we couldn't operate as a team then the mission would be doomed before it started._

Now unit cohesion was no longer an issue. Heero had been particularly impressed by how Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla had so quickly adapted to flying in formation with him and backing him up. The fact that all three girls flew the same type of mobile suit made it easier for Heero to adjust his flying style and integrate himself into their team, and they in turn had been able to tweak their combat techniques to further enhance the already incredible power of Wing Zero.

Heero was also impressed with how readily the three girls had accepted him as their team leader in light of Commander Rehema's absence. _I know they said they respected me_, he thought, _but I still expected them to have a little bit of difficulty with following the commands of a pilot that they had previously fought against. _That hadn't been the case in the least; from the moment they had begun their first flight drill together the three girls had followed any orders he'd given without the slightest bit of hesitation. They may have had their individual personality quirks, but all three operated as true combat professionals, and Heero found himself musing that, much like the Valkyrie herself, they would've been right at home with him and the other four Gundam pilots.

As for Kira and Athrun, the two of them were already familiar to a degree with Heero's fighting style and had fought under him before, but integrating them with the Valkyrie girls had been a little more difficult. Athrun had experience in fighting as part of a unit, but his more somber nature, combined with the increased independence the powerful Justice gave him, had resulted in a few personality clashes with the Valkyrie girls. As for Kira, his flat refusal to kill had likewise put him at odds with his more practical teammates, but eventually everyone had been able to work past their differences. The fact that Heero commanded the respect of all the pilots in the strike team helped considerably to smooth things over between the Valkyrie girls and Kira and Athrun.

Now the six pilots were flying like they had been operating together for months. Heero mused that it was not entirely unlike his own experience with his fellow Gundam pilots during the final campaigns of the Eve Wars. Their personalities and fighting styles may have been different, but they had still been able to set aside their differences and were now working together as a team. It wasn't lost on Heero that he was serving as the magnet holding the team together, a role he had shared with Quatre back in his old world.

_How strange_, he mused, _I never really considered myself to be a leader. I'm not charismatic like Treize, Zechs, or Quatre, and I never saw myself as having a magnetic personality. I guess their respect for me is really that strong…_

It was now the sixth day since the conference on board the _Eternal_, but unlike the previous five there had been no exercises for either the pilots or the three warships. Waltfeld had ordered that priority be given to making sure that all ships and mobile suits were in proper fighting order before the time came to launch the attack, and the same went for the pilots. In other words, Heero and his fellow mobile suit pilots were to spend the day running maintenance checks with the hangar crews on their machines before resting up for tomorrow's operation.

Heero had obeyed the first order… but not the second. He was still in Wing Zero's cockpit, down in the _Archangel_'s hangar, running tests on his Gundam. While normally Heero would've chalked up his behavior towards wanting to be as thorough as possible when it came to the care of the machine that was vital to the success of the mission, the fact of the matter was that he was now running through his system checks for the tenth time that day when he would normally stop at three. It wasn't due to any sense of paranoia on Heero's part; he'd known by the second check that Wing Zero was in perfect fighting order. No, he was still down in the hangar because he couldn't bring himself to relax; there was simply too much on his mind. That would've been natural, considering the role he would be playing in the coming battle, but the fact was the operation was only a secondary concern for him.

What was really occupying his thoughts, what had him so on edge… was Murrue.

Whenever he wasn't flying Wing Zero, he thought about her. He couldn't get her out of his mind, all the more so now after his talk with Lacus and facing the fact that he would have to let out his true feelings for her if he was going to have a chance at truly focusing on the mission… and surviving it. During the times he hadn't been participating in flight exercises with his fellow pilots he'd been trying to figure out how best to carry out his romantic confrontation with Murrue. Now, after five days, he had a general plan as to how he would proceed… but that did very little to ease the Perfect Soldier's nervousness about the whole affair, and it had been growing worse throughout the week.

Now that the last day before the attack was here his nerves were at their worst. Though outwardly Heero had tried to maintain his usual calm and cool veneer, on the inside the young man was a nervous wreck, and it was showing in his behavior. He couldn't sit still if he wasn't focused on Wing Zero, he hadn't eaten beyond a very light breakfast that day, he kept glancing at the time display down in the corner of one of the cockpit monitors… and it was only growing worse as the minutes went by.

Murrue's watch on the bridge was up in ten minutes, and Heero had planned to put his plan into motion as soon as she was off duty. He knew what he was going to do… now it was just a matter of working up the courage to do it.

_I thought five days would be plenty of time to do that_, he thought ruefully, _but now that the moment of truth is so close, my fear is stronger than ever… I'm pathetic._

He took a series of deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. The conversation he'd had with Lacus nearly six days ago played through his head, and recalling the songstress's words of encouragement did do a little to sooth his nerves, but it still did not make his upcoming task any easier.

_Then again_, he mused, _'easy' isn't for Gundam pilots… and this is no different. Yes, I'm scared, more than I've ever been in my life, but I feel like I'm going to tear myself apart if I keep my feelings for Murrue bottled up like this for much longer… which is why I _have _to do this. I… I have to tell her how I feel… and I have to find out if she actually returns my feelings. The chance is there, but not knowing for sure… I _won't _know unless I'm able to finally open up completely to her. I thought I'd already done that after all this time, but now that I know that I'm in love with her I realize I've been holding a part of my heart back, and I can't do that anymore. If… if Murrue actually loves me, then she deserves _all _of me; I can't hold anything back from her. She knows my worst sins, my darkest secrets, but she's still accepted me for who I am… and she's done so without any reservation. There's also the very real possibility that, if Murrue does indeed feel the same way about me that I do about her, she's feeling this same pain that I am. If the affection, passion… the _love _she's holding within her heart for me is the same as what I carry for her, then she's also feeling the same fear and uncertainty that I am. I _can't _put her through that anymore: I _have _to do this!_

To him, the fact that finally letting out his feelings to Murrue would help him focus on tomorrow's battle was a secondary concern. The only thing he truly cared about was the woman he loved. If she felt the same way about him and was feeling the same pain he was as a result, then he _had _to tell her how he felt about her so he could free her from any uncertainty.

He wanted Murrue to know that he loved her, he _dearly _hoped that she loved him as well, he _deeply _desired to have a romantic relationship with her… but, more than anything else, he wanted her to _be happy_. If she did indeed love him as he loved her, then he wanted her to know that he did feel the same way that she did, and that he was willing to face any challenges that threatened a relationship with her _together_. The age gap between them was ever present in his mind, but thanks to his conversation with Lacus Heero was now more convinced than ever that it wasn't as big an obstacle as he had first thought it would be… and it was something that Murrue would be more than willing to work past.

_Alright_, he thought, taking one more deep breath and letting it out, _it's time._

Exiting out of his system diagnostics, Heero contacted Murrue via her personal monitor; the main bridge screen was too public for his taste, especially given the situation.

Murrue's face appeared on Wing Zero's main screen, and Heero once again found himself struck by her beauty. Her lovely brown eyes were beacons of warm strength and compassion, her long brown hair fell past her shoulders and framed her gorgeous face, her light skin served to make her full and moist lips all the more visible… to Heero, the woman he had fallen in love with was nothing short of an angel.

The beautiful Captain smiled at him. "Heero, good to see you, so to speak. How's Wing Zero?"

"In perfect operating order," he replied.

"I'd hope so," said Murrue, "you've been working on it for nearly eight hours now. My watch is up in a few minutes, so we'll be able to grab our meal together soon."

Heero took a breath to steady himself, hoping he didn't appear half as nervous as he actually was. "Listen, Murrue… do you mind if we eat a little later? There's… there's something I need to talk to you about."

Her expression became one of concern. "Of course, Heero. Is everything alright?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I… I just have something I want to tell you in private. Could you meet me in the officers' lounge about twenty minutes after your watch is up?"

"Sure, Heero," said Murrue, "are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm ok, Murrue," said Heero, holding back a wince; it was a lie, and he hated lying to her. "Just… meet me there twenty after shift, alright?"

Murrue nodded. "Ok, Heero. Twenty minutes after watch end, in the officers' lounge; I'll be there."

Heero gave her a slight smile. "Thanks, Murrue. I'll see you there."

As she signed off Heero powered down Wing Zero. He then opened the hatch and stepped out of the Gundam. Closing the hatch and securing his mobile suit, the Perfect Soldier made his way out of the hangar and towards his quarters. He was only wearing his usual tank-top and jeans; hardly an appropriate outfit for what he was about to do.

He needed to get cleaned up and changed.

….

Walking down the hallway, Murrue was confronted by a very strange mix of emotions whirling about inside her. Heero's request to meet privately in the officers' lounge had caught her off guard, not to mention the fact that the Gundam pilot had actually seemed slightly nervous as he had spoken. It had been subtle, but Murrue knew the young man well enough to realize when he was troubled, regardless of how he might try to hide it from her, and there was definitely something serious weighing on his mind now.

Of course, Heero was hardly alone in that regard. It had now been nearly six days since the meeting on board the _Eternal_, and the raid on the PLANT capitol was now practically upon them. Less than twenty-four hours remained before the man Murrue loved would be diving headlong into a battle unlike any he had ever faced before. To say the beautiful Captain was on edge would be a considerable understatement… and it wasn't just because of the incredibly dangerous mission looming on the horizon.

_Almost six days since that meeting_, she thought as she made her way towards the officers' lounge, _nearly six days since I talked with Aisha about my feelings for Heero, and what he might feel for me… and in that time neither of us have been able to make a move. 'Nightfall', or its equivalent on board this ship, is mere hours away, and neither of us have spoken to the other regarding our personal feelings…_

They'd had an excuse for that for the past five days; the combined exercises with the group's mobile suits and warships had kept everyone busy. There had still been time for Murrue and Heero to talk during that period, of course, but it had hardly seemed right to force a romantic confrontation on him when he was training so hard. Heero had likewise not made a move, though if it was for that reason or another Murrue could not say.

Now, as she headed towards her private meeting with the young man that had so completely captured her heart, Murrue was confronted by an incredible nervousness. Given the timing, this may well be her only chance to let out her feelings, to confess her love, to Heero before he went into battle the following day, but Murrue could not simply initiate a confrontation like that when it had been the Gundam pilot that had asked to speak with her like this. Her nervousness was also mixed with something else though; anticipation. The hesitancy with which Heero had made his request to Murrue suggested to her that what he wanted to talk with her about was something very near and dear to his heart… and there was every possibility that that something was _her_.

_Is this it?_, she thought, her heart hammering away in her chest, _Is this… what I've been waiting for? I… I can't just assume it is, of course; given the odds Heero must confront tomorrow, he could simply want my company just for comfort and reassurance before the operation begins. I would gladly give him that, of course, but still… what if it's more? And if it isn't… then I may well have to _make it _more. I don't want to force such a confrontation on Heero; I want _him _to act on his emotions. But, given his inexperience when it comes to love, he may simply not know _how_. If that's the case, then I'll have to initiate things… but how do I do that without overwhelming him?_

It did not escape Murrue that she may well be faced with the same dilemma as Heero, but for different reasons. Heero had never truly been in love with someone, nor had anyone ever truly loved him in return. In that respect, any hesitancy on his part was perfectly natural. For Murrue though, her hesitancy stemmed from the combination of wanting Heero to understand his own feelings and act on them along with her desire not to overwhelm him with a sudden revelation of her feelings. Still, as Aisha had said nearly six days ago, time was running out for both of them. Murrue would not deny that the tension she felt within her chest was practically at the breaking point, the passion she held within her heart almost impossible to hold back now. The specter of death hanging over the young man she loved played no small part in that, but there was also the simple fact that Murrue's feelings for Heero had been building up for a long time now; her love for him was now simply far too strong to be restrained.

_Tonight_, she thought, _one way or the other… tonight we'll learn just how we truly feel about each other. Does Heero simply see me as a close friend, a dear older sister, a motherly figure… or are his feelings for me actually romantic? Is he holding back the same fiery passion, the same _love_ for me that I am for him? I have to know… one way or the other, I _have _to know!_

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that Murrue was startled to realize that she was now standing outside the entrance to the officers' lounge. Pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath to calm herself, she checked the small digital clock on the wall. It was now exactly twenty minutes since her watch had ended; it was time.

_Remember_, she thought, _Heero asked to meet you here; he initiated this. Let him speak, see what's on his mind… give him _time_. Don't make any assumptions; just be the woman he believes you to be… and follow your heart._

She opened the door and walked into the lounge. It only took her a moment to locate Heero… and what she saw took her breath away.

There he was, standing by the main viewport… wearing the uniform of the Sanc Kingdom Royal Guard. This was now the third time Murrue had seen him in that attire, but it hardly mattered; the affect it had on her was nearly as strong as when she had first witnessed him wearing it all those months ago in Orb. It served to emphasize that calm strength that made him the one person Murrue knew she could always turn to for support, it gave him a noble aura that was impossible to ignore… and it turned an already _very _handsome young man into what Murrue considered to be her ideal image of a gentleman.

His eyes met hers, and Murrue was struck by the mix of emotions she saw within them. There was gratitude for her coming to him, happiness to see her, nervousness over something Murrue could only guess at, and something else, something she fervently prayed she was not imagining; _affection_.

"Murrue," he said softly, a small smile appearing on his face, "I… I'm glad you came. Thank you."

His hesitancy did not go unnoticed by her, and only served to heighten her own nervousness and anticipation; whatever he wanted to speak to her about, Murrue knew that it was something truly vital to his heart.

She returned his smile, doing her best to project the warm compassion that she knew gave him hope and strength. "Of course I came, Heero… I always will when you call."

Heero nodded, and Murrue could've sworn she saw his smile grow just a tiny bit. "Yes… you always have… you've been here for me since practically the day I came to this world."

Murrue nodded as she walked up to him. "How could I not, Heero? You've saved me and the people on board this ship more times than I can count, and you began doing so from quite literally the moment we met."

Heero nodded, turning to look out the window. "The day we met… that seems like so long ago… yet at the same time, just like yesterday… I can remember it so clearly."

He then glanced behind her, and as she followed his gaze Murrue saw that he was looking over at one of the tables. "Right there," he said, "that was where we had our first serious conversation. Lacus and Kira were with us then…"

"Yes," said Murrue, "after I greeted you in the hangar, I took you here to interview you… interrogate you, I guess you could say."

"You had to," said Heero, "even if I had saved your life and those of your subordinates, the fact remained that I was an unknown pilot flying an incredibly powerful mobile suit. You had to ascertain my origins, my intentions…" He looked over at her. "I understood, Murrue, and I never held it against you."

"I didn't think you did," said Murrue, "still… I'm grateful to hear you say that."

"It's alright, Murrue," he replied. He then gave her a slight smirk. "Considering the greeting I gave you back then, you had every right to interrogate me; I seem to recall threatening to destroy the _Archangel_."

Murrue couldn't help but laugh slightly, if only as a means to relieve a bit of the tension building up within her. "If I remember correctly, you made that threat only to keep us from tampering with Wing Zero. It was very understandable, considering its power… thought it did make for a rather tense introduction."

"I know," said Heero, and Murrue was surprised to see his expression become apologetic, "I've… I've regretted what I did that day, actually, making that threat. You accepted me into your midst without reservation, and I gave you a cold shoulder."

"It wasn't quite like that, Heero," said Murrue, smiling again, "you were lost and in a whole new world, wielding a mobile suit more powerful than anything we had ever seen before. Your caution was perfectly understandable… and I shared that caution, if I recall correctly. I had my concerns about you, Heero."

"Perhaps," the Gundam pilot replied, "but you got over them quickly… much faster than I had expected."

"Like I said," said Murrue, "you did save our lives. And it wasn't just in that first battle; don't you remember that group of ZAFT ships that attacked us as we were moving to rendezvous with the 8th Fleet? You defended us then as well, and asked for nothing in return."

"Save for room and board," said Heero, "a place to stay while I tried to find my purpose in this world… back then, that was all I cared about."

"And that was perfectly natural," Murrue replied, "after all you had been through in your old world, your last war, you needed to get perspective, not to mention a place to stay in an unfamiliar world. After what you had done for us, I was more than willing to give you that."

"And I was very grateful for it," said Heero, one again meeting her gaze, "and… you gave me more. Remember… our talk before the debriefing with Admiral Halberton and his officers?"

Murrue nodded, remembering what Heero was referring to perfectly. "You spoke briefly about the war in your old world… how you and many young men like you had been robbed of the chance for a normal life by corrupt rulers who cared only for power and control. You tried to hold your feelings back… but you were bitter, Heero. More than that… you were _hurting_, within your heart. I could tell even then that you were bearing a great pain, one that you had never shared with others… and I wanted to help you."

"And you did," said Heero, giving her another small smile, "you barely knew me… but you wanted to _help me_, to _be there for me_… Murrue, I can't begin to tell you what that meant to me. We'd barely known each other for more than a couple of days… but you were already offering me your friendship and support, and you did it without hesitation. I… I knew then that I had never met anyone like you… and I wanted to return the favor. I… I began to _trust you_, Murrue… after knowing you for such a short amount of time."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly.

The two of them were quiet for a moment before Heero continued speaking. "During the debriefing, as I watched the Alliance officers grill you… I couldn't stand just sitting by and watching them question all you had done to protect those that were serving under you. I wanted to help you…"

"And you did," said Murrue, "you held my hand underneath the table, where they couldn't see. It was a small act… but one that gave me strength, Heero."

His eyes widened slightly, prompting a small giggle from Murrue. "Did you think I had forgotten that, Heero?"

The Gundam pilot hesitated, but only for a moment. "I… I didn't know for sure… but I was hoping you'd remembered."

"Of course I did, Heero," said Murrue, "your support meant the world to me in that meeting, as it has throughout our journey together. You not only protected me during battle, but throughout _all_ our struggles… even before you made that vow back in North Africa."

Heero nodded. "I wanted to, Murrue. I… I knew there was something special about you, even then. The way you fought against Halberton's officers and your own XO to have Kira be allowed to leave the _Archangel_, even though keeping him on as the Strike's pilot would've strengthened your side… that was incredibly noble of you, Murrue. You knew that taking such a position would put you at odds with your superiors, and that you would be losing a valuable fighter, but you did so anyway because he was a civilian and never wanted to get caught up in the fighting to begin with. You cared about him as much as you did the soldiers that were officially under your command, and the fact that he was a Coordinator meant _nothing _to you; you saw him for who he was as a _person_, and didn't let his genes influence your opinion. I doubt any other Atlantic Federation officer would've made the stand you did."

Murrue felt her face flush red at Heero's praise. "You… you really think so?"

Heero gave her a small smile. "Absolutely."

He then turned towards the window and took a breath, apparently gathering his thoughts. When he spoke up again his voice was a little quieter. "I already had a measure of respect for you as a Captain, but as I watched you in that meeting… I was amazed at your strength, Murrue. The way you challenged your superiors for the sake of those serving under you… I'd never seen anything like it. That, combined with the compassion you'd shown me even though we'd barely spoken before then… it made an impression, to say the least. I… I think that was why I told you a little more about myself after that meeting, after you asked me if you did the right thing in arguing for Kira's release."

Murrue thought back on what he was referring to before replying. "You mean about not knowing your own parents, right? About… about having been raised and trained by an assassin?"

"Yeah," he responded, "I… I'd never told anyone else that before, but… I wanted to tell you. I… I still can't fully explain why, but that day… I wanted to return the kindness and trust that you'd shown me. I… I wanted to be your friend, Murrue, as you did for me."

Murrue smiled. "And I believe we did become friends in short order… quite good ones, in fact."

Heero nodded. "We did… and I was surprised by how quickly that had happened. By the time ZAFT launched their attack on the 8th Fleet in orbit I was already determined to protect you… and my resolve to do so only increased during our time in North Africa."

Murrue nodded. "Yes… and so did our friendship. I have to admit, I was surprised when you had offered to tell me about your past that night after we had arrived at the Desert Dawn's hideout. Our friendship may have developed quickly, but you still caught me off guard with that."

Heero turned to her and gave her a small smile. "Perhaps… but I could tell how badly you wanted to learn more about me… and I _wanted _to tell you. In that short amount of time you had already become someone that I cared about and trusted, a closer friend than any I had made in my old world… and you _trusted _me, despite the fact that we had only just met recently. I… I wanted to return that trust, Murrue. More than that… I wanted to tell you because I'd never told anyone the full story before… and after the way you'd accepted me onto your ship and reached out to me, I felt you deserved that. I was glad to tell you about my past, Murrue."

"And I was glad to listen to the tale," Murrue replied, "to say it was amazing is quite an understatement… but it was also quite tragic. You mistake with Noventa and the Alliance peace faction, your self-detonating of the Wing Gundam in Siberia, the way the colonies turned their backs on you and your fellow pilots… knowing that you'd gone through all that in more nearly moved me to tears. Hell, I'm surprised I didn't openly weep for you during that… I suppose that must sound pretty pathetic to you, doesn't it?"

Heero shook his head. "No, Murrue; not in the least. I… I don't want to see you cry, but knowing that you felt so strongly about it… that even back then you already cared so much about me… that means a lot to me, and I certainly don't think it makes you weak. I think it's a sign of your compassionate nature… something that never ceases to amaze me."

Murrue could feel herself blushing again. "I… I'm glad you feel that way, Heero. Honestly, I've never thought it was anything special; it's just who I am."

"Trust, me, Murrue," said Heero, and she was struck by the sincere expression on his face, "the way you care the people around you, with so little thought for yourself… I don't know how the others might see it, but I think it's one of your greatest strengths. It _is _part of who you are… and it's incredible, Murrue."

He then looked down for a moment before speaking again. "I… I wanted to show you just how much that meant to me. Your compassion, your acceptance and trust of me, your friendship…" He then looked up, and Murrue saw his eyes fall on the shimmering blue stone of the Tear of Isis. "That's why I bought you that necklace. It's a small thing, I know, but still… I wanted to give you _something_, and that was the best I could think of at the time. I wanted to do something to show you that I valued the bond that had grown between us, something more than protect you in battle… I wanted you to have a constant reminder of how I cared for you."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly, looking down at the necklace before returning her gaze to him, "This necklace… I don't think it's a small thing at all. I _treasure _it, Heero… as I treasure the bond I have with you."

Murrue could've sworn she saw a hint of red appear in Heero's face. "Murrue…" he said, his eyes widening ever so slightly. He then nodded as he continued. "I... thank you. I… I'm glad you care so deeply for it."

_Not nearly as much as I do for you…_, she thought, _Yes, I treasure this necklace, because it symbolizes the trust, compassion, and friendship that tie us together… but it pales in comparison to how dear I hold _you _to my heart, Heero._

Murrue smiled. "Of course I care for it, Heero. When you bought me this, when you could've gotten yourself anything you wanted with the money I gave you that day… I was _moved_, Heero; moved by your compassion. I know you said it did not cost much, but the price of the gift does not matter to me; the fact that the only thing you wanted to buy was a gift _for me_, to _make me smile_… that was all I cared about."

Heero nodded, and Murrue saw him give her a small smile in return. "Yeah… and I think I told you when I gave it to you that I liked seeing you smile."

"Indeed you did, Heero," said Murrue.

"What I said back then," he continued, "it was true, but… I should've said so much more. I wasn't aware of it yet… but things were already beginning to change… there was something growing in my heart, even then."

Murrue forced herself to stifle a gasp. Was he actually saying what she so dearly prayed she thought he was? Was he saying that, even back during their time in North Africa… he'd actually begun to fall for her?

_Don't move yet_, she told herself, struggling to keep from spilling out her heart to him right at that moment, _let him keep going… he's building up to something now, I can _feel _it._

"Murrue," said Heero, "remember that afternoon when we were traveling through the Red Sea? I was out on the ship's observation deck, and you came out to join me…"

She nodded. "Yes… you were worried about finding a purpose in your life beyond the battlefield. You felt as though you hadn't made any progress…"

"Yeah," Heero replied, looking at her, "what you told me in response… it was just what I needed to hear. You said to take things slow, not to rush it… and you were _right_, Murrue. And, looking back on it… I may have already been drifting towards the purpose I wanted, I _needed_… I just didn't realize it yet."

"What was it?" asked Murrue.

Heero didn't directly answer her question. Instead he turned back towards the viewport and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them and turned back to her she saw a haunted expression, and she had a feeling she knew what was coming next.

"Murrue… do you remember what happened that night?"

_Perfectly_, she thought somberly. "I do, Heero. I… I can still hear your cry when I think back on that night… that anguished scream as you were tortured by that nightmare. I rushed to your room… I was _terrified _that something had happened to you."

"You weren't wrong," said Heero softly, "reliving that memory... that _slaughter_… it's more painful than any physical wound I've ever taken."

Hearing him admit that aloud shook her, especially in light of the _many _wounds he had suffered throughout his long career as a soldier. Hell, he'd survived self-detonating his original Gundam when he'd been standing right on its hatch!

"I'd been having that nightmare for two years," he continued, "it… it wasn't every night that I relived that memory, but still… it was always lurking in the shadows. I could never get rid of it… I could never escape the pain, the sorrow, the _guilt_. And every time I woke up from it… I wanted to die."

"Heero…" said Murrue, her voice barely a whisper as she saw the anguish in his eyes. However, she soon saw that pain and sorrow be replaced by something else as his gaze met hers. There was gratitude, warmth… and _affection_. This time, there was no denying that last one.

"But that night," said Heero, a soft smile appearing on his face, "I didn't have to face that memory alone. You came to me… to _help me_. Even after I told you what had happened… what _I had done_… it didn't stop you from caring about me. I wouldn't have blamed you if it had changed how you thought of me… but it _didn't_. Murrue… when you took me in your arms, held me close… I'd never been embraced like that before. I could feel the warmth radiating from your body. I could feel myself enveloped not just by your arms… but by your _compassion_. You accepted what I had done as a tragic accident, something that after two years I _still _struggled to come to terms with… and you wanted to help me. That night… you gave me peace, shelter, comfort… you protected me from an enemy I didn't know how to fight."

Murrue smiled in return. "Of course I did, Heero. After all you'd done for me, after all I'd learned about you… I could _never_ see you as the murderer you thought yourself to be. I _knew_, beyond any doubt, that you would _never _have killed those people on purpose. I could see how deeply scarred you were by that tragedy, how tormented you were by it even two years later… and how you tortured yourself over it. I _couldn't _let you do that, Heero; I cared far too much about you to let you put yourself through that kind of pain, to stand by and watch you suffer. I _wanted _to help you that night. I _wanted _to hold you close, to protect you from the demons of your past… to _comfort you_, Heero."

"And you did, Murrue," Heero replied, "more than anyone else had ever done so before… in a way I never thought possible. I haven't told you this before, but since that night… I haven't had that nightmare. The memory is still there, of course… it always will be. But you… you helped ward off the pain and sorrow that I've held back for over two years, which I was never able to reveal to anyone. I can't get rid of it completely; I'll always carry what happened that night inside me. However… you gave me a new strength to live with it, one that no one else ever could. That night, I realized that in you… I'd found a dearer friend than any I could ever have imagined in my own world. No… I'd found _more _than that, though at the time I was still struggling to figure out _what _that was. That seed that had been planted in my heart during our time in North Africa was already growing, but I still couldn't give it a name. I didn't know what to make of this new feeling… at least, not until Orb."

_Orb_, Murrue thought, recalling their first visit to the neutral island nation, _is he referring to… our date?_

"The outing we went on, during our second day in that country," said Heero, "when I asked you to accompany me the day before… I was nervous, Murrue. I didn't know why at the time, but later on I realized the reason. It… it took me completely by surprise, and I wasn't sure if it was truly what I was feeling… but I wanted to find out. When we went into town that afternoon, I wanted to truly explore the bond we had developed… and the direction my feelings for you were evolving."

Murrue's eyes widened at his words. _'The direction his feelings were evolving'… at that time, I had only recently realized that I was falling in love with him. Did he… did he already feel the same way, and I just didn't see it?_

"Murrue," Heero continued, "that evening we shared together… the mall, the coffee shop, the park, the restaurant… I'd never experienced anything like it before. I got to learn so much about you, and you gave me something no one else had ever done before; a fun night out. It was as we were heading back towards the _Archangel _that I was finally able to realize just what my feelings… my affection for you was becoming. I began to understand why I was allowing myself to become closer to you by the day, why I was willing to go to such lengths to protect you. Your kindness, your intelligence, your strength, your loyalty, your acceptance of who I was… they all helped form the core of my friendship with you, our bond, the original reason why I wanted to fight for you… but something new, growing in my own heart, was now added to the mix. I… I still wasn't entirely sure if it was truly the emotion I was feeling… but I could at least give name to what I suspected it was."

He took a deep breath, and Murrue was startled to realize that the Gundam pilot was actually growing more and more _nervous _as he continued their conversation. Her own anxiety and anticipation were heightened in her heart as a result, as her suspicions… her _hopes_… were rapidly growing that he was moving in the direction that she so dearly wanted him to be. She had to force herself to remain calm, and it was growing harder by the second to do so.

_Stay down, girl_, she chided herself, doing her best to keep her breathing under control, to keep excitement from overwhelming her, _let him keep going… don't jump in now… let him keep going. Control yourself, for his sake _and _yours; he needs to get all this out on his own._

When he spoke again his voice was softer, lacking the usual firm strength she was so used to. "As we continued our journey to Alaska… I became more and more certain of what it was I felt for you. I can recall so clearly that night in your quarters, after we lost Tolle and supposedly Kira as well in the Marshall Islands. Seeing you mourn, suffering under a guilt that you most certainly did not deserve… it tore at my heart in a way that nothing else ever had before. I found myself _desperate_ to find a way to comfort you, to support you, to lend you my strength… to relieve your pain. When I held you in my arms and you smiled at me, _thanking me _through your tears…the strange feeling that had been growing in my heart became stronger than ever. A little while afterwards, during our brief stopover in Hawaii… I finally came to realize exactly what I felt for you. I knew… beyond a shadow of a doubt, what directions my emotions had taken me in… how they had evolved… and they only grew stronger during the remainder of our trip to Alaska, along with the time we spent there and all that happened in that period."

"During the debriefing with the High Command," he continued, "I found myself _furious _at how they tried to belittle everything that you had done during our voyage. More than that, I could practically _feel _the malice coming from them. I didn't know what it was, but I realized right then that they had something bad planned for us, for _you _and the _Archangel_. It took all my restraint to keep myself from killing them on the spot, grabbing you and getting you to Wing Zero, and getting the hell out of that place."

Murrue could not help but gasp slightly; she'd known that the High Command's behavior towards her during the debriefing had angered Heero, but she hadn't realized it had been to that extent. She forced a small smile for the young man before her. "I'm glad you were so impassioned in your defense of me, Heero… though I wish you had told me about your feelings regarding the High Command, beyond the suspicions you had relayed to me before and after the meeting."

"I'm sorry," said Heero, "I… I didn't want to worry you. Looking back, I regret not telling you. In doing that… I was making the same mistake that I did latter on, when I realized the full extent of the Atlantic Federation's treachery."

"During the First Battle of Alaska," said Murrue quietly, "the Cyclops bomb…"

Heero nodded. "Even after I destroyed the base and the weapon hidden within, I found myself gripped by a rage unlike any I had every experienced before. It took all my strength to keep it from overwhelming me right there, to keep control of the Zero System as we made our escape from Alaska. When we landed on that island, and you came out with the mechanics to Wing Zero and the Freedom… I lost control, but not to my anger. During the battle, when the Duel had nearly killed you… I was _terrified_, Murrue. Kira's intervention was the only thing that saved you. I know you said before that you did not blame me for what happened during the fighting, that you knew I had done all I could to protect you… but I still blamed myself, Murrue. When you came out of that truck and towards my Gundam, I couldn't restrain my feelings… that's why I ran up to you and embraced you the way I did. I was so relieved that you were safe… the mere thought of losing you scarred me more than anything else. It was then that I knew just how strongly I felt for you…"

Heero paused for a moment, and Murrue was sorely tempted to fill in the silence, but she could sense that he had more to say, that he was putting his thoughts in order. She managed to keep herself from cutting him off… but it was a very near thing.

"Everything after that," he continued, "the battle in Orb, my shock at realizing that I had lost control of the Zero System and could've endangered you, my relief at seeing you safe and sound by my bedside in the _Archangel_'s med bay, my determination to never lose myself to the Zero System again in order to protect you… it all served to reinforce what I already knew."

"And… and what was that, Heero?" said Murrue softly, unable to keep the trepidation, the _anticipation_, completely from her voice.

Heero took another deep breath before meeting Murrue's gaze. He took one step closer to her as he began speaking again. "That I cared for you more than anyone I ever had before… more than anyone I ever _would_. You were already the most important person in my life, but then I knew… now I _know _just how vital you are to me. I knew then, as I _know now_, that I would do _anything_, take on _anyone_, to protect you, to keep you from harm. I would go to lengths I'd never dreamed of before to keep you safe… driven by something I had never felt before in my life."

He took another step as he continued. His voice was shaking a little, but Heero kept talking, and despite his now obvious nervousness Murrue could once again feel the _strength _resonating in his words. "I know that I want to defend you, to stay by your side, to support you in all your endeavors… in this war and beyond. I want to fight not just to protect you… but to give you a _future_, to give you a life _beyond _this war…as I know you want me to find. I want to make you _happy_, to see you _smile _now and every day after, to see you enjoy life in our imperfect but beautiful world… and I want to be there with you every step of the way."

As if to emphasize his point, he took _another _step closer to her. "Murrue… I wasn't able to tell you this before, but the truth is… since the moment I came to the Cosmic Era, I never once thought about going back to my old world. At first it was because the Zero System helped bring me here, and I knew it was trying to tell me that my future, my _purpose_, lay here… but it took getting to know you to truly understand what that purpose _was_. At first I simply wanted to protect you and help bring this war to an end… but those reasons soon evolved into something far more personal to me… something far more profound. I don't want to go back to my old world because my purpose, my _future_, is here… with you."

"Heero…" said Murrue, her voice barely over a whisper. Now there was no doubt in her mind; she _knew _why he had asked her hear, _what _he wanted to tell her. Her heart was now hammering away inside her faster than it ever had in her life, her face felt hotter than the desert sun back in North Africa, her breathing was becoming quick and shallow, her chest was becoming almost cripplingly tight…

"Murrue," Heero continued, taking yet another step towards her, "I… I've put a lot of thought into this. I… I know that there could be problems with what I feel, what I want. The fact that I'm ten years younger than you is no small hurdle, to say the least, and I won't lie that I'm afraid that what I'm about to say could well damage our friendship, perhaps irreparably. That terrifies me almost as much as the thought of losing you at Alaska did… but I can't keep my feelings bottled up inside me anymore. I know I should've done this _long _ago… but I'm going to do it _now_; I'm going to act on my emotions… on my _heart_. I'm going to take this chance… because I believe my future lies with you… because you mean more to me than anyone or anything else… because the affection for you that was sown in my heart so long ago has now grown into something I never imagined would ever take hold of me, and I want to share it with you… I want you to know _how I feel about you_."

He took one last step forward. His face was now an inch or two at the most away from hers, though due to her standing at 5'6" and him at 5'3" he had to look up just a little at that close proximity to meet her gaze. Murrue could feel his breath on her face, could see every faucet and detail of his beautiful Prussian blue eyes… and could read with perfect clarity the one emotion, the resounding _affection_ that was held within them.

And she knew that he was _finally _going to say the words that she had been waiting for so long to hear come from his mouth.

And he didn't disappoint.

"Murrue Ramius… I love you."

….

**(Start "Fields of Gold")**

Silence hung in the air for a moment. In that single second the fear that was gripping Heero's heart was at its strongest. Had he gone too far? Had he made a mistake, a catastrophic one? Had he presumed too much on Murrue's part, had he erred in believing that she shared his feelings? Lacus's intuition, his own emotions… were they wrong?

All that and more was whirling through his head and his heart in that single second… before the woman he loved surged forward, threw her arms around him and pulled him into a fierce kiss.

Heero froze for a brief instant as her warm, moist lips met his mouth. He had absolutely _no _experience in the area he found himself in now, and his mind had no response readily available for him to use for the situation.

So he abandoned his mind… and let his instincts, his _emotions_, take over.

Murrue's lips were mashing against his, so hard it was almost painful… and Heero pressed right back. He grabbed Murrue by the shoulder with his left hand while putting his right behind her head and pulled her even closer… and returned her fire.

Heero finally released the shackles he had placed around his heart, and passion's flames surged forward. He pressed his lips against Murrue's, reveling in her taste, her texture. He let their soft, wet heat rush over his mouth, and as he did so he felt her own open, her tongue surging forward. He surrendered to it, parting his lips, allowing it rush inside his mouth where it swiftly intertwined with his own. He opened his mouth a little further and pushed back, his tongue dancing with hers, joining it in a wet yet fiery embrace. All the while he was pulling her ever closer to him with his arms, holding her tighter than he had ever felt possible… reveling in her affection, her passion… _her love_.

He loved her… and _she_ _loved him_.

Heero could feel Murrue's long, flowing brown hair brush up against his face, just as he could feel one of her hands briefly release its hold on his shoulder blade before it gripped the back of his head. Her fingers ran through his own thick brown hair, and he mirrored her moves with the hand that he had clasped at the back of her head. Together they pressed themselves as tightly together as they could, pleasure and pain intermingling as their lips and tongues remained locked together, the fires of passion incinerating any restraint.

They stayed like that for as long as they possibly could, allowing themselves to be consumed by the heat of affection and desire, of love that had been held back for far too long now. Arms and hands gripping each other tightly, lips locked in their own hot and wet embrace, tongues twisting and writhing together as they were finally allowed to explore where they had so dearly longed to go… for Heero and Murrue, the world beyond the two of them had completely disappeared; their entire existence right then and there was bound within their first kiss.

Eventually the need for oxygen forced them to part, to come up from the depths of the ocean of love and desire to breathe on the surface… but it was only for a moment. Their eyes met briefly, each beholding the fire of the other's affection, desire, and passion in their gaze, finally knowing for sure that the fierce love they felt within their hearts was indeed returned by the other… before they dove right back in for more.

This time there was no hesitation on Heero's part. He instantly pulled Murrue in as close as he could, meeting her halfway as their mouths came together. His tongue rushed forward and met Murrue's before she could even get it out of her mouth, and together the two wet and sloppy appendages once again intertwined in a warm, moist waltz.

Murrue pressed back immediately, and the strength of her forward surge took Heero completely off guard. It wasn't just her tongue and mouth, but her whole body that was pushing the Gundam pilot back. Their legs became as intertwined as their tongues and together they fell to the floor. Heero did what he could to make sure that his body lay between his love's and the hard metal surface, and he could feel Murrue swiftly wrap his head in her arm to lessen the impact on him as the two of them hit the floor.

They parted briefly, and Heero saw a flash of worry in Murrue's lovely brown eyes. Her face was beat red, and Heero had no doubt his own skin was just as flushed with heat. He could feel her legs squeeze him tightly as she straddled his body, matching the fierceness of her arms as they held him… and only further serving to excite the young man's now open desire and passion.

"Are you alright?" Murrue whispered in between pants that Heero realized held more than a little lustful energy to them.

Heero nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah…"

"Good," she replied before diving right back in for round three. Lips met, tongues rushed forward, and Heero once again lost himself in the goddess he held in his arms. The feeling of the hard metal floor beneath him disappeared entirely; the only sensations that mattered were those given to him by Murrue. The heat, the passion, the _love_… they were his entire world in that glorious moment.

All too soon the newfound lovers had no choice but to once again part for air. They did not release the hold they had on each other though, their arms and hands gripping each other's upper bodies while their legs mirrored the action below. As Murrue pulled back and her gaze met Heero's he could now fully see the fierce affection, the overpowering _love_, within her beautiful brown eyes. She was still close enough that the Gundam pilot could feel her breath on his face... and it was coming in heavy, passionate pants as she gasped for air.

For a moment the two of them were quiet save for their breathing, still holding each other close. Heero was fully aware of Murrue's ample breasts being pressed tightly against his chest, along with the fact that her legs were straddling him nearly at the beltline, and it only served to further increase the already scorching heat that was coming from inside him. He could feel himself sweating, and it wasn't from the temperature of the ship's interior… and he saw that Murrue was doing the same.

_She really does…_, he thought numbly, his mind struggling to absorb all that had happened in the past couple of minutes, _she really does… _love me. _She…_

Finally he was able to speak, though he found himself incapable of forming complete sentences quite yet. "Murrue…" he said softly, "you…"

She nodded while giving him an absolutely radiant smile. "_Yes_, Heero! _I love you too!_"

He'd already confirmed her reciprocation of his feelings physically, but to hear her actually say it still blew him away. To hear the woman he loved so deeply, who he would do _anything _to protect, to make her _happy_, give voice to her own feelings, to vocally respond to his confession with a resounding affirmation… the excitement, the pure _joy _in Heero's heart was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Heero was still struggling for words, and it took a considerable effort on his part to speak again. "How… when…?"

"How could I love you so?" Murrue asked him, "When did I fall for you? Heero, the second question I can understand, but the _first one_… how could I _not _fall in love with you?"

"Murrue…" he replied tentatively, "after… after what I've done… you know more than anyone else the crimes I've committed. After learning about that…"

"How could I still allow myself to care for you, to _love you_?" Murrue finished for him, bringing the hand that had held the back of his head around to caress his cheek, "Heero, I _accepted _you for who you were, in your _entirety_. What happened with that little girl and her dog, all those people in the residential block, Noventa and the Alliance peace faction… those were terrible tragedies, terrible _mistakes_, Heero. As you told me about them, I could see the anguish and remorse those events caused you, the _pain _that you were still carrying around. After getting to know you, I knew beyond a doubt that you would never have targeted those people on purpose. Yes, you took their lives, but you never _meant to_, Heero, and had things been different I know that you would've done everything in your power to _save them_."

"Heero," she continued, that amazing smile still on her face, "I fell in love with _all of you_; everything about you. Your courage, your cunning, your strength, your skills, your looks, your _compassion_… I love you for all that and more. You are the most amazing man that I have ever met in my life. In the time we spent together you showed me loyalty and devotion the likes of which no one else could ever hope to match. You stayed with and fought for the _Archangel_ not because we were offering you a shelter in an unfamiliar world... but to _protect me_. You took on _suicidal _odds time and time again, challenged entire fleets, armies, and air wings, and you not only survived but _won_… and I knew you were doing it for me. For the friendship we had forged, the bond we shared… I knew that they were the reason you kept fighting with us, and I _loved you _for it. I fell for your calm and quiet nature, I fell for the warm and gentle heart that you hide behind your walls of stoicism, I fell for your incredibly good looks, I fell for your abilities as a pilot and a soldier, I fell for your resolve to keep innocent people from harm's way, I fell for the defiance that you showed some of the most powerful men in the world… I fell for you in your _entirety_, Heero. There is _nothing _about you that I don't love, Heero, nothing about you that I _couldn't _love. You're the only one for me, Heero; there will be no other."

Heero's eyes widened as he listened to Murrue's speech. Hearing her list out all the reasons why she loved him, what had drawn her to him, while she was literally _right on top of him_, was something he had never expected to experience in his life. To say it took his breath away would be a considerable understatement.

"As for _when _I began to fall in love with you," said Murrue, giving his cheek another caress, "at first I thought it was after that night over the Red Sea, when you had revealed to me your worst memory, when I had seen you at your most vulnerable and had given you the comfort and shelter you so dearly needed… but looking back now, I believe my feelings for you, my _love for you_, were sown around the same time yours was for me; during our time in North Africa. I'd already seen you battle not just ZAFT's space forces but their surface armies as well, not to mention the legendary Valkyrie Team, and that definitely made an impression. Combine that with your revealing so much of your past to me, all you had struggled through and suffered during the Eve Wars, and getting to truly know you as a person and experiencing the kindness that lay beneath your calm and cool exterior… all that and more drew me to you in a way so powerful that I could never resist it. Subconsciously, unconsciously… I began falling for you well before we left North Africa, Heero."

The revelation rocked Heero. "All this time…" he said softly as he looked at her, "while I was falling for you… you were doing so for me?"

Murrue responded by giving him another kiss. This time it was soft and brief compared to the last three they'd shared, but to Heero it was no less amazing. She smiled as she pulled back just enough to meet his gaze. "_Yes_, Heero… we fell for each other _together_."

"How did I..." asked Heero, his mind now racing back through the past, searching for signs that he had no doubt missed during their time together, "how did I not _see it_?"

"Oh, Heero…" said Murrue, still smiling, "don't be hard on yourself about this. I knew from the start that you had no real romantic experience. I knew that, if you did return my feelings, it would take you longer to notice the signs, to suspect that I was falling in love with you. I was aware of all that from the beginning, and that it would be a challenge in and of itself to overcome… but it was completely worth it."

Heero nodded slowly. "I… I understand, Murrue. Still, I… I'm sorry I made you wait for so long."

"It's ok, Heero," Murrue replied, caressing his cheek, "I _wanted _you to take your time, to explore your own feelings, to come to understand them naturally. I suspected that you had feelings for me, but I didn't want to push you into anything… I wanted your love for me to be _natural_, nor forced or rushed. It was hard to wait, I won't deny that… oh, Heero, it was starting to _hurt_, keeping my love for you at bay, my passion in check… but here, now, it's all paid off… it was worth every second."

Heero removed his hand from Murrue's back and brought it to her face, mirroring the soft caress she was giving him. "I… I had no idea. I'm… I'm _so sorry_, Murrue. The _last _thing I wanted was to put you through _any _pain. If I'd known… if I'd known you were holding back the same strong, _overwhelming _affection and passion that I was, I would've done this so much sooner."

Murrue leaned in for another soft kiss. As she pulled back she spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It's alright, Heero, it truly is. Yes, it did hurt, holding my true feelings for you back for so long, but I wanted you to take your time, to understand your own emotions and to act on them. I wanted you to experience the joy and wonder of falling in love in its entirety, without forcing or rushing it. I knew that I would have to wait longer for you than I would for someone else due to your inexperience, but I _wanted _to wait, Heero… because I could _feel _that it would be worth it… I _knew _that it would be worth the building pressure and tension in my heart… and I was _right_."

Unable to think of any adequate words to reply to that statement, Heero simply responded by pulling Murrue back in for another kiss. It was longer than the last two, but not the fiery lip-locking that they had done before. Rather, it was soft and serene, tranquil and cool… and just as incredible. Heero reveled in the feeling of Murrue's warm, wet, and full lips pressing against his own in a firm yet gentle and moist embrace. He once again took her completely in his arms and pulled her as close as he could, and he could feel her do the same.

Eventually they parted, and Heero nervously spoke. "Murrue… are you sure… I'm the one you want? I mean, with my age… I know that could cause you difficulties."

"Believe me, Heero," she replied, a reassuring smile on her face, "I've thought a _lot _about this, including the age gap between us… and I still love you, I still want to be with you. I know that our gap in years may be an obstacle, but I _know _it's one that we can overcome together. I _want _to face it with you, as I do every other threat to us… because I know that _nothing _can stop us from being together." A mischievous gleam came to her lovely brown eyes. "And now that I've taken the _Archangel _and gone rogue, I'm no longer bound by Atlantic Federation rules and regulations… military or otherwise. I know a relationship between us will still raise the eyebrows of many people, but I don't give a damn. I… I _want _you, Heero, and I'm not going to let anyone stop me."

Heero felt his face become even warmer at the emphasis she placed on the word 'want'. He may have been young and inexperienced… but he was no fool. He knew that she was referring to more than just his heart and mind…

Heero nodded and give her another small smile in response. "Alright, Murrue. Whatever comes our way, whatever challenges we encounter… we'll do it _together_. If you truly feel that way about me… then I'm not going to let _anything _stop me from being with you. I _love you_, Murrue, and nothing will _ever _change that, will _ever _get in the way of that. I _want_ to be with you… in _every_ way possible."

He saw Murrue's face become even redder than it already was at his words, and he really couldn't blame her; Heero had taken himself off guard with his comment, especially with the weight and emphasis he'd given it at the end. He knew that he'd just sent Murrue a signal that he felt the same way she did, that he wanted _exactly _what she wanted. Heero was now more aware than ever of the body of the goddess pressed so tightly against him. Her bountiful chest, her hourglass figure, her seductive curves, her long and powerful legs that gripped him so tightly near the beltline… all that and more were awakening a fire that went well beyond the emotional love that burned within Heero's heart. His more _natural _instincts were stirring as well… and as he looked into Murrue's eyes, he knew that _hers _were too.

The resounding love she had for them still shone like twin beacons in her eyes, but there was something else in them as well, a more subtle and _primal _feeling…a _hunger_. The fires of passion in the woman he loved encompassed far more than just the powerful emotional affection she felt for him… there was a desire for a more _physical _intimacy as well, and it was burning hotter than the sun.

Without speaking, Murrue released Heero from her embrace and began to rise. Letting go of her, the Gundam pilot let the beautiful Captain get to her feet, and he accepted her outstretched arm as she pulled him to his. Her warm and breathtaking smile was still on her face, still radiant with the affection she had for him… but now it had another quality mixed in with it; _desire_.

Her hand still holding his, Murrue gently but firmly pulled Heero along, and together they made their way out of the officers' lounge. As they went through the corridors all manner of images flashed through Heero's mind, each and every one of them involving him and Murrue in extremely… _compromising _positions. His heartbeat increased to a fever pitch, and he knew that the warmth in his face was showing in a very deep red. As Murrue looked at him and met his gaze, Heero saw that her face had the same deep blush on it, but it did not stop her from smiling, nor did it in any way diminish the _fire _that was now in her eyes.

As they made their way through the ship's corridors towards the section where their quarters were located, Heero was once again confronted with a very strong sense of nervousness. He _knew _what Murrue wanted, and while he felt the same _desire _she did he was also well aware that he was lacking in the _experience _that the woman he loved had. He could once again feel the fear in his heart… but there was _excitement _in it as well. He knew what she was leading him towards, and while it was territory that he had never ventured into before, it was a realm that he _wanted _to explore, _especially _with her.

Slowly but surely she pulled him onward, closer and closer to their destination. Murrue was slightly in front and to the right of Heero, allowing him to take in the brown-haired beauty in her entirety. She was moving with confidence and purpose, her _fire _and _passion _radiating from her. Heero could practically _feel _her excitement in the air… and much more. Despite the fierce desire he now knew she had for him, Murrue was actually moving at a slightly slower pace than usual… and Heero realized she was doing it for _him_, allowing him to observe her curvaceous body as she guided him through the corridors, and to imagine the heights of pleasure that it would soon take him too. Murrue still had the same warm and compassionate feel about her that Heero so deeply loved… but now she was adding a seductive energy to the mix. The sway of her hips, the gentle yet firm grip she had on his hand, the gleam of desire in her eyes… all promised to give him a night unlike any other, to truly unleash the passion that both of them had held at bay for _far _too long now.

At last they arrived at the section of the crew quarters that contained the officers' rooms. As they came to a stop Heero realized that they were doing so at the exact point between his room and Murrue's. Murrue took both his hands in hers as she turned around, and as she smiled at Heero he understood that he was offering him a choice… or rather, two choices. The first was to partake in the act at all tonight, or to wait for another time, while the second was simply a matter of his room… or hers.

The nervousness that gripped Heero was now at its greatest, and he could see an understanding look in Murrue's eyes; she knew what he was feeling. He was scarred… but he was also _excited_, more than he'd been in a long, long time.

Heero took a deep breath before meeting Murrue's gaze again… and he moved towards her, bringing his face less than an inch away from hers. He saw Murrue's smile grow, but there was also a touch of concern in her features.

"Heero," she said softly, tightening the grip she had on his hands, "are you sure you want this tonight? I know _I _do, but… I'll understand _completely _if you want to wait."

Heero smiled in return, feeling truly blessed to have such a caring and understanding companion… such a concerned _lover_. "I… I'm sure, Murrue. I… I appreciate your concern, but… I want this too. Considering what's coming tomorrow… well, we might not get another chance. I don't want any regrets… I don't want to leave _anything _undone between us."

Murrue nodded before leaning in to kiss him. It was a soft and brief one, but in it was held promises of much, much more to come. As their lips parted she stayed close, giving them just enough distance so that they could meet each other's gaze. "Are you ready?" she whispered.

Heero nodded, his smile becoming a bit embarrassed. "Yeah… although, I've never…"

"I know, Heero," said Murrue, her own smile becoming more than a little playful, "don't worry… I'll be your guide. You just need to follow your instincts, your _emotions_… and given the endurance and stamina you show in battle, I think you'll be just fine."

Emboldened by her words, Heero leaned in and gave Murrue a small, soft kiss of his own. He gave her another small smile as they parted. "Lead on, Murrue," he whispered.

Her own smile grew at his words. She released one of his hands briefly to open the door to her cabin. Then she grabbed him again…

…and pulled him inside.

**(End "Fields of Gold")**

….

**(Start "Eternity ~ Memory of Lightwaves")**

Laying her head next to his on the pillow, her body draped over his, Murrue smiled as her eyes met Heero's. Her bedcovers were pulled over their shoulders, protecting them from the cool air inside the ship and trapping the heat generated by her and the Gundam pilot… her _lover_. She could feel his chest move beneath her as he breathed steadily, and she found the motion to be incredibly comforting. She reached across with one hand towards Heero's face, only for the young man to bring his own up and meet hers half way. He gently took it in his, and as their fingers intertwined their hands fell down to the pillow, lying between their faces. Murrue's other arm was on Heero's shoulder, while his was wrapped around her, holding her close to him.

The Perfect Soldier smiled in return, and Murrue felt her own grow in response as the two of them simply lay there together, basking in the warmth the two of them had created… the afterglow of long-concealed passion finally released. She could see more than a hint of red in Heero's face, and Murrue had no doubt her own was just as flushed. Sweat matted Heero's brow, and once again Murrue knew that her own shared that quality. She felt limp, exhausted… and immensely satisfied.

_Three rounds_, she thought, her mind flashing back to the heights of ecstasy and pleasure to which they had ascended together, bodies intertwined, love's fierce inferno burning its brightest, _or was it four? I lost track in the heat, the moment, the _passion_… that was incredible._

Incredible, breathtaking, awesome, beautiful… all these words and more could've described the act Murrue and Heero had taken part in, yet to her those same words also seemed all too inadequate. There were _no words _in her mind to give justice to what had transpired between them, no words in all the languages of humanity.

Before her, the handsome young man with whom she now shared her bed was gazing at her with unconcealed affection and wonder. Though his body was now just as weary as hers, Murrue was amazed at the sense of strength she could still feel coming from Heero. More than that, there was an _energy _about him, the likes of which she'd never seen in any other man. The fire of the passion that had long burned in his heart for her had _finally _been released, just as hers had, and in the act Heero had somehow been rejuvenated, _reborn_. He was still the same incredible young man that Murrue had fallen in love with in the first place, but now there was something _more _to him. It was something intangible, elusive, and the best thing Murrue could think of was that by giving himself over _completely _to her, Heero had in the process purged himself of the doubts that had weighed so heavily upon him when he had first came to the Cosmic Era.

_The purpose he longed for_, she realized, her smile growing, _I've given it to him. To be by my side, to face the future together, to _love each other_… that's his purpose now, his reason for living beyond the battlefields. When this war ends he will not be set adrift as he was before; _I _will be his anchor._

She gazed at her newfound lover, basking in his presence, in how close they were, in the warmth that lay between them, for a little longer before speaking. "Cat got your tongue, Heero?" she asked, her smile becoming playful.

Heero's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled again, a bit of nervousness in his expression. "Yeah… I guess so… I've never experienced _anything _like that before. That was…"

"Wonderful?" Murrue finished for him, her voice barely over a whisper, "Euphoric? Amazing? Exhilarating? Or should I just go with all of the above?"

Heero nodded. "I… I suppose that'd be a good place to start…"

Murrue leaned over and kissed him. "Perhaps," she said as their lips parted, "but it hardly does it justice… it hardly does _you _justice, Heero… my love. You were… _breathtaking_."

His face became even redder in response, but that didn't stop him from returning the kiss she'd given him with one of his own. "Thanks," he said as he pulled away, laying his head back down on the pillow they shared, "you were…_divine_."

"Oh, Heero…" she said, his praise only further increasing the heat that was flowing to her face.

_It was his first time_, she thought, _so naturally he'd be so enamored, so _taken _by me… still, to hear him say that… it's wonderful._

A content silence fell between them for a few moments as they simply held each other close, taking in each other's warmth and affection. Eventually Heero broke the silence. His voice was hushed, as if he were afraid of shattering the incredible feeling the two of them were enveloped in.

"So," he said, "what… what becomes of us now, Murrue?"

She responded by giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Whatever you desire, Heero. We're together now… we're _one_, my love. Two people, two personalities… but _one _heart, _one _love."

Heero nodded. "I… I know, but… Murrue, I've never been in any sort of relationship before. I… I don't know what comes next, after… _this_."

"I'm well aware of that, Heero," she replied, releasing his hand and caressing his cheek, "Which is why I'll be with you every step of the way. I knew going into this that you lacked the same experience as I did, and I'm _fine _with that, Heero, I truly am. I want to explore the depths of our feelings with you, to face all that life throws at us from here on out _together_… we'll go wherever our love takes us, Heero. _That _is what comes next."

It wasn't exactly a factual answer to his query; it was full of romanticism and sentimentality, and Murrue was well aware of that. She also knew that it didn't matter; she could see the look on Heero's face become one of understanding, and another, more confident smile appeared as he reached out to her with his free hand and mirrored the caress that she was giving him.

"Murrue… thank you."

She nodded. "You are most welcome, Heero… my love."

They lay there quietly for a few minutes before Heero adjusted his position, taking Murrue in his arms and raising himself up slightly against the wall behind the bed. Murrue put both her arms around him and together the two of them starred out the large viewport the Captain's cabin was blessed with, taking in the beautiful view of the stars as they slowly drifted by the _Archangel_. The sheets fell slightly as they did so, revealing Murrue's bare, pale shoulders.

"I've spent so much of my life in outer space," said Heero, causing her to look at him, "but in all that time… I've never seen the stars quite like this. In the past they seemed lonely and distant, just waiting to be swallowed by the darkness. They sat in the void, as if resigned to death… I thought it was sad."

"Now, though," he continued, "it's different. When I look out at them now, the stars are… _alive_. They look so small, mere pinpricks of light against the darkness… but that tiny bit of light is all that's needed to hold the void back. They're defiant, resolute, united… and _beautiful_."

At that last word he turned to Murrue. "Before I met you… I saw most people the same way as I did those stars. Only a few, my friends, burned brightly… while the rest of humanity just seemed to drift by in loneliness and resignation."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly, her eyes widening.

"Murrue," Heero replied, "you changed that for me. Here, now, with you… I can see mankind as I do the stars outside your cabin. By ourselves our light is as nothing against the void, but together... together we're more than enough to drive back the darkness. Individually, only a few can shine, but together… all burn infinitely brighter. You're one of those single burning stars, those beacons that drive back the darkness… and now that we're together, you burn even brighter… as do I."

Murrue nodded and smiled before leaning up to kiss him. "Yes, Heero," she whispered as their lips parted, "you and I, we are two of those stars. By ourselves our light is small against the void, but together, no darkness can hold back our fire. Your strength, you courage, your cunning, your compassion… you burn brighter than any other star, any other man I've ever met, but you know as well as I that there is only so much you can do by yourself. Together, though… we'll illuminate the sky."

Heero smiled, and he let out a small chuckle. "It's funny… I never considered myself to be a romantic, but… you've given me a sentimental side, Murrue."

"Hardly," she replied, reaching up to run her hand through his thick brown hair, "you've always had one, Heero; it was just trapped by the pain and guilt you've carried around in your heart for so long. Together, though… we can finally set it free. You've defended me not just from enemies on the battlefield, but my own doubts and guilt… and I'm going to do the same for you. I'll shelter you from the demons of your past, and together we'll drive out the pain and despair that's besieged your heart for so long… and move forward into a future of light and hope."

Heero responded by pulling her even closer and leaning in to kiss her. "You've already done that for me, Murrue," he said softly as he pulled away, "for years I've allowed myself to be shackled by my own guilt and sorrow, by self-loathing… but you severed those bonds, destroyed them in a manner I never thought possible. Murrue… you set me free. Thank you."

Murrue pulled him back in for another kiss. "Anytime, my love," she replied.

The two of them then settled back down onto the bed, laying there in each other's arms. Murrue felt Heero pull the covers back up to completely cover her shoulders before he once again took her completely into his embrace, pulling her as close to him as he could. As she laid her head back down on the pillow they shared she looked into his eyes, and she could once again see the familiar strength and resolve burning inside them.

"Murrue," said Heero firmly, "no matter what happens tomorrow, I _promise _that I'll come back to you alive. I don't care if I have to take on the entire ZAFT fleet; _nothing _is going to stop me from returning to you. Now… now that I know that you share my feelings… my _love_… I'll be able to focus completely on the battle. I'll break through ZAFT's lines, I'll destroy Avalon, I'll break Rehema's parents out of the capitol… and I'll _come back to you_. I won't leave you to face this war alone… nor will I let you face the _future _alone. _I will survive_, Murrue, and we'll be _together_… now until the ending of the world."

Murrue reached over and put her hand on his cheek. "I know you will, Heero," she replied softly, "I _know _that you'll come back to me. My faith in your abilities is _absolute_, Heero. I may be afraid, knowing what you will face… but I _believe _in you, Heero. I know that you'll triumph, and I'll do everything in my power to help you. When you're on your way out of the capitol, when you're _coming back to me_, I won't let a single ZAFT warship stand in your way. After you take Avalon down and I move the _Archangel _into position, I'll hit the enemy with _everything I've got_; I will _not _let them stop you. I won't give them a chance. The _Archangel_, the _Eternal_, the _Kusanagi_… we'll all cover you, Heero, and you'll _come back to me_."

She then gave him a playful smile. "And when you do, we'll have a few things to talk about… such as adjusting your living arraignments."

Murrue was pleased to see Heero's face redden at her words. "Murrue… are you…?"

She nodded. "Yes, Heero." She leaned over and kissed him, and when she pulled back her smile took on a predatory edge. "You're moving in with me, Heero. I know that will make the crew more likely to realize that we're in a relationship… but I don't care, Heero. No… I _want _them to know that we're together, Heero. I don't want to hide the love that we share; I _want _the others to know, both the crew and our allies, just how strong our feelings are for each other, just how _happy _we are together."

She then winked at him. "Besides, as I said before, I'm no longer part of the Atlantic Federation military; I'm no longer bound by any rules or regulations regarding a relationship between us… not that I would've obeyed them anyway. _You _were never covered by those restrictions to begin with… and I doubt that would've stopped you either. I want you to move into my room with me, Heero, and I _want _us to be open about our relationship. I trust that won't be a problem for you… especially after tonight."

The Gundam pilot's eyes widened for a moment before he gave her a small smile. "No problem at all, Murrue… I'm looking forward to it."

"I know you are, love," she replied, "and I'll be sure to give you a _very _warm welcome when you do."

"All the more reason for me to come back alive," said Heero as he leaned over to kiss her.

"Indeed," said Murrue as their lips parted, "and I know it won't take you long to settle in; after all, you packed light when you came to our world."

Heero nodded, his smile becoming a smirk. "Aside from Wing Zero, everything I brought with me fits into that bag I have in my quarters."

"Your _former _quarters, Heero," said Murrue firmly, "and seeing as it'll be a quick move… I'll be able to give you the welcome you deserve in short order."

"And I'll make sure to return the… _hospitality_," said Heero.

Now it was Murrue's turn to blush as her mind flashed back to what had occurred between them not too long ago… and how she could look forward to a repeat performance, and many more beside in the future. "You know…" she said softly after a moment, "you truly are a gentleman, Heero."

"I don't know about that," he replied, "I'm pretty rough around the edges."

"To some people, perhaps," said Murrue, smiling warmly, "but not to me, love… not to me."

"Only because you know me," said Heero, "better than anyone else… in this world or my old one."

"That's because they couldn't see you for who you truly were," Murrue replied, "your fellow Gundam pilots, your allies… they saw you as a soldier. Sure, I'm willing to bet they knew that there was more to you than that, but they didn't realize just _how much more _there was. Even Relena… from what you told me, I know she tried to understand you, to see who you really were… but in the end, she couldn't bridge the divide between her ideals and the grim reality of your life, could she?"

Heero shook his head. "No… and I think it's better that way. Relena… she needed that idealism and purity of purpose to become the leader the Earth Sphere needed. She may not be the actual head of government in my world… but she's its heart, and everyone recognizes that. I admired her for the strength of her convictions… but I also recognized them as the divide between us, as you so astutely pointed out. For all her wisdom, she could never truly understand that sometimes people have no choice _but _to take up arms to protect what they care about… to defend the people they love."

Heero then gave Murrue another small smile. "But you, Murrue… you _do _understand that. You were willing to join the armed forces, even if it was initially just the reserves, because you wanted to protect your friends and family. Since then you've continued to fight to protect the people under your command, the people you care about. You've taken on incredible odds, defied your homeland, challenged both the superpowers of this world, all in the name of protecting those you hold dear to you… including me. You have a strength that Relena could never match… you're willing to accept the burden that comes with taking life if it means protecting those close to you and keeping others from having to dirty their hands with the blood of others. You've accepted responsibility for the lives of everyone on board the _Archangel_, and have done everything in your power to lead and protect them, to bring them through the fires of war and out in one piece. You're not just their commanding officer, their leader; you're their guardian, Murrue. They've all placed their faith in you to take them from one battle to the next and to keep them alive in the process… and you _have_, Murrue. Granted, none of us have made it this far without scars, whether they be physical or emotional, and we did lose one pilot to enemy action, but that in no way detracts from the fact that you pulled off a _miracle_, Murrue… one that no one else could've done. Your courage, your strength, your compassion… they all enabled you to triumph against impossible odds…and they were vital in bringing us together."

"Heero…" Murrue replied, yet again blushing at his praise, "I… I'm _thrilled _that you think that of me… that you see me as having that strength… but I know that I would never have been able to lead the _Archangel _and her crew through all our trials and battles without _you _fighting alongside me. You spoke of my courage, strength, and compassion enabling me to triumph… I could say the same for you. No, I'd go further; _you _enabled me to stand strong against all those that wanted to destroy us, against the darkness that threatens to engulf this world. Your incredible bravery, your phenomenal determination, your sharp cunning, your gentle heart… they all supported me when I needed them most; _you _supported me, kept me upright against the powerful blows that the long and brutal storm that is this war have rained down upon me and my ship. You protected me in battle with a loyalty and devotion the likes of which I never knew existed, and in my moments of weakness you gave me a shoulder to cry on, an embrace to take shelter in… you've been so _selfless_, Heero, in the way you care about me. Without that I doubt I would've been able to shoulder the burden that leading the _Archangel _through this war has been… nor would I have found the love I've always dreamed of, the compassion, fealty, and companionship I've longed for. The qualities you listed in me, the ones you said were vital in bringing us together… you were right, but you forgot one important detail."

"And what's that?" asked Heero.

"They're in _you _as well, Heero," she said before leaning over to kiss him. After she did so and pulled back she spoke again. "Your courage, your strength, your compassion… they all drew me to you as powerfully as mine did you to me. We may be two different people, Heero… but we share the same heart."

Heero nodded. "Yeah… you're right, Murrue."

With that he pulled her in for another kiss, this time a longer one than the last few. Murrue felt his mouth open as his lips met hers, and she responded in kind. Their tongues came forward and met each other halfway, once again intertwining and dancing a warm, wet waltz.

When they eventually parted Murrue laid her head down beside Heero's, less than an inch away from her lover's. As their eyes met she was thrilled to see the open affection and devotion held within them, alongside the courage and resolve that had given her strength beyond any she thought had existed before meeting the incredible young man that now shared her bed.

"I love you, Heero Yuy," she whispered.

"I love you too, Murrue Ramius," he replied.

**(End "Eternity ~ Memory of Lightwaves")**

….

Looking out the window of Murrue's cabin, Heero finished making the final adjustments to his uniform. Slipping on the ornate blue jacket, he then checked to make sure his saber was fitted comfortably at his side.

"Are you sure about wearing that today?" came Murrue's voice from behind him.

He turned around as she walked up to him, buttoning up her uniform as she did so. The two of them had just gotten out of bed about fifteen minutes ago, and both would have to get to their respective stations shortly; the strike team was slated to launch in less than half an hour.

Heero nodded as she came to a stop a couple inches before him. "Waltfeld contacted me three days after the meeting during one of the exercises and said I should for psychological impact."

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Murrue replied, raising an eyebrow.

"At first I didn't either," said Heero, "but after he explained it, I could see some of his reasoning."

"Care to elaborate?" asked Murrue.

"The impact's for two targets," said Heero, "first and foremost is Shemei's parents. Remember, Waltfeld mentioned during the meeting that they were stubborn about going into hiding, which was why Zala and the radicals were able to capture them in the first place. That quality could well come into play when I break into Charon Prison."

"You mean Waltfeld thinks they might refuse our rescue?" Murrue replied, her eyes widening.

"Yes," Heero replied, "for a few reasons. Waltfeld said that Soran Rehema was the more vocal of the Valkyrie's parents in opposition to Field Marshal Bristow's plan to get them underground. This was due to a combination of pride, complacency, and a desire not to escalate the situation."

"The first two I can understand," said Murrue, "and you told me that when you spoke to Waltfeld during the battle he mentioned that Rehema's father was particularly stubborn about not wanting to go into hiding. That play's into the pride you mentioned, and I suppose I can see why both Soran and Akila Rehema would just prefer not to believe their daughter about their own government being out to get Naturals. The escalation bit you mentioned is throwing me for a loop, though."

"Right, sorry," said Heero, "according to Waltfeld, both of the Valkyrie's parents believed that, if there was indeed government animosity towards the Naturals living in the PLANTs, any act of defiance or subversion on their part would only lead to harsher actions by the ruling party against others. They thought that by sitting tight and ridding out the worst of things they could help the situation by presenting an image of pacification and subservience to the government. A misguided belief, as their current situation and that of all Naturals in the PLANTs proves, but one can see the logic behind it."

Murrue nodded, and Heero could see the grim comprehension in her eyes. "Yes," she said softly, "I suppose so, and taking that into account I can see why Waltfeld's worried that they may be hesitant to go with you when you hit Charon Prison. Still, how is wearing your formal uniform supposed to help matters?"

"That was my question as well," said Heero, "Waltfeld's answer was… interesting."

"How so?" asked Murrue.

"He told me that, though I already had already commanded his personal respect due to my actions since coming to the Cosmic Era," Heero replied, "seeing me in my uniform served to increase the admiration and professional courtesy he felt towards me. He believed that the uniform enhanced my image as a soldier, and while he wasn't advocating me wearing it all the time, he felt that in this situation the visual enhancement it gave me would prove useful in convincing Soran and Akila Rehema to trust me and come with me. They're both former officers from the Egyptian Air Force, and Waltfeld believed that background would cause them to have an instinctive respect for me in that uniform as opposed to just a flight suit. The feeling would be subtle, but still there… and Waltfeld thinks it will give me the edge I need to convince them to trust me."

"You'll need every edge you can get," said Murrue, concern clear in her expression, "this operation is extremely time sensitive. The longer we take on any part of it, the more time ZAFT will have to get reinforcements into position and overwhelm us. Every second counts, and the Valkyrie's parents being suspicious of you and hesitating to go with you could result in you death!"

"Exactly," said Heero, nodding solemnly, "even with Bristow covering my back, my time on site at Charon Prison will be extremely limited. I need to be in and out as quickly as possible, and opposition on the part of the elder Rehema's will not help matters. If the uniform helps give my image a sense of professionalism and trustworthiness, if it serves to win over the Rehema's or even slightly influence their opinions of me, then it's worth the risk of not wearing a flight suit. Besides, if I wind up in such dire straits that I actually _need _my flight suit… well, I'll be dead in short order."

"Don't talk like that," said Murrue, and Heero's eyes widened as she swiftly reached out and grabbed his shoulders, "Heero, I know that this mission will be _extremely _dangerous for you… but please, do not even _think _about dying. I need you to focus, to be strong… to _come back to me_. I _can't _lose you, Heero; I can't even bear to _think _about it!"

"Murrue…" Heero said softly, his lover's sudden outburst catching him off guard. The fears that had been suppressed the night before, blown over by their released passion, were now rearing their head, and although Heero was touched by Murrue's concern for him, it also pained him to see such worry in her face.

Determined to provide her comfort and reassurance, Heero put his left arm around Murrue and pulled her close while bringing his right up to her face. Softly touching her cheek, he leaned forward and gave her a hard, firm kiss. Murrue responded instantly, throwing her arms around him and holding him tightly as she returned his physical affections.

As their lips parted Heero spoke, his voice firm and resolute. "Murrue, I swore to you that I would come back to you, and I _will_. No fleet, army, or battle-station will keep me from completing this mission and returning to your side, I _promise_ you. I _will _survive, I _will _come back, and we _will _be together. Knowing that you're here, waiting for me, _loving _me, is all I need to keep my focus, to have the strength to triumph… but I can't do it alone. I need _you _to focus as well, to summon the extraordinary courage and strength that I _know _you have inside you. Do that, and we'll _both _make it through this alive."

Murrue nodded, and Heero was relieved to see a soft smile appear on her face. "I will, Heero. Forgive me; I shouldn't have let my fears come to the surface like that."

Heero shook his head and returned her smile. "It's alright, Murrue. It's natural to be scared; anyone going into this mission that _isn't _scared is a fool. I feel that same fear, but I _know _that I can face it and overcome it… and I _know _that you can do the same. You're the strongest person I've ever met, Murrue, and with you supporting me, being there with the _Archangel _when the time's right, I _know _we'll survive."

"Yes," said Murrue, her smile growing, that incredible warm strength of hers coming to the surface, driving back her fears, "you're right, Heero… thank you."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue."

As the two of them released each other Murrue spoke again. "Heero, earlier you said that Waltfeld mentioned two targets for the psychological impact that came with your uniform. What was the second, or was Waltfeld only referring to Soran and Akila Rehema?"

Heero shook his head. "Commander Rehema's parents were one of Waltfeld's targets; the other was the leadership of ZAFT and the PLANTs. It's a challenge, Murrue."

"I don't understand, Heero," said Murrue, "you're breaking into Charon Prison, and while that may be in Aprilius One it does not directly involve Patrick Zala or any of his cohorts."

"Not directly," said Heero, "but within the cell Rehema's parents are being kept in there are no doubt several monitoring devices. It might seem like overkill, but given their value as hostages against the Valkyrie the radicals have a vested interest in monitoring them thoroughly. Some of the cameras and audio bugs will undoubtedly be destroyed when I breach their cell, but Waltfeld's betting on one or two surviving… and capturing my image."

"Murrue," he continued, "aside from Waltfeld, Aisha, Rehema, and her subordinates, no one in ZAFT knows what the pilot of Wing Zero really looks like. When Zala and his cohorts review the footage from Charon Prison after the raid they'll finally see the soldier behind the machine… and they'll know that their greatest defenses cannot stand against him. It will strike fear into the hearts of the leaders of the PLANTs and ZAFT… and that fear will seep into the hearts of the rank and file, further fueling the dread they already have of me. I may not have had any contact with ZAFT soldiers apart from Waltfeld and his allies, along with Athrun and Dearka, but from what they've told me it's clear that Wing Zero has become an avatar of death and destruction to the enemy's frontline troops. Seeing the image of the pilot of that mobile suit in full military regalia only serves to enhance the psychological impact, and that will serve us well in future battles."

Murrue nodded. "It makes sense, I'll give you and Waltfeld that much… but what makes you think that footage from the surviving cell monitors will leak to ZAFT's rank and file? I would imagine that the higher-ups would want to keep something of that nature under wraps."

"A valid point," Heero replied, "and one I brought up to Waltfeld. He told me in turn that Bristow's contacts within the prison staff would leak the footage; apparently he's managed to slip a mole into the monitoring staff. That agent was the same one that managed to ascertain the exact location of Soran and Akila Rehema within Charon Prison. They can't help me directly more than that, but their leaking the surveillance footage to the regular ZAFT forces could make them even more fearful of meeting us in battle. After all… if I can penetrate into the heart of their homeland… well, in their eyes, what _can't _I do?"

Murrue's eyes widened for a moment before she surprised Heero with a devious smile. "Yes… and the awe and fear your actions inspire within them could well make them hesitate when they are forced to confront you in battle in the future. That would give us a vital opening… and with the power of Wing Zero and the _Archangel_, it'd be one we could use to devastating effect."

"Exactly, Murrue," said Heero.

Murrue nodded, her expression becoming more serious. "Alright, Heero. I still don't like this, along with the plan as a whole, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I already told you that I'm behind you one-hundred percent, and that hasn't changed; no matter what happens, I've got your back."

"That's all I need, Murrue," Heero replied, reaching out to grab her hands.

The two of them stood there for a moment, hands clasped together, meeting each other's gaze. Their eyes hid nothing from each other, and they could see everything their companion was feeling at that moment. Resolve, gratitude, concern, trepidation… and above all else, _love_.

After a few seconds the two of them turned together to look at the digital clock on the wall, and they knew that they could no longer stay in Murrue's quarters, regardless of how much they wanted to; it was time.

They walked to the door, hand in hand, drawing courage and strength from each other, steeling themselves for the operation that would soon be underway. After entering the hallway and closing the door behind them, the two lovers turned to each other again and came together in a fierce embrace. As they did so their lips sought out their partner's, and they shared a deep, passionate kiss.

"Murrue," said Heero softly as they parted, his face still mere inches from hers, "I love you."

"I love you too, Heero," Murrue whispered, smiling, "fly like I know you can, and know that my heart goes with you."

….

**(Start "Prologue")**

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue from the Captain's chair, "are we ready?"

The black-haired XO nodded, smiling at Murrue. "All systems are ago, ma'am. Our timer is synched with those of the _Eternal _and _Kusanagi_; Wing Zero's due to launch in less than a minute."

Murrue nodded before checking her personal monitor. "Heero's just established a telemetry feed between us and Wing Zero; we'll know when he takes down Avalon. Lieutenant, I want us ready to move in the _instant _that battle-station is destroyed."

"Roger that, Captain," she replied.

There was tension in the air as Murrue looked over her bridge crew, and she could not blame them for being nervous; the operation they were about to undertake was unlike any other they had attempted before. Despite the enormous risks involved, though, Murrue could also sense pride and confidence in her subordinates as they carried out their duties. They knew just how important their mission was, and they had been tested in battle more than enough now to have faith in their abilities… and their Captain. As she looked around Murrue saw her fellow crewmembers give her nods and smiles, and she knew that no matter what happened, they would follow her without question or hesitation.

_It's hard to believe that I can command such loyalty_, she thought, _all I want is to protect my crew, to do everything in my power to help them survive… and they truly respect that. We've all come such a long way together… I suppose they truly do see me as having that courage and strength that Heero so admires… that he so loves._

Checking the timer on her personal monitor, Murrue then turned back to the bridge crew. "Miriallia, open the hangar doors," she ordered, "It's nearly time."

"Yes, ma'am," the girl replied, and Murrue was pleased to note how calm and collected she was.

_She started out as just a civilian dragged into this conflict_, she thought, _and on top of that, she lost her boyfriend in the Marshall Islands. I could not blame her if she gave into despair, but she's stayed strong, and is as determined as the rest of us to fight and end this war. She's grown so much… they all have._

As the timer entered the final phase of the countdown a transmission came from the _Eternal_, addressed to the entire group.

"Everyone," said Waltfeld, "this is it. Fight like you have since before we all joined forces, and I know we'll triumph. God be with you, if you're the religious type. If not, then may Lady Luck keep us in her grace." There was a brief pause before the timer hit zero, and then he spoke again. "Strike team, launch!"

The Desert Tiger's transmission ended then, replaced by the voice of the young man on who the entire operation depended. "Wing Zero, launching."

The Gundam that had rocked the entire Earth Sphere to its foundations since its arrival in the Cosmic Era months ago shot out of the hangar, trailing blue-white thruster fire like a comet. As it flew to the head of the formation of three capital ships it was joined by the Justice from the _Kusanagi _and the Freedom and the three Wraiths from the _Eternal_. The Valkyrie's subordinate formed up around Heero in a triangle , with one pilot above him, one to his lower left, and the other at his lower right, while Kira and Athrun took Heero's right and left respectively.

"Transmission coming in from Wing Zero," said the communications officer, "it's on the tactical channel."

"Put it on screen," said Murrue.

Heero's face appeared on the main bridge monitor, and even through the screen Murrue could _feel _the calm, cool confidence coming from the Perfect Soldier. He was resolved, focused, and adamant in his purpose, and Murrue could feel her own strength rise to new heights as her eyes met his.

_He's had that affect on me for so long now_, she thought, _it's incredible, almost narcotic… I don't know what I'd do without it, who I'd _be _without it. A lesser person, a lesser woman… Heero, you've changed my life in a way I never thought possible._

She gave the Gundam pilot her complete and undivided attention as he spoke. "All systems are green," he said, "telemetry feed established. Murrue, you getting everything?"

Murrue nodded. "I am, Heero. The moment you destroy Avalon, we'll take up position and be ready to reinforce you. We'll clear your exit path; count on it."

"Roger that," he replied. He then gave her a small smile. "I _will _survive, Murrue, and I _will _come back to you. I love you."

Murrue could feel all eyes on the bridge turn to her, and she had no doubt her subordinates were looking at her with stunned expressions on their faces. Her face reddened slightly at the attention she was receiving, but she didn't let that stop her from giving Heero her resounding reply, along with a warm, confident smile.

"I love you too, Heero," she replied, firmly and without hesitation.

There was a moment of silence before another voice came over the radio… and Murrue remembered that Heero contacted her on the _tactical channel_, meaning _everyone _had heard his message.

"Well it's _about damn time_!" said Cagalli from the _Kusanagi_, "What the hell took you two so long?"

"Lady Cagalli!" came Kisaka's voice in the background. The poor Colonel sounded embarrassed at his ward's conduct.

"What?" Orb's tomboyish princess replied, "I can't have been the only one who was waiting for them to finally spit it out!"

"Indeed, you were not, Cagalli," came another voice, that of Lacus Clyne from the _Eternal_. Unlike Heero's, the two girls faces did not appear on the _Archangel_'s monitor, but Murrue could tell just from the tone of their voices that they were smiling.

_It seems Aisha was not the only one with their suspicions regarding our feelings for each other_, Murrue mused.

"Congratulations, both of you," the songstress continued, her joy clear in her voice.

Murrue's smile grew, and as she looked on the screen she saw Heero's do the same. "Thank you, both of you," she replied.

"Yeah," said Heero, "same here."

"You are most welcome," said Lacus.

"No problem," said Cagalli, "now go kick some ass, Heero, and don't you _dare _think of dying on Captain Ramius!"

Heero nodded, and though he spoke in response to the blond girl's words, Murrue new that his reply was truly intended for her. "Mission accepted. Wing Zero, out."

The Gundam pilot's face disappeared from the screen as he signed off, and Murrue took that moment to look at her bridge crew. Her subordinates were all looking at her, but their expressions were not the shock that she had been expecting. A few had bemused looks on their faces, some seemed mildly surprised, while a few more were actually smiling slightly. None of them showed any signs of revulsion or horror at the revelation that their Captain was in a relationship with a man that was ten years her junior, who wasn't even eighteen yet; though the announcement had taken them off guard, their faith in Murrue remained strong and unwavering.

_I guess I shouldn't be surprised, really_, she mused, _the way I've acted in the past when Heero goes into battle, when he's in danger… I suppose some of them had their suspicions about us. Well, it's finally out in the open, and it seems I still have their support despite that revelation… that's all I can ask._

After a second or two her subordinates returned their attention to their duty stations, leaving Murrue free to watch the main monitor. The image it displayed now was that of the strike team rapidly leaving the three warships behind as they streaked towards the Coordinator homeland. The six mobile suits were already little more than pinpricks of blue-white light, and soon they would disappear from visual range entirely.

_Be careful, Heero_, Murrue thought, _you know your limits better than anyone else, and I won't second guess you now… but please, watch yourself out there. I won't deny that my fear is still in my heart… but so is my belief, my _faith _in you. You're the best damn pilot I've ever seen, the best this world, _any _world, has ever seen, and if anyone can pull off a mission like this, it's you. Fly without fear or doubt… and _come back to me!

**Preview for next time!**

_Six mobile suits against an armada and a battle-station with the firepower to rival that of any fleet… it is a feat unheard of in the Cosmic Era, a suicide mission if there ever was one. Yet it is a mission that the Three Ships Alliance has undertaken in order to rescue the parents of the Valkyrie from the grips of the radical faction and enable the elite pilot to join their ranks. That the Perfect Soldier is leading an operation to save the family of his rival is an irony lost on no one, least of all Wing Zero's pilot. The Avalon Line represents a force greater than any Heero has ever challenged before, but it is one that he will confront head on without doubt or hesitation… and in doing so, he will ascend to heights unimagined by any other pilot, regardless of the world from whence they came. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-One: Avalon._

_ This… is how _legends _are born…_

**Author's notes**: Well, it took me twenty chapters, but I've finally brought my main pairing together! Oh man, feels like yesterday that I first started writing this fic, and now I've just hit the two-thirds mark. We've got a long way to go yet, though, folks, and just because Heero and Murrue are now an item doesn't mean this fic losses it's romance heading; there will be plenty of moments of further bonding between the Beautiful Captain and the Perfect Soldier as the story roles along.

But, the next chapter's focus is battle, and one I've been planning for a _long _time at that. Of course, you guys will have to wait awhile until you can read that battle; as I've said before, I don't do rush jobs. Just sit back and be patient, you all should by now that the wait will be more than worth it.

Please review, and until next time my friends!


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's notes: **Did ya miss me? Ok, sorry this took so long, with my senior year of college starting up things have been busy on my end. Updates will take a little longer as a result, but I promise you that I have not abandoned this fic; far from it. To all my more action-oriented readers, this is the chapter you've been waiting for!

Song list, in order of appearance: "Avalon," from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack, "chAngE" by miwa, the 12th opening in the Bleach anime, "Diapason," again from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack, and "The Sun Rises," from the Okami soundtrack.

Also, regarding the music for this chapter, most of the songs will be playing through the dots(….) that represent the section breaks. So keep the music going until you hit the (End "Song") cue.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-One: Avalon**

Cruising through space along its assigned patrol route, the _Nazca_-class destroyer _Annan _was a completely unremarkable vessel, staffed by a completely unremarkable crew. The azure warship had been one of many that had been rotated between fighting on the front lines and serving time in the PLANT Exclusion Grid. At the moment the _Annan _found herself carrying out the second duty, and it was currently at the halfway point of its patrol at the outskirts of the Avalon Line.

_Just another day at the office, so to speak_, mused the ship's commanding officer, Françoise Pelliere. A Second Generation Coordinator, the _Annan_'s Captain was as ordinary as his ship. The twenty-nine year old had a rather plain appearance, with close-cropped blond hair, brown eyes, light complexion and an average figure.

Captain Pelliere's service record was also average, barely distinguishable from the hundreds of other ship Captains in the ZAFT space fleet. He'd graduated from the ZAFT academy and had served on board older _Laurasia_-class frigates before gaining command of his own ship, and as his career had progressed and he'd accrued experience he'd been given an unofficial promotion by virtue of being transferred to one of the newer _Nazca_-class destroyers.

His crew was also quite ordinary, composed of the usual compliment one would expect to find on board any warship of the ZAFT Navy. There were bright young soldiers, ambitious junior officers, the cocky and rowdy mobile suit pilots; the standard menagerie, so to speak.

In short, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the _Annan_, her Captain, her crew, or her assignment. It was a ship that operated much like any other in the Coordinator armed forces, one that would not be worthy of any note in the history books… save for today.

Today the ZAFT destroyer would be very much distinguished from its brethren… fatally so.

"Contacts!" cried the sensor officer, a young man barely into his twenties, "Coming in fast, below the orbital plane… _oh, shit!_"

"What is it, boy?" asked Captain Pelliere, caught off guard by his subordinate's vulgarity… which had been motivated by fear.

The young man's expression was one of pure terror as he faced his Captain, all pretense of professionalism thrown out the window. "One of them is _Wing Zero!_"

Captain Pelliere felt the blood in his veins drop to an arctic chill. "All hands, battle stations!" he yelled, "Call for reinforcements, and get me a visual! Launch all mobile suits!"

"Energy spike!" cried the sensor officer.

As Captain Pelliere tried to prepare his ship for combat he saw the image on the main monitor shift to that of his enemy. Six mobile suits were indeed rushing up from below the orbital plane, with Wing Zero at the center of the formation...

…and its unholy rifle was leveled at the _Annan_, yellow-gold energy glowing at the tips of the weapon's twin barrels.

Before the destroyer could launch its mobile suits, before it could orient itself to face its enemy, before it could even get out a distress call, Wing Zero opened fire. A blast of hellfire surged forth from its demonic rifle, swiftly overwhelming the main bridge monitor with light… before consuming the ship and her crew in an inferno.

And so it was that the _Nazca_-class destroyer _Annan _would become a footnote in the history books…

…as Wing Zero's first kill in the Blitz of the Avalon Line.

The first, but _definitely _not the last.

Operation Knight Lance had begun.

….

The command center of the Avalon battle-station was a truly massive chamber. The circular room was over a hundred meters in diameter, and divided into two levels. The first level, which was at the top of a large steel cone, was where the station's primary control personnel were situated. This included the chief gunnery officer, communications coordinator, primary sensor officer, damage control chief, mobile suit launch and flight coordination officer, and several other key individuals responsible for overseeing the smooth operation of the gargantuan structure. The lower half of the cone was staffed by the immediate subordinates of the aforementioned specialists. There were over a hundred men and women at those stations, and they were responsible for filtering the myriad of status reports and situation updates the battle-station received on a near constant basis, ranking each one on a priority scale from One to Five, with One being the highest, and sending those of the most immediate concern to their supervising officers on the upper half of the cone. At first glance the whole setup appeared to be overwhelming, insufficient to run the massive battle-station, but in fact the whole operation proceeded quite smoothly under the guiding hand of the base's commanding officer, who sat at the center of the upper part of the cone.

Field Marshal Mahmoud Tlass was the man that had been given the prestigious task of running the Avalon battle-station. A Second Generation Coordinator in his late thirties, the tan-skinned, dark haired man traced his roots back to the Middle East, more specifically Syria. His parents had hailed from Damascus, a city torn apart by ethnic and sectarian feuds. The once great metropolis had devolved into a perpetual bloodbath over the course of the centuries, with both regional and global powers finally giving up at reigning in the cycle of violence perpetrated by rival factions of Islam against each other and any who tried to intervene. Into that maelstrom of death and destruction Tlass's parents had been born. The children of two of the few wealthy merchant families still able to do business in the war-torn country, selling food and supplies to commoners and warlords alike, both Tlass's mother and father had been born Coordinators in an effort to produce strong and intelligent heirs for their respective families. Under normal circumstances the endeavor would've been a success, and both man and woman had indeed shown a strong knack for bartering and deal-making. However, once the word had gotten out that the heirs of the two merchant clans were in fact Coordinators, children born not of nature but of science, several of the local feuding sects had forged temporary alliances to rid their city of the perceived 'abominations.' Realizing that it would be only a matter of time before they and their children were killed by the raving fanatics, both merchant families closed up shop entirely and immigrated to the PLANTs.

Once they had settled in at Aprilius Three, both families worked hard to reestablish themselves as thriving business entities, and had succeeded in the areas of local shipping of food freshly arrived at the docks and distributing said food at local outlets, respectively. As the two Coordinators had grown they had eventually fallen in love, and in coming together in marriage they had at long last united their respective families, a union the two heads of said clans both felt was natural and long overdue. Into that happy atmosphere Mahmoud Tlass had been born, and though he'd had ample opportunities to pursue a career in his parents' enterprises, the energetic and straightforward young man had found himself drawn to a more martial calling.

His career had started small as a member of the local colony security forces, essentially the local law enforcement organizations. However, that had changed once Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala had founded ZAFT, and Tlass had been an eager enrollee in the new Coordinator armed forces. From there he had slowly but surely rose through the ranks of the growing military, a journey that would take him through many skirmishes and full scale battles. The proudest moment of his career had been his ascendency to the position of Field Marshal and his assignment to command the newly completed Avalon battle-station in 70 C.E. He was thrilled to be in a key position regarding the defense of the Coordinator homeland, and his determination and patriotism had served him well during the Battle of the Avalon Line when the Alliance had attempted to attack the PLANTs from beneath the orbital plane after their failed head on assault at the Battle of Jachin Due. Knowing that the lives of his parents and millions of others rode on his shoulders had proven to be a performance incentive like no other, and his steadfast and resolute leadership had enabled the battle-station and her accompanying fleet to stand strong against the much larger enemy forces that had been arrayed against them in that engagement.

Things had quieted down after that fight, with no further attempts by the Alliance to launch a direct attack on the Coordinator homeland. That did not mean that Field Marshal Tlass or his subordinates were able to relax their guard, though, nor would he allow them to do so. Tlass was a firm and hard commanding officer, one whose strict adherence to protocol had engendered mixed feelings amongst those serving under him. The man would not play favorites, but at the same time he was loath to make exceptions for subordinates even under mitigating or extenuating circumstances. Rules were rules and the law was the law in his eyes, and bucking the system in any form was intolerable to him, even if it was due to good intentions. His subordinates had learned quickly that their Field Marshal made no distinctions between subverting regulations out of greed and malice or defying them out of altruism and moral grounds, out of compassion or pragmatism. The only morality in ZAFT, as far as Tlass was concerned, was the codes of conduct each and every soldier was bound to serve. They were there to ensure the cohesion of the armed forces and the defense of the homeland, and any deviation, regardless of the reason, was in his eyes a potential cause for disaster.

His rigid stance on such matters theoretically made him apolitical in an atmosphere fraught with intrigue and clashing ideologies, but in practice it meant that Tlass was a stable and reliable pawn for members of both sides to exploit, provided they maneuvered correctly. Tlass's strict adherence to rules and regulations made him a piece on the game board that was both predictable and easy to wield… and his narrow-minded view regarding law and order meant that they could do so without him ever being the wiser.

And both sides had done precisely that, or were planning to do so. For the supporters of the late Siegel Clyne it was the former, while for the current ruling party it was the latter. For the moderates, they had seized their chance when Field Marshal Eric Bristow had been given the assignment of reviewing the PLANT Exclusion Grid during the buildup prior to Operation Spitbreak. Said review had naturally included the Avalon battle-station, and during his visit the Wolf of the Far East had made his move in his typical behind the scenes fashion. While technically Bristow and Tlass shared the same rank, in practice the former's position as Zala's deputy chief of staff and a member of the Defense Council meant that he was higher up on the chain of command than the Syrian officer, and it was an advantage that Bristow had made use of.

During his tour of the station Bristow had requested, and gotten, complete access to the battle-station's internal network. Ostensibly this had been to review overall performance, but Bristow had taken the opportunity to slip a small piece of malware into the system. It was a passive program, letting it fly beneath the radar of ZAFT's cyber-warfare division, and it served two purposes. The first was to simply monitor the station's sensor data, while the second was to give Bristow a small, stealthy, but quite solid beachhead into the system; a backdoor in the event that he would need further access. It wasn't enough to enable him to sabotage Avalon directly, but knowing what the station had eyes-and-ears on, so to speak, and being able to access that data at any time of his choosing gave the Field Marshal another small weapon in his arsenal of contacts and informers. The fact that he could access his backdoor remotely from anywhere in the PLANTs was a very handy advantage…and one that was already being put to use today without the station's master being any the wiser.

As for how the radical faction planned to make use of Field Marshal Tlass, one needed only to look at the Syrian's service record and have knowledge of Zala's true agenda to draw the obvious conclusion. Tlass's career had been a stellar example of a soldier's rise in the ranks, but said rise had also been accompanied by a strict adherence to hierarchy and regulation. Tlass was a skilled commander, there was no doubting that, but the man lacked the independence, the _initiative_, of more noteworthy officers like Bristow, Creuset, and Waltfeld. He acted only upon explicit orders from his superiors, and he never deviated from those instructions, never made modifications to a plan to achieve beyond what had been set as mission parameters, and never made note or protest of extraordinary risks any operations might bring up, nor of any signs of ethical conflicts that might be inherent with them. He simply followed orders to the letter.

Which made him an ideal frontline commander for a regime hell bent on initiating the largest act of genocide in mankind's already staggering history of atrocities.

The situation was made all the worst by Tlass's inability to think outside the box, so to speak; his firm belief in the sanctity of codes and rules, the absolute authority of orders from the top of the chain of command, had given him such a narrow viewpoint that he was unable to step back and see his place in the bigger picture.

He was blissfully unaware that, despite his utter lack of political leanings, he was an ideal instrument for the radical's future offensive campaign, a perfect executor of the will of the ruling party on the battlefield… a Field Marshal that would order his troops to commit whatever slaughter the Supreme Chairman and his cohorts wished for.

With the big picture far removed from his mind, Field Marshal Tlass's sole concern was overseeing the operation of the Avalon battle-station and the Defense Line it anchored. To that end his focus was razor-sharp; nothing could distract him from carrying out his duty.

So when his sensor officer reported a piece of unexpected and alarming news, the Field Marshal's reaction was blunt and immediate.

"Sir, we've lost the _Annan_!" the young man at the post cried out, "She's been destroyed!"

Another commanding officer might've asked how that was possible; even at the outermost edge of the Avalon Line, where the mentioned destroyer had been on patrol, there should've been nothing capable of taking down such a warship. The PLANTs and their Exclusion Grid were at the center of L5, the heart of ZAFT space, and the thought of any hostile force getting through the outlying patrols undetected was simply unheard of.

Nevertheless, Tlass didn't let supposed factual impossibility get in the way of following procedure… and, obviously, said impossibility had been proven wrong in decisive fashion with the destruction of the _Annan_. "Go to Alert Level One!" he ordered, "All hands, battle stations! Scramble GINNs! Do we have eyes on what destroyed the _Annan_?"

"She was at the very edge of our sensor umbrella," the officer replied, "I'm getting no other large contacts in the area that aren't friendly; whatever did this has a smaller cross-section, unless it was an accident."

An accident was always a possibility, but Tlass would labor under the assumption that the _Annan _had been lost to enemy action until proven otherwise… and his assumption was proven to be right on the money as his sensor officer spoke up again.

"Hold on," said the young man, "I've got new contacts, relayed by one of our scout GINNs. Six of them, all mobile suits... _fuck!_"

The sensor officer's vulgarity had been accompanied by a distinct heightening of his tone, and the fear that now gripped the young man was unmistakable. Tlass vowed to reprimand the boy later on for losing his cool, but for now the current situation demanded his full attention.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Contacts are all nuclear powered MS, and all confirmed hostile!" the young man replied, "The Wraiths, the Freedom, the Justice… and _Wing Zero!_ Vector is confirmed as offensive; they're heading right for us!"

"For the PLANTs, or us specifically?" asked Tlass.

"_Us_, sir!" cried the sensor officer, clearly struggling to come to grips with what was unfolding before him, "Their vector… it's a head on strike against Avalon!"

Tlass may have been a rigid and inflexible man, blind to the intrigues that plagued the war the Earth Sphere was caught up in, but he wasn't a complete fool. The Field Marshal had heard the reports of what Wing Zero had done at the First Battle of Alaska, and had made the logical conclusion that if that machine's monstrously powerful gun was strong enough to destroy a base hardened against nuclear strikes then it would be quite capable of destroying a large artificial construct such as a space colony… or the Avalon battle-station.

For warships, attacking Avalon head on was suicidal, but mobile suits were far smaller and more agile; the Tunguska cannons had a much slimmer chance of hitting them.

That didn't mean Tlass would hold back on the big guns, though.

"Communications," he yelled, "inform the Defense Council that Wing Zero and the hijacked prototypes are inbound! Instruct all warships on our Line to converge on our position!"

"Sir, we're far too spread out!" the senior radio specialist replied, his voice in a state of near panic, "Wing Zero will be in firing range long before the full fleet can get to our position!"

"_Follow your orders!_" Tlass roared, his patience with his fear-struck subordinates fast wearing thin.

The young man's face paled even further than it already was, and he quickly turned back to his station.

Tlass wasted no time in issuing further orders. "Guns, bring all weapons to bear, including the heavies! Initiate firing cycle; no volleys! I want maximum rate of fire from the Tunguskas, understood?"

"Sir," the chief gunnery officer replied, "hitting a target that small with the Tunguskas…"

"I know the math," he shot back, "take the shots anyway; one of those rounds will be more than enough to take down Wing Zero! Concentrate every shot from the Tunguskas on Wing Zero; that damn mobile suit dies today!"

The chief gunnery officer gulped and nodded. "Aye, Field Marshall."

Tlass's eyes narrowed as he focused on the main monitor, which showed Wing Zero and the other five mobile suits swiftly closing in with the Avalon Line. Though the Line's warships were spread out over a vast area, there were still a considerable amount of frigates and destroyers close enough to the battle-station to act as direct fire support and intercept Wing Zero and the hijacked prototypes. The fact that they had their own mobile suit teams also helped matters… but that did not change the fact that they were up against the single deadliest enemy ZAFT had ever faced, and that it was supported by five more machines that were nearly as advanced and lethal as it was.

Tlass was well aware of the fearsome reputation that surrounded Wing Zero. The machine was spoken of in hushed tones by officers and the rank and file alike, and the ripples caused by its actions had touched ever echelon of ZAFT, all the way up to the lofty perch of the Defense Council itself. Rumors and battlefield tales had little impact on a hardened man like Tlass, but he was aware of the affect that they could have on the younger generation of soldiers, and he knew that it was manifesting itself in the behavior of his immediate subordinates on the Avalon battle-station. Despite the fact that they were on board the most formidable of ZAFT's space fortresses, the awe and fear inspired by Wing Zero remained infectious and potent. Tlass may have been rigid and unimaginative, but he was not a fool; he knew that the dreadful Guardian of the _Archangel_ had inflicted an unholy amount of casualties upon his nation's armed forces, and the trail of death and destruction left in its wake posed a serious threat to troop morale.

That was why Tlass was determined to take down Wing Zero here and now. The fact that the five machines flying with it were stolen ZAFT prototypes piloted by renegades incensed the man to no end, but it was Wing Zero that he deemed to be the greatest threat, not just physically but psychologically. If it could be taken down today, the threat it posed to ZAFT, both in the material sense and in terms of morale, would be eliminated, and in fact Tlass was sure that performing such a feat would be a major boost to the spirits of the armed forces. Taking down or recapturing the Freedom, Justice, and the three Wraiths would be a considerable bonus, but the top priority in his mind was Wing Zero, which was why Tlass had designated it as the sole target of the firing cycle for the four mammoth Tunguska cannons; if just one round from them hit the mobile suit, then one of the greatest threats to ZAFT and the PLANTs as a whole would be neutralized once and for all.

"Hit them with everything we've got!" he roared, "Fill the sky with fire; show them what Avalon's all about!"

….

Sitting on a bench in the pilots' locker room, laptop in front of him, Eric Bristow smiled as the latest sensor data from the Avalon battle-station streamed onto his screen. Earlier in the day he'd patched into the bug he'd left in the station's internal network on his tour all those months ago, and had been patiently waiting for this moment.

He'd kept in touch with Waltfeld since the day the Desert Tiger had left the PLANTs, though it had not been easy to do so. Their communiqués could only be via email, and Eric had to do a lot of rerouting through different servers and satellites to keep ZAFT's cyber-warfare and tracking specialists from zeroing in on him. Every message sent always carried with it the risk that the Wolf of the Far East might make a mistake, might finally let the hounds catch up with him. It was walking yet another tightrope, adding even more danger to the already incredibly high-stakes double-game he was playing against Zala and the rest of the radical faction.

That was why he was so glad to see Wing Zero, the Freedom, the Justice, and the three Wraiths approaching the Avalon Line. The beginning of the operation to free his lover's parents from prison was also the signal that his time in the PLANTs had at last come to an end. Both Eric and Waltfeld had known all along that there was only so long the Wolf of the Far East could escape Zala's ever-growing paranoia, especially in light of all the information he was sending to the followers of the late Siegel Clyne. Both men had agreed that Eric had accomplished all he could by working from within the belly of the beast; now it was time for him to return to the battlefields. The appearance of Wing Zero and the rest of the strike team meant that Eric no longer had to play his nerve wracking game of cat-and-mouse with the radicals; now he could declare his true allegiance.

_And get Shemei the hell out of here_, he thought. He'd sent Shemei a vague email earlier that day, cryptically giving her a heads up regarding the raid; out of operational security he was being extremely cautious, all the more so since his lover was now operating directly with the Fleet. The destroyer she had returned on board from the disastrous confrontation with the _Eternal_, the _Archangel_, and the new Orb warship was now operating on the Avalon Line, meaning that Shemei was in an ideal position to finally defect from ZAFT… provided her parents were safe.

_It all comes down to you, Heero_, he thought, watching the image of the young pilot's fearsome machine on the monitor, closing in on the warships out in front of the Avalon battle-station, _my lover's freedom, the safety of her parents… it all hangs on you. You pull this off, and I'll buy you drinks for the rest of your life._

His smile turned into a full grin. "You're right on time, Heero," he said quietly, "now you just have to do what you do best; the impossible. As for me… I'll be ready to play my part when you succeed."

With that he powered off the laptop and slid it into the duffel bag next to the bench before zipping it up. Picking it up and slinging it over his shoulder, he was about to head for the locker room exit when he felt a vibrating coming from one of the pockets of the dark blue flight suit he was wearing.

_My work phone_, he mused, smirking as he checked the caller ID, _almost forgot about this…_

The number displayed was that of HQ, and Eric wasn't surprised in the least; he was sure all the members of the Defense Council were being called in now that Wing Zero was on their doorstep, metaphorically speaking.

He flipped open the black phone… and promptly snapped it in half.

"Zala," he said as he chucked the two halves of the phone into a nearby trashcan, "consider this my resignation."

_One that's long overdue_, he thought, anger stirring in his heart, _you kidnapped the parents of the woman I love and used them as a weapon against her, a dagger in her back. You sent Shemei to the brink of despair, and it's been all I can do to give her the hope and strength she needs to survive with the knowledge that the lives of her mother and father rest in the hands of you and your pack of murderers. I stuck close to you, stayed on in the Defense Council, for _her _sake, to be in a position to get the information we'd need to help take you down; it sure as hell wasn't out of loyalty to the government and the armed forces. The PLANTs and ZAFT lost my support the instant they took my lover's parents hostage. Since then I've been biding my time, waiting patiently for the day that I could openly declare war against them, against _you, _Zala._

This was more than just his open defection to the Clyne faction; this was Eric's permanent departure from his homeland. He would never return to the PLANTs after this, and he knew that Shemei and her family wouldn't either. Eric wasn't particularly torn up over the whole affair; so long as he could be by Shemei's side, he could make anywhere in the Earth Sphere a home. Nor was he worried about possible repercussions against his family; his father was a faithful supporter of the Zala regime, and his position as one of the members of the Asimov Design Bureau's board of directors made him a very valuable ally to the radicals, one they would be loath to alienate.

_Unlike Shemei_, he thought, _I don't have to worry about my family being used against me by the radical faction… well, not in the usual sense. Since my father supports Zala, my defection means I'm declaring war against my family along with the radical faction. This isn't something I wanted… but I have no choice. I can't just stand by and let Zala lead our people down the path of slaughter, nor can I abide him taking Shemei's parents hostage. Father made his choice when he decided to back the radicals and I made mine when I sided with the moderates; there's no turning back now._

A slight smirk appeared on his face as he walked out of the locker room and into the hangar of the private ADB research and testing facility. There were no guards or staff inside; Eric had cleared them all out using the authority that came with the combination of his rank and his position on the Defense Council.

'_Council security inspection', I told them_, he mused, stifling a chuckled, _such things do occur, but it's rare when a Field Marshal is the one conducting them… good thing my family name carries weight in the ADB, or I would've had a much harder time pulling that little lie off._

The private test hangar was located in the 'upper' half of the hour-glass shaped colony, which meant that it was in an ideal position for Eric to launch from once Heero made his run on Charon Prison. If the facility had been in the lower half, then Eric would've been forced to hijack a machine from Fort Saturn, the ZAFT base in the upper half of the colony, and that would've been a much riskier proposition.

_More to the point_, Eric thought, his smirk becoming a smile as he approached the testing hangar's sole machine, _Fort Saturn doesn't have this machine, nor does any other ZAFT base for that matter. It hasn't even gone into limited production yet._

Bathed in the hangar's lights was a black mobile suit with dark blue trim. The frame was identical to the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, and indeed, the unit was a variant of the intended replacement for ZAFT's current mainline mobile suit, the GINN. Unlike the standard GuAIZ, this unit lacked a beam rifle. Instead, both arms mounted a Composite Shield with dual beam-claw emitters. It retained the rocket anchors from the baseline GuAIZ, and on its shoulders were mounted two MMI-M826 'Hydra' Gatling Beam Cannons. The unit's designation was the ZGMF-600 CCM GuAIZ Werewolf. The CCM stood for Close Combat Model, denoting the unit's intended purpose as a variant that specialized in short-range fighting. Indeed, the two dual-beam claws made the mobile suit a fearsome melee combatant; though with the 'Hydra' Gatling Beam Cannons and the rocket anchors the unit also had mid-range capability. The Werewolf's thrusters were significantly stronger than those of the mainline GuAIZ, which allowed it to quickly get into close-combat-range with its foes to make up for its lack of the beam rifle, and it had the added bonus of giving the machine full-flight capabilities in Earth's atmosphere, something its baseline unit lacked.

As a mobile suit pilot, Eric's experience was with GINNs and BuCues, space and ground units respectively that had well-rounded weapons capabilities. Some might see taking control of a close-quarters-combat model as a handicap for him, but Eric was undaunted. More to the point, short-range fighting had a special thrill to the Wolf of the Far East. He may have been as opposed to war as any sensible person, but he also knew that he derived the same thrill from close combat with a skilled foe that Shemei and Waltfeld did. The GuAIZ Werewolf would force him into more such confrontations on the battlefield, a prospect that was not without its excitement to the now former Field Marshal.

In short, the more limited GuAIZ Werewolf was not viewed as a handicap by Eric.

He saw piloting it as a challenge, one he was more than willing to embrace.

As he ascended the stairs to the boarding platform, he could feel the beginnings of adrenaline begin to course through his veins. At long last, after far too many months bound to deskwork due to Zala's desire to sideline him, he was returning to where he belonged; the front lines.

_Mankind should not desire battle_, he thought as he opened the mobile suit's hatch, _the death, the despair, the slaughter, the bloodshed… any sane person should be repulsed by it, and for the most part I believe they are. Yet there's also something about the battlefield that captivates the human imagination in a way that nothing else does, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not immune to it. It's not a matter of patriotism or bloodlust; I think it's something deeper than that. There's a certain rush one gets when their life is on the line, a combination of fear and excitement unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Even were I not an actual combatant, though, I would still find myself drawn to war… or more specifically, the people that fight it. Propaganda may tell us about every soldier enlisting to serve his or her country, but that's simply too broad a brush to paint those people with. Behind every fighter there's an individual story, a personality, a past… and something within them that drives them into military service. Whether it's to protect the people they love, to fight for ideals like freedom and justice, to look for adventure, to escape one's previous life and start anew… there are so many reasons that draw people to the battlefield. _

Eric wasn't quite like Shemei or Waltfeld; he did not deliberately seek out a worthy opponent like they had with Heero and Kira, respectively. He could understand why they did it, though; after being on top of the game for so long, so to speak, to be able to find a foe that could push them to their limits and beyond must've been a thrilling experience. It was only enhanced by the fact that their foes were actually admirable and noble people outside the battlefield, though it also lent an air of sorrow to their duels; were they not on the opposite sides of a war, Eric knew that they would've been great friends.

_And if all goes according to plan_, he mused, _today will mark the day that we all officially joined forces; we'll all be fighting under one banner. It's something I've been looking forward to for quite awhile now, and it will definitely beat all these cloak and dagger games I've been playing around here._

He climbed into the Werewolf and closed the hatch, stowing his bag underneath the pilot's seat. Eric then initiated the startup sequence; he wanted to be ready to launch the instant Wing Zero made its run on Charon Prison.

Despite the enormous odds the fearsome machine and its incredible pilot were up against, Eric's confidence in Heero and Wing Zero was quite strong. Part of it was due to the reports he'd read on them, along with word passed along by Waltfeld, but it was Shemei's accounts of fighting against him that had Eric convinced that Heero could pull this off. That young man had elicited a sense of awe and admiration within Shemei that Eric knew no other foe had ever stirred within her. He knew that her respect for his abilities had no bounds, and it had been the driving force behind her desire to get a new mobile suit; she'd wanted to close the technology gap between them so she could truly fight Heero on even footing, without relying on backup from the rest of her team. It wasn't that she didn't trust Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla; she just wanted to fight Heero one-on-one.

_She's a duelist at heart_, he mused, _she's a phenomenal pilot and soldier, but ultimately she prefers a one-on-one fight with someone that can push her to her limits, and Heero more than qualifies as that. I guess part of it comes from her background as a fencer; she sure does love a good sword fight, and the duels she's had with Heero have definitely been those, though they also have artillery in the mix. Shemei's one of those rare pilots that leaves the rank and file completely in the dust, and who strives to find an opponent that can compete at her level. Heero gave her that, and she wants to return the favor by fighting him fairly, without backup. She got that chance a week ago, but with the threat to her parents' lives hanging over her head courtesy of Zala, I know she wasn't able to truly enjoy the fight, to make it the rematch she's longed for. Maybe when this mission's over, she and Heero can have that duel; I'm sure between the resources of the Archangel, Eternal, and that Orb ship along with Heero and Shemei's expertise we can work up some simulators so they can go at it non lethally and settle their score. There's no point in them engaging in a death match after going through all this to save her and her parents from the radicals, something I'm sure they'll agree with._

As the Werewolf powered up Eric once again tapped into the bit of malware he'd left in the Avalon battle-stations internal network so he could access its sensor data. After sifting through data he found what he was looking for; the destroyer Shemei was on. It wasn't too far from the battle-station, and he knew that with the Judgment's speed Shemei was more than capable of intercepting Wing Zero and the strike team before Heero could set up for his shot.

_There's no way they won't have her launch_, he thought, _not when they know that Shemei and the Judgment is the only thing they have that can take on Heero and Wing Zero. I'm sure Waltfeld's taken that possibility into account, along with Heero; the only question is how they'll adapt. Heero can't afford to be sidetracked in this mission; every second counts. His best counter would be to have Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla keep Shemei occupied while Athrun and Kira guard his flanks._

It was the most likely scenario, and one Eric was hopeful would play out in that manner. While he knew it pained Shemei to fight her former comrades, he also knew that the four of them were capable of stringing out a fight to buy time without killing each other, while simultaneously giving the appearance that they were indeed trying to take each other down.

_Shemei got my message earlier, I'm sure of that_, he thought, his eyes narrowing, _I had to keep the wording vague, but she's a very intelligent woman, and when she sees Wing Zero and the others approaching she'll be able to put two and two together. As long as she's able to play along with the girls until Heero takes down Avalon, we'll be alright. The girls can contact her on their old tactical channels to drive the point home as to why they're here; even if she can't respond directly, she'll at least know that her parents' savior is coming. And once Heero hits Charon Prison… then she'll be unleashed._

As he turned his attention back to the strike team as they closed with the warships that served as the vanguard of the Avalon battle-station, Eric had to struggle to hold back his excitement. He was normally a calm and relaxed individual, and quite good at keeping his composure under most circumstances, but today's operation and everything it entailed had lit a fire in him that was only match by the one that burned for his lover.

"Come on, Heero," he said, smiling as he began to recite just a few of the monikers the phenomenal pilot had garnered amongst the ZAFT forces, "Reaper of North Africa, Guardian of the _Archangel_, Angel of Ruin… show Zala and his sycophantic followers how you _earned _your reputation and titles."

….

**(Start "Avalon")**

Heero's eyes narrowed as the operation's first objective came into view; the Avalon battle-station. Its appearance matched that of the hologram Waltfeld had shown him and the others during the meeting, but the electronic image he'd seen in the _Eternal_'s conference room failed to truly do the leviathan of a fortress justice. The monolithic disk-shaped structure was like a cold-steel guardian, blocking the most direct access from beneath the orbital plane to the Coordinator homeland. Sunlight glinted off its surface, revealing its mind-blowing arsenal in all its glory. The heavy beam cannons, the missile launchers, the CIWs, the four titanic Tunguska guns… the battle-station bristled with more weapons Heero had seen mounted on one structure since the _Libra_.

_I wonder which one would win?_, he mused, _Avalon has more weapons and is much larger, but the Libra's main gun was far more powerful than the Tunguska cannons. I guess it would all come down to who could get off the first shot… and it's academic in any case. Libra won't be taking this monster down; _I _will._

However, the battle-station itself was not the first target on Heero's agenda. Though the fleets that made up the Avalon Line were spread out over a _very _wide area, the supporting warships in the immediate area were nothing to be taken on lightly. Around and in front of the battle-station was a force of warships that numbered at least a score. Heero counted over a dozen frigates and several destroyers, and he knew that more were already inbound. The warships were launching their GINNs as the strike team made their approach, as was the disk-shaped behemoth behind them. If Heero wanted to stand a chance in hell at taking down the Avalon battle-station, he and the others would first have to thin out the ships and mobile suits in the immediate area. Otherwise the ZAFT forces would surround him and prevent him from lining up a clear shot on the massive fortress.

"Spread out," he ordered over the tactical channel, "Athrun, the far right flank is yours. Kira, you're on the left. Valkyrie Team, loosen up but keep our general formation; I'll need you watching my back when I go for my run on Avalon. Everyone be sure to give each other at least two kilometers of maneuvering room on all sides, preferably more; we're going to need it."

"Roger that," came his comrades' reply, all five speaking as one.

As the strike team fanned out Heero glanced at the bottom right corner of his screen, where the energy readings coming from Avalon were displayed. These were critical for him to monitor as a spike would indicate that one of the Tunguska cannons was about to fire… and Heero was sure that he would be the prime target of those massive guns. That was why, as he immersed himself in the Zero System, he made sure to mind the firing paths of the Tunguskas, the current phase of their firing cycle, and the battle-station's energy usage. The enhanced awareness and precognition that the Zero System gave him would enable him to evade fire from the monolithic cannons along with the rest of Avalon's armaments, but only if he kept them within his sphere of awareness.

Also within that sphere of awareness was the disposition of his allies. Precision flying and cooperation between the six of them would be crucial to their survival, especially when the time came for Heero to set up for his shot at Avalon. Kira and Athrun would play important roles in keeping ZAFT forces from outflanking him, but it was the Valkyrie Team's assignment to keep enemy mobile suits off his back while he prepared to fire that would be the most crucial.

The three Wraiths were flying openly, uncloaked, in order to make full use of their offensive and defensive capabilities. In other circumstances Heero would've had them fly cloaked in order to conceal their presence from the enemy and deliver maximum surprise when the GINNs closed in for combat, but with all the artillery ZAFT could bring to the table the Perfect Soldier knew that all it would take was a stray round or missile to take down the Wraiths while they were cloaked due to their inability to use Phase Shift Armor while in that state. Their role as Heero's personal guard during the approach to Avalon was too important for the Gundam pilot to take that chance, though such caution may have seemed a bit out of place in light of the already overwhelming odds they were throwing themselves against. Still, Heero felt it was important for each pilot in the strike team to have the maximum amount of defensive capability available to them during the operation.

Besides, this wasn't a stealth mission.

This was a head on assault.

Wing Zero's sensors were swiftly filling up with contacts as a horde of mobile suits billowed forth from Avalon and the warships in her immediate vicinity. They were all GINNs; no threat by themselves but in the massive numbers they were being deployed they constituted a serious danger. Heero could also see the warships angling for shots on the strike team, and he had no doubt that he was the center of attention… for them _and _the battle-station. There was no ego in the assumption; it was simply a matter of fact, a logical conclusion based on his past performance against his foes and the casualties he had inflicted upon them.

Heero was the biggest threat on the field, and he knew ZAFT was fully aware of that and would respond accordingly.

And they did not disappoint.

"Evasive!" ordered Heero as he saw Avalon's energy readings spike. As he spoke he jinked sharply to the right, and not a moment too soon; Avalon had begun her firing cycle. A _massive _80 meter railgun round ripped forth from one of the Tunguska cannons, a gargantuan yellow blur of a shot. Thanks to the Zero System Heero was able to predict the angle of the shots fired from Avalon's big guns and move to dodge their shots, but that did not change the very real threat the large shells posed to him; a single hit and he was dead, regardless of how incredibly tough Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy frame was. The same went for his allies; Phase Shift Armor meant nothing against that kind of firepower.

The titanic shell tore through the space Heero had occupied mere moments before, and it was swiftly followed up by Avalon's conventional weapons opening up. A storm of emerald beams and missiles rained down on the strike team, and the ZAFT warships supporting the battle-station added their own energy cannons and railguns to the mix. It was a rain of death, one that would only be amplified when the GINNs moved into firing range with their rifles.

The barrage was thick, but not perfect. There were gaps in the firing pattern that Heero and his allies could exploit. This was simply due to the fact that both Avalon and her supporting warships had to be very careful with their fire in order to avoid hitting their own comrades, whether they be destroyers and frigates or the hordes of GINNs that had been launched from the vessels and the battle-station.

The instant the first Tunguska cannon had fired a timer had appeared on Heero's monitor just above the energy reading display for the battle-station; the countdown until the next big shot in Avalon's firing cycle. A minute and fifteen seconds was both an eternity and a blink of an eye on a battlefield as large as this, but it nevertheless presented a window that Heero intended to take full advantage of.

Checking his sensors and seeing that his allies were all alive, Heero turned his attention to the warships directly in front of the strike team and brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear; it was time to start cutting into the ZAFT fleet. The warships and mobile suits were fanning out in a classic inverted crescent, with the goal of enveloping the strike team in an encirclement. Of course, given the three dimensional nature of space, completely surrounding the strike team required exponentially more units than it would in surface combat, with the objective being to envelope Heero and the others in a complete sphere rather than a simple circle, but the Avalon Line had more than enough resources to spare, even if it was just the vanguard of its anchor base and said base's massive mobile suit compliment.

"I'll hit the enemy center," said Heero, "Valkyrie Team, keep the GINNs off me. Freedom, Justice; engage anything that comes up on the flanks, warships or mobile suits."

"Got it," said Athrun.

"Ok," said Kira.

"We've got you covered, Heero," said Adaline.

"Good," said Heero. With that he split the Twin Buster Rifle, brought the weapon up to fifty percent charge, and cut loose.

Two blasts of golden-yellow hellfire ripped forth, detonating thirteen GINNs like firecrackers before hitting their true targets, a destroyer and a frigate. The two warships were annihilated by the powerful energy beams, but the hole made in the enemy's massive formation was quite small, easily covered by fire from the other warships, the massive horde of GINNs, and of course the Avalon battle-station.

Rejoining the two guns into Wing Zero's main rifle, Heero then proceeded to ignite his emerald beam saber. His plan was simple; hack his way through the center of the swarm of mobile suits while targeting the warships directly in his path, entrusting his flanks and back to his allies. For a pilot whose style had until quite recently revolved around lone-wolf combat, having comrades that he knew could cover him was a strangely refreshing feeling to Heero. He could not help but be reminded of the final campaign of the Eve Wars and how he and his fellow Gundam pilots had eventually overcame their lone-fighter tendencies and had come together as a single cohesive unit, becoming perhaps the deadliest fighting force in the history of the Earth Sphere.

Heero couldn't help but smile slightly as he prepared to engage a formation of GINNs that were closing fast with him while at the same time lining up for a shot at a _Laurasia_-class frigate, a sense of nostalgia creeping into his heart. His may have been the only mobile suit in the strike team that used the titular alloy, but the units piloted by his comrades were incredibly fearsome machines in their own rights, and the skills of their wielders set them far above the rank and file. They had their own unique personalities and ideals, and did not always see eye-to-eye, but they had all come together to help bring an end to the most destructive war in the history of the Earth Sphere of their timeline.

They were a new Gundam Team.

The thought was interesting to Heero, but he did not allow it to distract him from the task at hand. Taking aim with the Twin Buster Rifle, he opened fire on the frigate in his sights. The torrent of golden-yellow energy that ripped forth from Wing Zero's main weapon obliterated another eight GINNs before it washed over the green frigate, turning it into bits of superheated metal. The instant after the shot left the twin rifle barrels Heero closed with a group of GINNs that had scattered to evade his shot but were now disorganized; prime targets.

He cut down three machines in the space of mere seconds, the doomed trio detonating one after another in his wake. Heero impaled a forth machine before jinking right and slashing a fifth one in half. He then side slipped to the left and cut a sixth GINN down, weaving through the veritable typhoon of enemy fire coming his way courtesy of Avalon, her warships, and the hundreds of GINNs. All the while he kept up his forward momentum, knowing that to get caught up in a dogfight was suicide in this environment. Such flying would naturally give his enemies the chance to surround him and attack from all directions…

… were his allies to give them the chance.

Out on the far right flank a destroyer and two frigates were attempting to line up shots on Wing Zero; _attempting_ being the key word. The three warships and the score of GINNs that were with them had found themselves stonewalled by Athrun and the Justice. The son of ZAFT's ruler was putting on a phenomenal display of defensive flying, pounding the warships with volleys from his rifle and beam cannons while eviscerating the GINNs with his beam saber. The destroyer's bow heavy beam cannons had been knocked out of action by the younger Zala, and the former ZAFT Red had also neutralized the main guns of the two supporting frigates. All three vessels still had their secondary armaments, but they were having a hard time bringing them into play as Athrun hit the warships with scattered shots while at the same time mauling their mobile suit squadrons. Seven GINNs had already fallen to the young man's violet blade, and Heero knew that Athrun was just warming up.

On the far left flank Kira was likewise occupied, and though he continued to use his trademark non-lethal fighting style he was nonetheless succeeding in holding off the ZAFT fleet. The Freedom's impressive array of artillery was getting a major workout, pouring out volleys of highly precise plasma blasts, rail cannon rounds, and energy beams. Several mobile suits had already been disabled and were turning tail, while the three frigates were showing signs of serious damage, with several of their guns little more than cratered wrecks.

However, even with their incredible skills and sophisticated mobile suits, there was only so much Athrun and Kira could do to secure Heero's far flanks in this sort of fight. The enemy's numbers were so great that they could simply fan out further and go around the Freedom and the Justice; despite their formidable array of weapons, the two prototypes could only cover so much space and so many foes. GINN teams were streaming around the two aces, arcing past them and coming in fast at Wing Zero from all sides. Those attempting to take him head on Heero would deal with himself, but given the amount of fire he was facing from Avalon and its supporting forces he could not afford to stop and fight the GINNs that were trying to hit him from the flanks.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about them; the Valkyrie Team had him covered.

Glancing at his sensors, Heero couldn't help but smirk as he saw Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla utterly _decimating _the GINNs that had made it around Kira and Athrun and were trying to attack him. Adaline was flying below and to the left of Heero, Lan mirrored her on the right, while Priscilla was above and behind him. Adaline had her right beam saber ignited while her left Trikeros was being wielded as a beam rifle, and she was using the combo to deadly effect, mauling her foes in close and mid range combat. Five GINNs had already fallen to her blade, and another six had gone down to well placed rifle shots.

Lan had forgone either of her beam sabers in favor of her rifles and hip-mounted Xiphas railguns, wielding all four guns in a manner that would've made John Woo jealous. The Chinese Coordinator had become an Oriental Angel of Death, dishing out damage at a rate that nearly matched that of the more heavily armed Freedom. Nine GINNs had already been destroyed by Lan, and she was just starting to hit her stride.

Priscilla had taken a different approach, firing only a few salvos with her beam rifles and railguns, taking down a few GINNs but letting most of those coming from her angle get closer. Were she any other pilot Heero would've had concerns that she was holding back due to her foes being former allies, but he did not doubt Priscilla; she had been chosen by Rehema to fly with her, and Heero doubted the Valkyrie would take on a subordinate that lacked the professionalism needed of this kind of fight. His instincts told him she was baiting her enemies, drawing them into a trap, and he was proven right a second later as the Italian/Romanian lady suddenly cut loose with her Wraith's Lancer Dart missiles, letting fly with all twelve of the warheads in her arsenal. The surprise barrage was as accurate as it was lethal; a dozen GINNs were obliterated in the attack, one for each missile fired.

_A gamble, firing all her missiles so early_, Heero mused, _and Priscilla struck me as the more cautious out of those three girls… well, it was a very effective move, and I have no doubt she understood the risks going in. She made her choice, and she'll adapt her fighting style to compensate for her now-empty missile racks._

Indeed, she was already doing so, igniting her right beam saber while opening fire with her left beam rifle; in essence, Priscilla was adopting the same style Adaline was using. She began laying down a series of precise shots as cover fire while readying herself for close quarters combat.

As he took all this in Heero was diving headlong into another pack of GINNs, laying waste to them with his emerald blade. Four machines went down in rapid succession as he cut his way through the enemy squadron before bringing the Twin Buster Rifle up once again and cutting loose. Once more a stream of hellfire ripped forth from the fearsome gun, annihilating eight GINNs before slamming into a destroyer, reducing it to little more than superheated atoms. Heero didn't have time to celebrate though; the timer for the next shot in the Tunguska cannon firing cycle was about to hit zero and the Gundam pilot knew that all four guns were still focused squarely on him.

He jinked to the left as the energy monitor spiked, and not a moment too soon as one of the massive guns opened fire, sending another titanic shell hurtling his way at an incredible velocity. Heero's evasive maneuver was barely enough to dodge the railgun round; all the fire from Avalon's conventional guns, the supporting warships, and their GINNs made it extremely difficult to avoid getting hit. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and he could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins like an electric current. Flying through the storm of energy beams, missiles, rail cannon rounds, and machinegun bullets was pushing Heero's skills to their limits, but he was still able to stay one step ahead of the enemy and continue his charge towards the gargantuan battle-station.

The Perfect Soldier may not have had any desire to comment on the rain of fire pouring down on him and the strike team, but as he prepared to meet another formation of GINNs and take a shot at a _Laurasia_-class frigate he could hear the Valkyrie's subordinates voice their opinions over the tactical channel. The commentary was… interesting, to say the least.

"Holy crap," said Lan as she took down four GINNs with pinpoint volleys from her beam rifles and railguns, "this reminds me of those bullet hell games Pris got into a few months back!"

"No kidding," said Adaline as she slashed a GINN in half before destroying two more with her beam rifle and railguns, "Pris, you must be so happy right now; you're playing _Touhou _ with mobile suits, warships, and the biggest arsenal of weapons ever slapped onto a single artificial habitat."

"Happy is hardly the word I'd use to describe it," Priscilla shot back as she bisected a GINN with her violet blade before downing three more with her guns, an edge of excitement clear in her voice, "_Touhou_'s got _nothing_ on this! This is the Yukari boss fight on steroids!"

"Well, we're glad you're enjoying yourself, Pris," said Lan as she shot down another GINN, "as for me, I could do with a little less fire flying around."

"Cut the chatter and focus," said Heero as he began tearing into the GINNs coming up at him, taking down three of the green and grey machines in rapid succession with his beam saber, "save the commentary for after the fight when we review the combat footage."

"Aw, no fun," Lan replied, but Heero could tell that her protest was half-hearted; she respected him too much as a pilot and soldier to go against his orders, and the same went for the rest of the Valkyrie's subordinates. The three girls may have enjoyed banter even in the middle of a fight, but at heart they were combat professionals, and they were proving it with the devastation they were wreaking upon the ZAFT mobile suit teams that had gotten around Kira and Athrun and lining up for a crack at Wing Zero while cutting back their communications to strictly tactical updates and heads-up warnings.

As he cut down four more GINNs and prepared to fire the Twin Buster Rifle on the frigate Heero spared a brief glance at his sensors to check on how Athrun and Kira were doing.

On the far right flank the Justice had matters well in hand. Heero could see that the lead destroyer Athrun had been facing was drifting away from the battle, its bridge reduced to a crater rimmed with twisted metal. The two frigates that had been supporting the vessel were seriously damaged as well by Athrun's precise and deadly fire, and another eight GINNs had fallen to his violet blade. The Justice was now in the process of adjusting its position to account for the progress Heero had made in cutting through the center of the enemy forces, doing its best to keep Heero's far right flank secure. Another destroyer and frigate were moving in on Athrun, along with a host of GINNs, but based on the way he was flying so far today Heero knew it was nothing the former ZAFT pilot couldn't handle.

Meanwhile, Kira was holding strong on the far left, and Heero was impressed to see that the initial three frigates that had engaged the Freedom were now completely defanged and withdrawing. Several more GINNs had also been knocked out of the fight, but they had already been replaced by reinforcements. A destroyer and two more frigates were moving in on Kira, along with a swarm of GINNs, but between the precise volleys issuing from the Freedom's guns and the swift slashes and strikes of its beam saber Heero felt that his fellow pilot had matters in hand. Like Athrun on the far right Kira was also adjusting his flying in light of just how far Hero had already penetrated into the ZAFT fleet, and the way he was fighting could best be described as a trailing battle; a firefight being waged in Wing Zero's wake, following the Gundam's path but not close enough to actually endanger the leader of the strike team.

Confident that Athrun and Kira were fine for now, Heero lined up his shot on the frigate and GINN swarm before him and opened fire. The torrent of energy that ripped forth from the Twin Buster Rifle completely disintegrated ten GINNs before doing the same to the green warship behind them. As with his last capital ship kill though, Heero had no time or intention of resting on his laurels. The hailstorm of fire he had to weave through grew thicker and thicker as he got closer to the Avalon battle-station, and to Heero it seemed that there were more beams, missiles, railgun rounds, and bullets flying through space than there were stars in the sky; he'd never flown through a barrage this thick before.

ZAFT was determined to take him down… just as Heero was determined to survive, to complete his mission, and get back to the woman he loved.

It was the fire of passion that burned in one young man's heart versus the fear, hate, and resolve of an entire armada. The guns of almost all of Avalon were fixed on Wing Zero, the soldiers that manned them doing everything in their power to bring it down, as were so many of the GINNs pilots and the crewmembers of the supporting warships…

…and still Heero advanced.

His charge was swift and strong, brutal and inexorable, overpowering and lethal. Wing Zero was plowing straight through the center of the Avalon Line, rushing head-on against a fortress armed with the most powerful guns ever conceived and built in the Cosmic Era. For any other pilot and any other mobile suit, it would've been a suicide run. Even for a Gundam pilot, the odds were daunting… but not insurmountable.

And for Heero Yuy, the young man whom many believed to be the strongest of the five legendary pilots of Operation Meteor, the odds didn't even matter. As he fought his way through the enemy ranks, cutting down five GINNs in rapid succession before blasting nine more and a destroyer with the Twin Buster Rifle, the last thing on the Perfect Soldier's mind was the strength or numbers of his foes. His focus was on accomplishing his mission… and returning to Murrue, just as he'd promised.

With his determination fueled by love's inferno… no enemy could hope to withstand Heero's assault.

….

"Mother of god…" Talia whispered, watching the impossible unfolding on her bridge's main monitor.

After the role she had played in Operation Spitbreak, the _Laurasia_-class frigate _Natta _had been rotated back to defensive deployment, more specifically running patrols as part of the Avalon Line. It was an assignment that Captain Talia Gladys had welcomed, both because it offered her crew a reprieve from front-line service and it allowed her a chance to run exercises with her ship's six new GINN pilots. The _Natta_'s original compliment had been sent to Earth for Operation Spitbreak… and all six pilots had fallen at Alaska. Three had been lost in the first engagement, while the other three had been killed during the Alliance's attack in the Second Battle of Alaska.

Intellectually, Talia knew that the deaths of her pilots was not her fault; all she had done was use her frigate as a platform for their orbital drop, just as the other Captains and frigates of the space fleet element that had taken part in Operation Spitbreak had done so. After that their fates had been in their hands, and those of the commanders directing the action on the surface. In her mind she knew that she bore no direct responsibility for the losses… but her heart felt very much otherwise.

_They were so young, so bright, so full of potential_, she'd thought solemnly, _and they were operating under my command. They were not just my subordinates; they were my charges, my wards. My only action may have been to drop them into the battle per orders from my superiors, but that does not change the fact that doing so put them into the position that got them all killed. Their families, their friends… how they must hate me. _

She'd written the letters of notification to the families of the fallen six pilots herself, rather than leave the task to the office drones normally charged with such things. It had been difficult for Talia to take on such a responsibility, but she had felt that it was something she had to do out of respect to the dead and those that mourned them.

Running patrols on the Avalon Line had been a way for her and her crew to come to terms with what had happened, and it had also given them time to become accustomed to the new six pilots that had been assigned to the _Natta _to replace their casualties. The newcomers were being integrated, friends were given time to mourn those lost and come to terms with their absence and the presence of the replacement pilots, and life on board the _Natta _had slowly but surely resumed a sense of normalcy, of completeness. The loss of their previous six pilots was still felt, but the new pilots were already considered to be a part of the _Natta_'s crew, becoming acquainted with and befriending the men and women that they were serving with in their new assignment. It was a process that was hardly unique to the _Natta_; Talia knew countless ships and military units on both sides of the war went through the same thing when they suffered casualties and replacements were brought in to fill the gaps in the ranks.

And so Talia and her crew had settled into their role on the Avalon Line, becoming accustomed to the routine patrols and flight exercises. The Captain was loath to call it complacency; she was fully aware that her ship could be rotated back to front line service at any time. It was an eventuality she was prepared for. However…

… the situation unfolding before her eyes here and now was something else entirely.

When she'd first received the alert, Talia had hardly been able to believe what she was hearing. A head on assault against the Avalon Line had not been attempted since the Alliance's failed strike nearly a year and a half ago. The power of the battle-station was now well established in the Earth Sphere, making an open assault on the Avalon Line a daunting prospect to say the least, even with the fact that said Line had the least amount of warships assigned to it out of all sections of the PLANT Exclusion Grid; the sheer overwhelming strength of the Tunguska cannons, combined with the horde of mobile suits carried by the fortress and her supporting fleet, made such a strike tantamount to a suicide mission.

And yet…

…such a strike was happening now. That thought alone was hard to swallow, but what made it absolutely absurd was the fact that it was being carried out by no more than _six mobile suits_. It was complete madness, utter insanity, a blatant violation of all forms of logic. It shattered all forms of conventional wisdom in a manner so direct that it was almost like reality was flipping the entire military establishment the bird.

However, despite just how crazy the situation was, it managed at the same time to have a sense of deadly seriousness to it. It was bad enough that five of the attacking mobile suits were stolen ZAFT prototypes, and all nuclear powered machines to boot, but what made it infinitely worse was the sixth unit, the flight lead, the tip of the spear.

It was Wing Zero.

Talia was fully aware of the machine's fearsome reputation, of its awesome power and the phenomenal skill of its pilot. Both mobile suit and the soldier behind it were spoken of in ZAFT as one would refer to the Grim Reaper; with awe and dread. Wing Zero and Heero Yuy were nothing less than the embodiment of destruction, man and machine combined into a real life god of war.

Though she had considered herself fortunate to have not wound up on the same battlefield as Wing Zero up until now, Talia could not help but admit to harboring a sense of curiosity regarding the mobile suit and its pilot. Rumors ran wild regarding both man and machine, naturally, and Talia had been lucky enough to view some recordings of Wing Zero in battle as the Captains of the ZAFT Navy were briefed on its incredible destructive power, but she knew nothing about the origins of the mobile suit and its pilot. The official line was that it was an Alliance prototype developed separate from the Heliopolis units, and while Talia had initially seen the logic behind that assumption, the longer the war dragged on and Wing Zero gained further exposure and notoriety on the battlefield the more the _Natta_'s Captain had found herself questioning the information she and so many others had been given.

Why, after all this time, was Wing Zero the only unit of its kind to be seen in this war? The Alliance had developed five prototypes in their collaboration with Orb in the Heliopolis project, not to mention the warship _Archangel_. Why had they not taken a similar approach, building different variants of the machine as they had done with their other top secret mobile suit design and construction project? Talia had no doubt that Wing Zero was an incredibly expensive machine, but given the technological edge it had over its competition it was clearly a worthwhile investment, and more units based on its design, even if they were of reduced quality in order to facilitate a production run, would pose a major threat to ZAFT. So after months of that astounding prototype rampaging across the Earth Sphere, racking up more kills than any other pilot and machine could've ever hoped to achieve, why was there still just one machine? That question was even more glaring after Wing Zero had apparently gone rogue at Alaska and annihilated JOSH-A; the only feasible counter to such a powerful mobile suit was another one built along its lines, yet the Alliance had not fielded any such machine, at least to her knowledge.

Talia had come up with a conclusion of her own, but it seemed incredibly far-fetched. She couldn't think of any organization that would have the resources to do it, but she had a suspicion that Wing Zero had been built not by the Alliance, but by a third party. The only other group besides the Alliance and ZAFT that Talia could think of constructing such a machine was Orb, but there had been no sign of them fielding units like Wing Zero. Logic pointed to another organization behind the machine, but for the life of her Talia could not think of any group with the resources and technology needed to build such a formidable mobile suit or train a pilot to the phenomenal degree of skill that Heero Yuy possessed.

If the mobile suit was shrouded in speculation and rumor, then its pilot may as well have been a phantom, a figure of myth. For what little information there was regarding Wing Zero, there was even less when it came to Heero Yuy. While the mobile suit had most peoples' attention, Talia knew that even the most advanced machine could only take a person so far; its true power could only be unleashed in the hands of a skilled pilot, one with training and experience. From the way that Heero Yuy had torn through the ranks of ZAFT, and more recently the Alliance, since arriving on the scene, Talia knew that Wing Zero's pilot was certainly not lacking in either category, but that raised further questions. While flight training wasn't nearly as expensive as constructing advanced mobile suits, the fact remained that such instruction wasn't something that could be carried out by just any group, especially if it had turned out such a phenomenally skilled pilot. Even the most rigorous training regimen could only do so much, though; there was no true substitute for field experience.

Based on the sheer overwhelming dominance that Heero had shown since his very first encounter with ZAFT, Talia knew it was logical to assume that Wing Zero's pilot had accrued plenty of combat experience before making his open debut in the war. If he were an Alliance pilot, then it made sense to assume that he had started out as a mobile armor pilot, but the fact was that the lifespan of said pilots was brief to say the least. Sure, a few had managed to beat the odds, and it was entirely possible that Heero was one of them, like the famous Hawk of Endymion, but if that were so then he would've already had a reputation much like that of Mu La Flaga, and the fact of the matter was that Heero Yuy had only become known to the Earth Sphere at large when he had first brought Wing Zero out into the open.

And there was another thing to consider; the destruction of JOSH-A. It was highly doubtful that a loyal Alliance soldier would've suddenly gone renegade and destroyed the Alaska base, especially when there had no doubt been self-destruct mechanisms in place to accomplish the very same feat should the need arise. Talia had recalled rumors moving through the armed forces that the Alliance had actually planted a Cyclops System at the base, much like they had at the Endymion Crater earlier in the war, and had planned to wipe out the ZAFT forces along with the Alliance soldiers guarding the base. If that were true, then that would've also included the warship _Archangel _and the fearsome Wing Zero, two vital Alliance war assets. Much like Wing Zero and its pilot, there was still much about Operation Spitbreak that Talia did not have full knowledge of, and as a result could only speculate. The destruction of the base did seem to point to fact that Heero Yuy's loyalty no longer lay with the Alliance, if it had to begin with. The reports Talia had read had noted that Wing Zero had acted as a protector of the _Archangel _since the day it had made its debut, and it seemed that the loyalty of its pilot lay with the white ship rather than the Alliance as a whole. It was strange to say the least; Talia couldn't make sense of it.

And in the end, it didn't matter; all speculation was academic at this point. What mattered was that Heero Yuy and Wing Zero were _here_, _now_… and more than living up to their reputation.

The Guardian of the _Archangel_ was plowing through the center of Avalon's vanguard, annihilating any mobile suit and warship unfortunate enough to get in his way while weaving through what could only be described as a monsoon of fire. The battle-station was cutting loose with everything it had, as were the vessels and mobile suits supporting it… but none of them could so much as touch Wing Zero. Talia had heard rumors of how Heero Yuy reportedly possessed an inhuman sense of anticipation, of battle precognition, but she'd only half-believed them… until now.

Now, as she watched the Angel of Ruin cut down three GINNs with its emerald blade before opening fire with its demonic rifle and detonating another seven like a string of firecrackers along with a _Nazca_-class destroyer. The instant after the mobile suit fired its shot it jinked to the right to avoid another shot from Avalon's fearsome Tunguska cannons, the third round of the station's firing cycle. Wing Zero smoothly evaded the shot, along with the storm of missiles, energy beams, and bullets issuing from Avalon and her supporting forces… a storm that only grew thicker as the dreaded mobile suit got closer to Avalon.

_Impossible_, thought Talia, her eyes widening as she struggled to comprehend what she was witnessing, what Wing Zero was setting up to do, _a head on assault on Avalon… he's going to try to destroy it! _

Intellectually, she knew it was actually quite possible. If Wing Zero's rifle was capable of destroying a base as hardened as JOSH-A was, then Avalon was indeed vulnerable, a massive if heavily armed target for the fearsome mobile suit and its extraordinary pilot. Her mind was telling her it could be done… but the rest of her was still reeling at the prospect, at the sheer insanity of it all. For a single mobile suit to possess such awesome destructive power, and to be wielded by a pilot with the skills to surpass the best ZAFT had to offer… it just didn't feel real.

Talia may have been shocked by the surprising events unfolding before her, but she was not about to let it distract her from performing her duties. She was a veteran Captain, a combat professional, and she was already in the process of carrying out the orders she had received from Field Marshal Tlass on Avalon. The _Natta _was moving in on Wing Zero's far left flank, attempting to bring its guns to bear on the mobile suit.

However, Talia could not launch her attack due to interference from one of Wing Zero's allies; the Freedom. The black, white, and blue machine had already disabled three frigates and over a score of mobile suits that had tried to take the same approach the _Natta _was now, and now it was turning its guns on Talia's ship, her mobile suits, and the destroyer and other frigate working with her, along with their own GINNs. The stolen ZAFT prototype had effectively stonewalled the _Natta _and her comrades, putting up a curtain of incredibly precise artillery fire. The power of the Freedom and the skills of its pilot were nearly as impressive as those of Wing Zero and Heero Yuy, though Talia noted an interesting quirk to the former's fighting style; he wasn't shooting to kill.

The three frigates that had first engaged the Freedom had been almost completely defanged, with only their CIWs operational now. Meanwhile, their GINNs had likewise been disarmed, rifles destroyed and swords wrecked, with several missing their heads. Talia did not know why the Freedom' pilot fought in such a manner, but she was nevertheless impressed by the degree of pinpoint accuracy he or she displayed in doing so. She found herself relieved that they were attempting to attack Wing Zero's left flank rather than the right; the Justice, which was mirroring the Freedom's assignment on the other side of the Angel of Ruin, was not showing such restraint.

That relief wouldn't stop her from doing her best to destroy the Freedom, though

"All batteries, open fire on the Freedom!" she ordered, "Have our GINNs break into two trios and hit him from both sides! Coordinate our actions with the ships in the immediate area!"

A chorus of acknowledgements rang out from several of the bridge officers as Talia briefly glanced at her personal monitor. On it was a small-field tactical display, showing the area of the overall battle that the _Natta _was involved with. She was on the left flank of the _Nazca_-class destroyer that was on point of the three ship formation she was flying with, while the other _Laurasia_-class frigate was on the azure vessel's right. The capital ship trio had already launched their mobile suits, and were being supported by additional GINNs that were rushing to join the fight from both Avalon itself and warships that were inbound but still out of effective firing range.

As the _Natta _opened fire she was joined by her two companion ships while over a score of GINNs moved in to envelop the Freedom. Emerald beams, yellow rail cannon rounds, and missiles streaked through space, a miniature version of the storm of fire that Avalon and its supporting forces were raining down on Wing Zero. The GINNs added their own guns to the mix, bombarding the Freedom with a hail of bullets.

Unfortunately, the barrage proved as ineffective here as the larger one was against Wing Zero. The Freedom moved with incredible agility, weaving through the bombardment while dishing out withering return fire. Six GINNs were disabled in the blink of an eye by artillery fire, followed swiftly by another three units by lightning-fast strikes from its violet beam saber. As the nine machines broke off from the engagement the Freedom cut loose with another volley, and five more GINNs lost their guns and head-cameras. While the scattered units still able to participate in active combat struggled to regroup, the stolen prototype proceeded to turn its guns on the capital ships.

Starting with the _Natta_.

"Evasive action!" she shouted as the Freedom brought its guns to bear on her frigate, "Dive!"

The orders were in vain, and in her heart that was something Talia was grimly aware of. Capital ships were not fighters or mobile suits; their maneuvers were much more cumbersome. The green frigate had barely begun to dive when the Freedom opened fire. The _Natta _shuddered as a barrage of emerald beams, crimson plasma blasts, and golden rail cannon rounds slammed into the ship.

Talia was rocked in her seat, and she was barely able to brace herself against the arm of her chair. Her subordinates on the bridge were likewise buffeted as the warship trembled around them.

"Damage report!" she ordered.

"Main beam cannons and railguns are down!" an officer replied, a young lady with short-cropped black hair in her early twenties, "We've also lost two of our topside CIWs!"

Talia was about to reply when the ship was rocked again by another precise barrage. _Such rapid succession_, she thought, _and so powerful…_

"Bow heavy machine cannons down!" cried the female officer, "Along with all four VLS! We're defenseless!"

VLS stood for Vertical Launch System, and it was essentially a multipurpose weapon system capable of using a wide variety of ordinance. At present the _Natta_'s VLS were configured for balanced combat, with two holding anti-ship missiles and the other two with anti-air warheads.

_Damn it_, she thought, running a mental tally of the ship's available weapons, _we only have four CIWs left operational! Against the Freedom, those might as well be spitballs!_

Talia gritted her teeth, knowing that the _Natta _was no longer a player in the battle. "Helm, pull back," she ordered, "We're out this round."

"Aye, Captain," replied the frigate's pilot, a dark skinned young man.

As her ship slowly began to disengage Talia could only watch as the Freedom turned its guns on the other frigate and the destroyer that were flying with the _Natta_. The stolen prototype proceeded to hit them with the same precise barrages that Talia's ship had suffered, while at the same time proceeding to hack the limbs and head-cameras off of the GINNs fighting against it.

Checking her personal monitor, Talia was able to take some consolation from the fact that all her ship's mobile suits were returning, damaged but still intact. _GINNs don't stand a chance against something like the Freedom_, she thought, _we should consider ourselves lucky that its pilot is not fighting to kill. Yes, I've lost this round, as have my pilots… but we're all still alive. I'll take that… especially considering whom we _could've _wound up fighting._

Adjusting her personal monitor, Talia brought up Wing Zero on the display. She watched as the unholy mobile suit continued to plow through Avalon's vanguard, destroying anything in its path. Had her ship been among the vessels directly supporting the battle-station rather than further along the Line… well, she doubted that she would be alive right now.

As she saw Wing Zero close with Avalon, she was struck by an odd feeling. The massive battle-station had in the past always filled her with a sense of awe, its overwhelming firepower promising swift fiery death to all who dared attempt an attack. Now, though, as the deadliest mobile suit the world had ever seen moved in on the fortress, Talia did not see an indomitable bastion. She felt no sense of awe or majesty as she looked upon the battle-station.

What she felt… was sorrow.

She did not see a mighty fortress. She did not see a battle-station armed with the firepower to rival that of any fleet, including four monstrous cannons capable of ripping entire colonies in half.

She saw a mass-grave for twelve thousand men and women of ZAFT.

….

Weaving through an ever-thickening storm of energy beams, missiles, and bullets, Heero sighted in on another warship and opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle. Once again a river of golden-yellow hellfire ripped forth, obliterating eleven GINNs before slamming into a _Laurasia_-class frigate. The lumpy green warship turned into a fireball, and with its destruction the last capital ship in Heero's direct path to Avalon was no more. Now all he had to contend with was the massive horde of GINNs and the hurricane of fire issuing from the gargantuan fortress.

Sparing a quick glance at his sensors, he was relieved to see that the rest of the strike team was still with him. Kira and Athrun were still trailing in his wake along the far left and right flanks respectively, while the Valkyrie Team was acting as his close-in escort, cutting down the GINNs that had made it past the Freedom and the Justice. Checking the timer, he saw that the fourth shot in Avalon's firing cycle would be coming up in thirty seconds.

_Once I evade that shot_, he thought, _I'll set up for mine. I'll need to get to maximum charge and fire during the window in Avalon's cycle. It'll be tight, especially with all the conventional fire they're throwing at me… but I can do it. As long as the others are watching my back…_

Suddenly a new contact appeared on his sensors, arcing around Avalon and coming towards him. He bit back a swear as he instantly recognized the mobile suit; it was the last one he wanted to fight right now, the last _person _he wanted to engage right now.

The ZGMF-X14A Judgment.

Commander Shemei Rehema.

Heero knew he couldn't afford to get caught up in a duel with her here. Fortunately, the possibility of the Valkyrie intercepting the strike team had not gone unanticipated. Waltfeld had told the others that he had sent a message to Field Marshal Bristow alerting him to when they would launch their raid, and that the Wolf of the Far East would pass the word on to Rehema.

In the meanwhile, Heero was forced to do some quick adaptation to the new circumstances. "Lan, Priscilla," he said, "the Judgment's inbound. You two go dance with Rehema; I need Adaline to cover me on my final approach."

"Roger," said Lan, "we'll keep her tied up. Good luck."

"Same for you," Heero replied as Lan and Priscilla broke off and rushed towards their old Commander.

_Between the two of them and Rehema_, he thought as he cut down three GINNs in rapid succession with his beam saber, _they should be able to put on a show for Zala's cohorts. I know last time they had Adaline fighting with them, but I need her to back me up when I set up for my shot at Avalon._

He could only hope that the Valkyrie would be able to put on a convincing display for any radicals that were observing the battle… and that Bristow's message had gotten through to her.

….

Nervous anticipation coursed through her veins as Shemei charged headlong at two mobile suits she knew were piloted by her former subordinates. Her destroyer had been stationed in the rear echelons of the Avalon Line, one of a handful of warships intended to serve as 'gatekeepers' in the unlikely event that an enemy managed to get past the formidable battle-station. Since that had never happened in the fortress's history, even in the heated battle that had centered around it over a year ago, the position was usually reserved for ships with either sub-par performance records or politically unreliable soldiers on board.

Shemei fell into the latter category, naturally. Not that she minded the designation; on the contrary, she considered it a badge of honor, a mark of her refusal to blindly follow a regime hell-bent on mass murder.

When she'd gotten word that Wing Zero was leading a strike on the Avalon Line, Shemei had hardly been able to believe the news… even with the advanced warning she had received a couple of hours before. It had been in the form of a message on the cell phone Eric had given her months ago, the one that was part of the communications network being used by the Clyne Faction. After the disastrous raid on their meeting after Operation Spitbreak and the death of the former Supreme Council Chairman Eric had been more reluctant to communicate via those phones out of concern that they might have been compromised, and any conversations over them or messages sent were usually brief and vague. The message she had received earlier that day fit that description, and to anyone else it would've been impossible to know what it was referring to… but someone aware of her situation would understand the contents.

_"Today you will be freed from the chains that bind you. Be ready to leave, and have your steed prepared. The herald will be your rival."_

That had been the message Eric had sent her, and after a few moments of careful parsing of the words Shemei had realized what her lover was saying. The 'chains' were obviously a reference to her parents, and from that Shemei surmised that an operation was underway to liberate them from Charon Prison. Eric wanted her to be ready to get the hell out of dodge the moment her parents were securely in the hands of whomever he was having break them out, and the word 'steed' was clearly a reference to her new mobile suit, the Judgment. All that was more than enough to excite Shemei despite the fact that Eric had not given her any concrete details regarding the plan, but the real kicker had been the last sentence in the message.

_"The herald will be your rival."_

At those words Shemei's mind had instantly flashed to Heero Yuy. After her duel with Wing Zero's pilot a week ago she knew that he was likely working with Waltfeld and the others who had escaped the PLANTs on the _Eternal_, but to realize that he was part of Eric's plan to liberate her parents from Charon Prison… well, that had been a shock to hear.

_By the word "herald", Eric must mean that Heero's arrival will be the signal that the operation is underway_, she had thought after reading the message, _but how would I know that he'd arrived? Unless he's coming in Wing Zero…_

It made a certain amount of sense; Wing Zero was an extremely formidable mobile suit, something Shemei knew better than most after being the only pilot in the Cosmic Era to have fought against it three times and lived. If Heero would be participating in the operation by flying his machine, then Shemei assumed that would be acting to secure the escape route or to act as a diversion. As she'd packed her duffel bag and stowed it beneath the pilot's seat in the Judgment Shemei had fought to keep her excitement in check. Most of it was obviously due to the fact that, if all went according to whatever Eric had planned, her parents would be free from Zala's grasp today, but a small part of it was also due to her wondering just how her extraordinary rival figured into the equation.

The last thing she'd imagined was what was now unfolding before her very eyes.

Heero was leading a strike team in a head-on assault against the deadliest of the fortresses in the PLANT Exclusion Grid. Once Shemei had arched over the Avalon battle-station she could clearly see the Freedom and the Justice holding off warships and mobile suits on the left and right flanks, while all three of her former subordinates were ripping apart any GINNs that managed to get around Kira and Athrun. Seeing the three Wraiths, piloted by her old teammates, her _friends_, working together so seamlessly filled Shemei with pride, and that was matched only by the awe she felt as she watched Wing Zero rip through Avalon's vanguard, obliterating any warships and mobile suits that got in his way as he closed with the mighty battle-station.

_God damn, Heero_, she thought, _I knew you were good, but _this_… I didn't think my respect for you could possibly get any higher. Congratulations on proving me wrong._

It was strange to think it, but in a way Shemei realized that she was Heero's biggest fan in ZAFT, one in a very exclusive group that, to her knowledge, included very few people outside of her and her former subordinates, Waltfeld and Aisha, Eric, and Lacus… and now all of them but her were no longer part of the PLANT armed forces.

Now, as she watched him continue his charge towards Avalon, weaving through a rain of fire unlike any she had ever seen before, Shemei realized that whatever Eric had planned was much more straightforward than what she had originally thought. It made sense for the operation to center on the Avalon Line in one respect; it had the least warships of all the Defense Lines, and given the vast distance said Lines covered those vessels were much more spread out here than anywhere else. Still, the Avalon battle-station blocked the most direct access along it to the PLANT capitol, and Shemei knew that said access was critical for a speedy operation. Time was of the essence; every minute that passed was one that ZAFT would use to rush reinforcements to the scene of the attack.

As she ignited her beam saber and prepared to engage the two Wraiths that were closing in on her, she saw that the third was staying close to Wing Zero, fending off GINNs with superb skill. It only took Shemei a second to recognize the unit's fighting style as that of Adaline Bellerose; swift, elegant, and more than a little daring.

_I never wanted to say this aloud because I didn't want to alienate the others_, Shemei mused, _but of those three girls… _my _girls… Adaline's the best. It's by a very narrow margin, but as far as piloting skills go she barely edges out Lan and Priscilla. I don't like to play favorites with them; I have equal fondness for all of them, and nothing gives me more pride than to see the three of them work together as a team. That being said, I can't deny in my heart to feeling a certain kinship with Adaline that goes a little past what I have with Lan and Priscilla. Adaline's background may be different than mine, but she shares that same love of adventure and excitement, that same adrenaline rush that comes with skirting the boundary between life and death. She doesn't let it go to her head; she's a very smart young woman. That being said, her daring is one of the key reasons I consider her to be the head of the team in my absence._

Apparently Heero had reached the same conclusion she had regarding Adaline's skill level; why else would he keep her as his escort while having Lan and Priscilla move to intercept her?

_Not only is he a phenomenal pilot_, she thought, smiling slightly, _he's a good judge of talent. I guess that really shouldn't come as a surprise, though, given what he's capable of. Alright, Heero, you want me to dance with the girls? I'll play along._

Shemei brought the Tartarus heavy plasma rifle up to bear and opened fire, forcing Lan and Priscilla to break and come at her in a pincer. Their moves were just what she had anticipated, and she responded by sending her DRAGOONs at Priscilla while turning to face Lan in beam saber combat.

While she peppered Priscilla with beam fire from her gun drones, forcing the Italian/Romanian young lady to stay on the defensive, she raised her beam saber and parrying a downward strike from Lan. The Chinese girl adapted fluidly, whirling around and igniting her second beam saber, forcing Shemei to block the attack on the Judgment's large shield.

_She's a natural when it comes to close-quarters-combat_, Shemei thought as she took a swipe at Lan, forcing the girl to block the blade on her right beam saber, _I suppose it comes with her fondness and skill with hand-to-hand fighting; it translates well into mobile suit engagements, provided you adapt your techniques to account for you unit's capabilities. That's something Lan's always been good at doing._

As she continued her faux-fight with Lan and Adaline Shemei could feel her confidence growing. At the rate things were going she'd be able to keep up her dance with the girls long enough for Heero, Eric, and the others to break her parents out of prison. Once she knew her mother and father were firmly out of the radicals' grasp, then she could openly turn against ZAFT.

At least, that was her plan… but fate had apparently decided to force her hand.

While she blocked another saber strike from Lan Shemei's eyes widened as she saw a _Nazca_-class destroyer and several GINNs closing in on Priscilla from behind. Shemei had no doubt that her former subordinate was aware of the incoming warship and mobile suits… but she was tied up with dodging fire from the Judgment's two DRAGOONs. At the same time GINN teams were closing in on the three of them, and it would be only a matter of seconds before they would enter the fray and try to kill Shemei's friends.

At that moment Shemei knew she was faced with a choice. She could either keep up the performance, in which case the destroyer and mobile suits would have a chance to line up a shot on Priscilla and kill her while the GINNs tried to kill Lan… or throw her lot in with Heero and the others _now_, and pray that whatever plan Eric had would be able to save her parents before Zala's thugs could turn their guns on them.

Shemei had less than a second to make her choice… and she decided she'd put her faith in her friends.

Hitting the radio and bringing up one of their old tactical channels, Shemei contacted her former pilots. "Lan, cover me! Pris, dive now!"

The Chinese Coordinator, who had been about to take a second swipe at her former Commander, reacted instantly, deactivating her left blade and brought her beam rifle to bear on the GINNs that were closing in behind the Valkyrie. As she began nailing them with lances of emerald energy Shemei turned the Tartarus on the destroyer coming in behind Priscilla and opened fire the second she had a clear shot.

The crimson plasma blast slammed into the destroyer, turning it into a fireball. _Well_, Shemei thought as she turned to fire her shoulder cannons at some of the GINNs Lan was fighting while using her DRAGOONs to support Priscilla, who was now engaging the mobile suits that had accompanied the warship, _no way I'll be able to sell _that _as friendly fire. The cat's out of the bag; ZAFT knows I've switched sides now._

Shemei didn't know if Zala was watching for her betrayal or if his attention was fixed squarely on Wing Zero. She certainly couldn't blame him if the latter were the case, but she had little doubt that someone aligned with the radicals had seen what she'd done, and it would only be a matter of time before the order would be out to kill her parents. Shemei knew that the life spans of her mother and father were now potentially measured in _minutes_, if not less.

"Lan," she said as she destroyed three GINNs with the Judgment's shoulder cannons and another two with her DRAGOONs, "fill me in, ASAP! What's Eric's plan for getting my parents out of here?"

"Wing Zero, ma'am," the girl replied as she cut down a GINN with her beam saber, "Once Heero takes down Avalon, he'll be infiltrating the capital via the axial shaft; our mutual friend gave him the access codes!"

_She means Eric_, Shemei thought as she slashed a GINN in half. Her eyes widened as she realized something critical. "Wait a minute, you mean _Heero's _going to hit Charon Prison?"

"Affirmative!" said Lan.

"Our mutual friend will cover him while he does that," Priscilla chimed in as she shot down three GINNs with her beam rifle and railguns, "We need to cover Heero while he hits Avalon and then keep ZAFT from sending mobile suits into the shaft behind him! Heero will get your parents out, Commander, don't worry! We just need to keep the enemy off him!"

_Which means we need to get over to Wing Zero_, Shemei thought, _right now Adaline's the only one covering him! _She immediately checked her sensors and found her third subordinate, along with the phenomenal pilot she was escorting. Wing Zero and Adaline's Wraith were still weaving their way through an incredibly thick curtain of fire, and though Shemei's prized protégé was acquitting herself well in her role as Heero's escort the Valkyrie could see that she needed help; too many GINNs were getting around Kira and Athrun and trying to attack Wing Zero. She took down one unit after another with energy beams, rail cannon rounds, and her violet blade, but they just kept on coming, and Shemei knew that Heero couldn't afford to turn around and help her; he had to keep up his forward momentum, ripping through the center of the GINN horde as he moved to set up for his shot at Avalon.

"Lan, Pris, on me!" she ordered as she gunned the Judgment's engines, making a beeline for Wing Zero and the third Wraith, using her beam saber, shoulder cannons, and DRAGOONs to destroy any GINNs unfortunate enough to be in her way. Checking her sensors, she saw that her two subordinates were falling in right behind her, and Shemei turned her attention back to Wing Zero.

_I never thought this day would come_, she mused as she watched Heero sideslip a massive rail cannon round, the fourth shot in the Tunguska guns' firing cycle, _where I would be fighting alongside you, Heero… _counting on _you. My parents' survival rests on you taking down Avalon and getting to the capital before Zala has my parents dragged before a firing squad, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure you succeed!_

….

"Shoot!" Eric hissed as he watched the live-feed from Avalon's sensors, "Shemei, you moved early!"

It was his fault, of course; Eric knew that the message he'd sent to Shemei had been awfully vague, and even a pilot as smart as the Valkyrie wouldn't be able to figure out everything regarding the operation from it. Eric had figured that she'd be sent to intercept Heero, and that Wing Zero's pilot would respond by sending the Valkyrie's subordinates to keep her off him while he set up for his shot at Avalon. On that, the Wolf of the Far East had been right on the money, save for the fact that Heero had only sent two of the girls to dance with Shemei rather than all three. It made sense, though; with the Freedom and Justice fighting the ZAFT forces that were trying to hit Wing Zero from the right and left flanks, someone had to stay behind and watch Heero's back.

However, Eric hadn't counted on Shemei and the girls being forced to end their faux-fight so early; he'd been hoping they could keep up the performance long enough for Heero to at least take down Avalon and get on final approach to Aprilius One. Given the circumstances though, Eric couldn't blame Shemei for moving when she had; he'd seen the destroyer and mobile suits moving in behind Priscilla, and that with her focused on dodging fire from the Judgment's gun-drones she was vulnerable to attack from the ZAFT forces. Eric had known right then that Shemei would not stand by and allow ZAFT to claim one of her precious subordinates, one of her dear _friends_, not if she could help it, and especially not now when they were taking part in an operation to rescue her parents. Were Eric in her position, he knew that he would've done the same thing.

Regardless of the reasons behind her actions, the fact remained that Shemei's open defection had suddenly put the operation to save her parents on a much tighter timetable. Despite the fact that Wing Zero was, rightfully so, garnering the lion's share of attention, Eric knew that the Valkyrie's betrayal would not go unnoticed by ZAFT… and it was only a matter of time before a radical in a position of authority put the hit out on Shemei's parents, if they hadn't already.

_Heero still needs to take down Avalon and get inside Aprilius One_, Eric thought, _he's moving quickly, but he still might not get here in time. I need to run interference until he can hit Charon Prison; I have to keep the guards from killing Shemei's parents!_

Luckily, one of Eric's talents lay in the ability to adjust his plans on the fly. The moment he'd witnessed the Judgment open fire on the _Nazca_-class destroyer the Wolf of the Far East's mind had instantly begin processing the effects the action would have on the operation's timetable, along with any countermeasures he could take to mitigate those effects, or at least stall for time until Heero could infiltrate the colony. Within seconds he had a solution… one that had more than its share of risks, both to him and his lover's parents.

_Not much of a choice in the matter_, he thought as he gripped the controls of the ZGMF-600 CCM GuAIZ Werewolf, _it's the only move I've got. Good thing I've already finished the power-up sequence for my machine. Alright, let's do this!_

Eric ignited both pairs of the Werewolf's beam claws and hit the engines. The mobile suit surged forward, and Eric swung the claws in a diagonal cross-slash, ripping apart the hangar doors. Alarms immediately began going off, but he paid them no heed as he gained altitude and flew towards Charon Prison.

_The interior forces will be on me soon_, he thought as he brought up the floor plans for the level Shemei's parents were being kept and overlaid them on one of his displays with the roof of the building, _I'll only have one chance to pull this off before I have to engage them… and if I'm off by so much as a single degree I could kill a lot of wrongfully imprisoned people, Shemei's parents among them._

The prison itself wasn't equipped to ward off attacks by mobile suits, but what Eric had in mind was not a simple assault. It involved incredibly precise flying, along with careful manipulation of the Werewolf's beam claws.

Or rather, just one. As Eric closed in on the roof of the facility he powered down the other three claws, leaving a single one out of the pair on the right Composite Shield ignited. He then did a quick calculation of his trajectory along with the floor plans and where he was in relation to the prisoners' cells before taking a deep breath and making his move.

Skimming along the roof of the facility, Eric lowered the sole ignited beam claw and cut through the concrete ceiling. He then dragged the violet blade along as he flew, keeping his slash lined up with the hallway that ran through the cellblock Shemei's parents were in. His intention was simple; turn the corridor into molten slag while leaving the cells intact and the prisoners unharmed. Since the cells were not open barred but concrete cubes with thick steel doors and had multiple small ventilation shafts for air circulation, the inmates were actually protected from the heat emanating from the violet claw as it moved down the hallway… provided Eric kept to a very narrow trajectory. It was the most precise maneuver he had ever attempted, and to say it was nerve wracking would be a major understatement. Eric could feel the sweat gathering at his brow, and it took all the self-control he could muster to keep his grip on the controls steady. As he continued his slash down the corridor he heard an alarm coming from his sensor, and he knew that GINNs were launching from Fort Saturn. They'd be on him within seconds.

_No choice_, Eric thought, _gotta pull up and engage. Hopefully I was able to block off the Rehemas' cell._

As he gained altitude and withdrew his violet beam claw he checked the roof of the prison and compared the long, blackened scar he'd left in it against the blueprints for the top floor of the facility. He sighed in relief when he saw that the course of his slash lined up perfectly with the corridor that ran through the Rehemas' cellblock, and that their own cell was one of those that were now cut off from the guards by a hallway whose floor had been reduced to slag.

_That'll keep Zala's thugs at bay for awhile_, he thought, _but if they're determined to kill Shemei's parents then they'll eventually figure out a way to get gunmen to their cell. I just hope my move will stall them long enough for Wing Zero to get inside the colony._

As he closed in on the GINNs moving in to intercept him he reignited all of the Werewolf's beam claws and brought the Hydra gatlings to bear on the enemy. "Come on, Heero," he said as he opened fire, shredding a GINN with gatling rounds before tearing another apart with his beam claws, "I promised Shemei that I'd find a way to free her parents, and you're the key to doing that. I'm counting on you, so don't you dare make a liar out of me!"

**(End "Avalon")**

….

Heero could feel the hair standing up on the back of his neck as he continued his approach towards the Avalon battle-station. The storm of fire coming from the fortress and its supporting forces was at its fiercest yet, and evading it had become the challenge of a lifetime. This was exemplified by his narrow avoidance of the fourth shot in the Tunguska cannons' firing cycle; Heero had dodged the massive round with mere _meters _to spare, and it was that close shave that had contributed to the electric feeling coursing through his nerves and veins. Heero's focus was razor-sharp, but at the same time he could not deny the adrenaline surging through him. On the surface he retained his calm and determined appearance, but signs of the effort he was exerting to stay one step ahead of the enemy were visible in the form of the sweat gathering at his brow.

_Avalon's fourth Tunguska shot was fired mere seconds ago_, he thought, _I need to charge and fire the Twin Buster Rifle before the next round if we're going to stay on schedule, but setting up for that shot is another thing all together. _Even with all the carnage he and the rest of the strike team had already wrought upon ZAFT, the enemy still had more than enough GINNs left to make lining up his shot a challenging proposition. Heero cut down unit after unit with his beam saber as he charged forward, while behind him Adaline was racking up a truly impressive amount of kills with her beam saber, rifle, and railguns, but there were still hundreds of GINNs on the field, with more inbound.

As he glanced at his sole close-in escort he could tell that she was under more strain now than before, and that the sheer weight of the enemies that were trying to get past her was having an effect. With Kira and Athrun still far out on the right and left flanks warding off additional GINNs and warships and Lan and Priscilla keeping Commander Rehema away from Wing Zero, there was no one to give the Australian Coordinator some much needed support. Heero certainly couldn't, much as he may have wanted to otherwise; if he ceased his forward momentum, it would only serve to give ZAFT more time to rush reinforcements to the scene of the attack.

Now no fewer than forty GINNs were closing in on Adaline, and while their machinegun rounds and metal swords may not have the ability to pierce her Wraith's Phase Shift Armor, the sheer weight of their attacks would seriously rock her unit and quite possibly leave her vulnerable to fire from either Avalon's beam cannons or those of the warships supporting the battle-station.

Heero saw Adaline suddenly cease all fire for a moment before mirroring the move Priscilla had made early on in the attack, launching all her Lancer Dart missiles at once. The full dozen warheads flew forth, and Heero was impressed by the fact that Adaline had managed to refrain from using them until this point. The sudden barrage was as effective as Priscilla's, with each missile taking down one GINN.

A dozen GINNs taken down at once might've been considered a decisive blow in smaller-scale battles, but in a fight like this it was barely an inconvenience to the enemy. No sooner had Adaline's victims been blown to fiery bits when fresh arrivals took their place and joined the horde in pressing their assault. The storm of fire grew even thicker as more GINNs poured machinegun rounds into the fray, and now for all her prowess Adaline could not dodge every shot. As her Wraith's Phase Shift Armor was powered by a nuclear reactor she did not have to worry about it depleting under the barrage, but the impacts were distracting, and if they hit as a concentrated bombardment then Adaline would be rocked about inside her cockpit, unable to focus on the fighting and giving the destroyers and frigates a chance to hit her with their beam cannons if Avalon itself didn't beat them to the punch.

_Shit_, thought Heero as he cut down two more GINNs with his beam saber, _she's going to be overrun, and I can't turn to help her now! _He had no choice but to stay on course… but at this point he knew that doing so would result in Adaline's death.

Unless she got help from someone else.

**(Start "chAngE")**

Suddenly, as no less than _fifty _GINNs were closing in on Adaline, a torrent of crimson energy tore through the enemy ranks. Ten units were wiped out in the blink of an eye, and they were soon followed by _twenty _more going up in flames as the red blast of plasma was followed up by a flurry of emerald beams and yellow rail cannon rounds.

"What the hell?" said Heero, his eyes widening as the enemies closing in from the rear and flanks were torn apart by the surprise barrage. Checking his sensors, he suddenly saw the source of the fire closing in fast in the form of Lan, Priscilla…

…and the Valkyrie.

The Judgment cut loose again, and another score of GINNs fell to fire from Shemei's shoulder cannons, her gun-drones, and her heavy plasma rifle. The attack from ZAFT's greatest ace was swiftly joined by fire from Lan and Priscilla, and another nine units were wiped out by energy beams and rail cannon rounds.

"Heero!" said Shemei, her face appearing on the lower-left corner of Heero's display as she and her subordinates joined up with Adaline, moving seamlessly into formation around Wing Zero, "The girls read me in; I know the plan for the operation. Keep going; we've got your back!"

Heero nodded, and he couldn't help but smile as the adrenaline pumping through his veins surged to new heights. "Roger that," he said.

The Valkyrie returned the gesture and the smile, her silver eyes gleaming with excitement. "I knew you were coming, but I didn't think it'd be quite like this. I'm placing all my bets on you, Heero! Now, show them what you've got!"

"Mission accepted," Heero replied.

The four black and red mobile suits continued to rip into the horde of GINNs pouring in from all sides, hitting them with a truly fearsome array of weaponry. The Judgment swept its plasma rifle across the sky, the lance of crimson energy destroying eight machines while fire from her shoulder beam cannons and gun drones took down another seven. Meanwhile, the Wraiths had fanned out in order to maximize their firing arcs and were pummeling the oncoming GINNs with their beam rifles and rail cannons while using their violet blades to gut any that dared move in for close-quarters-combat. When combined with the stonewalling Kira and Athrun were doing on the far left and right, they were rapidly clearing out a pocket of space for Heero.

More than satisfied that his back and flanks were covered, Heero turned his complete attention to the massive fortress before him. Allowing the Zero System to guide his movements, the Gundam pilot began bringing the Twin Buster Rifle up to its maximum charge.

….

The main Combat Operations Center in ZAFT HQ was alive with activity. Massive monitors were arrayed along one wall, and their screens were split into several displays to capture all the action. Officers frantically issued commands to their subordinates, and the room's atmosphere was heavy with tension, apprehension… and _fear_.

It was palpable, omnipresent; no one was even trying to hide it. It was visible in the pale faces of officers and enlisted men and women alike, the trembling hands as operators attempted to carry out their tasks at their stations… and the eyes riveted to the monitors along the far wall.

Especially the one that showed Wing Zero.

Sitting in the seat reserved for the commander-in-chief, PLANT Supreme Council Chairman and head of the Defense Council Patrick Zala was gripping the armrests of his chair, his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed. Unlike the rest of the vast chamber's occupants, the fiery head of the radical faction was not gripped by fear, but by _anger_. Anger at his subordinates for being so cowed and intimidated by what was happening, fury at the clearly incompetent fleet officers, mobile suit pilots, and gunners of the Avalon battle-station as they failed to take down the machines that continued to plow through their ranks… and pure _rage _at the unit that was leading the charge, accompanied absolute seething _hatred _for the pilot at its controls.

Wing Zero and Heero Yuy.

_It's just one bloody machine_, he fumed, _piloted by one fucking Natural! A piece of trash, a rat, one of the savage relics of the old humanity, an inferior being! It's only because of that mobile suit that a vermin like him can stand against us, and even then he's one brute against an entire fleet; why haven't they taken him down yet?_

The fact that Wing Zero and its Natural pilot were being aided in their assault by five stolen ZAFT prototypes, along with the now rogue Valkyrie and the Judgment, was salt rubbed in the wound. Zala had wasted no time in ordering the execution of Commander Rehema's parents, but his plans had been derailed by a sudden attack on Charon Prison that had left the cell containing the Valkyrie's family temporarily inaccessible to the guards. The fact that the machine that had made said attack was a prototype that had launched from an ADB facility, combined with the fact that his deputy chief of staff, the son of one of the company's boar-members and an officer with access to the facility, had not reported in for duty meant that Zala already had an idea as to who was piloting unit; Field Marshal Eric Bristow. Now the renegade Wolf of the Far East was mauling the interior forces that had been launched from Fort Saturn, and GINNs from Fort Jupiter in the other half of the colony were on their way to the central docks so they could get into the upper half and engage the traitor.

_That bastard_, Zala raged in his head, _how long ago did he turn? He sat on the Defense Council through all those meetings… how much information did he pass to Clyne and his supporters? _There was also the fact that Bristow was known to be friends with Commander Rehema, but Zala had never given the matter serious thought before; the Wolf of the Far East had always conducted himself as a professional officer, and had given all the appearances of loyalty to ZAFT first and foremost, if butting heads with other members of the Defense Council on more than one occasion over certain matters.

Now with the attack on Charon Prison combined with the defection of the Judgment, it was obvious what the intention of the strike by Wing Zero and the other traitors was; to liberate Commander Rehema's parents. It was clear that the intentions of Heero Yuy were to drive straight through the center of the Avalon Line and get into the capital, and Zala had wasted no time in taking measures to stop him. Having the utmost confidence in Avalon's reputation as an indestructible fortress, he had concentrated his efforts on reinforcing the central docks of Aprillius One with additional mobile suit teams and warships; there was no way in hell Wing Zero would be entering the colony on his watch.

_Not that it will even get that far_, he thought, _Avalon will take it down! _At least, that was what Zala kept telling himself. The fact that Wing Zero was charging the battle-station head on and had yet to be destroyed was putting the lie to his belief, and despite his refusal to accept otherwise the intellectual part of him knew that Avalon was not as invincible as he would like it to be… not against the weapon that had destroyed the Alaska base. But that bit of rational thought was drowned out by the seething rage that had gripped the Supreme Council Chairman's mind, and he refused to accept that a single unit could pose such a threat to ZAFT's homeland defenses.

In other words, Patrick Zala was suffering from a monumental case of denial.

Now, even as sensor officers reported of a massive energy buildup coming from Wing Zero, Zala still refused to believe that the mobile suit could seriously do to Avalon what it had done to the hardened Alaska base. The combination of anger, arrogance, and hatred had served to deprive the Supreme Council Chairman of no small amount of the cunning that had played a considerable role in his rise to power both in ZAFT and PLANT politics. His brilliant and devious military and political mind was now consumed by rage at not only Heero Yuy and the enemy strike team but also his own subordinates, who in his eyes were giving him an incredibly pathetic display of fear, dread, and outright cowardice.

"All that fire," he heard one man say, "and nothing's so much as _touched _him!"

"He can't possibly be human…" said a woman, her voice carrying a mix of awe and dread, "… he's like a demon."

"No mere demon," said a nearby security guard, his eyes riveted to the image of Wing Zero on the central monitor, "that kind of pilot, they call a demon lord."

Apparently that struck a chord with the audience, and utterances of the title 'Demon Lord' rapidly spread throughout the room… and it would not be long before they went beyond the chamber.

In his fury Zala was blinded to the fact that he was witnessing nothing less than the birth of a living legend.

The birth of the Demon Lord of Avalon.

….

The fire that now poured forth from the Avalon battle-station had reached new heights, and to Heero it almost seemed to take on a frantic pitch. As he weaved through the typhoon of bullets, beams, and missiles while bringing the Twin Buster Rifle up to its full power, Heero could've sworn that he could _feel _the fear emanating from the station's gunners, along with the rest of its crew. Any other man would've gotten a rush from such a sensation, a feeling of omnipotence, a belief in their own divinity. To Heero, though, such arrogance was the property of fools, and fools did not survive long on the battlefield. He would not dwell on such feelings, nor could he; he had to maintain his razor sharp focus on controlling the Zero System and his Gundam, a task that was all the more daunting now that he was bringing his primary weapon up to its devastating maximum charge.

To fire the Twin Buster Rifle at full power understandably drew an incredible amount of energy from Wing Zero's reactor… including energy that would normally go to the Gundam's thrusters. As a result of this, Heero's ability to maneuver was now much more limited, and it was only due to the precognitive abilities that the Zero System gave him that he was able to avoid taking hits from the storm of fire that Avalon was unleashing.

That, and the phenomenal escort team he had.

Out on the right and left flanks Kira and Athrun continued to stall incoming enemy warships and mobile suits. The Freedom and Justice were putting out an almost non-stop barrage of fire, disabling or destroying GINNs as their pilots saw necessary and stopping the frigates and destroyers in their tracks. For all their firepower, the large warships may as well have been giant targets as far as the Freedom and Justice were concerned; their return fire could not touch the stolen ZAFT prototypes, while Kira and Athrun continued to maul the vessels, destroying weapons, communications arrays, and more.

Meanwhile, the reunited Valkyrie Team was showing the Earth Sphere just _how _they had earned their fearsome reputation, cutting down GINNs at a phenomenal rate. The Judgment was at the center of their formation, its heavy plasma rifle ripping through the enemy ranks while emerald beams from its shoulder cannons and gun-drones destroyed units that the crimson blasts had forced to scatter and were attempting to regroup. Commander Rehema's subordinates weren't slacking off either, and were pounding incoming GINNs with energy beams and rail cannon rounds while ripping apart those that managed to get into saber range. While the enemy continued to bring more and more reinforcements to bear, Heero knew that his back was secured by the best mobile suit team he had seen since the end of the Eve Wars.

He could only imagine what his fellow Gundam pilots would've thought of his new allies.

Glancing at the timer on the bottom right corner of his screen, he saw that Avalon was quickly approaching the next shot in its firing cycle. As for Heero, the Twin Buster Rifle was almost at maximum charge, and he knew that it would come down to the wire as to who would fire first. With his mobility reduced due to all the energy Wing Zero's reactor was pumping into its main gun, Heero knew that he was much more vulnerable to the monstrously powerful Tunguska cannons.

If he couldn't fire first, he was dead.

The thought might've daunted other pilots, but Heero didn't spare it any contemplation. He would not die here, he _refused _to fall now. His will to live may have returned during the final stage of the Eve Wars, but now it was stronger than it ever had been before in his life, burning in his heart like an inferno. At the end of the Eve Wars, as he had prepared to destroy the falling section of the _Libra_, Heero had been driven on by the knowledge that his actions would finally bring the war-torn era he had grown up in to an end, and he'd wanted to survive to help build and protect the new future the world would enter. Now, though, something far more powerful than the desire to simply witness the dawn of a new era was driving him, fueling his resolve.

Love.

_I swore to Murrue that I would return to her_, he thought, his eyes narrowed as he sighted in on the leviathan of a fortress before him, _I swore not just to protect her, but to stand by her side, now and forever after. I made that vow because _I love her_, and now I know that _she loves me. _After coming so far, after I was _finally _able to act on my emotions, after I _finally _told Murrue how I felt about her, and after she _accepted _me, _loved _me… there's no way in hell I'm dying here!_

As the Twin Buster Rifle reached its maximum charge, Heero saw that Avalon was now mere seconds away from firing; it was now or never. Secure in the knowledge that his target was lined up, Heero pulled the trigger…

…and unleashed the power of a god of destruction.

….

Her eyes riveted to the main monitor, Talia watched as what she could only describe as a maelstrom of golden-yellow hellfire tear forth from Wing Zero. The _Natta _had since backed off from the fight after the Freedom had robbed it of almost all of its weapons, and was currently sitting at the rear echelons of the Avalon Line, behind and off to the left of mighty battle-station. Knowing her ship was defanged, Talia had decided the best course of action was to move the _Natta _to a position well removed from the fighting, and she was well on her way to doing that. At the same time, though, she had wanted to keep an eye on the engagement, which was why her main bridge monitor was focused on the mobile suit at the center of this insane attack.

Now, as Wing Zero unleashed the full power of its monstrous rifle, time seemed to slow to a crawl for the twenty-seven year old woman. The gargantuan blast of energy made its way towards the Avalon battle-station in slow motion as Talia's mind struggled to come to grips with what she was witnessing. She was of course fully aware of what Heero Yuy had done to the hardened Alaska base, but intellectually knowing that he had that kind of awesome destructive power at his disposal and actually seeing it in action were two vastly different things.

_No way_, she thought, her eyes the widest they'd ever been in her life, _impossible…_

Then the unholy blast slammed dead-center into the Avalon battle-station.

A brilliant blue and white flash lit up all of the space in the _Natta_'s visual range, overwhelming its sensors until nothing but the massive explosion was visible on the main monitor. A stunned silence fell upon the bridge, the entire crew at a loss for thought and words. At any other time Talia would've been upset at the lack of professionalism and focus her subordinates were displaying, there was no way she could hold them accountable when she was as blown away as they were, as she shared their awe and terror at the display of godlike destructive power that had just been unleashed before their very eyes.

After a couple seconds she managed to regain at least some of her wits, and as the gargantuan explosion began to fade to the point that the _Natta_'s view of the battlefield was not completely obscured Talia turned to her sensor officer. "Scan the area!" she ordered, "I want to know if the attackers are still alive!"

_They can't be_, she thought as she gave the order, _there's no way that any of them could've survived that blast given their proximity, especially Wing Zero. They _can't _have survived that…_

Then her subordinate proved her _very _wrong.

"Contacts!" the young woman at the sensor station cried, "four... five…six… seven! They're all alive!"

"Get me a visual!" Talia yelled, even as her mind continued to shriek at the absurdity of it all, the complete _impossibility _of any of the attackers and the traitorous Valkyrie surviving that blast.

But the image that appeared on the main monitor soundly put her doubts to rest. As she focused on the screen Talia could see all seven machines flying out of the blast, _towards the PLANTs…_

… with Wing Zero leading the charge.

….

"Avalon is down!" cried Miriallia from the CIC, "I repeat; _Avalon is down! _He did it! The strike team is heading for Aprilius One!"

Murrue smiled, having just witnessed on the main monitor, which along with her personal display was linked to Wing Zero's sensor feed, the destruction of the monolithic battle-station. The entire bridge crew had gasped as they'd watched the full-power blast from the Twin Buster Rifle slam into Avalon dead-center and caused the fortress to detonate in the largest explosion Murrue had ever seen. That the data was coming from Wing Zero meant that Murrue was witnessing the attack unfold from Heero's point of view, giving her and her crew the best seats in the house for the fireworks, so to speak.

For a moment she had been worried as she'd watched the gargantuan explosion, fearing that even the extraordinary Gundanium alloy of Wing Zero might be unable to withstand the force of the blast. However, that fear was almost instantly drowned out by her faith in Heero; her lover knew better than anyone else what kind of punishment a Gundam could take. Her belief had been rewarded in short order as she saw Wing Zero fly through the fading blue and white flash and out the other side, and the sensor data also showed the rest of the strike team right alongside him, along with their newest ally; Shemei Rehema. Now they were inbound for the PLANT capital, which meant that it was time for Murrue to spring into action.

_ Amazing as always, Heero_, she thought, _you've once again shown the entire world that you can do the impossible. There truly is no other pilot like you, nor another mobile suit like Wing Zero. Fly onwards, my love; we're coming, and I'll hit ZAFT with everything I've got to keep them from barring your path!_

The _Archangel _wasn't the only ship in the group that was receiving telemetry from the strike team; the _Eternal _and _Kusanagi _were getting feeds from the Freedom and Justice respectively, which meant that those on board them now knew that it was time to move in.

Indeed, mere moments after Miriallia's announcement, Waltfeld's face appeared on the main bridge monitor. "Attention all ships," he said, "The Avalon battle-station has been destroyed. Set course for the breaching point at max speed, and have all mobile suits ready to launch on arrival. Captain Ramius, I want your ship on point; the _Eternal _will fly on your left flank while the _Kusanagi _takes the right."

Murrue nodded. "Understood. Helm, full throttle!"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Ensign Neumann, and the ship rumbled as the powerful engines flared to life.

"Miriallia," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "inform the pilots of the Tallgeese Kai and the Buster to get to their machines and standby for launch orders!"

"Aye, Lieutenant!" the girl replied.

"Arm all weapons," ordered Murrue, "Have all missiles primed and ready for launch! Priority goes to the Sledgehammer warheads; I want all possible anti-ship armaments made ready!"

"Aye, Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, who relayed her orders to the weapons specialists in the CIC.

The _Archangel _quickly picked up speed, moving to the head of the three-ship formation. It was the ideal position for the advanced assault battleship; it was by far the most heavily armed vessel in the Three Ships Alliance, and being on point gave it the widest possible firing arc. Combined with support from the Eternal, the _Kusanagi_, and their mobile suits, and the effectiveness and lethality of the _Archangel_'s powerful arsenal was increased exponentially.

And it was a position that Murrue would've fought tooth and nail to get if necessary. She _wanted _to be leading the charge to clear an exit path for the strike team; there was no way in hell she was going to let ZAFT cut Heero off. She was determined to protect the young man she loved.

And woe be to anyone that got in her way.

_Hang on, Heero_, she thought, her eyes narrowing, _we're coming… and when we arrive, I'm going to rain hell on ZAFT. I have more firepower at my disposal than any other ship Captain in the Earth Sphere, and I'm _not _going to hold back here! I _will _protect you, and I'll slaughter legions if that's what it takes to bring you back to me!_

….

Despite his incredible reserves of discipline and self-control, Heero Yuy could not help but smirk as he emerged from the fading fireball that was now all that remained of the once mighty Avalon battle-station. The sensation of once again beating astronomical odds, of facing the Grim Reaper head on and coming out on top, was all too reminiscent of not just his earlier battles in this world but those of his old, especially the final campaign of the Eve Wars. He could not help but recall the final act of that conflict; his destruction of the falling block of the battleship _Libra_.

_I was on the very edge between life and death_, he thought, _and it was the same here… except this time my target was not a falling chunk of debris but a fortress with the firepower to rival the Libra when it was fully operational._

Now was not the time for nostalgia though, and while he may have overcome the biggest hurdle of the operation there were still plenty more obstacles to face; he was by no means out of the woods yet. As the adrenaline pumped through his veins at a fever pitch Heero checked his sensors, confirming the presence of his allies as they emerged from the dissipating blue-white sphere of destruction… including the Valkyrie.

_Three times we've clashed as enemies_, he mused, _now we can fight as allies. We've still got a score to settle, of course, but we'll deal with that latter. _

It was a very strange feeling; though the last thing Heero wanted was to kill Shemei Rehema, he still wanted the duel with her that he wasn't able to get in their last battle. He wanted a one-on-one match, with both of them going all-out. Her skill and courage was beyond any other pilot he'd seen in the Cosmic Era; only his fellow Gundam pilots and Zechs Merquise were a match for her. It wasn't in Heero's nature to hunger for battle, but the level of respect he held for the Egyptian pilot demanded one final duel, one on equal terms, without any form of interference.

And he was sure Shemei felt the same way.

Putting aside his desire for closure on their friendly and respectful rivalry for the moment, Heero focused on the next stage of the operation; entering Aprilius One. The destruction of the Avalon battle-station may have left a massive breach in the lower defenses of the PLANTs, but there were still enemy forces held in reserve and in their path, not to mention the continuous arrival of reinforcements from other parts of the ZAFT Home Fleet that were even now trying to catch up and hit them from behind.

"Everyone on me," he ordered over the tactical channel, "we'll cut through their final line and hit the capital. Once I'm inside, the rest of you keep the enemy at bay."

Various forms of acknowledgement came from the other five members of the strike team, but it was Shemei's reply that stood out. "You got it, Heero," she said, "no way in hell I'm letting ZAFT hit you from the rear; we've still got some unfinished business to take care of."

Heero nodded as he took aim at a _Nazca_-class destroyer, one of the few warships standing between him and Aprilius One. "I'll hold you to that, Rehema."

"Roger that," she replied, and the Perfect Soldier could see the Judgment raising its large plasma rifle, sighting in on a frigate, "and Heero? Please... get my parents out of there!"

"Got it," said Heero, and together the two of them opened fire.

Twin blasts of yellow-gold and crimson fire ripped through space, annihilating the two capital ships in a beautiful display of unconscious coordinated shooting on the part of Heero and Shemei. Not wanting to be left out, the rest of the strike team opened fire as well, unleashing a withering barrage of energy beams, rail cannon rounds, and plasma blasts that destroyed no less than twenty GINNs and, in the case of Kira, disabled another six. The powerful one-two punch from the seven mobile suits opened a gap in the final echelon of the Avalon Line, and the strike team wasted no time in surging through.

As they penetrated the final line of the PLANTs' lower defenses Heero was already lining himself up with the maintenance entrance to the bottom of Aprilius One's central shaft. The massive hourglass-shaped colony was growing larger and larger as Heero approached, though from his angle all he could see was the circular bottom and the two wide disk-shaped solar panels that sprouted from either side of the center of the titanic artificial habitat.

As the bottom of the colony rapidly filled up his main monitor, Heero made the final adjustments to his approach vector before transmitting the codes given to him by Waltfeld courtesy of Bristow. The circular hatch at the exact center of the bottom of the colony began to open, much to Heero's relief; ZAFT hadn't changed the access codes.

Then again, there was no way they could've known until now that Wing Zero wouldn't be entering Aprilius One through the main docks… or infiltrating the colony at all, for that matter.

"I'm going in," he said to the others, "Rehema, you're in charge!"

Despite their prior history as enemy combatants, Heero had no problem with entrusting the leadership of the strike team to the Valkyrie; they were on the same side now, and more to the point he knew that she was a natural choice. Her history as the Commander of ZAFT's best mobile suit combat unit, combined with Heero's own admiration and respect for her abilities, made her in his eyes the obvious candidate for leading the strike team while he entered Aprillius One. While he had flown with Kira, Athrun, and the girls longer, the fact was that none of them really had, at least to him, anything approaching the potent combination of charisma, cunning, daring, and grace that Shemei possessed. Athrun's history as the leader of his own team during his pursuit of the _Archangel _was checkered at best, while Kira's unwillingness to do what was truly necessary in a fight automatically disqualified him to Heero despite the fact that he had flown with him longer than any other ally on the field in this engagement. As for the girls, of the three of them Adaline had proven herself to be quite capable of leading Lan and Priscilla in small-unit combat, but now that their Commander was flying with them the red-headed Australian beauty would reflexively defer to the Valkyrie for orders, as would her two teammates. Designating Shemei as the leader over the tactical channel was a way for Heero to avoid any confusion that might ensue in his absence; he knew his friends were in good hands.

"Affirmative," came his rival's reply, her tone calm and disciplined, "everyone, defensive positions over the shaft entrance; no one's getting past us!"

"Hold tight," said Heero, "I'll make this as fast as I can."

"You'd better," said Shemei, smirking on the lower right corner of his monitor, "take too long and I'm going to pass your kill count!"

"We'll compare scores when this is over," said Heero, unable to keep himself from smirking as well, "good luck."

"You too," said Shemei.

Mere seconds after the Valkyrie signed off Heero entered the shaft.

**(End "chAngE")**

….

Checking her sensors, Shemei could see a huge response force of mobile suits already heading towards the strike team's location; they'd be on them in a matter of seconds. Thinking quickly, the Valkyrie wasted no time in issuing commands to her formidable team.

"Freedom, Justice," she yelled, "bracket the entrance hatch; you're the goalkeepers, and are on artillery duty. Hit the flanks of the enemy ranks and try to funnel them into a narrow approach. Girls, you're playing midfield; anything that gets past me, wipe it out." A wicked grin appeared on her face as she told the others the role she would be playing in their holding action. "I'll play center forward and hit them head-on."

The usage of soccer positions as designations for the roles she wanted the others playing in the fight reflected both a personality quirk of the Valkyrie and a practical consideration. The former was due to the simple fact that she was a fan of the sport, though not to the same degree that she was of fencing, while the latter was a result of her unfamiliarity with Kira and Athrun's flying styles. Since soccer was the most popular sport in the Earth Sphere, including the PLANTs and Orb, it was reasonable to assume that both boys would have at least a passing familiarity with the game and would take to their 'field positions' accordingly.

They didn't disappoint. As soon as Shemei issued her instructions the Freedom and Justice sprang into action, setting up on the right and left side of the entrance to the maintenance corridor of the central shaft respectively. Meanwhile Shemei and the three Wraiths were moving forward, with the latter stopping a ways out in front of the Freedom and the Justice while the Valkyrie put herself much further out front. It was a bold position, and it made her the obvious first target of the incoming mobile suits, but Shemei had no problem with that. In fact, it was to her liking. She was the most exposed to enemy fire… and was in the best position possible to unleash everything the Judgment had.

Her silver eyes narrowed as she swiftly acquired targets with her mobile suit's advanced tracking program, one designed along the same lines as those found in the Freedom and the Justice. She bared her teeth as she set up to fire, like a wolf revealing its fangs.

"Come and get some!" she yelled as she cut loose.

The Judgment unleashed a storm of fire. The Tartarus plasma rifle cut a swath through the approaching GINNs, destroying seven machines in the blink of an eye while emerald beams from her shoulder cannons and twin DRAGOONs shredded four more units. The _real _punch, though, came in the form of the micro-missiles stored in the launchers mounted on the mobile suit's legs.

All _forty-eight _micro-missiles. The warheads were set up in two racks of twelve, one on each leg, with each individual slot holding two missiles. Shemei emptied her entire store in two twenty-four missile volleys, one right on the heels of the other. To the oncoming GINNs, it must've appeared as though the Judgment was hemorrhaging the warheads, and the swarm of missiles tore into their rank with devastating results. Each individual missile had acquired one target each, and _all of them _found their mark, leading to four dozen units turning into fireballs.

However, despite the immense casualties that had been inflicted upon them in the space of mere seconds, there were still plenty more mobile suits where those had come from, and though they had been caught off-guard by the sudden, devastating barrage they kept on coming, fanning out in an obvious move to hit the Judgment from all sides.

_Trying _to fan out, anyway. As the ranks of the swarm of foes spread the right and left wings were suddenly hit by a barrage of fire from the Freedom and the Justice. Several units were either destroyed or disabled, and the rest of the enemy force reflexively contracted back in… making themselves perfect targets for not only Shemei, but her three subordinates.

The Valkyrie opened up again with her guns, and this time she was joined by the three Wraiths as they cut loose with their beam cannons, railguns, and, in the case of Lan Zhao, Lancer Dart missiles. The barrage served to thin out the ranks of the incoming GINNs as over a score of the units were destroyed, but it wasn't enough to stop them in their tracks.

_Fine by me_, thought Shemei as she ignited her violet beam saber, a smirk on her face, _it'd be boring if all the action was long-range._

Keeping up a steady stream of fire with her DRAGOONs, picking off GINNs one after another, Shemei gunned her engines and moved to engage the point-units of the enemy ranks in close-quarters-combat. She sliced one GINN in half and impaled another in rapid succession with her energy blade before downing two more machines with fire from her shoulder cannons and another pair with her gun-drones.

Of course, now that she was engaging the enemy at such close range they were able to get mobile suits around her, but before they could orient for an attack on her they found themselves under attack from Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla. The three girls poured energy beams and rail cannon rounds into the GINNs while cutting down any that dared try to get past them with their beam sabers. All the while this was happening Kira and Athrun were still pumping fire into the horde of incoming foes, focusing their attacks on the wings of the enemy formations as Shemei had instructed in order to funnel them into a narrower and more manageable approach for the Valkyrie Team.

Shemei cut down two more GINNs with her beam saber before firing another blast with the Tartarus and obliterating another seven units with its crimson lance of plasma. As she did so she saw several GINNs breaking off from the fight, missing head-cameras and weapon arms, and it only took a moment to discover the source of their damage; the Freedom.

Her smirk became a small frown as she observed Kira's fighting style. Though the boy had been present in the last battle she had fought, Shemei had been too busy dueling Heero at the time to pay attention to the Freedom's actions in the engagement. _That's how he's fighting now?_, she thought, _He was willing to kill back in North Africa, and from what I heard from Eric the Strike continue to fight normally after that battle up until it was destroyed in the Marshall Islands. Now that Kira has the Freedom he's suddenly decided he won't kill? I mean, sure, the targeting system it uses allows for that kind of precision in a fight, and he clearly has the skills to use it to that capability, but it limits the Freedom's true combat potential. If he were fighting with the intent to kill then the rate at which he neutralizes his foes would be much higher than it is now. This isn't the time to be holding back like that, and I'm not saying that just because my parents' lives are on the line; with Zala and the other radicals taking ZAFT down the road it's on now, there's no doubt that they'll hit us with everything they have. Fighting with the kind of restraint and concern for the enemy like Kira's doing now only serves to weaken us in combat overall even if it removes combatants from the field in the short-term. More to the point, that sort of mentality and tactics may be applicable against the rank and file pilots, but against soldiers of higher skill levels it's just asking for trouble. I wonder if Kira's aware of that yet…_

Shemei shook her head as she downed three more GINNs with her shoulder cannons and another pair with her DRAGOONs while impaling a fifth on her beam saber; now was not the time to concern herself with the fighting style of one of her allies. The fire from the Freedom may not have been destroying the enemy, but it was removing units from the field, though the damage that had been done to their machines was relatively simple to fix, while the pilots themselves would eventually be able to return to the battlefield with additional experience and knowledge of how their foe fought. Technically speaking Kira was still neutralizing the enemy, and for the moment that was what mattered. She'd worry about the implications and flaws in the boy's new fighting style after the battle was over.

_Come on, Heero_, she thought as she slashed another GINN in half, _we're doing fine now, but I'm sure even more reinforcements are inbound. Please, save my parents and get the hell out of there!_

….

As he sped through the maintenance corridor inside the central shaft, Heero could not help but feel boxed in despite the fact that the interior of the shaft was actually quite spacious, giving him several meters of clearance on all sides for Wing Zero. It was more than enough room for him to fly without scrapping the dark grey walls that surrounded him, but to a pilot who was used to maneuvering in the void of space and the open skies of the Earth the shaft felt very confining. No pilot liked being forced to adhere to such a restricted amount of operating space, and while Heero wasn't claustrophobic the sensation of flying through the maintenance corridor was unnerving. The Perfect Soldier wanted to get through the shaft and to his exit point ASAP, and so he was gunning his engines, moving far faster than another pilot might while operating in such a confined environment. Though Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy frame made it significantly tougher than other mobile suits, a single mistake or miscalculation on Heero's part in this enclosed space would still cause trouble, and it would cost him time that he could not afford.

Fortunately the Gundam pilot was far too disciplined and focused to let a slight sense of discomfort interfere with his piloting abilities. Heero was capable of incredible feats of precision flying even without the Zero System enhancing his awareness and abilities, and _with _it he could adhere to a flight path refined to an insanely tight degree. The phenomenal level of control he had over his mobile suit meant that Heero had no problem with pushing his engines as fast as they could go, and as he glanced at a side monitor showing a diagram of the colony he saw that he was already past the central docks and moving into the upper half of Aprilius One.

After a couple more seconds of flying he came to a halt and turned towards the 'right' wall of the shaft. At least, it was right from his perspective; given its position running through the center of the colony, it all depended on where someone was at in relation to it. He then stabbed his beam saber into the wall and began cutting out a rough circular entranceway into the heart of the colony. The green energy blade cut through the material relatively easy; it wasn't hardened armor, after all. Still, the last thing Heero wanted to do was rush his work as he dragged the saber through the metal; if he made the hole too wide he ran the potential of destabilizing the shaft. This was precision work, and a warm up for what he would have to do at Charon Prison.

_I won't be cutting a hole like this_, he mused as he completed the first half of the circle, _but if I misjudge the angle of my blade when I cut the roof off of the section over the Rehemas' cell, I could easily kill them. It's going to be tricky work, and I can't afford any distractions while I do it. I just hope Bristow can keep the interior forces off my back long enough for me to complete the extraction._

As he neared the completion point of the circle he pulled his blade out and shut it off before pushing the hilt into the cut and pulling it back, dragging the metal slab with it; he didn't want it to fall into the interior of the colony and hit anyone. Since he had not quite finished his circle the circular chunk of metal was still attached to the rest of the shaft at one narrow point, and that point served as an impromptu door-hinge as Heero pulled the slab into the shaft. Once it was far enough inside he reignited his emerald blade and completely severed the piece of metal, and it 'fell' through the maintenance corridor towards the 'base' of the shaft at the upper end of the colony. Gravity was reversed in this end of the habitat, which meant that Heero would have to quickly reorient himself when he exited his make-shift portal.

As he hit his thrusters and flew into the colony interior his sensor board lit up with contacts. No less than a dozen GINNs were already in flight… but they weren't going for him. Heero's eyes narrowed as he saw the green and grey machines engage another unit, a black mobile suit with dark blue trim. He realized that it was a modified GuAIZ, one that had forgone the beam rifle in favor of a second Composite Shield, and that it had two large gatling guns mounted on its shoulders as well. The unit was ripping into the GINNs with both pairs of beam claws, impaling one and slashing another in half before destroying a third with gatling fire.

_That must be Bristow_, Heero thought as he flew towards the engagement, _but why's he already in the air? He wasn't supposed to launch until I got out of the shaft._

As he approached the dogfight he received a transmission… one on a frequency that Waltfeld had given him during the run-up to the operation. Knowing who was hailing him, Heero opened up a channel and saw the face of a man who appeared to be in his early thirties appear on the lower-right hand corner of his screen. He had thick black hair, dark brown eyes, and was wearing a dark blue flight suit. Heero was puzzled for a moment to see that the man had an amused smirk on his face, at least until he started speaking.

"I was wondering when we'd finally meet," said the Wolf of the Far East as he tore a GINN apart with his beam claws, "the name's Eric Bristow. It's an honor, Heero Yuy; Shemei speaks very highly of you."

"Nice to meet you," said Heero as he joined the fray, slashing a GINN in half diagonally with his emerald blade, "what are you doing airborne already? Waltfeld said that you'd launch after I started my run on Charon."

"That was the plan," said Eric as he moved his machine so that its back was to that of Wing Zero, "but Shemei's early defection forced my hand. I had to buy you some time."

Heero nodded, swiftly piecing together the situation; Shemei's move to join the strike team when she had meant that her parents were no longer useful hostages to Zala. The ruthless military dictator of the PLANTs may well have already issued orders for the Rehemas' execution.

"Alright," said Heero as he stabbed a GINN, "but how does you mixing it up with the interior forces stop the prison staff from killing Rehema's parents?"

"Who said I hit the interior forces first?" Bristow replied, gutting a machine with his beam claws, "Check out Charon."

Quickly bringing up the prison on one of his monitors, Heero instantly picked out what Bristow was referring to; a long, blackened gash running along the roof of the facility. Doing a mental comparison with the floor plans he'd memorized, Heero realized that the gash lined up perfectly with the corridor that ran past the cell holding the Rehemas'.

_He hit the hallway with a beam claw_, he thought, his eyes narrowing, _turning the floor to slag and cutting off direct interior access to the cell. A risky move, especially for the prisoners… but brilliant._

An alarm from his sensors interrupted his thoughts, and as he checked the display he saw that more GINNs were coming at them from above. Heero surmised that they were from either a base in the 'bottom' half of the colony or outside reinforcements; either way, they were filtering into the 'upper' half of Aprilius One via the docks at the central section of the artificial habitat.

"Heero," said Bristow as he destroyed a GINN with his shoulder gatlings while the Perfect Soldier took down another with his beam saber, "get to Charon Prison and get Shemei's parents out of there! I'll keep these guys busy while you're down there. Just don't take too long."

Heero nodded. "Roger that. Watch yourself."

"Don't worry," Eric replied, "I've got this."

As the now former ZAFT Field Marshal signed off Heero dove towards the 'ground', swiftly approaching Charon Prison. No missiles or any other form of anti-air fire rose to meet him, something that puzzled him only briefly until he realized the simple truth that ZAFT had never anticipated anyone breaking into the heart of their territory. It was an arrogance that Heero was grateful for; he had enough to worry about without ground fire added to the mix.

Setting up his final approach, Heero gunned his engines as he skimmed above buildings, often with mere meters worth of clearance. He then raised the shield mounted on the Gundam's left arm…

…and smashed right through the towering concrete wall that surrounded the prison.

….

As alarms continued their cacophonous roaring around them, the only thing Soran Rehema could do was hold his wife, Akila, close to him while doing his best to maintain an image of strength in order to provide the woman he loved with some small measure of comfort. A tall man of forty-eight years, with light brown skin, a rather wiry frame, black hair with some streaks of grey, and silver eyes, Soran was a man who did all he could to present a confident face to the world, to not show an instant of fear or doubt. While he sometimes came across as stern and stubborn, at heart Soran simply wanted what was best for the people around him, and to provide them with someone they could turn to for strength in times of trouble.

It was that strength he knew his wife needed now. A kind and soft-spoken woman, Akila was a year younger than her husband, and aside from her brown eyes and the fact that her purple-black hair fell just below her ears rather than below her shoulders was almost a mirror image of her daughter. A compassionate lady whose gentle demeanor concealed both a playful streak and a strong desire to protect those she cared for, Akila Rehema had transitioned from an officer in the Egyptian Air Force to a housewife who also worked as a secretary for an electronics company during her family's years in the PLANTs, and had more readily abandoned the military mindset than her husband had. It had made her a wonderfully conciliatory figure for the occasions when Soran and Shemei had gotten into arguments, always able to calm the waters between the passionate and worried daughter and the firm, inflexible father, but it had also made their sudden, unwarranted incarceration much more difficult on her.

Therefore, Soran had taken it upon himself to act as both her protector and source of strength in these trying times… all the while his pride refused to let him see that he was partially responsible for their situation; by failing to heed the warnings and pleas of his daughter, he had left himself and his wife vulnerable to the sweep for Naturals living in the PLANTs that had landed them both in Charon Prison. When they had been thrown into their cell, Soran had vowed to not let their confinement break either of their spirits, while at the same time showing no signs of defiance towards their jailers; in his view, the key to their survival and freedom was to simply weather the storm until rational heads prevailed and secured their liberation.

Both Soran and Akila were patient people, and as long as they had each other neither would allow their imprisonment to rob them of hope. So they endured their confinement, spending the weeks they'd been locked in their cell, given only grey jumpsuits for clothing, eating their meals, talking and reminiscing about better days, and praying for the safety of their daughter… all the while unaware that Shemei's moral stand against the policies of the regime had played a role in their arrest, and that they were being used to coerce her into fighting for a regime hell bent on the complete eradication of Naturals. Both had agreed to stay subdued and calm, to not do anything to antagonize their guards in any fashion but to simply wait things out and hope that someone in a position of power would recognize that a mistake had been made and release them. So they had kept to the same quiet routine for weeks now, and nothing had changed…

… until today.

The start of the alarms had caught both of them completely off guard; there had not been a single disturbance since the start of their incarceration until now. Matters had only been made worse when what Soran could only describe as a hot, violet light swept through the hallway outside their cell. There was only a small barred opening in the thick metal door, so Soran had only caught a glimpse of what had happened, but the heat that had soon radiated into the cell afterwards left no doubt that it had been a beam saber, and that it had fried the hallway. Thankfully for Soran and Akila the cell had ventilation in the form of numerous small ducts in the floor and ceiling along with a very small barred window, enough to ensure proper air circulation… though their cell was still uncomfortably warm.

Several minutes later there was a crash, and as the facility shuddered Soran risked a peak outside the small window in the concrete wall. His eyes widened in shock as he saw a mobile suit of a kind that he had never seen before break through the thick wall that surrounded Charon Prison… and head straight for their cell.

His wife joined him at the window, her expression quickly mirroring that of her husband's. "Dear lord," she said softly, "what's going on?"

Soran was wondering the exact same thing, and his surprise was only compounded when he heard a voice come from what he realized was the mobile suit's external speakers. It was male, and Soran realized that the speaker was young, but there was also a sense of authority in his voice. It was calm, but it conveyed strength, determination, resolve… and, much to Soran's surprise, it was addressed to him and Akila.

"Soran and Akila Rehema," it said as the mobile suit hovered on its thrusters and approached their cell, "take cover immediately, and shield your eyes."

Shaken by the sudden turn of events, Soran still had the presence of mind to take heed of the speaker's command. Grabbing his wife, he pulled her down to the floor and pushed her under the bed before doing his best to squeeze in with her. At the same time he shut his eyes tightly… and as he suddenly felt a fresh wave of heat come down from above, he realized why; the mobile suit had used its beam saber. Even with his eyes closed though he could still see a brief flash of emerald light, one that he realized probably would've blinded him had he not obeyed the young man's command.

Keeping his eyes shut, Soran could only rely on his other senses to tell him what was happening. He could still feel the heat radiating down from above, along with his wife clutching him tightly, and he suddenly heard a crashing sound. Then he heard the voice again, only this time it was not coming over a speaker; there was no electronic taint to it.

"Get out from under there, now," it said, "and open your eyes. Hurry; we don't have much time."

Doing as the speaker instructed, Soran edged out from under the bed and helped Akila do the same before pulling her to her feet. After looking her over to make sure she was alright, Soran turned to survey their cell… or rather, what was left of it.

The ceiling had been completely shorn off, and as he looked at where it had once met the walls Soran could see that the concrete there was glowing orange and red, and he could feel the heat radiating from it. The wall that had the small window had been ripped off, and only jagged rubble remained near the floor. As startling as all that was, though, what really caught the Rehemas' attention was the open hatch of the mobile suit where the wall had been… and the pilot standing in it.

Soran was not easily impressed by people that were not his family, but as he looked upon the young man standing before him he could not help but feel a sense of awe stirring within him, along with respect. It wasn't hard to understand why; the figure who was now in their cell, whom Soran realized couldn't be older than his mid-to-late teens, was an imposing sight to behold. He was clad in a blue and white uniform that would not have looked out of place in the 18th or 19th century, and when combined with the sword at his waist it served to give the young man an air of nobility, if not majesty. Though his physical height was only average, perhaps a bit on the short side, it in no way detracted from his bearing. He held himself with a sense of strength and purpose, of confidence and authority. When combined with the uniform, Soran could not help but feel as if he were standing in the presence of an officer, and one far above his station at that.

But what truly held the attention of both Soran and his wife was the intruder's face. The young man had thick brown hair that was tussled along with the long blue jacket of his uniform in the artificial breeze blowing through the breach, light skin, and piercing blue eyes. As they met his Soran could practically feel the strength and determination emanating from them… along with a sense of hardened resolve. This was a young man driven by something powerful inside him, and who was willing to do whatever was necessary to fulfill it. His expression was not hostile, but it was hardened, and Soran realized it was a reflection of the young man's accumulated experiences; despite his youth, he had already been tried and tested in battle, had passed through the baptism of fire that was combat. Unconsciously, Soran knew that he was looking at a soldier who been through the worst that war could throw at him, and he had emerged from those hardships battered and scarred but unbowed, determined to move forward.

And indeed, he was literally moving forward now, taking a step towards the Rehemas. "My name is Heero Yuy," he said, "I'm a… acquaintance of your daughter. I'm here to get you out of here; we need to leave immediately."

Soran's eyes widened even further as the pilot spoke; he'd heard that name before, and indeed it had been from Shemei… but the circumstances under which she'd encountered him had not been friendly. He also realized that he now knew what the machine the young man was piloting was called. "You're Wing Zero's pilot," he said, "you fought our girl in North Africa!"

The young man nodded, unfazed by Soran's statement. "I did," he replied, "twice for that matter… and I fought her again a week ago. Commander Rehema's one of the best pilots I've ever engaged in combat; I have nothing but respect for your daughter, and that is part of why I'm here. She deserves the freedom to fight without the lives of her parents being held over her head like the Sword of Damocles."

"What are you talking about?" asked Akila.

Heero Yuy shook his head. "You two don't get it, do you? Waltfeld said you'd refused your daughter's pleas to go into hiding before it was too late… you never wondered how she knew that the radicals would come for you?"

"Zala's hostility towards Naturals is an open secret," said Soran, "but he wouldn't go further than imprisoning us for the remainder of the war; he has to know the public wouldn't stand for it. As long as we remain calm and don't cause trouble, he won't see the need to take further action against us. We can't come with you; Zala will retaliate against the other Naturals that have been rounded up in response to our escape. We can't endanger others for the sake of ourselves!"

"You honestly believe that?" asked Heero, approaching Soran, "after he's rounded up every Natural in the PLANTs that wasn't able to go into hiding, you honestly believe he'll stop at temporary imprisonment just because you're on good behavior? You think something as trivial as public opinion matters to Zala and his ilk? He's already had the former Chairman murdered, he tried to kill his daughter, and he's instituted a policy of no quarter against the Earth Alliance military; do you truly believe that he'll balk at the execution of the Naturals living inside the PLANTs out of fear of the backlash that might result? The people that have been taken by this regime are now living on borrowed time; the regime would kill them regardless of your actions, and without a shred of concern for the public's reaction if word of it got out!"

Before Soran could reply the young man grabbed him by the collar of his jumpsuit. Despite the boy's slim figure, his strength was overwhelming; as Soran tried to force Heero to let go, he felt as though he was struggling against the grip of a mobile suit rather than a human being. The young man pulled Soran towards him, his eyes narrowed in a fierce glare, one that even a man as stern and strong as Shemei's father could not help but flinch under.

"Please, let him go!" cried Akila, grabbing the young man's arm.

Her efforts were to no avail; indeed, Heero barely seemed to even notice them as he spoke to Soran, his voice a menacing growl. "Do you think you're being noble, allowing yourself to be locked up like this? Do you think that if you just go along with the regime that they'll somehow be convinced to limit their persecution of Naturals? Are you so caught up in your own pride and self-righteousness that you can't see what's happening around you, right in front of your eyes?"

The young man's questions were barbed and blunt, and they pierced right to the heart of Soran's reasoning behind refusing to listen to the pleas of his daughter. The older man was surprised at how effortlessly and precisely Heero had read the logic behind his actions… and how ruthlessly he was picking it apart.

"Others have done in the past what you are doing now," he continued, his fearsome glare meeting Soran's gaze, "trying to placate regimes that want only to destroy their kind, down to the last man, woman, and child. The Jews feared defying the Nazis while the Third Reich was in power out of the belief that they could weather the storm, and that any opposition on their part would only result in violent reprisals against others. They were right about the reprisals, but what they failed to see until it was too late was that Hitler and his following of sociopaths and psychopaths had in mind from the very beginning their complete annihilation. It was because of their misguided belief that submission and endurance was the answer that they were led like lambs to the slaughter, and died by the millions in Auschwitz, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobidor, and Treblinka. Are you so weak that you would drag your wife, the _woman you love_, with you into the same hell on earth that millions suffered and died in during the Second World War?"

"He didn't 'drag me' here," Akila replied, pulling on Heero's arm to no avail, "I was brought with him! This isn't his fault! Please, let him go!"

"It _is _his fault," Heero replied coldly, all the while keeping his gaze locked with Soran's, "not directly, but his pride and complacency led you two to be arrested when you could've escaped into hiding, as your daughter _begged you _to do so."

"There is no nobility in your actions, or lack thereof, Soran Rehema," said the young man, "in refusing to listen to your daughter you've not only placed yourself and your wife in peril, but you've allowed the both of you to be used against her. You're not making any grand sacrifice by being here; you're letting Zala use you as a dagger to plunge into your daughter's back! If you stay here, you'll be betraying her just as much as her own country did when they took you hostage to ensure her loyalty to their regime and to force her to partake in their atrocities."

Heero then pointed up through the opening where the ceiling used to be. "Right now my friends are fighting against the ZAFT Home Fleet to give me the chance to get you out of here, and your daughter has joined us. She's leading my comrades against overwhelming odds _to save you! _Her lover is fighting above us right now to cover me while I extract you two. The longer we stay here, the greater chance this operation has of killing us all! We're risking _everything _to save you, as is your daughter. She's placed all her hopes for your survival on _my_ shoulders, and I _refuse _to fail. You're coming with me, and though I'd rather it be willing I will not hesitate to do what I must to get you both out of here."

The pilot then surprised Soran by releasing him. As his wife rushed up to him he once again met the young man's gaze, and he was surprised to see that his expression had softened. The fierce glare was gone, and in its place was a much gentler gleam in the boy's eyes. He wasn't smiling, but his face was not hostile either.

"Soran and Akila Rehema," said Heero, "I'm here to _help you_, to get you out of here and reunite you with your daughter. Please, _let me_."

The young man's tone was soft, a stark contrast to the menacing growl he had used before. As surprising as that was, what truly struck Soran was the _sincerity _in both Heero's expression and his voice. There was no deception, nor was there any sign of a threat.

He genuinely _wanted _to help them.

_This boy_, thought Soran, _no, this _man_… I've never met anyone like him. He cut straight to the heart of my motives, my reasons for refusing to act in defiance to the regime, and he mercilessly tore them apart… and yet he truly wants to help us. He's strong, determined, and cool, almost brutally so… but there's something else beneath all that, something much softer than the hard demeanor he gives off. It's… selflessness. He's doing this without any thought to himself._

He turned to Akila, and as his eyes met hers she nodded. "Dear," she said softly, "I… I think we should go with him. I… I trust him, and if Shemei's involved in this as well then we _can't _turn our backs on her. Soran… let's go."

He nodded in reply before turning back to Heero. "Our girl spoke very highly of you when she came home from North Africa. You may have fought against her, but she never spoke of you as if you were an enemy. She admired and respected you… more than I've seen her do so for anyone else. Very well, Heero Yuy; we'll place our fates in your hands."

The young man bowed his head slightly. "Thank you," he said, "now, let's hurry; time is of the essence."

Soran and his wife quickly followed the young man as he entered his fearsome machine. "It'll be tight," said the pilot, "but there's enough room for both of you in here. Just squeeze in beside the seat."

The two of them nodded and did as Heero instructed, with Soran cramming himself in on the right and Akila on the left. Once they were inside the young man closed the mobile suit's hatch, and they could feel the machine's powerful thrusters kick into gear as they took off.

"Hang on," said Heero, "it's gonna be a rough ride."

….

_Man_, thought Shemei as she cut a GINN in half, _there's just no end in sight for these guys. Then again, we're literally right below Aprilius One; it's no surprise Zala's throwing everything he can muster at us._

The strike team was waging a furious defense of the lower maintenance hatch, and while Shemei knew that ZAFT forces could still enter the colony through the central docks she was confident in the knowledge that Heero's escape route was still secure. The Valkyrie was going all out in her efforts, utilizing the Judgment to blunt the enemy's attack, sweeping their ranks with the Tartarus rifle while hitting the scattering mobile suits with fire from the DRAGOONs and her shoulder cannons, saving her beam saber for any that got past her withering fire. Of course, there were still far too many for her to keep them all from getting around her, but that was what her subordinates were for, and her girls were doing an incredible job of hammering the incoming GINNs with beam rifle shots and rail cannon rounds. Meanwhile, Kira and Athrun continued to put up a curtain of artillery fire, hitting the wings of the incoming horde of GINNs and funneling most of the attackers towards the Judgment and the Wraiths.

Despite the success of their holding action, Shemei knew it couldn't last forever. _Come on, Heero_, she thought, _we're counting on you… _I'm _counting on you._

As she cut loose once again with the Tartarus plasma rifle, burning six GINNs to ash with a crimson blast, she heard Lan swear over the tactical channel.

"Shit," the Chinese Coordinator snarled, "Commander, we've got new models inbound; four GuAIZs. IFF confirms they're Special Operations; it's Indigo Team."

_Dimitri Heinreich and his Indigo Knights_, Shemei thought, _I'd heard that they were on the Avalon Line, but I didn't know at what point. I guess they were fairly far out if they're only getting back here now. Damn it, I have to deal with these guys quickly._

"Alright," said Shemei, "I'll take care of them. Girls, keep up the holding action. Freedom, Justice, shift your fire to backing up the Wraiths."

As the other members of the strike team acknowledged her orders Shemei gunned her engines, cutting down three GINNs with her beam saber in rapid succession as she rushed to meet the Special Operations Squadron head on. She quickly spotted them on her visual sensors; four machines with a white base and blue trim along their shields, shoulders, legs, and arms. All had their beam claws ignited, and they were lining up for rifle shots at her.

As she brought the Tartarus rifle to bear on her approaching foes she suddenly heard Heero's voice over the tactical channel. "Package retrieved. We're on our way out now."

**(Start "Diapason")**

Shemei felt her heartbeat increase at those words, and a fresh surge of adrenaline began pumping through her veins. She grinned and pumped her fist. "_YES! _I knew you could do it, Heero! Get your ass out of there; we'll cover you!"

Now that she knew her parents were safe, or as safe as they could be inside Wing Zero in the middle of a battle like this, Shemei at last felt the weight that she had been carrying on her shoulders for weeks now dissolve. She felt uplifted, rejuvenated… _free_. She could truly fight on her own terms again. There was nothing holding her back now.

She could truly go all out.

Her smile took on a predatory edge as she focused on the incoming Indigo Team. "Sorry, Heinreich," she said, "but I don't have time to play around with you and your posse. I'm taking you down before Heero leaves the colony!"

She opened fire with the Tartarus, and a crimson torrent of destruction rushed towards the elite squadron. The four white and blue machines scattered, but one was caught in the plasma blast and disintegrated. The other three fanned out, with one coming at Shemei head on while the other two set up for a pincer attack.

_Straightforward tactics_, she thought as she set up to counter, _you're going to need more than that to beat me, Heinreich!_

Deploying one DRAGOON on each side, Shemei opened fire with both the gun drones and her shoulder cannons. The DRAGOONs shot at the two GuAIZs that were trying to flank her, forcing them to break off and regroup, while the shoulder guns spat emerald death at the unit coming at her head on. All three machines evaded her fire, but that was fine by Shemei; it kept them on the defensive while she rushed in to attack the unit in front of her.

She struck with her beam saber in a vicious vertical chop, one that her foe was barely able to block in time with its beam claws. Shemei swiftly pulled her blade back before attacking again, this time in a diagonal slash. Once again her foe blocked her strike, and the skill the enemy demonstrated was enough for Shemei to suspect that she was fighting the squadron Commander.

Adjusting her tactics, Shemei gunned her engines and climbed away from the unit before twisting around and cutting loose with both the Tartarus rifle and her shoulder cannons. Commander Heinreich managed to evade her shots… but they weren't meant for him in the first place. The crimson lance of plasma annihilated one of the other GuAIZs, so caught up in trying to evade fire from the gun drone that was engaging it that it was caught off guard by the sudden attack. The other unit was lucky enough to avoid Shemei's barrage, but the Valkyrie took advantage of his distraction to hit him with her second DRAGOON, and while the shot wasn't fatal it did rob the GuAIZ of its beam rifle.

_Two dead, one damaged_, Shemei thought, smirking, _not bad so far if I do say so myself. Time to wrap things up!_

Switching things up, Shemei sent both her DRAGOONs at Heinreich while closing in on the damaged GuAIZ. As she used her gun-drones to keep Indigo's leader at bay she opened fire on the second unit with her shoulder cannons. The machine raised its Composite Shield to take the hits, but the move left it vulnerable to the Valkyrie's _real _attack. Coming in hard and fast, she lashed out with her beam saber, her strike going under the GuAIZ's shield and slashing through the cockpit.

Shemei whirled around as her foe blew up behind her and brought the Tartarus rifle to bear on Heinreich. She cut loose with a plasma blast, but Indigo's leader managed to evade the shot while at the same time continuing to dodge fire from the DRAGOONs.

_Not bad, Heinreich_, she thought, _but let's see you survive _this_!_

The Valkyrie pulled back her gun-drones as she zoomed towards the sole surviving GuAIZ. Bringing her beam saber up, she swiftly brought the violet blade down in a vertical strike. Heinreich blocked the blow… just as Shemei redeployed her DRAGOONs on both sides of his machine and opened fire. Both emerald beams pierced the mobile suit's torso, and the machine became a fireball.

"You're good, Heinreich, but you're no Heero Yuy," said Shemei, smirking, "_he _would've seen that attack coming and countered."

Not sparing her fallen adversary a second thought beyond the post-mortem taunt, Shemei swiftly turned around and headed back towards Aprilius One. She opened fire with her shoulder guns and DRAGOONs, taking down four GINNs in a precise volley while her three subordinates took down another seven machines. Kira and Athrun continued to provide artillery support, disabling six machines and destroying five respectively as the Valkyrie moved to rejoin the strike team.

Suddenly a male voice came over the tactical channel. It wasn't Kira, Athrun, or Heero, but it was still someone Shemei knew very well. Her lover's face appeared on the lower right corner of her screen, wearing a confident smile. "Clear the way," said Eric, "We're almost at the hatch. Sending you guys my IFF signature; I'd appreciate it if you didn't shoot me down."

"Eric!" cried Shemei, smiling as she cut down a GINN with her beam saber before obliterating five more with the Tartarus rifle, "You're with Heero?"

"Right behind him," he replied, "we're hauling ass out of here, Shemei, and we're counting on you to clear us some space." His smile became a little softer as he continued. "You're parents are safe, love; you're free."

Shemei nodded. "Eric," she said, beaming with affection and gratitude, "_thank you_."

Her lover nodded. "Anytime, Shemei. We'll be out soon."

Shemei nodded again before addressing the rest of the strike team. "Alright guys, hit the enemy with everything you've got; let's get a path started!"

All six machines opened fire with every weapon they could bring to bear on the seemingly limitless horde of enemy reinforcements. Crimson plasma blasts, emerald beams, and yellow rail cannon rounds tore into the ranks of the incoming GINN teams. The barrage was lethally effective; nearly thirty machines were neutralized in a matter of seconds.

Suddenly Heero's face appeared on Shemei's display. Along the edges of the image the Valkyrie could see her parents crammed in on either side of the Gundam pilot's chair, and her smile became even bigger. Shemei had to fight to keep tears of joy out of her eyes; a battle was not the place to be overcome by emotion, regardless of how good it felt to see her parents again, to know that they were finally out of Zala's clutches. "Mom, dad!"

Before her parents could reply, though, Heero spoke. "Clear the lane, now!"

Instinct took over, and Shemei broke to the right, making sure she was clear of the entrance to the shaft's maintenance corridor. The large, circular hatch was already open, and a second later a torrent of golden-yellow energy came out of the portal and ripped into a group of GINNs, destroying eight machines in the blink of an eye. A mere instant after the shot was fired Wing Zero came flying out of the hatch, and hot on its heels was a black mobile suit with dark blue trim. It looked like a variant of the GuAIZ, and as Shemei saw its IFF transponder signature she knew that it was piloted by her lover.

It was then that Heero spoke again. "Everyone on me. I can't go all out with passengers; the acceleration and G-forces could kill them. Commander Rehema, you're in charge of the escort."

Shemei nodded, instantly recognizing the problem Heero had; with Wing Zero only designed for one occupant, there was no way to secure her parents in the cockpit in a manner that would allow for full combat maneuverability. Heero could still fight, but his ability to do so was now limited by how much stress he could put on his passengers. It was a reminder to the Valkyrie that they weren't out of the woods yet, but at the same time it served to energize her for two reasons. The first was that her parents' lives were essentially in her hands, resting on her ability to keep the enemy away from Wing Zero, while the second was that Heero had willingly given her command of the strike team once again without hesitation, and with him included it meant that he was entrusting _his _life to her. It was a huge responsibility, but to Shemei it was also thrilling because it meant that the pilot she respected more than any other in the Earth Sphere held _her _in such high regard that he was willing to trust her as the head of his escort.

"Understood," said Shemei as she cut down a GINN with her violet blade while destroying four more with her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs, "Freedom, Justice, take the far right and left flanks, just like you did coming in! Eric, I want you to stay close to Wing Zero; you're the final line of defense! Girls, form up around Heero and take down anything that gets past Kira, Athrun, and I! I'll take point! Everyone make sure to leave a firing lane for Heero's rifle!"

The others quickly acknowledged her and wasted no time in forming up around Wing Zero. As the strike team and their new allies began their run, charging towards fresh squadrons of reinforcements, Shemei took a moment to contact Heero on a private channel.

The Gundam pilot appeared on her screen, and it was only now that Shemei noticed that he wasn't wearing a traditional flight suit. Instead, he was wearing a uniform that, much to the Valkyrie's surprise, would not have looked out of place in the Napoleonic Wars.

_I wonder where he got that_, she mused, _maybe he brought it from his world. He certainly looks sharp in it. Maybe I can get him to let a seamstress borrow it so they can make one that fits Eric; I can only imagine how _he'd _look in something like that. He cuts a pretty dashing figure in his ZAFT uniform as is…_

She shoved her thoughts aside; they'd be engaging the next wave of reinforcements soon, and she had to make this quick. "Heero," she said, "are my parents alright?"

"We're fine, dear," said her mother, giving her a warm smile, "a little cramped, perhaps, but we can deal with the discomfort. It's so good to see you again."

"Indeed," said her father, smiling as well, "we've missed you, Shemei… and I'm sorry we did not heed your warnings, your pleas… I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you."

Shemei shook her head, once again struggling to hold back tears. "Oh, father, mother… I'm just glad you're ok… and you're free."

"Not quite yet," Heero cut in, "we've still got to break through ZAFT's reinforcements. Commander Rehema, I can provide fire support with my rifle and gatlings, but with two passengers I can't engage in close-quarters-combat; those maneuvers could kill your parents."

"I know, Heero," Shemei replied, nodding, "we'll keep them off you, I promise. After what you've done today, there's no way in hell I'm failing you now!"

Her friendly rival gave her a small smile. "Roger that, Commander Rehema. Heads up; they're almost on top of us."

"Affirmative," said Shemei, glancing at her sensors, "preparing to engage; Rehema out."

As Heero and her parents disappeared from the display she brought all her weapons to bear on the incoming GINNs. They were spread out across a wide front, with the obvious intention of leaving no open route for them to take. It was a reasonable tactic, but the lack of unit concentration meant that it would be that much easier for the strike team to blow a hole in their ranks.

_Numbers alone mean nothing if you don't deploy them right_, thought Shemei, _a lesson that both sides are constantly learning, forgetting, and relearning in this war. Zala, your response here is sloppy… and I'll make you pay dearly for it!_

Switching to the tactical channel, Shemei issued a very simple order. "Fire at will!"

The strike team cut loose. Wing Zero opened fire with its fearsome rifle, and the torrent of energy it unleashed ripped nine GINNs apart. At the same time, Shemei opened up with everything she had. A crimson blast from the Tartarus rifle destroyed six machines, while four more fell to precise fire from her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs. Meanwhile, the girls were ripping into the enemy with their beam rifles and rail cannons, and the three of them took down four units each with their opening volleys. Not wanting to be left out, the Freedom and Justice joined the barrage, with Kira disabling five units and the Justice destroying the same amount. The only one who held back was Eric; his load-out was designed for mid and close-range-combat.

The storm of fire thinned out the enemy ranks, but there were still plenty more GINNs to fight their way through, and they were closing in on the strike team fast. However, the ZAFT squadrons were uncoordinated thanks to the barrage; they had numbers, but not unit cohesion. A rain of machinegun bullets flew at Shemei and the others, but the enemy's fire was frantic and sloppy, and the Valkyrie and her comrades were able to dodge most of the shots while taking others on their mobile suits' shields. Shemei was worried about Eric since his unit was the only one that lacked Phase Shift Armor, but as she glanced at her lover's mobile suit she saw that her fears were misplaced. The former Field Marshal's piloting skills had not been dulled by the time he'd spent in the PLANT capital, and Shemei suspected that he'd been hitting the simulators, both in preparation for this operation and to blow off the frustration that came with being forced to work with Zala and his thugs on the Defense Council. Either way, Eric was having little difficulty keeping himself from harm, evading most of the shots sent his way and taking a couple on his custom GuAIZ's twin shields, where the bullets did little more than scratch the paint.

_Nice to see you're still in top form, Eric_, she thought as she prepared to engage a group of GINNs with her beam saber, _still, watch yourself. Having my parents imprisoned by Zala was bad enough… I can't lose you. I know you've risked everything for this operation, and I'm grateful for that, but please, stay alive!_

She then turned her attention to a team of six GINNs that was almost on top of her, and wasted no time in tearing into them. The Valkyrie slashed the lead machine in half with her beam saber and impaled the unit next to it in rapid succession. As she did so she opened fire with her gun-drones, destroying two more GINNs with emerald beams to their cockpits. Shemei then engaged the last two units in the team, taking down one with a diagonal slash and the other with a horizontal cut.

As she did so the others were mixing it up as well in close-quarters-combat. Athrun and Kira were combining beam saber work with their units' artillery in an impressive display on the wings of the formation, cutting down multiple foes and keeping the enemy from boxing the strike team in. Both the Freedom and the Justice had put their rifles away and had both their beam sabers out, with the former using one in each hand to cut off head-cameras and rifle arms while the latter had both swords joined into a double-bladed weapon and ripping through GINNs like a buzz-saw. At the same time, both were using their shoulder-mounted guns to pick off more units at long-range.

Meanwhile, her girls were doing her proud as they tore into the GINNs that managed to get past Shemei, Kira and Athrun, who despite their formidable skills and their powerful machines could not possibly manage to hold off all of the enemy mobile suits that had been sent as reinforcements. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla had adopted a balanced approach to dealing with their foes, keeping one of their beam sabers active while using the beam rifle mounted in their other Trikeros shield and the railguns on their hips for ranged combat. The three of them were picking off GINNs one after another with great efficiency, while at the same time managing to watch each others' backs. In the brief glance Shemei spared them she saw Lan spear a GINN on her violet blade while shooting another with her beam rifle, Adaline slash a unit in half, and Pris gun down two mobile suits with her rail cannons. Her girls fought with fluidity and economy of movement, and the Valkyrie was once again struck by just how much their teamwork had grown in her absence. She was filled with pride as she observed the three young women whom she considered to be a combination of friends, students, and subordinates, exhibit a proficiency that surpassed any that Shemei had observed from them before.

However, even with their phenomenal efforts, it was still impossible for the three girls to stop every single foe that they were confronted with; even spread over a wide area and thinned out significantly by losses, the enemy's numbers were still too great. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla could not achieve complete coverage of Wing Zero no matter how skilled they fought as individuals or teammates, and a few GINNs managed to slip past them. Shemei wasn't worried, though; they still had to contend with the Wolf of the Far East.

As a unit customized for close and mid-range combat, Eric's GuAIZ Werewolf was an excellent final line of defense for Wing Zero. The Valkyrie's lover was putting the mobile suit through its paces, ripping GINNs apart with its dual beam claws and shoulder gatlings, occasionally utilizing its rocket anchors to grab a machine and pull it in close so he could impale it on his violet blades. There was no flash or elegance to Eric's fighting style; the Wolf of the Far East preferred pragmatism to fancy maneuvers, and his tactics were designed to allow him to dispatch as many units as he could in a sequence of moves, with one attack leading right into the next, one kill setting up for the next. At the same time, the former ZAFT Field Marshal was taking great care to ensure that engaging his enemies did not take him too far away from Wing Zero… though Heero wasn't entirely defenseless.

The phenomenal pilot who had quite literally built a reputation around doing the impossible was moving his Gundam in a series of simple evasive maneuvers, designed to put as little stress on the mobile suit's occupants as possible while at the same time keeping the unit constantly mobile and out of anyone's crosshairs. However, Heero wasn't just playing defensive while the strike team fought the enemy; Wing Zero had split its fearsome main gun into two smaller rifles and was using the weapons to shot down one foe after another. The yellow-gold beams that were coming from the guns were much smaller than shots Shemei had seen Wing Zero fire in the past, and she assumed that Heero was utilizing his artillery on the lowest possible power setting to increase his rate of fire. Even split and at a minimal charge, though, Wing Zero's primary weapon remained lethal; a single shot was enough to completely disintegrate a mobile suit, and Heero was downing targets at a steady pace, whether they be isolated GINNs that had managed to get past the GuAIZ Werewolf or units that were further out and preparing to engage other members of the strike team. Occasionally he'd also open fire with his shoulder gatlings, shredding any GINN unfortunate enough to get in his path with bullets.

Focusing on her own fighting, Shemei once again opened fire with the Tartarus rifle, her shoulder cannons, and her DRAGOONs. The crimson blast of plasma destroyed five GINNs, while precise beam fire from her other weapons took down another four units.

_We're moving at a good pace_, she thought as she cut down another two GINNs with her beam saber, _we'll be coming up on the Avalon Line soon. The loss of the battle-station will have left a major breach in that area, and I know Heero took down some of the capital ships that were supporting it as well, but by now ZAFT has surely gotten at least some vessels into the area as reinforcements. We'll have to punch through them if we want to get out of here… and with Heero's combat abilities now limited with my parents as his passengers, that won't be easy._

Slashing another GINN in half with her saber and blowing three more away with the Tartarus, Shemei's silver eyes narrowed as she focused on spot where the Avalon battle-station had once been. "Shit," she growled, "not good!"

Amidst the scattered pieces of debris from the titanic fortress, ZAFT had already amassed a reinforcing battle group to cut off their escape. Four _Nazca_-class destroyers and eight _Laurasia_-class frigates were arrayed before them, their bows turned towards the strike team. Shemei could also see even more ships moving in from the flanks, along with additional mobile suit teams. There were few GINNs operating with the battle-group directly before them, and the Valkyrie surmised that they must've already launched their mobile suits. In fact, Shemei realized that they were probably the squadrons that the strike team was cutting through right at this moment. Still, that didn't change the fact that a dozen warships were lined up and ready to bombard them, and that additional vessels and mobile suits were inbound.

_We can't afford a prolonged engagement here_, Shemei thought, _but with Wing Zero carrying my parents, we can't just punch straight through the capital ships like Heero the strike team did on their way in; Heero can't fly the way he did during the attack on Avalon! Flying headlong into a bombardment from that many ships… they may actually have as much combined firepower as the battle-station, but with Heero's reduced maneuverability they have a much better chance at hitting him. We can't plow straight through… but we need the most direct route out in order to avoid being overwhelmed by enemy reinforcements, and this is it! What do we do?_

As a Commander, Shemei Rehema was a woman who was usually able to think on her feet and adjust her tactics to the rapidly changing circumstances of any given battlefield. However, with so much at stake this time and so little room for error, the Valkyrie found herself unable to come up with a viable strategy for their situation.

Then Heero appeared on her monitor, addressing not just her but the entire strike team over the tactical channel. "I'm sending everyone targeting assignments," he said, "be ready to fire on my command."

One of her side monitors flashed as targeting data came in, and Shemei saw that it included both her assignment and those of the rest of the strike team. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the information. "Heero," she said, "you've got us hitting the wings of the battle-group; the vessels at its core aren't designated as targets, and we'll have to punch through them to get out of here!"

"Those ships are already dead," Heero replied, and Shemei was surprised to see a small smile on his face, "they just don't know it yet. Check your sensors again, Commander Rehema; look beyond the reinforcements."

There was a beeping coming from her radar as Heero spoke, and as Shemei turned to see what was happening her eyes widened as she saw several new contacts coming up behind the ZAFT forces. There were a mix of mobile suits of varying types, but what really caught the Valkyrie's attention were the three capital ships flying with them.

There was the _Eternal_, the Orb warship she had spotted late in the prior battle…

…and the _Archangel_.

**(End "Diapason")**

….

"Captain!" cried Miriallia from her post in the CIC, "We've got incoming targeting data from Wing Zero! It's for us and the others!"

Murrue nodded. "Send our targets to weapons and my personal monitor, and relay the rest to Waltfeld and the others!"

As the data appeared on her private screen and Lieutenant Tsukino began issuing orders to the gunners, Murrue watched as the strike team moved towards the ZAFT battle-group that was blocking their path. On the surface she was calm and in control, presenting the front she knew her crew expected of her, the caring yet professional leadership that they had come to rely on for strength and guidance… but it was a mask, one that Murrue was having difficulty maintaining. If one looked closer, they would notice that her beautiful brown eyes were narrowed, and that there was an intense gleam in them; she was starring lasers at the ZAFT forces displayed on the main monitor. Her mouth was closed, but inside it her teeth were clenched, grinding against each other. Her arms were stiff, and her hands tightly gripped the arms of her chair. Her breathing was quiet, like a tigress trying to hide its presence just before she tore her unsuspecting prey apart.

Indeed, that was quite an accurate description of Murrue at that moment. She was nothing less than a fearsome predator, putting all her effort into holding herself back, to keep her primal fury in check, to wait for the right moment to strike. However, this tigress was not engaged in a hunt for food, her rage not fueled by the desire to eat. Her anger, the fierce fire burning in her heart, stemmed from the desire to utterly destroy those who dared to threaten the man she loved.

As the _Archangel_'s weapons acquired targets and Murrue watched the ZAFT warships that were bringing their own guns to bear on Heero, the passionate fury burning in her heart grew stronger, and the mask she had been wearing for the sake of her crew cracked. As the final bit of targeting data was processed and utilized, Murrue let out a soft but vicious hiss.

"_Get the HELL away from him_!" she growled under her breath.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "all targets acquired!"

**(Start "The Sun Rises")**

Murrue's response was immediate. "_Open fire!_" she roared.

The _Archangel _cut loose with a storm of fire. Two large crimson-orange blasts from the Lohengrin positron cannons ripped forth, annihilating a destroyer along with two GINNs that had been unfortunate enough to be flying right in Murrue's firing lane. Emerald beams from the starboard Gottfried turret and yellow rail cannon rounds from the Valiant on the same side hit a frigate dead center, snapping it in half, while fire from the portside guns gutted the engine block of another ship of the same class, crippling the vessel. Four Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles flew from the _Archangel_'s launch tubes, and all of them slammed into a _Nazca_-class destroyer, turning its bridge into a smoldering crater. At the same time, a quartet of Corintoss long-range heavy anti-air missiles sprang forth from the ship. Each warhead impacted a GINN and turned the ZAFT machines into fireballs.

At the same time the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _initiated their own attacks, with the former raking a frigate with fire from its METEOR batteries and beam turret while the latter obliterated a destroyer with its Lohengrins and pounded a frigate with its Gottfrieds. Since the vessels of the ZAFT battle-group were arrayed to intercept the outbound strike team, their backs were actually to the three incoming warships, meaning they could not possibly return fire against their new attackers. Adding to the carnage was the Buster, which had launched alongside the Tallgeese Kai during the _Archangel_'s final approach to the battle. The heavy artillery mobile suit opened up with its Hyper Impulse Sniper Rifle, and the shot pierced a frigate right through the center, ripping a gaping hole in the vessel. The bombardment was devastating… and it wasn't the only one the ZAFT ships were facing.

The strike team cut loose as well, unleashing a barrage that no other group of mobile suits could hope to match. Wing Zero opened fire with its Twin Buster Rifle, which was currently split into two smaller guns, and its shots turned a frigate and the last intact destroyer in the battle-group into fireballs. The Judgment let loose a crimson blast from its rifle, destroying a frigate. At the same time, the Valkyrie opened fire with her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs on another green warship. Her subordinates added their own weapons the mix, and the ship was torn to ribbons in a hail of emerald beams and yellow rail cannon rounds. Meanwhile, the Justice was focusing its fire on the frigate that the _Kusanagi _was hitting with its Gottfrieds, and the combined fire was mauling the warship. Kira for his part attacked the last intact frigate in the battle-group, aiming for the vessel's guns with the Freedom's impressive array of artillery. A swift and precise barrage from the stolen ZAFT prototype knocked out the frigate's heavy beam cannons, and Kira began working on the secondary guns.

Murrue watched with a satisfied smile as the devastation unfolded. The combined attacks from the incoming warships and the strike team had mauled the battle-group, neutralizing a dozen ZAFT ships in the space of mere _seconds_… and giving her lover a clear path through which to get to her.

_I told you I'd protect you, Heero_, she thought, _just as you've protected me. After all you've done on my behalf, there's no way in hell I'm going to let ZAFT stop you now!_

However, just because they had torn apart the enemy forces directly in the strike team's path did not mean that they were in the clear yet; Murrue was fully aware of the reinforcements that were coming in from both sides of Heero and the others, and she wasn't going to stand by and let them take shots at the man she loved.

"Enter targeting solutions for the Wombat missiles!" she ordered, "Fire them at the GINN squadrons that are approaching the strike team's right and left flanks. Follow that up with fire from the Gottfrieds and Valiants towards the capital ships that are closes to those wings; if there aren't any, then lay down a covering barrage."

"Aye, ma'am," said Lieutenant Tsukino, who rushed to carry out Murrue's orders.

Waltfeld's voice came over the tactical channel. "Strike Rouge, Tallgeese Kai, move in to reinforce the strike team. M1s, Tigress, Buster, stay with the capital ships. _Kusanagi_ and _Eternal _willjoin the _Archangel _in providing covering fire."

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "Wombats are primed, and gunners have acquired targets."

"Fire at will, Lieutenant," ordered Murrue.

Four Wombat anti-air missiles flew forth from the ship's rear launch tubes and raced towards the enemy in two pairs, with one angling to the right and the other to the left. When they neared the leading GINN teams their warheads opened up, releasing a hail of crimson 'heavy buckshot' rounds that tore into the enemy mobile suits. Five machines went down on the left, and four were ripped apart on the right.

"Gottfrieds, Valiants, open fire!" Murrue ordered.

The heavy beam guns and rail cannons cut loose, with the starboard side weapons pounding a frigate that was attempting to move on the strike team while the portside ones fired into the oncoming GINN squadrons, disrupting their approach. The _Archangel _was once again joined in her bombardment by the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, with the former using her METEORs and heavy beam turret to throw the GINN teams Murrue was already attacking into further disarray while the latter disintegrated a frigate with its Lohengrins before pouring fire from its Gottfrieds into mobile suit groups moving in on the strike team. Meanwhile Cagalli and La Flaga rushed forward to join the strike team as they continued their approach towards the three warships while battling the GINNs that made it through the barrage the _Archangel _and her allies.

"Keep up the pressure on ZAFT," said Murrue, "Pour as much fire as you can into the enemy ranks until we're ready to withdraw."

"Aye, Captain," Lieutenant Tsukino replied.

_Come on, Heero_, Murrue thought as she turned to her private monitor, which was focused on Wing Zero, _get to the Archangel! Come back to me!_

….

Heero smiled slightly as he watched the _Archangel _continue to fire into the GINN teams that were attempting to catch the strike team in a pincer. _Great timing, Murrue_, he thought, _I knew you'd clear me a path. Thank you… my love._

With the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi _disrupting the approach of the enemy reinforcements, the strike team was having little difficulty in fending off the GINNs that managed to get into attack range. With the path in front of them completely clear, the Valkyrie had adjusted the formation of Heero's escort. Now the rest of the mobile suits were arrayed on either side of Wing Zero, working with Kira and Athrun to discourage ZAFT from attacking Heero's flanks.

"Incredible," said Soran from his very cramped position to the right of Heero's seat. Glancing at the Valkyrie's father, the Gundam pilot saw an expression of awe on the man's face as he watched the _Archangel _bombard the enemy forces.

"We'd heard about the legged ship from our daughter," said Akila from Heero's left, "but she was forbidden from showing us images or recordings of it; we only had her descriptions of its size and power. Seeing it for ourselves, though… it's truly something else."

Heero nodded. "There's no other ship like the _Archangel _in the entire Earth Sphere… nor any commanding officer that can match her Captain." The Perfect Soldier could not keep a hint of pride from his voice as he praised Murrue.

"High praise indeed, coming from one such as yourself," said Soran.

"She's earned it," Heero replied as he opened fire with one of the smaller guns the Twin Buster Rifle was split into, destroying one of the GINNs that were engaging his escort, "Murrue's brave, intelligent, strong, and compassionate. She cares deeply for the well-being of her crew, and she's willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. She also knows just what they're capable of, along with her ship, and she can use that knowledge to devastating effect."

"Like she is now," said Akila, "the two ships fighting alongside the _Archangel _are impressive in their own right… but they pale in comparison to that white vessel."

"I've never seen so much firepower on a single warship," said Soran, "it's truly amazing."

"No argument there," said Heero. Glancing at his sensors, he saw that two contacts were rapidly approaching the strike team from head on; the Strike Rouge and the Tallgeese Kai.

_Waltfeld must want them to back us up for the last part of the run_, he thought, _makes sense, too; send two of the more powerful units out to assist the returning strike team while keeping the rest close to the capital ships in case ZAFT sends mobile suits their way. It doesn't look like the enemy will do that though; they're pretty focused on us right now._

The two machines moved to form up on Heero, with Cagalli's unit on the left and La Flaga's on the right. Both pilots raised their beam rifles and opened fire as fresh reinforcements approached the strike team, downing their targets with precise fire.

La Flaga's face appeared on Heero's display. Even through the man's violet helmet, Heero could see the Hawk of Endymion smirking. "You just can't help but make trouble wherever you go, Heero," he chuckled as he blocked enemy return fire with his mobile suit's Planet Defensors, "You're really stirred up a hornets' nest here."

"It wasn't easy," the Gundam pilot replied as he shot down a GINN with the gun in his unit's left hand, "I really had to work at it."

"I'll bet," said La Flaga as he picked off another GINN with his beam rifle, "well, it's time for you to take a load off; we'll take care of the heavy lifting from here."

No sooner had La Flaga signed off when Cagalli's face replaced his on Heero's display. "Hey," she said as she took machine gun fire on the Strike Rouge's shield, "you ok, Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded. "A bit cramped in here, but we're all alive. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime," she replied with a smile as she destroyed a GINN with an emerald beam, "after all, that's what friends are for."

With that she signed off, and Heero watched as the Strike Rouge moved to engage another group of GINNs, with Athrun, the Valkyrie and Lan fighting alongside her. Meanwhile, on the right wing of the strike team Kira, Adaline, Priscilla, and La Flaga were likewise fending off a fresh wave of incoming GINNs, while Bristow stayed close to Heero to deal with any mobile suits that managed to make it past Wing Zero's formidable escort.

"Remarkable," said Soran softly before turning to Heero, "your allies are all impressive pilots, young man."

"This brings back memories," Akila chimed in, and though Heero wasn't looking at her he could tell by the tone of her voice that she was smiling, "It's been so long since I've flown, even as a passenger. Despite our rather… _confined _situation at present… it feels liberating."

The Gundam pilot knew she wasn't just referring to their newfound freedom from Charon Prison. Akila and her husband were once again experiencing the thrills that came with flying, an excitement that any pilot felt when they took to the sky and to outer space, regardless of whether or not they were at peace or war. Recalling their history as officers in the Egyptian Air Force prior to their immigration to the PLANTs with their daughter, Heero could only imagine what the two of them had experienced in their piloting days.

It wasn't something he had time to dwell on at the moment, though, not when they were on the final leg of their escape from the PLANTs. The path to the _Archangel _and the other ships was completely clear, and the combined fire from the three vessels, the strike team, and the mobile suits sent to back them up had bought them some respite from attacks from the flanks, but there were still more GINNs coming up from behind Heero and the others. Though ZAFT's mainline mobile suits were not fast enough to catch Wing Zero or any of the other mobile suits that made up its escort, the Perfect Soldier knew that they would be able to close to attacking range with the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi _while they were retrieving him and his comrades.

_We have to discourage pursuit_, he thought, _get them to pull back, or at the very least throw the GINN squadrons coming up behind us into disarray. _

Fortunately, the Gundam pilot already had a plan in mind.

He just needed some help.

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he immersed himself in the Zero System, using it predict the enemy's next move… and get the targeting data he needed. As he transmitted information to his allies he prepared himself for what was to come… the battle's grand finale.

….

"Captain," said Miriallia, "we've got another round of targeting data coming in from Wing Zero! It's for our entire force!"

"Relay our data to weapons and my station, then pass the rest on to Waltfeld and the others," Murrue replied, "Lieutenant Tsukino, be ready to fire on my command!"

"Aye, Captain!" the XO replied.

Murrue's eyes narrowed as she studied the information pouring into her personal monitor. She immediately saw what Heero wanted them to do, and she could not help but be impressed by how he had come up with such a plan so quickly.

_I know he's used the Zero System before to coordinate fire like this_, she thought, _but still, it never ceases to amaze me that he can use it so effectively in the middle of a battle. For him to be able to compile this data and give it to us while he's flying in combat… it's remarkable. The Zero System may expand his awareness of the battlefield and give him the capacity for such precognition, but it's only due to his incredible focus and strength of will that he can control it like this. Heero… there is truly no other pilot in this world like you. _Murrue smiled; the pride she had in her lover's abilities as a soldier knew no bounds.

Murrue turned her attention back to the main bridge monitor, which showed Wing Zero, the rest of the strike team, and their allies turning around and bringing their guns to bear on the scores of GINNs that were coming up behind them while at the same time clearing a firing lane for the _Archangel _and the other warships. As Heero and the others prepared to fire, Murrue knew it was time for her to cut loose.

Not a moment too soon Lieutenant Tsukino called out to the Captain. "Targeting solutions entered! Weapons are tracking and ready, and Lohengrins are fully charged ma'am!"

"Fire!" Murrue yelled.

The white warship once again cut loose with a fearsome bombardment. Twin blasts of crimson-orange energy ripped forth from the bow positron cannons, aimed not at any capital ships but at the swarm of GINNs moving in on the strike team. The rivers of destruction tore through the enemy ranks, and twenty machines detonated like a string of firecrackers. At the same time, the Gottfrieds and Valiants opened up on two frigates, one approaching from each side of the strike team. The _Archangel_'s missile tubes let fly as well with four Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles, with one pair homing in on the vessel the ship's starboard guns were hitting and the other moving for the portside target. The combination of energy beams, heavy rail cannon rounds, and missiles ripped the two frigates apart. The _Archangel _also let fly with another quartet of Corintoss anti-air missiles, and the warheads slammed into four GINNs, ripping them apart. The Buster joined in the attack with its main gun, hitting an oncoming frigate right in the bridge with a precise and powerful shot.

On the _Archangel_'s starboard side the _Kusanagi _cut loose with its positron cannons, sending two more streams of crimson-orange energy through the ranks of the GINNs and disintegrating seventeen machines. At the same time the Orb ship's Gottfried beam cannons opened fire on a frigate moving on the strike team's right flank. The green vessel was pounded by the emerald beams, and the _Kusanagi _immediately followed up with four anti-ship missiles, hitting the ZAFT ship in a devastating one-two punch. Armor was gouged and torn, guns blown to craters; the frigate never had a chance to hit back.

To the left of the _Archangel_ the _Eternal _was opening fire as well. Both the METEOR batteries and the heavy beam turret poured shots into the GINN teams, destroying six machines and sowing further chaos into their ranks. The surviving mobile suits struggled to regroup but continued to press forwards despite their losses; they'd taken a bloody nose, but the punch from the _Archangel _and her fellow capital ships wasn't enough to convince the ZAFT forces to back down yet.

Then the strike team opened fire. At the center of the formation, Wing Zero cut loose with two blasts from its split rifles, and based on the size of the beams Murrue knew that Heero was firing at maximum power. The two torrents of energy ripped through the ranks of the oncoming GINNs, with an impressive twenty-seven machines being blown apart by the twin shots from Wing Zero.

A large blast of crimson energy slashed through the ZAFT formations as well; the Valkyrie had opened up with her mobile suit's formidable main gun. It wasn't nearly as powerful as Wing Zero's rifle, but it was still a fearsome piece of artillery in its own right, and nine GINNs were disintegrated by the shot. At the same time Shemei Rehema opened fire with the Judgment's shoulder cannons and gun-drones, picking off another four machines with precise volley of emerald beams. The Valkyrie was joined in her barrage by her three subordinates, and their Wraiths opened fire with their beam rifles and railguns. Their superior fire coordination, brought on by their familiarity with each other, was devastating, and a dozen more GINNs were wiped out in the blink of an eye by the bombardment.

From the right and left wings of the strike team respectively, Kira and Athrun opened fire. Once again the GINNs targeted by the Freedom got off easy, with five machines losing their head cameras and machine guns. Those in the sights of the Justice were less fortunate, and three GINNs were blown apart by a combination of fire from the machine's rifle and shoulder cannons while two more were sliced in half by a well-thrown beam boomerang. Backing up the two stolen ZAFT mobile suits were the Tallgeese Kai and the Strike Rouge, though the fire they could add to the bombardment was limited to precise shots from their beam rifles. The Hawk of Endymion and Orb's tomboy princess still did their part though, with each taking down two GINNs apiece with well placed emerald beams.

Murrue smiled as she saw the survivors from the devastating one-two punch from the capital ships and the strike team halt their advance. The _Archangel_'s Captain knew that it was only a temporary respite; once they regrouped, ZAFT's forces would resume their pursuit. However, by the time they shored up the substantial losses Murrue, Heero, and their allies had inflicted on them, the capital ships would have retrieved the strike team and the rest of their mobile suits and would be well underway.

_ Even on their home turf, they have to stop to regroup after sustaining such losses_, Murrue thought, _that combined barrage alone neutralized over a hundred mobile suits and four frigates! Combine that with the casualties we inflicted on them upon our arrival and the damage Heero and the strike team were able to do before we got here… _Murrue couldn't even begin to guess how badly the Avalon Line had been mauled by the operation. She would have to wait until the post-action reports were compiled to know just how severe ZAFT's casualties had been.

**(End "The Sun Rises")**

Waltfeld's voice came over the tactical channel. "All ships, break off and begin MS recovery; time to head for the hills. Freedom and Justice will provide a rearguard until we put some distance between us and the PLANTs."

"Helm," said Murrue, "Come about 180 degrees and keep velocity matched with the _Eternal _and _Kusanagi_. Don't open up the throttle until we've retrieved our mobile suits."

"Aye, Captain," said Neumann.

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "get the hangar doors open and have Chief Murdoch and his crew stand by for mobile suit recovery."

"Yes, ma'am," Miriallia replied.

"Lieutenant Tsukino," Murrue ordered, "have the Valiants rotated aft so they can cover the Freedom and the Justice if they need support, and have the Corintoss and Wombat missiles set to support them. Be ready to fire if the enemy makes a move."

"Aye, Captain," the XO replied.

Waltfeld's face appeared on the main monitor. The Desert Tiger was smirking as he spoke. "I'll be damned… I know it was my plan, but I'm still having trouble believing that we actually pulled this off."

"Without Heero, we couldn't have," Murrue replied, smiling, "you owe him big time, Field Marshal; we all do."

"No argument there," Waltfeld replied, "Captain Ramius, I'm sorry I asked him to take on such a dangerous assignment; I know it couldn't have been easy for you to sit back and watch as he took on Avalon."

Murrue shook her head. "No, it wasn't… but I had faith in Heero, just as I did before we joined forces with you. Besides… he promised me that he would come back alive, and Heero's never broken a promise to me."

Waltfeld chuckled. "I can certainly see why. Even back in North Africa, he was devoted to you… and that's only grown since then. He really does love you, Ramius."

Murrue felt her face warm at the Desert Tiger's words, but that did not stop her reply. "Yes, he does, and I love him."

"Something we're all quite aware of now," said Waltfeld, "I have to admit, I was surprised that the two of you were willing to publicly admit that when the strike team launched... but I can certainly see why the two of you wound up together." He then gave a small laugh. "I don't think Aisha was surprised at all by that little declaration though; she's always had sharp instincts when it comes to this sort of thing."

Waltfeld then smiled. "I didn't say it before because I was focused on the operation, but I want to give both you and Heero my congratulations. No matter what happens, know that Aisha and I are behind the two of you one hundred percent, as is everyone else in our alliance."

Murrue smiled as well and bowed her head. "Thank you, Waltfeld."

"Your welcome, Captain Ramius," he replied, "that being said, I didn't contact you just to support you and your boyfriend; I have a favor to ask."

"Go ahead," said Murrue.

"Would you let Shemei and Eric take up residence on the _Archangel_?" he asked, "With the Freedom, GuAIZ, and the Wraiths in its hangar bay the _Eternal _doesn't have much more room for mobile suits, and the _Kusanagi _is operating at close to capacity as well. Your vessel is the biggest one in our force, and right now you only have three mobile suits basing out of it."

Murrue nodded. "Of course, Waltfeld. I have no problem with letting them base from the _Archangel_… though won't Rehema's subordinates want her to be on the same ship as them?"

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "but this way she can be with her parents when they get out of Wing Zero… and she can stay with her lover as well; the _Eternal _doesn't have enough hangar space left to take on both the Judgment and the Werewolf. Shemei can talk to the girls over video conference and she can meet up with them during operations after launching from the _Archangel_. Besides, we'll all have to hold another meeting later on to discuss where we go from here; she can talk to them in person there."

"Very well," said Murrue, "I'll have quarters prepped for them as soon as I can; we'll welcome them with open arms."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, bowing his head, "_Eternal _out."

"Ma'am," said Miriallia as Waltfeld's image faded from the main monitor, "Heero's on the line."

Murrue's smile grew at her words. "Patch him through."

The Perfect Soldier appeared on the main monitor, and he was not alone. Murrue saw a man and a woman, both of whom appeared to be in their mid to late forties, crammed into the cockpit with him, and she knew they were the Valkyrie's parents. Both Soran and Akila Rehema looked a little shaken but otherwise no worse for the wear, but Murrue still planned on sending them to the _Archangel_'s medical bay for a full examination just to be safe, followed up by a psychological evaluation from Dr. Claudia.

_They were imprisoned by their own government, both because they were Naturals and because their daughter did not openly support the party line_, thought Murrue, _I don't know what sort of impact their incarceration may have had on them, physically or emotionally; I want to give them the best possible care my crew can offer._

As selfish as it may have seemed, though, the welfare of Shemei Rehema's parents was only a secondary concern to Murrue. The one who truly had her attention, naturally, was Wing Zero's pilot.

A small smile was on Heero's face as he spoke. "Mission accomplished. I'm coming in for landing, Murrue, and I'm bringing company."

"So I can see," Murrue replied, nodding, "Soran and Akila Rehema, I presume? I'm Murrue Ramius, Captain of the _Archangel_. Are you two alright?"

Heero's passengers nodded. "Yes," said Soran, "the ride was a bit rough, but we're unharmed."

"Thank you for your concern, Captain Ramius," said Akila, smiling, "but we're fine." She then looked over at Heero before speaking to Murrue again. "We're in good hands… those of one of the best pilots I've ever seen."

"Yes you are, Mrs. Rehema," said Murrue, her own face aglow with the pride she had in Heero's abilities, "I will be coming down to the hangar in a moment, but for now know that you are under the protection of Heero, myself, and my crew. No harm will come to you, and you will be well taken care of; I give you my word."

"Thank you, Captain," Akila replied. On the other side of Heero Murrue saw Soran give her a nod of gratitude.

Murrue then returned her attention to her lover. "Heero, the hangar doors are opened; you can land at any time. Also, I've just spoken to Waltfeld, and the Valkyrie and Bristow will be joining you, La Flaga, and Dearka as this ship's mobile suit pilots."

Heero nodded. "Makes sense; the _Archangel _has the most available hangar space left out of our three ships. I'm inbound, Murrue." His smile then grew a little as he spoke again. "Thank you for the rescue before, Murrue; your timing was perfect, as was your bombardment."

"Perhaps," Murrue replied, blushing slightly at Heero's praise, "but without you and the Zero System there's no way we could've managed such a coordinated barrage."

"Still," Heero continued, "the fact remains that without you we would never have gotten out of there. You saved us, Murrue; you saved _me_. Thank you."

"You are most welcome, Heero," said Murrue smiling again, "I wasn't about to let ZAFT stop you, not after all you've done… and certainly not after you promised to come back to me."

"I know," said Heero, smiling as well, "and I knew that you'd make it in time to help us. I'm making my final approach now; I'll see you soon. I love you, Murrue."

"I love you too, Heero," the beautiful Captain replied as she stood up, "I'll meet you down in the hangar soon."

"Roger that," said Heero, "Wing Zero out."

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue as Heero disappeared from the main monitor, "you have the bridge. Continue supervising the retrieval of our mobile suits; once all are on board and the other ships have retrieved their units, bring us up to full power on the engines and get us out of here as fast as possible."

"Yes, ma'am," the Orb officer replied, moving to take Murrue's chair as the Captain headed towards the exit.

She continued to smile as she left the bridge and began making her way down towards the hangar. _Heero_, she thought, _once again, you've done the impossible. You took down Avalon, you breached the heart of the PLANTs, extracted two people from a high-security prison, and got out alive. No other pilot could've come close to what you've accomplished today._

It was amazing to say the least, but what mattered more than anything else to Murrue was not the phenomenal display of piloting skills Heero had just given the entire Coordinator population, nor the demonstration of his Gundam's incredible powers of destruction by obliterating the most powerful fortress in the entire Earth Sphere.

The only thing she cared about was the fact that Heero had _come back to her_. He'd fulfilled his promise, and he was back on the _Archangel_, safe, unharmed… and with her.

….

After settling Wing Zero down into its berth in the _Archangel_'s hangar, Heero took a moment to simply lean back in the pilot's chair and let out a sigh of relief. To say that the operation had been tense would be a monumental understatement; the Avalon Line, especially its formidable battle-station, had been a force unlike any that he had challenged before. Yes, the wide dispersal of ZAFT's fleet had helped matters considerably, but the sheer number of mobile suits the enemy had still been able to bring to bear on the strike team, not to mention the frigates, destroyers, and Avalon's massive arsenal of weapons had been unlike anything Heero had confronted before. It was true that the ZAFT force that had attacked Alaska and the Alliance fleet that had invaded Orb were both larger in terms of warships, but Heero had fought against those two armadas with more than just a handful of advanced mobile suits backing him up; both had been fleet engagements. His abilities had been pushed to their utmost limits in the raid on the PLANT capitol… and he'd survived.

Not only that, he had _won_.

Now the adrenaline that had been surging through his veins throughout the battle was bleeding out of his system, and Heero was aware of just how _tired _he was. His whole body felt heavy, his breathing was labored, and he could feel the sweat matting his brow.

Try as he might, he couldn't completely hide his exhaustion from his passengers. "Are you alright?" asked the Valkyrie's mother, her expression one of concern.

Heero nodded as he wiped some of the sweat from his forehead. "I'm ok."

"Not entirely," said Soran, "young man, I can understand and appreciate not wanting to show weakness in front of others, but there is no shame in admitting the truth, especially when others can already see it. You're worn out, and after what you just did, no one can hold that against you."

Heero closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and replying. "Yeah… you're right."

Akila put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Come, let's get you out of this cramped cockpit; you need some real breathing room."

"In a minute," said Heero, motioning to the main monitor, which showed the Judgment entering the hangar, "none of us have flight suits on. We have to wait until all the ship's mobile suits have entered the hangar and the doors are sealed; we'll get out once they vent the atmosphere back in."

While still determined to maintain at least some of his cool demeanor in front of the Valkyrie's parents, Heero could not deny a warm feeling slowly spreading within his heart at the concern of his passengers, particularly Akila. Her worry for him was touching, particularly given that they had just met, but what really struck him was how much it reminded him of Murrue. However, while Murrue's concern for him was both that of a dear friend and a lover, Akila's worry was… _motherly_. It was perfectly natural, of course; Akila was one of the Valkyrie's parents, so maternal concern was an emotion she was well practiced in, and Heero realized that his own youth would evoke such a reaction from her… but it still caught him off guard. For a young man who had grown up surrounded by war, who had never known his mother and had only an assassin to act as a father figure, to be on the receiving end of such parental affection was a very new experience to him.

That being said, it was a feeling Heero liked. It evoked a heat much like Murrue's affection for him did, but it had a different feel to it. Like his lover's it was open and gentle, all encompassing, but it did not stir his heart in the same manner that Murrue did. Heero couldn't find the right words to describe it, which was natural given his unfamiliarity with such an emotion. While Murrue's love for him had seemed to envelope him like a blanket on a cold night or the warm sunlight of a mid-summer day, the best way Heero could put Akila's concern was like warm water running over a wound. It was cleansing, refreshing, and healing.

And so, almost without him noticing, a very small smile appeared on Heero's face. If the Valkyrie's parents saw it they made no mention, and they seemed content to watch with the Gundam pilot as the rest of the mobile suits entered the _Archangel_'s hangar. Eventually the doors closed, and even in Wing Zero Heero could feel a slight rumble as the warship's powerful engines kicked into high gear; the vessel was pouring on the throttle to get clear of ZAFT space.

Glancing at the far wall, Heero saw a light flick from red to green, and the mechanics began removing their helmets; atmosphere had been vented back into the hangar. "Come on," said Heero as he finished up Wing Zero's power-down sequence, "We can go outside now." He looked to Soran and Akila in turn. "I'm sure your daughter will be out of her mobile suit soon, and that she'll want to see you."

Just before the screen flickered out he saw one of the smaller entry doors open… and Murrue floated into the hangar. Heero's smile grew as he saw Murrue's face aglow with joy on his monitor before it faded to black, completing the power-down sequence. "And there's someone down there waiting for me as well," he said softly.

Without further adieu, Heero opened up the hatch and floated out of the Gundam. He moved to the right to allow room for Soran and Akila to get out of Wing Zero before he sealed the mobile suit's cockpit. Taking a look around the hangar, the Gundam pilot saw La Flaga, Dearka, Bristow, and Shemei all disembarking their mobile suits, with the latter's silver eyes lighting up as she saw her parents over by Wing Zero. The Valkyrie quickly pushed off her machine and made her way towards Heero and his passengers.

And she wasn't the only woman inbound.

"Heero!" cried Murrue as she rushed up to the Perfect Soldier, an absolutely radiant smile on her face. All pretenses of decorum and professionalism were abandoned as the beautiful Captain openly showed her joy and relief at seeing her newfound boyfriend alive… and Heero wouldn't have it any other way.

"Murrue!" said Heero, his smile growing. He barely had time to brace himself before Murrue collided with him, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a fierce kiss. Heero returned it instantly, paying no heed to the rest of the hangar's occupants, tightly embracing Murrue as his lips parted, and giving his lover's tongue the opening it needed to surge forward. Fiery passion engulfed the Gundam pilot, temporarily burning away the weariness that had been weighing his body down mere moments ago, and he lost himself in Murrue's arms and lips.

So caught up was Heero in Murrue's embrace that he barely heard the Valkyrie's joyful cry as she approached. "Mom! Dad!"

The Perfect Soldier and the beautiful Captain's lips parted, and they turned as they held each other to watch as Shemei floated right into the arms of her parents. She took them both into a tight hug, and though her face was not visible Heero had a feeling that she was struggling to hold back tears. Others might have seen it as a sign of weakness, but not Heero; to a young man that had never known his family, there was no shame in being overcome by emotion under such circumstances. It didn't detract in the least from the respect he had for his friendly rival.

"You're alright," he heard the Valkyrie say as she embraced her parents, "you're both… you're ok, you're _safe_… you're _free_! Damn it, I've missed you…"

Mother and father smiled as they held their daughter. "We've missed you too, dear," said Akila, "We were both worried about you… I'm so glad you're ok!"

"There, there, Shemei," said Soran, patting his daughter on the head, "we're alright, my daughter… we're alright."

Glancing off to the side, Heero saw Bristow floating a respectful distance away, a warm smile on his face as he watched his lover hold her parents. The Perfect Soldier could tell that the Wolf of the Far East wanted nothing more than to rush over and embrace the Valkyrie, but he was holding himself back for the moment, for Shemei's sake.

Heero and Murrue turned away from the family reunion for a moment out of respect; the Valkyrie deserved a little time with her mother and father before the Gundam pilot and the _Archangel_'s Captain interrupted. More to the point, the two lovers wanted nothing more than to take some time for each other as well, especially after all that had happened in the battle mere minutes ago. Smiling at each other once again, Heero and Murrue shared another passionate kiss, and they tightly held each other in their arms. After a few seconds their lips parted and their eyes met, though they did not release the hold they had on each other.

"You came back," Murrue said softly, and Heero saw that she was holding back tears of joy in the corners of her eyes, "you _came back to me_!"

Heero nodded and let go of his lover with his right hand and brought it up to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall; even if they were brought on by joy, the last thing he wanted was to see Murrue cry.

"I'd never break a promise to you, Murrue," he replied, his hand stroking her cheek, "you know that."

Murrue nodded, her lovely brown eyes glowing with affection as she mirrored Heero's gesture, bringing her own right hand up to caress his left cheek. "I do, Heero. I had faith, I _believed _in you… but still, I couldn't help but worry. The force you flew against… how could I not fear for your life?"

"I know, Murrue," Heero replied, looking down for a moment, "Forgive me; I never wanted to cause you such pain."

"Don't apologize, Heero," said Murrue, and as the Gundam pilot raised his head to look at her again he saw that her smile was bigger than ever, "you made it, you triumphed, you _won_… and you're here, _now_, with me. That's all that matters."

Heero smiled again. "Yeah… you're right."

Murrue leaned in and gave the Perfect Soldier a quick kiss. "I love you, Heero."

Heero nodded. "I love you too, Murrue."

The Gundam pilot then felt a brief rush of dizziness go to his head, his exhaustion catching up to him, and though he tried not to give any visible sign Murrue could sense that something was wrong.

"Are you alright, Heero?" she asked, her expression becoming one of concern.

Heero nodded. "I'm ok… just tired, Murrue."

"Here," Murrue replied, "grab my arm; let me help you."

Heero didn't exactly _need _assistance in staying upright… but he wasn't about to refuse Murrue's offer of support. It was yet another sign of just how deeply she cared for him, how much she _loved him_, and the thought of turning it down just felt to Heero like it would be an insult. So the Gundam pilot did as Murrue requested; he braced himself on her left arm as the two of them turned towards Shemei and her parents, who were finally separating from their own embrace.

As he looked at the Valkyrie, the thought of their rematch was actually not on his mind. In fact, when he looked at her with her family he didn't even see Shemei as his rival. What he saw was a young woman reunited with her mother and father, and the knowledge that _he _had helped make it happen filled him with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. At that moment it didn't matter to him that they could now have a duel without holding back, that they could have that final contest they'd been longing for. What mattered to Heero was that he had brought a loving family back together, and it felt _good_.

….

As Shemei finally released the hold she had on her parents, she felt her spirits lifted higher than they had been in a long time. Every second that her mother and father had been held hostage by Zala and his thugs had felt like a lifetime to her; it had been agony beyond anything that she had ever experienced before. Even her newfound romance with Eric could not completely remove the cloud of despair that had hung over her, regardless of how hard her lover had tried to do just that. Shemei had been truly grateful for his efforts, for his affection, and they had given her the strength she'd needed to move forward, but it hadn't been enough to remove the heavy weight from her shoulders.

Now, though, that weight, that terrible, heavy despair, was gone. Shemei felt reinvigorated, reborn, _liberated_… all this and so much more. Her parents were _safe _now; she was with them again. It didn't matter that they were on board a warship that she had fought against several months before; Shemei knew that the _Archangel _and her mobile suits were no longer enemies, a fact that she was profoundly grateful for. What mattered to her, more than anything else, was that her parents were _finally _free, _finally _out of reach of Zala and the rest of the radical faction. Now she truly had the power to protect them, something she had sorely lacked when they had been residing in the PLANT capitol and she had been in the employ of ZAFT. More than that, she knew that others would protect them as well; the crew and pilots of the _Archangel_, and those of the Orb warship and the _Eternal_. Her allies, her _friends_, would help her protect her mother and father as they all moved forward in their struggle to bring this long and bloody war to an end.

Feeling several pairs of eyes on her, Shemei backed slightly away from her parents to take a look around. The _Archangel_'s hangar bay was truly massive, larger than any she had ever seen before on a warship. It was bustling with activity as maintenance crews began checking the docked mobile suits for damage, and Shemei was impressed with their efficiency; it was a routine the mechanics had obviously done many times by now. However, the technician crews were not her primary concern; it was the people closer to her and her parents that she could feel watching her.

Looking to her left, Shemei's smile grew even bigger as her eyes fell upon the first member of her audience; Eric Bristow. Her 31 year old lover was using the rail of a nearby maintenance catwalk to hold himself in place in the non-existent gravity of the hangar, and a broad smile was on his face.

_He helped make this possible_, she thought, her heart filled with affection and gratitude, _Waltfeld and the others couldn't have mounted this operation without information from him, and he flew with us in our escape. Eric… how can I ever repay you?_

She knew that her lover had been holding himself back so she could enjoy her reunion with her parents to the fullest, and she deeply appreciated the thought, but now she wanted him over here, with her and her parents. "Eric!" she cried joyfully.

Taking the cue, the now former ZAFT Field Marshal pushed off from his perch and floated over to her. As soon as he came into range Shemei grabbed him and pulled him close, taking him into a tight embrace and a deep kiss. She was sure her parents were now gawking at this public display of affection, and it was perfectly natural since Shemei and Eric had only hooked up after her mother and father had been imprisoned. Shemei didn't care in the least. Her parents were safe, as was her boyfriend, and he had helped save them; that was all that mattered.

Eventually their lips parted, though Shemei refused to release her hold on Eric quite yet. Keeping her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, she stared deep into her lover's brown eyes.

"Eric," she said softly, "thank you… _thank you_."

The Wolf of the Far East smiled. "You're welcome, Shemei… though other than provide information to Waltfeld and helping to cover the escape, I didn't do much."

Shemei shook her head. "You're wrong, Eric. Without you, Waltfeld couldn't have launched this operation at all; he wouldn't have known what cell my parents were being held in. You gave him that information through your network of contacts; you made this possible, love."

Eric's smile became sheepish. "Shemei… much as I appreciate your praise, you're giving me too much credit; we both know who _really _made this operation possible."

Shemei nodded, knowing exactly who Eric was referring to. "You're right, but still, that doesn't change the fact that you played a crucial role in all this." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "_Thank you_, my love."

Eric's smile grew at her words. "Anytime, Shemei."

The two of them then turned to her parents. "Mom, Dad," said Shemei, "I've told you about Eric before. He's one of my dearest friends… and my boyfriend; we got together after you were imprisoned. He… he helped me immeasurably when the two of you were taken; he gave me the strength to hold on… he gave me hope."

He mother and father nodded. "Thank you," said Akila, smiling, "I'm glad to know that our daughter found someone to comfort her in such a difficult time."

Her father didn't say anything, and for a moment Shemei was worried, but the she saw him smile at Eric, and she knew that there was nothing to fear. She would have to sit down sometime with Eric and her parents so she could properly introduce him to them, but for now this was enough.

Adjusting her position, keeping one arm around her lover, Shemei then turned to the other two members of her audience… one of which was the young man she knew had _truly _made her parents' rescue possible. Floating not too far away, holding onto the left arm of a lovely woman with a tall and curvaceous figure, light skin, brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a white uniform… was Heero Yuy.

Shemei had caught a glimpse of the Gundam pilot's unique attire during their communiqués in the battle, but now she had the chance to look at him in his entirety. She was impressed to say the least; Heero cut a very sharp and imposing figure in his uniform, and Shemei realized that he had probably worn it to make an impression on her parents when he had made his attack on Charon Prison.

_It would have an effect on mom and dad_, she thought, _especially dad. Combine that with Heero's personality, and it was probably what helped him get past my father's stubbornness and convince him and mother to go with him._

She could also tell that the extraordinary pilot was exhausted, though he was doing an admirable job of trying to hide it from the others. The main giveaway was how he was allowing the woman next to him to support him with her arm, but there were other signs as well. His forehead and hair were matted with sweat, his breathing was a little labored despite his efforts to keep it controlled and leveled, and she could sense the weariness in his demeanor.

_It's only natural for him to be tired_, she thought, _challenging the Avalon Line, dodging fire from the battle-station, the fleet, the GINN squadrons, breaking into Aprillius One, rescuing my parents, fighting his way back out… I can't begin to imagine the toll that exerted on him. All I had to do was help the girls and the others keep the enemy off him, but even with our efforts he still faced the brunt of ZAFT's forces on the Avalon Line, particularly during his assault on the battle-station. He fought the hardest, took on the most risk… it's a miracle he hasn't collapsed by now. As it is, he's definitely feeling drained now; I'll bet the adrenaline let-down's hit him full force. To still be up after all he did today, to still be _conscious _now that the fighting is over… his endurance is amazing! _The young man's exhaustion was more than understandable, and did nothing to detract from the powerful respect and admiration that Shemei had for her incredible rival and her parents' savior.

Releasing her hold on Eric, Shemei moved forward, placing herself in front of Heero and the woman beside him. Looking at the two of them, Shemei knew instantly that they were lovers; the way they stood together, the way they were smiling, left the Valkyrie with no doubt that they were romantically involved. Studying the woman, Shemei's eyes fell upon the blue stone that lay against her chest.

_A Tear of Isis_, she thought, recalling the meeting she'd had with Heero at Waltfeld's headquarters in Banadiya, _Waltfeld said Heero had bought that for someone, and Heero said that it was a woman… I guess I know who she is now. I wonder… were they in love back then, or was their affection only in its early stages?_

Her eyes met those of the Gundam pilot, and Shemei was struck by the strength she saw within them, especially in light of the exhaustion she knew he was holding back. It reminded her of the time that they had first met in person. However, there was something different about him now. The pain that she had seen lying behind that calm demeanor of his was diminished from what it had been. It was still there, in the form of a lingering regret for past actions, weariness from a lifetime of war, but it wasn't as sharp as it had been when Shemei had first caught a glimpse of it.

_It's because of her_, she thought, glancing again at the woman beside Heero, _whatever burden he carries, he's shared it with her. She's supporting him, giving him strength when he needs it, a place to lay his head and rest from war, to take shelter from his demons. She's become to him what Eric has to me. _Shemei had no factual evidence to base any of this off of; it was purely a gut feeling. Still, she had learned long ago to trust her intuition.

She turned back to Wing Zero's pilot, struggling to find words adequate to convey the gratitude she felt towards him. Shemei knew she owe him a debt that she could never truly repay… and yet, as she once again met his gaze, she felt as though Heero did not _want _her to feel indebted to him. He had not taken on such a dangerous mission just so she would owe him one; he had done it because he'd _wanted to_, because it was _right_.

In the end, all she could do was smile and bow her head. "Heero," she said softly, "I… _thank you_."

When she looked up she saw the Gundam pilot smile slightly in response and give her a small nod. "You're welcome, Shemei Rehema."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before the Valkyrie turned to the woman standing next to him. "I think Heero mentioned you when we spoke in Banadiya," she said, "at least, I know he said he bought a Tear of Isis for a woman on the _Archangel_, and… well, you're wearing one now, along with an Alliance uniform." She held out her hand. "I'm Shemei Rehema, Commander of the Valkyrie Team… well, former Commander, anyway; pretty sure I don't hold my old rank now after hooking up with you guys."

"Perhaps not in the ZAFT forces now," said the woman as she took her hand in a gentle but firm grip, "but I have no doubt that your former subordinates would want you to lead them again as the Commander of their team in their future battles, as would the rest of us. I'm Murrue Ramius, Captain of the _Archangel_." She smiled at Shemei as she continued. "The lives of everyone on board this ship are my responsibility, and that now includes you, your parents, and Eric Bristow. I'm pleased to welcome you aboard, and I give you my word that you will all be safe and well treated during your stay on my vessel. I would be most grateful if you and Bristow would fly with Heero and my other pilots in our future engagements, but regardless if you do or not I want you to know that I will do all in my power to protect your mother and father. They are our guests, as are you and Bristow, and I will extend you all the same courtesy, respect, and care that I do the rest of the people on board the _Archangel_."

Shemei gave Murrue a slight bow. "Thank you, Captain Ramius. That… that means more to me than I could hope to adequately put into words."

"You're more than welcome, Miss Rehema," Murrue replied, "I can't begin to imagine the pain you suffered with the knowledge that your parents were being held hostage against you. Rest assured that none of us here will allow that to happen again; your mother and father are under our protection."

Shemei nodded before glancing at Eric, who gave her a smile. She then turned back to Murrue. "Captain Ramius, Eric and I would be honored to fight alongside you and your crew… though when the time comes that we must launch into battle, I would like to link up with my girls once they leave the _Eternal_."

"Of course, Miss Rehema," said Murrue, "I'm sure your subordinates will be thrilled to fight under your command again. I look forward to working with you and your team, as I'm sure everyone else on this ship does."

"No argument there," Heero chimed in, giving the Valkyrie a respectful nod.

Shemei returned the gesture before Eric spoke up. "Shemei will fly with her girls, Captain, but if you don't mind I'd like to focus my own efforts on covering this ship; my unit's unique design makes it an effective close-range interceptor."

"I'd appreciate that," Murrue replied, "the Buster is already acting in a defense/support role with the _Archangel_, but it was designed as an artillery unit; it lacks real close-range combat capabilities. Your mobile suit would be a most welcome escort for this ship, and would allow Heero, La Flaga, and Miss Rehema to focus their effort on taking the fight to the enemy. Thank you, Mr. Bristow."

"No problem," he replied, "and just call me Bristow, Captain; I was never really big on formality."

"Very well, Bristow," said Murrue.

"I look forward to working with you, Captain," said Eric before turning to Heero and giving him a slight smile, "along with you, Angel of Ruin."

Both Heero and Murrue raised their eyebrows, prompting a chuckle from Eric and an amused shake of the head by Shemei. "It's a nickname the soldiers of ZAFT have given you, Heero," said the Valkyrie, "one of several; you've got quite the reputation among our former comrades."

"I see," said Heero.

"I suppose that's natural, given his skills," said Murrue, her expression becoming serious, "but please, I would appreciate if you did not use that title for Heero, or any other that ZAFT may have come up with for him. Maybe it's just me, but I believe that using such monikers implies that Heero enjoys killing, and while he is indeed the deadliest soldier in the Earth Sphere I can assure you that he does _not _take the lives of his foes casually."

"Murrue," said Heero, "it's alright…"

Murrue shook her head. "No, it's not, Heero. You told me what you've been through, how long you've been fighting, and I've seen just how deeply it's scarred you. I know I can't stop our enemies from coming up with such dreadful nicknames for you, nor can I do so for our allies, but I can at least make sure that those on board my ship do not use them, at least not openly. Even if it's in praise of your abilities, I still don't like it; such monikers make you out to be a monster, a heartless killer, something I _know _you are not."

Shemei saw the Gundam pilot's eyes widen ever so slightly at her words, and she thought she saw the barest hint of red come to his face. "Murrue…" he said softly. After a moment he gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

Murrue responded by giving Wing Zero's pilot a quick kiss on the lips. "Anytime, my dear."

The lovely Captain then turned back to Shemei and Eric. "I know that the two of you would not use such nicknames for Heero in a disparaging way, and I can recognize that him earning them within your armed forces is a sign of how much they fear and respect his skills. I've spent enough time among pilots to know that most would view such titles as badges of honor… but I know that Heero does not. Please, I ask that you refrain from using such titles and monikers with regards to him."

Shemei looked at Eric and nodded, and the two of them then turned back to Murrue and Heero and bowed their heads slightly. "Of course, Captain Ramius," she said, "I never thought of it that way, but you're right; those monikers may be a sign of respect and fear for his abilities, but they are also dehumanizing, portraying a good man as a monster. I may hold a measure of pride for my own title, just as I know that Eric and Waltfeld have the same for their own… but I can understand and respect the fact that neither Heero nor you share that sentiment. I give you my word that I will not use any of them."

"Mine as well," said Eric, looking at Murrue and Heero, "forgive me. I suppose it's a bad habit of us soldiers, coming up with such names for our foes. I guess 'fighter culture' is a good way to put it, and it's really become part of being a pilot… but it's something we should learn to leave behind us. Mechanize warfare of this day and age can be… desensitizing. When us pilots we fight, we see the mobile suit or plane that our foe is using, or the vehicle that they're driving on the ground, or the ship that they're a crewmember of; it's all too easy to forget that inside those machines of war there are people like us, with their own hopes and dreams, their own family, friends… and someone that they hold more dear to them than anyone else."

"Thank you, both of you," said Murrue.

Shemei once again met Heero's gaze. "That being said, there's a very good reason why Heero earned such monikers within our armed forces… one I've had firsthand experience with. I'm not saying we do this today; I can tell how tired you are, and I certainly can't hold it against you after what you just did. However… we have a score to settle, and once you're rested up I want to get to it."

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

"Hold on a second," Murrue interrupted, "I understand the respect and admiration the two of you have for each other's skills, along with the fact that your last duel was inconclusive, but you're both on the same side now! There's no reason for you to fight each other, especially after what happened today!"

"She's right," said Soran, "Shemei, why must you push for this? You cannot fight against this young man after what he did for us today!"

"It would be a pointless fight!" Akila chimed in, "Dear, you mustn't! I know you told us how thrilled you were to find a pilot that could challenge you one-on-one, but please, let it go!"

"I can't," Shemei replied, keeping her gaze locked with Heero's, "I only survived our clash in North Africa because Heero let me go… because _he _respected my skills as much as _I _do his, and he wanted a fair fight between us to settle things. More importantly, when we finally got the chance to do so… I _couldn't _give him the fight he _deserved_. It shames me to say this, to use it as an excuse… but I couldn't go all out against him with the knowledge of your imprisonment hanging over my head… and Heero recognized that. Don't deny it, Heero; you held back in our last fight. I know how powerful your perception is; you knew I wasn't going all out, and you compensated accordingly."

Wing Zero's pilot nodded. "At first I was simply trying to judge the capabilities of your new machine, but as our duel went on I could tell that something was wrong. You weren't going all out, though I saw that you were _trying _to do so. It was only when I contacted the _Eternal _that I found out what the cause was. When I learned that your mother and father had been taken hostage… there was no way I could've given you my all after that; it wouldn't have been right."

"Had you done so you would've killed me there," said Shemei, "but you let me go, again. I'm grateful that you understood the situation, Heero, and that you saved my parents today… but I don't like owing people, nor accepting their pity. Because of that, I _can't _accept the outcome of our last fight… and somehow I get the feeling that you can't either."

Heero shook his head. "No… it wasn't how I wanted to defeat you. Normally I wouldn't care about such things; in battle I focus on destroying the enemy, accomplishing my mission, and protecting those I care about. That being said, fighting against you… it reminded me of a series of duels I'd had with a pilot back in my own world. He was my equal on the battlefield… the only one, in fact. Your skill approached his during the first two times we fought, and it was only because of the gap between our two machines that you couldn't last as long as he did in our duels. I meant it when I said that you're the second best I've ever fought, and it's a very close second. Even with your parents' imprisonment weighing down on you in our third battle, I could see that your skills had improved since our previous matches, and the technology of the Judgment brought you onto a much more level playing field with Wing Zero. Now that your parents are free, you can go all out… we both can."

"No, you _can't_!" cried Murrue, "You two can't put your lives on the line for the sake of settling this score!"

"She's right," Eric chimed in, "you two are the best pilots in our forces; we can't afford to lose even one of you! Not to mention that even if both of you survived the duel, the damage done to your machines would be severe, perhaps even catastrophic. Our resources are limited here, and we can't afford to use them to repair damage not resulting from either an accident or a battle with the enemy!"

"That goes even more so for Wing Zero," Murrue continued, "Heero, you know that we don't have any stores of Gundanium alloy or parts made of it in this world; severe damage done to your machine during the duel we could only fix using inferior components! That would weaken you at a time when we need you at your best!"

The Gundam pilot closed his eyes for a moment, and Shemei knew that he saw the validity of Murrue's argument… as did she. Both the _Archangel_'s Captain and Shemei's lover were correct in the points they brought up, and the Valkyrie and her rival could both recognize that. Still… they couldn't just leave the score between them unsettled.

Then Eric smiled. "I've got an idea. Why don't we have a simulator duel? Shemei, I'm sure both you and Heero could work up ideal programs for you respective machines, and then you could link them up and have your fight! This way there's no unnecessary risk to pilot or machine!"

Murrue nodded. "I think that's a great idea, Bristow. I'm sure we could…"

"No."

Murrue and Bristow's eyes widened at Heero and Shemei's simultaneous rejection of their proposal. "Heero…" said Murrue.

"Shemei," said Eric, "what's the matter with you?"

"A simulation won't cut it," said the Valkyrie, "not for us. In our last three battles we fought with our lives on the line, skirting the razor-thin boundary between life and death. To settle our score, we can't have anything less."

"Exactly," said Heero, nodding, "Rehema, the last thing I want to do is fight you to the death… but without the danger that was inherent in our previous duels, our final match would lose weight, meaning… it wouldn't be what we've been waiting for."

"Well said, Heero," Shemei replied, "and I share your sentiment; I have no desire to take your life, nor lose my own… but I'm willing to risk death for the duel we've both longed for."

"Damn it," said Eric, shaking his head, "you two can't do this!"

"If you two went at it like that in your mobile suits," said Murrue, "with the power you both wield… it isn't worth it! Heero, _please_!"

Shemei could feel the desperation behind Eric and Murrue's pleas, and she was touched by her lover's concern, as she was sure Heero was by the lovely Captain's. She could see just how determined Eric was to keep her safe… and just how distressed her fixation on settling her score with Heero was making him. As she looked at Heero, she could tell that he was as conflicted as she was; he too wanted that final match, but seeing the worry that it was causing the woman he loved and hearing her desperate pleas was tearing at his heart.

_I don't want to cause Eric pain_, she thought, _just as Heero no doubt wishes to spare Murrue heartbreak as well. Regardless… we _have _to do this; there's no way we can just let something like this lie unsettled. It'll eat at us, gnaw at the back of our minds, distract us… and that distraction could be more fatal than any duel between us._

At the same time though, Shemei was mindful of the earlier concerns both Eric and Murrue had raised regarding the damage that such a match would no doubt result in for the Judgment or Wing Zero, possible both depending on how the fight went. Their resources were limited out here, far too much so to spend them on a battle that wasn't critical to their efforts to bring the war to an end.

And that was when she saw it… and could've smacked herself for not noticing it earlier.

The saber at Heero's waist.

On any other person, Shemei would've taken such a weapon as a piece of decoration, even more so considering the classical nature of Heero's uniform. However, Shemei's intuition was telling her that the Gundam pilot would not wear a weapon that he could not _use_. She had already experienced firsthand his deadly skills with a beam saber, and though wielding a mobile suit's energy blade had more than its share of differences between it and more traditional sword fighting, there were also enough similarities in how the machines moved and how people fought that the skills required to fight with one style could carry over to the other. More than that, despite his weariness Wing Zero's pilot still carried himself with no small manner of confidence, and even though he was leaning on Murrue his stance still allowed for him to quickly transition and draw the blade if need be, and Shemei knew that it was no accident; it was quite deliberate on Heero's part.

She thought of the blade at the Gundam pilot's waist… and the one she had packed in the duffle bag when she had gotten Eric's message regarding the pending operation to free her parents.

The blade that now rested beneath the pilot's seat of the Judgment.

Feeling Heero's eyes on her, she raised her gaze to meet his own. There was a small smile on his face; he'd caught her looking at his saber.

The words were on the tip of her tongue; _can you wield it as skillfully as you do your incredible machine?_

As if reading her mind, Wing Zero's pilot gave her a small nod.

_Yes._

Shemei returned the nod and the smile.

This was going to be fun.

"Eric, Captain Ramius?" she said, "I have a proposition for you…"

**Preview for next time! **

_Going to ground after the raid on the PLANTs, the Three Ships Alliance takes shelter in the abandoned Mendel colony at L4. The derelict habitat still possess power and artificial gravity, making it an excellent place for Heero, Murrue, and the others to lie low and plan their next move…as well as the perfect ground to settle a score. Though it may not be in the manner that they had originally planned, the Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie will find that their final duel will be everything that they desired. In a clash of courage and steel fueled by the utmost respect and admiration, with victory resting upon who can draw first blood, the rivalry born over the sands of North Africa will at last be settled. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Two: Duel of the Last Knights._

_Burning souls and cold blades… both will meet in a clash unlike any other._

_One that means nothing... one that means everything._

**Author's notes: **Again, sorry this chapter took so long, I've been planning it for quite awhile, and I wanted to make sure I did it right. Plus, as I said earlier, things have been getting busy on my end, not just with class but also work… and a girlfriend, I'm pleased to say. Don't worry, I always take time to write a little bit every day, and I will continue to do so regardless of what life throws at me.

Indigo Team was based on the ace squadron of the same name from Ace Combat Zero.

As always, please review, and until next time my friends!


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's notes: **Hey, how's it going? Sorry it took so long to get this done, it's been a very busy fall quarter for me. I've only been able to write a couple of pages a day, if that. There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, and the duel's not until the second half.

Anyway, to business. The song list for the chapter, for those of you who care, is as follows: "Forsaken Sanctuary" and "Fearless Eyes" from Soul Calibur Three, and "Zero" from the Ace Combat Zero soundtrack.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Two: Duel of the Last Knights**

"Captain," said the sensor officer, "we're approaching the L4 debris field. ETA at current speed is approximately ten minutes."

Murrue nodded. "Are we in visual sensor range of the colony?"

"Yes, ma'am," the officer replied, "bringing it up now."

A large structure appeared on the bridge's main monitor, surrounded by a vast field of twisted metal, ranging from tiny bits to large slabs of steel. The large, intact habitat was the Mendel colony, the battle scarred survivor of the month-long Battle of Nova that had been waged during the first year of the war. Its main body was a cylindrical core that stretched for nearly ten kilometers, with a large disk-shaped solar collection mirror flaring out around it at one end, like a giant all-encompassing flower petal.

The Battle of Nova had been a fierce and brutal fight. Initially fought over an Earth Alliance resource satellite bearing that name, the engagement had quickly spread throughout the Lagrange point and the rest of its artificial constructs, colonies and asteroid facilities alike. Ultimately the Alliance had been forced to abandon the Nova resource satellite, and the ZAFT forces had towed it to their territory and converted it into the space fortress Boaz. Their victory was pyrrhic though; the month-long battle had savaged both forces, and had forced a complete evacuation of L4's civilians as their colonies were converted into frontline bases by the Alliance… and were subsequently destroyed in the fighting. Now, a year later, the only colony left standing was Mendel… and it had been abandoned prior to the start of the war.

_The official statement offered was that a viral outbreak had forced the colony's evacuation_, mused Murrue, _but Mendel always had an… odd reputation, to put it mildly. The colony was home to several major R&D labs, both government run and independent, and according to the rumors I heard their operators were always very hush-hush about the work that went on there. That 'viral outbreak' could well have been a bio-weapon breaching containment for all we know…we'll have to take precautions if we decide to venture out to examine the habitat._

Though the station had survived the Battle of Nova, it had not done so unscathed. Murrue could see several blackened holes marring the colony's body, and the solar collection mirror had several large gashes torn into it, all from energy beams, railgun slugs, and missiles of the battle that had ravaged L4 a year ago. However, despite its damage the colony still maintained its rotation, and preliminary scans were showing scattered signs of power, likely from auxiliary generators; Atlantic Federation colonies may have lacked the size and utopian-esque elegance of the PLANTs, but they were rugged, and built to last. It was a sign of just how vicious the Battle of Nova had been that Mendel was the only surviving colony in the area now, and Murrue knew that was thanks in no small part to the fact that the facility had already been abandoned before the engagement, meaning it hadn't been subjected to concentrated fire; the hits it had taken were from stray shots.

It had been three days now since the daring raid on Aprillius One. In the immediate aftermath of the battle, it had been obvious that the vessels of the Three Ships Alliance needed to find a place to hide out for awhile in order to rest and plan their next move. As the warships had withdrawn Waltfeld had suggested that they go to L4, indicating to Murrue that the Desert Tiger had been considering the abandoned Mendel colony as a staging area prior to the launching of the attack on the PLANTs. Considering the area had been abandoned for so long now it made perfect sense, though the murky reputation of the colony they would be residing in did have people a little nervous. Nevertheless, everyone had already acknowledged Waltfeld as the military commander of their little group, and despite their past battles in the North African desert Murrue trusted his judgment.

_As long as we're careful regarding the colony we should be ok_, Murrue thought, _due to the damage it's taken, much of the colony is now exposed to vacuum; that would kill any airborne plague, if that is indeed what caused the place to be abandoned initially. Our ships will be residing in one of the main hangars, and given their exposure to outer space the risk of any biological contaminants should be minimal. _Nevertheless, Murrue planned on having the ship's medical personnel take thorough scans of the area where the _Archangel _and the other vessels set down; she was taking no chances.

"Continue on course," Murrue ordered, "and reduce speed once we're a minute out; I don't want us taking damage from any of the wreckage."

"Aye, Captain," said the helmsman.

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "tell Murdoch and his crews to make sure everything down in the hangar is secured; once we enter Mendel the hangar will lose weightlessness, and if anything heavy is floating around things could be problematic."

"Yes, ma'am," Miriallia replied.

"Also," Murrue continued, "issue a ship-wide warning to the crew prior to entering the colony; anyone not prepared could get injured when we hit the colony's artificial gravity."

"Understood," said Miriallia.

Though a very unique and incredibly sophisticated vessel, the _Archangel _shared a feature that was common with all warships in the Cosmic Era; it had no artificial gravity except for a very specific section of the ship. That area was the crew quarters, which were situated within a specially designed hull-bloc that had a ring rotating around it to simulate gravity. This was necessarily in order to ensure crew-comfort in their quarters; one could not have people floating out of their own beds when they needed to rest, after all. However, this feature was expensive, and as thus was limited on ships to only crew and officer quarters; everywhere else lay outside the ring, meaning there was no gravity of any kind unless the ship was either on Earth or in an environment that generated its own artificial gravity.

"Captain," said the communications officer, "the _Eternal _is on the line."

"Patch them through," Murrue replied.

The face of the Desert Tiger appeared on the main monitor. "Captain Ramius," he said, nodding, "I'm sending you the location of the bay we'll be using."

Murrue nodded, and the image on the screen was replaced by a schematic of the colony, with a section of it flashing red. "I see it," she said, "helm, set course for that docking bay."

"Aye, Captain," said Neumann.

The screen shifted again, and Waltfeld once again appeared on the monitor. "I've just sent those coordinates to the _Kusanagi _as well; that bay is more than large enough for all three of our vessels."

"Good to know," said Murrue, "regarding the Mendel colony, are we going to send teams to examine it at some point?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "That's an unnecessary risk at this point. Since the hangar bay's exposed to vacuum it should be clean, but we can't say the same for the rest of the colony, and I don't want to risk someone bringing a virus back on board. We've got enough supplies to last us for quite awhile, so there's no need to risk sending people out for a salvage operation. Besides, this place has a…foreboding reputation, to put it lightly."

"It certainly does in the Alliance," said Murrue, "but I'm rather surprised it has one in ZAFT."

"Mendel's a very old colony, Captain Ramius," Waltfeld replied, his expression becoming contemplative, "It was rumored to be the sight of several genetic experimentation labs run by private groups. Some people even claim George Glenn was involved in some of the research that took place out here."

Murrue's eyes widened. "The first Coordinator? But L4 was dominated by the Atlantic Federation; I can't imagine they'd have welcomed his presence out here."

"They wouldn't," said Waltfeld, nodding, "but Mendel wasn't completely under Atlantic Federation control; a lot of private groups had operations running here. One of them could've easily smuggled Glenn in under the radar." The Desert Tiger then shrugged. "Either way, it doesn't really affect us; it's just a rumor, and I have no intention of sending anyone out to investigate the lab areas of this colony. There are just too many unknowns involved, and I want to play things safe; we can't afford to lose people."

Murrue nodded. "I agree wholeheartedly, Waltfeld. I will be sending out members of my ship's medical staff to investigate the hangar when we land and ensure that it is safe, but beyond that I will not send my people further into the colony than is absolutely necessary."

"Of course, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "I would appreciate it if your people would forward their findings to the_ Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_. Again, given the docking bay's exposure to space I'm not expecting anything threatening beyond the occasional piece of debris floating our way, but I want to be cautious here."

"I'll have Dr. Clark send out whatever data he collects," Murrue replied.

"Appreciated," said Waltfeld. A distant and slightly mournful look crossed his face. "Too many people have already died in this war; I won't add our own to the casualty list if I can help it."

To Murrue it didn't seem as though Waltfeld was just referring to the overall casualties, but something more personal. However, she couldn't tell what it was. _Maybe it has something to do with whatever intelligence Bristow passed on to him_, she thought.

When the Wolf of the Far East had defected from ZAFT, he had brought not only his unique mobile suit but also several flash drives packed full of information. The now former ZAFT Field Marshal had compiled a veritable treasure trove of data regarding the activities of the radical faction, both political and military, along with intelligence regarding the latest developments in the conflict down on Earth. While Bristow had agreed to unveil everything once they convened a meeting, Murrue was sure he'd already passed at least some of the information on to Waltfeld via his mobile suit's wireless data transmitter.

_Perhaps it has something to do with his old command_, thought Murrue, _Waltfeld was in charge of ZAFT operations in North Africa, and though our battle against him inflicted serious casualties against his forces, plenty of his soldiers did survive the engagement. In his absence ZAFT no doubt sent a new officer to take command of the survivors and reorganize them, and they probably reinforced their overall position in North Africa. Now that the Earth Alliance has gone on the offensive in this war, Waltfeld's old command may well be engaged in combat now, if they haven't been already. What's happening down there?_

Murrue and the rest of the _Archangel_'s crew knew nothing of events that were unfolding down on Earth, and the same went for the people on board the _Kusanagi_. With the fall of Orb they were effectively out of the loop as far as intelligence on developments in the war down on the planet itself went; whatever information Bristow had managed to get out of ZAFT would hopefully bring them at least somewhat up to speed.

_Our own struggle may now be focused in outer space_, she thought, _but we cannot forget that the Earth is still a theater in this conflict. We know nothing of what's happened down there since we took off from Orb; perhaps some of Bristow's intelligence will cover what's occurred on the surface since we left. I'll just have to wait until we convene our next conference on the Eternal to find out._

In the end, all Murrue could do was nod at Waltfeld's words. "Nor will I. Not if I can help it."

"Indeed," said Waltfeld. He then glanced around for a moment, as if he was trying to see something on Murrue's end. "By the way, where's Heero? Kira said he's usually up on the bridge with you."

Murrue sighed. "He's in the crew quarters section of the ship, practicing… warming up for the coming fight."

"Ah," he replied, nodding in understanding.

Word about Heero and Shemei's intended duel had spread rapidly throughout the Three Ship's Alliance, as their group had come to be known by its members, and Murrue had secretly prayed that Waltfeld would try in some way to talk Shemei down and help her talk some sense into Heero. However, the Desert Tiger had dashed her hopes, stating that he understood why the two of them felt the need to settle their score. He had then suggested that the two of them wait until the group reached the Mendel colony so there would be gravity throughout the _Archangel _instead of it just being concentrated in the ship's crew quarters; that way they could use the vessel's hangar as the ground for their fight.

Murrue had had little choice but to agree; she'd had no luck in dissuading Heero from the notion of having a saber fight with the Valkyrie to put closure on their rivalry. _Why is he being so stubborn about this?_, she thought, _Yes, I know he respects her, and that he regretted the circumstances under which they fought their previous battle, but they're on the same side now! There's no reason for them to fight at all!_

The prospect of the upcoming fight had Murrue worried to no end, though she did her best to hide that from her subordinates. Still, it was eating away at her heart, and she was sure at least some of her crew had noticed it to some degree. At the very least, they had to be wondering if she was at all concerned for Heero considering that the coming duel was public knowledge, and they would've been quite right in their guesses.

_He came back to me after a mission that would've been suicidal for anyone else_, she thought, gripping her chair, _so why does he feel the need to put his life on the line again, and for something that isn't vital to our cause at that or affects it in any way? After we finally confessed to each other, after we finally became a couple… why is he doing this? Does he know what this is doing to me?_

Murrue knew that Heero had to have some idea of the worry she was feeling; she'd made her protests and concerns very apparent when he and Shemei had first spoke of settling their score, and she had made little effort to hide her distress three days ago. Murrue's love for the Gundam pilot was as strong as ever, but she could not understand why Heero felt the need to go through with this. She'd talked to him during the travel time from L5 to L4, but he'd been reluctant to go into detail regarding his motivations. No, that wasn't the right way to put it; Murrue realized he didn't know how to properly explain his motivations to her in the first place, at least not in a way that Murrue could accept.

"Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, snapping her out of her thoughts, "are you alright?"

Murrue shook her head, trying to brush off the Desert Tiger's concern. "It's nothing," she said.

Somehow, even over the monitor, Waltfeld saw through her. "I doubt that very much," he replied, "you're worried about Heero, and it's perfectly natural for you to be. Even if he and Shemei aren't going to settle their score in mobile suits, a saber duel still poses its risks, though definitely less than a fight with their machines would." He then gave her a small, understanding smile. "Bristow's called me a few times to talk over the past three days; he's worried about Shemei, and I imagine his concern reflects yours for Heero."

Murrue's eyes widened at the news. It was natural for Bristow to be concerned, of course; the Valkyrie was his lover, after all. Still, she hadn't thought that he would talk to someone else about it; she certainly hadn't done so with regards to her own worry for Heero.

"Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "go talk to him."

"What?" said Murrue, taken aback by the man's bluntness.

"Go find Heero and talk to him," said Waltfeld, "it's obvious you're concerned about him; everyone can see it, regardless of how you try to hide it."

Looking around her bridge, Murrue was startled to see Lieutenant Tsukino looking at her, a small smile on her face as she nodded at the Captain. Ensign Neumann wore a similar expression, as did several of her other veteran subordinates.

_Am I really that easy to read?_, she thought, before realizing the simple truth of the matter; they all knew she loved Heero, and anytime the young man was at risk she would naturally worry. This was no different, even if the level of risk Heero faced in the coming duel was less than he did on the battlefield or if he and Shemei were going at it in their mobile suits.

Murrue then sighed, knowing that there was no point in hiding it; it would only be an insult to her crew now. "I've tried," she said, "I've tried to talk him out of it, but… he won't listen. He's been gentle about it; not nearly as blunt as he was when it was first brought up down in the hangar. Still… I haven't been able to get him to change his mind."

"And you shouldn't," Waltfeld replied, taking her off guard, "I know what it's like to have someone you want to defeat, an opponent who can push you to the limits of your abilities; it's part of the reason I fought against Kira during our clash in North Africa. Kira may not have shared that particular sentiment, but Aisha and I did; we both admired his skills, and we wanted to test ourselves against him. It's the same thing with Heero and Shemei, though it might be a little more nuanced in your boyfriend's case."

"So are you saying I should just accept this?" said Murrue, her voice rising as her temper began to flare, "Are you saying I should just walk up to Heero and say, 'go ahead and have your fight Heero, even if it may result in your death; I understand you have to test your skills against her and see who is better'? Are you saying that I should just back down and not protest the fact that Heero is putting himself into danger unnecessarily after already completing an assignment that was practically a suicide mission? I can't do that, Waltfeld!"

"Nor should you," said Waltfeld, "I'm saying you should sit down with him and explore his motivations; I did say that they were probably more nuanced than Shemei's in this case. Heero's not the kind of guy that goes looking for a fight under most circumstances, you know that. Something is driving him, something that even he may barely understand. Talking with you about it may help both of you; it can clear Heero's head a bit before the fight, and give you some insight into why he wants to do this."

"I can't just settle for insight, Waltfeld," Murrue replied, "not when Heero's life will be in danger."

"I know, Ramius," said Waltfeld, "but if you weren't able to talk Heero out of this down in the hangar, you won't be able to do so now." His expression then softened. "That being said, I'm sure Heero knows that you're worrying about him, though perhaps he may not be aware of the extent. I know he doesn't want to hurt you; everyone can see his devotion to you, just how much he truly loves you. What you need to do is show him that even though you're _very _worried about him and against the idea of this duel as a whole, you still want to understand what's driving him towards it. More importantly, you need to show him that you love him despite the misgivings you're feeling now; it's still safe to say you love him, isn't it?"

"Of course I love him!" Murrue snapped back, "That's why I'm so worried about him, why I'm so set against this!"

"I understand that," said Waltfeld, "and I think Heero does too… but it might also be causing him to have doubts."

"What do you mean?" asked Murrue.

"It's not about his own skill," said Waltfeld, "you and I both know that one thing Heero doesn't lack is confidence in his own abilities as a fighter. Nor is it about his desire for this duel; he's been quite clear that he wants it almost as much as Shemei does. What could be causing Heero to have doubts though is the fact that you're so worried about him, and that his decision to go through with this is the reason for it, that it's hurting you. No one can argue that it is, and again it's quite natural given your strong feelings for him."

_Am I talking to the Desert Tiger or Dr. Claudia?_, Murrue thought, _Waltfeld didn't strike me as the therapist type… _It struck her that the Desert Tiger may well have been speaking from personal experience. He'd been with Aisha for years, after all; surely they'd had their share of disagreements. The fact that theirs was also a relationship forged between two people who risked their lives on the battlefield gave further weight to that thought and his words.

"Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "what I'm trying to say is that I think Heero's concerned about whether or not his decision to go through with settling his score with the Valkyrie is right because of the pain he's causing you as a result. He sees Shemei's desire to get some closure on their rivalry, and because of his respect for her he reciprocates, but at the same time he also sees just how concerned you are for his safety, and he may feel that because of that… well, to put it bluntly he may think he's being cruel towards you, hurting you intentionally, despite the fact that we both know that's the last thing he would ever do."

Murrue nodded slowly, processing everything Waltfeld had said. It was true; despite her protests against him going through with the duel, Murrue knew that Heero wasn't insisting on it because he wanted to hurt her. He truly did love her; his devotion to her safety, her well-being, and her happiness was inhumanly powerful and selfless. However, here he was acting on a personal desire, a selfish one…

A _human _one.

Murrue's eyes widened as she came to a realization. _I've always praised Heero for his selflessness_, she thought, _It's one of the many, many reasons why I fell in love with him. He's put me before himself so many times, others before himself so many times… hell, he's hardly done anything for himself his entire life! Getting into a relationship with me was probably one of the few things Heero felt was selfish on his part, but he wanted to do it anyway; not just because it made _me _happy, but because it made _him _happy. I've encouraged him in the past to do things for himself… and this is one of them._ _His desire to duel Rehema, to settle things between him… it's one of those selfish desires, one of those _human _desires, and he's torn between that desire, the wish to follow his instincts, his emotions, and his devotion to _me_! _That's _the doubt Waltfeld's trying to explain! Heero's struggling with his selfless love for me and this one selfish desire, and he thinks that because he's following his emotions on that desire that he's being cruel, that he's deliberately hurting me… and that he doesn't deserve my love if he's doing so! That's absurd; I _know _he's not doing this to cause me pain, and he's probably hurting _himself _as much as he's unintentionally hurting me!_

It still didn't make Murrue any less upset over the coming duel, but already she felt she had gained little bit of that insight into Heero's current emotions that Waltfeld believed she needed.

"Waltfeld," she said slowly, "I… I think I understand, at least a little, what you want me to do. You're saying that when I ask Heero about his motivations, I need to be clear that, even though I don't agree with what he wants to do, I still love him, and that he still deserves my love."

"In a nutshell, yes," the Desert Tiger replied, nodding, "of course, there's more to it than that; you need to show Heero that you still have faith in his abilities even if you oppose the use he's about to put them to. Captain Ramius, with Heero and Shemei both fighting at their best in this manner, I don't believe either of them will die; victory will be decided by first blood drawn, after all, and that hardly requires a fatal wound, something that they're both well aware of. However, if Heero's doubting himself while he's fighting…"

Waltfeld let the unspoken part of that sentence hang in the air, and Murrue understood it perfectly. In a way, it was similar to why she and Heero had decided to confess to each other prior to the raid on the PLANTs; if either one of them felt doubts going into the operation, they would not be at their best, and it could get them killed. This was the same principle, though in this case Heero needed to be at his best out of concern for his life _and _that of his opponent.

Murrue nodded; she didn't need Waltfeld to spell out what would happen if Heero wasn't focused. His duel with the Valkyrie would be incredibly demanding, and the last thing Heero could afford was any sort of doubt holding him back. Murrue didn't have to like that Heero wanted this duel nor agree with it, but she did have to demonstrate her faith in his abilities… and her faith in _him_. His desire to settle his score with Shemei may have been unnecessary, misguided, and foolish… but it was also _human_. Murrue could at least recognize that, though it was entirely possible that Heero didn't, especially given how selfless he had been up until now; doing something for _himself _rather than for others was still a relatively new concept to him. Murrue knew that, while she disagreed with this selfish desire of Heero's, said desire was not _wrong_, at least not morally. She saw it as risky, reckless, and pointless… but just because Heero was following it did not make him bad. That was something _she _recognized… but it was something that she realized Heero might be having problems figuring out on his own.

_For so long he's been a master of the battlefield_, she thought, _but when it comes to his own heart, he still has much to learn. He may believe in acting on his emotions, but he's still trying to understand what some of them are… and that's something I have to show him is ok, is understandable, especially given what he's been through in his life._

Murrue knew what she had to do. She had to go and sit down with Heero, get him to talk about his motivations, discuss what was driving him to accept the final duel with the Valkyrie, so that both he _and _she would have a complete understanding of what was going through his heart and mind. Murrue did not have to endorse the duel, and she _would not_ do so… but at the same time, she had to make it clear to Heero that his actions, though foolish, were not morally wrong, that he was still the good man that she so dearly loved, and she had to show her faith in his abilities even if she disagreed with how they were about to be put to the test.

She looked up at the Desert Tiger. "Waltfeld… thank you. I have to go; Lieutenant Tsukino will coordinate our landing with the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_."

Waltfeld nodded and smiled. "Of course, Captain Ramius. Remember; give him a chance to explore his motivations, to explain his own feelings about all this… but don't be afraid to give him an earful, to show him the affect all this is having on you. After all… love is a two-way street."

Murrue smiled. "I will."

"Then I'll see you later," said Waltfeld, "_Eternal _out."

As the image on the screen shifted back to the Mendel colony and the debris field surrounding it, Murrue stood up and turned to her XO. "Lieutenant Tsukino, you have the bridge. There are some things I need to go discuss with Heero."

The black haired woman smiled. "Of course, Captain Ramius."

As she left the bridge Murrue felt a strange mix of nervousness and relief come over her. On the one hand, the coming conversation she would have with Heero would probably not be easy. However, it was one she realized, thanks in no small part to her talk with Waltfeld, that she and Heero needed to have. There had been a subtle tension between them since Heero and Shemei had made their decision to settle their score three days ago, one Murrue had initially chalked up to her own worry but she now knew had some of its roots within the Gundam pilot as well. They hadn't fought, though Murrue had pled with Heero to call off the coming fight, and as she had said to Waltfeld the Gundam pilot had been much gentler in refusing her request than he had the first time down in the hangar bay. It hadn't directly affected the _very_ warm welcome Murrue had given Heero as he'd 'officially' moved into her quarters that night… but it was hanging over them like a cloud on the horizon in an otherwise sunny day. It was something that they both needed to resolve, and Murrue had faith in their ability to do so.

_Since I fell in love with him_, she thought as she headed down the corridor towards the crew and officer quarters, _I believed that any obstacle we faced could be overcome together, and that belief, that _faith_, has only grown stronger since we became a couple. This tension we're both feeling due to the upcoming duel is simply one of those obstacles, just as the raid on the PLANTs was. Granted, this isn't an enemy we can fight but a divergence of views that we need to discuss. Still, that doesn't change the fact that we can find a way to come together on this, to truly understand each other's thoughts and feelings… especially since we're now openly a couple, now that we've finally confessed to each other our affection… our _love. _That love is more than capable of bridging this divide, of bringing us together in a mutual agreement on this issue. All we have to do is be honest with each other… and act on our emotions._

….

Once again dressed in his immaculate Sanc Kingdom Royal Guard uniform, Heero stood at the center of his quarters… or, to be more precise, his and Murrue's quarters. Just as his lover had desired, Heero had moved in with her the day of his return from the raid on the PLANTs. As the Captain's room it was naturally the largest bedroom on the ship, with just enough floor space for Heero to run through a limited practice session with his blade. It was something he would only do alone; if Murrue were in the cabin he wouldn't dare try it. Despite it being the largest quarters on the ship Murrue's room was still somewhat confined, and if both Heero and his lover were in it while he was practicing there was the very real chance that Heero could hurt her, and he _refused _to let that happen.

_No more than I am now, anyway_, he thought ruefully as he raised his blade and began the next stage of his practice session.

Keeping himself rooted in one place, the Gundam pilot initiated a series of blocks and parries, keeping the blade close to his body. It was a purely defensive style, designed to provide maximum coverage with minimum exertion on the part of the wielder, and a skilled practitioner could use it to wear down their opponent. Of course, if the attacker was skilled enough they could eventually work their way past even that tight of a defense, which was why Heero would not be relying on it exclusively during his coming duel with the Valkyrie. His blade-work during the fight would mirror the style he used with Wing Zero; a mix of hard-hitting offensive strikes combined with blocks and parries when the opponent seized the initiative. The current moves he was employing at the moment were perfect for the limited room of the quarters, and were mainly meant to help Heero get his blood flowing and his limbs loose; a warm-up routine. There was no sense in him wearing himself out before the duel, after all, especially given the nature of his foe.

The style was also largely reflexive to Heero; most of the moves involved in it were ones he'd done before and had been honed to the point that he could perform them by instinct, and combined with the non-existent footwork in his current routine it left his mind with plenty of room to think.

And think he did. About the coming duel, about his motivations for fighting it… and about Murrue.

The last one by far took up the most of his attention.

A small kind of tension had built up between them over the past few days, and Heero knew it was his fault. Murrue had been overjoyed to see him return safely to her from a mission that was without a doubt one of the deadliest he had ever undertaken… and mere minutes after she had so lovingly welcomed him back to the ship he had turned around and set himself up for another life-risking encounter, and one that was both tactically and strategically unnecessary at that. Heero had recognized that even before Murrue and Bristow had argued against the duel, as he knew Shemei had… but he had been unable to curb his desire to settle the score once and for all with the Valkyrie. Part of it was naturally due to his respect and admiration for the woman that had become his rival, but there was something more to it… something that even Heero was having trouble understanding. What he did feel was that it had little to do with his adversary and more to do with himself, with his life of near-constant battle, but he couldn't quite put his finger on exactly what it was.

What he did know was that his inability to truly put his feelings regarding his need for closure with the Valkyrie into words was a part of the subtle tension that had come between him and Murrue. It hadn't stopped Murrue from giving him a very… _passionate_ evening after their guests had been settled in and her shift had ended and he had moved his meager belongings into her quarters, nor had it stopped him from returning her fiery affection with his own. Her relief and joy at his survival combined with his own excitement born from coming back alive from such a dangerous mission and returning to the woman he loved, fulfilling his promise to her, had temporarily swept aside Murrue's concern regarding the upcoming duel, but in the time they had spent traveling from L5 to L4 Heero could feel it lingering between them. Several times Murrue had tried to gently persuade him to reconsider his feelings… and each time Heero had gently refused. It bothered him greatly to know that he was causing her to fear for him again, that he was hurting her heart, and he dearly wanted to sooth her anxiety, but at the same time the need to finish what he had started with the Valkyrie was incredibly strong, a force within his heart that nearly rivaled his powerful love for Murrue… and he couldn't entirely understand why.

_I swore to protect Murrue_, he thought, _not only that, but to do all I could to make her happy, to give her the love she deserves, and prove that _I _am worthy of _her _love. So why… why can I not stop myself from hurdling down this path even though I _know _it's causing her such stress? I've always tried to put her needs above my own, just as she deserves, as I should for the woman I love… so why can't I do it now?_

The admiration and respect alone that he felt towards the Valkyrie should not have been enough to drive him to seek out such a confrontation, especially if doing so hurt Murrue in any way. Heero was fully aware of that, and a part of him was disgusted with himself for being unwilling to just let the matter drop. Yet at the same time, a part of his mind was telling him that he _couldn't _just let this drop; he had to see it through to the end.

_It isn't just because I respect her abilities as a pilot_, he thought as he swung his blade in a series of tight, close blocks, _there's something more… and I think it has to do with that first fight… with the feelings it brought up within me._ _When we clashed over the sands of North Africa, I was reminded of my duels with Zechs… and that feeling has been present in each of our subsequent fights. _

Another person would've just chalked it up to nostalgia, and while Heero knew that was part of it, he also felt that it wasn't the whole truth of the matter. His battles with Zechs had taken place in a time when Heero had felt that his purpose was on the battlefield, was not struggling to move beyond it. However, his fights with the Valkyrie had occurred in a time where he _was _trying to move forward with his life, to find a new purpose beyond war and conflict.

_They're connected somehow_, he thought as he continued his routine, bringing the blade up high to deflect an imagined series of overhand attacks, _my duels with Rehema, the reminiscence of my fights with Zechs, and my struggle for a purpose before I fell for Murrue… they're all bound together like strands of fabric in a grand tapestry. I feel like if I could just pull my perspective back far enough I could see the real picture, what I'm really trying to do by finishing this rivalry with Rehema… so why can't I? What am I missing?_

He was broken out of his thoughts by a very familiar voice coming from outside the cabin door. "Heero? I'm coming in."

The Perfect Soldier wasted no time in lowering his blade, and was in the process of sheathing it as the door opened and the woman he loved walked in. As her eyes met his Heero once again marveled at the open affection he saw within them; it was all the more incredible in light of the worry he knew he was making her suffer, albeit unintentionally. A soft and warm smile was on her face as she moved towards him.

Heero nodded in greeting and gave her a small smile of his own, hoping it didn't look nervous. _How can she still show me such affection after the fear and anxiety I've been causing her these past few days?_, he thought, _How can she still let me stay here with her, share her cabin, her bed… how do I still hold her heart, her love?_

He forced himself to talk. "Murrue… is everything alright?"

He wanted to smack himself for asking such a stupid question; of course everything wasn't alright. Not in light of the difficulty he was causing her by being so stubborn about the duel… all the more so when even he was still trying to completely comprehend his own motives for wanting to go through with it.

However, Murrue did not chastise or ridicule him over his query, did not respond with any sarcastic retort or barb. Her smile remained on her face, though Heero could now detect a hint of strain to it, and he was sure that his foolish question had tugged at heartstrings that were already under a great deal of stress, had brought to the forefront her fears for his safety and the coming duel… if they weren't already what she was thinking of.

"We're on our final approach to the Mendel colony," she replied as the door closed behind her, "Lieutenant Tsukino will coordinate the landing with Waltfeld and Colonel Kisaka. We haven't taken any major impacts from objects in the debris field either; everything's going well so far."

Heero nodded. "That's… good to hear."

Murrue closed the gap between them and put her hand on his shoulder. "Heero," she said softly, "can we talk?"

Heero nodded slowly. "Yeah… I'd like that, actually."

"As would I," Murrue replied.

She moved over and sat down on the bed. Heero hesitated, not sure if he should join her or remain standing. Murrue responded by patting the spot to her left with her hand and giving him another soft smile. Taking her cue, Heero settled in beside her. The Gundam pilot felt his chest tighten in nervousness; he didn't know how to start what he was sure would be a very important conversation between them.

Fortunately for him, Murrue took the lead. "Heero," she said softly, "you know full well my objections to this duel with Ms. Rehema. I just can't see it as anything less than an unnecessary risk of your life, all the more so after what you went through to rescue her parents from Aprilius One. You came back to me after such a dangerous mission, only to turn around and set yourself up for another fight with your life on the line, and I just can't sit back and accept that! I _love you_, Heero, and it pains me whenever you risk your life in battle, but this is worse because I see no necessity for it. I know that you admire and respect her as a fellow pilot, and I can understand that… but what I _can't _understand is how that would drive you towards this duel… and I don't think it's the real motivation for you, either. Heero, I know you; you're not the kind of man that goes looking for a fight. I know you've spent most of your life on the battlefield, and in the past you believed your purpose was in combat… but it's not what you _want_. You told me yourself how you've been trying to find a purpose _away _from the battlefield… and how, through our bond, our relationship, I've given you that."

Heero nodded and looked down, unable to face her out of shame for the pain he knew he was causing her. "You have, Murrue," he said quietly, "Being with you, protecting you, _loving you_…_that's _the purpose I want in life. To stand by your side, to enjoy life with you, to make you happy… I want that far more than I do any battle. You're the reason I've stayed with the _Archangel_, the reason I've continued to fight in this war; I want to defend you, to help give you a world where you can live in peace, safety, and happiness. I want to experience that world with you, and I _know _that my purpose lies there, not on the battlefield."

He then felt Murrue put her hand on his shoulder, and heard her soft, gentle voice. "Heero; look at me. Please."

He did as she said, and as he did so he was surprised to see another soft smile on her face. "I _know _that's what you want," she said, "to be with me, to fight alongside me and protect me so we can survive this war and build a future together. I don't have a shred of doubt about that, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that it is also what _I _want. I know this because I love you, just as you love me." Her expression then became more serious as she continued. "I _know _that your true purpose lies away from the battlefield, that you don't want to feel alive only during a fight… which is another reason why I can't understand you seeking out this duel with Rehema."

She then turned towards Heero and put her both her hands on his shoulders, holding him gently but firmly. "Heero, I cannot support this fight… but that doesn't mean I can't support _you_. I am against this duel just as I was against you taking the lead role in the raid on the PLANTs, but I believe in you skills here just as I did then. I do not doubt that you can win… but I need to truly understand _why _you feel the need to fight this battle at all. The assault on Avalon may have been insanely risky, but there was also value to it, both tactically and strategically. Despite my opposition to the plan, I still understood the payoffs it had to it, the reasoning behind it. I knew that you saw it as well, and I could support you without hesitation because of that. Here, though, with this duel… it's not nearly as clear cut, Heero. There's no tactical or strategic value here, no gain for either you or Rehema beyond bragging rights, which are something I _know _you don't care about. Your desire to have this fight goes against your personality as I understand it. That being said, I know you have a serious motivation for doing this, a strong desire to resolve this rivalry you have with Rehema, and I think it goes deeper than the respect you have for her as a fellow pilot. Heero, I _have _to understand what that is before I can truly support you here… so I can truly believe in you despite the fears I hold in my heart for your safety."

Heero nodded. Every point his lover had brought up was entirely valid. However, coming up with an answer was another challenge for the Gundam pilot. Not only was he still struggling to figure out what his true motivation was for seeking such closure on his rivalry with Rehema, but there was still the shame he felt at putting her through the worry and pain she had now openly given voice to.

After a moment of struggling for words, Heero decided he'd start with the apology he knew he owed her.

"Murrue," he said as he looked at her, "I'm sorry, I truly am; the last thing I want is to cause you _any _kind of pain… and I knew when you first voiced your opposition to my duel with Rehema down in the hangar three days ago that I was once again putting in your heart the same fear and worry that the attack on Avalon did. I _knew _I was hurting you in going along with Rehema, in insisting on settling our score… and I did it anyway. I've done it for the past three days, hurting you all the while… I'm sorry. I'd understand if you couldn't forgive me, if you…"

"Don't," said Murrue, and Heero's eyes widened at her firm tone, "don't even _think _of finishing that sentence, Heero! Heero, I _know _that you would _never _act to cause me pain, not intentionally! Even down in the hangar when we first argued about the duel, even in my distress, I could see your confliction. As you said, you _knew _that your desire to settle your score with the Valkyrie was causing me distress and heartache, as it has for the past three days… but I _know _that you would never try to hurt me like that on purpose! You've always been so devoted to me, so _selfless _towards me… and that's how I could tell just how strong your desire to have this duel with Rehema was. Something in your heart and mind is pushing you towards this fight, and I believe it is far more powerful than the simple admiration and respect you have for her as a fellow pilot and soldier. You're acting on a selfish impulse, one that I don't understand… but one I _want _to understand, Heero! For so long you've fought for everyone but yourself. In your old world it was the colonists, the people of the Earth Sphere, your friends, and in this one it's been me, the other friends you've made, and the countless people that are threatened by the genocidal intentions of ZAFT and the Alliance. Not once in all that time have you fought for _yourself_. You, more than anyone else, have earned the right to be selfish for once in your life… but I want to understand the reason _why_. Why does it have to be on this issue, and in this manner?"

"Heero," she continued, "_I love you_. Despite the anxiety, fear, and pain your desire to settle this score with Rehema has sown in my heart, that does not change the fact that you are the person I hold dearest to me, the man I would give _anything _to protect and be with. You have _earned _that love a thousand times over, and are far more worthy of it than any other man I've ever met or ever will. Your desire to fight Rehema, and the fear I've suffered because of it, has not changed that in the least; it _never _could. I love you, which is why I'm so set against you putting your life in danger in a fight that I feel is unnecessary… but at the same time, I can see clearly that you _do _feel that it is a fight you _need _to have. Please, help me understand _why_. I may not be able to support this fight, but I want to support _you_, especially since you feel so strongly about this."

"Murrue…" said Heero softly, completely blown away by her words.

For the past three days he'd been mercilessly berating himself in his head for putting Murrue through such fear and pain, telling himself that he didn't deserve the incredible love she'd so eagerly given him. Now, here she was, on the day that his final duel with his rival was to take place… the fight that was the source of her distress, the match that he had insisted on… and not only was she reaffirming her love for him, but telling him that he wasn't any less worthy of that love now than he had been the moment he had confessed his feelings to her.

_She's… amazing_, he thought as he looked at her, at a loss for what to say, _After what I've put her through the past three days… she still loves me. Even after the fear and heartache I've caused her, she still cares so deeply for me, and even though she's against the duel, she still wants to support me when I go up against Rehema._

Murrue then smiled and leaned in to kiss him. It lasted only a second, but to Heero the very fact that she was doing that was simply incredible. As their lips parted their eyes met again, and Murrue removed her hands from Heero's shoulders and instead grabbed his right hand with her left.

"Heero," she said as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "I want to know why you feel this way. Please, tell me."

After a moment the Gundam pilot nodded; she deserved that much, and definitely more. The only problem was that he was still coming to grips with those very motivations that Murrue wanted to know.

"Alright," said Heero, "however… I'm not entirely sure how to explain it myself. You were right in that it goes deeper than my respect for Rehema as a pilot… but I'm still having trouble figuring out how to describe it."

Murrue nodded. "I thought as much. When we've spoken about this before, you did not elaborate much on your reasoning beyond your admiration for her skills and her own respect for you. It sounded half-hearted to me at the time, but I could also tell that you weren't being dishonest with me. Those factors played a part in your reasoning… but they weren't what were truly driving you. You… you were still looking for the main reason yourself, weren't you?"

"Yeah," said Heero, "I felt bad giving you the answers I did, but… I was still trying to comprehend my own feelings, and I didn't have anything else to give you at the time. I'm sorry. I wasn't about to lie to you, but at the same time I couldn't give you a real answer because _I _didn't know what that answer really was."

"It's alright, Heero," said Murrue, "Do you remember that day when we were traveling over the Red Sea, and we were out on the observation deck looking at the sunset?"

Heero nodded, and he couldn't help but smile slightly; it was a treasured memory, one he could never forget. "At the time I was still worried about finding my place in the world, a purpose beyond the battlefield. I hadn't felt as though I'd made any progress… and you convinced me to ease up on it, to slow down and take my time."

"Yes," said Murrue, "I also told you that sometimes the hardest questions to answer are those that have to do with ourselves. For many people the thing that is the most difficult to truly comprehend is one's own heart… and that is the challenge I know you are having right now. Heero, it's perfectly alright to struggle to comprehend your own motivations, and I know you've spent the past three days thinking about them. Normally I'd tell you to take all the time you need… but I know that once we've landed and made sure the immediate area surrounding our ships is secure, you and Rehema will want to get your duel underway. Heero, you _can't _fight against her if you're not a hundred percent sure as to _why _you're doing so. You'll doubt yourself during the duel… and that could well be your undoing. It could lead to your death, Heero, and I _refuse _to let that happen, especially now that we've finally become a couple!"

Heero nodded. "I know, Murrue," he said softly, "Believe me, I'm well aware of the consequences if I go into such a fight with any kind of doubts, and I have been giving this matter serious thought. I think I'm close, I just… I'm not entirely sure how to describe it."

"Well," said Murrue, smiling, "why don't you start with what you do know? You may not be completely sure what the true force that is driving you towards this duel is, but from what you just told me you must at least have some suspicions, or clues of some kind. Start with those, and together we can work this out."

Heero gave her a small smile in return. "Yeah… you're right."

He then closed his eyes for a moment, doing his best to put his jumbled thoughts into some semblance of order. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and met Murrue's gaze as he began speaking.

"Murrue," he said, "since I came to this world I've been trying to find a purpose for myself beyond the battlefield; that you're well aware of. As my feelings for you grew, evolved from just a strong friendship into actual romantic affection, I slowly came to realize that the purpose I was looking for was to protect you and be by your side, to be in a loving relationship with you. It's been that way since I realized that I was in love with you."

"I'm certainly pleased to hear that," said Murrue, surprising him by leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, "but how does that relate to your desire to settle your score with Rehema?"

"It doesn't directly," Heero replied, "at least, not my love for you. However, when Rehema and I first fought… back then I was still adrift, if you will… still trying to find my purpose in life, trying to understand why the Zero System wanted me to come to this world. I knew I wanted to move beyond the battlefield, but I did not know my exact destination… and at the time, I still felt a sense of fulfillment in combat. Fighting to protect the _Archangel_, working together with you, Kira, La Flaga… it reminded me of my days on board the _Peacemillion_, fighting alongside my fellow Gundam pilots and our allies as we tried to bring our own war to an end. It made me feel nostalgic, I guess… it reminded me of the purpose I'd once thought was the only one I'd ever have; to be a soldier."

Murrue nodded slowly. "I… I suppose I can see that, but… Heero, you can't expect me to believe that your desire to finish this rivalry with Rehema is based on nostalgia!"

Heero shook his head. "I don't, Murrue, and it is not. What our duels reminded me of, though… it does play a part in all this."

"How so?" asked Murrue.

"Fighting Rehema," said Heero, "it reminded me of the multiple dues I'd had with Zechs Merquise over the course of my last war. Our first meeting was a very brief fight during my initial descent to Earth in the Wing Gundam, and I swiftly destroyed the squad he was operating with, but he survived… and from what I was able to gather later on, my performance in that battle had left an impression on him, though at the time I did not care or even know who he was; his survival in that fight was unexpected, but given my own objectives I did not give it much thought."

He closed his eyes for a second, his mind drifting back to the past.

"In our second fight," Heero continued after opening his eyes, "he was flying the Tallgeese, and had trained to do so specifically to fight me. At the time, I still didn't know who he was, nor did I care. All I saw in front of me was a skilled foe in a strong mobile suit, and I was determined to defeat it and continue with my mission. That fight ended in a draw… though not for conventional reasons."

"You told me about that," said Murrue, and Heero was taken aback by how her voice had suddenly become hushed. As he looked at her he saw a haunted expression on her face. "OZ had taken the colonies hostage during your duel," she continued, "and demanded that you surrender your Gundam. Rather than do that…"

Heero nodded. "Yes… I self-detonated the Wing Gundam. I had my orders; my Gundam was not to fall into the hands of OZ and the Alliance, and I carried out those orders. My own survival was not a concern… both to those behind Operation Meteor and myself." He then gave Murrue a small smile, and hoped it would lift her spirits at least a little bit. "My sense of self-worth has greatly evolved since then, Murrue."

"Something I'm well aware of, Heero… and _very _grateful for," she replied, and she surprised him by once again leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Still," she said as their mouths parted, "knowing that you once held so little concern for your own life… I feel awful just thinking about it, Heero."

"I'm sorry," said Heero, "I didn't mean to…"

Murrue shook her head and gave his hand a squeeze. "I know, Heero. Please, continue."

Heero nodded. "Our battle in Siberia… to me it was just another mission up until Lady Une interrupted my fight with the Tallgeese. I was focused on my objective, the battle, and nothing else; my personal feelings were held in restraint, as they should be during an engagement. Even in this world, that hasn't changed for the most part; though I may fight to protect you, Murrue, I still keep my emotions in check… with Orb being the standout exception."

Murrue nodded, and Heero saw a slight shudder run through her. "Yes… I remember that all too clearly."

_No doubt_, thought Heero, feeling a pang of guilt at the pain he knew he had put her through when he had succumbed to his rage, his desire to avenge the betrayal of Murrue at Alaska by the Alliance, and ripped a bloody swath through their forces in a Zero-System guided rampage.

"Anyway," Heero continued, "for the most part, my mental state in my battle with Zechs in Siberia the same as it had been throughout my campaign; focused on my mission and defeating my enemy. That being said, I did note his capabilities. He was a formidable opponent; the strongest enemy I'd come across at that point… the strongest I would fight throughout our war."

Pausing for a moment to put a few thoughts in order in his head, Heero then spoke again. "As I told you back in North Africa, sometime after I survived the self-detonation of the Wing Gundam an associate of Zechs, Lucrezia Noin, tracked down me and the Gundam pilot I was traveling with, Trowa Barton."

"Yes," said Murrue, "you said she brought you to a secret base in Antarctica, where Zechs had rebuilt your original Gundam… and that he sought to do battle with you there, to finish the fight that had been interrupted by OZ's threat against the colonies."

Heero could not help but give her a small smile; her memory was truly remarkable. _Perhaps it's due to her feelings for me_, he mused, _back in North Africa, she dearly wanted to learn about my past, and she has clearly held onto the memory of the conversation we had that night when we took our dinner out into the dunes. All these months later, she still recalls such details, and so readily… perhaps it's because of her devotion to me, both as a friend and a lover._

His expression became more serious as he continued. "If you remember that much, then you must also recall that I refused Zechs' charity; I did not pilot the rebuilt Wing Gundam, though that was his wish. However… I did not refuse his challenge either, and instead fought him in Trowa's Gundam, Heavyarms."

"I do remember you saying that," Murrue replied, "Heero, how is does your fight at Antarctica relate to our present situation… to your desire to settle this score with Rehema?"

"It's complicated," said Heero, looking down for a moment, "how it all ties together… that's what I've been thinking about over these past three days. Even now… I'm still not entirely sure how to put it into words."

Murrue released her hold on his hand and put her own on his shoulder. She then gave him a comforting smile. "Take your time, Heero. I'll stay here for as long as it takes you to figure out how to describe it… and I'll help in any way I can."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Thanks."

He took a few more seconds to think before continuing. "Murrue, that duel at Antarctica… it wasn't a fight I _had _to take part in. It had no tactical or strategic importance with regards to our struggle against the Alliance and OZ. More to the point, I could've refused Zechs' challenge; I wasn't under threat from him or Noin, nor were they using the reconstructed Wing Gundam as collateral against me. I had no logical reason to accept his challenge… but I did so anyway."

"Why?" asked Murrue.

"I think part of it was because I didn't want to owe him," Heero replied, "When Trowa recovered me after I self-detonated my Gundam, Zechs was still there, in the Tallgeese. He could've attacked Trowa and attempted to capture or kill me, if he believed that I was still alive after that explosion… but he let Trowa go. Noin told me later that it was because he respected both my skills and my resolve far too much to finish me off in such a manner; he wanted to beat me fairly. By accepting his challenge in Antarctica even if I refused to accept his charity by not using the Wing Gundam, I felt as though I was settling my obligation to him for letting Trowa and I go back in Siberia."

Murrue nodded. "That makes sense… but was that all there was to your reasoning there, Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier shook his head while at the same time marveling at her perception; she saw through to the heart of matters so clearly. "Not entirely. Settling that debt was my main reason… but in the back of my mind, I also felt a sense of respect for the man, stemming from both his actions after I blew up my Gundam and before, during our duel. I could tell that he was on my level, the level of a Gundam pilot… and a small part of me wanted to see just who was better. I'm not naturally competitive, Murrue; things such as being the strongest mobile suit pilot don't mean much to me. However… my duels with Zechs came at a point in my life where I felt that my purpose was on the battlefield. I did not like it or hate it; it was simply how I saw my place in the world. That being said… a small part of me felt fulfilled in fighting him. I did not actively seek out our battles, did not hunger for them the way Zechs did… but neither did I turn them down."

"You respected him too much for that," said Murrue.

"Partially, yes," Heero replied, "but our battles were also driven by circumstances; don't forget, we never truly fought on the same side. The closest we came to that was after our duel in the Sanc Kingdom and we swapped mobile suits, and even then I just used Wing Zero to attack Romefeller's fleet while Zechs went off on his own in the Epyon. After that I battled him as an enemy of White Fang and their Artemis Revolution, to stop him from following the path that Epyon's Zero System had shown him." He then gave a small chuckle. "Ironically enough, it was due in no small part to what Epyon showed Zechs that true peace in my world was finally obtained. That's beside the point though; it doesn't factor into our current conversation. However, my duels with Zechs do… more specifically, how they relate to my fights with Rehema."

"And how is that?" asked Murrue.

"As I said before," Heero replied, "my duels with Rehema reminded me of my clashes with Zechs during my last war. We were on opposite sides, fighting for our own reasons… and had encountered someone that could engage us on our own level. I respect Rehema for that, as you already know… but what really affected me was how it reminded me of my last rivalry."

"That can't be all there is to it, though," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing.

Heero shook his head. "No, it's not. Remember what I told you earlier about my first two clashes with Rehema… about where I was in my life at the time, with regards to my search for a purpose?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes. Back then, you were still well into your search… and we were just good friends. Your feelings for me had begun to evolve beyond that during the latter part of our stay in North Africa, but it would still be quite some time before you realized what they truly were… that you were falling in love with me."

"Yes," said Heero, meeting her gaze, "falling in love with you… and making you my purpose for living and fighting in this world. During my first two clashes with the Valkyrie though, you and I were just friends, and while I did want to protect you, that wasn't the only reason I fought Rehema, fought alongside you and the rest of the _Archangel_'s crew. Back then… I still felt a measure of fulfillment on the battlefield, thanks in no small part to how my duels with Rehema reminded me of my clashes with Zechs in my last war."

"I suppose I can see that," said Murrue, "At that time, when you were fresh from your world and new to ours, when you were still far from certain on what you wanted your new purpose in life to be… I guess I can understand you finding that sense of fulfillment in a fight with Rehema, especially if it reminded you of your duels with Zechs."

Heero nodded. "Yes… but Murrue, that's not the purpose I want anymore, you know that. I don't _want _to feel fulfilled only when I'm in a fight. I want to get away from that, truly move beyond it. Falling in love with you, getting into a relationship with you… _that_, more than anything else, showed me that I _can _find a purpose beyond the battlefield… that I _have _found it, in my love and devotion to you. With you I _do _feel fulfilled… but so long as my score with Rehema remains unsettled, I can't completely break away from who I used to be; I can't completely turn the page on the part of my life that revolved solely around the battlefield. _That's _what this is about."

Heero sighed. "Murrue, my rivalry with Rehema reminds me of my rivalry with Zechs… and I can feel it anchoring me to my old life, when my purpose was only to fight. During our first two clashes over the dunes of North Africa, the feeling of purpose I got in that battle was fresh, powerful. In our most recent battle, though, that feeling was muddled and weak. That was because I had made protecting you, standing by your side, and making you happy my reasons for living. I was glad that my feelings had come so far since I had first come to this world, that I had grown so much, and I was glad that the sense of fulfillment I got when fighting Rehema had weakened so much when compared to our first clashes… but it was still there, and _that _is the problem."

He saw Murrue's eyes widen in comprehension as she came to the same conclusion that Heero had been working towards throughout the conversation… the same conclusion he had been unable to adequately put into words.

"I get it now," she said softly, "I get it… you're trying to get rid of that feeling, that sense of purpose your rivalry with Rehema, and how it's reminded you of your old rivalry with Zechs, has given you. By closing the books on this rivalry, by engaging her in this final fight, just as you did Zechs during the last battle of the Eve Wars… you can turn the page on that chapter of your life; you can move on."

Heero smiled slightly. "Yes, Murrue. When I finished my duel with Zechs in my last war… I turned a corner. The part of me that cared nothing for my own life… it died in our final battle. I did not know what the future would hold for me, but I knew that I wanted to survive and see what it would bring. The main purpose of my final fight with Zechs was so I could stop the falling section of the _Libra _from impacting the Earth… but in the process I'd grown and entered a new phase of my life, one where I felt that my survival actually had meaning, one where I truly _wanted _to live. Closing the books on my rivalry with Rehema… I feel like it will have a similar affect. In this case though, what it will end is my finding a purpose on the battlefield; I'll be rid of that feeling for good."

"Murrue," he continued, "the _only _reasons I want to fight are to protect you and the people of the Cosmic Era… of my new world. I don't _want _to find purpose in fighting just for the adrenaline rush or the excitement, or because it's all I've ever known; I want the purpose of my fighting to be defending the woman I love, and the people she and I care about."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly, and the Gundam pilot swore he saw a hint of red flash across her cheeks.

The two of them were quiet for a moment before Heero spoke again. "I need to do this, Murrue. I have to settle this score with Rehema so I can close that last page on my old life… and truly begin my new one with you. I need to completely purge that feeling of fulfillment I used to get from being in a fight… and the only way I can do that is to finish this rivalry with Rehema, and to do it with everything I've got. That's why I couldn't accept Bristow's proposal for a simulator match; I can only go all out if there's risk involved. I don't know Rehema's reasons for doing so… but that's mine. I'm sorry for the fear, stress, and pain the prospect of this fight causes you; believe me, the _last _thing I want is to hurt you in any way. Still… I have to do this, Murrue."

The beautiful Captain nodded. "Alright, Heero. I still don't like this fight, I still don't support it… but I support _you_." She gave him a soft smile. "I understand now why this is so important to you, Heero."

She then leaned forward and kissed him. As their lips parted she spoke again. "I believe in you, Heero," she said softly, still smiling, "I believe in your abilities, your strength… and I believe in your survival and triumph. I don't endorse this duel, but I believe that you can win it… and that you'll come back to me again."

The Perfect Soldier nodded and returned her smile. A warm feeling was spreading through him, and he knew it was because he and his lover had reached the understanding that they'd needed to. The tension that had grown between them over the past three days was fading away… and he would banish it for good.

"Murrue," he said, taking her hand in his, "I swear that this will be the _last _time I engage in a fight like this. No matter what happens in the future, I _promise _that I won't engage in any further unnecessary battles. No rivalries, no grudge matches; the only reasons I'll fight will be to protect you, our friends and allies, and the people of this world… of _our _world. I know that you fear for my safety whenever I go into a fight, and it means a lot to me that you care for me so much, but I also can see the pain that causes you, and I want to do all I can to keep you from suffering that heartache. I'm aware that I can't completely stop you from feeling it, of course; I'm sure we still have plenty of battles left to fight before this war is over. However, I can reduce that pain by only engaging in necessary engagements, and that I'll do. No matter what happens in my fight with Rehema today, win, lose, or draw… it will be the _last _duel of its kind that I engage in. Any more one-on-one fights will only occur against the enemy; this is the last time I fight an ally, and definitely the last time I engage in a fight for my own selfish reasons."

It was a vow he was determined to keep. Murrue had made perfectly clear the stress she was under due to his insistence on fighting Rehema in this manner, and Heero had hated knowing that he was causing her that kind of pain. _Never again_, he thought to himself, _I will _never _do this again! Murrue deserves far better than that, and I'm going to give it to her; I'm going to do all I can to be the man that's _worthy _of her love, and that means doing everything in my power to spare her pain._

His lover's response to his vow was swift and decisive, and took Heero completely off guard. The beautiful Captain lunged forward, taking him into a fierce embrace and a fiery kiss. Her forward momentum was so strong that it knocked Heero back, and it was only by good fortune that his back hit the bed rather than the floor. The Gundam pilot may have been taken by surprise by Murrue's enthusiastic response, but he very quickly got a hold of himself and returned her passion, pulling her close to him as the kiss continued.

Eventually the two lovers parted to breath, though they kept each other in their embrace. Murrue smiled down at the Perfect Soldier. "Heero…" she said softly, "_thank you_."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome, Murrue… and thank you. Talking things out like this… it helped give me the perspective and insight I couldn't reach by myself."

"I thought as much," said Murrue, "and you are most welcome, Heero. Please, any time you need help understanding your feelings, do not hesitate to come to me. Like I told you before, sometimes the hardest questions to answer are those that have to do with ourselves. Often we find that our own hearts can be harder to understand than anything else. When that time comes, I've always believed it helps to have someone to talk to. Someone you trust and care for… and, ideally, someone who loves you."

The Gundam pilot smiled slightly. "You know, you're pretty good at helping me sort out my feelings. I bet you'd be a good psychologist. You could probably give Dr. Claudia a run for her money."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Murrue replied, her face flushing at Heero's praise, "I took a basic psychology course as an elective credit back in college, and I did well in the class, but I never seriously considered going into that field of study."

"I think you would've been great at it," said Heero, letting go of her with his right arm and bringing it around to caress her cheek, "you really have a knack for understanding the feelings of others. That being said, I'm glad you chose the path you did. Otherwise… I might never have met you."

"Same here, Heero," said Murrue, "the road I've traveled to get here, with you, has been long and difficult… but it was worth every second of it. Every hardship, every tragedy… they're all more than offset by being with you, by loving you."

Heero nodded. "I feel the same way. All I went through in my old world, my last war, and all that I've done here… it brought me to you. It helped me get closer to you, fall in love with you… and that made everything worth it. I would endure it all again in a heartbeat if it meant that I could be with you, Murrue."

His lover responded by leaning down again to kiss him. It was brief, but to Heero the feeling of her warm, moist lips pressing against his was absolutely phenomenal, regardless of how long the contact lasted.

As their mouths parted Murrue spoke softly to him. "I'm behind you all the way, Heero. Fight like I know you can, and I _know _you'll triumph today. I believe in you, Heero. I love you."

Heero gave her a small smile. "I love you too, Murrue. Thank you for understanding… thank you for everything."

"You are most welcome, my love," she replied, returning his smile.

….

Her blade danced through the air like a thing possessed, and Shemei lamented that her body could not do so as well in the confined space of the quarters she and Eric shared. While the quarters the two of them had been given were designed for high-ranking officers and thus had more room available than standard crew accommodations, that did not change the fact that they were ill suited to an activity as physical as swordplay. As thus her footwork was kept to the bare minimum, and the Valkyrie focused her blade work on small, precise cuts. It was hardly a fraction of what she was truly capable of, but she had no intention of going all out before her big showdown with Heero. Her long, flowing dark purple hair was once again tied up in a ponytail so that it would not get in the way of her blade, and her breathing was faster than normal, though she was nowhere near tired; she had no intention of wearing herself out before the big fight. This was simply a warm-up routine, though it was still much more limited than she would've liked it to be.

_Can't be helped_, she thought, initiating a series of mid-level thrusts, _as advanced as the Archangel may be, it still suffers from one of the principle limitations of all modern space-born warships; a lack of complete artificial gravity. Just like ZAFT ships, what little they can muster is limited to the crew quarters. It's only natural, of course; ensuring that the crew is well-rested is vital to the functioning of a warship, and that goes double for us when one considers just how vastly outnumbered we are in this conflict. Almost the entire Earth Sphere is arrayed against us, though matters are somewhat alleviated by the fact that the Alliance and ZAFT are mainly focused on fighting each other. Still, no denying that we have set ourselves up for one daunting campaign._

The thought of challenging both of the world's super powers to battle in a conflict with unimaginable stakes made the Valkyrie both nervous and excited. One the one hand, the price of failure could well be the death of the entire human race, or at least a very large segment of it. Over nine billion lives, Coordinator and Natural, were riding on the shoulders of Shemei and her friends, and there was no small amount of pressure inherent in that knowledge. The odds stacked against the Three Ships Alliance were nigh-incalculably long, and even one as prone to flipping off probability as the Valkyrie had to take a long, hard look at the cold facts of the matter.

However, despite the enormity of the task that she and her friends had taken upon themselves, Shemei could not help but get a rush at the prospect of the enormous forces arrayed against them. While she by no means enjoyed the killing that was an inherent part of her duties as a pilot and soldier, the Valkyrie had long ago embraced the adrenaline rush that came with putting her life on the line. The more she cheated the Grim Reaper, the better, and taking on both the Alliance and ZAFT promised to more than fulfill that urge.

_I've always been a thrill seeker_, she thought as she smoothly transitioned into a series of low slashes, _That's why I got into fencing back in my days at Cairo University, and why I got back into it when we moved to the PLANTs, not to mention why I upped the ante by throwing myself into underground dueling._

Her desire for excitement had also played a role in her becoming a pilot, though it had not been all of it. Shemei had been greatly motivated to join ZAFT out of a desire to protect her parents and their newfound home. The PLANTs had accepted them when it had seemed as though everyone in their native land was out to kill them, and the Valkyrie had seen joining the nation's fledgling military as a way of paying off a debt. The adrenaline rush that came with being a combat pilot was a bonus to her.

_I truly did love my new country_, she mused as she swept her blade up, moving into a sequence of vertical strikes, _and had its rulers not decided to walk the same path of blood as those that sought to destroy us, I would've stayed with ZAFT. I'm sure Eric, Waltfeld, and Aisha would've done the same. We were all loyal to the idea of the PLANTs being the home of our people, free from those on Earth that wanted us wiped out… but at the same time, we also understood that those who wanted to exterminate us were in the minority, and we did not wish to return the genocidal fervor of the extremists in Blue Cosmos and its affiliate organizations. We simply wanted to protect our homes, our people, and our loved ones. Then the radical faction grew in power, in both the military and political sphere… and now both are held in the iron fist of Patrick Zala. All our advanced science, all our sophisticated technology, and all the advanced strength, speed, and mental processing power that comes with being a Coordinator… it's all being twisted and corrupted, forged into a weapon aimed at billions of innocent people. We were a people born of cutting-edge breakthroughs in genetic engineering, blessed by mankind's scientific progress… and now the radicals are turning us into a pack of murderers. _

While Shemei was very grateful for the gifts that came with being a Coordinator, she was not arrogant about it. Her viewpoint on her own people was much the same as the one touted by the late Siegel Clyne and his supporters; they were simply humans modified by science, no more and no less. The moderate faction flat out rejected the notion that the Coordinators were a newly evolved species, a stark contrast to those in the radical faction who had embraced the idea that Coordinators were the genetic destiny of the human race, a new and superior form of life.

_We are not better than the Naturals_, she thought as she smoothly transitioned to a sequence of mid-level parries, _merely different. Our minds may be able to process large quantities of information more quickly, but that does not make us smarter, no matter how much Zala and his ilk claim otherwise. We are not perfect people; we stumble, we make mistakes. We are as flawed as any natural-born human, and that's _fine_. Imperfection is part of what makes being human so special. We have the capacity to make mistakes, and then learn from them, improve ourselves for the better. It's a gift that's shared by both Naturals and Coordinators, and it's a pity the radicals can't see that. Arrogance and hatred have blinded them to that simple truth… as they have to so many others._

Shemei then shook her head; there was no sense in musing on the prejudices of the regime that now ruled the PLANTs, nor on how Naturals and Coordinators were not nearly as different as both the radicals and the Earth Alliance's Blue Cosmos proclaimed them to be. It made for an interesting exercise in contemplation, but right now she had something far more important to focus on, at least in her mind; her upcoming duel with Heero Yuy.

She smiled as she thought of the impending clash, which she suspected was now mere hours away, quite possibly less. _Going at it like this, old school_, she mused, _it wasn't exactly how I imagined we'd settle our score. And yet… I wouldn't have it any other way. There's still the aspect of danger involved, but our chances of killing each other are much more reduced than they would be if we went all out in our mobile suits. That's good; much as I may want to fight Heero, I don't want to kill him, and I'd certainly like to avoid dying at his hand._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice coming from outside the door. "Shemei?" said Eric, "I'm coming in."

"Alright," she replied, lowering and sheathing her blade.

She turned around and smiled as the door slid open, revealing her lover in all his rugged, handsome glory. He was once again dressed in his dark blue flight suit, and his thick black hair was slightly disheveled. There was a black grease stain along his left cheek, and Shemei figured it had come from performing maintenance on the GuAIZ Werewolf; though her lover trusted the _Archangel_'s mechanics, he also enjoyed tinkering on his machine. There were also a few dark streaks along the sleeves and chest area of the flight suit, further reinforcing her conclusion. Sweat matted his brow, and there was a small cut on his right cheek, with a thin trickle of blood flowing from it.

She raised a hand to her mouth, trying and failing to suppress a giggle. "I thought you were a Field Marshal, not a grease monkey," she teased Eric as the door closed behind him.

Her lover smirked. "Technically speaking, I'm no longer the former; I'm sure Zala terminated my commission immediately after our raid on the PLANTs, not to mention put an execution order out on my head. As for the latter, you know I've always had a little technical side to me; comes with the territory when your family has a major stake in one of the government's chief weapon design and manufacturing companies."

"Yeah, I know," she replied, walking up to him. Not caring in the least how dirty he was, she put her arms over his shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss. She knew some of the grease would rub off on her ZAFT uniform, but it didn't bother her; she had little concern for the uniform of the military that had lowered itself into becoming the tool of the regime that had taken her parents hostage.

As she pulled back she brought her left hand up to the cut on her lover's right cheek. "What happened here?" she asked.

"I got careless," said Eric, wincing, "I was checking the hydraulic lines in the Werewolf's right arm. I was trying to shift a bundle of wires out of my way to get a better look when one of them snapped out of its socket and lashed me. I got lucky; a little higher and I'd be shopping for an eye patch right about now. Anyway, figured I'd let the mechanics take it from there, so I came up here."

"Hang on a second," said Shemei. Pulling away from her lover, she went to the quarter's private washroom and ran water over a towel. She then brought it out and pressed it to Eric's cheek.

"And here I always thought you were the cautious type," she teased as she cleaned the cut, "always with a plan, always making sure your blind spots were covered… and you get hurt by your own mobile suit."

"It's just a scratch," Eric replied, smiling slightly at her playful mockery.

"And it would be a shame if it got infected," said Shemei, smirking, "the feared Wolf of the Far East, laid up in the infirmary from a scratch acquired from performing maintenance on his machine… you'd never live that down."

"Not with you, Waltfeld, and Aisha around, I wouldn't," chuckled Eric.

It was another thing Shemei adored about the man; he was always ready and willing to role with the punches, both in and out of battle. Any teasing she and her friends could dish out, he always took in stride. _Good natured, witty, relaxed, and more than willing to engage in a little self-deprecation_, she mused as wiped Eric's cheek, _just a few of the qualities I love about you, dear._

"There," said Shemei, handing the wet towel off to Eric, "a little better. Keep up the pressure for a couple more minutes and you won't even need a bandage."

"I'm a soldier too, Shemei," said Eric, an amused expression on his face, "I can take care of myself."

"You sure about that, lover boy?" Shemei teased, "You've been stuck doing paperwork in the PLANTs for the past few months, if I recall. Do even remember how to hold a gun, Field Marshal?"

"Again, that's ex-Field Marshal. I wasn't there by choice, you know that Shemei," Eric replied, smirking, "besides, I managed to stay productive and get my hands dirty even with all that deskwork. In fact, I seem to recall a certain someone worrying that all my extra-curricular activities might put me in danger…"

A slight flush went to the Valkyrie's face as she recalled what her lover was talking about; her fears for his safety when he had been passing information to the moderate faction while working on the Defense Council. The risks Eric had put himself through on their behalf had served as a significant push for Shemei's feelings for him, helping her realize that she was falling in love with him.

"As for my combat skills," Eric continued, bringing her thoughts back to the present, "I think I handled myself pretty well in our little tussle with the ZAFT Home Fleet, not to mention Aprilius One's interior forces."

Shemei couldn't help but give him a warm, genuine smile, and she leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "No arguing there, dear," she said softly, "you were spectacular."

This time it was her lover's turn to blush slightly. "I'm not sure if I'd go that far," he said, "I can hold my own in a fight, but I don't hold a candle to you or Heero."

"Still, don't sell yourself short," Shemei replied, running her hand through Eric's thick black hair, "much as I love your modesty, dear, I wouldn't mind you taking a little more credit for your skills and achievements, of which, I might add, you have many. You were in top form in that battle, Eric; don't doubt that for a minute."

She then looked down for a moment, a shiver running down her spine as an unpleasant thought crossed her mind. "If you hadn't hit Charon when you did, bought time for Heero to get into the colony… my parents might not be alive right now." Shemei turned to meet her lover's gaze again. "You may not have been the one to extract them, but that doesn't change the fact that you saved my parents' lives just as much as Heero did. _Thank you_, Eric."

The former ZAFT Field Marshal nodded. "Anytime, Shemei."

The smile on his face then faltered, prompting concern from the Valkyrie. "Eric? What's the matter?"

The Wolf of the Far East sighed. "Shemei… my little mishap down in the hangar wasn't the real reason I came up here. Can we… can we talk for a minute?"

Shemei was about to reply that they were doing that now, but the seriousness in her boyfriend's tone was enough to make her realize that the situation was no longer appropriate for humor. She had a feeling what it was he wanted to talk about too.

"Sure," she replied. She moved towards the bed and sat down, with her boyfriend settling in on her left.

"Let me guess," she said, "this is about the duel, right?"

Eric nodded. "I… I've wanted to talk to you about this for the past few days, but I couldn't figure out how to broach the subject. You were so happy to have your parents back, not to mention be on the same side again as Waltfeld, Aisha, Lacus, and the girls… I couldn't bring myself to put a damper on that."

"I was wondering why you'd stayed quiet on the subject for the past three days," Shemei replied, "you were pretty set against this, especially after Heero and I shot down your proposal for a simulator match."

"Yes," Eric replied, "and try as I might, I just can't accept that you and Heero have to fight in this manner. I know you don't like to leave things like this undone, Shemei, and I understand the respect and admiration you have for Heero as a fellow pilot… but why do you two have to put your lives on the line to settle this score? Why couldn't you go with the simulation, Shemei? I long ago accepted the fact that you were a daredevil, Shemei; hell, it's even part of why I love you. Still… is the reason you want to fight Heero like this just so you can get your adrenaline fix?"

The Valkyrie sighed, her heart acing in sympathy for her boyfriend. The concern he felt for her was clear in his voice, and she knew it was the real reason he was opposed to this duel, practical considerations be damned. It touched her deeply to know that he cared so deeply for her, and it tore at her heart to know that she was troubling him so with her insistence on fighting Heero in a manner that put both their lives at risk when a far less risky option for settling their score was available.

Shemei shook her head. "No, it's not, Eric. At least, not quite."

Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna have to elaborate on this one for me then, dear."

Shemei smiled at him, though the expression was not entirely one of mirth. "Of course, but before I do… I owe you an apology, Eric. You've done so much for me, and were it not for the intelligence you provided Waltfeld, not to mention your own actions during the battle, my parents would either remain in the hands of the radical faction… or they would be dead. I owe you more than I could ever hope to repay in a single lifetime...and here I am, returning the favor by throwing myself into a dangerous confrontation, one that has no place in the larger conflict… and one that is causing you no small amount of anxiety. I'm sorry, Eric, I truly am."

"Shemei," said Eric, putting his hand on her shoulder and taking the Valkyrie by surprise with the firm tone of his voice, "you owe me _nothing_. I wanted to help rescue your parents because _I love you_, and I could see plain as day the suffering Zala was inflicting upon you by using them as hostages against you. I would've done _anything _to save them, to free you from that hellish burden, and I would've acted without hesitation or thought of reward. I didn't do this to curry favor, Shemei; I did this to help the woman I love. I did this so I could see your true smile, the one you could give when there was nothing weighing you down… that smile that helped draw me to you like moths to the flame. To see you happy and free… that's all I've ever wanted, and that's why I took part in that mission."

"Eric…" said Shemei softly, her silver eyes widening.

The Wolf of the Far East smiled at her. "Shemei, you don't have to apologize to me… though I'll readily admit that the prospect of this duel is making me nervous to say the least. I know that settling things with Heero is important to you. That being said, I'm having difficulty completely understanding what's driving you towards this confrontation. I know you're a thrill seeker, Shemei, but I still find it hard to accept that you're doing this for kicks." He sighed, his smile becoming a little bittersweet as he gave his head a small shake. "Much as I'd like to, I know I've got no chance at talking you out of this. I could see the fire in your eyes down in the hangar when you first brought up the unfinished business between you and Heero; I knew that you were committed to getting a solid conclusion on this rivalry you have with him, regardless of what anyone else might say. I guess I'm just having a hard time completely understanding all of your motivations and reasons. Sorry."

"Oh, Eric," Shemei replied, returning his smile, "It's not like I can blame you for questioning my desire to have this duel. You are right; I'm not doing this just for kicks. The whole adrenaline rush bit is important, but it's only one factor in all this."

"I thought as much," her boyfriend replied, "and I know your respect for Heero is another driving factor behind this. Still, help a guy out here; how does all this fit together inside of you? What's going through your head, love?"

Shemei chuckled. "What isn't, Eric? It's… really a whole bunch of things. The adrenaline rush, my respect for Heero… those are two of the factors, but they're not the whole story."

"So what else is in the mix?" he asked.

She thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, this is going to sound strange, but… part of it is gratitude."

"Not sure I'm following here," said Eric, "I mean, I know you're grateful to Heero for saving your parents, but I can't see that driving you to fight him."

Shemei shook her head. "That's not the gratitude I'm referring to, Eric."

"Then what is?" he pressed.

"It has to do with our first two clashes in North Africa," she said, "based on what I saw in the raid on the PLANTs, I know now that Heero definitely wasn't going all out against us in our first encounters. Don't get me wrong; Heero was still fighting to kill, don't doubt that for a minute. It was only thanks to our skill and no small amount of luck that the girls and I got out of those first two scraps with nothing more than damaged machines. Even then, we were vulnerable; Heero would've been within his rights as a soldier to follow up the damage he'd already inflicted upon us with a finishing blow. However…"

"He let you go," Eric finished for her.

Shemei nodded. "Yes… and he didn't have to, Eric. He knew that as each of us took damage, it signaled that the person who had taken the hit had lost the fight; no way could a damaged DINN Mk. II stand against Wing Zero."

"You did for awhile," said Eric, "in you second battle with him, when it was just the two of you, you lost your rifle to fire from Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings, but you pressed your attack with your beam saber until Heero outmaneuvered you."

"True," said Shemei, "but the rifle wasn't going to be the weapon that beat Heero, and you know that; no way its rounds could've pierced Wing Zero's armor. Anyway, Heero had another chance to kill me in that fight, when his blade was pointed at my cockpit, and he would've been well within his rights to finish me off there. Instead, he let me go; the battle was over. He spared me just as he did the girls, didn't push things further than was necessary. More than that, when he spared me… well, I told you what he said to me."

"Yeah," Eric replied, nodding, "he thought you could do more with a better mobile suit. As skilled as you were, you were limited by the sheer gap in technology between your DINN Mk. II and Wing Zero, and Heero recognized that."

"Indeed," said Shemei, "I don't like making excuses...but I knew that he was right; for all my ability, I was held back by my machine. The only reason our first two clashes hadn't ended sooner was because I'd initiated each of them with the girls flying with me. Once our fights became one-on-one… well, I gave him a decent tussle both times, the best to my abilities, but the DINN Mk. II just can't go toe-to-toe with Wing Zero. I recognized that… and so did he. When he spared me in that second fight, he not only let me live to fight another day, but he gave me the chance to get myself a machine that could bring us into parity, or close to it. That's why I was so keen on getting a new mobile suit when I got back to the PLANTs, and why I was so studious in my training, both for the research teams and the practice runs I did with the girls on the Fort Jupiter simulators. I just had a feeling that the next time I fought Heero, it would be with a better mobile suit, and I wanted to make sure I was ready to give him the one-on-one fight he deserved."

The Valkyrie sighed. "I was right about the new machine and the rematch… but if I'd known the cost would be my mother and father being taken hostage…"

"There's no way you _could've _known that," Eric cut in, "Shemei, you have to stop beating yourself up over this. It wasn't your desire for a rematch with Heero or to engage him in a better mobile suit that cause Zala to imprison your parents; the bastard would've done so regardless to ensure your continued loyalty to ZAFT."

His hand squeezed her shoulder as he continued. "It's true that Zala wanted you to fight Heero, but that was only because you were the only pilot he had with a chance in hell at standing against Wing Zero in a one-on-one engagement; your desire for a rematch had nothing to do with it. Shemei, it wasn't your fault that your parents were imprisoned by the radicals, you have to accept that."

Shemei gave her boyfriend a soft smile. "I… I'm working on it, Eric. Intellectually, I know that what you're saying is true, but…"

"Your heart still feels somewhat responsible," he finished for her, nodding in understanding.

"Yeah," the Valkyrie replied, "you know that old saying, 'be careful what you wish for; you may get it'? When my parents were taken hostage and I was given the Judgment, those words kept going through me… I guess I kind of embedded them in my heart. It's illogical, I know… but I somehow gave myself the idea that my desire for a rematch with Heero, a true one-on-one duel, without having to rely on the girls for backup, had helped bring this disaster upon my parents."

"You have to let it go, Shemei," Eric said firmly, "you can't let this keep eating away at you. It was the radicals' fault, not yours."

Shemei nodded and leaned over to give her boyfriend a quick kiss. "I know, Eric. Give it time, love; I think that will do the trick. Still, thank you; it means a lot to hear you say that."

"You're welcome, dear," he replied, smiling.

They were quiet for a moment before Eric spoke up again. "Ok, I'm starting to get a better handle on the gratitude angle as far as you and Heero are concerned; you want to repay him for giving you the chance not just to escape back in North Africa, but to retrain and prepare for your next engagement. Does that also tie into what happened in the fight you two had before the raid on the PLANTs?"

"Yeah," said Shemei, "you heard Heero down in the hangar bay three days ago; he recognized in that fight that I couldn't go all-out against him, despite my best efforts to do so. The knowledge of my parents' captivity, the fact that they were being held by people who would kill them without a second thought depending on my actions… it weighed me down, held me back. Again, I hate making excuses… but that's the truth. More importantly, Heero recognized that. Granted, he did contact Waltfeld during the battle to get information, but even before that he didn't engage me full-out. Part of that was of course because he was trying to assess the Judgment, get a handle on what it could bring to a battle… but I know he could sense that I wasn't giving that engagement the same energy and vigor that I had during our clashes in North Africa. Had he actually gone all out during that fight… well, I wouldn't be here today, Eric, no getting around that."

"But you did survive," said Eric, "because Heero limited himself, kept himself fighting at the level you were in that duel until the larger battle came to a close and you were able to withdraw without your actions putting your parents' lives in danger."

"Exactly," said Shemei, "I survived because of his understanding… because Heero's a good man. I survived because he's one of those increasingly rare kinds of soldiers in this war; the kind with a sense of human decency and mutual respect for his foe. I'm grateful for that, and I know I owe him a great debt for that, one separate from the one I owe him for saving my mother and father. The latter is one I will never be able to repay, even though I think he doesn't want me to feel indebted to him… but the former I _can _repay."

"By giving him the fight you wish you could've given him then," said Eric softly.

Shemei nodded, her silver eyes narrowing. "Yes… by giving him the fight he deserves, Eric. There is truly no other pilot in this world like him, and I imagine there are very few like him in his old world. I won't claim to completely understand Heero's motives when it comes to our rivalry; I'm sure they have more than a few differences with my own with regards to this duel. However… I know he wants to settle this with both of us going all out, one way or another. I can't really explain _why _I know it… I just _do_." She chuckled before giving her boyfriend a small smile. "Call it a gut feeling, love."

Eric smirked. "As an officer who's acted on his share of gut feelings, both on the field and off, I won't begrudge you doing the same. It'd be more than a little hypocritical, I think."

Shemei giggled. "Just a bit, dear."

After a moment Eric spoke up again. "All that clears up some of this for me, but I think I'm still missing something here. You still haven't quite told me why this confrontation can't be a simulator match, Shemei."

The Valkyrie nodded. "Right, about that… I won't deny that the thrill of putting my life on the line in such a confrontation plays a role, but not as big as you might think. It's… I guess you could call it a push, really."

"I'm not sure I'm following you," Eric replied, raising an eyebrow, "What do you mean by 'push'?"

"A push to truly go all out," said Shemei, "having my life hang on my actions in a battle is part of what propels me to excel as a pilot, as a fighter. The will to survive is pushed into overdrive in such a confrontation… and that goes for me _and _Heero. In fact, under such circumstances it's even more important that we're both going all-out. Our match does not have to be decided by one of us killing the other, but simply by who can draw first blood, and I'm sure I don't need to remind you that there are plenty of ways to achieve that without a fatal blow."

"Though you just did anyway," said Eric.

"Not the point, love," said Shemei, smirking, "My point here is that both Heero and I need to be at our best to ensure that this confrontation ends _without _a fatality. We both want our lives on the line as they were in our previous clashes, but at the same time the last thing we want is to kill each other. By fighting like this, with the will to survive _and _the desire to not kill each other pushing us to excel, we'll be at our best, our most precise. We'll have the most control over our bodies, our blades, which we'll need if we're both to walk away from this fight alive and in a condition to continue opposing the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. It's paradoxical, I know… but I feel that by dueling like this we can truly settle this rivalry, find out just who's number one, without one of us dying. Sure, one of us will get a cut, but if we're truly at our best then I think it won't go beyond that. I _believe _that. I believe in my abilities… and Heero's." She then sighed. "I'll understand if you have trouble making sense of that; I know it was a bit contradictory and all."

"A little, yes," Eric replied, smiling, "but… I do understand it, Shemei. I'm still not exactly thrilled about all this, Shemei… but now I at least understand why you want it to be this way. I may not like it… but that doesn't change my faith in you, my support for you, or my love for you."

"Eric…" said Shemei softly.

Her lover surprised her by leaning over to kiss her. When their lips parted he gave her a smirk. "Don't tell me I've rendered you speechless; that'd be a first."

She had to laugh at his words. "Hardly, dear." She then grabbed his hand. "Just touched, my love. What you said… that means a lot to me, Eric. Thank you."

"Anytime," he replied.

They were quiet for a moment before the former ZAFT Field Marshal spoke again. "I'm glad we got all that sorted out. That being said, there's still one thing that I find out of place about all this."

"What is it?" asked Shemei.

"The nature of this fight," said Eric, "it's a physical confrontation; no mobile suits. Shemei, I know you have a strong sense of fair play when it comes to duels like this, but you have a decidedly unfair advantage here. You're a Coordinator, love, and Heero's a Natural. In a fight like this, the deck's stacked in your favor, and I can't believe that you haven't considered that."

Shemei nodded, smiling again. "Oh, I have, Eric… and I can tell you right now that my enhanced abilities aren't a game-breaker here. In reality, they're the only reason I can go at it with Heero like this."

"You're going to have to elaborate on this one, Shemei," said Eric.

"It's true that my inherent abilities as a Coordinator put me above most Naturals in a physical fight," said Shemei, "but Heero's _not _like most Naturals, love. The skill he shows in combat… it's so far above and beyond anything I've seen from Alliance soldiers, or ZAFT soldiers too for that matter."

"That's in mechanized warfare," Eric replied, "and while I know one still needs to be physically fit and possess swift reflexes to truly take a mobile suit to its full potential, there's still a considerable difference between that and hand-to-hand, or in this case blade-to-blade, combat."

"Not as much as you might think," said Shemei, "the moves we use when we wield our machines' beam sabers are not too dissimilar from what we would use in a normal sword fight; the only real distinctions when it comes to mobile suits are size, power, maneuverability, and ranged weapons being thrown into the mix. Heero's skills with Wing Zero's energy blade will transfer over to his saber in this duel... and there's another factor that comes into play here."

"And what's that?" asked Eric.

"Our backgrounds," Shemei replied, "Eric, it's true that I'm a veteran and gifted pilot, not to mention an experienced duelist, but I've only been fighting for a few years. Heero, though… he's been on the battlefield for _far _longer."

"What makes you say that?" asked Eric.

Shemei looked down for a moment, her expression growing grim. "Do you remember that meeting we had at the Clyne estate? It was a little after I returned from North Africa."

"I think so," said Eric, his brow furrowing in concentration, "it was just us and Lacus, right? Her father was still at work, and I think she actually wanted to meet us without him present that time."

"Yes," said Shemei, "we talked for awhile about the political situation in the PLANTs regarding the coming election, along with Zala's intentions of turning the conflict against the Earth Alliance into a war of annihilation against Naturals in general. Then Lacus asked me about my time in North Africa and the battles against the _Archangel _and her pilots."

"Right," said Eric, nodding, "she was rather eager for news of Kira and Heero, I believe."

"That she was," said Shemei softly, "Eric… do you remember what I said about Heero… what I saw in his eyes when we met in person at Waltfeld's Banadiya headquarters?

The Wolf of the Far East nodded slowly. "Yes. You said they were calm, but also had intensity to them, one that gave you a thrill similar to the one you felt when you were fighting him."

"That wasn't all, Eric," said Shemei, meeting his gaze, "it was subtle, but behind that surface I saw something else. It was sorrow, anguish… _pain_. Even before we'd met I'd figured he'd been fighting for quite awhile; you can't get to his level of skill just from training, regardless of how fierce the regimen may be. I was sure he had experience beyond the battles we were aware of him participating in… but it was only when I looked into his eyes that I realized just _how much _he had… that he'd been fighting for _far _longer than I'd originally guessed."

"Right," said Eric softly, his tone haunted, "You, Waltfeld, and the others… you all came to the conclusion that he'd been a child soldier."

"Yes," said Shemei, a hint of sorrow creeping into her voice, "I can't say for certain just how long he's been fighting, of course; that knowledge only Heero has, and maybe Captain Ramius. Considering that they're in love, it's possible that Heero may have confided in her about his past; I'm sure she would've given him whatever comfort and solace she could. Regardless… Eric, Heero has something that I don't, that _none of us _here have; a mind, body, and soul forged, honed, and refined by a _lifetime _of war. It's a burden I can't begin to imagine carrying… and an advantage that I think will provide an appropriate counter to my enhanced abilities as a Coordinator."

Eric nodded. "I can see that… though I imagine Heero might see it as a curse rather than an advantage."

"As would I," Shemei replied, "in a just world, it would be one he'd never have at all… but then again, if either of our worlds were truly just, we would never have met on the field of battle, nor would either of us have ascended to the heights of ability and skill that we have."

"But there is no truly just world, is there?" said Eric softly.

Shemei shook her head sadly. "No, there is not… nor will there ever be, I think. I'm normally not a pessimist, Eric, you know that… but I think you and I are both well aware that the kinds of injustice that give birth to soldiers like Heero and I can never truly be erased from humanity. Lessened, perhaps… but never truly destroyed."

"Perhaps," said Eric, and Shemei was surprised to see a small smile on his face, "but I'm also well aware that neither you nor I are ready to truly give up on humanity, nor will we ever be. The world isn't perfect, Shemei, nor are people perfect, but they do _try_. It is always easy to see the evil minority and let it cast a pall over the rest of the world… but we can never forget that most people are _not _like that; they do not wish to drown the world in a sea of blood. Call me an idealist, Shemei… but I think the good inherent in the majority of humanity far outweighs the evil of the minority. Yes, those good people are not perfect; they stumble, fall, argue with each other… but they're trying the best they can to live their lives to the fullest, and to do so in friendship with those around them."

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them Shemei saw a gentle gleam in those warm, brown orbs. "The world's not perfect, Shemei, but it's trying… and that's what makes it so damn beautiful."

"Eric…" said Shemei softly. She couldn't help but smile at his words, as they were a display of an aspect of the man that she adored. Her boyfriend could be a pragmatic man, as was necessary in his line of work… but he could also be sentimental, idealistic, and hopeful. He knew that the world and humanity were not perfect, nor would they ever be. He recognized that there would always be good and evil in one form or another, and that there were always shades of grey thrown into the mix as well… but he still held onto hope for a better tomorrow, still held onto his faith in the human race as a whole. The divide between Naturals and Coordinators meant little to him, as it did to her; for the two of them, the differences just came down to quirks in the genetic code, nothing more.

The Wolf of the Far East then chuckled. "Ah, there's my soft side coming out to play again. So much for my image as a professional officer, eh?"

"Screw that image," said Shemei as she leaned over to kiss him. She grinned as their lips parted. "This is who you really are, love; don't hide it."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Eric.

The two of them shared a content moment of silence before Shemei spoke again. "So… any other reservations on your part?"

The former Field Marshal shook his head. "No. As I said before, I still don't like this duel… but I've got your back all the same, Shemei." He then sighed. "As for Heero's… _counterweight_, for want of a better way to put it, to your advantages as a Coordinator, I can definitely understand why you think it'll make for a fair fight. It's a terrible curse he has to live with… but the fact that he's among us today means he's _learned _to live with it. More than that; he's turned it into a weapon, one he's using to make the world a better place… not to mention protect the woman he loves."

"Speaking of which," said Shemei, "you don't have any reservations about… well, him and Captain Ramius?"

"Do you?" asked Eric, raising an eyebrow.

Shemei smiled and shook her head. "None at all. I can understand that the age gap between them would definitely make others uncomfortable, but I'm sure they've given a lot of thought to the issue. More importantly, when I saw Captain Ramius greet Heero in the hangar three days ago… they looked _happy_, Eric. Call me a romantic, but I believe that they truly love each other, as much as I do you."

"I _will _call you a romantic," Eric replied, smiling, "and I agree with you wholeheartedly. You may have been the main focus of my attention that day, but I did take notice of Heero and Captain Ramius… and I saw the same things that you did. The age gap between them doesn't matter; a blind person could tell you that the connection they have is a powerful one, based off emotion rather than physical desires, though I'm sure the latter has it place somewhere in there. Still, that doesn't change the fact that those two are clearly devoted to each other, and I think the relationship between them is a healthy one."

"As do I," said Shemei.

"Why ask me about it, then?" said Eric, raising an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to check," she replied, "I was perfectly fine with it, but I wasn't entirely sure if you had reservations about it. I know you, dear; you're far too polite to voice such concerns when the couple in question just reunited after a mission as dangerous as the raid on the PLANTs. That sort of thing is a conversation you would save for another time."

Eric smirked. "Yeah, guess you have me there."

"Of course I do," said Shemei, "I know you better than anyone else."

"No argument there," replied Eric.

Her boyfriend then glanced down at her uniform, which now had a couple black smudges on it courtesy of the dirt from his flight suit when she had embraced him earlier. "You'd better get that cleaned up," he said, "Your big rematch is mere hours away, quite possibly less."

Shemei looked down for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm not going to be able to get that out with just a wet towel, and we probably don't have enough time for laundry before the fight. No matter; I've got something else that'll work." She thought for a moment before speaking again. "In fact, I'm surprised I'm still wearing this uniform; habit, I guess."

"Plenty of defectors are still wearing the uniforms of their former militaries, Alliance and ZAFT," said Eric, raising an eyebrow.

"True," said Shemei, "but still… I feel _wrong _wearing this, now that I think about, especially since the regime that it represents took my parents hostage. I wonder if the people on this ship feel the same way; their own government did try to kill them at Alaska, after all, and again at Orb."

"I imagine they'd have a few things to say about that were we to ask," said Eric, "but it's not like they had much else to wear when they fled their former military. Plus, like you said; habit."

Shemei nodded. "Right. Still, I'm going to break this one. When I first fought Heero, started our rivalry, it may have been as a soldier of ZAFT… but it's not how I'm going to finish it."

She stood up and went over to the closet. "I'm ending this on my terms, not ZAFT's," she said as she opened the door and looked around, "I'm ending this as Shemei, not Commander Rehema. I'm going to fight this final duel as myself, not a pilot for Zala's regime; this uniform represents the latter, and it has no place in this clash. Wish I'd seen that sooner… ah, there it is!"

Reaching into the closet, she pulled out her custom flight suit. Normally Commanders flew into battle in a standard white flight suit, but the Valkyrie's skill and reputation had given her more leeway with the rules than most. She had stuck with the normal white flight suit up until recently simply because she didn't know what she wanted, but her duels with Heero had given her new inspiration, and after her return home from North Africa she'd commissioned a private group outside the military to design her attire. Her three subordinates had been happy with their standard red flight suits, but Shemei had wanted something more unique, though due to the nature of life as a frontline pilot she had not gotten the time to have her new flight suit designed and made until she and her girls had been recalled to the PLANTs a few months ago.

_I didn't wear this when I was still fighting under ZAFT against Heero, nor when I launched during the raid on the PLANTs_, she mused, _I guess it's because I felt it would be tainted if I wore it while I was being used by the radicals. Now, though, I can give it a proper debut._

In an inversion of the standard Commander's flight suit, hers was jet black, with red trim on the shoulders, arms, and legs. In addition to that there was a small red circle over her left chest, and emblazoned within it was the image of an angelic figure, with a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left; a Valkyrie. Unlike the traditional images of the Norse angels, though, this one was a dark figure. She wore dark gray armor, had raven hair, eyes the color of blood, and her spread wings were as black as the void. Shemei felt it was appropriate for her, symbolizing her role as a reaper on the battlefield… along with the unholy thrill she got from a fight.

Turning around, she held up the flight suit in front of her and smiled at Eric. "What do you think? Fitting, eh?"

Eric nodded, smirking. "In more ways then one."

Shemei giggled. She'd meant fitting for the fight, and she was pretty sure Eric had gotten that, but the Wolf of the Far East had obviously decided to take things up a notch. Shemei had a pretty good idea what her boyfriend was referring to, but she decided to play the coy maiden for the fun of it. "Whatever do you mean, dear?"

"Oh, I think you know," said Eric, chuckling, "I've told you this before; no woman I know fills out a flight suit quite like you, and I can't wait for you to get that thing on."

"Flirt," she said, winking as she headed towards the washroom.

"Come on, you know you love it," he replied.

"Hell yes, lover boy," said Shemei before she closed the door.

….

Standing just outside the entrance to the hangar, Murrue could feel her heart hammering away in her chest. The _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi _had settled down in the Mendel colony two hours ago, and all three ships had sent out teams of medical and engineering personnel to inspect the landing area, both to ensure structural integrity and a clean environment. The latter hadn't turned out to be a major issue due to the docking bay's exposure to vacuum, but the commanding officers of all three ships had agreed to conduct a scan of the immediate area surrounding the vessels for biological and chemical contaminants just to be on the safe side. As for the framework of the area, despite the damage the colony had taken during the Battle of Nova, all the major bulkheads surrounding the docking bay were intact, and there were no signs of damage in the large hangar. Murrue was thankful for the colony's sturdy construction; she suspected it would be home to the Three Ship's Alliance for the foreseeable future.

It was not concern for the environment that the _Archangel _and her companion vessels found themselves in that was causing Murrue's heart to race; it was the upcoming duel. Her talk with Heero had greatly helped matters, but it was only natural for her to still be nervous about the whole affair.

She suddenly felt a very familiar hand take her own in a gentle, reassuring grip. Murrue looked to her left and smiled at Heero. The Gundam pilot gave her a slight smile of his own, along with a small nod. Words weren't needed between them at that moment; those simple gestures were more than enough. They didn't completely dispel her fears, but they did ease them considerably.

Murrue could also draw some comfort from the fact that she wasn't the only one that still had their share of nerves regarding the imminent duel. Standing with her and Heero by the door were Mu La Flaga, Dearka Elsman, Soran and Akila Rehema, Eric Bristow… and the Valkyrie herself. The _Archangel_'s captain could not guess the first two individuals' thoughts on the impending fight, but Commander Rehema's parents weren't making much of an effort to hide their anxiety. As for the Valkyrie's boyfriend, the Wolf of the Far East seemed calm on the surface, but Murrue could detect a subtle tension within him, not too unlike one she'd seen with Heero when the young man was on edge. Bristow was nervous, no doubts there; he just had a really good lid on his feelings. Regarding the Valkyrie, Murrue could detect a tension with her as well, but it wasn't of the same flavor as her lover's. This was born of brimming anticipation, restrained excitement, and Murrue caught hints of it in Commander Rehema's stance. She would periodically give a small bounce on her heels or glance over at her rival and give a small nod and smile. If Heero noticed the latter gestures, he gave no sign of them; other than the small smile he'd given Murrue, his expression remained calm and relaxed… save for his eyes. There was a quiet intensity in those piercing Prussian blue orbs, and to Murrue it felt like an expression of restrained energy.

_He's ready to do this_, she thought, _he's focused, resolved… and prepared to end this rivalry._

The tension within the group could've been cut with a knife, and Murrue found herself wondering who would be the first to break the silence. A couple seconds later she had her answer in the form of the Valkyrie.

"So," she said, looking over at Murrue, "any idea who's all coming over, Captain Ramius?"

The reason they were all waiting outside the hangar bay was because the bay itself was currently depressurized due to the arrival of two shuttles, one from the _Eternal _and the other from the _Kusanagi_. Each bore a party that was coming over specifically to watch the duel in person, and the former was also bringing a camera crew so that people who were unable to get away from their stations could watch the fight via monitor if they were so inclined.

"I'm not entirely sure, Commander Rehema," Murrue replied, "I'm sure your girls will be part of the _Eternal_'s delegation, and I imagine Waltfeld and Aisha will be among them as well. I don't know if Kira and Lacus will be coming; a duel like this may not be their thing. As for the _Kusanagi_'s party, that's up in the air. Colonel Kisaka didn't offer any details, and I didn't ask. I wouldn't be surprised if Cagalli was among them, though; she's a very… passionate young woman, and I have a hard time seeing her sitting this thing out. I think she'd want to be here in person."

"It'll be interesting to meet her if she does show up," said the Valkyrie, "I heard a few things about her from Waltfeld and Aisha. Orb's tomboy princess…"

La Flaga chuckled. "The little Missy can be a real hot-head sometimes. Still, she's a good girl. She really cares about her people… and her friends."

"And Heero's counted among them?" asked Shemei.

Murrue and La Flaga glanced over at Heero, who responded with a silent nod. Shemei chuckled in response. "If she's as temperamental as Waltfeld led me to believe, then I imagine she'll want to give you an earful about this, Heero."

"Perhaps," the Gundam pilot replied, shrugging, "we'll see shortly."

The Valkyrie shook her head. "Nothing ruffles your feathers, eh?"

"I wouldn't be as effective in combat were I easily perturbed," said Heero.

"True enough," said Shemei, smirking.

Murrue was struck by the casual banter between the two ace pilots, especially in light of both the tension in the air and the efforts both of them were putting into restraining their energy. There wasn't a hint of animosity between the two of them, despite their numerous clashes on the battlefield before now. Instead to Murrue Heero and Shemei appeared to be two colleagues having a friendly conversation; they certainly weren't trash talking each other.

_I guess it's another sign of the respect they have for each other_, she mused, _in other rivalries one might expect some trash talking, and both sides chomping at the bit to get things underway… that's not the case here. There's excitement, yes; both of them _do _want this fight. However… it's very controlled, contained. Commander Rehema's given more visible signs of eagerness than Heero, but even then she's still composed. She has a strange combination of both excitement and easiness about her… relaxed yet intense, one might say._

Murrue could at least take some relief that the undertones running between the two pilots seemed to be completely platonic. Of course, Murrue had no doubt regarding Heero's romantic loyalty to her, but she hadn't been able to completely keep herself from warily eyeing the Valkyrie for signs of interest that went beyond professional or even friendly. However, she could not detect a hint of intention in Heero's female rival. Quite the contrary; any signs of affection from Commander Rehema that Murrue had seen were only directed at Eric Bristow, and despite the subtle nervousness in the former ZAFT Field Marshal's body language the man was quite ready to return his girlfriend's gestures, whether they be a smile, taking her hand, or sharing a brief kiss.

_They truly are devoted to each other_, Murrue thought, _the feelings they have for each other must be quite strong… that's good. _With the bevy of attractive women within the Three Ship's Alliance, Murrue was wary enough about female attention drifting towards her boyfriend, even if she knew Heero wouldn't return the interest. It was a considerable comfort to Murrue that she could cross Commander Rehema off the list of those ladies eying Heero with… less than pure thoughts, for want of a better way to put it.

"Captain Ramius?" said the Valkyrie, and Murrue was surprised at the Egyptian woman's suddenly serious expression.

"What is it, Commander Rehema?" Murrue asked.

The Valkyrie looked down for a moment, and when she raised her head again Murrue was struck by the combination of regret and sincerity in her silver eyes. "Before things go any further," she said, "I… I owe you an apology. You _and _Heero, in fact. The two of you put yourselves in harm's way to save my parents, and I'm in your debt… and here I am, insisting on a final match to settle our score, one where my life _and_ Heero's will be on the line."

"Commander Rehema…" said Murrue softly; she had not expected this.

"This doesn't solely rest on your shoulders," said Heero, "You may have brought up the duel, but I didn't back down; I agreed that our account needed to be settled. I'm as much a party in this as you are."

"Perhaps," said Shemei, looking between Murrue and the Gundam pilot, "but… that does not change the fact that I insisted on pushing forward with this after you two rescued my parents." The Valkyrie then met Murrue's gaze. "Captain, it also does not change the fact that I will be endangering the life of the man you love. I also imagine that the whole idea of this fight has probably caused some tension between you… tension that I do not wish to bring upon a loving couple." Shemei bowed her head. "I sincerely apologize for any distress this has caused you, Captain Ramius, as well as for any difficulties it has put upon your relationship with Heero. I ask your forgiveness, though I will understand if you cannot grant it at this time."

Murrue was taken off-guard by the Valkyrie's sudden apology, and she needed a moment to put her thoughts in order. It was indeed true that the Valkyrie had initiated the idea of a final duel between her and Heero, just as it was true that the Gundam pilot had readily responded to it. By the same token, Shemei would indeed be endangering the life of the man Murrue loved, certainly not something to be taken lightly.

A part of Murrue wanted to be angry at the Valkyrie, to verbally attack her, to take out her stress on her lover's rival… but in the end, the lovely Captain couldn't bring herself to do it. Standing before her was a woman who had acknowledged the difficulty that she had helped bring upon Murrue, and was offering a sincere apology for it. At the same time, Murrue's knowledge of Heero's respect for the Valkyrie, along with his own admission of complicity and his earlier conversation with her regarding his own feelings about the duel and why it was so important to him, helped to sap away the strength from whatever anger she might attempt to muster.

In the end, all Murrue could do was nod her head. "Commander Rehema," she said softly, "I _can _forgive you for this, and I will. It's true that I do not like the idea of this duel, especially not the fact that you will be endangering Heero… but I also know just how important this is to him." She turned to her boyfriend and smiled before facing the Valkyrie again. "I know that Heero would not want me to hate you for all of this; he respects you far too much for that. So... I accept your apology, Commander Rehema."

"Captain Ramius…" said Shemei softly, her silver eyes widening.

Murrue's smile took on a predatory edge, and her eyes narrowed. "I can also accept your apology, Commander Rehema, because I know who's going to win this fight… and it won't be you."

Shemei chuckled at the Captain's words. "Heero won't trash talk, so you'll do it for him, eh? Fine by me." She then looked at Heero and smirked. "She's really got faith in you. I admire that; it's well placed. That being said, I'm going to make you work your ass off to earn it."

Heero nodded, his eyes narrowing. "I expect nothing less, Commander Rehema... and I _won't _let Murrue down. Make sure to bring your A game; you'll need it."

"Whoa," Shemei replied, grinning, "So you _can _get in on the action, huh? Glad to see it. And don't worry; this time, the two of us can truly go all out."

"As long as the two of you come out of this alive," Eric chimed in.

"Yes," said Murrue, "my thoughts exactly."

"Don't worry," said Shemei, "If the two of us give this our all, whoever lands the winning blow will be able to make it a precise one. Remember; the victor's decided by first blood, not a fatality. Besides, the loss of either of us would severely weaken our chances of ending this war, and Heero and I will both do our best to ensure that doesn't happen."

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

Once again Murrue could not help but reflect on the paradoxical nature of the whole enterprise. Her boyfriend and his rival were about to engage in a duel that, while certainly much less risky than a clash of mobile suits, had a definite element of danger to it. Any mistake on the part of either combatant could result in one of their deaths… so the only way to truly ensure both a decisive ending to their rivalry and for both to survive was for Heero and Shemei to go all-out in the fight. That was the logic to it all, and one had to work to really get a grip on it.

_The premise is simple_, Murrue mused, _a duel to decide the strongest between them. However, the underlying motives are decidedly more complex… at least as far as Heero's feelings go. I can't say what Commander Rehema's driving emotions behind all this are with any real certainty… still, I have a feeling they aren't quite as simple as she made them look three days ago._

In the end, it didn't matter to Murrue what was driving the Valkyrie. All she cared about at that moment were Heero's motivations and his survival. She understood his heart and mind, grasped his reasons for taking on this challenge, and she would do all she could to support him, to make sure that he went into this confrontation without any doubts weighing him down so he would endure and triumph.

And as her gaze met his, Murrue knew that her lover was fully prepared to get the fight underway. His eyes held the same combination of strength and calm that had done wonders for her morale so many times in the past, and it was all the proof she needed to know that _he _knew that she had his back. She did not support the endeavor, but she supported _him_… and that was enough.

"Hey, Captain Ramius?" said Shemei.

"What is it, Commander?" asked Murrue.

"Please," said the Valkyrie, smiling, "would you mind dropping my rank? It was my title as a soldier of ZAFT, but the moment my own government took my parents hostage, it lost all meaning to me. I wish to leave it behind. More than that… I would like to be your friend, and I don't use formalities among my friends. Though I would understand if you do not quite return the sentiment…"

Murrue returned the smile, shaking her head. "No… I too would like to be your friend, Commander… sorry, I mean Shemei. Even if you are Heero's rival, that does not change the fact that he holds you in very high regard… so I shall do the same. I believe he already considers you a friend of sorts, and I would like to do so as well; I don't believe in turning down those that offer their hand in friendship. Also, I can understand why your former title holds no meaning to you now. That being said… I would not abandon it quite yet."

"Why?"asked Shemei.

"While it is true that the rank you held as a member of ZAFT no longer holds any meaning in that context, it _does _hold other forms of meaning," said Murrue.

"I'm not sure I follow, Captain Ramius," Shemei replied.

"Allow me to use myself as an example," said Murrue, "Like you, I was betrayed by the military I used to belong to; in my case, the Atlantic Federation branch of the Earth Alliance's OMNI Enforcer. My rank of Captain in that organization holds no meaning to me now… but it has a purpose beyond that. My responsibilities as Captain, to command the _Archangel _and watch over the people on board her, _do _have meaning to me. That is why I still allow myself to carry the rank of Captain… but _not _as an officer of the Earth Alliance. I am the Captain of the warship _Archangel_, leading my comrades and friends in our effort to help bring this war to an end that does not involve genocide against Coordinators or Naturals, and to survive to bear witness to and live in the new future that will arise… to enjoy the fruit of our long labor." She looked over at Heero and smiled. "And for me, doing so also means fighting for the future that I will share with the man I love."

The Gundam pilot nodded and gave her a small smile in return. Emboldened, Murrue turned back to the Valkyrie and spoke again. "I will call you Shemei as a friend, but I would still advise that you hold onto your rank of Commander; it still has meaning, and you need to take responsibility for that meaning. In your case, it holds meaning to the three brilliant young women you lead into battle. You are Commander Shemei Rehema, leader of the Valkyrie Team, the superior and guiding hand of your subordinates, as well as their comrade in arms. Do not discount the affect your title has on them, Shemei. It is a symbol of the authority that you have well and truly earned, and not just as a soldier of ZAFT… but as a pilot and a leader. Do not see yourself as a Commander in your old army, Shemei; see yourself as a Commander in _our _force, one that is fighting to ensure that the injustice you faced at the hands of the radical regime will not be inflicted upon anyone else. See yourself as the Commander of your team, as I see myself as the Captain of the _Archangel_."

Once again the Valkyrie's eyes widened. "Huh… I never thought of it that way." Then she smiled. "You really are something else, Captain Ramius. No wonder Heero fell for you."

Murrue could feel the heat rushing to her face, but that did not deter her response. "Thank you, Shemei… and please, call me Murrue; like you, I would prefer my friends did not refer to me formally."

Shemei nodded. "Alright, Murrue… and _thank you_. I… I wouldn't blame you if you did not feel the same way, considering that Heero and I will be fighting shortly."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, "but I believe in Heero… and, in a way, I suppose I believe in you as well, Shemei. I know that the two of you will do your best not only to win this fight, but to preserve each other's lives. It does not change the fact that this duel will still be risky… but I believe that, win or lose, you will both survive. At the very least, Heero respects you, both for your skills and your sense of honor; that is enough for me."

Shemei bowed her head to both Murrue and Heero. "Thank you, both of you."

"You're very welcome, Shemei," said Murrue, nodding.

Heero nodded as well. "Same here."

Murrue then watched as the Valkyrie turned to her parents. "Mom, dad," she said, "I know I've said this before, but… well, I'm sorry for making the two of you worry like this. I know you don't like this, but… I hope you understand just how important this duel with Heero is to me."

Murrue was surprised when Heero spoke up before Shemei's parents could reply. "I apologize as well," he said, meeting their gaze, "as I told your daughter earlier, I'm as much a party to this as she is. She may have been the first one to bring up this duel, but the fact of the matter is that there was no way we were going to avoid it forever; this rivalry between us is something we both feel we have to settle, and sooner rather than later. I am just as responsible for this as Shemei is… and I will be putting her life in danger during this fight." He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

His voice was as calm as ever, but Murrue could still tell that Heero's apology was a very heartfelt one. Just as he felt guilty over the distress he was causing her by going through with this duel, so too did he feel responsible for the fear and stress that the prospect of the coming fight was causing Soran and Akila Rehema. Murrue wanted to step in, to speak up and support Heero, but she realized that it would be inappropriate for her to do so in this matter. She settled for giving his hand a tight squeeze as a way to let him know that she was here for him.

Any worries Murrue had regarding the response of the Valkyrie's parents were proven to be misplaced as both Shemei's mother and father smiled at the two pilots. "It's alright, both of you," said Soran, nodding, "Yes, it is true that we would much rather you not do this… but we can see just how important this is to you."

"We can't help but worry for the two of you," said Akila, looking at her daughter and Heero, "We would dearly like for the two of you to let this matter go… but we understand why you cannot. Please, you need not apologize to us, Shemei… and neither do you, Heero. You saved my husband and me from the radicals at incredible risk to your own life, and we have not forgotten that. Yes, you will be fighting against our daughter, endangering her… but we do not hold it against you; Shemei would have it no other way, and we will respect that."

Shemei smiled. "Thanks a lot, you two."

Heero nodded. "Thank you."

Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, Murrue turned to see Dr. Clark and one of his medical assistants, a girl in her early twenties with a slim figure, short-cropped black hair and dark brown eyes that had been assigned to the ship courtesy of the Orb Navy to fill in crew vacancies, coming down the corridor. They were both carrying a metallic case in their hands, and Murrue knew that both were full of first aid supplies. Depending on what happened in the duel, one or both of the combatants could very well get seriously injured, and Murrue wanted her ship's medical staff on hand so they could act as quickly as possible to stabilize and save whoever was wounded.

_Hopefully their services will not be necessary_, she thought, _With their skills it is quite possible that the only wound Heero or Shemei may receive will be a superficial cut… still, I'm not taking any chances here._

"Sorry we're a little late, Captain," said the ship's Chief Medical officer, "It's been awhile since I've packed a field kit, so to speak."

Murrue nodded. "It's quite alright, Doctor. Do you have everything you'll need?"

"Yes, Captain," he said, turning towards his aide and smiling, "Miss Fan Li here was most helpful in checking our cases."

The Orb girl bowed her head slightly. "Thank you, Dr. Clark."

Murrue did her best to commit the girl's name to memory; with all the additional crewmembers the _Archangel _had received from Orb prior to their departure, keeping track of the new faces was a considerable challenge. She gave the assistant a warm smile and a nod. "I'm grateful for any assistance you can provide Dr. Clark, Miss Li."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise; no doubt she had not expected to be addressed by the Captain. "Ah, yes, ma'am," she replied, slightly flustered, "Anytime, Captain."

At that moment a small green light appeared on the console next to the door. "Hangar's pressurized," said La Flaga, "looks like they're ready for us."

"About time," Dearka chimed in, "let's get this show on the road."

La Flaga smirked and nudged the former ZAFT pilot with his elbow. "Easy there, kid. You can't rush stuff like this; it's gotta go at its own pace. Besides, it's healthy to get all this stuff aired out before the fight."

Dearka shrugged. "Whatever. I just came for the action, not the small-talk."

Murrue shook her head in amusement. _That young man has a lot to learn… fortunately for him, Miriallia's a very understanding girl. _The lovely Captain had not missed the growing closeness between Dearka and Miriallia, and Murrue was happy about it; it meant that Miriallia's recovery from Tolle's death was going very well.

_She's found the strength to love again_, Murrue thought, _and to do so with a young man who was once an enemy… someone she once threatened, in fact. Of course, it's early, and I might be reading too much into things… still, I think there's something there between them. _If there was, Murrue was content to let it develop at its own pace; she would not interfere unless Miriallia sought help or was hurt in any way.

_Yet another rule I'm breaking_, she mused, _willfully ignoring fraternization between soldiers… Natarle would not be pleased. Then again, I did it often enough when she was on the ship, with regards to Kira and Flay… and Natarle and La Flaga. Not to mention my own conduct with Heero… and in all that time, Natarle never raised a concern about it. Perhaps that was one rule even she was willing to overlook. _Wherever her former XO was now, Murrue could only hope that she was safe… and not being ordered by her superiors to commit atrocities.

"Well," said Murrue as she moved towards the door, "let's not keep our guests waiting." She raised her hand and touched a button on the console, and the door slid open. With Heero by her side, Murrue led the way into the hangar.

The two rectangular shuttles had set down, and their passengers were disembarking. From the one from the _Eternal _Murrue saw Shemei's three subordinates get off first, followed by Waltfeld and Aisha. Murrue had expected them, but was mildly surprised to see that they were in turn followed by Kira and Lacus. She was curious as to why the two of them had decided to come; neither of them struck her as people who needed to see a duel like this in person. Following them were two men in the standard green ZAFT uniform carrying some equipment, and Murrue knew that they were the camera crew that would be recording and broadcasting the fight throughout the three ships so that those who could not come in person could still watch the duel if they wanted.

As for the Orb delegation, Murrue wasn't surprised to see Cagalli leading the party, with Athrun and Kisaka in her wake. Following them was Erica Simmons, which did strike Murrue as odd; the woman was an engineer, not a soldier. Murrue was curious as to her motivations for coming over… as well as the identities of the three girls that followed in her wake.

_I suppose I'll find out soon enough_, she thought as everyone began gravitating towards the center of the hangar.

The three groups gradually came together into one large party, and everyone began exchanging pleasantries. The Valkyrie immediately went over to her girls, who practically jumped onto her as they embraced her. Murrue certainly couldn't blame them; this was the first time they had seen their Commander, and their dear friend, in person since their flight from the PLANTs.

"Hey, Captain Ramius," said Cagalli, and Murrue was surprised to see Orb's tomboy princess come up to her and Heero, along with Athrun, Kira, and Lacus.

"Hello, Cagalli," said Murrue, "how are you?"

"I'm alright," she replied, glancing at her companions before turning her gaze back to Murrue… and Heero, "We all are… though we've got a bone to pick with Heero."

_Here we go_, Murrue thought, resisting the urge to shake her head, _I should've guessed that she would have a thing or two to say about this fight, and the same goes for Kira and Lacus. I'm not sure about Athrun's feelings though; he doesn't know Heero as well as the others, and he might not be as concerned as them._

"What is it?" asked Heero, looking at his friends.

"Heero," said Cagalli, shaking her head, "what the hell are you thinking here? You just came out of a freaking suicide mission alive, and you're throwing yourself into another risky fight? What gives?"

"There's no point to this, Heero," Kira chimed in, "I know you and Commander Rehema fought in the past, but the two of you are allies now; there's no reason for this duel!"

"I'm with them," said Lacus, and Murrue could see the concern in the girl's eyes, "this is a meaningless battle; it does not further our purpose in any way. This is a pointless risk of your life and that of Commander Rehema's. Please, I urge you to reconsider this; we all do." Lacus then turned towards Murrue. "Captain Ramius, surely you've spoken to him about this matter, haven't you?"

Murrue nodded and gave the songstress and her companions a gentle smile. "I have, Miss Clyne. Heero and I had a long talk about this duel… and I'm not going to stop him from participating in it."

"What?" said Cagalli, her eyes widening in shock, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I don't get it," said Athrun, "how are you ok with this?"

"It's completely pointless!" cried Kira, looking at the Gundam pilot, "Heero, I know you're a good pilot, and I'm sure you're skilled in personal combat, but you _can't win this fight_!"

"Kira's right," said Lacus, "I have no doubt that Heero is a gifted physical combatant, but Commander Rehema has an overwhelming advantage simply because she is a Coordinator. Please, I mean no racial offense in any way; this is the simple truth. Heero, you may be able to go head-to-head with her in a mobile suit fight, but in physical combat Commander Rehema has an edge that you cannot hope to match."

"So you say," Heero replied, and Murrue was struck by just how casual his voice was; it was almost as if he were discussing the weather rather than the culminating duel with his rival.

"Don't deny it!" said Cagalli, "Heero, you're probably the best soldier our world, or any other, has ever seen, I'll be the first to say that, but biologically you just can't equal a Coordinator in a personal fight! No Natural can!"

_Technically speaking_, thought Murrue, recalling her conversation with Heero several months ago in North Africa, _Heero isn't a pure Natural any more. According to what Heero told me, Dr. J and the other people involved with his section of Operation Meteor did perform some genetic and biological experiments on him prior to his launching the mission. However, those experiments were mainly geared toward making Heero more durable, tougher to kill; they didn't go nearly as far as what is done to create Coordinators. They're a small edge in his corner, but not enough to match the Valkyrie… at least, not on their own. Heero's intense training, combined with the incredible amount of combat experience, both mechanized and otherwise, that he's accrued over his lifetime of war… _that's _what helps to make him so deadly, and I believe it's more than enough to counter the biological gifts of Commander Rehema in this duel._

Murrue was about to speak up in Heero's defense when someone else beat her to the punch; her boyfriend's opponent. "Do you really think genetics are what's going to decide this fight?" asked Shemei, walking over with her subordinates in tow, "I'm disappointed, Lady Cagalli, all the more so since you're one of Heero's friends." Her eyes narrowed. "Heero's biology has little to do with his skills, and that's something I think you and your friends really should've thought of already. Trust me; Heero's by no means disadvantaged in this fight."

Murrue nodded. "Yes. Cagalli, I understand your objections… and a few months ago, I most likely would've agreed with them. I know you and the others mean well… but you are severely underestimating what Heero's capable of."

"Exactly," said Shemei, "and I wouldn't have asked to settle our score this way if I thought it was unfair to Heero; I want our final match to be as equals."

Cagalli looked from the Valkyrie to Murrue. "Captain Ramius… you really don't object to this?"

"Oh, I do object to it," said Murrue, turning to Heero and smiling before looking at Cagalli again, "I've already made it clear to Heero that I don't endorse this fight. However, I _do _support _him_, and I know that this is very important to him. This score between him and Shemei is something they both need to settle, and getting it out of the way now, in this manner, will prevent it from interfering with our larger struggle in the future." Murrue gave Heero's hand a squeeze before speaking again. "Have faith in you friend, Cagalli; Heero wouldn't do this if he didn't think he could handle it."

Cagalli shook her head. "Right… Captain Ramius, no disrespect intended, but you are talking about a guy that went to war against an entire world here. I don't think Heero's aware of his own limitations."

"Trust me, I am," said Heero, causing the others to look at him, "A good soldier knows what they can and can't do. I can win this fight, Cagalli; don't count me out just because of my genes."

"So," said Lacus, looking between Shemei and Heero, "there truly is no way that we can talk the two of you out of this?"

Both fighters shook their heads. "Sorry Lacus," said Shemei, "but this is just too important to me and Heero; it's not something we can let go."

The songstress shook her head. "Forgive me… but I just cannot understand why that is."

"Neither can I," said Kira.

"That's a good thing," said Heero.

Kira, Lacus, Athrun, and Cagalli looked among themselves before turning back to Heero. "What do you mean?" asked Lacus.

"It means you've held onto a semblance of normality, despite all that you've been through," said Heero, "Yes, this war has been hard on all of you… but you have spent far more of your life in peace rather than war; the battlefield has not defined who you are. Your morals and ideals reflect in some part the fact that you had a relatively normal upbringing. It's why you can't see a duel like this as anything other than a pointless risk, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, just because _you _do not see purpose or meaning in this fight doesn't mean that others share your sentiments. Shemei and I have our reasons for seeking this fight out. Part of it stems from our mutual respect for each other, one that has been established and built up over the course of three battles, but much of it is also rooted in our own, private motivations... motives that, given our unique situations, are by no means completely identical."

"Heero's right," said Shemei, "He and I both have our own stakes in this fight, desires and motivations that make sense to us, though we do acknowledge that they may not do so for others. There's nothing wrong with that; to have differing points of view is part of being human. That being said, Heero and I _need _this duel; we have to settle things between us. It's just something that neither of us can let go. It would take quite awhile for both of us to really explain to you why we feel this way. And while I may not have spent as much time on the battlefield as Heero, conflict and the emotions inherent in it have helped shape who I am as well, and the feelings I get while in a fight play a serious role in why I need to settle this score with him. These are feelings that most people would have a hard time understanding, and as Heero said, that's a good thing; it means you four have not been altered nearly as much by fighting and the emotions involved in it as we have. All we can ask is that you respect our decision, even if you disagree with it."

The four of them were quite for a moment before Cagalli sighed. "Alright, fine… not like we have much choice in the matter."

Athrun shook his head. "No kidding; you two are too stubborn."

"You're just now figuring that out?" asked Shemei, smirking.

"We've known Heero was that way for awhile," Kira chimed in, looking at the Perfect Soldier, "but we didn't think it extended to you as well."

"Indeed," said Lacus, "I had hoped that you would be willing to show more flexibility regarding this, Shemei… but it seems you cannot be dissuaded; neither of you can."

"Rivalries, even friendly ones, have that effect on people," said another voice. Murrue and the others turned to see Erica Simmons encroaching on their conversation, with the three young ladies Murrue had spotted earlier close behind her. The _Archangel_'s Captain was not pleased to see that the girls trailing Morgenroete's Chief Engineer were making no effort to hide the fact that they were ogling Heero.

_I think it's safe to say why they're here_, Murrue mused, doing her best to keep from glaring daggers at the young ladies, _Heero did mention back during our first stay in Orb that he worked with them, and I suppose it's natural that they were taken with him in that time period. Still, that doesn't mean I have to like it… _It had not escaped Murrue that the three Orb pilots were not the only ones starring at her boyfriend; the Valkyrie's subordinates were doing so as well, though they were not being quite as blatant about it.

Erica, for her part, was far more composed, and as she gave Murrue a small smile the beautiful Captain could reasonably reassure herself that the lovely engineer did not have any intentions towards the Gundam pilot. That only served to increase Murrue's curiosity as to why Erica was here in the first place. What was her interest in this duel?

"And you are?" asked Shemei, raising an eyebrow.

Erica gave a small laugh. "That's right; we haven't been formally introduced yet. My name is Erica Simmons, Chief Engineer of Morgenroete." She held out her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Commander Rehema… all the more so given your history with my colleague."

"Thanks," said Shemei as she shook her hand, "What colleague are you referring to?"

Erica smiled, and Murrue was surprised to see her gaze settle on Wing Zero's pilot. "That would be Heero, Commander Rehema. Although he may not be an official member of Morgenroete, I did work closely with him on Orb's mobile suit program. Indeed, were it not for the efforts of Heero and Kira, our machines would not be ready for combat… and, in Heero's case, we would not have such a magnificent machine like the Tallgeese Kai in our arsenal."

"The white and blue one over there, right?" asked Shemei, nodding at Mu La Flaga's machine.

Erica nodded. "The designs for that machine are from Heero's world. In fact, according to Heero… the Tallgeese was the predecessor of sorts to none other than Wing Zero."

"Really?" said Shemei, her eyes widening. She turned to Heero and Murrue. "I don't suppose I could check that thing out sometime?"

"I have no problem with it," Murrue replied, "but you should ask La Flaga; he is its pilot, after all."

Shemei nodded. "Right, I'll put that on my to-do list."

"Miss Simmons," said Murrue, "If I may ask, why did you decide to come over here?"

Erica shrugged. "Call it curiosity, Captain Ramius…along with a touch of professional and friendly courtesy." She looked over at the Perfect Soldier. "It's unheard of for a Natural and a Coordinator to fight in such a manner, and conventional wisdom would deem such a duel to be a very unfair way of settling a score given the difference in physical capability. That being said… conventional wisdom's never really applied to Heero, has it?"

Murrue had to smile at her words. "Indeed, it has not, Miss Simmons."

Erica nodded. "Anyway, I'm here because I want to see just what trick Heero has up his sleeve that will let him go toe-to-toe with a Coordinator in personal combat. I'm also here because… well, quite frankly, I owe Heero great debt, both for his work with me at Morgenroete and his actions on behalf of Orb." She turned to Heero and gave him a small smile. "I'd like to watch your duel as a courtesy to you. It hardly makes up for all you've done for us, but… well, it's something."

"You don't owe me anything," said Heero, "I didn't help Morgenroete or Orb to curry favor; I did it because by helping you, I was also helping Murrue."

"I thought as much," Erica replied, "Still, allow me to act on my own perceived obligation, Heero."

Heero nodded. "In that case… thank you."

"You're quite welcome," said the engineer. She then glanced back at the three girls behind her and sighed. "These three, on the other hand… well, let's just say that courtesy is not what's behind their presence here." She turned to meet Murrue's gaze, and her expression became apologetic, though she said nothing.

_No doubt Erica was paying attention to that open-air transmission Heero and I shared when he launched from the Archangel and commenced Operation Knight Lance_, Murrue thought, _and even before that I think she had some suspicion as towards my feelings for Heero, and his for me. Those three girls, on the other hand…_

"Hey, Erica," said the blonde girl, "just what are you getting at?"

"Don't try to hide it, Asagi," said the blue haired one, "you're here for the exact same reason me and Mayura are; to see Heero."

"Way to blow our cover, Juri," said the third member of the trio, a brown haired girl, who nudged the blue haired one with her elbow.

_Please_, thought Murrue, giving her head a slight shake, _you three were hardly being subtle about it…_

"Hey!" said Lan, speaking up for the first time; she and her fellow pilots had been hanging back silently behind Shemei for so long that Murrue had almost forgotten about them.

"If anyone's going to be hitting on Wing Zero's pilot, it'll be us!" the Chinese Coordinator continued, moving forward.

"Jeez, Lan," said Adaline, shaking her head, "I know you get all hot and bothered by that guy, but do you have to be so up front about it?"

"Oh, come on, Adaline," Lan replied, "you know you want to flirt with him just as much as I do, and the same goes for you, Pris!"

"What are you talking about?" asked the blonde Coordinator, and despite her protests Murrue could not help but notice her face flush slightly.

_This is starting to get out of hand_, Murrue thought, _not to mention get on my nerves… _She glanced over at Heero and was relieved to see that the Gundam pilot was not responding in any way to all the female attention. His expression remained calm and controlled, and to Murrue he seemed like the eye of a storm. Her boyfriend turned to meet her gaze, and Murrue felt him give her hand a tight squeeze. It was a silent message of loyalty, an affirmation of his devotion to him. The attention from the Valkyrie's subordinates and the Orb pilots meant nothing to him; Murrue was the only woman who Heero had eyes for.

Her boyfriend's faithfulness had never been in doubt, but Murrue was still considerably bothered by the situation unfolding around her. She was able to maintain a calm appearance, but on the inside the beautiful Captain was rushing to think of a way to beat back her lover's flirtatious admirers, and to do so in a cordially manner. She had been able to ward off Lan back when she had first gone aboard the _Eternal _over a week ago, but the situation here was not quite the same.

"Alright, everybody," said Waltfeld, interrupting Murrue's thoughts, "let's clear out some space here. I think it's time to get this fight going."

Both Heero and Shemei nodded. "Agreed," said the Valkyrie.

The group that had gathered around the two contestants began to back off, though Murrue was not quite ready to leave Heero's side just yet… especially since Waltfeld's command had not put the lid on the Orb girls or the Valkyrie's subordinates efforts at flirtation.

"We'll be rooting for you, tiger!" called Asagi.

"Go get her, handsome!" said Mayura, winking.

"Man," said Lan, looking between her Commander and the Gundam pilot and smiling, "so hard to choose who to root for. Let's see, my leader, or the dream boy?"

"Hey," said Adaline, "I know he's the hottest guy in this whole alliance, but are you really considering rooting for him over our Commander?"

"Hard not to," Lan replied, her eyes focusing on Heero with a very familiar hunger, "He's not just delicious eye candy, but he's got the moves to go head to head with our leader. Man, I can only imagine what he could do…

Murrue's eyes narrowed. _Alright, that's it; time to show these girls their place._

Before Lan could further elaborate on her lusty train of thought, Murrue turned to her boyfriend and smiled. "Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier met her gaze. "Murrue?"

The lovely Captain swiftly pulled Heero into a fierce kiss, one he readily returned. Murrue reveled in the warm feeling of his lips against hers, and could only imagine what her wannabe rivals looked like now.

After a moment their lips parted, but Murrue did not spare a glance at the three Orb pilots or the Valkyrie's subordinates, keeping her gaze locked with Heero's. "Beat her," she said, her voice firm, resounding with her confidence in him.

Heero gave her a small smile. "Roger that. And Murrue?"

"Yes?" she asked.

Her boyfriend surprised her by pulling her back into another passionate kiss. Murrue wasted no time in returning it, nor did she hesitate to open her mouth and let her tongue briefly intertwine with his.

After a couple seconds they parted again, and that slight smile was still on Heero's face. "I love you."

Murrue smiled as well. "I love you too, Heero." She then nodded over his shoulder, where the Valkyrie was standing not too far away, arms folded and a smirk on her face. "Now go out there and show her what you're truly made of. Show everyone why you're the best damn soldier this world, _any _world, has ever seen."

Heero nodded. "Got it."

Returning the gesture, Murrue then moved back to join the rest of the crowd, who were gathering near the feet of Wing Zero. Everyone had split up according to what ship they were from, with the _Eternal_'s delegation on the right, _Archangel_'s in the middle, and the _Kusanagi_'s on the left. As she walked towards the gathering she noted with satisfaction the dropped jaws of both the three M1 pilots and the Valkyrie's subordinates, all of them dumbstruck by the very passionate and public display of affection between the lovely Captain and the Gundam pilot.

_I've staked my claim, girls_, she thought, giving them a meaningful glance, _I've made my mark, and Heero's more than returned the gesture. Go play your charms on some other young man; Heero's beyond your reach._

Murrue situated herself in her ship's group, and she was mildly surprised to see that Bristow and the Valkyrie's parents were there as well; even though they were residing on the _Archangel_, Murrue had expected them to stand with Waltfeld and the others whom she guessed would be supporting Shemei. Glancing around, she saw the camera crew that she had spotted earlier was in position and ready to record the action.

"I can't believe they're actually going through with this," she heard Kira say, "It's so pointless. They're risking their lives for nothing!"

"To us, it seems like nothing," said Lacus, and Murrue saw her slip her hand into Kira's, "but to them, it is something, and they asked us to respect that. They did not demand our understanding, only our acknowledgment that this duel has meaning to them, and that they must go through with it. Let's give it to them, Kira, out of courtesy and the friendship we have with them."

_Well said, Miss Clyne_, Murrue thought, _given that you and the others were not privy to the conversation I had with Heero earlier, your doubts are quite understandable. Even with your gifts of intuition, Miss Clyne, you could not truly comprehend why Heero feels the need to have this fight with Shemei unless he told you; his motives are far more complex than one might guess at first glance. Thank you for recognizing that._

The songstress's closeness to Kira reminded Murrue of similar behavior she had witnessed between them when she had gone aboard the _Eternal _for the conference over a week ago. She was now growing more confident that there was indeed a romantic attachment blooming between them, though Murrue did not think that they had openly stated their feelings for each other yet. Nonetheless, she was glad to see that the two of them were growing closer. After all he had been through, Kira deserved a little bit of personal happiness in his life, and Murrue was not sure that his prior relationship with Flay had truly given him that.

_Something didn't feel right about those two_, she thought, _though I'll admit I didn't pay them too much mind; I was more focused on commanding the Archangel… and more than a little preoccupied with Heero. Perhaps I should've given them a little more attention back then… well, it's too late for that now. No sense in dwelling on the past, and as long as Kira and Miss Clyne are happy, that's enough for me. I just hope Flay's doing alright; I have no idea what happened to her after she was transferred out of my command at Alaska._

"That idiot," she heard a familiar voice mumble from the Orb delegation, and Murrue glanced over to see Cagalli standing next to Athrun, "he's always so stubborn, and he doesn't give any concern to his own life! I can't believe Captain Ramius is actually letting him go through with this!"

"I don't think that's entirely accurate," the former ZAFT pilot replied, "I think Heero _does _care about his own life; he just thinks that having this duel is worth the risk. You saw him earlier with Captain Ramius, Cagalli; I don't think Heero would let Commander Rehema kill him in front of the woman he loves. Heero may be stubborn, but I also don't think he would engage the Valkyrie in a fight like this if he didn't think he had a chance at winning. Besides, you heard Captain Ramius; she may not approve of the fight, but she does support Heero. She's not happy with this fight, but she understands why he has to do it; I imagine they probably talked about this before we all came here."

Cagalli looked at him for a moment before speaking again. "Yeah… I guess you're right. Still doesn't mean I have to like it, though."

"I know," said Athrun, "but he is your friend, so shouldn't you at least have a little faith in him?"

"I do," said Cagalli, "I just wish he didn't have to be such a stubborn guy."

"It's just how we are sometimes," said Athrun, smirking.

Orb's tomboy princess gave the young man a small smile. "Yeah… you do have a point." She then slipped her hand into his in a manner not dissimilar from what Lacus had done with Kira.

_Is there something going on between them as well?_, Murrue mused, _I suppose it's possible; love does have a habit of blooming in trying times. I think my relationship with Heero is proof enough of that…_

Murrue turned her attention back to Heero and Shemei. The two fearsome fighters were standing just a few meters apart, gazes locked and hands hovering over the hilts of their swords. They both presented very unique figures. One the one hand there was Heero, a picture of calm determination. His eyes were narrowed, and Murrue could practically feel the resolve burning within them. His magnificent blue uniform only served to enhance the aura about him, adding a sense of nobility to the quiet strength he exuded. His body seemed loose and relaxed, yet at the same time ready to act in the blink of an eye. In contrast, the Valkyrie was now much more open with her excitement, displaying it with a fierce, predatory smile. Her silver eyes were narrowed as well, and gleaming with an energy that struck Murrue as both playful and intense. Her custom black and red flight suit clung tightly to her body, accentuating her athletic figure, and Murrue felt as though Shemei was like a lioness waiting for the chance to leap into an attack at a moment's notice.

"Hey," said Dearka, "shouldn't someone give them a signal to go?"

Murrue glanced over and saw La Flaga shake his head, a small smile on his face. "No way, kid. Those two don't need any cue from us; they'll know when it's time to move."

Turning back to observe the two combatants, Murrue felt that the Hawk of Endymion's words were right on the mark. The way that Heero and Shemei were staring each other down felt very much like a final lead-up into the fight itself, like the two of them were giving each other on last evaluation before kicking the action off. No signal from anyone else would be acknowledged; only they could start the show.

The crowd watched in silence as the two contestants stared each other down. Save for their breathing, which was almost imperceptibly light, Heero and Shemei were as still as statues.

After a moment Shemei nodded at her opponent. "Before we get started, I just wanted to thank you, Heero. Not just for saving my parents, but for agreeing to do this with me; I don't like to leave this sort of thing unsettled. No matter what way this goes, win or lose, I know I'll have no regrets when it's over."

"No problem," Heero replied, nodding as well, "Commander… no, Shemei… I want you to know that this will be our _final _fight, no matter what happens. I swore to Murrue that after this duel I would no longer engage in a duel like this, one for the sake of a rivalry rather than a larger objective. I _will _keep that promise… so we settle things between us here and now, once and for all. There won't be any rematches, not in this manner; if you want another fight, it'll have to be in the simulator. I've put far too much stress on the woman I love because of my insistence on fighting you in this manner, and she doesn't deserve that; I'll _never _do it again."

The Valkyrie's eyes widened for a moment, and Murrue thought she might protest, but then she smiled again at Heero. It was quite unlike the predatory one she'd been giving him earlier; this one was soft and understanding. "Alright, Heero. I get where you're coming from; I know this hasn't been easy on Eric." The Valkyrie glanced briefly over at her boyfriend and nodded before turning back to Heero. "No matter which one of us wins, I won't press for a rematch like this; no more duels with our lives on the line after this one. You have my word on that, Heero."

Murrue smiled at the exchange. _Thank you… both of you._

For his part the Gundam pilot simply gave his rival another nod. "Thanks."

"Anytime," she replied. Then the intense focus and predatory smile returned to her face, her silver eyes gleaming with energy just begging to be released. Her hand edged closer and closer to the hilt of her blade… and Heero's did the same.

Murrue found herself holding her breath, as did her fellow spectators. The tension in the air was growing thicker by the millisecond, swiftly approaching the bursting point… and only the two fighters in the middle of the hangar could let it rush free.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and everything else seemed to fade into obscurity; all Murrue could focus on was the man she loved and his opponent.

Suddenly there was an almost imperceptible flash in their eyes, a signal going between them that was all but invisible to outsiders. Then, in the space of a split-second, there was the cry of steel being unsheathed at an inhuman speed, the two combatants moving so fast that they seemed to blur at the edges, the flash of blades streaking through the air on a collision course with destiny…

…and the fight was on.

….

**(Start "Forsaken Sanctuary")**

She was _fast_.

The Valkyrie's saber draw was like a bolt of lightning, and Heero barely managed to bring his blade up to deflect her opening slash. Angling his sword towards the floor, the Perfect Soldier managed to redirect the strike while minimizing the force of the impact that he had to block, but Shemei recovered in a display of fluid grace that Heero could not help but marvel at. Rather than fight the deflection, she let her body flow with it and using it as momentum to whirl around and launch another attack, this time a horizontal strike. Once again Heero parried the blow while taking a step backwards to bleed off some of the force behind the attack.

Shemei wasted no time in recovering, swiftly moving into a quick and precise sequence of slashes aimed at Heero's torso. Keeping his blade close to his body for maximum coverage, the Gundam pilot found himself on the defensive as he fended off his foe's attacks. The style he had practiced earlier in the quarters he shared with Murrue paid off now, but unlike earlier Heero now had most of the hangar to use as fighting space, and he adapted accordingly, moving backwards to take some of the bite out of his rival's strikes.

_Just backpedalling won't be enough_, he thought as he parried a diagonal slash, _if I rely only on that then eventually I'll hit a wall. I need to keep giving myself room to maneuver. _

So rather than move in a straight line, Heero introduced a slight deviation in the direction he was moving each time he deflected one of Shemei's swift attacks. A small step to the left here, one to the right there, all in an effort to keep himself from being boxed in. He wielded his saber using both hands in order to increase the strength with which he could fend off the Valkyrie's attacks, and he made sure to keep his body loose so he'd be better able to react to her attacks; if he got too tense, to rigid, his rival would be far more likely to find a gap in his defenses.

To the casual observer it would seem as though the duel was already as good as done, that the Valkyrie already had Heero on the ropes and that it would only be a matter of time before she scored first blood and ended the match. However, a more seasoned eye would note Heero's careful footwork and swordplay, how each of the tight and efficient moves he employed were designed to conserve energy and give himself a little space, room to either dodge his foe and counter… or study her as she continued her assault, to learn about his foe as she attacked him.

It was the latter that the Gundam pilot was doing. His continuous defensive efforts, not once trying to counter-attack, were not because he _couldn't _strike back, but because he did not want to… not yet. As he blocked, parried, and deflected the rapid-fire assault of cuts, thrusts, and slashes from his opponent Heero was carefully eying her movements, analyzing how she fought now when compared to her past performance in their beam saber fights. There were plenty of differences, of course; this was natural given the fact that this was a personal fight rather than a mobile suit engagement. However, there were also some similarities, and as he continued to defend himself from Shemei's strikes the Gundam pilot was already building a picture in his mind of her fighting style, keeping an eye open for patterns and tendencies.

In terms of raw speed, there was no doubt in his mind that she had the edge; were this contest a footrace rather than a fight, Heero knew that he would lose. The increased speed Shemei got thanks to being a Coordinator was refined by her combat training and her practice with her blade, and her improved reflexes and fine motor control meant that she was incredibly precise with her attacks and swiftly able to recover from having her strikes blocked and parried and adjust her form appropriately.

However, despite her advantage in speed in this duel, Heero was still able to keep pace with her and withstand her fierce assault. This was due in no small part to a particular talent of his that Heero had spent a _lifetime _refining; the ability to read the flow of a fight and the intentions of his foes.

While the Zero System enhanced his ability to anticipate his enemies to the level of near-prescience in mobile suit combat, even without the highly sophisticated program Heero was still able to read the moves of his opponent and discern her next move. His upbringing under Odin Lowe, his years spent surviving as a child in the battles waged by the colonial rebels against Alliance occupation forces, and his experience in Operation Meteor and the Eve Wars, had heightened his instincts and intuition to an inhuman degree of sharpness. Even without the Zero System, Heero possessed a battlefield awareness that was _very _difficult to match, and it was serving him well now.

While he could not directly match the speed of Shemei, Heero's ability to read her emotions and intentions meant that he was able to react accordingly, sharpening his reflexes to an inhuman degree, enabling him to keep up with her quick and precise attacks. He could discern her intent through any number of subtle visual cues; a shift in stance, a slight adjustment to her wrist, a minor bend in her waist… and the look in her eyes.

The last was by far the most important. The old adage that 'the eyes are the windows to the soul' rang especially true with regards to hand-to-hand, or in this case, blade-to-blade, fighting. It was within the Valkyrie's gleaming silver eyes that Heero could truly read his foe's emotions and intentions. A subtle shift in one direction, the expansion or contraction of the pupil, the narrowing of her gaze… all of those and more were critical cues to helping Heero anticipate her next move and respond accordingly. It wasn't nearly as prescient as the Zero System was, but Heero's instincts and intuition were still refined to the point that it was enough to keep him on even ground with his phenomenal opponent.

Of course, being able to read his foe's moves did not detract the least from her extraordinary combat abilities… abilities that she was unleashing on him with great enthusiasm and vigor.

_Her skills are amazing_, he thought as the Valkyrie transitioned into a series of cuts aimed at his legs, _this isn't just her beam saber abilities transferring over to our clash; she's a professional duelist, no doubt there. The fact that she's a Coordinator means her capabilities are greatly amplified, but even if she were a Natural her swordplay would definitely be considered top tier. _Her form was graceful and fluid, swift and flowing, precise and elegant. As Heero blocked her stabs at his legs it felt as if his foe was as much dancing as she was fighting.

Suddenly Shemei swung her blade upward, and only a careful sidestep and parry on Heero's part prevented him from taking a long, vertical slash across his chest. This was in turn quickly followed up by a right-to-left diagonal strike, and as Heero deflected it he noted that Shemei had once again moved back into a sequence of mid-level strikes. It made sense, of course; she was going for his center of mass, the area she was most likely to land a hit.

Shifting his defensive strategy, Heero began moving along a backwards right curve, one that theoretically could take him in complete circle were he to continue on it long enough. As he did so he kept up his close blocks, deflections, and parries while he continued to gauge his foe's tactics. Eventually he noticed a tendency on the Valkyrie's part to utilize wide, almost circular movements when slashing, whether it was vertical or horizontal. In these moves fluidity and flexibility were her greatest assets, but she did sacrifice some coverage for when her foe was able to counter-attack. Her cuts and thrusts, by contrasts, took much tighter motions, an offensive version of Heero's own defensive moves. However, these attacks were a little more rigid than the slashes, requiring a bit more effort on the part of Shemei to recover from and adjust when they were blocked or parried. They were quick and precise, but each time she had to pull back her arm to launch another one of them it gave him an opening, though it was very, very small.

_She's naturally aware of this_, he thought as he deflected a horizontal slash, redirecting the Valkyrie's momentum to the left, _that's why she changes up her sequences, to counter the separate weaknesses. She seems to favor the slashes a bit more than the cuts and thrusts, though; again, natural as it allows her more flexibility in her movements. She's stretched out a little further on them than she is on the cuts and thrusts though; I might be able to use that._

Even as he began planning his counter-offensive, though, he could not afford to let his guard up. Just as he was observing the Valkyrie as she attacked, so was she studying him as he defended. Heero could tell from the look in her eyes that she was analyzing his blade and footwork, trying to determine how to throw him off balance and pierce his defenses. At the same time, Heero knew that his opponent was well aware that he was studying her fighting style, and that she would take that into account in her coming attacks.

Shemei recovered beautifully from Heero's earlier deflection, whirling around and lashing out in a low slash at his upper left leg. Again, Heero managed to parry the strike, but instead of following up the strike with another slash the Valkyrie instead shot back with a thrust towards Heero's right hip. The Perfect Soldier was able to block the blow, but it forced him to shift out of the long right arc he'd been traveling along. He pivoted to the left and brought his saber up again to block an overhand chop aimed at his right shoulder.

His foe had changed tactics, now interspersing her wide, fluid slashes with tight and precise thrusts and cuts at a more rapid interval. Instead of a separate sequence of consecutive slashes or thrusts, now she was alternating the individual moves, sometimes one after the other, sometimes at more random intervals. This new barrage of attacks was much fiercer than the earlier ones Heero had fended off before… ones that the Gundam pilot now realized were a setup.

_She started like that to lull me into a false sense of security_, he thought as he blocked a mid-level slash before redirecting a swift thrust aimed at his gut, _those earlier sequences of continuous slashes or thrusts… those were misdirection; she wanted me to think _that _was her true fighting style._

Now her attacks were much more varied, and as Heero fought fiercely to fend them off he had to admire Shemei for her earlier deception. In using her patters of either slashes or thrusts she'd been trying to get him to think that those were her preferred methods of fighting in this kind of duel… and it had almost worked. However, what had saved Heero was his prior experience in fighting her in mobile suit combat; the way she used her machine's beam saber in those clashes was much like how she was attacking him now, with the kinds of attacks she launched at him being considerably more varied than the earlier sequences she had used against him in the opening stage of the duel.

He could still read her moves, though anticipating her actions now was definitely harder than it had been earlier. Still, Heero was able to discern her intention by keeping an eye on the same visual cues he'd been monitoring throughout the duel. He parried a thrust aimed at his left side and then blocked a diagonal slash that had been meant for his right shoulder, all the while studying this new form… or rather, her _true _form, and the emotions driving it.

The emotions of the Valkyrie were actually not difficult for Heero to read. On the contrary; his foe was making no effort whatsoever to conceal her excitement and joy as they continued their fight. As Heero deflected a horizontal slash he once again saw Shemei's smile, one that was both predatory and quite genuine. The thrill she was getting from their duel was readily apparent, as was her happiness at finally having her wish granted; a clash where the two of them could truly go all-out with no interference. The Perfect Soldier was struck by the contrast Shemei presented to him, a young man who believed in keeping his emotions under control when in the midst of a fight. On the one hand, the Valkyrie seemed to be giving her feelings free reign. On the other, Heero could feel that they did not truly rule her; she still maintained her razor sharp focus.

_Her feelings walk hand in hand with her combat awareness_, he thought as he redirected a fierce thrust aimed at his left shoulder, _She's acting on her emotions, but she isn't controlled by them… she's achieved true balance. In a way, she's actually like me, save for the fact that she's much more open with her feelings, more _free _with them. She gives them much more leeway in a fight than I do with mine… but she's still mindful of them, aware and in control._

As he blocked an overhand strike an odd image flashed through Heero's mind. It was a picture of him and Shemei, standing back to back, with a great orb in the background. The left half of the orb, the portion behind the Valkyrie, was a brilliant yellow-orange, while the part behind Heero was a much more subdued blue-white.

_The sun and the moon_, Heero realized as he took a step to the left and parried a diagonal slash from his foe, _I suppose that's an apt comparison. Shemei burns brighter and more passionately, her light and heat given freely to the world. As for me, I'm calmer, more restrained. I take the light of the sun and refine it, focus it, limit it… but I still let it out, in my own, quieter way. Shemei expresses her emotions freely, while I do so in a much more subdued fashion. However, we both still act on those feelings all the same. Like the sun and the moon, we still give light… just in our own, unique fashions._

As their clash of blades continued Heero also noted a sense of curiosity in the Valkyrie, mixed in with her joy and excitement. The Perfect Soldier had little doubt as to the root of it; she was wondering why he hadn't launched an attack yet of any kind. She was certainly aware that part of it had to be because Heero was studying her fighting style, but even then the Gundam pilot should've at least launched a counter of some kind by now.

_Oh, I'm more than ready to counter now, Shemei_, he thought, his eyes narrowing further as he redirected a low thrust aimed at his left hip, _I'm just waiting for the moment when it will have maximum impact. _A simple deflection and strike was not enough for Heero; he wanted to completely disrupt her rhythm and go on the offensive. Towards that end, the young man knew that timing was the key.

Of course, that was _much _easier said than done. The Valkyrie's new offensive, her true fighting style, was incredibly formidable. She was aggressive, swift, graceful, precise, and relentless. The blows she rained down upon Heero came in rapid succession and much greater variety than before, which made finding that opening he needed to launch his counter-attack much more difficult. Pivoting to the right to redirect a vicious vertical strike, Heero could not help but note that Shemei's technique bore more than a little resemblance to that of Zechs. Her speed and daring were quite reminiscent of that of the Lightning Count.

_No surprise there_, he thought as he parried a thrust aimed at his chest, _the fact that fighting her reminded me of fighting Zechs was one of the factors that got me invested in this rivalry in the first place. It drew me in… but I won't let it keep me here. I wanted this final duel so I could break free of that feeling, to truly move past that part of my life where I only felt at home in battle, and I'm going to do it. Not just for my sake, but for Murrue… for her above all else!_

That drive, the will to once and for all move beyond what he had once seen as his only role in life, that of a soldier who had only known a life of war, to truly become the man he believed could forge a new life with the woman he loved… _that _was what fueled his determination to have this fight, and to _win it_. It was what had allowed him to patiently endure the Valkyrie's phenomenal assault, to weather the storm of blows she unleashed on him. It was all for the sake of analyzing his opponent, learning all he needed to before going onto the offensive and decisively ending this rivalry… and going back to Murrue Ramius as the man that truly deserved her love, a future with her, and who would challenge Heaven and Hell to defend it and her.

Taking a step to the right, Heero redirected a thrust aimed at his right shoulder. That attack was almost instantly followed up by a left-to-right diagonal slash, one that Heero barely managed to deflect. As the Valkyrie continued to rain blow after blow down upon his defenses, the Perfect Soldier had to admire just how smoothly his foe chained her attacks together. He form was incredibly fluid, like a river that easily adapted to and flowed around large boulders strewn in it. Her footwork struck him as a combination between that of a fighter and that of a dancer, with her weight constantly shifting from her toes to the back of her feet and everywhere in between. At times it seemed as though Shemei were performing a ballet, one where the cry of clashing blades replaced the sound of audience applause. There was a deadly sort of beauty to it, one that Heero could appreciate in the same way that he did an expertly crafted weapon.

As he blocked another vertical strike from the Valkyrie, his foe gave a small laugh. "Come on, Heero," she said, unleashing a lightning fast thrust at his neck, one he was barely able to deflect, "you can't play the defender forever. Don't get me wrong; it's beyond impressive, the best defensive swordplay I've ever seen."

As she launched a flurry of swift cuts and stabs she spoke again. "However, as incredible as it is, you and I both know that such a rock-solid defense won't win you this fight… and it's not how either of us truly want to settle this rivalry. Come on, Heero; show me what you can _really _do. I don't want to win before I've seen you hit me with that incredible offense I've survived in our last battles."

"What I gave you before," said Heero as he fended off her blows, "in our last three fights… that wasn't my full strength, and you know it."

"Oh yeah," said Shemei, grinning, "Trust me, I'm well aware of that… which is why I want it _now_."

"Be careful what you wish for, Shemei," said Heero as he parried a slash, "you just might get it."

"Believe me," she replied as she launched another attack, "that's a saying I'm well versed in by now. However, this is different; I _know _that your best offense is _exactly _what I want. I don't want to beat you until I've survived the assault that only _you _can bring to the table."

Heero nodded. "You'll get your chance soon enough."

"I'd better," said Shemei as she lashed out again, "otherwise this just turns into a match of endurance, with each of us trying to outlast the other. I don't want that, and neither do you; we each want to win when the other is at their best! Am I right, Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded again as he blocked her attacks, "Yes… you are."

The truth of the matter was that utilizing his incredible endurance and his defensive skills to simply wear down the Valkyrie had never occurred to him, and even now he did not consider it as a strategy he would use in this duel. While it may have been a practical and viable plan to employ, it would not satisfy Heero's need to beat Shemei when she was at her best. If he simply made the contest one of endurance, he was confident he could win it, but it would detract from the meaning that the duel had to both of them. It would leave them both feeling disappointed, knowing that they had not truly settle things between them with both of them unleashing everything they had against each other… and it would not provide a satisfying conclusion to their rivalry and enable Heero to move forward into the next stage of his life, his future with Murrue. If the two of them were going to get the truly decisive ending to their rivalry, one that they could both accept with no regrets, then they _had _to bring everything they had to the table, both offensive and defensive.

However, Heero wasn't about to let Shemei goad him into making his move before he was ready. If he moved prematurely, the Valkyrie could take advantage of the gap it would open in his defenses and quite possibly get in the winning blow. As he continued to fend off her strikes, Heero maintained his patience, waiting for the precise opportunity he needed to launch his counter-offensive.

Pivoting to the left, Heero deflected an overhand attack. The Valkyrie almost instantly recovered, swinging her blade back up in a diagonal strike. Sidestepping to the right, Heero managed to block and redirect the attack, once again avoiding taking the full force of the impact on his blade in order to conserve energy for when he went on the attack. Adjusting with her incredible fluid grace, Shemei immediately moved to attack again. She leapt into the air and flipped over Heero, swinging her blade as she did so. The Gundam pilot ducked and rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding the aerial attack. He came up just as the Valkyrie landed on her feet with cat-like grace, and she almost instantly came at him again, launching another swift sequence of strikes.

As he parried a vicious thrust, Heero saw the Valkyrie shift her stance in preparation for her next attack. Gambling that he had observed enough of her fighting style now to anticipate what was coming, Heero brought his blade up in a high guard… and was rewarded by Shemei launching a fierce downward, diagonal slash from right to left.

_Here we go_, he thought. Shifting his saber so the tip pointed slightly down, Heero braced himself for the impact of the slash. The moment Shemei's sword hit his saber the Perfect Soldier drastically altered the angle of the blade, turning a slight tilt into a steep decline. As the Valkyrie's momentum carried her forward the Gundam pilot stepped back. Pivoting on his left foot, Heero whirled around, adding centrifugal force to his own formidable physical strength…

…and finally attacked.

**(End "Forsaken Sanctuary")**

….

**(Start "Fearless Eyes")**

He was _strong_.

Shemei's eyes widened in shock as Heero's sword slammed into her own. Taken off-guard by the sudden pivot and spin of Wing Zero's pilot, the Valkyrie had barely been able to bring her blade up in time to block her foe's attack… and she was astounded at the power behind it. Unable to prepare for a proper parry, Shemei took the full force of the strike on her sword, and the impact was enough to actually send her skidding back a few feet across the floor.

_Where the hell did _that _come from?_, she thought.

The strike had been incredibly powerful, and what made it all the more shocking to Shemei was that Heero had delivered it with only his right hand. Now that he was moving onto the offensive he was abandoning the two-handed style he'd been using while guarding against her earlier assaults, which would've meant that he'd be able to put less strength into his attacks… but his blow had still impacted her saber like a hammer, rocking the Valkyrie.

She had no time to inquire; her foe was already pouncing on her, following up his incredible counter with his first offensive of the duel. Once again the Valkyrie was barely able to bring her blade into position to catch a vicious horizontal slash. Yet again she took the full force of the impact on her saber, and she felt the amazing strength the Gundam pilot could put behind his blows. Heero gave her no room for respite, swiftly launching a thrust at her neck. This time Shemei was able to parry the blow, but it was a near thing; she could feel the wind generated from the attack against her skin, and she knew that the sword had been mere centimeters away from cutting her. Adjusting her stance, Shemei was about to launch a counter-attack of her own, but Heero had already beaten her to the punch and was coming at her again with a slash at her right shoulder. The Valkyrie deflected the blow, taking a step back to help her bleed off at least some of the incredible strength behind the attack.

This time Shemei was able to counter-attack, lashing out with a swift horizontal slash as Heero's midsection. Just as he had done before, the young man parried the attack, but this time he immediately followed it up with a strike of his own, a fierce thrust at her left leg that she was barely able to parry.

Shemei smiled as she made another attack, only for Heero to deflect it and respond with a diagonal strike. _Now he's getting into it, showing me what he's really got_, she thought as she blocked the attack, _no… that's not quite right. He _was _into it before, giving me his best… his best _defense_, that is. I knew he was giving himself time to study my technique, hence his lack of attacks until now, but he wasn't exactly holding back on his skills, just utilizing his defensive ones. It was _very _impressive… and this is even more so!_

Now she was getting a taste of Heero's offensive capabilities, and he did not disappoint in the slightest. His style was much like what he had employed during their beam saber clashes with their mobile suits; efficient, precise, and downright brutal. As she parried another powerful overhand strike, Shemei noted that while Heero was not quite as fast as her in this physical confrontation he more than made up for it with economy of movement; there wasn't a hint of wasted motion in his form. He lacked the more polished grace and finesse of professional duelists, but that was more than offset by his rock solid offense and defense, along with the phenomenal awareness and instincts that had evolved in him over what Shemei believed to be a _lifetime _spent on the battlefield.

_He's amazing_, she thought as her foe redirected her thrust and instantly struck back with a mid-level slash, taking the full force of the impact on her blade and once again skidding back about a foot, _physically he's actually slower than me, but his ability to read the flow of a fight more than makes up for it! He can not only react to my attacks but set up his own immediately after he's blocked them, and he does it so seamlessly. It's not graceful, but it is _very _efficient, and because of it he can keep up with a Coordinator in physical combat!_

Her eyes met his as she lashed out with a cut at his left shoulder, one he swiftly deflected and countered with an overhand strike. Shemei could not help but be awed by the incredible focus and intensity that she found within those Prussian blue orbs. It was striking, piercing… all the more so since his facial expression was one of complete concentration; he had a solid grip on the energy that was burning inside him, and he had confined it to his eyes. It was a stark contrast to Shemei, who knew she had a habit of wearing her heart on her sleeve. This duel was no different; she was making no effort to hide the excitement the fight generated within her, smiling through most of the match so far.

_I just can't help it_, she mused as she fended off Heero's attack and made a stab at his legs that was deflected in the blink of an eye, _I'm a girl that likes to express her feelings; keeping them hidden just isn't my style. Sure, I keep a reign on them; it's essential for fighting effectively. That being said, I do let them come to the surface a lot more in a fight than someone like Heero does._

Parrying a down-up slash from the Gundam pilot, Shemei tried to renew her offensive. Coming in hard with a vertical strike which Heero deflected, the Valkyrie used her momentum to whirl around and add centrifugal force to her follow-up attack. Once again her adversary blocked her strike, and this time Shemei did not have time to launch another attack on its heels; her foe had smoothly transitioned from defense to offense with a brutal slash.

Deflecting the blow, Shemei thought she saw an opportunity to score the winning blow on Heero as he spun to absorb and bleed off the excess momentum that had resulted from his redirected attack. The back of Wing Zero's pilot was exposed for a split-second, and the Valkyrie wasted no time in making a stab at it. However, Heero surprised her by swiftly bringing his blade over his shoulder and angling it down to catch the attack and parry. As her foe looked over his shoulder his eyes met hers, and Shemei saw a fierce gleam in those blue orbs, an unspoken challenge.

'_You'll have to do better than that, Shemei.'_

The Valkyrie grinned.

'_Challenge accepted.'_

Taking a step back, Shemei braced herself for Heero's counter, which was swift in the making. Her rival continued his spin, bringing his blade around in another brutal and powerful slash. Pivoting on her right foot, Shemei adjusted the angle of her blade and managed to deflect the strike while bleeding off some of the impact force, but she was still rocked by the strength behind the attack. However, she managed a quick recovery and lashed out with a cut at his right leg. Her blade was intercepted by Heero's, and Wing Zero's pilot replied in kind with a low cut of his own.

Shemei parried the attack before swinging her blade up, attempting to catch her rival across the chest. Taking a step back, Heero evaded the attack and struck back with a vertical chop. Shemei rolled to the side, dodging the blow entirely and swiftly launching a horizontal strike in return. Once again Heero blocked her blow before ducking and making another swipe at her legs.

This time Shemei jumped over the strike entirely. Her enhanced Coordinator strength and agility made her much more acrobatic than her foe, and as she flipped over Heero she brought her blade down, attempting to cut his shoulder. However, Heero immediately raised his blade and batted aside her attack. Spinning around, the Gundam pilot lunged at Shemei just as her feet hit the ground, and the Valkyrie was barely able to bring her saber up to block his strike.

_God damn!_, she thought as she took the full force of the blow on her blade and felt herself skid back almost a foot on the steel floor, _Such speed and power, precision and ferocity… none of the people back in my old dueling club could come _close _to matching this, and they were all Coordinators! _Shemei smiled even as she rushed to parry Heero's follow up attack, a thrust at her left hip. This duel was turning into everything she had hoped for and more. Granted, a classical sword fight was not how she had originally pictured settling her rivalry with Heero… but here and now, as she crossed blades with the young man whom in her eyes symbolized the zenith of combat and piloting prowess, she knew that she would have it no other way.

_It _had _to come down to this clash_, she thought as she deflected a vicious diagonal strike, _up close and personal, with nothing to get in our way, and no ranged weapons for either party. I don't know why, but fighting him like this, in such an archaic manner… it feels so _right_! Yes, our battles before now were as mobile suit pilots, the blades that clashed were those of titanic machines of war, our contest one of our flying skills… but _this _is what it had to come down to. _As she lashed out with a cut at her foe's torso, which he swiftly parried, Shemei knew that her feelings made no real sense; there had been no logical explanation to believe that they would settle their score in this manner until three days ago.

_Logic be damned_, she thought as she fended off a ferocious thrust, _I went into this fight by following my feelings, and I'm not going to second guess them now!_

Striking back with a vertical attack at Heero's shoulder, Shemei could not help but marvel at the young man's reaction speed as he batted the blow aside and almost instantly transitioned back onto the offensive with a mid-level slash. She could not begin to imagine what kind of training and how much combat experience had been needed to refine his reflexes to such an incredible degree, to make his awareness and intuition so acute, so comprehensive, and to give him such speed and strength as to challenge even a veteran Coordinator duelist like herself in a physical confrontation.

_It must have been brutal_, she mused as she parried the slash, _To have forged such a young man into such a formidable fighter... hell, his body looks like that of an Olympic athlete, not a sixteen year old soldier! His training alone must have been hell, probably surpassing the programs that our Special Forces operatives go through. As for the battles themselves, I doubt all of them were fought from the relative comfort of a mobile suit combat; I'm sure Heero's seen more than his share of physical fights and shootouts. _

As their clash continued, with Heero quickly moving into a series of ferocious and precise slashes and stabs, Shemei could not help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart even as she was in the midst of the fight that she'd so dearly wanted.

_The price he must've paid to ascend to this level of combat prowess_, she thought, _I can't imagine what it was... but I'm sure it was a heavy toll, one he should not have been forced to pay. To have reached this incredible state of ability at the age of sixteen… I can only guess when he actually started training and fighting. Was he even a teenager when he first fought? Somehow I doubt it. I can't say for sure, but… that's the feeling I get. When people like Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, and Lacus were in grade school, enjoying their childhood… Heero was on the battlefields of his world. They kept their innocence until they were pulled into this war… but Heero's was sacrificed long ago. He lost any chance for a normal childhood…and became a soldier. It's what allowed him to get to the point that he can stand against me on even ground in a physical confrontation, but I wish he could've achieved this level of skill some other way._

Shemei took comfort in what she had observed both today and three days ago; the affection and love her rival shared with the _Archangel_'s Captain. It was clear that the woman who commanded the ship cared deeply for Heero, and Shemei knew that Murrue would do whatever she could to give Heero the comfort and peace he deserved. It would not bring back his innocence; that had been taken from him long ago, and it could never be recovered. However, as she had watched the two of them kiss prior to the start of the duel, it was abundantly clear to Shemei that Murrue had given Heero a future. More than that, she'd given him a happiness that the Valkyrie could only imagine had been incredibly rare in the young man's life up until now, and it was obvious that Wing Zero's pilot was deeply devoted to her in return.

_His past is no doubt a tale of hardship, struggle, and sacrifice_, she thought as she deflected and parried a series of brutal strikes, _and his time in our world probably hasn't been easy either… but he found her, grew closer to her, fell in love with her, and I believe to him that made it all worth it. I don't know all of Heero's motives for agreeing to this final clash with me, but I'm sure that his love for Murrue is involved in some way. He's determined to settle this rivalry with me and go back to her, to devote himself completely to her. She's made his present one where he has someone to care for him, someone who truly _loves _him and will comfort him amidst the battles he continues to fight… and she can give him a bright future, one that can burn away the shadows of his past._

Knowing that Heero had found someone he could be happy with, with whom he shared a deep and powerful bond of affection, was enough to outweigh the sadness she felt when she thought about how tough his past must've been. That being said, she would not hold herself back due to such sentimental feelings. On the contrary; she would give this battle her all. It was contradictory, but Shemei knew that both she and Heero had the best chance of surviving this confrontation if they gave it their best effort, went at it with everything they had.

_Our skills must be at our sharpest_, she thought as she managed to get herself back on the offensive, initiating a sequence of slashes and cuts that Heero proceeded to block and parry as appropriate, _our control over our blades and bodies at its most refined. Only that will allow us to end this rivalry decisively _and _give both of us the chance to walk away from this alive and able to return to the people we love… and to the war against the extremists that hold sway over Earth and space. _

She launched her fourth strike in the sequence; a thrust at Heero's left shoulder. Once again the Gundam pilot managed to parry her blow, but this time he retook the offensive with a powerful overhand slash. Taking a step back to reduce the impact, Shemei managed to deflect the blow. She had no time to set up a counter-attack though, as Heero was already following-up the strike with another blow. Wing Zero's pilot lashed out with a vicious flat thrust, with the edge of the blade running parallel to the floor. Shemei rolled to the right to dodge the attack, but as she came up her eyes widened as she saw Heero suddenly swing the blade at her in a ferocious horizontal slash. She managed to bring her sword up to block the attack, but she had no time to set up a proper parry and thus took the full force of the blow on her saber.

_Unbelievable_, she thought as she skidded about a foot across the floor, staggered by the incredible power behind the strike, _the moment I dodged that thrust he turned it into a lateral strike!_

She quickly proceeded to fend off a diagonal slash from Heero, only for that to be followed-up by another flat thrust. This time Shemei rolled to the left instead of to the right, but Heero was still able to transition from the thrust to a horizontal slash, and the Valkyrie was once again barely able to bring her saber up in time to block the blow.

_No way_, she thought, _I've read about this move! Well, not quite _this one, _but close; the original one was meant for a left-hander, and was used by a katana rather than a European style blade. Still, I know what he's doing; it's a right-handed version of the flat thrust developed by the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu! What was it called again? I think it was the Hirazuki… _

Shemei grinned even as she continued to fend off the Gundam pilot's assault. _You continue to impress, Heero_, she thought as she deflected a diagonal slash, _You're not just a capable fighter in your own right, but you've obviously studied the moves of past masters. To incorporate an attack like that into your form… not only did you do your homework, but I bet you practiced a great deal to pull off that move without disrupting your natural technique._

"I don't know if I ever told you this," she said as she countered with a quick stab at Heero's left abdomen, which her foe proceeded to bat aside, "but you truly are something special, Heero Yuy!"

Her foe nodded as he struck back with an overhand blow. "Thanks," he said as she blocked the attack, "so are you."

"Still the second best you've ever fought?" she asked, smirking as she lashed out with a low thrust that her adversary immediately parried.

"As far as mobile suit combat goes, yes," Heero replied as he struck back with a mid-level slash, "I never got the chance to fight Zechs in a more traditional duel like this though, so as far as physical combat goes, you're at the top."

"Why, thank you," said Shemei as she blocked his strike, "I kinda wish this 'Zechs' was here so I could find out how good he was in a fight like this; I'd like to know where I stand compared to him in a fight like this. If he can stand against you in a mobile suit clash though, I think it's pretty safe to say he'd give you a hell of a fight under these circumstances as well."

"I'm sure you're right," said Heero as he parried her counter, a stab at his right shoulder, "but he's not here, and I only fought him in mobile suit combat, so you'll just have to settle for guessing."

"That's too bad," Shemei replied as she deflected a vicious thrust, "Oh well, I'll just have to live with that." She smirked as she struck back with a thrust of her own. "Sometimes it's better to have some things be unknown; it keeps your mind active, keeps you sharp. You wonder who else may be out there to test your skills; you never grow complacent."

Heero nodded as he parried her attack. "Well said."

"Thanks," said Shemei as she deflected a slash, "of course, since you came onto the scene all those months ago, the last thing I've been is complacent… and I don't think I ever will be again. So it doesn't matter to me if I never get to meet this Zechs and test my skills against him; knowing I've got you to compete with is more than enough for me."

"Remember what I said earlier," Heero replied as he blocked her next attack, a powerful overhand strike, "I won't be engaging you in any more fights like this. I made a promise to Murrue, and I _will _keep it."

"Oh, I don't doubt that a bit," said Shemei as she fended off a fierce two slash combo from her foe, "and I won't put you in any position to break it. However, your promise only covered clashes like this, with our lives on the line; simulator battles are still on the table, if I recall correctly."

Heero nodded. "Indeed they are. If you want another fight, it'll have to be with those."

"Fine by me," said Shemei, smirking as she made a low cut at his legs, which Heero immediately caught and redirected.

_Though a simulator battle could never measure up to this_, she thought as Heero initiated a sequence of vicious slashes and cuts, putting her on the defensive, _Fighting you like this, with both our lives hanging in the balance… a sim fight could never come close to matching this thrill! It lacks the edge, the danger… and that's what makes me feel alive in combat. The rush of pitting your skills against an enemy in a contest of ability, cunning, and nerve, knowing the slightest miscalculation, the smallest mistake, could be your last… no mock battle can come close to matching the feeling I get from that._

Blocking her foe's blows and retaking the offensive, Shemei reflected on the battles that had led the two of them to this point. She had gone full tilt in the two clashed they'd had in North Africa, but she'd been unable to tell if she'd pushed him to that same point. After hearing reports of the battles Heero had fought in after their first two encounters, Shemei knew that hadn't been the case, and she'd found herself longing for the chance to meet him in battle again with the skill and machine that would let her push him to his limit, to truly experience the best that he could bring to the table. Unfortunately, their next battle had occurred under dismal circumstances, with both fighters being unable to truly bring their A-game to the engagement. That had frustrated Shemei almost as much as the thought of her parents being held hostage by the radicals, and it had deeply bothered her to know that their chance to settle their score had been robbed from them by Zala and his band of socio and psychopaths.

_Even if I had been able to go all out in that third fight_, she thought as she made a counter attack with a hard right-to-left diagonal slash, which Heero instantly parried, _I would not have been able to know for sure if Heero was doing the same. His skill level is beyond anything I've ever seen before in a foe, and it was clear that he was holding back in North Africa even when he soundly defeated me. I'm sure I was able to push him more with the Judgment, but he and I both weren't giving that engagement our all, and if I had I couldn't have been able to tell if Heero was doing the same. A mobile suit battle is not like a personal fight; it's much harder to read emotions and intent when your foe is inside a machine, when you can't look them in the eye._

This, however, was an entirely different kind of duel. This _was _a physical, personal confrontation, which meant that Shemei _could _more accurately judge Heero's feelings and the effort he was giving the battle. As the Valkyrie fended off another fierce round of attacks from Wing Zero's pilot, she could feel the intense energy radiating from his eyes, piercing her like a dagger. Her adversary was calm, but at the same time he was incredibly focused and possessed a determination about him that Shemei had never seen in another person before. His strikes were swift, powerful, efficient, and downright brutal.

Deflecting a ferocious thrust, Shemei went back onto the attack with a down-up slash. Heero immediately parried the strike and instantly turned the move into a counter with a quick stab at her right shoulder. As Shemei intercepted the attack her eyes once again met his, and she was struck by the fierce gleam in them, a fire burning in those magnificent blue orbs unlike any she had seen before.

And that was when she knew, when she finally got the answer to her question, when she knew that they were finally fulfilling her greatest desire in this rivalry, that she and the phenomenal pilot from another world…

… were _finally _going all out.

**(End "Fearless Eyes")**

...

**(Start "Zero")**

They were _incredible_.

Murrue's eyes were wide with amazement as she watched the two phenomenal combatants continue their duel, the culmination of the rivalry that had been born in the skies of North Africa months ago. The beautiful Captain could recall clearly just how awed she had been back then, watching those fierce aerial battles even as she commanded the _Archangel _in the engagements with the Desert Tiger's forces. The same had gone for the third fight roughly a week and a half ago when the Valkyrie had once again taken the field, and in a much more formidably machine to boot. However…

…none of those duels came close to the astounding clash that was unfolding before her eyes now.

The two combatants moved with a speed that Murrue had never imagined possible for Naturals _or _Coordinators. Their sabers flew through the air so fast that they were almost impossible to track, and the cries of the blades meeting rang out almost every second, so swift and frequent were the fighters' attacks. Heero and Shemei moved all over the floor of the hangar, charging, backpedalling, rolling, pivoting, sidestepping, and more as they dueled, covering far more ground than Murrue had anticipated their fight doing so.

Their fighting techniques were clearly distinguished, with even someone like Murrue, who had little experience with swordplay apart from the times she had watched Heero practice, able to discern differences in the duelists' methods and tendencies. Her boyfriend's style was very much reflective of how he wielded Wing Zero's energy blade, with the focus being on efficiency, a tight and rock-solid defense, and swift and ferocious attacks. Even at a distance Murrue could feel the powerful determination that Heero held inside him, his drive to finish this rivalry with Shemei once and for all. Though he appeared calm, the way he narrowed his eyes and the firmness in his jaw gave away, at least to Murrue, the intense energy that the Perfect Soldier was holding just below the surface.

When compared to Heero's stoic but driven demeanor along with his pragmatic and brutal fighting style, Shemei was much more open and elegant. Like Heero she was fast and strong, but the way she moved was to Murrue almost reminiscent of a dance at times. She struck with speed and precision, much like her foe, but unlike Heero Shemei's moves had a looser feel to them, like water running downstream. The Valkyrie was also much more acrobatic than Heero, using her physical advantages inherent with being a Coordinator to leap through over her opponent and launch the occasional aerial attack. As for her feelings... well, those were readily apparent even for someone like Murrue, who had only just met the Commander for the first time in person three days ago. Shemei had been smiling throughout most of the duel, as she was doing so now. The thrill, the excitement she was getting from the fight, was quite clear on her face, and Murrue could sense the energy that lay within her silver eyes, similar to Heero's but not quite the same. Both Shemei and Heero shared a sense of focus and intensity about them, but in contrast to the Perfect Soldier's more serious demeanor the Valkyrie had an air about her that struck Murrue as a practically joyful.

Murrue realized that the differences between their techniques and emotions were reflections of the mentalities of the two combatants. Shemei, even though she had been a member of the Coordinator armed forces, was a duelist at heart. Heero, by contrast, was a soldier through and through.

_Heero never fights for the thrill of it_, she thought as she watched her boyfriend move onto the offensive with a powerful overhand strike, _even when he thought his only purpose in life was to be on the battlefield, he didn't fight our of the need for a rush, for excitement. He fights to protect people, to ensure that they won't have to suffer like he did. In his past he felt that he belonged on the battlefield simply because he'd known nothing else throughout his life, and he wants to move beyond that. _That's _why he's fighting Shemei now. It's not for the excitement, for the adrenaline rush, but to finally, completely, pull himself away from that dark past where he only felt his life had meaning on the battlefield, and to truly move forward into a new future… his future with _me_!_

That was why, even in the midst of what Murrue was sure was a duel that very few others Heero had been through in his life before now could match, the Perfect Soldier's expression was one of calm but focused determination as opposed to the Valkyrie's practically ecstatic excitement. While Shemei had wanted to fight Heero because he could push her to the very edge of her abilities, like no other combatant in the Cosmic Era, Heero had gone into the duel to settle their account out of respect for her skills and the desire to truly begin the new chapter of his life, so he could completely devote himself to Murrue without having to worry about the call of the battlefield, of finding purpose only in fighting.

_He'll still fight after this duel_, she though as she watched Heero press his assault in a series of fast and brutal slashes and thrusts, _but only to protect people and bring peace to the Earth Sphere, not because he knows nothing else but war. He'll fight to defend me, to save the people of this world and bring peace to it… and I'll be by his side to the end of the war and beyond._

Though she was focused almost entirely on the epic clash between Heero and Shemei, Murrue was not entirely blind to her fellow audience members. As she watched Heero's relentless attacks on the Valkyrie she noted that everyone that was observing the duel with her had very similar expressions on their faces. They were stunned by the incredible display of skill that the two combatants were giving, awed by their phenomenal reflexes, speed, power, precision, and prowess… caught up in the beauty of the fight.

Yes, despite her protests regarding the duel, Murrue could not help but find a sense of beauty to the astounding confrontation unfolding before her eyes. Perhaps it was because she could so clearly see and feel the energy both Heero and Shemei were putting into the fight, or maybe it was because it was a personal confrontation rather than a mechanized brawl… or perhaps it was simply due to the powerful and undeniable respect the Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie had for each other.

_It's unlike anything I've ever seen before_, she thought as she watched the Valkyrie deflect a powerful slash from Heero and counter with a swift stab at his left leg, forcing the Gundam pilot onto the defensive, _this admiration they have for each other… I don't think there's anything like it in this war. So much of this conflict has been all about the differences between Naturals and Coordinators, with extremists like Blue Cosmos and the PLANT radicals driving both sides into a war of annihilation, unable to see the other as anything besides a race that needs to be eliminated, but Heero and Shemei are entirely unaffected by it. Any differences in their genetics, in how they were born, mean _nothing _to them! All they see when they look at each other is an equal in their chosen field, or at least a worthy competitor. They see each other's skills, their determination, their morals and ethics, and they have nothing but the utmost respect for each other. Who or what they were born as has _nothing _to do with this duel, with their rivalry. There's no fear, no distrust, no hate of each other; only acknowledgement of their abilities and the desire to see who's the best between them._

That was why Murrue could find beauty in the fight even as she opposed it on the grounds of the danger it put the young man she so dearly loved in. It was such a stark contrast to the brutal conflict that she, Heero, and their friends and allies were fighting to end. There was not so much as an iota of anger or hate between the two combatants. Their contest was entirely friendly in nature despite the deadly edge it had to it, and its beauty was only enhanced by the supreme skill both fighters had at their disposal.

As she watched Heero fend off a flurry of thrusts from his rival it dawned on Murrue that while this kind of clash might be unheard of in the Cosmic Era, that might well have not been the case for the world that the Perfect Soldier had originated from. She recalled clearly what Heero had told her about his past war in the After Colony timeline and the myriad of battles that he and his fellow Gundam pilots had fought in, and just how different they were from the clashes in her own world.

_Though there was hate between the factions on Earth and in outer space_, she thought as she saw Heero block a graceful sequence of slashes and cuts from the Valkyrie, _Heero and his fellow pilots did not fight out of it… nor did some of their adversaries. His duels with Zechs, and Chang Wufei's two encounters with Treize Kushrenada… I do not believe they were all that different from what I'm seeing here and now. Yes, the clashes between Heero and Zechs involved far more than just a rivalry between two highly skilled pilots; indeed, their battles were fueled more by their ideals rather than personal competition. Still, I'm sure that the respect they had for each other's abilities played a role, as did Wufei's for Treize's._

In other words, what Murrue felt she was seeing now was not just the culmination of the rivalry between Heero and Shemei… but a hint of what some of the clashes in her lover's old world had been like. It was a precious glimpse of how Heero had fought just a few of his many past battles. The form was different, of course; the young man's duels with Zechs had been in mobile suits, not with steel blades. Symbolically, mentally, emotionally, however… Murrue could not help but feel that there was more than a little similarity to those old duels.

She watched as Heero parried the latest of the Valkyrie's lightning-quick slashes before countering with a hard and fast thrust at her left hip. Shemei swiftly parried the blow and struck back with a down-up diagonal slash. Heero took a step back to evade the attack while at the same time pulling his sword arm back. Murrue wondered what he was doing for a moment before she saw him retaliate with a powerful overhand strike, and she knew Heero's earlier pullback had been so he could put more strength behind the blow. Murrue's eyes widened as the Valkyrie was driven back by the ferocious attack, which Heero wasted no time in following up with a vicious horizontal slash.

"Unbelievable," she heard Cagalli say, her tone one of hushed awe.

"Oh, my…" said Lacus.

The other audience members exhibited similar reactions as they continued to watch the duel unfold, and Murrue could not help but notice that even the people that had protested the duel as much as she had, like Cagalli and Lacus, were completely caught up in the spectacle. Of course, she could hardly blame them for that.

It was the Desert Tiger, though, that put it best. "_Magnificent_," he said, smiling slightly as he watched the two fighters go at it.

Even with her fears for Heero's safety, Murrue certainly couldn't argue with Waltfeld's assessment.

Strangely enough, there was no open cheering for Heero or Shemei from either of their supporters. Naturally there were members of the audience who very much wanted one or the other to win, but none had given so much as a whistle in the name of their champion. Reflecting for a moment, Murrue realized that the reason they were all holding back was the same reason she was; the respect they had for both fighters was tampering their urges to openly root for the combatant that they favored. While Murrue naturally wanted Heero to win with all her heart, at the same time she had to respect the effort and skill his adversary was giving to the fight. Any open cheering for the man she loved, while appropriate, would also be an insult to an opponent that Murrue knew her boyfriend had nothing but the utmost admiration for… and therefore it would also be disrespectful to Heero. That was why Murrue was holding her tongue, resisting the urge to openly shout and cheer for her champion, and she guessed that the others were keeping relatively quiet for a similar reason.

The tempo of the duel had reached a fever pitch, and it was abundantly clear to everyone watching that Heero and Shemei were truly giving this battle everything they had. The energy they put into their attacks, blocks, parries, deflections, and counters was too much for them to be giving the contest anything less than their best effort, and Murrue could not help but feel that the clash would soon approach its climax; give the much more physical nature of the duel when compared to a mobile suit fight, she knew that Heero and Shemei were exerting themselves far more than they would in a mechanized battle.

_I know that combat piloting is very strenuous work in its own right_, she thought as she watched Shemei parry Heero's latest strike and retake the offensive with a stab at his right shoulder, which the Perfect Soldier instantly batted aside, _but this is so much more of a workout. They're using their entire bodies in this duel, and I can't imagine many fighters could fight this long. It just goes to show how extraordinary Heero and Shemei are; their stamina is truly outstanding. Still, this cannot last forever… something I'm sure both of them are well aware of._

Indeed, as impossible as it seemed, the two combatants were growing ever bolder, ever fiercer with their attacks, as though they knew that they were approaching the peak of their incredible duel, and they wanted to win while the other was still at their best, before fatigue began to set in. The Valkyrie continued her assault on Heero, but as she lashed out with a high slash the Gundam pilot ducked rather than parry the blow. In the blink of an eye the Perfect Soldier unleashed a low spin kick, forcing Shemei to leap over him in response. As she jumped Heero raised his blade, but even while airborne the fearsome Commander was able to deflect the strike with her saber in a smooth, elegant motion.

Shemei came down on her feet, and with hardly an instant to lose, for Heero was already pouncing, moving in with one of the vicious flat thrusts that Murrue had seen him use earlier. This time, rather than roll to the side, the Valkyrie backpedalled before catching Heero's blade on hers and redirecting it towards the floor. At the same time, she lashed out with a high kick at the Gundam pilot's head, forcing Heero to duck and roll to the side to avoid the blow. The move worked, but it also gave Shemei the window she needed to go on the attack again. She moved in fast and hard, unleashing a rapid fire barrage of thrusts and cuts aimed at Heero's upper torso. The young man managed to block and parry her blows, but he could not find an opening to make a counter and began to fall back under the Valkyrie's withering assault.

_Oh no_, thought Murrue, bringing her right hand up to her mouth as she watched Heero's retreat, _is he beginning to tire? Will she land a hit on him this time? No… Heero can still win this, I know he can! He's fought so hard… come on, Heero! _

Her concerns were banished and her faith proven true as the Gundam pilot took a step back, dodging an overhand strike from the Valkyrie completely. As he did so he turned to the right and went into a spin, adding centrifugal force to his swing as he moved into the attack. The counter was so swift that Heero was practically a blur to Murrue, and she could've sworn that she could feel even from here the wind from Heero's lightning-fast blade as it rushed towards Shemei in a horizontal strike.

The Valkyrie managed to bring her saber up in time to block the strike, but Heero's counter had been so quick, so sudden, that she hadn't been able to properly brace herself against the powerful blow. The Egyptian Coordinator skidded nearly a foot across the floor before she managed to recover, and even then she was unable to launch a return strike of her own as Heero was once again pouncing on her with a diagonal slash.

Now it was Shemei who was on the retreat, falling back under the Perfect Soldier's furious assault, doing all she could to deflect the slashes, chops, and cuts without taking the full force of them on her blade. Her expression became tense, but even though she was on the defensive her smile never wavered, nor did that excited gleam ever fade from her eyes.

_She truly does love this sort of contest_, Murrue thought, _the adrenaline and the thrill that come with a fierce duel… she practically feeds off it. No wonder she was so adamant in wanting this clash; I can only imagine how she felt the first time she fought Heero back during our campaign in North Africa._

She heard a small chuckle, and as she glanced to her right she saw Eric Bristow smile slightly as he watched the fight. "You really are having the time of your life, aren't you love?" he said softly, "I can certainly see why; you've got one hell of an opponent here…"

"God damn," came La Flaga's voice, a mixture of awe and amusement, "what a show…"

"You can say that again…" whispered Dearka.

Murrue saw Heero continue to press his assault, driving the Valkyrie further back towards the wall of the hangar. His intention was clear; corner her and break through her defenses to deliver the winning strike. It certainly appeared as though the strategy was working; Shemei had yet to deliver a counter attack against Heero.

That changed mere moments later. As the Perfect Soldier unleashed a brutal diagonal right-to-left slash the Valkyrie deflected the blow and redirecting Heero's forward momentum so he went to her left. The young man managed to recover and prevent himself from being exposed to an immediate counter, but it gave Shemei the opening she needed to leap over Heero. The Gundam pilot raised his saber to block any potential aerial attack from his foe, but no such strike was incoming. Instead the Valkyrie saved her attack for when she hit the ground, immediately pouncing on Heero. The young man managed to whirl around and block the strike, turning himself into the very definition of an immovable object. His stance was firm and solid, and Shemei's swift horizontal slash was blocked by Heero's blade.

Shemei immediately went into another attack, this time a low cut at Heero's knees. Once again Heero fended off the strike while keeping his position. The Valkyrie moved into another sequence of incredibly fast thrusts, stabs, and slashes, hoping to overwhelm Heero's defenses. The Gundam pilot stood his ground throughout the barrage of blows, becoming the eye in a storm of steel.

After a few seconds of fruitlessly attacking Heero from head on, Shemei made a surprising adjustment. Feinting with a simple stab at her foe's abdomen, which he quickly batted aside, the Valkyrie then rolled to the left and came up on Heero's flank with a slash. This forced Heero to step back so he could adjust to her sudden change in attack angle and parry the strike. The Valkyrie wasted no time in taking advantage of her new momentum and began pushing Heero back towards the center of the hangar with a fresh round of lightning-fast attacks.

The Gundam pilot retreated only as far as the middle of the hangar before suddenly stopping in his tracks. Deflecting a slash from his foe, Heero struck back with a low thrust at Shemei's legs. The Valkyrie parried the attack and responded with a high slash, which the Perfect Soldier blocked before hitting back with a similar attack. The two fighters quickly became embroiled in a vicious exchange, trading strike for strike, with neither managing to land a winning hit.

As the two fighters continued to duel it became apparent to Murrue that the clash could not last for much longer. Even at the distance she and the rest of the audience were from the engagement she could see the sweat beginning to build on both contestants' brows, and their breathing was becoming a little more labored. They still had enough energy to go at it with every bit of their considerable skills, but they would not have it for very much longer.

Perhaps sensing this, Heero and Shemei surprised Murrue and everyone else by suddenly breaking off their attacks on each other. The Valkyrie leapt back a couple meters in a fluid, elegant flip, but contrary to expectations Heero did not pursue. The two duelists stared at each other for a moment in silence, leaving Murrue and the others wondering what would come next.

Eventually Shemei gave Heero a small nod. "You know… you and I are almost like two sides of the same coin."

Heero nodded. "There may be similarities… but in the end, we never face the same direction."

"Indeed," she replied, smirking, "our temperaments, our backgrounds… they're quite different, but we share the same sense of respect for a skilled fighter… and the same sense of stubbornness. We have a hard time backing down from a fight, and we just can't leave a score like ours unsettled."

"Agreed," said Heero, "and this one _has _to end."

"No argument there," said Shemei, "and it has to end soon at that; neither of us can keep up this pace for much longer." She raised her blade in salute. "One last exchange, Heero Yuy…one final set of attacks. Let's have it all ride on that."

"Yes," Heero replied, mirroring her motion, "Leave nothing…"

Shemei grinned. "And bring _everything_."

The two fighters brought their swords back into ready positions and sprung forward. Shemei was the first to attack with a blindingly fast high slash. Heero raised his blade to deflect the blow, but it was a very near thing; the Valkyrie's saber had been mere centimeters away from striking the Gundam pilot. Pushing off against his foe's weapon, Heero bought himself a little distance, only for Shemei to close in with a mid-level thrust. This time the Perfect Soldier redirected the blow and struck back with a vertical chop. Rather than block it, Shemei rolled to the left and came up swinging with a low slash, one that Heero was barely able to block.

"Now we find out whose number one!" said Shemei as struck again with a thrust at Heero's left shoulder.

The young man intercepted her attack and retaliated with a thrust of his own, this one aimed at the Valkyrie's legs. Again, Shemei did not try to block the attack. Instead she used her incredible athletic and acrobatic abilities to leap clear of the strike. She executed a smooth one-handed back handspring, putting a couple meters between herself and Heero.

Landing on her feet, she immediately launched herself forward to meet Heero, who was already rushing at her, saber ready to strike.

"_Come on!_" the Valkyrie yelled.

The duelists closed in the blink of an eye and made their attacks so fast that Murrue could not actually see the strikes; the two combatants had been little more than blurs. One second they were charging in to strike, the next they were past each other.

**(End "Zero")**

Heero and Shemei now stood back to back with about two meters separating them. Murrue's breath caught in her throat as complete silence fell upon the hangar. Her heartbeat was so rapid it almost felt like a machine gun was firing inside her.

_What happened?_, she thought as she stared wide-eyed at the two pilots, _Who won? Neither of them is moving… Heero…_

The duelists stood that way for a few seconds, breathing heavily, the toll their fight had exacted upon them now much more evident in their body language. Eventually Heero lowered his sword and turned to face the Valkyrie.

"Match," he said.

Her eyes narrowing, Murrue could detect no sign of injury on her boyfriend. She then turned towards Shemei, who likewise had lowered her blade… and was pressing her left hand to her right shoulder. As the Valkyrie turned to meet Heero's gaze, Murrue could see blood seeping between her fingers.

Shemei nodded, a pained smile on her face. "Yes… it's over. Well done, Heero… _very _well done."

Both fighters sheathed their sabers, and their respective lovers took that as their cue to rush forward.

"Heero!" Murrue cried as she ran to him.

"Shemei!" Eric yelled.

The Wolf of the Far East reached his partner first, only natural given that he was a Coordinator and thus faster than Murrue. His gaze immediately went to her wound, and his hands joined Shemei's as he applied pressure to it.

"Doc!" he yelled at the _Archangel_'s chief medical officer, "Get over here!"

Shemei gave her lover a small smile. "Don't panic, Eric; it's not that bad."

As Dr. Clark and his assistant ran forward Murrue made it to her lover, and took Heero in a fierce embrace which he instantly returned. Her lips immediately sought out his, and they came together in a fiery kiss. Murrue knew it was selfish, caring only for Heero when he wasn't even injured and Shemei was, but at that moment it didn't matter to her; Heero's safety was the only thing that concerned her.

After a couple seconds their lips parted, though neither of them was willing to let go of the other quite yet. Murrue smiled as she met Heero's gaze. "You did it," she said softly, "you beat her, you won… that was _amazing_, Heero!"

Heero nodded, a small smile on his face. "Murrue… thank you." He then lowered his gaze for a moment. "I… I'm sorry for any pain or worry that I caused you."

Murrue brought her hand up to Heero's cheek. "It's alright, Heero," she said, giving him a quick kiss, "It's over now. Just… promise me that you'll _never _do this again."

"I already did, remember?" said Heero.

Murrue nodded. "Right… sorry. I just… watching you fight like that…"

"I know," Heero replied, "I'm sure it wasn't easy… I know it wouldn't have been for me were our positions reversed. That's the last time I'll fight like that, Murrue."

Murrue's smile grew at his words, and she took him into another passionate kiss. When their lips parted she spoke again. "I love you, Heero."

The Gundam pilot's smile grew at her words. "I love you too, Murrue."

They finally released each other from their embrace as they turned towards Shemei and the people around her. As they did so Murrue gently put her arm around Heero's waist to give him some support; she could tell that the duel had worn him out, and was eager to provide him some relief. Her boyfriend did not protest the action, and in fact Murrue saw him glance at her and nod in appreciation. Murrue knew that, while Heero may not have _needed _help staying up, he would not push away her assistance, and the beautiful Captain _wanted _him to take advantage of whatever comfort she could offer him. The two of them then watched as the chief medical officer and his aide tended to the Valkyrie while Eric gave them room to ply their trade. Dr. Clark and his assistant had worked quickly; they had already cut away the section of Shemei's jumpsuit that was over the wound and were applying disinfectant.

"It's actually quite shallow," said Fan Li as she handed gauze wrap to the doctor.

"Indeed," said Dr. Clark as he began wrapping the wound, "This will staunch the bleeding for now, but you'll still need to come to the sick bay to get this stitched up, Commander Rehema."

"Thanks, Doc," said Shemei, smiling, "I owe you one."

"Damn," said Eric, shaking his head, "talk about lucky… Shemei, I swear I'm getting some gray hairs from this; you really know how to make a guy worry."

"Sorry, love," Shemei replied, "but… well, you know me; I couldn't let this go, and I'm a sucker for a good fight."

"Yeah, I know," said Eric, giving a small smile as his gaze met hers, "and I wouldn't have you any other way. Still… you really had me scared there."

"I'm sure," said Shemei, "still, thanks for sticking with me in this. I know you didn't like it, but you still had my back, and that means the world to me. Thank you, Eric."

The former Field Marshal smiled as he leaned in to kiss the Valkyrie, careful not to move her too much and interfere with Dr. Clark's work. "You're welcome, Shemei."

The two of them then looked over at Murrue and Heero. There were no words spoken between the two couples… but there wasn't a need for them. As their gazes met they all shared a small nod and a smile, an acknowledgment of the other's fantastic skill and effort given to the fight… and the steadfast support of the lover that had put their faith in their personal champion while at the same time remaining respectful of the opposite combatant. The kinship between the duelists was matched by that of their supporters for each other, something that Murrue felt to be both strange and comforting.

_Bristow was in the same position as me_, she thought, _fearing for the safety of his partner, but at the same time believing in her. He supported the foe of my boyfriend, but I don't feel the slightest bit of animosity towards him… nor, I suspect, does he feel any for me. _There was a very strong respect between the two of them, and Murrue reflected that it was not entirely dissimilar from what Heero shared with Shemei.

_I'm glad they're here_, she thought, _both Shemei and Eric, even if it led to this duel. Now that it's over, we can all move forward… we can all truly be friends and allies._

By now the rest of the audience was joining them in the center of the hangar, though everyone was keeping a respectful amount of space between themselves and the two couples. The Valkyrie's subordinates and her parents moved in a little closer, though they were careful to leave Dr. Clark and Fan Li plenty of room to work.

"Commander!" cried Adaline, "Are you alright?"

"Relax, Adaline," said Priscilla, "You heard the doc's assistant; the cut was shallow."

"Hey, you were worried just as much as I was," Adaline shot back, "Don't try to deny it."

"I know I won't," Lan chimed in, "Holy shit, that was _intense_! Commander, you sure you're ok?"

Shemei smiled at her subordinates. "I'm alright girls, but thanks; I appreciate the concern. Right now I'm more tired than anything else." As if to emphasize her point she leaned on Eric, putting her left arm over his shoulder. The Wolf of the Far East accepted the weight without a word, silently and happily supporting his lover, and Murrue knew that he was just relieved that Shemei's wound was not life threatening.

"You really scared us there, dear," said Akila, a relieved smile on her face.

"Yes," said Soran, nodding, "please, daughter; never do something like that again."

"Sorry guys," Shemei replied, "but I can't make any promises there; you know how I am."

"As do the rest of us," Waltfeld chimed in, examining Shemei's wound, "I have to say, you got off pretty lucky there, Shemei."

"That cut may not be serious," said Aisha, smirking, "but it did a number on your flight suit, Shemei. It's really too bad; I loved the design."

"Hey," Shemei replied, "I can still get this patched up; it's just the shoulder that got cut, and the doc only tore away that and some of the upper arm to get at the wound. I'm sure the _Archangel_'s hangar crews know how to fix a suit tear."

With that she turned towards Murrue, who smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Shemei; they'll get it repaired before you have to fly again."

"Thanks, Murrue," said the Valkyrie.

The former ZAFT ace was not the only one drawing attention; with the exceptions of Shemei's parents and Eric, of course, the entire delegation from the _Archangel _had gathered around Heero and Murrue, along with that of the _Kusanagi_. Kira and Lacus had also drifted over to them, and it was the young Coordinator from Heliopolis that spoke up first.

"Heero," said Kira, smiling at his friend, "good job."

_Despite his earlier opposition_, thought Murrue, _he still offers praise. I guess it just goes to show how much he values his friendship with Heero._

Heero nodded. "Thanks, Kira."

"You were excellent, Heero," said Lacus, "I still wish that this fight could have been avoided altogether…but your performance was splendid."

"No kidding," Cagalli chimed in, smiling, "I mean, I saw you fight on foot back in Banadiya, so I knew you had some moves, but that was a shootout; I never imagined that you could go at it like what you did today!"

"It was impressive," said Athrun, nodding.

"To say the least," said Erica Simmons, giving the Gundam pilot a nod and a smile, "your combat prowess seems to extend far beyond your piloting abilities, Heero Yuy. Watching you and Commander Rehema duel like that was a very interesting and unique experience, one that I am pleased to have been able to witness in person. I'm glad you were able to triumph and settle whatever score you had with the Valkyrie; congratulations, Heero."

"Thank you," said Heero.

"Wow," said Mayura, "what a show that was!"

"In more ways than one," said Asagi, and Murrue could not help but note her mischievous and playful expression, "seeing those moves, watching you work up a sweat… that was _hot_."

"You can say that again…" said Juri, her face exhibiting more than a hint of pink.

Murrue's eyes narrowed as she shot the three Orb pilots a brief glare. _Back down, girls…_

The beautiful Captain was sure the young ladies had caught her look, but it had done little to deter the longing looks they were giving Heero. _Even after that message I gave them before the fight started_, she mused, _I guess I'm going to have to hammer it home one more time…_

"Heero?" said Murrue, smiling.

As the young man turned to look at her Murrue quickly took him into a deep kiss. Despite his weariness, Heero responded immediately, and Murrue quickly escalated things by opening her mouth and letter her tongue rush forward. Heero met her halfway, and the two lovers allowed their passion to take hold of them for a few seconds before they eventually parted. Still holding Heero around the waste, Murrue's smile took on a satisfied air as she saw Asagi, Juri, and Mayura sigh in dejection and resignation. _Maybe this time they'll take the hint_, Murrue thought.

She then turned back to Heero. "Well done… you ended it."

Heero nodded, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "I did, Murrue; it's over. I can finally, truly move on, into the future… into _our _future."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kira, wearing a puzzled expression shared by several of the others.

Both Murrue and Heero shook their heads. "I'm sorry, Kira," she said, "but that's between Heero and I."

"It's a long story," said Heero, "and it's rather personal. Please understand… and forgive us, Kira." The young man then gave Kira a small nod and a slight smile. "You, Athrun, Cagalli, Lacus… you're my friends, and I do trust you, but there are some things I'm only truly comfortable discussing with Murrue."

The Freedom's pilot returned the nod and the smile. "No problem, Heero, Captain Ramius."

At that point Waltfeld spoke up. "Alright everyone, let's give these guys some space. The doctor needs to get Shemei to the med bay so he can stitch up her cut, not to mention let her rest." He then looked over at Murrue and Heero and smiled. "I'm sure Heero could use a little downtime as well."

"Agreed," said Lacus, smiling, "let us head back to our respective ships for today and reconvene tomorrow in the _Eternal_'s conference room. There is much we need to discuss, and we should do so when everyone is well rested."

"Come along, Lady Cagalli," said Colonel Kisaka, putting his hand on his ward's shoulder, "let us return to the _Kusanagi_."

Orb's tomboy princess nodded. "Alright." She then looked at Heero and gave him another smile. "Again, nice going Heero… for a stubborn idiot. I don't suppose you can keep out of trouble until the conference tomorrow, can you?"

Murrue smiled and answered for Heero. "Don't worry, Cagalli; I'll keep him occupied."

The girl's face flushed at her words, and Murrue was fairly sure she knew where her mind had gone. Glancing at her boyfriend, Murrue could've sworn she saw just a hint of red flash briefly across his features.

"Oh, ok," said Cagalli after a moment before turning to Athrun, "come on, let's get going."

"Right," said Athrun, nodding, "we'll see you all tomorrow."

"Farewell you two," said Erica, smiling at Murrue and Heero as she and the three Orb M1 pilots turned to follow the others.

"I guess we ought to go as well," said Kira.

"Yes," said Lacus, glancing at the Perfect Soldier, "Rest well, Heero. I look forward to seeing you at the conference tomorrow. You as well, Captain Ramius."

"Of course, Miss Clyne," said Murrue, nodding and smiling at the songstress along with her pilot companion, "and you too, Kira."

The two teenagers made their way towards the _Eternal_'s shuttle and were soon joined by Waltfeld, Aisha, and Shemei's subordinates after they made their own farewells. The two members of the camera crew that had come with the delegation were already going into the shuttle, and Murrue wondered what would become of their footage of the fight.

"Guess I'll turn in," said La Flaga as the others departed, "I'm assuming you'll want me to come to the meeting tomorrow, Captain?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes. I'd like you and Heero to join me as the _Archangel_'s delegation, just like last time."

"Alright," said the Hawk of Endymion, nodding and smiling, "goodnight you two… and nice going, Heero; that was one hell of a show you put on."

Heero nodded. "Thanks."

The ace pilot departed, and Dearka followed suit, leaving Murrue and Heero standing in the middle of the hangar with Shemei, Eric, the Valkyrie's parents, and Dr. Clark and his assistant. Shemei's wound was wrapped up and tended to as well as it could be outside of the ship's med bay, and Murrue was confident that the _Archangel_'s chief medical officer would complete his work with plenty of time for the Valkyrie to rest up and prepare for the next day.

"Shemei," said Murrue, "if you are feeling up to it tomorrow, I would be grateful if you could come with us to the meeting. You as well, Bristow."

The Valkyrie and her boyfriend smiled and nodded. "Of course, Murrue," said Shemei, "I was going to come anyway; I know there's a lot of important stuff we need to discuss, especially in the aftermath of the raid on the PLANTs."

"Same here," said Eric, "besides, my former position as informant on the Defense Council makes my inclusion in the conference natural, don't you think, Captain Ramius?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, you're right, Bristow. Please, excuse my oversight."

"It's no problem, Captain," Bristow replied, glancing between her and Heero with a knowing look in his eyes, "Given all that's happened today, I'm sure you've had quite a lot on your mind."

_Indeed_, thought Murrue, _and given that fact that your lover was fighting mine, I'm sure that's something you can relate to._

"Yes," she said, "I suppose you are right there. Rest well, both of you; we'll see you tomorrow."

"We will," Bristow replied.

"Yeah," said Shemei, nodding before turning to Murrue's companion and smiling again, "Oh, hey, Heero? Thank you. That wasn't how I originally pictured us ending this rivalry of ours… but I'm more than happy with how things turned out. Thanks for going along with me, giving me this chance."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome, Shemei. I should thank you as well; this fight was important to me too, though some of my reasons for that are probably different than yours."

"I'm sure," said Shemei, smirking, "you're a complicated guy, after all. Anyway, I'm glad this whole thing is finally over; I'm looking forward to becoming friends with you. You as well, Murrue."

"As am I, Shemei," Murrue replied, "take care of yourself."

"Oh, don't worry about me," said Shemei, "I'm in good hands… and not just those of your doctor." She turned to Bristow and winked before looking back at Murrue. "My recovery will be swift… and _vigorous_, of that I can assure you."

_I'm sure_, Murrue mused, _I just hope you don't tear your stitches in the process…_

"Very well," said Murrue, noting the amused expression on Bristow's face and the embarrassed looks of Shemei's parents; no doubt they had not expected such innuendo from their daughter, "I wish you a pleasant evening."

"You as well," said Shemei, smiling at her and Heero, "both of you… in more ways than one."

Murrue returned her smile despite the heat rushing to her face. _Oh, count on it, Shemei… _She looked over at Heero, wondering if he had gotten the subtext. His expression remained as calm and collected as ever, but Murrue thought she caught a gleam in his eye… a sign of an energy inside him that was very different from what had fueled him in the duel earlier. She'd find out soon enough.

_It's fine by me if he didn't catch the innuendo_, she thought, _he is still new at all this, of course; he'll grow into it with time, and I'll help him every step of the way. _Still, there was something about the look in his eyes…

The group made their way to the hangar exit before splitting off to go their separate ways. Shemei and her entourage headed towards the sick bay while Murrue and Heero made their way towards the officers' quarters.

As they walked Murrue turned to her handsome guardian. "Heero? How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, Murrue," he replied, giving her a small, reassuring smile, "I exerted a lot of energy in that fight, but I'm ok."

"I'm well aware of that," said Murrue, "but I was not referring to your physical condition, though I am certainly glad that you weren't harmed. What you spoke of before…about breaking free of feeling purpose only in combat… about truly moving forward… how do you feel regarding that?"

The young man nodded. "I feel good, Murrue. No, more than that; I feel refreshed, renewed… like this is truly a new beginning for me." His eyes met hers, and Murrue was struck by what she saw in them. It was a mixture of confidence, optimism… and hope. "I can truly move beyond my past, forward into a new future, a new life… _our _new life."

Murrue smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad to hear that, my love."

The two of them continued their journey through the ship's corridors in a happy and content silence. When they eventually reached their room Murrue brought her hand up to open the door. As she did so she felt Heero put his hand on her shoulder, and as she turned to face him he spoke.

"Murrue… about what you said to Cagalli earlier; how exactly do you plan to keep me occupied?"

Opening the door as she looked into his eyes, Murrue once again saw the energy that she had witnessed before… the fires of passion slowly building in those beautiful Prussian blue orbs. Murrue suspected that the Gundam pilot could already guess the answer to the question he was asking, but he was just making sure… confirming her intent.

Murrue could feel the heat within her growing steadily, and she gave her boyfriend a wink and a smile before moving in to kiss him again. As their lips met she let her hunger come forward. Mouths opened, and tongues intertwined in a warm, wet dance.

Eventually they parted for air, though the two lovers remained close. Murrue put her left hand on Heero's shoulder while her right made its way up to and under the collar of his ornate uniform's jacket, slowly loosening it from his shoulders.

"Oh," she said softly, "why don't you hazard a guess, my love?"

Heero's smile grew a bit at her words, and he brought his right hand up to the collar of her shirt, giving it a gentle tug as he began to undo the topmost button. "I already have," he whispered, and Murrue could feel his warm breath on her neck.

With that, Murrue pulled him inside, and the door closed behind them.

….

"Damn," said Adaline softly, laying back on her bed, "what a day…"

"You can say that again," Lan replied, leaning against the wall and looking out the viewport, "or maybe change it to 'what a _fight_'. Let's face it; we're unlikely to see a performance like _that _again anytime soon."

Adaline chuckled and smirked. "Yeah, you do have a point there."

The two girls were back on board the _Eternal _in the quarters that they shared with Priscilla. The third member of their trio was out at the moment, though if all went well she would be returning shortly… and would be bearing a very special gift.

"I wish the Commander had won," said Adaline, staring at the ceiling, "I've always considered her the best, even after our first encounters with Heero; I just thought the technological edge he had combined with his skills was what allowed him to beat her, and the rest of us. I don't exactly like that little view being decisively disproven, but… it's not like I can be mad at Heero for beating her."

"I know what you mean," said Lan, nodding, "I wanted her to win too, but she lost fair and square. Hell, if anything, this time it was the Commander who had the advantage in this fight; that makes Heero's victory more than legit in my book."

"True enough," said Adaline, brushing a stray strand of red hair out of her face, "I can't believe the guy could fight like that. The way he _moved_… you would've thought he was a Coordinator."

"No kidding," Lan replied, grinning, "speaking of his moves… it makes you wonder just what he's capable of _off _the battlefield, if you get my drift."

Adaline groaned. "Trust me, Lan, I get you… though I think you really ought to throw in the towel on this one. You saw Heero with Captain Ramius today; the guy's taken, and he seems pretty happy about it. Besides, didn't you catch that open air transmission between them as we were launching Operation Knight Lance?"

Lan sighed. "Yeah, I did, but… well, I didn't really take it seriously at the time. I mean, people blurt out all sorts of things before a high-risk op… I guess I was hoping this was one of those things."

"Come on," said Adaline, smirking, "you saw the way the Captain was with Heero when they came aboard for the conference when we all met awhile back; she wasn't exactly pleased by your flirting. Not to mention I'm pretty sure Heero was keeping close to her as well, and not just to protect her from potential threats. Face it, Lan; the signs were there, and you ignored them. Their confession when we launched the operation should've sealed the deal right there. As it was, that kiss before the duel certainly put the nail in your fantasy's coffin."

"Can you blame me for a little wishful thinking, given how damn good looking the guy is?" said Lan, a wistful smile on her face.

Adaline chuckled, a slight blush coming to her face. "No, I guess not. Still, I really think you need to let this go now, Lan. We all gotta get along if we're going to end the massive clusterfuck this war has become without killing all of humanity in the process, and I'm sure Captain Ramius is getting annoyed with you trying to move in on her territory… not that you're having much luck there."

"True enough," said Lan, giving a small laugh, "Heero is one cool customer; I don't think I could come close at getting him hot and bothered. The guy really is devoted to that Captain… I've gotta respect that, and she's a damn lucky woman."

"Yeah," said Adaline, "and besides, they looked genuinely happy together. That's not just a hookup born of fear for what the future holds there, Lan; those two really are in love."

"Yeah, you're right," said Lan, smiling, "and they do look good together. Alright, I'll cut it out; plenty of other guys out there for me to make a move on."

"Who knows?" said Adaline, smirking, "Maybe Heero won't be the last young man to come over from that world of his? Maybe we'll be blessed with the arrival of another handsome hotshot pilot somewhere down the road."

"I'd sure like that," said Lan, sighing with longing, "the odds may be low, but… well, a girl's allowed to dream, isn't she?"

"Don't tell me you're gonna hold out for that to actually happen, are you?" said Adaline, sitting up on the bed.

"I'll play things by ear," Lan replied, shrugging, "For now, I'll just focus on ending this war and keeping myself alive, not to mention watching your back."

Adaline nodded. "Much obliged, Lan. I'll make sure to return the favor; we're a team, after all."

"Indeed," said Lan, grinning, "and a _full _team once again. Damn, it feels _good _to have the Commander back."

"I hear you there," said Adaline, smiling with her friend, "and I'm sure Pris shares that sentiment."

"Speaking of Pris," said Lan, "what the hell's taking her so long? Shouldn't she be back by now?"

"Have a little patience," Adaline admonished, "Remember, Waltfeld may have ordered the camera crew to film the fight and broadcast it to the other two ships, but in the end they work for Lacus. We don't know what instructions she may have given them regarding their recording. For all we know she had it deleted already; it's not like she's into this sort of thing like us, after all."

"Aw, man," Lan groaned, putting her hand to her forehead, "you're totally right! Why didn't I consider that? What if she did do that?"

Adaline shrugged. "Then we're out of luck. I do hope she hasn't done that, though; it'd be a damn waste to delete something like that. Though if she _had _deleted it, Pris would be back by now and admitting defeat. The fact that she's still out means she's…"

At that moment the door hissed open, and both girls turned to see the lady of the hour, as it were, standing in the entryway. The blond girl's face was uncharacteristically blank; normally Priscilla's default expression was a small and gentle smile, or a look of quiet contemplation. At the moment, though, the Italian/Romanian Coordinator was inscrutable.

Both Adaline and Lan gulped, nervous at what tidings their comrade bore. "So… no luck?" asked Adaline tentatively.

"Don't tell me it's gone forever…" said Lan, her already light skin turning even paler with apprehension.

The blond haired, green eyed girl bowed her head for a moment, and Adaline feared the worst… until Priscilla raised her head again, a Cheshire grin on her face. At the same time she reached into one of the pockets of her crimson uniform and pulled out a small black flash drive. "I really had you going there for a second, didn't I?"

Adaline sighed in relief while Lan went over to Priscilla. "God damn it, Pris!" she said as she punched her on the shoulder, "Don't scare us like that!"

Adaline smirked. "That was mean, Pris. Honestly, I didn't think you had that sort of cruelty in you."

Priscilla shrugged as the door closed behind her. "What can I say? I'm full of surprises."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," said Lan, putting her arm around Priscilla as she walked towards the small table where the three girls had their laptops, "Nice going, Pris. I wish you'd gotten back here sooner though; we were starting to worry."

"Yeah," said Adaline as she got up to join her friends, "What kept you, Pris?"

"Lacus," Priscilla replied as they all sat down at the table, "I ran into her and Kira; they were with the film crew."

"Really?" asked Lan, "Why?"

"Well," Priscilla continued, "It turns out I got there just in time; Lacus was about to have them delete the recording, though the two guys on the camera crew seemed rather reluctant to do so."

"Why was Kira with her?" asked Adaline.

"Oh, that's easy," said Lan, smiling, "He likes her, and he wants to spend time with her. The kid's in love, I'd bet my life savings on it."

"I won't take it," said Adaline, "I'm betting your side… and I'm pretty sure Lacus likes him as well."

"I agree," said Priscilla, "but, moving back to our main topic, I got there just before Lacus could order them to delete the footage. While she agreed with Waltfeld before the fight that those who could not attend in person should be allowed to watch the duel, she wasn't thrilled with the idea of keeping it for posterity."

"No surprise there," said Adaline, "The girl may understand the necessity of the use of force, but at heart she's a pacifist; can't exactly expect her to sympathize with fight junkies like us."

"No argument there," said Lan, "So Pris, how'd you talk Lacus into giving you the recording?"

"I asked politely?" she said, smiling sheepishly.

"Bullshit," said Adaline, smirking, "Well, not quite; I'm sure you were polite, but it would take more than just a 'please' and 'thank you' to convince Lacus to hand over something like that. Spill it, Pris; what's your secret?"

Priscilla hung her head and sighed. "I got lucky, simple as that."

"What do you mean?" asked Lan.

"Well," said Priscilla, "when I got to the camera crew, Lacus, and Kira, I didn't really have a good argument to give them for why they should give us a copy of the recording. I did ask politely, but to be honest I was really struggling for words beyond that. I mean, do you really think she would've said 'yes' if I'd just said what we planned on doing with the recording?"

"Probably not," said Adaline, "So, how does luck come into play here?"

Priscilla smiled, "As I was making my request Waltfeld and Aisha came down the hall. They overheard me and decided to weigh in. Both of them thought we should save a recording, and that we could learn a lot from studying how the Commander and Heero fought."

"They're not wrong," said Lan, "but really, what we'd learn from it would only be applicable to sword fighting and close-quarters-combat in general; not a whole lot there to help us on this modern day battlefield of ours. Come on, Pris, there's gotta be more to it than that."

"Well…" she said hesitantly, "I… I wound up telling them why we really wanted it. I mean, I couldn't just lie to them. For one, Waltfeld, Aisha, and Lacus are very perceptive, and two, they're our friends; it just wouldn't be right to deceive them."

"It's ok, Pris," said Adaline, "I understand why you came clean, but I'm willing to bet it didn't make things easier with Lacus."

Priscilla shook her head. "It didn't… but Waltfeld and Aisha were for it. They said it could work as a tool for us, provided we got enough of an audience. With their backing, I managed to secure the recording from Lacus, though she still wasn't entirely happy about it."

"I guess I can't blame her there," said Lan, "her mindset's just not like ours; she couldn't really understand why something like this is so important to us… or how it could be important to a _lot _of other people as well." The Chinese Coordinator grinned. "Well, enough chit-chat. We got the recording; let's do this!"

Priscilla smiled and nodded as she plugged the flash drive into her computer and powered up the device. "You got it. Give me a couple minutes to get logged in and access my account."

"I'm surprised we get net access out here," said Adaline.

"Thank the crews that built this ship," said Priscilla, "The _Eternal _has one of the most advanced communications arrays in the Earth Sphere, rivaled only by the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_. It can tap into the web buoy network even through N-jammer interference provided there's a satellite within range, and that range is quite large. The Battle of Nova may have wrecked the colonies and resource satellites at L4, but there are still a couple intact buoys on the fringe of the Lagrange Point. All we have to do is tap into them and then bounce our signal around a bunch of the other satellites in the network in order to make it harder to track us, and we can use the net. The transmission will be tight-beam rather than a standard comm burst, and I'll also be sending out bits of junk data through the buoy network at the same time as our main upload; that will help make the signal source even more obscure."

"Sounds like you've thought of everything," said Adaline

"As much as I can," Priscilla replied, "I can do a damn good job at covering our electronic tracks, but nothing is foolproof. It's best if we only go for short bursts; prolonged use will increase the risk of exposure over time. Also, the fewer bursts we make the better."

"In other words," said Lan, "let's get this right the first time, and no recreational net use; only when we absolutely have to."

"Agreed. Not to mention double check the encryption key before I send, in this case" said Priscilla, "Combine that with the signal bouncing and it will be practically impossible for anyone to trace this. It's pretty much the same method Bristow used to send us information when we made our run from the PLANTs, only he was broadcasting from the capital, which meant that he could hide his signal in all the comm traffic that comes and goes from Aprilius One. I've got to bounce this a _lot _if I want to maintain our security."

Adaline watched as her friend's eyes narrowed while she worked her computer magic. _Among the three of us_, she mused, _Pris has always been the best when it comes to programming… and anything computer related, really. I guess it comes from her family background; I know both of her parents worked at one of the big time software companies in Aprilius One. Pilot, expert shot with a pistol, quiet bookworm, and computer expert… there's a lot more to Pris than meets the eye. I learned that long ago…_

After a few seconds Priscilla smiled and looked up at her friends. "Alright guys, I'm on the site and logged into my account. The file's ready to go. Should we try a little editing or post it raw?"

"Leave it as is," said Adaline, "anything we did would take away from the video."

"I'm with you there," said Lan, "Just put it up as is; it doesn't need any help from us."

"Alright," said Priscilla, "that just leaves the title. You guys got any ideas?"

"Hmm…" said Adaline, lowering her head in thought, "I hadn't thought that far ahead yet."

"Hey, I know," said Lan, "Remember yesterday when Waltfeld was talking about how we got that burst transmission from the PLANTs, from one of Bristow's contacts? He mentioned that there was a new nickname for Heero making its way through the armed forces, one inspired by what he did during the raid on Aprilius One. Crap, what was it again…?"

Adaline smiled as she recalled the conversation her friend had brought up. "I remember; the Demon Lord of Avalon. Quite the moniker if you ask me."

"No kidding," said Lan, smirking, "Sounds intimidating."

"Sounds perfect," said Priscilla, her eyes lighting up and her hands flying across the keyboard. A couple seconds later she leaned back to give her friends a good look at the screen. "Well, what do you think?"

Adaline and Lan leaned forward, and they both smiled as they read the title. "The Valkyrie vs. The Demon Lord," said Adaline, "It's got a nice ring to it. Good going, Pris."

"You sure?" she replied, looking anxiously from Adaline to Lan.

_Of the three of us, she's always been the most self-conscious_, Adaline mused, _She's calm and confident in the cockpit or a firefight, but in social situations she's a little unsure of herself, even with friends sometimes. Lan and I really gotta work on that with her._

Adaline put her hand on Priscilla's shoulder and nodded. "Trust me, Pris; it's good."

"Yeah," said Lan, "You worry too much, Pris. Now hurry up and upload the damn thing!"

Priscilla smiled and nodded. "Ok. F.Y.I. though, you two do know that we can't check in to see how many hits we get on this thing while we're hiding out like this, right?"

"I know," Adaline replied, "You already told us that we need to minimize net usage, and checking the hits would count as casual and unnecessary. We'll just have to live with the uncertainty. Once this is all over, or we get to a place where we don't have to worry about concealing our presence, then we can see how popular our little film is."

"Oh, please," said Lan, grinning, "no worries there; this thing's gonna take off like a rocket."

"At the very least," said Adaline, "it'll get plenty of viewers from ZAFT, given how fast that nickname of Heero's is spreading through the armed forces if Bristow's source is any indication."

"You're right," said Priscilla.

She typed for a few seconds before turning to her friends and grinning.

"It's done. Commander Rehema and Heero's duel has gone viral."

**Preview for next time!**

_Every action has consequences, and the daring raid on the PLANTs has more than left its mark on the warring factions of the Cosmic Era. Scrambling to contain the damage inflicted upon ZAFT's image and his own, Chairman Zala further intensifies his crackdown on dissidents within the Coordinator homeland. At the same time, Field Marshal Creuset must also take into account the affects of the raid and work to get his own plans back on track. Continuing his manipulation of both Zala and Blue Cosmos leader Muruta Azrael, the enigmatic masked officer works to set the stage for the next act of the conflict. Meanwhile, the Three Ships Alliance has settled in at L4, and its leading figures must plan their own next course of action. Faced with the daunting task of confronting both the Cosmic Era's superpowers in a clash with the fate of the entire human race hanging in the balance, the pressure is on for Heero, Murrue, and the others to come up with a viable solution to end the conflict before its fires consume all of mankind. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Three: Tides of War._

**Author's notes: **The action's on hold in the next chapter; Twenty-Three's focus will be intrigue, character interaction, and romance (both the main pairing and the many secondary ones that have cropped up). Don't worry, the fight scenes will return with a vengeance in the chapters after this one, just humor me for a bit, ok?

By the way, some of the dialogue for the last part of the duel was taken from the final boss fight of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War. If you've played the game before then you probably already caught that. If not, I recommend checking it out; it's a really fun game, and the last boss fight is superb. Also, the song "Zero" was taken from that fight.

Until next time, everyone! Please review!


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's notes: **Still alive? Hahaha, ok, sorry it's been so long since my last update. Things have been busy on my end with work and college, but there's also the fact that this chapter is quite possibly the longest one in the fic to date. No combat here, the focus for this one is politics, romance, and character interaction. Don't worry, I promise the next few chapters will more than make up for the lack of fighting in this one!

Standard operating procedure here; have food and beverages on hand, along with a lot of time to kill. You're going to need it.

Disclaimer for the hell of it: I don't own Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed. I'm writing this story because it's my idea of fun.

Only one song in this chapter for those of you who've been going along with this story's musical score. It's "Time Stand Still" by Rush, one of my favorite pieces by one of my favorite classic rock bands.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Three: Tides of War**

Sitting in the back of the cab as it drove through the heart of the capital city, Field Marshal Rau Le Creuset looked out the window at the bustling midday crowds. Civilians and soldiers alike went about their business, though the masked officer thought he detected something new in their demeanor. It was difficult to determine what exactly it was at a glance, though the blonde pilot had a few suspicions of his own regarding it.

_Everyone's on edge_, he mused as the cab stopped at a red light, _and it's impossible to blame them. After all, when was the last time the homeland was directly threatened? Not since the Battle of Jachin Due and the Battle of Avalon… well, the First Battle of Avalon, that is. Recent activity will no doubt mean a change in the title of the late station's first engagement. All has been calm on the home front for over a year. The battles were in other corners of outer space, or down on the Earth itself. Everyone was laboring under the belief that ZAFT had completely secured L5, that nothing could touch us here._

That last thought caused the Field Marshal to smirk. The complacency that had fallen over the PLANTs had been slowly but surely eroding over the past few months. It had begun with the attack on Heliopolis and the escape of the legged ship and the last of its mobile suits, though at the time Creuset had been convinced that the matter would be wrapped up quickly and would in the end be nothing more than a temporary blip on the radar. However, the arrival of Wing Zero had complicated matters considerably, and the legged ship and its mobile suits had evolved into a true wild card.

_I had hoped to eliminate their interference with the Cyclops detonation at Alaska_, he thought as the light turned green, _alas, it was not to be. What a pain that ship and that damned mobile suit have been since then. Still… I never dreamed that they would pull a stunt like this._

It had been four days since the destruction of the Avalon battle-station and the breaching of Aprilius One. The general reaction had, unsurprisingly, been one of complete shock. Even now the populace was still struggling to come to terms with what had just occurred, what so many in the upper half of the colony had actually witnessed firsthand.

The civilian population was not the only group reeling from the impact of the raid. ZAFT had been caught completely unaware by the fast and hard-hitting strike, and the military had been completely humiliated as a result. Not only had their mightiest defense station been obliterated, but the attackers had completely pierced the Home Fleet's defenses, mauled the interior forces of the capital, and gotten back out again. Zala had immediately called emergency sessions of both the Defense Council and the Supreme Council, and the Chairman had been rushing back and forth between the two bodies almost around the clock sense then.

_Zala's furious_, Creuset mused, _that is only_ _natural, but one would expect an official of his station to have a little more of a reign on his temper. Of course, I know him better than most, and his response to this little mess has not disappointed me given my expectations of him. That being said, it _is _making him harder to deal with. He's much more volatile, more impassioned now than ever before. It makes him more susceptible to manipulation… but also more unpredictable._

There were several factors in the raid that tied in with this surge of anger in the Defense and Supreme Council Chairman, and Creuset knew that, apart from the destruction of Avalon, the losses suffered by ZAFT were not the foremost among them. This did not particularly bother the masked Field Marshal, but he knew that others would not share his sentiment. If looked at from a tactical standpoint, the losses suffered by ZAFT had been severe. The casualties included twenty-three capital ships destroyed, another twenty-two suffering varying degrees of damage, and hundreds of mobile suits destroyed or disabled. Those losses added up to approximately a quarter of the forces available on the Avalon Line, and when the destruction of the battle-station was added into the mix the combined casualties came close to rivaling the First and Second Battles of Alaska.

However, in the grand strategic picture, the losses were not too troubling to the Field Marshal. It was true that they had occurred at a time when ZAFT had been increasingly forced onto the defensive, but the casualties were but a fraction of the forces available to the immense Home Fleet. Creuset was aware that ships and mobile suits were already being reallocated from the other Defense Lines to bolster the lower fortifications, and a portion of the vast fleet of new vessels and machines being churned out by the shipyards and factories would also be sent to reinforce the position. The losses in personnel would be made up as well in the form of a new draft law that had been instituted by the PLANT Supreme Council the day after the raid had taken place.

_Per the new law_, Creuset thought, _all men and women sixteen years of age or older not involved in vital occupations deemed vital to the war effort and maintaining the colonies are required to enroll in the ZAFT training institutions. Fifteen is the minimum age that people have been accepted as _volunteers _for the armed forces before now, and it's drawn some controversy. However, given the advanced capabilities of even young Coordinators, the decision was ultimately allowed. However, _conscripting _people merely a year older is another matter altogether in the eyes of the general population. Were they not still recovering from the shock the raid on Aprilius One put into them, I'd imagine there would've been organized protests to the law. As it stands now, it's only a matter of time. The radicals think that just because they set the conscription limit at one year above the minimum volunteer age the populace will go along with it, but that will not be the case. When a son or daughter volunteers to go off to war, that is one thing… but when they are forced to take part in the largest war mankind has ever seen, that is quite another, especially as far as their parents are concerned. How will you handle the inevitable outcry, Zala?_

In the end, the new law and any protests it drew amounted to little more than a sideshow as far as the masked ace was concerned. The measure would help to fill gaps in the ranks… draw more lambs to the slaughter.

That was all Creuset cared about.

Though ZAFT could recover from the material and personnel losses, the Field Marshal knew that the _real _damage that had been done was to the credibility of the armed forces… and, more importantly, to that of their leader. Zala had been elected in no small part due to his campaign promises to both end the war quickly and make the PLANTs completely secure, impervious to any sort of offensive action. The complete and abject failure of ZAFT to prevent the heart of the Coordinator homeland from being breached had utterly shattered the sense of security that the populace had given themselves by electing Zala and other politicians that shared his beliefs to positions of power. People were demanding answers, and Creuset knew that the few moderates that still remained in positions of power were making the most of the situation. The opposition within the PLANTs to the policies of Zala and his allies was now centered on Councilor Eileen Canaver of September City… or rather, the opposition that Zala had yet to move against. Creuset knew that Lacus Clyne was still considered the true leader of the movement, but Councilor Canaver was more or less regarded as their main manager within the PLANTs. However, there was little, if any, real evidence to that, and even Zala could not move against a sitting Councilor without a solid justification and hard evidence. Therefore, Canaver and her sole remaining ally on the Council, Yuri Amalfi of Maius City, were able to keep their seats in the executive governing body, though the radical supermajority meant that they were unable to effect any true change to national policy, foreign or domestic.

_It was easy to move against Siegel Clyne_, mused Creuset, _his daughter was caught on camera aiding and abetting the theft of the Freedom, and she could not have gained access to the facility where it was kept without her father's assistance. That made it a simple matter to charge both father and daughter with treason; the evidence was incontrovertible. Canaver, however, has played a much more cautious game. Everyone knows she's in the Clyne camp, but not a scrap of evidence has been found that can be used to remove her from power and neutralize her. As for Yuri Amalfi, with the death of his son back on Earth he has gained protection in the form of sympathy. Since he has lost family in this war, people are inclined to think that Nicol's demise would only strengthen Councilor Amalfi's commitment to the PLANTs and ZAFT. However, the Councilor's views have not changed, at least not to my knowledge; his ideals are the same as those of Councilor Canaver, the late Siegel Clyne, his daughter, and their followers. Whether or not he is simply afraid to get in the game and risk his own neck or is as crafty as Canaver has been is not something I have been able to determine, though. He's joined Canaver in her calls for an investigation into ZAFT's response to the raid, but that's a natural political response given his leanings and opposition to the hard line stance of Zala and his supporters. Is he simply continuing on with politics as usual, or has Miss Clyne convinced Canaver to truly bring him into the fold, to cross the line that runs between legal opposition and outright subversion and rebellion?_

Only time would tell.

The Field Marshal himself had been unable to participate in the efforts to beat back Wing Zero and the strike team. His personal destroyer, the _Vesalius_, had been positioned on the Jachin Due Line, and even with the impressive speed that the _Nazca_-class ship could get up to Creuset had known that there was no way he could get into position to fight the attackers, especially not at the incredible pace that they had been moving at.

_Not to mention I only have a GuAIZ at my disposal_, he mused, _a potent machine, especially with my skills… but still not enough to challenge Wing Zero. I could've mixed it up with Rehema and her subordinates, or the Freedom and Justice, but I still would've been outmatched on the technological side of the equation. Besides, even if I had launched in the GuAIZ I still would not have been able to make it to the engagement in time, not from where we were on the Jachin Due Line._

The same had also gone for Yzak and the Duel. While the stolen Heliopolis prototype remained a formidable machine even when compared to new models like the GuAIZ, it was still outmatched by the nuclear powered mobile suits that had pierced the Avalon Line. Yzak's personal skill and experience was undeniable, but the limitations of his machine meant that he would've had no more than a temporary delaying effect on the strike team.

_Maybe not even that_, thought Creuset, _not if he got in the sights of Wing Zero's rifle, or the Judgment's Tartarus gun. The Duel's shield is strong, but it can't stand against that kind of firepower. Wing Zero would utterly destroy it, while the Tartarus plasma rifle would at the very least inflict crippling damage even if the shield took the blast. The same goes for my GuAIZ; the unit's Composite Shield is worthless against firepower of that magnitude. It's a pity the Providence is still not ready for battle. While the Judgment at least provided proof that the DRAGOON system works in combat, that unit only uses two of the gun drones; Providence's system is far more complex. Eleven drones to the Judgment's two, and each with multiple guns… combine that with all the other sophisticated equipment on the mobile suit, and I guess it's no surprise the Providence is not yet combat worthy. I'll just have to make do with the GuAIZ and my own skills for the time being._

As the cab moved through the central commerce section of the capital city Creuset saw a very familiar figure suddenly appear on one of the large advertising screens… along with every other screen in the area.

_Well_, thought the Field Marshal as he beheld the image of none other than Lacus Clyne, _this ought to be interesting. What's the little songbird have to say this time… and why is the Secret Service and Military Intelligence still unable to block her transmissions?_

"Driver," he said, "pull over and roll down the windows. I want to hear this."

"Fine," replied the cabbie, a dark skinned man in his mid twenties, "just be aware that the meter's still running."

"You'll be properly compensated," said Creuset, waving his hand in dismissal.

The taxi came to a stop alongside the curb, and the masked officer leaned over and turned to face the screen. Creuset noted that the songstress's appearance had changed somewhat since the last time he'd seen her. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she had forgone her usual white and purple dress in favor of a black and purple outfit with a white jacket worn over it.

_Rather fitting, considering her new status as a fugitive_, he mused, _it's more practical than her usual gowns, but it still gives her an air of grace, nobility, and serenity. The girl has always known how to dress for an audience, a gift that stems not just from her career as an idol singer but from her upbringing under a powerful politician. Well, Miss Clyne, let's see what kind of performance you'll give us today…_

The pink-haired songstress wasted no time in starting her address. "Citizens of the PLANTs," she said, "civilians and soldiers alike… I pray that you are well, though I would of course understand if you take skepticism given my opposition to the current regime. Doubts of my sincerity are quite natural considering the circumstances… but what I am about to tell you cannot be doubted at all, for I have evidence to support my claims."

"As I am sure you are all aware," she continued, "the defenses of Aprilius One were breached, and the colony itself infiltrated, by none other than Wing Zero and its pilot, Heero Yuy. I know not what Chairman Zala and his subordinates have told you regarding the operation, but what I _do _know is that our actions were taken to address a cruel injustice perpetrated by the radical faction."

"You all know that Charon Prison was attacked during the raid," said Lacus, "but what you may not know is _why _it was struck. Held within the facility were Soran and Akila Rehema, the parents of none other than Commander Shemei Rehema, whom many of you know as the Valkyrie. Soran and Akila had been taken because their daughter opposed the ideals of Zala and his supporters, their beliefs that we cannot make peace with the Naturals. They had committed no crimes of their own, save for being the mother and father of a daughter who had a strong conscience… and that they were Naturals living within the PLANTs."

The image on the screen shifted to show the Rehemas in their cell. The picture was at a mid-level elevation, and Creuset surmised it had been taken from one of the cameras implanted in the wall rather than one of the devices imbedded in the ceiling. It drew gasps from the people assembled around the screen, but Creuset was not focused on the subjects of the footage. Rather, his eyes narrowed behind his mask as he read the time stamp on the image.

_The date and time_, he thought, his mind working at lightning speed, _this is…_

Suddenly the image on the screen shook, and Creuset knew why. The timestamp on the footage was the only hint he needed. Sure enough, he saw Soran and Akila dive beneath the bed after a moment, and then the screen was filled by a flash of brilliant green light. When the image was eventually restored Creuset could clearly see the artificial light of the PLANTs coming in through the massive gap in the ceiling. The far wall had also been torn out, but rather than light being visible through it, what the masked Field Marshal saw instead was the torso of a mobile suit. A _very _familiar mobile suit.

Wing Zero.

Then Creuset saw the hatch of the mobile suit's cockpit open, and he had to resist the urge to smile. Finally, after so many months of wondering, he and the people of the PLANTs would at last catch a glimpse of the pilot that had rocked the Cosmic Era to its core.

"At last," said the Field Marshal softly, "at long last…"

The masked officer watched as Heero Yuy exited his mobile suit. The pilot looked much younger than Creuset had been expecting, and he surmised that ZAFT's enigmatic and powerful adversary was around the same age as Athrun Zala. The young man's attire was quite striking, consisting of a surprisingly elaborate uniform that belonged in another era. It lent an air of nobility to a being whom, even over an electronic image, gave off the vibe of a hardened combat veteran. His expression was calm and determined, resolute and strong… the young man appeared as indomitable as his mobile suit. His build was on the slight and slender side, but just from the way Wing Zero's pilot held himself Creuset knew that it was a form that was toned and seasoned by harsh training and plenty of brutal battles.

_Not entirely what I expected_, the Field Marshal mused, _and yet… he does not disappoint. How strange… and intriguing._

Creuset watched as the recording continued and displayed Heero's dialogue with the Valkyrie's parents for all to see. His gaze sharpened behind his mask as the young man revealed to the public Zala's recent efforts to round up all the Naturals, along with ZAFT's new policy of no quarter when it came to the campaigns being waged against the Earth Alliance, not to mention the covert attempts to murder Lacus Clyne and the assassination of her father, both of which had been done without even trying to take them alive for questioning and trial.

_The death of Siegel Clyne was released to the public_, Creuset mused, _though Zala lied regarding the circumstances. The people were led to believe that the former Chairman had committed suicide rather than face capture and trial, and that his daughter had charmed members of ZAFT into spiriting her away from Aprilius One. Of course, with all the broadcasts she's made since going into hiding, she's had plenty of chances to argue her side of what happened during that raid that killed her father, and she has done so, but hers was the sole voice speaking about those events. Now that the people have heard Heero Yuy back up her claims, they may be given more weight. It always helps to have a second voice arguing in your corner… even if said voice belongs to the pilot that's wiped out legions of our soldiers._

The Field Marshal looked on as Wing Zero's pilot continued to speak with the Valkyrie's parents and persuade them to cooperate with him. He was impressed by the young man's directness and his brutal honesty, especially the manner in which he ruthlessly picked apart the self-righteousness of Soran Rehema. In his own way, the formidable soldier was almost as charismatic as Lacus. It certainly was not in the traditional sense of the word, but the combination of cool logic and burning determination in his gaze and voice was quite potent and commanded respect.

_Quite a show, Heero Yuy_, he mused, _it seems the art of war is not the only area in which your talents lie. A pity it is only now that I have the chance to bear witness. We may have spoken during the battle that annihilated the 8__th__ Fleet, but that communication was strictly audio… and all too brief. Then again, I suppose that was good fortune for me; had our engagement lasted any longer, my survival would have been in doubt. Certainly I was no match for you when my unit was a CGUE, even with the modifications mine had been given prior to the battle._

Once the dialogue concluded the image shifted back to Lacus. "I know that up until now you have been led to believe that Heero Yuy and Wing Zero present a dire threat to the PLANTs," said Lacus, "however, this is not the case. In spite of the high casualties he has inflicted against the forces of ZAFT, Heero is fighting to protect people and bring this conflict to an end, just as all the others that have flocked to the banner of my late father and I have been. That is why so many of us have taken up arms against the current government; Chairman Zala does not hold any belief in peaceful coexistence between our race and the Naturals. More importantly, he has already taken steps towards his ultimate goal, and that of his faction; wiping them out. Commander Rehema's parents may have been kidnapped in part due to their connection to her, but they were also taken in large part simply because they were Naturals living within the PLANTS… and they are not alone."

The songstress vanished from the screen. In her place flashed images of scores of people, their names under their faces… pictures of other Naturals that had been taken by the regime.

_How did she get those images?_, he thought, _Zala had those abductions take place under the strictest secrecy… _

The thought only lasted for a moment before the masked Field Marshal reached the obvious conclusion; Eric Bristow had somehow accessed the information and had passed it on to her. The extent of the man's information network had once again surpassed Creuset's expectations.

The enigmatic officer shifted his gaze from the screen to the crowds as he monitored their reactions. He saw people who were already stunned at what was happening gasp, with many of them apparently recognizing someone among the many Naturals that were being displayed on the screen.

_Of course_, Creuset mused, _It wasn't like they wouldn't notice that people had vanished, but the cause of their disappearances had never been revealed… until now. I'm sure they'd had their suspicions… and now they are confronted with proof. Well played, Miss Clyne. _

Despite the fact that the girl's actions posed a threat to his long term plans, the Field Marshal did have a grudging respect for the young lady. Time and time again she had proven herself to be quite cunning when it came to politics, certainly more so than Zala and his followers had given her credit for. Her ability to play to a crowd and inspire people was a powerful weapon, and Creuset knew that the sincerity of her beliefs and message could be quite the persuasive force, working its magic in civilians and soldiers alike.

After a few minutes Lacus reappeared on the screen. "All of the people you just witnessed," she said, "have been imprisoned by Chairman Zala's government. They have committed no crimes; they have done nothing to warrant such treatment. They are your fellow citizens, yet they have been singled out for persecution simply because of their genes, how they were born." She closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. "I'm sure I am not the only one that finds irony in the fact that Chairman Zala and his supporters have gone after the Naturals living within the PLANTs with a fervor and zeal to rival that of those who hunted us on Earth and continued to wish for our destruction even after they drove most of our people into outer space. These poor people that languish in Charon Prison and the other detention centers in the PLANTs may still be alive for the moment, but given that our government has enacted a policy of no quarter against the soldiers of the Earth Alliance, Naturals just the same as the people that this regime had abducted… well, how long do you believe it will be before Chairman Zala decides to eliminate them entirely?"

"Citizens of the PLANTs," she continued, and even over the screen the fire in her light blue eyes was clearly visible, "I ask you this: do you truly believe that these people deserve this treatment, deserve to die, simply because of how they were born? Can you truly accept as leadership a government that has embraced the same brutality as those that seek our own annihilation? Does this war have to end in the greatest act of genocide in the long and bloody annals of human history? I cannot, my father could not, and those who followed us and have joined us since cannot… and _that _is why we have chosen to fight both ZAFT _and _the Earth Alliance. Our goal is to bring peace to this world, to end this pointless bloodshed and douse the flames of hatred being fanned by the likes of Patrick Zala and Muruta Azrael before they consume the entire human race!"

"Our organization," said Lacus, "the people that are willing to fight for peace rather than destruction and hatred, is comprised of not just former ZAFT soldiers and disillusioned politicians. As you saw before, Heero Yuy has joined us, and along with him the warship _Archangel_, formerly of the Earth Alliance forces. We also count among our ranks the Orb warship _Kusanagi _and the government in exile, including Lady Cagalli Yula Athha, the daughter of the late Lord Uzumi Nara Athha. We are not a homogenous group, but a movement made up of both Coordinators _and _Naturals, people who want nothing more than to bring an end to this horrendous conflict… and to foster true peace and friendship between both races. None of us did wanted to take up arms, especially not against our own governments, but we cannot abide by leaders who seek to take our peoples down a path that can only lead to damnation and ruin. We do not accept the beliefs propagated by both sides, that neither can live while the other survives… and I do not think that you do either, people of the PLANTs. I have faith in all of you, in your strong hearts and keen minds… I _know _that the vast majority of you do not desire the wholesale slaughter of the Naturals, just as I know that the majority of Naturals do not seek the destruction of our people. Both sides have been hijacked by extremists, leaders consumed by the fires of hate, suspicion, and vengeance… but they do not represent the true will of the people that they wish to dominate."

The songstress bowed her head for a moment before facing her audience one more time. "Please, think long and hard on what you have seen and heard today. I pray for your continued safety and well being… and an end to this war that does not involve our people or our brethren down on the Earth drowning in a sea of blood. I fear that such a grim resolution to this conflict is inevitable if the current policies of the ruling party are allowed to hold sway… but it is not too late to avert tragedy. There is still hope for us all; human decency and just morality can prevail over the dark tides that threaten to plunge us into Armageddon. Farewell."

_Well_, thought Creuset as the screen reverted to what it had been showing prior to being pirated by the songstress, _quite the spectacle, Miss Clyne… and a further embarrassment to Zala and the rest of the radicals. All the more so considering that they could not shut off your broadcast… that failure will not reflect well upon them, nor will it go unnoticed by the people. Yet another sign to them that Zala's rule has not delivered the absolute security the man promised them during the campaign…_

The political consequences this would have were sure to be problematic for Chairman Zala, and they could well influence Creuset's own plans. However, the masked Field Marshal was not particularly concerned with that at the moment. He was preoccupied by the sudden and unexpected debut of Wing Zero's pilot.

_So he's finally been revealed to the public_, Creuset mused, _Heero Yuy… How will all this play out? Up until now he's been presented by the government to the people as a shadowy threat, a menace with untold powers of destruction. Now the public is given another image, a view of a strong young man, one with principles and morals, a sense of right and wrong, and possessing great courage, cunning, and skill. What will they make of this?_

"Driver," said Creuset, "we're done here. Onward, if you will."

The cabbie nodded and pulled back out into the street, continuing the journey to ZAFT HQ.

_That security footage_, thought Creuset, _I'm sure Zala's seen it by now; it's been four days since the attack, after all. I'm surprised he did not forward it to me, however. Even with the workload I was given in the aftermath of the raid I still would've gone over it. Was it a simple oversight on his part… or has my influence actually taken a hit? I suppose I'll find out soon enough…_

Eventually the taxi pulled up to the massive ZAFT HQ building. Creuset quickly paid the driver and got out, swiftly joining the bustling crowds heading in and out of the facility. The Field Marshal was struck by the frantic energy in the soldiers and staff officers as he made his way through the lobby and towards Zala's office. They were all nervous, with many of them whispering to their colleagues, ever mindful of the eyes of any potential observers. Creuset knew that their anxiety was not just due to the massive breach the Home Fleet had suffered during the raid. It also had to do with the fact that said raid would've been impossible without inside help… and that a former member of the Defense Council had been crucial in providing that assistance.

_Bristow_, thought Creuset, grinding his teeth as he walked through the hall, a quiet fury awakening within him, _I should've known he was feeding information to Lacus and her supporters. He was operating right under my nose. Who knows what else he provided the Clyne faction with? His security clearance, and the trust Zala put in him, may not have been as high as other members of the Defense Council or me, but he was still in a position to learn a lot of valuable information. He didn't follow the beliefs of the radical faction, that was well known, but his service record combined with the political leanings of his father and the generous donations given by him to Zala and his supporters helped camouflage his true allegiance. Zala and the others were convinced that he was simply acting as a soldier and had no real interest in the political war being fought between the radicals and the moderates. His opposition to some of the decisions made by the Council, along with the actions of groups like Schwarze Squadron, was simply viewed as him standing by his own tactical and strategic beliefs and the conventions of war. He never openly defied the Council; he simply made his views on situations known and offered his own thoughts on the course of action that should be taken. I was aware that he'd been building up a sizeable network of contacts, but that's a game played by most members of the Defense Council. I knew he held some of the moderates as acquaintances, and was close friends with Shemei Rehema, but still… damn it, I underestimated him._

The Field Marshal was still silently fuming as he walked into the reception room outside the Chairman's office. Fortunately for Creuset his mask obscured most signs of his cold fury, though some hints of it were apparent for those who knew how to study body language. His tense stance, the clenching and unclenching of his fists at his side, the slightly heavier impact of his steps against the floor… they were all clues pointing to a man working to contain his anger.

As he approached the receptionist, a woman with short cropped black hair wearing the standard green uniform found on most members of ZAFT, Creuset could not help but notice a tremor go through her slender frame as she looked up at him. Taking a breath and working to relax his frame, the Field Marshal gave her a small smile.

"Hello, Miss Amelia," he said, "I have an appointment with the Chairman."

The young lady nodded and smiled, though Creuset could tell it was forced. He figured that she had caught his contained anger; receptionists were generally well versed in reading the body language of others.

"Yes, Field Marshal Creuset," she said, "let me contact him; his prior appointment should be about finished."

She pressed a button on her keyboard. "Chairman Zala? Field Marshal Creuset is here."

The reply was curt, and even with the electronic taint it sounded agitated. "Send him in."

"Yes, sir," the receptionist replied. She turned to Creuset and nodded. "Go ahead, sir."

"Thank you," he replied before heading for the officer door.

As he entered the room he saw Zala pacing back and forth before the large screen on the far wall, with two officers standing by. The two men were stiff, anxious… and clearly frightened.

_To let their fear show so easily_, thought Creuset, _how pathetic, unprofessional… it just goes to show the affects that damn raid is having on morale and discipline._

He glanced over at the screen behind the Chairman, and saw a very familiar face; that of Lacus Clyne. The image had obviously been taken from the broadcast Creuset had witnessed on his way to ZAFT HQ.

"I don't care what you have to do," said Zala, his voice a low and menacing growl, "Find out how that bitch keeps getting into our systems! Her incessant prattle and subversion has gone on for far too long. Shut her down! Use any means necessary to extract information from the people we've detained in connection to the Clyne faction!"

"Sir," said one of the officers, "we've already interrogated the suspects we have in custody that were involved in their propaganda activities! None of them talked!"

"Because you were too damn soft," Zala replied, glaring at the man, "Throw out the goddamn rule book and put your fucking back into the work! Tell your agents that the conventions regarding proper interrogations no longer apply in this war; they have free reign to do what must be done to get the traitors to talk! _Anything _goes, Commander Ramirez. Is that clear?"

The man nodded. "Yes, Chairman."

"Good," said Zala, "now go and get some damned results. If that mewling whore manages another broadcast like that, you and your subordinates will be held responsible, Commander… and the consequences will be dire. Understood?"

The Commander nodded again. "Yes, Chairman."

_How blunt, Chairman_, Creuset mused, knowing full well what the 'consequences' for failure would be, _must you be so crude? Ah, no matter; it just makes you easier to predict and manipulate._

"Dismissed," said Zala.

As the two men headed towards the exit, the Chairman waved Creuset over. "Field Marshal," he said, glancing over at the screen, "I'm sure you caught that traitorous wench's broadcast on your way over here."

The Field Marshal nodded as the office door closed. "I did, Chairman Zala. While certainly another annoyance that we don't need at this hour, it proved to be illuminating in at least one aspect."

"And that would be?" asked Zala, the corners of his mouth twitching in anger.

_It looks like I'll really be walking a tightrope with him today_, Creuset thought dryly, _this should be interesting…_

"Charon Prison's security footage," Creuset replied, "after four days without being given access to it, it was nice to at least get a glimpse of the face of our enemy."

"I needed you focused on your other tasks, Creuset," said Zala as he moved back behind his desk, "Reforming the Defense Lines to compensate for the loss of Avalon takes precedent over all your other projects… and your curiosity."

"I understand completely, Chairman," said Creuset, nodding, "However, while I have been quite busy with that assignment over these past four days, I still would've liked to see the security footage. I'm sure there's much it could teach us regarding Wing Zero's pilot, especially since the recording was both visual and audio."

"I already have Military Intelligence going over it, Field Marshal," said Zala as he sat down, "If you want the footage, I'll give you clearance to get it from them once your current assignment has been completed."

"Thank you, Chairman," said Creuset. The Chairman's words had not quite given Creuset the vital cues he'd been hoping for. Was the reason he had not been given a chance to view the footage in the immediate aftermath of the raid really just due to Zala wanting him to focus on reorganizing the PLANTs defenses, or had the masked officer actually lost esteem in the eyes of the Chairman?

"In any event," said Zala, grabbing a remote and pointing it at the screen, "Lacus's little stunt is not the only video that's raising a ruckus amongst the populace. Military Intelligence found _this _last night on the net."

The image on the screen shifted, and behind his mask Creuset's eyes narrowed as he saw two familiar figures appear. One was the former Commander Shemei Rehema… and the other was Heero Yuy.

_This isn't from the raid_, he thought, _the timestamp's three days after it… what is this?_

Creuset watched in fascination as the two aces drew the swords at their waists, moving so fast that the camera had barely been able to keep up… and went at it in a ferocious duel.

"So," he said as he continued to observe the fight, "they got the chance to settle their score… though not in the manner that I would've anticipated. That's the _Archangel_'s hangar bay, isn't it sir?"

Zala nodded. "Our analysts have come to that same conclusion. Wing Zero and the new model machine, the blue and white one, are visible at certain points of the duel, and both are known to be using the legged ship as their base of operations."

"Yes…" said Creuset softly as he watched the duel.

Zala then hit the remote and began fast-forwarding the footage, much to Creuset's disappointment; he'd been enjoying the show.

_ I'll just have to look it up later_, he thought, _I've never really paid much heed to the viral world's connection to this war beyond its usefulness as an intelligence tool and a means for both sides to disseminate propaganda, and the latter function was not a concern of mine… until now._

"Look at this," Zala growled as he set the video to play again, his quiet fury coming to the forefront, "Watch this… _disgrace_."

Creuset looked on as the two duelists charged at each other in what he assumed would be their final strikes. As had happened in the earlier footage, both combatants moved with incredible speed, and their last attacks happened so quickly that the camera could not definitively catch who had made the winning blow. It was only after Heero and Shemei lowered their swords and turned to face each other that Creuset saw the blood trickling between the Valkyrie's fingers as she pressed her left hand to her right shoulder… and the masked Field Marshal knew what had made the Defense and Supreme Council Chairman so angry.

A _Natural _had defeated a _Coordinator _in personal combat… and thanks to the Internet, the _entire Earth Sphere _knew about it. The video was a monumental blow to one of the core tenets of the radical faction's ideology; that Coordinators were superior in every way to the Naturals, the next stage of human evolution. Now one of Zala's 'supreme beings' had been defeated by a 'lowly savage', and even if the Coordinator in question was a traitor it was still a powerful statement against the arguments made by the PLANTs' new regime.

"Well," said Creuset quietly as his commander-in-chief shut off the video, "this is an interesting development…"

"Hardly," Zala replied, "obviously this whole thing was staged, Field Marshal. Rehema threw that fight, and this footage was released in some foolish attempt to provide 'evidence' supporting Lacus's claims regarding our supposed 'equality' with Naturals. If that bitch thinks it will have any meaningful effect, then she is more deluded than her father…"

Creuset had to resist the urge to smirk; the Chairman's words belied the man's newly awakened insecurities as he tried to dismiss how one of the core pillars of his faction's ideology had just suffered a heavy blow, one that any human with a computer and Internet access could watch. While the Field Marshal may have preferred mechanized warfare to physical combat, the man was still very observant, and he knew that the Valkyrie had _not _'thrown the fight', as Zala had claimed.

Shemei Rehema had given the duel everything she had, fought with every ounce of the considerable skill at her disposal… and she had _lost_.

To a _Natural_.

Still, it was not in Creuset's best interest to argue the point with the Chairman; Zala was volatile enough as it was. For now the Field Marshal would allow his superior to entertain whatever fantasy he wished regarding the duel and press on to more pressing concerns. However, he resolved to give the video a close examination once he was back in his office. It promised to teach him more about Wing Zero's mysterious pilot than all the analysis and speculation of Military Intelligence ever could.

_If you truly want to understand a soldier_, thought Creuset, _watch how he does battle. I've seen plenty of recordings of Wing Zero in action, but witnessing its pilot in personal, physical combat… this should prove to be an enlightening experience._

The video also held value beyond the potential insights it could offer into ZAFT's powerful adversary. The Field Marshal was curious as to how many times the recording had been viewed since its debut… and how many members of its audience resided in the PLANTs. That information would be valuable in helping to determine the current attitude of the common people regarding the war and the ideals of the radical faction.

_This is not just a film about a Coordinator and a Natural fighting_, he mused, _there's more to it. Even in that brief glimpse I was able to catch, it was obvious that the two combatants respected each other; they weren't fighting out of traditional animosity. I'm sure I'm not the only viewer who's recognized that… and watching those two soldiers clash in such a manner may have an effect on people. After all, the kind of mutual admiration they seem to have for each other is practically unheard of in this war nowadays. Both sides have become increasingly focused on just wiping the other out, seeing each other only with regards to how they were born. Genes dominate this war, though in the early days of the conflict few would openly admit it. Now it's different; both sides have stepped up their rhetoric considerably, to the point that they're making barely veiled threats regarding the destruction of the other, both militarily and otherwise. It does not take a genius to read between the lines, to guess that the true intentions of the rulers of both the PLANTs and the Earth Alliance is the complete annihilation of their foes… of the other race. If nothing else, Lacus has repeatedly pointed that out in her pirate broadcasts. So amidst all this, for people to witness two skilled combatants go at it without any of the hate that has become so commonplace in this war… well, I imagine it will have an impact of some sort._

"I suppose you're right, Chairman Zala," said Creuset, once again resisting the urge to smirk, "besides, it's just an Internet video; it will be forgotten within days, as most of them are."

Zala nodded. "Exactly, Field Marshal. We have far more important matters to concern ourselves with than some trivial net video in any case."

_The fact that you showed it to me indicates you don't hold it to be quite as 'trivial' as you claim_, thought Creuset, _Zala, you are pathetically easy to read…_

Zala hit another button on his remote, and the image on the screen once again shifted. This time a series of file photos came up… all of former ZAFT officers. The compilation was a who's who of the military elite, some of the best pilots and soldiers in all the Earth Sphere.

Shemei Rehema.

Lan Zhao.

Priscilla Dalca.

Adaline Bellerose.

Dearka Elsman.

Andrew Waltfeld.

Aisha Marlene.

Eric Bristow.

Athrun Zala.

The Chairman brought the last two into focus on the screen, spiting them with a glare that was pure loathing.

"Thanks to that raid," he growled, "not to mention that bitch's damned broadcasts, the entire population now knows that some of our best and brightest soldiers have turned traitor. Ace pilots, field commanders… and a member of the Defense Council. Not to mention my own son."

Creuset nodded. "Yes, that does present a blow to ZAFT's image and heightens suspicion, both from the civilians and the men and women in uniform. The fact that so many of the traitors were high profile individuals only exacerbates the issue. However, at this point I would say that public relations are a secondary concern. Miss Clyne can spout all the nonsense she wants regarding the ideals of those who've chosen to join her; she's already been identified as a traitor, and that alone taints her message. The people of the PLANTs will view her claims with suspicion, and the fact that she's the daughter of the former Chairman means that many will see her as simply trying to get back at you for having defeated her father. She can use all the charm she wants, and those who fall victim to said charms will be viewed by our people as weak. They will despise those who flock to that girl's banner, which will help mitigate the damage done to the image of ZAFT. In the meanwhile, our internal security needs to be addressed."

It was a lie, at least the parts about Miss Clyne, the other traitors, and the impacts of their defections on the general population of the PLANTs, but a well crafted one, and Creuset knew that the Chairman would go along with it due in no small part to the Field Marshal's words being exactly what he _wanted _to hear. The man's arrogance and vanity were almost as massive as his hatred for the Naturals, and they were tools that Creuset had long ago mastered using.

"Indeed," said Zala, "What we need to do is root out any traitors that remain in our ranks. I've already had Military Intelligence do its first roundup of suspects, and needless to say it will not be the last. We _will _purge our homeland of all who support Clyne's daughter and those who have defected, whether they are civilians or part of ZAFT. I've already enacted new laws through the Supreme Council completely removing the rights of suspects and detainees; there are no legal protections for that scum now."

_Not that they had much to begin with_, mused Creuset. Zala had already used his supermajority on the Supreme Council well before the raid on the PLANTs to begin the process of expediting 'official' government detainments, and black-ops abductions like those of Shemei Rehema's parents and other Naturals had occurred even earlier. His latest move was merely the final nail in the coffin for the rights of anyone deemed an internal enemy of the government.

"That's good to hear," said Creuset, "If I may be so bold, Chairman… I assume you've also done the same regarding the official policies for interrogations? If the conversation you were having with Commander Ramirez and his colleague earlier was any indication…"

Zala nodded and gave a cruel smile. "Indeed, Field Marshal. That was another measure that was passed through the Supreme Council in the immediate aftermath of the raid. Our interrogators are now completely free to deal with detainees in whatever manner they feel will be the most effective in extracting information. We're… going old school, if you will."

_Sure_, thought Creuset, resisting the urge to chuckle, _old school Gestapo or KGB…_

While the Field Marshal did not object to torture on moral grounds, his feelings towards it were mixed. On the one hand, the masked officer did not doubt it would get people to talk. On the other, he also knew that people would say _anything _to make the pain stop… and there was no guarantee that what they said would be the truth. It was something taught in any basic interrogation training course; physical abuse of prisoners in the pursuit of information might convince people to open their mouths sooner, but it came at the cost of reliable intelligence. That was why interrogators were taught to emphasize the importance of mental and psychological warfare rather than brute force… in addition to moral considerations and legal conventions, of course. Whether Zala's change in policy would be an asset or a hindrance to Creuset's plans remained to be seen; the Field Marshal would adapt accordingly when the time came.

"I'm sure that will speed up the process of rooting out the remaining traitors in our midst," said Creuset, keeping his doubts to himself, "in the meantime, though, we will need to increase our operational security protocols and screening of people in high security positions of the government and military."

Zala nodded. "Yes, and steps are already being taken along those lines. I have both Military Intelligence and the civilian Secret Service involved. If you'd like, I'll have both directors forward you copies of their findings."

"Thank you, Chairman," said Creuset, "I'm sure they will be most illuminating, and I promise I will not let examining them interfere with my own work."

"Good," Zala replied, "and we have a _lot _of work to do, my friend."

The Chairman stood up and once again walked over towards the large screen along the far wall. He raised the remote and hit a few keys, and the pictures of Athrun and Bristow were replaced by an interactive map of the Earth Sphere. Areas of space under ZAFT control were highlighted in green, Earth Alliance space in red, Orb space in blue and contested space in yellow.

The majority of green was concentrated around L5, with swaths of territory stretching towards the halfway point between that Lagrange Point and the Moon, with a lesser amount towards L3. ZAFT control also extended to portions of the orbital Debris Belt that were easily accessed via L5. However, the extent of space that ZAFT had under its dominion had diminished in recent days… the past four days, to be precise.

Earth Alliance space was naturally focused on the Earth itself, but that was not their only strongpoint. The Moon and all her constructed habitats were also under Alliance control. This included not only Copernicus City and the massive Ptolemaeus Lunar Base but several other large military facilities such as factories, shipyards, arms depots, and communication outposts. The Earth Alliance also held a solid grip on L2, which had no less than thirty colonies, only a quarter of the habitats at L5 but nevertheless an impressive number. L2 was also the home of the largest Alliance shipyards, even more so than those they had on Luna.

Orb space was centered on L3. It had once shared that region with the Alliance, but with the destruction of the Artemis Base the Naturals had lost their strategic foothold in the area. Of course, Orb had taken a hit as well with the loss of the Heliopolis colony, but the supposedly neutral nation still retained control of its other two colonies, Eden and Elysium, along with several resource satellites. What forces they maintained there, Creuset did not know, but he was willing to bet that the Orb had gathered all military strength they had left, not counting the blue warship that had partaken in the raid on the PLANTs, at those two colonies. ZAFT scouts had reported large amounts of traffic heading from the Orb mainland to L3 during the Alliance's buildup to invade the island nation, and Creuset was sure that had been the result of contingency planning on the part of the late Lord Uzumi. The Field Marshal had theorized that the Lion of Orb was not only attempting to secure the survival of his country's legacy in its holdings in outer space after its traditional territory fell, but had also evacuated most if not all of his nation's considerable Coordinator minority to those two colonies as well.

_A very interesting man, that Lion of Orb_, mused Creuset, _on the one hand, he was a shrewd politician, playing both sides for his own end… and yet, he truly did care for his people, Natural and Coordinator alike. A very rare figure these days… and one we're well rid of; it wouldn't do for him to continue interfering with my plan. He's caused enough trouble as it is…_

The Field Marshal noted the scattered crimson dots around L3; Alliance patrols. They'd been monitoring the area since the fall of Orb, but their presence was diminished since the last time Creuset had checked. He had a feeling he knew why, but he would wait and let the Chairman do his little presentation first.

The rest of the space on the map was either black, for no or negligible presence of any faction, or yellow for active combat zones. The yellow had actually receded noticeably since the raid on the PLANTs… and was being overtaken by red.

The Earth Alliance had taken the initiative.

"Our enemy has grown emboldened," said Zala, scowling at the map, "and thanks to that damn raid I've had to adjust our posture in outer space… and cede territory. The First, Fourth, and Seventh Fleets are continuing to engage the Naturals at L1, but we've been forced to pull back on our other fronts. Elements of the Second and Third Fleets will continue patrolling what portions of the Debris Belt are within our reach, but their main bodies, along with the rest of our offensive space forces, have been or will soon be recalled to reinforce the Home Fleet. The Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth have already returned to L5, and I expect the Tenth and Eleventh will be arriving within the next few days."

"That will give the Earth Alliance fleets much more room to operate," said Creuset, "Should we not keep at least a few more task forces out on the front lines to disrupt their supply convoys?"

"No," said Zala firmly, "Until our new fleets are completely outfitted with ships, mobile suits, and soldiers, we have no choice but to strengthen the Exclusion Grid. The general public has been in a state of panic since the raid; we have to be seen taking steps to secure the homeland, or else the Clyne faction will gain more support. Besides, the sheer number of ships the Alliance is sending from the Victoria mass driver, combined with escort forces from the Moon, would mean that raider task forces would have a minimal effect."

Zala sighed. "Matters have only been made worse by the fall of the Lake Victoria spaceport on Earth last week. The Alliance has now regained access to space and have been sending shipments of arms, materials, and personnel to their space forces around the clock. Out threat projections show them encroaching on Gibraltar and Kaoshiung within weeks, and Carpentaria within two months at the most. I've ordered all our remaining surface forces to consolidate around those facilities and defend them at all cost, just as I did for Victoria."

"Will we be reinforcing their positions?" asked Creuset.

"Marginally," Zala replied, "All air and ground combat mobile suits and vehicles that have already been manufactured will be sent to those three facilities, but no more after that. I've already ordered our contractors to shift production completely over to extraterrestrial armaments. This war will be won or lost in outer space, Field Marshal."

Creuset nodded. "I see. Am I to take it then that our remaining surface commanders are under the same orders as those that fell at Lake Victoria?"

Zala nodded, his expression hard as stone. "Yes, Creuset. They are to hold their positions at _any _costs. No retreat is permitted; they will either stand their ground and survive or perish in the attempt."

_Sacrifices on the altar of war_, thought Creuset, his mind giving voice to what the Chairman was leaving unspoken, _we are willing to order their deaths provided they take as many Natural soldiers with them as they can. We are not nearly as different from our foes as we claim to be._

Of course, Creuset had been aware of that for a long time now.

"I see, Chairman," said Creuset, "So, we are to buy time until the new fleets are completely online?"

"Yes," said Zala, a fire burning in his eyes, "and not just the fleets. Until that… _project _is complete, we will limit our offensive operations. We'll let the Natural's think they've got the upper hand, that we're vulnerable." The Chairman then gave a savage smile. "It will only make our revenge all the sweeter when the day of reckoning comes."

"I'm sure, Chairman," Creuset replied, "However, regarding those 'limited offensive operations', I do hope you'll see fit to include me in one or two at some point. If you keep me at home for too long, I'll lose my edge."

"Oh, don't worry, Field Marshal," said Zala, "I already have a field assignment in mind for you… though it may be some time before you can actually accomplish it. Days, weeks… it all depends on the intelligence gathering efforts."

"And what is this assignment?" asked Creuset.

"You will be given command of a task force," said Zala, "and will hunt down and destroy the _Eternal_. Her companion ships are a secondary priority; Lacus is clearly the leader of that band of renegades, and we already know she's made the _Eternal _her base of operations. Take down that vessel before you turn your attention to the legged ship and the Orb warship."

It was a telling sign of just how potent a threat Clyne's charismatic daughter posed that Zala was designating the _Eternal_, and by extension her, as the primary objective of the operation. Despite the Chairman's earlier dismissal of the impact the songstress could have on the population of the PLANTs, the man was clearly determined to eliminate her. Whether it was simply due to her leadership role in the group, the part she had played in the theft of the Freedom, or simply out of pure hate and spite for Siegel Clyne, Creuset could not say. He suspected that it was a combination of the three factors.

"Understood, Chairman," said Creuset, nodding, "I will hunt them down. However… should we not also include Wing Zero in the priority target category? Considering the damage it wrought on our defenses, not to mention the losses it has inflicted upon us since it made its debut…"

"Wing Zero has already been listed as a priority target for the entire ZAFT fleet," said Zala, "However, for the scope of this operation, the main purpose is to kill Lacus. Concentrate your efforts on her, Field Marshal. Once she is dead, then you can turn your full attention to Wing Zero."

"With all due respect, Chairman," said Creuset, "by that point my task force may have taken extensive casualties and would be in no position to destroy Wing Zero."

"A possibility I'm well aware of, Field Marshal," Zala replied, "Which is why you will have the discretion to choose whether or not to engage Wing Zero after Lacus is dead, or to withdraw once your primary objective is complete. In the event of the latter, you and the surviving members of the task force will return to the homeland. Your losses will be replenished, and you can embark on another mission, this time with Wing Zero as your primary target."

_The fact that Zala's admitting the possibility that my losses may be too heavy to engage and destroy Wing Zero after destroying the Eternal_, thought Creuset, _means that my task force will not be a very large one. I'm guessing I'll be given a dozen ships at the most, and quite possibly less… barely enough to accomplish the primary objective, and certainly not enough for the secondary targets. He really is taking this new defensive stance seriously, conserving ships for the final battle…_

Creuset nodded. "Very well, Chairman. However, hunting down Lacus and her allies will not be easy. I do not even know where to begin looking, and have been given no information from Military Intelligence regarding their last known trajectory."

"I know, Field Marshal," said Zala, "relevant data will be forwarded to you by Military Intelligence. You'll also be working with Field Marshal Raan's Patrol Fleet. Her scouts made a couple sightings of the _Eternal _and the other two vessels in the immediate aftermath of the battle. From the data she's gathered you can begin narrowing down possible locations Lacus could be hiding."

The Patrol Fleet was the body of the ZAFT space forces responsible for long range reconnaissance. Their duties included advanced scouting of enemy positions, orbital photographic surveillance of troop movements and facilities on Earth, monitoring the most outlying regions of ZAFT space, and occasionally search and rescue operations. The Patrol Fleet was relatively small in composition when compared to the full combat ZAFT forces; it numbered only a few dozen _Laurasia_-class frigates. Also, said frigates were modified versions of the ships used by the frontline forces and the Home Fleet, trading their bow mounted 125mm cannons for extremely sophisticated sensors, far more advanced and expensive than those found on the standard ships of the line. The ships also only carried three fully equipped mainline GINNs, trading the other three for the scout variants of ZAFTs standard combat mobile suit. While these differences weakened the ships in combat, it made them very well suited to their role in the Patrol Fleet. The combination of advanced sensors and long-range recon mobile suits meant that the Patrol Fleet could cover a vast area despite its small size.

Behind his mask, Creuset raised an eyebrow. "Begging your pardon, Chairman, but… did you say _Field Marshal _Raan? Last I heard, Shala Raan was still a Commander in the Patrol Fleet. What happened to Field Marshal Canaris?"

"In the day after the raid," said Zala, his voice tinged with cold fury, "Military Intelligence discovered bits of encrypted communications that Wilhelm Canaris had passed on to Eric Bristow. They were unable to completely decipher the data; much of it had already been sabotaged with a virus, a precaution on Canaris's part. However, what we did find indicated that Canaris had sent Bristow updated information regarding the Patrol Fleet's routes along the outskirts of PLANT space… information Bristow then passed on to Waltfeld to aid in their attack."

_How did I not hear about this sooner?_, thought Creuset, _Another oversight on Zala's part, or is he playing things closer to the vest than I had previously believed?_

The Field Marshal decided he'd avoid asking Zala why he hadn't been notified before now; it could serve to make the Chairman suspicious of him, if he wasn't already. "I see," he said, "I'm assuming Canaris was taken into custody and is being interrogated."

"That was the plan," said Zala, "but when Military Intelligence moved to arrest him, he bit into a cyanide capsule he'd implanted in his left molar. It seems he was truly committed to his treason."

"Dead men tell no tales," said Creuset, folding his arms.

"Indeed," growled Zala, "Canaris has taken his secrets to the grave. What intelligence we were able to salvage from his computer has been corrupted, and our cyber-warfare division chief has already told me that a complete reconstruction of the data is impossible. Still, I'm sure we'll glean some knowledge from what they're able to recover."

"Yes," said Creuset, "Regarding Canaris's replacement, are you sure about elevating Raan to that position? While I don't doubt her competence, word had it that she was Canaris's favorite Commander in the Patrol Fleet… his protégé, if you will. How do we know that she can be trusted?"

"Because she is a coward," Zala sneered, "Shala Raan would never throw herself into the political ring and risk her own neck. She keeps her personal ideals to herself. While she is not firmly in our camp, neither does she swear loyalty to the Clyne faction. I would prefer that Canaris's replacement be someone from our side, but Raan was the most skilled out of all the potential candidates to assume command of the Patrol Fleet. We need her abilities, and while she may not be a political ally of ours, neither is she a foe. She simply follows orders, and that is all we need. Better a fence sitter than a devout traitor. I'll have her rotated to an office posting once the conflict is over. Then we can put one of our own in charge of the Patrol Fleet."

"Understood, Chairman," said Creuset, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"Not at this time, Field Marshal," Zala replied, standing up, "You'll be working out of HQ for the next two days while your task force is assembled. Then you will return to the _Vesalius_. Whether or not you depart from L5 immediately or wait until Military Intelligence and the Patrol Fleet acquire enough information is up to you. I'm giving you free reign in this mission, Creuset."

"Thank you, Chairman," said Creuset, smiling.

"Just remember," said Zala, "your primary objective is to kill Lacus Clyne. I know Wing Zero is the greater threat militarily, but that bitch has the devious ability to inspire subversion and treason in the highest ranks of our government! It's already been shown that neither civilian nor military officials are immune to that witch's spell, and I have no doubt she used those charms to bring the legged ship and Wing Zero into her camp. It's because of her that the traitors were able to gather the force they needed to breach the Avalon Line. We need to stamp out her poisonous influence, and quickly. Once she is dead, then you can commit your forces to destroying Wing Zero. Remember, if you find it necessary you may retreat to the PLANTs should your task force take too many losses in the process of destroying the _Eternal_. I will personally see to it that your group is brought back up to full strength before you set out again."

"Very well, Chairman Zala," said Creuset, saluting.

Zala nodded. "Dismissed, Field Marshal."

_And not a moment too _soon, thought the Field Marshal. His left arm was beginning to tremble, and it would only be a matter of seconds before Zala noticed…

Creuset nodded before swiftly turning on his heels and heading for the door. His pace was quick but controlled, and to anyone else he may have just looked like a man on a mission… but that changed the second the office door closed behind him. The masked officer broke into a run the moment he was sure Zala could not see him, not caring about his receptionist or anyone else around. He sped out of the room, down the hall, and into the nearest bathroom. Not even bothering to look around and check for observers, the man quickly reached inside his pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. The tremors in his left arm had spread to his shoulder and were working their way to the right, and the Field Marshal knew he was in a race against time before he lost control altogether. Struggling to keep the shaking at bay, Creuset opened the bottle and threw a handful of pills into his mouth. He then turned on the sink and washed them down with water.

_That was too close_, he thought, leaning over the sink, his breath coming in labored gasps. The tremors were becoming even more frequent now, and they were getting worse. It was becoming harder for Creuset to anticipate a possible attack; the intervals were much closer together now, and at times they almost seemed random. That was why the masked officer had taken the cab to ZAFT HQ; his body was now much more prone to betraying him. After a moment he felt the tremors begin to subside.

_Damn it_, he thought as he regained control over his body, _I hope that suppressant I asked the doctor for is ready before I return to the Vesalius. I cannot afford to have this happen during combat._

Finally looking up and glancing around, Creuset saw that he had caught a lucky break; there was no one else in the restroom at the moment. "Small favors…" he muttered to himself as he pocketed the bottle of pills before walking out of the bathroom. He then made his way towards his office, his mind already working to adapt the new assignment Zala had given him to his long term plans. The Chairman had actually done Creuset a favor in this regard; the masked officer had been looking for an excuse to get away from the homeland sometime in the near future, and Zala had given it to him on a silver platter. Whether or not the task force the Chairman would assign to him would be capable of actually completing the mission was another matter, but that was only a secondary concern to the Field Marshal.

_The moment we pinpoint their exact location_, he thought, _I'll pass the good news along to Azrael. After all, he wants them dead just as much as the Chairman, and I'm sure he'll put together a battle group to go after them the second he has a lead. I doubt it will be a full fleet; the Earth Alliance is obviously building up its forces for the final act of this war, and they'll be loath to divert too many resources from said buildup, even to go after their renegade warship and Wing Zero. It doesn't really matter, though. When both our forces collide with the Clyne faction, the ensuing chaos will make it easy for me to enact the next step of my plan…_

….

Looking out the window of the shuttle, Murrue saw the _Eternal_'s hangar bay bustle with activity as the mechanic crews cleared away gear to make room for the craft to land. Beyond them she could see the Freedom, Aisha's GuAIZ, and one of the Wraiths lined up in their berths along the wall. Though she could not see it, she knew that on the other side of the shuttle the craft from the _Kusanagi _had already touched down.

"How's it look out there?" asked Heero from his seat beside hers.

Murrue turned to the young man and smiled. Her lover was no longer wearing his magnificent uniform and was now clad in his usual jeans and green tank-top along with his dark blue jacket, but to the beautiful Captain he was still as handsome as ever. He remained alert and focused, but at the same time the casual clothes gave him a more relaxed feel, though as Murrue reflected on that she realized that it had less to do with what he was wearing and more to do with just how much he'd opened up to her since they'd first met. In their early days his attire had been entirely casual save for his flight suit and the one time he'd worn the uniform during their first visit to Orb, but the young man had still given off a guarded and intense feel, though it had subsided noticeably when it was just the two of them. Now, though, Heero seemed much more at ease despite the fact that he and Murrue were not alone in the shuttle's cabin. Across the aisle from them were Eric and Shemei, preoccupied with the view out their own window. The former ZAFT Field Marshal still wore his custom blue and white uniform, but the Valkyrie had actually gone Heero's route with decidedly more casual attire, in her case jeans, a red shirt, and a black jacket. The shuttle ride over had been relatively quiet, but the Valkyrie and the Wolf of the Far East had still engaged Murrue and Heero in a bit of small talk, and the Gundam pilot had had little problem with engaging in the conversation despite retaining his calm, thoughtful, and withdrawn personality.

_It's because of our relationship_, Murrue thought, _and not just our romantic one; even as we grew closer as friends he became more willing to engage others, to open up a bit. He's still only truly comfortable talking about personal matters with me, but he's shown greater willingness to respond to other people's attempts to converse as well, even initiating a couple talks himself. He's so much more at ease around people now, at least those involved in our group. Granted, Heero's still more than a little guarded with them, especially with regards to his past and Wing Zero, but that's ok. It's part of who he is, and I love him for it._

"No problems that I can see," she replied, "We should be touching down soon." Murrue glanced back at the mobile suits before turning to Heero again. "I can't help but admire ZAFT's technical expertise. The Freedom and the Wraiths are incredible improvements over what the Atlantic Federation's Project-G accomplished. The designs may still be based off of the stolen prototypes, but their own innovations are very impressive."

Heero nodded, looking past her out the window for a second before meeting her gaze again. "You're right about that. Even the GuAIZ is a formidable machine, despite lacking Phase Shift Armor and N-jammer Canceller technology."

"Technology's been the key to ZAFT's successes in this war," said Eric, causing Heero and Murrue to look across the aisle at him and Shemei, "not to mention our survival. If we hadn't pioneered the first combat mobile suits and the N-jammers, the Earth Alliance would've subjugated the Coordinators already… or wiped us out."

He looked down for a moment before facing them again, and Murrue was surprised to see a hint of guilt on his face. "I understood the necessity of mass deployment of the N-jammers, especially in light of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, but I wish we'd limited their use to outer space. Operation Ouroboros may have saved us from nuclear annihilation, but seeding the entire Earth Sphere was overkill. The world relied on nuclear power for the bulk of its energy needs, and when we cut that power we sowed chaos on the planet. It may have helped us immeasurably militarily, but the toll it wreaked on the civilian population was devastating."

"Yeah," Shemei chimed in, her expression grim, "while the intentions may have been good, Operation Ouroboros indirectly killed more people than the Alliance did at Junius Seven. Exposure to the elements, starvation because crop-tending equipment failed, violent riots in the major cities…"

Murrue nodded, recalling well the devastation the Valkyrie and the Wolf of the Far East spoke of. The lovely Captain had gotten off lucky; she had been deployed in outer space since the beginning of the war, and as thus had not been forced to endure the tumultuous months on the surface as the world struggled to adapt to the shutdown of its primary power source. Even now, she knew that the problems had not been completely solved, though the nations on the surface had made great strides in mitigating the effects on the civilian population. Still, millions were estimated to have died in the immediate aftermath of Operation Ouroboros, with the exact number impossible to determine.

"It could be worse," said Heero, causing everyone to turn to him, "were it not for the N-jammers on Earth, the Alliance no doubt would've used nuclear weapons in the surface battles by now. The casualties in this war would be even higher than they are now. Using the N-jammers indiscriminately was still overkill, and the results led to many civilian deaths, but even that is preferable to having atomic weapons unleashed on the planet."

Eric nodded. "True… but we should never have gone to the surface at all. Simply securing outer space should've been enough. We would've protected our homeland and shown the Earth Alliance that nothing in their arsenal could reach us. Stalemate would've ensued for awhile, but eventually both sides would be forced to sue for peace. At least, that was what the former Chairman wanted, but…"

"Let me guess," said Murrue, "Patrick Zala decided that the conflict had to be taken to the Earth itself."

Shemei nodded. "Yes, Murrue. I suppose I can understand the reasoning; bring the war to the Alliance's home, rather than just engage them at their outposts in space, and it could convince them to capitulate. It does make sense… but it only served to escalate the fighting. Had we waged a defensive campaign instead... maybe things wouldn't be as bad as they are now."

"It doesn't matter," said Heero, "ZAFT's policies and campaigns in this war up until now were beyond your ability to influence. There's no sense in dwelling on them now. All we can do is fight to keep both sides from utterly destroying each other and taking the rest of humanity with them."

Murrue nodded and smiled. The statement was blunt and honest, just what she would expect from her boyfriend. She reached over and took his hand. "You're right, Heero. We can't change the past. All we can do is fight for the future."

Across the aisle, the Wolf and the Valkyrie smiled and nodded. "Well put, Heero," said Eric.

At that moment La Flaga's voice came from the shuttle's cockpit. "Alright guys, I'm setting us down." He then chuckled. "Please return your seats and tables to the upright position."

"We would," said Eric, smirking, "if these chairs reclined at all, or if we had tables to begin with."

Shemei laughed. "What kind of third-rate flight service are you running, La Flaga? We didn't even get peanuts!"

"Hey, I'm trying to stay under budget," La Flaga shot back, playing along, "Touchdown in five, people."

Murrue watched out the window as the shuttle made its final descent. When the craft hit the floor a couple seconds later she stood up, with the others following suit. The four of them made their way to the starboard exit, with La Flaga meeting them there.

"They'll be ready for us in a second," he said as he came down from the cockpit, "They're just venting the atmosphere back in."

Murrue nodded and looked out the window towards one of the hangar exits. Next to it was a pair of lights similar to the setup found on the _Archangel_, one green and one red. The red one was lit at the moment, and after a couple seconds she saw that one dim and the green one flare up. The door next to it opened, and Murrue saw several familiar faces come through it.

"Looks like our welcoming party is here," she said, "let's not keep them waiting."

Before she could open the door herself, Heero moved in front of her to do the deed. As the hatch opened Murrue saw the Gundam pilot scan the hangar, his right hand hovering over his pistol. She couldn't help but smile; Heero refused to let his guard down, even when coming aboard a friendly ship. He truly was determined to protect her from any possible threat.

As the group exited the shuttle the _Eternal_'s welcoming party moved to meet them. Murrue saw Lacus and Kira in the lead, followed by Shemei's subordinates. As Murrue glanced off to the side she saw the Orb delegation leave their craft as well. That group was composed of Cagalli, Athrun, Kisaka, and Erica.

"Welcome aboard, all of you," said Lacus as the three parties converged. She smiled as she continued. "I hope everyone is doing well. How is your wound, Miss Rehema?"

"It's fine, Lacus," the Valkyrie replied, "but thanks."

"Commander!" cried Lan, pushing her way forward. The Chinese Coordinator was swiftly followed by Adaline and Priscilla, and all three surrounded their leader and took her into a group hug.

Shemei smiled and laughed as she spread her arms and returned the embrace. "It's good to see you girls again. However, I do think a little professionalism is called for here."

"Aw, no fun," said Adaline.

Lan and Pris protested as well, but the Valkyrie's subordinates heeded her words and pulled back. All three of them saluted their commander. "Welcome aboard, ma'am!" they said.

"Thanks," said Shemei, "at ease, ladies."

"Good to see you too, Captain Ramius, Heero," said Adaline. The other two girls nodded in greeting, and Murrue was pleasantly surprised to see that Lan did not try to initiate another round of flirting with Heero. The girl was friendly and respectful, but did not go further than that.

"Likewise," said Murrue.

"Yes," said Lacus, "I'm glad you could come, Captain Ramius, Heero, and Lieutenant Commander La Flaga. I hope you rested well, Heero."

"I did, thank you," said Heero, trading a quick glance with Murrue.

The beautiful Captain felt a slight flush of heat come to her face as she saw her boyfriend give her a very small smile.

_I did let him rest_, she thought, smiling slightly as well, _eventually…_

If Lacus noticed the silent exchange, she gave no sign of it. "Glad to hear it," she said before turning to the others. "Mr. Bristow, Cagalli, Athrun, Colonel Kisaka, Miss Simmons, thank you for coming."

"Of course," said Cagalli, smiling, "you didn't think we'd cancel on you, did you Lacus?"

The songstress smiled and gave a small laugh. "No, I did not, Cagalli. Please, let's get going; Mister Waltfeld and Miss Aisha are already in the conference room."

The group made their way out of the hangar and through the ship's hallways, making some small-talk as they went along. Murrue and Heero did not partake, content to simply take each other's hands and enjoy the company of one another and their friends.

Eventually they arrived at the conference room. As they came through the door Murrue saw Aisha and Waltfeld standing on the other side of the large table. They were close together, as was natural for lovers, but they were turned away from the door and appeared to be in a hushed conversation. At any rate, Murrue couldn't make out what they were saying, but she could tell from their body language that whatever they were discussing wasn't good news. Waltfeld looked particularly grim, and to Murrue it seemed as though a great invisible weight was on his shoulders. Aisha, for her part, was clearly playing a conciliatory role, with one hand on Waltfeld's shoulder and the other on his cheek. Whatever she was whispering to him was clearly meant to comfort him, but Murrue didn't know if it was having the desired effect.

The Desert Tiger and his lover turned to face the group as they entered the room. They both smiled in welcome, but Murrue could tell that the gestures were forced. She would not pry into the matter, and could only wait and see if the distressing news was brought up in the conference or left off the agenda.

_Perhaps it's personal_, she thought, _I don't know if Waltfeld has any family in the PLANTs, but if he does then the radicals could've made a move against them. I pray that was not the case…_

Waltfeld nodded. "Thanks for coming, everyone. We've got a lot to go over today. Our little stunt on the Avalon Line has led to quite a few interesting developments in ZAFT, along with the rest of the Earth Sphere. Even without the raid, though, events are coming to a head. It's been a busy week and a half since the fall of Orb."

"I bet," said Murrue, "We've heard nothing regarding activity on the surface since we fled the planet. Do you have news on what's going on down one Earth?"

"Among other things, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, taking a seat at the table. As everyone else followed suit he continued. "We'll come to events taking place on Earth in a little bit. We've already gotten word through Eric's contacts in the PLANTs regarding some of the effects the raid on Aprilius One has had on Zala's government. Things are… tense there, you could say."

"I imagine that's an understatement," said La Flaga, "ZAFT's mightiest defense battle-station destroyed, their Home Fleet humiliated, their capital colony breached… there must be quite the uproar going on there right now."

"Yes," said Eric, nodding, "our actions have dealt a serious blow to the credibility of Zala's regime. One of his biggest campaign promises was to ensure the security of the homeland and bring a swift end to the war. Not only does the war continue to rage on, but the very heart of Coordinator space was infiltrated by enemy forces. The political fallout from all this is far greater than the damage we inflicted militarily."

"Which is really saying something when you consider just how many casualties we inflicted on them," said Shemei.

"As impressive as the damage may have been," said Waltfeld, "the true heavy hit was psychological. The civilian population and the military alike are still reeling from the impact of the raid, along with all the implications in it."

"What do you mean?" asked Kira.

"Think about it, Kira," said Eric, "ZAFT, under Zala's direction, has been decisively and publicly humiliated by our much smaller force. Granted, we have perhaps the most powerful warships and mobile suits in the Earth Sphere on our side, not to mention the best pilots, but that does not change the fact that we are grossly outnumbered and outgunned by ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. We took on one of the two superpowers on their home turf and _won_. Now the public is questioning not only the competence of their armed forces, but of the people leading them. Zala enjoyed massive public support up until now; our raid went a long way in turning public opinion against him."

"Exactly," said Waltfeld, "according to a recent transmission we received from one of Eric's contacts, there's already a strong push for an inquiry into the raid and how ZAFT responded to it. While the radicals still hold the majority within the government, the moderates still have enough people in positions of power that they can make very vocal protests against Zala and his supporters. They don't have the numbers to actually affect change within the government at this time, but they can help get the ball rolling against the current regime by calling out Zala and his followers on such a major blunder on their part."

"We've already begun moving to capitalize on the confusion we've sown in the radicals ranks," Lacus chimed in, smiling, "Mister Waltfeld, Mister Bristow, if I may?"

Both men nodded. "Go ahead, Lacus," said Waltfeld.

Lacus turned to the rest of the table. "During our journey from L5 to the Mendel colony, my film crew and I composed a video, and through Bristow's network we were able to get it circulated through the PLANTs this morning."

Murrue raised an eyebrow at the announcement. She wasn't sure how a video would help their current situation, but she figured that Lacus had acted with some sort of plan in mind.

"In that video," she continued, "I explained the true purpose behind our raid on Aprilius One; to rescue Commander Rehema's parents. The fact that Soran and Akila Rehema had been taken prisoner despite having committed no crimes of their own was not public knowledge, and I felt it was something we could use against Zala's regime."

"I'm sure that was a shocking revelation to the people of the PLANTs," said Murrue, "but given the fact that you're a fugitive from the government, getting people to believe you would be a tall order. I do not doubt your charisma and sincerity, Miss Clyne, but Patrick Zala's had plenty of time to spin all sorts of vile propaganda about you in the PLANTs since your departure. Your reputation in the eyes of the people is almost certainly smeared by now. At the very least, you've been branded a traitor, and I imagine the regime has gone further than that, probably painting you as a petty young woman out for revenge against the man that dethroned her father."

"Captain!" said Kira, clearly offended by Murrue's words regarding the songstress, "How can you…"

The young man was calmed by Lacus putting her hand on his arm and shaking her head. "No, Kira; Captain Ramius is right. I have no doubt that Zala's gone to great lengths to destroy my credibility amongst my people." She then smiled, a mischievous light glinting in her cerulean eyes. "Fortunately, I took that into account when I made the video. Thanks in large part to information forwarded to us via Mister Bristow's network of contacts within the regime, I was able to present proof to back up my claims."

"What kind of proof?" asked Heero.

Lacus turned to the Gundam pilot. "Why, you, Heero."

That caught Murrue off guard. "What do you mean by that, Miss Clyne?" she asked.

Lacus turned and nodded at Eric before looking at Murrue again. "One of Mister Bristow's sources was part of the staff of Charon Prison. They managed to obtain a copy of the security footage from Soran and Akila Rehema's cell. More specifically, footage of Heero's extraction of them. The recording was both visual and audio, for which I am quite thankful for; Heero's words to Commander Rehema's parents were quite inspiring, and their combination with the powerful imagery no doubt increased its impact on the people viewing it."

Murrue's eyes widened at the news, and she was not the only one; several other people around the table reacted with surprise. Glancing to her right, Murrue saw that Heero was not among them. He simply sat there, as calm and collected as ever, his eyes on Lacus as she made her revelation.

An alarm instantly went off in Murrue's mind, and she was swift to voice her concern. "Miss Clyne, do you mean to tell me that now _everyone_ in the PLANTs knows Heero's identity?"

"His name had already circulated in both civilian and military circles long before we made our raid, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld.

"That's not what I meant," said Murrue, "They had his name and that of his mobile suit, yes, but they didn't know what he looked like!"

"Well," said Eric, shrugging, "now they do."

_How can he be so casual about it?_, she thought, a sense of outrage building inside her.

"Miss Clyne," said Murrue, her voice rising, "why would you do that? You exposed Heero to everyone in the PLANTs!"

"Murrue," said Heero, putting his hand on her arm, "It's alright."

"Heero…" said Murrue, looking between him and the members of the _Eternal_'s delegation, "how can you be ok with this?"

"Because," he continued, "it doesn't matter if the people of the PLANTs know what I look like. The regime itself already had access to that security footage before Lacus aired it for all to see, and it was necessary for her to do so in order to provide some evidence to back up her story. This way it's at least out there before Zala can distort it and make up false information. Just because they know my face doesn't tell them about where I'm really from, why I fight, or anything else important. Besides, the Earth Alliance already knows my face, and we're fighting against them too; does it really matter if ZAFT joins the club now?"

Murrue sighed. "No, I suppose not, but still…"

"Murrue," said Heero, giving her a small smile, "I appreciate your concern about this, but I'm alright with having my image out there. It just means I'd have to work harder at disguising myself were I to go to the PLANTs again, which I certainly don't intend on doing while this war is on. I definitely have no intention of going inside the capital again, at least not without Wing Zero. Besides, remember what we talked about before launching the raid? Part of the reason Waltfeld wanted me to wear my uniform was because the security cameras in the Rehemas' cell would capture my image, and it would be leaked to the rank and file ZAFT forces. That would serve as another psychological weapon in our arsenal. It's true that I didn't expect Lacus to do a bold, public broadcast of my image to the general population of the PLANTs, but now that it's out there we might as well take advantage of it."

Murrue nodded and returned her boyfriend's smile. "Ok, Heero… and I suppose I did forget about that bit we talked about before the attack. If you don't have a problem with this... then I can deal with it." She then turned to Lacus. "I apologize for my outburst; I know your intent was not to put anyone at risk. That being said, I wish you had at least consulted with Heero before using him in a video like this, Miss Clyne. Doing so without his consent…"

The songstress nodded. "I know, Captain Ramius, and I apologize for my actions. I felt that this was too important, too big of an opportunity to pass up, but I do understand why it has upset you." She bowed her head. "Forgive me."

_It's hard to really get mad at her_, Murrue thought, _she's always so sincere, so honest…_

In the end, Murrue gave the girl a reassuring smile. "If Heero's alright with it, then it's ok, Miss Clyne. Just try to give us a heads up in the future before you do something like this, please?"

"Of course, Captain Ramius, Heero," she replied.

Across the table, Murrue heard Lan sigh. "Well, I guess we better come clean too."

Murrue's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I think I know," said Eric, smirking, "but I'll let her fess up. It should be interesting?"

"Eric," said Shemei, "are you keeping secrets from me?"

"I was going to tell you," he said, "if Lan and the girls didn't tell you first."

"Tell her what?" asked Murrue, "What's going on?"

Lan looked at Adaline and Priscilla for a moment before turning back to Murrue. "Well, you see… we managed to get a copy of the footage from the duel."

Murrue saw Shemei shake her head, a smirk appearing on her face. "Oh, Lan, don't tell me…"

"Fine, I will," said Adaline, "we posted the film online."

"Technically, I was the one that did it," said Priscilla sheepishly, "I used the _Eternal_'s advanced communication system in order to gain net access. I just fired it off in a bust transmission, and I made sure to cover my tracks; it'll be pretty damn hard for anyone to trace the source of the upload."

"We did it last night," said Lan, "it was a couple hours after the duel."

"I just found out about it this morning," said Eric, "when my contact sent me that transmission, they reported that Miss Clyne's broadcast was not the only video making its way through the homeland." He turned to his girlfriend and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Shemei. I just figured I'd wait until the conference."

"Oh, it's fine," she replied, smiling, "you don't need to apologize for something like that." She then turned to her subordinates. "You three, on the other hand… I've got no problem with it, but given Murrue's reaction to what Lacus did I'm pretty sure she might."

The three girls nodded before turning to Murrue and Heero. Their expressions were genuinely apologetic, and Murrue decided she wouldn't give them a hard time over it. Glancing at Heero, she saw him give her a small nod, and she knew that he was fine with what they had done.

"Don't worry about it, you three," she said, giving them a small smile, "It's true that I'm not exactly thrilled about having another video of Heero circulating for our enemies to see… but what's done is done. You did no more damage than Miss Clyne did with her own broadcast."

"Thank you, Captain Ramius," said Priscilla, bowing her head. Adaline and Lan followed suit.

Heero surprised everyone by chiming in. "Could you bring me a copy of it once the meeting is over?"

The Valkyrie's subordinates' eyes widened at the question, and they weren't the only ones taken aback by the Gundam pilot's words. Murrue raised an eyebrow quizzically, wondering just what her boyfriend wanted with the footage.

"Uhm, sure," said Priscilla, "no problem, Heero. If you don't mind my asking, though… why?"

"It's rare that I get a third person perspective of myself in a fight," he said, "I want to analyze my performance, see what I can improve on."

"Uhm, correct me if I'm wrong here," said Cagalli, "but you _won_, Heero. I don't think you really need to worry about improving anything."

Heero shook his head. "The duel may have settled the rivalry between Shemei and I, but there are always aspects of their fighting style that a person can improve on. I'm no different in that regard. The moment I think I am is when I become complacent, and on the battlefield a complacent soldier quickly becomes a dead one."

"Heero's right," said Shemei, nodding, "In fact, send me a copy as well, Pris. I'd like the chance to do a little self-critique as well."

"Ok," said Priscilla, smiling, "I'll give copies to both of you after the meeting."

"Thanks," said Heero.

Murrue couldn't help but smile. Heero's reasoning reflected something very important regarding his character, one of the traits about him that she so adored; his humility. He may have been the best pilot and soldier she had ever seen, perhaps the best that any _world_ had ever seen, but he didn't let it go to his head. He had a very good grasp of his capabilities, and he refused to let himself grow arrogant with regards to them. Heero may have had a tendency to throw himself against odds that most would view as impossible, but he didn't do it out of blind overconfidence. He did it out of a very realistic trust in his own abilities… and, when he had it, the support of his friends and allies.

_Once he fought alone, without that support_, Murrue thought, _but now that he's with us, that's no longer the case, and he's all the stronger for it._

"Well," said Eric, clearing his throat, "I'm sure you'll both gain valuable insight from that footage. In the meanwhile, both videos are already having a considerable impact in the PLANTs."

"How so?" asked Murrue.

"For starters," said Waltfeld, "Lacus not only showed the PLANTs Heero's rescue of Shemei's parents. Included in the footage were images of other Naturals that have been taken prisoner by the regime."

"Showing those images revealed just how extensive Zala's persecution of Naturals living within the PLANTs has become," said Lacus, "His campaign to round them all up may have been conducted under the strictest secrecy, but it would be impossible for the regime to really hide the disappearances of so many people. Their friends, families, neighbors, and coworkers would notice that they had vanished, and would wonder why. Now we've shown them what has become of those people, what the regime has done to them."

"It's not going to incite full scale rebellion against the radicals," said Aisha, "even with that revelation, Zala and his cronies have a solid hold on power in the homeland. However, when you combine it with the shock and outrage directed at ZAFT, and by extension the government, for failing to protect the PLANTs from the raid, and it gives the internal opposition some serious ammo to work with. They can use it to recruit more people and begin turning the tide of public opinion against the regime. It will take time for the effects to truly become acute and potent enough to actually pose a serious threat to the radicals, but it's a start."

"Indeed," Kisaka chimed in, "I can see how Miss Clyne's broadcast may benefit our cause in the long run; it's a powerful public relations weapon. However, I fail to see how having the video of Heero and Commander Rehema's due go viral does anything for us."

"Yeah," said Athrun, "I mean, it's impressive and all, but in the end it's just a single duel, an end to a rivalry. What effect does circulating it for the rest of the Earth Sphere to see have?"

The Valkyrie's subordinates looked down at the table. "Well," said Lan, speaking for the group, "we didn't really think that far ahead. We just wanted others to see the fight."

Shemei smirked. "That's so like you girls."

Eric nodded and smiled. "Indeed. However, though it may not have crossed your minds at the time, circulating the footage of that fight on the Internet actually does help us when it comes to the hearts and minds of the people."

Murrue was intrigued. "What do you mean, Bristow?"

"Well, Captain Ramius," he replied, "for starters, the duel itself is practically the antithesis to this conflict as a whole. This war has been driven by the anger and hate of powerful people on both sides, and it has begun infecting the rank and file soldiers, though to what extent I cannot say for certain. What I can say is that this was has become less about ideals such as protecting ones homeland and more about completely destroying the enemy, both with regards to their armed forces and their civilian population. Both sides utterly loath each other, cannot stand the very notion of the other's existence. They see each other as animals and abominations, not human beings. Heero and Shemei's rivalry was the polar opposite of that."

Murrue nodded, images of that spectacular fight flashing through her mind. "You're right. There wasn't a speck of that hatred the Earth Alliance and ZAFT have embraced anywhere in that duel… nor has there been since Heero and Shemei first fought in North Africa." She looked between her boyfriend and the Valkyrie. "Neither of you ever held any real sense of animosity for each other."

Both pilots nodded, and Shemei gave Murrue a small smile. "Never, Murrue. Even in that first battle, I didn't feel any bit of anger or hate regarding Heero. Of course, a good soldier should try to avoid those emotions with regards to all their enemies; those strong, negative emotions can affect your judgment otherwise, and that can easily get you killed. Still, I could immediately tell that Heero was in a league far above the rest, and I respected him immensely for it… all the more so after he spared me and the girls, letting us go after he'd only damaged our mobile suits."

"Had our situations been reversed," said Heero, "If the _Archangel _and I were withdrawing, or had we surrendered, you would've let us. It didn't take much for me to figure out that you had a real code of conduct, and could admire your enemy. Those qualities are rare in soldiers nowadays and all the more so in this war. As it was, I respected the courage and skill you and your subordinates displayed in our fight, and I wasn't about to cut you down after I had already defeated you."

"Something the four of us are quite grateful for," Adaline chimed in.

"Yup," said Pris.

"Yeah," said Lan, "thanks, Heero. Been meaning to say that for awhile, actually."

"I think we all have," said Shemei, smiling at the Perfect Soldier, "and while I know that you don't want us to feel like we owe you any favors… well, we do, Heero, and big time. Hell, we've been in your debt since that first fight."

Heero shook his head, but didn't say anything. Murrue figured he wasn't even going to try to dissuade the Valkyrie from her stance.

_She really is as stubborn as he is_, she mused, _she won't budge from that belief… and Heero knows it._

Waltfeld chose that moment to speak up. "It's precisely that kind of mutual respect the two of you have for each other that made your duel so special… and what will give it weight for those who watch it in the days to come. People will see a Natural and a Coordinator going at it in friendly competition, driven by the desire to see who is better and to settle a score, not to kill each other. Sure, the fight was more dangerous than other competitive activities might be, but it still has that quality of a friendly rivalry rather than a murderous hatred."

"There's more to it than that," Lacus chimed in, "I may not have been in favor of the fight… but its outcome plays in our favor. The fact that a Natural was able to beat a Coordinator in personal combat is one giant slap in the face to one of the radical faction's biggest ideological pillars; that Coordinators are superior to Naturals in every way."

"It's only a singular case, Miss Clyne," said La Flaga, "Heero's a very exceptional individual; few others could even come close to repeating that feat."

"True," said Aisha, "but it doesn't matter. People will recognize what you just pointed out, La Flaga, but Miss Clyne's point still stands. That, combined with the nature of the fight, will have an impact on the people of the PLANTs. It shows that Coordinators and Naturals are really not all that different from each other… and that we do not have to hate each other."

"In a way," said Eric, "strange as it may sound, the duel between Heero and Shemei can be an example to others that Naturals and Coordinators can coexist together, in peace and friendship. The clash was not a fight to the death, though given the fact that they were using real sabers that outcome was definitely a possibility. People will recognize that, despite the dangerous nature of the fight, there was no real hostility between the two combatants. More importantly, once the fight was concluded not only did they put their swords away, but there were no hard feelings held against each other."

"Well," said Shemei, smiling, "considering how hard I pressed for that fight, I think it would be very immature of me to hold a grudge against Heero for winning. He beat me in a fair fight, one where we could both go all out… and in the end, that's what I wanted."

"Though I'm sure you would've preferred to win," said Adaline, smirking.

The Valkyrie laughed. "Of course, Adaline… but like I told Heero before the fight, win or lose, I knew that I would have no regrets. That remains true. We got to settle things between us, and that's enough for me."

"Yes," said Eric, "and it's something the audience will notice, or at least the more open minded members of the audience will. Like Miss Clyne's video, it may not incite an uprising by itself, but it can help plant the seeds of doubt in the hearts and minds of the people. It can help convince them that we don't have to destroy each other."

Murrue nodded. "Those seeds will take time to grow, but when they finally bloom… we may truly have the key to end this war. It won't be easy; we'll have to do all we can to nurture that growth, and to protect it from the fires of hate. We have to remind the people that those whom their government claims to be their enemy are not beasts and monsters, but human beings much like them. However, when the people are finally fed up with their regimes, when they gain the courage and the strength to stand up to the extremists that hold the reins of power… perhaps then we can achieve peace."

Under the table she felt a very familiar hand grab hers. Glancing to her left, she saw Heero give her a small nod and smile, and she returned the gestures. She could see admiration and pride that the Gundam pilot held for her in his eyes, and she treasured them both.

Turning back to the rest of the table, Murrue saw Lacus nod and smile. "Well said, Captain Ramius."

Waltfeld nodded, but unlike Lacus his expression was grim. "Indeed. Unfortunately, we have our work cut out for us if we want to get to that point. The raid on the PLANTs, combined with Lacus's broadcast and the circulation of the duel footage, has given us a significant psychological and symbolic victory over the radical faction. They were humiliated militarily, and with the true reasons behind the raid laid bare for the public to see, their intentions regarding the end they wish this war to have regarding the Naturals are now much harder for the people to look away from. We've managed to not only gain a _very _formidable pilot for our cause, but have helped sow confusion and paranoia within the ranks of ZAFT and the regime, and discontent and outrage within the citizenry. However, the destruction of Avalon, the losses taken by the Home Fleet, and the very public embarrassment of the armed forces in general have all had consequences beyond those of our mission objectives. Both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance are already reacting to our moves and laying the groundwork for their next campaigns."

The Desert Tiger turned towards his fellow ex-Field Marshal and nodded. Taking the cue, the Wolf of the Far East drew a black flash drive from his pocket and inserted it into a port next to the keyboard at his part of the table. Eric hit a few buttons, and Murrue watched as the table's holographic projector sprang to life. A map of the Earth Sphere came into being over everyone's heads, with all the Lagrange Points clearly labeled. Murrue's eyes narrowed as scores of small dots appeared all over the map. The majority were colored in green and red, with a few bits of blue at L3… and one more at L4.

_They're ships_, she thought, _or rather, they represent groups of ships. I mean, there are three vessels at L4 – ours – and only one dot there, so that one dot is obviously a representation of our trio. That, of course, implies that the other dots represent formations. Task forces, patrols, the whole array._

Murrue continued to watch as Eric hit a few more keys, and the dots on the map began to move. There was a dramatic withdrawal of green from much of the map, with many of the dots coalescing around L5… which was already bathed in specks of the same color. At the same time, the amount of red dots on the map had increased considerably, and they had become more spread out as well.

"This," said Eric, "is the latest intelligence I've received from my contacts regarding the fleet movements of both sides in outer space. The timestamp for this data is a little over three days after our raid."

"In other words," said Cagalli, "right about the time we arrived here at L4."

"Correct, Cagalli," said Waltfeld, "This data has been supplemented by estimates Eric and I made in order to account for movement that occurred since the duel yesterday. It's not perfect, but this is a decent approximation of both sides' current posture in outer space."

"ZAFT and the Alliance move quickly," said Kisaka.

Eric nodded. "Yes. Perhaps the most striking has been Zala's reaction to the raid. Most of our offensive fleets have been withdrawn to L5, with the major exceptions being the First, Fourth, and Seventh Fleets that are still engaging the Earth Alliance forces at L1, along with the portions of the Second and Third near the Debris Belt. All other major battle groups have returned to L5, or will arrive there within the next few days."

"Why such a dramatic pullback?" asked Erica, "I can understand withdrawing some forces in light of the destruction of the Avalon battle-station and several of its accompanying warships, not to mention all those mobile suits, but this seems a bit much."

"Knee-jerk reaction, maybe?" La Flaga mused aloud, "Our raid caught them completely off guard; maybe they're not thinking clearly now, letting fear and paranoia dictate their moves."

"Partially," said Eric, "While I have no doubt that our raid was the catalyst for this pullback by ZAFT, the scale at which it's being done is disproportionate to the losses we inflicted on the Avalon Line. Also, due to the massive increase in arms production taking place at the PLANTs' factories and shipyards, ZAFT has or will have shortly more than enough ships and mobile suits to cover the gaps in their defenses. Zala's not a fool; he'd know that he would not have to make such a major pullback in order to secure the homeland, especially with those new forces coming online."

"Not a fool, maybe," said Aisha, "but he is more prone to impulsiveness when things don't go his way. I don't think we should discount La Flaga's idea of a 'knee-jerk reaction', as he called it."

"Miss Aisha's right," said Athrun, "My father's probably desperate to shore up his popular support in the aftermath of the raid, not to mention furious that we were able to pull off such a stunt in the first place. He can be cold and calculating, but when he's angry he's much more prone to rash decisions. A massive and public reinforcing of the homeland's defenses would accomplish his goals of securing the homeland and sending a message of strength and security to the masses."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, "but by doing this he's giving the Alliance much more operating room in outer space, and I do not think he'd be blind to that."

"Yeah," said Heero, his eyes narrowing as he studied the holographic display, "this move wasn't made out of panic or simply the desire to calm and reassure the public. It's too big, and too organized. It may have been initially motivated by our raid, but there's more to it."

"What makes you say that, Heero?" asked Kira.

The Perfect Soldier shrugged. "My instincts. I've got nothing concrete to back it up with; it's just a feeling."

_That's more than enough for me_, Murrue thought, _I learned long ago to trust Heero's feelings. Besides, _I _feel it too. Our actions may have precipitated this response from ZAFT, but its impact on both the tactical and strategic situation in this war are far too big for the regime to be ignorant of. Blind fear isn't behind this move; there's method to the madness._

"For what it's worth, Heero," said Waltfeld, nodding at the young man, "that's a feeling I share."

"As do I," said Eric, "and I have a theory as to why Zala's moving into such a hardened, defensive stance."

"What is it, Eric?" asked Shemei.

"He's playing for time," the Wolf replied, "I think he's got something big in the works, something so important that he's willing to allow the Alliance almost free reign in outer space while he prepares it… something he thinks will let him win this war once and for all when it's ready."

"Considering his endgame," said Murrue grimly, "that's a very dark and troubling theory, Bristow."

"No kidding," said Cagalli, shuddering, "not something I'd like to think about…"

"Agreed," said Lacus, "but it is something we _must _think about." She turned to her late father's former mole on the Defense Council. "Mister Bristow, you said this was merely a theory, but I cannot believe you would make one like this without some evidence to back it up."

"I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call it 'evidence', Miss Clyne," Eric sighed, "all I've got right now is circumstantial bits of information and some foreboding rumors. It's nothing solid."

"That's still better than nothing," said Lacus, "Please, elaborate on this, Mister Bristow. I'm sure I am not alone in wanting to know what has led you to this theory of yours."

The former ZAFT Field Marshal nodded. "Over the past few months, Zala has been moving around a tremendous amount resources. Funds, personnel, raw materials, heavy machinery, and everything in between."

"That could be anything," said Erica, "you said it yourself that Zala has massively increased arms production over roughly that same time period; this could be a part of that."

"Yes," the Wolf replied, "and normally I would agree with you, Miss Simmons. However, the resource allocation required for a conventional force buildup is something that I could normally track when I was on the Defense Council. This is different, though."

"How?" asked Shemei.

"In the week leading up to the raid," said Eric, "when I wasn't sending Waltfeld information for the attack, I spent a lot of time tracking ZAFT appropriations… or rather, trying to. I found hints of movement, but almost the second I got on the trail it suddenly disappeared behind a wall of Alpha-Level security protocols."

"What is that?" asked Murrue.

"Right," said Eric, "as you're former Alliance, you wouldn't know ZAFT levels of classification. I forgot about that, sorry."

"It's alright," said Murrue, "Just explain what it is."

"Alpha-Level," said Eric, "Is the highest possible security classification tier in the military and the government. Only two individuals have access to it at any one time, and can issue temporary clearance to officers of their choosing."

"Those individuals with permanent access," said Lacus, "are the head of the Defense Council, and the Supreme Council Chairman."

"Which means that now the only person with permanent clearance is Patrick Zala," said Heero, "he does head both bodies right now, correct?"

Waltfeld nodded. "Normally that would be completely unacceptable, but the radicals' supermajority on the Supreme Council gives Zala a blank check to do whatever he wants. He wields absolute power over both the civilian government and the armed forces, something that the division between the Defense and Supreme Council was originally designed to prevent."

"It did a bang up job of that," Lan muttered, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"Our system of checks and balances was not designed to take into consideration what would happen if a party got a supermajority in the government," said Priscilla, "Hell, it wasn't even designed with political parties in mind."

"It should've been," said Adaline, frowning, "and now we're all paying for the lack of foresight."

"Things were different back then," said Waltfeld, "When the PLANT government was being established, our people's primary concern was creating a homeland where we could live in peace and security. There were differences of opinion in how to go about that, of course, but the political animosity was not nearly as fierce as it is today. Overall we were united in purpose back then, looking forward to the bright future that we would build in outer space for the Coordinators. I don't think the founders ever considered that someone like Zala could form a political movement based on such extremist ideology and then use it to seize power and turn our resources towards waging a war of annihilation."

"Well," said La Flaga, "no sense in worrying about that now. That's something you guys can fix up when the war is over."

"Hopefully, yes," said Lacus, nodding, "but we have a long ways to go until that day comes."

"And in the meanwhile," said Bristow grimly, "we've got something nasty brewing in the shadows, courtesy of Zala."

"Hang on," said Cagalli, "If all this activity is so highly classified, how were you able to learn of any of it?"

"The purpose of all that movement of resources may have been beyond my security clearance when I was on the Defense Council, Lady Cagalli," said Bristow, "but it's simply impossible to completely hide activity on that scale. That much materials and personnel can't just disappear from official records without drawing attention, and even the most thorough information blackout leaves breadcrumbs, though in this case they were very hard to find. I only picked up a few prior to the raid… but what I did manage to learn made me very uncomfortable."

"What was it, dear?" asked Shemei, putting her hand on Eric's shoulder.

The former Field Marshal paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke again. "For starters, when I was examining some of the personnel transfers Zala had made, I came across a bit of information that stood out to me. Mainly, the fact that the files regarding the scientists involved in creating both the N-Jammers and N-Jammer Cancellers were suddenly sealed; I couldn't get any intelligence on their current activities."

"I asked Eric to try and monitor them after we got wind of the efforts to create nuclear powered mobile suits," said Waltfeld, "He'd been having one of his contacts in ZAFT's research divisions keep tabs on them."

Eric nodded. "Apparently, they dropped off the grid shortly after completing the initial series of prototypes. Their files were sealed around that time, but I was tied up with other matters then; I didn't notice the information blackout on them until a couple weeks ago. Also, several of our most prominent nuclear scientists were also transferred to a new ZAFT project a little while ago… a project with Alpha-Level security protocols."

"Hold on," said Kira, "The PLANTs still have active nuclear scientists? I thought anyone in that field would've been out of a job after the Junius Seven attack and the public declaration that the PLANTs would abandon nuclear power."

"How do you think ZAFT came up with countermeasures to nuclear power, Kira?" asked Aisha, "Of course the PLANTs kept their nuclear scientists on their payroll; they were as critical as the other specialists that worked on the N-Jammer program. They also aided in countering their own countermeasure with the N-Jammer Canceller project. While they may no longer be serving in their primary role of improving the nuclear energy that used to be the lifeblood of outer space, all that scientific talent was too valuable for ZAFT to let go to waste."

"Exactly," said Waltfeld, "they may no longer be publishing papers or working publicly in their chosen field, but behind the scenes they have been quite busy."

"Now more so than ever," said Eric, "They were instrumental in designing the reactors used in the nuclear powered mobile suits, and as I mentioned before they were vital aides to the N-Jammer Canceller program. Now they're working on another project, one with much higher classification than even the prototype mobile suits had… and a _much _bigger budget."

"Could they be making a shift into mass-production of nuclear powered mobile suits?" asked Erica.

Eric shook his head. "I had considered that, Miss Simmons, and I would normally say that it was a possibility, but not in this case."

"Why is that?" asked Murrue.

"In addition to the sudden transfer of many of ZAFT's top scientists," said Eric, "other individuals have suddenly become engaged in classified operations as well. Engineers, construction managers, and entire firms worth of workers. You wouldn't need this kind of movement of people just to retool production lines for nuclear powered mobile suits. Also, the kinds of resources Zala's allocating to this project include some _very _heavy machinery."

"Last I checked, heavy machinery was used in mobile suit production," said La Flaga.

"Not this type of machinery," said Waltfeld, shaking his head, "this is the sort of equipment involved in the construction of _space colonies_, not mobile suits."

"And the personnel shift follows that same path," said Eric, "That also goes for the kinds of raw materials Zala's gathering, along with the quantity of them. Whatever the radicals have in the works, it's incredibly large in scale. Combine that with the sudden disappearance of the specialists that worked on the N-Jammer and N-Jammer Canceller projects, along with the rest of the PLANTs' top nuclear scientists, and… well, I highly doubt they're engaging in new model colony construction."

"They're building a weapon," said Heero, his tone certain and grim, "and they're going to target Earth."

The entire table went silent, and Murrue tightened the grip she had on Heero's hand. She watched as the others traded looks ranging from somber acknowledgment to shock and horror… but none of incredulity or skepticism. After everything that had happened in the war up to this point, no one doubted that mundicide was within the scope of Zala's blood soaked ambitions. Murrue knew that Heero's statement was one made only based on circumstantial evidence provided by Eric, but it was clear that the Gundam pilot had put the pieces together in his head, and was set in his own conclusion.

_His feelings have spoken_, she thought, looking at her boyfriend, _and he has more reason than anyone else at this table to come to such a conclusion. Unlike the rest of us, Heero's seen firsthand the extreme lengths some people will go to in order to win a war. There were plenty of people in his war willing to enact global catastrophe in order to further their own ambitions. The original plan for Operation Meteor, and White Fang's attempt to recreate it with the battleship Libra in the final campaign of the Eve Wars… for Heero, attempts to commit mass devastation on Earth, let alone wipe out all life on the planet, are not just wild and fantastic speculations; they're actual military strategies that he has fought against!_

The silence was eventually broken by Lacus. "Mister Bristow, do you have any more information that you can give us regarding this weapon?"

Eric sighed and shook his head. "Very little, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Miss Clyne, but it was a miracle my contacts and I were able to dig up as much intelligence as we did on this project of Zala's. I'd like to say it was purely due to skill on our parts, but the fact remains that we were also quite lucky. The sheer amount of resources the radical's are pouring into it meant that it was impossible for them to completely hide that they were moving people and material, but exact information on the specifics of this weapon are beyond the reach of my network."

The Wolf of the Far East closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened again Murrue could see the shadow of guilt within them. "This information came at a price, Miss Clyne. In the aftermath of the raid, the radicals initiated a major sweep through ZAFT and the PLANTs for anyone working against them. Several of my contacts were among those taken by the regime. Whether they are dead or alive, I can't say for sure… though in the end I highly doubt the radicals will let them live once they're through interrogating them. I still have people within the military and civilian government that I can get information from, but the unfortunate truth of the matter is that we took a severe hit in this latest purge. It may not have been as bad as when we lost your father, Miss Clyne… but that does not change the fact that several good men and women paid dearly for our recent gains. For those that survived the sweep, their positions are now all the more precarious. They're still more than willing to work for us, but none of them are in a position to get us new intelligence on the weapon Zala's building… and I don't dare try and push them into a role where they could. The risks for them are too high; I won't add to them. Enough good people have already died because of me."

"Eric…" said Shemei softly, putting her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

Waltfeld shook his head. "You really haven't changed, buddy… you still beat yourself up something fierce when you lose people."

"If I don't then I'm no better than the officers who swear fealty to the radical faction's ideals," Eric replied, looking down at the table, "They may have known the risks going into this, and they may not have been officially under my command… but that does not change the fact that people have, or soon will when the radicals are done interrogating them, died working for me. I may have gotten out of the PLANTs unscathed during the raid, but many of those who stayed behind were not so lucky. It's my fault…"

"No, it's not!" said Shemei, raising her voice. As her boyfriend's eyes widened in surprise she continued. "This was _Zala's _fault, Eric, _not _yours! He's the one that's taking our people down the path of bloodshed, the one that forced us to turn against our government to fight for what's right. He and the radicals are the ones that are responsible for turning our homeland into a military dictatorship. You're trying to stop them from committing the worst act of mass murder in human history, and everyone who volunteered to help you knew that!"

"She's right, my friend," said Waltfeld, nodding, "like you said, they all knew the risks, what could happen to them if they were discovered, but they signed on anyway. They're just like the rest of us; they had the courage to make a stand, to fight in their own way against evil. I know you feel responsible for what's happened to them, but piling all this guilt on your shoulders isn't going to do them any good. It's certainly not helping you."

Eric sighed. "Perhaps… but that doesn't change the fact that I ran and left them holding the bag."

"_Bullshit!_" yelled Shemei, slamming her hand on the table. The sudden outburst took everyone off guard, and Murrue was struck by the fire burning in the Valkyrie's silver eyes.

"Eric," said Shemei, her tone a bit calmer but still very much impassioned, "I know you feel responsible for putting your contacts in harm's way by having them spy for you, but you were in the most dangerous position of all. You were on the fucking _Defense Council_, for crying out loud! You attended meetings with Zala practically every day as his deputy chief of staff! You told me yourself how precarious your position was, how hard you had to work to keep your cover. There was no way you could've kept that sort of thing up forever, not with the information you were sending Waltfeld and the others. We all knew that, and you did too. You _had _to get out, Eric!"

"If you had stayed, Mister Bristow," said Lacus softly, "I have no doubt that you would be dead by now. What would that accomplish? I know that you are committed to our cause, and I am grateful for that, but I do not want you to die for it. None of us do, least of all Commander Rehema."

"_Yes!_" said Shemei, gripping Eric tightly on his shoulder again, "Eric, having my parents held hostage was bad enough, but if I lost _you_… I can't even bear to _think _about it!"

Murrue nodded and looked to her left. She knew all too well what Shemei was going through, what she felt. It was why she had been so distressed by the duel the day before, along with the raid on the PLANTs… and every other battle the young man sitting beside her had fought.

_If I lost you, Heero… _

She couldn't help but shudder; she could not bear to finish the thought.

Murrue felt Heero squeeze her hand again under the table. As she met his gaze, she knew that he had caught her silent distress, along with her empathy for his former rival. Murrue once again marveled at the calm but powerful strength and determination in her boyfriend's eyes, and took comfort in it. The unspoken message in them was perfectly clear. His will to survive, to be with her, was powerful beyond measure. He _refused_ to fall and leave her alone.

Murrue gave him a very small smile, and whispered two words. "_Thank you_."

The Gundam pilot nodded, a silent acknowledgement of her gratitude.

Murrue then turned back towards the rest of the table. "Bristow," she said, "I know how it feels to lose subordinates, as I'm sure several of the others sitting here do as well. It isn't easy, nor should it be. The fact that the losses suffered by your contacts affects you so shows that you've held onto your humanity, which is far more than many other officers in this war can say. I realize that you feel responsible for their deaths, but you cannot continue to carry that guilt around with you. The load will only grow heavier as you keep blaming yourself, and you will suffer all the more for it. That is something I'm sure those you lost would not want. I am certain the woman you love does not want it."

"Damn right I don't," said Shemei, "Eric, I know that you feel like you abandoned those people when you left the PLANTs, but it's not like that at all. We all knew that your cover could not last much longer. You were simply moving from one theater of this war to another, from intrigue and espionage back to the front lines." She then gave him a soft smile. "Eric, you didn't run away, and you didn't leave your people 'holding the bag', as you called it. You warned those that decided to aid you of the potential consequences if they were discovered, and you gave them access to the safe house network in case of emergency. It's tragic that some of them were discovered, that they weren't able to conceal themselves in time, but you did what you could to give them a fighting chance at survival."

Shemei leaned over and kissed her boyfriend on the cheek. "Besides, it's not like you ran away from danger, dear. You moved from covert resistance against Zala into open rebellion… and you helped save my parents in the process. Now you're here, with us, and while we may be removed from the battlefields for the moment, I doubt we'll stay hidden here forever. We'll figure out a way to stop both Zala and Blue Cosmos from completely wiping out Naturals and Coordinators, but we need you at full strength if we're going to do that, and that won't happen if you keep beating yourself up like this."

She raised her hand to his face, gently touching his cheek. "Please, stop this, my love. For your sake, for the rest of us… for me. What happened to those who were taken by the regime is awful, but that is on the radicals' heads, _not _yours. We have to keep fighting so we can bring justice to those who've fallen in the name of peace. _Please_, Eric…"

A brief silence fell over the table. Murrue found herself touched by the Valkyrie's heartfelt plea to her lover. Shemei was desperate to do all she could to ease the burden on Eric's shoulders, to sooth the pain in his heart. It reminded Murrue of how she felt whenever she saw Heero mercilessly berating himself for his mistakes, when he labeled himself a monster when he was anything but one.

After a moment Murrue saw Eric give Shemei a small nod and a smile. "Alright… my love."

He then turned to Waltfeld and Lacus. "Sorry… I really should have a better grip on my feelings than this."

Waltfeld shook his head. "It's ok, buddy. After all you've done for us, you have the right to air things out a bit. I know you feel responsible for what happened to those people, and it's a credit to your sense of human decency that you do so, but you can't let it weigh you down like this. You want to make things right, then help us remove Zala from power and end this war. I think the souls of the departed will rest easy then."

Lacus nodded and gave Eric a gentle and understanding smile. "We're more than just allies here, Mister Bristow; we're all friends. I know that normally soldiers are required to keep their emotions hidden from others, but we are hardly a regular army here. It's alright for you to let your feelings out here, and I know that you are more than capable of keeping control of them when the situation is dire. There's no shame or weakness in sharing your perceived guilt with the rest of us. All we want is for you to find the strength to move forward, to make sure that those who have sacrificed for our cause did not do so in vain, and we will do all we can to help you."

Eric nodded at the two of them and then looked around the table. "Thank you… all of you."

Shemei smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Anytime, dear."

Murrue smiled as well. "You are most welcome, Bristow."

Waltfeld cleared his throat. "So, at the moment there's little we can do about this weapon the radicals have in the works, and with the casualties suffered by Bristow's network of contacts gathering additional intelligence on it will be extremely difficult to do. We don't even know its exact location, though I think L5 is a safe bet."

Eric nodded. "Zala would want something like this in the most secure space imaginable, and L5 is the heart of our territory. That narrows things down considerably, though each Lagrange Point still represents a very large amount of space. Even with the vast sprawl that is the PLANTs, there are plenty of places where the radicals could build such a massive weapon and keep it defended without risk of detection. I'll ask my surviving contacts to keep their eyes and ears open, and to look out for any large transfers of material and personnel that may be connected to Zala's project, but other than that there is little we can do on that front but wait and see."

Cagalli sighed. "Great, something I'm bad at."

Erica gave an amused shake of her head while Kisaka admonished his ward. "Patience, Lady Cagalli. That is something our people would expect from their leader, and a quality your father and I have tried to instill in you."

"I know," she replied, giving a weak smile, "that doesn't I'm any good with that yet. Besides, playing wait-and-see while ZAFT builds a super weapon doesn't exactly sit well with me."

"A sentiment the rest of us share, Lady Cagalli," said Aisha, nodding, "unfortunately, we do not have much of a choice in the matter."

"Whatever my father's working on," said Athrun grimly, "I just hope we can stop it before he takes aim at Earth."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "and hell, Earth probably isn't the only place on his target list. The Luna bases and Copernicus City, the L2 colonies… plenty of areas in outer space inhabited by Naturals for the bastard to take a shot at." He looked over at Athrun. "Sorry, kid, but I call them as I see them."

Athrun shook his head. "It's alright… my father's earned that insult, and many more beside."

"He's not the only one," said Eric, "ZAFT isn't the only faction that's been busy over the past four days. The Earth Alliance is on the move too… and has been since the fall of Orb."

"I imagine they've greatly expanded their operations in outer space, given ZAFT's pullback," said Murrue, "However, since they still lack a mass driver they can't move materials and personnel from the surface, so that does put somewhat of a damper on their activity."

Eric shook his head. "I'm sorry, Captain Ramius, but that is no longer the case. The situation on Earth has changed since the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _came to outer space, and the developments do not bode well for the future."

"What's happened?" asked Murrue, unable to keep the trepidation from her voice.

The Wolf of the Far East turned to his fellow former Field Marshal and nodded. Taking the cue, Waltfeld tapped a few buttons on the keypad at his part of the table, and the holographic strategic map of the Earth Sphere was replaced by a focused look at the planet itself. The red that symbolized Alliance territory had grown considerably... especially in Africa.

_Oh, no_, Murrue thought, a chill running through her. She recalled what she had witnessed as she had entered the conference room; Waltfeld's hushed conversation with Aisha. Murrue had a feeling she was about to learn the cause behind it.

Indeed, the Desert Tiger's expression was now somber, and Murrue could see the concern on Aisha's face. Whatever had happened in Africa had doubtlessly involved the survivors of Waltfeld's former command, and Murrue had a sinking feeling that it had not gone well for them.

"Mere hours after the fall of Orb," said Waltfeld, "the Earth Alliance launched an invasion of North Africa. The Atlantic Federation forces struck from the British Isles and landed in the former Morocco. At the same time, part of their North Atlantic fleet made a strike against ZAFT's Gibraltar base. ZAFT managed to hang onto the facility, but the purpose of that attack was never to take it, merely to keep their forces from disrupting the Morocco landings. At the same time, troopships passed through the Strait of Gibraltar while the base's forces were occupied and dumped additional troops and heavy arms in the former Algeria. While all this was happening, Eurasian Federation reserve divisions invaded through the Caucasus on the ground, and their Air Force made a massive paratrooper drop operation in Egypt. The ZAFT forces were hit in a pincer attack and forced to fall back south towards Victoria."

"Oh, shit," said Shemei softly, looking at Waltfeld with worry, "The North Africa Corps…"

Waltfeld nodded. "Yes… my old command was hard hit by the initial invasion. After its battles with the _Archangel _and the Desert Dawn, it was reinforced by troops from the homeland… but that wasn't enough to stem the tide. The Earth Alliance struck with its typical overwhelming numbers, but this time they also had mobile suits in the fray. Over the next two days the fighting continued southwards… and culminated at the Lake Victoria spaceport."

_Africa's mass driver_, thought Murrue, dreading what was coming next, _The Alliance is desperate to regain access to outer space, and they would go to any lengths to reclaim one of their old spaceports. Combine that with their vicious hatred of Coordinators and the brutality they've shown them on the battlefield in recent weeks…_

"In the final battle," Waltfeld continued, "ZAFT attempted to blow the mass driver, but an Alliance commando unit managed to stop the demolition. As a result, the Alliance now has an intact mass driver and unfettered access to outer space."

"What about the North Africa Corps?" asked Murrue. She feared she already knew the answer, but it was a question she had to ask. "How many of them managed to escape the battle? Surely there must have been at least some that were allowed to evacuate via the mass driver."

Waltfeld looked down for a moment, and when he brought his gaze back up Murrue could see a haunted look in his eye. "They weren't allowed to evacuate, Captain Ramius. According to Bristow, Zala's orders for them were to hold their position at all costs. Retreat by any soldier was deemed punishable by death… and we all know how the Alliance forces would've treated an offer of surrender."

"Oh, no…" said Murrue, putting her hand to her mouth. Under the table, she could feel Heero give the other one a tight squeeze.

The Desert Tiger nodded grimly. "The North Africa Corps was utterly destroyed. My old command is gone, completely obliterated in a pointless last stand."

"Waltfeld," said Murrue softly, "I… I'm so sorry."

The apology sounded incredibly weak to her. How could any words from her suffice when tens of thousands of good men and women that had been under Waltfeld's command only months ago were now dead at the hands of her former government? Despite having already abandoned the Earth Alliance well before the slaughter, Murrue could not help but feel a sense of guilt and shame for the atrocity her nation had committed.

For his part, Waltfeld simply nodded again. "Thank you, Captain Ramius."

A solemn silence fell over the table for a moment, an impromptu memorial for the ZAFT soldiers that had fallen at Victoria. Bowing her head, Murrue felt sorrow and anger warring within her. The former of course was for those that had been so mercilessly killed, while the latter was for the army and government that had carried out the action.

_The Atlantic Federation High Command has much to answer for_, thought Murrue, _as does ZAFT. I can only hope we can eventually bring both parties to justice for the crimes they have committed. A trial is too good for those monsters. The only thing they deserve is the grave… and if the Archangel can speed them on their way, so much the better._

It was a private musing that she did not feel comfortable voicing in present company, particularly around people such as Kira and Lacus. Murrue knew that, despite the atrocities committed by the rulers and high military officers on both sides, Kira, Lacus, and some of the others at the table would still prefer to try and bring the perpetrators to trial and face lawful punishment. However, under these circumstances, with the two dominant superpowers in the grips of such bloodthirsty men, Murrue did not believe that such a trial would be possible. Even if more rational and moral people managed to reclaim power in the PLANTs and the Earth Alliance, Murrue did not have faith in the power of the courts to adequately try such criminals for their deeds… and as long as they were alive, they would try to find a way to carry out their murderous agendas, or convince others to do so in their stead.

Murrue looked at Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, and Athrun. Those four teenagers were perhaps the most idealistic of the people gathered at the conference, not to mention that the last of the four was the son of the PLANTs' current leader. While Murrue suspected that they were aware of the chance that the only way true peace could be restored was for the extremists leading both sides to be killed, she was sure they were still willing to try and take them alive. If ordered by Lacus and Waltfeld, Murrue knew that she would be bound to aid any efforts to do so, and she would do her part if asked… but she had a feeling the military head of the Three Ship's Alliance was already decided on what course of action he would take regarding the likes of Zala and Azrael. The Desert Tiger would put them to the sword, and Murrue was very much in agreement with the sentiment.

Glancing to her left, Murrue suspected that Heero shared her thoughts on the matter. While the same age as Kira, Lacus, Cagalli, and Athrun, Heero was far more willing to embrace pragmatism over idealism. The young man still held beliefs and morals that were dear to him, but he also knew where to draw the line between ideology and foolhardiness. There was a difference between compassion for the enemy, mercy for a defeated foe, and letting devils in human form get away with spilling rivers of blood, and it was one Heero was well aware of. For the crimes the leaders of the Alliance and ZAFT had committed, Murrue knew that Heero would be perfectly willing to forgo any pretense of lawful procedure and send the ruthless monsters straight to the Reaper.

_He's not the only one, either_, Murrue thought, looking around the table, _In addition to Waltfeld and I, there's Aisha and Eric, Shemei and her subordinates, Colonel Kisaka, Miss Simmons, La Flaga… plenty of people willing to do what needs to be done, niceties be damned. It may not be a matter we need debate today… but sometime in the future it is one that will have to be considered. I'm not in favor of 'an eye for an eye', so to speak… but no amount of prison time could ever be enough for people like Azrael and Zala. Even if they were immortal and left to rot until the ending of the world, it wouldn't come close to the punishment they deserve. No, the only thing to do with those bastards is to rid the Earth Sphere of them for good._

It wasn't about her anger, though the leaders of both sides had more than earned Murrue's wrath in light of what they had done and what they were planning to do, but about true justice. It was about making sure that all the soldiers and civilians that had been murdered by power hungry and xenophobic bastards could rest easy knowing that those who still held onto their humanity had made sure that those responsible for ordering their deaths just to further their hatred had paid for it in the most definitive way possible. It was about purging the Earth Sphere of the scourge that had dragged it into a war that could potentially wipe out all its inhabitants.

To Murrue, it was about doing what was _right_, even the way she defined 'right' in this case didn't exactly fit in with the more lofty ideals embraced by some of her friends and allies.

Meanwhile, Eric had taken over for Waltfeld. "Victoria has fallen, and it will not be the last spaceport to do so. The Earth Alliance has already laid siege to Gibraltar, and I imagine Carpentaria and Kaoshiung will follow eventually. It will take time, but sooner or later all three will fall, and the Alliance will once again have complete dominion over the Earth. As things stand right now, they're already putting the Victoria mass driver to use. They're shipping fresh troops and supplies into outer space, along with their new model mobile suits. The last item is so far only in the hands of Atlantic Federation forces, but given that the party that now rules Eurasia shares the ideology of Blue Cosmos I would imagine that Azrael will share the technical specifications for the machines with them soon enough, if he hasn't already. Even without access to mobile suits, Moscow is throwing all its resources into the Earth Alliance's pot, and while their military may have taken significant hits throughout this war the nation still has an incredible wealth of raw materials. Those will be crucial to the massive buildup the Atlantic Federation is undertaking both on Earth and in outer space, especially at the production facilities on the Moon and at L2."

"So," said Cagalli, "it looks like both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT are already preparing for a huge confrontation… perhaps the final one of this war."

Waltfeld nodded. "Indeed, Lady Cagalli. It will take time, and I imagine there will be plenty of smaller engagements before the once-and-for-all throw down… but it's on the horizon, and there's no way we can remain blind to that."

"So what do we do?" asked Kira, "We can't let the Alliance and ZAFT engage in such a clash. The casualties would be horrendous!"

"Yes," said Lacus, "it would be a bloodbath, and that's not even including this monster weapon Zala is building in the shadows. We must find a way to bring both sides to their senses and avoid this massive battle!"

"I hate to be a downer here," said La Flaga, folding his arms, "but that may not be possible. I mean yeah, we've got a lot going for us here, but in the end we're just three ships and a handful of mobile suits. If the two superpowers want to go at it in the mother of all battles, I'm not sure there's much we can do to stop that fight from taking place."

Murrue nodded. "I'm sorry, Miss Clyne, but La Flaga's right. If the Alliance and ZAFT wish to throw their forces against each other in an all-out fight to the finish, we do not have the strength to stop them."

"Maybe we shouldn't," said Heero.

The entire table turned to look at the Gundam pilot, and Murrue could see that, though his gaze was on the image of the Earth floating above the table, his mind was elsewhere, deep in thought. Murrue was taken aback by her boyfriend's words, but her mind soon flashed back to what Heero had told her about his last war… more specifically, how it had ended.

_I wonder_, she thought as she looked at her young lover, _your past experience… has that given you insight into our current situation? The battle orchestrated by Treize and Zechs, and its end result… do you see the possibility for something similar here?_ _What do you have in mind, my love?_

Some of the others clearly had forgone Murrue's curious contemplation and were still trying to process what Heero had just said. Kira, Lacus, Athrun, and Cagalli shared looks of complete shock. Heero's statement had caught them completely off balance.

Orb's tomboy princess was the first to recover enough to form a response. "What the hell is wrong with you, Heero? There's no way we can let such a fight take place!"

"Yeah," said Athrun, "both sides are already out to annihilate each other, and depending on where they fight countless civilians could be caught in the middle!"

"How could you even say such a thing?" cried Kira, staring wide-eyed at his friend, "Heero, I thought you wanted to help us bring an end to our war without both sides destroying each other!"

"Yes," said Lacus, "Heero, how can you really suggest letting the Alliance and ZAFT engage in such a destructive battle?"

"Calm down, you guys," said Waltfeld, his expression one of intrigue rather than horror, "let's hear him out."

Eric nodded, smiling slightly. "This should be interesting."

Shemei smirked. "That's an understatement, dear. So, Heero, what's going through that head of yours?"

"As Murrue and La Flaga pointed out," said Heero, "if the two superpowers are determined to meet in a massive, final confrontation, there is not much we can do to prevent that from happening. We're a powerful group in our own right, but there's only so much we can do to influence how the Earth Alliance and ZAFT act in the wider conflict."

Kisaka nodded. "All too true, Heero."

"Indeed," said Eric, "our strike on Avalon managed to shake things up, but a feat like that is not something we can repeat. Stunts like Operation Knight Lance are impressive and have a major psychological impact, but that alone is not enough to bring this war to the kind of end we seek."

"Exactly," said Heero, "a group like ours excels at fast, hard strikes. We can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time and then withdraw before the enemy brings overwhelming force to bear on us. With the power of our warships and mobile suits, we can also hold our own in a prolonged engagement if need be, though avoiding those would be preferable. That being said, the final clash between the Alliance and ZAFT will no doubt be titanic in scale, and probably a drawn out fight. We can't prevent them from preparing their forces for such a clash; they control far too much territory and resources for us to mount anything more than tactical raids against their fleets and facilities. We can disrupt the buildup if we so choose, but we can't stop it."

"But we _must _stop it," said Lacus, desperation in her face, "we _cannot _let the Alliance and ZAFT wipe each other out!"

"Correction," said Heero, "we can't let _Naturals _and _Coordinators _wipe each other out. Their militaries, on the other hand…"

"What are you saying, Heero?" asked Cagalli, "That we just let both sides go at it and stay completely out of the fight?"

Heero shook his head. "If we do that, then whoever wins will press on with their campaign of genocide. First they'll slaughter any survivors from the opposing force, and then they'll move onto the general population, which will be all but undefended after their military has suffered such massive losses. We can't let that happen, and I _refuse _to stand by and allow it to happen."

The Gundam pilot looked around the table. "We can't stop the Alliance and ZAFT from initiating battles against each other, and that goes for their final fight as well… but we _can _influence the outcome."

Murrue smiled as she began to comprehend what her boyfriend was getting at. "I understand, Heero. You want us to intervene in the battle and prevent both sides from completely destroying each other. At the same time, though, you also want to use the battle to severely weaken both sides… enough, perhaps, for the moderates in both camps to seize the opportunity to remove the extremists from power and make peace."

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile. "Exactly, Murrue. Most of the military might in the Earth Sphere will be thrown into the final confrontation, of that I have no doubt. No matter what part we play in the battle, the casualties on both sides will be horrendous. There's no way around that. However, the damage sustained to the militaries of both sides, the true expressions of power for Azrael and Zala respectively, will be crippling to their agendas. More than that… such a brutal battle may do more to convince the people of the Earth Sphere, Natural and Coordinator alike, that mankind can no longer afford to fight like this. It could rob both sides of their very will to do battle."

"Just like your old war…" said Lacus, her eyes widening as she came to the same realization Murrue had.

"Could that really work?" asked Shemei, turning to Eric.

The Wolf of the Far East closes his eyes for a moment before speaking. "It's… possible. As we talked about before, our actions during and after the raid on the PLANTs have helped sow the seeds of discontent among the people against Zala's regime. If it were weakened enough in a military confrontation, if it lost enough public support, then Councilor Canaver and her followers within Aprilius One could use the opportunity to remove the radicals in key positions of power."

"That would move ZAFT towards peace," said Adaline, "but what about the Earth Alliance? We don't have anyone on the inside of their government to give us a hint of their balance of power."

"She's right," said Priscilla, "While I'm sure the majority of Naturals don't want a war of extermination, their government may be so thoroughly controlled by Blue Cosmos and people sympathetic to it that there is no meaningful and organized opposition movement."

"Yeah," said Lan, looking over at Murrue and her companions, "Captain Ramius and the others from the _Archangel _are really all we know of in terms of a moderate opposition to Azrael and the Atlantic Federation High Command."

"True enough," said Murrue, a thought occurring to her, "but we may not have to worry about that."

"What do you mean, Captain Ramius?" asked Waltfeld.

"During the Battle of Orb," said Murrue, "we learned that not only was the Alliance fleet lead by a member of the Atlantic Federation High Command, but that Azrael himself had come out with the invasion force."

"That's right," said La Flaga, "Heero killed Vice-Admiral Vickers during the battle, but he didn't get Azrael's carrier."

"A pity, that," said Erica, "it would've saved us a lot of trouble. He missed a golden opportunity. Had his rampage been a little more precise that day, he could've cut the head off Blue Cosmos."

"That's not Heero's fault!" said Murrue, more than a little offended at Morgenroete's Chief Engineer's words, "When Heero hit the fleet on the first day of fighting none of us knew that Azrael was in the mix. We only came by that information on the second day, just before our evacuation. By then it was too late for Heero to go out and attack Azrael's ship!"

Erica nodded. "Yes, you're right there, Captain Ramius. I'm sorry if I upset you." She turned to Heero, her expression one of remorse. "I shouldn't have brought up your rampage, Heero. I should've known that'd be a sensitive issue, and Murrue is correct in that you didn't know that Azrael was with the armada."

Heero shook his head. "It's alright. Don't worry about it."

Under the table, Murrue felt the Gundam pilot squeeze her hand, and as she turned to him she saw him give her a small nod. Murrue smiled, knowing what he wanted of her.

"It's ok, Miss Simmons," she said, "You're right in that what happened to Heero that day is a sensitive issue for me… but I still shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm sorry."

The engineer smiled in return. "It's fine, Captain Ramius. You certainly had the right to get upset, all things considered."

"I'm confused," Lan chimed in, "Why would Heero go on a rampage? The guy's the coolest customer I've ever seen."

"Yeah," said Priscilla, "I can't exactly imagine him losing control in a fight."

"What happened?" asked Adaline.

Murrue glanced briefly at Heero, who shook his head. Turning back to the girls, Murrue made the same gesture. "I'm sorry, ladies, but that's a story for another time."

"She's right," said Waltfeld, "We have more pressing matters to attend to. Captain Ramius, why bring up Azrael's attendance at the Battle of Orb? What bearing does that have on the inevitable final clash between the Alliance and ZAFT?"

Murrue took a breath, knowing that she would have to tread delicately here. What she was about to say had the potential to be divisive if she didn't handle it right… especially since it essentially boiled down to assassination.

_And when I told myself mere minutes ago that this wasn't something we should debate today_, she mused, _Well, I'll just have to be careful with how I word it. I would rather avoid it today, but the conversation has already veered in that direction thanks to both Heero and me. Here goes nothing…_

"Think about it," said Murrue, "Azrael was present at the battle despite the risk it posed to himself. Granted, he probably didn't consider that bit beforehand; given the overwhelming power of the Combined Pacific Fleet, I doubt he felt himself to be in any real danger prior to the engagement. If he was willing to show up at the invasion of Orb, do you really think he'd miss out a much larger clash with ZAFT, one that could determine the outcome of the war?"

Murrue saw the proverbial light bulb flick on in the Desert Tiger's head. "No, he wouldn't. He'd definitely show up himself, especially if it meant he could personally be there to finally enact the extermination of our people."

"No kidding," said Eric, "Azrael would be frothing at the mouth for the chance to decisively defeat ZAFT and then kill every last Coordinator. He wouldn't be able to resist attending that kind of fight, regardless of any risk it may pose to him."

"I imagine the same would go for Patrick Zala as well," said Lacus thoughtfully, "The man is arrogant and vengeful. He would not pass up the chance to personally oversee the destruction of the Alliance military and pave the way for the annihilation of the Naturals."

"Indeed," said Kisaka, "those two men are far more alike than they would ever dare to admit."

Murrue nodded. "Yes, and we can use that against them. If both Azrael and Zala are present at the final battle, then we can use that as an opportunity to remove them from power."

The phrase 'remove them from power' was a diplomatic substitute for what Murrue _really _wanted to say. She wondered if anyone at the table had caught her subtext.

Glancing to her left, she saw Heero look at her and nod, a knowing gleam in his eyes. Her boyfriend, at least, had discerned the true direction her message was going, and he was in agreement.

Looking around the table, Murrue saw mixed reactions in the rest of those gathered. Some, like Kira, Cagalli, and Athrun, simply traded looks, and Murrue suspected that they had not read into the potential double meaning of her words. Others, like Waltfeld, Eric, and some of their companions, had come to different conclusions, the ones Murrue had expected people like them to reach; that the presence of Azrael and Zala at such a confrontation would be a ripe opportunity to _kill _them and pave the way for peace.

Eventually Murrue's gaze came to Lacus. The songstress had closed her eyes for a moment, clearly in thought. When she eventually opened them she met Murrue's gaze… and gave a small nod. A dark and grim look was in her eyes, one that Murrue had not expected to see. It was a stark contrast to her usual bright optimism and sincerity.

"Yes," said Lacus, her tone one of caution, "Depending on the circumstances of the battle, we may have a chance to get to Azrael or Zala, or quite possibly both. At this point, of course, it's only hypothetical. However, removing them from the stage may well be the key to resolving this conflict. Other extremists on both sides would still exist, but Azrael and Zala are the linchpins of their respective organizations. They are both charismatic and ruthless, traits that they have used to make themselves the indispensible hearts of their parties. If they were no longer in power, those organizations could collapse into chaos, and that would give moderate figures the chance to take over both their governments and military. A negotiated peace could then be reached."

The songstress looked around the table, and while the gesture seemed all encompassing Murrue could feel her gaze linger on four people; Waltfeld, Eric, Heero, and herself. "Under other circumstances," she began, "I would prefer to take them both alive and have them put on trial for their crimes. If they were to surrender at any point, we would be obligated to accept it. However… the battlefield is by its very nature a dangerous place, and both men are fanatics; surrender is not in their character. Capturing Azrael and Zala may not be possible… and they would be knowingly putting their lives at risk by being present at such a confrontation. It would simply be impossible to guarantee their safe capture… or their survival, for that matter."

Murrue had to resist the urge to smile at this unforeseen but pleasant turn of events. Lacus had not just admitted to the possibility that Azrael and Zala may be killed. By having her gaze pause ever so briefly on Waltfeld, Eric, Heero, and Murrue, the songstress had implied that the four of them could deal with such a scenario with their own discretion.

In other words, Lacus had given them _permission_ to kill Azrael and Zala.

_I underestimated her_, though Murrue, looking at Lacus with newfound respect, _I knew she was intelligent, but this… she's downright _devious_. She's certainly much more pragmatic than I had initially thought…_

Then the songstress smiled. "Of course, all this is rather far off at the moment. While it is important to prepare for such an eventuality, for right now I believe we need to decide on our more immediate course of action. Mister Waltfeld, Mister Bristow?"

Both officers nodded, and the Desert Tiger was the first to speak. "Well, our most urgent concern is to establish ourselves a supply line. While I know that all three ships are well stocked with provisions, spare parts, and munitions, we can't count on those to last us forever. We need a source of materials and a means to access them… and the raid on the PLANTs may have given us an opportunity in that regard?"

"How so?" asked La Flaga.

Waltfeld turned to Eric and nodded. The Wolf of the Far East proceeded to touch a few buttons on his keypad, and the hologram above the table once again shifted. The image zoomed out away from the Earth, once again forming a complete map of the Earth Sphere. Then the hologram zoomed in on L3. Murrue saw two blue cylindrical shapes appear, and she realized that they were the same types of colonies as Heliopolis was. Several asteroids also materialized, along with two debris fields; the remains of Heliopolis and the Eurasian Federation's Artemis base. Along the perimeter of the Lagrange Point were several red specks; Alliance patrols.

"Ever since the Battle of Orb," said Eric, "the Alliance has been watching L3. A blockade was brought up shortly after the fighting ended. I believe they thought that the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _would make for either the Eden or Elysium colonies, and they had hoped to intercept you."

"They were mistaken," said Cagalli, "we never intended to go to L3. We didn't want to give the Alliance an excuse to attack the colonies."

"They would have found one without you," said Eric, "Orb did evacuate much of its Coordinator minority to Eden and Elysium. That alone would've been enough to get Blue Cosmos drooling. However, even with the presence of Coordinators, L3's been off the grand strategic picture since the attack on Heliopolis and the destruction of Artemis. Had you gone straight there from Orb, I have no doubt the Alliance would've attacked by now, but their attention has been elsewhere. They've been content over the past week and a half to simply keep an eye on the region… and their watch has grown lax of late."

A few pieces assembled themselves in Murrue's mind. "The Alliance has withdrawn some of their ships because of the destruction of Avalon, haven't they? They've sent some of those vessels to eye the PLANT Exclusion Grid, perhaps probing for an opening."

Eric nodded and smiled. "Very astute, Captain Ramius. Yes, the Alliance patrol presence has lightened considerably at L3, and the damage done to the Avalon Line is the cause of it. If Azrael is looking for a weakness in the PLANT Exclusion Grid though, he will be disappointed. Zala has already heavily reinforced the Defense Lines, as we already discussed. Even without a battle-station to anchor it, the Avalon Line will be a very tough nut to crack, all the more so since the Alliance lacks machines with the power and sophistication of units like Wing Zero and the stolen ZAFT prototypes. Any Alliance attack would be costly, and Zala would redeploy all his forces to repel it. I believe Atlantic Federation High Command is aware of this, though I imagine they still can't resist at least probing the defenses."

"In any event," said Kisaka, "you're saying that the Alliance has lowered its guard when it comes to L3… and that we can use that."

"Correct, Colonel," said Eric, "The patrols that remain at L3 are stretched far too thin now. A few ships could slip through undetected."

"Are you saying we should go to L3?" asked Kira.

Waltfeld answered the question. "No, Kira. I'd like to avoid bringing any unnecessary heat down on the heads of the Orb colonies. They've got enough to worry about without us hanging around and making them a bigger target."

"However," said Eric, "what we would like to do is establish contact with the Orb colonies and arrange for supply shipments to be delivered to us. With the reduced Alliance presence at L3 I believe it would be possible to set up a covert shipping operation."

"Of course," Lacus chimed in, turning towards the Orb delegation, "we can only do this with your help, Lady Cagalli. I understand that this does potentially pose a risk for the Orb settlements at L3 if the activity is discovered, but we need a source of supplies. Please, will you help us?"

Cagalli looked down for a moment, and Murrue could see the weight the young woman carried on her shoulders. Such a decision was not to be made lightly. The girl was loath to put her people in danger, but at the same time she could see the points Lacus and the others had raised.

_Poor girl_, she thought, _she now bears responsibility for the safety of so many others. She's more than willing to risk her own life in battle, but it is a far different matter when it comes to her fellow countrymen. That is as it should be. She truly cares deeply for her people. They could not ask for a better successor to Lord Uzumi._

Eventually the young lady turned to Erica and Kisaka. "Well? What do you two think?"

The Colonel sighed. "It's difficult, Lady Cagalli. I would prefer to do all we could to keep from drawing L3 back into this conflict… but we need a source of supplies, and our colonies and resource satellites are the best available to us."

"The Colonel's right, my Lady," said Erica, "the only other option available to us is the Debris Belt communities, and that is a loathsome bunch. Smugglers, pirates, scavengers… they would be far more likely to sell us out to either side than do business with us. Morgenroete has facilities in our colonies and resource satellites that can provide us with top of the line equipment and materials, and both Eden and Elysium have advanced agricultural capabilities, far more so than Heliopolis did. Through them we could have a secure food supply, and that's as vital to us as access to munitions and spare parts."

Cagalli nodded before turning to Waltfeld and Eric. "Alright then, I'll allow it. I'll need access to the _Eternal_'s advanced communications array so I can get a signal through the N-Jammer interference. The distance between L4 and L3 is too great for the _Kusanagi _to send a transmission that the colonies will be able to understand with all the background interference."

Lacus smiled. "Of course, Cagalli. I'll personally help you with that once this meeting is over. Thank you. I realize that what we ask is not easy of you."

Cagalli shook her head and smiled. "You're right, Lacus, it's not… but it has to be done. Hopefully the ships the colonies send out will be able to slip through the Alliance patrols without detection."

"It's not like we need large convoys," said Eric, "Single ships will be more than sufficient."

"Ok," said Cagalli, "I guess I'll need a shopping list from everyone before I contact the colonies."

"I'll prepare one for the _Archangel _as soon as possible," said Murrue.

"I'll do the same for the _Eternal_," said Waltfeld, "and I imagine Colonel Kisaka will attend to the _Kusanagi_."

"The _Eternal _probably needs resupply more than the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_ at the moment," La Flaga chimed in, "It did launch from the PLANTs before our vessels left Orb."

"True enough," said Aisha, "but we prepped for a long voyage. Our stocks aren't near critical levels right now. We can continue to operate smoothly for quite some time, and I imagine the same is true for the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_. Still, it's good to get a supply line set up now rather than wait until later."

"Wait too long and 'later' becomes 'too late'," said Heero, "Solving the matter now is a prudent step."

"One that I'm glad we're taking," said Murrue, "I'm glad we're getting this issue out of the way now before it becomes a major problem down the road. However, there is still the matter of what we do now. We don't simply sit here and wait for signs that the final battle between the Alliance and ZAFT is about to start, do we?"

"I'm with Captain Ramius," said Cagalli, "I know that we're no match for the full might of either superpower, let alone both of them, but we can't just hide here and give them free reign to do what they please!"

"Don't worry," said Waltfeld, "we have no intention of playing hide and seek with the Alliance and ZAFT forever. I'm sure we'll have more than our share of fights before the final showdown. However, for the immediate future we do have to sit here for a little while, I'm afraid."

"What?" said Kira, his eyes widening, "Why?"

"I need to monitor developments," said Eric, "My contact network may have been reduced thanks to Zala's most recent purge, but I still have people that can get us information. If we make any sort of move without accurate intelligence that could give the Alliance or ZAFT an opportunity to take us out."

"We also need to give Councilor Canaver time to rally more support to the moderate faction that remains inside the PLANTs," said Lacus, "Without a solid core of support and followers in the right places of government, overthrowing the radicals may not be possible. Done wrongly, and it could potentially lead to a civil war within the PLANTs, and we cannot let that happen."

"But hasn't it already?" asked Cagalli, "I mean, you guys are fighting against ZAFT, and we're already talking about paving the way for the moderates to oust the radicals in the PLANTs. That all sounds like civil war to me."

"Not quite," said Heero, causing the others to look at him, "The only armed opposition to Zala from ZAFT has been Waltfeld and the other defectors in our group. Resistance within the Coordinator homeland itself has been covert and political. No one is openly shooting at each other within L5, meaning they're not in a state of open civil war."

"But that could well change if Councilor Canaver and her followers make their move at the wrong time," said Murrue, grasping what Heero, Lacus, and Eric were getting at, "The colonies themselves could erupt into open warfare if the moderates' coup is not handled properly. If that were to happen… well, I can only imagine the carnage."

"Exactly," said Waltfeld, "it'd be a nasty fight. Urban warfare is bad enough as it is, but combine that with the confined space of a colony and you have an exponential increase in the chance of civilian casualties."

"Casualties we cannot allow," said Lacus firmly, "not only must we do all we can to keep the civilians away from the fighting, but such bloodshed would taint the legitimacy of any post-Zala government."

"Exactly," said Eric, "that's why patience and careful timing is critical to the ultimate success of our endeavor."

Cagalli nodded. "Alright, I get what you're saying. I guess I've just gotten used to being able to go out right away and take the fight to the enemy. My time with Desert Dawn, my stint as a Skygrasper pilot on the _Archangel_, fighting off the invasion of Orb, and the battles we've participated in over the past week and a half… a long and deliberate pause in fighting is not something I was anticipating when we came into outer space."

"I can imagine," said Waltfeld, "and ZAFT and the Alliance certainly aren't taking time off. However, our struggle is different from theirs. Hell, it's unique in the entire history of human warfare. We're an armed third party that's trying to bring an end to a war that does not involve one side scoring an overwhelming victory over the other. We can't fight like a traditional armed force, engaging in battles to take territory or wipe out fleets and armies. We're attempting to prevent either side from achieving true victory or defeat. You might say that we're trying to cause this conflict to ultimately end in a draw, and not a mutually destructive one."

"Even if we can get both sides to the negotiating table," said Eric, "we have to do all we can to make sure that they're approaching the matter as equals. We can't have one in a position of overwhelming strength over the other. That party would just dominate the proceedings and force terms that would heavily favor them over the other side, which in turn would foster resentment and only serve to sow the seeds for the next conflict."

Murrue sighed. "We're really going to be walking a tightrope in this campaign of ours. Achieving that kind of balance after both sides have become increasingly infected by rabid and visceral hatred for each other… it's not going to be easy."

"No," said Heero, "but we all knew that going in. This is the path we've chosen, and while the road may be long and difficult, we have to stay committed to it. Through determination, patience, and perseverance, we can achieve our goal."

Murrue nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, Heero. I'm resolved to continue down this course. We all are."

The Gundam pilot nodded and gave her a small smile in return. "I know, Murrue. I'd never doubt your resolve. I know you were just acknowledging the challenge we face, nothing more. You're the strongest person I've ever met."

The beautiful Captain felt a bit of heat rush to her face, and she squeezed Heero's hand under the table. "Thank you, Heero."

Shemei whistled, causing Murrue and Heero to turn to her. The Valkyrie smiled. "High praise, coming from the deadliest soldier in the world."

"It's the truth," said Heero, "I meant every word."

"I'm sure you did," said Eric, smiling and nodding, "you don't strike me as a flatterer, Heero."

"It's not my style," he replied. The Gundam pilot then turned to Waltfeld and Lacus. "I understand the need for us to lay low here while your allies within the PLANTs organize and send us intelligence, and I'm fine with waiting for information before we begin any type of operation. However, we shouldn't just sit around and do nothing here. We should organize patrols of the area so that we'll have forewarning in the event that Alliance or ZAFT ships track us down prior to our next operation. It'd also be good to run exercises and improve coordination and teamwork among our mobile suit pilots."

"My thoughts exactly," said Waltfeld, "The nuclear powered mobile suits are well suited to prolonged patrols, but I don't want to put that burden completely on the shoulders of just seven pilots. We'll mix up patrols, with both conventional and nuclear powered machines in the rotation. Every pilot will sortie at some point, and this way we can prevent burnout among individuals. We can't afford to have the pilots of our most powerful machines tiring out before a possible engagement, and one could find us at any time if the Alliance or ZAFT figure out where we've gone to ground."

"What about the warships?" asked Murrue, "Will our vessels be staying inside Mendel, or will we be rotating them in and out as well?"

"They'll stay inside," Waltfeld replied, "The only times they'll be launching are in the event of incoming enemy forces, an impending operation, or when we decide to leave this place and move on to another area to hide out at." The Desert Tiger glanced between Murrue and Kisaka. "I want both of you to work out flight schedules for all your pilots and then send them to me. I'll coordinate the flight times and paths of the _Eternal_'s pilots with those. We should be able to cover most of the L4 debris field, or at least the area surrounding Mendel. The nuclear powered mobile suits will get the longer shifts, of course, but I want every machine and pilot available to be set to fly at one point or another."

Murrue nodded. "Understood. I'll work one up for the _Archangel_'s pilots as soon as I return to the ship."

"And I'll do the same when I get back to the _Kusanagi_," said Kisaka, "although I hope you will understand if I leave Lady Cagalli out of the rotation."

"Of course," said Waltfeld, nodding.

"Hey!" said Cagalli, glaring at the Colonel, "What the hell, Kisaka? I don't want any special treatment here! I'm the pilot of the Strike Rouge; I should have a part in the patrols!"

"Lady Cagalli," said Erica, "you are also the leader of our government-in-exile; you will have far more responsibilities on your shoulders than just flying."

"She's right, Cagalli," said Lacus, "Remember, you and I are the political leaders of this movement, and that means that we have our own duties to attend to. Coordinating the supply shipments from Eden and Elysium, establishing contact between members of our organization and the Orb colonies, working out scenarios for what to do to end the war and negotiate peace… we will have our hands full."

The tomboy princess sighed, and Murrue could see reluctant acceptance set in. "Alright," said Cagalli, "I understand. Still, don't think that means I'll stay on the bench when it's time to fight!"

Murrue smiled. "I don't think any of us could stop you, Cagalli."

"Though I imagine her father would've at least wanted me to try," sighed Kisaka, "Don't worry, Lady Cagalli; no one will keep you from piloting the Strike Rouge when the time comes to engage."

Cagalli folded her arms and smiled. "Good. As long as we're clear on that."

"I think we are," said Waltfeld. He then turned to Lacus. "Anything else on the agenda, Miss Clyne?"

"Not that I can think of at present," she said, "Mister Bristow? Any more pressing intelligence for us?"

"No, Miss Clyne," Eric replied, shaking his head, "I'll let you know when I get the next round of updates from my contacts inside the PLANTs."

"Then we're done here for today," said Lacus, standing up, "I'm glad this session was so productive… though it did wind up going longer then I had anticipated."

Eric shrugged as he and the others followed the songstress's lead. "Can't be helped, Miss Clyne. We did have a lot to go over, after all."

"No argument there," said Murrue.

"Alright," said Waltfeld, "Captain Ramius, you and your delegation can return to the _Archangel_. Cagalli and her group will return to the _Kusanagi _once they've sent out their requisition order to the L3 colonies, along with your own. Please make yours ASAP."

Murrue nodded. "Understood, Waltfeld."

….

As the conference broke up and the attending parties began to go their separate ways, Heero grabbed Murrue by the arm, halting her from leaving the room. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What is it, Heero?'

The Gundam pilot gave her a small smile. "Send the others on ahead to the shuttle, Murrue. There's something you and I need to discuss with Waltfeld before we return to the _Archangel_."

Murrue gave him a puzzled look, but she did not argue. She looked over at La Flaga, Eric, and Shemei, who were all waiting over by the door. "Go on ahead, you three. We'll be along shortly."

The three officers shared a brief, perplexed glance before nodding and heading on their way. As they went out the door Heero gently grabbed Murrue by the hand and led her towards the Desert Tiger. The former ZAFT Field Marshal was still standing by his spot at the conference table, his only company Aisha.

_Now's as good a time as any to do this_, he thought, _I'm pretty sure it's a favor Waltfeld will grant… and it's one I owe Murrue, especially after all I've put her through. It won't make up completely for the stress I've caused her over the past few days… but it'll be a start. Besides, this is something she's needed since Alaska, but there hasn't really been any time for it until now. She's been so devoted to commanding the Archangel, looking after her crew… and me._

Waltfeld and Aisha turned to the Perfect Soldier and his girlfriend as they approached. "Heero, Murrue," said Aisha, smiling, "Is there something you need?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah… a favor from Waltfeld."

The Desert Tiger nodded and smiled. "Name it, Heero. After all you did in the raid on the PLANTs, I think you've more than earned that much."

"It's about the _Eternal_'s communications array," said Heero, "It's more sophisticated than even the advanced setups on the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_, or at least that's what I understand based on how you've been using it to help Bristow stay in touch with his contacts in the PLANTs."

"That's right," said Waltfeld, "By itself it's still limited by N-Jammer interference, though even then its range is quite impressive. However, combine it with the use of the communication satellites that are scattered throughout space, and it can get a clear message to anywhere in the Earth Sphere."

"I'm assuming it can do the same for e-mail," said Heero.

Waltfeld nodded. "Yes, it can. Is there someone you want to contact, Heero?"

Heero shook his head. "Not me; Murrue."

"What?" said Murrue, her eyes widening in both surprise and comprehension, "Heero, do you mean…"

The Gundam pilot nodded and gave her a small smile. "Your parents, Murrue. I know you've been worried about them ever since we went rogue at Alaska, but with all that's happened you've never had the chance to contact them. First you were simply trying to find us a place to take shelter from the Alliance and ZAFT, and then there was the preparation for the invasion of Orb and the fighting itself, followed up by our evacuation to outer space and our joining forces with the ZAFT renegades and PLANT moderates… you put aside contacting them in order to focus on commanding the _Archangel_."

Murrue nodded, a guilty look on her face. "It's true. I could've taken the time while we were in Orb to send a message, but…"

Heero shook his head and gave her hand a tight squeeze. "Murrue, it's not your fault. Like I said, you were focused on taking care of the people under your command and leading your ship in its new struggle. Compared to that, contacting your parents would naturally have been something you'd set aside."

"Perhaps," she said, giving him a sheepish smile, "but… well, some might say that I should've set my feelings for you aside, Heero, but I didn't. I put you at the same level as I did the _Archangel_, if not higher… and I neglected my parents as a result."

"No you didn't, Murrue," said Aisha, stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder, "You saw the young man that you loved giving everything he had to help you and the people serving under you survive, putting himself in harm's way to protect you. The dangers that have threatened you, your crew, and Heero have been clear and present, while your parents are quite removed from the front lines. It's only natural that you would give those closest to you and sharing the danger you faced a higher priority."

"Aisha's right," said Waltfeld, "Captain Ramius, don't pile this guilt on your shoulders. It doesn't help anyone, least of all you. Besides, I'm sure that's something Heero doesn't want to see."

Heero shook his head. "No, it's not." He met Murrue's gaze. "You have nothing to feel guilty for, Murrue. I'm sure your parents would understand why you've remained out of contact up until now, given the dangers you've faced and your responsibilities. That being said, I'm also sure it'd mean a lot to them to hear from you, to know that you're safe… and I know it'd mean even more to you just to tell them that."

Murrue nodded and smiled. "Yes, it would, Heero." She then turned to Waltfeld. "Still… would that be alright? I mean, I'm sure you and Bristow can only use the _Eternal_'s communication array sparingly; too many transmissions could help the Alliance or ZAFT track us down. In light of that, wouldn't a personal message be an unnecessary risk? No matter how badly I may wish to send a message to my mother and father, I can't allow myself to endanger us by doing so."

_Murrue_, thought Heero, smiling slightly, _you've always called me selfless, but that word really applies to you. As you told me yesterday though, you've more than earned the right to be selfish for once. Please, take it._

Waltfeld shook his head and smiled. "I understand and appreciate your concern, Captain Ramius, but in this case it is not necessary. We won't send your message out in a transmission of its own, but in a simultaneous burst with one of our transmissions to Councilor Canaver and Bristow's contacts in the PLANTs. It will pose no greater risk of exposing us then the transmission to the moderates in Aprilius One will. The only difference in this case is the intended destination of the message. We're very good at covering our tracks with these covert transmissions, Captain Ramius. We may not be able to keep them unnoticed forever, but we can and will make ZAFT and the Alliance work very hard at finding their source."

"You see?" said Heero, causing Murrue to turn to him, "You won't be endangering the rest of us. I know it might seem like you're taking advantage of your position by doing this, Murrue, but you're not. You need to contact your parents, to tell them that you're alright. Not just for their sake, but for yours… and mine."

"Heero…" said Murrue.

He then took her by both hands. "Murrue, you may have kept it under wraps, but I know how important your family is to you. The way you spoke of them back during our date in Orb… that was enough for me to see how much you treasure your mother and father. When you went rogue at Alaska and abandoned the Alliance, I knew that it meant you might never be able to see your parents again. I may have never known my own family, but to face the knowledge that you may be permanently separated from one you had known and loved… I can't begin to imagine how that must've felt, Murrue. Compared to you, I got off easy."

"No," said Murrue, shaking her head, "you… what you went through in your past…"

'I've dealt with it," Heero replied, "thanks in no small part to you. What you've been facing since Alaska has been a very different kind of hardship from what I went through, one that is far more fresh and painful. Murrue, I know that going against the nation of your parents is difficult for you, though you hide it well. I want to do anything I can to ease that burden for you, and in this case that means getting you the means to send a message to your mother and father."

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment in thought. When she opened them again, Heero could see affection and gratitude radiating in those beautiful brown orbs. "Alright, Heero… and thank you."

The Gundam pilot shook his head. "Don't thank me. Waltfeld's the one that'll set everything up for you."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, smiling, "but you're the inspiration for it. I… I probably never would've asked Waltfeld or Lacus for something like this out of fear of putting us all at risk for a selfish desire."

"Loving your parents and wanting to let them know you're ok is not selfish," said Aisha, smiling, "not in my book."

"Nor mine," said Waltfeld, "Write your message and send it over to us, Captain Ramius. I'll have it sent out when we make our next contact with our people in the PLANTs. No one on the _Eternal _will read the contents. I trust you enough to know that you won't put anything in the e-mail that could jeopardize us, and I won't violate your privacy."

Murrue bowed her head. "Thank you, Aisha, Waltfeld." She then turned to Heero and surprised him with a quick kiss on the lips. "And you, Heero."

Heero nodded, a warm feeling flowing out from his heart, the contentment that came with seeing the woman he loved happy. "Anytime, Murrue."

"If I may be so bold," said Murrue, turning to Waltfeld and Aisha, "would it be possible for me to allow my crew to send messages as well? I'm not the only one who left family behind back on Earth, and I want the people serving under me to have the same chance as me to contact their loved ones, at least to let them know that they are alright."

Waltfeld nodded and smiled. "Of course, Captain Ramius. As long as you stress upon them the importance of being discrete and not giving away our current position or the details of their plans, I would be more than happy to send their messages out along with your own when we make our next transmission. However, this will be the only time I'll be doing this while we're in hiding. After this, I'm limiting our transmissions only to absolutely vital ones."

Murrue smiled and bowed her head. "Of course, I understand. Thank you, Waltfeld."

"No problem, Captain Ramius," he replied.

Heero smiled slightly as he watched the exchange. _Murrue_, he thought, _you continue to amaze me. You've taken the chance to turn a favor for yourself into one for your entire crew, one that they will be glad to have. All I cared about was making sure you had a chance to tell your parents that you were alive and unharmed, but you took it a step further… you truly are a remarkable woman._

"We'll be leaving now," said Murrue, "I'll have my message composed soon, and I'll send the others along as well. I just… I'm not entirely sure what to say. So much has happened…"

"Just start with the basics," said Waltfeld, "you're alive and unharmed, and you hope they're doing alright. Anything beyond that, I'll trust your discretion in the matter."

Murrue nodded. "As good a way as any to begin, all things considered. Farewell, Waltfeld. Aisha."

She turned to Heero, and the two of them made their way out of the conference room. The beautiful Captain continued to smile as they headed towards the hangar, and to Heero it looked as though a giant weight had been removed from her shoulders. Of course, the young man knew that her worries in this matter weren't completely over yet. Figuring out the right way to word her message to her parents would be no small challenge, especially considering that her father was an officer in the Atlantic Federation military. Murrue had committed treason at Alaska, and her subsequent actions would not have helped matters in that regard. Heero could only hope that her father would be willing to believe what she had to say, to look beyond the rules and regulations of the military and to the heart of the matter, to see that Murrue's actions had been _right_.

_She didn't act to save herself_, thought Heero, _she acted to save everyone under her command. Her abandonment of the Alliance at Alaska was not cowardice, though I'm sure the Atlantic Federation has tried to frame it as such. She refused to let her people be sacrificed simply for the sake of killing Coordinators, and she fought with all her strength to protect her subordinates. The _last _thing anyone can call her is a coward._

"Heero," said Murrue. As the Gundam pilot turned to face her she took his hand in hers and once again leaned over to kiss him.

"What you did back there," she said, "I can't begin to tell you how much that meant to me. That you would take the time, go out of your way to convince Waltfeld to let me use the _Eternal_'s systems to contact my parents in the midst of everything else we have going on… I've never had such a caring, selfless companion before. Such a compassionate boyfriend…"

Heero gave her a small smile. "It's the least I could do for you, Murrue. I told you before; I want you to be happy, and I'll do everything I can to make that happen."

"You've more than done that today," she replied, "I may be nervous about what I'll write to my parents, but that does not take away in the least from the joy you've given me."

Heero nodded. "I just hope that your mother and father are doing alright. These past few months can't have been easy on them."

"I'm sure you're right, Heero," said Murrue as they rounded a corner and headed towards the hangar entrance, "and now I'll be able to ease their concerns. It's all thanks to you, Heero, and I'll be sure to let them know that. I want them to know that they're indebted to you for saving their daughter more times than she could possibly count… and for giving her the love and devotion that she's only dreamed of before."

Heero felt a familiar heat come to his face. "Murrue… I just…"

"Don't," said Murrue, winking, "I'm not going to let you finish that sentence. I know you, Heero. You have a bad habit of not giving yourself enough credit. It's a sign of your humility, and I adore you for it, but I also think you need to take a little more pride in what you do. That goes for both on and off the battlefield."

She stopped walking and grabbed Heero by the shoulders. Meeting her gaze, Heero could see the warm pride radiating in her eyes. "I want my mother and father to know about you, Heero. I want them to know just how incredible a young man you are, how lucky I am to have met you, and how blessed I am to have fallen in love with you. Don't worry, I won't tell them about your past, and I won't share anything regarding Wing Zero's secrets."

Heero nodded. "I know you wouldn't, Murrue. I trust you."

"And I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me that you do," she replied, "So I'll just have to settle for describing you to my parents, and in the most flattering way I can imagine." She gave a small laugh. "I hope that'll do for now, Heero."

The Perfect Soldier smirked. "I think I can deal with that."

"Good," said Murrue. She once again took his hand, and the two of them proceeded into the hangar.

As they made their way towards the shuttle from the _Archangel_, Heero once again reflected on how much more at ease Murrue seemed now when compared to over the past few days. His move to give her the means to send a message to her parents had done wonders for her, but to Heero it wasn't enough. He'd willingly put himself in the most dangerous role possible in the raid on Aprilius One, and immediately after that he had thrown himself into a duel with his rivalry that could very well have turned lethal if something had gone wrong. He had seen just how much pain both of those events had put Murrue through, and to Heero simply helping her contact her mother and father was not enough to make up for the distress he'd caused her. He needed to do something more, find some way to show her just how much he regretted what he had put her through… and how determined he was to make up for that.

It couldn't be a simple apology; Heero had already done that, and though Murrue had accepted it the Gundam pilot did not feel that his words alone were adequate to make up for the fear and pain he'd caused the woman he loved to feel. He had to find a way to translate his feelings into action, to do something that would give Murrue a happiness that would counter all the distress he'd put her under over the past week and a half. Becoming a couple just prior to the raid on the PLANTs had gone a long way towards that, and now Heero wanted a way to build on it.

Suddenly, unbidden and uncalled for, images of a very special day flashed through his mind. It was the time that he had truly begun to act on his feelings for the beautiful Captain, to explore his emotions to determine if he did indeed love her.

Their first date in Orb.

Heero could recall, with perfect clarity, every detail of that incredible afternoon and evening that he had shared with Murrue. The mall, the stroll through the city, their discussion in the coffee shop, their walk and dance in the park, the meal and singing together in the restaurant… he could see it in his mind's eye as if it had happened only yesterday.

_That day_, he thought, _was incredible. Not just for me, though, but for Murrue as well. It made her _happy_, it wiped away all the anxiety and stress that our journey had put upon her, if only for a little while. It helped bring us closer together, made us more at ease with each other… and it lightened the burdens we'd been carrying for so long. That day, because I was willing to take a chance and act on my emotions… it gave us an amazing, unforgettable experience. I want to give her another one… another date._

Of course, that was easier said than done, considering their current circumstances. They weren't in Orb, or any place on Earth for that matter where such a date might be possible. Were they on a more intact and functioning colony an outing like their first one could be arranged, but they were lucky that Mendel could maintain its spin and gravity without falling apart. It certainly wasn't a place that Murrue could take out to see the sights. Even someone with Heero's limited experience knew that an old ruin of a colony was hardly a place one might consider to be romantic.

_I'll have to improvise_, Heero thought as he and Murrue boarded the shuttle, _but… how?_

He didn't have a whole lot of options. The two of them were confined to the _Archangel _until they found a more habitable anchorage, and Murrue pretty much knew the whole ship inside and out. The ship's meal variety was limited to say the least, and try as he might Heero could not think of a way to make a romantic dinner out of the military rations.

_This sort of thing just isn't my strong suit_, he thought as he sat down beside Murrue, _I'm good at fighting and flying..._

His eyes widened slightly at that last word as a burst of inspiration hit him.

_Flying…_

"Heero?" said Murrue, "Everything alright?"

The Gundam pilot turned to her and gave her a small smile. "I'm fine, Murrue. Just a little wrapped up in my thoughts. It's nothing big."

Murrue nodded and smiled. "Ok."

Actually, it _was _something big, though not in the way she might think. Heero didn't like hiding things from her, but he wanted the idea that was forming in his mind to remain a surprise for Murrue. He had a feeling she would appreciate that more.

_Romance isn't one of my strengths_, he thought, _but flying is, and I can use that here._

He glanced around the shuttle and saw Shemei and Eric already in their seats, while La Flaga was heading up towards the cockpit. As his plan continued to grow in his mind, he made note of those whose help he would need in order to make it come to fruition.

_I don't think they'll mind lending me a hand_, he mused, _they are my friends, after all…_

The Perfect Soldier found himself working hard to resist smiling again as the shuttle lifted off. Glancing over at the beautiful woman to his left, he could feel an excitement growing within him, one that only she could awaken in his heart. He still needed to work out all the details of his little plan, but his emotions were already telling him that what he had come up with was something his lover would greatly enjoy. It would help take her mind off of the struggle that lay before them. It would make her _happy_, and that mattered to him more than anything else.

….

After powering the shuttle down, La Flaga exited the cockpit and went down to the cabin. Joining the others as they gathered by the starboard hatch, he turned to the Captain. "So, what's next, ma'am?"

As she opened the hatch Murrue turned to him. "I'm going to go work up our requisition order for when Cagalli gets a supply shipment set up from the Orb colonies. I'll also get a patrol schedule for our ship's mobile suits set up, and let the rest of the crew know that they're being given a chance to send a message out to their families."

She looked over at Heero and Shemei. "Since Wing Zero and the Judgment are nuclear powered units, you two will get the longer patrol flights. Six hours isn't too much for you, is it?"

"I've pulled longer runs," said Shemei, "that's fine by me."

"Same here," said Heero, "You did have me running eight hour flights back on Earth, remember? Six won't be a problem."

Murrue smiled. "Alright."

The Captain then led the way out of the shuttle. Heero was to her right, while La Flaga and the others followed close behind. As they all walked through the hangar Murrue turned towards the others. "La Flaga, Bristow? Since your machines are battery powered, I'll have you flying four hour patrols. The same goes for Dearka. This way we'll be able to have at least one pilot from our ship out there at all hours of the day. Combine that with flights from the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, and we should be able to cover most of the immediate area around Mendel. I want all of you to see to your machines and make sure that they're ready for when I get the patrol schedule set up."

"Got it," said Heero.

"Yes, ma'am," said La Flaga.

"Understood," said Eric.

"We'll be ready," said Shemei.

Murrue nodded. "Good. I'll have Lieutenant Tsukino contact Dearka and have him get down here as well. Dismissed."

The pilots dispersed, though La Flaga caught Heero stealing a brief kiss from the Captain before she left the hangar. He certainly couldn't blame the guy for doing so, and was glad that Heero and Murrue seemed happy together, though watching them did remind him of his separation from the woman he desired.

_Natarle_, he thought, closing his eyes for a moment, _damn, I miss you. I finally managed to crack that cool exterior of yours, get you to warm up, and then the brass goes and transfers us. I may have made it back to the Archangel, but you didn't. Wherever you are, I hope you're ok…_

The _Archangel_'s former Executive Officer had never replied to his email, and La Flaga was unsure how to take that. On the one hand, he knew that just reading it, regardless of how well Heero had helped him encrypt it to keep the Alliance from eavesdropping, put her at risk. The Hawk of Endymion knew that to reply to his message could exponentially increase any danger that Natarle was in, and he had even discouraged her from doing so in order to protect her. There was also the fact that, in their current situation, he couldn't independently access email; all communications for the group beyond local transmissions, web based and otherwise, were being handled by the _Eternal_'s highly advanced and sophisticated array. He couldn't check his account to see if Natarle had replied to his message even if he wanted to.

All that considered, though, Mu knew that he would give just about anything to hear something from her right now. Just a simple hello, a message saying that she was alright. Hell, he'd even take some scolding from her for committing treason and abandoning the Alliance; any message at all would be a sign that she was still safe and unharmed, regardless of content.

_I know she's stiff and takes military rules and regulations far more seriously than the rest of us did_, he thought, _but still… I know she wouldn't ignore the situation the top brass put us into at Alaska. She'd understand that Captain Ramius acted to save the lives of her crew, not simply to preserver her own life. We abandoned the Alliance because _they _betrayed _us_, and I'm sure Natarle could recognize that. Whether or not she accepts what she did... whether she still loves me or not after what happened… well, I'll just have to hope that what she feels for me is strong enough to look past my betrayal of the Alliance. All I can do is believe in her._

It was tempting to take advantage of the Captain's offer to send personal messages to the _Eternal _so Waltfeld could route them to the crew's loved ones, but he could not bring himself to do it. It was not because of nerves, but because he dared not put Natarle at more risk than he might have already with his first e-mail.

He sighed as he made his way over towards the Tallgeese Kai, the sight of his formidable machine making him smile in spite of his longing for Natarle. The Hawk of Endymion really did love the mobile suit, though the affection was of course not of the same nature as the kind he felt for the woman he so missed. Rather, it was that familiar attachment he'd felt in the past for other machines he'd flown.

_Hell, two of them are here on this ship_, he mused, glancing towards the far corner where the Skygrasper and the Moebius Zero were tucked away. His prototype mobile armor hadn't gotten any use since the battle that had seen the destruction of the Eighth Fleet, and he hadn't flown the Skygrasper since his last patrol before the _Archangel _had arrived at Orb after the clash at Alaska. Still, La Flaga was pleased to see that the hangar crews had not neglected both machines, and they appeared prime for action should the need arise. Since they were in outer space there was no chance of the Skygrasper seeing battle, but the same did not go for the Moebius Zero. If something happened to the Tallgeese Kai, the Hawk of Endymion could take comfort in the fact that the mobile armor that had helped him earn his moniker was waiting in the wings.

Making his way up the maintenance causeway to the mobile suit's cockpit, he opened the hatch and got inside. Powering up the machine, the blond ace got to work on the systems checks. There wasn't much he actually needed to do; the hangar crews had tightly maintained the mobile suit since the raid on the PLANTs, and La Flaga had made sure to perform routine checks of his own, but it never hurt to go over things again, especially given the environment he would be flying his patrols in. The debris field surrounding Mendel was not to be trifled with, especially since his machine did not have Phase Shift Armor, nor was it composed of the same remarkably tough alloy as Wing Zero. The unit's titanium hull was durable in its own right, but the fact remained that it couldn't shrug off impacts like some of the other machines in the Three Ships Alliance.

_Speed and maneuverability are my best friends_, he thought as he watched the data scroll along the main monitor, _some things never change. It was the same with the mobile armor and the Skygrasper. Although, I guess the Tallgeese Kai does have a little more in the way of defensive options. Those Planet Defensors have certainly come in handy for blocking shots, and I could probably use them to cushion impacts from debris. Unfortunately I can't keep them running nonstop; too much drain on the battery. I've still got the round shield mounted on the left arm, but it doesn't have quite the same coverage as something like the Judgment's or Wing Zero's shield._

La Flaga shrugged as he continued the checks. The risk involved with flying in the debris field didn't bother him too much. After all, the live of a combat pilot was full of risk, and it didn't take long for one to become casual with how they approached it.

Eventually, satisfied that the unit would be ready for when the time came to head out, La Flaga powered down the Tallgeese Kai and exited the machine. Turning around after closing the hatch, he was surprised to see Heero standing at the feet of the Tallgeese Kai, looking up at the mobile suit. The young man's gaze was thoughtful as he studied the machine.

"Hey, Heero," said La Flaga as he headed down towards his fellow pilot, "What's up?"

"How's the Tallgeese Kai?" Heero asked.

The Hawk of Endymion smiled. "Ready as she'll ever be. How's Wing Zero?"

"Good to go," he replied, his gaze still fixed on La Flaga's machine.

The former Alliance ace folded his arms, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the Gundam pilot. "Alright, what's going on, Heero? What really brings you over here? You're looking awfully hard at my machine."

The young man looked back and forth between La Flaga and the Tallgeese Kai for a moment before meeting the Hawk's gaze. "I need a favor… and it involves your machine."

La Flaga raised an eyebrow. _Well, this should be interesting._

"What kind of favor?" he asked, "Don't get me wrong; I've got a lot of respect for you, and after all the things you've done for us I don't mind lending you a hand. Still, this is my mobile suit now, and you know how pilots get when it comes to their machines."

Heero nodded, and La Flaga was surprised to actually see him smirk at his words. "Trust me, I'm well aware of that. I can relate to getting attached to your mobile suit. That makes the favor I'm going to ask from you no small one, but I promise that the Tallgeese Kai won't be put at risk because of it."

_Interesting_, thought La Flaga, _in combat, that's not a guarantee anyone can make when it comes to military hardware, and that's something Heero's well aware of. That means the favor he's asking _isn't _related to fighting. If that's the case, then why would what he's asking be related to my mobile suit? Why would he need one at all, for that matter?_

At any rate, La Flaga definitely trusted the young man. Although he hadn't spoken too often with the Gundam pilot, he viewed Heero as a comrade in arms. Wing Zero's pilot was a skilled combatant, solid under fire, and reliable no matter what the circumstances. The only real exception to that last bit was his rampage at Orb, but La Flaga was willing to overlook that as there hadn't been any repeats of that scenario since then. Whatever had caused Heero to lose control of the Zero System during that fight had clearly been dealt with since, and that put the Gundam pilot's reliability back at top notch as far as the Hawk of Endymion was concerned.

La Flaga smiled. "Well, I guess the least I can do is hear you out. What do you need?"

He listened as Heero explained what he was planning, his smile soon turning to one of friendly amusement. _How about that_, he thought, _I didn't think he had this sort of thing in him. He's a lot more human than some of us give him credit for…_

When Heero was done he met La Flaga's gaze. "Well?"

La Flaga chuckled. "You know, you really are something else, kid. Most of the time you're a cool professional; nothing seems to move you or ruffle your feathers. You certainly were that way when you first joined up with us. Then a woman warms that heart of yours, and you think of something like this… I wouldn't have pegged you for a romantic."

"Will you help me?" asked Heero, obviously not amused, "Please, this is important, La Flaga."

"Relax, buddy," said La Flaga, nodding, "I'll go along with it. Hell, if it weren't for you giving those schematics to Morgenroete, I wouldn't have the Tallgeese Kai to begin with. Looking at it that way, you've certainly got a right to it, and since the original Tallgeese was the predecessor for Wing Zero I'm sure you can handle the machine." He smiled again. "Alright, Heero; I'll let you use it. At least I know it'll be in good hands… and given what you're going to do with it, I know it won't be anything too risky. Not with her involved."

Heero nodded. "You're right about that. Thanks, La Flaga."

"Anytime," the Hawk replied.

….

Stepping out of the Judgment and closing the hatch, Shemei took a moment to look up at the fearsome prototype mobile suit. Once again she reflected upon the mixed feelings the machine gave her. On the one hand, it was an incredible unit, and a thrill to fly. However, it had become inextricably linked with the memory of her parents' kidnapping, and that was a taint that Shemei knew she would never be able to cleanse from it. The impact it had had on her, the guilt she had put herself through during the ordeal and continued to hit herself with even now that her mother and father were free, was just not something that she could shrug off.

_I need you for now_, she thought as her gaze met the cold electronic eyes of the mobile suit, _I need the power you give me so I can help end this war, protect my friends and family, and defend the man I love. However, when this is all over… I'm afraid I'll have to destroy you. The shadow of Zala is indelibly tied to you, the memory of him threatening my parents and taking them hostage forever bound within you. I will endure it for the sake of the others, but that will come to an end once this war is over. I can tolerate you only because I know the people I care about need me to, are counting my ability to use your power in combat. Once this is over though, I will eliminate you… and perhaps purge my guilt in the process. I can only hope._

"Hey," said a familiar voice from below behind her, "everything alright?"

Shemei turned and smiled as Eric walked over, fresh from performing his own checks on the GuAIZ Werewolf. The Valkyrie hurried down to the hangar floor to meet him. She grabbed his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. "I'm fine, my love," she replied as their lips parted, "just a little lost in thought."

Eric nodded. "I can't really blame you for that. With all that's going on, all we went over in the meeting… plenty of food for thought there."

Though the object of her preoccupation was not related to what was discussed in the conference, Shemei decided to go along with her boyfriend. She didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.

_He's got enough on his mind as it is_, she thought.

"Yeah," she said, "but we shouldn't spend our every waking minute worrying about it all. It just piles more stress onto us, and that doesn't help in the short or long term."

Eric smiled. "You're right. How's the Judgment? Ready for patrol duty?"

"Yup," she replied, "how about the Werewolf?"

"All set," said Eric, "The lack of Phase Shift Armor means I'll have to be more careful with my flying than you when I'm out in the debris field, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"It's not like we don't have experience with this sort of thing," said Shemei, smiling, "reminds me of the Styx Field exercise back during our training days."

"Yeah," said Eric, nodding, "although I think that was actually more dangerous since we were flying those old fighters rather than mobile suits. At least the machines we have now are better protected, even those with conventional armor."

"You're right about that," said Shemei.

"Well," said Eric, "no sense in worrying about it until we get our flight assignments from the Captain. So, now that we're done down here, want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Shemei nodded. "Sounds good, dear." Looking over Eric's shoulder, her smile turned into a smirk. "Might have to wait a few minutes though; we've got company inbound."

Her boyfriend turned around and saw what she'd caught a moment ago; Heero Yuy, heading towards the two of them. They both smiled as the Gundam pilot came up to them.

"Hey, Heero," said Eric, "Everything alright with Wing Zero?"

He nodded. "It's fine. How are your machines?"

"All good," said Eric.

Shemei nodded. "The Judgment's ready as well, Heero. We were about to go grab some food. Do you want to come with us?"

Heero shook his head. "Thanks, but I was planning on grabbing a meal with Murrue later."

Something was up with the young man, Shemei realized. He seemed a bit distracted, and the Valkyrie had a feeling that he had not come over here just to check in on her and Eric's mobile suits.

"What's up, Heero?" she asked, "Something on your mind?"

He nodded. "You could say that. Listen… I need a favor from you."

Her eyes widened slightly at that. It hadn't been what she was expecting. Glancing over at Eric, she saw her lover raise an eyebrow and shrug before smiling again.

Shemei smiled as well as she turned back to Heero. "Name it. After all you've done, you're more than earned the right to favors from me."

"From both of us," said Eric, "You saved the parents of the woman I love, and removed an incredible burden from her shoulders. You helped make her happy again, and I owe you big time for that."

Shemei felt him grab her hand as he spoke, and she could feel a familiar warmth spreading out from her heart at his words. _Ever the gentleman, aren't you Eric?_, she thought, _Valuing my happiness so much, and wanting to repay the one who was so crucial to your plan to free me from the shadows of despair the radicals had cast over me… just another thing about you that I love so dearly._

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before returning her gaze to Heero. "If there's anything either of us can do to help you," said Shemei, "you only need to ask."

Heero nodded. "Thank you. I actually just need your help, Shemei. It's… it's for Murrue."

"This sounds pretty personal," said Eric, "I can go if you want."

Heero shook his head, and both the Valkyrie and the Wolf were surprised to see him give them a slight smile. "No… I don't want to make Shemei keep a secret from you. I know how important trust is between you and the person you love. Just as long as you keep this between the three of us, alright?"

Eric nodded and smiled. "No problem."

"So what is it?" asked Shemei, now a little concerned, "Has something happened between you and Murrue? If you need advice, I'll give you whatever I can."

Heero shook his head. "It's nothing like that. I just… I wanted to do something for her, something to make up for all the stress I've put her under recently. My taking the center role in the raid on Aprilius One, my duel with you… I have a lot to make up for, though I know Murrue would never see it like that."

Shemei smiled. "Of course she wouldn't, Heero. The fact that you're safe and with her are all she needs. Murrue knows just how devoted you are to her, how much you love her, and how much you regretted putting her through that kind of anxiety. I'm sure she doesn't want you to throw more guilt on your shoulders."

Heero nodded. "She wouldn't… that's just how she is. I'm grateful for that, I truly am, but I still feel responsible for the distress her heart's gone through recently. I want to make up for it, to do something to take her mind off her worries, if only for a little while."

"Sounds like you want to give her a date night," said Eric, smiling.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" said Shemei, "I imagine it's hard to come up with something good though, isn't it? I mean, considering the circumstances we find ourselves in… warships and derelict colonies don't exactly lend themselves to romance, do they?"

"I know," Heero replied, "It took some doing, but I have a plan to act on now, one that I think Murrue will really like. I just need a little help in pulling it off."

"Well, I'm up for whatever you need," said Shemei, grinning, "What do you have in mind, Heero?"

She and Eric listened as Heero told them his plan, along with what he wanted her to do. Her role in it was actually fairly small, but Shemei could still see why Heero would need her for it.

When Heero finished Shemei nodded and smiled again. "Alright Heero, I'm in. It's a pretty small favor really, especially considering what I owe you."

"It's not small to me," said Heero, "and thanks."

"No problem," she replied, "and I think you're right; Murrue's going to _love _this, Heero."

The Gundam pilot gave her a small smile. "I hope you're right."

"Count on it," said Shemei, "The fact that you're going to such lengths for her will give it all the more weight once she finds out. Trust me, Heero; you're gonna sweep her off her feet."

"I'll say," said Eric, an amused smile on his face, "and here I thought _I _was a romantic. You're really going the extra mile with this… and I think I can help you take it a little further."

"You don't need to," said Heero, "I only asked Shemei…"

"I know," said Eric, "but I want to, and in the process I think I can help out the rest of this ship's crew as well."

Shemei was intrigued by his words. "What do you have in mind, dear?"

Eric smiled. "A little something to spice things up a bit…"

Shemei and Heero listened as Eric elaborated on his idea. By the end Shemei was grinning again. "I love it. What do you think, Heero?"

He nodded. "Murrue would like it, and you're right; it would be something the rest of the crew would enjoy as well. How will you set it up though?"

"I'll call Waltfeld a little later," said Eric, "I think this is something he'll take to, and I'm sure the people on the _Kusanagi _can get behind it as well. It'll be good for everyone in our group."

"A nice bonus," said Shemei, "and as for how this pertains to the date, I have an idea of my own to make it even better for Murrue and Heero."

"Let me guess," said Eric, a knowing look in his eyes, "you're going to ask your mother to help out."

"Yup," Shemei replied, turning to Heero "I know both she and my father are actually quite taken with you; the way you rescued them really made an impression. Mom in particular's become fond of you, in her own way. She worries about you almost as much as she does me."

"Sorry," said Heero, looking down, "I didn't mean to cause your family any concern."

Shemei put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "Hey, it's not something you need to apologize for, Heero. My mother loves caring for people, and the way you put yourself in such extreme danger to save her and dad left its mark her. She's just worrying you push yourself too hard, just like she does for me. I think she'll be thrilled to help out with this, Heero."

"Alright," said the Gundam pilot, "and… thanks."

"Anytime," said Shemei, "Do you need any more help from us?"

Heero shook his head. "No. I just need to give Lieutenant Tsukino a heads up. She'll be managing the bridge while this is going on, and I don't want to disrupt things too much."

"Do you think she'll go along with this?" asked Shemei.

Heero nodded. "She's controlled and professional, but at the same time she's also a little more relaxed than Murrue's last XO was. She'll be fine."

"As long as she doesn't tell Murrue," said Shemei, "Can't have her spoiling the surprise, after all."

"She won't," Heero replied, "I'm sure of it."

….

"Ma'am," said Miriallia, "the shuttle from the _Eternal _has cleared our hangar and is heading home. The craft from the _Kusanagi _will follow shortly."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Miriallia. Have the rations they brought over been transferred to storage yet?"

"Chief Murdoch's crews are working on that now," she replied, "They also had no difficulties in loading our own onto the Orb and PLANT shuttles."

Murrue smiled. "I'm glad things went smoothly. Carry on, Miss Haw."

It was the day after the conference, and Murrue was well into the latter part of her shift on the bridge. The rations transfer that was proceeding had actually been proposed by Eric Bristow as a means of improving meal variety among the vessels of the Three Ships Alliance. It was a measure that Murrue had quickly approved. While all three ships may have been military vessels, and thus hardly carried luxury fare, Murrue knew that there were still differences between the meals offered on each warship, and having a rations swap like this would be good for crew morale as it would offer them more choice in what they ate. The Desert Tiger had even sent over some of his special blends of coffee, and that would be a very welcome reprieve from the very bland brew that the _Archangel _had in stock.

Though the _Archangel_ had been given provisions during their second stay in Orb to supplement those they had taken on at Alaska prior to the battle there, the food they had been given had been selected specifically to restock the standard Alliance rations the ship carried. Murrue knew that the choice had been made in order to keep things standardized on the ship, though she had to wonder where Orb had gotten access to Alliance-issue rations. The most likely scenario was that they had imported them from the Atlantic Federation back when the two nations had been at peace. Since Orb was a small island nation it was natural that it would import much of its food, though Murrue was sure the country had other sources besides the Atlantic Federation. She had been grateful for the restock, though she had privately lamented that the ship retained its rather limited menu as a result, which was why she was so glad that the Wolf of the Far East had made the proposal to mix up rations among the three ships.

_This was a very inspired idea_, she thought, _I'm very much looking forward to trying some of the new food once Heero gets back from his patrol._

Murrue had worked out the flight schedule for her ship's pilots the day before, and had sent it over to the _Eternal _along with her supply requisition list and her personal message to her parents. She readily admitted to herself that she had set things up so that she and Heero would share off hours, with his six-hour flight ending at the same time her eight-hour shift on the bridge was coming to a close. It was favoritism that Murrue knew was unbecoming of a Captain, which was why she had also done what she could to make sure that the other pilots that she knew were in relationships or suspected were in the process of building ones with other members of the crew would get some time with the people they cared for as well.

_La Flaga's on the earliest flight_, she thought, _followed up by Bristow. After that comes Heero, then Shemei, and then Dearka gets the tail end of the cycle. Hopefully that's a fair arrangement. None of the pilots have complained yet, so I'll take that as a good sign._

Murrue smiled again as she glanced at her personal monitor, noting the time. Heero was in the final leg of his recon flight now, and he would soon be returning to the _Archangel_. The young man hadn't reported any problems during his patrol, and had actually been streaming his sensor data to the ship so Murrue and her crew could compile as detailed a map as possible of the debris field. It wasn't perfect by any means given the drifting material, but keeping track of the largest chunks of debris would be very helpful for future patrol flights, and in the event that the group was forced to do battle around Mendel the knowledge of the terrain would be a valuable advantage.

_I always feel like I'm giving Heero extra work_, she thought, _I mean, it was my idea to have him map the area he patrolled during his flight. He does so much for us, but we always ask for more. Still, he approved of the plan, and he didn't seem to view it as an imposition. Then again, he never sees helping me as an imposition._

She considered herself the luckiest woman in the Earth Sphere to have such a thoughtful and devoted boyfriend. Though Heero's insistence on going through with the sword fight with Shemei had caused Murrue no small amount of stress, Murrue had known even before her talk with the Gundam pilot that it hadn't been something he'd done lightly. She knew he regretted the distress he'd put her under, and had forgiven him for it. The way she saw it, Heero had more than made up for it with his vow to her to never do something like that again. Winning the fight was a bonus to her. The fact that Heero had simply survived, unscathed, was more than enough for Murrue.

_That's something I more than made clear to him that evening after the fight_, she thought, familiar warmth coming to her face, _still, knowing Heero, I doubt he's entirely let himself off the hook yet. He probably sees doing this extra work as a way of making things up to me. Oh, Heero… you have _nothing _to make up to me. Having you in my life, knowing you share the love I have for you… that's all I need._

She returned her attention to the bridge as Miriallia spoke up. "Captain Ramius, Wing Zero is making its approach to Mendel."

Murrue smiled again, and it became even bigger as she saw her personal monitor light up with a notification; Heero was contacting her.

Pressing a key, she watched as the small screen on the arm of her chair shifted, the image becoming that of her boyfriend. He was back to wearing his black flight suit, although he was not wearing his helmet currently. Murrue surmised he had it sitting out of sight near the pilot's chair; she knew he didn't like wearing it on long flights unless he had to.

"Welcome back, Heero," she said, "How was your flight?"

He nodded and gave her a small smile in return. "It was fine, Murrue. No activity to report and I got a fair bit of the debris field mapped in the process. The Zero System really came in handy for tracking the trajectories and locations of all the scrap out there."

"Glad to hear it," said Murrue, "though I hope you didn't wear yourself out in the process. I know how much of a toll that system exerts on you, Heero. Are you doing alright?"

"I'm fine, Murrue," he replied, "but thanks. I appreciate the concern."

"Anytime, dear," said Murrue.

"I'm setting up for final approach to the _Archangel_," he said, "Listen, Murrue… could you meet me down here? There's… something I need to see you for."

Murrue's expression instantly became one of concern. "What is it? What's the matter, Heero?"

"Nothing's wrong, Murrue," he said, though she could detect a slight nervousness in his tone, "I just need you to come down to the hangar. It's important."

Murrue's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she studied Heero's face. While Murrue was confident that Heero was not lying to her, it was also clear that he was hiding something from her. Whatever it was though, she trusted him to reveal it when they met down in the hangar. Her boyfriend had said that it was important, and that was enough for her.

"Alright, Heero," she said, "I'll be right down. See you soon."

Heero nodded, giving her another small smile. "Thanks, Murrue. I promise I'll explain everything when you get here."

Murrue smiled in return. "I know you will, Heero. I trust you."

The Gundam pilot nodded before signing out.

Murrue got up and turned to her XO. "Lieutenant Tsukino, you have the bridge."

The Orb officer nodded. "Understood, Captain Ramius."

Murrue then made her way towards the bridge exit. Sparing a glance over her shoulder, she could see Wing Zero out the main viewport making its final approach to the _Archangel_'s hangar. _I hope you're ok, my love_, she thought, _Whatever you need me for, I promise I'll be there. I'm on my way, Heero._

She made her exit from the bridge, and as soon as she was out the door she moved as quickly as she could through the ship's corridors. Even though Heero had told her that nothing was wrong, Murrue couldn't help but feel nervous. It was understandable, given how unforthcoming her boyfriend had been regarding the reason why he wanted her to come down to the hangar.

Within minutes she was heading down the final leg of her trip to the hangar. As she moved down the hall she saw Shemei leaning against the wall by the door to the pilots' locker room. She was dressed in her custom flight suit, helmet cradled in her left arm. The Valkyrie smiled as Murrue drew near, and there was something odd about the woman's demeanor. To Murrue, it felt as if the Egyptian pilot was expecting her.

Murrue gave her a nod in greeting, but as she tried to move past her the Valkyrie grabbed her by the arm. "Whoa there, Murrue," she said, "No need to rush."

Murrue sighed. "Shemei, please let go of me. I need to get into the hangar. Heero called me on the bridge; he needs to see me."

"I know," said Shemei, "I'm here because of that."

Murrue was taken aback by her words. "What do you mean?"

"It's a favor," she said, "one I'm doing for Heero… and for you. Come with me, Murrue."

Murrue hesitated for a moment. Her primary instinct was to continue on to the hangar, and it was not one she had abandoned quite yet.

Then Shemei gave her a warm smile. "Murrue, trust me. I promise everything will be made clear to you soon. I meant it when I said that I'm doing this for Heero. He _wanted _me to be here to meet you, Murrue."

Murrue nodded. "Alright… lead on, Shemei."

The Valkyrie nodded. "This way."

She opened the door to the locker room and went inside, with Murrue following behind her. As the door closed Shemei went over to one of the storage compartments and pulled out a standard issue white spacesuit. "There," she said, "this ought to be your size." She turned to Murrue and tossed her the suit. "Put it on."

Murrue's eyes widened as she caught the suit. This certainly wasn't something she had been expecting. She looked at the Valkyrie, who gave a small laugh. "What's the matter, Murrue? You've worn one of these before, haven't you?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, but it's been a long time since then. I haven't worn one since my days on Heliopolis."

"Don't worry," said Shemei, "I'll help if you need it."

Reassured, though still confused at the strange turn of events, Murrue put on the spacesuit. It was rough going for a little bit due to her not having worn one for so long, but she remembered enough to get it on and secured properly without assistance from Shemei.

As she finished up she looked at the Valkyrie, who tossed her a helmet. "You won't need it yet," said Shemei, "but you might later. All set?"

"I suppose," said Murrue, cradling the helmet in her left arm, "you still haven't told me what this is all about, Shemei."

"It's not my place to," she replied, "that's for Heero to do. Speaking of which, we should get going; he's probably ready for us by now."

Murrue nodded. "If you say so."

Shemei smiled and winked. "Trust me, Murrue. You're in for quite a treat."

Murrue followed Shemei over towards the entrance to the hangar. She watched as the Valkyrie checked a small monitor by the door. "Just as I expected," said Shemei, "Wing Zero's already landed, and the atmosphere's been vented back into the hangar. Right on schedule. Come on, we don't want to keep your lover boy waiting."

"I never intended to," said Murrue, "this little diversion was your doing."

"At Heero's request," Shemei reminded her, "timing is everything, as they say… especially in romance."

_Is that what this is about?_, thought Murrue, _What's going on?_

The door opened, and Shemei grabbed Murrue by the arm and pulled her along with her into the hangar. Murrue instantly spotted Wing Zero and tried to move towards it, but she was stopped by Shemei.

"Hey there," said Shemei, looking over her shoulder, "I know you're eager, and I can understand that, but go with me on this. Alright?"

Murrue sighed. "Fine, but Heero said it was important that I see him, and I need to get to him now."

"I know that," said Shemei, grinning, "and I think it's great that you're so concerned about him, but you won't find him with Wing Zero."

"What?" said Murrue, now more confused than ever.

"You'll see," said Shemei, giggling.

Looking past the Valkyrie, Murrue saw where she was leading her; towards the Tallgeese Kai. She could see Heero and La Flaga floating by the machine's open cockpit, apparently going over something.

"Hey, guys," yelled Shemei as she and Murrue approached, "the lady of the hour's here!"

The two pilots turned towards them as Murrue and Shemei made their way up to their level. La Flaga gave a smile and a wave, while Heero looked at Murrue. His gaze met hers, and Murrue could tell that he was a little nervous. He gave her a small smile as she drew near.

"Well," said La Flaga, "my work's done here." He looked at Murrue and Heero and grinned. "Have fun, you two!"

Murrue raised an eyebrow, and the Hawk of Endymion chuckled as he headed off towards the hangar exit. She then turned back to her boyfriend and the Valkyrie. "Alright, I was promised an explanation. Heero, what's going on?"

Her boyfriend nodded. "Murrue, I'm sorry for not being forthcoming to you about this, but… well, I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you've certainly succeeded there," she replied, "but you haven't answered my question."

"I know," Heero replied. He moved close to her and took her hand in his. "Murrue," he said as his eyes met hers, "I… I want to take you out. On a date."

Murrue's eyes widened and she felt her heartbeat increase considerably. "A _date_?"

"It's something I've heard couples do," said Shemei, smirking.

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, Shemei," said Murrue, keeping her eyes on Heero, "Heero, _that's _what this is all about?"

Heero nodded, once again giving her one of those small smiles of his. "Murrue, I haven't gone out with you since our first stop in Orb. Even then, though I know I asked you out, I felt like you were the one treating me. I didn't have any money to pay for anything that night, and…"

"Heero," said Murrue, smiling as she squeezed his hand, "I never cared that you couldn't pay for anything. All that mattered to me was that you wanted to go on those outings with me, and that we enjoyed them together. You know that, my love."

"Still," said Heero, "I didn't feel entirely right about it… so I'm going to do it properly this time. I'm treating you, Murrue; this whole thing is on me." He glanced over at Shemei. "Well, I and those I asked to help out with it."

Murrue followed his gaze, and the Valkyrie gave them both a small smile. "Look," she said, "I know the two of you don't like to think of me as in your debt… but I _am_, and more than I could ever properly put into words. You saved my parents, and me in the process. I'll never forget that, and I want to show you two just how much that means to me."

"Heero's the one that saved your parents, Shemei," said Murrue, "not me."

"Maybe not directly," said Shemei, "but Murrue, you and I both know that the _Archangel _was vital to the operation, especially in the final part. It's the most powerful warship in the Earth Sphere, and the cover fire it gave us as we made our run from the PLANTs could not be matched. It helped us get out of there, it saved us… _you _saved us, Murrue."

"You're giving me too much credit," said Murrue, flushing slightly at the praise.

"No, I'm not," said Shemei, "I know you have a skilled and courageous crew, Murrue, but what truly makes them formidable, along with the _Archangel_, is your leadership. You're strong, intelligent, brave… and most importantly of all, _compassionate_. You _care _about your crew, Murrue, and you do everything in your power to look after them. You can't protect them completely, of course; the battlefield's a dangerous and unpredictable place, after all. Still, that doesn't change the fact that you're devoted to the well being of those that fight under you, and they recognize that. They're loyal to you because they know that you won't risk their lives without a good reason, that you would not order them to take part in atrocities… and that you have the courage to fight for what is _right_. It's because of that loyalty you've inspired in them that they're so effective in battle, that they're able to challenge odds that would be impossible for any other crew. You've led them since ZAFT's attack on Heliopolis with courage, cunning, and devotion, and you brought all of that to the table in the raid on the PLANTs."

Shemei once again looked between Murrue and Heero. "That's why, when Heero asked me to help him with this, I didn't hesitate. I want to help him _and _you in any way I can, and this is something I know that you both need. More than that, it's something you both _deserve_."

Murrue had to smile at her words. "Thank you, Shemei."

She then turned back to Heero. "I know you said you wanted to treat me, Heero, and that you felt bad about not being able to do so back in Orb… but there's more to this than that, isn't there? I know you, Heero; something else is bothering you."

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "You know, your perception truly is incredible, Murrue."

Murrue gave a small laugh before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Like I said, I know you, my love. Now please, tell me what's on your mind… what's in your _heart_."

Heero sighed. "Murrue… I know I've put you under a lot of stress over these past two weeks, far more than you deserved. The raid on the PLANTs, my duel with Shemei… I know all the danger that put upon my troubled you greatly. I've apologized before, but it still doesn't feel like nearly enough; I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for putting you through all that."

"Oh, Heero," said Murrue, bringing her hand up to his cheek, "you know I don't want you to beat yourself up with all this, right? Yes, I was distressed by your decision to take the lead role in the attack on Avalon, along with your choice to fight Shemei with actual blades, but I also understood _why _you had to do it, and I _supported _you in both those endeavors, Heero. I may have had my fears, but those were only born from the love I have for you and my desire to see you safe and sound. Both those incidents are now behind us, Heero… and I've already forgiven you for the fear and pain they caused me."

Heero nodded. "I know, but still… I want to make it up to you, Murrue. What I did yesterday, asking Waltfeld to let you send a message to your parents… that was part of that, but I knew it wasn't enough. Not to me, anyway." He smiled. "I want to make you happy, Murrue. That means more to me than I could ever hope to tell you. I want to take away your fear and pain, to ease your concerns, any way I can. I know that you're under a lot of pressure, trying to keep everyone under your command alive, and that's not going to be easy with the odds we're throwing ourselves against. I want to help take some of that pressure, that burden, off your shoulders, even if I can only do it for a little while."

He looked up at the Tallgeese Kai before turning back to her. "So, Murrue… want to go for a ride?"

Murrue smiled before taking him into a deep kiss. As their lips parted she spoke. "I'd love to, Heero."

Before going to the Tallgeese Kai, the two of them turned to Shemei, who had been patiently standing nearby. "Shemei," said Murrue, "thank you."

"Yeah," said Heero.

"Anytime, you two," the Valkyrie replied, "and it's not just because I owe you. You're both my friends, and I never turn down friends in need."

Shemei grinned. "Now, if you two lovebirds will excuse me, I've got a mobile suit to get to. I am scheduled to fly right now, after all. I'll see you out there!"

As the Valkyrie headed off towards the Judgment, Murrue turned back to Heero. The Gundam pilot nodded towards the Tallgeese Kai. "Shall we?"

"I thought you'd never ask," said Murrue.

She continued to hold his hand as he took her over to the machine's cockpit. "Heero," she said, "please, forgive me if this sounds rude, but… why the Tallgeese Kai? Don't get me wrong, I'm _thrilled _to get the chance to fly with you, but why not your own mobile suit?"

"The Zero System," Heero replied, "It's true that I can control it just fine with passengers, but… Murrue, I want to focus on _you_. I don't want to split my attention between being with you and asserting dominance over the Zero System. This isn't a combat flight, it's a date, and the Zero System has no place here. I don't _want _it to be here. I want this to be about us… about _you_."

"Heero…" said Murrue, touched by her boyfriend's devotion. She smiled even as she felt her face flush red. "_Thank you_, Heero." Her smile then became playful. "Just don't forget about your flying. The Tallgeese Kai may not be Wing Zero, but from what I've heard from La Flaga and what you told me about the original unit I know it's still a tricky machine to pilot."

"Don't worry," said Heero, "I swear I won't put you at risk, Murrue."

"I know you won't, Heero," she replied, "I have faith in you."

"Thank you," said Heero, giving her a small smile, "now, let's get going. I told you I wanted to take you out, and I'm going to do that right now."

With that the Gundam pilot pulled her into the mobile suit's cockpit. "Uhm, Heero?" said Murrue, looking around the confined space as the Perfect Soldier took his seat, "Where should I squeeze into?"

The young man looked down for a moment, and when he met Murrue's gaze again she could've sworn she saw just a hint of red in his face. "If it's alright with you… on my lap, Murrue. You'll be more secure that way than you would along the side of the seat. There's room on either side if you'd be more comfortable there, but… well, I'll be better able to maneuver the machine if you're in the seat with me. If you're off to the side, I can't take the Tallgeese through some of the maneuvers I was planning on… I won't be able to make the ride as exciting."

Murrue smiled and laughed. "Well, we can't have that now, can we?" She settled in on his lap and glanced back at him. "Are you sure I'm not going to block your view?" she asked as she settled in.

Heero shook his head. "I can see just fine over your shoulder."

"Good," said Murrue, "should I put my helmet on?"

"Not yet," Heero replied, "Just put it on the floor for now. You'll need it later on though; we won't be spending the entire date in here."

"You mean we're going extravehicular later?" she said, her eyes widening, "I haven't done that since Heliopolis!"

Heero nodded. "While I was out on patrol earlier, I found a spot that I think you'll like. We'll exit the mobile suit there. Of course, we have to get there first."

With that he closed the hatch and began powering up the machine. Murrue could feel her heart race as the screens lit up around her. Her first mobile suit flight had been in the Strike with Kira during ZAFT's attack on Heliopolis, and that had hardly been a pleasant experience. This, though, promised to be something truly special.

_For months now_, she thought, smiling as she watched her boyfriend run through the preflight checks, _I've wondered what it's like for Heero when he flies. This may not be Wing Zero, but it is a mobile suit, and one based on a unit from his world at that. I'll finally get to see what he sees; _feel_ what he _feels_… experience flying from his perspective!_

"Alright," said Heero, "we're all set. I'm moving us to the launch area."

The young man put his hands on the control sticks, and Murrue could feel the mobile suit move forward. The sensation reminded her of her experience on the Strike all those months ago, but while she had barely been able to keep the machine upright Heero was moving the Tallgeese Kai with practiced ease. The units footsteps fell in steady, rhythmic thuds as it made its way toward the hangar bay doors, quite unlike the frantic, unbalanced steps of the Strike during that hectic incident at Heliopolis.

Acting instinctively, Murrue put her hands over Heero's. When she realized what she was doing she feared that she might interfere with Heero's control over the machine. She started to remove her hands, but she was stopped by Heero.

"No," he said, "keep them there." When she looked over her shoulder at him, he gave her a small nod and a smile. "It's alright, Murrue."

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Ok, my love."

Eventually they made it to the designated launch area for the portside exit. Murrue briefly lifted her hand to allow Heero to use the communications system. "This is Tallgeese Kai," he said, "we're ready to launch."

Murrue watched as Miriallia's face appeared on the screen. Her eyes widened as she saw the mobile suit's occupants. "Heero? Captain Ramius? What are you two doing in La Flaga's machine?"

"It's alright, Miss Haw," came another female voice, and the image of Murrue's new XO joined the Orb student's on the screen, "carry on with your duties." She smiled at Heero and Murrue. "This is just a bit of recreation, one that they've both more than earned."

"Lieutenant?" said Murrue, raising an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you're in on this too?"

Lieutenant Tsukino shrugged, her smile becoming a smirk. "Very well, Captain. I won't tell you. Enjoy yourselves, you two! Tsukino out."

Her face vanished from the screen, leaving just Miriallia. "Alright," she said, still struggling to adjust to the unusual events unfolding around her, "I'm opening the bay doors now. The Judgment's already launched out the starboard exit and has cleared the colony, so you won't have any traffic to worry about."

"Thank you, Miss Haw," said Murrue.

"Sure," she replied, "uhm... take care out there, you two."

"Don't worry," said Heero, "we will. I won't let anything happen to Murrue."

Murrue squeezed his hand. _I know you won't, Heero_, she thought, _I believe in you._

Miriallia smiled. "Roger that, Heero. Tallgeese Kai, you're clear for launch!"

….

**(Start "Time Stand Still")**

Gripping the controls, Murrue's hands over his, Heero gunned the engines. The powerful vernier thrusters roared to life, and the Tallgeese Kai rocketed out of the hangar.

"Whoa!" cried Murrue, the force of the acceleration pressing her back into Heero.

"It's alright," said Heero, attempting to reassure the woman he loved, "don't be afraid, Murrue."

She looked over her shoulder at him, and the Gundam pilot was relieved to see that fear was the last thing on her face. Rather, her expression was one of excitement… and _joy_.

"I'm not afraid, Heero," she replied, a radiant smile on her face, her eyes aglow with affection, "How _can _I be afraid when I'm with you? I just didn't think the engines would be so powerful!"

Heero nodded, his confidence bolstered by her words and what he saw in her eyes. He gave her a small smile, all the while minding his flying. "Hang on. We're just getting warmed up."

Already well clear of the colony, Heero took the Tallgeese Kai into a climb. Ever mindful of his passenger, he made sure to handle to machine's engines with the utmost care in order to avoid any potential harm to Murrue.

His eyes narrowing, he flew the mobile suit along the length of the Mendel colony, making sure to keep well above the surface in order to avoid the occasional bits of debris that jutted upward from the scarred habitat. He weaved through a gentle series of turns, maintaining an expert balance between speed and stability, minimizing the G-forces exerted on his passenger.

Soon the colony's large, tattered solar energy collection panel was rapidly approaching. Rather than pull up though, Heero set his sights on one of the large, gaping holes in the panel. He felt Murrue's hands grip the tops of his tightly, but she didn't cry out in fear or protest.

_She trusts me with her life_, he thought, amazed and emboldened by the faith she had in him_, and I'm not about to let her down now!_

"Here we go," he said.

"Let's do it!" cried Murrue. Heero couldn't spare a look at her face at the moment, but he was sure she was smiling.

Making the final adjustments to his heading, Heero increased the acceleration slightly and flew towards the hole. Maneuvering the Tallgeese Kai with pinpoint precision, the Gundam pilot threaded the proverbial needle perfectly, passing through the exact center of the opening. The instant he cleared it he pulled the mobile suit up, and he began to climb away from the colony.

"Incredible!" said Murrue, and Heero could hear the thrill in her voice.

"We're not done yet," said Heero, smiling slightly.

"I hope not!" said Murrue, looking over her shoulder and smiling at Heero, "This is _amazing_! I never knew flying could be like this!"

"Well," said Heero as he adjusted his course and leveling out, "I did say I was going to take you for a ride, didn't I?"

Murrue responded with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Yes, you did, my love."

With that, the Perfect Soldier took the Tallgeese Kai into a section of the debris field that he knew was the least dangerous part of the area. Most of the floating chunks of metal were widely spaced and clearly visible, though there was always the occasional small bits of space junk to worry about.

Heero smirked as he brought the mobile suit's beam rifle up and began selecting targets. "How about some fireworks, Murrue?"

"What?" she replied, her eyes widening, "How?"

"Like this," said Heero as he opened fire. A flurry of emerald beams spewed forth as Heero swept the gun across the sky, turning floating chunks of debris into impromptu firecrackers. A string of small explosions lit up the space around them.

"Nice shooting!" said Murrue.

"You want to try?" asked Heero.

Murrue looked at him, her eyes widening again. "What? You really…"

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'll keep flying and select targets, Murrue. All you have to do is pull the trigger."

Murrue smiled, clearly thrilled at the suggestion. "Alright. Let's do it, Heero!"

As he set up for a run, Heero guided Murrue's hand down towards the trigger. "Get ready," he said, "I'll let you know when to shoot."

She nodded. "Ok. I'm ready, Heero."

Making adjustments to his heading and weaving through a few large slabs of metal, Heero sighted in on the first target. "Fire, Murrue."

She did so, and with his hand guiding her aim the emerald beam hit its target dead center, destroying it.

"Yes," said Murrue, "We did it!"

"Focus," Heero gently chided her, "our next one's coming up."

He felt her lean forward in her seat, her gaze intent on the screen. "Alright," she said, "just tell me when."

Taking the Tallgeese Kai beneath a piece of debris, he brought the rifle to bear on the target. "Now."

Murrue pulled the trigger, and the shot turned the chunk of debris into a piñata.

"Good shot," said Heero, smiling.

"Oh, please," said Murrue, smiling as well, "you know I'm only hitting them because of you."

"You're still the one pulling the trigger," Heero reminded her, "I may be the one setting things up, but timing's still important here, and yours is right on."

"Thanks," she replied, a fierce gleam in her eyes, "So, do you have any more lined up for me? Come on, Heero, we can't stop now!"

_She's really getting into this_, he thought, _she's enjoying herself… and that's exactly what I want._

Heero nodded. "Trust me, there's plenty more to come, Murrue. Are you ready?"

"You know it," she replied, "Let me at them!"

Heero chuckled. "You got it."

Weaving back and forth through space, Heero continued to set up targets for Murrue, who proceeded to take them down the instant he gave the word. Occasionally he would deploy the unit's Planet Defensors to deflect a few bits of debris, but for the most part he relied on the machine's maneuverability and his skills to avoid damage. It was a challenge, flying the Tallgeese Kai with a passenger and designating targets without actually being the one to take them down, but it was one that Heero didn't mind in the least. Every so often he would glance at Murrue and see her smiling face, her lovely brown eye radiating excitement and joy, and each time he did he could feel the warmth flowing through him from his heart.

Murrue was _happy_. She was having _fun_. All the fears and worries that had plagued her for so long had been completely cast aside, lost in the thrill of the moment. As Heero took her through the debris field, guiding her hand as she destroyed target after target, he could tell that the burdens of command that had weighed so heavily on her shoulders since the attack on Heliopolis so long ago had been totally swept away. Murrue seemed light, at ease, all her concerns left behind. Nothing was weighing her down; she was _free_.

And so was Heero.

Seeing her like this was all that mattered to him. As he continued to fly the Tallgeese Kai, setting up targets and watching Murrue destroy them, he could feel the guilt he had been tormenting himself with for the past few days completely dissipate. Here and now, Murrue was not plagued by fear and concern for him, not worried for his safety. Her heart was light, full of wonder, joy, and affection… and so was Heero's. Through acting like this, with only Murrue's happiness as his concern, Heero was happy as well, his heart radiating a joy he had so rarely felt in his life… and only with the woman he loved.

_Before I came to this world_, he thought, _before I met Murrue… I never dared imagine I could feel anything approaching this. I didn't feel that I was worthy of such happiness, not after what I had done. Murrue, though… she _did _believe that I deserved it, even after I told her about my past, my sins. She wanted to help me since almost the moment I met her, and as we grew closer and began to understand each other she sought my happiness, even in the midst of the struggle she was to protect her crew. It was because of that compassion that I was able to open up to her… and fall in love with her. Thanks to her, I found the strength to truly move forward, beyond my past. I found the strength, the will, to try and seek out my own happiness… and I found it with her._

Even in the midst of his heartfelt thoughts though, the Gundam pilot did not lose track of the situation. His control over the Tallgeese Kai remained precise, his determination to keep Murrue safe unwavering even as he gave her a date like no other, flying through the debris field and shooting up targets with the beam rifle. As he gave her targets to destroy and guided her aim, he was constantly making adjustments to the acceleration of the Tallgeese Kai in order to spare his passenger the punishing force the thrusters could exert if not handled with care. Just as he had done so with the Valkyrie's parents during the escape from the PLANTs, the Gundam pilot walked his tightrope, keeping balance with all the considerable skill he had acquired over his career as a pilot.

Eventually they took down the last target that Heero had designated, and the young man knew it was time for the next part of their date. "How was that?" he asked.

Murrue turned to him and smiled. "That was unbelievable, Heero! I've never done _anything _like that before." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "You're amazing, Heero. There truly is no other man in the Earth Sphere like you."

Heero once again felt a familiar heat rush to his space, a warmth that only Murrue could inspire within him. "Thank you, Murrue,"

"You are _very _welcome, my love," she replied, "So, what's next? More targets?"

Heero shook his head. "No, I've got something else in mind. Hang on tight."

As her hands squeezed his, Heero gave the throttle a little more juice. The Gundam pilot took the mobile suit into a climb, racing higher and higher through the debris field like a bird attempting to escape the jungle canopy.

"Where are we going, Heero?" asked Murrue, the acceleration once again pushing her back into him. Her breathing was a little faster, but it wasn't labored, and Heero could tell it was from excitement rather than any stress from the vernier engines.

"You'll see," said Heero, juking and jinking around chunks of scrap metal.

**(End "Time Stand Still")**

A few seconds later the Tallgeese Kai finally cleared the debris field and came out into the glorious expanse of outer space. Leveling out the mobile suit, Heero set the machine down on a large slab of metal floating at the apex of the field. He then reached down and grabbed his helmet. Putting it on, he then grabbed Murrue's and handed it to her.

"Here," he said, "I'll make sure it's secure."

Murrue nodded and smiled. "Alright, Heero."

As she put it on the Perfect Soldier reached down and grabbed two lengths of cord and a pair of buckles he had asked La Flaga to stow under the seat. Retrieving them, he attached one to the utility belt of Murrue's space suit and the other to his own. He then ran the first cord through both buckles and tied them together, securing himself to Murrue. Then Heero took the second cord and tied one end to himself and the other to the pilot's chair.

Making sure all the cords were tied tight, Heero then turned to Murrue and examined her helmet seals.

"Everything good?" she asked.

Heero nodded. "You're all set."

"Here," she said, turning around to face him, "let me check yours."

Heero did as she told him to. While he was confident that he was fully secured, he wasn't about to stop Murrue from double checking. It was a sign of her concern for him, how much she cared about him, and it meant a lot to Heero. It may have been a small thing when compared to everything else they had done together as they had grown closer and eventually became a couple, but to Heero even those little things had importance, because they were with the woman he loved.

"Looks good," said Murrue after a moment, "Are you ready?"

"Hang on a second," Heero replied, double checking his suit's utility belt to make sure that he had his magnetic grappling gun. It would be a lifesaver if something went wrong with the cord that would be tethering him and Murrue to the Tallgeese Kai.

Satisfied that the tool was there and in working order, Heero then proceeded to turn on the radio in his helmet. Tuning it to Murrue's frequency, he spoke. "Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," she replied.

Heero nodded and then hit a key on one of the control pads. There was a brief hiss as the oxygen in the cockpit was cycled into the storage tanks, and then the mobile suit's hatch opened.

"Alright," said Heero, "let's go."

Murrue stood up and move to the side, allowing Heero to get up. Taking her hand, he led her out onto the open hatch... where they were treated to one hell of a view.

Over his helmet's radio he heard Murrue gasp. "This is… _beautiful_."

It was a sentiment Heero certainly couldn't argue with. From their vantage point they could take in the entire debris field as the distant sunlight hit it. The graveyard of the old L4 colonies seemed to take on a new life, with every bit of metal below them gleaming as the sun's rays hit them. The sole intact colony was no exception, with its pockmarked solar energy collection panel shimmering in the sunlight. It turned what would normally be a very grim part of the Earth Sphere into something more bittersweet, a reminder of past prosperity and glory, a shadow of its former self but still holding a bit of the better times it had once seen. Viewed from their high perch, the debris field seemed to be reborn by the sunlight as drifted through outer space.

The vast field of shining metal was hardly the only wonder Heero and Murrue could see from their vantage point. Floating beyond it was the blue and green gem that was the Earth. The sun's rays lit up the planet even more splendidly than they did the debris field. Daylight was currently over the Western Hemisphere, which meant that Heero had a clear view of Murrue's homeland.

He glanced to his right, concerned for a moment that the sight of her country of birth might have an ill affect on Murrue in light of her recent actions. However, he was relieved to see that his fears were misplaced. Even through the helmet's visor Heero could see the joy and wonder radiating from Murrue's eyes as she looked out upon the incredible view, her world and their temporary home in the scrap field aglow in sunlight.

Rounding out the breathtaking vista was the Moon. Far to the 'left' of L4, Luna reflected the sun's rays as brilliantly as the bits of metal floating through space and the Earth itself, shining like a beacon. It was nearly full, or at least it appeared that way from Heero and Murrue's vantage point, and the young man could only wonder what it looked like from the surface at this moment.

Forming the backdrop for all of this was, of course, the stars. They seemed to go on forever, a vast ocean of sparkling pinpricks of light. The tiny specks seemed to enhance the scene in their own subtle way, their twinkling beacons supplementing the burning majesty of Sol and the more subdued and cool Luna.

To Heero though, all that paled in comparison to the woman standing next to him. To see Murrue with him, taking in the glorious view in awe, was a more beautiful sight than anything else in the Earth Sphere. To look upon her and see her like this, smiling radiantly as she beheld the splendor of outer space, her happiness shining in her eyes as a light more powerful than the sun itself… that was all Heero needed. It was why he had set this up to begin with, why he was so devoted to her well-being, both physically and emotionally.

For Heero, seeing the woman he loved like this, aglow with joy and wonder, free from all her doubts and fears… that meant _everything _to him. It made every struggle he had gone through, in both this world and his old one, completely worth it. He would undertake them all again in a heartbeat… just to see her smile like she was doing now.

"Heero," said Murrue, grabbing his hand and turning towards him, "This is amazing. I never imagined there could be a view like this in such place. Thank you so much for taking me out here!"

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "Anytime, Murrue."

She leaned forward, pressing her helmet against his as she took him into an embrace. "I can't exactly kiss you right now," she said, her smile becoming playful as her eyes met his, "so this will have to do."

"It's more than enough, Murrue," he replied.

Murrue shook her head. "No it's not, not even close." She reached out with her arms, gesturing at the grand vista before them. She smiled again, affection and gratitude radiating from her face. "Heero, no one's ever done _anything _like this for me. I know I told you about my past relationships before, and while I've had my share of dates, they were fairly standard affairs. They were nice, but… none of them had nearly as much thought involved in them as this. There wasn't anywhere near the level of effort you put into this."

"Murrue…" said Heero softly, stunned by her praise.

"Heero," said Murrue, grabbing both his hands and once again pressing her helmet to his, "this is wonderful… _you _are wonderful. I never dreamed I would have anything near this sort of experience with someone. Don't get me wrong; I _loved _our first date in Orb, along with all the outings we had afterwards during our stopover in that country. I enjoyed each and every one of them, and will treasure the memories we created with them forever… but this blows all of them completely away. You… you truly are an incredible young man, Heero."

Heero looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze again, giving her another small smile. "Murrue… the only reason I am who I am today is because of you. Meeting you and getting to know you were the best things that could ever have happened to me. Getting closer to you, falling in love with you… it changed me, Murrue, and I know it's been for the better. I've learned so much in my time with you, experienced so much, felt emotions that I never believed I could feel, that I thought I did not _deserve _to feel. It's only thanks to you that I've been able to evolve beyond who I was at the end of my old war, to become more than a soldier who could only feel purpose on the battlefield. I may have entered your world in a time of conflict, but in the midst of this war I've been able to find comfort, peace, _love_… and I found them with _you_."

Even through the helmet visor Heero could see Murrue's face flush with praise. "Heero… you're giving me far too much credit. You've always been an amazing person. You just didn't let yourself see _you_ that way. You kept burdening yourself with guilt, torturing yourself over past mistakes… I couldn't just stand by and watch you do that, Heero. I would've given _anything _to pull you away from that, to make you see yourself as _I _see you. Even in our early days, I could tell that you were someone special. As I got to know you, as you told me about your past, I saw just _how _special you were even before you came to our world. I wanted to show you that, to help you understand that you were _not _the monster you made yourself out to be."

"And you did, Murrue," Heero replied, "It's true that I still hold myself responsible for my past misdeeds. That girl and her dog, Noventa and the Alliance peace faction… I can't take back what I did to them, no matter how much I may want to. I can't change the past… but I can accept it and move forward, and that's only because of _you_, Murrue. While I may have begun to come to peace with that happened to Noventa and the other Alliance pacifists before I came to this world, the same could not be said of the destruction of that residential block and the deaths of all the people living there. The memory of that still haunted me, still tore at my heart… as you found out all too well."

"I know," said Murrue softly, "I can still hear your cry in my dreams, still see the anguish in your eyes. Seeing you suffer like that, tormenting yourself so brutally… I couldn't allow it, Heero. I _refused _to let you keep torturing yourself like that, and I'm _not_ going to let you go back there."

"You haven't, Murrue," said Heero, "You saved me from myself… you've protected me from the enemy I didn't know how to fight; the demons of my past. It's because of your understanding, your _compassion_, that I've been able to come to terms with what happened that night two years ago. It's not something I'll ever be able to forget, and I'll always regret it… but I'm able to live with the memory without it consuming me, Murrue, and I have _you _to thank for that. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy, a horrendous loss of life… but it no longer haunts my dreams the way it once did. The knowledge that you're willing to accept me, to _love _me even after I told you what I'd done, the sins I'd committed… that saved me, Murrue, in a way I can't begin to describe."

He turned and nodded towards the view of the debris field, the Earth, and the Moon. "I think that's part of why I wanted to give you this. What you've done for me, Murrue… you _deserve _to have someone go the extra mile, to give you a date like this. You've _always _deserved it, even before you gave me comfort and shelter from my past sins. You're a _phenomenal _woman, Murrue, and I want to do everything in my power to show you that, to prove, if only to myself, that I'm worthy of the love you've given me."

Murrue responded by pulling him into as tight a hug as she could with her spacesuit. "Heero," she said as she held him, "you have _always _been worthy of my love." She pulled back far enough to meet his gaze while still keeping her arms around him. "Never doubt that for a moment. You got that?"

He nodded and smiled. "Roger that."

Murrue smiled as well, and once again the two of them turned to observe the magnificent vista before them. Squeezing her hand, Heero felt an incredible sense of contentment, of peace, of _happiness _flowing out from his heart. All his troubles, all his concerns regarding the terrible conflict that they found themselves fighting so hard to end… none of them existed at this moment. Here and now, floating hand-in-hand with the woman he loved, admiring the Earth Sphere that they called home… he was _free_.

They both were.

A flash of blue light caught his eye. A split second later Murrue also took notice. "Look," she said, pointing at the blue dot as it weaved its way through the debris field, "that must be one of our pilots."

Heero nodded. "Probably Shemei, judging by the flight pattern. All those sudden twists and turns… she's deliberately moving through the thicker parts of the debris field."

"She sure is a thrill seeker," said Murrue, shaking her head. Heero glanced at her and saw she had an amused smile on her face. "I'm sure she doesn't want to worry Bristow, but she still can't turn down a good rush."

"Probably why she became a pilot in the first place," said Heero as he watched the beacon that was the Judgment's thruster-wash move through the scattered chunks of metal, "as for Bristow, the Judgment's Phase Shift Armor can give him some comfort. Hitting debris won't be a serious threat to Shemei, something I'm sure he's aware of. Still, regardless of Shemei's skill or her protection, I'm sure Bristow worries for her." He turned to Murrue. "I know I would if you flew like that."

"Imagine how I feel," said Murrue, "watching _you _fly into battle. It doesn't matter how much faith I have in your skills, or how strong Wing Zero is… I'll never be at ease when you're in danger, Heero."

Heero nodded. "I know... I'm sorry, Murrue. I feel the same way about you. The _Archangel _may be an incredibly tough warship, and you're the best Captain I've ever seen, but that doesn't change the fact that I still fear for your safety in battle."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly, "I… I'm grateful to hear that. Still, you're duties are much more dangerous than mine. No to mention the burden you carry with the Zero System…"

"Don't worry, Murrue," said Heero, "I can keep that concern from interfering with my control over the system; I have the focus I need to do that. I also made that vow to you back in Orb to never lose control of the Zero System again, and it's one I won't break."

"I know you won't, Heero," said Murrue, smiling, "We'll both just have to believe in each other when we go into combat, and do all we can to support each other. It's no different than what we've been doing all this time."

Heero nodded. "Yeah… except that the stakes are higher for us now. Not just due to the enemies we face… but because of our feelings for each other. We may have loved each other long before my confession a week and a half ago, but now we're _open _about our feelings, actually in a relationship. That makes the danger we place ourselves in even more acute, more heartfelt… something I know you've experienced firsthand over these past few days."

"Yes," said Murrue, "Avalon, the duel… I've already told you how much it hurt to see you in such danger, Heero. However, I've also _accepted _that pain, that distress. If I could feel completely at ease when you put yourself at risk… well, then I couldn't say that I truly loved you then, could I? These are natural feelings, Heero, especially for people who care about each other as deeply as you and I do. We just have to be aware of them, and make sure that they don't distract us." She gave his hand a squeeze as she smiled again. "We'll keep our faith in each other, Heero. That will get us through this."

Heero gave her a small smile in return. "Yeah… you're right, Murrue."

The two of them then turned back to admiring the view for a few minutes, a comfortable and content silence falling over them. There was no need for words now; they'd said everything they'd needed to. Now they simply lost themselves in the peace and tranquility of the sunlit debris field, the glowing Earth, fiery Sol, sublime Luna, and the shimmering stars. Sharing it all with the one they loved was all that mattered.

However, they could not stay out there forever. The amount of oxygen carried in their suits was not infinite, after all. More to the point, Heero had taken Murrue on this outing right after both his and her shifts had ended, which meant both of them had not eaten anything in quite some time.

In other words, it was dinner time… and Heero had something special in the works for Murrue, thanks to help from Bristow and the Valkyrie's mother.

_It'll be ready soon_, he thought, running through the loose time table he'd set out in his head, _and Murrue could definitely use a bite to eat. Time to get a move on._

Heero gave Murrue's hand another squeeze, gently pulling her back towards the cockpit of the Tallgeese Kai. "Come on, Murrue," he said, "we should get back. I know you haven't said anything, but by now I'm sure you're hungry."

Murrue nodded. "I am, but still… this is such an incredible view. It's hard to let it go."

"I know," said Heero, "it really is something else. Still, you need to keep up your strength, and that means meals when you can take them."

"You're right," she said, smiling, "and besides, I've been itching to try out some of the new rations that were shipped over today. I was actually just thinking of those before you contacted me when you were coming back from patrol, in fact."

"All the more reason to head back," he said as he pulled her towards the mobile suit, "however… we won't be eating in the mess."

Murrue raised an eyebrow at his words, and Heero smirked. "We'll head to the officers' lounge when we get back… and I get changed. I've been wearing this flight suit all day."

"I can understand the second thing," said Murrue, "but the first… why the officers' lounge, Heero?"

"You'll see," he replied as he pulled her into the cockpit and closed the hatch, "you're in for a treat, Murrue."

"And the rest of this hasn't been one?" she asked playfully as she settled back into his lap, "Ending things off with a romantic dinner, Heero?"

He nodded. "Yes, and one I've been wanting to give you for awhile. No offense to your ship's cooks, but the meals have gotten a bit bland lately. I've been getting tired of the same standard Alliance provisions."

"I don't blame you," said Murrue, "I feel the same way…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes narrowed, and Heero could see her come to a realization.

"Heero," she said as oxygen cycled from the mobile suit's storage tanks back into the cockpit, "The provisions transfer between our three ships... it was Bristow's idea, but it wasn't entirely an independent one, was it?"

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile. The gig was up, and he had no intention of denying it and insulting her intelligence. "Bristow was there when I asked Shemei to help me with this… and he wanted to help too. The rations swap was born from that. It was his idea… but it was instigated by my desire to give you this date."

"I see," said Murrue, "looks like I have one more thing to thank you for."

"Save it until we actually try the food," Heero replied.

Murrue laughed. "Alright, Heero." Her expression then became more serious. "By the way, is it alright if I take my helmet off now?"

Glancing to his right, Heero checked a gauge on one of his monitors and saw that the oxygen levels in the cockpit were back to normal, and the pressure was at a safe level. "We're good, Murrue."

The instant the two of them had their helmets removed, Murrue threw her arms around Heero and took him into a deep, passionate kiss. The move was a surprise to the Gundam pilot, though certainly a welcome one, and he wasted no time in returning it. Her warm, moist lips pressed tightly against his, their tongues intertwined in their familiar wet dance, and the two of them lost themselves in the kiss.

Eventually they parted, though Murrue still kept her arms around him as she gave him a warm smile. "Heero," she said, "this was _incredible_. Thank you so much for taking me out today. I'll never, _ever _forget it."

Heero returned the smile. "Anytime, Murrue. I promise this won't be the last time I take you out."

"I believe it," she said, "and I'll do the same for you when I get the chance. You've more than earned it, and not just because of today. I love you, Heero."

Heero leaned forward and kissed her. "I love you too, Murrue."

….

Murrue stood in front of the mirror in her quarters' washroom, smiling as she waited for Heero to finish getting changed. The two of them had returned to the _Archangel _a little bit ago, and were both now getting ready for dinner. Murrue found it amusing that, unlike what was typical for these types of occasions, it was the man in the relationship that was taking longer than the woman to get ready. Murrue had worn her uniform underneath the spacesuit, and Heero had insisted that he was just fine with her wearing it to dinner rather than change into her spare one. However, her boyfriend was clearly not willing to let the casual attire he had worn underneath his black flight suit slide, and the extra time he was taking to get ready was all Murrue needed to know just what he was going to wear for dinner.

Humming a tune to herself, eagerly anticipating what she knew she was about to see, Murrue preoccupied herself by running a hand through her hair, making a few last minute adjustments, wanting to make sure everything was good in her view before Heero called her. She found herself longing for a makeup set and a fragrance, but she had done without them since Heliopolis, and she knew she would manage just fine until the end of the war. Though Heero had fallen for her for far more than just her looks, he had commented on her beauty several times, all the more so since they had entered into a relationship, and that was all Murrue needed.

_Screw modern cosmetics_, she thought, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face, _Heero loves me for who I am _naturally_. It wasn't makeup or perfume that won his heart; it was _me_!_

"Murrue," she heard Heero say, "you ready?"

She turned around, beaming as she saw Heero standing in the doorway, wearing the magnificent uniform of the Sanc Kingdom Royal Guard. It was a splendid on him as it had been all the other times Murrue had seen him wear it, every bit from the jacket, pants, shirt, belt, boots, and sword serving only to enhance her naturally handsome boyfriend.

She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Just waiting on you, Heero. You look _wonderful_."

Heero smiled, and Murrue could've sworn she saw just a hint of red flash briefly across his face. "Thanks," he said, "you look beautiful."

"Oh, come now," said Murrue, "I'm wearing the same uniform I was before this whole date started."

"Doesn't matter to me," Heero replied.

Now it was Murrue's turn to blush. "I'd call you out on flattery," she said, "except I know you too well, Heero; it's not your style."

"You're right about that," said Heero.

"So," said Murrue, looping her arm through his, "shall we?"

Heero nodded, and together the two of them made their way out of their room and down the hall towards the officers' lounge.

When they got there, they saw none other than Eric Bristow standing by the door. He smiled as Heero and Murrue approached. "You're right on time," he said, "she just finished the final touches."

"Who's 'she'?" asked Murrue, "And, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here Bristow?"

Eric chuckled. "Oh, you'll see soon enough for that first one, Captain Ramius. As for the second, that's simple; I'm here to make sure you two get the privacy an occasion like this calls for. None of the other officers will enter here while you and Heero enjoy your meal."

"I appreciate the thought," said Murrue, "though I don't recall you having the authority to close off the officers' lounge like this."

Eric smirked. "Well, I _was _a Field Marshal not too long ago. That ought to give me _some _clout. You can always write me up afterwards, Captain."

Murrue shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "I think we all know that I won't do that, Bristow… especially given all you're doing to help Heero with this. I do feel a bit guilty, though, shutting the other officers out like this."

"For what it's worth," said Eric, "I don't think they mind a bit. Lieutenant Tsukino was fine with it, I know that much. As for the others… well, they know just how hard you've fought to keep them all alive, Captain. They respect that more than you'll ever know. I think in their eyes you've more than earned a treat like this."

He nodded at her boyfriend before he continued. "The same goes for Heero. The rest of the crew knows they wouldn't have made it this far without him protecting the ship. The two of you, working together, have protected them in a manner that's gone well beyond the call of duty. I'm sure they all recognize that." He smiled. "And I know they wish you both the best. Set aside your guilt, Captain Ramius, and enjoy yourself with the one you love. I'm sure that's what Heero wants, at least."

Murrue looked at Heero, who nodded at Bristow's words. Murrue couldn't help but smile again. "You tell me to let go of my guilt," she said, "but you're putting me through a guilt trip in the process, and one involving Heero at that. I wonder what Shemei would say about that, Bristow."

"Oh, she wouldn't be too happy with me," Eric replied, shrugging, "but I'll use anything in my arsenal to win, both on and off the battlefield." He smirked. "Besides, we both know you have no intention of turning this down."

Murrue shook her head. "I never could, not after all Heero and the rest of you have put into this." She leaned over and gave Heero a quick kiss on the cheek. "Especially when Heero's the one that asked me out on this date."

Her boyfriend gave her a small smile. "I had nothing to do with this part, Murrue; this was all Bristow and the person he has helping him."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, "but you provided the spark for it, and you did it for me, Heero. That's all I need."

"Well then," said Eric, pressing a button on the keypad by the entrance, causing the door to open, "Why don't you two head on in? You don't want the food to get cold, after all."

"Indeed," said Murrue. She could smell a blend of aromas floating through the door, and her mouth was beginning to water. She turned to Heero. "Lead on, my love."

Heero nodded, and the two of them walked into the lounge. As the door closed behind them, Murrue's eyes were instantly drawn to the table closest to the lounge viewport. It was set for two, with several delectable dishes laid out on it. The beautiful Captain was surprised to see none other than the Valkyrie's mother standing beside the table, a warm smile on her face.

"Welcome back," said Akila as Heero and Murrue approached, "how was your flight?"

Murrue smiled. "_Amazing_, Mrs. Rehema. It's been one thing to watch Heero fly from the bridge of the _Archangel_; it was quite another to actually be in the cockpit with him."

Akila nodded. "I can relate, Captain Ramius. Riding out of the PLANTs with your boyfriend at the helm… well, it was certainly an experience." She turned to Heero. "You truly are a phenomenal pilot, young man."

Heero bowed his head slightly. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," she replied, "now get on over here and dig in. I want you two to enjoy this while it's still warm."

"You made all this?" asked Murrue as she sat down across the table from Heero.

"Well," said Akila, "being that all this was from military provisions, much of it was already premade, though not heated. Still, I managed to add some personal touches. You'd be surprised what a domestic hand can do to military food."

_This doesn't even look military_, Murrue thought as she looked over the table, _not the way she made it._

Two plates were laid out, one each in front of her and Heero. On each of them was a piece of lasagna, and Murrue could still see the steam coming off it. To the side of that were two breadsticks, while in the center of the table was a small tray of six ball-shaped food items that Murrue had never seen before, though based on the sauce that was on them she guessed that they were Asian in origin. They weren't the only bits of Far Eastern cuisine on the table; next to them was a small platter of shrimp tempura. As for the drinks, there was a glass of water next to each plate. It wasn't what one might expect for a romantic dinner, but Alliance military policy allowed for no alchohol to be served on a warship, and Murrue was willing to bet both ZAFT and Orb had similar rules in place. She didn't particularly mind though, and certainly wasn't going to complain about it.

_The lasagna and breadsticks probably came from the Eternal_, she mused, _I've certainly never seen them in the Archangel's menu. As for the Asian food, my money's on the Kusanagi. Either way, it all looks _delicious_!_

She looked up to compliment Akila… only to find that she was no longer there. Glancing towards the lounge entrance, Murrue saw the door slide shut.

_Leaving Heero and I alone_, she thought, _how considerate. Still, she could've at least let us thank her first. I guess we'll have to do that later._

She turned back to the table and saw Heero patiently waiting for her. He didn't want to start eating without her.

_So wonderfully mannered_, she thought with a smile, _how did I get so lucky to find him?_

"Well," she said, "let's dig in."

Heero nodded, and the two of them immediately went to work on their food. Murrue decided she'd start with the main course, and carved into the lasagna with her fork and knife. It was very warm as it hit her tongue, but not burning hot, and Murrue savored the flavor. If she did not know better, Murrue would never have been able to tell that it was military provisions. It had been prepared so carefully, so delectably…

"Mmmm," she said between bites, looking across the table at Heero, "this is so _good_! I haven't had a meal like this since our first layover in Orb."

"I know what you mean," said Heero, "I'm glad Shemei asked her mother to prepare this. It's far better than military provisions would normally be. No offense to your ship's cooks, Murrue, but I think Shemei's mother has them beat."

Murrue laughed. "None taken, Heero. I wonder if I should talk her into taking charge of the kitchen. Do you think that'd be too much?"

"It's your call," he replied as he munched on a breadstick, "you are the Captain, Murrue."

"I'm well aware of that," she said, smirking, "but the Valkyrie's parents are not part of my crew. They're guests on my ship, and I do not wish to impose on them."

"I don't think they would mind," said Heero, "at least Mrs. Rehema wouldn't. From what Shemei told me, she was very enthusiastic about preparing this meal, and cooking in general is a favorite pastime of hers. If you asked her to join your ship's cooking staff, I think she would jump at the chance to do so."

Murrue smiled as she swallowed another piece of lasagna. "In that case, I think I'll ask her tomorrow. Thank you for the input, Heero; you know how much I value your counsel."

Heero nodded. "Anytime, Murrue."

Deciding to try some of the other cuisine on the table, Murrue eyed the tray with the ball-shaped food items on it. Heero had already grabbed one and was in the process of popping it into his mouth.

"Heero," said Murrue as he swallowed, "What's that you just ate? I've never seen it before."

"It's called Takoyaki," he replied, "It's a Japanese snack composed of wheat flour-based batter filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura, pickled ginger, and green onion. The sauce covering them is the same name as the meal itself. It's similar to Worcestershire sauce."

"It sounds delicious," said Murrue, "I think I'll try one."

She promptly reached over and speared one with her fork before popping it in her mouth. Chewing it, she smiled as she relished the taste. It was hot and spicy, but not scathingly so, and she savored the flavor. It was so unlike anything she had ever tried before, and she enjoyed it immensely.

"Ah," she said after swallowing, "I like that. I'm glad we got these shipped over here."

"Same here," said Heero, "Takoyaki were pretty popular in the L1 colony cluster. Not surprising really, since that area had a large Japanese enclave in it. Sometimes I'd get them as a snack food. They were simple enough… but I liked them."

It was a little window into a part of Heero's life Murrue knew she could never see for herself. While he had told her all about his life during the war in his old world, and she was very grateful for it, Murrue also regretted the fact that practically all of his past had been spent fighting. It may have ultimately led him to her, but Murrue dearly wished they could've met through a different path, one that did not force a young man to grow up so quickly and brutally. Hearing Heero talk like this was encouraging to her. It told her that, even in the midst of a war-ravaged world, there were still small things in life that her beloved had been able to find some enjoyment in.

_Speaking of enjoyment_, Murrue mused, her smile becoming playful, _I think I can add a little more spice to this romantic meal of ours…_

"Oh, Heero?" she said, batting her eyelashes at her boyfriend and leaning forward.

"Murrue?" he replied, raising his eyebrows. At the same time, Murrue could've sworn she saw his face flush ever so slightly, and she knew her shift in demeanor was having an effect on the young man.

"Do you mind grabbing me another one of those?" she asked, nodding at the Takoyaki balls.

The Gundam pilot blinked before nodding and grabbing one with his fork. Murrue raised her hand and crooked her finger, motioning for the young man to bring it to her. Once again she had the satisfaction of seeing a very slight hint of red flash through Heero's face, and she knew that he had figured out what she really wanted him to do.

Murrue watched as Heero took care to blow on her treat to cool it off a bit. She then opened her mouth as the Perfect Soldier reached across the table and fed her the Takoyaki ball. "Mmmm," she said as she chewed and swallowed, "thank you, my love."

Heero gave her a small smile. "You're welcome, Murrue."

"Now," she replied with a mischievous smile, "Your turn."

"Huh?" said Heero.

Murrue giggled, treasuring his priceless, puzzled expression. "I guess 'my turn' would be more appropriate," she said as she grabbed another Takoyaki ball with her fork, "open wide, Heero."

Her boyfriend did as she asked, and as Heero had done for her Murrue made sure to blow on the food before giving it to him. She watched as the young man took it in his mouth, satisfied as she saw subtle hints of enjoyment in his features. Murrue made sure to commit the name of the food to memory, and resolved to learn how to make it herself when the war was over. She could see that it was something that her boyfriend liked, and she wanted to cook it for him as a homemade meal sometime.

_Perhaps I can ask Mrs. Rehema for instruction_, she thought, _the way she made this was simply incredible. Heero called it a 'snack food', but it makes a wonderful side dish for a meal like this._

She grabbed another Takoyaki ball as Heero grabbed a piece of shrimp tempura. As the two of them enjoyed their respective bits of food, an idea ran through Murrue's mind as she eyed the last Takoyaki ball on the tray.

Taking the last one on her fork, she plopped it into her mouth. However, rather than chewing the whole thing, she proceeded to carefully bite the ball in half. She swallowed one section while keeping the other one as preserved as she could in her mouth.

Murrue then waved her hand in front of her mouth and made a puffing sound, indicating that the food was too hot. Right on cue, she saw Heero reach over and grab her glass of water, raising it to her mouth. Rather than accept it though, Murrue shook her head while waving for him to come closer.

As Heero leaned across the table, Murrue suddenly cupped his chin in her right hand. Then she moved forward to kiss him. As their lips met she opened her mouth and pushed the other half of the Takoyaki ball into his mouth. She could feel the heat and flavor of the food mixing with her lover's warm breath. Their tongues met and swirled together, sauce and saliva intermingling in an intimate dance unlike any other.

Eventually they parted, and Murrue smiled as she watched Heero swallow the remains of the Takoyaki ball, his expression a very rare one for him; a mix of surprise and amusement.

Murrue put her hand to her mouth and laughed. "It was the last one," she said, once again batting her eyelashes at the young man across from her, "I felt greedy keeping it all to myself, so I thought I'd share."

Heero nodded as he met her gaze. "I appreciate the… _generosity_."

"Anytime, my love," she replied.

….

Eric Bristow smiled as he waited outside the hangar entrance. The Judgment was in the process of touching down, and he needed the hangar to be repressurized before he went in to greet his girlfriend. Now that her patrol was done, Eric could tell her the good news regarding Heero and Murrue's date.

_I'm glad everything went well for them_, he thought, _they deserved it, especially after all they did to help me free Shemei's parents. I owe them both big time for that. Thanks to them, the woman I love is happier then I've seen her in quite some time, and that's worth more to me than anything else in the Earth Sphere._

The indicator light on the pad by the door switched to green, and the former Field Marshal wasted no time in moving into the hangar. He quickly spotted the Judgment and proceeded over to the mobile suit at a brisk pace. The cockpit hatch was already open, and he saw Shemei standing on the maintenance catwalk, her helmet cradled in her left arm, giving her unit a once-over before sealing it up.

"How was the flight?" he asked as he approached.

Shemei whirled around, grinning as she looked down at the Wolf. "Eric!" she yelled, rushing down to the hangar floor. When she got to him she swiftly threw her arms around him and took him into a deep kiss.

Eric returned it without hesitation, reveling in the taste and feel of her lips and the fierce grip she held him in. _Her passion_, he thought, _it's amazing how fiercely it burns, even after such a long flight. Ah, my North African goddess… my angel of the desert winds… my Valkyrie…_

Eventually their lips parted, though they remained in the embrace. "I'm glad you're ok," said Eric, "I wish I could've been out there with you."

"Hey," she replied, "you've got your own flight time, remember? Speaking of which, that's in about eight hours now. You really ought to get to bed."

"I will," said Eric, "I was just waiting on you."

Shemei leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "You're sweet, love. I appreciate it."

"No problem," said Eric, smiling, "What do you say we stop by the mess and grab something to take back to our room before calling it a night?"

"Sounds good," said Shemei, looping her arm through his, "I had an energy bar while I was out on patrol, but that's still no substitute for real food."

"I hear that," said Eric as the two of them made their way towards the exit.

"Speaking of real food," said Shemei, a gleam in her silver eyes, "how'd things go for Heero and Murrue's dinner?"

"Very well," he replied as they left the hangar, "I didn't eavesdrop, but when they came out of the lounge they both looked very happy. Asking your mother to do the cooking for them was brilliant, Shemei. She really gave it her all, and I know they liked it."

"That's great," said Shemei, grinning, "Mom was really excited when I told her about our little plan. I'm sure she enjoyed making the meal as much as Heero and Murrue did eating it. Speaking of the lovebirds, where are they now?"

"They spent about an hour in the officers' lounge," said Eric as they walked through the hallways towards the mess, "after that, I think they retired for the evening."

"I'll bet Murrue wanted to thank Heero for the date," said Shemei, a knowing look in her eyes, "in more ways than one."

Eric chuckled. "The way she was holding onto him when they walked out of the lounge, the way she was looking at him… no argument there, Shemei."

The two of them walked into the mess and proceeded to grab two packs of premade rice balls that had come from the _Kusanagi_, along with two bottles of water. Shemei stowed it all in her helmet, using it as an impromptu bowl.

"By the way," she said as they left the mess and headed towards their quarters, "Murrue's not the only one that wants to do a little 'thanking'."

"Huh?" said Eric, his eyes widening and a familiar heat rushing to his face as his girlfriend gave him a mischievous smile and a wink.

"Don't play coy, lover boy," she replied, "I think you've earned it for all you've done for us… for _me_."

Eric gave her a sheepish smile. "If I recall correctly, you did that quite… _thoroughly_… after the raid on the PLANTs. Both the night after the fight, and… well, every night since then."

"And you think I consider my obligation fulfilled? Far from it, dear," the Valkyrie whispered in his ear, her warm breath sending an electric tingle down the Wolf's spine, "Besides, I have more than that to thank you for. Supporting me during the duel, helping with this little plan of Heero's… I still have quite a debt to pay off."

"How does my helping with Heero and Murrue's date figure into this?" he asked, his face growing warmer with each passing second.

"Look at it this way," said Shemei as they walked, "mixing up the provisions was your idea, and because of that my mother got the chance to use her cooking skills to help two people she's becoming quite fond of, which I know made her very happy… and if my mother's happy, then so am I. After what they went through in Charon Prison, anything that can make her and my father happy is worthy of my gratitude… _especially _when _you're _the one that made it possible, my love."

Eric shook his head as they approached their room. "You're giving me way too much credit, Shemei."

"And you never give yourself enough," she replied, smirking, "I love your modesty, Eric… but I think you've more than earned the right to be proud of what you've done, what you've helped us accomplish."

"I'll take your word for it," said Eric.

"You'd better," said Shemei, smiling as the Wolf pressed a button on a nearby keypad, opening the door, "along with _everything else _I plan to give you. Of course… you're still going to have to put in some effort of your own."

Eric smirked. "Is that so?"

"Believe it, lover boy," said Shemei as she unhooked her arm from his and put it over his shoulder, with her hand coming to rest at the nape of his neck. She leaned close to his ear, and Eric could feel her warm breath on his ear as she whispered. "I'm hot-blooded… check it and see."

The Wolf chuckled as he brought his arm around his lover, his hand pressing against her shoulder blade, pulling her close. "Got a fever of a hundred and three?"

"Come on, baby," she replied softly, lowering her head and kissing his neck, "do you do more than dance…"

"You know I can," said Eric, grinning as he kissed her cheek.

"Hey," said Shemei, laughing as she pulled back to meet his gaze, "that's not how the next line goes."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eric replied, smirking as he played along, "I'm hot-blooded, hot-blooded…"

"Now that's more like it," Shemei purred, her hand moving towards the collar of his uniform, which she began to undo, "and you don't have to read my mind…"

"To know what you have in mind," he finished for her as he slowly began to pull down the zipper on her flight suit. At the same time, he pulled her towards the open doorway to their room.

They came together in a passionate kiss even as they continued to undress each other… and the door closed behind them.

….

Dearka stood outside the door to the counselor's office, checking the time on a small digital clock on a monitor beside the entrance. His appointment was scheduled to begin in a few minutes, and the former ZAFT pilot was having second thoughts about it.

_This isn't me_, he thought, _I'm not really the type that goes to see a shrink… or at least I thought I wasn't. This is important, though… and not something I can just discuss with anyone._

It had been three days since the duel, and the young man had asked Dr. Claudia for this appointment yesterday. The Orb officer had simply smiled and written him into her schedule for the next day, not asking why he'd wanted to talk to her. Dearka could've sworn he'd seen a knowing look in her eyes, but it had been for just a split second, and for all he knew he could've been imagining it. It was one of the reasons he usually tried to avoid people in her occupation; they had a way of working their way inside your head without you even realizing it, reading so much from the most subtle cues. It made the mobile suit pilot a little uneasy, but Dr. Claudia seemed like a nice enough woman. In the short time she'd been with the _Archangel_, she'd already gained a reputation among the crew as a truly caring and thoughtful woman, someone who did all she could to help people sort out their personal issues and doubts… and that was what Dearka needed right now.

_I can't just sit on this_, he thought, _not with all that's going on, the odds we're up against. I need to sort out these feelings… I've got to find out if I should act on them. That girl… I never thought I'd start caring so much about a Natural._

Taking a deep breath, the young man pressed a button on the keypad. "Dr. Claudia? It's Dearka."

The door opened, revealing the lovely therapist. Whatever his misgivings about people in her field, Dearka certainly couldn't deny that the doctor was an attractive woman.

She smiled as she greeted him. "You're right on time, Dearka. Please, come on in."

He nodded and followed her inside. She motioned for him to take the seat in front of her desk as the door closed behind him. As he did so he saw that her desk was strewn with folders and a few stray pieces of paper.

"Pardon the mess," said Dr. Claudia as she sat down across from him and began rearranging all the paperwork into a semblance of order, "I've been constantly updating my psychological profiles of the people on this ship, going through and making notes in the files Captain Ramius gave me, as well as compiling new ones for those not originally registered as part of the ship's crew. It's a full time job, and can get a bit hectic at times."

"Am I in there too?" he asked as she organized her desk.

"Not on paper," she replied, "since you weren't part of the original complement, I've had to make yours from scratch on the computer. Luckily for me, the _Eternal _was able to send over some data from the ZAFT personnel databases for me to work with." She gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry, Dearka. There's nothing personal in yours, just basic information. Date of birth, the colony you lived at prior to joining the service, immediate family… simple items, nothing private."

"Thanks," he replied.

"I hope this doesn't bother you," said Dr. Claudia, "but the truth of the matter is, I have been meaning to approach you to ask for a meeting. Your situation here is unique, and you did not originally arrive here under the best of circumstances. It hasn't affected your performance so far, or at least not to a degree that Captain Ramius has filed concern… but being on this ship, fighting in our cause, does put you under a different kind of stress than some of the others, doesn't it?"

Dearka sighed. It was as good as any place to start, and he could work his way from there to what was really bothering him. "I guess you could say that. If you have access to basic ZAFT records, then you know about my father, right?"

Dr. Claudia nodded. "Tad Elsman, serving as the representative for Februarius City on the PLANT Supreme Council. He was neutral with moderate leanings, but from what I understand he shifted his stance in the run-up to the elections in order to ride the rising tide of the radical faction."

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Dad's a good guy, and he really cares about Februarius City… but he can be opportunistic when it comes to politics."

"And now you are fighting against him," said Dr. Claudia, her tone sympathetic, "it must be hard on you. By now ZAFT must be aware that you have joined our cause, and that could have repercussions for your family. Are you afraid for them?"

"A little," he replied, "but I think they're safe. Dad's still aligned with Zala, and Mom just works in the Februarius City Prosecutor's Office as one of the mid-level managers for the paralegals on staff. They're both Coordinators, so I don't think the radicals will go after them like they did the Valkyrie's parents." He sighed. "Of course, there's always the chance that I'm wrong. It's impossible to be certain."

"All too true," said Dr. Claudia softly, "for what it's worth, Dearka, I pray that they'll whether this storm." She smiled as she continued. "Also, I think that they'd be proud if they knew the stance you've taken by joining with us. You've shown a great deal of courage, especially since you had the chance to return to the PLANTs. You stayed with us to fight for a future where Coordinators and Naturals can live together in peace and friendship, and I believe that's a dream your parents would think worth fighting for. Though I'm sure Zala has forced your father to disavow you in public, in private I'm sure his heart goes with you, as does your mother's."

Dearka nodded, the woman's words easing his concerns somewhat. "Thanks, doc."

"You're quite welcome, Dearka," she replied, "that being said, your family's situation is not the only thing that makes your situation here difficult. After all, you were once part of the mobile suit team that hounded this ship since the attack on Heliopolis. Going from that to being a prisoner on this ship, and then to piloting for it, could not have been a seamless transition."

"It's odd, I'll grant you that," said Dearka, "I think I'm still adjusting to that idea a bit, even after all the time that's gone by since the battle back in Orb. Still, it's not that bad. The crew's been good to me, at least. I don't think there's any bad blood hanging around from the days I was attacking this ship."

"True," said Dr. Claudia, "Captain Ramius and her crew are very accepting people. They aren't bound by the hatred and prejudices of the PLANT radicals or Alliance Blue Cosmos and affiliates, which is why they were able to break away at Alaska and begin fighting against both superpowers. Still… I heard there was an incident during your early days on the ship."

Dearka nodded. "I'm sure you know all the details, doc."

"Captain Ramius did forward me a report on it," she said, nodding, "you were attacked in the medical bay… by Miriallia Haw."

Dearka closed his eyes for a moment, the incident in the infirmary playing out in his head. "I was… but it wasn't her. Not really."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"When that happened," he said, "it was the day after she lost her boyfriend in the battle with my team in the Marshall Islands. Her grief was still very fresh, and I didn't make things any better. In fact, I actually said something pretty stupid which set her off."

"What was it?" asked Dr. Claudia.

"When I saw her come in," he said, "I saw she was all depressed. I didn't know why, and as I was a prisoner at the time I wasn't exactly in a polite mood, even though the crew had treated me well; hell, I was there because they were examining me for injuries, something I don't think Alliance soldiers on other ships would care about when it comes to Coordinators. Anyway, I made some sarcastic remark about her boyfriend dying…"

"Not realizing that you had just struck a very raw nerve," Dr. Claudia finished for him, "A very callous mistake on your part."

Dearka nodded. He certainly wasn't going to argue her on that. "When I said that, I could instantly tell I'd made the wrong move. She freaked out and came at me with a scalpel. Heero stopped her, but it was a close thing. I was scared; I'd never seen a girl that furious before. But… there was more than that. When I looked into her eyes as Heero pulled her back, I could see the rage… but also her pain and sadness. Her grief had taken over her, and that's why she came at me."

Dr Claudia gave him a small smile. "So in your opinion, it wasn't really Miriallia that attacked you because of the intense sorrow she was feeling at the time. Her emotions were raw, and what you had said set them off. Under other circumstances though, you don't believe she would've attacked you. Does that sound about right?"

Dearka couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. You know, you're really good at this, doc."

"Well, it is my job," she replied, "I think you took a very understanding approach to Miriallia's reaction, Dearka. Some people might not be as forgiving of her as you are."

"She deserved it," said Dearka, "and she more than made up for coming at me like that."

"You're referring to when Flay Allster pointed a gun at you," said Dr. Claudia, "Miriallia threw herself between you and her."

"Yes," said Dearka, "and that's when I saw the _real _Miriallia. She was willing to _die _just to keep that girl from killing me, someone that had been shooting at them only the day before. I'd never seen a girl make a stand like that. I mean, I've met female soldiers in ZAFT, and I know they're brave, but…"

"It's different when it's a girl that only moments ago attacked you is suddenly putting her life on the line to save you," Dr. Claudia finished for him, smiling.

Dearka nodded. "Yeah…"

"She's why you came back, isn't she?" the counselor asked, "You could've gone to Oceania, and from there returned to ZAFT. It wouldn't have been hard; the Carpentaria base is not far from Orb. You didn't, though. You stayed in Orb, and even fought to ward off the Atlantic Federation's invasion… and it was for Miriallia, wasn't it?"

Now they were getting at what really had caused Dearka to make this appointment. "That's right. After that incident in the infirmary, Miriallia actually started coming down to my cell in the brig. The first time it was just to apologize, but she started bringing me meals shortly after that… and just to talk. During the time between the fight in the Marshall Islands and the invasion of Orb… we became friends. I was amazed at how caring of a person she was, and how strong she was too. She was determined to stay on the _Archangel _and protect her homeland. When I saw that… I couldn't just walk away."

"That's something we're all grateful for," said Dr. Claudia, "You're piloting the Buster for us is a great contribution to our cause. More than that though, it shows that you have a strong heart, one that's unwilling to stand aside and watch as this cruel war consumes the Earth Sphere and the people you care for."

"To be honest," said Dearka, "I didn't really start thinking about the larger picture until after the first part of the battle in Orb. When I joined the _Archangel _in the Buster… all I was thinking about was protecting Miriallia."

Dr. Claudia smiled. "You truly did value the friendship you and her had forged in the time since the Marshall Islands… or was there something more to it?"

It may have been phrased as a question, but from the look in the woman's dark blue eyes Dearka knew that she had already come to her conclusion… and it was right on the money.

He sighed and gave her a wry smile. "I guess there's no point in denying it now, eh doc?"

The counselor shook her head. "I'd say it would be counterproductive… especially when I believe it's what _really _brought you here. Dearka… you're in love with Miriallia."

He nodded. "I couldn't help it, really. Her making that stand in the infirmary, putting herself between me and that girl with the gun… well, it made an impression."

"I don't doubt that," Dr. Claudia replied, "but I also don't think that was the only factor in your attraction to her, was it?"

Dearka shook his head. "No, it wasn't. During our conversations down in the brig, I got to know her as a person. She's kind, smart, thoughtful for others, strong in her beliefs, dedicated to her friends… and pretty cute too."

"That last one would be obvious at first glance," said Dr. Claudia, smiling, "and I'm sure she'd be glad to know you've taken notice." As Dearka's eyes widened, Dr. Claudia laughed. "Don't worry, Dearka; I won't tell her. What's said in here stays between us, unless I feel it affects your duties to the point that I need to inform Captain Ramius, and I do not think that is the case here. Quite the opposite, in fact; your affection for Miriallia only increases your determination to protect the _Archangel_, and I can't see the Captain finding fault with that."

Dearka sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

"I can imagine," said Dr. Claudia, "Well, from what you've told me it's clear that you've liked Miriallia romantically for quite some time now… and you have not acted upon those feelings beyond joining up with the _Archangel_."

Dearka shook his head. "No. I mean, I try to make time every day to talk to her when we're both off duty, and we usually grab at least one meal together. I think she likes that; she seems to be ok with it, anyway. She actually asked me about my parents after the first day of fighting in Orb… she was genuinely worried about them."

"About them," asked Dr. Claudia, "or about you?"

Dearka thought back to that conversation. "Maybe… maybe it was both. My parents… and how my joining the _Archangel _could affect them."

"It would not surprise me if it was both," said Dr. Claudia, "you mentioned yourself how Miriallia was thoughtful and dedicated to her friends, and by that point I think she considered you one."

"You're probably right, doc," said Dearka, "I just… now, after all the time that's gone by, after how I've gotten to know her… I know that I want to be _more _than friends with her now. But… it's complicated."

"How so?" asked Dr. Claudia, "You like her, and she's been friendly enough towards you that there's the possibility of reciprocation. What's stopping you, Dearka?"

Dearka looked down and sighed. "It's… her dead boyfriend, doc. I mean, it's true he died months ago, but I'm still sure she thinks about him. I've got no problem with that, really. However…"

"You're worried about timing, aren't you?" she asked, "Is it too soon to ask her for more than she's already given you, especially since she's been healing from the tragedy in the Marshall Islands… is that about right?"

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, it is. She seems a lot better than she did back then, but… how do I know if she's really moved on? More importantly… what if telling her how I feel ends up hurting her because it's too soon?"

"That is the crux of the issue, isn't it?" said Dr. Claudia, "You've clearly been putting a lot of thought into this." She smiled again. "The fact that you've been giving it such consideration really shows how much you care for Miriallia, Dearka."

"Well yeah," he replied, "I mean, I'd be a real jerk if I didn't think about her feelings in all this. Doc, I need to know… should I do this? Has enough time gone by, will I dredge up old feelings from the battle in the Marshall Islands… am I _right _to be in love with her?"

"I think you are," said the counselor, "from what you've told me, I know that this is far more than a simple physical attraction on your part. You're drawn to her, Dearka… _all _of her."

"But that doesn't matter if telling her how I feel ends up hurting her," said Dearka.

"What makes you so sure that it will do that?" asked Dr. Claudia, "Dearka, I'm glad to see that you've given Miriallia's feelings regarding the death of Tolle such thought, but I think you are neglecting something just as important."

"What's that?" asked Dearka.

"How her feelings regarding _you _may have grown," she replied, "The two of you _have _become close since she lost Tolle. You've already admitted to your own attraction. Have you considered the possibility that, as I stated earlier, Miriallia's feelings may have grown to the point that she shares that attraction?"

"It… it's hard to say," said Dearka, "I mean, sure, we've been spending time together talking and all, but she spends time with her other friends too."

"True enough," said Dr. Claudia, "but let me ask you this. When she spends time with _you_, are her other friends around?"

Dearka thought for a moment, and his eyes widened as he came to a realization. "No… they're usually not. I mean, I've met them, and have shared a couple meals with them, but when I'm with Miriallia… it's usually _just _us."

"And has that been something you've been deliberately trying to set up?" asked Dr. Claudia.

Dearka shook his head. "No. I just… meet with her when I can."

"Which seems to be every day now," said Dr. Claudia, smiling, "and consider this, Dearka; Miriallia and her friends from Heliopolis all get off their shifts at the same time. Since they all share off hours, normally it would be expected that when you grab your meals with her, or try to spend time with her in general, more often than not they'd be there as well. However, that hasn't been the case."

"What are you getting at, doc?" he asked.

"Whether she's aware of it or not," the doctor replied, "Miriallia's been making an effort to spend more time with you… _just _you, Dearka. Now, what do you suppose that might imply?"

Her tone indicated that she already knew the answer to her own question, and after a moment Dearka grasped it as well. His eyes widened in comprehension. "Doc… you really think…"

"That she likes you too?" the counselor finished for him, "I think the possibility exists, and that it is greater than you realize."

This wasn't what Dearka had been expecting to hear going into this appointment. While it was certainly a welcome surprise, it still took a moment for him to process it. Eventually he was able to speak again. "So… what should I do?"

"Well," she replied, "what I'm telling you here is strictly conjecture; there's no certainty when it comes to this sort of thing. The way I see it, two paths are before you if you wish to pursue this."

"What are they?" he asked.

"For the first," said Dr. Claudia, "you could simply tell her how you feel the next time you see her."

"Just like that?" said Dearka, nervous at the prospect, "No prep work or anything like that?"

"The blunt and bold approach is always an option," she replied, smiling "and in wartime, it happens more often than you might think. Emotions run high, and our feelings evolve faster than they would in peacetime. After all, one never knows if the next day may be their last. You and Miriallia are both young; people your age _should _act on their feelings in times like these."

"However," she continued, "at present we seemed to have gained a lull in the fighting, at least on our front. I can't say for certain how long it will last, but it does give you the luxury of another approach to this matter."

"And what's that?" asked Dearka.

"To take a little more time," said Dr. Claudia, "and observe her. When you and Miriallia have your meals together or however you spend your time together, pay attention to how she acts with you, how she responds to your words and actions. Of course, don't openly stare at her while doing it; you'll just make her nervous. Do it discreetly over the next few days. Look for signs."

"What kind of signs?" asked Dearka.

"Oh, small things," the counselor continued, "the look in her eye when she smiles at you, the way she carries herself when it's just the two of you, does she move a little closer to you when no one else is around... those sorts of things. Also, be mindful of _yourself_, Dearka. When we're with someone we care about, we tend to act a little differently both on a conscious _and _an unconscious level. Do _you _move a little closer to her when it's just you two, do you _feel _different when you smile at her when there's no one else around… the same signs you may see in her may also be reflected in you. Keep an eye out for those… and make a move when you feel ready."

Dearka sighed. "You make it sound easy, doc. I'm not the best when it comes to that sort of thing. And 'make a move when I feel ready'… not really sure how I'll know if I'm ready."

Dr. Claudia smiled. "You will, Dearka. Your heart will tell you. It won't be easy. In fact… by that point you might be more scared than you ever have in your life. Still, have faith in yourself. You're a good man, Dearka. You're brave, intelligent, and kind at heart. Recognize that, believe in yourself… and believe in Miriallia."

Dearka nodded, smiling as well. It didn't change the fact that he was venturing into unknown territory, that he would be going out on a limb… but it was what he needed to hear.

He stood up. "Thanks, doc. That helped a lot."

"You're welcome, Dearka," she replied, nodding at him, "and good luck."

….

As the door to her office shut, Dr. Claudia leaned back in her chair and smiled. She'd had to walk a fine line with Dearka during the appointment considering her own knowledge of Miriallia's feelings.

_I have an oath of confidentiality that I am sworn to uphold_, she thought as she looked at the ceiling, _other than the Captain, I can tell no one what is discussed between me and my patients._

In her eyes, she had upheld that oath. In her conversation with Dearka, she had provided hints that Miriallia did indeed return his affection, but she had been careful about it, and had not given the young man any indication that the girl he had fallen for had discussed her own growing attraction to him with her.

"It's not every day I get to play Cupid," she said to herself, "and on a warship to boot… my, what strange times I find myself in."

Leaning forward in her chair, she powered up the computer monitor and brought up the file she'd been building on the young man she'd just spoken with. She then made a slight adjustment to it, altering a note she had made on him prior to the meeting.

On the screen, the phrase 'possible romantic inclinations towards Miriallia Haw' became 'confirmed romantic feelings for Miriallia Haw'.

"Ah," she said, "I love my job."

….

_It feels like ages_, thought Cagalli as she stared out the viewport of the _Kusanagi's _officer's lounge, _but it's only been two weeks. Two weeks since Orb fell…_

_ Two weeks since my father died…_

She'd had so little time to mourn over that time period, so little time to even think about what had happened during that last day in Orb. Cagalli'd had only moments to grieve when the core block of the _Kusanagi _had made orbit before receiving the broadcast from the _Eternal_. From that moment onward the ship had been in a constant flurry of activity, and Cagalli had been swept up in it all. There had been the fight to save the _Eternal_, the meeting on the ship shortly afterwards, the prep for the raid on the PLANTs, the attack itself, the journey to Mendel and the duel between Heero and Shemei, the conference the day after that…

_So much has happened_, she thought, _and in all that… I almost forgot that my _father _had died! It's inexcusable… I'm a terrible daughter._

Part of her mind was quick to remind her that it wasn't like that. She hadn't forgotten her father, not by a long shot, and the work she had been doing since that day was _very _important. Not only had she flown in combat, but she'd been doing all she could to help the Three Ships Alliance. After the conference on the _Eternal _she'd had several private meeting and calls with Lacus, and the two girls had been focusing on finding ways to establish contact between the moderate faction in the PLANTs and the two surviving Orb colonies at L3. They'd also helped Waltfeld and Bristow iron out all the little wrinkles in their plan for a stable and covert supply line, come up with ideas to aid the political opposition to the radicals in the PLANTs… all work that she knew her father would find quite valuable, and would have been pleased to see her taking part in.

Now though, after two weeks of near constant activity… she finally had a little time to herself. She wasn't in a meeting, she wasn't in video conference with Lacus, she wasn't doing simulation practice with Erica's test pilots, she wasn't taking counsel from Kisaka on tactics and strategy… she wasn't doing anything important. Orb's tomboy princess had found herself alone in the officers' lounge… and the grief all the activity of the past two weeks had suppressed was beginning to come to the forefront. There had been a few times where she had cried for him at night, but with all that had been going on, more often than not Cagalli had been too tired to do even that much, falling asleep the instant her head hit the pillow. Now though, she was wide awake, with nothing to occupy her.

Nothing but her despair.

_I miss you, father_, she thought, _god, I'd give anything to have you here with me. _You're _the one who should be leading Orb right now, not me. All I ever did was argue with you, defy you. I never paid attention to what you were trying to teach me. Now here I am, trying to rule a government in-exile… and not even from our last remaining territory, our last two colonies. I'm doing it from a warship because I still can't sit back, stay away from the fighting… because I still haven't embraced the patience that you and Kisaka tried to hammer into my head. Now the people on the Kusanagi look to me for leadership, and the people on the Archangel and Eternal see me as the face of Orb, it's representative in this fight, but I don't know the first thing about playing that role._

"I'm not ready," she said softly, clenching her fists as she looked down at the floor, "I'm not ready for this…"

Now more than ever was she aware of just how much her personality conflicted with the leadership role that she had been thrust into. She was stubborn, rebellious, fiery, and impatient. While Cagalli passionately cared for her people and wanted what was best for them, she struggled to find a way to do that as the daughter of their late ruler. When she was flying in combat, helping her friends and taking the battle to the enemy, she felt in control and focused, that she was making a difference. However, when it came to sitting down at a table, whether it be in conference with others or at a desk with nothing but files and papers before her, and hammering out work from a chair, she struggled.

_I can work with the others at the conferences and meetings_, she thought, _I understand their importance and that of my contribution. We're all on the same side, and I want to do all I can to help everyone. Still… I struggle with diplomacy._

It wasn't that she was impolite or tactless. Cagalli had great respect for the people in the Three Ships Alliance, and considered many of them to be her friends. She took care to treat them as she would want them to treat her; with courtesy and compassion. Where she struggled when it came to diplomacy though was reconciling her passionate heart, her fierce desire to tackle a problem head-on, with the need for a more nuanced approach. This was especially true in their current situation. As the meeting earlier in the week on the _Eternal _had demonstrated, bringing the war to an end that did not involve mutual annihilation was far from a simple matter. They couldn't fly off and engage Alliance and ZAFT forces at the spur of the moment. Patience and the ability to see all aspects of the greater picture and react accordingly would be vital to success, and those were areas Cagalli knew she had much to learn in.

Areas her father had tried to educate her in.

And she had completely disregarded him.

"I was so stupid," she said, tears welling up in her eyes, "I was such a _bitch_. Father, I knew you were trying to prepare me for the day I would lead our people… and I shoved you aside. I'm our nation's princess, and I acted like a _brat_! I couldn't see until it was _far _too late what you were trying to do for our country… I defied and fought you for so long… and all you wanted was to _help _me. I'm sorry… I'm so _sorry_… I never deserved to be your daughter."

"You know he'd never think that," said a familiar voice from behind her.

Cagalli jumped. Whirling around, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes, she saw Athrun Zala standing in the doorway to the officers' lounge, wearing his crimson flight suit.

"Athrun…" she said softly, "When… when did you get back?"

"A couple minutes ago," he replied as he walked up to her, "I called Kisaka, and he said you were in here." As he approached, Cagalli could see the concern in his eyes. "He told me you could use some company… are you alright?"

She shook her head. She wouldn't lie to him; she was far too fond of him to do that. Ever since their fateful meeting on that island in the Indian Ocean so many months ago, her feelings for the young man before her had continued to grow. At first Cagalli had thought it to be just her gratitude towards him hanging around in her heart; after all, Athrun had treated her well when they had first met, even though they had been enemies. Their initial meeting may have been confrontational, but once she was his prisoner he had looked after her, and had even saved her from a snake when she had accidently shot him. It had left an impression on her, and she had actually been a bit sorry to part with him the following morning.

Their next meeting had been under less than ideal circumstances. She could recall quite well the surprise and fear she had felt when she had found him lying on that beach in the Marshall Islands, wounded and surrounded with debris from the Aegis and the Strike. Cagalli could also remember with perfect clarity the shock, sorrow, and rage she had felt when he had admitted to killing Kira. After all she had been through with the boy from Heliopolis, to hear that he was dead had torn her heart in a way she'd never felt before. She hadn't loved Kira, not romantically, but she cared deeply for him… like a sister would a brother.

_Of course_, she thought, _at the time, I didn't know that we actually _were _brother and sister._

Despite her anger and grief though, she couldn't bring herself to hate Athrun. Her heart just couldn't do it, and she knew that Kira would not have wanted her to do it. Even in the midst of the emotional turmoil in her heart, she knew that Athrun was still a good guy, and she did not want him to suffer the same fate as Kira. That was why she had given him the Haumea Talisman, and it was why she had found herself praying for his safety long after he had returned to ZAFT. Even after what had happened, what he had supposedly done to Kira… she'd missed him.

_I didn't know why at the time_, she thought, _it was only when he came back to Orb, when he helped us fight off the Alliance forces, when I saw him again in the Archangel's hangar… that was when I knew._

_ I liked him._

Her feelings had only grown stronger for the former ZAFT pilot since that day. Sure, the young man could be a little on the quiet side, and he was clearly struggling with his sense of identity, his role in life, but Cagalli could easily forgive him for that. He was kind and thoughtful, strong and courageous, intelligent and determined… and quite handsome to boot. The young man had shown great concern for her ever since leaving Orb, and had proved to be a very attentive listener during their conversations, offering insights that had surprised Cagalli with their depth and maturity. Part of that, she knew, had come from the loss of his mother in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. It had forced him to grow up faster, especially as his father became more and more distant as he threw himself into leading ZAFT against the Alliance forces.

They were both the children of powerful people, and Cagalli could draw a sense of comfort and solidarity with him from that. They both knew what it was like to live in the shadows of their fathers, even if the men in question had very different outlooks on life. They also shared a sense of defiance towards their fathers, though Cagalli knew Athrun's rebellion against Patrick Zala was of a very different nature than hers against the late Chief Representative. Cagalli had merely disagreed with her father when it came to ideals, and had clashed with him in large part because of their different personalities; Athrun, by contrast, had actually taken up arms against his father to prevent him from slaughtering billions.

_In a way_, she thought as she looked at Athrun_, his burdens are as great as mine. He lost his mother, he lost one of his friends at Kira's hands, he thought he _killed _Kira in the Marshall Islands, he turned against his father and _joined _Kira during the fighting in Orb… he's endured as much turmoil and tragedy as I have, if not more, but it hasn't broken him. He's still standing, still fighting, and even in the midst of everything he's gone through he still tries to help me. He cares for me… and I for him._

_ I… I love him._

"No…" she said, answering his question, "no, I'm really not. All that's happening, all we need to do, what we're trying to achieve… I don't know if I can do this, Athrun."

"You can," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Cagalli, everyone in our group knows that you're doing your best to lead your people. They know that you care deeply not just for Orb, but for all of us, and they've all got your back. The _Kusanagi _may be the symbol of Orb's government-in-exile, but you're its heart. Everyone recognizes that, and they know you won't let them down."

Cagalli shook her head. "Athrun… what if they're wrong? In all the time I spent as Orb's 'princess', my father and the people around him tried to show me what it meant to lead a nation… and I didn't listen to them! I ran off! First to Heliopolis, then North Africa… all because I couldn't sit still, because I wasn't patient, because I was so eager to fight and see the world for myself! I was impetuous, hot-headed, stubborn… I was so obsessed with trying to do what I thought was right in the short-term that I completely ignored the lessons my father was trying to teach me! Now here I am, the leader of my people, and I have to guide them through the darkest hour of our nation's history. That's not something I learned to do during my time away fighting in North Africa and on board the _Archangel_. My father could've taught me… he _tried _to teach me, but I didn't see any value in it until it was too late! Now he's gone, and _he's _the one that should be representing Orb in this fight, not me! Athrun, I can't do this!"

"Yes, you _can_!" said Athrun, grabbing her by both shoulders, "I know the task before us is daunting, especially for you, but you can't give up on yourself. Cagalli, you're one of the bravest, strongest, kindest, and smartest girls I've ever met! Everyone knows just how devoted you are for your people, and that's exactly why you can lead them through this. Sure, you may have disagreed with you father and his ideas, but that doesn't disqualify you for this. You know your nation's ideals by heart and are fully committed to them. You _embody _Orb, Cagalli!"

"Athrun…" she said softly. This sort of impassioned argument was not something she had expected from him.

"Cagalli," he continued, "you may not have embraced what Lord Uzumi was trying to teach you, but I don't think you disregarded it as completely as you believe. I've seen you in the meetings we've had with the others, and you've represented both Orb and the _Kusanagi _superbly. You stand up for Orb's principles and get into debate, but at the same time you listen to and acknowledge the points of others. You make your contributions, but you also heed the knowledge and advice of the others, including your countrymen. Cagalli, you're not alone. I know both Miss Simmons and Colonel Kisaka are always ready to give you counsel, to let you borrow from their experience and wisdom, and I also know that you've been _doing _that."

He smiled at her. "Maybe you didn't pay as much attention to your father as you should have. Maybe you're not the leader he was. That's ok, Cagalli. You're doing your best now to guide your people, to provide them with strength and inspiration. You may not have the experience or patience of Lord Uzumi, but that doesn't make you unfit to lead Orb. Besides, you're only sixteen; you still have plenty of growing room, and I know that if you put your mind to it you can become as great a ruler as your father."

"You… you really think so?" she asked, stunned by his praise.

Athrun nodded. "Absolutely. Cagalli, I know your father's gonna be a tough act to follow… but you _can _do it, and you don't have to _be _him. You're your own person, Cagalli. You're _you_. Everyone recognizes that, and they want you to lead as _you _would. Your father was a great ruler, and I'm sure there's plenty that you could take from his example… but don't try to be _him_. Take the counsel of Simmons and Kisaka, learn from what they know and what they saw your father do in the past, apply it to the situation if you can… but make your decisions based on _your _principles, _your _thoughts and feelings. Don't try to live up to your father; I spent far too much time trying to do that, and all it brought me was misery. Be the kind of leader that _you _can be. Be _you_, Cagalli."

Cagalli gave him a bittersweet smile. "You make it sound so easy, Athrun."

"Sorry," he said, "I… I'm not trying to make light of it."

"Hey," she replied, "you don't need to apologize. I know you're trying to help me, and I appreciate it. Really…"

Athrun smiled. "Cagalli… no matter what happens, know that we're all with you. _I'm _with you. I won't let you face this alone."

"Athrun…" she said, her eyes meeting his, "thank you."

"No problem," he said, "I know this won't be easy. What you went through, losing your father, being pushed into his position… I know that's a ton of pressure. Still, don't doubt yourself, Cagalli. There's a reason your father wanted you to lead Orb when he was gone; he knew you could do it. He believed in you, Cagalli… just like I do."

Cagalli looked down, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "I know, I just… I miss him, Athrun. All this time's already gone by since he died, and yet… this is the first chance I've really gotten to mourn him, to let his loss sink in. I may have disagreed with him, but I loved him. Knowing that I'm not his biological daughter… it doesn't change that a bit. Still, the way I acted towards him, how I fought with him… I don't know if he knew…"

"He knew," said Athrun, causing her to look up at him again, "Cagalli, I may not have known your father very well… but I'm sure he knew you loved him. Your relationship may not always have been stable, but I know you loved him, and I'm sure he saw that. That's why he was willing to stay behind, to destroy the mass driver himself and make sure the Alliance couldn't follow us into outer space. It was his last act to protect the daughter he cared so much for, and he knew you would make him proud going forward."

Lord Uzumi's last words to her flashed through her mind.

"_I feel honored to have been your father."_

"Father…" she sniffed, no longer able to keep her tears from falling, "I… I…"

Without saying a word, Athrun took her in his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder, softly sobbing as the former ZAFT pilot held her close. Cagalli returned the embrace, holding onto him in a death grip as she let out the grief that wracked her heart.

After about a minute she managed to regain some semblance of her composure. She raised her head and looked up at Athrun. "I'm sorry," she said, "I shouldn't…"

Athrun shook his head. "No, you _should_. It's alright to grieve, Cagalli. Believe me, you're not the only one amongst us who's done it before... especially for a parent."

"Your mother…" she said softly, "Athrun… how did you deal with losing her?"

"Mom?" he said, his eyes widening slightly.

Cagalli shook her head. "No… I shouldn't have asked you that. It's too personal… I…"

"It's ok," said Athrun, "I just didn't expect you to ask me that."

"You don't have to answer…" she said softly.

"I don't mind," he replied, "I mean, I already told you about what happened to her." He closed his eyes a moment before he continued. "I know father threw himself into his work, into the war… he let his distrust of Naturals turn to hatred, and it consumed him. His grief may have been strong, but his rage burned it aside and took its place."

"But you didn't walk that path," said Cagalli, "otherwise you wouldn't be here with us. So… how did you cope?"

"Well," he said, "I couldn't exactly turn to father. Even when he was around, he wasn't the type you could turn to for a friendly shoulder to cry on. In our household, before I joined ZAFT, I was alone with my grief. I spent so much time lying in my room, looking up at the ceiling… wondering why. I thought I'd waste away in there."

"What brought you out?" asked Cagalli.

"Lacus," Athrun replied, "we'd been friends for years before the attack, and she knew both my mother and my father. For the first couple days she left me alone, out of respect for my loss. Eventually though, she came over. Father was out at work, and so was her dad… it was just us."

"And… what did you do?" asked Cagalli, getting a little nervous. With all that had happened, it was easy to forget that Athrun had not so long ago been engaged to the pink-haired songstress.

Athrun smiled, though whether the action was to alleviate her suspicions or if he was unaware of them and was simply trying to cheer her up, she didn't know. "We went to the living room and talked. She started by giving me her condolences before reminiscing about my mother. I didn't say much at first… and eventually broke down in tears. It was the first time I'd really cried since the attack."

"What happened then?" asked Cagalli, her heart beating just a bit faster, and she hoped her worry wasn't seeping into her voice.

"She hugged me," he said, "and just let me… well, let it out. It was the shoulder to cry on that my father would never have given me… the kind my mother _would have_, if she were still alive. In that moment, Lacus reminded me so much of my mother, willing to comfort me when I felt I didn't have anyone else to turn to. She told me that my mother wouldn't want me to lose all hope, to isolate myself the way I had. Lacus said that my mother would've wanted me to move forward, and to try to make a difference, to help people avoid the pain I was feeling then. Her words… _moved me_, and were part of why I decided to join ZAFT. Its times like those that made me glad that she was my friend."

"Just friends?" asked Cagalli, "What about… well…"

"The arranged marriage?" Athrun finished for her. She nodded slowly, and Athrun shook his head. "Honestly, I don't think either of us was very thrilled by the idea. Yeah, we cared about each other, but it was as friends. It wasn't a love match, no matter how much we may have tried to pretend to the outside world that it was." He smiled at her. "I'm glad the whole thing's been called off… and I'm pretty sure she is too."

Cagalli smiled as well, though hers was born from relief. "You two shouldn't have been forced into that situation. Not if your hearts weren't in it."

"I agree," said Athrun, "but at the same time, we knew the symbolism behind the arrangement would be good for the morale of the people. I know Lacus saw it as her duty to give people hope in these trying times, and as a soldier I felt I was obligated to go along with it. It would give them something happy to focus on, to take their minds off the war, if only for a little while."

"Happy for them," she replied softly, raising her hand to Athrun's cheek, "but not for you…"

With her gesture, Cagalli suddenly realized that she had altered the atmosphere around them. Before, this had simply been Athrun comforting her, helping her deal with both her suppressed grief and her anxieties regarding her leadership position. Now though, with such a small act, Cagalli knew that she'd shifted the dynamic of their conversation… and she didn't know where it would take them.

She could see Athrun's demeanor shift ever so slightly, and she knew that he had felt it as well. His eyes had widened briefly in surprise… before he moved just a little bit closer to Cagalli.

"No," he said, his voice becoming hushed, "it wouldn't have been… not for either of us. I'd already suspected that for awhile, but when I met you… well, I think that really made it sink in."

"Athrun…" said Cagalli, her heartbeat ticking up a notch as the heat rushed to her face.

"I know we didn't exactly meet under the best circumstances," said Athrun, "but… well, you really left an impression on me. You were fiery, stubborn, tomboyish… the polar opposite of Lacus. Not exactly how I would've imagined Orb's princess to be."

"Don't call me that," she said, looking down in embarrassment, "I never _wanted _to be that…"

"I can tell," he replied, giving a small laugh, "and I think that's a good thing. The tomboy-attitude… well, I think it's the real you... and I like it."

"Really?" said Cagalli, her eyes widening, the heat rushing to her face becoming more pronounced, "I… thanks." A thought occurred to her, a suspicion that threatened to kill what she was feeling in her heart, but one she had to voice. "Was it because… well… that Lacus wasn't like that?"

Athrun shook his head. "No. The contrast between you and Lacus was striking, sure, but… that's not why I like that part of you, Cagalli."

_That 'part' of me_, she thought, _or just 'me'? Which is it?_

"Cagalli," he said, "you're… an amazing girl. You're one of the most passionate women I've ever seen. I know you think that it makes you unfit to lead your people, but I disagree. You have an incredible strength, Cagalli, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to help people. You don't sit back and wait; you jump right into a situation. Yes, you're headstrong, a bit impulsive… but you follow your heart. When I saw your strength when we first met… and when you recovered me in the Marshall Islands… I found myself wishing I had it."

"What?" asked Cagalli, "Athrun, you _do_! You've taken a stand against your father; you're _waging war _against him! If that's not strength, I don't know _what _is!"

"Maybe," he replied, "but I struggled to get to that point, to find that strength. I know I can be indecisive, trying to figure out who I should be… but you aren't like that, Cagalli. From the day we met, I could tell that you _knew _who you were, who you _are_… and I'm glad you're that way."

"I… _like you _that way."

Cagalli gasped, unable to suppress her surprise. She realized that her face was slowly moving closer to Athrun's… and his was doing the same to hers.

_What am I doing?_, she thought, the butterflies in her stomach now fluttering about in a tumultuous storm, _I know I like him… _love him_, even, but… am I ready for this?_

The doubts she'd been having before about her leadership abilities were now replaced by fears regarding the possible repercussions of what she was on the verge of doing. Chief amongst them was what it might mean for their friendship, the bond that already existed between them that she deeply valued. Would doing _this_ change that for the better… or the worse? What about Athrun's feelings? She'd heard the emphasis he'd put on the words 'like you', but was she reading too much into them? Behind that doubt was the fear that she might be putting herself ahead of her people. She knew that they were enduring hard times… and here she was, daring to seize a bit of happiness for herself.

And yet…

…she couldn't stop.

_If this is a dream_, she thought, mere millimeters of space separating her lips from Athrun's, _please, don't wake me…_

She closed her eyes, preparing for her lips to meet his, guided by the sound and warmth of his breathing. She could feel Athrun tighten the embrace as he pulled her in, closing the last remaining distance between them. Casting her doubts aside, Cagalli threw her arms over Athrun's head, grabbing him by the back of his neck…

… and they kissed.

There was no hesitancy as their lips met. Whether grief had lowered her inhibitions or her attraction had simply overpowered them, Cagalli did not know… nor did she care. Here she was, sharing her first kiss with the boy she had fallen in love with, with him returning her affection… and that was all that mattered.

The two of them held each other, savoring the moment, the feeling of each other's lips. There was no attempt to go further, no tongue involved, and that was fine with Cagalli. This gentle yet firm, prolonged kiss was more than enough for her.

Eventually they parted, though they still held each other. Cagalli gave Athrun a meek smile, and she was pleased to see him return the gesture. Both their faces were beet red, and Orb's tomboy princess wondered if Athrun was as surprised by what had just happened as she was.

Athrun was the first to speak… or try to, anyway. "Well," he said, "I…I mean…"

Cagalli was in the same camp; coming up with coherent sentences was proving to be difficult. "Yeah…I… that was…"

The two of them continued to struggle like that for a little bit, and Cagalli's fears were swiftly returning. Had it been a mistake? Had they gone too far?

Then she felt herself being slowly pulled back in by Athrun. Meeting his gaze, Cagalli was surprised to find that the young man who had just a little while ago described himself as indecisive was initiating the next move. If he felt any reservations, she could detect no sign of them in his eyes. What she did see… was _affection_.

And she _knew_.

He _loved _her.

And she loved _him_.

Cagalli smiled again, her confidence returning to her. "Oh, fuck it," she said.

She saw Athrun's eyes widen for a moment at her words before she closed what little distance remained between them and kissed him again. This time she allowed her mouth to open, and it only took a second for Athrun accept her invitation. Whatever grief or fear Cagalli had felt before burned to ashes and scattered on the winds as she lost herself in the passionate kiss.

….

Lacus smiled as she walked into the _Eternal_'s hangar, her heartbeat increasing slightly as her eyes swiftly focused on the reason why she had come down there. The Freedom had just come back from patrol, and as luck would have it the songstress found herself with some precious free time… and she wanted to spend it with a certain young man that she had become increasingly fond of.

_I'm glad he's alright_, she thought as she saw Kira standing on the maintenance causeway as the Freedom's hatch closed, _I mean, I know it was just a routine patrol flight, and his mobile suit's well protected from the hazards of the debris belt. Still… it's good to have him back on the ship._

In a way, her concern for Kira was reminiscent of how she had felt when she had been at the PLANTs and Athrun had been out on the front lines. She cared deeply for her friend, and had prayed every night for his safety. However, her concern for Athrun had been precisely that; worry for a friend. A close one at that, but in the end there was nothing deeper or more profound behind it, despite their engagement.

With Kira though, things were… well, different. Reflecting on it, Lacus realized that they'd been so since the moment they'd met. The young man's consideration and kindness during her time aboard the _Archangel_, his determination to fight for his friends and defend them even when he was scared, when he would much rather be anywhere _but _the white warship… they'd lit a spark inside her heart, though she had not realized it right away. Every night since they'd parted, Lacus had included Kira in her evening prayers, her concern for his safety quickly reaching the same level as her worry for Athrun… and eventually surpassing it.

Looking back on it now, she knew that it had been the first sign that she was falling for him.

"Haro! Haro!" said the round pink-robot bouncing by her feet, "Kira!"

She put her hand to her mouth as she let out a giggle. "He's back, Mister Pink. Let's go say hello." She picked up her pace a bit, and it wasn't long before she was close enough that the already immense mobile suit now seemed to absolutely tower over her.

"Kira!" she called out as she approached the Freedom, looking up and waving at the young man, "Welcome back!"

Kira's eyes widened for a moment before he returned the smile and the wave. "Lacus!" he said, "Hang on, I'll be right down!"

So the pink-haired songstress waited as the boy that had come to occupy more and more of her heart and mind since their fateful meeting made his way towards her. Normally a very composed and patient young lady, Lacus was surprised to find herself unconsciously bouncing on her heels as Kira approached. At the same time, her heartbeat had increased again just a little bit, and the girl had to work to keep her breathing level and maintain the image of the peaceful yet strong songbird she knew the crew of the _Eternal _expected of her.

Try as she might, she was not entire successful. As Kira came up to her, Lacus reached out and grabbed his hands. Holding onto them tightly, she looked into his purple eyes, once again marveling at their unique color, along with the gentle gleam that always seemed to be in them.

"It's good to have you back here," she said, smiling, "how was your patrol?"

"It was fine," he said, "just a normal flight."

"You must be hungry," said Lacus, pulling him towards the hangar exit, "come, let's get you something to eat."

Kira nodded, and the two of them made their way out of the hangar and towards the mess, hand in hand. Lacus found herself wondering what the tech crews that saw them leave the hangar thought as they watched her. It was no secret that her engagement with Athrun was now null and void… but she hadn't exactly been open about her strong affection for Kira.

_I wonder what they all think_, she mused as they walked down the halls, Haro bouncing along behind them, _I mean, the only ones I've really talked to about Kira on this ship have been Miss Aisha, Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla. I'm sure they've come to their own conclusions regarding my feelings for him, and I have no doubt Miss Aisha has shared her thoughts with Mister Waltfeld, but beyond that I don't think it's spread around. Still, the rest of the crew are not blind, and it would be foolish of me to presume that they do not notice my actions._

She glanced to her right and saw Kira smiling at her. _Oh, I can't help it_, she thought, smiling back, _he's just so cute! I mean, so was Athrun, but… he didn't make me feel like this. _

She had deeply valued her friendship with her now ex-fiancé, and she always would, but Lacus was painfully aware that whenever she had been with him a small part of her had always been reminded of his father and the unfortunate fact that she and Athrun were both seen by him as less than family and more as pawns in the game of PLANT politics. Lacus knew her father did not see her or Athrun that way, but it was saddening to be aware that her father-in-law-to-be saw his own son as not so much a person as a tool.

With Kira, though… there wasn't anything like that. Hell, politics as a whole seemed to fade away when she was with him. Kira didn't really see himself as part of the grand, intricate game played between those in power; he never had. He was devoted to his friends, the people he cared about, and protecting them and the people of the Earth Sphere. Ideals were important in that regard, of course, but Lacus knew that what drove Kira was the very simple idea that it was _right _to protect people. It was a purity of purpose that the songstress could only marvel at, and she felt that it was a powerful reflection of his compassionate and gentle nature. That nature was on full display whenever he was with her, and it made Lacus feel less like a leader of a political movement and more like a simple teenage girl.

A teenage girl that had fallen in love.

She recalled overhearing part of a conversation between Waltfeld and Aisha a few months ago, when Kira had been recovering at her family estate. Lacus had hardly left Kira's side during that time period, but on one occasion when she had gone to get him some food and water she'd caught the Desert Tiger and his lover in a hushed conversation. The songstress had only been able to make out a few words, but one phrase had been quite clear; 'Florence Nightingale effect.'

Lacus had never heard the term before, but a cursory web search had provided all the education she'd needed. She had smiled as she'd read the definition, understanding how Waltfeld and Aisha may have suspected that her growing affection and closeness with Kira may have been brought on by how she was acting as his caregiver. Lacus supposed it was possible that serving in that role may have accelerated the process, but she knew in her heart that it was not the source of the warm and tender feelings that had been sown in her for the young man from Heliopolis. As she'd gotten to know him, the songstress knew that she would've fallen for Kira anyway; tending to him, nursing him through his recovery had simply speeded things up a bit.

_I even sang to him_, she thought, a bit of warmth coming to her face as she recalled some of the evenings they had spent together out on the back porch of the mansion looking over the garden and the lake, _a couple pieces, small and private performances. I've always loved singing, and have hardly needed an excuse to do so for others. Still, doing it for him felt… special._

It was a very new feeling for the girl. She'd devoted so much of her life to her singing, and more recently to the struggle to thwart the blood-soaked agenda of not just the PLANT radicals but also the extremists ruling the Earth Alliance. The young woman had friends, both now and in her past, and she was not blind to the fact that her career and reputation as a beautiful singer made her quite desirable to men. Lacus had always been affectionate and kind to people, but romantic attachment was something entirely new to the girl. It was strange, feeling the emotions she'd heard her father talk about with such longing when he spoke of her late mother, but it was not unpleasant.

Far from it.

_I wonder_, she thought as the two of them walked into the mess, _Kira… how do you feel about me? This quickening of my heartbeat, the warmth that comes to my face, the slight tightening of my chest, the tingle that runs down my spine… all that and more when I look at you… do you experience something similar when you look at me? I didn't with Athrun, and I know not if he did with me, though I am doubtful of it… but I experience it, I _feel it_, when I'm with you._

"Hey," said Kira, snapping her out of her thoughts, "what do you want to eat, Lacus?"

She blinked, surprised that she had allowed herself to get so caught up in her own thoughts, but she quickly recovered. She doubted Kira had even noticed her preoccupation. While the boy was observant, Lacus had grown up not just on the stage, but in the halls of power. Controlling her image, what feelings she let others see, was almost as natural to her as breathing.

The songstress looked down at the table before them and quickly grabbed a tray. Smiling at Kira, she took a slice of pizza from the assorted food in front of them. "This looks good," she said. She proceeded to acquire several orange slices and a bottle of juice to complete her meal. The girl watched as Kira followed suit, and then the two of them headed over to an empty table and sat down.

"Looks good! Looks good!" said the Haro as it bounced up onto the table.

Lacus and Kira shared a laugh before the young lady spoke. "Yes, but you cannot have any, Mister Pink. Athrun would be most displeased, and I think it would give you more than just a tummy ache."

"Aww," the little robot humphed before settling in beside its mistress's tray.

"He's a little ball of mischief, isn't he?" asked Kira.

Lacus nodded as she raised her fork and knife, preparing to cut into her pizza. "Of all the Haros Athrun made for me, Mister Pink is the most independent… and the most troublesome. In spite of that, he's my favorite… or maybe it's because of it. I'm not sure on that."

"You sure it's not just because you like the color pink?" said Kira, grinning.

Lacus had to laugh again, acknowledging the clear reference to her hair. "Well, I may be a bit biased there."

"We all have our favorites," said Kira before taking a bite out of his pizza, "I remember when Athrun was about to make me Birdy. He actually wasn't sure if he should do a robot bird or a robot cat, because I actually liked both animals. In the end, he asked me what my favorite animal was, and I said birds. The rest is history."

"Speaking of your robotic pet," said Lacus, "where is he? I haven't seen Birdy around in a while." Kira had brought his mechanical companion with him when he had transferred from the _Archangel _to the _Kusanagi_, and again when he had switched to the _Eternal_. Lacus had greeted the little bird when Kira had reintroduced them, but she had not seen it since then.

"Really?" Kira replied, his eyes widening a bit, "I thought you would've by now. He's been flying all over the ship. I know Waltfeld and Aisha have bumped into him a few times. He does coop up in my room when I turn in for the evening, though."

"Our paths have not crossed yet," said Lacus, shrugging, "oh well, I'm sure they will eventually. Fate and luck work in strange ways."

"Yeah," said Kira, and Lacus saw a contemplative look come to his purple eyes, "The attack on Heliopolis, Captain Ramius pushing me into the Strike's cockpit to save me, my piloting that machine, finding your escape pod and bringing you to the _Archangel_, not to mention Heero coming to our world… everything's been so strange, so chaotic. I haven't been able to say with any certainty what the next day will bring since Heliopolis."

"You miss that, don't you?" said Lacus softly, "That certainty, the routine of civilian life… the peace you had in your colony."

It was something Lacus could sympathize with. Though she had been quite active in both her formal career and her political interests in the PLANTs, those days had been predictable to an extent. Sure, there were always surprises and twists, but they were the small everyday happenings that might be expected for a girl in her position to experience.

_Everything changed_, she thought, _the day I decided to join the Silverwind's memorial delegation. Ever since then I became more and more drawn into the war and the intrigue surrounding it, despite my status as a civilian and entertainer. I know just how important the work I'm doing is, but still… I can't deny that I long for those simpler days._

However, she was also aware that had she stayed in those 'simpler days'… she might not have ever met Kira. If the chaos that her life had become was the price to be paid for having that wonderful young man in her life… then it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

Though she wished that so many people had not had to die along the way.

She turned her attention back to Kira as he answered her. "I do miss it," he said, "my days in class with my friends, helping my professor, just living a normal life… it all seems so far away. Still, that peace… I may have enjoyed it, but looking back on it now, I realize it was all a lie."

Lacus raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Kira?"

"Well," he said, "I thought Heliopolis was outside the conflict, but it wasn't. It was involved long before the attack by cooperating with the Alliance, building the _Archangel _and its mobile suits. All that was going on and I didn't have a clue."

"That's natural though," Lacus replied, "it was a top secret endeavor."

"But there's more," said Kira, "the entire world, the entire Earth Sphere, was at war, and everyone I knew thought we could just sit it out. We didn't really pay attention to the conflict unless we thought it might affect Orb or Heliopolis… that was our mistake. That was the lie."

"You were a citizen of a neutral nation," said Lacus, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand, "your attitude and that of your friends was not wrong; it was quite normal."

Kira shook his head. "No, it _was _wrong. People were dying all over the Earth Sphere, and we absolved ourselves of any responsibility. We just shut in and hoped it wouldn't hit us too. There was so much suffering, and we didn't do anything to try and alleviate it. I know Orb was walking a tightrope, trying to keep both sides at bay while it built up its ability to defend itself, but it could've done more. Sending out relief missions to help refugees, trying to facilitate dialogue between Earth and the PLANTs, raising public awareness and asking for donations to help people wounded by the conflict… there's so much we could've done. Maybe it wouldn't have stopped the conflict, maybe it wouldn't have changed the attitudes of the people controlling the Alliance and ZAFT… but it could've done _something_."

Lacus nodded sagely. "Perhaps you're right, but it is too late to worry about that now." She smiled at him. "More importantly, you're only weighing yourself down by thinking like this, Kira. It's good that you recognize the mistakes that were made, but you must also accept that there was nothing you could've done about them. You did not rule Orb, Kira, you merely lived in it. The guilt of the leaders is not your own. Even if you may have ignored the conflict, you are no longer doing so now. You are fighting to help end this war, to bring peace to us all. If you felt any guilt before, Kira, this more than absolves you of it."

After a moment Kira nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Lacus."

"You're quite welcome, Kira," she replied.

The two of them proceeded to finish their meal in comfortable silence. All the while Lacus watched Kira, marveling at the gentle and insightful young man whose companionship she shared… who had captured her heart.

Once again she thought back to the day they had first met so many months ago. _I told you that fate and luck work in strange ways, Kira_, she mused as she gazed contentedly at the boy, _call me a sentimental and romantic girl, but… I truly believe it was the former that brought us together, not the latter. You and I were _fated _to meet, to get to know each other. I was meant to find you… and fall for you._

….

"May I join you?" said a familiar female voice.

Yzak jumped slightly in his seat as he looked up and saw Flay standing beside the table he was eating at. The young silver-haired pilot had been focused on his food and his own thoughts, and had not even noticed her approach. They were in the mess hall on the _Vesalius_, back out on combat patrol as part of an eight ship task force. It had been a little over a week since what was quickly becoming known as the Blitz of the Avalon Line, and the new battle group under Field Marshall Creuset's command was just wrapping up its second day of cruising. Yzak had flown two patrol flights in that time period, and had spent his remaining hours sleeping, training… and keeping an eye on the Natural girl now standing before him.

After a moment he nodded and gestured at the seat across from him. As she took it, Yzak eyed her tray with concern; there was hardly any food on it. A couple apple slices and a bottle of water, but nothing else.

_She's hardly eating anything_, he thought, _she already had a slight frame when I first met her, but now she's even skinnier… almost frail._

"Here," he said, breaking off part of his sandwich and handing it to her.

The red-head shook her head. "It's alright… I'm not that hungry."

Yzak wasn't going to let her protests stop him. "It doesn't matter. You need to keep up your strength. I'm not blind, Flay; you're practically skin and bones. Take it."

The words were more forceful than the young man had intended, but they had their desired effect. Flay's eyes widened slightly, but she accepted the food he offered her and took a small bite out of it. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Yzak nodded. "You're welcome."

_I can't just let you waste away_, he thought as he watched the girl take another bite, _not after I told myself I'd protect you. I know it doesn't make up for all the people I watched die at Panama, but still… it'd be an insult to them if I backed out of my commitment now. One Natural life doesn't balance the dozens of civilians I killed during the orbital battle, or the hundreds or thousands of surrendered soldiers that I let my own side slaughter at Panama… but I have to try._

His guilt over his actions in the orbital battle several months ago, combined with what had happened at Panama, had made his brief furlough in the homeland an uncomfortable one. It had been good to see his mother and father again, if only for a few days, but it had also been a stark reminder of the political stance his family had taken. Yzak was well aware of the fact that his mother was one of the radicals serving on the PLANT Supreme Council, and he did not know what she would think of his change in attitude towards the Naturals. He did not know if she simply favored ruling over them, forcing them to surrender and ending the war from a position of Coordinator strength, or if her feelings were in fact more extreme… murderous, to put it bluntly.

He prayed it was only the former.

The possibility of it being the latter horrified him almost as much as Panama had.

A dark and fearful thought crossed his mind. _If I brought Flay before her… if I told mother that she was a Natural… would she kill her?_

That grim bit of speculation was not his only train of thought regarding the young woman before him. Yzak had expected Field Marshall Creuset to leave the girl in Aprilius One or another PLANT colony when they had returned to the homeland. However, the girl had remained with them throughout their stay. She'd even been present aboard the _Vesalius _during the Blitz of the Avalon Line, and Yzak was thankful that the destroyer had been positioned on the Jachin Due Line rather than the lower fortifications. Had the warship gotten in Wing Zero's crosshairs, or that of any of the three warships that had swept in to clear the Demon Lord of Avalon's escape route, the girl he had taken on as his unofficial charge would likely be dead right now.

_As would I_, he thought grimly, _had I been in a position to launch in the Duel, to intercept the raid, I doubt I would've fared so well. _It was a startling mental admission from a young man who was normally brimming with confidence in his own skills. It was a sign of just how much he had changed.

"Hey," said Yzak as the two of them ate, "mind if I ask you something?"

The girl looked up and gave a small nod. "Ok."

"Do you know why the Field Marshall brought you with us?" said Yzak, "This is a combat patrol, and you have no place here. Sorry, but…"

"It's the truth," said Flay, surprising the young man by finishing his sentence for him, "You're right, I'm pretty useless here… just like I was on the _Archangel_."

"I'd keep quiet about that if I were you," Yzak said, his voice hushed, "that's not something you should go spreading around. The people here… well, I don't think they'd react well if they found out about that."

As he spoke he glanced around the mess hall furtively to see if anyone was giving them looks. Fortunately, it did not appear that Flay's words had drawn untoward attention. Yzak found himself mentally thanking whatever deity or cosmic force that existed in the universe for that small favor.

For her part, Flay simply nodded. "Alright, I'll remember that."

He saw her mirror his earlier gesture, glancing around the room as covertly as she could. Yzak was surprised at the sudden hardness in her gaze. Ever since they'd first met she'd been quiet, subdued, and weak. Now there was a sudden energy about her, charged with suspicion and fear.

It only lasted a couple seconds though, and the girl's demeanor shifted back into the low-key and submissive role she'd had for the majority of her stay, especially whenever Field Marshal Creuset was around. Still, in those brief seconds Yzak had seen a flash of a different side of Flay, a harder side… a hostile side.

The young man found himself wondering about the girl's stance on the divide between Coordinators and Naturals. Did she simply fear Yzak's kind… or did she actually hate them? He could understand both emotions, but he hoped the latter was not one of them. For some reason the thought of her hating his race did not offend him as it once would. Rather, Yzak was surprised to find that it actually hurt a bit to think that. Not because of her possible hostility towards his people… but because it meant she might secretly hate _him_.

_Then again_, he thought, _given my past actions, I can't exactly begrudge a Natural for hating me. I hope she doesn't… but even if she does, it doesn't change where I stand. It won't change my decision._

"So," said Yzak, returning to his earlier inquiry, "Why are you here?"

Flay looked down. "I don't know. When… when I woke up, after that masked man captured me… he said that I could help him end the war."

_That _certainly hadn't been the answer Yzak was expecting. "What?" he said, his eyes widening, "How?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know. All I know is that Kira died because he was trying to protect his friends and end this war… and I have to carry on his fight. I… I _have _to… for what I did to him."

It was only the second time she'd ever mentioned the name of the Strike's pilot in his company; the first had been down on Earth at ZAFT's Carpentaria base shortly before they had departed for outer space. It had only been a brief utterance, and Yzak recalled very well how she had not wanted to talk about him, how desperate she had been to keep him from prying into that matter.

_There was something between them_, he thought, _but what?_

Now that she had wiling brought up the Strike's late pilot, Yzak was not going to let the opportunity to learn about his old enemy slip away. However, he would not be brutish going about it. The topic was obviously a delicate one to the girl, so he would try to approach it with at least some measure of tact.

"He sounds like a good guy," he said carefully, causing her to look at him, "Kira, I mean."

She nodded. "He was," she said softly, "Kira… he was soft, sensitive, cried more than a boy should've… but he was so _kind_. He was gentle and considerate, and he cared for his friends and wanted to keep them safe… to keep _me _safe. He hated this war, hated any kind of violence… but he still _fought_, no matter how much it hurt him. He was smart, brave, caring… and I _used that_."

She had all but spat out those last two words, and Yzak could feel the hatred behind them. It wasn't for the boy she was talking about though; it was for _herself_.

"Yzak," she said, meeting his gaze, a grim look in her eyes, "you know my full name…. you know who my father was, right?"

Yzak nodded solemnly. "Yes… I do."

_Atlantic Federation Vice-Foreign Minister Allster_, he thought grimly, _a man killed by ZAFT… by my people._

"I… I wanted revenge," said Flay, "and… I made Kira my instrument. I knew he had feelings for me… so I twisted them, manipulated them." Her already soft tone became almost a whisper as she spoke her next words. "Use a Coordinator to kill Coordinators… that was my plan."

It was a very cold and calculated scheme, but also very easy to understand. The desire for revenge had a way of making people consider and ultimately commit cruel acts that they would not normally do so; Flay had simply been more cunning than others.

Then his eyes widened as the last sentence sunk in. "Wait a minute… you mean…"

Flay nodded. "Yes… Kira was one of you."

It was a revelation that rocked Yzak's world. All this time he'd been assuming that the Strike's pilot had been a Natural wielding a prototype machine and operating system designed for him. The possibility that his foe had actually been a Coordinator had never crossed his mind.

"Why?" he said, "Why… did he…"

"Fight against his people?" Flay finished for him, "Aside from my manipulation, it's as I said earlier; to protect the people he cared about. Kira… was from Heliopolis, just like my friends. My father had sent me there to keep me away from the war, and that's how I met them all. I didn't learn that Kira was a Coordinator until I came aboard that ship. They said he was a First Generation Coordinator."

"So his parents were Naturals," said Yzak, mulling over that bit of information.

"It didn't matter to me," Flay replied, "First or Second, I didn't care… Coordinators were all the same to me. They'd killed my daddy, and Kira had failed to protect him when he swore to me that he would. I wanted them all dead… Kira included."

The words sent a chill down Yzak's spine until he noted something in them; the girl was speaking in past tense. The feelings she was speaking of had been before they'd met... they might not be what she held in her heart now.

"I used him," she said softly, "I knew he had feelings for me, so I let him think I returned them. I gave him what he wanted…a relationship. Or at least, all the trappings of one. In return for that… I set him loose against his own people, made him kill when he would've otherwise left the ship of his own free will." She surprised Yzak with a rueful chuckle. "I could not fight myself, but I could turn him into my sword. I thought I'd be able to use him to my heart's content and cast him aside when it was all over… the master shouldn't fall for the weapon."

"But you did, didn't you?" said Yzak, his eyes narrowing.

Flay nodded, her hard demeanor softening again, becoming that fragile girl Yzak had become accustomed to. "Yes. I… I don't know how, I don't know when… I don't even know why I'm telling you this… but the fake feelings I gave him… eventually became real. I couldn't accept it at first… but slowly… my hatred turned to affection. I began to _need _his kindness, his gentleness… and I _hated _myself for it. I was angry, confused… I even tried to drive Kira away during out stay in Orb. I yelled at him, was mean to him… but despite all that, he forgave me… he still cared for me. Eventually I decided that I would tell him what I'd been doing, how I'd been using him… ask for his forgiveness for that. I wanted to show him that I had changed… that I… that I…"

"Actually loved him now," Yzak finished for her.

Flay nodded and sniffed, and Yzak thought he saw her struggling to hold back tears. "I was going to tell him… confess everything. I was so sure he'd forgive me, but…"

"He didn't," Yzak finished for her again.

Flay shook her head, and Yzak was taken aback by her sudden glare. "You didn't know Kira. He _would have _forgiven me… had we not been attacked at that moment and he'd not flown into battle… and hadn't been _killed_."

Yzak didn't know how to respond to her ire. He could tell that her grief for Kira, her anger and sorrow over his death, was genuine… as was the hate she had for the organization that had killed him.

Her hatred for ZAFT.

The silver-haired pilot was torn between indignation and guilt. He wanted to stand up for his military, to tell her that it had killed Kira because he had been fighting against him on the battlefield… but at the same time, he genuinely felt _sorry _for the young man's death because he could see the dramatic affect it had had on the girl before him. Her already fragile heart, damaged so severely by the death of her father… had been _broken _by Kira's death.

"ZAFT may have killed Kira," Flay said, and Yzak was struck by how her tone had softened again, "but the one truly responsible for his death… is me. I drove him to fight, saw him as nothing but a tool. By the time I finally realized what I truly had in him… how _lucky _I was just to _know _him, to experience his gentleness and _kindness_… by the time I was ready to actually _love him_ and show him that… he was gone."

"That's why I went along with that masked man, with what he wants," she continued, "it's my fault Kira's dead, that he can't fight to protect and save people… so I have to do it for him. I don't know how I can do that… but I'm going to _try_."

Her voice was still soft, but Yzak could see a new strength in her eyes. He couldn't help but admire her for it.

He closed his eyes for a moment before looking at her again. "For what it's worth, Flay… I'm sorry about Kira. I wish you didn't hate ZAFT… but I understand why you do." He grabbed his tray and stood up to leave.

As he did so he suddenly felt her grab his arm. "Wait," she said, "please… don't leave me. Not yet."

_That _wasn't the reaction Yzak had expected. "Why?" he asked.

She looked up at him, and any traces of the anger or guilt that had been in her eyes before was gone. Instead, what Yzak saw was vulnerability, regret… and a gentleness that he wouldn't have thought her capable of.

"I… I don't like ZAFT, it's true," she said, her voice so hushed it was almost a whisper, "I… I probably do hate it, and I don't know if I can ever forgive it for killing Kira. But…"

"I don't hate _you_."

Once again, the girl had proven her capacity to take the ZAFT Red by surprise. At the same time, even in the midst of his perplexity, Yzak could not help but feel a strange sense of relief in his heart.

Still, he had to ask her a very simple but important question… the same one he had asked her mere moments ago.

"Why?"

The red-head looked down for a moment to gather her thoughts. When she looked back up at him, Yzak could see desperation in her eyes, though for what he could not say. "That man…you called him Field Marshal Creuset… I'm scared of him. He may have saved me at Alaska, and wants me to help him end the war, but… something about him frightens me."

Yzak sat back down, his recently awakened unease regarding his superior officer coming to mind. To know that someone else shared that anxiety was both a relief and a source of concern. It meant that he was not alone… but it also gave more credence to his fears.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning towards her, keeping his voice as hushed as possible, "How does he scare you? Was it something he did? Something he said?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, her expression thoughtful, "when I first met him inside the base, I'd just hit my head on something, and I was losing consciousness. I saw him approach and heard his voice. The way he talked… it reminded me of my dad. It was calm, reassuring… and then I passed out."

Yzak wasn't sure how to react to that, so he decided to wait and see if the girl went into further detail. Fortunately, she didn't need any prompting from him.

"When I woke up," she continued, "I was on that submarine/carrier. That man was there too. When I learned that I was on a ZAFT ship, I was angry and lashed out at him. He stopped me easily, lectured me a bit… and then said that I would be important to helping him end the war. What he said, it all made sense, and I did want to bring the war to an end, but… there was something about the way he said it that didn't feel right. He spoke as if I would be a partner… but I know he views me as a tool." She gave a rueful chuckle. "Having used someone as a tool in the past, I suppose it's fitting that I get that treatment."

"Ok," said Yzak, "I can see how all that would make you uneasy. Still, how does he plan to… well, use you?"

Flay shook her head. "I don't know." A shudder went through her. "He hasn't revealed anything to me. He's just told me to keep out of trouble." She looked at him, and Yzak could see fear in her eyes. "He hasn't said it, but I know he thinks I'm expendable. Whenever I do whatever it is he wants me to do… he'll kill me."

It was a thought Yzak had already considered, a scenario that he was determined to prevent. It would not wash away the innocent blood on his hands from the orbital battle, nor would it take away the guilt he felt regarding Panama, but he would not stand by and watch as this girl was thrown into the fires of war.

Whatever Creuset's plans for her were, he would not let him sacrifice Flay.

_This is treason_, a part of his mind whispered at him, _you're conspiring against a superior officer…_

_ Fuck it_, he retorted in his head, _I've already committed a war crime! You think I'm afraid of adding treason to my list of offenses?_

The young man had already let fear of his commanding officer prevent him from acting before. He refused to be paralyzed like that again. For now he could only watch over Flay and try to keep an eye on the masked Field Marshal, but when the time came that Creuset deemed the girl had outlived her usefulness and tried to dispose of her, Yzak would do all he could to stop him.

"Flay," he whispered, his eyes narrowed in determination, "I won't let him kill you. I promise."

Flay nodded, and Yzak was surprised to see a small smile come to her face. It only lasted for a moment though; the girl's fear of Creuset weighed far too heavily on her mind.

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them she spoke, her voice as soft and fragile as she appeared.

"Don't… make a girl a promise… you can't keep."

"Trust me," said Yzak, "I don't break my word."

"Alright," said Flay.

….

Walking through the bustling lobby of ZAFT HQ, Anthony 'Bedivere' Palmer could practically feel the tension in the air, so thick one could cut it with a knife. _It's been over a week since the fall of Avalon_, he mused as he strode confidently through the vast entrance chamber before veering to the right towards one of the hallways, _and everyone's still on edge. That's to be expected, I suppose, but still… the _fear _is palpable. A soldier should be better able to hide it… certainly a frontline fighter can. Then again, so many of the people here are staff officers, military bureaucrats; they never dreamed the fighting could reach them here in Aprilius One. Now their cage has been rattled, their complacency and comfort shattered. _

It was a development that the dark-skinned Commander found both interesting and amusing. At twenty-nine years of age, the First Generation Coordinator was a hardened veteran of ZAFT's mobile suit squadrons. Tall and well-built, with broad shoulders, muscular arms, very short cut black hair, and brown eyes, the man certainly cut an intimidating figure, and it was one he had made sure to keep in top shape with a vigorous workout regimen. The man was confident and straightforward, but also possessed a keen tactical intellect, and it had served him well since the war had begun and before during his days in the ZAFT academy. Palmer was a man that hated political games, and had won his white Commander's uniform the same way the only other officers he had respect for had done so; on the battlefield.

_Politicking and brownnosing aren't worthy of a true soldier_, he thought, _of course, that's something these paper-pushers could never understand._

That was why it was satisfying to see them scurry about in a nervous fit, eyes darting to and fro as they watched the people around them, wondering just who was really friend or foe. Everyone knew that the raid on the capital could not have been pulled off without inside help, and Zala was not being subtle about his hunt for traitors. Fear of the Chairman's gaze and ire falling upon them, whether they were guilty or not, had gripped them almost as much as dread of Wing Zero had.

Commander Palmer had little to worry about when it came to Zala's latest round of purges. The leader of Sorcerer Team had a solid history of service to the PLANTs. He had been on the frontlines since nearly the beginning of the war, and his résumé soundly backed it up. Palmer's skills as a mobile suit pilot had been honed at the Battles of Yggdrasil, Jachin Due, Nova, and plenty of other engagements. The veteran soldier had already started the conflict at the prestigious rank of a Red ace, and had eventually gained leadership of the team he was now proud to call his own.

The team had spent the past few months of the war rotating between combat patrols, harassing Alliance units, and supporting the Hydrian Line of the Exclusion Grid. Palmer and his men had actually been on that last assignment during the Blitz of the Avalon Line… which meant that they had been too far away to reach the fighting in time to make any sort of difference.

_Not that we would've made much of one_, he mused grimly, _my men are skilled, but they have only GINNs at their disposal, and my unit is a CGUE. We're formidable enough to use our machines to deadly effect, but there is only so much we can do with them… especially against nuclear powered mobile suits._

However, Palmer suspected that after today his team would be getting a much needed and well deserved upgrade in the technology department.

He walked through a door and into the reception room for the Defense Chairman's office. The spacious and comfortable waiting area was empty save for the secretary… and a man in a Commander's uniform sitting along the right wall.

Palmer smirked before speaking in his customary baritone. "Looks like I'm not the only one that got a special summons. Good to see you in one piece, Wizard One."

The brown haired, brown eyes man looked over and nodded, smirking as well. He'd acquired a little more chin-stubble since the last time Palmer had seen him, but other than that he hadn't changed much. His haircut was still the same style, slicked back and ending in a functional knot close to his neck. The officer's build was slimmer than Palmer's, but it was still athletic. His demeanor was relaxed and at ease, but Palmer knew that the man could snap to attention and become deadly serious at a moment's notice.

"The battles out at L1 were not too trying," he replied, stroking his well-trimmed goatee thoughtfully, "more like skirmishes, really. However, in my last engagement before we were recalled we had our first taste of the new Alliance mobile suits. Their pilots were nothing to speak of, but for mass-production models their machines were formidable. They definitely outclass the GINN in technological capability. I imagine more of those are making their way to the front lines as we speak. It does not bode well for the future."

He then smiled and stood up, holding out his hand to Palmer. "But I am remiss, letting my musings get in the way of my manners. It's been far too long, my friend."

Palmer returned the smile as he shook the hand of Commander Joshua Lucan. "Likewise."

A year older than Palmer, the Commander of Wizard Team had a service record as storied as Palmer's. The two of them had actually first met during their days in the ZAFT academy, and had become fast friends. Like Palmer, Lucan's career upon graduation had been focused with the space forces, and the two men had fought alongside each other in several battles. One of the distinguishing marks between their service records though was the fact that Lucan had fought against the Alliance's assault on the Avalon Line in 70 C.E. It had been one of the man's standout engagements, with no less than twenty mobile armors and a _Drake_-class escort ship falling to the Commander during the fierce battle.

_I know he enjoyed his rotation with the battle-station's GINN teams_, Palmer thought, _I'm sure he knew plenty of the people that went down with Avalon. If it's affecting him, he's not showing it… that's just like him._

"So," said Sorcerer One, "you've fought the Alliance's new models now? I've seen the recordings of them from the forces that fought at Panama, but I didn't know they'd made it out to the space forces."

"A recent development," said Lucan as he sat back down and motioned for Palmer to join him, "the fall of Victoria two weeks ago made it inevitable, really."

Palmer nodded. "You're right about that. With the Alliance's superior resources and industrial capabilities, it won't be too long before they're spamming those machines just like they do their mobile armors. I hope we can get more GuAIZs into the field, or we're going to be in trouble."

"Indeed," Lucan replied, closing his eyes, "I've gone over the schematics of the GuAIZ, and I believe that, between it and the mass-production Strikes, the ADB's new machine is the superior model. However, it is more expensive to produce, and as far as I know we're still in limited production with the GuAIZ."

"That's what I heard too," said Palmer, "so far they're just being issued to Commanders and elite pilots. I know ADB's working to get the production lines retooled for mass-production, but it will take time. Even once that happens, I think the majority of our mobile suit forces will remain GINNs for quite some time."

"A gradual phasing out," said Lucan, "just like what the _Nazca_-class destroyer is doing to the _Laurasia_-class frigate in the fleet. It makes sense of course, given production costs, but if we take too long in this case then the Alliance could gain dominance in outer space. They are already moving to do that on Earth."

Palmer grunted. "Victoria retaken, Gibraltar besieged, Carpentaria and Kaoshiung soon to be threatened… so much for our grand surface offensive."

Lucan nodded. "A drastic reversal of the strategic situation, and one that was effected in the span of mere weeks… things have gone downhill since Operation Spitbreak."

Palmer chuckled. "Not the outcome our illustrious Chairman envisioned, I'm sure."

"Perhaps," said Lucan cautiously, "but it would be wise for us to withhold judgment on that." He leaned over and whispered to his friend. "We're not on the frontlines now, Anthony. The walls have ears here, and Zala's fabled temper has only been exacerbated since Avalon fell. Best to tread carefully, verbally and otherwise."

"Point taken," he replied softly. He mentally chastised himself for letting his guard down in that manner. Palmer was a blunt man, a trait he was well aware of, and one he knew that he had difficulty reigning in at times.

_I'll have to watch myself_, he thought, _any mistake made here could have consequences not just for myself, but my men as well._

"So," he said, "any idea why we've been called here today?"

"Oh, I can imagine a couple reasons," said Lucan, smirking, "though I was not aware that I would be meeting another Commander here today."

"Neither was I," said Palmer, "you think we're gonna get any more unannounced guests before it's time to go in."

Lucan shrugged. "I can't say with any degree of certainty. However… I have a feeling that another acquaintance of ours will be here before we're called in."

Palmer shook his head, smirking. "You and your 'feelings'… I never could quite get your particular brand of intuition, my friend."

"We all feel life in different ways," said Lucan, his expression contemplative, "I've always been surprised by your emotional grasp of the battlefield, especially in this environment of mechanized warfare. You understand the feelings of allies and foes alike in the midst of heated battle in a way that few people can."

"And I've always wondered at your gut's nudges regarding the future," Palmer shot back, "I remember when you emailed me about your 'bad feelings' regarding that attack on Heliopolis. You said that we had unleashed forces we did not understand."

"And was I wrong?" Lucan asked, chuckling.

Palmer shook his head. "You know you weren't. The legged ship and the Strike escaped, along with the Hawk of Endymion, and went on to become a major threat to our forces. Combine that with their rendezvous with Wing Zero, and all they've done since then… we really did open a can of worms."

"All that's not counting the possible repercussions we could've face from Orb," said Lucan, "at the time, they were still straddling the line, playing both sides. While they were helping the Alliance build that ship and mobile suits, they also maintained diplomatic and trade relations with us. We were lucky that the embarrassment felt by Orb at the revelation of their cooperation with the Atlantic Federation at Heliopolis was greater than their outrage at the destruction of the colony; had the latter emotion been more prominent, we could've driven them completely into the arms of the Earth Alliance."

Palmer nodded. "The attack on Heliopolis was certainly a gamble, no doubt about that. Still, we could not just sit back and watch the Alliance take possession of a new warship and advanced mobile suits. Surely you don't think we should've stayed a spectator when we had actionable intelligence, Lucan."

"Of course not," Wizard One replied, "I'm merely expressing my view that we did not plan for all the possible outcomes of that raid. In the end, it's a mere speculative exercise now. There's not much point in doubting actions that have already been taken."

"That," said Palmer, "and there's the fact that Wing Zero came at us completely out of the blue. For all our intelligence on the Heliopolis collaboration, from what I understand we had absolutely nothing on that machine and its pilot."

"All too true, my friend," said Lucan, nodding, "someone dropped the ball on that one. Speaking of the Demon Lord of Avalon…"

"What do I think of it?" Palmer finished for him.

Lucan chuckled. "Ah, we're back to finishing each other's sentences now… just like old times." He became serious again as he continued. "I've viewed my share of files, and I'm sure you have as well. What's your take on them, Palmer? Man and machine… what's your view?"

"Both are beyond impressive," said Palmer, "that mobile suit is one hell of a piece of military hardware. Such a simple weapons' layout, yet it's devastatingly effective. As for the pilot… well, I'm not sure if this 'Heero Yuy' is the gutsiest soldier I've met or the craziest."

Lucan nodded. "Our thoughts align. Although I have heard that courage and madness are two sides of the same coin."

"Yeah, I've heard that too," said Palmer, "still… I think there's more to that pilot than just those two qualities. You've seen those videos, right?"

"You mean Miss Clyne's broadcast and the duel?" Lucan replied, smirking, "Hard to miss those."

"No kidding," said Palmer, "watching that guy save the Valkyrie's parents, then following it up by fighting her old school… he's unique, no other way to put it. He's calm and focused, but even through the videos I could tell that he's also determined, driven in a way very few people are these days."

"I saw that as well," said Lucan, "and there was more. I know many focused primarily on his actions, but I found the words he spoke to the Valkyrie's parents to be quite compelling… and revealing."

Palmer nodded. "Yeah… he's principled. He's got his own set of morals, and is determined to do what he feels is right. He's also not really concerned with being diplomatic; the way he ripped into Soran Rehema was downright _brutal_."

"Yes," Lucan replied, "and it was effective. He deconstructed that man's sense of nobility and revealed it for what it really was; blindness brought on by self-righteousness and stubbornness. I suppose one could call that young man blunt… but I found his straightforwardness to be remarkably refreshing."

Palmer smiled. "He's an honest soldier. Too bad he's not on our side."

Lucan nodded. "Not only is he an astounding pilot, but his physical combat prowess is phenomenal. To match a Coordinator in such a fight… it's hard to believe, even after watching that video."

"But you do believe it, don't you?" asked Palmer.

"Oh yes," said Lucan, "that was not staged, no matter what others may say to the contrary. The energy both fighters brought to that duel was _very _real. I could feel it, even through the screen… and I'm sure you could too."

Palmer smiled. "Oh yeah, I felt it alright. That young man… he is _powerful_. There was an energy about him during that duel, focused and refined to an incredibly sharp degree. He's not just another ace on the field; he was _born _for combat."

"And if we want a chance at stopping him," said Lucan, "we'll need pilots of our own that live and breathe war." He sighed. "You and I are good, Palmer, but the kind of affinity that boy has shown for battle… I'm not sure we can match that."

Palmer nodded grimly. "We're seasoned veterans, and were distinguished pilots even during our academy days… but I don't know if what we've experienced up until know can prepare us for a clash with someone like him."

"It's not something you can just train for," said Lucan, "conventional skill and the lessons of the academy alone will not suffice. We need something else, a different sort of mentality."

"Commander Rehema had it," said Palmer, "she wasn't just a pilot; she was a duelist. She loved going up against a challenging opponent… practically hungered for it. It pushed her in a way that the simple adrenaline spike of combat other pilots feel could not. I think that's why she was able to go up against him one-on-one and survive."

"You may be right, my friend," Lucan replied, "and I think we're going to need pilots with a hunger like that, or something similar driving them…"

His voice trailed off as the door to the reception area hissed open. Both he and Palmer turned towards it, and the former smirked as he saw who walked through it. "Well, well… we just might have them."

_I'll be damned_, thought Palmer as he saw the two men that entered the room, _if it isn't the mercenary duo. The dogs of war…_

_ The Galm Team._

"Yo," said the man on the right, smirking, "Wizard, Sorcerer. Still alive, eh?"

Palmer nodded. "It's been a long time, Solo Wing Pixy."

Larry 'Solo Wing Pixy' Foulke nodded. At twenty-eight years old, the First Generation Coordinator looked as relaxed and confident as the last time Palmer had seen him. The man had well trimmed brown hair, brown eyes, and stubble running along his jaw and chin. Combined with his blue jeans, white shirt, and brown leather jacket, it gave the Galm Team's number two a ruggedly handsome look. One could easily call him a ladies' man and let that impression blind them to the fact that they were looking at one of the deadliest aces in the Earth Sphere. The man may no longer have been regular military, but he had been a member of the starting class of the ZAFT academy, and his career as a mercenary was as full of battles as the likes of Palmer's and Lucan's… if not more. The freelance mobile suit pilot liked to go by 'Pixy' as his call sign; Palmer knew he favored it because his enemies were likely to underestimate him due to the deceptively feminine label.

Pixy turned to the man that had walked into the room with him. "Looks like we're not the only ones that got that summons, eh buddy?"

His 'buddy' was none other than Galm Team's flight lead, the fearsome and enigmatic pilot known only as 'Cipher'. Like his wingman, Galm One cut a ruggedly handsome figure. At thirty years of age, his piercing blue-gray eyes contrasted sharply with his unkempt brown hair, which fell to the base of his neck. His jaw line was more angular than typical, and his chin sported a faded goatee. Also like his subordinate, his attire was not standard military. The man wore a thick white jacket with grey fur at the neckline, sleeves, and coattails. Under that was a simple gray button-up shirt, rounded out by black pants and boots. He sported a pair of Colt 1911 pistols at his waist, which took Palmer by surprise; he would not have expected a mercenary to be allowed to carry weapons of any kind into ZAFT HQ.

_Then again_, he mused, _with the level of skill he and Pixy bring to the table, I suppose exceptions can be granted. Zala's probably allowing it to curry favor and loyalty beyond the checks he signs for those two._

Cipher gave a simple shrug at his wingman's words. "Guess not."

The response was lazy, almost apathetic… traits Palmer had long ago learned to associate with the man. The mercenary was an oddball in piloting circles, and it wasn't because of the way he dressed. Practically every pilot had pride in their abilities, and manifested that pride in some form or another. Whether it was simple confidence in their skills or monumental arrogance was a matter to be determined by the personality of the individual, but the pride was still visible all the same.

Cipher wasn't like that. Palmer had met the man several times, flown with him in a few heated battles, but not once had he seen the mercenary exhibit the typical signs of pride that other pilots would manifest. Nor did he show open signs of excitement during the adrenaline rush that was flying, another very odd trait for a pilot. It was something Palmer had asked Pixy about, and had been surprised by Galm Two's reply.

_"Oh, I know what you mean," the easy-going mercenary had said, "the guy's not like others in our field, no arguing that. When we're off duty, he doesn't really socialize like other pilots would. He's standoffish, aloof… a bit of a loner, really. He takes everything life throws at him in stride; nothing fazes him. Whether it's an exercise or a firefight, the guy usually looks bored more than anything else."_

_ "More like he doesn't care," Palmer replied, "your flight lead's not very enthusiastic, Pixy."_

_ Pixy shook his head. "No… that's not it. Off-duty, maybe, but in the cockpit he's all business. When the time comes to fly and fight, he's focused… and more."_

_ Palmer raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"_

_ "In your 'run of the mill' fights," said Pixy, "the guy's pretty relaxed. However… when the chips are down, when things really get dicey, when there's an actual _challenge_… he becomes a whole different animal. I've seen it in our tougher battles, when we communicate during the fight. Even over the cockpit screen I can see the look in his eyes. When the odds against us are _really _bad, or when the enemy's actually displaying _real _skill, he ratchets things up. His energy, his intensity... not only do they increase, but they go beyond human."_

_ "Beyond human?" Palmer said, not sure he was hearing Pixy right._

_ Pixy nodded. "It's the hunt, Palmer... the fight. No, that's not right… it's the _push_, the animal 'fight or flight' instincts that we all have, that kick in during times of crisis. I know that those can propel any pilot to new heights in a fight if they harness them right, but Cipher goes past that. Not only does he completely embrace the 'fight' aspect… but he _hungers_ for it. He becomes a predator the likes of which I've never seen before… a real coyote of the battlefield. He'll throw himself into the thickest of the fight, the most dangerous part. As his wingman, of course I follow him in, watch his back… but it's hell trying to keep up with him when he's like that. His moves become faster and sharper. His awareness becomes more acute, he see's openings that I don't pick up until he's already moved, and I'm struggling just to follow him. He's a true ace, Palmer… he reads the flow of battle like no one I've ever seen before."_

That whole conversation played through Palmer's mind as he looked at Galm's flight lead. Seeing the man as he was know, standing in the reception area for the Chairman's office with a look of utter boredom on his face, it was hard to reconcile that image with that of the 'coyote' Pixy had painted of him. However, Palmer knew that Pixy wasn't the type to lie… and there was just something about the mercenary that sent a chill down Palmer's spine. As Lucan had noted earlier, Sorcerer One had an uncanny knack for reading people, for getting odd 'feelings' about them… and the one he was getting about Cipher just screamed 'dangerous'.

Of course, if one were to look at the man's combat record, those feelings of danger would be entirely justified. Although practically nothing existed on Cipher regarding pre-war data, the intelligence on his actions during the conflict up to this point was very impressive. He'd come onto the scene less than a week after the war had begun, already the head of the newly established two-man Galm Team. Major fights the duo had fought in included Yggdrasil and Nova, but the mercenary duo that would soon become known as 'the dogs of war' had made their real claim to fame through raiding missions. Zala had deployed them to probe heavily defended areas, including the L2 shipyards and the Lunar perimeter. It was in these probes that the Galm Team had built a reputation for being willing to go where other units, mercenary and professional military alike, were too afraid to venture. They'd hit the thickest areas of defense, drawing out squadrons of warships and mobile armors and inflicting heavy casualties before withdrawing ahead of enemy reinforcements. They were bold, often outrageously so… and they were _effective_.

_The fact that they were allowed to purchase CGUE's from ZAFT_, thought Palmer, _is a testament to their abilities and the results they've achieved in combat. Those two are worth every last credit of their paychecks. But now the CGUE is obsolete, or nearly so, even though they were upgraded with the beam saber technology we gained with the theft of the Heliopolis prototypes. With the Alliance fielding new machines, not to mention the technological powerhouse that is the Eternal and its allies, the Galm Team is in the same rut as Lucan's unit and mine. Our skills can only do so much to compensate for the limitations of our machines. We need new mobile suits… soldiers and mercenaries alike._

"So," said Pixy as he and his commanding officer took seats across from Palmer and Lucan, "any idea who else may be coming to this little get together?"

Palmer shook his head. "Not a clue."

"Perhaps we're it," said Lucan, "this does seem to be a rather… _illustrious _gathering."

Pixy nodded. "Yeah, you're right. The two top teams of the regular forces, and our own little duo… take into account you twos' absent subordinates, and we're talking a total of eighteen pilots. That's about equal to the three Special Operations Squadrons that were lost at Alaska… if you're only going by the numbers."

Palmer nodded. He did not care for the Praetorian Guard Zala had assembled. It was not because of his own political leanings; he was loyal to ZAFT and the orders he received from his superiors and that would not change. Rather, it was due to his distaste for politics in general, along with the open secret that the units Zala had elevated to the elite organization had been selected more for their ideological leanings than their combat abilities. He would acknowledge that all the pilots that belonged to the organization were certainly capable, even better than the average soldier, but not all were deserving of elite status. In particular, Palmer considered the three teams lost at Alaska to be near the bottom of Special Operations' skill pool. He had more respect for some of the other fallen teams, especially Ofnir and Grabacr, but he would freely acknowledge that it was still tainted by disdain for the manner in which they had been promoted.

Lucan nodded, and Palmer knew he was refraining from questioning the quality of the Special Operations pilots that had been killed by Wing Zero at Alaska. As he had said before, the walls had ears, and Zala would be ill disposed to disparagement of his Praetorian Guard.

However, that would not prevent Wizard One from delivering an honest assessment of Special Operations' overall strategic situation. "Two six man teams slain in the Marshall Islands," he said, "two four man and one eight man unit killed at Alaska, two six man squadrons destroyed in the pursuit of the _Eternal_, and the four Indigo Knights annihilated on the Avalon Line… Special Operations has been hard hit of late."

"Only Gelb and Gault survive," said Palmer, "the former has only two pilots, and the latter has eight. Ten out of forty-four still alive…"

"Their ranks are depleted," Pixy finished for him, "they need reinforcements."

"Damn," Cipher muttered, "I really don't want to join those guys. I hate working in groups."

Pixy chuckled. "Understatement of the year, buddy. Still, we might not have a choice in the matter. We are bankrolled by the Chairman, after all."

"Yeah," Cipher replied, "what a pain…"

At that moment the door to the Chairman's office opened, and three officers walked out. From their dark purple and black uniforms, Palmer guessed that they were members of the Defense Council, though it was impossible to say with certainty; that color scheme was used by men and women in a few other positions as well. Whatever their ranks, they looked relieved to be leaving the office. Their demeanor was worn and weary, and Palmer could see the perspiration matting their foreheads and gathered at their collars.

_Sweating from a simple meeting_, he mused, working to keep his contempt from showing in his features, _staff officers… they wouldn't last five minutes on the front lines._

Despite the exit of the officers, Palmer and the others remained in their seats. It would not be wise to approach the Chairman's office before summoned. Palmer may have been loath to engage in politics, but that did not mean he was blind to it, and was keen to avoid getting on the bad side of a man who'd developed the habit of ordering purges on whim.

A minute passed before he heard a chime from the receptionist's desk. The woman looked into the screen in front of her and nodded. "Understood, sir."

She then looked at Palmer and the others. "The Chairman will see you now."

They all stood up and nodded, with Pixy giving a smile to the secretary. "Thank you, Miss. Wish us luck. Coming from a girl like you, I think it'd be a good omen."

The young lady returned the smile, and Palmer thought he saw her blush at Galm Two's words. He had to resist a smirk. _Ever the ladies' man, Foulke…_

She nodded. "Good luck, Mister Foulke."

"That's just Larry to you, Miss," he replied, winking, "or Pixy if you want to have a little fun… which I wouldn't mind doing when you're off shift."

The girl gave a small laugh. "Perhaps. I'll let you know when you come out."

"Don't take too long to make up your mind," said Pixy, smirking, "who knows how long I'll be in town for?"

"Come on, Pixy," said Cipher, "Let's get this over with."

"Killjoy," said Pixy, shaking his head. He gave the secretary one more smile. "Later, sweetheart."

With that the four men walked into the office. Palmer had never been in it before, but he was not too surprised by what he found. Other than the large screens on the wall and the ZAFT flags behind the desk it was quite austere, suited to a man like Patrick Zala.

The Chairman was at his desk, his gaze intent on the small monitor atop it. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand at the four men as the door closed behind him. "Sit down," he said, nodding at the chairs in front of the desk.

Palmer and the others did as they were ordered. The Chairman did not immediately give them his attention, forcing the four pilots to wait patiently until he finished attending to whatever on the computer had his focus.

After about a minute the Chairman turned to them and spoke. "Commanders… and pilots… thank you for being here."

_The formal titles reserved for me and Lucan_, Palmer noted, _while Cipher and Pixy get no such honor. Of course, Pixy is Cipher's subordinate, but his flight lead should be afforded more respect. He may be a mercenary, but he's also one of the best pilots in the field… and still fighting for Zala, too. The Chairman ought not to be so dismissive of him, especially given the casualties and defections we've suffered amongst our elite soldiers._

If Galm One took offense at the Chairman's curt greeting, he gave no sign of it. Of course, knowing Cipher it was entirely possible he just didn't give a shit.

Neither of the mercenaries responded to Zala, but Palmer and Lucan could not share their silence. The two men bowed their heads. "Chairman, sir."

Zala nodded before grabbing the remote on his desk. Swiveling his chair around, he pointed it at the screen behind his desk. The monitor split into two images, each one of a mobile suit. Both were the new mass-production models the Earth Alliance had been fielding. The one on the right was the Strike, and the one on the left was the Buster.

_They may lack Phase Shift Armor_, he thought, _but they're still a threat on the field, especially once the Alliance starts getting their corps of mobile suit pilots combat experience in their new machines. Attrition among their mobile armor pilots has been high, so they won't have a lot of veterans to field right off the bat, but their larger manpower pool means they can easily make up the casualties, and with these new machines those replacements will stand a better chance of surviving battles and improving their skills. One won't have to be a Hawk of Endymion to survive being an Alliance pilot._

"I know the four of you have seen reports regarding these new machines," said Zala, his back to them, "and that three of you have actually faced them in combat."

_Three?_, thought Palmer, glancing over at Cipher and Pixy, _I guess the Alliance must have managed to get some out to L2 while Galm was raiding them there, before those two were recalled._

"The Alliance," Zala continued, "is swiftly moving to increase their production of these machines. Given their greater abundance of resources, it will not be too long before they can field as many of those as we can the GINN… and those units are superior to our mainstay machine." He turned to face the four pilots. "We've lost our technological edge in our frontline forces, gentlemen… but only temporarily."

The images of the mass-production Strike and Buster disappeared. A single picture took their place; the GuAIZ.

"As we speak," said Zala, "our manufacturers are doing all they can to retool the production lines for our new model machines. Eventually production will be on large scale, but given the labor involved in the process, it will not be right away. As thus, we're reserving the GuAIZ for Commanders and elite pilots… both ZAFT and mercenary."

_It must rankle him_, mused Palmer, _to know that two of the best soldiers in his employ are not technically ZAFT… that a pair of mercenaries are better than any of his fallen Special Operations Squadrons._

"The four of you," said Zala, "along with your absent subordinates, will be given our new machines. You'll spend some time in the homeland training on them before being sent to your new assignments."

"And those are, sir?" asked Lucan.

"Raiding Alliance supply lines," Zala replied, "with most of the regular forces pulled back into a defensive posture in outer space, our enemy will grow bolder with their troop movements. They will let their guard down, make mistakes… and you will punish them for it."

"What about the renegades and their allies?" asked Palmer, "I've heard that Field Marshal Creuset was dispatched to find them. Given the threat Wing Zero poses, should we not join the _Vesalius _battle group in their mission?"

Zala's gaze narrowed. "Field Marshal Creuset will handle the situation, Commander Palmer. I have personally selected him for this mission, and have the utmost confidence in his abilities. Surely you do not question the judgment of your Commander-in-Chief, do you?"

It was a thinly veiled threat, one that none of the four pilots in the room were blind to. Palmer shook his head in response. "No, Chairman."

Zala nodded. "Good." He turned back to screen and hit the remote again, this time bringing up a map of the Earth Sphere.

"Commander Lucan," he said, "once your training on the GuAIZs is complete, your team will depart with battle group _Polo_. You will be operating in the region between L1 and the Debris Belt."

"Understood, Chairman," Wizard One replied.

"Commander Palmer," said Zala, "Sorcerer Team will be attached to battle group _Korolev_. You and your men will be raiding convoys heading towards the Alliance's shipyards at L2. We cannot stop their massive buildup of warships they're doing there, but we can slow it down somewhat, and your efforts will be vital to that."

"Yes, Chairman," said Palmer.

Zala then turned to Cipher and Pixy. "Galm Team, you will be operating aboard the destroyer _Kerimov_. Your combat area will initially be the area between the Earth and the Debris Belt, but from there on you will be given the freedom to act on your own initiative. Pursue enemy convoys and patrols in whatever manner you see fit."

Palmer had to raise an eyebrow at that. Zala was giving mercenaries free reign with not only new model mobile suits, but an entire warship and whatever machines it would be carrying in addition to the Galm Team's units. It was strange to say the least, but Sorcerer One reminded himself that these were strange and difficult times.

Cipher simply nodded, and while outwardly his expression did not change Palmer could've sworn he saw a glint in his cold blue-gray eyes. "Fine," said the mercenary leader.

"Got it," said Pixy.

"Sorcerer and Wizard," said Zala, "will be given mainline GuAIZs. You two are being assigned two unique variants of the design. They've been optimized to work well with your preferred fighting styles."

_Personalized units for the mercs?_, thought Palmer, _Not what I expected. Although, given that they're a two-man team rather than eight man squadrons like my unit and Lucan's, I guess giving them more specialized machines makes sense._

Pixy nodded. "Thank you, Chairman."

Cipher nodded, but didn't say anything.

"That is not all," said Zala, "from this point on Sorcerer, Wizard, and Galm Teams will no longer be operating as an official part of the regular army, or independent mercenaries."

_Here it comes_, thought Palmer. He'd been anticipating this.

"From this day forward," said Zala, "your units will be acting under the aegis of Special Operations."

Lucan and Palmer bowed their heads, while Pixy and Cipher gave no such response. "We're honored, Chairman Zala," the two Commanders said, though privately Palmer had his misgivings.

"You will become the new tip of ZAFT's spear," said Zala, "agents of my will on the battlefield."

"What about Gelb and Gault?" asked Lucan, "Will they be joining us in the field?"

Zala shook his head. "Gelb will remain stationed at Jachin Due. As for Gault, they're on top secret assignment. I have Chief Commander Kupchenko working on something special, and his team is required to help safeguard the project." The Chairman then smiled. "In time, you four will be read in on it, and eventually your units will join his. It will be the key to our ultimate victory in this war."

"Understood, Chairman," said Lucan and Palmer.

"Your new machines await you at Fort Jupiter," said Zala, "I want you to get to work immediately on mastering the units. That is all; you are dismissed."

The four pilots stood up, with Lucan and Palmer saluting the Chairman. Before they could leave though, Zala turned to Cipher and Pixy. "Galm Team. You compensation will be increased by thirty percent in recognition of your new role. I trust that is an acceptable rate?"

Cipher shrugged. "It's fine."

Zala nodded before giving a dismissive waive of his hand. The four pilots wasted no time in getting out of the office.

When the doors opened Palmer saw another group of people sitting in the reception area. Two were men, and from their white uniforms he knew they were commanders. The third though was a woman with mid-length silver hair and grey eyes. She was dressed in civilian garb, and rather masculine clothing for a woman at that, with black pants, a dark grey button up shirt, a dark green scarf, and a dark blue trench coat.

_Ezalia Joule_, thought Palmer, _Representative for Martius City. What is she doing in ZAFT HQ? _The question stayed unanswered only for a moment before he remembered that the Martius City colonies were home of another one of ZAFT's major arms producers, Martius Arsenals. Of all the members of the Supreme Council apart from Zala himself, Ezalia Joule's position had the most relevance to ZAFT.

Palmer and Lucan gave the Councilor a nod. Cipher remained indifferent, and Pixy had made a beeline right for the receptionist's desk.

"So," he said, smiling as he leaned over the desk, "about my earlier inquiry, Miss…"

"Amelia," she replied, returning the smile as she slipped him a piece of paper, "and there's my answer."

The mercenary glanced at the piece, and his smile became a little more playful as he looked back at the secretary. "Alright. What do you say I pick you up after shift then? I'll only be in town for a few days before I ship out again, so no time like the present."

"Sounds good, flyboy," said Amelia, "I'll wait out front. Don't leave me hanging, Pixy."

"Never," he said.

She nodded before turning to the representative from Martius City and the officers with her. "Councilor Joule? The Chairman will see you now."

The Councilor stood up, along with her two companions. "Thank you, Miss Amelia." As they walked towards the office, Palmer noticed her gaze harden somewhat as she looked at Cipher and Pixy. "_Mercenaries_…" he heard her mutter.

The Commander was a bit puzzled at her apparent hostility towards the Galm Team, especially since they had been hired by Zala himself for the war. In the end he chalked it up to her being suspicious of people who fought for cash rather than ideals.

_It's not that straightforward with those two though_, he thought as he looked at the two dogs of war, Pixy engaging in a bit of small talk with Amelia while Cipher stood back with his arms folded, _the cash isn't as big of a motivator as it is for other mercenary teams. I know Pixy went freelance because he wanted greater operational freedom; he didn't like being weighed down by formalities and regulations. I'm not sure if Cipher shared the sentiment, though my money's on it. More to the point, though… both those guys like to fly and fight, and since mercenaries are supplements to the regular army that means they tend to get thrown into more hazardous situations. For those two, that just means a bigger challenge, a better rush._

"So," said Lucan, "what do you think?"

"About what?" he replied.

Wizard One nodded back at the mercenary duo. "Those two getting customized machines, for starters."

Palmer shrugged. "No big deal. I mean, it does make sense. Large teams like yours and mine should have a sense of uniformity, so giving us all the mainline GuAIZ is fine. A wing pair like Cipher and Pixy is a different matter. Though they're professional pilots, there's no getting around the fact that they're just _different _from rank and file pilots like us. Their fighting styles reflect that, so giving them variants of the GuAIZ that allow them to play on those strengths is natural."

"And they are among the best pilots still flying under Zala, mercenary or otherwise," said Lucan, "ZAFT does have a history of preferential treatment for noteworthy aces. I suppose our own elevation to Special Operations is a sign of that."

"Partially," said Palmer, "if that were the complete truth, then the Valkyrie Team would've been given a spot in Special Operations long ago. You and I are simple soldiers, unaligned either way in the greater political struggle within the PLANTs. The same goes for Cipher and Pixy. The Chairman's aware of that, and since he can't find skilled pilots that are leaning towards his faction's line, he's making do with us to help shore up the ranks."

"In a way, I guess that is a testament to our abilities," Lucan mused aloud, "to be held in such consideration even though we're not strict adherents to the radical faction's ideology… well, it sends _some _sort of message. What exactly that is depends on the eye of the beholder."

"That's why I hate politics," said Palmer, "it's never straightforward. Everything can be twisted to fit one's preconceptions."

"Agreed," said Lucan.

"Hey," said Pixy as he and his flight lead approached, "what's up with you guys? You two look way too serious."

Palmer shook his head. "Forget about it, Solo Wing."

"Let's get going," said Cipher, "we need to get started on sim runs with the new machines."

"Yeah, let's get those over with," said Pixy, grinning, "I've got a date later, and I'm not going to miss it."

Palmer chuckled as they left the reception room. "You and the girls, Solo Wing. This one just gonna be another one-night-stand?"

"Who can say?" Galm Two replied, "She's definitely a cutie, but we're only gonna be around here for a little while before we head back to the field. I'll just have to see how things play out."

"It's hard to predict anything in wartime," said Lucan, "we move from one battlefield to the next, with a few brief breathers in between. How long until we once again are thrown into the fire, I wonder…"

It was a good question, but Palmer had a darker one in mind.

_How long until that fire makes its way to our homeland again?_

It was enough to send a shiver down his spine, but he would not let fear of the future deter him from his duty. He would fight with all the skill at his disposal, wielding the latest in ZAFT's formidable mobile suit arsenal.

"Come on," he said, smiling, "I want to check out the GuAIZ. We're going to be putting it through its paces in short order. Here's hoping it's up to the challenge."

….

His left hand dancing across the key board while his right gripped the controls, Field Marshal Creuset contacted the flagship of his task force. "_Vesalius_, I'm setting up for final approach. Confirm readiness."

The destroyer's mobile suit flight controller, a blond-haired man in his mid twenties, appeared on the main monitor. "Hangar doors opening now, sir. You are clear to proceed."

"Thank you," Creuset replied.

"_Vesalius _out," said the young man as his face disappeared.

The masked officer looked ahead as he brought his white GuAIZ towards the ship's docking bay. As a Field Marshal, Creuset could abstain from flights such as the one he was just wrapping up if he were so inclined. However, he did not want to spend all his time on the destroyer. Creuset wanted to keep his piloting skills sharp, and going out on the occasional recon patrol was a good way to do that.

It was also a good way to measure the GuAIZ. While he'd made a few flights in the new model mobile suit during his time in the homeland, he was still trying to figure out just how far he could push the unit. It was certainly an impressive machine, and the Field Marshal knew it blew his upgraded CGUE right out of the water on all categories.

_Of course_, he thought as he approached the flagship of his eight-vessel task force, _its specs are inferior to those of the nuclear powered prototypes we developed, but that's to be expected. The GuAIZ was never meant to compete with those units. Still, I think I'll be able to give them a decent tussle._

Accomplishing the mission set out for him by the Chairman though was going to be more difficult than any mobile suit duel the Field Marshal might find himself in. Comprised of three destroyers and five frigates, Creuset's battle group was indeed formidable, but when put against the three advanced warships the renegades had at their disposal, along with their incredibly powerful mobile suits, the masked officer knew that event the task of taking down just the _Eternal _would be a daunting proposition.

_At least the Chairman saw fit to allocate more GuAIZs to my task force_, he thought as he entered the hangar and moved his machine to its berth, _every team lead in the group has been assigned one. We use three man teams, and since each vessel carries six mobile suits that equals two GuAIZs per warship. The only exception to that is the Vesalius; other than Yzak's unit, every mobile suit on board the ship is a GuAIZ._

As he touched down in his assigned birth, Creuset reflected that actually fighting the renegades was at this point a secondary concern. What mattered right now was _finding _them, and that was proving to be no easy task. It had been nearly a week and a half since the task force had launched from the PLANTs, and they'd had scant information to begin their hunt with. There had been only one sighting of the _Eternal _and her accompanying warships after the fall of Avalon, and that had been by a lone scout GINN about six hours after the attack. The unit had reported that the three ships' general vector was towards L4, but there were plenty of places the vessels could've gone between there and L5, and the scout mobile suit had been unable to pursue the enemy long enough for a replacement to relieve it; it had been detected and shot down, managing only to get off a brief burst transmission before its demise.

"Space is vast," Creuset muttered as he got out of his mobile suit, "so many places for them to go to ground to…"

He had sent his task force along the same general heading as reported by the scout GINN, but had halted the group at near the halfway point between L4 and L5. Creuset had no confirmation that the _Eternal _and her allies had gone all the way to L4, after all; they could've changed course anywhere along the path. The Field Marshal had decided to use his current position as an area from which to conduct reconnaissance, but he knew that there was only so much to do. The fate of his mission was tied to the combined efforts of Field Marshal Raan's Patrol Fleet and ZAFT's Military Intelligence. There was little Creuset could do to influence either organization from where he was now, so all he could do was conduct his own patrols and wait for them to narrow down his search area.

Floating towards the exit, he saw Yzak enter the hangar, dressed in his crimson flight suit and ready for patrol. Creuset nodded at the young man as they passed each other. "Good luck out there, Yzak."

The silver-haired ace nodded in return but didn't say anything, and Creuset could see him tense slightly. It had been a recurring reaction in the young man since the battle at Panama, and the Field Marshal knew it was a sign of the pilot's increasing suspicion of him.

_Natural, all things considered_, he thought, _Yzak is strong-willed, but not to the point of being able to go through with the massacre we committed at Panama. Such slaughters are now becoming increasingly common in this war, and he knows I've done nothing to discourage our soldiers from taking part in them. Combine my willingness to allow it with bringing Flay Allster into our ranks, and I'm sure he's wondering as to what my ultimate agenda is._

Creuset smirked as he watched the young man enter the Duel. Let Yzak wonder all he liked. By the time the Field Marshal's plan came to fruition, there would be nothing the boy could do about it.

As he left the hangar he heard Captain Ades's voice over the intercom. "Field Marshal Creuset, Field Marshal Raan is on the line for you."

He pressed a button on a nearby wall console. "Thank you, Ades. I'll take it in my office."

"Understood, Field Marshal," the Captain replied.

_It's about time_, he thought as he rushed through the corridors, _I was wondering who would hit pay dirt first, her or Military Intelligence._

He entered his office and shut the door behind him before swiftly moving to his desk and powering up the main monitor. In no time at all, the screen was taken up by the image of the head of the Patrol Fleet.

Field Marshal Shala Raan was a lovely woman. Not a beauty queen, but certainly a striking lady. In her early thirties, the First Generation Coordinator hailed from the perpetually volatile Middle East, and it showed in her appearance. Her long black hair fell past her shoulders, and curled near the end. Her dark brown eyes went well with her light brown skin, presenting a sharp contrast with her white uniform. The woman was tall and slender, with a lithe frame a slightly modest chest.

Her demeanor was sharp and attentive, as was to be expected; when she was on the job, the woman was all business. "Field Marshal Creuset. I have information relevant to your mission."

_No pleasantries whatsoever_, he thought, _I wonder if she was always like this, or if the death of her mentor hardened her somewhat. Who can say…_

"I'm all ears, Raan," he replied.

"Do you recall the third warship accompanying the _Archangel _and the _Eternal _during the raid on the PLANTs?" she asked.

Creuset nodded. "According to the reports I've read, it's one of Orb's _Izumo_-class battleships. I believe this one was the _Kusanagi_, the second ship to be built in that line of vessels."

"Correct," said Raan, "the presence of this ship symbolizes Orb's connection to the renegades. I decided to pursue that connection, and though it took some patience, my fleet's efforts have finally paid off."

Creuset leaned forward, intrigued at the line the conversation was taking. "Please continue, Raan."

"I sent one of my frigates, the _Mata Hari_, to monitor the two remaining Orb colonies at L3, along with their resource satellites," she replied.

"Last I'd heard," said Creuset, "the Alliance was maintaining patrols in that area as well. I hope you were able to avoid a confrontation."

Raan's gaze narrowed. "Do not insult me or my subordinates, Creuset. Scouting and evasion are the forte of the Patrol Fleet, and it has refined them to an art form. We're well versed in avoiding enemy patrols, and the Alliance has lessened its presence at L3 considerably since the fall of Avalon. They've shifted several of the warships they had in that area to the lower border of L5; no doubt looking for an opportunity to strike. While it may make matters more difficult for the Home Fleet, it has been most beneficial to my own forces. The enemy had no idea the _Mata Hari _was anywhere near the area."

Creuset nodded. "I'll take your word for it, Raan. So, what did you find?"

"Four days ago," she said, "one of the _Mata Hari_'s Mirage GINNs spotted a _Cornelius_-class tender ship leaving the Elysium Colony."

An upgrade to the standard recon mobile suit used by ZAFT, the ZGMF-LRR704BM Mirage GINN was essentially a scout GINN equipped with the Mirage Colloid system used by the stolen Blitz mobile suit and the Wraiths used by the renegades. The unit had also been given a more advanced set of batteries in order to accommodate the larger power demands placed on it by the cloaking device, but other than that its capabilities mirrored those of its predecessor. Mirage GINNs had been undergoing trial flights prior to the raid on the PLANTs; the shock and outcry generated from that fiasco had apparently been enough to speed up the process of producing the machines and integrating them into ZAFT forces, particularly the Patrol Fleet.

Creuset tapped the desk. "_Cornelius_-class… that's used by both Orb and the Alliance, yes?"

"Correct," said Raan, "Military Intelligence believed it was one of the other fruits of the collaboration between those two nations. Very few are in service; for a tender it is rather expensive."

"But also well equipped," Creuset noted, "it's not every day you see supply ships with positron cannons and laminated armor, for starters."

Raan nodded. "Along with the capability to deploy mobile suits. I suppose it would be better to consider them a hybrid of tender and warship. In any event, I did not call you to discuss the merits of that class of vessel."

"I'm assuming you managed to track the tender," said Creuset.

"Yes," Raan replied, "It managed to evade the Alliance patrols and slip out of L3. The _Mata Hari _kept her distance while rotating her three Mirage GINNs to ensure constant stealth coverage during their pursuit. They stuck with the ship for almost the entirety of its journey."

"_Almost_," said Creuset, his voice souring, "implying that they lost it."

"No," Raan shot back, folding her arms, "they did not need to complete the pursuit once the ship entered the L4 debris field."

Creuset felt a chill run down his spine. L4 had special significance to him…

"There's only one place in that region where that tender could've been heading," he said, "only one surviving habitat…"

"The Mendel Colony," Raan finished for him, "and while we have no visual proof as of yet, I am certain your objective is there, Creuset."

"Is the _Mata Hari _still on station?" he asked.

"This information is approximately an hour old," said Raan, "the frigate is maintaining position outside the field, and her Captain has informed me of his intent to have his Mirage GINNs patrol the area around the colony. Their presence should remain undetected, and to ensure that I have expressly forbid them from entering the colony."

"Good move," said Creuset, "we're still a ways out from L4, and we can't well have the renegades getting spooked before we get there. Please tell your Captain to maintain his hands off approach and continue to monitor the area."

"Already done," said Raan coolly, "do not tell me how to manage my ships, Creuset. I do not find it amusing."

Creuset gave a slight bow of his head. "Apologies, Raan."

The head of the Patrol Fleet nodded. "The _Mata Hari _awaits your arrival. Raan out."

His fellow Field Marshal faded from the screen, her image replaced by the symbol of the PLANTs. "Alright," said Creuset, smiling, "time to get the other players into position."

He spent the next few minutes crafting an email. After triple-checking the encryption key he sent it off to Azrael. _It will take him some time to mobilize a battle group and get to L4_, he thought, _but I should be able to delay long enough so that our task forces will arrive simultaneously. With Alliance forces thrown into the mix, matters will improve considerably for my battle group. Azrael will doubtlessly focus his efforts on the Archangel and Wing Zero, and probably try to capture either that machine or one of the other nuclear powered mobile suits. Whether he succeeds or not is immaterial. As long as he keeps them busy, my group will have a shot at the Eternal._

His smile then became a cruel smirk as he reached into a drawer and pulled out a data disk with the universal symbol for nuclear power emblazoned on the cover. "Even if the songstress and her steed survive," he said softly, "I can still accomplish _my _mission."

Failure to complete the assignment Zala had set out for him would doubtlessly decrease his standing in the Chairman's eyes, but Creuset knew that by that point it would no longer matter what his superior thought of him. By the time Creuset finished his true mission at L4, his plan would be set on an inexorable march to its endgame.

_A pity I can't simply transmit _this _to Azrael as well_, he thought as he looked at the disk in his hand, _but the people who encoded this date were far too careful. Any unauthorized transmission involving it automatically triggers a virus that completely wipes the data, and the only man with the key for an authorized transmission is Zala. It was hard enough to get a hold of this precious disk as it is, and I'm not about to lose its contents to some damn bit of malware. A physical handoff is the only way to facilitate my plan. There's no denying the risks involved in that, but with the chaos of the upcoming clash, matters should be greatly simplified. It all comes down to timing…_

He tapped a few keys, and the image on the monitor once again shifted. A picture of the ruined Mendel Colony appeared on the screen.

"Ah, Mendel," he said, "After the Battle of Nova, I wondered if the war had left you behind for good. Now I know that is not the case. You still have your part to play… as you have from the beginning."

He shrank the image of the colony and brought up two pictures alongside it. The first was the file photograph of his long-time rival and the only Alliance pilot he'd ever respected; Mu La Flaga.

"Ah, Mu, my friend," he said, "if only you knew the significance of where you're hiding out right now… how it has bound us together since before this war began."

He then turned to the second image. It was the one the elder Zala had shown the younger after the theft of the Freedom; Lacus and the pilot that would hijack the machine, standing with their backs to the camera. The songstress was unmistakable even from behind, but the young man with her could pass for anyone at that angle… as had been the intent.

What Athrun had not known was that the image was not a still photograph, but simply a paused image from a security recording. Clicking on the 'play' icon, Creuset watched as Lacus and the young man turned to look at each other…

...revealing the face of Kira Yamato.

Had Athrun known that the identity of the Freedom's hijacker was in fact the boy he'd thought dead in the Marshall Islands, the Chairman had no doubt believed that he would've been hesitant to act in his mission. Of course, to Creuset the fact that the Justice had eventually shown up fighting _alongside _the Freedom indicated that the boy had found out through some other means that his childhood friend was in fact still alive and had stolen the prototype mobile suit. The Field Marshal suspected that Lacus had had a hand in that revelation… and in the boy's recovery.

_Reverend Malchio ran an orphanage in that region_, he mused, _and he did travel to Aprilius One shortly after that battle. He's always been close to the Clyne family… I can see him bringing Kira to them. The man's gutsier than I gave him credit for, finding a way to smuggle the boy into the heart of ZAFT space. A daring pacifist… who would've imagined that? Alas, it is too late to find him and question him now. According to the reports, shortly after that visit he returned to Earth and promptly relocated his orphanage to the Kingdom of Scandinavia. No surprise there, really. Not only would he have anticipated ZAFT coming after him eventually, but his flock of children also included Coordinator orphans, and with the Alliance advancing into that part of the world he surely knew that they would target those kids. Scandinavia has avoided the gaze of the major powers and not been drawn into the conflict… it's really the last refuge he could take._

In the end, the fate of the Reverend and his flock was irrelevant to Creuset. The young Coordinator from Heliopolis, though… well, that was another matter entirely.

"Kira Yamato," said Creuset softly, "I'd written you off after the Marshall Islands… clearly that was a mistake. I really should've known better. After all… you're not like others of your kind."

The masked ace chuckled as he looked at the picture of the boy and the songstress. "You're tied to Mendel as well, and I doubt you have any inkling as to how. Oh, how splendid the coming battle will be. After all, for you and me, Kira… this is where it all began. I'm looking forward to meeting you… and at last casting aside the curtain that was thrown down over both our origins."

….

The Ptolemaeus impact crater was one of the Moon's most distinctive geographical features. A massive depression, the lunar impact crater spanned a width of roughly 153 kilometers and was about 2.4 kilometers deep. Viewed from afar by an unknowing observer, the crater would appear to be simply one of the many that dotted the Moon's surface, but in military circles the depression held much greater significance. It was the home of the Atlantic Federation's Ptolemaeus lunar base, one of their largest and most fortified facilities on the Moon.

While there were several buildings out on the surface, from communications and sensor stations to visual observation lounges and weapons emplacements, those were only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The true nature of the base was that of a sprawling underground complex, one that ran approximately two kilometers deep and spanned almost the entire area of the crater it called home. Constructed in 35 CE, the facility had originally been much smaller than it was now, and its primary purpose had been to oversee the Atlantic Federation's space colonies. However, as the Coordinator population had continued to increase throughout the Earth Sphere and tensions between them and Naturals had built up, the complex had been vastly expanded to accommodate enormous quantities of troops and ships. Massive hangars, dry docks, and barracks had been built, along with humongous storage areas for munitions and supplies. The base's command and control infrastructure had also been given a major overhaul and expansion, while facilities for the construction of military hardware up to and including warships had been incorporated into the complex. When a military officer or government official thought of the center of Alliance power in outer space, they did not think of the L2 colonies and shipyards, nor the Fleet forward operating _Los Alamos_ space station and its accompanying battle groups at L1; they thought of the Ptolemaeus base.

Therefore, it was quite fitting that Muruta Azrael had made the complex his personal command center when he came to outer space. The head of Blue Cosmos and the _de facto _ruler of the Earth Alliance had arrived at the Ptolemaeus base shortly after the recapture of the Lake Victoria spaceport. The fanatical and bloodthirsty industrialist and politician had wasted no time in directing the massive transfer of resources, troops, and weapons from the Earth via Victoria's mass driver to the Moon bases and the Alliance's orbital constructs. The losses that his side had incurred throughout the war were rapidly being replaced, with the ultimate goal of building a vast new armada in preparation for the final campaign, one that would dwarf the force fielded by the Earth Alliance at the beginning of the conflict.

Azrael was currently in the central control room, the heart of the base. The nerve center of the facility shared a similar layout with that of the late Alaska base, with massive screens along the far wall displaying every theatre of the war both on Earth and in outer space. Most of the floor space was taken up by row upon row of consoles manned by officers and analysts, making sense of the vast quantities of information relayed to the control room and sending out appropriate orders and responses. Azrael was seated the base commandant's perch, overlooking all the bustling activity. His station, of course, was bigger and more lavish than those of the underlings, with real leather padding on the chair and a much larger monitor for him to use.

He smiled as he observed the image currently on said monitor. It was live feed from one of the base's external cameras, and it showed a supply convoy approaching the base. It was a smaller convoy than some of the others, composed of only three freighters, three _Drake_-class escort ships, and a _Nelson_-class battleship, but what put Azrael in a good mood was seeing the Strike-Daggers flanking the vessels in perfect formation.

_Ah, ZAFT_, he mused, _how does it feel to have lost your edge, your exclusive claim to mass production mobile suits? For too long this war has been the classic tale of quantity versus quality, and I will begrudgingly admit that you held the latter and wielded it quite well against us. However, that is now at an end. Both quantity _and _quality are now firmly in the grasp of the Alliance. I hold them with an iron grip, and I will use them to utterly crush you and the rest of your despicable kind._

Production of the Strike-Daggers had picked up immeasurably with the addition of the Eurasian Federation's resources to Azrael's war chest. The Buster-Dagger had undergone a notable increase in manufacture as well, but it was a support unit; the Strike had been given the honor of being the Atlantic Federation's mainstay machine.

Of course, it was still too early for the Alliance forces to be comprised exclusively of mobile suits. Mobile armors still made up the bulk of the group's attack craft, and the units would still be utilized for the foreseeable future in combination with the new mobile suits. However, production of the TS-MA2 Moebius had already begun winding down, and the units that were destroyed from here on out would not be replaced by more mobile armors, but with mobile suits. Skilled pilots were being rotated away from the mobile armors and being assigned to the mobile suits as they came off the production line, while fresh recruits were given the older machines if there weren't any Strike or Buster-Daggers available for them yet. Alliance officers had already begun devising tactics and strategies that involved integration of both mobile armors and suits into formations, with the former taking on a support role.

If Azrael had one aspect he was displeased about regarding the new mass-production mobile suits, it was the simple matter that they could not carry a nuclear payload. Of course, since the Alliance currently lacked the technology that allowed units like the Freedom or Wing Zero to utilize nuclear power, atomic weapons could not factor into the conflict, but Azrael was keen on finding a way to change that, and he was aware that when that time came he would need a delivery system.

_The Moebius can still serve in that role_, he thought, _at least until the research teams work up a means for our mobile suits to launch nuclear missiles._

The prospect of regaining the use of nuclear power for his side was only one of Azrael's preoccupations. Another matter that had his attention at the moment was the latest incarnation of a long-running side project of his. It had seen its first trial by fire in the reclamation of Africa from ZAFT forces, and was now involved in the efforts to push the enemy out of the mainland of the Republic of East Asia.

Tapping a few keys on the console, Azrael watched as the image of a man dressed in stereotypical lab attire appeared on the monitor. "Dr. Frick," he said, his smile becoming forced, "good to see you again."

Wilhelm Frick, former premier doctor of genetic research at the University of Berlin and one of the few survivors of the science team that had worked for Dr. Ulen Hibiki on Mendel prior to the 'accident' was hardly one of Azrael's favorite people to converse with on any topic. At 67 years old, his once blond hair was now completely gray, and his frame had definitely seen better days, though he still stood relatively tall for a man his age. His eyes were light blue and locked in a perpetually narrow gaze, while his hair was cut in a very close buzz.

The geneticist was one of Blue Cosmos', and by extension LOGOS', dirty little secrets, his employ a massive sign of hypocrisy on the part of organizations whose platforms were so opposed to any form of genetic science and alteration to the point of genocide. One of the aims of Blue Cosmos had been the elimination of those who had 'perverted the natural order' via genetic experimentation, and Dr. Frick had been close to the top of their kill list. However, Azrael and his associate Lord Djibril had privately agreed that the man's talents could yet be of some use to them, and had reached out to the geneticist. They had offered him a reprieve from the judgment coming to his colleagues working on the abominable research taking place at Mendel… provided, of course, that he told Blue Cosmos everything he knew about his coworkers and the projects they were involved in. Afterwards, his death had been faked, and he had come to head up several of the black projects being undertaken by Blue Cosmos and LOGOS. The largest at this time by far was the Biological CPU or Extended project, but the man had other tasks assigned to him as well, the most crucial of which to Azrael was his prized 'Phantom Commander' initiative.

_His continued existence is a sin_, Azrael thought, _but we need his expertise. I greatly look forward to the day when that is no longer the case…_

Dr. Frick scoffed. "Spare me the bullshit," he replied, his voice a rather impressive baritone for a man of his age, "We both hate each other, Azrael. My working for you is merely a matter of necessity. You would've thrown me to the dogs already were it not for Lord Djibril's counsel."

That was certainly true; Djibril had been far more insistent on securing Frick's cooperation than Azrael had. While Azrael had not denied the potential use they could put the doctor to, the man's work still repulsed him to no small degree. It had taken every ounce of discipline Azrael could muster to see past his personal disgust for the geneticist and take the long view. In the end he had begrudgingly gone along with his colleague's proposal, and privately he would admit that the professor had become a key resource in their struggle against the Coordinators.

In the end, Azrael kept his temper in check as he responded to Frick's insolence. "True enough. That does not change the fact that you do important work for us, and that I _am _happy with the progress that's been made under your care. Now if only you'd improve your manners, I might actually look more favorably upon you."

"Somehow I doubt that," the doctor sneered.

Azrael's brow twitched slightly. "Be mindful, doctor. We may have spared you when we purged Hibiki's colleagues, but the times have changed. You are not the only man of your field working in our employ."

"No," said Frick, "but I am the best among them, and you know that. Even with all the progress I've made on your projects, you cannot afford to kill me. After all, there is still so much more to be done, and my skills are the key to fulfilling your ambitions."

"Very well," Azrael growled, "so let's start with those 'ambitions', as you call them. I want a report."

"Specify," said the doctor, "I'm not just working on one assignment, after all."

"Let's start with the Biological CPU program," said Azrael, "Are you ready to move into mass production?"

Dr. Frick shook his head. "Hardly. The three pilots I gave you for your machines adapted as well as they did to Gamma Glipheptin as much out of luck as to medical breakthroughs. My tests on additional subjects have not yielded positive results. Gamma-05 through Gamma-237 were all dosed and put into combat exercises. They all died due to a combination of mental breakdown and uncontrollable, violent muscle spasms. Their bodies rejected the drugs."

"Why?" asked Azrael, "If it worked for those three you sent me, why not those other subjects?"

"I told you," Frick replied, "that success was due in no small part to luck. Those three's genetic and physiological makeup was sufficiently within range of Gamma Glipheptin's tolerances. It is a very picky and volatile compound."

Azrael sighed. "So it's unsuited to mass production."

"The current iteration, yes," said Frick, "We have come up with several variants that can be applied to select groups of subjects, but we cannot create a 'one-size-fits-all' compound."

"This is not welcome news, doctor," Azrael growled, "You're giving me drips from the bucket when you were ordered to send forth a flood. I don't want a team or two of your Extended; I want an _army_."

"Perhaps if you had taken more of my former colleagues under your umbrella rather than killing them, you would have it," Frick shot back, "As it stands now, I have no equals in my field to compare research results with. There is no one in a position to effectively collaborate with me on this work. The staff doctors you provided me with are barely a step above grad students."

"They are among the best medical minds in the Atlantic Federation," said Azrael, "they should be more than enough for your needs."

"If they are 'the best'," sneered Frick, "then I weep for the future of the Atlantic Federation's medical sciences."

Azrael was quickly losing his patience. "They are your resources, doctor," he snarled, "I suggest you make better use of them and get some actual results, or I will be forced to reconsider the profitability of keeping you alive."

"Idle threats do not impress me," Frick scoffed, "you cannot terminate me without the consent of Lord Djibril, and he places far greater value on this project than you do." He chuckled. "Besides, without me, your _private _project's future viability is in serious doubt."

As much as he hated to admit it, Azrael knew the geneticist was right on that last one. Still, he could not let such remarks go unanswered. "If you do not achieve some serious progress," he said, "I imagine I would be able to convince my colleague to _reconsider _your use to us. As for my _private _project, you are not the only one working on it, and the data for it does not reside exclusively in your head."

"No," said Frick, "but my expertise is the only reason its latest incarnation has thus far survived and is able to walk down the path you desire for him. Before I came along, you could not say even _that _much."

Azrael nodded. "I'll admit, under your supervision that project has made significant progress. Regarding the latest incarnation, I understand that the monitoring officer with him has sent you his latest report. Any abnormalities I should be aware of?"

Frick shook his head. "So far his biological data is normal. There are no signs of degeneration, and the latest round of blood tests shows him to be a picture of health."

Azrael smiled. "Excellent. I've already seen the reports regarding his combat performance during our conquest of Africa. He's really putting the Strike-Dagger through its paces."

Frick nodded. "As a single combatant, he shows much promise. At least, that's what the Captain you put with him noted. However…"

Azrael glared. "What is it, doctor?"

"I would advise against pitting him against enemy elites at this time," the geneticist continued, "He fought regulars in Africa and performed well, but those were his first real battles. I need to study him in more engagements to find out if the stresses of real combat effect his physiology."

"Well of course they would," said Azrael, "if he were to get hit, anyway."

Frick shook his head. "I am not referring to wounds or fatigue, Azrael. During training exercises, the previous incarnations wound up accelerating their tissue degeneration just from the stress of that. This is the first one to make it to real combat, and it is entirely possible that the genetic markers that affect the degeneration found in the other subjects have simply been dormant until now. Real fighting, especially against enemy aces, let alone demigods like Wing Zero, could exert him to the point that it triggers the degeneration. By keeping him in battles against regular forces for the time being I can measure if whether or not this one truly has made the leap that the others could not, if he is not going to be plagued by the same defects found in others of his kind."

Azrael sighed. "Fine, then. Pass that recommendation onto his superiors, along with my endorsement of it."

The doctor nodded. "Very well, Azrael."

"Make sure this one survives, doctor," said Azrael, "he's come too far to fail now."

"I'll do all I can medically," Frick replied, "but when he's on the battlefield, the matter is out of my hands."

"I'm aware of that," Azrael replied, "make sure his replacement is ready if the worst should happen."

"Of course, Azrael," said Frick.

"Now," said Azrael, absently tapping a finger on the arm of his chair, "back to the Biological CPUs… what are you going to do about this setback of yours?"

"I've already begun cataloging which subjects are possibly compatible with the variants of Gamma Glipheptin we have in stock," said the doctor, "we can then dispatch those individuals to frontline units, provided that they're given overseeing medical staff. However, we're going to have to use a new approach if we want to come up with a process that will lead to viable mass production of the units."

"I'm sure you must have some treatment and experimentation options on hand by now," said Azrael, "or are at least in the conceptualization stage for them."

Frick nodded. "I have already come up with a program that we can begin implementing with the younger recruits. It won't be relying exclusively on drugs like Gamma Glipheptin. It's a more varied approach."

"Go on," said Azrael.

"Brainwashing, heavy mental conditioning, and even more extreme training will play key roles," said Frick, "along with new cocktails of performance enhancing drugs and experimental bio-augmentation procedures. Provided we achieve the right balance, we can potentially create subjects that are more stable than the units that fought at Orb, though they may not be their equals in a one-on-one setting."

"But they can be produced in greater numbers, correct?" asked Azrael.

"Theoretically, yes," the geneticist replied, "though it will take time to come up with a standard formula that we can apply to all the subjects."

"Time is a commodity that you are running out of," Azrael snapped, "this war will not end in years, doctor, but in months. I am absolutely certain of that. Now, what can you accomplish in that time frame?"

"Beyond sending you the few units compatible with the variants of Gamma Glipheptin, very little," said Frick, "research like this cannot be rushed, Azrael."

"Then forget your 'standard formula'," Azrael replied, "that can be applied after the war ends. Just because the Coordinators will all be dead does not mean we will not have need for an army of super soldiers. Focus on whatever short-term solutions you have at your disposal. Extreme training, drugs tailored to the individuals, coercion… whatever it takes, doctor. The full Second Stage Extended humans can wait. I need powerful soldiers quickly, doctor, and you had best be able to provide them. "

"You will not have 'powerful soldiers', Azrael," Frick warned, "the subjects you get under those circumstances will be ticking time-bombs, viable for only a few battles if they live even that long. The chemical cocktails I can make for them in the timeframe you require will propel their abilities beyond the norm for humans, but it will burn through them quickly. They will be even more mentally unstable than the units you already have. If they are not killed by the enemy, they will have to be disposed of by your forces."

"Fine by me," said Azrael, "they don't have to survive for long. As long as they can inflict some damage on the enemy before they're destroyed, nothing else matters."

Frick chuckled. "Rabid dogs for the hound master who himself is frothing at the mouth… as you wish, Azrael."

"If you're hoping to improve my opinion of you," Azrael growled, "sarcasm will not help your case."

The doctor smirked. "Hardly, Azrael. It's just amusing to watch you squirm. You're provoked far too easily."

"And you still fail to appreciate the precariousness of your situation," Azrael shot back, "Get results, doctor, or the hounds you give me won't be the only beasts I'll have to put down."

With that the head of Blue Cosmos angrily stabbed a key, ending the conversation. _Impudent bastard_, he fumed silently, _speaking to _me _in such a manner…_

He seethed in his seat for a little bit before he regained his composure. Seeking a means to take his mind of the unpleasant chat with the doctor, Azrael opened up his email to see if anything important had come in since he'd last checked. It was a gesture done more for need of distraction than anything else; he wasn't expecting to find anything vital inside.

The single unopened piece of mail proved him _very _wrong.

Azrael immediately smiled when he saw who the sender was; his source of information inside ZAFT. He did not know the true identity of that source, only his code name; Iscariot. Azrael was well versed in the Christian theology, and thought that the code name was fitting for the person that had betrayed critical information regarding Operation Spitbreak to the Alliance.

It did not enter his mind that 'Iscariot' was not only betraying ZAFT…that Azrael himself was being played by the agent just as much as Patrick Zala was…

"It's been awhile," he said softly as he opened the message, "what gifts do you come bringing this time?"

His smile only grew as he read the contents of the email. _At last_, he thought, _we have them! Soon we will make them pay for their treachery…_

….

The view from the observation lounge of the Ptolemaeus lunar base was awe-inspiring and depressing, at least as far as Natarle was concerned. Sitting across from one of the large viewports, the former Executive Officer of the _Archangel _could take in the lunarscape and the sky beyond in its entire splendor. The vast expanse of the crater was on the light-side of the Moon, aglow in the reflected rays of the sun. Since most of the base was underground, there were only a few surface buildings poking into the scenery, minimizing man's impact on the natural lunar beauty. With no atmosphere to obscure the view, the Earth was clearly visible in the sky. The blue oceans, the green and brown landmasses, the swirling white clouds… to Natarle, there was no lovelier gem than the world she called home.

However, for all its ethereal beauty, the lunarscape and the sky beyond were also desolate and lonely to Natarle. With the exception of parts of the base, all Natarle could see were vast swaths of rock. It was a landscape utterly devoid of life, and in the light of the sun the woman felt that the view was disturbingly reminiscent of bleached bones from a corpse long left exposed to the elements. As for the beautiful gem that was the Earth, Natarle found herself discomforted by the black void that surrounded it. Like the lunarscape it had no sigh of life, and it looked as if it were constantly encroaching on the Earth, threatening to swallow the one bit of hope in an otherwise harsh and unforgiving solar system.

In a way, Natarle realized it was a reflection of her current situation. The desolate lunarscape was the military she continued to serve despite her increasing realization that it was no longer the noble institution she had originally believed in. Rumors floated through the hallways of massacre after massacre committed on Earth as the Alliance forces regained territory they had lost to ZAFT. As much as she wanted to disbelieve the whispers and hearsay, Natarle knew in her heart that they were true. After reading Mu's email regarding what the Alliance had attempted to do at the First Battle of Alaska with the _Archangel _and the Eurasian forces, combined with the reports she had read regarding the Second Battle of Alaska and the recapture of the Lake Victoria spaceport, Natarle could no longer deny the fact that the military she was sworn to serve was committing war crime after war crime. Its lofty ideals had been stripped away like rotting flesh from a corpse, leaving only the cold, bleached bones that were its disgusting framework and core… the genocidal hatred that drove its leaders exposed to the world.

The black void of space surrounding the Earth was, to Natarle, symbolic of the fires of hatred that were spreading rapidly across the entire world and outer space. Both the Alliance and ZAFT sought each other's annihilation and that of their civilian populations; this was a fact that Natarle could no longer be ignorant to. The two superpowers all too eagerly fed each other's fear and hate, and the inferno born of it was cascading out of control, threatening to consume all that was good and decent in the Earth Sphere… just as the black void of space threatened to do so with the Earth itself.

As for the Earth, to Natarle it symbolized more than just the home she wanted to protect. It was a few things to her on a deeply personal level. For starters, she felt as though it could represent _her_, surrounded by the opera of fear, hatred, and madness that this war had become, and plainly able to see the true colors of her nation laid bare. It also served as a symbol of those who were fighting _against _that madness, despite what her superiors might claim otherwise.

It reminded her of the _Archangel_, of the friends and comrades she had left behind on that ship… and of the man she loved. Natarle knew that they had all chosen to stand against both the Alliance and ZAFT; La Flaga's email to her after Alaska had made that abundantly clear. While they were now officially traitors to the Atlantic Federation, to her nation, Natarle could not help but admire the courage they had, the sheer bravery and strength of their convictions to take on such an immense struggle. While the duty-bound soldier in her could not abide their rebellion, their treason… the _woman _in her, the _human _in her, sympathized with it.

Despite her friction with her former superior officer over the course of their voyage, Natarle had respected Captain Ramius, and that respect had only increased as she saw the woman that had led the _Archangel _with a combination of courage and compassion that the ship's former Executive Officer could not help but marvel at drive her vessel forward into new battles that made their earlier fights look like mere skirmishes. Natarle knew that her former Captain was a woman who stood strong and stayed true to her sense of right and wrong, choosing to follow her morality and do what she felt was best for her ship and crew rather than just blindly follow orders from above, but the path she had embarked on now went even beyond that. Captain Ramius had taken charge of her own destiny rather than let her former nation lead her to slaughter, had acted to save those serving under her, and had chosen to fight to save countless more lives. Though the officer in Natarle and her upbringing in a strict military family told her to hate Captain Ramius for what she had done and for the fact that she was now fighting against the Atlantic Federation, in her heart Natarle knew that she could not do that. She did not _want _to do that. She could never admit it publicly, but to her Captain Ramius had become a paragon of sorts, a truly inspiring example of what a commanding officer should be, an example that Natarle aspired to emulate when the time came for her to take her first command out into the field.

Her former Captain was not the only individual on board the _Archangel _that Natarle had thought about recently with growing respect. Though her contact with him during her time aboard the ship had been limited, Natarle also had no small measure of admiration for the Gundam pilot that both superpowers by now so vehemently hated. It hadn't been easy for her to be on the same side as Heero Yuy. Though the young man's combat skills and the results he achieved in battle were beyond reproach, Natarle had been uncomfortable with his lack of formal status. He had no defined place within the chain-of-command, a potentially serious disruption to the military hierarchy that served as such an important anchor for Natarle, that helped her know her place in the scheme of things. Matters had not been helped by his independent and withdrawn nature; since he had only been willing to open up to Captain Ramius, Natarle had a difficult time ascertaining his intentions and motives.

However, despite all her concerns, Natarle had eventually come to accept Wing Zero's pilot as a part of the _Archangel_'s crew, and a very valuable one at that. Not only were his combat skills of the highest caliber, but he had also proven himself to have a cunning tactical and strategic mind, and had proven to be instrumental coming up with their basic battle plan in several situations, the final clash of the North Africa campaign being the standout example.

More than that though, Natarle had come to the realization that despite his independent tendencies Heero did in fact have a very strong sense of loyalty. She had just had trouble recognizing it before because it was not in the conventional sense that she had been raised to acknowledge. The Gundam pilot's devotion was not to the flag of the Earth Alliance or the Atlantic Federation; it wasn't a nation that he fought for. Rather, his steadfast loyalty had been given to the _Archangel _and the people on board her, especially Captain Ramius. Putting it all in perspective, Natarle knew that Heero had proven himself to be loyal to both her former warship and superior officer since the day he had come aboard the _Archangel_, and that had not changed since Wing Zero's combat debut. After the destruction of the Alaska base, the Atlantic Federation had attempted to paint Heero as an opportunistic and self-serving individual, a pilot that cared only for facilitating his own survival. Natarle didn't know how many people had bought into that party line, but she definitely had not. All evidence since the First Battle of Alaska showed Wing Zero still fighting alongside the warship Natarle had once served on; Heero was still aiding the _Archangel_ and Captain Ramius.

_He's loyal to _people_, not a flag_, she thought, _it is not nations that earn his devotion, but friends and comrades. Before serving on the Archangel, such a concept was alien to me; I only thought of following the orders of my superiors, accomplishing my mission at all costs. Now though, I'm not so sure, and I have him and Captain Ramius to thank for that. Along with one other person…_

_ Mu La Flaga._

More than anyone else, it was the dashing, laid-back, quick-witted, courageous, insightful, skilled, and understanding pilot that occupied Natarle's thoughts. He was her fellow Lieutenant Commander while she had held that rank, a comrade that she had found to be a surprising source of wisdom and strength during their travels together… and the man that she had fallen in love with.

It was because of Mu more than anything else that she would listen desperately for any news of the _Archangel_. Every scrap of information she could get on that ship was likewise information on his status, and so long as the _Archangel _was intact, the odds were good that he was safe too. He had not survived for so long as a pilot by being easy to kill, after all, and now that Natarle was reasonably sure the man she loved was now wielding a mobile suit, she knew that it would make him even more formidable on the battlefield. He would continue to survive… and if he met her forces on the battlefield again as he had in Orb, would continue to kill his former countrymen.

_Her _countrymen.

But… were they really? It was in no small thanks to the email Mu had sent her after Alaska that Natarle had begun doubting the nation that she was fighting for. She had joined the armed forces not just because of family tradition, but because she had wanted to protect people. Now though, the military that she served in seemed less intent on defending its people and more intent on slaughtering an entire race simply because of how they were born. Mu and the others on board the _Archangel _had seen that, and it was a realization that Natarle was coming to with each passing day.

_That was why he left_, she thought, _it wasn't just because High Command had set up Captain Ramius and the others to die at Alaska… he could see what course our nation was embarking on. Mu… you knew that your countrymen were heading down the path of blood… and you're determined to stand in their way. How…_

_ How I wish I could join you._

Her heart dearly wanted that, more than anything else. However, Natarle's sense of duty was too ingrained for her to simply shove it aside, regardless of her growing misgivings about the force she continued to fight for. She was a Captain now, which meant that she had subordinates who answered to her. Though her ship had yet to depart on her maiden voyage due to lack of intelligence regarding its objective, Natarle still took her responsibility for the vessel and her crew seriously. Captain Ramius had not abandoned her crew, and Natarle wanted to stand by hers and earn their respect just as her former superior had. She wanted to show them that she valued them as people, just as Captain Ramius had valued her.

_I'm holding up a traitor as an example to follow_, she mused, _if only privately. I'm sure my current superiors would be furious if they knew._

Even if she were able to overcome her duty and follow her heart's deepest desire, the fact of the matter was that Natarle simply did not know where Mu and the others were now. After the outrageously daring raid on the PLANTs the _Archangel _and the warships accompanying her had dropped off the grid. Natarle knew it had her superiors very nervous, and that they were almost as eager to find the renegade ship and soldiers as they were to launch a final, decisive campaign against ZAFT.

_We're certainly building up for that big push_, she thought, _I know we've been gathering our forces around the Moon, L1, and L2 for some time now. The lunar shipyards and those at L2 have been working around the clock, as have the factories both on the Moon and on Earth. All the resources the Earth Alliance can muster are being thrown into this buildup… it wouldn't surprise me if the force we launch for the final confrontation is larger than any seen before in human history._

Of course, when that final confrontation would come, Natarle could not say. It wasn't her place to know right now. All she needed to do was focus on her current responsibilities.

At least, that's what the soldier in her was saying, but she could not help but think that the people she had journeyed with before now, including Mu, would frown upon her just willfully accepting orders from superiors that she was increasingly distrustful of. Also, despite her duties, the truth was that the mission Natarle would sooner or later have to embark upon was not one that she _wanted _to think about…

…because that mission was to hunt down her friends and the man she loved.

"Why…" she said softly as she gazed out the viewport, struggling to keep her composure, "Why must it be me?"

The answer was painfully obvious. As the former Executive Officer of the _Archangel_, she was perhaps the most knowledgeable person of it that still remained within the Alliance ranks. Natarle understood the ship's capabilities and those of the people who served aboard her, though she knew that the latter was subject to change.

_So much has happened since I was transferred at Alaska_, she thought, _Captain Ramius and the others have been through new battles and have gained new allies. How they fought when I was on that ship may not necessarily be the same as how they will fight in the coming battle…_

Of course, Natarle dearly wished to avoid a fight entirely. A part of her mind was convinced that if she could just talk Captain Ramius and the others into surrendering, if she could just bring them back into the fold, then everything would be ok. They could explain why they had left the battlefield at Alaska, and perhaps High Command could be convinced to lessen their sentence in light of the mitigating circumstances…

Natarle vehemently shook her head. "Stupid girl," she muttered, "that's a pipedream…"

Had they only been charged of leaving the fighting at Alaska, perhaps things would be different. However, Captain Ramius and the others had then gone on to not only seek asylum in Orb, but then join that nation in its battle against the Earth Alliance forces. For such a transgression, Natarle knew that High Command would offer little in the way of leniency. The very best Natarle could hope for would be for her former comrades to be imprisoned with the very remote possibility of being allowed to reenter Alliance service at lower ranks and posts. Unfortunately, Natarle's heart was telling her that scenario was unlikely. The most likely one was that Mu, Captain Ramius, and the others, were they to surrender, would be summarily executed without even the pretense of going through the military justice system.

Natarle was sure that Mu and the others had already considered that possibility. They would not surrender, not after all that they had done and all that still lay ahead of them. Thanks to Mu's email, Natarle knew that they were fighting to end the war without both sides completely wiping each other out. It was a high calling that they could not abandon and had already more than proven themselves willing to put their lives on the line to fight for. More importantly, if they surrendered then Captain Ramius and the others would be allowing the Earth Alliance to not only regain possession of the deadly _Archangel_, but also any new mobile suits taken aboard her since she had left Orb, not to mention the insanely powerful Wing Zero. After how possessive and guarded Heero had proven himself to be regarding that machine, Natarle knew the odds of him surrendering it into Earth Alliance custody were zero.

_Captain Ramius and Heero Yuy would never allow the Alliance to get possession of the Archangel and Wing Zero_, thought Natarle, _they'd destroy those machines first… and I'm willing to be Mu would do the same with his new unit. I have no idea who their new allies are, but if they're anything like my friends then I'm willing to bet the same sense of purpose and principles drive them as well. They won't surrender to us. When we meet in battle…_

_ …it'll be to the death._

It was the logical conclusion for her to come to, but it was one Natarle could not accept. For so long she had been driven by duty to her nation and would not hesitate to do what that nation asked of her, but now that duty had placed her on the opposite side of the people she had come to hold dear. She did not fear for her own life, though she was well aware that it could be lost in the coming fight. The lives she did fear for were those of Mu, Captain Ramius, and the others that she had once served with, along those of her new shipmates, the ones that she was now sworn to lead and wanted to look out for.

_Mu's life, the lives of my friends_, she thought mournfully, _or the lives of my new crew… is the only way forward for one or the other to be lost?_

Holding both sides on a scale in her head, Natarle could not help but feel incredibly selfish at that moment. After all, it was the life of the handsome, witty, and insightful pilot she had fallen in love with that was the heaviest on that scale. A single life that she valued more than those of the crew that was now under her command and care. One man whom she valued as much, if not more, than all of her other friends on the _Archangel_.

"So this is what it's like," she said softly, "to truly be in love…"

Why did it have to come now, like this? Why did she have to be pitted against the man that had worked his way through the layers of professionalism and discipline that she had put around herself, who had warmed her heart in a way that she had never experienced before?

_Had I not been transferred at Alaska_, she thought, _I would still be on the Archangel, and I know Mu returned to it either during or after the battle despite the fact that he was sent away as well. If I had been allowed to stay, I would've seen him again… we could still be together, and I would not be in this situation._

It was then that Natarle knew; she would rather be a traitor to her country than kill the man she loved. Had she been aboard the _Archangel _when Captain Ramius had made her decision to abandon the defense of the Alaska base, Natarle knew that she would ultimately have gone along with it if it meant the chance to be with Mu. Even if it meant turning against her homeland, so long as she was with him, it was a burden that she would be more than able to bear.

However, now she did not have the luxury of being able to make that kind of decision. Thanks to her transfer, the chance to make that choice had been stolen from her. Her superiors may have removed her from Alaska to preserve her from the carnage that was set to fall upon the base and as a token of their trust in her, but at that moment it did not seem like such a favor to Natarle. It was thanks to her superiors' belief in her political reliability and usefulness that she was now at one of their most fortified bases in outer space, waiting for the order to begin a mission that she desperately wanted to avoid. She could not run, could not defect to Mu and the others even if she wanted to; any craft attempting to make an unauthorized departure from the base would be shot down. Also, there was Natarle's new crew to consider. If she were to even attempt to leave, then she would be replaced as their commanding officer, and Natarle did not trust that any new Captain appointed to that position would value her crew as she did.

_So this is the true burden of command_, she thought, _having the lives of people you genuinely want to look out for under your wing, taking responsibility for them. Captain Ramius… how did you shoulder such a weight? What strength you have… I don't know if I can say the same for myself._

Natarle was not sure if she wanted to find out, either. Certainly not under these circumstances, at any rate. This definitely wasn't what she had imagined her first assignment as a Captain would be. Officially, the mission hadn't even started, and already Natarle felt as though she were at the lowest point that she had ever been at in her life. She thought back longingly on those days she had spent on board the _Archangel_ with Mu and the others. As strange as it may have seemed, despite the constant danger they had been in, the ever-present struggle to stay alive, Natarle had been _happy _on board the _Archangel_, and that was due in no small part to her growing relationship with Mu along with the comradery she had shared with Captain Ramius and the others. She tried to draw some measure of strength from those memories, those times that they had gone up against long odds in battle after battle and managed to pull through, but given the situation she was in now the emotions they stirred were bittersweet at best.

Any comfort she may have once been able to get from thoughts of those earlier days was now tainted by the knowledge of her current circumstances. It only served to accentuate the agony she felt as her conflicting loyalties warred within her heart. Love and duty clashed with a brutality that felt as visceral as that of the actual combat between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and Natarle feared that she may well be consumed by the pain of her inner conflict just as much as her world would be destroyed by the fires of war.

Her usual cool and professional demeanor was cracked and frayed by her inner turmoil, and as Natarle looked out the window she could feel the moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"How…" she whispered, mustering what strength she could to fight back the tears that threatened to fall," "How did it come to this?"

As if fate had decided to play yet another cruel joke on her, it was at that moment that a message rang out over the intercom. "Captain Natarle Badgiruel," said a male voice, "Report to dock A13! Repeat, Captain Badgiruel, report to dock A13!"

She closed her eyes and lowered her head. There was only one reason why they would summon her there now.

The time to launch her mission had come.

Opening her eyes, she took one last look out at the lunarscape and the Earth beyond. "Mu…" she said, "Captain Ramius… everyone… I'm sorry."

**Preview for next time!**

_The reprieve from combat comes to an end for the Three Ships Alliance as both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces come calling to L4. As the Archangel and her allies scramble for battle they soon find themselves confronting old friends in the midst of both forces. While Murrue, Heero, and their comrades simply fight to survive and repel the enemy, the engagement is not entirely what it seems. Drawn into the heart of the Mendel Colony by none other than Field Marshal Creuset, Kira Yamato and Mu La Flaga will at last confront the heart of the festering evil that has influenced both superpowers and driven them into a war of extermination. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Four: Dominion._

"_Let me please introduce myself  
>I'm a man of wealth and taste<br>And I laid traps for troubadours  
>Who get killed before they reached bombay<br>Pleased to meet you  
>Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah<br>But what's puzzling you  
>Is the nature of my game"<em>

The Rolling Stones, "Sympathy for the Devil"

**Author's notes: **Well, credit where credit is due. First off, a big thanks to fellow writer EpyonZero23: that bit with Murrue slipping Heero her Takoyaki ball in the kiss was inspired from a scene in his VERY good romance fic, "Haruka's Wings".

Second, the commanders of Sorcerer and Wizard Team, along with both members of the Galm Team, are based on characters from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, as have many other characters throughout this story as you've no doubt noticed. However, when it came to Cipher's casual appearance, my model was actually the Resurreción of Espada Number One, Coyote Starrk, from Bleach. Couldn't help it, I've always thought it was just plain kickass, and Starrk's my second favorite Espada (Harribel's number one for me!). Cipher also borrows some elements of Starrk's personality (since Cipher's the player character in Ace Combat Zero, I didn't have a personality model to work with beyond what other characters describe him as in game, so I decided to seek some outside inspiration), though other elements deviate from what he shows in Bleach. Anyway, neither Galm nor the other two new Special Operations Squadrons will be seeing battle in the next chapter, but their time is coming, especially Galm's.

Third, the Field Marshal of the Patrol Fleet, Shala Raan, was named for Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay from Mass Effect 2 and 3, and the fleet name is a shout out to the fleet she commands in 3. As for her appearance, that's completely original. After all, in-game she's Quarian, and if you play the Mass Effect series then you know what that means; face behind mask 24/7.

Ok, I know Athrun and Cagalli don't really 'hook up' per se until close to the final battle, but I felt like speeding things up a bit. Hey, the girl's going through a lot, and she's got the right to take comfort where she can find it. Besides, romance in wartime isn't like love in peacetime; it's a lot more unpredictable.

Thanks for sticking with me throughout this fic. Again, sorry for the long wait between updates. Can't make any promises on when the next chapter will be out, but it shouldn't be as long as this one was. Please review, and until next time everyone!


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's notes: **Well, this one's not quite as long as 23, but it's still a monster; 131 pages! Most of it's combat, with the first quarter or so serving for final setup before the shooting begins. I know you guys and girls want to dive right in, but I've got a few things to go over real quick. Bear with me, it won't take long.

First off, I've been severely under-utilizing the _Archangel_'s missile launchers in this fic, and that's something that I've vowed to fix. I've gone back and done some small edits to earlier scenes, but the missiles really get a workout in this chapter. In a few of the original scenes I'd written them as if the _Archangel_ only had four launch tubes for the heavy missiles, but she has much more than that. Stupid error on my part, forgive me! *Bows head in penitence* I went back and made some corrections, anyway… does that help?

Second, this is a much bigger fight than what was portrayed in the original Gundam Seed. Also more complicated, hence the length of the chapter.

Third… well, it's long. Food and drink may be needed here, folks, along with the occasional bathroom break. You have been warned.

Finally, song list for those of you who care, in order of appearance: "Deeply Fast" from the Code Geass OST (love that show, all hail Lelouch!), "Assault" from the Final Fantasy X sound track, and "Black Paper Moon" or "Paper Moon" (I've heard both titles used for it), the second opening for the Soul Eater anime.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Four: Dominion**

**July 12****th****, C.E. 71**

Looking down towards the CIC, Murrue smiled as she saw Heero typing away at one of the main gunnery stations. "How's it coming down there?"

Heero looked up at her and nodded. "I'm almost done. I just need to make a few more adjustments and then install the program. In a few minutes you'll be able to start running simulations."

"Glad to hear it," Murrue replied, "Excellent work, Heero."

What the Gundam pilot was working on was new targeting software for the _Archangel_'s weapons. Heero had approached Murrue the previous day after returning from his patrol, and she had been surprised by the idea he had come up with. The young man had devised a plan to integrate elements of the precision targeting software used by ZAFT's nuclear powered prototypes with portions of the Zero System and then tailor the new program to increase the accuracy of the white warship's CIWS, heavy guns, and missiles.

Murrue had become a little nervous upon hearing that some parts of the Zero System would be used in the software, but her fears had been alleviated by her boyfriend. Heero had assured her that the new program would not be anything like the deadly operating system used on his machine. It would not mentally interface with any of the crew, would not take control and force the _Archangel _down a path Murrue did not want to take. The software would not have any of the awareness of the Zero System, nor could it present possible future outcomes to people and overwhelm their minds. It was simply a targeting aid, a support system, no more and no less.

With Murrue's blessing, Heero had quickly gotten to work on the project. He had enlisted the aid of his former rival when she returned from her daily patrol, as the ZGMF-X14A Judgment used the same kind of precision targeting system found on the Freedom and the other stolen ZAFT prototypes. The Gundam pilot and the Valkyrie had spent several hours integrating the segments of their respective programs into the new software and then formatting it to best serve the unique weapons layout of the _Archangel_. Their hard work had paid off, and now Heero was in the final process of fine tuning and installing the system in Murrue's vessel.

_Yet another extra assignment he's taken on my behalf_, she thought as she watched him work, _and like all the rest, he never complains about the additional workload. Heero, your devotion to this ship, to _me_… it truly knows no bounds. Thank you._

"I imagine Waltfeld and Kisaka will be eager to know what results we get from the simulations," said Murrue, "They'll probably want you to send them copies of the program for them to implement on the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_."

"You're probably right," said Heero as he continued typing, "but I can't just send them copies and be done. This program is designed specifically for the _Archangel_. I'll need to rewrite key segments of it to make it effective for the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, and that will take some time."

"And you have your patrol flight coming up soon," Murrue added, "I know it's important to do all we can to improve the combat capabilities of our ships, but I don't want you overworking yourself Heero. Once you're finished with the installation here, take a little time to rest before you head out. You can work on modifying the system for the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _later."

Heero looked over his shoulder and nodded. "I'll do that. Besides, we still need to run those tests first anyway."

Murrue nodded and smiled. "I know, but I also have no doubt in the work you and Shemei have done. You both have talents that go far beyond just your piloting skills, and I'm confident this new system will be a success."

"I won't let you down," said Heero as he returned his focus to the screen before him.

Deciding to let Heero complete his work without further interruptions from her,Murrue turned her attention to her personal monitor and brought up an electronic map of the debris field. Thanks to her boyfriend's daily recon flights in Wing Zero and the data he had sent her, the map was quite thorough, with every major obstacle charted. The display was interactive and constantly adjusting to account for the projected drift of mapped debris along with the current positions of mobile suits out on patrol. At that moment there were four mobile suits flying at that moment: Aisha from the _Eternal_, one of the M1s from the _Kusanagi_, Bristow from the _Archangel_… along with another M1 from the white warship.

When the Orb _Cornelius_-class tender _Himiko _had arrived at the Mendel colony a few days ago, it had not only replenished the supply stores of the three warships but had also transferred three of its six M1 Astray mobile suits to the _Archangel_. Murrue had requested the additional mobile suits in order to round out her ship's fighting units, and had been pleased by Cagalli's willingness to grant her request on the first supply shipment. Now the _Archangel_'s hangar was fuller than it had ever been before, with not only eight mobile suits (when none were out on patrol) but the Skygrasper, Moebius Zero, and the six MAW-01 Mistral units it had in storage. The ship's cavernous hanger was now quite crowded, and though Murdoch had complained a little he had nevertheless been able to accommodate the new arrivals. The Chief Engineer had even told Murrue that if pressed he could still squeeze in a few more machines, but he urged her not to push things, and it was a request the lovely Captain was inclined to grant for the time being.

With the increase in the amount of mobile suits at her command, Murrue's options both in and out of combat were greatly increased, and she had wasted little time in planning ways to utilize her new units. For starters, she'd immediately assigned the three units slots in the patrol schedule to fly with the other pilots in order to increase the area that could be covered. Murrue had also had her more seasoned pilots, particularly Heero, La Flaga, and Bristow run through simulation exercises with the newbies. The Orb pilots' abilities were sound, and Murrue had been pleased to learn that they had all seen combat before. In fact, all three pilots were survivors of the Battle of Orb. They had been evacuated to the L3 colonies after the first day of fighting along with their machines, and while they had understood the necessity of their withdrawal none of them had been happy about it. When Murrue had first met the new pilots, all three had struck her as quite enthusiastic about their new assignment, which was definitely a plus. After a little deliberation Murrue had decided that the M1's would join Bristow as the ship's escort, freeing up Dearka to join Heero, La Flaga, and Shemei in taking the battle to the enemy with the Buster.

_Now our close-in-defenses will be even more effective_, Murrue thought, _with the new M1s working with Bristow's Werewolf, combined with Heero and Shemei's targeting system, we'll have much better coverage and efficiency than we did before._

Murrue smiled again as another thought occurred to her. With its current mobile suit complement and even before the _Himiko _had delivered the M1 Astrays, the _Archangel _was now deadlier than even the Earth Alliance had originally envisioned it would be. At the end of the Heliopolis collaboration the warship had been intended to sortie with all five GAT series units along with two TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armors and La Flaga's more advanced Moebius Zero. The Strike, Aegis, and Blitz had been meant to serve as the _Archangel_'s strike force, taking the battle to the enemy while the Buster, Duel, and the three mobile armors hung back to supplement the warship's defenses. Now though, that old configuration was completely blown away by the new one. Wing Zero alone outclassed the five Heliopolis prototypes, and while the Judgment would join up with the three Wraiths from the _Eternal _to take part in offensive operations in future fights that still left the Tallgeese Kai and the Buster to join Heero as a forward strike force. The Werewolf alone was a considerable boost to the _Archangel_'s defenses, but having the three M1s fighting with Bristow gave an even greater edge to Murrue's forces. She had already put the three pilots under the command of the Wolf of the Far East, and the former ZAFT Field Marshal had been quite pleased by the arrangement. The new four-unit squad had been unofficially designated Wolf Team.

When put into context with all that, Murrue felt that the new targeting system would be the icing on a _very _well-armed cake. If she had any complaints, it was that she lacked a pilot capable of wielding La Flaga's old mobile armor. While it was true that the machine was now relatively obsolete when compared to the amazing arsenal of mobile suits wielded by the Three Ships Alliance it was still a useful unit in its own right, and Murrue would've liked having it on hand to aid in the defense of the _Archangel_. Fortunately, Murrue was a woman who could see the silver lining in things, and she was comforted by the fact that the older mobile armor could act as a backup unit for La Flaga in the event that the Tallgeese Kai was inoperable.

_We've come such a long way since Heliopolis_, she thought, _back then our situation was so dire, and we were desperate just to survive. We're stronger now, and though the odds against us are far worse than they were back in those days, we're in a much better position to confront them. The tasks before us remain daunting, but we can do it. We _have _to!_

At that last thought she turned once again to Heero. Watching as the young man who had so completely captured her heart did his work, Murrue knew that for her the personal stake she had in this fight was far more important than the noble ideals embraced by her group. While she was just as determined as the others to stop the Alliance and ZAFT from wiping each other out, resolute in her desire to protect the countless innocent lives that hang in the balance, she knew in her heart that her true motivations for carrying on in this struggle were much more selfish. She was fighting for the man she loved, to make sure he survived this war, and for the future that she would share with him. It was such a simple desire, but it was more powerful than any of the others in her heart.

_It's good to have strong ideals_, she thought, _to be passionate for things like protecting the people of the Earth Sphere and ending such a gruesome war, to be dedicated to peace and freedom and justice… but for me, those are merely secondary factors, additional reasons to fight. Ideals are fine and all, but what truly moves me is the people around me, the ones I'm close to. In the earlier days of this journey of ours my reason for fighting was to protect the people under my command, to guide them and care for them. They were my friends, my second family, and I was determined to do all I could to bring them through this war and out alive. When Heero first joined us, I saw him first as another friend, but as we grew closer things changed. Leading and looking out for my crew, my friends, remained important, but as I fell for Heero I began to hold him apart from the others, in another category. I valued him as much as all of the others combined, and then eventually more._

Murrue knew it was wrong for her as a Captain to show such individual favoritism, to value Heero so much more than her crew, but she could not help it. In order to make up for that, Murrue had vowed to fight harder than ever to protect and care for her subordinates and she had made Heero an integral part of that struggle. It was a role the Gundam pilot had taken to since literally the day that they had met, and it was one that she knew he would shoulder without a second thought. After all, Murrue and her crew were on one ship, and protecting her meant by extension defending the rest of them. As far as she was concerned, she had given her subordinates the ultimate guardian angel; Wing Zero. Of course, Murrue would never dream of discounting the efforts and skills of the rest of the ship's mobile suit pilots, but there was no arguing who among them was the best.

_The Guardian of the Archangel_, Murrue mused, _Bristow told me that was one of the other nicknames ZAFT had come up for Heero. It's the only one I actually like. The others were so dark and sinister, only speaking of Heero as one would a supreme killer. That one, though… it's much more true to who he _really _is. Heero is a soldier, a _guardian_. Heero may kill without hesitation, but the reason he does it is not for glory and personal gain. It's to _protect _people, both those he knows and cares for and those whom he will never meet._

When she had told Heero about that other moniker ZAFT had come up with for him, the Gundam pilot had given her a small smile and said that he liked it as well. He'd told her that he wouldn't mind her or any of the others using that nickname, though Murrue would only ever call him by his name.

It was fortunate that her ship had such a fearsome soldier fighting for it. According to the periodic updated Bristow had been receiving from his intelligence network, the massive military buildup being undertaken by both sides were proceeding along at an astounding pace. New _Nazca_-class destroyers were rolling out of the ZAFT shipyards like clockwork, and more GuAIZs were being integrated into the fleet with each passing day. Due to the high cost of the new mobile suit, ZAFT was still producing GINNs as well to supplement it, though from what Bristow was reporting these GINNs had modified armaments, replacing their machine guns and metal swords with beam rifles and beam sabers.

The Wolf of the Far East had less comprehensive intelligence when it came to the Earth Alliance military preparations, but what information he had been able to give Murrue and the others indicated a greater presence of mobile suits in her former armed forces, along with an increasing expansion in the amount of territory said forces were covering in outer space. There was also the fact that the Alliance had, like ZAFT, significantly stepped up the production of warships, and Murrue was sure that the new vessels would be outfitted with mobile suits while the mobile armors still in the fleet would be relegated to support duties. While the TS-MA2 Moebius was overall vastly inferior to ZAFT's mainline mobile suit, let alone the more advanced models that were on the field now, there was one crucial area where the mobile armor did beat the GINN; raw speed. It may have lacked the maneuverability, flexibility, armor, and firepower of the GINN, but it was much better suited to hit-and-run attacks, strikes that Murrue knew the unit could make while the new Alliance mobile suits engaged their foes head on. She suspected that her old military would soon come to that same conclusion if they had not already, and would alter their combat doctrine and tactics accordingly.

Thanks to the _Archangel_'s incredible mobile suits, its two amazing sophisticated companion warships and _their _units, along with the new targeting system Heero was installing on her vessel, Murrue knew that her position was now stronger than it had ever been before. However, she refused to let that make her overconfident. She would not rest on her laurels, would not let pride in herself and her allies blind her to the threat their enemies still posed to them, to the odds that they were confronted with. Time and time again, Murrue had seen what happened when people underestimated their foes and grew arrogant in their own abilities. She had watched the Alliance and ZAFT make those mistakes repeatedly over the course of the war, and she refused to fall into that same trap.

Part of that trap, Murrue knew, was complacency, and it was why she had been growing increasingly nervous over the past few days. The _Archangel _and her allies had been occupying their hiding place inside the Mendel colony for well over two weeks now, and Murrue could not help but feel that they were wearing out their welcome. The Alliance and ZAFT were not complete fools, and she knew that they were searching for them. It was only a matter of time before, somehow, they would manage to find them at L4, and Murrue wanted to be ready when that day came. Ideally, Murrue did not want to be there at all when the enemy came, but moving was not her call to make; it belonged to Waltfeld. Murrue had shared her private misgivings with Heero, and he had agreed with her that they could not stay at Mendel for much longer. However, by becoming part of this new alliance the two of them had also agreed to place themselves as subordinate to the military authority of the Desert Tiger, although Murrue knew that Heero's declaration that her orders for him would supersede Waltfeld's in his eyes had not been forgotten. Still, the two of them ultimately had to trust that the man they had agreed to let lead them militarily knew what he was doing and had a plan for the eventuality of relocation.

In order to keep herself and her crew sharp, Murrue had continued to run daily exercises since the ship had settled in at the Mendel colony. She had stepped them up a little as her feelings of nervousness had grown, though she had kept her misgivings concealed from all but Heero in order to avoid adversely affecting her subordinates. Morale was crucial on a warship, and Murrue knew that her demeanor could greatly influence that. She was determined to continue to be a source of strength and inspiration for those serving under her. To her, they deserved that much for all they had done, and definitely more.

_They've all been through so much_, she thought, _those that have been on this ship since Heliopolis, and those that joined us when we joined Orb… they've put themselves through trials no other crew could endure. It's all for a noble purpose, but that does not change the fact that they've been called to sacrifice far more than anyone should. At least the crewmembers from the Orb Navy will be able to return to their homeland if all goes well, but those that were originally Alliance soldiers won't have that privilege. Even if Blue Cosmos is defeated and their influence removed from the Atlantic Federation, thanks to my decision at Alaska and subsequent choice to fight alongside Orb against our homeland we will all still be regarded as traitors by our former nation. It does not matter if our actions save mankind from wiping itself out; our country will never see what we're doing to achieve peace as anything other than a capital offense. We can never go home again, never see our families again. When this is all over, I want to make sure that they can at least build new lives for themselves in Orb. I'm sure Cagalli will be more than willing to help me with that._

It was another light at the end of the tunnel, another hope that Murrue could hold on to and draw strength from in order to make it through this struggle. Her fight was not just for the future she and Heero would share together, but for the future of her crew as well, and she would do everything in her power to bring them through the darkness and out into the light.

She saw Heero stand up and move towards her station. "Alright," he said, "it's done."

Murrue smiled. "Great job, Heero."

She glanced at the clock on her personal monitor before turning back to the Gundam pilot. "You're due to take off in about forty minutes," she said, "why don't you go grab a quick bite to eat before then? I'll start running simulation trials with the new system right away."

Heero nodded. "Got it. Let me know if you need me to make further adjustments to the program."

"I doubt that'll be necessary," Murrue replied, "You've never once let me down. I know you put your best work into this, Heero. I can't wait to see the results we get with it. I'm sure it'll be a success."

"Still," said Heero, "better to be safe than sorry."

Murrue smirked. "Caution coming from the man that led a head on assault against Avalon? Do you really understand the meaning of the term, Heero?"

"Murrue…" he said.

She gave a small laugh. "Just a bit of teasing, Heero. Come, now; I think I've earned the right to that after the stunts you've pulled in our time together."

Heero nodded, a small smile appearing on his face. "You have a point there."

"I'd like to think so," she said before reaching over to grab his hand, "Don't worry, Heero. While I'm confident in your skills, I'll still make sure to be thorough in the simulations. If there's anything wrong, I'll let you know at once."

"Contact Shemei if I'm not back by then," said Heero, "she co-wrote the program, and since part of it's taken from the Judgment's targeting system she has familiarity with some of it. In my absence, she'll be your best troubleshooter."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Murrue, "you'd better get a move on, Heero. Bristow will be back soon enough, and you need to be ready."

"I will be," he replied.

The two of them shared another small smile and gave each other's hands a squeeze before Heero left the bridge, a silent message passing in the gesture.

_Take care, my love._

She then turned back to her bridge crew. "Alright everyone, let's get started. Initiate simulation program Alpha Verde. That ought to be a good start point for testing the new targeting system."

"Loading simulation Alpha Verde now," said the gunnery officer, "all weapons ready, new targeting system online."

"All sensors ready and linked with weapons," said the radar officer, "First wave of enemies will be within maximum firing range in ten seconds."

_Alright_, thought Murrue_, time to go to work…_

….

On the bridge of the _Vesalius_, behind the Captain's chair, Field Marshal Creuset studied the large tactical display before him. Covering an area roughly the size of a billiards table and standing at near the same height as one, the intricate electronic interface had served the masked officer well in his prior campaigns. It was an invaluable tool in working out last minute details before the start of a battle, and Creuset knew that he was fast approaching an engagement.

Approaching the massive L4 debris field, his eight-ship battle group was arrayed in a broad crescent, with the outside of the curve facing the ruins of what had once been one of the Atlantic Federation's largest collection of habitats in outer space. The task force's five _Laurasia_-class frigates comprised the central part of the formation, while one _Nazca_-class destroyer was at each 'tip' of the crescent. The _Vesalius _was just behind the crescent in a relatively protected position, though it was not an assignment Creuset intended on having his flagship keep for long.

Our ahead of the battle group, holding position at the edge of the debris field, was the Patrol Fleet frigate _Mata Hari_. According to the ship's Captain, the _Cornelius_-class tender it had tailed all the way to L4 had just left the area the day before. The departure had been seen by one of the _Mata Hari_'s Mirage GINNs, but the ship had refused to approach the Orb vessel in order to avoid having it send off a distress call and alert the renegades inside the Mendel colony.

The _Mata Hari_ would be launching its three mainline GINNs in support of the main ZAFT force while holding back its Mirage GINNs for its own defense. The frigate itself would not be directly supporting the battle group, but would be held in reserve and only called forth to help cover what Creuset knew would be the task force's inevitable withdrawal.

_Or rather, the withdrawal of our survivors_, he thought, _and I'm not expecting many of those, given our opposition. The Freedom may fight only to disable, but the reports show that its allies do not hold themselves back in that manner._

The losses amongst his forces did not overly concern Creuset though. So long as he was able to accomplish _his _goal and had a clear escape route once that was done, nothing else mattered.

The _Mata Hari _would not be the only warship serving as a rearguard. As his battle group had journeyed to L4, Creuset had contacted the few ZAFT vessels that were operating nearby in a bid for support. The amount of long-range patrols had been drastically reduced since the fall of Avalon, but there was still a handful of fleet ships out this far, and the masked Field Marshal had decided to utilize the closest ones in his operation. Although he had not received orders forbidding this, Creuset knew that it was not something Zala would be pleased with; the Chairman wanted him to accomplish his task without further straining ZAFT's already stretched resources. The Chairman's feelings did not matter to the Field Marshal though. All he cared about was making sure that he had a line of retreat available once he accomplished his mission, whether it was the official one, his personal agenda, or both.

He'd managed to draw two additional destroyers and three frigates into his operation. Two of the warships, one of the frigates and one of the destroyers, were proceeding towards L4 at that very moment, though they were still much further out than his battle group. The Captains of the respective ships were under the impression that they would join the _Vesalius _and her battle group directly in the fight, but Creuset had no intention of waiting for them to show up before he moved into the debris field. If his timing worked out right, they would link up with the _Mata Hari _at about the time the survivors of his task force were beginning their retreat. The other two frigates were moving into sensor range now, but rather than join the battle group directly they would hang back with the _Mata Hari_, deploying their mobile suits with Creuset's force but themselves acting as part of the rearguard for the eventual withdrawal. As for the second destroyer, it was just coming into view on the tactical display and was moving to join the _Vesalius _behind the leading edge of the formation.

Unfortunately for Creuset, all five latecomers had not been as fortunate as his battle group regarding their mobile suit complements; they carried only standard GINNs. The same went for the three mainline GINNs that the _Mata Hari _was sending into the battle, and other than their cloaking devices the vessel's three Mirage GINNs were in the same situation, wielding only sniper rifles that fired physical shells rather than energy beams. Still, the Field Marshal would make the most of the limited resources he had at his disposal.

_Timing is key here_, he thought, _my approach to the field has to coincide with Azrael's on the opposite side. So far I'm on track to do that, and I can't afford any delays. I just hope Azrael brought enough ships to keep Wing Zero and the legged ship occupied while I make my move._

He moved away from the table and towards the central part of the bridge. Looking around, he could see several crew members fidgeting nervously at their stations. They were trying to keep their discomfort concealed, but to eyes as keen as Creuset's their disquiet and fear were all too clear. The Field Marshal knew full well the reason they were all so nervous. While they had been informed that their mission was to simply destroy the rogue warship _Eternal_, they were aware that it would be an especially dangerous operation. After all, not only was the prototype support cruiser commanded by the legendary Desert Tiger and held several advanced mobile suits within, but its allies were equally formidable… and one far more so.

Wing Zero.

_Dread of that machine has been growing throughout the war, since the day it made its combat debut_, he thought, _but since the fall of Avalon, that fear has reached new heights. Everyone here knows now that Wing Zero is cooperating with the Eternal, which means that engaging the renegades will entail fighting the Demon Lord of Avalon as well. _

It was a matter Creuset had already given consideration, and it was another reason why he had enlisted the help of his unwitting pawn in the Earth Alliance. Of course, his subordinates did not know about that and were under the impression that their battle group would be the only force engaging the renegades. Having Alliance forces show up on the field would certainly be a surprise to his task force… though hopefully a welcome one once they divided the attention of the Clyne faction's allies. Creuset was optimistic that at least the legged ship and her mobile suits would engage the Alliance forces. After all, the ship and her crew were former Alliance soldiers, so they would have more familiarity with the tactics likely to be employed by Azrael's forces.

_Perhaps the Orb ship will engage the Alliance forces as well_, he mused, _I can only hope. If not, we'll just have to fight it along with the Eternal. It won't be easy, but it surely will not be as bad as facing all three warships and their mobile suits fighting us as a united front._

He turned to one of the bridge officers. "What's our current ETA to the field?"

"Eight minutes until we hit the edge," replied the sensor officer, "Also, frigates _Aalto _and _Siza _are moving to link up with the _Mata Hari_.

"Sir," said the communications officer, "the destroyer _Shepard _has sent a message requesting orders."

"Send them the tactical channel we're using for this operation," Creuset replied, "we'll be broadcasting general orders for the battle group shortly."

"Yes, sir," the radioman replied.

Creuset nodded before turning to the ship's Captain. "Ades, bring alert readiness up to Level One across the battle group. I want all ships ready to engage, with mobile suits launched prior to our entering the field."

"Does that include you, sir?" Ades asked.

Creuset nodded. "Have my GuAIZ prepped for launch. The battle group is under your command now, Captain."

Ades nodded. "Understood, sir."

"By the way," said Creuset, "regarding that matter we discussed earlier, have all the preparations been made?"

"The pod's ready," said Ades, "and I've sent a security team to fetch the girl." His gaze narrowed. "With all due respect, sir, what's going on here? This is highly irregular."

"Come now, Ades," Creuset chuckled, "you've worked with me long enough to know that I rarely run a 'regular' operation."

"I'm aware of that," the Captain replied, "but this is strange even by your standards. I don't understand what the purpose of this ploy of yours is, and I'm concerned over the potential risk it poses to my ship."

"It will be no more or less a danger than the rest of this operation, I assure you," said Creuset, "Do not fret over the details of the matter, Captain. As long as the pod is launched on time and on target, that is all that matters. I know that it seems strange now, but believe me when I say that this is all part of a larger plan, one that will help bring an end to this war."

The masked ace had to refrain from smirking. While he certainly had not been lying to the Captain, he had still deceived him. His long-term plan was indeed to bring the war to an end… but not in the manner that his allies were thinking of.

Captain Ades nodded, though Creuset noted that the man did not seem entirely satisfied with the answer he had been give. "Alright, sir," he said.

"Put it out of your mind, Ades," said Creuset, "focus on the task at hand. Carry on."

With that the Field Marshal turned and made his way towards the bridge exit. As Creuset left he subconsciously patted his pocket, once again checking to make sure a certain data disk was still there.

_Just one quick stop to make_, he thought, _and then I'll go to my steed. Let the games begin…_

….

"What's going on?" asked Flay nervously, looking back and forth between the two ZAFT soldiers that had grabbed her by the arms and taken her from her quarters, "Where are you taking me?"

"Shut up," said one of the men.

"You'll see soon enough," said the other.

Their tones were cold and harsh, and they only served to increase the fear that was now gripping the young woman. After so many days of being a 'guest' of the Coordinator armed forces, isolated by the masked officer, looked at by regular soldiers with suspicion, and quietly watched over by Yzak, the sudden intrusion by the two guards and their seizure of her had jarred Flay out of the nervous resignation she'd been in during her unofficial captivity. Now they were dragging her through the ship's corridors, and Flay had no idea what their intended destination was.

"Hold on," she said, "that masked soldier… did he..."

"I said shut up!" yelled one of the guards, tightening his grip on her arm.

"Bitch needs to learn her place," growled the other one as he glared at her, "maybe we should teach her a lesson in respect."

Flay shuddered as the man's eyes looked up and down her body, leering at her. Fear was quickly becoming all-out panic, and the Natural girl was all too aware of her physical inferiority to the two Coordinators.

"Hey," said the other soldier, shaking his head at his partner, "get your head out of the gutter. Our orders come directly from the Captain, and he won't be happy if he finds out you're using them as an excuse to screw around."

"_If _he finds out," sneered the guard, his other hand moving towards Flay's face, "I think we've got time for a little fun. It won't take too long." He roughly cupped her chin in his hand, a cruel smile on his face. "Besides, it'd be a shame to let that body of hers go to waste. We might as well take advantage of it while it's still here."

The other soldier then chuckled. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"_Hey!_" shouted a familiar voice, "_What the hell is going on here?_"

Hope and relief filled her heart as Flay saw a certain silver-haired pilot coming towards them, dressed in a crimson flight suit with his helmet cradled in his left arm. "Yzak!"

The young man wasted little time in getting right in the face of the guard who'd been making the lewd insinuations. "You call yourselves soldiers?" he snarled, "How dare you treat a girl like that!"

The guard's demeanor had changed from cocky and lascivious to nervousness, and Flay remembered something she'd learned about ZAFT's uniforms; color denoted rank… and Yzak's red was superior to her 'escorts' green.

She felt both guards weaken their hold on her as Yzak confronted them, and she immediately took advantage of the situation. Thanks to their distraction, Flay was able to slip out of their grip, and she quickly took shelter behind the young pilot who had become her unofficial caretaker and guardian over the course of her time with ZAFT.

"Hold on, sir…" said the other guard, "let me explain…"

"Explain what?" Yzak yelled, and Flay was stunned at the _fire _burning in his blue eyes. He wasn't merely angry; the ZAFT Red was _enraged_.

"I overheard plenty of what your partner had to say!" he growled, "How do expect to explain _that_?"

"Sir…" said the first guard, "that was just talk, I didn't really mean…"

"_Bullshit!_," he roared, once again rounding on that man and grabbing him by the collar of his uniform, "Two men have grabbed a girl, and I hear one of them implying that _rape _is the order of the day! _What the __**FUCK **__is wrong with you?_"

"Hang on," said the other guard, "I was trying to talk him out of it…"

"You expect me to believe that?" said Yzak, "When you're clearly his accomplice? When I explicitly heard you _agreeing _with him? You're already facing charges for attempted sexual assault, and you're throwing lying to a superior officer on top of it? I may be about to fly into combat, but I've still got enough time to throw both your asses in the brig before then!"

"But sir…" said the first guard, "We have orders…"

Yzak spat out a laugh. "_Orders_, you say? I'll just bet…"

"Actually, they do," said a voice from behind Flay, "though they seem to be deviating from them considerably."

The blood coursing through Flay's veins chilled. She knew that voice…

Flay and Yzak turned around and saw Field Marshal Creuset approaching them. Now the girl truly felt herself to be stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Part of her was desperate to get behind Yzak again, to put him between her and the masked officer, but that meant once again exposing herself to the two guards the young pilot had just saved her from. Flay froze, unable to make up her mind as to what she should do.

"Field Marshal," said Yzak, "what are you talking about?"

"These two were ordered to fetch the girl," said Creuset, looking past the young man at the guards, "however, apparently they've decided to go beyond the scope of those orders."

Yzak looked between the guards and his superior, and Flay could see the suspicion in his eyes. She knew that he did not trust Creuset, just as she did, and now that the two guards were revealed to be in cahoots with him Yzak's suspicions were only further agitated.

"What's going on here?" he growled.

"Mind your tone, Yzak," said Creuset, "you are speaking to a superior, after all."

"With all due respect, sir," Yzak shot back, "I think I still deserve an answer." He then nodded back at the guards. "And these two need to be disciplined."

Creuset nodded. "Agreed, but that will have to wait; we will be entering combat operations soon, after all, and we need everyone at their posts."

He looked past Flay and Yzak at the guards. "You two will get to your stations; I'll take over from here."

The two men nodded. "Yes sir."

"Don't think this is over!" Yzak yelled at them, "I'll be bringing both you up on charges once the battle's done!"

The guards gulped and hurried to get away from the silver-haired pilot. As soon as they rounded the corner and were out of sight Flay scrambled to get behind Yzak, clutching his shoulders as she put him between her and the masked Field Marshal.

As she grabbed him she could feel him stiffen, and for a moment she thought it was because of her. However, as she looked over his shoulder and at his face, she could see Yzak continue to glare at the man in front of him. His right shoulder shifted, and as Flay looked down her eyes widened as she saw his hand hovering over his sidearm.

"Yzak," said Creuset, his voice strangely calm considering the incredible tension in the air, "I suggest you get to the Duel."

Flay saw her protector glare at his superior. "What are you going to do with her?" he growled.

"That's not your concern," Creuset replied, "the coming battle is. You should get to your machine."

"After I get Flay back to her quarters," Yzak shot back.

Creuset shook his head. "That's not going to happen. Do not force this issue, Yzak. I'll do more than simply write you up for insubordination if you continue to defy me."

The underlying threat was clear, and it chilled Flay to the core. While she knew that _she _was expendable to the masked man, to hear him imply his willingness to kill Yzak was quite a surprise. Not only was the young man officially a member of ZAFT like Creuset, but from the red color of his uniform Flay knew that he was a skilled soldier, one that the Field Marshal would not easily replace.

As she looked on she noticed the sharp contrast between the two men. Yzak was rigid and tense, while the Field Marshal was incredibly relaxed. However, there was an underlying deadliness to the masked officer, a feeling about him that Flay got, one that said he was more than ready to follow through with his threat despite the fact that he hadn't begun reaching for his gun like Yzak had.

Flay looked at Yzak again, and she was startled to realize that there was more than anger and distrust in his expression. The young man was _afraid_. He was standing his ground between her and the enigmatic soldier, determined to protect her, but quite fearful of the man he was defending her from.

A sudden insight hit the girl, one that scared her more than the intentions of the two guards that had taken her from a room. Yzak would not back down, and Creuset would not either. The only way the situation could end at this rate was a shoot out.

And if it came down to that…

…Yzak would die.

Flay didn't know why, but her heart was telling her that despite the fact that Yzak's hand was closer to his sidearm than Creuset's was to his the masked Field Marshal was still more than capable of outdrawing his subordinate. At the same time, she realized that Yzak was well aware of this. He knew that he could not beat his superior; he knew that he was throwing himself into a fight that he _knew _he would lose, that would cost him his _life_… but he was doing it anyway.

To protect _her_.

He would die for _her_, just as Kira had.

A few months ago, she wouldn't have blinked twice at the thought. After all, she had begun her relationship with Kira with the full intention of him eventually dying in battle after killing as many of his fellow Coordinators as he could. Her manipulating his affections for her, getting him to fight for her, had simply been her way of waging war against the people that had killed her father. As a Coordinator himself, Kira had been counted among Flay's enemies, and she merely saw him as one that she could play against the rest of the race she hated before the war that had taken her dad consumed him as well.

Yzak should've been just like Kira; another Coordinator who would die in the service of her vendetta.

However… he _wasn't_.

Just like _Kira_, in the end, had proven to be more to Flay than a tool, so was Yzak. Kira's gentleness, compassion, and bravery had turned Flay's false affections into a genuine if warped romantic attachment, while Yzak's quiet guardianship of her had likewise broken through the walls of distrust and hate she had built up for Coordinators over the course of the war. While Flay may not have felt as strongly for Yzak as she had ultimately done so for Kira, she had still come to see him as more than just a Coordinator. Like Kira, he was a _person_, an individual, with his own thoughts, ideals, and feelings. He was _not _the monster Flay had made his kind out to be, just as _Kira _wasn't the abomination that she had tried so hard to convince herself that he was.

If her time with ZAFT had taught her anything, it was that Coordinators_ weren't_ the vile creatures she had once believed them to be, the abhorrent freaks whose annihilation groups like Blue Cosmos demanded. Sure, there had been some bad apples, with the two guards that had taken her from her quarters earlier the clearest examples of that. However, they had been the only two Coordinators she had encountered during her 'captivity' that had treated her with any real hostility. While she may have kept her distance from others apart from Yzak, she had still had plenty of opportunities to study the people she had found herself with. She'd seen them talk and work with each other, just like her friends and shipmates aboard the _Archangel _had done so. They may have looked at her with curiosity and suspicion because they did not know her, but other than that they had not made any kind of threats against her, and had treated her with the courtesy one would expect from professional soldiers.

Flay had finally come to realize for the Coordinators as a whole what she had just done so for Kira right before the war had so cruelly taken him from her. Coordinators weren't monsters, weren't evil creatures out to conquer the world and enslave or kill her kind.

They were _human_. Just like her.

And one was about to die for her.

That was something Flay _refused _to allow. It was because of her selfishness and hatred that Kira and her friends had volunteered to stay with the _Archangel_, and as a result both Kira and Tolle had died in the Marshal Islands. Flay may not have killed them herself, but she knew that she was still responsible for what had happened to them because she had manipulated them into continuing to fight.

Enough people had died because of her.

"Alright," she said, "I'll go."

Yzak whirled around, his eyes widening as he lowered his gun. "Flay, wait…"

She saw Creuset smirk. "Well, how about that…"

"Flay, don't do this!" said Yzak, grabbing her by the shoulder, "You can't…"

She looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I will. I have to."

Yzak vehemently shook his head. "No! I promised you that I…"

In spite of the gravity of the situation, Flay couldn't help but smile. She didn't know why the silver-haired pilot was so determined to protect her, but she was genuinely grateful to him for it. As she looked at him, she was reminded of what she had had in Kira; a loyal guardian, someone who truly cared for her and worried about her. Granted, Kira and Yzak were quite different in terms of their personalities, but both had shown a strong desire to protect others.

It was all the more amazing to Flay because she saw the whole thing through the lens of hindsight; with her past actions, she knew that she was _not _worthy of having anyone defend her. Even before she had manipulated Kira into fighting for her she had been cruel to him, especially during their brief stopover at the Eurasian Federation's Artemis base. Yet despite that, along with how she had pushed him away from her during their later stay in Orb as she had struggled to come to grips with her changing feelings for him, he had still fought to protect her as much as he had to defend the rest of his friends on the _Archangel_.

Her situation with Yzak was different than it had been with Kira, but to Flay she still felt that she did not deserve the protection the young man had decided to give her. Hell, she had told him exactly what she had done to Kira, and he had still been willing to watch over her! How he could overlook that and still see her as someone worthy of his aid, Flay did not know, but she considered herself very lucky that he did. He may not have been as soft and gentle as Kira had been, but the gruff and hot-headed Coordinator was kind in his own way, and he shared her late lover's passion for protecting people.

_He's a good guy_, she thought, _just like Kira… and I bet there's other Coordinators like him as well. He doesn't deserve to die… none of them do. _ __

She surprised herself, and no doubt Yzak, by leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. As she pulled back she saw his eyes widen, and she felt her face warm just a bit. "I know," she said, "It's alright. This isn't your fault, and I don't want you to die because of me."

"Flay…" he said, clearly pained at the thought of breaking his word to her.

Flay did not consider his promise to be broken though; this was simply something beyond his control, just like the death of her father had not been Kira's fault even though he'd told her that he would save her.

"Take care, Yzak," she said, "and thank you. Go now, please."

The young man hung his head in resignation. "Alright… I'm sorry."

With that he went on his way, pausing only to glare at Creuset as he passed by. The Field Marshal for his part simply smirked, like the whole spectacle had been nothing more than an amusing diversion for him.

"Well," he said as his subordinate disappeared around the corner, "that was interesting." He then gestured for Flay to follow him. "Come along, Flay. We've wasted enough time here."

She nodded and fell in behind him as he led her through the ship. "Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"The same place those two incompetents were supposed to take you," he replied, "the hangar." He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "It's time for you to fulfill your role, Flay. Today you'll play a crucial role in helping me bring this war to an end."

Had someone else told her that, the thought would've excited her. Coming from this man though, Flay only felt dread. Whatever he had planned would not be as altruistic as he so claimed, but what choice did she have? If she didn't go along with him, he'd simply kill her and find a new pawn. Of course, Flay was also aware of the very real possibility that going along with him would spell her doom anyway. There was nothing she could do though. Her hands were tied, and her fate was now beyond her control.

_At least I was able to save Yzak_, she thought. It gave her only a little bit of comfort, but she would take what she could get.

"Why the hangar?" she asked, "I'm not a Coordinator; I can't fly a mobile suit."

"A fact that I am well aware of," said Creuset nonchalantly, "rest assured that I have no intention of turning you into a pilot. You'll see soon enough."

Flay remained silent for the rest of the brief journey, knowing she would not get anything else out of the masked soldier.

When they entered the hangar, Flay was in awe at the bustle of activity. The warship's mobile suits were being prepped for launch, and the girl realized a very similar display had no doubt unfolded on the _Archangel _each time the vessel had gone into battle. It was a glimpse into the world that Kira, Heero, and the other pilots on that ship had lived in, had risked their lives in… just as Yzak was doing now.

Flay saw him heading towards one of the mobile suits, a machine that reminded her of Kira's Strike. She realized that it must have been one of the four units that had been stolen from Heliopolis. Flay wanted to call out to him, to once again tell him to be careful, but she was sure that any such action on her part would not be well received by Creuset. She continued to follow him, wondering if the masked officer would be taking her along with him in his mobile suit. However, he did not take her towards any of the six fearsome machines that occupied the hangar. Instead, he guided her to what she realized was a ZAFT life pod.

The Field Marshal tapped a key on the pod, and it opened up. "Get inside," he said.

She nodded and did as she was told, her apprehension only growing as she took the sole seat. Looking around, she found the safety harness and began strapping herself in.

Flay saw Creuset glance around the hangar before turning back to her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a data disk. On it was a circular symbol, with alternating yellow and black blades inside it. It was a very strange design to Flay, yet she could not help but feel that she should've known what it was.

"For you," said Creuset, handing her the disk.

She took it with care, holding it in both hands as she examined it. "What is it?"

Creuset smiled. "The key, girl. The key to ending this war."

He then reached inside the pod and began typing on a small keypad on the arm of her chair. "At a certain point during the engagement," said Creuset, "this pod will be launched. When it does, I want you to get on the radio and tell your friends what I've just given you."

Flay's eyes widened. "My friends? You mean the _Archangel_'s out there?"

Creuset nodded. "Yes, along with others. I've already set your radio to an open channel. All you have to do is tell them that you have the key to ending the war. Everything else will fall into place once you do."

Flay nodded. "Ok… but what if they don't believe me?"

Creuset chuckled. "Have faith, girl. Play your part, and things will work out quite well. You'll see."

Flay nodded. It wasn't like she had much of a choice in the matter.

Creuset smirked. "Thank you, Flay. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but your assistance here will be vital in bringing this war to an end. Farewell."

The man's words brought her little comfort. There was just something about him that made her very uneasy. She thought back to the confrontation between him and Yzak, how casual he had looked during that showdown… how he would've shot the young man without a second thought. Someone who was that blasé about the lives of soldiers serving under him was definitely not to be trusted, regardless of whatever flowery language he might use.

As the pod's hatch closed, Flay was able to take some small measure of hope from everything that was happening around her. Creuset had said that the _Archangel _was here, which meant that she would finally be able to rejoin that ship and her friends. For the first time in months the girl felt a hint of optimism, that there was a chance that her situation was finally changing for the better.

_Hang on, everyone_, she thought, _I'm coming back, and I'll see you all again real soon!_

….

Leaning back in his chair, Azrael took a sip from his cup of coffee as he studied the image on the screen. He was in the Captain's office of his battle group's flagship, doing a little last minute overview of the situation before he made his way to the bridge. The Captain was already up there, and she had given him the use of her office for the duration of the mission. The same had also gone for her cabin, as was customary when high ranking dignitaries like him were on board, while she had relocated to one of the lesser officers' quarters. It wasn't like Azrael had given her much choice in the matter.

The thought of the ship having a female Captain was actually a source of irritation for the man. Azrael was very much against having women in command roles in the military, or in the armed forces at all for that matter. To him, as was thought by other prominent members of Blue Cosmos, women had no place fighting a war. They were too soft, driven by their emotions, by foolish sentiment, rather than the cold determination Azrael and his allies believed was needed to fight a war, especially one like this. In Azrael's eyes, women belonged on the home front, minding their families or working support jobs, subservient to the war economy. It was a belief driven by the incredible arrogance and sexism that was so ingrained in people like Azrael and his sympathizers.

However, despite the power and influence Blue Cosmos held over the Atlantic Federation and the rest of the Earth Alliance, it was currently in no position to change the structure of the armed forces. By the time Azrael and the others had established their dominance over the government, tensions between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs were near the breaking point. They had been at the cusp of war, and Azrael and his colleagues both within the armed forces and without had taken the view that now was not the time to restructure the military. It would only serve to create confusion and discord at a time when unity was needed to combat the Coordinator menace. Therefore, it had been deemed necessary to postpone the shift to an all male military until after the war was won.

It had been Admiral Sutherland's decision to assign this particular Captain to Azrael's flagship. The move had been made without consulting Azrael, a fact that had annoyed him to no small degree. However, Azrael had not contested the decision due to the woman's unique qualifications. Given the enemy that they faced and how much damage it had wrought upon the Alliance forces at Orb, her knowledge and experience were needed. Azrael had resigned himself to dealing with the unfortunate necessity for the time being.

_Hopefully I won't have to abide her presence for too much longer_, he thought, _it should be no later than the end of the war. After that I'll have Sutherland promote her and shift her to a desk job. Once we institute our change in policy regarding personnel she'll be quietly shunted out. For now though, at least she's performing her task. The battle group's moving into position, and the fighting will soon begin._

It was the battle group's composition and formation that was currently displayed on the computer screen. It was comprised of sixteen _Drake_-class escort ships, eight _Nelson_-class battleships, one _Agamemnon_-class carrier, and the flagship. Six of the smaller escort ships were ahead of the rest of the fleet in a classic skirmisher line; they would enter the debris field first in order to find the enemy and gauge their response. The main body of the fleet would follow behind them, while the carrier would hang back outside the debris field after it launched its combat units. Two of the _Drake_-class escort ships and two of the _Nelson_-class battleships would likewise hang back, both to protect the carrier and to provide cover fire in the event of a withdrawal. Like the carrier they were protecting though, they would launch all of their mobile suits and armors into the debris field with the rest of the battle group. Azrael would've preferred to bring _all _of the task force's capital ships directly into the fight, including the carrier; after all, it did posses two battleship-grade high-energy beam cannons. However, his flagship's Captain had told him that their current deployment was standard procedure for Atlantic Federation forces, and he had decided to go along with her for the time being.

The complements carried by the warships were mixed, reflecting the interim phase the Alliance military as a whole was entering with the shifting over to mobile suits as its primary tactical weapon. The fourteen _Drake_-class ships had split complements, with two Strike-Daggers and two TS-MA2 Moebius units carried within each craft. The larger _Nelson_-class battleships had a more tipped balance in favor of mobile suits, carrying six Strike-Daggers and four of the mobile armors. While the _Nelson_-class normally carried fourteen craft, the mobile suits were significantly larger than the mobile armors, thus the reduction in overall complement to ten units. As for the _Drake_-class ships, they had always held their mobile armors in brackets on the outside of their hulls, and the practice had continued with the shift to mobile suits. Pilots would exit the ship wearing space suits equipped with small thrusters to help them maneuver and get to their craft before detaching from the vessel.

The _Agamemnon_-class carrier, christened _Priam_, had like the smaller _Nelson_-class vessels been forced to undergo a reduction from its normal complement of units, in this case from forty combat craft to thirty-two. Even though, at 300 meters to the flagship's 420, the _Agamemnon_-class carrier was smaller than Azrael's vessel, the ship was a pure carrier and had been designed accordingly. Most of the interior with the exception of crew quarters, engineering, and of course the bridge was devoted to storage space for mobile weapons. The carrier had only two beam cannons and several CIWs as weapons, meaning that there was far less room used for ammunition storage like there was on other warships, while its bulkheads and armor was much thinner than other warships. This created much more internal space than even a ship like the _Archangel _had, thus giving the vessel a larger potential complement of vehicles, but it came at the price of durability; the carrier was much easier to destroy than the advanced warship built at Heliopolis, or even the more conventional _Nelson_-class battleships for that matter. The vessel may have had a cavernous hangar bay, but the addition of mobile suits to its combat squadrons had necessitated serious internal refits, and those were not completely worked out at this time. The warship still carried an impressive amount of fighting machines though, with twenty Strike-Daggers and a dozen mobile armors ready to go.

As for the mobile armors themselves, they had been armed with a new weapon. The usually linear gun and missile combination had been replaced by a beam cannon mounted underneath the vehicle. The gun had its own separate energy source and was significantly more powerful than the older linear gun, though it did considerably increase the mass of the mobile armor. Other than the beam cannon the only weapons it had were the pair of built-in 40mm Vulcan machine guns wielded by all TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armors.

The only vessel in the battle group that had completely switched over to mobile suits was the flagship. In addition to the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider, the warship had six Strike-Daggers in its hangar. Azrael had insisted on nothing less than the best units possible for his vessel, and he was looking forward to seeing them in action.

_The battle at Orb was a good show_, he thought, _but there the entire Orb military was in the way. Here though, the traitors only have two other ships with them. Even with Wing Zero and the other advanced mobile suits they have with them, they won't be able to stand against us… especially since we're not the only ones gunning for them._

Thanks to his contact 'Iscariot', Azrael was well aware that ZAFT had dispatched a task force to the area as well, though their goal was to simply destroy only one of the enemy's ships, a support cruiser that had been stolen from them. Azrael's goals were twofold; destroy the _Archangel _and capture one of the nuclear powered mobile suits used by the group the traitors had joined. While he would not actively try to engage the ZAFT ships when he was in pursuit of those objectives, once that mission had been accomplished he had every intention of turning his guns on the Coordinator forces. After all, how could the leader of Blue Cosmos pass up on the chance to eliminate a group of the abominations his organization had sworn to destroy? His only reservation was that he was not sure if 'Iscariot' was personally working as part of the ZAFT task force or if the agent was removed from the field. After all, the contact had time after time proven itself to be a very valuable source of information, and it was one that Azrael was reluctant to discard at this point in the game.

_I suppose it can't be helped_, he thought, _it would look strange if I had the task force refrain from firing on a specific target, although with my authority I could of course get away with it. Still, it would be better not to test things. Who knows how that Captain would react? After all, she once served with that lady Captain of the Archangel, and that woman was willing to betray the Alliance rather than follow orders she didn't like. Admiral Sutherland assured me of this one's political reliability, but I'm still not entirely convinced. One traitor Captain's one too many; if this bitch betrays me too, it won't end well for her._

At that moment the Captain in question contacted him. "Sir," came her voice over the office's intercom, "the skirmish line is about to enter the debris field."

Azrael pressed a button on the keypad. "Very well, Captain. Have all ships launch their mobile armors and mobile suits, and go to battle stations."

"Understood, sir" she replied, "However, I'd like to hold back the three prototypes until we have visual confirmation on the enemy. Their energy reserves are not as large as the other units due to their Phase Shift Armor."

Azrael bristled at her modifying his orders, but he refrained from lashing out in this case. After all, her argument was valid, and she was the official military commander of the operation. Of course, Azrael could overrule her at any time he chose to do so.

"Fine," he said, "but make sure they're ready to launch as soon as we find the enemy."

"Yes, sir," said the Captain, "Will you be coming up here?"

"Of course, Miss Captain," Azrael replied, his words tinged with contempt, "I'll be joining you momentarily. Carry on."

He cut the connection, huffing as he did so. _The sooner this is over with_, he thought, _the better._

On the computer screen he saw the warships begin deploying their mobile weapons. The sight brought a cruel smile to his face. He may not have brought a full fleet to the engagement, but it was still an impressive force, and it was _his _to wield as he saw fit. It was times like these that Azrael found it difficult to remember that he was _not _a trained military commander; the power that came from having such weapons at his disposal was like a sweet perfume, one that threatened to cloud his judgment.

_Such a potent force_, he thought as he stood up and headed out of the office, _yet it is but a tiny fraction of the full might of the Earth Alliance, and that might is growing by the day! Soon we shall wrap up this sideshow with the traitorous scum and their allies. Then we will move on to the true enemy. Coordinators, your days are numbered. Soon you will be purged in cleansing fire, and our blue and pure world will be restored to its proper order!_

….

Wing Zero weaved between floating slabs of scrap metal with its customary precision and speed. Three hours into his patrol flight, Heero remained as alert and ready as when he had started the routine assignment. His Twin Buster Rifle and shoulder gatlings were ready to fire at a moment's notice, while the Gundam's beam saber was in its right hand, deactivated for the moment but requiring only a second to power up its verdant blade.

While other pilots might have viewed patrol flights as a tedious assignment, Heero actually appreciated them as both a necessary precaution and a practical means to keep his skills sharp. The second factor was emphasized by the unique environment in which he was flying. The ruins of Mendel's late companion colonies and the warships that had been destroyed during the fierce Battle of Nova that had so savaged the once prosperous and thriving L4 region were a navigation hazard that kept Heero constantly on his toes, ensuring that he never let his guard down. Even with the incredibly tough Gundanium alloy that made up its construction, a collision with a piece of debris could still potentially spell trouble for Wing Zero, especially if scraps of metal somehow became lodged in the mobile suit's engines or somehow wedged into the unit's joints.

Heero shared his patrol flight with Kira and Athrun, although due to the decision to maintain radio silence with the exception of mission-critical communications and to notify their respective warships when they were returning home. Thanks to their nuclear reactors the three units wielded by the ace pilots had incredible range and were able to cover very broad areas of the L4 debris field during their flights. The only other exception to the radio-silence order was special transmissions from the warships inside Mendel, such as the one Heero had received from the _Archangel_ roughly an hour ago regarding the trials of the new targeting system.

Murrue had run her crew through several simulations, and Heero had been pleased when she had told him that the new program had greatly improved the accuracy of the _Archangel_'s weapons. Guns and missiles alike had gotten a considerable boost in effectiveness, but the most prominent improvement by far had been to the CIWS and Helldart light anti-air missiles. That had been intentional on Heero's part; he'd wanted to help make the _Archangel _more effective against mobile suits that managed to get close to it. Now, thanks to the combination of the new targeting software and Bristow's Wolf Team, the _Archangel_'s anti-air umbrella was significantly more formidable than it had been before.

With the exception of the supply ship _Himiko_, there had been no arrivals in the L4 debris field since the Three Ships Alliance had made the Mendel colony its new home. While that was certainly welcome news, Heero found it odd that such a vast debris field had not attracted its share of salvage crews. Of course, given just how large the field was it was entirely possible that salvage teams were indeed operating in the area and the patrol flights hadn't spotted them yet, but given just how many flights had been made and how thorough they were that was not a very likely scenario. The Gundam pilot supposed that it was also possible that salvage crews had decided to steer clear of the field until the war was over, though whether out of respect for the dead or superstition over Mendel's foreboding reputation as a site of genetic research and rumored biological weapons testing ground he could not say. Then again, so long as it meant that they had the debris field to themselves, Heero wasn't about to complain.

_This can't last forever_, he thought as he dove under a large chunk of twisted metal, _we've spent far too much time here, more than enough for the Alliance and ZAFT to have ruled out other places where we could've gone to ground and at least consider L4 as a possible target._

The enemy may have had a habit of underestimating Heero and his allies, but they were not incompetent. While their energies may have been focused on wiping each other out, the Earth Sphere's two superpowers still had more than enough resources to spare to hunt for the Three Ships Alliance, and with the damage the organization had inflicted upon the armed forces of both nations only a fool would assume that they weren't doing exactly that.

Heero could take comfort from the strength and skill of his allies, along with the fact that so many flights through the L4 debris field had given them a thorough knowledge of the area. If the enemy came calling while they were still there, then the Three Ships Alliance would have the terrain advantage… not a term one expected to hear when people spoke of space battles. The clashes of large fleets tended to take place in open space, with commanders naturally reluctant to engage in hazardous areas. The L4 debris field certainly qualified in that respect, but that didn't mean enemy forces would refuse to enter the area.

So far though, Heero's current flight had proven to be as uneventful as his previous ones. Granted, it was only halfway through, but there was still every possibility that it would remain just another routine assignment. That certainly wasn't something Heero would mind at any rate.

_Quiet flights are the best flights_, thought Heero, _and it would be nice if this one stayed that way…_

It was at that moment that a beeping came from Wing Zero's sensors, and were Heero a superstitious person he would've suspected that he'd jinxed himself with his earlier thought. The Gundam pilot did not entertain any sort of notions though, and simply looked at his display to see what had caused the alert.

He swiftly took Wing Zero behind a large slab of metal and shifted the thruster to station keeping. His eyes narrowed as five contacts appeared at the edge of his sensors, one large and four small.

The target profiles came up, and they were instant bad news. The large one was a _Drake_-class escort ship, and it was flanked by two mass-production Strikes, which had thanks to recorded radio chatter from the battle at Orb that Erica Simmons had managed to decrypt he now knew were called Strike-Daggers, and two TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armors. The former had the basic load-out that Heero and the others had witnessed during the invasion of Orb, while the latter craft each had new artillery; a large beam cannon slung underneath the fuselage. IFF transponder data confirmed what Heero already knew; it was the Earth Alliance.

_They haven't seen me yet_, thought Heero as he watched the ship and its supporting units approach, _it's my move…_

_ What _move to make though was a difficult decision. The enemy hadn't detected him yet, and as long as he didn't move to attack they would likely bypass him entirely. Gundanium alloy was electrically non-conductive and thus could not be detected by radar, but the increase in power usage by Wing Zero's weapons was another matter. Also, if Heero broke radio silence, the enemy would detect him just as surely as they would if he were to move to engage.

While the presence of Alliance units at L4 now meant that the area had outlived its usefulness as a hideout, Heero still had not way of knowing if this was a simple patrol or part of the lead element of an attack force. If he kept his distance and simply observed his foe it was entirely possible that they would pass out of the debris field without incident, allowing him to return to the _Archangel _and alert the others so that they could relocate without a needless battle. However, if the escort ship and her accompanying mobile weapons were in fact just the tip of a strike force, then staying hidden would be meaningless and he would be better off taking advantage of his current element of surprise. Of course, if the enemy kept moving and wound up encountering either Athrun or Kira, Heero's caution would be rendered meaningless.

He had to make a judgment call. Was this a simple patrol, one that would eventually leave the field without incident, or was it a threat that he needed to deal with? Heero could hear the words of Odin Lowe in the back of his mind, recalling one of the lessons his guardian had taught him during their time together.

_"Sometimes the hardest decision is to watch and wait. When we act, we have control of ourselves. Human beings feel the need for that control; it's natural. However, sometimes you have to fight that urge to act, and let the situation play itself out without your intervention."_

They were wise words, but Heero was also keenly aware of the difference between cautious observation and careless inaction. The problem of course was figuring out which applied to the situation when he had such limited intelligence to work with. Without knowing the Alliance force's intentions, his decision would have to be made in the dark.

_Attack_, Heero thought, _or watch? Which one is right?_

Then the situation evolved and made up his mind for him. Additional contacts began coming into sensor range, and Heero could see that they too were _Drake_-class ships, and they were accompanied by more Strike-Daggers and Moebius mobile armors. Heero counted six of the escort ships total in a very loose formation, which was natural given that they were flying into a debris field and had to maintain plenty of space between them in order to maneuver, and he quickly realized that this wasn't a patrol.

It was a picket line.

A fleet vanguard.

The Earth Alliance wasn't scouting L4. They _knew _the Three Ships Alliance was here, and they had come in force.

Heero was sure that more warships would be close behind the picket line, and that he had to act quickly. Still as calm and collected as ever, Heero brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear and lined up his opening shot. He'd contact the _Archangel _after he engaged the enemy, but he wasn't about to throw away the element of surprise.

He powered up the rifle. The energy spike would be detected by the enemy, but by that time it would be far too late for them to avoid his attack.

Heero pulled the trigger, and a blast of golden-yellow hellfire ripped forth. The shot hit the first escort vessel dead-center, turning it into a fireball. An instant after he had fired Heero was already moving in, gunning the thrusters and igniting his beam saber. He closed in on the two Strike-Daggers that had been accompanying the warship as their pilots were still processing that they were under attack. They were in disarray, and Heero used that to his full advantage, slashing the first one in half before spearing the second through the cockpit. He then rounded on the two mobile armors and hacked them to pieces as they desperately tried to line up shots on him.

As he targeted the next escort ship in the picket line with the Twin Buster Rifle he got on the tactical channel. "This is Heero," he said as he opened fire, obliterating the vessel, "I have Earth Alliance forces in my sector. It's not a patrol; it's a vanguard. They've found us."

….

On the opposite side of the debris field, another advanced mobile suit flew through space. Diving to avoid a particularly large hunk of metal, Kira piloted the Freedom with practiced ease. Flying his Gundam had become second nature to him, a thought that he knew would've been completely alien to him before his fateful encounter with Captain Ramius and the Strike.

_I never imagined that I'd be flying anything_, he mused, _much less a mobile suit. The Strike was one thing, but the Freedom… it completely blows my old machine away._

That the Freedom was stronger than the Strike was hardly a surprised given the fact that it was powered by a nuclear reactor rather than the conventional ultra-compact battery packs used by most mobile suits, but Kira's new machine was also far faster and more maneuverable than the Alliance prototype. Not only had it proven itself capable of full independent flight in the Earth's atmosphere, but it moved an incredible degree of precision. It was that amazing precision that allowed Kira to fly so easily through the thicket of scrap metal, in addition to his built-up skills and his innate abilities as a Coordinator. He didn't have to rely exclusively on his Phase Shift Armor for protection, though Kira was definitely glad to have it as a layer of defense for the mobile suit.

_I'm glad Lacus and her father were able to get me this Gundam_, he thought, _I can't imagine the carnage ZAFT would be wreaking with it right now if they still had it…_

It was a little strange, thinking of his mobile suit as a Gundam when it did not fit the same technical criteria that Heero's Wing Zero did. As the process for creating Gundanium alloy had not yet been discovered in the Cosmic Era, strictly speaking no mobile suit could ever hope to be considered a Gundam by the standards of the machines used by Heero and his old comrades. Kira had only gotten the word from the acronym used for the Strike's Operating System, and it had only been fateful coincidence that the Freedom had used a program that had words beginning in the same letters that of the Strike's and thus making the same acronym.

However, Kira had been surprised when Heero had told him that the Freedom and the other mobile suits developed in its series were, in fact, Gundams. It wasn't just the alloy, Wing Zero's pilot had said, that made a Gundam. It was all the advanced technology and weaponry that went into it. It was all the elements that put mobile suits like Wing Zero, Freedom, Justice, Judgment, and the Wraiths above the rank and file.

_So what would that make the Strike and the other prototypes built at Heliopolis?_, he mused as he side slipped another hunk of twisted metal, _Proto-Gundams, maybe? They were the root of much of the technology used in the Freedom and the rest of the units in its line, but they weren't wholly above the mainline units used by ZAFT or the new mass-production machines the Alliance has developed. More advanced, yes, but not overwhelmingly so. I'll have to ask Heero about that later._

No sooner had that train of thought run through his head when he heard the voice of none other than Wing Zero's pilot over the tactical channel. "This is Heero. I have Earth Alliance forces in my sector. It's not a patrol; it's a vanguard. They've found us."

Kira's eyes widened in shock. _What? How?_

He was about to reply when he heard a beeping coming from his sensors. Checking the display, Kira bit back a curse as he saw several contacts moving into his sector. However, they weren't Alliance forces.

It was ZAFT.

There were multiple warships, spread out in a broad, loose formation in order to avoid the large chunks of debris. Among them and out in front of them were dozens of mobile suits. The majority of the units were GINNs, but Kira quickly picked up newer GuAIZs in the enemy force as well. The new models were naturally the bigger threat aside from the warships, but Kira also saw that many of the GINNs weren't carrying their usual armament. Instead of the machine guns and metal swords of the units that Kira had fought in the past, several of the GINNs had beam rifles and beam sabers.

_ZAFT's been upgrading_, he thought as he brought the Freedom's impressive array of artillery to bear on the lead mobile suits, _Bristow said the GuAIZ was more expensive than the GINN, so ZAFT's been modifying their mainline mobile suits with beam weapons to compensate for that and to help their forces fight the new Alliance units while they try to get more of their own new machines into the field._

Sighting in on his targets, Kira opened fire. All the debris floating around made his usual precision barrages more difficult to perform, but his opening salvo was still right on the mark. Crimson lances of plasma, emerald beams, and yellow railgun rounds streaked forth, destroying the head cameras and weapons of five GINNs.

The disabled units pulled back, but Kira knew that there were plenty more behind them, and soon they would be all over him. The Freedom was powerful, but not invincible, and at the rate they were moving the enemy would eventually be able to envelope Kira and hit him from all sides. He had to avoid getting swamped and stall for time until he got reinforcements. Pulling back and cutting loose again to slow his foes' advance, Kira quickly got on the tactical channel.

"This is Kira," he said, "I've encountered a ZAFT battle group. They've already launched mobile suits and are heading towards the colony! They know we're here!"

….

While the rest of the _Eternal_'s bridge crew had gasped in shock at Heero and Kira's back-to-back announcements, Andrew Waltfeld had wasted no time in assessing the situation. All mobile suits out on patrol were required to continually send their flight data to all three warships inside Mendel, so the Desert Tiger already had a clear view of what was going on. As he studied the main tactical display with his good eye, he immediately began formulating his response.

In the 'western' section of the L4 debris field, Heero was engaged with Alliance forces. The fearsome Gundam pilot had already eliminated two escort ships with the Twin Buster Rifle, while four Strike-Daggers and four mobile armors had fallen to his beam saber. However, there were still four more _Drake_-class vessels in the picket line along with several mobile suits and mobile armors, and Waltfeld could already see more warships and mobile weapons moving in; the lead ships of the main enemy strike forces.

Meanwhile, Freedom was being confronted on the other side of the debris field with a broad line that consisted of no less than five _Laurasia_-class frigates and two _Nazca_-class destroyers. The ships were further apart than they normally would've been due to the need to have room to maneuver and avoid debris, and the Desert Tiger realized that as a result their fields of fire did not overlap nearly as well as they should have, if at all. With his knowledge of ZAFT fleet tactics, Waltfeld was sure that the enemy flagship and whatever companion vessels it had for its escort would not be too far behind. Dozens of mobile suits were moving to engage the Freedom, and Kira had put himself into a fighting withdrawal in order to avoid getting flanked.

"All hands, battle stations!" he shouted, "All pilots, scramble. Get us up and running, and get me the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi_!"

He glanced at Aisha and nodded. His lover returned the nod, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and rushed to the bridge exit. He could feel the engines rumble to life, and he heard DaCosta begin issuing orders to the weapons crews, arming guns and loading missiles. As Waltfeld turned back to the main display, he saw it split in two as Captain Ramius appeared on the left half and Colonel Kisaka appeared on the right.

"We got those transmissions," said Murrue, "I've already begun liftoff procedures for the _Archangel_, and my pilots are scrambling."

"Same here" said Kisaka, "We're ready over here, Field Marshal."

"_Eternal _and her mobile suits will engage the ZAFT forces," said Waltfeld, "I know the way they fight, as do most of my pilots. I want the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi_ to engage the Earth Alliance forces; no doubt they brought more ships to the party than ZAFT did. Captain Ramius, release Rehema to fight with my mobile suits; the Valkyrie Team needs its leader."

Murrue nodded. "Understood, Waltfeld."

"Hit the Earth forces as hard and fast as you can," said Waltfeld, "I can do quite a bit of damage to the ZAFT fleet, but I might need help forcing them to back off. Colonel Kisaka, contact Athrun and tell him to engage the Alliance forces; he should be back soon, and he'll need an objective."

"Yes, sir," said Kisaka.

"Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "you're in charge of tactical operations between your ship and the _Kusanagi_; you know the Alliance forces better than anyone, so how you engage is up to you."

Murrue nodded again. "Very well, Waltfeld."

"Understood," said Kisaka.

While technically speaking the Orb Colonel held a higher rank than the former Alliance Captain, in practice Murrue had more naval experience than Kisaka, something Waltfeld was well aware of. The Desert Tiger had been worried that Kisaka would still chafe at being put under Murrue's command, but the Orb officer appeared to take his orders in stride and with the professionalism one would expect of a man like him.

"Good luck to all of us," said Waltfeld, "_Eternal _out."

As their faces disappeared from the monitor, Waltfeld glanced out the bridge viewport. The _Eternal _was already lifting off, as was the _Archangel_. The _Kusanagi _was lagging a bit behind the other two ships, but Waltfeld could see blue fire glowing at the back of the ship as its engines roared to life, and he knew it would take off shortly.

He heard the bridge door open behind him, and as he turned he saw Lacus rush towards her station. "Who's found us?" she asked, "ZAFT or the Alliance?"

"Both, I'm afraid," Waltfeld replied, "They're coming at us in a classic pincer, though I doubt they intended it that way. Call it a stroke of bad luck on our part."

"One we'll just have to fight through," said Lacus as she settled in, her gaze hard and determined, "What do you want me to do, Waltfeld?"

"Help the flight controller," said Waltfeld, "you can relay orders to our pilots. Time to put all that practice you've been getting to use, Miss Clyne."

The songstress nodded. "I'll do my best."

Waltfeld nodded. "I know you will. We all will."

As the support cruiser began pulling out of the docking bay the flight controller spoke up. "Sir, our mobile suits are ready for launch."

Waltfeld turned to the songstress. "Miss Clyne, instruct Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla to cloak once they leave the ship. They're to bypass ZAFT's mobile suits and launch an attack on their capital ships, starting from the enemy's left flank. Once Shemei launches from the _Archangel_, tell her that she and Kira will actively engage the ZAFT mobile suits. I want Aisha to stay with us to deal with any machines that get close to us."

Lacus nodded. "Got it."

As she began relaying his orders to the respective pilots, Waltfeld turned to the rest of the bridge crew. "Helm," he said, "once we clear the colony, take us around the front of the ZAFT force and towards their right flank. We'll hit that wing of their formation while the Wraiths hit the other."

"Aye, sir," the helmsman said.

Waltfeld could feel the _Eternal _pick up speed, her powerful engines thrumming as the warship pulled away from the colony. Entering a few quick commands on the keypad on the right arm of his chair, he studied the display as a broad map of the entire debris field showed up on it. As the military head of the Three Ships Alliance, he would need to keep an eye on the entire battle field, not just the theater his own ship and mobile suits were operating in.

_Damn_, he thought, _we shouldn't have stayed here so long. I should've relocated us to one of the other hideouts I'd filed away; there are plenty of them to choose from. Oh well, too late to worry about that now. We need to focus on surviving this battle; I'm not about to let the Alliance and ZAFT take us down here!_

….

As the _Archangel _pulled out of the Mendel colony, Murrue looked at her personal monitor. Like so many times in the past, it was set to keep track of Wing Zero's progress in the battle. She watched as Heero eliminated his third _Drake_-class ship of the day with the Twin Buster Rifle before swooping in to cut down two Strike-Daggers with his beam saber. As the two mobile suits exploded the Gundam pilot instantly shifted his aim to two nearby mobile armors and shredded them with his shoulder gatlings.

The Perfect Soldier had already eliminated half of the Alliance's picket line, and while Murrue knew that Heero would be able to take out the rest of the vanguard by himself, she was also aware that the main body of the enemy force would not be far behind. Already she could see a host of mobile suits and mobile armors closing in on Wing Zero, along with several more capital ships. Murrue didn't have enough data to know how big the enemy force was yet, but she was sure that they were moving to swarm Heero. Wing Zero was incredibly tough, but even its Gundanium alloy frame had its limits; a concentrated bombardment of beam weapons would eventually take it down. Heero would need help, and Murrue already had a plan to give it to him.

"Ma'am," said Miriallia, "Tallgeese Kai is loaded on the portside catapult, and the Judgment is on the starboard."

"Get them out," ordered Murrue, "Shemei will hook up with her team and fight under Waltfeld's command. Tell La Flaga to advance and aid Heero! Dearka will join him, while Bristow and the Wolf Team will hang back in escort role!"

"Yes, ma'am," Miriallia replied.

"Helm," said Murrue, "set us on approach to the right wing of the enemy force, or as close as you can get to that."

"Aye, Captain," said Neumann.

"Radio," said Murrue, "contact Colonel Kisaka! Tell him that we'll hit the enemy from the right flank, and the _Kusanagi _will hit them from the left. Then get a hold of the Justice; I want it out front with Wing Zero!"

"Yes, ma'am," said the communications officer.

"Activate the new targeting system," Murrue ordered, "make sure friendlies and enemies are properly designated!" With so many mobile suits on the field, the last thing Murrue wanted was to risk a chance of friendly fire.

"Aye, Captain!" said Lieutenant Tsukino, "Weapons, prepare targeting solutions for the Gottfrieds and Valiants the instant we have data! I want Sledgehammer, Wombat, and Corintoss missiles ready to fly at a moment's notice!"

_Good_, thought Murrue, _she's really gotten a feel for my orders, and is taking more initiative. I'm glad I managed to get her as my XO… though I still wish I had Natarle here._

Glancing up at the main monitor, Murrue saw the _Archangel _on the tactical display, symbolized as a white outline of the ship, pulling away from the Mendel colony. Already Neumann had the ship moving towards the enemy, maneuvering to avoid the larger pieces of debris while letting the smaller ones deflect harmlessly off the ship's hull. The _Kusanagi _showed up on the display behind them as a blue indicator on the screen, already moving in response to the orders issued to it from the _Archangel_. Small dots began issuing from the vessel; it was deploying its mobile suits just as the _Archangel _was. The Orb warship was picking up speed, and the _Archangel_'s Captain felt a flicker of concern when she saw that the course the vessel was taking to move into position was through a section of space that had previously been marked by the patrol flights as very dangerous for large ships. Murrue could understand why the vessel would take that approach, as it was faster than going around the area and would put them in an ideal attack position, but she still had her doubts and could only hope that Colonel Kisaka knew what he was doing. Meanwhile, Murrue could see the Justice moving down from the 'North' of the field, making haste for Heero's skirmish with the picket line.

Suddenly the _Kusanagi _stopped moving. Murrue was about to ask what was wrong when the answer was swiftly provided to her by none other than the Orb ship's commanding officer as he appeared on the main monitor.

"This is Kisaka," he said, "We've gotten snagged on debris! We're stuck!"

Murrue's eyes widened; that was _not _welcome news, and it completely justified her earlier misgivings regarding the _Kusanagi_'s flight path. "Get me a visual!" she yelled.

The image on the main monitor shifted, revealing the blue warship caught between two large slabs of scrap metal. At first Murrue could not tell what was holding the vessel, but upon closer examination she could see thin lines, and she realized that it was sunlight reflecting off of old connector wiring.

_Shit_, she thought as her eyes narrowed, _this is the last thing we need right now!_

Murrue wasn't about to let this mishap stop her though; after the tumultuous journey she had been on since Heliopolis, she was now more than capable of adapting on the fly. "Colonel," she said, "hold back some of your M1s to cut your ship free, and deploy the others along with the Strike Rouge to attack the enemy; I need them supporting my pilots!"

Kisaka reappeared on the screen. "Acknowledged, Captain Ramius," he said, "We'll keep Engineer Simmons' three test pilots back here to cut us loose. The rest will form up with Lady Cagalli. As soon as we're free, we'll support you the best we can. _Kusanagi _out."

Murrue wasted no time in issuing new orders. "Helm, alter course. Keep us between the Alliance forces and the _Kusanagi_'s position no matter what it takes; that ship's a sitting duck right now!"

"Got it," said Neumann.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "I have a clear shot with the Gottfrieds on one of the escort ships, and a firing solution for the Sledgehammer missiles on another."

Glancing at her personal monitor, she saw that Heero wasn't angling towards any of the three remaining _Drake_-class ships in the picket line. Instead he was weaving in and out through scattered scrap metal, using the environment to his advantage, taking down mobile suits and mobile armors one at a time with his beam saber and shoulder gatlings. The amount of enemy units engaging him was growing by the second as more Strike-Daggers and Moebius machines from the main force came into the fray. The three surviving escort ships from the picket line were angling to take shots at Heero with their guns and missiles, and the mobile suits launched from the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _had yet to join battle with the enemy.

"Take the shots, Lieutenant!" Murrue ordered.

The XO immediately followed the command. "Open fire!"

The two Gottfried dual heavy beam cannons cut loose with their emerald beams, and the salvo ripped one of the _Drake_-class ships apart. At the same time, a volley of Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles sprang forth from the rear launchers. As their target escort ship was trying to set up for a barrage with its four missile batteries on Wing Zero, it was not in position to bring its guns to bear on the incoming warheads. The _Archangel_'s volley slammed into the vessel's rear, obliterating the engines and leaving the ship adrift in space.

_A precise barrage_, thought Murrue_, in an environment like this, with so many obstacles, and at the distance we're at right now… I doubt we could've pulled that off without the new targeting system. Heero, your upgrades are already paying off._

Wing Zero wasted no time in taking advantage of the _Archangel_'s barrage. Slicing a Strike-Dagger in half with his beam saber and gunning down a Moebius with his gatling cannons, Heero rushed towards the last escort ship from the picket line, which was furiously trying to maneuver out of the _Archangel_'s line of fire. The move was successful, as it was now in an area with far too much debris in the way for Murrue's gunners to get off a clean shot… but they didn't have to. Wing Zero opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, and the blast of golden-yellow energy vaporized all the scrap metal in its path before it washed over the _Drake_-class ship like a tsunami, annihilating the vessel.

Heero had no time to rest on his laurels; Murrue could see a host of Strike-Daggers and Moebius units attempting to surround Wing Zero. The Gundam broke to the right, aiming to hit the flank of the attacking group. Swiftly closing the gap between him and the nearest targets, he once again began hacking into the enemy mobile suits with his beam saber, all the while dodging shots fired from his foes.

Suddenly a yellow scatter-shot blast ripped into the left flank of the onrushing machines, taking out one mobile suit and two mobile armors. Murrue quickly found the unit that had taken the shot; the Buster. Dearka was already separating the unit's massive combined gun into the smaller beam rifle and Gun Launcher and would soon be lining up shots on individual units.

At the same time, a flurry of precise emerald beams hit the enemy ranks, destroying a Strike-Dagger and a Moebius. The shots were from the Tallgeese Kai; La Flaga had gunned the machine's incredibly powerful vernier engines and was entering the fray.

As the Alliance machines were struggling to regroup and deal with the newcomers, two more Strike-Daggers were destroyed by a blur of pink energy. That energy had originated from the Justice, which had thrown one of its beam boomerangs as its opening attack on the enemy. Athrun quickly caught the special energy projectile in his units right hand as it returned to his mobile suit before drawing and igniting one of his beam sabers in that hand. As for the left, it already held the Justice's beam rifle, and it proceeded to open fire, destroying a Strike-Dagger with a well placed shot.

"Ma'am" said the sensor officer, "I'm getting updated information from Wing Zero. I've got a better picture now of the force we're up against, though I still don't know if all of it's in range yet."

"Show me what you have," said Murrue.

She then turned to Neumann. "Move us forward into a better firing position, but make sure to keep the ship between the enemy and the _Kusanagi_."

"Aye, Captain," the helmsman replied.

As the ship began to change position Murrue turned to the main monitor. Dozens of mobile suits and mobile armors were moving in fast to engage Heero and the others, and they had plenty of backup. Murrue counted eight _Drake_-class ships arrayed in a wide arc in order to avoid collisions, and behind them were four _Nelson_-class battleships. She realized that there weren't enough warships to account for all the mobile suits and mobile armors that had been launched, and guessed that there was at least one carrier holding position outside the debris field.

_Standard Alliance tactics for an engagement in this kind of environment_, she thought, _Agamemnon-class carriers pretty much have tissue paper for armor, so they're vulnerable enough in a battle; they're not about to compound their risk by flying through the debris field._

She turned to her personal monitor and tapped in a few commands. The screen then split, with the right half continuing to follow Heero in the battle while the left half showed the entire battlefield. Murrue could see the _Eternal _moving in a wide arc, trying to get onto the right flank of the ZAFT battle group. There was a single mobile suit flying with the ship, and Murrue saw that the IFF transponder attached to it was that of Aisha's GuAIZ. Kira was still out front, confronting the lead elements of the enemy's mobile suit teams, and Murrue could see the Judgment rushing to reinforce him. She saw no signs of Shemei's subordinates, and she guessed that the girls had activated their Wraiths' Mirage Colloid systems.

_ZAFT will be in for one hell of a surprise when those three attack_, she thought, _I just hope it's enough to keep Waltfeld and the others from being overwhelmed. ZAFT brought plenty of firepower to this battle._

Now that the ZAFT battle group had moved further into the field, Murrue had a picture of the entire force the Coordinator military had brought to L4. It was a formidable assembly of ships, with five _Laurasia_-class making up the center of their main line, two _Nazca_-class destroyers at the tips, and two more of the azure warships back behind the main line. Murrue could see that all the vessels had already launched their mobile suits, and she could only hope that there were not too many of the new models among them.

Turning back towards the main monitor, which continued to show the tactical situation for her part of the battlefield, Murrue saw the Alliance forces actually slow their advance. The move was very unusual considering that they'd only lost their picket line and a few mobile suits and mobile armors so far; normally the Earth forces would continue forward despite such losses.

Then she saw the small dots representing the enemy mobile suits and mobile armors actually begin to pull back. Her eyes narrowed as she observed this new development; something wasn't right.

"Contact Heero and the others fighting with him," she ordered the radioman, "Tell them to hold position. They're _not _to press forward; this could be a trap!"

"Got it," replied the communications officer.

"Ma'am!" cried the sensor officer, "The enemy forces have ceased firing! I've got additional Alliance contacts coming up on our scopes!"

Indeed, three more ships appeared behind the main body of the Alliance battle group. Two of the vessels were _Nelson_-class battleships, but the third was something else. It was a new vessel, a large one… the same size as the _Archangel_.

Murrue felt the blood chill in her veins. _No_, she thought, _Don't tell me they built another one…_

"Get me a visual on the new arrivals!" she ordered, "Priority goes to the largest one!"

The image on the main monitor shifted. All three ships came into view. The two _Nelson_-class battleships were flanking the middle contact, but Murrue scarcely paid those vessels anything more than a glance. It was the central ship that had her attention. A collective gasp went through her bridge crew as they all saw the vessel on the monitor. Murrue could not blame them for their reaction.

It was an _Archangel_-class General-Purpose Assault Battleship. The hull, the weapons, the armor… they mirrored those of Murrue's ship. However, unlike the _Archangel _herself, this second ship of its class had a much darker color scheme, primarily black and dark grey, with some bits of red trim along the edge of the broad wing than ran under the main hull and the bottom section of the U-shaped undercarriage that held the vessel's powerful engines. Murrue could also see mobile suits flying just out front of the warship. Six were Strike-Daggers, but Murrue's attention was drawn to three other units with them; the three prototypes that had made their debut in the Alliance's invasion of Orb.

"Captain," said the communications officer, "that new ship's broadcasting to us over an open channel!"

"Put it on screen!" she ordered.

The image of the black warship and its escorts disappeared… and what replaced it took Murrue completely off guard and drew another gasp from the rest of the bridge crew save for Lieutenant Tsukino. That exception was quite natural; the Orb Lieutenant did not know the caller.

Murrue and the other old hands from the _Archangel_, those who had stayed with the ship since its tumultuous departure from Heliopolis, knew the person on the screen _very _well. It was someone who had been with them on that fateful day, who had fought alongside them in their struggle to survive ZAFT's dogged pursuit, who had given as much effort as Murrue had to bring the _Archangel _to her destination at Alaska… and had been forced to leave the ship at that base. It was someone that, while Murrue had clashed with them, she had still considered them a valuable subordinate and comrade, even a friend. She'd respected them even as she'd disagreed with them, had understood them even as she fought with them, had cared for them as she had the rest of her crew… and her heart fell at the realization that she was now on the opposite side of this battlefield.

The woman on the screen wore the standard cap that most Alliance Captains chose to don, but it did little to hide her familiar short-cropped black hair, her stern features, her pale skin, or her violet eyes.

"This is Captain Natarle Badgiruel of the Earth Alliance battleship _Dominion_," she said, "Rogue warship _Archangel_, I hereby demand your immediate surrender, as well as that of your mobile suits and allies!"

….

Natarle was surprised that she was able to speak at all. Her throat had felt impossibly tight since the moment the Earth Alliance battle group under her command had entered the L4 debris field. Her heart had been pounding away like a jackhammer, and she'd had to grip the arms of her chair to keep herself steady. The turmoil, the confliction that had been tearing her heart apart since the moment she had received this assignment was now at its worst, and it was all she could do to maintain her composure.

Matters had hardly been helped as she'd watched the task force's vanguard get decimated right from the get go. Sending in a picket line had been standard operating procedure, and Natarle was fully aware that advance forces of that sort were likely to take casualties as they ascertained the enemy's position and strength, but she had been ill-prepared for the speed and lethality of Wing Zero's assault on her vanguard, nor the sudden and incredibly precise long-range strikes from the _Archangel_. The _Dominion_'s Captain had not expected to encounter Wing Zero operating as a patrol unit; her former superior had held the Gundam back during their journey unless battle was imminent, the only exception to that doctrine being Heero's search flight for Cagalli after she had gone missing during the battle in the Indian Ocean. Natarle had been prepared to fight Wing Zero, of course, but she had not anticipated it already being on the field when her vanguard had begun to move in.

_I should've anticipated that possibility_, she thought, _Just because Captain Ramius hadn't used it as a patrol unit while I was serving with her didn't mean that she wouldn't change her tactics, especially now that her ship has more mobile suits and allies. I screwed up, and the entire picket line was wiped out because of it!_

Those losses weighed heavily on her mind, but they were not nearly as big a burden as the prospect of facing her former friends and comrades in battle, along with the man she loved. It hadn't taken her long to spot the mobile suit she believed Mu La Flaga to be flying; the blue and white unit had moved in quickly to support Wing Zero, along with the maroon machine that had also appeared at the invasion of Orb, the Buster, four of Orb's M1 Astrays, and a pink-red version of the Strike.

That burden was why she had halted the advance of the main force. Natarle knew it was a long shot, but she still wanted to give diplomacy a chance. She wanted to do everything she could to _avoid _fighting La Flaga, Heero, Captain Ramius, and the others if possible, which was why she was now reaching out to her old comrades. In her heart, Natarle knew that the odds of Captain Ramius and the others accepting the surrender offer were low… but she had to try.

Her chances of success were even lower here than they would've been in other circumstances thanks to several factors. The first unforeseen circumstance had been the entrance of a ZAFT battle group. Natarle hadn't received any intelligence reports about ZAFT activity in the area, and it was only by good fortune that they were engaging one of the _Archangel_'s allied ships rather than moving against the Earth Alliance forces. However, Natarle was also aware that Captain Ramius would not surrender her ship while her allies were fighting another battle; she would not abandon them. It was similar in a way to what had happened at Alaska; Natarle had read the reports describing how the _Archangel _had lead the surviving Eurasian Federation forces in a breakout through the ZAFT armada, deliberately moving with the slower conventional warships in order to support them and give them a fighting chance rather than gunning the engines and leaving them in the dust.

Another factor that worked against Natarle's efforts was sitting on the bridge next to her. Natarle had only spoken to Muruta Azrael a few times since receiving her new command and embarking on her mission, but those brief exchanges had been more than enough to put her on edge regarding the man. There was something _wrong _about him. On the surface he was civil and even affable, but there was an arctic undercurrent about him. Natarle could not help but feel that the man who was both the leader of Blue Cosmos and the _de facto _ruler of her homeland considered her and her subordinates almost as expendable as he had Captain Ramius and her crew when he had set the _Archangel _up to serve as bait for the Atlantic Federation's trap at Alaska. The way he spoke of the pilots of the three prototype mobile suits the _Dominion _carried did not help matters. Natarle had been repulsed when she had first heard him call those three young men 'Biological CPUs'. He'd referred to living beings as little more than pieces of equipment! It was true that Natarle herself was not too fond of the pilots of the Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider; they were arrogant, reckless, undisciplined, quite possibly sociopathic, and in the brief time she had known them they had shown little regard for her authority as the Captain of the ship they were assigned to. However, Natarle had not let her personal dislike of them blind her to the fact that they were still _people_, still pilots nominally under her command. They were not just tools to be used and discarded when it suited her.

There was also the fact that, despite his outward civility, Azrael did not seem to hold Natarle in particularly high regard. He had listened attentively when Natarle had explained her decisions regarding the operation, but his replies had always held an air of contempt about them. The man seemed to resent the military authority that Natarle had been given, and she felt as though she were walking a tightrope when dealing with him, trying to placate him on the one hand and act in the manner she believed best for her subordinates on the other. Azrael had so far begrudgingly gone along with her calls so far, but Natarle was acutely aware that he could undercut her at any time, and her attempts to offer Captain Ramius and the others a chance at peaceful surrender could serve as a catalyst for him to do so. Natarle had heard rumors of just how ruthless Azrael was, along with how fanatical his hatred of Coordinators and those who sided with them was, and she suspected that he was more inclined to kill her former comrades than allow them to surrender… or would have them all executed even if they surrendered, regardless of the mitigating circumstances surrounding their abandonment of the Earth Alliance.

_Even if I managed to convince them to hand themselves in_, she thought, _would he honor any agreement I made with them, any efforts I made to ensure their safety and fair treatment? I… I don't know…_

On the main screen, she saw Captain Ramius's eyes widen in shock and recognition. Natarle couldn't blame her. After all, they hadn't spoken since her transfer from the _Archangel _at Alaska, and Natarle hadn't been able to reply to Mu's emails out of fear that she was being monitored by her superiors. Her former comrades had no way of knowing that she'd been assigned to the Alliance's second _Archangel_-class warship, and that her mission was to hunt them down.

"Natarle…" Captain Ramius said. Her surprise was evident in her voice… along with her sorrow.

Another voice came over the speakers and at the same time the screen split, with a _very _familiar pilot occupying the right half of it.

"Natarle!" said Mu, and through his helmet visor Natarle could see the dismay in his eyes, "You're…"

His voice trailed off, and the unfinished sentence could've gone anywhere. Natarle wasn't a mind reader, and she could only hope that the laid-back but cunning and valiant pilot that she had fallen in love with did not lose the affections she prayed he still held for him… though if he did, she could not blame him given the circumstances. Her heart ached, the pain it felt more piercing now than ever before. There was so much that she wanted to tell him, but given her position now and Azrael's presence on the _Dominion_'s bridge, she could not act on her feelings.

_I'm so sorry_, she thought, _Mu, Captain Ramius… all of you. Please, give me this chance to save you. I don't want to fight you!_

"Captain Ramius," she said, "Lieutenant Commander La Flaga. I heard about what happened during the First Battle of Alaska. Please, surrender and engage in talks with the Earth Alliance. I can advocate on your behalf for leniency given the mitigating circumstances regarding your actions, and I will do everything in my power to ensure the safety of yourselves and the rest of the crew. Your situation may be grave, but we can still work things out if you cooperate and turn yourselves in."

She saw Captain Ramius close her eyes for a moment. When she opened them Natarle saw that familiar strength and determination in them… and her heart fell as she knew what it meant.

Her former commanding officer shook her head before speaking. "I cannot accept your offer, Natarle. Our actions may have originally stemmed from what happened at Alaska, but they have now gone well past that. We no longer have any faith or trust in the Earth Alliance. The _Archangel _and her crew stand firmly against the path our former homeland has chosen to walk. We will not let the likes of Azrael and the rest of Blue Cosmos direct the resources and military might of the world towards their goal of exterminating Coordinators, nor will we stand by while ZAFT attempts to return the favor! So long as both sides remain intent on wiping each other out to the last man, woman, and child, then we will _fight _both sides with everything we've got!"

"Captain Ramius…" said Natarle, her eyes widening at her former superior's impassioned speech. It was a brutal indictment of _both _the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and the firmest possible reply Captain Ramius could've given to Natarle's offer of surrender. Her heart felt even heavier now, grimly aware that there was now no other way to resolve the situation between her and her former commander than to fight her.

Hoping against hope, Natarle looked at the other person on the screen. _Mu_, she thought, _please… don't do this…_

"Lieutenant Commander La Flaga?" she said, the presence of Azrael forcing her to use cold formality when she dearly wished to do otherwise, "Do you… hold the same commitment?"

The man she loved gave her a nod, an anguished grimace on his face. "Natarle… I'm sorry, I really am… but I can't go back. Not after Alaska, and certainly not after what the Earth Alliance has done since then. They're too far gone, Natarle, and they're going to drag you down with them! Please, don't let them pull you under! I know you, Natarle; you're _nothing _like that son of a bitch Azrael and his ilk! You're _far _better than they are, and I _know _you don't agree with what they're planning to do! I'm _begging you_, Natarle, don't let them destroy you! I can't watch the woman I love become a mass-murderer!"

"Mu…" she said softly, paying no heed to the cruel gaze of her superior. It tore at her heart to know that she could not simply abandon her crew and fly to the Hawk of Endymion right at that moment. As painful as it was to hear him decry the nation that they had both sworn to serve, she also could not deny a sense of exultation within her heart as she heard him verbally confirm what she had privately prayed for. Even after all the time that had passed, after encountering her here as an enemy combatant, _he still loved her_. It was hardly the ideal place to receive an affirmation of continued, loyal affection, but she would take what she could get. It was the only comfort she could find in her impossible situation.

"Don't do this, Natarle!" yelled Mu, "It's not too late, you can still-"

The faces of her former comrades suddenly vanished from the screen, replaced by a standard tactical display. "I think that's enough of that," a familiar voice said with an icy edge.

Natarle looked over at Azrael, who had cut the feed via the console on the arm of his chair. He gave her a smile that just reeked of arrogance and cruelty.

Azrael chuckled as he spoke. "If we could simply solve our problems by talking about them, then we wouldn't be at war, would we _Miss Captain_?"

"Sir…" she said, grimacing. She hated it when he called her that. Despite the outward formality, there was no hiding the disdain and mockery with which he used the title. Natarle was willing to ignore the insult to her personally, but Azrael's sarcasm and derision undercut her role as the commanding officer of the _Dominion_. It showed the crew that their superiors were not necessarily operating with a level of mutual respect, and that disharmony could easily infect the lower ranks and have a negative effect on morale.

"They simply can't understand the necessity of our actions," Azrael continued, "They don't have the guts to do what _needs _to be done. They're soft and emotional, so they have turned against us. They are our enemies now, and we must eliminate our enemies. Isn't that right, _Miss Captain_?"

_Damn you, Azrael_, she fumed, _it's not that simple…_

Unfortunately, her hands were tied. Whether she liked it or not, Natarle on had one course of action available to her now… the one she had dreaded since before leaving the Ptolemaeus lunar base.

The time for talking was over.

She had to fight.

_Mu, Captain Ramius, everyone_, she thought, _I'm sorry. Please, forgive me… there's nothing more I can do now._

She gritted her teeth as she steeled herself for what she knew would be the hardest battle of her career. "All forces," she said, "advance! Reengage the enemy!"

….

"Captain," said the sensor officer, "The Alliance forces are moving forward again! They'll be engaging our mobile suits soon!"

Murrue nodded, her heart already steeled to the reality that she would now have to do battle against her former Executive Officer… and the woman one of her pilots was in love with.

_I'm sorry, La Flaga_, she thought, _there's nothing for it now. Fate's forced our hand; we have to fight Natarle._

Heero appeared on the main monitor. "I'll punch through their ranks and hit the _Dominion_," he said, "Everyone else, back me up."

It was a straightforward and solid plan, and Murrue knew it normally would've met with no resistance. However, this was hardly a normal battle, even by their standards, and the objection she'd predicted was swift in coming. The screen split as the Hawk of Endymion appeared on the right side, pushing Heero to the left.

"Hang on!" yelled La Flaga, "Natarle's on that ship! You can't destroy it, Heero!"

"We don't have a choice," he replied, and Murrue saw his gaze turn away from the cockpit camera; no doubt he was already moving to engage. "That ship's the biggest threat to the _Archangel _and the rest of our ships; it has to be taken down."

It was exactly the sort of response Murrue would've expected from Heero. Doubtlessly he was aware of her distress at facing her former XO in combat, but his determination to protect her had top priority in his mind, and if he had to kill a former comrade to accomplish that, so be it. Murrue appreciated the dedication, but she wasn't completely convinced that Natarle was beyond saving, that this confrontation could only be kill-or-be-killed. Still, now was no time for an argument; glancing at the side of her personal monitor that showed the tactical situation, she could see the Alliance mobile suit teams already beginning to engage Heero and the others.

"Damn it, Heero!" yelled La Flaga, and Murrue could see the Tallgeese Kai flying towards Wing Zero, shooting down a Strike-Dagger and a mobile armor as it did so, "I won't let you kill her! I love her!"

"I'm sorry," said Heero, and Murrue could indeed detect a hint of regret in his normally stoic demeanor, "She's forced our hand, La Flaga."

"Only because _hers _has been forced by her superiors!" La Flaga shot back, "She was transferred at Alaska; she wasn't give the chance to make the choice that _we _got to make! I _know _she doesn't support Azrael and the others, and _you _know that too! What if Captain Ramius was on that ship?"

There was a flicker in the eyes of the Gundam pilot, one that Murrue knew that few people would've picked up on. Though he remained calm and in control, Murrue could tell that La Flaga's words had hit Heero like a bullet.

Glancing at her personal monitor again, she saw several enemy units closing on Heero, and she feared that the distraction he faced with La Flaga would put him at a disadvantage in this fight, perhaps a fatal one. Two of the enemy mobile suits were destroyed by a low-power shot from Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle, but to Murrue that alone was no guarantee that Heero was truly in form, completely focused… and any distraction was a potential avenue for the Zero System to try to take control of him again.

However, as she looked up at the main screen again she saw the hesitancy disappear from Heero's eyes, replaced by determination. It wasn't the grim resolve one might've expected to see in this kind of situation though; it was fierce, intense, and energetic.

He had a plan.

And so did Murrue, the desperation of the situation combined with seeing Heero's new determination enough to provide a spark of inspiration that she had lacked before. She did not know if her boyfriend was thinking along the same lines as her, but she was sure that whatever his idea was she could make it work with hers.

"Everyone, listen up," said Heero, "I'll hit the Alliance battle group head-on, tie up their resources. La Flaga, you, Athrun, and Dearka engage the Alliance prototypes and keep them off me. If we inflict heavy casualties on them, we can get them to withdraw. Cagalli, you and your team harass the _Dominion_."

"Hold on, Heero," Murrue chimed in, "I want Cagalli and her team supporting you while you hit the enemy force. I'll bring in the _Archangel_ on the flank and keep the _Dominion _tied up."

"Murrue…" said Heero.

"Don't worry," Murrue replied, smiling, "I won't engage her head-on. I'll focus on outmaneuvering her, keeping both our ships from being able to use the Lohengrins on each other while taking shots at her backup. Besides, with all us engaging them, the Alliance will have more important things to do than try to attack the _Kusanagi_; this will buy Colonel Kisaka time to get his ship loose and join the fight."

If the battle went head-to-head, Murrue knew that it would come down to which ship could fire their Lohengrins first, and she refused to let that happen. She had a chance to not only get her people through this fight alive but push Natarle back rather than kill her, and she was going to take it.

"Wolf One here," Bristow chimed in, "we'll keep the _Archangel _covered and take potshots at the _Dominion _while we're at it, keep her off-balance."

Heero nodded. "Roger that. Wing Zero out."

As the Gundam pilot vanished from the screen, Murrue saw La Flaga nod. "Thanks, both of you."

"You're welcome, La Flaga," Murrue replied, "however… I can make no promises regarding the engagement. I'll do what I can to keep Natarle alive, but if things go south…"

"I… understand," La Flaga replied, his voice heavy, "At least this way she'll have a chance to get away. La Flaga out."

Murrue wasted no time in issuing new orders to her crew. "Helm, pull to starboard, long arc. I want us coming up on the battle group's left flank."

"Got it," said Neumann.

"Weapons," said Murrue, "begin acquiring targeting solutions on the closest enemy ships unit we move within range of the _Dominion_. CIWS and Helldarts are to coordinate with Wolf Team in close-defense; make sure data's flowing between us and Bristow's squad."

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "what about the _Dominion _herself? What do we engage her with?"

"Conventional armaments," Murrue replied, "Gottfrieds, Valiants, Sledgehammers; all the toys weaker than the Lohengrins, Lieutenant." Her gaze hardened. "However… be prepared to utilize the positron cannons if the situation deteriorates."

"Aye, Captain," Tsukino replied.

As her ship began moving she glanced at her personal monitor. She watched as Heero began his assault on the battle group.

_Be careful, my love, and I shall do the same. We have not come this far just to die here!_

….

**(Start "Deeply Fast")**

Despite his earlier words, Heero was not technically aiming for a head-on assault. The Gundam pilot had broken to port, and his attack angle would take him into the right wing of the battle group. This was intentional on Heero's part. His plan was simple, the kind that he and his fellow Gundam pilots had gotten used to coming up with on the fly over the course of their own war. He would start from the right wing and work his way through the Alliance battle group, destroying everything in his path.

Gunning Wing Zero's engines, he rushed headlong towards a formation of two Strike-Daggers and two Moebius units that were between him and his first target, one of the eight remaining _Drake_-class escort ships in the task force. The two mobile suits had their beam rifles in their left hands and yellow beam sabers in their right and were already moving to meet him, while the mobile armors were angling for flanking shots with their cannons. It was a very logical setup; the mobile suits were better suited to direct engagement, while the mobile armors were ideal for potshots and quick strikes.

_A sensible deployment_, he thought, _which also makes it predictable._

Rather than hit the threat in front first, Heero moved on the flankers. While the Moebius units may have been faster than the Strike-Daggers, Wing Zero was faster than _both_, and Heero used that to his full advantage. He closed the gap on the mobile armor coming in on his left, jinking to evade fire from its beam cannon, and swiftly sliced it in half with his verdant blade. He then whirled the Gundam around and side slipped to the left to dodge fire from the second mobile armor, which had been setting up to attack him from behind, along with shots from the mobile suits. Heero shredded the mobile armor with gatling fire before turning to block a strike from a yellow beam saber on his shield. He struck back, impaling the attacking mobile suit before pulling back to evade a slash from its partner. With his trademark efficiency, Heero quickly countered with a diagonal slash, and the Strike-Dagger exploded.

More mobile suits and mobile armors were swift in coming. Weaving between chunks of debris to present a harder target, Heero sighted in on the _Drake-_class ship and opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle. No sooner had the vessel been destroyed when Heero was already fending off saber attacks from another pair of Strike-Daggers while dodging fire from several more units. On his sensors he could see several of the Alliance capital ships moving to back up the squadrons engaging him.

He swiftly cut down another Strike-Dagger with his beam saber and shot down a mobile armor with his shoulder gatlings as he worked his way towards another _Drake_-class vessel. The space around him was getting crowded as the Alliance squadrons began converging on his location. Heero had figured from the start that Wing Zero would be one of the enemy's priority targets, if not the main one, and so far the Alliance wasn't disappointing his expectations. Of course, just because he was used to being the one everybody was shooting at did not mean it would make his job easier.

However, this time he wasn't alone; he had backup.

A flurry of emerald beams cut into a squadron moving in on his left flank, taking down three Strike-Daggers and scattering more units. Heero only had to glance at his sensors to know where the shots had come from; Cagalli and her escort were already moving in.

"Don't think we're gonna let you take these guys on by yourself, Heero," said Orb's tomboy princess as she appeared onscreen, "This time you don't get to go solo."

Heero nodded. "Thanks for the support."

"Anytime," she replied, "Strike Rouge out."

Coming around a slab of scrap metal, Heero rushed a Strike-Dagger from the right, blindsiding the mobile suit and cutting it in half with his emerald blade. Whirling around, he then blocked a downward swing from another mobile suit's yellow beam saber on his shield before striking back with his own energy blade. His foe showed a bit more skill than his previous targets and managed to catch the blow on its shield, but Heero simply countered by pulling back and firing the Twin Buster Rifle. Even at low power, the shot was strong enough to completely vaporize the Strike-Dagger; its shield may as well have been tissue paper.

"Aw, crap," said Cagalli over the radio, "we've got one of those advanced Alliance machines coming in; the blue one with the big guns."

"Don't engage it," said Heero, preparing to intercept the prototype mobile suit, "Its pilot and those of the other units were good enough to fight Kira and Athrun at Orb; you'll get torn apart. Watch my back while I deal with it."

However, before he could even take aim at the blue unit he saw another familiar machine coming in fast, this one friendly. "I'll take him on," said Dearka, "he's an artillery unit, and that's my game. You've got a fleet to trash, Heero."

Heero nodded and got himself back on track towards the escort ship. As he did so he saw the Buster combine its Gun Launcher and beam rifle to form its heavy weapon. He opened fire in its sniper mode, and while he did not land a hit his shot did force the blue heavy artillery mobile suit to turn its attention to him. The Gundam pilot was not sure what the outcome would be as the two mobile suits began trading long-range fire. While he did not doubt Dearka's skills, the new Alliance unit was obviously built for the same purpose as the Buster and had more weapons than the machine built at Heliopolis. Heero was sure that it was a successor unit, more advanced than its predecessor. He would just have to trust in the former ZAFT pilot's abilities. If nothing else, the young man had proven his skills by surviving the artillery duel he'd waged with Heero in the Marshall Islands, so it was the kind of fight that he was well prepared to wage.

_According to Kira_, he thought as he checked his sensors, _that unit fought as part of a team with the other prototypes. That means the other two machines can't be far behind… there they are._

The red and black unit and the green mobile suit were moving towards him as well, apparently unconcerned about their ally's battle with the Buster. Heero did not adjust his heading to intercept them, though; his sensors also showed the Tallgeese Kai and the Justice moving in swiftly to head off the Alliance units.

"This is Athrun," said the Justice's pilot over the tactical channel, "I'll take the black and red machine."

"Got it," said La Flaga, "I'm on the green guy. Watch your back; there are still plenty of regulars out here to take potshots at us."

"Copy that," Athrun replied, "Justice out."

Confident that his allies would keep the more advanced enemy mobile suits off his back, Heero sighted in on the escort ship. Unlike the previous vessel, this one had managed to turn to face him, and its four ten-barrel missile launchers proceeded to empty their stock of warheads at Wing Zero. Heero's counter was simple but devastating; he increased the charge of the Twin Buster Rifle and cut loose. The large blast vaporized the incoming missiles and turned the ship that had fired them into ashes.

"Cagalli," said Heero as he evaded beam fire from several Strike-Daggers, "I'm going to cut in and make a run on the nearest battleship. Cover me."

"Roger that," the girl replied.

Raising his shield to block a beam, Heero then tore apart the mobile armor that had fired the shot with his shoulder Gatlings. The closest _Drake_-class ship in the enemy formation was already setting up for a missile barrage on him, but it soon found itself set upon by the Strike Rouge and its four escorting M1 Astrays. Cagalli and her comrades flitted around the ship like mosquitoes, evading fire from its three 75mm Vulcan cannons while pouring energy beams into the craft. Within short order the vessel's missile launchers had been knocked out before Cagalli dived in and pierced the bridge with her beam saber.

Cutting down a Strike-Dagger with his beam saber and maneuvering around debris to throw off the aim of the many other units trying to line up shots on him, Heero picked out his target; the _Nelson_-class battleship _Philip II_. The warship's gunners wasted no time in opening fire on him with everything the vessel had, and between the shots fired from it, the attacks from the enemy mobile suits and armors, and all the floating debris, the space around Heero was becoming very crowded.

Heero broke to the left, taking Wing Zero into a wide arc that would put him into position to hit the _Philip II _on its starboard side. As he did so he blocked a yellow beam saber strike from a mobile suit with his shield before striking back with his emerald blade, slashing the enemy in two. At the same time, Cagalli and her team opened fire on the horde of units that were converging on Heero. Their opening volley only destroyed one mobile suit and a mobile armor, but it forced several more machines to scatter and go on the evasive, disorganizing their efforts to take Heero down.

With a quick glance at his sensors, Heero moved into position to fire on the battleship. At the same time he also made note of the _Archangel_'s current position and trajectory. Murrue was moving her ship along the opposite side of the Alliance battle group. While her primary goal was to keep Natarle's ship occupied, Murrue was also not ignoring the chance to help Heero's mission of inflicting damage on the rest of the Alliance force. The _Archangel_ opened fire with her portside Gottfried heavy dual-beam turret and the Valiant Linear cannon that was also on that side, and the precise volley obliterated a _Drake_-class escort ship.

The _Dominion _was already reacting, moving along with two _Nelson_-class battle ships to engage the rogue vessel. One of the smaller ships was going high and the second was going low, and Heero knew that they were angling to catch Murrue in crossfire. Several mobile suits and armors were also moving to engage the _Archangel_. Despite the situation, Heero did not allow himself to worry or break to help. He trusted Murrue's abilities, as well as those of Bristow and his pilots. They knew what they were doing and what the enemy was trying to do; they were more than capable of dealing with the Alliance's moves. Heero knew that the best way he could help Murrue right now was to focus on his own objective. The sooner he inflicted intolerable losses on the Alliance forces, the sooner Natarle would be forced to withdraw.

Unless Murrue had to kill her before then.

Side slipping right to dodge the thrust of a Strike-Dagger's energy blade, Heero stabbed the unit through its side. Pulling the blade out, not even bothering to look as the mobile suit exploded, Heero brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear on the _Philip II_ and opened fire. The golden-yellow wave of energy slammed dead-center into the battleship's starboard side, turning the vessel into a two hundred fifty meter-long frag grenade.

_Now I've really got their attention_, he thought as he dived to avoid a barrage of emerald beams. The majority of the remaining Alliance capital ships were changing course and heading right for him. The lion's share of mobile suits and armors were swarming all around him, though there were still enough left to support the three prototypes in their respective fights as well as to back up the _Dominion _and the two battleships working with her.

"Cagalli," he said as he impaled another Strike-Dagger through the chest, "if it gets too hot, break off and reinforce one of the others."

"Hey," she replied as she appeared on his screen, "we're not just going to leave you to fend for yourself, Heero. You're my friend, and I don't run out on my friends!"

"It's not like that," said Heero as he dodged enemy fire, raising his shield to block the shots he couldn't dodge, "This is the kind of fight I'm used to. You're getting better at it, but you're not at the level of a Gundam pilot. There's a difference between bravery and getting yourself in over your head. You have to recognize your limits."

"I do!" she shot back, "And I know I can keep backing you up here! Besides, Captain Ramius ordered me to help you out, and the only way I'm leaving is if she tells me to!"

_Stubborn girl_, he thought as he dove to dodge a shot from a Moebius before turning his gatlings on the craft and destroying it. Still, he had to respect her loyalty and tenacity.

"Suit yourself," he replied, "Wing Zero out."

He continued his evasive flying, the battle group's barrage becoming more intense as more ships managed to bring their weapons to bear on him. It couldn't compare to the storm of fire Avalon and its accompanying warships and mobile suits had unleashed upon him during the raid on Aprilius One, but it was still no small feat to deal with, especially given the environment that he was flying in. Heero had the Zero System and Wing Zero's incredible maneuverability in his corner; Cagalli and her team had neither. Both the Strike Rouge and the M1 Astrays were solid machines, but the scope of their abilities and the skills of their pilots were just not as great as Heero's. It wasn't an arrogant belief on the Gundam pilot's part; it was a simple statement of fact.

Heero threw himself deeper into the enemy force, bearing down on the next _Nelson_-class battleship in his sights, who's IFF identified it as the _Richard Lionheart_. Weaving through weapons fire from warships and mobile weapons, Heero cut down two more Strike-Daggers with his beam saber as he set up for his shot on the battleship. He took Wing Zero into a climb, bringing it above and to the right of the vessel. The ship poured everything it had at him, and as Heero fired the Twin Buster Rifle one of the missiles launched from the vessel's VLS hit the Gundam in the right shoulder.

Though the Gundanium alloy was more than capable of withstanding the force of even heavy missiles, the impact did throw off Heero's shot. Unfortunately for the battleship, it was not enough to completely save it from taking the shot. Rather than hit the bridge as Heero had intended, the blast of golden-yellow energy washed over the front half of the vessel, vaporizing it but leaving the aft section, which housed command and control, many of the weapons, and the engines still intact.

_Damn_, thought Heero as he recovered from the hit he'd taken and dived to evade fire from the mobile suits and armors swirling around him, _I wounded it, but it's still in the fight._

Indeed, though the ship had taken a major hit, it was still pouring out fire. Since the forward maneuvering thrusters had been lost it could not turn as well as before, but it was still capable of acting as a firing platform. Making a judgment call, Heero set himself up for a second shot, cutting a mobile armor in half as he took aim. A squadron of Strike-Daggers was closing in on him from the right, but a flurry of shots from Cagalli and her teammates took down two machines and forced the rest to scatter and try to regroup.

"You're clear, Heero," said Cagalli, "Let them have it!"

Heero nodded and opened fire. This time his shot was true to target, and the rest of the vessel was annihilated. However, just before the beam hit it the warship managed to get off one final volley. The shots were sloppily fired, coming nowhere near Wing Zero… but one emerald beam did hit an M1, turning it into a fireball.

"No!" cried Cagalli, "Daisuke!"

"Stay focused," said Heero, "You won't do him any good by grieving here."

"Damn it…" hissed Cagalli.

Despite the coolness of his reply, Heero did sympathize with Cagalli. She had just lost a subordinate, something Heero knew had hurt Murrue deeply in the past. While he did not know how well Cagalli knew the pilot that had just been killed, he _did _know that Cagalli shared Murrue's care for the people fighting for her, whether it was under her personally or for her nation as a whole. However, the battlefield was no place to give comfort. He could only hope that her friends and confidants on board the _Kusanagi _would help her deal with it after the fighting… and that she would not lose any more subordinates over the course of the engagement.

The Gundam pilot was also aware that it was indirectly his fault that Daisuke had died. After all, if his shot had wiped out its target on the first attack, if he had managed to avoid the impact that threw his aim off, the vessel would not have been able to get off the lucky shot that had killed the Orb pilot. However, Heero could not let himself get distracted by any feelings of responsibility in the matter; he still had a battle to win, not to mention the very dangerous Zero System to control.

_The Alliance will regret coming to L4_, he thought as he speared a Strike-Dagger through the cockpit, _I'll make sure of that._

**(End "Deeply Fast")**

….

"Damn it," hissed Kira as he raised his shield to block a beam fired from a modified GINN, "these guys are persistent."

The Freedom's pilot was continuing to give ground in order to keep himself from getting boxed in. He was still managing to get shots in, but thanks to the scattered debris he could not so easily dish out the large, precise volleys that he'd been able to give the enemy in his past battles. He had a lot of obstacles to shoot around, and the only way for him to guarantee that his shots were disabling ones rather than lethal was for him to go for single targets; the group of five GINNs that he'd been able to send packing at the start of the fight were the only exception to that, and only because he'd met them in a part of the debris field where the trash was more spread out.

Diving to set himself up for a better angle, Kira lined up his Xiphas railguns and fired. One round destroyed the GINN's beam rifle, while the other one knocked out its head camera.

_Yes_, he thought as the unit turned tail_, he's out of the fight!_

Unfortunately, that was just one more enemy out of the dozens that were on the field. No sooner had Kira sent the GINN packing when he was set upon by several move machines, including the more advanced GuAIZ units. The latter mobile suits were a minority, but the skill with which they fought was enough to tell Kira that they had been assigned to elite pilots and officers rather than the rank and file.

Suddenly a crimson blast tore through the space to his left, destroying one GuAIZ and one GINN. Kira only had to glance at his sensors to find the unit that had taken the shot coming in fast to reinforce him.

"Hey, kid," said Shemei as the Judgment closed in, "Sorry I'm late. The traffic was murder."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Kira had to smile at her levity. "Thanks for the help," he replied as he dodged fire from the ZAFT mobile suits before slashing off the rifle arm of a GINN.

"Anytime," she replied as she downed another GINN with her shoulder cannons while opening up on a GuAIZ with her DRAGOONs. The latter unit was actually able to keep the gun drones at bay, but those were just distractions for the Valkyrie's real attack. A volley of six micro-missiles flew forth from one of the Judgment's launchers, and the GuAIZ was overwhelmed. It managed to shoot down two warheads with its head-mounted CIWS, but the other four slammed into the mobile suit and obliterated it.

"Where are the others?" asked Kira as he blocked a GuAIZ's beam claws on his shield while disabling a GINN with his plasma cannons.

"Waltfeld's setting up for his attack," said Shemei as she cut down a GINN with her beam saber and another with her DRAGOONs, "as for the girls… ah, there they are."

Checking his sensors again, Kira saw the _Nazca_-class destroyer on the right wing of the ZAFT task force get hit by eighteen Lancer Dart missiles that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Six hit the bridge, the bow beam cannons were nailed by three apiece, and the engines were ripped apart by the final six.

_Wow_, thought Kira as he shot the head-camera off another GINN with his beam rifle, _a cloaked coordinated barrage. They would've had to keep radio silence to ensure the maximum element of surprise, but they still managed to get into positions that would allow them to inflict the highest amount of damage possible. Their teamwork's phenomenal!_

The ravaged destroyer was now drifting, with scattered gunfire coming from its CIWS. Even if the crew on the auxiliary bridge managed to regain control of the vessel though, Kira knew that it was out of the fight. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla must have recognized that as well, because the Freedom's pilot did not see any sign of a follow-up attack; the girls were already moving on to their next target.

"Damn it," snarled Shemei as she took out a GINN with her shoulder cannons.

'What is it?" asked Kira as he took a GuAIZ's beam claw on his shield before striking back with his saber, taking the arm bearing said shield off at the shoulder. He quickly followed up with a shot from his beam rifle and plasma cannons, taking out the units rifle and head-camera.

"Check your sensors" she replied as she downed a GINN with her DRAGOONs while swarming another GuAIZ with six micro missiles. The unit managed to shoot down three with its CIWS and took another on its shield, but the last two managed to get through and nailed it right in the cockpit, destroying the mobile suit.

Kira did as Shemei said, and his eyes widened as he saw the front line of the ZAFT battle group begin to swing to its left… towards the _Eternal_. Waltfeld was just about to lay down fire on the destroyer at the end of the left wing, but even if he took it down in the first volley he would be vulnerable as the rest of the task force came down upon him. As all this unfolded Kira saw a _Laurasia_-class frigate suddenly take a barrage of eighteen missiles, and he knew that the Valkyrie's subordinates had struck their second target. They may have expended the rest of their missiles, but it was well worth it as the green warship was pummeled by the attack, losing its bridge, main guns, and engines. He then saw the Wraiths decloak, and he realized that with their missiles now depleted the girls would not be able to do as much damage in their opening shots, and lucky return fire from their targets could take them down. Deactivating their Mirage Colloids sacrificed their element of surprise, but allowed them to once again make use of their Phase Shift Armor for maximum protection.

However, that still left four more frigates in the front line that was now swinging towards the _Eternal_, along with the destroyer Waltfeld was about to engage and two more of the vessels further back in the enemy ranks. Several of ZAFT's mobile suit teams were likewise angling for the warship.

"Kira," said Shemei as she destroyed a GINN with her heavy plasma rifle, "we've thinned these guys out, can you handle the rest by yourself? Waltfeld and Aisha are about to get swarmed!"

Kira nodded as he disabled another with his railguns. "Go, I'll take care of things here and then reinforce you!"

"Roger that," Shemei replied, "Valkyrie out!"

The Judgment gunned its engines, swiftly leaving the ZAFT mobile suits in the dust. That didn't stop the remaining units from trying to take potshots at her, but they were quickly dealt with by Kira. A series of precise shots from the Freedom disabled three of the modified GINNs, and as Kira whirled around he was surprised to see the few remaining mobile suits in the area begin to back away from him.

Fearing that they would join their comrades in attacking the _Eternal_, Kira prepared to open fire on them. However, before he could line up the shot a volley of emerald beams forced him to go evasive and raise his shield. _Where did that come from?_, he thought.

Checking his sensors, it wasn't long until he found the source. It was a group of six mobile suits. Normally such a force would not be too much of an obstacle for Kira, but its makeup was cause for concern. The group was composed of five GuAIZs, one of which had a custom gray and white paint scheme, and the Duel. Just like in the past confrontations on the Earth, the stolen Alliance prototype had an extra set of armor installed on it, along with a railgun on its right shoulder and a missile pod on its left.

Though Kira had dealt with the Duel easily during the Freedom's debut at Alaska, this time he was sure the confrontation would not be such a quick affair. After all, it was accompanied by five of ZAFT's new model mobile suits, and as Kira had observed in both this battle and others before it since coming to outer space the Coordinator military had apparently placed a priority on getting those units to skilled pilots before the rank and file. The custom paintjob of one of the units did not make the situation any better; Kira had learned enough about ZAFT to know that only exceptional pilots were allowed that degree of customization with their mobile suits.

The incoming group quickly split, with the Duel leading two mobile suits and the white GuAIZ leading two green machines. Their formations were loose to give them room to maneuver through the debris field, but they were still well maintained enough to denote the high skill level of the ZAFT pilots.

Putting his beam rifle away, Kira quickly drew his second beam saber. Wielding a violet blade in each hand, the Freedom charged towards the group led by the white and gray GuAIZ. Kira opened fire with his plasma cannons and railguns, and while his barrage did rob two of the regular GuAIZ's of their beam rifles it was unable to do the same for their head-cameras, which they had defended with their composite shields. As for the custom painted GuAIZ, its pilot had actually managed to evade the volley entirely and was already returning fire with its rifle.

_Damn_, thought Kira as he blocked the shot with the shied mounted on the Freedom's left arm, _that guy's _really _good! Gonna have to watch out for him._

He rushed the custom machine and attacked with his beam sabers. The enemy took the blade from his right hand on its composite shield and was actually able to redirect the attack just in time to move out of the way of the second strike from the left sword entirely. It retaliated with its hip-mounted arrestor claws, and Kira had to gun his engines in reverse in order to get out of range. He then went into a frenzy of evasive maneuvers as the other two GuAIZ's tried to catch him in _their _arrestor claws while the Duel and its supporting units opened fire on him with their guns, sending both energy beams and in the case of the stolen Alliance mobile suit railgun rounds as well in his direction.

Diving to evade a precise volley from the white and grey GuAIZ's beam rifle and to get away from the other two machines' beam claws, Kira swiftly turned his guns on the second group and opened up. Plasma fire from the guns slung over the Freedom's shoulders robbed the GuAIZ's of their beam rifles, while heavy rounds from the Xiphas railguns slammed into the Duel's chest, knocking it back. Kira knew that the Duel could withstand the physical rounds thanks to both its extra armor and the Phase Shift Armor underneath it, and was relying upon the sheer force of impact to stun the enemy pilot for a few valuable seconds.

He charged into the Duel's formation. Striking out with both his beam sabers, Kira managed to rob the two GuAIZ's of their head-cameras in the blink of an eye. However, before he could do the same to the Duel he was forced back on the defensive by the white and gray GuAIZ as it fired more shots at him with its beam rifle.

_At least those two machines will have to leave_, thought Kira. Indeed, both units were backing off. While their pilots were indeed skilled, they apparently lacked the same level of ability as those of the Special Operations Squadron that he had fought during the rescue of the _Eternal_; they could not engage effectively with their lower resolution backup cameras.

The fight was now four-on-one, but Kira didn't let it go to his head. He knew he wasn't out of the woods yet.

….

"Sir," cried the sensor officer, "the enemy forces are changing their posture. They're focusing on us!"

"So I've noticed," Waltfeld replied. He had to commend whoever was leading the ZAFT battle group; they'd managed to keep the Freedom occupied and had even forced the Desert Tiger to send the Valkyrie to back it up and prevent it from being overwhelmed. It was classic divide and conquer, and even with the three Wraiths having taken down two of the enemy's warships and moving on to a third ZAFT still had plenty of firepower left to focus on the _Eternal_… and they were moving into position to do exactly that.

_I thought they'd split their capital ships_, he mused, _sending some to go after the Archangel and Kusanagi while pouring more mobile suits onto the Freedom to take it down. Looks like that's not their game. They sent enough to keep it busy, but they didn't devote the majority of their units to it. The Eternal's their main target._

He glanced down at Lacus's station.

_Or rather, _she _is._

Zala's vengefulness knew no bounds. Of course, Waltfeld was aware that Lacus's popularity as a singer and her considerable charisma were a potent threat to the PLANT radicals in their own right, but he was sure that the Supreme Council Chairman wanted her dead primarily for the theft of the Freedom and the _Eternal_… and making him look like an idiot in the process.

It wasn't just capital ships that were setting up to attack the _Eternal_. There were plenty of GINNs flying around the warship as well, along with some of the more advanced GuAIZ units. The hijacked vessel's CIWs and missiles were getting a workout, as was Aisha in her GuAIZ. Both warship and mobile suit had scored a few kills, but the enemy units continued to press their attack, and more were incoming.

Waltfeld's original plan had been operating on the assumption that ZAFT was after his entire group and that they would keep pressing forward towards Mendel, allowing him to hit their left wing while Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla hit the right. Right now the _Eternal _was setting up to rake the _Nazca_-class destroyer on the tip of the left wing with its beam turret and METEOR weapons, but the enemy's shifting posture meant the Desert Tiger would have to make some quick adjustments.

"DaCosta," he said, an idea forming in his mind, "Our missile launchers; can we target capital ships with them?"

"Sir," his longtime aid replied, "those are for anti-air and anti-missile interception! They're not heavy weapons!"

"Not the point," Waltfeld shot back, "_Can we target ships with them?_"

DaCosta nodded. "Theoretically yes, but only at close range!"

_That ought to work_, he thought, _risky, but if we hit them from just the right spot…._

"Helm," he ordered, "get us on that destroyer's flank, and rotate us so our dorsal missile batteries are lined up on her! Keep her between us and the rest of the enemy ships!"

"Aye sir," replied the helmsman.

"Weapons," said Waltfeld, "hold back on the missiles until we're in range of the destroyer. The CIWS and Tigress will have to be our anti-air defense until then. Rotate the METEORs up ninety degrees and bring the main gun to maximum elevation!"

"Yes, sir," said the gunnery chief.

A chirping sound came from his personal monitor, and as Waltfeld checked it he saw the face of his lover appear on it. "I seem to be lacking missile support now," she noted dryly, as if she was commenting on sudden rainfall on a spring day, "Andy, I know we need to make ammunition last longer, but this seems a bit much given the circumstances."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Waltfeld couldn't help but smirk. Aisha's wit in the face of danger was one of the many things that had drawn him to her. "Hang in there, love. There's method to my madness, I assure you."

"I'm holding you to that," she replied, "Tigress out."

The small screen reverted to its original task… which had happened to be following Aisha's GuAIZ during the fighting. Waltfeld watched as the Tigress shot down a GINN that had been setting up for a run on the _Eternal_ before she engaged a GuAIZ in close-quarters-combat. Her foe was quite skilled, and the two machines proceeded to trade beam claw strikes, grappling attempts with their arrestor cables, and even CIWS fire.

"Sir," said the helmsman, "we're coming up on the target!"

Waltfeld nodded. "Weapons, be ready!"

He watched through the main viewport as the _Eternal_ came up alongside the _Nazca_-class destroyer. The enemy ship was attempting to maneuver into firing position with its bow guns, but the Desert Tiger's vessel was so close to the ZAFT destroyer that it was proving to be a very difficult task.

Eventually the _Eternal _hit the exact spot Waltfeld had been aiming to place her in, with the ZAFT ship's portside completely exposed. "Fire!" he yelled.

The support cruiser ripped into the destroyer in a fearsome barrage. No less than _forty _missiles flew forth from the ship and raced towards their target. At the same time, the main beam turret and the METEOR batteries opened up. Their emerald beams naturally hit before the missiles, cutting into the destroyer's portside. As for the swarm of small missiles, they came down upon the vessel like a plague of locusts. While they may have lacked the punch of heavier warheads like the _Archangel_'s Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles, they made up for it with sheer numbers and from being fired at point-blank range. The projectiles impacted not just on the destroyer's portside but along the top as well, and Waltfeld saw that several of the warheads had actually managed to strike the bridge.

_Lucky hit there_, he thought, _no way could we have deliberately targeted that with this kind of ordinance. I'll take what I can get though. Thank you, Lady Luck._

The destroyer was ravaged by the assault and began pulling away from the _Eternal_. Waltfeld had no time to rest on his laurels though. Three _Laurasia_-class frigates and a _Nazca_-class destroyer were setting up for shots at his ship. The Desert Tiger noted another destroyer in the battle group as well, but it was not preparing to attack the _Eternal_. Instead it was pressing on towards the other side of the battlefield, where the _Archangel _and Orb forces were engaging the Earth Alliance battle group. It was odd behavior, especially when the _Eternal _appeared to be ZAFT's main target, but Waltfeld had no time to worry about it. He could only hope that Captain Ramius and Colonel Kisaka would find a way to deal with it in addition to the Alliance forces that they were fighting.

"Helm!" he yelled, "Down thirty degrees and hard to port!"

The ship began its maneuver, and not a moment too soon, for the ZAFT ships were already opening fire. Waltfeld was rocked in his chair as the vessel took a hit, but it seemed that he had managed to evade the rest of the salvo.

"Damage report!" he yelled.

"Hit was aft, starboard side," replied DaCosta, "Armor's holding, but no promises if they hit there again with that kind of firepower."

_And they very well might_, thought Waltfeld as he looked at the tactical display. Already a frigate was lining up for a shot at the very place DaCosta had just told him had gotten hit. There were still several mobile suits trying to make runs on the _Eternal _as well, and despite Aisha's best efforts and the fire of the CIWS and missile batteries Waltfeld knew that would not be enough to keep them back.

"Hard to starboard!" he ordered, "METEORs, main gun, open fire on that frigate!"

The ship began to move, and its volley of emerald beams pounded the frigate, but it wasn't enough to knock the enemy out of the fight.

_Damn it_, he thought, _we can't dodge this next one. _He glanced over at Lacus. To her credit, the songstress looked very determined, but Waltfeld was sure that deep down she was scared. All he could do was pray that the bridge wouldn't get hit in the coming salvo.

Suddenly a crimson lance of plasma speared the frigate, detonating the vessel like a mortar round. At the same time twelve-micro missiles impacted another frigate, not causing serious damage but grabbing its attention.

"Waltfeld!" said Shemei as her face appeared on the main monitor, "You guys ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah, though things were looking dicey there for a second. Thanks for the help."

"Thank me later," she replied as she cut down a GINN with her beam saber and destroyed another with synchronized shots from her DRAGOONs, "we're not out of this yet!"

_Agreed_, he thought as her face vanished from the screen, _we've still got a tough road ahead of us if we want to survive this battle…_

….

**(Start "Assault")**

"Starboard and down, thirty-two degrees!" ordered Murrue, gripping the arms of her chair, "Portside Gottfried and Valiant, lock in on the low battleship. Have _all _missiles target the battleship coming in on high, prepped for staggered volleys! Wombats and Corintoss warheads first, then the Sledgehammers! I want the first two locked in on the same trajectory, while the latter takes a separate path."

To her XO's credit, Lieutenant Tsukino only raised an eyebrow before she followed her Captain's orders. Murrue knew her second command was unconventional; of the three heavy missile types the _Archangel_ carried, only the Sledgehammers were meant to be used against capital ships. The Corintoss and Wombat missiles may have had longer range than their lighter cousins, the Helldarts, but they were anti-air missiles; their stopping power was much reduced against warship-level armor. However, Murrue was a woman with a plan.

The _Archangel_'s current maneuver would give her a good firing angle on both the warships trying to pincer her while at the same time keeping her out of the line of the _Dominion_'s bow. To Murrue, that was the most important goal in this clash of capital ships; to keep Natarle's vessel from being able to draw a solid bead for her Lohengrins to fire. The beautiful Captain knew this put her at a severe handicap, but she was determined to try to avoid having to kill a friend this battle, not to mention the woman one of her pilots loved. It was a consideration and restraint she knew that most Captains would not have in such a situation and Murrue could only pray that her skill and the capabilities of the _Archangel _and her crew would be enough to see her through this battle.

_At least I have good coverage from the enemy's mobile weapons_, she thought. While the Alliance had focused most of their mobile suits and armors on Wing Zero, they had still reserved enough units to attack the _Archangel_. Strike-Daggers and Moebius units flew all around the _Archangel_, much like ZAFT's mobile suits had in so many of Murrue's past battles. This time though, her anti-air defenses were much more formidable, thanks both to Bristow's Wolf Team and the new targeting system co-developed by Heero and Shemei.

The CIWS, for starters, were far more accurate than they had been before. The _Archangel_'s 16 multi-barrel Igelstellung 75mm automatic guns had been designed to be mostly automated weapons, with the weapons specialists simply entering target identification data and making sure allied craft were not registered as hostile. Heero and Shemei's new targeting software kept that framework intact, as it did for the Helldart anti-air missile launchers on the bridge tower. However, both guns and missiles could now acquire targets with greater efficiency and precision, and could track them with considerably greater speed. The advanced targeting system incorporated a degree of the predictive abilities of the much more sophisticated and dangerous Zero System, allowing for enemy flight paths and the trajectories of incoming missiles to be estimated and countered with far greater success than the _Archangel_'s original system could ever have hoped to achieve.

Those improvements were being demonstrated now as the Igelstellungs and Helldarts ripped into Strike-Daggers and Moebius units alike. While the Alliance's mass-production mobile suits had shields just like the original Strike, they still lacked Phase Shift Armor, rendering them very vulnerable to the physical shells and missiles. When one Strike-Dagger managed to block CIWS rounds with its shields, that unit would soon find itself faced with a Helldart missile coming in on its flank, while units unable to even manage that would be ripped apart by bullets.

However, even with the improvements made by Heero and Shemei, the _Archangel_'s anti-air artillery could not make a seamless umbrella. There were blind spots, especially on the flanks, the rear, and underneath the vessel. The ship could make up for those simply by rolling, but that would simply shift both the coverage and the openings. The most effective way to ensure close in protection, of course, was to combine ship-base anti-air weaponry with escort units, and the Wolf Team was more than fulfilling that role.

The GuAIZ Werewolf and the three M1s transferred to the _Archangel _by the _Himiko _were mixing it up with the Strike-Daggers and Moebius units that had been able to evade the warship's anti-air weapons. Bristow's custom machine was in the thick of the action, slashing mobile suits with its beam claws and shooting down mobile armors with its shoulder-mounted Hydra Beam Gatling Cannons. Occasionally it would grab an enemy with its hip-mounted arrestor cables, immobilizing them before impaling them on its beam claws. As for the M1s, their pilots were less aggressive than their leader, hanging back and using their beam rifles as their main tools of engagement, only utilizing their beam sabers as last-resort weapons. Their approach was a perfect complement to the bolder style necessitated by the GuAIZ Werewolf's close-quarters oriented design, and together the Wolf Team was making sure the Alliance units could not strike vulnerable areas like the bridge or engines.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "targeting locks confirmed!"

"Open fire!" ordered Murrue.

The portside Gottfried and Valiant cut loose with a pair of emerald beams and a heavy rail cannon round, respectively. At the same time the volleys of Wombat and Corintoss missiles flew from the rear launchers, followed up by the Sledgehammers. Naturally, the energy beams and rail cannon shot hit their target first, and the near-simultaneous impacts ripped the lower _Nelson_-class battleship in half. The second warship had time to begin evasive maneuvers, but there was no way it could break the lock the _Archangel_'s missiles had on it, and it could only hope to shoot them down with CIWS fire. The battleship's guns cut loose in wild fire as the Wombat and Corintoss warheads closed in, and a few of the missiles were taken out. The remaining Wombats burst over their target, raining their heavy buckshot round down on the vessel. The attack posed no real threat to the battleship, although a lucky hit could take out a sensor or anti-air gun, and the Corintoss missiles that impacted the vessel likewise were not capable of taking it out.

However, those first two sets of missiles were mere diversions for the _third_; the heavy Sledgehammer anti-ship warheads. The _Nelson_-class battleship had reoriented itself so that the majority of its CIWS could be brought to bear on the initial wave of missiles, and thus it was horribly out of position to deal with the real threat. The wave of Sledgehammer missiles slammed into the battleship along its portside, punching deep into the bulkheads and leaving gaping holes in the vessel. A large secondary explosion told Murrue that a lucky warhead had detonated the vessel's ammunition stores, and the _Nelson_-class battleship was ripped apart by the blast.

It was a superbly executed attack, but Murrue had no time to rest on her laurels or congratulate her crew. She still had the _Dominion _to contend with, and with Natarle in command of the vessel it would not be an easy fight.

"Helm," she ordered, "Climb twenty degrees and break twenty five to port! Lieutenant Tsukino, go for missile and gun locks on the _Dominion_, but avoid the bridge."

Her subordinates acknowledged her orders. Murrue's instructions to Neumann would take the ship through a particularly thick section of the debris field with many large pieces of scrap metal. The beautiful Captain's hope was to play for time in this area, drawing the _Dominion _into a game of cat-and-mouse while Heero and the others continued to engage the main body of the Alliance forces.

_This would be so much easier if the Kusanagi were in the fight_, she thought. Unfortunately the ship had yet to join the engagement and Murrue had been unable to spare a check to see if the vessel had gotten free of its entanglement. She would just have to hope that Colonel Kisaka could get his ship free and into the battle soon.

The _Archangel _pulled around a large slab of scrap metal, moving out of the _Dominion_'s line of sight for its main weapons. On the tactical display Murrue could see the ship going into a wide arc as it attempted to move into better firing position.

"The _Dominion_'s launched missiles!" cried the sensor officer, "Two waves; it's a pincer attack!"

The incoming warheads appeared on the display, sixteen of them in all. One was arcing around towards the _Archangel_'s bow, while the other was angling for the engines. Murrue saw that Natarle had mimicked her earlier move by firing Corintoss and Sledgehammer missiles, though she had left the Wombats out of the equation. The Corintoss missiles were heading for the engines, while the Sledgehammer missiles were the ones angling for a head-on attack.

Murrue knew she had to act fast if she wanted to counter the move. "Dive fifteen degrees!" she yelled, "Have Wolf Team split; the M1s to the rear, Werewolf in front! CIWS, prepare for interception!"

Murrue's decision would put the _Archangel_ in better position to deal with the missiles coming in from the front, but the ship's rear would be vulnerable. Murrue could only hope that Bristow's subordinates would be able to make up for the gap in the CIWS coverage.

The four mobile suits had barely got into position when the _Dominion_'s missiles came into range of the _Archangel_'s weapons. The white warship opened up, and Bristow's Werewolf joined it as CIWS rounds and small emerald beams spat from the mobile suit's gatling guns. The incoming Sledgehammer missiles were ripped apart by the barrage.

At the _Archangel_'s rear the M1s opened up with their beam rifles and head-mounted CIWS as the Corintoss missiles came into range. The three Orb pilots made a valiant effort, and several of the incoming missiles were destroyed. However, two survived the onslaught, but they were unable to hit the _Archangel_'s engines. One of the M1s had gotten in their path. It took the first one on its shield and for a moment Murrue thought it would be able to do the same with the second, but it was not to be. The M1 failed to block the second missile and was hit on its right shoulder. The warhead exploded, and the mobile suit was destroyed.

"Captain," yelled Lieutenant Tsukino, "I've got an opening coming up for the starboard guns, and I can get a missile lock!"

"Take it," ordered Murrue.

A few seconds later the Orb Lieutenant's voice rang out again. "Open fire!"

The starboard Gottfried and Valiant opened fire, and a volley of Sledgehammer missiles flew forth from the launchers. The emerald beams and heavy round impacted the _Dominion_ on her portside, and while Murrue it would take more than a single salvo to penetrate the vessel's laminated armor it was still something. As for the Sledgehammer missiles, the _Dominion_'s CIWS were able to shoot down half of the projectiles but the hit the warship on its portside fin, just above the Valiant Linear Cannon. Like the salvo fired from the Gottfried and Valiant, Murrue knew the missile impacts would not be enough to force Natarle to withdraw, but they would keep her on the defensive, and that was enough for now.

The _Dominion _returned fire with her portside guns and a fresh volley of Sledgehammer missiles. Murrue gripped the arms of her chair tightly as the ship shook from the impacts of the beams and linear cannon round. Fortunately the CIWs and the three surviving members of Wolf Team were able to shoot down the incoming missiles.

"Damage report!" Murrue yelled.

"None," replied Lieutenant Tsukino, "Armor's holding, they just rattled us."

"Good," said Murrue before turning to Neumann, "Helm, keep us moving in and out of the debris. Do what you can to minimize our target profile and keep us out of the way of their bow guns."

Neumann nodded. "Aye, Captain."

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue, "take shots as you get openings, but do what you can to avoid the bridge."

"Yes, ma'am," her XO replied.

Murrue took a moment to glance at her personal monitor. On it she saw Heero blast a _Drake_-class escort ship with his Twin Buster Rifle before resuming his engagement with the Strike-Daggers and Moebius units that were trying to take him out. Cagalli and her accompanying M1s were still with him and lending their arms to the fray, but the fighting around Heero was fierce… perhaps too fierce, Murrue feared, for the Orb princess and her subordinates. The _Archangel_'s Captain saw an emerald beam pierce an M1, destroying it and leaving Cagalli with just two wingmen left in the battle. While Murrue was grateful for Cagalli's willingness and determination to back up Heero, she knew that her boyfriend's tendency to throw himself into the thickest part of a battle put the daughter of Orb's late leader into considerably greater peril than she normally be in for a fight like this. There was no denying that Cagalli's piloting skills had grown considerably since the days of the North Africa campaign and the journey across the Indian Ocean, and her having the Strike Rouge made her an even deadlier combatant, but she still did not quite have the ability needed to be truly at home in the heart of such a hard fight.

_I hope she'll be alright_, Murrue thought. She was tempted to order her to pull back, either to cover the _Kusanagi _or back up one of the other pilots that was engaging the Alliance prototypes and not at the center of the fight, but at the same time she knew that the girl's backup was proving to be a major help to Heero. It kept at least a few of the enemy units occupied, allowing the Gundam pilot to be more efficient when it came to taking on the Alliance battle group.

Of course, the Orb princess wasn't the only person Murrue was worried about. She naturally was concerned for Heero as well, but it was the same worry she'd had every time he'd gone into battle after she's realized that she was in love with him. It was a fear that she had vowed to work past, to not let interfere with her responsibilities towards her subordinates and her allies. Murrue knew that all she could do was keep her faith in the phenomenal skill of the man she loved and the indomitable strength of his Gundam.

_Be careful, my love. You _will _survive, and come back to me… and I _will _do the same for you!_

**(End "Assault)**

….

Creuset smirked as he blocked railgun rounds from the Freedom on his shield. "You're good, Kira," he murmured as he returned fire with his beam rifle, "You're _very _good... but you're also naïve."

The boy's skill combined with the overwhelming power of the Freedom should've been enough to end the battle already, but as Creuset had observed in reports and was now seeing firsthand, the First Generation Coordinator had undergone a significant change since his days piloting the GAT-X105 Strike.

He wasn't willing to kill.

Oh, sure, the display of precision shooting the young man from Heliopolis was giving Creuset and his fellow ZAFT pilots was _very _impressive. Two of the elite pilots from the Field Marshal's flagship had been forced to quit the field, and two more had been robbed of their units' beam rifles, thanks to Kira's incredibly accurate use of the Freedom's fearsome array of artillery. Not only that, but he had disable several other mobile suits before Creuset and his squadron had even engaged the Freedom, significantly weakening the fighting strength of the ZAFT battle group.

However, as Creuset saw Yzak open up on the Freedom with his beam rifle and shoulder-mounted railgun while the other two GuAIZ's moved in to strike with their beam claws, the masked Field Marshal knew that the situation would be quite different if the boy had shown the same killer instinct that he had demonstrated while piloting the Strike. Creuset considered himself to be an excellent judge of piloting talent, and he ranked the boy's current abilities as nearly equal to his own. However, the power of the Freedom should've tipped that balance overwhelmingly into Kira's favor; by rights, Creuset knew that the boy should've killed him by now. The incredible sophistication of the stolen ZAFT prototype should've been more than enough to erase the gap in skill between them.

_If it were Wing Zero facing me_, thought Creuset as he saw Kira block a beam claw strike from one of the GuAIZ's on his shield, parry the attack from the second unit with his beam saber, and put the Duel on the defensive with a volley from his plasma cannons, _I would certainly be dead; Heero Yuy hasn't shown any hesitation to kill, and it was only because he saw Athrun and his comrades approaching that I was able to survive our first encounter. Kira should be able to fight with that same lethality, but he's not._

It was strange, but Creuset wasn't about to complain. The boy's unwillingness to kill meant that he was putting more effort into his shots to make sure that they were non-lethal ones. That increased conscious effort actually slowed Kira down just enough for the masked ace and other sufficiently skilled pilots to be able to defend themselves against his attacks. It wasn't perfect, of course; the damage suffered by the GuAIZs along with Creuset's and Yzak's inability to land a killing or even damaging blow on the Freedom was testament to how difficult fighting the boy still was. However, it was still a critical bit of weakness that the Field Marshal had been able to exploit so far.

He fired off another round of shots from his beam rifle, and just like before Kira was able to block the attacks on his shield. However, this gave Yzak and the two GuAIZs an opening to rush in for close-quarters-combat. One of the GuAIZ's launched its arrestor anchors while the other took a swipe at the Freedom with its beam claw and the Duel moved to stab it with its beam saber. Kira reacted swiftly, diving to avoid the arrestor anchors while parrying the Duel's beam saber with the violet blade in the Freedom's right hand and blocking the attack from the second GuAIZ with the sword in his left hand. He then opened fire with the Freedom's plasma cannons and railguns and knocked out the head-cameras of both GuAIZs.

"Damn," said Dimitri, one of the GuAIZ pilots, "sir, Paul and I are out."

Creuset nodded. "Understood, Dimitri. Return to the _Vesalius_."

As the two pilots withdrew and Creuset was forced to block a beam saber strike from the Freedom on his shield while the Duel set up to hit the enemy from behind, the masked Field Marshal could see his flagship continuing to push towards the opposite side of the debris field where the Earth Alliance forces were. At the same time he saw on his sensors that his own battle group was in trouble. Two of the task force's destroyers and a frigate had been knocked out of the fight, while another frigate had been damaged by a barrage of micro-missiles from the Valkyrie and _another _frigate was taking beam rifle and railgun fire from the three decloaked Wraiths. The situation was clearly deteriorating, and Creuset needed to buy himself some time if his plan was still going to work.

The Field Marshal contacted his flagship while Kira was forced to break off his attack in order to counter the Duel closing in behind him. "Ades," he said, "what's the status of the rearguard? Are the other ships with the _Mata Hari_?"

"Yes, sir," the Captain replied, "We got word from the _Mata Hari _a few minutes ago. The other warships you contacted are now on station."

"Good," said Creuset as he took a few shots at the Freedom with his beam rifle, "send them in."

"Sir?" said Ades, "I thought they were being held back in case they had to cover our withdrawal."

"The situation's changed," said Creuset as he dodged the return fire from the Freedom's plasma cannons, "without reinforcements, the battle group won't survive much longer. We still have a chance to accomplish our mission, but only with more firepower at our disposal. Call them in, Ades. Tell them to join the fight with the _Eternal _and her mobile suits."

"Understood, sir," said the Captain, "and my… other assignment?"

"I'm going to draw off the Freedom towards the colony," said the Field Marshal as he watched Kira hit Yzak's machine with a pair of railgun rounds, "That should remove your last obstacle. Once that happens, you may launch the pod at your discretion. Just remember where it has to go."

"Aye, Field Marshal," said Ades, "_Vesalius _out."

As the Captain signed off Creuset charged the Freedom, firing his arrestor anchors at the mobile suit. Kira managed to avoid being grabbed, but the move drew the boy's attention back to the Field Marshal… which was exactly what Creuset wanted.

"Yzak," he said, "I'll keep the Freedom occupied. Go back to the battle group and reinforce their attack on the _Eternal_."

The young man's face appeared on his screen. Creuset was expecting a protest, but to his surprise Yzak simply nodded. "Understood. Duel out."

The masked ace smirked as the stolen Alliance prototype bugged out of the fight while he engaged the Freedom up close, attacking with his beam claws. _Not even bothering to wish me good luck_, he mused, _he really doesn't like me now… he probably _wanted _to get away from me. No matter…_

As Yzak pulled away Creuset made his move to begin drawing the Freedom towards the Mendel colony. As the Freedom blocked the GuAIZ's beam claws on its shield Creuset once again pulled back and opened fire with his beam rifle. Kira evaded the shots easily enough, but it gave Creuset the space he needed to move around the Freedom and make for the derelict colony. As he did so he continued to fire his beam rifle at Kira while he got on the radio.

"Is that all you have, Kira Yamato?" he said, "I'm disappointed."

"Who are you?" the boy replied as he put away one of the Freedom's beam sabers and got its rifle back out, "How do you know who I am?"

"You don't think we made efforts to find out who the pilot of the Strike was?" Creuset shot back as he blocked beam rifle fire on his shield, "Of course, Athrun was helpful in that regard while he was still with ZAFT. I had thought you killed in the Marshall Islands for awhile, but Miss Clyne was sloppy when she helped you steal the Freedom; her friends failed to disable the security cameras."

The boy closed in to attack with his beam saber. Creuset managed to parry the attack with his beam claws and retaliated with his arrestor cables. Once again the Freedom managed to avoid getting entangled, but that was fine by Creuset; all he wanted to do was keep the stolen machine occupied.

"But that hardly matters," Creuset continued, "I knew who you were long before you entered our war, Kira Yamato."

He pulled back and fired his CIWS. While the machine guns would have absolutely no effect against the Freedom's Phase Shift Armor, Creuset knew that most pilots would still instinctively react to the rounds, and Kira did not disappoint. The boy slipped to the right to evade the rounds before being forced to raise his shield to block Creuset's attack with his beam rifle.

"What are you talking about?" Kira asked as he returned fire with his beam rifle and railguns.

Creuset laughed as he took the railgun rounds on his shield and dodged the rifle shot, "You still don't know, do you? And you've been here all this time… the ruins of your _true _homeland."

"What do you mean?" Kira replied. The boy cut loose with the Freedom's plasma cannons, but the shots were sloppy, and Creuset knew that his words were having an effect on the lad. He was getting distracted, preoccupied with what Creuset was telling him… just as the Field Marshal had planned.

"If you want to know the truth," said Creuset as he fired at the Freedom with his beam rifle, "why don't you follow me?"

He saw the Freedom block the shots on its shield, but it did not immediately move to follow. That was to be expected, of course; the young man may have been naïve, but he would still be suspicious of Creuset. However, the masked ace knew the boy would have little real choice in the matter. Creuset's heading may have been for the colony, but it was still in the general direction of the legged ship and her clash with the Alliance forces. They could hardly afford him entering the fray given his level of skill… something the boy would be well aware of.

Indeed, a second later the Freedom began to give chase, firing its guns as it did so. Creuset weaved through the twisted scraps of metal to keep one step ahead of his foe. While the Freedom was considerably faster than the GuAIZ, Creuset could still make use of his unit's maneuverability and the unique environment they were fighting in to keep his foe from running him down. Of course, the boy could always try to get out in front of the Field Marshal, going around him and placing himself between the GuAIZ and the colony, but Creuset was certain that his words had addled with the young man's mind; he wouldn't think clearly and his focus would narrow, becoming blind to other strategic options. Based on the amount of fire the Freedom was sending his way, his single-minded intent on disabling him, Creuset had ample evidence to back up that belief.

As they approached the colony Creuset felt a familiar tingle in the back of his mind, a sensation that he had long ago learned to associate with another pilot… one he had clashed with several times over the course of this war.

"Ah, La Flaga," he muttered, smiling as he continued to dodge fire from the Freedom while sending a few shots back at it with his beam rifle, "I was wondering when I'd sense your presence on this battlefield. Can you feel mine as well, my old friend? I hope you can. This little visit to Mendel just won't feel right if you're not with us as well…"

….

The Hawk of Endymion cursed under his breath as he brought up the Tallgeese Kai's Planet Defensors to block yet another curved plasma blast from his foe. _Damn it_, he thought, _it takes energy to deflect shots like that. I've gotta find a way to get the upper hand against this guy before I end up exhausting my power supply._

Unfortunately, dealing with this particular machine was proving to be a case of easier said than done. The green Alliance prototype was a very unique mobile suit, and its sophisticated weapons and equipment provided La Flaga with some very vexing challenges in this duel.

He fired his beam rifle as the Planet Defensors returned to their mounts, only for his shots to be deflected by his foe's energy shield. That was challenge number one. The unique defensive system had proven itself capable of blocking both energy beams and Vulcan cannon fire, though it was _not _resistant to beam sabers, evidenced by the three black scars running along the mobile suit's 'backpack' where the Hawk of Endymion had managed to land a few glancing blows with his violet blade.

La Flaga charged in, hoping to land a more decisive blow with his beam saber this time, only to be forced to go evasive as the machine once again opened fire with its plasma cannon. Unlike before, the beam did not curve, but this blast was wider and more powerful. _That _was challenge number two. The unit's plasma cannon apparently had two settings; a powerful straight-shot and a weaker but _much _more difficult to evade curving shot. La Flaga had seen the space around the gun shimmer when it had been fired at both settings, and he theorized that the technology that was used to generate the mobile suit's energy shield was also linked to the plasma cannon, amplifying the power of the straight-shots and somehow manipulating the beam for the curved ones.

Making another run at the Alliance prototype, La Flaga managed to get within striking range with his beam saber. He came in on the unit's left side and lashed out, attempting to impale his foe. However, a swing of the mobile suit's scythe forced him to pull back. That was the _third _obstacle he faced. While the scythe may not have been a beam weapon, and indeed La Flaga had actually cut off part of the blade with his saber, it had greater reach than his own close-quarters weapon. Complicating the matter were the heavy machine guns mounted on the unit's forearms, whose fire forced La Flaga to pull back again and gave the Alliance mobile suit an opportunity to line up shots on him with its pair of railguns. The Hawk of Endymion once again had to use the Planet Defensors to block the rounds, draining even more precious energy from the mobile suit's battery.

The situation was a stalemate. The enemy pilot was not the best foe La Flaga had come across over the course of his career; as far as pure skill went, he knew that Creuset could put his current nemesis to shame. The Tallgeese Kai was faster and more maneuverable than its Alliance rival, and the combination of beam rifle, Vulcan cannons, beam saber, and Planet Defensors gave the Hawk of Endymion a variety of options to use in this fight. However, the unique armaments and equipment of his foe were well-situated to negate La Flaga's advantages. What the enemy pilot may have lacked in technical skill they made up for lightning-fast reflexes and a very aggressive fighting style, one that struck La Flaga as downright vicious.

As La Flaga fired another volley with his beam rifle only to watch as the shots were once again deflected by his foe's energy shield, he knew that this was not a duel he could afford to continue forever. While he was keeping a very dangerous enemy occupied, La Flaga was sure that his skills were needed in other parts of the battle as well, and he had hoped to take his foe out by now. There was also the threat of his unit running out of power. While the Tallgeese Kai did not utilize Phase Shift Armor like his foe did, repeated use of the Planet Defensors still took its toll, and of course his beam saber and rifle also took energy from the unit's battery. Orb may have dramatically increased the power and efficiency of their battery technology, but La Flaga knew he could not fight forever, and he had no way of knowing if whether or not he could outlast his adversary. It was entirely possible that the Alliance had installed their own improved batteries on their prototypes; indeed, the fact that his current foe had been able to keep fighting despite utilizing both Phase Shift Armor and some incredibly sophisticated and powerful weaponry suggested to him that they had done so with at least this mobile suit.

He charged back in, attempting to spear the unit through its cockpit with his beam saber. La Flaga zigzagged to avoid fire from the enemy's railguns and arm-mounted machine guns and thrust out with his blade. His foe managed to pull back, barely getting itself out of range. At the same time it took a swing with its scythe, and while the weapon was missing a good chunk of its blade thanks to an earlier strike from La Flaga's beam saber it was still quite dangerous. The Hawk of Endymion countered with his energy blade and sliced roughly half a meter off the large metal blade, but there was still enough of the weapon left to prove a threat. Before La Flaga could make a second strike his foe opened fire with his arm-mounted machine guns. At such close range it would be impossible to dodge the rounds, and La Flaga was forced to use the Planet Defensors to block the bullets.

The enemy followed up their barrage of rounds with a shot from its plasma cannon. La Flaga hit his thrusters and climbed to evade the shot, but the beam curved to follow, and only a quick slip to the right saved the Tallgeese Kai. While he was regrouping from the onslaught, La Flaga felt a familiar tingle in the back of his mind… a sensation that hadn't occurred since the First Battle of Alaska.

_Creuset!_, he thought, _He's here! _La Flaga did not have concrete proof of course, but he had felt this sensation too many times in the past to doubt it now, especially since each feeling had soon been followed up by an encounter with the enigmatic masked ace.

As he dodged rounds fired from the Alliance unit's railguns, La Flaga scanned his sensors, trying to associate the feeling in the back of his mind with a unit on the battlefield. Eventually his eyes fell upon the Freedom chasing a mobile suit towards the Mendel colony, and the tingling sensation in the back of his mind became sharper, like a pinprick.

_That's gotta be him_, thought La Flaga as he fired at the Alliance mobile suit with his beam rifle. Predictably, his shots were deflected, but he didn't care about that; his move was simply meant to give him a little bit of breathing room while he tried to figure out just what the hell his longtime rival was doing out here.

The contact that the Freedom was chasing came up as a GuAIZ. While the new model mobile suit was a formidable machine, La Flaga knew that Kira should've had no trouble taking such a unit down thanks to the fearsome combination of his skills and the capabilities of the Freedom. The fact that he was still pursuing the GuAIZ was further proof to the Hawk of Endymion that it was indeed piloted by none other than Creuset.

It made sense that Creuset would be flying with the ZAFT task force. After all, the Three Ships Alliance was as much the enemy of ZAFT as it was the Earth Alliance. However, that did _not _explain why Creuset was making for the ruined Mendel colony when all the combat was taking place outside it. Something didn't smell right, and it got all the worse when La Flaga recalled exactly _how _he had encountered Creuset _inside _the Atlantic Federation base at Alaska. Somehow, the masked ace had _known _about the Cyclops bomb planted by the Alliance; looking back on things now, it was clear to La Flaga that Creuset had simply been confirming the presence and arming of the weapon before he had shot it out with Creuset and gotten the hell out of Dodge. Now he was on a battlefield where both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance had come calling at the exact same time. To the Hawk of Endymion, that just could not be simple coincidence.

_He's got something planned here_, he thought as he dodged another curved plasma beam from the Alliance mobile suit, _and whatever it is, I doubt it bodes well for us. Damn it! Kira's good, but he's in over his head going up against Creuset, even with a mobile suit as powerful as the Freedom! He doesn't know what Creuset is capable of! I've got to get in that fight!_

However, his current situation with the Alliance prototype made a speedy flight over to assist Kira impossible to do. If he broke off, the deadly machine would pursue him, engage the _Archangel _or her active mobile suits, or go after the _Kusanagi_. This wasn't a matter that La Flaga could leave undone. Unfortunately, he could not break the stalemate by himself.

As much as La Flaga hated to admit it… he needed help.

However, it would be hard to find someone that would be able to help him in this situation. He had no idea what the status of the _Kusanagi _was, and more to the point bringing in a full warship to attack a mobile suit was wasteful when one considered that both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance still had their own capital ships on the scene. Calling upon his fellow mobile suit pilots was his only real option, but even then he was limited.

Dearka was still mixing it up with the blue prototype. Both the Buster and its foe were units clearly designed for long-range combat, and while Dearka was giving a good show it was clear that his foe was stronger. It had greater firepower than the Buster and it was being quite free with the use of it. La Flaga feared that the new mobile suit had greater energy reserves than the older unit, and there seemed to be some weight to that fear when he saw that Dearka was using the Buster's beam rifle and Gun Launcher separately rather than in their more powerful combined form. The Coordinator was clearly trying to conserve power, and while even in their weaker state his guns could still take out the Alliance machine the former ZAFT pilot was hard-pressed to take the fight to his foe amidst the heavy barrage said foe was putting out. The blue unit was cutting loose in a pure frontal assault, while Dearka was flitting in and out of cover, taking shots where he could but very much on the defensive.

Matters weren't much better for Athrun Zala. Though the Justice did not have to worry about running out of power for its Phase Shift Armor and weapons thanks to its nuclear reactor, the son of ZAFT's Supreme Commander and the _de facto _military dictator of the PLANTs was engaged with a lethal opponent of his own. The black and red machine he was fighting was very swift, and La Flaga suspected it was the fastest of the three new model Alliance mobile suits. Its armaments were well suited to close and mid-range combat, and like La Flaga's foe the pilot was very aggressive. However, with his beam rifle, beam boomerang, and two beam cannons, Athrun had an advantage in long range combat. The young man was also better suited for close-range combat than his foe, as the Justice had beam sabers while the Alliance unit wielded a large sphere-breaker. While the humongous spiked ball had greater reach than Athrun's beam sabers, the violet blades were a threat to the Alliance mobile suit's melee weapon. Indeed, the Justice had actually managed to slice roughly a third of the ball off since their fight had started, though what remained of the weapon was still a threat due to the great force with which it was swung. An impact would be bad news even for a mobile suit like the Justice, and Athrun was doing his best to avoid suffering such a blow. The enemy wasn't just limited to the spiked ball for attacks either; it had a beam cannon in its mouth and a dual hyper velocity cannon mounted on the shield on its right arm, and it was using both. Those guns may have inferior to the beam rifle and cannons of the Justice, but they were still not to be trifled with.

Also, unlike La Flaga and Dearka's respective fights, Athrun's foe was not giving the former ZAFT ace the luxury of a one-on-one fight. Every so often a few Strike-Daggers or mobile armors would move to take shots at the Justice, forcing Athrun on the defensive when he was close to striking a killing blow. While the mobile suits and armors were no match for the powerful ZAFT prototype, a lucky beam shot to the cockpit would be enough to take out the machine, and Athrun was forced to deal with the interlopers in addition to his main foe. It may only have been a few of the large force of mobile suits and armors the Alliance had brought to the engagement, but when combined with the more advanced prototype it was enough to hamper Athrun's progress.

_Heero_, La Flaga thought as he attempted to strike his foe with his beam saber, only to score a glancing blow on the left section of the 'backpack' before a swing of its scythe forced him to break off, _it's gotta be Heero._

Wing Zero's pilot may have been engaged by far more enemies than La Flaga and the others, but they were normal units, and it only took the Hawk of Endymion a second to glance at his sensors to see that the pilot from another world was mauling his hapless foes. La Flaga could not begin to estimate how many mobile suits and armors Heero had taken down, but he did know how many warships had fallen to the Gundam pilot. Wing Zero had destroyed three of the main force's escort ships and two of the battleships, while Cagalli and her team had nailed another escort ship and the _Archangel _had blasted one more _Drake_-class vessel before it had begun to engage the _Dominion _and the two warships accompanying her.

Two battleships and three escort ships remained, and the enemy's mobile suit forces had been severely depleted, but there was still enough to engage Wing Zero, the Strike Rouge, and the two surviving M1s with them. La Flaga knew it would be difficult for Heero to line up a shot on the green prototype with all the other Alliance units still trying to kill him, even with Cagalli and her subordinates backing him up… but he also knew that, with the fearsome power of Wing Zero's rifle, Heero would only need _one _shot.

_Sure_, thought La Flaga as he fired a few beams at his foe, only for them to be deflected by the energy shield, _this guy can block conventional firepower… but let's see him try that against an anti-_colony _weapon!_

"Heero," he said as he dodged a salvo from his foe's railguns, "I don't suppose you can spare me a second?"

"What is it?" Heero replied as he blocked a beam saber strike from a Strike-Dagger before ripping the unit apart with his shoulder gatlings.

"Remember that ZAFT commander I told you about?" said La Flaga as he moved in to attack with his beam saber, evading a curving plasma beam as he did so, "The one I encountered inside the Alaska base?"

"Creuset," said Heero as he slashed another mobile suit in half, "What about him?"

"He's here," said La Flaga as he lashed out with his violet blade, landing a glancing blow on the right section of the Alliance unit's 'backpack' before a swipe from its scythe forced him to pull back, "I can't tell you how I know, but I _know_. He's heading towards the colony."

"The unit Kira's chasing," said Heero as he dodged beam fire from mobile suits and armors, "Why would he go to the colony when his force is engaged with the _Eternal_?"

"I don't know," La Flaga replied as he blocked machine gun rounds with the Tallgeese Kai's shield-drones, "but he wouldn't go there without reason. The guy's cunning as hell, and I'm sure he's drawing Kira in there on purpose. The kid's good, but he's in over his head here!"

"You want to go after them," said Heero. It wasn't a question; Wing Zero's pilot had already leapt ahead to where La Flaga was heading.

"Yeah," said La Flaga as he evaded another round of railgun fire, "but I don't want to leave this guy behind to strike you guys, either. I can't get through his defenses. Can you dust him real quick for me?"

"Keep him at range," Heero replied, "I'll set up for a shot. Cagalli, cover me."

"Got it," came the girl's voice over the tactical channel.

"Don't hold back on the juice," said La Flaga as he opened fire with his beam rifle to distract his foe, "he's got shields."

"I know," Heero replied, "Kira sent me the combat data on him after the battle at Orb. I'm sending you coordinates. Lure him there and I'll take the shot."

La Flaga glanced at a side monitor and saw data coming in from Wing Zero. "Ok. Tallgeese out."

Gunning his engines, La Flaga made for the point Heero had designated. At the same time he continued to pour fire from his beam rifle into his foe. Shot after useless shot was deflected by the Alliance mobile suit's shield, but La Flaga's intent was not to damage his foe, merely keep his attention on him. A powerful straight-shot from the machine's plasma cannon as the mobile suit retaliated indicated that it was working.

_That's it_, he thought as he dodged the attack before sending a few more emerald beams back at his enemy, _keep your eye on me, pal._

The machine responded with fire from its railguns. At the same time it increased its speed in an attempt to close the distance between it and La Flaga's unit. The Hawk of Endymion was sure that the Tallgeese Kai was the faster machine, but he couldn't just gun his engines and run. He had to stay within firing range of his foe if the trap was going to work.

_Can't just rush ahead full bore anyway_, he thought as he weaved in and out of the scattered debris_, not with all this crap floating around here._

He brought up his Planet Defensors to block a curved shot from his foe's plasma cannon. The move may have saved him, but it also drained even more precious energy from his suit's battery.

"Come on, Heero," he said, "anytime now…"

"Adjust your heading five degrees up and to the right," said the Gundam pilot, "Then, on my mark, break left and gun it."

"Got it," La Flaga replied, already altering his trajectory.

Then he heard Cagalli cry out over the tactical channel. "Marcus!"

Glancing at his sensors, he saw one of the M1s get stabbed in the back by a yellow beam saber. The Orb unit blew up, but its death was swiftly avenged as a shot from the Strike Rouge's beam rifle destroyed its attacker. Still, there was now only one M1 left to help out Cagalli, and La Flaga knew he bore some responsibility for the latest death of an Orb pilot.

"Sorry, Cagalli," he said grimly.

"Just make it count!" she yelled back.

Then he heard Heero's voice. "Mark."

La Flaga pushed the throttle to maximum as he veered sharply to the left. The astounding force of the acceleration slammed him into his seat, and he could feel his chest getting almost cripplingly tight. _Damn, Tallgeese_, he thought, a painful cough wracking him, _you're a real monster…_ La Flaga was loath to push his machine and his body like this, but he needed to get the hell out of dodge if he wanted to survive what was coming.

A split second later, a _massive _golden-yellow wave of energy washed over his foe, completely engulfing him. La Flaga's eyes widened as his mind flashed back to the last time he'd seen a blast of _that _size and magnitude in person; the First Battle of Alaska.

"Maximum power…" he wheezed out, his breath coming in ragged gasps even as he eased up on the throttle, "Overkill much, Heero?"

"You're welcome," the Gundam pilot replied, "You target is eliminated. Get going."

La Flaga smirked. _Cold as ice_, he thought, _but he did what I asked, so I can hardly complain._

There wasn't a _trace _of the green mobile suit left, not so much as a single sliver of metal. If there were any remains of the machine and pilot, they were on the molecular level… if that.

"Thanks," said La Flaga as he turned towards the Mendel colony, "I owe you one. Good luck."

"Roger that," said Heero, "Wing Zero out."

The Hawk of Endymion once again gunned the Tallgeese Kai's engines. He didn't want to subject his body to the pummeling he knew he would take again as a result, but he knew that time was short. On his screen he could make out the Freedom chasing Creuset's GuAIZ towards one of the colony's docking bays. Whatever trick La Flaga's rival had planned there would not be pretty. While the Hawk of Endymion did not doubt Kira's incredible skills or the Freedom's awesome power, he knew that the young Coordinator did not have the same kind of experience with Creuset that he did. There was far more to fighting that man than just raw piloting talent. It was like engaging in a very high-speed game of chess, one where both players fought like mad to get four moves ahead of each other. It was a game that La Flaga knew Creuset was a master of; the man could turn any situation, any battlefield, to his advantage. His cunning, his ability to read the flow of a fight, to manipulate people and circumstances alike, was unmatched.

La Flaga knew that Heero had survived and even forced Creuset to withdraw during the orbital battle, and he attributed that to the Gundam pilot's experience and skill as much as he did the incredible power of Wing Zero, but the situation now was different. Like Heero, Kira had both a powerful machine and great skill, but even with all the battles he had fought in since Heliopolis the boy was still a student in the art of war. He had only been fighting for a few months; from what little La Flaga understood, Heero had been on the battlefield practically his whole _life_.

The boy from Heliopolis and the soldier from another world also differed in another key area; mentality. Heero was hardened, accepting of his role as a soldier and what it required of him… of the necessity of taking life in combat. Kira had seemed to be growing in that direction prior to his apparent demise in the Marshall Islands, but since his return from the grave the boy had changed. He still kept all the considerable skill he had built up over his journey, had even improved upon it by no small margin, but paradoxically he had regressed in terms of his mindset. While La Flaga was loath to see the innocence and softness that made Kira such a kind and gentle young man be consumed by the fires of war, without the grim determination to take the life of his foe in order to achieve his objective the Hawk of Endymion feared that the boy was no match for a man with the deviousness and ruthlessness of Rau Le Creuset. There was nothing wrong with being gentle and kind outside of battle, but in combat one had to embrace their darker side, their killer instinct… and Kira seemed to have lost his.

La Flaga did not know if the boy could win against such a foe without it.

He doubted it.

_Hang in there, Kira_, he thought as he rushed towards the colony, the tingling sensation in the back of his mind growing stronger as he approached, _I'm coming!_

….

Creuset smirked as he saw another mobile suit making for the colony. He did not know what the unit was called, but he had seen enough recordings of it in action to know who the pilot was… as if the growing tingling sensation in the back of his mind wasn't proof enough.

_Ah, good_, he thought as he continued to dodge fire from the Freedom, _I'm so glad you're able to join us, La Flaga. Now all the players are in position. Time to start the next part of this performance._

He contacted the _Vesalius_. "Ades, I'm about to enter the colony. Once my pursuers have followed me inside, launch the pod. Keep it under your guns and open fire if the renegades or their allies attempt to retrieve it. That pod _must _be captured by the _Alliance_, and no one else, is that clear?"

"Understood, sir," the Captain of the flagship replied.

"Creuset out," said the Field Marshal.

He lined up for his final approach to the main docking bay. Running a quick scan of the interior, he saw that beyond the entrance there was still emergency power functioning inside the colony, including atmosphere.

"Good," he murmured as he began typing on a keypad, "that means these should still work."

He entered and transmitted a code that had not been used for several years now. He smiled as he saw a massive door at the far end of the docking bay begin to slide open, the first of three such portals that allowed access into the heart of the colony.

"And so," he said, "The prodigal sons return. It's been a day long in coming."

He chuckled as he saw the Freedom hot on his heels, with La Flaga not far behind. "Welcome back to Mendel, Kira Yamato."

"Welcome home."

….

**(Start "Black Paper Moon")**

"Freedom's entered the colony," said Miriallia, "Tallgeese Kai's right behind it!"

_Damn_, thought Murrue, _now's hardly the best time to lose two of our best pilots._

La Flaga had contacted the _Archangel _to inform her of his pursuit of Creuset and Kira, but the communication had been brief, with no explanation as to how he knew the masked ace was here or why he was chasing him when the Freedom was already after him. Murrue hadn't even been given time to object before the Hawk of Endymion had cut the transmission, and she suspected that had been intentional on his part. 'Easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission' was practically the motto of pilots like him. All she could do now was trust him and tend to the situation with the resources she had left on the field.

The balance of the battlefield, at least in her area, was tipping into the _Archangel_'s favor. While the Buster and Justice were still engaged with their respective foes, Heero was once again ripping into the surviving members of the Alliance battle group. His brief sideshow with La Flaga had at least eliminated one of the Alliance prototypes, and even in the midst of her tense clash with the _Dominion _it had been impossible for Murrue to miss the titanic display of power that was the maximum charge of Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle. Now the Gundam pilot was back to savaging the regular enemy forces, and as she glanced at her personal monitor she saw Heero obliterate a _Nelson_-class battleship with his fearsome rifle. The once formidable force of Alliance capital ships had been reduced to a single battleship and three _Drake_-class escort ships, and the number of mobile suits and mobile armors was a shadow of the battle group's former glory. The enemy formations were shattered, the surviving ships and units uncoordinated and scattered about the battlefield, their attempts at counterattacking desperate and sloppy. Once again, Heero was more than proving himself worthy of his reputation, and Murrue could only imagine the dismay his foes must be feeling now.

However, the effort had not been without cost. Murrue knew that Cagalli's team had taken casualties as they had fought to cover Heero and give him enough breathing room to carve into the heart of the Alliance force. She could only hope that the girl would not beat herself up too badly over the losses, though given her own experience and the kind of person she knew Cagalli to be she was sure that it would be very hard on Orb's princess after the fight when they did an accounting for their dead. The girl had managed to hang onto one of her wingmen, and the amount of mobile suits and armors they were fighting now was significantly reduced from what it had been earlier, but that did not change the fact that they were still engaged with the enemy; there was always the chance for more casualties before the battle was over.

Things weren't perfect on Murrue's end either. While she had managed to keep the _Archangel _and _Dominion _locked in a stalemate, circling each other like sharks, her ship's escort had suffered another loss when an M1 from Wolf Team had been destroyed by a Strike-Dagger. The death had been swiftly avenged by Bristow, but now he was down to just one teammate. Murrue could only take comfort in the fact that her escorts had performed their duties superbly, with the last of the mobile suits and armors trying to attack the _Archangel _having just been finished off by the former ZAFT Field Marshal moments ago. Murrue now had a choice to make; keep Bristow and his teammate with the ship to aid in missile interception, or send them forth to harass the _Dominion_.

The choice was made for her a second later. "Missiles inbound!" yelled the sensor officer, "Two waves, Corintoss and Sledgehammer warheads. Angle is a high arc!"

"Prepare for interception!" ordered Murrue.

As the missiles came into range, the _Archangel _opened up with her CIWS and Helldart missiles. The GuAIZ Werewolf and the last M1 added their weapons to the mix as well, and the incoming warheads were wiped out by the barrage.

"Gotta hand it to Heero and The Valkyrie," she heard Lieutenant Tsukino say, "That new targeting system is a beast."

_No argument there_, Murrue thought. There was no time to rest on their laurels, though; missiles weren't the only weapons the _Dominion _attack with.

"Down ten degrees, and thirty to starboard!" ordered Murrue, "Starboard weapons, prepare for broadside!"

"Targeting solutions acquired!" yelled Tsukino.

"Open fire!" ordered Murrue.

The new targeting system's benefits did not solely extend to interception. The _Archangel _could acquire targets faster and more accurately with her heavy artillery as well, and in an environment such as the L4 debris field could still strike with pinpoint precision. It was a crucial advantage over the _Dominion_, which naturally lacked Heero and Shemei's new program, and Murrue was putting it to good use in this fight.

The starboard Gottfried and Valiant cannons roared to life, spitting emerald beams and heavy rounds at their target. At the same time all the _Archangel_'s heavy missile launchers opened fire as well, sending a swarm of Sledgehammer, Corintoss, and Wombat missiles at the _Dominion_. While the impacts from the latter two missiles would be negligible against the vessel's heavy laminated armor, they still served as valuable distractions for the heavier Sledgehammer missiles. Besides, there was always the chance that one of the lighter missiles could take out a CIWS or damage the sensor array. Natarle had not used her Wombat missiles when it came to the ship-to-ship combat, following Alliance protocol that they be reserved for formations of mobile suits or aircraft, though she had shown some flexibility by supplementing her barrages with the Corintoss warheads.

Murrue was _much_ more willing to act outside the standard playbook.

The large beams and rail cannon rounds slammed into the _Dominion_'s portside, and the ship was visibly rocked by the hits. At the same time, the _Archangel_'s missiles came in from on high, and the black battleship spat out CIWS fire and Helldart missiles in an attempt to counter. Some of the missiles were destroyed, but the Alliance warship was not saved from the barrage. The Wombat missiles erupted over their target, showering the vessel with their heavy buckshot rounds. The surviving Corintoss and Sledgehammer missiles rained down around the bridge tower, though Murrue was relieved to see that none actually hit the command center.

There was no time to celebrate; Murrue knew she had to act quickly to mitigate her foe's response. "Climb twenty degrees!" she yelled.

The ship began to pull up, and not a moment too soon. Murrue could see the _Dominion_'s weapons angling to fire, and they soon opened up. Natarle's vessel cut loose with its portside Gottfried and Valiant, while the rear missile launchers once again fired Sledgehammer and Corintoss warheads.

However, this time Natarle had moved too late. Murrue's climb had not been random, and the _Archangel _was just pulling behind a large chunk of what she assumed had once been part of a colony's central block. She saw it crack and rupture as the _Dominion_'s shots hit it, but the attacks did not get through.

_All that mapping Heero and the others did on their patrol flights paid off big time_, thought Murrue, _We've got the whole field charted on the tactical display; Natarle can't match _that _advantage._

Unfortunately, while the debris had blocked the shots from the Gottfrieds and Valiants, the missiles had been fired on different courses. They curved around the debris towards the front of the ship.

"CIWS, open up!" yelled Lieutenant Tsukino, "Wolf Team, intercept!"

Bullets and beams ripped through space. Most of the incoming missiles were destroyed, but two managed to get through the umbrella and hit the _Archangel_'s upper deck.

"Damage report!" yelled Murrue as the ship shuddered.

"Topside armor's holding," replied Tsukino, "we're good."

_For now_, Murrue thought, _but how long can it last?_ _None of us have managed to land a concentrated barrage yet in this fight. On my part it's intentional, but I doubt Natarle's operating with the same level of restraint. We've got to find a way to end this fight quickly!_

Suddenly Colonel Kisaka's voice came over the radio. "This is the _Kusanagi_. We've broken free."

_Finally_, Murrue thought. She was about to issue orders to the Orb ship, but someone else beat her to the punch.

"_Kusanagi_," said Heero as he slashed a Strike-Dagger, "engage the survivors of the Alliance battle group. Cagalli, fall back to the ship. Support the _Kusanagi_ and her M1s."

Murrue contacted her boyfriend. "Heero, what are you doing?"

"Freeing myself up to do something I've wanted to since the battle began," Heero replied, "knock the _Dominion _out of this fight."

"Hold on!" said Murrue, "Heero, you can't destroy that ship!"

"I'm not planning on it," he replied, "trust me, Murrue. I won't kill Natarle, I promise."

Murrue nodded. "Alright, Heero. What's your plan?"

"You'll see soon enough," said the Gundam pilot, "Just keep the _Dominion _distracted like you've been doing. Wing Zero out."

_Alright, Heero_, she thought, _we'll play it your way. Whatever plan you have, I'll place my faith in it._

"Captain Ramius?" said Colonel Kisaka, "What are our orders?"

Murrue smiled. "You already have them, Colonel. Carry on."

"Understood," he replied, "_Kusanagi _out."

Murrue turned to Neumann. "Keep us weaving through the debris; try to put as much scrap between us and the _Dominion _as you can. We have to keep our distance but still make sure they're focusing on us."

"Got it," said the helmsman.

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue, "keep up sporadic fire on them, whenever you get an opening."

"Aye, ma'am," her XO replied.

_I'm counting on you, Heero_, she thought as the _Archangel _pulled to port, Neumann doing his best to match the _Dominion_'s shifting trajectory while keeping the ship out of the firing line of the enemy's Lohengrins, _and I know you won't let me down!_

**(End "Black Paper Moon")**

….

_You've improved, Captain Ramius_, thought Natarle, _You're putting up one hell of a fight._

Of course, Natarle should not have expected any less from the woman who had led her former warship through ZAFT's gauntlet to get to Alaska and all the battles after it had gone rogue. Despite her deepest desires to avoid such a confrontation, Natarle was now giving her fight with her former comrades her utmost effort, and had been trying to get the _Archangel _into the firing path of the Lohengrins since the battle had begun. That she had been unable to do so was a testament to the skills of both Captain Ramius and her crew. In a way, Natarle felt a strange sense of pride as the _Dominion _battled it out with the _Archangel_; her old comrades were once again demonstrating that their abilities were not to be trifled with.

While both warships had traded shots, no one had been able to land a decisive hit. Natarle was certain that it was intentional on her old Captain's part. The _Archangel _had not once tried to line up a shot with its Lohengrins on the _Dominion _since the fight had begun, instead opting for broadsides and missile bombardment. While it was still quite possible for such tactics to take out the bridge, Natarle had realized that Captain Ramius had deliberately avoided targeting that specific point. She was playing for time, trying to outlast Natarle's ship until the Alliance forces had to withdraw.

_If I had it my way_, she thought, _we would be retreating now. Our losses have been severe, and the situation is only continuing to get worse._

The main body of the battle group had been utterly thrashed. Only four capital ships and a handful of mobile suits remained. All of the mobile armors had been wiped out; in the end, equipping them with beam cannons had not been enough to compensate for their inferior defenses and maneuverability.

The lion's share of the kills had of course gone to Wing Zero, and Natarle wouldn't have expected less from the Reaper of North Africa. Despite her familiarity with the carnage Heero could wreak on the battlefield, she still could not help but marvel at his powers of destruction… even as he unleashed them on her fellow Alliance soldiers. Wing Zero had such a simple weapons layout, but it was utterly devastating. The power of the mobile suit and skills of its pilot had only been enhanced by the team of Orb mobile suits that had been fighting with it, helping to keep some of the Alliance units away from it and giving it openings to do what it did best.

The astounding power of Wing Zero had been perfectly demonstrated when the Gundam had obliterated one of Azrael's prized prototype mobile suits in a single shot. Natarle's feelings had been mixed on that. On the one hand, it was another one of her pilots lost. However, it would be more accurate to say the young man, like his two partners, was one of _Azrael_'s pilots, him being the only real authority they displayed any real deference to. The pilots of the new model machines were practically impossible for her to really integrate into her battle plans, or indeed her chain of command. Azrael hadn't helped much in that regard, giving them the simple instruction to engage the enemy mobile suits but beyond that nothing particular. Natarle would've preferred that all three gang up on Wing Zero, and indeed they had moved to do so early in the fighting, but they had been intercepted by other mobile suits and drawn into individual engagements. Wing Zero's shot had just ended one of those fights, and Natarle had actually been relieved as said fight had been against none other than Mu La Flaga. Now the man she loved had actually left the field, heading towards the ruined Mendel colony. Natarle did not know why La Flaga had gone off to the colony, but considered it a blessing; she did not have to fight him now.

Her personal situation may have been marginally improved, but the strategic situation of her battle group was rapidly deteriorating. The blue Orb warship had finally gotten free of its entanglement from the debris it had gotten snagged upon and was now moving to engage the surviving Alliance vessels. Three M1 Astrays flew with it, and between them and the firepower of the warship Natarle knew they were the quintessential final nail in the coffin for the task force. The Raider and Calamity were in no position to change that, as they were still engaged in their respective duels with one of the ZAFT nuclear powered mobile suits and the Buster.

"Lord Azrael," said Natarle, "we have to withdraw."

The true power behind the task force and the Earth Alliance as a whole shook his head. "I'm disappointed in you, Miss Captain. We're not done here yet."

"With all due respect, sir," Natarle countered, "we are. This ship is locked in stalemate with the _Archangel_, and the rest of the battle group is being annihilated. We have no strategic reserve to bring into the fight, and our losses have been catastrophic. We have to retreat!"

Azrael waved his finger at her, a smug smirk on his face. "Of course we have a reserve, Miss Captain. Call in the _Priam _and her escorts. That should help turn the tables back in our favor."

"The _Priam_'s a carrier!" Natarle yelled, her eyes widening, "She's not meant for frontline combat!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Captain," Azrael shot back, "She still has guns, and she's still a warship. She can still fight, and she _will _fight. Call her in!"

_You son of a bitch!_, Natarle seethed in her head, _Against a ship like that Orb vessel or a mobile suit like Wing Zero, the Priam's nothing but a giant target! Her escorts are little better; there are only two Drakes and two Nelsons with her, and all of them have already launched their mobile suits and armors into the battle. Five conventional warships at this point won't make a difference; they'll be slaughtered!_

Natarle had heard stories about Azrael's ruthlessness and his callous disregard for the lives of others. The vibes she'd gotten from him since leaving the Ptolemaeus base had only served to reinforce that impression, and how he'd reacted to her attempts to reason with her former comrades had done little to improve her perception of him. Still, to listen to him now, to see how he was so willing to throw good soldiers into a fight that was _impossible _for them to win, to watch him send them to all but guaranteed deaths without the slightest shift in his demeanor, a single hint of concern or regret… it made her want to puke.

Unfortunately, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter the fact remained that Azrael was her superior even if he held no formal military rank. His authority over the battle group was final… and he had given her an order.

"Comm," she said grimly, "have the _Priam _and her escort move in. They're to engage the Orb ship and Wing Zero."

"Aye, Captain," the communications officer replied.

_Damn it all_, she fumed silently, _god fucking damn it all…_

The ship shuddered as it took the _Archangel_'s latest salvo, and Natarle mentally berated herself for having gotten distracted from her main engagement. "Damage report!" she yelled, "What hit us?"

"Gottfried and Valiant fire," said one of the bridge crew, "Impacts were along the port leg. Armor's holding, and there's no damage to the linear catapult, Lohengrin, or Gottfried."

_Still_, thought Natarle as she checked her tactical display,_ the fact that they were able to hit us at all from such range in an environment with so many obstacles is troubling. They've done that several times now over the course of this battle, opening up before we're able to, with greater precision at extreme range… I don't know how, but their targeting capabilities have been upgraded._

She was about to order a counter barrage when she heard her sensor officer cry out. "Energy spike, twelve o'clock high! _It's Wing Zero!_"

"How'd it get over here so quickly?" one of the other bridge officers cried out in shock.

Natarle felt her blood chill. Had her foes finally decided to take the gloves off?

She saw an image of the Gundam appear on the main monitor, its monstrous rifle split into two weapons, the barrel of each gun glowing with golden-yellow hellfire.

"Hard to starboard!" she yelled.

Even as she gave the command, she knew it was too late. Heero wouldn't miss at this range.

Two pillars of lethal light ripped forth from the guns. They rushed forward and engulfed the front of the _Dominion_, their light so bright that Natarle closed her eyes reflexively. She felt the ship rock violently, and despite her bracing herself she was thrown from her seat. The impact with the hard steel floor was painful… but Natarle was shocked to realize that she was still feeling _anything _right now.

_I should be dead_, thought Natarle, _what… what happened?_

Grimacing as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the complete disarray of her bridge crew. Like her, the others had been tossed about by the tumultuous tremors, though Natarle did not see any signs of serious injury among them. She took some comfort from the sight of Azrael sprawled ignominiously on his face, his ass hanging in the air. Natarle had to fight the strong urge to kick it.

Then she looked out the main viewport, and her jaw felt like it had hit the floor again. Her eyes widened larger than they ever had in their life as she surveyed the destruction wrought by Wing Zero.

The forward 'legs', one of the signature design features of the _Archangel_-class General Purpose Assault Battleship, were _gone_. The fire from the split Twin Buster Rifle had completely obliterated everything from the _Dominion_'s Gottfried turrets forward. The beam cannons, the linear catapults, the Lohengrins… there was _nothing _left of them. The armor plating around the foremost section of the central hull was charred and warped, twisted and distorted, but it seemed to have only caught the edges of the blasts.

_Looks like the hangar's still intact_, she thought, her mind still struggling to process what she was looking at, _but… our heavy weapons have been wiped out. We can't fight the Archangel with what we have left._

It was horrible to see her ship like this, but Natarle could at least take comfort from the fact that the damage was decisive, that her ship had been essentially defanged. It meant that she could withdraw. More importantly, such extensive damage would take a long time to repair, meaning she'd be off the front lines; she wouldn't have to fight her friends.

Recomposing herself as she took hers seat, she turned to her communications officer. "Signal the rest of our forces. We're retreating."

"No," growled Azrael, "_We're not_."

Turning to him, Natarle saw his face twisted into a truly ugly visage. It was not from physical injury; his expression had been warped simply by his rage. His eyes were narrowed, his mouth open in a nauseating sort of half smile, half grimace, his teeth showing, his breath shallow, drool gathering at the corners.

"I will _not _leave here empty handed!" Azrael snarled.

"If this keeps up," Natarle retorted, "we won't leave here _at all!_"

"We're not beaten, _Miss Captain_," said Azrael, his voice taking on a high pitch, "Look at that; Wing Zero _missed_! So much for the legendary Heero Yuy; he doesn't have what it takes to kill us!"

_Idiot!_, she mentally screamed, _Heero did that on purpose! If he wanted us dead, we _would be_!_

The ship shuddered again, forcing Natarle to turn her attention to other matters. "What was that?" she yelled.

"Portside Valiant is gone!" replied an officer, "Wing Zero cut it right off!"

_Removing our lesser weapons_, she mused, resisting the strange urge to smile, _thank you, Heero. Go ahead, disarm my whole ship; leave me completely incapable of hurting my friends. Give me no choice but to run._

"Incoming transmission, open channel!" said the communications officer.

_An offer of surrender?_, she thought, _Heero, you're more generous than I gave you credit for._

"Is it Wing Zero?" she asked.

"Negative," the officer replied, "It's coming from ZAFT!"

That certainly hadn't been what she was expecting. "What do they want?" she asked.

"They said they've launched a pod containing an Alliance soldier," said the officer.

Natarle's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me! A prisoner transfer in the middle of a battle?"

"We've got a visual," said the sensor officer, and the main monitor shifted to show a standard, single occupant ZAFT life pod.

"Captain," said the communications officer, "we've got an open transmission coming from the pod!"

"Patch it through," she ordered.

A female voice came over the speakers… one Natarle was startled to realize that she knew.

"_Archangel_, help me! This is Flay Allster!"

_Impossible!_, thought Natarle, _She was transferred at Alaska! She should be back in the Atlantic Federation!_

But there was no denying what she was hearing now. The voice was unmistakable; it really was Flay.

Her being in a place like this when she had no business being anywhere near a battlefield was strange enough, but what she said next made Natarle's already confusing, tumultuous day even worse.

"I… have the key. I hold the key that can put an end to this war."

"The key…" said Natarle, "what is she talking about?"

"How interesting," said another familiar voice.

Natarle turned and saw Azrael thoughtfully stroking his chin, the ugly rage that had a hold on him before replaced by curiosity. It was such a sudden switch, and it was almost as disconcerting as his ruthlessness and outright sociopathy.

"I've never heard that expression before," he said, "the 'key' to ending the war… how very interesting."

Natarle's stomach fell. She knew what was coming.

Azrael stood up and made a bombastic, over the top gesture at the image on the screen. "Retrieve that escape pod!" he ordered, "Capture it at all costs!"

Natarle sighed but made no move to object. At this point it would be pointless to argue with the man.

"Comm," she said, "contact all surviving mobile suits and ships, including the _Priam _and her escorts. All forces are to head for that escape pod; it _must _be captured!"

"Aye, Captain," the officer replied.

"Wing Zero's preparing to fire again!" cried the sensor officer.

Natarle's eyes widened and she prepared to give an order, but the warning had come too late. The ship rocked again, though not as violently as before.

"Portside heavy missile launchers have been destroyed!" yelled one of her crew.

_He'll be moving onto the starboard ones next_, she thought. It was strange how she actually didn't mind Heero continuing to attack her ship and strip it of its weapons, but she could not convey that sentiment to the crew or Wing Zero's pilot. Whatever she might have felt privately, publicly she still had to at least give the appearance of wanting Heero dead.

"Get him off us!" she yelled, "Fire CIWS and Helldarts!"

"Already on it, ma'am," said the weapon's officer.

Natarle knew it wouldn't do any good. Against Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy hull, the bullets from the CIWS would do little more than scratch the paint. The Helldarts would likewise have a minimal effect, and that was only if they weren't shot down by Wing Zero's gatling cannons. Natarle gave silent thanks to whatever deity existed that Heero wasn't actually trying to destroy the _Dominion_. Enough losses had already been suffered today, and she was sure more good soldiers would fall before this dreadful battle finally ended.

_And all for what?_, she thought as she watched the Orb warship open fire on the main monitor, destroying a _Drake_-class escort ship with her Gottfried beam cannons, _To hunt down a renegade warship and her allies? To retrieve a single prisoner? I don't know what this 'key' Flay spoke of is, but it had better be worth all the lives that have been and are going to be sacrificed in order to get it._

….

Yzak's eyes widened in shock as he heard that familiar voice over the radio. "Flay?" he said, "Why is she out here? What's going on?"

It was a distraction that almost cost him his life. The ZAFT pilot's foe, a black GuAIZ with green trim, rushed in with its beam claws, and Yzak was barely able to raise his shield in time to block the blow. A fresh jolt of adrenaline shot through his system at the close shave he'd just had with death, and it helped him to refocus on his current fight, though he was still very much bothered by what he had just heard.

_Creuset_, he thought as he unloaded his missiles on his foe, only for them to either be shot down by CIWS fire or blocked by the Composite Shield, _this is your doing, isn't it? What's your game?_

Suddenly he heard another familiar voice over the radio as he raised his shield to block fire from the GuAIZ's beam rifle. "It's usually not my style to give advice to the enemy, but you really should keep your focus, boy."

His eyes widened; he hadn't heard that voice since the North Africa campaign. "You! Aisha Marlene!"

"Been a long time, Yzak Joule," the Desert Tiger's lover replied as she closed in with her beam claws, "You've actually gotten better since the last time I saw you fight."

Yzak had heard that she had survived the final battle in the Sahara and had gone renegade like Waltfeld, but he still had not expected to run into her out here. "Why have you turned against us?" he asked as he blocked her beam claws on his shield, "Why have you all betrayed ZAFT?"

"ZAFT has fallen from the path it was supposed to follow," said Aisha as she slipped to the left to doge fire from Yzak's railgun, "I joined the military to protect my people, not to kill others just because of how they were born!"

"That's not what ZAFT's fight is about!" replied Yzak as he shot at her with his beam rifle, only for her to evade his attacks.

"You don't really believe that now, do you?" she asked as she returned fire with her rifle, "The butchery in East Asia that went unpunished, the slaughter of surrendered soldiers at Panama… Zala has taken ZAFT down the path of genocide. We saw that even back during North Africa; his hatred for the Naturals even then knew no bounds. We refused to take part in a campaign of vengeance and murder! That's why we left; that's why we're fighting ZAFT!"

Her words hit home for Yzak even as he focused on avoiding her attacks. The massacre at Panama haunted his dreams every night, a stain on the honor of his military that he knew could never be washed away, an atrocity that he had done _nothing _to stop.

Still, regardless of his shifting feelings, his distrust of Creuset and his disgust over the new policy regarding Naturals, Yzak could not bring himself to simply abandon ZAFT. After all, the Earth Alliance had made it perfectly clear that _their _intention was to wipe out all Coordinators. He had joined ZAFT after the attack on Junius Seven, like so many other young men his age, to prevent that kind of atrocity from ever happening again, to defend his family, friends, and people. Even with his new doubts, that was still the reason he was fighting, and it was not something he could set aside lightly or sympathize those who had done that like Aisha, Waltfeld, and those that had joined them. They were traitors, and Yzak had been brought up to view treason as one of the ultimate offenses, regardless of the reasons for which it was committed.

"You know there's no going back from this, right?" said Yzak as he lashed out with his beam saber, only for his foe to deflect the attack with her beam claws, "Even… even if you're right, when this war is over you can never return to the PLANTs again!"

"Fool!" Aisha shot back as she fired her arrestor claws, forcing Yzak to pull up to avoid getting ensnared, "From the moment we began opposing Zala, we knew that there was no turning back. Don't insult our sacrifice by acting as though we've forgotten it!"

She pressed her assault on him with renewed ferocity, beam rifle blazing and violet claws ready to tear him apart. The guardian of the _Eternal _had Yzak on the defensive, and he was hard pressed to stay alive.

Things weren't going well for the ZAFT pilot, and he knew that the same could be said for the rest of his battle group. While Field Marshal Creuset may have succeeded in drawing the Freedom away from the engagement, the ZAFT forces had their work cut out for them in their fight against the _Eternal _and her escorts. The main force had taken significant losses since the battle had begun. Of the original four _Nazca_-class destroyers that had entered the debris field, two had been critically damaged and forced to pull back, while the Judgment had just destroyed a third with its deadly heavy plasma rifle. The _Vesalius _was still intact, but it wasn't in a position to help its comrades. Matters weren't much better for the original five frigates either. Two had suffered extremely heavy damage and were essentially out of the fight, while a third had been destroyed by the Judgment and the remaining two were sporting moderate damage as a result of fire from the _Eternal _or the three Wraiths. Their mobile suit teams had been decimated, with only a handful of individual units left on the field and no hint of squadron cohesion among them.

However, the ZAFT forces weren't done yet. On his sensors Yzak could see the four frigates and the destroyer from the rear guard Creuset had assembled making their way towards the fray. Three of them, the Patrol Fleet frigate _Mata Hari _and two of the regular fleet frigates, had already launched their mobile suits into the battle with the main task force, but the fourth frigate and the destroyer were late arrivals. Their mobile suit teams were still intact, and they were now flying in with the reinforcements. Unfortunately, they were only standard GINNs, and twelve of them at that; Yzak did not see how much of a difference they could make in this fight. The _Mata Hari _still had her three Mirage GINNs, but their physical rifles would be no good against Phase Shift Armor and the vessel's Captain appeared to be holding them back to defend his ship. In short, if ZAFT wanted to turn this fight around they would have to do it with their capital ships, but against nuclear powered mobile suits that had proven themselves capable of mauling such vessels Yzak knew their success was in doubt.

_This whole battle's just one mess after another_, he thought as he struck back at Aisha with his beam saber, only for her to block the blow with her beam claws, _I know what our mission is, and there's still a chance we can accomplish it, but the price would be too high. We should retreat._

Unfortunately, the only person that could issue a withdrawal order for the ZAFT force was Field Marshal Creuset, and now he was out of contact inside the Mendel colony. Yzak did not know what his commanding officer was doing inside the ruined habitat, but whatever it was he did not feel it was worth continuing this battle and continuing to sacrifice the lives of good ZAFT soldiers.

_Why are we _really _here?_, he thought as he blocked beam fire on his shield, _Our main goal is supposedly to destroy the Eternal, but if that were really the case then Creuset would be leading the attack on the ship. Instead he's run off and the flagship launched Flay towards the Alliance forces. None of this makes any sense! What's going on here?_

….

"Where are you?" yelled Kira.

"Damn it, Kira," said La Flaga as he ran behind the young Coordinator, "don't give away our position. He could be around the next corner for all we know, just waiting to shoot us!"

The thought that this whole thing could just be a trap had occurred to Kira as he had chased the ZAFT pilot into Mendel, but the man's words had rattled the former student from Heliopolis. He had thrown caution to the wind, single-mindedly pursuing the enigmatic pilot into the colony, desperate to find out just what his foe knew about him. Kira knew that it was natural that people in ZAFT would know his name; after all, he had fought against Athrun while his childhood friend was still a member of that organization, and he would've been obligated to tell his superiors that he was fighting against someone from his past. However, the fact that he had been identified now as the pilot of the Freedom, and what his enemy had said regarding his past, had been enough to convince Kira that this man was worth following. Ever since that fateful day in Heliopolis, when he had first taken control of the Strike, when he had entered the war, he had been asking himself why his parents had made him a Coordinator. He hadn't been able to work up the nerve to ask them when he had the chance during the _Archangel_'s two stops in Orb, hadn't even been able to face them. Now he had another chance to get some answers, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste.

It was that desperation for answers, for the _reason _of his birth and his abilities, that was propelling the boy to such recklessness and short-sightedness. When he had entered the main block of the colony, it had not taken him long to spot the enemy GuAIZ. It had touched down on the long-dead grass in front of what had appeared to be a large facility of some kind. The architecture was a mix of blocks and cylinders, and it had a very utilitarian feel to it. Kira had quickly proceeded to land his mobile suit not too far away from the GuAIZ, pausing only to make sure that his unit was locked down before racing into the doorway closest to the ZAFT machine. Had he been thinking clearly he would have at least disabled the GuAIZ to prevent the enemy pilot from taking off again, but his focus on finding his foe and getting some answers prevented him from even considering doing that.

Kira had his pistol drawn, but deep down the boy was unsettled at the thought of using it. He hadn't held a gun since Banadiya, and when Blue Cosmos had launched their attack at the outdoor restaurant he hadn't even been able to fire back in self-defense, instead throwing the gun at one of Waltfeld's attackers while Heero and the Desert Tiger did most of the shooting. Now here he was in unknown territory, chasing a dangerous enemy who he knew nothing about and seemed to know the layout of the place much better than he did, and if it came down to a shootout Kira was afraid how things might turn out. While the boy's enhanced abilities as a Coordinator meant that he was in theory an excellent shot with a pistol, his new desire to fight his foes without killing them clashed with the realities of gunfights. After all, while he could in theory aim for the arms or legs of a person and try to disable them much like he did enemy mobile suits, there was always the chance that he could hit an artery and cause whoever he hit to bleed out.

Of course, none of that would matter if his mysterious foe wound up killing him first.

He was about to charge around a corner when La Flaga grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him. Kira was amazed that the former Alliance ace had managed to keep pace with him and actually close the gap, and that quickly turned to gratitude as a pair of gunshots rang out, followed by the sounds of the bullets ricocheting off the nearby wall.

"Told you," La Flaga gasped, letting go of Kira and catching his breath, "charge ahead blind and you're going to get killed. Let me take point."

"Why did you follow me in here?" Kira asked as La Flaga as the Hawk of Endymion sidled up along the wall, his sidearm at the ready.

"Because," La Flaga whispered back, "if you're chasing who I think you are, you're in _way _over your head."

Before Kira could ask what his friend meant, La Flaga aimed his gun around the corner and opened fire. Just as before, the boy heard the rounds hit something hard, but he didn't know for sure that La Flaga had missed until a voice came from that direction.

"Nice try," it said, the same voice that Kira had heard over the Freedom's radio, "was that you, La Flaga? I think you'd be more willing to shoot than the kid."

"Creuset!" yelled La Flaga, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" their foe replied, his voice dripping in mockery, "Come after me, if you dare!"

La Flaga grimaced, but he did not go around the corner right away. Deciding to take his cues from the more experienced soldier, Kira waited on him. As he did so he took the opportunity to actually look around the interior of the building. It had clearly seen better days, but despite its dilapidated state Kira could make out some basic features. The architecture was very plain, and the place had a very utilitarian feel to it. The walls were a faded grey and pockmarked with dents, scratches, and holes. There were no signs as to what sort of purpose the facility had served during its active days.

After a few seconds of silence Kira saw La Flaga once again peer cautiously around the corner. He then raised his left hand and motioned for Kira to follow him. The two of them proceeded down a long hallway, lit by dim emergency light panels along the side and ceiling. The corridor was lined with doors on either side, and Kira had no idea which one the man La Flaga had called Creuset had gone through.

"What is this place?" Kira whispered.

"I don't know," La Flaga replied, "but I've got a bad feeling about it. Call it a hunch, but I don't think Creuset chose it at random."

"You're quite right about that," came Creuset's voice from down the corridor. La Flaga shoved Kira to the side, and the two of them squeezed into one the doorways. However, no gunfire followed the voice.

"I'm so glad the two of you could make it," Creuset continued, "this has been a day long in the making, and it would just be _tragic _if the three of us could not be here together."

"What the hell are you talking about?" yelled La Flaga.

"Why don't you come and find out?" Creuset replied, "Just keep following the hallway. It's not too much further." There was laughter, and when Creuset spoke again his tone reeked of sarcasm. "Trust me, you're in for a treat."

"I'll just bet," La Flaga shot back, "You've got bullets with our names on them, Creuset?"

"Oh, hardly," said the strange man, "killing you at this point would be a waste. It would completely defeat the purpose of bringing you here. No, Mu La Flaga, Kira Yamato, I want you to understand the true madness behind this war. The sick ambitions, the monumental arrogance, the disgusting lengths to which man will go to elevate himself in this world."

As Kira and La Flaga continued down the hallway, they soon saw a door at the far end. It was slightly ajar, but not enough to offer a clear view as to what lay beyond it.

"Take a look at the legacy of Mendel's researchers and scientists," said Creuset, "Take a look at the results of _human greed_."

_What the hell is he talking about?_, thought Kira as the two of them approached the doorway.

When they came up to it, La Flaga pressed himself against the wall to the right of the door while Kira mirrored him on the left. The Hawk of Endymion peered inside, and Kira saw his eyes widen and his face pale.

"What the…" he said, his voice trailing off.

"La Flaga?" asked Kira, worried, "What's wrong?"

La Flaga grimaced. "This whole place for starters, kid. Check it out."

La Flaga pushed the door open and entered the room. Kira followed him in, and his jaw dropped as he saw what was inside.

"What the hell is _this_?" he cried out, completely aghast.

They were in a large room, and unlike the rest of the facility it was very well lit. The layout was simple, with a central walkway lined on both sides by metal rails running from the door to a T-shaped intersection. On the other side of the rails the walkway fell off into shallow pools of water. Coming up out of those pools were several rows of large cylinders, with at least a dozen cylinders per row. They were clear, full of a light blue-green liquid. Floating in that liquid…

… were human infants.

There was one per cylinder, each anchored to the base by an umbilical cord. Each appeared to be a very late human embryo, as one might appear in the final weeks leading up to birth. However, they weren't moving as one might expect them to. They were completely still, just floating in the liquid, and those whose eyes were open had an empty glaze to them. Their umbilical cords were shriveled up, only a fraction of the thickness that they should've been; whatever nutrient stores they had been drawing from had dried up long ago. They were all dead, for how long Kira couldn't say.

_Holy shit_, he thought as he took in the sickening sight, _how many are there? All these cylinders… there must be almost fifty of them!_

"I think you already know what this is, Kira Yamato," said Creuset, causing the boy and La Flaga to raise their guns and frantically look around the room.

"After all," he continued, laughing as he spoke, "_this is where you were born!_"

Kira's eyes widened even further at that announcement. "What are you talking about? I was-"

"Don't listen to him!" yelled La Flaga, "He's just messing with your head! Focus, Kira!"

"Messing with him?" Creuset's voice echoed through the room, "Come now, La Flaga, I'm not _that _cruel!"

"Looking around here, I'd say otherwise," La Flaga shot back, "This was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Don't lump _me _in with the selfish creatures that built this place," Creuset yelled back, "I'm not _that _arrogant, _that _greedy!"

"What does greed have to do with this?" yelled Kira.

"_Everything_, boy!" said Creuset, "And we're the fruit of it! The parents you know now are _not _your true mother and father! For that you should be grateful; I would imagine they're _far _better excuses for life than those that _did _bring you into this world!"

Kira could feel himself wavering, automatically lowering the gun he held. What this man was saying… it could not be possible.

"Kira!" said La Flaga, grabbing the young man by his shoulder and shaking him, "Block him out! Don't let him get in your head!"

"Come now, La Flaga," said Creuset, "you would prevent a child from learning who their real parents are? And you think _I'm _such a devious and cruel man… how amusing."

"Kira," the ZAFT pilot continued, "Your real parents are the people that built this facility."

Kira vehemently shook his head. "That's not true! You're lying!"

"Now why would I do that?" Creuset asked, his tone one of faux innocence, "Would I really put myself at such risk to bring you here just to fill your head with lies? What would be the point in that?"

As much as Kira hated to admit it, the man had a point. Unfortunately, that only meant that Creuset's words had that much more weight behind them.

"Your father," said Creuset, "was Professor Ulen Hibiki. He was a brilliant geneticist, perhaps the greatest mind that field of science has ever known. His wife was Via Hibiki. At the peak of the Professor's research, she was pregnant with twins."

The picture Cagalli had showed him after leaving Orb flashed through his mind. _No way_, he thought, a chill running down his spine, _it can't be…_

"The Professor's brilliance was matched only by his insatiable greed and ambition," Creuset continued, "He was obsessed with creating a 'perfect being', a creature that would be considered the apex of human potential… and make sure that his name would live forever. He experimented on countless embryos in his efforts, taken from women who had been paid to conceive for precisely this purpose. None of those efforts bore fruit, and resulted in the macabre display that surrounds you now."

La Flaga grimaced as he looked around the room, trying to find their foe. "Disgusting."

"On that we're in agreement, old friend," said Creuset, "but Hibiki was unconcerned with the casualties. To him they were merely sacrifices on the altar of science and his glory… and they provided him with useful data. Call it a murderous process of trial and error."

"Finally," Creuset continued, "when Hibiki was convinced that he had unlocked the key to creating his 'perfect being', he took one of the embryos carried by his wife and placed it in an artificial womb."

From what Creuset had told them thus far about the Professor, Kira doubted his wife had been given much of a choice in the matter.

"After all those that came before," said Creuset, "_this _embryo successfully developed into a baby, a healthy Coordinator… the _Ultimate _Coordinator. A flawless creation, surpassing all that had come before it."

"Kira Yamato," cried Creuset, his tone becoming harsh, almost accusatory, "_you _are Professor Hibiki and humanity's ideal creation! The Perfect Coordinator! The only one that was ever truly a complete success!"

"What…" said Kira, his face paling, sweat matting his brow, his eyes wider than they had ever been in his life. His heart was caught in his throat, and even breathing felt like a monumental challenge.

"But before the Professor could celebrate," said Creuset, "the Blue Cosmos caught wind of what he had done. For them, it was bad enough that the current crop of Coordinators had been brought into this world. To hear that a new breed of the creatures that they so despised had been brought into this world by the man who may as well be the Cosmic Era's very own Doctor Frankenstein… they could not abide by such a creation, nor allow those that had given it life to remain among the living. The Blue Cosmos went after the Hibikis and all associated with them. The family and the research staff were murdered in the ensuing purge. I was certain that all of them had died… especially _you_."

Kira couldn't focus. Creuset's words were the only thing in his head now, along with all of their implications. It was overwhelming the boy, and he barely noticed as La Flaga closed his eyes.

He then saw those eyes snap back open. Whirling around, the Hawk of Endymion aimed his gun at one of the doorways along the back wall. "Over there!" he yelled as he opened fire.

Following La Flaga's gaze and raising his gun, Kira caught a brief glimpse of a white uniform and long blond hair as Creuset ducked out of sight. La Flaga ran ahead to catch up.

"La Flaga, wait!" cried Kira.

"Wait out here, Kira!" yelled La Flaga, "You're not focused; he'll take you down easy!"

Another gunshot rang out, and Kira was shocked to see La Flaga drop his gun and clutch his right shoulder. "Mu!" he yelled.

Not waiting for a reply, Kira began firing wildly in the direction the shot had come from. At that moment he didn't care about whether or not he might kill his target; his mind was in such turmoil that he didn't know _what _to think.

Creuset returned fire, and La Flaga tackled Kira into a nearby doorway. The Hawk of Endymion quickly got up and moved to take cover behind a nearby couch. He had apparently recovered his gun just before he had tackled Kira, and it was now held in his left hand.

"Are you alright?" Kira asked as he got up.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch," the blond pilot replied, "If you see Creuset, don't hesitate, just shoot!"

Kira nodded. "Ok!" However, he wasn't sure if he could follow through with it. His hands were shaking, and it was taking all his effort just to focus on his current surroundings. Also, despite La Flaga's reassurances, he was still concerned. The Hawk of Endymion had taken the shot in the right shoulder, and blood was seeping from the wound.

As he looked around, he saw that they were in a very large office. There was the couch La Flaga was taking cover behind, several chairs scattered around, along with a few tables, bookshelves, and a large desk. It was that last item that instantly grabbed Kira's attention… or rather, what was on it.

It was a photo of a brown haired woman lying in a hospital bed… holding two newborn babies.

The same photo Cagalli had shown him after they had left Orb.

_What… what's that picture doing here?_

Another gunshot rang out, and Kira's pistol was shot from his hand. The boy grabbed his hand by reflex, but thankfully it hadn't been hit. Before he could recover the gun though, another bullet struck the floor by his feet. Kira froze and turned toward the doorway, where the man he had caught a glimpse of before was standing.

"I won't kill you," he said, "at least, not until-"

He was forced to duck back behind the doorway as La Flaga fired off two shots with his pistol. His aim was unsteady though; he was not used to shooting with his left hand. The rounds hit the wall, but it was still enough to force Creuset to hide behind the doorway. Kira used the opportunity to grab his gun before diving behind the couch with La Flaga.

"Really, La Flaga?" said Creuset, "Interrupting me again? You are quite rude. No matter, I know you two can hear me just fine from there."

"Come out, Creuset!" yelled La Flaga, "This time I won't miss!"

"Perhaps," Creuset replied, "but I wonder… would you really be able to kill me if you knew the truth?"

"What are you talking about?" asked La Flaga.

"Who are you?" yelled Kira.

"You wouldn't know, boy," Creuset replied, "but you, La Flaga… I'm surprised you haven't figured it out already. All the times we've fought, all the times we've spoken in the midst of combat… not once did you make the connection. The battlefield was not the first place we've met; you've known me _all your life!_"

Before La Flaga or Kira could ask what the man was talking about, there was the sound of something being thrown through the air. For a moment Kira feared it was a grenade, but as it hit the ground behind the couch with a thud he saw that it was a photo album. Several pictures spilled out, and both Kira and La Flaga's eyes widened as they saw their contents.

"No way…" said La Flaga softly, "that's me… and my _father!_"

Indeed, Kira was easily able to spot a much younger Mu La Flaga, along with an older gentleman that bore a very distinct family resemblance.

La Flaga stood up and looked at the doorway, Kira following his lead. The Hawk of Endymion was not aiming his weapon towards his foe though. His eyes were wide in shock, as thrown into turmoil as Kira had been mere moments ago.

"Where did you get this?" he yelled.

Creuset stepped out from behind the doorway, apparently quite confident that neither Kira nor La Flaga was going to shoot him. His assumption was very much correct; neither of his foes was in any mental shape to attack him right now.

"It's quite simple," said the masked ZAFT soldier, his gun pointed at them, "I'm a failed clone created by Professor Hibiki… for your father, Al Da Flaga."

"A clone…" said Mu, his tone stunned, rocked to the core.

"I'm sure you recall," said Creuset, "how your father disinherited you from his vast fortune, La Flaga. Did he ever tell you why?"

Mu shook his head. "There was nothing. He never gave a reason, he just cut me off… and I never saw him again. It was just a little while after he left my mother."

"Yes," said Creuset, "Al Da Flaga's wealth was matched only by his ego, his monumental arrogance. He wanted a _perfect _son, a legacy that would bring glory to his name, and in his eyes that meant that the son had to be like him or better in every way that counted, right down to his DNA. So he contracted with Professor Hibiki, funding the Ultimate Coordinator Project in exchange for a direct, modified clone."

"Direct cloning…" said Kira softly, "but… that's illegal!"

"And you really think something as trivial as the law would stop a man as powerful, rich, and conceited as Al Da Flaga?" sneered Creuset, "After all you've seen of the true, disgusting nature of humanity in this war, Kira, you are still pathetically naïve. Even Mu La Flaga would tell you that his father would not be above pulling such a stunt."

Looking at his friend, he saw the former Alliance ace nod grimly. "Yeah… that sounds like something the old man would do."

Creuset nodded and smiled. "I'm pleased to see you're more realistic in your appraisal of others than the boy, Mu La Flaga, even when the person in question is someone as close as your father. Yes, Al Da Flaga commissioned Hibiki in a backroom deal for a clone; a Coordinator Clone, to be precise. After all, he did want his legacy to have every possible advantage, to be above all others. That arrogance was something he had in common with the Professor; perhaps its why they got along so well."

"However," Creuset continued, his tone becoming harsh, tinged with fury, "_I_ was only meant to serve as the prototype, the template for which Al Da Flaga's true successor would be based off of. My telomeres were shortened, increasing the rate at which I aged! This was done so I could both surpass you and die off in time for my successor to take my place. Even without that deliberate alteration though, I was already doomed. The process that created me was highly experimental due to Al Da Flaga's specific standards and Hibiki's desire to use it as a means to test some of the procedures he would later use to create _you_, Kira Yamato! My cells and tissue are flawed, defective. They do not recover from stress and trauma as well as even a Natural's would, and the effect is cumulative. Over time they break down and fail regardless of the care I take. No matter _what _happened, I was doomed to be rejected! _I_ was as expendable to Al Da Flag as _you were_, Mu! _I _was cast aside, just as _you _were!"

"This is bullshit!" yelled Kira, "Mu, you can't seriously believe this guy?"

"If you still have your doubts, my old friend," said Creuset, "then allow me to put them to rest."

Kira tensed as he saw the man reach up with his left hand and remove the mask from his face. When his face was revealed both Kira and La Flaga could not help but gasp at what they saw.

"Mu…" said Kira.

No… father…" said La Flaga, his voice barely more than a whisper, his face incredibly pale.

The man standing before them did indeed have a striking resemblance to the Hawk of Endymion. His light blue eyes, his brow, his facial structure… it was all nearly identical. However, what truly set them apart was the way their eyes looked. Kira had always seen a good-natured light in Mu's eyes, witty confidence combined with a relaxed and friendly demeanor. Creuset's, however, were glaring, piercing, and burning with menace… with malice…

…with _hatred_.

"I did not understand at first," said Creuset as he put his mask back on, his voice becoming a low and furious growl, "why I was abandoned. I was young and lost, suddenly adrift in the world. So I did some research. I learned about whom I was, and much more besides. I learned just how dark and twisted the ambitions of others can get… and I found out just how _ugly _human greed can be!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kira.

"Don't play dumb, boy!" Creuset yelled at him, "No one can be blind to it! I've seen how humans desire to create the strongest, the best. That insatiable hunger for power, the desire to propel themselves above others, led them to the research that resulted in the birth of the Coordinators, not to mention the twisted experimentation that took place here, which brought you and me into this world, Kira Yamato!"

"Humans, Naturals and Coordinators alike," Creuset continued, clearly building up to something, "have created a world of jealousy and hatred. Even before the Coordinators were brought into the Earth Sphere it was like that, but now it is so much more blatant. The bloodbath that is human history has only turned to its latest chapter with this war; a conflict that few would openly admit is not about ideals, power, territory, and wealth as so many others have been, but about how the other side was _born_. Mankind has only grown more and more depraved and disgusting as they have advanced into outer space, and all out of the same revolting sense of greed and hubris! The depths to which they'll stoop to make themselves superior to others in this so called 'modern age' knows no bounds, and it was because of that that _I _was born and my future stolen from me from the moment I entered this world!"

Kira was completely blown away. He'd seen fury before, _felt _it before, but this was so much different. The sheer rage, malice, and vindictiveness with which Creuset spoke were absolutely chilling. The closest thing Kira could compare it to was his and Athrun's fateful duel in the Marshal Islands after each had lost a friend, but even that fearsome fight and the burning rage that had driven it seemed like little more than a temper tantrum compared to the pure _hatred _displayed by Creuset.

"My birth, my abandonment, my failing body," snarled Creuset, "they may have been brought upon by Hibiki and Al Da Flaga, but I know that they are just expressions of the ugly heart of humanity, the limitless ambition and greed. I am _full _of hatred, every fiber of my being devoted to it! But the hate that fills me is not just for Hibiki and Al Da Flaga!"

"_**I HATE THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE!**_"

….

Mu La Flaga stared in astonishment as Creuset went on his tirade. Here he had followed Kira and his rival into the Mendel colony fearing that the boy from Heliopolis was getting in over his head… but now the Hawk of Endymion knew that he had been as unprepared as his friend for what they would find in the ruined habitat.

Looking at his masked foe, images of what he had seen just moments ago kept flashing through his mind. The face of his father, a man whom Mu had thought he'd left behind in his past as he'd gone forward with his life, now would not leave him alone. To know that throughout the course of his encounters with Creuset that he'd actually been fighting a clone of his father, someone created by that man's arrogance and greed… it seemed like the cruelest sort of joke. He still retained enough presence of mind to note that what Creuset had said at least partially explained the strange sensation he got whenever he was close by. The two of them were connected, though Mu did not understand how he would have a semi-telepathic ability to sense the clone's presence, especially when they were in separate vehicles engaged in active combat.

The shock of it all was almost enough to distract him from their very dangerous situation. He could've smacked himself as he realized that he had abandoned perfectly good cover; standing up as he was now, he was an easy target for Creuset. Matters weren't helped by his wounded right shoulder. While the injury was not serious right now, if left unattended for too long there was the very real chance that Mu would bleed out. To cap things off, his gun was held in his hand and angled down at the floor rather than at his foe, and Mu mentally berated himself for not keeping it up and on Creuset. He wasn't right handed; bringing it up with the left hand would be slower, and there was no way his rival would not shoot him before then.

His only hope for a quick draw was Kira, but the boy was still badly shaken. Mu did not know if Kira could muster the focus to shoot Creuset before the ZAFT soldier decided to take them out. With the recent revelation regarding both Kira and Creuset's origins, Mu was reasonably certain that Kira was faster than Creuset, but without concentration and the will to kill behind his actions the boy could very well be doomed.

_Damn_, he thought, _we're in a real mess now…_

"Mankind," said Creuset, "has written its entire history in blood. Humans have advanced to where they are today only by climbing atop a mountain of their dead! They lie, scheme, and betray each other at every opportunity to get ahead in this world, putting themselves above all others. It's a foolish and sickening pattern; one that they cannot see is leading them to their own destruction. Humanity is guaranteed to wipe itself out; indeed, the process has been playing out at an accelerated pace since the advent of Coordinators. However, it's not progressing fast enough…which is why I have decided to help it along."

"You can't be serious…" Kira whispered.

Mu's eyes widened as his mind flashed back to his last encounter with Creuset. "Alaska…" he said softly, pieces of the puzzle falling into place, "High Command abandoning the base, setting up the Eurasians and the _Archangel_… you leaked the true target of Operation Spitbreak to them! You knew they'd use a Cyclops bomb, just like they did at the Endymion Crater!"

A cruel smile appeared on Creuset's face. "Yes, though I'll admit I was not completely sure that they would use a Cyclops system for their trap. That was why I had to enter the base to double check. If I hadn't run into you, Mu, I imagine the bomb would've detonated and destroyed not only the surviving Eurasian forces, but that pesky legged ship and Wing Zero as well."

"Too bad for you I _was _there," said Mu, smirking, "and Heero managed to put the kibosh on your plan."

"To an extent," Creuset replied, "I did underestimate the firepower of Wing Zero, but I was still able to turn events to my favor. It was _I_ that convinced Zala to divert some of our surviving forces from Operation Spitbreak to attack Panama… leaving those that remained behind at Alaska vulnerable to the Alliance's counterattack."

"The Second Battle of Alaska," said Kira, "that slaughter… you set that up!"

Creuset chuckled. "While I had no part to play in the Alliance's actions during that battle, their conduct was what I expected of them. Their High Command and top levels of government are firmly in the hands of Blue Cosmos, staffed either by sympathizers, actual members, or people that have been paid off by them. Their near-complete destruction of the Spitbreak survivors served as wonderful fuel for the vengeance delivered upon the Alliance forces at Panama, and has done a superb job of escalating the hatred and fanaticism embraced by both sides in this war. Their rage has further fed the vicious cycle of attack and revenge, accelerating mankind's downward spiral. This war will be humanity's last! Naturals and Coordinators alike are caught in a vortex of their own making, a symphony of hatred and madness that is building to its grand crescendo, the destruction of the entire human race!"

The masked soldier grinned as he laughed. "The two superpowers have danced this whole war to the tune that _I've _called, and will continue to do so until they've wiped each other out, and the rest of humanity along with them! My judgment will soon fall upon all of mankind, and _none _can escape it!"

Mu felt his blood chill as Creuset spoke. It was sheer insanity, what the man was saying, but it was madness with a plan, one that had thus far been brilliantly executed. It was twisted and reviled on so many levels, a sick fantasy that by rights belonged in the head of an inmate confined to an asylum or prison, but in the capable hands of Creuset it was fast becoming reality. The Alliance and ZAFT had both committed atrocities over the course of this war, and those acts of brutality and wanton murder had only escalated since the First Battle of Alaska. With the pace at which they were building and the new weapons that both sides were bringing to the playing field, Mu realized that if he, his friends, and their allies could not find a way to stop it soon, Creuset would indeed have his 'revenge'… and all of humanity would pay the price.

"You're nuts!" said Mu, "What makes you think you can judge mankind and then pass a death sentence on them?"

"Because I am the product of their ambition and greed!" Creuset shot back, "I may have been created as a modified Coordinator clone, but I am truly neither Coordinator nor Natural. I belong to neither race, my very existence due to the insatiable desire of human beings to get ahead in this world, to be better than others. I may be a member of ZAFT, but they are only a tool; the flag of the Coordinators has no meaning for me, just as that of the Naturals! I am outside of both groups, and unlike the rest of them my fate was decided before I was born thanks to the experiments of Hibiki and selfish desires of Al Da Flaga! _I am the only one fit to pass judgment upon mankind!_"

"We won't let you!" cried Kira, "We'll stop you!"

"You're already too late, boy," Creuset sneered, "Both sides are already rushing full speed down the path to annihilation. Armageddon is inevitable. Before the year is out, mankind will burn in the fires of their own hatred. I have already won; all that remains is to wait until the grand finale."

The masked man looked between Kira and Mu. "I had considered letting the two of you live, at least long enough to watch the final inferno consume the human race. However, you've both caused me no small amount of trouble in the past few months. I suppose it was enough to bring the two of you here, to where it all began for the three of us. Yes, I can be satisfied with that…"

_Shit_, thought Mu, _we're out of time._

He knew he couldn't bring his gun up fast enough to kill Creuset before he took the first shot… and looking at Kira, he knew the same went for the boy.

This was where they would die.

"Well," said Creuset, "it's been fun, especially in your case Mu, but all good things must come to an end. Give your father my regards when you meet him in Hell!"

He turned the gun on Mu… but before he could steady his aim, his arm began to tremble. A gunshot rang out, and Mu could practically feel the wind from the bullet as it flew past his right cheek… but he was still alive.

"Damn it!" growled Creuset, clutching his right arm with his left, "_Now?_ _**FUCK!**_"

Mu didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste. He raised his gun and fired, but by the time he did Creuset had already ducked out of the room, and the bullet only took off a few strands of hair.

"Get back here!" Mu yelled, charging after him, "Come on, Kira!"

The boy nodded, snapping out of his funk and rushing to follow the Hawk of Endymion. "Where's he going?" he asked.

"If I had to guess," said Mu, the wound in his right shoulder aching as he ran, "I'd say back to his mobile suit. I don't know what just happened, but he's vulnerable now; we have to take him out!"

"Hold on!" said Kira, "You need to get that wound treated!"

"No time!" he shot back, nevertheless wincing as he spoke, "Taking down Creuset's our top priority! There's too much at stake!"

_I don't care what his damage is, what happened to him_, thought Mu as he ran, _he's got no right to take it out on the human race! We have to stop him!_

….

_Shit_, thought Creuset as he slipped the bottle of pills back into their pouch on his belt, _that was too close. Bad enough that I couldn't kill them, but they almost got a chance to take _me _out! I can't die yet… not before the firestorm reaches its peak._

As soon as he'd gotten out of the room he'd grabbed the pills he'd taken along with him for just such an occasion, fumbling with his left hand before he managed to force a few down his throat. It had been made even harder as he was doing it on the run, but now his body was stabilizing again and he was making haste for his GuAIZ.

_Did I spend too much time back there?_, he thought as he exited the building, _I took the medication before we entered the debris field, it shouldn't have happened that quickly._

Rushing up to his mobile suit and grabbing the retractable cable, riding it up to the cockpit, he came to the grim realization that his body was now deteriorating faster than he had originally anticipated. The shortened telomeres responsible for his accelerated aging combined with his cellular and tissue defects from the cloning process were ramping up their assault on his body, and he would have to take larger doses of his medication to compensate, and at more frequent intervals.

"I have to hold on," he said as he entered and sealed the cockpit, "Surely I can last long enough to get to the endgame…"

He fired up the thrusters the instant they were online and made for the main docking bay that he had used to get into the colony. While it would've been prudent to destroy the Freedom and La Flaga's machine while they were still on the ground, Creuset did not have time for it; he had to make sure the rest of his plan was still on track.

He punched up the radio, but he could not establish a clear connection with the _Vesalius_. Creuset guessed that he would have to leave the colony before he could make contact with Captain Ades… if the man was still alive.

_So long as that girl is on her way to Azrael_, he thought, _nothing else matters._

His sensors began beeping as he flew towards the exit, and it only took a glance to confirm that La Flaga and Kira had reached their machines and were taking off. Under other circumstances Creuset might have been concerned; fighting both the Freedom and the Hawk of Endymion's new mobile suit was hardly a winning proposition when he only had a GuAIZ at his disposal. However, with the former distracted by the revelations regarding his past and the latter wounded, their fighting capabilities were substantially diminished. Creuset wasn't sure if it was a stretch to call the playing field even between the three of them at this moment, but he was also confident that their advantage was not overwhelming under the circumstances.

He smirked as he went through the first portal to the main docking bay. "You two think you have what it takes to stop me? Come on, then; let's have at it!"

_As long as you're focused on me_, he thought, _you'll be blind to the _real _prize…_

_ … Flay Allster._

….

"Oh, no!" Murrue heard Miriallia cry, "Dearka!"

"Calm down!" said Lieutenant Tsukino, "What's happened?"

"He's been hit!" she said, fear clear in her voice, "The Buster's badly damaged, and it's almost out of power!"

"Get me a visual!" ordered Murrue.

The main monitor shifted, revealing the green and tan machine. Murrue grimaced as she saw that it had indeed taken some bad hits. The left leg was gone, as was the right arm and the Gun Launcher with it. Dearka's mobile suit was still moving, but in its current state there was no way he could continue his clash with the Alliance's newer heavy artillery unit.

"Tell him to get out of there!" she yelled, "Fire Corintoss missiles at the blue unit; give Dearka some cover!"

Thanks to Heero's efforts, the _Archangel _no longer had to contend with the _Dominion_. The black warship had been mauled by Wing Zero. Its Lohengrin, Gottfried, and Valiant cannons were completely destroyed, as were both sets of heavy missile launchers. In addition to the Alliance vessel's artillery, Heero had also taken a low-power shot at the _Dominion_'s engines, and the ship was now limping away from the field; Natarle was out of the fight. Murrue had wasted no time in moving the _Archangel _in to provide support for the main engagement, and her ship was in a fairly good position to give Dearka some cover fire as he pulled out.

"Missiles away!" yelled the gunnery officer.

Four Corintoss heavy anti-air missiles flew forth from the rear launchers. Arcing over the ship, the warheads sped towards their target. The blue mobile suit turned on the incoming missiles and opened fire with its shoulder-mounted beam cannons and the bazooka in its right hand. Three of the warheads were destroyed, and the machine took the fourth on the Composite shield mounted on its left arm. The shield withstood the impact and the enemy was completely unscathed, but the attack had the desired effect; the Buster had been able to pull away and was now limping towards the _Archangel_.

"Follow up with Wombats!" Murrue ordered, "If they pursue, open up with the guns!"

"Wombats are away!" said Lieutenant Tsukino, "Getting targeting solutions for Gottfrieds and Valiants!"

Like the Corintoss missiles that had come before, the Wombats followed the same trajectory to the Alliance prototype. The four projectiles burst before the enemy could shoot them down, showering their target with anti-air buckshot. However, as with the previous attack the barrage had no effect due to the target's shield and Phase Shift Armor, though the impacts would be a drain on its power supply.

"Target's breaking off!" said the sensor officer, "No, wait… it's heading for the ZAFT pod!"

_For Flay_, Murrue thought, _damn it…_

The girl's open air transmission had caught Murrue and her crew completely by surprise. Her words regarding the 'key to ending the war' had thrown the Captain for a loop, but that was a secondary shock compared to the fact that she was out here at all. Murrue's first instinct had been to order the retrieval of the pod, but a quick assessment of the overall situation had made her realize that she did not have the resources to do that.

The Alliance forces may have taken heavy losses since the battle had begun, but they were not out yet. After his attacks against the _Dominion_, Heero had gone back to strike the enemy force along with the _Kusanagi_, and together the Orb warship and the Gundam had destroyed two of the remaining _Drake_-class escort ships, leaving just one of those craft and a single _Nelson_-class battleship left from the original enemy force. Unfortunately, reinforcements had now entered the fray in the form of two more escort ships, two more battleships, and an _Agamemnon_-class carrier.

That last one had caught Murrue off-guard; carriers rarely entered direct combat as they were only armed with two beam turrets and several CIWS. It was standard Alliance protocol to keep such ships away from heavy combat, though circumstances could conspire to force them into the fray as they had done so with the orbital battle and the fall of the 8th Fleet. Murrue knew that the enemy's situation was quite desperate, but she was sure that Natarle would've ordered a withdrawal rather than commit more ships to what had clearly become a losing battle for her side. Murrue suspected that it had not been Natarle's call to make; someone else in the battle group had authority over her and had brought them in. She noted that no additional mobile suits or armors accompanied the vessels, and she guessed that they had already launched their craft prior to the start of the battle and that they had joined the main body of the Alliance force… meaning that they were now all but wiped out.

As soon as the reinforcements had come into range they had angled towards the ZAFT pod, but as Wing Zero, the _Kusanagi_, and now the _Archangel _were along the most direct path to Flay the Alliance was forced to engage Murrue and the others. With the Buster now out of the fight, Bristow and his last remaining teammate acting as support for the _Archangel_, La Flaga still inside the colony, and Heero directly engaged with the enemy reinforcements, Murrue did not have anyone to spare for retrieving Flay. The situation was the same for the Orb forces. Their warship and surviving mobile suits were fighting alongside Heero, and Murrue was loath to change that. While it was true that she could've dispatched Cagalli and her wingman to retrieve the pod, if the Alliance prototype was making for it as well then they would be outmatched. Murrue knew that the machine in question had been able to give Kira a rough time of it during the invasion of Orb, and though that was with the cooperation of the other two prototypes she still considered that a testament both to the mobile suit's power and the abilities of its pilot. Sending Cagalli after it would be a suicide run for the girl, and Murrue would not give a pilot an assignment that she was certain would result in their deaths. She was _not _her former superiors; she did not throw lives away casually, and she certainly would not send soldiers into fights she _knew _they could not win.

The only mobile suit from the _Kusanagi _that stood a chance against the Alliance machine was the Justice, but as she checked her tactical display she saw that Athrun Zala was still engaged with the black and red mobile suit. The former ZAFT pilot had inflicted damage upon in his foe, removing the Alliance unit's right arm and the dual hyper velocity shield cannon mounted on it with a well-thrown beam boomerang, but that still left the mobile suit's head-mounted beam cannon and the sphere-breaker to contend with. Even in its damaged state the massive weapon was still a force to be reckoned with, and it would only take one solid impact to the cockpit area for Athrun to be in trouble.

Murrue wanted to call upon Waltfeld and ask if he could send someone to retrieve the pod, but the _Eternal _and her mobile suits had their own enemies to contend with. Just as the Alliance had brought in backup, ZAFT had gotten reinforcements of their own in the form of four frigates, a destroyer, and a handful of GINNs. From the enemy's perspective, their arrival had been timely; only one battle worthy frigate from the original task force had been left on the field, and it had been destroyed by the Judgment's fearsome Tartarus rifle soon after the reinforcements had come into the fray.

There was still one destroyer from the original group that was undamaged. It was the vessel that had launched Flay's pod. Murrue saw it on the tactical display standing off from the engagement with the Alliance, its bow still oriented in the direction it had launched Flay. She did not know what to make of this behavior; she would've expected the ship to return to help its comrades in their fight against the _Eternal _or to attack the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi_. Something was not right, and Murrue was not comfortable just leaving the ship be when it could potentially strike her and her allies at any moment.

She saw the _Kusanagi _destroy the last of the original _Drake_-class ships with her beam cannons and missiles on the tactical display. Checking her personal monitor, Murrue also witnessed Heero taking down the last _Nelson_-class battleship of the original Alliance task force with its powerful rifle. That just left the five ships from the Alliance reinforcements to go, and Murrue decided that now was the time to shift some of her resources.

"Get me the _Kusanagi _and Wing Zero," she ordered, "Lieutenant Tsukino, acquire targeting solutions on the Alliance reinforcements."

The main monitor split into two, with Heero appearing on the left side of the screen and Colonel Kisaka on the right. "Colonel," said Murrue, "I want the _Kusanagi _to engage the destroyer that launched the pod. After that's done, move on to reinforce the _Eternal_. Heero, we'll back you up while you engage the Alliance reinforcements."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Roger that."

"Captain Ramius," said Kisaka, "should we try to recover the pod?"

Murrue grimly shook her head. "Negative, Colonel. The Alliance unit that was engaging the Buster is already heading over there. It has too much of a lead. Any recovery effort on our part would involve engagement, and there's too much of a chance for the pod to be destroyed in that event." She sighed. "We have to let it go."

_I'm sorry, Flay_, she thought, _forgive me… stay safe._

Kisaka nodded. "Understood, Captain. _Kusanagi _out."

Both the Colonel and Heero disappeared from the screen, their faces replaced by the main tactical display. The Orb warship immediately began to come about while Heero moved between the vessel and the incoming Alliance forces.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "we're getting targeting data from Wing Zero; Heero's aiming for the _Drake_-class ship on the right."

Murrue nodded. "Then we'll hit the one on the left. Acquire target and fire at will, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Captain!" said the Orb officer, "Gottfrieds, open fire!"

The ship's two large and powerful beam turrets cut loose, spitting emerald death at the enemy. Their large beams slammed into the center of the escort ship, ripping the vessel apart. At the same time Murrue saw Wing Zero open fire with its Twin Buster Rifle, taking down the second _Drake_-class vessel. It was an impressive display of synchronized shooting, but Murrue was not about to declare victory yet. Despite their catastrophic losses the enemy was still on the field; the fight wasn't over yet.

Still, Murrue could feel the tide of battle now firmly behind her side. They just had to survive a little while longer; she was sure the enemy was fast losing taste for battle.

_We're almost through this_, she thought, _we just need to hang in there a little more. Come on, Heero; come back to me alive!_

….

_Damn it_, thought Waltfeld as the ship shuddered from an impact, _how many ships did ZAFT bring to this party?_

"How bad?" he asked, turning to DaCosta.

"Portside missile launchers One through Six are out of action!" his second in command replied.

"METEORS and main turret firing!" yelled the gunnery officer.

Waltfeld watched as the _Eternal_ opened up on its attacker, a _Laurasia_-class frigate. Its emerald beams slammed into the upper superstructure of the ZAFT warship, knocking out the starboard heavy beam turret and some of the nearby secondary weapons. The _Eternal_'s attack was followed up as a rain of twenty-four micro missiles slammed into the frigate from above, along with four emerald beams. The impacts ravaged the vessel, obliterating the rest of its heavy weapons and ripping gashes in the ship's armor. Glancing at his personal display, Waltfeld saw the source of the barrage coming in from on high; the Judgment.

The Valkyrie's face appeared on the small screen. "Sorry I didn't hit that thing earlier; I was dodging fire from one of the other frigates. You guys ok?"

Waltfeld nodded. "We're holding." He glanced out the main viewport before turning back to her. "Looks like your target is pulling away; they're out this round."

"Good," replied Shemei, "nice to see they're not fanatics."

"Maybe," said Waltfeld, "but the enemy as a whole hasn't thrown in the towel yet either. Given the losses they've taken, they really ought to at least begin withdrawing by now."

"You're right," said Shemei, and Waltfeld saw her glance to the side for a second, "damn it, where the hell is Kira? We could use a little more firepower to chase these guys away."

_No argument there_, he thought.

There had been no word from Kira since he had chased a GuAIZ into the Mendel colony several minutes ago. Waltfeld was aware that Mu La Flaga had followed him in as well, which to him only further compounded the situation; the Three Ships Alliance was now missing two highly skilled pilots and their advanced mobile suits at a time when it could ill afford to.

The Desert Tiger's clash with the ZAFT forces was still in full swing, and though the enemy mobile suit forces had been decimated they still had several capital ships left on the field. The frigate that had been struck by the _Eternal _and Shemei may have been forced to retreat now, but that still left three more ships of its class and a destroyer in the fight. Adaline and Lan were double-teaming one of the _Laurasia_-class frigates at that moment, strafing it with beam and railgun fire. Priscilla was engaging some of the surviving GINNs, downing them one at a time with precise shots from her guns. Aisha was still fighting the Duel one-on-one, but Waltfeld was sure their clash would not last much longer; since the GuAIZ did not have Phase Shift Armor it did not consume energy as quickly as the stolen Alliance prototype, and after how much time had gone by since the start of the battle Yzak's energy reserves had to be dwindling. The boy would have to withdraw soon if Aisha did not kill him; either outcome suited Waltfeld just fine. The balance of the battle was slowly moving into Waltfeld's favor, but he would prefer to wrap things up quickly, and having the Freedom in the mix would've gone a long way towards accomplishing that.

Kira's absence from the field was not just being felt from a tactical or strategic standpoint. Waltfeld knew that his lack of communication since entering the abandoned colony was stressing out Lacus to no end. Outwardly the songstress had kept most of her composure, but even at a glance the Desert Tiger could see signs of the concern she was trying to mask from the others. She was gripping the arms of her chair tightly, her eyes darting to her personal display every few seconds, her jaw was tense, and a bead of sweat was working its way down the left side of her face. Her private monitor was keyed to whatever camera at that moment had a visual on the Mendel colony, and her radio was tuned to the Freedom's frequency.

Waltfeld could sympathize with the girl. To have the person you loved be out of contact in the middle of a battle was not a pleasant experience by any means, nor was having them flying in combat while you were on the bridge of a warship. The Desert Tiger's training and experience gave him a better handle on those emotions than a civilian like Lacus, but it still hurt to know that he could only support Aisha from the _Eternal _rather than fly with her in a mobile suit. For a girl like Lacus, an exceptionally bright young lady who nevertheless did not have an ounce of military training or experience in her body, Waltfeld could only imagine the fear that gripped her heart at the moment. He hated seeing her like this, especially after he had sworn to her father that he would look after her.

_Kira_, Waltfeld thought, _you're a good kid, one that I don't want to get mad at, but you've got some explaining to do when this fight's over. Bad enough you're off the field right now, but what you're doing to Lacus…_

"Contacts coming out of the colony!" cried the sensor officer, "One, two... three units! IFFs confirm one GuAIZ, Freedom, and Tallgeese Kai!"

"About damn time," said Waltfeld.

"Kira…" said Lacus, sighing in relief.

"Good to have them back," said Shemei, "now we can wrap this up. I'm out of missiles, but I've still got my guns. Let's do this!"

Waltfeld nodded. "Agreed. _Eternal _out."

Turning to his personal monitor, the Desert Tiger zoomed in on the three mobile suits as they left the colony. The GuAIZ was heading towards the ZAFT forces, with Kira and La Flaga in hot pursuit.

_The two of them couldn't take out one GuAIZ?_, he thought, _That pilot must be good. What happened in that colony?_

He shoved the matter aside for the moment; he could figure things out later when he debriefed Kira.

In the meantime, he had a battle to win.

….

Grimacing as he pushed the Tallgeese Kai's engines, the punishing acceleration not doing any favors for his shoulder wound, Mu homed in on the gray and white GuAIZ with single-minded determination.

"Creuset!" he yelled over the radio as opened fire with his beam rifle, "You're going down!"

He heard a chuckling in response as the GuAIZ side slipped the shot. "Fool. The child cannot hope to defeat the father, or even the father's phantom for that matter."

"Shut up!" he snarled as he rushed at the machine, beam saber drawn, "You die here!"

Despite the Tallgeese Kai being by far the faster unit, Creuset was still able to block Mu's overhand strike, and he did it with apparent ease. "Hardly," the masked pilot replied, "and certainly not by your hand."

Mu had no time to reply. He immediately dived as the GuAIZ opened up with its CIWS and launched its arrestor cables, barely able to evade the attacks.

"You're machine's better than mine, old friend," said Creuset as he fired with his beam rifle, forcing Mu to block the beams on his Planet Defensors, "I've no trouble admitting that. However, your condition is in doubt? How's the shoulder, Mu? I imagine it hurts like hell right about now, eh?"

Mu grimaced, unwilling to admit what he knew was the truth. The pain was excruciating, and it was slowing him down. Worse, the blood loss was starting to get to him. He was beginning to feel lightheaded, and his situation would only keep deteriorating if he kept this up.

He couldn't win this fight.

It was foolish to continue the engagement in the shape he was in, but Mu could not bring himself to pull back. After what he had learned inside the colony, he knew that there was far more at stake than just his own life in this fight. He couldn't allow Creuset to take all of mankind down with him in his suicidal temper tantrum; he had to stop him here and now.

The Hawk of Endymion charged right back at his foe, swooping in with his beam saber and lashing out in a horizontal slash. As he was making the attack though he felt a rush of dizziness to his head, and his strike was executed sloppily as a result. Creuset easily deflected the blow with his beam claws and immediately struck back. Mu was barely able to block the counterattack on the Tallgeese Kai's shoulder shield, and he could feel his concentration slipping as blood continued to run down his right arm.

"Pathetic, Mu," Creuset sneered as the former Alliance ace pulled back, "is this really all you have?"

"Damn it…" growled Mu as he brought his shield-drones up to block fire from Creuset's beam rifle, "son of a bitch…"

The energy barrier took the shots, but the impacts were swiftly followed by a shrill alarm going off. Glancing at his display, Mu saw that his mobile suit had gone into emergency power. He'd used up too much energy fighting the Alliance prototype earlier and he was paying for it now.

He took down the barrier and frantically weaved through the debris to avoid his foe's shots, but the maneuvers were rough, and he found himself scraping against bits of metal that he would normally have avoided. His ability to keep flying was falling by the second; he would not last much longer.

Creuset took another shot with his beam rifle, and Mu was forced to once again use the Planet-Defensors to block the shot. As he did so he saw the unit's energy meter dip even further into the red. The shield-drones returned to their sockets and Mu took the next shot in his mobile suit's right leg, blowing it off at the knee. He tried to return fire with his beam rifle, but he lacked the power to take the shot. At the same time his beam saber extinguished on its own. All he had left in his arsenal were the head-mounted Vulcan cannons and the Armor Schneider knives stored at the hips. Against the GuAIZ's beam rifle and claws, those might as well have been rocks.

Putting the beam rifle and saber away, Mu drew the pair of knives and prepared to charge his foe. He knew it was a gesture in futility, but he was determined to take down Creuset even if that meant a mutual kill.

Before he could attack though a familiar barrage of crimson plasma, emerald beams, and yellow railgun rounds tore through space. Creuset was able to block or dodge most of the shots, but one of the plasma beams destroyed the GuAIZ's rifle.

"La Flaga!" cried Kira as the Freedom rushed in, "Get out of here, I got this guy!"

Mu sighed, reluctantly acknowledging the boy's words. "Fine… watch yourself, kid."

He pulled away as the Freedom engaged the GuAIZ with its beam saber and headed for home. "_Archangel_," he said, "this is Tallgeese. I'm damaged and on emergency power; I'm out of the game."

Miriallia's face appeared on the screen. "Understood, La Flaga… oh my god!"

The girl's eyes widened in shock, and Mu knew she had seen the blood running down from his shoulder wound. "Calm down, little lady," he said, forcing a smile, "It's not that bad."

"The hell it's not!" she replied, "We'll have a medical team in the hangar when you arrive!"

He nodded. "Thanks, kid. Tallgeese out."

Mu took one last glance at the fight between the Freedom and the GuAIZ as he headed for the _Archangel_. Though Creuset may have lost his beam rifle he wasn't beaten yet, and was keeping the battle a close-quarters one, lashing out at the Freedom with his beam claws and arrestor cables.

_Good luck, kid_, he thought, _you're gonna need it._

….

Kira pressed his assault, striking out with his beam saber the instant after blocking a strike from Creuset on his shield. However, the boy wasn't entirely focused, and the masked pilot was able to block his attack on his Composite Shield.

_Damn it_, he thought as Creuset struck back, firing his arrestor cables, _why can't I take him out?_

Kira wasn't sure if he was trying to disable and capture Creuset or attempting to kill him. His mind was in such a jumble, the ZAFT pilot's revelations regarding the boy's history and his mad plan whirling through his head like a cyclone. The clear threat Creuset posed to both Kira's friends and the Earth Sphere as a whole clashed with his resolve to avoid killing his opponents, and the confusion was only made worse by the fact that the young man was now filled with doubts and questions regarding his very _existence_. To suddenly find out that he was the product of experimentation by a man obsessed with creating a 'perfect being', that dozens or even more lives had been lost before they were even born in the effort to make him, that everything he had ever known about himself had been a _lie_… Kira couldn't handle it.

_I don't understand_, he thought even as he continued his clash, _why wasn't I ever told? What… what was it all for? What was I supposed to do, to _be_? Was I really made just to satisfy that doctor's greed? Am I just a product of ambition?_

He heard a cruel cackling over the radio as Creuset moved to impale Kira on his beam claws. "What's the matter, boy?" he said as Kira barely managed to dodge to the right, "Is it too much, knowing just _what _you really are?"

"Sh-shut up!" Kira yelled as he struck back with his plasma cannons and railguns.

The barrage was sloppy, and Creuset easily evaded the shots before diving back in for an attack of his own. "Come now," said the ZAFT pilot as he unleashed his arrestor cables, "you can be honest with _me_, Kira Yamato. After all, you and I are both products of Hibiki's research. We're practically brothers!" His voice dripped with mock sincerity as Kira pulled back to avoid getting entangled. "It must be such a heavy burden, knowing how sick and degenerate your father was, how you were born just to prove a point. Why don't you let me take it off your shoulders… _along with your head!_"

"_Shut up!_" cried Kira as he fired with his beam rifle, only for Creuset to dive and avoid the shots before rushing in to strike with his beam claws.

His foe laughed as their clash continued. "You were supposed to be the embodiment of perfection, the pinnacle of human evolution, the Ultimate Coordinator, Hibiki's _magnum opus_! You have _every _advantage a human could possibly want, and yet you cannot defeat a flawed clone such as me! Oh, how the good doctor must be rolling in his grave right now!"

Kira brought up his shield as the GuAIZ opened fire with its CIWS. While the bullets possessed no direct threat to the Freedom, the shots had been aimed at the mobile suit's head and were more than capable of taking out the primary cameras mounted there.

"Killing you will be my greatest revenge against Hibiki!" snarled Creuset as he pressed his assault, once again striking with his beam claws and keeping Kira on the defensive, "He wouldn't give a shit about the rest of humanity following you to the grave; just the knowledge that his prized creation was beaten by a dying man would be enough to kill him were he not dead already!"

Kira could not spare his foe a reply; he was too wrapped up in defending himself. It was all the boy could do to keep himself alive; he was in no shape to fight right now with his current mental state. Against a foe driven by such a singular, overwhelming hatred, a fury that had been refined and focused to a razor's edge and was now concentrated solely on him, Kira could not effectively fight back. Without a similar concentration, a concrete motive that would let him break through his inner turmoil and drive him to end this battle, Kira could not win. Mobile suit specifications or biological ability did not matter in this clash; it all came down strength of will, and Kira's was sorely lacking.

Suddenly another voice came over the radio… one that Kira had not heard in months.

"_Archangel_! Please, help me!"

His eyes widened in shock as he blocked Creuset's latest strike on his shield. "Flay!" he said, stunned by the realization. What was she doing here? According to Captain Ramius, Flay had been transferred back to the Atlantic Federation once the _Archangel _had arrived at Alaska. There was no way that she could be here.

But there was no mistaking that voice. Kira had heard it too often in the past… and in the most intimate way imaginable. It was Flay, she was here… and she needed help.

Glancing at his sensors, Kira quickly traced the origin of Flay's transmission. It was coming from an escape pod, and he was shocked to realize it was the exact same kind that he had recovered Lacus from so many months ago during the _Archangel_'s trip through the Debris Belt.

_That's a ZAFT pod_, he thought, _how'd she wind up with them?_

His question would have to wait. Not only did he still have Creuset to contend with, but much to his horror he saw that the pod was in a precarious situation. One of the Alliance prototypes that he had fought during the invasion of Orb was heading for it, and at this distance Kira did not know if he could make it in time to save her. There was also the fact that the pod was not too far away from a raging firefight between a _Nazca_-class destroyer and the _Kusanagi_. The Orb warship appeared to have the upper hand and was pounding the ZAFT vessel with beams and missiles, but the destroyer was not down for the count yet.

_I have to get over there_, he thought as he took another beam claw slash from Creuset on his shield, _I have to save her!_

His desire to rescue her had little to do with the relationship he'd once shared with her. Kira had already begun to realize prior to the battle in the Marshall Islands that something was not quite right with her behavior towards him ever since the orbital battle. His time with Lacus recovering in the PLANTs had given him an opportunity to really think on the matter, and his interactions with the lovely songstress helped put things into perspective. He'd come to realize that the relationship he'd had with Flay had been characterized by her need for control and his desire for comfort combined with the infatuation he'd had for her back on Heliopolis. Flay had been the one steering the relationship and had in fact initiated it, but Kira had eventually realized that something was off with her mental state and how she had come onto him and had casted Sai aside so easily. Whenever Kira had done something that she had disagreed with, her reactions had been sharp, and she had readily withdrawn. There had seemed to be an unspoken condition for him to get her affection, though Kira did not know what it was.

The affection Lacus had showered upon him, by contrast, had been entirely unconditional. She had looked after him without asking for anything in return, without ever saying that it was a way to repay him for saving her back when they had first met. Her feelings for him, whether they were the result of friendly affection or something much deeper, were completely selfless, and he had felt much more at ease with her as a result.

Kira no longer loved Flay the way he once did… but he still cared for her. Regardless of what had happened between them, he still considered her to be his friend, and protecting his friends had been the whole reason he'd decided to fight in the first place.

_That _was his purpose, _that _was what had driven him up until now, and recalling that helped Kira find his center amidst the storm of doubts in his mind. It did not banish them, of course; far too much had happened, had been revealed, on Mendel for that confusion and doubt to go away in the blink of an eye. However, Kira could at least find the strength to push them aside for the moment and reassert his power on the battlefield.

Everything else faded from his mind at that moment. A familiar sensation swept over him, and he saw a vision in his mind's eye, one he had not witnessed for quite awhile…

… a seed bursting in his mind.

….

Creuset grinned as he pressed his assault on the Freedom, raining down blow after blow on the mobile suit with his beam claws. Kira continued to take the hits on his shield, but it did not matter to the masked Field Marshal. The boy's resolve was weak, his focus practically non-existent; it would only be a matter of time before his defenses slipped.

The ZAFT pilot pulled back before launching another attack, this time firing his arrestor cables. The Freedom climbed, but that had been Creuset's intent from the start, and he rushed in to strike from below with his beam claws.

"You're mine!" he cackled as he thrust up with his violet blades, intending to skewer the Freedom from the sternum up.

However, his strike failed to connect. The Freedom slipped to the right, its movements suddenly much sharper than they had been a moment ago. As Creuset whirled to follow he saw the mobile suit level all its guns at him and open up.

He brought up his Composite Shield to protect his head-cameras as he attempted to evade, but he still took hits. The GuAIZ's right arm was blown off at the shoulder by a plasma beam, along with the maneuvering thrusters mounted there. At the same time railgun rounds ripped through his machine's legs, tearing both them off at the knees.

"Damn!" he snarled as his machine shuddered. Where had _this _come from?

He barely had time to react as the Freedom rushed in. He kept the Composite Shield up as Kira fired with his CIWS, but he realized too late that he had played right into the boy's hands. The Freedom had put away the beam rifle and drawn its second beam saber, and as Creuset kept bullets from taking out his head-cameras the boy lashed out with the blade it now held in its left hand as it flew past the GuAIZ's left side. The violet blade slashed into the unit's left shoulder, taking out the arm along with the maneuvering thrusters mounted on _that _shoulder as well. As if to add insult to injury, the boy opened fire again with his CIWS, this time succeeding in riddling the GuAIZ's head full of holes.

"I don't understand!" said Creuset, cold sweat running down his face around his mask, "What the hell's going on here?"

He may have lost his main cameras, but he was still good enough to fight with the low-resolution backups. Creuset fired his arrestor cables, hoping to use the small energy blade generators mounted at the ends to rip the Freedom apart limb from limb.

However, the Freedom swiftly dived beneath the claws as they flew out from the GuAIZ. The stolen ZAFT prototype then proceeded to slash the cables apart with its twin blades, leaving the GuAIZ completely defenseless.

"No…" he growled as the Freedom flew towards him, "It can't end here…"

He dove at the last possible second, but to his surprise the Freedom never even tried to attack him. Instead Kira flew right past him without a second thought. It only took Creuset a moment to figure out the boy's intended target; Flay's life pod.

Creuset gave a cruel grin as he began to withdraw. He didn't make for the _Vesalius_; from the pounding that vessel was taking from the Orb warship, he knew his flagship was doomed. Instead he set his course for the frigate _Mata Hari_; it was keeping its distance from the _Eternal _and her allies, providing moderate fire support while trying to stay out of the main brawl, as was the doctrine for ships in the Patrol Fleet.

"Foolish boy," he said, "You should've killed me when you had the chance. You'll never reach her in time. Her fate is sealed. I've already won."

On his sensors he could see the IFF from one of the Alliance mobile suits joined with that of the ZAFT pod; Flay Allster had been captured. Even with the sudden burst of skill Kira had shown in the last few seconds of their fight, Creuset knew that the boy could not attack the enemy without risk to the girl he wanted to save.

"Enjoy your gift, Azrael," he said, smirking, "I can't wait to see what you do with it."

His smirk became a grin again, and the masked pilot began to laugh. Years of work and planning, of careful adjustment and manipulation, of seething hatred long concealed in the name of his grand goal… soon it would all pay off. With the successful retrieval of Flay Allster by an Alliance mobile suit, the final member of Creuset's cruel and twisted opera had at long last taken her place in the cast.

Now it was only a matter of time before the curtain would rise on the final act…

… and _nothing _could stop it.

….

Cold sweat went down Flay's face as she felt the pod shudder. She knew the pod had been recovered, had seen via the small monitor the mobile suit that had retrieved it, but it was not one that she recognized. There had been no effort from its pilot to contact her as it had approached, and Flay felt that if it had been from the _Archangel _a message would've been sent by now.

Still, she had to be sure. She keyed the communications system again, eying her small monitor to see if anyone responded. "Hello? Who is this?"

A face appeared on the monitor, but it was not one she recognized. It was a young man wearing a blue, black, and gray flight suit. Through his helmet she could make out blond hair and green eyes. His gaze was harsh, and Flay felt like she was being viewed as more an object or prize than as a person.

The pilot's reply was cold and curt. "Keep quiet. You'll be on the _Dominion _soon, you can talk then."

Flay's eyes widened in fear; that was not the ship she wanted to go to. "No, wait!"

"Shut up!" he snarled before cutting the connection.

Getting back on the console, Flay desperately yelled into the microphone, praying that one of her friends would hear her. "_Archangel_! Help me! Please, save me!"

The reply to her plea was from the last person she'd expected. "Flay! Hang on, I'm coming!"

Her face paled and her heart hammered faster than it ever had in her life as a _very _familiar face appeared on her small screen… one that belonged to a boy she'd long thought was dead.

Kira Yamato.

"Kira!" she cried, the fear in her heart replaced by shock and overwhelming joy, "How… you're alive!"

"It's a long story," he replied, smiling at her, "Don't worry, I'll save you!"

"Oh, Kira…" she said. She was surprised to realize that she was actually fighting back tears. After what had happened to him, how she had treated him, how bitterly she'd regretted how things had been left between them before the battle in the Marshall Islands… now she had a chance to make up for it.

"Kira, listen," she said, "there's something I need to tell you."

"Sorry," Kira replied, "but can it wait until the fight is over?"

"No!" she cried out, "It can't!" She'd lost one chance to apologize to him; she'd be damned if she would lose another.

Before she could speak though, another voice cut into their conversation. "Damn it," said the pilot of the mobile suit that had captured her pod, "you two are annoying. Shut up already!"

She was thrown back in her chair as she felt the pod suddenly move, and she feared what was coming next. "Kira, look out!" she yelled.

….

Rushing headlong towards the blue mobile suit that had captured the pod, Kira was determined to rescue his friend. However, he knew that doing so would not be easy. The blue Alliance prototype had proven itself to be a formidable foe back during the Orb invasion, and fighting it now would be even harder since it was carrying Flay. With the pod held close to its chest it could not use the Scylla multi-phase energy cannon mounted there, along with the guns on the shield mounted on the arm that was cradling the pod. However, it still had plenty of other weapons to bring to bear on the Freedom, and it was doing so now.

Kira raised his shield, and not a moment too soon, for the enemy unit opened fire with the heavy cannons on its shoulders and the bazooka it carried in its right hand. The Freedom rocked as the shots were taken on the shield, such was the power of the barrage.

As soon as there was a break in the fire Kira sighted in on his foe, attempting to target the mobile suit's weapons. However, the Alliance prototype was weaving in and out of the debris, constantly shifting and making it difficult for Kira to get a shot that would not pose a risk to Flay. After a few seconds he gave up on accomplishing his objective through ranged combat; he'd have to get up close to save his friend.

He charged his foe head on, and the enemy wasted little time in opening fire again. The barrage was thick, and even with the Freedom's superior maneuverability and large shield Kira had a hard time working his way through the fire.

Still, it was not enough to deter the young Coordinator. Soon he had closed the distance and was preparing to lash out with his beam sabers… when all hell broke loose.

"Kira, incoming!" yelled Athrun.

Kira caught a glimpse of the black and red Alliance prototype rushing towards him in its bird-like mobile armor mode before it attacked. A crimson beam shot from its 'mouth' and slammed into the Freedom's right hip. Kira was thrown back in his chair by the shot, and one of the monitors exploded. The young man cried out as he felt shrapnel cut into the right side of his torso. Fortunately for him his helmet saved his head from similar trauma, but that did not change the fact that Kira was in a world of hurt.

"_Kira!_" he heard Flay shriek over the radio.

….

Athrun's blood turned to ice as he saw his best friend take the shot from the black and red machine. In that moment two things filled his mind; fear for his friend, and guilt for Kira getting attacked by that mobile suit in the first place.

_I screwed up_, he thought, _I wasn't able to kill it…_

He had been slowly but surely wearing his foe down over the course of their duel, but the machine's agility and unique weapons had still made it a formidable foe, and it had been able to pull a surprise attack against Athrun that had put him off balance for the few crucial seconds the Alliance unit had needed to break away and move on the Freedom. When it had lashed out with its damaged sphere-breaker Athrun had prepared to block it as he had all the other attacks he had done so from that weapon. However, this time his foe had _thrown _the weapon, and though he had taken the bulk of it on his shield the rope had gotten entangled on his arm. Though it had not taken Athrun long to rid himself of the encumbrance, it had been the opportunity his enemy had needed to break off and rush to the aid of its comrade.

Now Kira had suffered the consequences, and Athrun's face paled as he saw the damage. The beam fired from the Alliance prototype had ripped a gash in the Freedom's right hip. The leg below it was still attached, but from the torn and twisted metal Athrun knew that it wasn't by much. Armor was torn and warped further up the mobile suit as well, and Athrun feared that the damage may have extended to the cockpit.

He saw the black and red machine come around for another attack, spraying bullets from its three machine guns. The rounds could not pierce the Freedom's Phase Shift Armor, but the impacts could not have been helping Kira's condition, and it would only take a few lucky bullets to rip into the spot where the beam had hit before to exacerbate the damage.

_No_, thought Athrun, his mind flashing back to the grief and pain he had felt after that fateful battle in the Marshall Islands, _I lost Kira once; I won't do it again!_

Instinct took over, and for a second Athrun had a vision, one he had not had since he had watched Nicol die in front of him…

A seed spinning, touching a pool of water and sending ripples outward…

… and bursting in brilliant light.

….

Cackling madly, Clotho dived towards the black, white, and blue mobile suit that he had just attacked. "You're mine now!" he yelled.

Before the battle, Clotho and his fellow pilots had been given orders that they were to attempt to capture one of the enemy's nuclear powered mobile suits. However, he no longer cared about that now. Shani had been killed, and Clotho had gotten _pissed _as a result. It didn't matter that he and the Forbidden's pilot had almost constantly been at each other's throats; they were still teammates, and Clotho would not let his death go unpunished.

He knew that Wing Zero had been the mobile suit that had taken down the Forbidden, but that unit wasn't close enough for Clotho to strike out at. However, the nuclear prototypes that had fought his team during the invasion of Orb _were_, and he had decided to take his fury out on them.

He sighted in with the Raider's Zorn energy cannon and prepared to fire. His foe was drifting, but sensor readings still showed power flowing from its reactor to weapons, armor, and thrusters; it wasn't beaten yet. Clotho gave a maniacal grin; he would fix that by blasting the mobile suit right through the cockpit.

Suddenly there was a flash of pink and the Raider rocked around him, throwing off his shot. Clotho's eyes widened in mixed shock and outrage as he saw the right wing from the machine gun over get completely sliced off. It only took him a second to find the culprit; the unit he had been fighting earlier. He saw it catch the beam boomerang it had thrown at him before drawing its second beam saber and combining it with its first, creating a double-bladed weapon.

"_You_!" he snarled, practically frothing at the mouth as he moved to target his old foe, "_Fuck you_!"

His foe was silent, preferring to let their actions do the talking. The backpack that held the unit's two beam cannons detached and broke to the right. The mobile suit itself went to the left, setting up for a pincer attack.

Before Clotho could respond to the move the backpack opened fire with its two beam cannons, two small machine gun turrets, and four fixed machine guns. The emerald beams ripped off the Raider's claws, each of which also held an Ahura Mazda short range energy cannon. At the same time the bullets from the machine guns pounded the mobile suit, draining precious energy from the Phase Shift Armor.

Too late, Clotho saw that this was all a distraction for the _real_ threat. He tried to dive and evade what was coming, but the damage to his machine had hampered his maneuverability. In the end Clotho could only watch in horror and rage as the enemy mobile suit swung down with its beam saber. The first strike slashed into the Raider's engines, and with a quick reversal his foe brought the second blade down on him… right through the cockpit.

There was a brief flash of fire and light…

…and then eternity.

….

"Kira!" yelled Athrun as the Justice recovered its Fatum-00 backpack/subflight lifter. He rushed to the side of the Freedom to stabilize the machine. Its thrusters were still active, but it was clear that the pilot was not focused on flying the mobile suit, no doubt due to his injuries.

His face paled again as he saw Kira appear on the screen. "Athrun…" he groaned. There was blood seeping from at least a dozen tears in the right side of his flight suit, and Athrun could only take comfort in the fact that Kira's helmet at least appeared intact and that his cockpit seemed to be keeping its integrity; with his pilot's suit in such condition, Kira could not afford exposure to vacuum.

"Hang on!" said Athrun as he came up alongside the Freedom, grabbing the mobile suit, "I'll get you back to the _Eternal_!"

Kira shook his head. "Wait… the pod… Flay…"

Athrun shook his head. "Kira, it's too late. That blue mobile suit's taking the pod back to the Alliance flagship. You can't get to her; you need medical attention!"

"But… I told her I'd save her!" said Kira.

Athrun sighed, his heart heavy as he knew he was acting against his friend's wishes. "I'm sorry, Kira, but you can't. None of us can; she's beyond our reach."

"No…" he groaned, and Athrun saw his eyes flutter, "Flay…"

_Damn it_, thought Athrun, pouring on thrust as he began moving Kira towards the _Eternal_, _he's losing blood fast. Gotta hurry!_

Fortunately for him the fighting was beginning to wind down. The surviving ZAFT warships were beginning to withdraw. One was a frigate that Athrun recognized as being modified to serve in the Patrol Fleet, and it was the only one that was not sporting any signs of damage. The other surviving vessels from the reinforcing group, a frigate and a destroyer, were both heavily damaged and limping to join the remaining warships from the main task force, which were almost at the edge of the debris field. Among those vessels Athrun counted two destroyers and two frigates, all of which were severely damaged. He saw that the _Eternal_'s mobile suits had all gathered around her, preferring to stick with the ship and watch the enemy retreat rather than pursue and wipe them out. As ZAFT pulled out the Justice's pilot saw the Judgment part ways with the _Eternal_'s complement and begin heading towards the _Archangel_. Athrun also caught a glimpse of the Duel fleeing with the ZAFT force, and aside from a badly damaged GuAIZ and three Mirage GINNs flying with the Patrol Fleet Frigate it was the only surviving ZAFT mobile suit.

The only ZAFT warship that was still on the field actively engaged was the _Vesalius_, but Athrun could tell that it was not long for this world. There were gouges ripped in the armor all over the ship by the _Kusanagi_'s guns, and the Orb warship was joined in its attack by the Strike Rouge and the four surviving M1 Astrays. Athrun felt a pang in his heart as he watched the vessel that he had once served on get pounded into submission with no sign of surrender.

_Captain Ades_, he thought, _please, give up…_

But Athrun knew the _Vesalius_'s commanding officer would do no such thing. The man was old fashioned, and like the naval officers of old would likely be determined to stay with his ship to the end. Some might have seen it as a valiant last stand, but Athrun could only shake his head at the loss. To him, there was no honor and valor in the display; it was just a waste of life.

_I can't save them_, he thought as the _Nazca_-class destroyer went into its death throes, armor rupturing as missiles and bullets detonated in their magazines and power systems began to overload, _but I can save Kira._

It was the least he could do.

….

"What's the status on the Freedom?" asked Murrue, "How's Kira?"

"Athrun Zala reports significant damage to the machine," said the communication's officer, "Kira's wounded, and it sounds serious. He's being taken back to the _Eternal_."

_Damn it_, thought Murrue, _first La Flaga, now Kira… I just hope they're ok. _

The Tallgeese Kai had just set down in the _Archangel_'s hangar bay, and a medical team had been ready the instant the cockpit was opened. Murrue had no idea what La Flaga's status was, but given the outburst she'd heard from Miriallia earlier she had plenty reason to be worried.

Murrue grimaced, knowing that she had to bury her concerns for her wounded friends for the moment; the battle wasn't over yet. Wing Zero had knocked out one of the remaining _Nelson_-class battleships and the _Archangel_ had dispatched the other with a combined barrage from her Gottfrieds, Valiants, and missiles, but there was still the Alliance carrier to deal with. Murrue would've expected the vessel to begin pulling back as the _Dominion _was doing, but the warship was still pressing forward and was in the process of bombarding Wing Zero with its two beam turrets. None of the shots had been able to hit the Gundam; the guns were not designed for such precision targeting, and their limited firing rate and arc meant that Heero was able to evade the shots with relative ease. Still, it was more than enough to set a fire in Murrue's heart, and she was about to make the carrier pay _dearly_ for attacking her boyfriend instead of retreating when it had the chance.

"Target acquired," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "Lohengrins fully charged!"

Murrue's response was immediate. "Open fire!"

Twin blasts of crimson energy ripped forth from the bow and tore into the portside of the _Agamemnon_-class carrier. The positron beams melted through the armor as if it were little more than paper, and the warship was blown in half by the subsequent explosion.

_Only one ship left_, she thought.

"Status on the _Dominion_," said Murrue.

"Continuing her withdrawal," replied the sensor officer, "the mobile suit that captured Flay's pod is moving to dock with the ship."

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "What should we do?"

"Any word from the _Eternal_?" asked Murrue.

"Ma'am," said the communications officer, "Field Marshal Waltfeld reports that the ZAFT forces are in full retreat. We've also received word from the _Kusanagi_ that they've destroyed the _Nazca_-class destroyer that they engaged earlier."

Murrue nodded. "Get me the Field Marshal."

A few seconds later the Desert Tiger appeared on her screen. "Captain Ramius," he said, "excellent work on your end."

"Thank you, Waltfeld," she replied, "I'm going to recover my pilots, unless you need assistance."

"No, I think we're good here," said Waltfeld, "I'm pulling ours back as well."

"Any word on Kira's condition?" asked Murrue.

Waltfeld sighed. "We'll know soon enough; the Justice is setting up to bring the Freedom in right now. From what Athrun's told me though, it looks serious. However, the kid's survived worse than this. Don't worry, Captain; we'll get him through this."

Murrue nodded. "Thank you, Waltfeld. We've lost Kira once… we can't do so again."

"You won't," he replied, "We've got some of the best medics in the Earth Sphere on my ship. He'll pull through; count on it."

"Alright," said Murrue.

"How's the Hawk?" asked Waltfeld, "I heard got hit too."

"Apparently he was wounded inside the colony," Murrue replied, "He just arrived on the ship; our medics should be treating him now."

"Hope he comes out ok," said Waltfeld.

Murrue nodded. "Same here."

Waltfeld sighed. "This was an ugly fight... Avalon was squeaky clean by comparison. Darkly ironic, considering the difference in opposition."

Murrue nodded grimly. The _Archangel _and _Kusanagi _had both lost two of their M1s and their pilots, while Kira and La Flaga were both wounded and their machines seriously damaged. When compared to the casualties suffered by the enemy it was a clear victory, but Murrue was reluctant to think of it that way. She hated the thought of losing any of her comrades, regardless of the very real possibility of that which came with every battle.

"Yes, you're right," she said, "So, what's our next move? I think we've overstayed our welcome at Mendel."

"Agreed," said Waltfeld, "we'll pull out of L4 and move around for the next few days. Bristow and I will put our heads together; we should be able to come up with another idea for a hideout. Captain Ramius, I want the _Archangel _and _Kusanagi _to form up on the _Eternal_; we'll take point for our cruise out of here."

"Understood," Murrue replied, "anything else?"

The Desert Tiger shook his head. "Not at this time, Captain. I'll keep you in the loop. _Eternal _out."

As the former ZAFT Field Marshal's face disappeared from the screen Murrue began issuing new orders.

"Miriallia," she said, "oversee mobile suit recovery."

"Aye, Captain," the girl replied.

"Helm, lock in on the _Eternal_'s position and get over there," Murrue commanded, "Coordinate with the _Kusanagi _regarding formation."

"Yes, ma'am," said Neumann.

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue, "bring us down to level two battle stations for the time being. If the coast stays clear when we leave the field, take down the alert. Keep weapons ready though; ZAFT or the Alliance could still have additional forces inbound."

"Copy that, Captain," said her Executive Officer.

"Get me the medical bay," she ordered.

One of Dr. Clark's assistants, the Chinese girl from the Orb Navy that had accompanied the doctor during Heero and Shemei's duel, appeared on the screen. "Yes, Captain Ramius?" said Fan Li.

"What's the status of La Flaga?" she asked.

"He's suffered a gunshot wound to the right shoulder," the young lady replied, "Stress from piloting the Tallgeese Kai in active combat only served to exacerbate the injury, and he's lost a considerable amount of blood. However, with transfusions he should make a full recovery. I'm afraid he will be out of action for a few days though."

Murrue nodded. "I see. I'll be down to speak with him later; I need to debrief him regarding what happened inside the colony."

"Understood, Captain," said Fan Li, "he's on painkillers, but the dosage is light, so he will be lucid. However, I ask that you please give us some time to at least finish our immediate work before you come down."

"Of course," she replied, "let me know when I can talk to him."

"Yes, ma'am," said Fan Li, "medical out."

The girl had hardly disappeared from the screen when the communications officer made an announcement. "Heero's on the line, Captain."

"Put him through," said Murrue.

The Gundam pilot appeared on the screen. On the surface he was the same cool combat professional Murrue and her crew had known since day one, but the beautiful Captain could detect a slight softening to his eyes; he was worried about her.

"Is everything ok over there?" he asked.

Murrue gave him a small smile. The wording may have been neutral, appearing to encompass the _Archangel _as a whole, but she'd gotten the underlying message; the question was really meant for just her.

"We're alright, Heero," she replied, "Our damage is minor; nothing Chief Murdoch and his crew can't repair." She looked down. "I wish I could say the same for the pilots we lost."

"It's not your fault, Murrue," said Heero, "They knew the risks going in, and your deployment of them was sound tactically and strategically. Blame the enemy, not yourself."

Murrue nodded, her lover's words helping to ease her guilt. "Thank you, Heero."

"You're welcome, Murrue," said Heero, "I'll come inside after Shemei; I want to cover the ship until we're in formation with the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_."

"You don't have to," said Murrue, "the enemy's retreating, Heero, and I'm sure you could use some rest."

"I can wait a little longer, Murrue," said Heero, nodding and giving her a small smile, "but I appreciate the concern."

Murrue returned the smile. "Alright, Heero."

The Gundam pilot's expression became serious again. "Any word on what happened inside the colony with Kira and La Flaga?"

Murrue shook her head. "No, though I'm assuming they fought someone in there; La Flaga took a gunshot wound to the shoulder. I was going to debrief him once we got underway and the medics stabilized the injury."

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"I was going to ask you to do that anyway," Murrue replied, "I'm sure your experience and insights will come in handy as we piece together where all this fits in the big picture."

"Roger that," said Heero, "Wing Zero out."

The Gundam pilot's face disappeared from the screen, and as Murrue looked out the main viewport she saw Wing Zero approach the warship. The mobile suit took up position over the _Archangel_'s bridge, the most powerful sentinel the vessel could hope for.

Despite the losses and injuries that had been suffered by her friends and comrades today, Murrue could not help but give another small smile as one thought above all others echoed in her mind.

_You came back to me, Heero. Thank you, my love._

….

"Kira!" cried Lacus as she rushed up to him.

The Justice had just departed the _Eternal _after bringing the Freedom into the hangar, and the pink-haired songstress had been waiting anxiously at the entrance for the cavernous holding area to be repressurized. She'd been through the door the instant she got the green light, pausing only to let the medics go ahead of her before following hot on their heels.

Her heart had been hammering away at lightning speed as she'd approached the Freedom, the damage it had suffered serving as an ominous sign for the health of its pilot. It was all she could do to keep herself back as the medics got Kira out of the cockpit and onto the stretcher, and Lacus could not suppress a gasp as she saw the extent of his injuries. The right side of his blue and white flight suit was covered in blood, and as the medics began to remove it for better access to his wounds Lacus could see at least a dozen cuts were shrapnel had torn into him. His head was unscathed, but his face was pale and sweaty, and his eyelids were fluttering, as if the boy was hovering between consciousness and darkness.

Lacus managed to squeeze in on the stretcher's left side as the medical team began to rush it out of the hangar. In the background she was dimly aware of mechanics swarming over the Freedom to commence repairs, but she paid them no heed; it was the pilot she feared for, not the mobile suit.

"No..." she heard him murmur, "hang on… Flay…"

Her eyes widened as she recognized the name as belonging to the red-headed girl she had met during her stay on the _Archangel _so long ago.

_She's out here?_, Lacus thought, _What's going on?_

"Kira!" she said, bringing her hand to his cheek, "Kira, it's me! It's Lacus! Please, answer me!"

The young man turned towards her, his violet eyes full of pain and guilt. "Lacus…" he said softly.

He held her gaze for a second before his eyes closed and the boy groaned.

"Kira, hang on!" cried Lacus, taking his left hand in a death-grip, "We'll save you, I promise! Kira!"

….

The pod's hatch hissed open, and Flay was greeted by the sight of two mechanics wearing the familiar orange jumpsuits of Alliance technical personnel. "You ok in there, girl?" asked one, holding out his hand.

She nodded hesitantly as she took it and he pulled her out of the pod. "I'm ok." She looked around as she floated out of the pod, taking in the hangar and its sole occupant, the blue mobile suit that had brought her here. "Where… where am I?"

"The Atlantic Federation battleship _Dominion_," said a familiar female voice, "It's been a long time, Flay Allster."

The girl's eyes widened as she saw none other than Natarle Badgiruel approach, while a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a light blue suit followed not too far behind her. "Lieutenant Badgiruel!" she said.

The black-haired woman shook her head. "It's Captain now, Flay; the _Dominion _is under my command."

Flay saw her glance back at the man behind her before she gave a slight shake of her head. "Nominally, anyway," she muttered.

"Sorry, Miss Captain," said the man, his voice smooth and cultured but with a barb of arrogance, "what was that?"

Natarle sighed. "Nothing, Lord Azrael."

Flay gasped. She knew that name; it was one her father had spoken of before.

The head of Blue Cosmos smiled as he approached the girl. "Welcome aboard, Miss Allster," he said, but despite the outwardly pleasant welcome Flay took no comfort in it, "I'm so glad we were able to rescue you from those abominations."

"Some rescue," she heard Natarle mutter, "they _gave her to us_ and we _still_ lost our entire fleet in the process…"

"A necessary sacrifice, Miss Captain," said Azrael, his tone chastising and smug, "especially if this girl bears what she claims to be holding."

Flay nodded, hesitantly passing Natarle the disk that Creuset had given her. However, before she could give it to the Captain Azrael snatched it from her fingers.

"I'll take that, dear," he said, his voice dripping with mock sincerity, "Miss Captain, please see to our guest while I examine this."

"Yes, sir," Natarle replied, glaring at the man as he headed for the exit.

The woman sighed before turning to Flay. "What are you doing out here? You should be back in the homeland, Flay! The battlefield's no place for you!"

Her words sounded harsh at first, but Flay was startled to realize that there was an undercurrent of concern to them. Natarle was genuinely _worried _about her!

"It's a long story," she said, "I'm sorry, I… I don't know how to explain…"

Natarle shook her head. "It's ok, Flay. For now, let's just get you settled in; I'll debrief you later, and we'll take our time. No need to rush things; with the damage we took in the battle, we'll be out of action for quite a while."

Flay nodded, and the woman held out her hand. "Come on," she said, "I'm sure we have quarters we can spare for you, and I'll get you a change of clothes; can't have you wearing a ZAFT uniform on an Alliance ship, after all."

Flay took her hand, comforted by the gesture. This may not have been the _Archangel_, but it was still good to find someone she knew and was apparently willing to look after her.

_Kira_, she thought, _Miriallia, Sai, everyone… please, stay safe._

….

Azrael smiled as he sat down in his office and put the disk the girl had given him into the computer. The telltale nuclear symbol on the data storage device alone had sent a jolt down his spine, but he had to be sure of what he was now in possession of.

His smile became a maniacal grin as schematics and data began flashing across the screen. "At last!" he said, unable to contain his excitement, "_We've got it!_"

"_This war is ours!_"

**Preview for next time!**

_Fleeing L4, the Three Ships Alliance tends to its wounded and processes the revelations and results of the melee with the Alliance and ZAFT. While they now understand the guiding hand behind the recent actions of the two superpowers, they are still no closer to stopping either side from unleashing Armageddon. On the move and in search of a new hideout, Heero, Murrue, and the others seek to avoid engagement with their enemies for the time being, but events conspire to force their hand. Rushing to rescue a group of ZAFT defectors fleeing the forces of Zala's regime, Heero soon finds himself locked in fierce combat with a pair of mercenary hellhounds. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Five: Dogs of War._

_Is it merely money that they fight for…_

… _or is it the fight itself?_

**Author's notes: **Thanks for being patient with me; I'm glad this chapter didn't take quite as long as the last one to get out. It's almost been two years since I started writing this fic, can't believe I've come so far, and I'm not done yet!

As you can tell from the preview, 25's a battle chapter, though it will also be mixed with some romance, plot, and character development. 26 will be another fight chapter, then there will be a final interlude as I set up the grand showdown between the Alliance and ZAFT, with the Three Ships Alliance throwing themselves right into the thick of it! Don't want to give away too much right now, but I will say this; if you thought the original Second Battle of Jachin Due was big, then you're really in for a treat when MY version finally kicks off!

Of course, I've still got a ways to go before then. Can't make any promises regarding the length of chapter 25, though I'll try to make it shorter than 24 was. Emphasis on TRY, again, not making any guarantees here…

As always, please review! Thanks a lot everyone, until next time!


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's notes: **Hey, I'm finally back. Another long chapter here, and it's gonna be long ones for the rest of the fic. For those of you who wanted me to reduce the length… just give up, ok? It's not gonna happen; this is just my style, and I'm not changing it.

Action doesn't kick off until the second half, but trust me; it's more than worth the wait.

Song list for the chapter in order of appearance: "La Distancia Para Un Duelo" from the Bleach OST, "Mayhem" from the Ace Combat Zero OST, "Ranbu no Melody", the 13th opening theme for the Bleach anime, and "The Demon of the Round Table" from the Ace Combat Zero OST.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Five: Dogs of War**

"Did he say anything else?" asked Heero.

It was nearly an hour after the battle had ended, and the Gundam pilot was with Murrue inside the _Archangel_'s medical bay. The two of them were standing on the right side of Mu La Flaga's bed as the wounded pilot recounted what had happened when he and Kira had gone inside the Mendel colony. The _Archangel _had formed up with the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, and once all three ships had recovered their mobile suits they had swiftly left the L4 debris field, their vector bound for the Debris Belt between Earth, the Moon, and the five Lagrange Points. The Hawk of Endymion's shoulder was bandaged, and an IV was attached to his right forearm.

Mu shook his head. "No, he got the hell out of dodge once his arm seized up. We spoke again during our fight, but it wasn't anything meaningful; just insults and hot air."

"I'm amazed he told you as much as he did," said Murrue, shaking her head, "To think that all this time one of ZAFT's top pilots was an illegal clone… and one of an Atlantic Federation billionaire, at that."

"Among other things," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "If what he told you is true, then he's been playing both sides like fiddles throughout this war. Azrael, Zala… the extremists in the Alliance and ZAFT have been the perfect pawns in his scheme."

"It's hard to believe," said Murrue, "One man manipulating two major powers, driving them to such fanaticism and hatred…"

Mu nodded. "I know what you mean. I had a hard time absorbing it myself. Still, as crazy as it sounds, I don't think Creuset was lying." The ace pilot closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them Heero could see the grim acceptance in them. "That hatred, the sheer _venom _and _contempt _in his voice… he didn't fake that. That was _real_, his true feelings… and his true goal."

_One he's well on the way to achieving_, thought Heero grimly, _The Earth Alliance and ZAFT have made this conflict a war of extermination, and he's played no small role in fostering that atmosphere._

The skillful manipulations of Creuset reminded the Gundam pilot of the plans carried out by Treize Kushrenada and Zechs Merquise in the final campaigns of his old war. However, while the respective leaders of the World Nation and White Fang had ultimately sought to rid mankind of its will to fight through their final battle, Creuset's true agenda was nothing less than the complete eradication of the human race. It was a very stark contrast, one that served to illustrate to Heero just how different _this _war was from his last one.

"Do you have any idea how he plans to accomplish his objective?" asked Heero, "Genocide on that scale can't be accomplished through conventional means, especially if the goal is to push both sides towards mutual annihilation."

Murrue nodded. "From what Creuset told you, La Flaga, along with what happened when he was about to shoot you and Kira, it doesn't sound like time is on his side. Given the health problems and deterioration he faces as a clone, a conventional campaign would simply take too long. He wouldn't live to see the end of it, to know that his will had been accomplished."

Mu shook his head. "I know, but he didn't exactly drop any big hints regarding the ultimate means to his end. If I had to hazard a guess though, I'd say the fact that ZAFT has found a way to counteract the effects of the N-Jammers will definitely play a part. Nuclear power would be a very useful tool for the kind of bloodbath he wants to unleash."

"Agreed," said Heero, "that covers one side that he's been manipulating, but if he wants the extermination to be mutual then the Alliance needs more power as well. Right now there's an imbalance to his scheme."

"Yes," said Murrue, looking down in thought, "the Alliance has superior numbers and is now able to field mobile suits, but ZAFT's been upgrading their arsenal and now can utilize nuclear power. Combine that with the secret weapon Bristow suggested that Zala has under construction, and the tables are tipped too far in ZAFT's favor, regardless of the recent strategic gains the Alliance has made on Earth and in outer space."

Mu nodded. "You're right about that. The most readily available tool for the Alliance would be their nuclear arsenal; after all, aside from the missile they launched at Junius Seven at the start of this war, it hasn't been touched. But they're not the ones who made the N-Jammer Canceller breakthrough, so it's still useless. How Creuset plans to bring them back on to par with ZAFT as far as the annihilation game goes, I don't have a clue."

The three of them were quiet for a moment, the shadow of Creuset's dark plan hanging over them. Eventually it was Murrue that broke the silence.

"Do you think it has something to do with Flay?" she asked, "When she was launched from the ZAFT destroyer, she said something about having the 'key' that would end the war. The Alliance managed to recover her; could Creuset have planned that?"

"It's possible," said Mu, "at this point I wouldn't put anything past the guy. Not sure what that 'key' is though. A single-occupant life-pod's pretty cramped; not a lot of storage room in there."

Heero's eyes narrowed, a grim thought coming to mind. "That might not have been an issue for him."

"Heero?" asked Murrue, looking at him with concern, "What do you mean?"

"Information," said Heero, "You know how small data storage devices can be. What if Creuset sent a flash drive, disk, or a file over with Flay? Storage space wouldn't be a problem then; she could just keep it in her pocket."

"Oh, _shit_," said Mu, his eyes widening, "What if he had access to information on ZAFT's N-Jammer Cancellers? If _that's _what Flay was carrying…"

"Then we're all in big trouble," Murrue finished for him, her expression grim, "Damn it, I need to inform Waltfeld and the others. We don't know for certain if that's what she was carrying, but it's definitely a possibility."

"One we need to prepare for," said Heero, nodding, "If that technology has been transferred to the Alliance, then this war's about to get a lot uglier."

"Damn," Mu groaned, "and it's bad enough already…"

"How long will you be down?" asked Murrue, "I know it'll take Chief Murdoch and his crews a few days to restore the Tallgeese Kai, and Dr. Clark estimated a similar timeframe for your own recovery, but I want your personal assessment."

"Two days," said Mu, nodding determinedly, "I'm not staying in this bed any longer than that; too much at stake for me to be lying around."

"Take three," advised Heero, "You know how powerful the Tallgeese Kai's engines are; your wound could easily reopen if you're not careful."

Murrue nodded. "Heero's right, La Flaga. I appreciate your enthusiasm and trust your judgment, but don't push things too fast. I'm sure Waltfeld doesn't plan on engaging the enemy any time soon, so take it easy while you can."

"With all due respect, Captain," said Mu, "none of us planned on fighting Natarle today either. We didn't get much of a choice there, and I doubt the enemy will listen if we ask them nicely to come back later."

"I'm aware of that," said Murrue, "and we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. For now though, I'm ordering you to focus on your recovery for the next three days. Is that clear?"

Mu nodded. "Yes, Captain."

"Good," said Murrue, "I need to brief Waltfeld on what you've told me, not to mention the possibility the three of us just discussed. Take care, La Flaga."

She turned to go, and Heero nodded at the Hawk of Endymion before following her. However, before the two of them left the medical bay Mu called out to them. "Hey, Captain? Heero?"

They looked back at Mu, who nodded and smiled. "Thanks for holding back in the fight with Natarle. I know it couldn't have been easy, especially for you, Heero. I owe you both big time."

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry about it, La Flaga. If I can avoid killing a friend, then I will gladly take that opportunity."

Heero nodded, but he didn't share Murrue's smile. "I can make no promises regarding future battles, La Flaga. If Natarle's actions threaten the _Archangel_ again, I'll do what I must."

"I know," Mu replied, "Still, you have my thanks, Heero."

Heero nodded. "You're welcome."

With that he and Murrue left the medical bay. As the door shut behind them he heard Murrue sigh. Turning to her, the Gundam pilot saw the woman he loved looking down at the floor, her expression one of guilt.

"This is all my fault," she said, "I should've gone after Flay's pod, regardless of the risks. I didn't though, and now…"

"Don't," said Heero firmly, grabbing her hand, "I won't let you finish that sentence, Murrue. This was _not _your fault."

"Heero…" said Murrue softly, her eyes widening.

"You didn't have the resources to go after the pod," said Heero, "Between the Alliance battle group and the ZAFT destroyer everyone under your command was engaged. Even if you had sent someone after Flay, there was the very real chance that she could've been killed in the resulting clash, and I know you were aware of that at the time. You were trying to protect everyone you could and drive off the enemy, and you accomplished that mission. Creuset and his insanity are to blame for this, _not _you!"

"But Heero," said Murrue, "if what we speculated on earlier is true and Flay was indeed carrying data on the N-Jammer Cancellers, then the Alliance now has access to that technology! They'll begin producing the devices and mobilizing their nuclear arsenal!"

"They'll still have to test the devices, make sure they work," Heero replied, "and then there's the task of building and fitting the N-Jammer Cancellers to their missiles. That will take time, and while we can't stop them from doing that, we _can _stop them from using them on the PLANTs."

"Murrue," Heero continued, releasing her hand before grabbing her by the shoulders, "you are _not _to blame for this. You did the best you could in a bad situation, and you acted with the intent of preserving not just the lives under your command, but Flay's as well. If Creuset hadn't drawn Kira and Mu into Mendel, then maybe they would've been in a position to get to the pod before the Alliance could, but that's not how things turned out. He set things up well, manipulated both sides into serving his sick agenda, while we're just trying to survive and protect those we care about. Maybe he did manage to give the Alliance the key to restoring their most powerful weapons, but you had _nothing _to do with that. So what if we failed to stop them this time? We're still alive, and still in the fight. We'll prepare, we'll come back harder and stronger, and we'll be ready to stop the Alliance, ZAFT, and Creuset when it counts!"

Murrue closed her eyes, and for a moment Heero feared he had taken the wrong approach, but his doubts were eased when she met his gaze again. He could see that familiar warm strength flowing from her eyes, and he knew that she had taken his words to heart.

_I hate seeing her burden herself with guilt like that_, he thought, _especially when she's done _nothing _wrong. I'll do all I can to ease her burdens… and it looks like I accomplished that now._

"Heero," said Murrue, smiling at him, "thank you."

Before Heero could reply she leaned in to kiss him. Her warm, full lips met his, and the Gundam pilot lost himself in her touch. They embraced each other as the kiss deepened, letting out all the fears they'd had for each other's safety during the battle, taking comfort in the knowledge that they had once again survived and could be with the one they loved.

Eventually their lips parted, and Heero gave Murrue a small smile. "You're welcome, Murrue."

They held each other for a moment before the inevitable parting. "I'm going to write up a report on the battle," said Murrue, "I can give Waltfeld a better perspective of what happened on our end of the fight and fill him in on what we just discussed with La Flaga."

Heero nodded. "I'll head down to Wing Zero and retrieve the combat data for the battle. You can attach it to the report; it'll be another set of eyes for Waltfeld to look at. Maybe he'll see something we missed."

"You don't have to do that, Heero," said Murrue, "You were in the thickest part of the battle. Out of all of us, you fought the hardest today Heero, and I'm sure you're tired. Get some rest."

"I'll rest when you do," Heero replied firmly, "You fought as hard as I did, Murrue, and you're not giving yourself a break. If you're going to keep working, then I'll do all I can to help you."

The Gundam pilot could've sworn he saw a hint of red appear in Murrue's face. "I don't know if I'd go that far," she said, "I'll admit commanding the _Archangel _in such a fight was difficult, but it's not like I was in the center of things like you."

Heero shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You were leading and protecting those under your command, not to mention trying to find a way to fight Natarle without killing her. I know that wasn't an easy task for you, Murrue."

Murrue shook her head. "No, it wasn't." She sighed. "I hope Natarle will be alright. Her superiors won't be happy that her ship's the sole survivor of her battle group, not to mention the fact that the _Dominion_'s severely damaged; it'll be out of action for months."

Heero nodded. "I know, but there's no point in us worrying about her now. We have to concentrate on ourselves and our friends, Murrue. Natarle can take care of herself and defend her actions, you know that."

Murrue nodded. "You're right." She then smiled, and Heero was pleased to see the confidence and vigor in her eyes. "Ok, I'd better get to work on that report; there's a lot I'll need to include in it before I send it to Waltfeld."

"I'll bring up Wing Zero's data as soon as I can," said Heero, "I also want to supervise the reloading of the shoulder gatlings and run a maintenance check while I'm down in the hangar."

"Good idea," said Murrue, "and once we're done with everything, we can grab dinner together."

"I'll be looking forward to it," said Heero, giving her another small smile.

Murrue leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see you later, my love."

"Count on it," Heero replied.

….

"I'm surprised Pris got the most kills between the three of us back there," said Lan as she, Adaline, and Priscilla floated through the corridors of the _Eternal_. They'd changed out of their flight suits and were now wearing their old crimson uniforms.

Priscilla looked down sheepishly. "We'll, in the last part of the fight I was covering you two while you hit the capital ships. I got to engage more mobile suits as a result, so I had an unfair advantage really."

Adaline smiled at the soft-spoken member of their trio. "True, but don't sell yourself short, Pris. You got on a roll, and you kept the enemy off our backs in the process. Good job."

The blond girl perked up a bit at the red-head's words. "Thanks, Adaline."

"Anytime," she replied. Her friend's modesty was endearing, but there were times when Adaline wished Priscilla would give herself a little more credit.

_Our Commander considered her a good enough pilot to bring her onto the team_, she thought, _that ought to say enough as it is. Plus there's the fact that she's the best out of the three of us when it comes to marksmanship and computer skills. She's got plenty of talents to brag about, no doubts there._

"Of course," said Lan, "that doesn't change the fact that we were completely beat out by the Commander and Heero."

"Don't tell me you're surprised," said Adaline, smirking, "We're good, but those two are in a league of their own."

"Indeed," said Priscilla, "I hope we'll get the chance to see footage from the _Archangel_'s side of the battlefield; I'm sure Wing Zero was at the center of their fight against the Alliance forces."

"Without a doubt," said Lan, smiling, "and I bet the Alliance is wishing they brought a bigger fleet right about now."

"No argument there," said Adaline as they rounded a corner.

The trio's mood became somber as they saw the telltale red cross symbol over a nearby doorway; the _Eternal_'s medical bay. Their banter faded, and indeed it had only been a way to mask the anxiety they had been feeling as they traveled through the hallways. They had heard that Kira had been wounded when the Freedom had been hit, and their journey had been to see him as soon as the medics had finished their immediate work on the young man. Now that they were in sight of their destination, their worries returned in full force.

_Kira_, Adaline thought as she approached the door, _please, be ok._

The door slid open, and it didn't take long for Adaline to spot the Freedom's pilot. The boy was lying down and unconscious. He was shirtless, and his torso was covered in bandages. Adaline was reminded of the times she and her friends had visited Kira while he was recovering at the Clyne estate, but when she had seen him his wounds had not been this fresh. His face was pale and slick with sweat. Adaline could only hope that the boy had been given some powerful painkillers; looking at him right now, she could not begin to imagine how much his wounds had hurt.

"Poor kid…" she heard Lan murmur.

"I didn't think it'd be this bad…" said Priscilla, and Adaline saw her face become pale. Adaline couldn't blame her; she was sure hers was a little lighter as well.

Beside Kira's bed was Lacus. The beautiful songstress was to the left of the young man, clutching his hand tightly. She was clearly distraught, and seeing her like that only made the situation worse.

_She's already lost her father_, thought Adaline, _now she's seeing the boy she loves like this. It's not the first time, of course, but back when Reverend Malchio brought Kira to the PLANTs I don't think Lacus's feelings for him were as strong as they are now. I'd bet my life she's in love with him, and for her to only be able to stay at his side when he's like this, nothing else she can do… damn, this isn't good for her._

Lacus wasn't alone. On the right side of the bed was Dr. Alexandra Bakulev, the _Eternal_'s chief medical officer. At thirty-three years old, the Russian-born First Generation Coordinator was the kind of woman a patient would want to attend to them. She was a relatively tall woman, with a curvy figure and long, flowing black hair that normally fell almost to her waist, though during surgery she would tie it back in a bun as she had now. Her dark brown eyes had a very gentle and soothing feel to them, matching the motherly aura that the lovely Ruskie exuded. She wore the standard green ZAFT uniform, but on her right breast was a white patch with a red cross in the middle of it, signaling her role as a member of the medical staff.

"Hey, Doc," said Adaline nervously as she approached, "how's he doing?"

Alexandra sighed as she turned towards the trio. "He's stable, and we've removed all the shrapnel, but his recovery will take time. The trauma from his wounds was severe, and I fear that may not have been the end of it."

"What do you mean?" asked Lan in trepidation.

"I can't say for sure," the doctor replied, "It's not physical; it's mental. Before we sedated him, Kira seemed very distraught."

"Given his injuries, wouldn't that be natural?" asked Priscilla.

Alexandra nodded before untying her bun and letting her lustrous raven hair fall. "Yes, Miss Dalca. However, Kira's behavior was different. A young man in his position would normally just be trying to block out the physical pain. Kira kept shaking his head back and forth, muttering the words 'Flay' and 'sorry' over and over again."

"Flay…" said Adaline, looking down, "I think that was the name of the girl that was broadcasting over the open channel."

"The one from the pod the _Vesalius _launched?" asked Lan.

Adaline nodded. "My sensors showed it was a standard, single-occupant pod. The voice coming from it was definitely female, and I'm pretty sure I heard her say 'Flay' more than once."

"I think it's safe to say that Kira knew her, judging from how he was acting before we sedated him," said Alexandra, "beyond that, I cannot say what the tie between them is, or why he reacted the way he did when she was taken by the Alliance."

"Old flame, maybe?" mused Lan.

"Shush," hissed Priscilla, looking towards Kira and back to Lan, "Not now, Lan, and definitely not in front of Lacus."

"Right," Lan whispered, looking abashed, "sorry."

Adaline glanced back towards the pink-haired songstress. If the girl had heard Lan's comment, she gave no sign of it. Her attention was focused solely on Kira, something Adaline gave silent thanks for.

"Doc," she said, turning back to Alexandra, "is there anything we can do?"

"Well, I can't say for certain how long Kira will be out," the woman replied, "medically speaking, all the major work's already been done." She then gave Adaline and her friends an encouraging smile. "I'm confident he'll pull through, but having friendly faces by his side when he comes too certainly wouldn't hurt."

Alexandra looked back at the boy, her expression becoming concerned as she watched him and Lacus. "What worries me is his mental state, his emotional well-being. There's more at work here than just battlefield wounds. Something happened, though whether it just involved this Flay or another part of the battle I cannot say." She turned back to Adaline and the others. "It will be up to his friends to help him deal with whatever plagues his soul. I hope you're up to the task if Miss Clyne requires assistance, girls."

All three of the Valkyrie's subordinates nodded. "Count on it," said Adaline.

"We'll do everything we can," said Priscilla.

"Kira and Lacus are our friends," said Lan, "If they need our help, we'll come running."

Alexandra smiled again. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I need to update the Field Marshal. You can hang around for as long as you like, but please don't disturb the patient... and be careful with Miss Clyne."

"We understand, doctor," said Adaline, nodding.

As Alexandra went to her office the three girls went over to Kira's bed. "Hey," said Adaline, causing Lacus to look up, "you doing alright?"

The songstress nodded, giving a weak smile. "I'm ok, Adaline." She looked at the Australian Coordinator's two companions. "Lan, Priscilla… I'm glad you're all ok."

The girls nodded, and Lan moved around to Lacus's side of the bed and put her hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Lacus," she said, "Kira will get through this; you know how tough he is."

"Yeah," said Priscilla, smiling, "If he could survive what happened to him in the Marshall Islands, then there's no way this will keep him down."

Lacus nodded. "Yes, you're right." Her gaze returned to the young man, and Adaline saw her smile disappear. "Still, it's hard to be optimistic when I see Kira like this."

"I know," said Adaline, "but you're not going to do him any good by worrying yourself to death, Lacus. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you're willing to stay by his side like this, but you shouldn't overdo it. You need rest, Lacus."

The girl shook her head. "I'm grateful for your concern, Adaline, but I'm not leaving his side."

_Damn_, thought Adaline, _for such a gentle girl, she can really be stubborn sometimes._

Adaline had to resist a smile as another thought ran through her mind. _Then again_, she mused, _she does love him, so I guess it's really no surprise._

"Come on," said Lan, "today was rough, Lacus. You should get some food and shuteye."

"I don't see you three doing that," Lacus shot back, "and you were flying in combat; that's far more energy-intensive than anything _I _did today."

"True," said Adaline, "but day-to-day, your burdens are by far greater than ours. The three of us are just pilots, Lacus. You're one of the leaders of our organization, and while you hide it well we know that that's a lot of pressure on your shoulders. You're carrying out your father's will, keeping his legacy and the dream he died for alive; don't pretend that's not a burden."

Lacus sighed. "What would you have me do? I know that you're right, but I simply can't walk away from Kira right now! He was wounded _because _I asked him to fight for my father's ideals."

"With all due respect, Lacus," said Priscilla, her expression stern, "that's a load of bullshit."

"What?" said Lacus, her eyes widening. Adaline actually found herself resisting the urge to smirk; the songstress definitely wasn't used to someone talking to her the way Pris had just done, and despite the seriousness of the situation it was actually a bit refreshing.

_Plus it's Pris_, thought Adaline, _She's usually the most polite of the three of us, and Lacus is well aware of that._

"Kira knew what he was getting into," said Priscilla, "and he volunteered to fight for more than just the ideals that you and your father shared and impressed upon him. He's fighting to protect his friends and to give this world a future, just like the rest of us. He's willing to take the same risks the rest of us are, and he would do so whether or not you asked him to."

"She's right," said Lan, smiling, "I know it's rough, seeing him like this, and I'm sure it's easy to find a way to blame yourself given the role you played in getting him the Freedom, but it's _not _your fault that he wound up like this, Lacus."

"Kira's with us now out of his own choice," Adaline chimed in, "Our fight, _your _fight, is _his _fight, and he _wants it that way_. His injuries can be chalked up to his actions and those of the enemy, but _not _yours, Lacus… and he wouldn't want you to feel otherwise." The red-head gave the pink-haired girl a smile. "Guys are like that, and Kira's no exception."

Lacus looked down at the young man for a moment, and Adaline feared her words and those of her friends had been in vain. However, a few seconds later she turned back to the girls, a small smile on her face. "Thank you, all of you."

"Anytime," said Adaline, "we're your friends, Lacus; we're not just gonna sit by and watch while you beat yourself up for something that's not your fault."

Lan nodded. "What she said. Now, will you _please _get a bit of rest?"

"I will later," the songstress replied, "though I will still stay here. I don't think Waltfeld needs any input from me for the immediate future; evading pursuit and plotting our next course is something he has the authority to take care of, and is far more capable of doing so than I would be. If something else comes up, he knows where I'll be; right here. So I will stay by Kira's side for the time being and support his recovery. I can rest on one of the other beds when I need to, and make a trip to the mess hall when necessary."

Adaline sighed, but she wouldn't push the matter. "It's progress…" she muttered.

"So long as you're taking care of yourself," said Lan, "I guess we can't ask more than that."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" asked Priscilla.

Lacus smiled. "I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine." She looked back at Kira. "I'm sure Kira could use it more."

Adaline nodded. "True enough. Alright, I'm gonna run by the mess hall and bring us back some food. Lan, Pris; grab a bite and hit the hay."

Her fellow pilots gave her a puzzled look, and they were joined by Lacus.

Adaline sighed and gave them a weary smile. "Lacus, even with what you just said, we can't just leave you like this. So one of us is going to be with you while you're staying here, whether you like it or not. I'll take the first shift; Lan and Pris can work out who gets second and third after they get some sleep.

All three girls nodded, and Lacus bowed her head in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Lacus," Adaline replied.

….

Shemei sighed as she entered the quarters she shared with Eric and saw her lover at the small table, his eyes glued to his laptop. "Still at it?" she asked as she brought a tray laden with food and drink over to the table and set it beside the computer, "Come on, Eric, you've been going over combat footage for three hours now, and the battle didn't last nearly that long. You're overdoing it, love."

Eric shook his head, his expression somber. "I screwed up, Shemei. The least I can do is study the data and learn from my mistakes."

"Whoa, back up there!" said Shemei as she sat down next to him, "What are you talking about, Eric? You protected the _Archangel _in a fierce battle against a superior enemy force. That's not a screw up, that's mission accomplished!"

"I lost two of my pilots," he shot back, and Shemei's heart ached as she saw the guilt in her lover's deep brown eyes, "They died because of my calls, my piloting… my stupid assumptions!"

"No, they didn't," said Shemei softly as she raised a hand to her lover's cheek, "Eric, the Alliance killed them, not you. You knew there was a good chance of casualties going into a battle like this, especially among the Orb pilots; their machines aren't as advanced as ours, and their pilots haven't seen the same amount of combat as we have."

Eric looked down. "I know, Shemei… but I didn't act like that when we went into battle today. Even with the simulation flying I did with them in the days prior to today's fight, on some level I instinctively treated them as I would veteran ZAFT pilots. Subconsciously I applied the same tactics and doctrines, the same theories and maneuvers that you and I trained under, even though I knew intellectually that the Orb pilots had been instructed in a different manner. Such a simple mistake, one so easy to catch… but I didn't, and two of them died because of that."

"Hey," said Shemei, moving her hand to cup his chin and gently but firmly raising his face to meet hers again, "just because you did that doesn't mean that's what killed them, Eric. I can see why what you did might be a mistake, but it's a very understandable one. I mean, think about it; other than the simulation exercises and our run from the PLANTs after Heero saved my parents from Charon Prison, you've been flying with fellow ZAFT pilots since before this war began. It's natural that you'd develop a certain mentality to go along with that, and it's not something you were going to kick in just a few weeks. We develop habits, Eric; it's human nature."

Eric nodded, but Shemei could tell he still wasn't about to forgive himself just yet. "You're right, but still… I should've put more focus into adapting my piloting, adjusting to the skills and doctrines of my new comrades. Instead I assumed they would adapt to _me_, their flight lead… I didn't do enough to assess their individual strengths and weaknesses."

"It's been awhile since you've had a field command, even a small one," said Shemei, giving him a soft smile, "and even then, you still did remarkably well under the circumstances, Eric. For someone that Zala tried very hard to confine to a desk and keep away from the action, my love, you're piloting abilities and leadership skills remain formidable. I know it's hard to think of it that way given the losses your team took, but it was a pitched battle against a foe with numerical superiority and new mobile suits; there was only so much you could do to protect your subordinates, and even if you had made more of an effort to study them on an individual basis you could not have guaranteed their survival, Eric."

She leaned in and gave him a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. As she pulled back she put her hands on his cheeks and met his gaze. "Stop this, Eric. I know you've always been hard on yourself for the deaths of soldiers serving under you, but you can't drown yourself in guilt like this. If you do that, then our enemies will be stronger for it; you won't be at your best. You and I know that there's no weakness in mourning our dead and trying to do better to protect others in the future, but we have to balance that with our need to move forward in our lives; we cannot be chained to the past. We cannot change it, but we _can _learn from it, and that's something I know you're well aware of, my love."

"Eric," she continued, raising her right hand to run it through his thick black hair, "please, you have to stop carrying around all this weight by yourself. I know it's not just your two latest casualties that you've been beating yourself up over. The losses your network suffered in the aftermath of the fall of Avalon, the death of Siegel Clyne, the millions killed in the Far East by Zubov and like-minded commanders before you could stop them… they're all upon your shoulders, and they _shouldn't be_."

_So that's what it is_, thought Shemei as she looked at Eric, _it's not just the lives of the teammates he lost today. They're simply the latest in a long line of deaths, of losses that he's continued to blame himself for… and _so _unfairly._

Her lover closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again she could see the agony within them, along with something else, something she'd never seen in him before; a desperate plea for help.

"Shemei…" he said softly, "what would you have me do? I can't just forget all those that have fallen because of me, directly or otherwise. The blood of my lost comrades and others that I could've saved is soaked into my hands just as much as that of the enemies I've killed. I… I cannot simply wash that away…"

Shemei shook her head. "I'm not asking you to do that, my love. I know you could never forget those who have been lost, nor would I want you to; those memories have driven you forward, made you strive to do better, have helped forge you into the man I fell in love with. I would not have you abandon those memories… but I would have you stop carrying the _weight _of them all by yourself."

She slid out of her chair and into Eric's, straddling his lap as she took him into her embrace. "_Share it with me, my love_," she whispered into his ear, "lean on me, as I did to you when darkness closed in on my life, when my parents were taken by Zala. Let me bear the weight of your burdens beside you, just as you did for mine."

Shemei pulled back before leaning in to kiss her lover again. "Take the comfort I can give, as I took yours. You sheltered me in my darkest hour, gave me peace and warmth when I desperately needed it; let me do the same for you."

Her lover closed his eyes again. When he opened them this time, Shemei's heart warmed as she saw new emotions within them. There was still pain, but it was a mere shadow of what it had been before. Now it was supplanted by gratitude, by relief, by affection… by _love_.

He gave her a small smile as he spoke. "Shemei… thank you."

She returned the smile. "You are most welcome, Eric."

The Valkyrie turned towards the laptop and closed it before turning back to her lover. "I think you've gone over that enough for one day," she said, "You'll have plenty of time to study that footage tomorrow."

Eric nodded. "You're right, and I'll have plenty to do besides that. I need to figure out how ZAFT and the Alliance found us, not to mention help Waltfeld figure out a new place for us to hide out at."

"Indeed," said Shemei, "and that can wait until you've had some food and rest, my love. I'm sure you could use both."

She moved to get off his lap but was surprised when her lover took her in his arms and pulled her back in. Meeting his gaze, she saw a familiar gleam in his eyes… one that had only occurred in them since they had become a couple.

"I'll admit I'm hungry," said the Wolf of the Far East, his right hand moving up to the nape of Shemei's neck and slowly pulling her head towards his, "but the food can wait… that's not what I need right now."

They kissed again, but this wasn't the soft and gentle kisses that they had shared earlier. This was deeper, hotter, and Shemei felt her heartbeat increase considerably as she gave herself over to her awakening passion.

When they eventually parted for air they were both smiling, and Shemei slowly extricated herself from Eric's arms and got out of his lap. As she stood up she pulled him to his feet and towards the bed.

Their flight suits hit the floor within seconds… and their bodies the bed a moment later.

….

"Has there been any word from the _Eternal_?" asked Cagalli, "Is Kira ok?"

She was up on the bridge of the _Kusanagi_, as she had been since the battle had ended. The blue Orb warship had exited the L4 debris field with the _Archangel _and the _Eternal _some time ago, and the three vessels were currently heading towards the Debris Belt. Orb's tomboy princess had changed out of her flight suit a little while ago and was not dressed in the simple red and black shirt and khaki pants used by Morgenroete personnel.

"No update since the last time we heard from them," said the communications officer, "he must still be unconscious, ma'am."

_Kira_, she thought, her hands clenching the hem of her shirt, _damn it, why did you have to get hurt again? Do you have any idea what this does to me, worrying about you like this? Please… please be ok! I can't lose you again!_

"Lady Cagalli," said Kisaka from the command chair, "you're not going to do Kira any good staying up here worrying about him like this. I'm sure the _Eternal _will contact us when there's been a change in his condition. You should get some rest, Lady Cagalli."

She was about to argue when she felt a hand fall upon her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Athrun standing behind her.

The young man she loved nodded. "He's right, Cagalli. You fought hard today; you must be tired. We can take a shuttle over to the _Eternal _tomorrow to check in on Kira."

"Athrun…" she said, "but… you're his best friend! I know you're worried about him too!"

"I am, Cagalli," he replied, "but keeping myself up here worrying about him won't help. Lacus is with him, Cagalli, and the _Eternal _has some of the best medics in the Earth Sphere. Kira will recover, I know he will."

His hand left her shoulder and grabbed her hand instead. "Come on," he said, "we should get something to eat, and then rest."

Cagalli was about to argue with him, but when she saw the concern in his eyes she realized she couldn't fight him on this. She may have been worried about Kira, but she also saw that not only was Athrun worried about him as well, but he was also worried about _her_.

_There I go again_, she thought, _being hotheaded, impatient, not seeing the affects of my actions on others. Of course I'm not the only one who's worried about Kira, and he wouldn't want me to act like this. Look what I'm doing to Athrun…_

She nodded. "Ok, Athrun."

The two of them turned to leave, but before they exited the bridge Cagalli looked over her shoulder at Kisaka. "I want to be notified if the _Eternal _sends us an update on Kira's condition."

The Orb Colonel nodded. "Understood, Lady Cagalli."

With that she left the bridge hand in hand with Athrun, and the two of them made their way towards the ship's mess hall. She turned towards him as they moved through the hallways and gave him a small smile. "Athrun… thank you," she said, "I don't think I would've left the bridge if it was only Kisaka that was trying to persuade me."

Athrun nodded, returning her smile. "You're welcome." He then looked down and sighed. "I'm with you though, worrying about Kira like that. When I saw him over the cockpit monitor… his wounds looked serious, Cagalli."

Cagalli squeezed his hand. "You told me about it… how his flight suit was torn on the right side, how he was bleeding from all those cuts… damn it…"

"I'm sorry," said Athrun, "I shouldn't have brought it up. It's my fault he's in that condition to begin with."

"What?" said Cagalli, her eyes widening as she stopped the young man in his tracks, "Athrun, how could you even say that? There's no way this is your fault!"

Athrun shook his head. "It is, Cagalli. I was fighting the mobile suit that attacked the Freedom. If I'd just fought harder, if I'd been able to take it down sooner, I could've stopped Kira from getting hurt. I'm sorry, Cagalli. My best friend… your _brother_… was wounded because of me."

Cagalli grabbed him by the shoulders. "Athrun, you did the best you could! I don't blame you for what happened at all. I _never _could do that! Maybe you couldn't stop that machine from attacking Kira, but you _did _stop it from _killing _him! You _saved _Kira, Athrun!"

Her voice softened as she pulled the former ZAFT pilot in for a kiss. "You saved my brother, Athrun," she said just before their lips met. It wasn't fierce lip locking, but a gentle touch, a delicate caress. As she pulled back she raised her right hand to Athrun's left cheek. "Thank you."

The young man nodded. He was quiet for a moment, and then Cagalli saw a small smile appear on his face. "Anytime. You know, it's still kinda strange, hearing you call him your brother like that."

Cagalli couldn't help but smile as well. "I know what you mean. With all that's happened since we left Orb… I actually hadn't thought about it much until we came to Mendel. It does explain something, though."

"What's that?" asked Athrun.

"How I feel about him," she replied, "When we first met after the attack on Heliopolis I was a bit rude to Kira, but we actually grew closer pretty quickly after that. I liked being around him. I felt warm and safe, and I was glad that he was willing to protect me, but at the same time I could see that he was someone that needed protecting too, though not always from enemies on the battlefield. Fighting, having to kill… I could tell that it really hurt him, and I wanted to help him deal with that pain. I wanted to be close to him so I could give him support, a shoulder to cry on if he needed it. For a while I thought I… well that I might 'like' him, _that _way… but I eventually realized that it wasn't quite like that. I cared deeply for him, but even before my father's revelation it wasn't romantic."

"That's definitely a good thing," Athrun replied.

"Yeah, tell me about it," said Cagalli, looking down for a moment and shuddering.

They were quiet for a moment before Cagalli spoke again. "I wonder why my father didn't tell me sooner about who Kira really was. Why did he wait? I know I can be impulsive and hotheaded, by I can keep a secret."

"Maybe," said Athrun, "but one like that, and from Kira? You may not have told others… but you probably would've told him, wouldn't you?"

Cagalli nodded. "I would've… and Kira would've had the _right _to know. Come on, Athrun, it's not fair to keep something that important from him."

"I didn't say it was," Athrun replied, "but we don't know the whole story. Besides, aren't you forgetting something? The other half of that secret was the fact that you're not Lord Uzumi's biological daughter. I bet the thought of telling you that you were adopted made him nervous; he was probably worried about how you would take it."

"I guess you're right," Cagalli sighed, "and so he could only tell me just before the end…"

Athrun put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Cagalli. What happened to your father… it's not your fault."

She nodded and smiled slightly. "I know, Athrun," she said before kissing him again, "but it means a lot to hear you say that."

"Don't mention it," he replied.

The two of them resumed their journey through the ship's corridors, arriving at the ship's mess a few minutes later. "Athrun," she said as they dished up their food, "how do you think the Alliance and ZAFT managed to find us?"

Athrun shook his head. "I don't know. We'll have to leave that up to Bristow and Waltfeld to figure out. We did stay at Mendel a long time, though; they were bound to search it eventually."

"I know that," she replied as they sat down at a table, "but they sent full battle groups today, not patrols. We never detected any recon units during our patrol flights in the days leading up to the battle. Today they came in full force."

Athrun nodded. "And at the same time. It would've been bad enough if just the Alliance or ZAFT had found us and sent in a fleet, but both learning of our location and attacking simultaneously? Something's not right here."

"Do you think they've teamed up to take us down?" asked Cagalli with trepidation. It was hard enough fighting both superpowers while said foes were also battling each other. If the Alliance and ZAFT had decided to temporarily join forces to defeat the Three Ships Alliance, then their situation was even direr than before.

Athrun shook his head. "I don't think so. They may have attacked us simultaneously, but I don't think there was any coordination between them. If there was, we would've seen signs of it. It wasn't chance that brought them both to L4… but I don't think they're in league with each other either."

Cagalli recalled something she'd heard her father say in the past, one of his pearls of wisdom that she had paid little heed to at the time. _"To be united by hatred is a fragile alliance at best."_

"You're right," she replied, "as much as they might hate us… well, I'm pretty sure they hate each other more. Hard to cooperate when you want to wipe each other out."

It was a stark reminder of just what was at stake in their struggle, and the conversation died on that line as Cagalli and Athrun ate their meal, pondering just what it would take to ultimately bring this insane war to an end.

_No matter what happens_, she thought determinedly, _we can't give up. It doesn't matter what the odds against us are; we _have _to fight both sides and stop them from wiping out countless innocent lives with their hatred. My father entrusted this task to me, and I _won't _let him down!_

….

Things were quiet when Murrue and Heero arrived on the bridge the following day. As Murrue floated over to her command chair she could feel the somber atmosphere resonating from her crew.

It was hard to blame them for their attitude. Though tactically speaking the battle at L4 the day before had been a resounding victory, it had not come without cost. Murrue's heart was heavy with the loss of two of the Orb pilots that had been brought over to strengthen the _Archangel_, along with the injuries of Kira and Mu and the capture of Flay by the Alliance. However, the words of her boyfriend and his later actions had done much to ease the burden that was upon her.

Her face warmed a bit as images of the passionate night her and Heero had shared passed through her mind, their private celebration that they had both survived the fierce battle. She looked to her right as the young man she loved settled in at his usual place by her side, and the two of them shared a small nod and a smile.

However, Murrue was mindful that the rest of her crew did not have the same kind of comfort that she could find within the arms of her boyfriend. There were only a few that she knew of or suspected that were in romantic relationships and could find some similar level of solace. The rest had only their comradery and friendship to count on, along with her leadership. Murrue was determined to be their pillar of strength through this struggle.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked Lieutenant Tsukino as the Orb Lieutenant headed towards her.

Her Executive Officer shook her head. "No action to speak of; not a hint of enemy patrols. The _Eternal _sent us a status report on Kira's condition. He's still out cold, but he's stable. It looks like he'll be able to make a full recovery."

Murrue nodded. "That's good to hear. I hope he wakes up soon. In the meanwhile, I think you've earned some rest, Lieutenant."

The officer gave a weary smile. "No argument there, Captain."

As Lieutenant Tsukino left the bridge Murrue turned to Heero. "Do you think we should organize new patrol flights? Since we're out of the L4 debris field they won't necessarily be the same style, but we could still used advanced recon."

Heero nodded. "It definitely came in handy yesterday. We should contact the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _to coordinate with them."

Before Murrue could reply the communications officer spoke up. "Captain, the _Eternal_'s on the line."

"Speak of the devil," she murmured before responding to her subordinate, "Put them on screen."

The Desert Tiger appeared on the main monitor. "Captain Ramius. I figured your watch would be starting right now. Good to see you too, Heero"

The Gundam pilot nodded. "Waltfeld."

"What do you need, Field Marshal?" Murrue asked.

"I read your report earlier," said Waltfeld, "It was very well done, and I appreciate your attaching Wing Zero's combat data to it." He smiled. "The _Archangel _and Wing Zero really gave the Alliance a thrashing. Excellent work, both of you."

Murrue and Heero both nodded, and the _Archangel_'s Captain smiled. "Thank you, Field Marshal."

The Desert Tiger's expression became more serious. "I went through your debriefing regarding the Hawk. If what the three of you theorized actually took place… well, it's not pleasant to think about, that's for sure."

"We have no proof," said Murrue, "As I noted in the report, it's just a hypothesis."

"Perhaps," said Waltfeld, "but given what La Flaga said to you regarding his and Kira's encounter with Creuset inside the colony, it's more likely than I'd otherwise give it credit for."

"It fits the evidence we have," said Heero, causing Murrue and the Desert Tiger to look at him, "According to La Flaga, Creuset confessed to leaking the true target of Operation Spitbreak to the Atlantic Federation High Command. If I had to guess, I'd say ZAFT found our location first, and then Creuset passed along that data to the Alliance. The entire battle was a setup so he could transfer Flay and whatever she was carrying to the Alliance."

"The 'key' to ending the war," Waltfeld said, looking down for a moment in thought, "The schematics on the N-Jammer Cancellers would fit the bill, if that was indeed what Creuset gave the Alliance. They'd still need time to build and test a prototype, not to mention consolidate and outfit their nuclear arsenal with the devices… but they could easily amass enough warheads to wipe out all the PLANTs in one salvo."

"And we weren't able to stop the Alliance from capturing Flay," said Murrue, "Field Marshal, I apologize for failing to recover her pod."

Waltfeld shook his head. "Your duty was to fend off the Alliance and look after your people, Captain Ramius. You did that, and you were outnumbered by no small margin. Besides, there's no way you could've recovered the pod under those circumstances… and I'm sure you weren't about to kill the poor girl to prevent her from falling into enemy hands."

Murrue nodded. "No," she said, "I could never do that… even if I knew what she was carrying and what use it would be put to. I'm not my former superiors; I don't sacrifice lives, and I don't try to murder my subordinates or former ones. Flay came aboard my ship as a refugee, and she became part of my crew. She was under my protection, and if I have anything to say about it, she still is."

She felt Heero put his hand on her shoulder, and she gave him a small smile and nod before turning back to the main monitor.

"I understand, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "and I wasn't criticizing your decision. You acted according to your principles and did what you thought was right. I respect that, and I won't take away from it. However, that does not change the fact that Flay is now in Alliance custody. If we encounter the _Dominion _again there is a chance she may be aboard it. If that happens…"

"I'll do what I must," Murrue replied firmly, "I would prefer to send the ship packing as we did yesterday, but if it comes down to it I _will _destroy it to protect my friends and comrades."

Waltfeld nodded. "Very well, Captain. I'll trust your judgment when the time comes. Returning to our earlier topic, has La Flaga mentioned anything else regarding his and Kira's encounter with Creuset inside Mendel?"

Murrue shook her head. "He's said nothing since Heero and I debriefed him. If he recalled something of importance since then, I'm sure he would've told us."

"Alright," said Waltfeld, "I guess I'll just have to wait until Kira comes to, then. He's the only other witness in the matter, after all. I just hope his injuries and the sedatives he was given didn't damage his recollection."

"I just hope he recovers," said Murrue.

Waltfeld nodded. "Of course, Captain; that matters more than anything else right now."

"What's the status of the Freedom?" asked Heero.

"Repairs are currently at 75% complete," said Waltfeld.

"Impressive," said Murrue, "considering the damage it took, I'm surprised your crews were able to accomplish so much so quickly."

"Well, we are all ex-ZAFT personnel, and the Freedom was our machine," Waltfeld replied, "Besides, I've had my technical crews work around the clock on it. It's one of our main offensive weapons; we need it back to full operational status ASAP. I just hope its pilot isn't out much longer than the machine has been. The Freedom can be operated by any Coordinator with flight training, but I'd rather it be flown by the pilot that knows it best."

Murrue nodded. "Agreed. Was there anything else you needed to discuss, Field Marshal?"

"Actually, we haven't even gotten to the reason I called, Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, his expression becoming one of amusement, "It's a good thing Heero's already up there with you; that will make it more convenient."

"What do you need?" asked Heero.

"One of the highlights of Captain Ramius's report," said Waltfeld, "was just how much of an improvement yours and Shemei's new targeting program made in the accuracy and efficiency of the _Archangel_'s weaponry. Can you apply that system to the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_?"

Murrue looked at Heero, who nodded. "Yes, though it can't be the exact same system. I have to modify it for each ship to best suit its specific armaments."

"I understand," said Waltfeld, "Can you make the modifications and send the revised programs out to the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_?"

"It'd be better if I performed them in person," said Heero, "Directly interfacing with each ship's weapons systems will make it easier for me to fine tune the software and make it more effective."

"I see," said Waltfeld, "Captain Ramius, can you send Heero over to my ship? I'd like him to install the program here immediately, and then do the same on the _Kusanagi_."

Murrue nodded. "I'll have a shuttle prepped for him, Field Marshal."

"Thanks," the Desert Tiger replied, "the sooner Heero and Shemei's system is up and running, the better. We need every edge we can get over the Alliance and ZAFT."

"Of course," said Murrue, "By the way, I think we should organize new patrol flights for our mobile suits. It was thanks to those that we were able to counter the Alliance and ZAFT battle groups as well as we did yesterday. Our situation may be different now that we're not hiding out at L4, but having recon would still be an asset to us."

Waltfeld nodded. "Agreed, Captain Ramius. Work up a new rotation for your pilots. I'll do the same for mine and have Colonel Kisaka do that for the _Kusanagi_'s units. We'll coordinate timing and coverage between the three ships. Is there anything else, Captain?"

Murrue shook her head. "No, that was all I wanted to bring to your attention."

"Ok," said Waltfeld, "I'll be looking forward to Heero's arrival. _Eternal_ out."

As the Desert Tiger disappeared from the main monitor, Murrue turned to Heero and smiled. "Looks like we both have work to do."

The Gundam pilot nodded and gave a small smile of his own. He reached over and placed his hand over hers, intertwining their fingers. "I'll be back later."

Murrue nodded before removing her hand from his only to gently grab him by the chin and pull him in for a kiss. She could feel the heat rushing to her face, fully aware that her bridge crew was watching them, but she didn't care.

As she pulled back she had the satisfaction of seeing Heero's face flush ever so slightly. "I'll be waiting for you," she said, smiling, "I love you."

"I love you too," Heero replied, that small smile of his growing just a little bit bigger.

….

"He's hard at work," said a familiar female voice from behind him.

Waltfeld looked over his shoulder and smiled as Aisha came up next to his seat on the bridge. He followed her gaze down towards the main weapons station where Heero Yuy was indeed quite busy, typing away as he adjusted his and Shemei's targeting program to suit the _Eternal_'s arsenal. He was wearing his casual clothes, but his demeanor was all business.

"He's been at it for about twenty minutes," said Waltfeld before turning to his lover and giving her a quick kiss, "I can't wait until he's finished; I really want to run some simulations and see what results we get."

Aisha nodded. "I remember what you showed me in Murrue's report. The effectiveness of the _Archangel_'s weapons was dramatically improved thanks to that new program Heero and Shemei came up with. It'll be nice to have our guns and missiles operating at that same level of efficiency during our next battle."

"Especially since you work so closely with them," said Waltfeld, slipping his hand into hers, "you rely on our CIWS and missiles for support since you're our primary escort, and I want you to have the best backup possible."

"You're sweet, dear," Aisha replied, smiling and winking, "but I'm not some fragile little princess; I can handle myself."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Oh, I know."

His expression then became more serious. "You were down in the med bay, right? How's the kid?"

"Same as he was the last time Dr. Bakulev updated us," she replied, "off in dream land."

"And Lacus remains by his side?" asked Waltfeld.

Aisha nodded. "Of course, dear." She smiled. "Fortunately Adaline and the girls have been taking turns keeping an eye on her, making sure she gets at least some food and rest. It's not ideal, but under the circumstances we should take what we can get."

"Who's down there with her now?" asked Waltfeld.

"Priscilla," Aisha replied, "along with Athrun and Cagalli."

The son of Patrick Zala and the daughter of the late Uzumi Nara Athha had arrived on a shuttle from the _Kusanagi _roughly two hours ago to visit Kira. Both were naturally very worried about their friend, with Cagalli in particular adamant in her desire to see him.

_As feisty now as she was back in North Africa_, he mused, _some things never change…_

"Well," said Waltfeld, "if the kid wakes up today, at least he'll be surrounded by friendly faces. I know that did him a lot of good back when he was recovering at the Clyne estate."

"He'll need the support when the time comes for him to recall the events that took place in Mendel," said Heero, taking Waltfeld and Aisha off guard; neither had thought that the young man would be listening in on their conversation, though they weren't exactly being discreet about it either.

_Sharp ears _and _a sharp mind_, thought Waltfeld, _if he was following that while he was working down there, then he's a really good multi-tasker._

"From what La Flaga told Murrue and I during the debriefing," Heero continued, "a lot went down inside Mendel, and Kira took a big psychological hit from what Creuset said. He's grown a lot since I first met him, but he's still soft when compared to seasoned combat veterans; given all he's been through and what was revealed to him inside the colony, his mental state may well be as battered as his physical condition."

"Which is a reason why one more friendly face couldn't hurt," Aisha said to the Gundam pilot, "When you're done up here, why don't you go down to the med bay for a little while? Even if Kira doesn't come to while you're there, I think the others at least would like to see you."

"I have to get to the _Kusanagi _and modify the program for their weapons after this," said Heero, typing away as he spoke.

"I know," Waltfeld chimed in, smiling, "but there's no need to rush it, Heero. Take a little time to visit your friends. I think it'd do both you and them some good."

He saw Wing Zero's pilot pause in his typing for a moment. After a couple seconds he nodded before resuming his work. "Alright."

"Speaking of friends," said Aisha, "you told us that there were four other Gundam pilots besides yourself in your last war. Were you all friends as well, or simply comrades?"

Heero was quiet for a moment, the only sound that of his typing, before he responded. "I suppose eventually we became friends. It took some time for us to come to trust each other; we were each unaware of the others' existence when we launched our offensive against the United Earth Sphere Alliance and OZ."

Waltfeld's good eye widened in shock as the full implications of that statement sunk in. A glance at Aisha revealed the words having the same effect on her; the Desert Tiger could hardly blame her.

"Hold on," said Waltfeld, "you mean…"

"You challenged the entire world to battle _by yourself?_" Aisha finished for him.

Heero nodded as he continued his work. "I'm sure the five scientists that built the Gundams were aware of each other, but they did not pass that knowledge on to us pilots. As far as we knew, we would each be fighting the Alliance and OZ alone, and we trained accordingly. It was only once we all began our attacks that we became aware of each others' presence. Even then, trust in the beginning was difficult to establish."

Waltfeld shook his head, smirking. "God damn… and here I was impressed by the fact that five young men challenged the world. Now I find out you guys originally started out as solo operations… you're just full of surprises, Heero."

"A pity we couldn't get one or two more of you to come to our world," said Aisha, smiling, "You've rocked the Cosmic Era to its core with your actions since your arrival, Heero. If we had another one of _your _world's Gundam pilots, let alone all five…"

"Our situation would still be what it is today," Heero finished for her, "We're good, but we're not invincible."

"Perhaps," said Waltfeld, chuckling, "but you're a hell of a lot better than just 'good', Heero. If those other four pilots were of your caliber of skill, I can only imagine what the five of you were capable of in battle once you finally started working together, let alone what you could do if your friends were with us today."

"That kind of speculation may be a good thought exercise," said Heero, "but it does us little good with regards to our practical situation."

Waltfeld shook his head. "Fine, ruin my fun."

The Desert Tiger and his lover let Heero continue his work in peace. Waltfeld couldn't help but think about the four other pilots the young man had mentioned. What kind of young men were they? What were their Gundams like? How had they developed their skills to the point that they had each become a one-man-army?

His mind flashed back to an exchange between Adaline and Captain Ramius during the conference they'd held shortly after the _Archangel_, the _Kusanagi_, and their mobile suits had saved the _Eternal _from the ZAFT task force that had hounded the ship since its run from the PLANTs.

_"__Hold on a second," said Adaline, her eyes widening in shock, "you mean Heero and four other pilots took on the entire planet?"_

_ Murrue nodded solemnly. "Yes… and they were only fifteen at the time."_

_ Fifteen_, he thought as he watched Heero type, _only a year younger than he is now, and he took on the might of the world… they all did. You don't just sent any five pilots into a fight like that, regardless of the training they've had or the mobile suits you've given them. There was something about those five young men that set them apart from all others, something those that recruited them for their war realized would enable them to challenge _impossible _odds. They weren't picked at random, not thrown into the conflagration by chance; they were _born _for battle._

Just _one _of those gods of war had found his way to the Cosmic Era, and over the course of a few months he'd gone from a powerful enigma to one of the greatest threats faced by the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. He had carved a swath of carnage and death through the ranks of both superpowers; tens of thousands of bodies from both sides of this war were strewn in his wake. His very name and that of his machine had become words whispered with awe and dread, held with the reverence and terror one would reserve for the likes of the Grim Reaper.

Waltfeld mused that it was perhaps a good thing that Heero had been the only one of his world's Gundam pilots to come over to the Cosmic Era.

He wasn't sure this world could handle four more like him.

….

"Kira…" said Lacus softly as she wiped a wet washcloth over his sweaty forehead.

The young man she had fallen in love with was still unconscious, and the pink-haired songstress had never felt so helpless and useless in her life. She may have known intellectually that there was very little she could do for him in his current state, but that knowledge was far outweighed by the desire in her heart to help Kira in any way she could and her despair that he had wound up here in service to her cause.

A hand fell on her left shoulder, and as she looked over she saw Cagalli give her a small smile. "Don't worry," she said, "he'll make it. And when he wakes up, the first thing he'll see is your face. That'll help him more than anything else."

Lacus nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Cagalli."

Orb's young leader was not the only person with Lacus right now. At Cagalli's side was Athrun, and across the bed from them was Priscilla. The three of them had been with Lacus for about two hours now, but in all that time they had spoken only a little. The situation of the young man on the bed did not lend itself well to idle chit-chat.

"Why did he go?" asked Athrun, causing the others to look at him, "Why did he go inside the colony?"

That was a very good question, one that Lacus knew very little about. She was aware that Kira had been pursuing an enemy unit, and that Mu La Flaga of the _Archangel _had joined him in that effort, but she did not know why that particular enemy had warranted that level of attention or what had happened inside the colony. Lacus was sure that something serious had happened during the time they were all in the colony though, if only because of some of the unconscious murmurs of the young man she was watching over.

The two main words he had mumbled were 'Flay' and 'sorry', but there had been a few instances where he'd said something different. The one that had really stood out to Lacus was when the boy had called out to his mother and father, asking them 'why?"

'_Why' what?_, she thought, _What do his parents have to do with this?_

"He'll tell us when he wakes up," said Priscilla, and for a moment Lacus had the absurd thought that she was reading her mind until she realized that the Italian/Romanian Coordinator was answering Athrun's query, "until then, we can't really know what happened, so there's no use in worrying about it."

Athrun nodded. "I guess you're right."

He looked down in thought, and Cagalli laid her head down on his shoulder. Given that Athrun was Lacus's former fiancé, one might expect such behavior to make the songstress uncomfortable in some way, but that was not the case. Lacus had known from the moment she had given Kira the Freedom that her engagement with Athrun was off, as did he… and it was something she knew that they were both grateful for.

_With Kira_, she thought, _I actually fell in love. It just wasn't the same with Athrun. I care about him, of course; he's a dear friend, always has been and always will be. However, I just didn't feel the same way about Athrun as I do with Kira now._

She hadn't known for sure until Athrun and Cagalli had walked into the medical bay to visit today that they were a couple, but the signs of their growing closeness had been apparent for some time now. Lacus was happy for them; she felt that they would be a good match.

_They balance each other well_, she thought, _and they both deeply care for each other. Surprising, given the circumstances under which they met…_

Lacus had heard from both Cagalli and Athrun about their first meeting on the island where they had landed, or in the former's case crashed, in the Indian Ocean after the _Archangel _and her pilots had beaten the Morassim Team and the _Everest_ Flying Fortress. Had their situation at the time not been life-and-death it would almost strike Lacus as comical and romantic. Their second meeting, from what she understood, had been far more tragic and tense as it had come after the apparent death of Kira in the Marshall Islands, but the two of them had somehow managed to work past their pain… and fall in love. They'd come to an understanding despite their tragic circumstances, despite the fact that Athrun had apparently killed a young man that Cagalli had clearly cared deeply for, and had forged a new bond between them, one that was compassionate and strong. To Lacus, it was a very beautiful thing that they had done.

_If only those that hold power in the Alliance and ZAFT_, she thought bitterly, _could show such compassion and understanding towards each other. Alas, it is not to be…_

The four of them turned towards the door as it hissed open. Lacus had expected to see one of Priscilla's teammates or perhaps Dr. Bakulev, but her eyes widened as she saw none other than Wing Zero's pilot walk through the door.

"Heero!" she said.

"Hey," said Cagalli, "What brings you over here?"

"Upgrading the _Eternal_'s targeting systems," he said as the door closed behind him, "I actually got here about an hour ago."

"We hadn't heard," said Priscilla, nodding and smiling at the Gundam pilot, "It's good to see you again, Heero."

"Same here," said Athrun.

As Heero came over to join them, Lacus saw his gaze fall upon Kira. The young man paused for a moment before the songstress saw him shake his head. "Again…" he said quietly.

Lacus arched an eyebrow at that statement. "What do you mean, 'again', Heero?"

"This is the third time he's been laid up like this," Heero replied as he pulled up a chair next to Priscilla on the opposite side of the bed, "First there was North Africa after his partial atmospheric reentry in the Strike, then his recovery at your residence, Lacus, and now here. Kira has a habit of getting himself into trouble, more so than most of the pilots in our group."

"Hey," said Cagalli, "it's not his fault! Quit picking on him!"

"I'm not," Heero replied calmly, "just making an observation. With the level of danger he puts himself in, it's really not surprising. Just like a Gundam pilot…"

Lacus was surprised to hear Heero say something like that. "So you and your comrades in your old world often wound up like this, Heero?"

"Not as frequently as Kira," Heero responded, "but we all took our hits one way or another. From what La Flaga told Murrue and I, Kira got hit hard psychologically inside Mendel. It's really no surprise that he got hit physically when he reentered the battle; he was off his game."

"Hold on," said Athrun, his eyes narrowing, "you mean you know what happened inside the colony, why Kira went in there?"

"I know only what La Flaga told Murrue and me during the debriefing," said Heero, "I don't have Kira's perspective on the events that unfolded."

"Still," said Cagalli, "I think we'd like to hear it all the same."

"Yeah," said Priscilla, "It'd be nice to know what happened in there."

Lacus met Heero's gaze. "Please, Heero," she said, "Tell me what happened inside the Mendel colony. I need to know what Kira experienced there… what shook him so badly."

Heero nodded. "Alright. I'll tell you everything I know."

And he did precisely that. Lacus and the others listened with rapt attention as the Demon Lord of Avalon recounted what he and his lover had learned from the Hawk of Endymion over the course of his debriefing. The Gundam pilot held nothing back, and even included the speculation that had followed the debriefing regarding the transfer of Flay Allster's pod from ZAFT to the Alliance.

When Heero finished there was silence for a moment before Cagalli broke it. "I… I can't understand it," she said softly, fear clear in her voice, "How… how could _one man _cause all this?"

"It's Creuset," said Athrun grimly, putting his hand on her shoulder, "he's more than capable of it."

"You mean you're not surprised, Athrun?" asked Priscilla.

"I never said that," Athrun replied, "He was always something of a mystery to me and the others… but he's definitely smart enough to pull off the kind of manipulation Heero just described."

"Perhaps," said Lacus, unconsciously gripping Kira's hand tightly as she spoke, "but to have so much _hatred _inside him… to actually desire the annihilation of _the entire human race_… it's horrifying!"

Heero nodded. "When placed into the context of the actions taken by the Alliance and ZAFT over the past few months, the idea of one hand manipulating both sides and fanning the flames of fanaticism and hatred that they've so readily embraced actually doesn't sound too far-fetched. Creuset actually didn't have to assert much influence in order to get the Alliance and ZAFT to march down the path he wanted them to take. His actions regarding Operation Spitbreak were probably the boldest and riskiest moves he's made over the course of the war, and even with the wrench I threw in his plans by destroying JOSH-A before the Cyclops bomb could detonate he still managed to salvage the situation to play to his ultimate end-game. He's a cunning strategist… and his personal motivations make him all the more dangerous."

"How did I not pick up on that sooner?" said Athrun, "I worked with him, fought alongside him, for months… how could I have never noticed what was going on with him?"

Lacus shook her head. "You can't blame yourself, Athrun. You had your own worries at the time… especially after what happened at Heliopolis."

She'd known just how heavily the fact that he'd had to fight Kira weighed on Athrun's mind; he had told her himself while they were both still in the PLANTs. Given the inherent tragedy of such a situation, of two best friends now forced to do battle against each other, it was only natural that Athrun had not been paying closer attention to then-Commander Creuset.

"La Flaga said Creuset wears a mask," Heero chimed in, causing the others to look at him, "and that he's a very cool, confident, and cunning individual. He's very skilled at concealing his true motives from people, and obscuring his face with the mask probably has as much to do with enhancing that effect as it does with hiding the fact that he's a clone of a prominent and deceased multi-billionaire."

"Heero's right," said Priscilla, "Taking all those factors into consideration, it's really no surprise no one's been able to discern what he's truly been after in this war."

"And I'm sure he's been careful to cover his tracks," said Lacus, "Finding proof of his actions may be impossible."

"Hold on a minute," said Cagalli, "We _do _have proof of what he's done! La Flaga said he encountered Creuset at Alaska during the battle there, and when they met again inside Mendel yesterday the guy _confessed _to having leaked the information about Operation Spitbreak to the Alliance, knowing that they'd set a trap for ZAFT. He also said he'd manipulated both sides since then regarding the slaughters at the Second Battle of Alaska and the Battle of Panama!"

"That may be proof enough for _us_," said Athrun grimly, "but I doubt La Flaga's testimony, or Kira's for that matter when he comes to, will do us much good if we release it to the general public."

"What?" cried Cagalli, her eyes widening, "Why?"

"Credibility," said Heero.

Before Wing Zero's pilot could elaborate, Priscilla took over. "Mu La Flaga and Kira Yamato are both members of an organization that is an avowed enemy of both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. Their testimony can easily be seen as biased or manipulative by outsiders, especially without corroborating evidence… and as Lacus noted, Creuset will be very careful to remove anything that directly links him to what we're accusing him of. Anything we have against him is circumstantial at best, and going at him with that in a public campaign would tarnish our credibility in the eyes of the people whose trust we need if we're to remove the extremists on both sides from power and bring this war to an end."

Lacus nodded. "You're right. Without solid proof such as communications records, data transfers, video surveillance, or anything of that nature, the only evidence we can give regarding Creuset's activities is whatever statements Kira and La Flaga might provide. We might believe them, and those allied with us may see it as good enough evidence, but to the majority of the people and any court that might try Creuset it would be flimsy at best. Going public with this would do us more harm than good."

"How?" asked Cagalli, "Even if no one believes us, wouldn't there be at least some suspicion cast on this Creuset guy? That'd have to help us at least a little!"

Athrun shook his head. "No, it wouldn't. Creuset would be able to deflect it and claim that we were simply making such statements in a desperate attempt to gain public support and tarnish the reputation of ZAFT. A little manipulation on his part and we come across as weak and petty at best, crazy and delusional at worst."

"Exactly," said Heero, "As much as we might not like it, we have to keep this information to ourselves for now. Maybe when the war's over and we've restored some semblance of moderate governance to the Earth Sphere we can come forward with this information, but at present it does us little good in the political arena."

They were all quiet for a moment before Lacus spoke again, determined to at least put some sort of silver lining on the matter. "Regardless of its use as a public relations tool, it's still valuable information to have. Thanks to Mu La Flaga we now have a better understanding of how and why the conflict between the Alliance and ZAFT has escalated so dramatically over the past few months. I'm sure Waltfeld and Bristow will be able to find a way to use this knowledge to our advantage, and perhaps Kira can offer them another perspective when he wakes up."

She looked down at the young man and wiped his head again with the washcloth. "As for what else Creuset said… about Kira's birth… that's a more personal matter."

"One Kira will have to come to terms with," said Heero firmly, "If he lets this new revelation cast new doubts in his mind of any kind, then his effectiveness on the battlefield will be considerably reduced. He has to deal with this and put it behind him."

"It's not going to be that easy," said Cagalli, glaring at him, "He's had a hard enough time coping with being a Coordinator fighting against his own kind, not to mention wondering why he was made one to begin with. Now he gets all this stuff about him being the product of a mad scientist's dream, about the parents he's known not being his real mother and father, the reason he was created… it's not something he can just deal with all at once, Heero! Besides, it affects more than just how he flies; it affects _who he thinks he is!_ Come on, Heero, you can't be so cold about it! You're his friend, aren't you?"

Lacus saw the Gundam pilot close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he looked at Kira for a couple seconds, and Lacus thought she saw a hint of regret in his eyes. He then turned to Cagalli and gave her a small nod.

"You're right," he said, "I was callous about it. I do consider Kira a friend, and it's not just the state of his piloting abilities that concern me. I'm sorry, Cagalli."

Cagalli's eyes widened for a moment; clearly she had not been expecting an apology from Wing Zero's pilot. Her surprise was short-lived though, and she quickly gave him a smile and a nod. "It's ok, Heero. I know you care about him, and the rest of us. You're not a cold person, even if it might look that way sometimes."

Lacus smiled as well as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Heero after that first conference aboard the _Eternal_, when the young man had lowered his defenses and confessed his feelings for Murrue Ramius, along with the guilt over his past actions that so deeply haunted him.

_No_, she thought as she looked at the soldier from another world, _he's not cold at all. He's actually quite warm once you get to know him._

Suddenly she heard Kira groan, and as Lacus turned to him she saw the boy's eyes flutter. He was waking up.

"Kira!" she cried, gripping his hand tightly.

….

Slowly but surely the darkness that had enveloped Kira began to recede. Blurry light took its place, bit by bit becoming clearer as the young Coordinator struggled out of unconsciousness.

"Kira!" he heard a voice cry. It was definitely female, but the boy could not quite place who it belonged to; his hearing was as muddled as his vision. For some reason the face of the girl he had tried to save flashed before his eyes… the face of the girl he'd once loved.

"Flay…" he groaned.

"Kira!" the voice said again, only this time it was a little clearer, and Kira realized that it wasn't Flay. His vision cleared up as well, and he beheld the familiar face of a pink-haired songstress, once again his bedside angel.

"Lacus…" he said softly.

Without further adieu the girl flung herself forward, taking the young man into a tight embrace. "Kira!" she said as she held him, "You're finally awake! I was so worried…"

Kira raised his left arm to return the hug; his right was heavily bandaged and he could not quite move it yet. He smiled as he felt her soft, flowing hair brush against his face. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I'm up now. I'm ok."

The girl pulled back, but only so she could plant a kiss on his left cheek. Kira could feel himself blushing as her lips pressed against his skin, and when Lacus looked at him again the young man could swear that her face was a little flushed as well.

_She was by my side again_, he thought, recalling his recovery at the Clyne estate, _just like last time. She… she really does care about me…_

"Kira!" cried another familiar female voice, and the boy had no time to react as Cagalli mirrored Lacus's earlier move and threw her arms around him.

"Cagalli," he said, returning the hug as best he could.

After a few seconds his sister pulled back, and he could see her shake her head as she wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. "You… you idiot!" she yelled, "You _have _to stop ending up like this! What the hell were you thinking?"

Kira smiled sheepishly. "Yeah… sorry about that."

Cagalli returned the smile. "Well, you're back. That's all that matters."

"I'm glad you're alright," said another voice, this one male. Kira turned and saw Athrun next to Cagalli.

He nodded at his best friend. "Thanks for saving me."

"Anytime," Athrun replied.

Looking around, Kira saw that those three were not his only guests. Sitting on the opposite side of the bed were none other than Heero and Priscilla.

The blond haired, green eyed girl gave him a friendly smile. "It's good to see you up," she said, "you've been unconscious for almost a day now."

"That long?" he said, his eyes widening.

"Lacus has been worried sick," Priscilla replied, nodding at the songstress, "She never left your side in all that time."

Kira looked at Lacus again with renewed wonder at her selfless devotion to him. On closer inspection he could detect the weariness in her face, and he realized that she had hardly slept at all, and certainly not in the comfort of her own quarters.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to…"

Lacus shook her head before he could finish and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Kira. I'm just glad you've woken up. I did not mind staying by your side in the least."

"Thanks," said Kira.

He then turned to the one person he'd yet to speak to. Heero seemed as calm and collected as ever, but Kira thought he detected something else in the Gundam pilot's demeanor. He seemed to be more relaxed… and relieved.

The pilot from another world gave him a nod. "Welcome back. Good to see you up, Kira."

Kira returned the nod. "What are you doing over here, Heero?"

"I came to help improve the _Eternal_'s targeting systems," he replied, "Waltfeld said I should stop in for a visit before moving on to the _Kusanagi_. I wasn't expecting you to wake up while I was here."

Kira smiled. "Lucky me, huh?"

To his surprise the Gundam pilot actually smirked and chuckled at his words. "No doubt. To have survived everything you have since Heliopolis… you don't just have the skills of a Gundam pilot; you have our luck and our tenacity. You just won't stay down."

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Kira.

Heero nodded, and they all shared a moment of quiet contentedness, just relieved that their friend was at last conscious again.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Kira leaned forward and put his hand to his head as memories of yesterday's battle flashed through his head… along with what he had failed to do.

"Kira!" cried Lacus, and he could feel her grab him by the shoulders, "What's wrong?"

"Flay…" he said softly before looking up at the others, "What… what happened to Flay? Did she…"

Heero shook his head. "We couldn't get to her, Kira. As far as we know she's alive, but in Alliance custody. I'm sorry."

Kira looked down, guilt weighing heavily upon his heart. "No… I told her I'd protect her… that I'd save her!"

"You did everything you could," said Cagalli, "this wasn't your fault."

"She's right, Kira," said Lacus, moving her hands to his cheeks and gently raising his face up to meet hers, "you tried your best to save your friend, Kira. I'm sure she'd understand."

"For what it's worth," said Heero, causing them to look at him, "the ship she was taken to was commanded by Natarle Badgiruel, and it survived the battle. So long as Flay's with Natarle she'll be looked after. It's not an ideal situation, but things could be worst. Under the circumstances I'd say she's relatively safe, Kira."

Kira nodded, though his friend's words did little to ease his guilt. "Ok…"

"You need to focus on your recovery for right now, Kira," said Athrun, "worrying like this won't help you."

Kira closed his eyes for a moment. _Flay_, he thought, _I'm sorry. Please, stay safe… _For now, those silent prayers were all he could do for his friend and ex-lover.

Suddenly other images from the battle the day before began flashing through his mind… and the confrontation inside the Mendel colony was foremost among them. "Oh no," he said, his eyes widening, "Mu! Is he…"

"He's recovering in the _Archangel_'s medical bay," Heero answered, nodding, "He'll be down for a couple more days, but he's ok. Chief Murdoch and his crews almost have the Tallgeese Kai ready to go, and by the time La Flaga's out of the infirmary it'll be all set for him to fly."

As Kira looked at the Gundam pilot he saw his eyes narrow. "Kira… what happened inside the colony? La Flaga gave Murrue and me his account, but your perspective would be just as valuable."

"Hold on," said Priscilla, looking over at Heero, "isn't it a little early to be interrogating him? He just woke up!"

"Yeah," said Cagalli, "Heero, what the hell's wrong with you?"

"Weren't you paying attention earlier when I gave you La Flaga's account?" Wing Zero's pilot asked the tomboyish princess, "You know now that this war is not quite what we thought it is. We need every possible perspective on what Creuset revealed to Kira and La Flaga inside the colony. La Flaga already gave us his, and I doubt we'll be able to interview Creuset any time soon, so Kira's the only other witness we have."

The mention of the masked ZAFT pilot sent another burst of memories rushing through Kira's mind, and none of them were pleasant. He put his hand to his forehead, all the doubts and fears about the man's revelations that he had been able to push aside briefly during the battle now surging to the forefront. "No…" he said, "I…I can't…"

"Kira?" said Lacus worriedly, putting her hand on his shoulder, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Everyone, back up," said another female voice, this one new and with a distinct Eastern European accent, "Give him some space!"

Looking up, Kira saw a lovely woman with long, flowing black hair and deep brown eyes. Her expression was one of concern, and as she rushed forward Kira saw a red cross patch on the right breast of her green uniform.

"Doctor…" said Lacus.

"Miss Clyne," the woman said as she approached, "please, move aside."

The girl did so, and her hand on Kira's shoulder was swiftly replaced by that of this new woman. "Kira," said the doctor as she put her other hand on cheek, "it's ok. You don't have to go back there, not now. Take a deep breath and look at me, Kira."

The young man did so, and as his gaze met the woman's he was struck by how gentle and warm her eyes seemed. It reminded him of Captain Ramius, and that sense of familiarity combined with this woman's motherly feel helped him calm down a little.

"You're safe here," she said, smiling at him, "You don't have to worry about what happened before. You can come to that later, and when you do I'll be here to help you, as will your friends."

"Miss…" said Kira, almost overwhelmed by her kindness and understanding.

"Bakulev," she said, "Doctor Alexandra Bakulev, Chief Medical Officer of the _Eternal_. You don't need to be formal with me though, Kira; Alexandra will do, if you wish."

He saw her look at the others. "I know you all care for him, but right now Kira needs some space to recover and get his thoughts in order. Right now there's just too many of you here, and while I know you mean well I fear that this may all be a bit overwhelming and too soon."

She then turned her gaze towards Heero, and Kira saw her eyes sharpen a little. "Heero Yuy, while I know your intentions are good, Kira's in no condition for a debriefing of any kind right now. What happened yesterday was clearly very traumatic for him, and I'm not just referring to his physical wounds. When the time comes that I believe he's ready for an interview I will inform Field Marshal Waltfeld, and I'm sure he will pass on whatever Kira says to you and the others. Until then I must ask you to desist in your interrogation."

For a moment Kira thought Heero would press the matter, but he was surprised to see the Gundam pilot nod. "I understand. Forgive me, Dr. Bakulev." He stood up and looked at Kira before heading towards the door. "I need to get to the _Kusanagi_. Take care, Kira."

Kira nodded and watched him leave the room before he saw Athrun, Cagalli, and Priscilla stand up. Lacus was about to join them before Alexandra stopped her and smiled. "Miss Clyne, you can stay, if you wish." She then turned to the other three. "You all can come back later if you wish to visit, but for right now… well, I feel that Miss Clyne's presence will have the soothing affect Kira needs."

Both Kira and Lacus actually blushed a little at her words, and Kira was struck by just how true they were. From the moment he had woken up, it had been Lacus that he had gravitated towards, her gentle touch that had helped him keep it together before Alexandra had come in. There was a real connection between them, and Kira realized that it was much stronger now than it had been before... and definitely stronger than the one he'd had with Flay.

Athrun, Cagalli, and Priscilla looked at Kira and Lacus before nodding and smiling in understanding. "Of course," said Cagalli, "Can we come by tomorrow?"

"I think that'll be fine," Alexandra replied, nodding, "and please pass that along to Heero as well. I did not mean to simply push him out like that, but…"

"Don't worry about it," said Athrun, "I'm sure Heero understood that you weren't trying to be rude."

"Yeah," said Cagalli, smiling, "I mean, he can be a bit blunt at times, but I know he just wants to do everything he can to help us. You made him realize that he was rushing that, moving too fast for Kira given his current condition, and he backed off. He wants Kira to get better too, just like the rest of us."

"We'd best be going, then," said Priscilla, smiling at Kira and Lacus, "We'll see you two tomorrow."

"Farewell," said Lacus.

Kira nodded at his friends, and all three of them left the medical bay.

"Ah, to be young," said Alexandra, causing Kira and Lacus to look at her, "So full of energy, so straightforward and earnest, and yet they can also be caring and understanding when appropriate. You have some remarkable friends, Kira Yamato."

Kira smiled as he felt Lacus take his hand in hers. "Yeah…"

She turned to Lacus. "Miss Clyne, while I'm letting you stay for now, you will not be sleeping in my med bay as you did last night. Tonight I want you to sleep in your own bed; you need real rest, and now that you know Kira's conscious I'm sure that will be much easier for you to come by. You can always come to visit Kira again after you've had a good night's sleep."

Lacus nodded. "Alright, Dr. Bakulev."

The doctor went to a nearby desk and grabbed a stethoscope before returning to the young man's bedside. "I hope you don't mind me running them out like that, Kira," she said, "but as your doctor your well-being is my top-priority. It's good for you to have friends by you at a time like this, but I also need to perform my duties."

"It's ok," said Kira, "I think they all got that."

"Good," she said, and Kira couldn't suppress a small gasp as he felt the cold metal of the stethoscope press against his chest, "because now that you're conscious, I have some tests I need to perform on you. Now, take a deep breath and let it out slowly."

He glanced over at Lacus, and the two of them shared a small smile. The whole situation had, to Kira at least, taken a slightly amusing turn. Here he was, recovering from serious wounds he had taken in battle, and one of the first things his attending doctor wanted to perform on him was a test that had been routine during his checkups back when he was a civilian. Of course, he'd never dreamed he'd be getting a 'checkup' on board in the medical bay of a highly advanced warship.

It was just another sign of how strange his life had become.

….

"Well," said Murrue, smiling at him from across the table, "I'm glad you were able to be there when Kira woke up. I'm sure having you and so many of his other friends by his side at that moment must've helped him immeasurably."

Heero nodded, thinking back on what had occurred in the _Eternal_'s medical bay before taking a sip from his cup of coffee. It was early 'evening' now on board the _Archangel_, and Heero was enjoying his off-hours with the woman he loved in the ship's officers' lounge.

"At first, perhaps," he replied as he set his cup down and met Murrue's gaze, "but later on… I think I might've done more harm than good. I shouldn't have pressed so quickly for answers from Kira about what happened inside Mendel… I screwed up."

He saw her shake her head and smile as she reached across the table to take his hand in hers. "Heero, it's alright. I know why you were so eager to get Kira's side of the story. After what La Flaga told us yesterday and what we speculated on afterwards, I can hardly blame you for wanting every possible bit of information on their encounter with Creuset."

Heero sighed. "That doesn't change the fact that I acted without considering the possible repercussions. From what La Flaga told us I should've realized that the events inside Mendel would've had a major psychological impact on Kira given what he'd learned, that he'd be shaken up by far more than just his physical injuries. I assumed that just because we were able to debrief La Flaga right after his injuries had been treated I could do the same for Kira; I never considered the emotional differences between them, their level of maturity. Some friend I am…"

"Heero, stop this," Murrue pleaded, gently caressing his right cheek with her left hand, "Maybe you made a mistake, acted on a bad judgment, but that's ok. You're _human_, Heero; it's _ok _for you to make mistakes. You were acting in the way you thought was best for all of us, and I'm sure Kira and the others understand that. None of them would hold it against you, you _know _that. Surely they forgave you for your mistake."

Heero nodded, recalling the reactions of Dr. Bakulev and Kira before he'd left the medical bay. "Yeah… they did."

He saw Murrue smile again before she leaned across the table to kiss him. "Then stop worrying about it, my love," she said as she pulled back, "None of them would want you to beat yourself up over something like this, least of all Kira. You know him better than that, Heero; he is your friend, after all."

Heero couldn't help but give her a small smile in return. "You're right, Murrue. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Heero," she replied.

The two of them were quiet for a few seconds as they drank more of their coffee. When they set their cups down Murrue smiled again. "I'm glad Waltfeld sent some of his personal blends back with you. This is so much better than that crap coffee this ship was stocked with before."

Heero nodded. "I know what you mean. In fact, I think this is the same blend he gave Kira, Cagalli, and I when he took us to his headquarters in Banadiya."

"Is that so?" said Murrue as she took another sip, "That seems like such a long time ago… but it was only a few months. Who would've imagined that we'd end up fighting alongside the Desert Tiger, along with so many of our other adversaries from North Africa?"

"I guess we wound up being more alike than we'd originally thought we were," said Heero.

"True enough," said Murrue, smirking, "I'm sure both our superiors being complete assholes had something to do with it as well."

Heero gave a small chuckle. "You have a point there, Murrue."

The two of them smiled at each other as they shared a small laugh and drank their coffee. A silence fell between them after a little while, but it wasn't an awkward one. Rather, it was one of contentment, of simply enjoying some precious time with the one they loved.

_Back in my old world_, he thought as he looked at Murrue, _I never dreamed I'd ever feel like this, doing such a simple act. All we're doing is drinking coffee, but the fact that I'm doing it with _her _just gives it so much more meaning. Murrue, you've changed me, changed so much about how I live, how I experience the world around me… your world, _our _world… it's incredible._

The Gundam pilot found his small smile growing almost without his bidding, and from the look in Murrue's eyes he knew she had noticed. "What is it, Heero?" she asked.

Heero surprised her, and himself, by putting down his coffee and leaning across the table. Taking Murrue's chin in his hand, he brought her face up to his and took her into a warm, deep kiss. Murrue swiftly returned it, and the two lovers lost themselves in each other for a few beautiful moments.

Eventually of course they were forced to part, but their smiles did not fade from their faces as they settled back into their seats. A warm feeling had enveloped both of them, and Heero wanted it to last forever.

"I love you, Murrue," he said.

"I love you too, Heero," she replied.

….

"Well, doctor?" asked Waltfeld.

It was two days since the battle at L4. Kira had finally awoken the day before, and Waltfeld and Aisha had paid the young man a visit once the Desert Tiger's watch had ended. While Waltfeld had been eager to debrief the young man and corroborate the account given by the Hawk of Endymion to Captain Ramius and Heero, his chief medical officer had told him in no uncertain terms that it was far too soon for an interview of that nature, and he had let the matter slide for that visit and focused on simply wishing Kira well and chatting for a bit before leaving. Now that more time had passed though, Waltfeld was eager to get Kira's version of the events that had occurred inside Mendel. While he was conscious of the boy's current state, he simply could not wait for much longer to get that valuable information; there was too much at stake.

He watched on his personal monitor as Alexandra looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "His condition's improved, and talking to Miss Clyne since he woke up seems to have helped him considerably, but… I still have my reservations, sir."

Waltfeld sighed. "Dr. Bakulev, I understand the need for care regarding Kira's emotional processing of what happened on Mendel and in the rest of the battle, but time is not our ally here. I need to debrief Kira before I can plan our next move, and that has to happen sooner rather than later."

Alexandra nodded. "I would prefer to wait at least another day, but… I'll relent, sir. Please, just take care regarding your questioning. I still have my concerns about the boy."

"Noted," said Waltfeld, "I'll be down in a few minutes. Is Miss Clyne still with him?"

"Yes," she replied, "and I would prefer it if she stayed with him throughout your debriefing. I know you won't be hostile towards him, sir, but I would still like Kira to have some moral support here, and Miss Clyne has proven to be a wonderful source of that for him."

Waltfeld smiled. "She does have a knack for that, our songstress."

"Especially as far as Kira is concerned," said Alexandra, "I'm quite certain her feelings for him are far beyond that of friendly affection."

Waltfeld chuckled. "You're not wrong there, doctor."

"I know I'm not," she replied, "I'll see you shortly, sir."

….

"Come on," said Lacus, holding the spoon full of jello before his mouth, "open up, Kira."

Kira gave her an embarrassed smile. "Lacus, I can do it myself."

She shook her head. "Your right arm is still bandaged up, and it's not good for you to put any undue stress on it. You've only got your left arm to use right now, and from what I saw earlier that's clearly not your dominant one, Kira."

The boy sighed. She had a point there. Besides, she seemed to enjoy caring for him, so Kira felt it would be best if he went along with her for the time being.

"Alright," he said, opening wide.

It was a good thing she was here to help him eat. Since he had regained consciousness the day before he had developed quite the appetite and the nutrients given to him by the IV in his arm had not been enough for him. Now the IV was out entirely, and he was once again completely reliant on eating normally for sustenance.

Lacus had followed the doctor's orders to leave and sleep in her own room eventually, but to Kira it had seemed that no sooner had he fallen asleep and woken up that she was right by his side, and he had to wonder if she had really gotten a full night's rest before coming back to the med bay. She hadn't seemed as tired as she did the day before though, so he took that as a good sign. He was glad she was here with him; simply having her company was helping him immeasurably, especially when it came to sorting through everything that had happened inside the Mendel colony two days ago.

Creuset's revelations, along with his failure to save Flay, had haunted Kira's mind ever since the battle. When he was unconscious those thoughts had manifested in little more than brief, jumbled images, quick flashes coming and going at random amidst the darkness. Now that he was awake he could try to make more sense of it, but the ramifications of all that he had learned about his origins were a lot to swallow.

He hadn't told Lacus much about what had happened during that fateful encounter inside the abandoned colony. Kira could tell that she was worried about what he had experienced, but she'd apparently decided not to press him on the issue. Lacus had simply held him close and told him to take his time, that he could talk about whatever he felt comfortable with, and that she would be here to give him all the support he needed. That had meant a lot to Kira, and he once again found himself amazed at the girl's ability to understand his feelings.

He heard the door hiss open. Turning towards it, Kira expected to see Dr. Bakulev approaching, and indeed she was, but Kira was surprised to see that she was accompanied by none other than Waltfeld and Aisha. The Desert Tiger and his lover smiled as they came up to him, with the lovely black-haired woman moving to grab chairs for the both of them.

"Hey, kid," said Waltfeld, "You're looking better already. How you feeling?"

"Alright," Kira replied, smiling, "just a little sore."

"We've got to stop meeting like this," said Aisha, winking at him as she and Waltfeld sat down beside the bed, "This reminds me of that time back at the Clyne estate. Fortunately your wounds are not as serious now as they were back then."

"Dr. Bakulev has provided exceptional care for Kira," said Lacus, nodding at the chief medical officer, who was leaning against the wall not too far from the bed, "I'm glad Bristow was able to get her assigned to the _Eternal_."

"As are the rest of us," said Waltfeld, looking over at Alexandra, "Dr. Bakulev's one of the best medics in the ZAFT Fleet. Snagging her was a real coup."

"And I'm very happy to have the opportunity to join you all in this endeavor," said Alexandra, smiling at them, "I may not be able to aid you in battle, but I will do everything in my power to make sure you can fight at full health to help bring this foolish war to an end."

"We all contribute in our own way," said Lacus, "Just because a person cannot fight on the front lines does not mean they cannot help our cause in some way, nor does it diminish their aid."

Aisha nodded. "Well said, Miss Clyne."

Waltfeld looked at Kira again and smiled. "Well, you'll be happy to know that we've already finished up the repairs for the Freedom, Kira; your machine's ready for action the moment you are."

"That's good," said Kira.

He then saw the Desert Tiger turn to Alexandra again, his expression becoming more serious. The doctor sighed and gave him a reluctant nod. Before Kira could ask what was going on Waltfeld turned back to him, his good eye focusing in on the young man with razor sharpness.

"Kira," he said, "While our ships and mobile suits may be ready for battle again, the same can't be said for our group as a whole, at least not in a way that advances our cause. Our fights have to be directed towards finding a way to bring this war to an end, and to do that we need every bit of information we can get regarding the Alliance and ZAFT."

He looked down for a moment before meeting Kira's gaze again, and the boy could feel a sense of reluctance coming from Waltfeld. "When Aisha and I visited you yesterday," he continued, "Dr. Bakulev asked that I hold off on your debriefing out of concern for your well-being, and I heeded her wishes. I don't want to put any undue stress on you, impede your recovery in any way; you went through a lot in the fight at L4, both physically and emotionally, and I want you to be able to recuperate from that. I'll give you all the time I can for the former, but… I'm afraid I can't give you the same luxury with regards to the latter. Kira, I wish I could put this off, I really do… but I need to get your account of what happened inside Mendel. La Flaga's debriefing was very valuable, and information-wise I doubt you could tell me more than he already revealed, but I still need your perspective, Kira. If what Creuset told you when you and La Flaga encountered him inside that colony is true, then our struggle just became more urgent than ever."

Kira looked down. He'd been afraid that Waltfeld had come here today to ask him about his fateful meeting with Creuset. There was still so much doubt and uncertainty whirling about inside his mind from that encounter… even two days after it had occurred, the boy still felt as though he were reeling from it on some level.

He then felt a familiar hand gently grab his. Looking up, his eyes met those of Lacus, her lovely cerulean gems emanating serenity, compassion, and encouragement. She gave him a small nod and a smile. "It's ok, Kira. I'll be here, with you, while you tell them what happened. If you need strength, you can take it from me."

Kira nodded slowly before turning back to Waltfeld and Aisha. He took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "Ok… I'll tell you everything."

It wasn't easy, but the boy managed to describe that fateful encounter he and La Flaga had experienced with Creuset inside the Mendel colony, along with what had happened afterwards when he had returned to the battlefield. Through it all Lacus held his hand, and she wasn't his only source of strength; more than once Alexandra had come over to put her hand on his shoulder, or had simply given him a warm smile and a nod of encouragement. Waltfeld listened patiently, only interrupting a few times for clarification, and he let Kira set the pace of the debriefing.

Eventually Kira came to the end of his tale, and silence fell over the room as the others processed everything that he had told him. The young man was nervous about how they might react to some of the things he had told him… especially with regards to what Creuset had revealed about his origins.

Waltfeld closed his eye for a moment before looking at Kira again. "He didn't say anything else?" he asked.

Kira shook his head.

Waltfeld nodded. "I see. What about Flay Allster? Did she mention him at all when you spoke over the radio?"

"No," Kira replied, "she said she had to tell me something, but she never got the chance because of the battle."

"She never mentioned the 'key' to ending the war?" asked Aisha.

He was surprised at the term Aisha had used. "No, I never heard her say anything like that. Why?"

"When ZAFT released the pod," said Waltfeld, "Flay broadcasted over an open channel. She said she had the 'key' that would bring this war to an end."

Kira shook his head. "I never caught that transmission. It must've been after I went inside the colony."

"I see," said Waltfeld. He looked over at Lacus. "Miss Clyne, you didn't…"

The songstress shook her head. "No. Heero told me about his and Captain Ramius's speculation with Mu La Flaga while Kira was unconscious… but I haven't told Kira yet." She turned to the young man and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, but I wanted you to focus on your recovery. I didn't want to worry you, Kira."

"It's ok," said Kira, smiling, "I'm not mad at you, Lacus."

She returned the smile and squeezed his hand. "Oh… thank you, Kira."

Kira nodded before turning back to Waltfeld. "I want to hear it now, though. What did Captain Ramius and Heero tell you guys?"

"It's just a theory right now," said Waltfeld, his tone grim, "but… we have reason to believe that Flay's transfer to the Alliance forces was orchestrated by Creuset and that it fits into his larger plan."

"I don't understand," said Kira, "How?"

"Our hypothesis," said Aisha, her usually playful emerald eyes now hard as stone, "is that Flay was sent over to the Alliance carrying the technical specifications for the N-Jammer Cancellers."

Kira's eyes widened in horror as the gravity of what was implied in that statement sunk in. "No way… you mean…"

"It will take time," Waltfeld cut in, "Even with access to the specs they will still need to build a prototype and conduct tests before they shift into mass production… but the fact remains that the Alliance now has the capability to bring their nuclear arsenal back into this war."

"We've shared this hypothesis with Bristow," said Aisha, "He believes that once the Alliance has produced the N-Jammer Cancellers in sufficient quantities and fitted the devices to their missiles they will mass every fleet they have and launch an all-out assault on the PLANTs. With the amount of warheads in their arsenal, they could easily take out every colony in a single volley, and you can bet that they'll have multiple waves of missiles ready to go just in case the first one fails."

Kira looked down, the sheer barbarity of what the Desert Tiger and the Tigress was telling him weighing heavily on his shoulders. "How… how can we stop that?"

"We'll come to that in due time," said Waltfeld, "Don't worry, Kira; we haven't thrown in the towel yet."

"Bristow will monitor Alliance fleet movements through his surviving contacts in ZAFT's intelligence circles," said Aisha, "We'll know when they begin massing for their attack. There's no way they'll be able to hide a fleet muster of _that _scale."

Kira nodded. It was good to know that his friends had at least some idea of how to prepare for the enemy's inevitable action, but there were still a lot of unanswered questions.

_Their fleet will be massive_, he thought, _and there's no way to tell how many nukes they'll have. How are we supposed to stop them from firing those weapons at the PLANTs?_

"Kira," said Waltfeld, bringing the boy's attention back to the here-and-now, "there's something else I need to talk to you about."

"Dear," said Aisha, putting her hand on the Desert Tiger's shoulder, a concerned look in her eyes "perhaps you should save that..."

Waltfeld shook his head. "No. Sorry, my love, but I can't put it off."

"Put what off?" asked Lacus.

Rather than answer Lacus, Waltfeld focused his gaze on Kira. "The crews that worked on the Freedom sent me your combat data. I saw your fight with Creuset, both before you entered the colony and when you got out."

"Kira," he said, and the boy was struck by just how piercing the Desert Tiger could make his gaze with just one eye, "When you fought Creuset after you left the colony, you had him dead to rights. You knew what he had planned, the threat he posed. I know you neutralized his GuAIZ to the point that it no longer posed a danger in the battle… but why didn't you finish him off?"

"What?" said Kira, his eyes widening. This was not a line of inquiry he had expected from the former ZAFT Field Marshal.

"You heard me," said Waltfeld, his voice firm, "Why didn't you kill him?"

"You said it yourself," Kira replied, "I disabled his mobile suit; he was no longer able to fight. He couldn't hurt me or anyone else."

"In _that _battle, yes," said Waltfeld, "but Kira, you were there with La Flaga inside Mendel. You _were there _when he talked about how he intended to wipe out not just the Earth Alliance, but all of mankind, and that he had been manipulating both sides in this war towards that exact purpose. You _knew _that he was a threat not just to us but to all life in the Earth Sphere, but you _let him go_. Why?"

"There was no need to kill him," said Kira, "He couldn't fight anymore."

He saw Aisha sigh and shake her head. "So naïve…"

Waltfeld nodded before looking at Kira again. "Aisha's right, Kira. I was willing to turn a blind eye to it before… but I can't anymore. Truth be told, this is a conversation I've been wanting to have with you for a while now, but I wasn't sure how to approach it… and a part of me didn't want to. You're a good kid, I've known that since North Africa, and I didn't want to attack you like this, but I can't sit back any longer and ignore this problem."

"What problem are you talking about, Mister Waltfeld?" asked Lacus.

Waltfeld sighed. "I know you'll take Kira's side in this, Miss Clyne. After all, what Kira's been doing fits in very well with your ideals. I'm sorry, but I will have to oppose you and Kira here… try to make you both see what the rest of us already do."

"Just what d you think I'm blind to?" asked Kira, his eyes narrowing.

"Kira," said Waltfeld, "when was the last time you killed an enemy on the battlefield?"

Kira was taken aback by the question, and it took him a moment to respond. "It… it was in the Marshall Islands. I destroyed the Blitz… and killed Athrun's friend Nicol."

Waltfeld nodded. "I thought as much. You haven't been willing to kill since you were given the Freedom. All your battles you've fought since you left the PLANTs have been with your new, non-lethal style."

"Yes," said Kira, "and that's the way I _want _to fight. The Freedom gives me the power to defeat my enemies without killing them! Why _shouldn't _I take advantage of that? Why should I kill if I don't have to?"

Waltfeld sighed. "If it were that simple, Kira, I would not be here arguing with you today."

"Forgive me, Mister Waltfeld," said Lacus firmly, "but it does seem very simple to me, and that this is an argument that need not happen."

"Just as you called, Andy," said Aisha, glancing over at her lover, "She's on his side in this."

"Did you expect any less, dear?" Waltfeld replied.

Aisha shook her head. "No, I suppose not."

"Waltfeld," said Kira, "when I returned to the _Archangel _after we escaped from Alaska, Heero confronted me on the same thing you are now. He disagreed with me just like you are now, but he respected my decision to keep fighting that way, and he hasn't brought it up since then."

Waltfeld nodded. "I can see why, given your circumstances at the time. After all, following the First Battle of Alaska the _Archangel _and her pilots were at war with both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. Unit cohesion is vital in order to survive in times like that, and I'm willing to bet Heero considered maintaining teamwork between pilots to be of greater priority than pressing you to change your ways, or at least reconsider how you fight. Unfortunately your situation is different now Kira… and I can't be as willing to let it go as Heero was. Too many lives are riding on my shoulders, on _all _of our shoulders."

"I know," said Kira, "but it's not right for me to just kill the pilots of the Alliance and ZAFT if I have the power to do otherwise! They're just being used by their superiors; I bet most of them would oppose what the true goals of Azrael and Zala are! When I fought in the past, before Alaska… when I killed people, it wasn't just their lives I was destroying. I was devastating their families and friends! They all felt the same pain I did when Athrun killed Tolle and when I killed Nicol, and I don't want to inflict that kind of suffering on anyone else!"

"And how do you think the rest of us feel?" growled Waltfeld, now glaring at Kira, the dagger of his gaze sharper than the boy had ever seen it before, "Do you think the rest of us _enjoy_ killing people, Kira? Do you think we _like_ living with the knowledge that we not only take lives but rip apart families and plunge friends into sorrow? Do you think we _want _to take lives in the name of protecting the people we care about? _None of us ever wanted to kill, Kira!_"

"Waltfeld…" said Kira softly, struggling to come up with a reply.

"Tell me something, Kira," said Aisha, "Why did you choose to stay with the _Archangel_, to keep being a mobile suit pilot even though it was the last thing you wanted?"

"Because I wanted to protect my friends," said Kira, "I had the power to save them and make a difference in this war; that's why I choose to fight!"

"That's how the rest of us felt," said Waltfeld, his voice calmer now that it had been before, "and to do that, we understood that we would have to soak our hands in blood. Aisha, Shemei, the girls, Athrun and his friends, myself... we all knew that our decisions would mean that we would have to kill, Kira. The same goes for Captain Ramius and her crew, along with Heero; they were well aware that their choices meant that they would have to take lives. More than that, we all knew that those we killed would have loved ones that they would leave behind, who would suffer from grief, anger, and pain. We may have chosen not to think about it every second of our lives, but make no mistake; we all _knew _that our actions would inflict casualties beyond the battlefield, even if we would never aim our weapons at civilians."

"After all," said Aisha solemnly, "we've all lost friends, family, or both to this war. I'd wager there's not a soul in the Earth Sphere that hasn't been touched by this conflict in one form or another, and would count those who haven't lost loved ones to be both lucky and rare. Kira, we know the pain we're inflicting those left behind the people we kill; we've all felt it ourselves in one form or another."

"Then how can you just accept it and expect me to do the same?" asked Kira, "I mean, I understand that not all our mobile suits can target as precisely as I can with the Freedom, and that our warships cannot accomplish the same thing either, but that doesn't change the fact that I _do _have the power to fight and defeat those that threaten the people I care about without having to kill them and inflict suffering upon those that know and love them! You don't see me trying to get Heero, Shemei, her pilots, or Athrun to follow _my _path, so why are you trying to push me onto yours?"

"You should at least remove Heero from that list," said Aisha, "After all, Wing Zero is more of a weapon of mass destruction than a precision instrument, regardless of the skill and discipline with which Heero wields it."

Kira nodded, recalling that Heero himself had said as much; even with all of the restraint he could give the machine or the lowest power setting of the Twin Buster Rifle, the Wing Gundam Zero was just not designed for the pinpoint precision shooting that the Freedom could achieve.

"Alright, fine," he said, "but that still leaves five other mobile suits that use the exact same targeting system that the Freedom has, and their pilots have the ability to use it in the manner that _I _have. I still haven't tried to get them to fight my way, so why are you trying to get me to follow their path? That's not fair!"

"Kira's right," said Lacus, "Doesn't he have the right to pursue his own path on the battlefield?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "Miss Clyne, Kira… it's not that simple."

"Why?" asked Kira pointedly, "It seems pretty simple to me."

Waltfeld closed his eye for a moment before looking at the young man again. "Kira, do you remember the first battle you took part in after the _Archangel _returned to outer space?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah, we saved you guys from ZAFT."

"And I'm very grateful for that," said Waltfeld, "You played a vital role in that rescue… but you also put us at risk in a key moment in the battle."

Kira shook his head. "No I didn't! What the hell are you talking about, Waltfeld?"

"When you fought the Schnee Team," said Waltfeld, "you managed to deal severe damage to their mobile suits as you did against the regular ZAFT troops that were attacking us earlier. However, unlike those soldiers, the pilots of the Schnee Team possessed far greater levels of skill. The damage you inflicted upon their GuAIZs was not enough to get them to leave the field. They kept fighting you, and because you refused to kill them your battle with them dragged on… and left the _Eternal _vulnerable."

"How?" asked Kira, "I was keeping the Schnee Team _away _from the _Eternal_. I was helping you!"

Aisha shook her head. "While it's true that you kept the Schnee Team occupied, the fact that you weren't able to defeat them quickly and decisively was a major problem. Even with their skill, Kira, they should've been no match for a pilot of your caliber wielding a mobile suit like the Freedom."

"But because you did not fight to kill," said Waltfeld, "you weren't truly unleashing all the skill and power at your disposal. You could've wiped the floor with them, Kira, and you know that. Instead you dithered, and because of that Lan had to divert from her team to come help you. Since she wasn't helping Adaline and Priscilla they couldn't take down the enemy's capital ships as quickly as before… and a frigate almost got the chance to nail us with a volley, one that could've hit the bridge."

Kira's mind flashed back to that battle, and he recalled the event Waltfeld had mentioned. His blood chilled as he realized that it had only been the timely arrival of the _Kusanagi _that had prevented the frigate from hitting the _Eternal_… and possibly killing Lacus.

Kira shook his head. "No…" he said softly, "I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

"Kira," said Lacus, giving his hand a squeeze, "it's ok. Everything turned out alright in the end, remember?"

"Field Marshal," Alexandra chimed in, "I fear you're going too far. If you keep this up, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Bakulev," Waltfeld replied, "but I'm almost done, and this is something Kira _needs _to hear."

Kira looked at the Field Marshall. "Waltfeld… what do you want me to do? I… I can't just go back to the way it used to be…"

"Nor can I make you," Waltfeld finished for him, "and I won't. Kira, believe it or not I do understand just how important your way of fighting is to you. While it's true that I may disagree with it, that does not change the fact that I also respect your decision to follow it. You're standing by your beliefs, and that's something to be admired. However… you can't just dogmatically follow this path without considering the possible repercussions. Your actions have consequences, Kira... and those consequences could very well get you or your friends killed someday."

"So what are you asking, Mister Waltfeld?" asked Lacus, "While you said that you cannot make Kira abandon his chosen method of fighting our enemy, it sounds to me like you plan on attempting to do precisely that."

Waltfeld shook his head. "No, I do not, Miss Clyne… but I do want Kira to be more flexible and thoughtful in how he handles himself in future battles."

"What do you mean, Waltfeld?" asked Kira.

Waltfeld met the young man's gaze, the look in his eye hard and grim. "Kira, you have to learn to draw the line between those you can disable and those you have to take out for good. Against regular pilots, the standard rank-and-file troops, your disabling techniques have proven to be very effective, and it takes you no longer to do that than it does for any of us to kill them. I've got no problem with you continuing to fight the common soldiers fielded by the Alliance and ZAFT in the manner that you have been since you started flying the Freedom. However, when it comes to elite pilots, or nutcases like Creuset… Kira, you can't hold back against people like that."

"The longer you spend fighting against high-caliber foes," said Aisha, "that's more time you're _not _spending neutralizing other enemies and helping us win the battle. If you're truly willing to go all-out, then none of Zala's elites should be able to stand against you, and I imagine the same would go for the Alliance's hotshots."

"So I should kill them just because it's more expedient?" said Kira, incredulous at what he was hearing.

"Partially," said Waltfeld bluntly, "but also because it will ultimately _save lives_. Not theirs, perhaps, but those of your friends, your comrades, and ultimately the innocent people we're trying to defend from madmen like Azrael and Zala. Kira, while you're right in that most of the pilots we fight against probably don't truly believe in the vile rhetoric espoused by their superiors, _some of them do_. I know you can't tell one's political affiliations or ideals apart from another when they're inside a mobile suit, but there's another thing you have to take into consideration."

"What's that?" asked Kira.

"In the case of Patrick Zala," said Waltfeld, "he's proven himself willing to promote people as much or more on the basis of their ideology as opposed to their actual level of competence. The higher up in ZAFT's chain you go, the more likely you are to find people that genuinely want to kill all the Naturals. I can't say for certain, but based on what Captain Ramius has told us I'm willing to bet that's more or less true for the Earth Alliance as well, especially with Blue Cosmos now holding it by the balls."

"Many of those high ranking individuals," said Aisha, "are naturally away from the front lines; we likely won't be in a position to confront them directly until their militaries are defeated and we can bring them to stand trial for their crimes. However, there are those that _do _take part in field operations, whether from the bridges of capital ships or the cockpits of mobile suits… and the latter will likely be given control over more prestigious or elite units."

Waltfeld nodded. "Kira, this isn't a guarantee, but there is the strong possibility that the more powerful enemy pilots you face in the future will also be the more fanatical ones, more bound to the hatred embraced by those above them. That won't always be the case, of course; look no further than Heero's fights with Shemei if you need an example of otherwise. However, that does not change the fact that those more powerful fighters pose a grave threat, regardless of their individual leanings. When you fight them, Kira, you need to be able to push yourself to the same level they are… the same commitment to do what is necessary to win."

He looked over at Dr. Bakulev and nodded before standing up. Aisha joined him, and the Desert Tiger turned to Kira one more time. "There's a difference between noble idealism and arrogant self-righteousness," he said, "Learn to distinguish between the two, Kira. If you only follow one mindset and ignore the circumstances around you, then you run the risk of falling into the latter. If that happens, then you could get yourself or someone you care about killed. Don't abandon your ideals, Kira… but learn how to bend them."

Waltfeld sighed before giving the young man a weary smile. "Hate to go rough on you like that, kid, but it had to be done. Chew on that food-for-thought for awhile; you've got nothing better to do while you're laid up like this. Take care, Kira."

He nodded at Kira and Lacus before he and Aisha left the medical bay. Kira watched the door close behind him before looking down, mulling over what Waltfeld had said.

"Kira," said Lacus, her tone one of worry, "are you alright?"

He heard Dr. Bakulev sigh. "If that was Waltfeld's idea of going easy on the boy, then I'm going to have to talk to that man later."

Kira shook his head. "No, it's ok."

He looked up at Lacus and Alexandra. "He was doing what he felt was best for the group; he thought I needed to hear what he had to say."

"I'm not arguing that," said the doctor, "but I still think he could've waited a little longer before saying it. With the state you're in, you need to be focusing on your recovery. It's not right for him to put you on the spot like that, stressing you out at a time like this."

"It's ok," said Kira, "I can deal with it."

"Are you sure?" asked Lacus, still clearly concerned, "Kira, I know why you've been fighting the way you have, why it's so important to you. You don't have to change it just because it's convenient for the others; that's not right!"

Kira nodded. "I know, and I'm not going to change what I do just because of expediency. But… Waltfeld was right about one thing; my actions do have consequences. I have to consider my situation when I fight… especially when it comes to who I'm fighting."

He met her gaze. "Lacus, I don't want my actions to put you in danger, or anyone else for that matter. I want to protect you, not put you at risk."

She nodded before surprising the young man with a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know, Kira," she said, "and no matter how you choose to do that, know that you have my support, and my gratitude."

Kira smiled. "Thank you, Lacus."

She smiled in return, and the two of them looked at each other for a few moments… before remembering that they were not the only ones in the room.

Kira felt his face flush as he turned towards Alexandra Bakulev. The _Eternal_'s chief medical officer had an amused smile on her face as she looked at him and the pink-haired songstress. "Well, it seems I won't have to chew Waltfeld out after all," she said, "I think you'll be just fine, Kira."

"Uhm… thanks," he replied.

The doctor chuckled. "Well, I've got some paperwork to take care of in my office, so I'll leave you two be for the moment. Call if you need me."

She gave them a nod and another smile before she left, and Kira could've sworn there was a strange, knowing look in her deep brown eyes. The young man was confused, but as he turned to Lacus again and saw her still smiling he brushed the matter aside.

The conversation he'd just had with Waltfeld, though, was still very much on his mind. The former ZAFT Field Marshal had certainly given young Coordinator a great deal to think about, and had opened his eyes to potential flaws and dangers that he had not seen before now.

_The difference between noble idealism and self-righteous arrogance_, he mused, reflecting on the Desert Tiger's words, _maybe… he might be right. I thought that because my way of fighting didn't kill anyone that it was better by default… and part of me might've assumed that gave me moral high ground over the others as well. I never considered possible limitations or repercussions inherent in how I fight… or the experience and feelings of the others. How… how do I move forward from here?_

It was a question the boy knew he had to find an answer for, and soon. There was too much at stake in this conflict, especially after what had happened at Mendel. Kira could not let himself be weighed down by doubt and uncertainty, nor could he allow himself to hold back his friends in any way.

_Can I… can I _kill _again?_, he thought, shuddering at the notion, _I don't want to, I _really _don't want to… but then again, neither do the others, but they still do it. I… I don't know if I can go back there again, but… what if I _have _to?_

Again, he had no answer.

….

"Homework?" asked Heero, surprised by the term Murrue had used.

It had been three days since he had gone over to the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _to install his and Shemei's upgraded targeting software. In that time the _Archangel _and her companion ships had entered the orbital Debris Belt and were cruising through it in an effort to avoid engagement with the enemy. Heero didn't know how long Waltfeld planned to keep this up or where they would ultimately go next for a temporary base of operations, but in the end he knew he had to trust that the man knew what he was doing. Now he was down in Wing Zero's cockpit, running some routine maintenance checks. No matter what happened, he wanted to be sure that his mobile suit was ready to sortie the instant trouble reared its ugly head.

Murrue gave a small laugh and a smile on the screen. "Engineer Simmons' word for it, not mine. She just sent over schematics for a new augmentation pack for the Strike Rouge; she wanted you to have a look at it and add any improvements you could think of."

"She does know I'm just a pilot, right?" he asked, now a little amused, "I may have given her the designs for mobile suits and weapons from my world, and I handle the maintenance of Wing Zero, but I'm not an engineer like her."

"I'm sure she's aware of that," Murrue replied, "That being said, you did act as a technical advisor for her during our first stay in Orb. I imagine that left an impression on her, and I certainly can't blame her; your talents involve more than just the battlefield, Heero."

Heero nodded. "I appreciate that, Murrue."

"Anytime, Heero," she said, "If you're not too busy, I'll send you the schematics and you can go over them. Is that ok?"

"Yeah," he said, "I'm close to wrapping up here. Send them over; I can examine them and make my own adjustments before we grab our meal together."

"That fast, huh?" asked Murrue, smiling, "I thought you said you weren't an engineer, Heero."

"I'm not," said Heero, giving her a small smile in return, "I trust the quality of work that Engineer Simmons does; I'm sure I won't have too many tweaks to make to whatever she's come up with."

"You'll know soon enough," Murrue replied, "I'm sending it down now. Have fun."

Heero watched as her face disappeared from the screen and was replaced by Erica Simmons' schematics. The Gundam pilot studied the designs, a few ideas already running through his head. After a couple minutes he began to type and make alterations to what the Orb engineer had sent over.

….

"Well," said Erica Simmons, leaning back in her chair, "I can't say I'm not intrigued by your choices, Heero."

It was two hours after she had sent the designs for the new Striker pack over to the _Archangel_. She'd been in her office enjoying a cup of coffee while reviewing the maintenance records for the ZGMF-X09A Justice when she received Heero's response. It had certainly been faster than what she had expected, and his alterations to her designs had caught her off guard.

"It's a good fit for Cagalli," the young man replied from her computer screen.

"Are you sure?" said Erica, "You seem to have reduced the armaments from my original design. Why did you do that, Heero?"

"Your initial design was solid," said the Gundam pilot, "but for a pilot like Cagalli, it was too complex. Had Kira or Athrun been the ones wielding it I would've agreed with your original selection, but Cagalli's not on their level. With a simpler layout like this she'll be much more effective with it."

Erica sighed. "I guess I did go a bit overboard there. I get so caught up in the possibilities, the technology and the designs, that I tend to forget about the pilots that will be using them." She smiled. "This is why I like working with you, Heero. You've got a good technical eye, and you add a pilot's perspective to things."

"So the altered design's good?" asked Heero.

Erica nodded. "Yes, and it will be easier for my teams to put together with the parts we have on hand. Combine that with our next shipment of supplies and mobile suits from L3 and I'll be able to keep it running as well as the Aile pack. Thank you for your help, Heero."

"You're welcome," he replied before ending the transmission.

Erica smiled as she took a sip from her coffee. Then she began sending the design Heero had sent back to her to the rest of her development team.

_Time to get to work_, she thought, _I can't wait to see what Lady Cagalli can do with this once we're done._

….

**July 17****th****, C.E. 71**

Cruising along her assigned patrol route, the _Nelson_-class battleship _Sherman _was hardly a vital element of the Earth Alliance's war effort. Her current mission, along with that of her three accompanying _Drake_-class escort ships, was simply to monitor the boundary of one of the supply routes used by convoys heading from Earth to Luna, the L1 Forward Operating Base _Los Alamos_, and the L2 shipyards. In the case of the _Sherman _and her escorts, their area of patrol was between Earth and the orbital Debris Belt, a region that had not seen action in quite some time.

It was that lack of combat that the _Sherman_'s commanding officer, Captain Conrad Fessler, hated to no end. A petty and ambitious man, the short, corpulent soldier had long hoped to make a name for himself on the front lines of this war, but his dreams had been constantly stymied by lackluster assignments such as the one he had now. Fancying himself a master of space naval tactics, Fessler was in reality nothing of the sort, a rank amateur who had only advanced as far as he had thanks to the fact that he had family members in both the armed forces and the Senate of the Atlantic Federation... along with the fact that said family members were sympathetic to Blue Cosmos.

The venal and arrogant Captain could at least draw some consolation for his current assignment from the fact that the complements of his ship and its escorts had been upgraded a week ago. The battleship now carried six Strike-Daggers and four beam-cannon-equipped Moebius mobile armors, a load-out that was becoming increasingly standard across the Alliance Navy. The three _Drake_-class ships had likewise undergone an upgrade of sorts, swapping out two of their four mobile armors for mobile suits. Now the patrol group was much more formidable than it had been in the past, a fact that had quickly gone to Fessler's head.

Suddenly the Captain's dour mood was improved by an announcement from his sensor officer. "Sir, contact spotted on long-range scopes!" he said, "Profile is that of a _Nazca_-class destroyer!"

_At last_, he thought excitedly, _some action! It's only one ship, too; we'll crush them in no time at all!_

"All hands, level one battle stations!" he ordered, unable to suppress a grin, "Launch all mobile suits and mobile armors! Let's make those genetic freaks rue the day they chose to fight against us!"

….

"Another patrol," said Pixy as he entered the hangar of the _Nazca_-class destroyer _Kerimov _wearing an olive drab flight suit, gray helmet cradled under his left arm, "fourth one this week, I think."

"Fifth," said Cipher, just a little ahead and to the right of Pixy, having forgone his casual garb in favor of a white flight suit with black trim and a helmet with the same color scheme, "you forgot that _Drake_-class ship we dusted six days ago."

"Come on, that hardly counts," said Pixy as he put on his helmet, "That fight lasted less than a minute, and it only had four mobile armors with it; hardly a workout there. More to the point, their pilots _sucked_."

Cipher nodded as he donned his helmet. "True enough. This group's bigger though, and if it's like the ones we fought two days ago it probably has mobile suits with it. Don't get cocky."

Pixy gave his flight lead a two-fingered salute. "Roger that, buddy. See you out there."

With that the two pilots went their separate ways, floating off towards their mobile suits. Like any other ship of its class, the _Kerimov _carried six machines. Four of them were GuAIZs painted in the standard mixed greens used by those machines piloted by the regular forces. The other two machines, though, stood out from the crowd both in appearance and in capabilities.

Pixy smiled as he approached his machine. "Time to fly again, Archer."

Built on the same frame as the machines used by the regular forces, the ZGMF-600AAM GuAIZ Archer was a machine tailored to Pixy's specific style. The AAM in its designation stood for Artillery Assault Model, and it had the firepower to go with that classification. Its paintjob consisted primarily of a mix of light grays, though the right arm was painted red in homage to the right wing that had been torn of his old space fighter back when Pixy had been flying as a member of ZAFT. The machine's primary weapon, held in its right hand, was the M101 Balaena Zwei plasma rifle. It was stronger than the plasma cannons used on the stolen ZGMF-X10A Freedom but did not pack quite the punch of the fearsome Tartarus rifle used on the now-renegade ZGMF-X14A Judgment. Nevertheless, a few shots from the gun would rip apart any capital ship.

The GuAIZ Archer also had a fearsome assortment of secondary weapons to supplement its main gun. In its left hand it held an MX-35 beam pistol, a light gun that was meant to be reserved for close engagements and missile interception, a role it shared with the machine's head-mounted Picus 76mm CIWS. The hip-mounted grappler claws had been replaced with two Pollux railguns, weaker versions of the Xiphias-type weapons used on the Freedom. Last but certainly not least, mounted on the unit's back and slung over the shoulders were a pair of AGM138 Firebee missile launchers, each launcher carrying fourteen small missiles. In addition to its formidable arsenal, the GuAIZ Archer also sported more powerful thrusters than the mainline units, making it faster but also more difficult to control, and only a skilled pilot could bring out the mobile suit's full potential.

_You're quite the beast, Archer_, Pixy thought as he opened the hatch of his mobile suit before sparing a glance to the right, _and you're not the only one like that in this hangar…_

Next to Galm Two's machine was that of his flight lead, the ZGMF-600CAM GuAIZ Lancer. Like Pixy's unit, Cipher's mobile suit sported light gray as the base for its color scheme, but in this case it was augmented with black trim. The CAM in its designation stood for Close Assault Model, and like the stolen ZGMF-600CCM GuAIZ Werewolf it was geared towards short-range fighting. Its primary weapon was the MA-MR Falx G7 Beam Axe, a pole-arm with two large metal blades on the end, one larger than the other. Both blades were lined with beam emitters, and when activated they could rip through armor or block strikes from other beam-melee weapons such as sabers. At the opposite end of the pole was a smaller scythe-like blade, normally kept folded against the handle and reserved for surprise attacks or when the upper section of the weapon got damaged.

As formidable as it was, the beam axe was not the GuAIZ Lancer's only weapon. Like the similarly designed GuAIZ Werewolf the machine also utilized two MMI-M826 Hydra Gatling Beam Cannons, along with the head-mounted Picus 76mm CIWS featured across the GuAIZ line. Rather than wield the arrestor cables used by the Werewolf and the mainline GuAIZ, though, the Lancer had a different weapon mounted at its hips; two DRAGOON gun-drones. When combined with the Hydra Beam Gatlings these precise and deadly weapons gave the mobile suit considerable mid-range ability to complement its focus on close-quarters combat. Like the Archer, the GuAIZ Lancer also had more advanced thrusters than the regular GuAIZ did, and that advantage could be used to deadly effect in the hands of an ace like Galm One. Those thrusters also gave both the Archer and the Lancer atmospheric flight capabilities, though they'd yet to be fielded on Earth in this war… and with the Alliance now reasserting its dominance over the planet, it was unlikely that they would get that chance.

Settling into the cockpit of his machine and closing the hatch, Pixy reflected as he powered up his mobile suit that both the Archer and the Lancer shared a glaring weakness regardless of their differing specialties; non-existent defensive coverage. The mainline GuAIZ had the Composite Shield mounted on its left arm, and the GuAIZ Werewolf had them installed on _both _arms, but the Archer and Lancer did not have it at all. Galm Two and his flight lead were completely reliant on their unit's armor and mobility to survive their battles… and with the increasing prevalence of beam weaponry on the battlefield, the conventional titanium hull of the GuAIZ series offered less protection than it would've earlier in the war.

Pixy actually wasn't too worried about this disadvantage though, and he suspected that his flight lead was not either. After all, the two of them had distinguished themselves in this war as _offensive _players; defense just wasn't their style. They hit hard and fast, their attacks coordinated and precise… and often quite bold.

_We're reckless_, he thought as he watched Cipher's machine move to the linear catapult, _but we've got the moves to back it up._

Then he smirked as he caught sight of the insignia emblazoned on the GuAIZ Lancer's left shoulder. It was the same one that was on his machine, that of a crimson dog with a spiked collar around its neck, biting at the chain attached to said collar in eagerness to be set loose, against a black circle with a gold outline. The symbol represented what the Galm Team was quite well, at least in Pixy's opinion; beasts chomping at the bit to start the hunt.

"Fitting for us," he muttered under his breath as he felt that familiar rush of adrenaline begin to course through his veins, the mixed fear and excitement that came with the prospect of imminent battle, "We're not just pilots; we're hellhounds on the payroll."

"We're ZAFT's dogs of war."

….

"Galm One," said the _Kerimov_'s flight controller, "you are cleared for launch."

Cipher nodded, his steely blue eyes focused dead ahead. "Cipher, launching."

The GuAIZ Lancer rocketed out of the hangar. The instant the mobile suit cleared the ship Cipher powered up his weapons, bringing the machine's fearsome beam axe to bear while arming all the guns. The axe's two blades became bathed in violet light, ready to hack into any foe with the misfortune to come into striking range. It only took a quick glance at his sensors to find the enemy patrol, ahead and slightly to port of the _Kerimov_. The Alliance forces were arrayed in a standard formation, with the _Nelson_-class battleship at the center while flanked on both sides by a _Drake_-class ship while the third one was out in front of and a little below the larger vessel. Counting up the smaller contacts, Cipher noted that the enemy had deployed ten Strike-Daggers and eight Moebius units armed with beam cannons.

"Yo, buddy," said Pixy as he launched from the _Kerimov_ and swiftly moved to form up with his flight lead, "how do you want to play this?"

"Our usual approach," he replied, "We'll thin out the mobile suits and armors, and then you hit the capital ships when you get an opening while I mop up the small-fry."

"Roger," said Pixy.

"Arthur Team," said Pixy, switching over to the tactical channel to address the four GuAIZs that made up the rest of the _Kerimov_'s mobile suit complement, "you're our reserve. Hang back and cover the ship until I say otherwise."

"Understood, sir," the unit's leader replied.

"Captain Moran," he said, "avoid direct engagement if you can."

"Yes, sir," said the commanding officer of the _Kerimov_.

He switched back over to the personal frequency he and Pixy used. "Ready?"

"Yeah," said Galm Two, moving his mobile suit behind and to the right of his flight lead, bringing the Balaena Zwei plasma rifle up to bear on the incoming enemy units.

"Ok then," said Cipher, "let's go introduce ourselves."

**(Start "La Distancia Para Un Duelo")**

Rather than reply verbally, Galm Two's response was to open fire with his rifle. A crimson lance of plasma flew across space and pierced the torso of a Strike-Dagger before the pilot even had a chance to raise his shield. The mobile suit was blown to pieces, and the rest of the enemy units scattered.

Pixy didn't let up there. The Pollux railguns mounted on the Archer's legs came up and opened fire. Two golden-yellow projectiles ripped forth, one taking out a mobile suit and the other a Moebius unit.

_Now_, thought Cipher, and he gunned his engines. In order to accommodate the unit's role as a primarily close-quarters combatant, the engineers at the Asimov Design Bureau had given the GuAIZ Lancer more powerful thrusters than its mainline cousins, and Cipher planned on taking full advantage of it in this fight. Weaving left-right and up-down to evade beam fire from the enemy mobile suits and armors, Cipher swiftly closed the gap between him and his nearest foes. He then gave a wide horizontal swing with his beam axe and cut a Strike-Dagger in half.

As the machine exploded Cipher dived to avoid fire from units attempting to flank him. He then flipped the Lancer up and opened fire with its Hydra Beam Gatling Cannons, ripping apart another Strike-Dagger with a torrent of small emerald beams. At the same time the two DRAGOONs flew from the Lancer's hips. A green energy beam flew from each gun-drone, and two Moebius units burst like piñatas.

On his sensors he saw a Strike-Dagger and a Moebius mobile armor setting up to attack him from behind. Rather than move to counter though, Cipher pressed forward; he knew his back was covered.

Indeed, as Galm One cut down another Strike-Dagger with his beam axe the two units attempting to strike him from the rear were blown apart, the mobile suit by a plasma beam and the mobile armor by a pair of railgun rounds.

"I've got an opening," said Pixy, "Can I take it?"

"Go," said Cipher as he shot down a Moebius mobile armor with his Hydra Beam Gatlings, "I've got these guys."

There wasn't much left to deal with. The original enemy force of ten mobile suits and eight mobile armors had already been reduced to four and three respectively.

_So weak_, he thought as he lazily blocked a yellow beam saber strike from one of the surviving Strike-Daggers while using his gun-drones to pick off a mobile armor that had been attempting to get on Pixy's tail as Galm Two rushed towards the enemy capital ships, _These guys don't even deserve to be called pilots. I could've taken them all by myself._

He sighed as he opened fire with his beam gatlings, ripping apart the mobile suit he had just engaged with his axe. There was no challenge in a fight like this; it barely qualified as a warm up.

He got on an open channel. "Alliance forces," he said as he dodged beam fire from the remaining three Strike-Daggers and two Moebius units, "go home. You're no match for us."

The enemy paid no attention to his words, responding only with more attacks. Cipher shook his head in resignation as he evaded their fire. "Fine, have it your way."

The battle would not last much longer in any case. Cipher could already see Pixy attacking the lead _Drake_-class escort ship. The vessel let fly with gunfire and missiles, but to no avail. Glam Two simply evaded the former and much of the latter, bothering only to shoot down a few missiles that came close to the GuAIZ Archer with his beam pistol and CIWS. As soon as he got an opening he returned fire with the Balaena Zwei plasma rifle and the Pollux railguns. The initial barrage turned the ship's bridge into a crater, and Pixy followed it up with two more volleys, tearing the vessel apart.

Mindful of his own fight, Cipher wasted no time in sending the rest of his foes to meet their maker. He blocked a yellow beam saber strike from a mobile suit, only to hit it with a pincer attack from his DRAGOONs, obliterating the machine with a pair of emerald beams. Cipher then threw the Lancer into reverse to avoid fire from the last two mobile armors as they tried to flank him. With a lazy backhand slash he cut down one of the Moebius units with his beam axe before destroying the other with a flurry of small beams from the Hydra gatlings.

The last pair of Strike-Daggers attempted to take him out with a pincer attack, but Cipher was already way ahead of them. His DRAGOONs were aimed to intercept them, and the two gun-drones fired simultaneously. Both Strike-Daggers went down from synchronized hits to their cockpits, shots that to most other pilots would've been a beautiful display of precision firing but to Cipher were simply reflexive, little more than afterthoughts.

"That takes care of that," he muttered as he turned back towards the Alliance capital ships, "Guess I'd better help Pixy wrap things up over there."

He gunned his engines as he moved in on the capital ships. Adjusting his vector when he saw Pixy hammering the _Drake_-class ship that was to port of the center _Nelson_-class vessel, Cipher zeroed in on the other purple escort vessel. Pixy's target was not long for the world; its bow armor was sporting a huge crater in it and half of the engines were out of commission. No sooner had Cipher gotten on his approach when he had to go evasive as both his target and the larger battleship opened fire on him with every gun they could bring to bear on him. The battleship's fire may have been split between Cipher and Pixy, but there was still plenty of artillery taking aim at Galm One.

Beams, missiles, and bullets ripped through space all around him, but Cipher weaved through the barrage with practiced ease, a bored look on his face. He'd fought Alliance formations like this so many times now that he could evade and penetrate their anti-air umbrellas practically by reflex alone, and a small part of his mind wondered if he could do it in his sleep by this point. It wasn't something he was keen on testing though; he had no intention of getting careless and letting some nameless gunner be the one to take him down.

Diving in like a falcon, Cipher set loose his DRAGOONs, and a pair of emerald beams destroyed the topside 75mm Vulcan cannon. The ship began to roll in order to bring its lower turret to bear on him, but Cipher simply repeated his earlier process and that gun was taken down as well. He then flew around the ship until he was over its dorsal surface again before charging the bridge and cutting it right down the middle with his beam axe.

"No more than a tin can with guns," he muttered disdainfully as he pulled back from his target, firing a couple more shots with his DRAGOONs to finish it off, "No wonder those ships die in droves."

Then again, the doomed escort ship's more heavily armored companion wasn't faring much better. Pixy had already taken down his earlier target and was now pounding the _Nelson_-class battleship with the full might of the GuAIZ Archer. Galm Two had opened his assault with his missile launchers, emptying all his Firebee warheads into the vessel. The twenty-eight missiles may not have been heavy anti-ship warheads, but the sheer quantity that Pixy had unleashed upon the enemy flagship more than made up for their individual lack of firepower. A few of the missiles were shot down by CIWS fire, but the overwhelming majority of them hit their target, detonating along the length of the battleship. Guns were destroyed, sensors knocked out, and gouges torn into the vessel's armor.

Pixy quickly followed up the missile barrage with his heavy artillery. The Balaena Zwei plasma rifle and Pollux railguns opened up, and crimson energy and yellow slugs hammered the battleship. The first salve alone was enough to take out the bridge, but Pixy didn't stop there. Shifting his aim towards the center of the vessel, Galm Two pounded it with multiple volleys until an orange blast ripped the warship in half.

**(End "La Distancia Para Un Duelo")**

"Well," said Pixy as the explosion faded and the remains of the warship began to drift off into space, "that wasn't very hard."

Cipher nodded. "We didn't even need the _Kerimov _or Arthur Team. Come on, let's head back to the ship."

"Got it," Pixy replied.

Cipher sighed as he and his wingman flew towards the _Kerimov_. The whole battle had lasted only a few minutes, and the quality of the opposition had been sorely lacking. Sure, it made for an easy paycheck, but that was only a secondary concern to Galm One.

_What was the point of that?_, he thought as he set up for his approach, _Patrols like that are a dime a dozen. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into another one before today's over and dispatch it just as quickly. It doesn't matter how many of those little groups we take out, not with the vast amount of resources the Earth Alliance has in play; our impact is minimal, if not non-existent. That fight was just a waste of lives; they should've withdrawn when I gave them the chance. Damn idiots…_

As much as he liked to fly, as much as he fed off the adrenaline rush of a fight, taking on opponents weaker than him wasn't something Cipher enjoyed. When the skill level scales were tipped so far in his and Pixy's favor it just felt like bullying, regardless of how badly the enemy forces might outnumber them.

"Is there _anyone _out there," he said softly, his tone almost longing as he entered the _Kerimov_'s hangar, "that's actually _worth _fighting?"

He could only wait and see what the next battle might bring.

….

**July 19****th****, C.E. 71**

Removing her headset, Flay turned to the woman standing behind her. "How was that?" she asked nervously.

Natarle Badgiruel nodded, and Flay was surprised to see the _Dominion_'s Captain give her a small but encouraging smile. "You're getting better at it," she said, "but that's enough for today. Come on, let's get off this ship and grab a bite to eat; the base cafeteria has much better selection that the _Dominion_'s mess."

Flay nodded and got up from her seat to follow Natarle, and the two of them left the bridge. As they made their way through the ship's corridors towards the nearest hatch the girl found herself reflecting on all that had transpired since she'd been brought aboard the _Dominion _a week ago.

Once the black warship was safely away from the battlefield Natarle had taken Flay to her office for a debriefing. The girl had been nervous at first, but the former Executive Officer of the _Archangel _had been surprisingly gentle throughout the affair. She'd let Flay set the pace and take her time, and had only pressed her on a few points. Flay was thankful that it was someone who'd known her that had conducted that interview rather than a random Alliance officer… or worse, Azrael.

After that Natarle had given Flay a choice; stay with her on board the _Dominion _or get transferred back to the Atlantic Federation. Flay had thought about it for awhile before deciding to stay with the ship. Her choice was fuelled by her newfound, genuine desire to actually do something to help bring the war to an end. She knew that Natarle had been surprised by her decision, but the older woman had nonetheless supported her, and much to Flay's surprise had actually promoted her to Petty Officer First Class. She'd been issued a new Alliance uniform, this one white rather than the pink one reserved for lower ranking female crew members that she had worn during her time on board the _Archangel_. Over the course of the five day trip from L4 to the Moon Natarle had gone out of her way to begin training Flay for duty on the bridge as a communications officer.

It wasn't long before Flay had come to realize why Natarle had insisted on teaching her how to perform a bridge assignment rather than some less important and out of the way post; she wanted to keep an eye on her. At first Flay had thought that it was because of the long period of time she had spent among the Coordinators and that she had possibly been some way turned into a double agent. However, after a little while Flay determined that Natarle's desire to watch her wasn't motivated by suspicion, but genuine concern for her well-being.

She was grateful for Natarle's attention. While the _Dominion _may have been an Alliance ship, Flay actually could not quite equate that to it being friendly territory. At least when she had been on board the _Archangel _she'd had several of her friends with her, and even in ZAFT custody she'd had Yzak acting as her unofficial guardian. Now she was once again thrust into a new environment and had quickly latched on to the one bit of familiarity she could find; Natarle.

The fact that the _Dominion _had turned out to be the flagship of none other than the head of the Blue Cosmos had been a significant factor in Flay's discomfort. She was well aware that back in the earlier days of the war or even the beginning of her stay on the _Archangel_ she would not have been troubled by the fact and might actually have welcomed the presence of people from the anti-Coordinator organization, but things were _very _different now. Her relationship with Kira and the time that she had spent with ZAFT had shown her just how much like her, just how _human _Coordinators really were. They weren't abominations worthy only of extermination; they were _people _with hopes and dreams, family and friends, and a home they wanted to protect.

Now she was back with her own people, but Flay could not help but wonder if they really _were _her people any more. It had not taken long for her to notice the influence Azrael had over the _Dominion_, and long ago her father had told her about the man's wealth and power. If he was able to command an Alliance battle group and an advanced warship, just how much more influence did he have in the military and government? How much of her nation's actions in this war had been of Azrael's will? How much power did Blue Cosmos really command?

Based on what little she had seen so far, along with Natarle's clear discomfort around Azrael and her dislike of him, Flay feared that the answer was much more sinister than she had once thought.

"Hey," said Natarle, causing Flay to jump, "are you ok?"

Flay nodded and forced a smile. "I'm alright, Captain."

Natarle looked doubtful, but in the end she simply turned around and continued on her way. Flay continued to follow in her wake, this time trying to be more mindful of the world around her and not get wrapped up in her thoughts.

They went out the portside hatch and down the gangway. Though she had now gone outside the ship a couple times now since it had arrived at the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, Flay still could not help but be impressed by the sheer size of the bay the _Dominion _was docked in. It was _massive_, a humongous cavern that housed not just the _Dominion_'s berth but that of so many other ships. There were escort ships, battleships, supply freighters, and even a few carriers in for maintenance. As stunning as the docking area was, Flay knew that it was only _one _of several such facilities spread out across the gargantuan base. It such a titanic installation, a symbol of power that she felt surpassed even the massive Alaska base prior to its destruction.

_Destroyed at the hands of Heero Yuy and Wing Zero_, Flay thought as her gaze turned towards the mauled warship that had brought her here, _and the Dominion was hit by that same foe. Why didn't Heero destroy it?_

It was a question to which she had no answer for. As it was, the fearsome pilot that Flay had only known in passing had ravaged the _Dominion _in a ferocious assault, the likes of which the girl did not think was possible for a ship to survive. Natarle had told her that repairs would take weeks if not months, and from what Flay could see it was definitely looking like the latter estimate would be the more accurate one.

"Hard to see a good ship in such a state," said Natarle, causing Flay to look at her. She was then surprised to see the black-haired woman give her a small smile. "Still, it could've been a lot worse. I guess I should thank Heero if I ever get the chance."

"Why?" asked Flay.

"Because he could've destroyed the _Dominion _in a single shot, but he didn't," Natarle replied, "I don't know why, but he let us live. If I ever meet him again under different circumstances, I at least owe him my gratitude. Maybe he'll tell me then why he let us off easy."

It was very strange to hear Natarle talk that way about the Gundam pilot that had brutalized her ship, not to mention played a major role in the destruction of the battle group that had accompanied the _Dominion_. Heero had proven to be not just a threat to ZAFT but Alliance forces as well, and yet Natarle didn't hate him for it… and Flay realized that she didn't either.

_He's fighting to protect the Archangel_, she thought, _There are people on that ship he wants to defend… just like Kira._

The two of them were quiet as they made their way through the winding corridors towards the nearest cafeteria. Looking around as they traveled, Flay saw many fellow servicemen and women going about their business, and she was struck by just how similar they seemed to the ZAFT soldiers she had been with not too long ago. The only difference here was the uniforms, and that was strictly cosmetic. Flay was surprised to realize that she hadn't immediately also noted the fact that the Alliance soldiers were all Naturals as opposed to the Coordinators she had spent the past few months with.

_I guess I've really changed_, she thought as she followed Natarle into the cafeteria, _Daddy, what would you think of me now? What I'm doing, what I feel… would you support it?_

She hadn't really paid much attention to her father's political views. Beyond his post as Vice-Foreign Minister of the Atlantic Federation, Flay didn't really know about her father's life in politics. Sure, he'd taken her to some functions and high-society parties, but she'd been more concerned with the trivial bits of such events; the fashion of the attendees, their wealth, their status, etc. She hadn't really bothered to learn about who her father rubbed shoulders with, what factions and interests that he was aligned with. Now that she actually gave it careful consideration, Flay realized that she didn't really know if her father believed in the ideals espoused by Blue Cosmos and their affiliates or if he was more in line with moderate factions.

An image of the young ZAFT pilot that had been her unofficial guardian flashed through her mind, and Flay found herself wondering if her father would've approved of Yzak… if he thought that the Coordinator who had been willing to put his life on the line to defend her even deserved to live.

_I shouldn't be doubting Daddy like this_, she thought as she dished up her meal, _but… I can't help it. So much has happened to me since Heliopolis… and so much more happened before then that I never bothered to pay attention to. Politics, the war… I didn't care about any of it before now, before it directly affected me. I was scared of Coordinators because we were fighting against them, but I never looked beyond that, beyond what I was told by the news and Daddy. Hell, one of their colonies was _nuked _at the start of this war, and I never even considered that! They never did anything like _that _to us; they had more of a right to fight than _we _did!_

They sat down and spent a few minutes eating quietly before Flay decided she needed to give voice to her misgivings.

"Captain," she said nervously, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Flay," Natarle replied, looking at her with concern, "What is it?"

She looked down for a moment before facing the Captain again. "Why… why did we attack Junius Seven?"

Natarle's eyes widened; clearly she hadn't been expecting a question like that. "I… that's… hard to say, Flay."

"Why?" said Flay, "Captain, I don't know much about the attack, but it was major event in this conflict; it's why so many Coordinators chose to fight us. Please, can't you tell me anything about it?"

Natarle sighed. "I'll try, Flay, but I don't know too much about it myself… and honestly, I've been wondering the same thing you are for a while now."

Flay waited while Natarle gathered her thoughts, listening with rapt attentions when she finally spoke. "From what I heard through official reports, the Alliance sent a fleet towards the Junius City colonies as a show of force. The war was only three days old at that point; I think they might have been trying to show ZAFT that they were in an impossible position, that there was no way they could win against the superior numbers that the Alliance could bring to the field."

"Was nuking the colony supposed to be part of that?" Flay asked, a chill running down her spine. If her government had been willing to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people just in an attempt to _frighten _the Coordinators, she didn't want to know what _else _they were capable of doing.

"I'm not sure," said Natarle, "What I do know is that ZAFT didn't back down. Despite being significantly outnumbered ZAFT mustered a fleet to counter the force the Alliance had sent. The two sides engaged, and during the battle the carrier _Roosevelt _launched a mobile armor equipped with a Ragnarok Missile… the most powerful type of nuclear ordinance in our arsenal. It launched the missile… and you know the rest, Flay."

"How many died?" she asked, "I don't know the exact number…"

"I do," said Natarle grimly, "243,721 people were killed in that attack… and they were almost all civilians. The Junius City colonies have no major military presence beyond their internal security forces, Flay. Their primary purpose… is agriculture."

Flay's eyes widened in horror. "Wait… we nuked one of the places where they _grow food_?"

Natarle nodded. "Yes. Junius Seven had no value as a military target, just like the rest of the colonies in the Junius City." She sighed. "At least, if you only look at it with your sense of humanity intact."

"What do you mean?" asked Flay.

"The Junius colonies," said Natarle, "are the _only _places the Coordinators have for food cultivation. Before those facilities were brought online they were dependent on shipments from Earth. Just destroying _one _of those colonies would've been a significant hit to food production, but if they were _all _destroyed…"

"The Coordinators would starve," said Flay, terrified at the direction this already grim conversation was taking, "If they hadn't deployed the N-Jammer Cancellers after Junius Seven, then…"

Natarle nodded solemnly. "If we were willing to take out Junius Seven, then I imagine the Alliance would be perfectly capable of destroying the rest of the Junius colonies. If that had happened, the Coordinators would've had two choices; surrender or be exterminated through starvation… if the Alliance didn't nuke the rest of the PLANTs before then."

"You say that like it's a bad thing, _Miss Captain_," said a familiar and _very _unwelcome voice.

Flay and Natarle both looked up startled as they saw none other than Muruta Azrael approaching their table. Flay felt her blood chill as the man's eyes lingered on her; she did _not _like this man.

"Lord Azrael," said Natarle, seemingly effortlessly switching over to formality, though Flay thought she detected an undercurrent hostility in her tone, "What brings you here?"

"It's lunchtime, Captain," he replied, smiling, "Are I not allowed to enjoy this base's meal facilities?"

Natarle shook her head. "Of course not, Lord Azrael."

He then turned towards Flay again and smiled, unnerving the girl even more. "Miss Allster," he said, "I can't thank you enough for what you brought us a week ago. You really were right when you said that it was the key to ending this war."

Flay gulped. "I… I was? What was it?"

"Oh, you'll see in due time," he said, "You should be very proud of yourself, Miss Allster. I know your father would be."

Just hearing him say those things was enough to make Flay realize that she had done something _very _wrong by handing over the disk Creuset had given her. If Azrael was pleased with her, then Flay knew that the _last _thing she should feel right now was pride. Of course, she could not speak for what her father might have felt were he here and knew what she had given Azrael, especially when even _she _didn't know what she had really been carrying.

"Now, Miss Captain," said Azrael, turning towards Natarle, "I believe I overheard you questioning our decision to attack the PLANTs early in this war. You do _know _that the Coordinators are our enemy in this war, don't you Captain? Why shouldn't we attack their homeland?"

"With all due respect, Lord Azrael," said Natarle, her voice firm and her gaze as hard as steel, "I don't recall the conventions of war condoning the _deliberate targeting of civilians_."

"You are mistaken if you believe that any of the Coordinators qualify as civilians in this war, Miss Captain," Azrael replied, his tone souring, "Each and every one of them is a threat to the natural order of this world and to the survival of all Naturals. They are our enemies in every sense of the word, Miss Captain, and isn't war about destroying your enemy?"

"It's one thing to destroy their ability to fight," Natarle growled back, "We wage war by targeting our enemy's military and its supporting infrastructure, _not _by murdering their civilians."

"The Junius colonies are a vital part of the Coordinators supporting infrastructure," said Azrael, smirking, "So by your logic would it not be entirely appropriate to target them?"

"The food grown in those colonies is meant not just for their troops, but for their people as a whole," said Natarle, "Just as the food we grow back home is meant for our civilians as much as it is for those serving in the armed forces."

"But _our _people are true human beings," said Azrael, a cruel grin on his face, "You can hardly say the same for our enemy, Miss Captain."

"With all due respect, I do," said Natarle. Flay could not help but think that the way Natarle spoke the phrase 'With all due respect' sounded less like that and more like 'kiss my ass.'

Azrael shook his head. "And here I was told that you would be such a good officer for our cause… I'm disappointed in you, Miss Captain."

"Then discharge me," Natarle shot back, undaunted and defiant, "but you won't find a better Captain in the fleet for the _Dominion _than me, and you know that."

Azrael glared at her, and Natarle met his stare with her own. Flay was growing increasingly nervous at this confrontation, and feared for what might happen to Natarle if it continued.

"Uhm, excuse me," she said, causing the two of them to look at her, "We're all on the same side here, aren't we? We shouldn't be fighting like this."

Truth be told, Flay did _not _really consider Azrael to be on 'her' side, but she was desperate to find some way to cut this confrontation off.

Azrael smiled at her, but Flay did like the way he did so. The contempt in it was obvious, but there was something else in it as well, reflected in the way his eyes went up and down her body, examining her like he might a potential prize. To say it was creepy would be a considerable understatement.

"Of course, Miss Allster," he replied, "So nice to see that you're such a level-headed young woman. Why don't you come join me for my meal? I'm sure there's much we could discuss."

The _last _thing Flay wanted was to spend _any _amount of time with Azrael, especially with the way he was looking at her now. She turned towards Natarle, praying that the older woman could see the fear and desperation in her eyes.

_Please_, she silently begged her new commanding officer, _help me!_

"Lord Azrael," said Natarle, "I apologize, but I'm afraid Flay won't have time for socializing. We're almost done with our meal here, and I need to continue her training. She still has a lot to learn before she can truly begin serving the Alliance military."

Azrael's expression soured for a moment, but much to Flay's surprise and relief he actually backed down. "Well," he said, forcing a smile, "I'd hate to get in the way of Miss Allster becoming a proper soldier. Perhaps another time?"

Flay nodded nervously, though what she really wanted to do was shake her head and say 'no' with as much emphasis as possible. "Perhaps," she said.

Azrael nodded. "I'll see you around, Miss Allster, Captain Badgiruel."

Flay waited until the man was out of sight and earshot before breathing a sigh of relief and turning towards Natarle. "_Thank you_," she whispered.

Natarle nodded. "Don't mention it. I saw the way he was looking at you, Flay. I can't say I blame you for feeling the way you do right about now."

Flay shuddered before returning to her meal with renewed urgency; she wanted to be done and out of here ASAP. Natarle quickly finished up as well, and the two of them stood up, put away their trays, and left the cafeteria. However, rather than lead her back towards the _Dominion_, Natarle took Flay off in a different direction.

"Where are we going?" asked Flay, "The ship's back that way."

"I know," said Natarle, "We're going to the armory to check you out a sidearm, and then we're hitting the range."

Flay's eyes widened at that announcement. "A gun? But I've…"

"I know you don't have a lot of experience with firearms aside from that incident in the med bay," Natarle replied, "If you're going to be part of this military, it's about time you learned how to properly handle a gun."

Flay nodded. "Ok."

Natarle stopped and looked around to make sure they were alone before turning to Flay. "Flay," she said quietly, "A girl like you shouldn't be without some form of protection in this kind of environment. I'll do what I can, but I can't watch out for you all the time; I've got other responsibilities to attend to. You need to able to defend yourself if I'm not around… especially if some creep like Azrael tries to make a move on you."

Flay gulped, recalling the way Azrael had looked at her earlier. The thought had crossed her mind, and the last thing she wanted was someone like _him _getting his hands on her.

"Right," she said, "I… thanks."

"No problem," said Natarle, "Come on, let's go."

Flay nodded before the two of them set off again.

….

**July 20****th****, C.E. 71**

Murrue walked into the _Archangel_'s briefing room, Heero just behind her and to the right. She turned towards Bristow, who had already taken a seat along with Shemei. The Wolf of the Far East had his laptop out and open, a cable running from it to an outlet near the screen on the far wall.

He looked up and nodded as Murrue and Heero went over to take their seats next to the other couple. "Captain Ramius, Heero," he said, "I've almost got the connection established."

Murrue nodded. "Begin whenever you're ready."

As Bristow made final adjustments Murrue turned to Heero and smiled. The Gundam pilot gave her a small one of his own, and Murrue reached over to hold his hand while they waited for the meeting to get underway.

After a minute or so two images appeared on the screen. On the left side Murrue saw Lacus, Waltfeld, and Aisha, while on the right she saw Cagalli and Kisaka.

"Hello, everyone," said Murrue, "_Eternal_, _Kusanagi_, are you hearing me?"

The _Eternal_'s delegation nodded. "Hello, Captain Ramius," said Lacus, smiling, "We read you loud and clear."

"Everything's good on our end," said Cagalli, smiling as well.

"Bristow called this meeting, so I'll let him lead," said Waltfeld, nodding at his friend, "What've you got, buddy?"

"A lucky break for us, if we can capitalize on it," said Bristow.

He typed furiously on his laptop, and once again the images on the screen shifted. The people from the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _were moved to the upper half of the screen, while the whole lower portion became a map of the Earth Sphere. A white dot was blinking at the outer rim of the Debris Belt close to the halfway point between the L5 and L3 Lagrange Points.

"That's us," said Bristow, typing again for a few seconds until a blue dot also appeared on the map, this time at the edge of L5, "and this is possibly a batch of reinforcements."

Murrue's eyes narrowed as she looked at the screen. "Reinforcements from the heart of ZAFT space?" she said skeptically, "You're going to have to elaborate on this one, Bristow."

"I got a message from a contact of mine in the Ninth Fleet," said the Wolf of the Far East, smiling, "Task Force 9.3, one of the Ninth Fleet's battle groups, made a break for it about eight hours ago. The entire task force has abandoned the PLANTs, and their vector takes them towards L3."

"They're defecting?" said Heero.

"Yes," said Bristow, "but not necessarily to fight against Zala. It'd be more accurate to say that they want to get the hell out of dodge. My intel has it that Commander Andriy Bohuslav, head of that group, and his lieutenants want to seek asylum at the surviving Orb colonies."

"What?" said Cagalli, her eyes widening, "Why now, and how'd they get an entire battle group to go along with it?"

"It does seem like a very difficult thing to do," said Lacus, "The Commander and his co-conspirators would have to be sure that the soldiers serving under them in the battle group would be willing to go along with their plan, and there's no way they could be one hundred percent certain that there were not Zala loyalists in the midst."

Bristow nodded. "True enough. From what I understand, Commander Bohuslav was careful in how he went about this. This defection was, at the very least, weeks in the making. The Ninth Fleet was rotated back to L5 not too long after our raid on Aprilius One. My guess is Bohuslav took the time to vet as many of his subordinates as he could and make sure that those he knew were loyal to the regime were on shore leave when Task Force 9.3 made a break for it. Even then the move would still be a gamble. I imagine a few radicals might've slipped through the cracks and had to be put in the brig… or if they reacted violently, dealt with accordingly."

"How big is Task Force 9.3?" asked Shemei.

"Fourteen capital ships," said Bristow, "It's composed of ten _Laurasia_-class frigates and four _Nazca_-class destroyers."

"What's the mobile suit composition?" asked Waltfeld.

"Mixed," Bristow replied, "The Ninth Fleet as a whole was out on the front lines for quite some time, so most of their mobile suits would be GINNs, with maybe a few CGUEs thrown into the mix. Since their rotation back to the PLANTs I'm sure there was an effort to begin transferring the new GuAIZs to the fleet and upgrade the older mobile suits with beam weaponry, but they haven't been at L5 for very long; the process was probably still ongoing when they left. They've got a few GuAIZs, but most of their mobile suits seem to be older models, some modified and some not."

"Even if their equipment isn't on the cutting edge, a force like that is still nothing to sneeze at," said Aisha, smiling, "If we could get Task Force 9.3 to ally with us it would be a real boon to our cause."

"Yes," said Murrue, her attitude less optimistic than Aisha's as she recalled something Bristow had told them earlier, "but that might be a case of easier said than done. Bristow, you said that they weren't necessarily looking to join us and fight against ZAFT and the Alliance, correct?"

The Wolf of the Far East nodded. "That's right, Captain Ramius. Apparently Commander Bohuslav and his co-conspirators are looking to get as many of their subordinates to the Eden and Elysium colonies as they can and then sit out the rest of this war in peace."

"War-weariness?" asked Waltfeld, "Or is there more to it?"

"I think that's a big part of it," Bristow replied, "The Ninth Fleet as a whole has seen heavy action throughout the war; Zala's thrown more offensive assignments at them than defensive ones. Yggdrasil, Nova, the Lunar perimeter… they've gotten in more than their share of fights with the Alliance space forces, and some pretty big ones to boot. Task Force 9.3 in particular has been considerably ground down since the war started. All the action's really been taking its toll, and they don't get much shore leave. Still, I don't think that's the only reason the group's leaders have decided to do this."

"What are their political leanings?" asked Heero, "Since they've decided to leave ZAFT we can safely assume the Commander and his allies have little love lost for the radicals, but from what you've been saying it doesn't necessarily seem like they're in line with Clyne's ideals either."

"Not quite," said Bristow, "From what I know about the man, Commander Bohuslav doesn't prescribe to the extreme ideology favored by Zala and his followers. However, he's also a man that takes military honor and the well-being of his subordinates seriously, which I think explains both why he's pulling out of ZAFT and why he doesn't want to join us in fighting them."

"You're going to have to elaborate on that," said Kisaka.

Bristow nodded. "By now, word of the massacre committed by our forces at Panama has spread throughout ZAFT. Bohuslav's a man that could never abide by such an atrocity; upholding the laws and conventions of war is big with him. At the same time, Zala's been ordering all our remaining surface forces to hold their ground and fight to the last man rather than retreat and live to fight another day. Having them engage in such last-stands is futile and wasteful, and for a Commander like Bohuslav who values the lives of his subordinates so much that's an unforgiveable offense."

That was an attitude that Murrue could certainly sympathize with. She recalled with perfect clarity the shock, horror, and disgust she had felt at Alaska when she had learned of her High Command's intent to sacrifice the _Archangel_, Heero, and the Eurasian forces just to kill a large number of Coordinators in the battle. It had been one of the major driving factors behind her abandonment of the nation she had previously sworn to serve, and to hear that this ZAFT officer had similar feelings regarding how his superiors felt about the lives of common soldiers made it much easier for Murrue to understand his motives.

"So he despises what Zala and the radicals have done to ZAFT," she said, "but he does not want to fight against them when he knows that the soldiers he and his subordinates would likely go up against would probably just be doing what they saw as their duty. He knows that Zala would use them against him like pawns, so he'd rather avoid killing them and risking the lives of his own soldiers in such a confrontation."

"I think that's a good way to sum it up, Captain Ramius," said Bristow. He then sighed before he spoke again. "If we could afford it, I'd be content to let him bring his people to L3 and take shelter there until the end of the war, but we need all the help we can get. You all know what the true stakes are in this conflict. We have to make contact with him and get him to join us."

"And we have to do it before he gets to L3," said Cagalli, "I don't want to refuse someone asylum, but if the Alliance sees ZAFT ships converging on the Eden and Elysium colonies they could use that as an excuse to invade. The Alliance has patrols around L3, and a force of fourteen capital ships would not be able to slip through their net undetected. I can grant them asylum if they wish, but I want to do so in a manner that avoids bringing the Alliance to bear on our colonies."

"If they haven't decided to target L3 already," said Heero, "The Alliance may have left it alone for now, but it's open knowledge that most of Orb's Coordinator population fled to its two surviving colonies before and during the invasion of the homeland. It may not be strategically significant, but I doubt Blue Cosmos will ignore such a gathering of Coordinators forever, especially considering that L3 doesn't have anywhere near the same level of defenses that L5 does; it's an easy target."

Waltfeld nodded. "Eric, any word from your contacts in intelligence circles about possible Alliance moves on L3?"

"No," said Bristow, "but that doesn't mean they're not preparing for one. Since Zala pulled back the fleets the Alliance forces have greatly expanded their area of operations in outer space. They could easily have a staging area or two that the Patrol Fleet isn't looking at right now… or one that ZAFT is aware of, but I'm not. With the casualties taken by my network in the wake of Operation Knight Lance, my ability to monitor fleet intelligence briefs and reconnaissance reports has been reduced. To my knowledge the Alliance fleets' have made no preparation for an assault on L3, but I have no way to be certain. I'm sorry."

Shemei shook her head. "Don't be, Eric. You can't keep track of everything going on in the Earth Sphere, especially in the middle of a crazy war like this."

Eric nodded. "Thanks. Still, I wish I had a more complete picture of both sides' movements. An Alliance strike on the Orb colonies would be a big blow to our efforts."

"That's a bridge we'll have to cross if we come to it," said Murrue, not wanting to make light of the potential risk to the L3 habitats but intent on getting the briefing back on track, "In the meanwhile, how do we deal with Task Force 9.3?"

"Very carefully," said Bristow. He typed again on his laptop for a few seconds before another blinking dot appeared on the map of the Earth Sphere, this one yellow. It was a little ways outside the Debris Belt but not too far from the _Archangel_'s current position.

"Two days from now at these coordinates," said Bristow, "is when we're scheduled to rendezvous with the tender _Sakuya_ to replenish the M1s we lost at L4, as well as top off our supplies. It's not too far from Task Force 9.3's projected flight path. After we finish the transfer we can move to intercept the task force and make contact with Commander Bohuslav."

"Who's going to do the talking?" asked Shemei.

"Miss Clyne and me will open the dialogue," said Waltfeld, "Between the two of us we should be able to at least convince Bohuslav to have a meeting with us. After that… well, we'll play it by ear."

Lacus nodded. "I'll do all I can to persuade the Commander and his followers to join our cause."

Murrue smiled. "Between you and Waltfeld, Miss Clyne, we could not ask for a better diplomatic team."

Lacus bowed her head. "Thank you, Captain Ramius."

"I think that covers everything," said Bristow, "Any questions?"

"What about pursuit?" asked Heero, and Murrue saw his eyes narrow, "There's no way Zala will just let one of his battle groups defect without a fight. When we intercept them they could have a fleet bearing down on them, if they haven't already been wiped out before we meet them."

Bristow nodded, his expression grim. "A possibility I'm well aware of, Heero. From what I know it seems Commander Bohuslav's departure took ZAFT by surprise, but Zala won't sit back stunned for long. I'm sure he's mobilized a response force, and has probably notified outlying patrols to be on the lookout for Task Force 9.3. We can send out forward recon to make sure the enemy isn't moving in to attack them before we bring in our ships for formal contact."

"If the battle group survives that long," said Heero, "They still have to stay ahead of the ZAFT fleet for two days before we can intercept them."

Bristow sighed. "I know. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about those two days; Task Force 9.3's survival over that period of time is in the hands of its Commander and soldiers, not to mention those of fate. I can't deny that this plan is more than a little reliant on chance, but this is an opportunity we can't ignore."

"Agreed," said Waltfeld, "and while I'd prefer to avoid engagement while we hunt for a new base of operations, we may have no other choice but to fight ZAFT in order to get our meeting with Commander Bohuslav. We'll just have to hope for the best… and prepare for the worst."

"You can count on us," said Murrue, determination coursing through her veins, "The _Archangel _and her crew will do all they can to make this mission a success."

"As will we," said Cagalli.

Waltfeld smiled. "Glad to hear it. Lady Cagalli, I'll leave any final adjustments regarding the rendezvous with the _Sakuya _in your hands."

Cagalli nodded. "Got it."

"We'll have everything ready on our end," said Kisaka.

Waltfeld nodded. "Ok then. _Eternal _will take point when we head for the rendezvous. Everyone, dismissed."

With the press of a button the screen shut off, and Bristow began putting away his equipment. Murrue saw Shemei turn to her and Heero and smile.

"Well, looks like we'll be getting some help," said the Valkyrie, "I can't wait to meet up with the task force."

Murrue nodded, more cautious in her optimism than her newfound friend. "Yes, though we're still going to have to convince them to ally with us."

"Waltfeld and Lacus should be able to handle that," said Heero, causing the two women to look at him, "Between his military expertise and her charisma I think they'll be able to talk the Commander and his lieutenants into throwing in their lot with us. The real obstacle isn't the diplomatic front; it's the ZAFT fleet."

"No argument there," said Bristow, standing up as he shouldered the black bag that carried his laptop and cords, "It won't be easy for Bohuslav's group to stay ahead of the hounds."

"Yes," said Murrue as she, Heero, and Shemei stood up as well, "Any group of ships is only as fast as the slowest vessel in it. _Nazca_-class destroyers are the fastest warships in the Earth Sphere, but Task Force 9.3 isn't solely composed of those craft; it also has _Laurasia_-class frigates in the mix."

"I doubt they'll be able to avoid engagement entirely over the next two days," said Shemei, "It'll be a running battle, and we may have to join in once we detect them."

"That's where forward recon will come in handy," said Heero, "and that's the role I want Wing Zero to take when the time comes."

"Heero," said Murrue, grabbing his hand, "you don't have to do it alone."

"But I might have to," Heero replied, "Wing Zero's not just the most powerful mobile suit in our group; it's also the fastest. If we detect Task Force 9.3 on our long-range sensors and can't ascertain whether or not it's alone, I'm the best option we have for quickly assessing the situation and providing immediate support to the battle group. I can relay information to the rest of you so that you'll be prepared for whatever's on the field when you join the fight."

"Heero's right," said Bristow, "Our nuclear-powered mobile suits are all incredible machines, but Wing Zero's still the best of the lot. We couldn't ask for a better vanguard in a situation like this."

Murrue knew Heero and Bristow were right, but she still didn't like the idea of Heero fighting alone, even if it was only at the beginning of the battle. It reminded her all too much of how she had used him at the beginning of the final battle against Waltfeld's forces in North Africa, having him launch a one-man offensive against the army of the Desert Tiger and using him as bait while the _Archangel _and Desert Dawn raced towards the engagement to hit ZAFT from outside their encirclement of Wing Zero. The strategy may have been Heero's idea, but that had not changed Murrue's reluctance to go along with it or her continued private disappointment in herself for having used him that way. Now Heero was once again proposing taking on a potentially very deadly role without backup, and Murrue did not much care for it.

"Perhaps," said Murrue, looking her boyfriend in the eye, "but that doesn't mean you have to go it alone, Heero. We can still send someone with you, just like when Kira and Athrun flew with you to save the _Eternal_."

Heero nodded. "Alright."

"I can always back him up," said Shemei, smiling, "Normally I'm not up for playing wingman, but I can make an exception for the only pilot that's ever beaten me in a fight."

"What about the girls?" asked Bristow, "You're their leader, Shemei; they expect to fly with you."

"I know," the Valkyrie replied, "but they also know how to handle themselves without me if the situation calls for it. Adaline's grown into a good flight lead in her own right. Not saying I'd ever think about permanently leaving my team, but I don't mind forming a temporary wing pair with the Guardian of the _Archangel_."

Murrue smiled; that was the one nickname ZAFT had given Heero prior to Shemei and Bristow's defection that she didn't mind them using. More to the point, Shemei was offering to partner with the Gundam pilot, giving him the best reinforcement that Murrue could hope for in such a situation.

"I think it's a great idea," she said, turning to her boyfriend, "Heero, what do you say?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded. "I couldn't ask for better backup." He then surprised her by giving the Valkyrie a smirk. "Well, except maybe Zechs Merquise and the Epyon."

Shemei chuckled, taking the comment in stride. "Yeah, I know, I'm still only the second best you've ever fought. Guess you're gonna have to make do, Heero."

"I think I can manage," Heero replied.

Murrue shook her head. "Pilots… you just love your banter and taunts."

"Hey," said Shemei, smirking, "it's our nature. Not even a cool customer like Heero's entirely immune to it."

Murrue looked at Heero, who shrugged and gave her a small smile. "She does have a point there. Sorry, Murrue."

Murrue returned the smile before leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "I think I can live with it, my love."

"By the way," Bristow chimed in, "What's the Epyon?"

"The Gundam Zechs flew during the final campaigns of our war," said Heero, his expression becoming serious, "and the only mobile suit ever considered to be Wing Zero's equal."

Murrue had the satisfaction of seeing the jaws of the Wolf and the Valkyrie metaphorically hit the floor, so stunned were they at the revelation.

"Holy shit…" said Bristow softly.

Shemei whistled. "God damn… one mobile suit with a colony-killing gun wasn't enough for your world, huh?"

"You're mistaken," said Heero, "Epyon was designed differently from Wing Zero; it focused on close-quarters combat. However, despite that distinction Epyon was still deadly both to mobile suits and larger targets."

_Like the Space Fortress Barge_, Murrue thought, recalling the conversation she'd had with Heero all those months ago that night in North Africa, _I suppose I owe Zechs my thanks for that. If he hadn't destroyed Barge, Heero would never have had to take out the surviving reactor as it fell towards Earth… and we would never have met._

"Must've been quite the beast if you're saying it was Wing Zero's equal even without something like the Twin Buster Rifle," said Shemei, smiling, "I don't suppose there's any chance of you showing me the designs for that thing, is there?"

Murrue saw Heero look down in thought for a moment before looking back at the Valkyrie. "Perhaps someday."

"Well, that's a start," said Shemei, "I'll take what I can get."

"I wouldn't mind getting a look at the designs myself," said Bristow, "but I'll save that for another time."

Murrue and Heero nodded. "Well," said Murrue, "I need to get to the bridge."

"I'll head down to the hangar and make sure Wing Zero's in fighting shape," said Heero, turning to her, "I'll come join you later; it shouldn't take too long."

Murrue smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it, Heero."

"I guess we better head down to the hangar too," said Shemei, looping her arm through Bristow's, "Gotta make sure our units are ready to go too."

"Yes," said Bristow, nodding, "Things could get hairy when the time comes to meet the task force. We need to be prepared for anything."

"See you later," said Shemei, and the Valkyrie and the Wolf headed off towards the hangar.

As they left Murrue turned to Heero, who despite having said that he was going the same place they were had not yet departed. She saw him staring off into space, and wondered what was on his mind. "Heero," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Everything ok?"

He nodded as he turned to her. "I'm fine Murrue. Talking about the Epyon and Zechs with Bristow and Shemei just made me wonder what Zechs might do in our situation."

"You mean regarding the rendezvous with the task force?" asked Murrue, "Or the war itself?"

"The latter," Heero replied, "The methods Zechs and White Fang attempted to employ during the final campaign of our war may have been extreme, but I think he would be disgusted with the depths to which the Earth Alliance and ZAFT have proven themselves willing to stoop to. The same goes for Treize. He could be ruthless when required, but even he had limits."

Murrue nodded. "Given what you told me about Zechs and Treize's ultimate goals in the final battle, I think they would both be appalled at what our enemies want to do. Zechs and Treize wanted to purge mankind of its will to fight through that last campaign; Azrael and Zala just want to butcher the other side for how they were born."

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this," said Heero, "but I wish Wufei hadn't killed Treize, and that he and Zechs were here right now. I didn't completely understand either of them, but I did respect their skills, intelligence, and charisma. We could use both of them on our side; their insights and abilities would be very useful."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, smiling, "but we don't have them; we have _you_, Heero. _You_ came to our world, not them, and _your _skills, intelligence, and insight have been _invaluable _to us, Heero. They're the reason my crew and I are still alive, and it's because of _you_, not Treize and Zechs, that we've come this far. Use what you learned fighting against them, the insight you gained into how they thought and fought, but do not discount your own, Heero. I understand the respect you have for their abilities, but from what you told me I also know that they respected _you_, Heero, and for a damn good reason if I do say so myself."

Heero was quiet for a moment, his expression thoughtful. Then he met Murrue's gaze and gave her a small nod and smile. "Thank you, Murrue."

Her smile still on her face, Murrue leaned in and gave him a kiss. "You are most welcome, my love."

Heero nodded. "I should get down to the hangar. I'll see you later, Murrue."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Murrue replied.

….

**July 22****nd****, C.E. 71**

_So far so good_, thought Heero as he continued his counter-clockwise flight path around the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, _Kusanagi_, and _Sakuya._

The last ship, like the _Himiko_ that had brought them their first supply shipment at L4, was a _Cornelius_-class tender operated by the Orb Union. Currently it was holding position in the middle of the three warships as it dispatched shuttles to each vessel bearing munitions, rations, spare parts, and other materials. The M1 Astrays that the ship had brought to replace those lost by the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _at L4 had not yet been delivered to their respective vessels, and were slated to be transferred as the final part of the process.

Having shifted Wing Zero into its fighter form as soon as he had launched, Heero was maintaining a patrol flight around the three warships and the tender as the transfer took place. He wasn't alone; flying along different paths were the Judgment, Aisha's GuAIZ, and Erica Simmons' three test pilots from Morgenroete. All other pilots were on standby, ready to launch at a moment's notice should trouble rear its ugly head.

The _Sakuya _had come bearing more than just supplies for the Three Ships Alliance. Heero had listened in as the ship's commanding officer had relayed the latest news from the Orb colonies, and had been surprised to hear that since the battle at L4 ten days ago a small number of Earth Alliance ships had actually come to L3 expressing their desire to defect. It was certainly an encouraging development, and from what the _Sakuya_'s Captain had said it seemed that more soldiers in the Alliance were ill at ease or outright disgusted with the actions their nation had taken over the recent days of the war.

_It's good to see that Murrue's not the only Alliance officer with a conscience_, he thought, _but this could have dire consequences for the Eden and Elysium colonies. The Earth Alliance proved that they're willing to expend considerable resources in going after traitors when they sent a battle group to fight us at L4, and led by the second Archangel-class warship no less. What if this proves to be the last straw for them and they use this as a pretext for attacking the L3 colonies? I know Engineer Simmons said that a number of M1s had been transferred from the surface to the colonies, and that Morgenroete had been building up a force of Taurus mobile suits at their smaller resource satellites to defend Eden and Elysium, but against the overwhelming might of the Earth Alliance that won't be enough. A few defecting ships certainly won't turn the tide if it comes down to a fight…_

Heero shook his head, banishing those thoughts to the back of his mind. It was an important thing to consider, but right now the mission at hand came first.

His comm system chimed, and a moment later the face of Morgenroete's most brilliant scientist appeared on his monitor.

"Engineer Simmons," he said, "What is it?"

She smiled. "I just thought you should know that we've finished putting together the new augmentation pack for the Strike-Rouge. It was actually earlier this morning, and we've had Lady Cagalli run a few simulations on it since then. She's still getting the hang of it, but the initial results have been quite promising. I think the next time she takes the field we'll install that pack on the Strike-Rouge; nothing like a combat trial to really put the new equipment through its paces."

Heero nodded. "Alright. Anything else?"

"No," said Erica, "Aside from the fact that the new targeting system you installed on the _Kusanagi _over a week ago has been functioning _very _well in all the simulations we've run since then. You and Shemei really make a good programming team."

"Thanks," said Heero, "If that's all then I need to get back to my patrol."

Erica sighed before giving him a smirk. "You're just not a conversationalist if it's not with Murrue, eh Heero? Fine, I'll let you go. Take care of yourself. Simmons out."

Heero hadn't meant to be rude to her, but given the situation it was important to avoid flooding the comm waves with idle chatter. Despite his curt ending to the conversation, Heero actually did enjoy the rapport he had developed with the engineer since his first stay in the Orb Union. She was a brilliant technical mind; he hadn't worked with someone who had such an intuitive understanding of the functioning of mobile suits since the Gundam scientists and Howard. Like Kira, Cagalli, Shemei, and some of the others in the Three Ships Alliance, Erica had become someone that Heero considered to be a friend.

_I've made more friends in the few months I've been in the Cosmic Era_, he thought as Simmons' face disappeared from the screen, _than I did in the sixteen years I lived in my old world. It's all thanks to Murrue. She helped me open up. First to her, and then to others. It's happened so much easier in this world than it did in my last war, my old world, and I know it's because of Murrue. Just one more thing I owe her for._

_ One more reason why I love her. _

It was a pleasant thought, but like the one before he had to set it aside for the moment; he had a job to do.

A few more minutes passed by without incident, but the calm and watchful flight was eventually interrupted by another chorus of beeping coming from Wing Zero's communications system. However, unlike last time, this was not a case of someone trying to directly contact him. Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the display, watching as fragments of weak transmission frequencies went across it. There was heavy interference, and the Gundam pilot could also see that the frequencies were heavily encrypted, which instantly set off alarm bells in his head; that meant the source was military. Attempting to track the source of the signals, Heero could only get a rough approximation thanks to all the interference, but what he saw did not make him feel any better. Though the distance was extreme, the signals seemed to be originating roughly along the projected flight path of Task Force 9.3.

Heero got on the tactical channel. "This is Wing Zero. I'm getting some weak transmissions over hear with military grade encryption. _Archangel_, _Eternal_, _Kusanagi_; I'm sending them to you now."

After a moment Murrue's face appeared on the screen, her expression serious. "We're getting it, Heero. It doesn't look like any Alliance ciphers we've seen before, but they could always be running something new."

Waltfeld's face joined hers on the monitor. "_Eternal_ here. Heero, we've got nothing that exactly matches it in our databases, but it does bear some similarities to older ZAFT frequencies."

"It also looks like there's more than one set of transmissions going," said Murrue, "Could be multiple groups; a skirmish, perhaps."

"Captain Ramius," said Waltfeld, "Send that down to Bristow. His contacts have been trying to keep him as up to date as possible on ZAFT communication protocols; he might have something that can help us narrow it down."

Murrue nodded. "Understood. Sending it to the Werewolf now."

"I'll see if I can clean it up on my end," said Heero, and immediately set to work doing just that. Unfortunately the N-Jammer interference was not making his job easy, and the problem was only compounded by the extreme range that the transmissions were coming from.

Fortunately the Wolf of the Far East got on the line a few seconds later with some much needed answers. "Bristow here," he said, "I've got two matching frequencies; one's used by the Ninth Fleet, the other by the Tenth. Can't make out content due to the interference, but given the fleet Task Force 9.3 was once part of I think it's safe to say the first one's them. I don't have any intel on defections from the Tenth, so we should assume hostiles."

"So ZAFT's caught up with them," said Murrue, "Damn it, their timing couldn't be worse."

It was a sentiment Heero wholeheartedly agreed with. With the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi _still in the middle of receiving supplies from the _Sakuya_, they could not move to engage. Their options were limited, and Heero's mind immediately settled on the one he knew would pose the least risk to the capital ships… and the most to himself.

"Shemei," said Heero, turning towards the direction that the transmissions were originating from, "on me."

The Valkyrie's face appeared on his screen, and he knew that she had already comprehended what he had in mind. "Got it," she said, "I'm your wing, Heero."

"Heero!" cried Murrue, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Our warships can't fight right now," Heero replied, "and you need to hold most of our mobile suits back to cover you while you finish up the supply transfer. We don't know how large of a force the defectors are fighting against; they could be wiped out before the _Archangel _and the other ships can get underway. Shemei and I will do forward recon and assist Task Force 9.3 to the best of our abilities; we should be able to keep them alive until you can reinforce us."

Waltfeld nodded. "It's the best option, though certainly not without its challenges."

"We can do it, Waltfeld," said Shemei, "You know we can."

Heero nodded as well, though his gaze was fixed on Murrue. "We have to do this, Murrue."

Murrue sighed. "Alright, Heero." Her eyes met his again, and he could see the concern within them. "Just please… be careful, ok?"

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

"The instant the transfer is complete," said Waltfeld, "we'll get underway and dispatch the rest of our nuclear powered mobile suits ahead of us as a vanguard. Until then though, you two will be stuck with whatever resources Task Force 9.3 has left on the field, understood?"

"Yes," said Shemei.

"Copy that," said Heero.

"Shemei," said Eric, "Watch yourself, alright?"

"I will," the Valkyrie replied, "Don't take too long catching up to us."

"Roger that," said Eric.

"We're outbound," said Heero, "Wing Zero out."

He gunned the engines as he ended the transmission and saw Shemei do the same with the Judgment. The ZAFT prototype was not quite as fast as Wing Zero was in its fighter mode, but the gap in top speed was not too great; Heero only had to reduce his pace a little for the Valkyrie to keep formation.

"So," said Shemei, and Heero saw that she was on a new transmission frequency, one he knew they would be using as their tactical channel for the coming fight, "any bets on what we'll find when we get there?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say a Charlie Foxtrot," Heero replied, glancing at his sensors as he spoke, "I've got faint contacts at the edge of my scopes, but I can't make out distinct signatures or get any sense of real numbers yet."

"Same here," said the Valkyrie, "I just hope the task force hasn't been hit too hard yet. I'd hate for this all to be for nothing."

"We'll find out when we get there," said Heero, "Stay sharp and be ready to engage on my order."

"Understood," Shemei replied.

….

Clutching the arms of her command chair tightly as the _Natta _shook around her, Captain Talia Gladys bit back a swear before turning to one of her subordinates. "Tell Murphy Team to get that thing off us!" she ordered.

Her mobile suit combat controller, a young lady in her early twenties with mid-length blonde hair and dark gray eyes, nodded. "Aye, Captain!" she replied.

She watched on the main monitor as three of her ship's six GINNs moved in on the GuAIZ that had just taken a potshot at the frigate. Her ship's mobile suits had been upgraded since the Fall of Avalon, their machine guns and metal swords replaced with beam weapons. However, their specs were still inferior to the much newer GuAIZ, and Talia could only hope that the skills of their pilots would make up for the technological deficiency.

All the while this was going on, the _Natta_'s Captain could not deny the pit in her stomach, the feeling of wrongness that had stuck with her since this battle had begun, since the _Natta _had been rotated to the Tenth Fleet and dispatched with its pursuit forces two days ago to hunt down the renegade Task Force 9.3.

_I enlisted in ZAFT to protect my people_, she thought, _not to hunt down former comrades. How… how did this happen?_

On the main bridge monitor she saw the renegade GuAIZ shoot down one of her GINNs with its beam rifle. The enemy unit then whirled around just in time to slash another GINN in half with its beam claws before the _Natta_'s machine could impale it with its violet blade. However, the GuAIZ had left itself vulnerable to an attack from the last GINN of the trio, which shot it from below with its beam rifle, destroying the mobile suit.

Talia grimaced, sick with the knowledge that she had just sacrificed two of her pilots in order to kill a fellow Coordinator. However, she could not let her discomfort interfere with her duties, especially since the battle was clearly a long ways from over yet.

The pursuit force the _Natta _was working with consisted of another fourteen frigates like herself, along with nine _Nazca_-class destroyers. Its mobile suit complement was, like that of its target, mixed, though in this case the loyalist group had a greater edge in terms of technology. Some of the ships like Talia's were carrying modified GINNs and CGUEs, while others were fully outfitted with the new GuAIZ mobile suits. This was only one such group involved in the hunt, but it was the first to catch up with Task Force 9.3.

The _Natta _was out on the right wing of the pursuit force, working with another two frigates and a destroyer. The pursuit force was arrayed in a broad crescent, with the outer tips moving in an attempt to flank Task Force 9.3 and pin it while the center bore down on the enemy to hit them with a concentrated bombardment. It was a classic tactic, though the three dimensional nature of outer space made it difficult to pull off. To help compensate for this to as much an extent as was possible, the crescent was split into two levels, an upper and a lower one, with thirteen ships in each one. Talia's ship was in the upper half along with one of the frigates she was working with, while the other frigate and the destroyer were in the lower section. This allowed for overlapping fields of fire across all three dimensions, though of course the coverage was not seamless. Also, to disorganize the enemy and make it harder for them to launch a coordinated assault against one section of the crescent to punch through or flee in the opposite direction, the bulk of the pursuit force's mobile suits had been launched well in advance of the capital ships coming into firing range of each other and were now mixing it up in the midst of Task Force 9.3. Only the few ships at the ends of the crescent, like the _Natta_, had held back a portion of their mobile suits in order to reinforce the wings of the fleet.

Talia had fervently hoped that Commander Bohuslav would accept the surrender offer that had been given to him by the leader of her pursuit force, Commander Edgar du Bourg, but it was not to be. Part of her mind had known that would be the case. Even if Task Force 9.3 had no intention of fighting against ZAFT and only sought asylum at the surviving Orb colonies at L3, they were still abandoning their post, their military, and their nation during wartime. This was a capital offense, and given the hard line stance of the ruling party there could be little doubt that the harshest sentence possible would be utilized, with no chance for leniency. There was no point in surrender when only death awaited Commander Bohuslav and his subordinates at the hands of ZAFT and the Zala regime, something that Talia was well aware of. Still, just because the effort to convince them to stand down may have been ultimately futile did not mean that she thought it should not be made. In her mind, fighting should be the last resort whenever possible; if there was the chance, however small it might be, that the enemy might accept an offer of surrender then Talia felt that it was the right thing to offer it.

_A pity it was not to be_, she thought ruefully, _and so, here we are, fighting each other while the Alliance gathers strength. Damn it all…_

The battle was young, but already bloody. In addition to the main pursuit force, several outlying patrols had converged on Task Force 9.3 from the opposite direction that the crescent was moving in on the renegades. It had only been a handful of ships though; three frigates and two destroyers, all carrying unmodified GINNs. In order to stall the rogues and give the pursuit force time to close with the enemy they had engaged Task Force 9.3 head on. The results had been predictable; Task Force 9.3 had brought everything it had to bear on them. Both groups had traded fire, and while the five loyalist ships had managed to land hits they had not struck any decisive blows. The renegades, on the other hand, had wiped the floor with them, downing the small group in two salvoes. As for the loyalist mobile suits, they had lasted a little longer and managed to mix it up with the rogue units, but in the end all had fallen to the enemy while inflicting only a few losses on their foe. To Talia it was a reckless and stupid move, an appalling waste of life… but it had also worked. Though the time Task Force 9.3 had lost in dealing with the smaller ZAFT group had been minimal, it was just enough to slow them down to the point that the mobile suits from the main pursuit force could close with the enemy and begin disrupting their formation.

Task Force 9.3's reaction had been unusual in Talia's experienced eye. The renegades had held back all of their GINNs, modified and otherwise, to deal with the attacking loyalist machines, but had dispatched all of the GuAIZs at their disposal to strike the ZAFT capital ships. This move had actually caught the loyalists by surprise, as the bulk of their mobile suits had already moved in to engage the enemy and only a few had been held back for defense. At the same time the enemy capital ships had turned to port until they were angled towards the left wing of the pursuit force, though their movements were hampered by the mobile suits fighting in their midst and taking shots at them.

It had soon dawned on Talia just what the enemy was trying to accomplish. By using their few GuAIZs to cause whatever havoc they could among the loyalist force, the renegades had actually managed to buy themselves room to set up for an attack on the left wing of the ZAFT group while attempting to fend off the mobile suits attacking them. Now Task Force 9.3's next move was clear; they would drive hard into the left wing, potentially rolling it up and then hitting the center of the task force from the flank.

_They can't get away_, thought Talia grimly_, so they'll try to turn the tables by hitting us like that, maybe inflict enough casualties on us to force a withdrawal. A gamble, but it's really the only move they have._

Unfortunately for the enemy, it was a move that was easy to counter, and the pursuit force was in the midst of doing that right now. As Task Force 9.3 drove towards the left wing of the ZAFT fleet the right wing had begun to fold in behind them. The process was hampered to some degree by the remaining enemy GuAIZs that were harassing the loyalist ships and the few mobile suits that had been held back as escorts, but Talia and her comrades were gaining momentum. Some of the attacking mobile suits had also been recalled to deal with the renegade GuAIZs, and when combined with the escort mobile suits and the warships' anti-air weaponry it would be enough to deal with the more advanced of the rogues' machines. The left wing of the loyalist force was still holding despite the mobile suits that were harassing them and the fact that the entirety of Task Force 9.3's warships were bearing down on them, and all they had to do was survive long enough for the center and the right wing to converge on the renegades. At the same time, some of the ships in the center of the formation that were closes to the left wing had moved to reinforce their brethren out on the flank in order to make sure they held long enough for the rest of the center and the right wing to set up for their volleys.

_Thanks to the layered structure of our formation_, Talia thought, _they'll be screwed no matter which way they go. If they go up, the top row of warships will confront them head on while the lower flanks them, and vice versa if they go down. If they try to move through the gap they'll be taking fire from all directions; it'll be a turkey shoot for us._

"Ma'am," said the communications officer, "We're receiving our firing assignment from the flagship."

Talia nodded. "Pass the data on to weapons. Be ready to fire when ordered."

On the main monitor Talia could see the forward ranks of Task Force 9.3 begin to trade shots with the left wing of the loyalist fleet. A veritable storm of emerald beams, yellow rail cannon rounds, and the blue fire of missile trails crisscrossed the space between the opposing forces. Warships on both sides took hits, though the loyalists took the worst of it. Several ships from the loyalist forces took moderate or severe damage, while three _Laurasia_-class frigates were destroyed. For their part, the rogues lost one frigate and several others were wounded to varying degrees. Smaller explosions lit up the space in between the warships of both factions as mobile suits took hits and were destroyed. Still, despite the forward momentum and greater strength of the renegade force bearing down on them, the left wing was holding, and the time for ZAFT's counterattack was fast approaching.

The _Nazca_-class destroyer _Acolyte_, the lead vessel in the top half of the right wing and one of the four vessels the _Natta _was assigned to work with, began to pull out ahead. Talia knew that this meant their barrage would commence momentarily, and prepared her vessel accordingly.

"Synch timers with those of the _Acolyte_," she said, "Weapons, have everything ready to go on my mark."

"Aye, Captain," replied the chief gunnery officer.

Talia could feel her grip on the arms of the command chair intensify unconsciously as her ship prepared to strike. _This is it_, she thought, _time to roll the dice…_

The timer on her personal monitor entered its final ten seconds before a cry rang out from her sensor officer. "Energy spike, twelve o'clock high!"

"What?" said Talia, her blood chilling. She was just about to give the order to identify the source…

…and then the _Acolyte _was consumed from above by a tsunami of golden-yellow hellfire.

Time seemed to freeze for Talia in the instant the _Nazca_-class destroyer was obliterated by that oh so familiar blast of monstrously destructive power. Her mind instinctively flashed back to the last time she had witnessed a shot with that distinct hue, though it had been _far _more powerful than what she was seeing now.

The Fall of Avalon.

Her eyes widened in horror, her face became deathly pale, her hold on the arms of her chair became a death grip, and the normally calm and professional woman could only muster a soft reply at what she had just seen, scarcely more than a whisper.

"No… not _him_…"

Before she could recover she saw another blast of energy, this one crimson, pierce the frigate that had been on the wing of the _Acolyte_, the _Hoplite_, detonating the vessel like a mortar round. Talia was stunned at the precision of the strikes, along with the timing; they'd been mere seconds apart.

"Two contacts!" cried the sensor officer, not even trying to hide the shock and dread in her voice, "_It's Wing Zero and the Judgment!_"

"The Demon and the Valkyrie?" yelled the chief gunnery officer, all pretenses of professionalism gone, replaced by utter terror.

"Get me a visual!" shouted Talia, fighting desperately to keep her fear from showing in her voice.

The image on the main monitor shifted, and the two newcomers were put on screen for all to see. Wing Zero was out in front, while behind and to the left of the fearsome machine was the stolen ZAFT prototype. They were bearing down hard and fast on the loyalist fleet… more specifically, the right wing.

"Take evasive action!" she ordered, "Recall all our surviving mobile suits, and open fire on Wing Zero or the Judgment as soon as you get a solution."

Privately, Talia knew those orders were in vain. A lumbering capital ship like the _Natta _would stand little chance at evading fire from either mobile suit, and aside from the sole surviving member of Murphy Team the only remaining units Talia had at her disposal were the three modified GINNs of Kyle Team, and they were all engaged with Task Force 9.3. There was no way they could get back to the _Natta _in time to stop either the Demon Lord of Avalon or the Valkyrie from completely annihilating her.

"Multiple weapons locks on us!" cried the sensor operator.

"Hard to port!" Talia yelled, all the while watching the main monitor, just waiting for one of her foes to launch the killing strike.

She saw the twin barrels of Wing Zero's hellish rifle once again glow with that familiar golden-yellow energy and braced herself for the worst. The Gundam opened fire, but the shot was not meant for the _Natta_. Talia saw the blast flash past her ship and slam into the frigate _Salamis_, destroying the ship. She then turned her attention to the Judgment, realizing the attack on her ship would come from the renegade Valkyrie.

Indeed, the Judgment did open fire on the _Natta_, but it wasn't with her heavy plasma rifle. The two beam cannons on the mobile suit's shoulders cut loose with emerald beams, as did the two gun-drones that had detached from the unit's back and set their sights on the frigate. At the same time Talia saw a swarm of micro-missiles cut loose from the launchers mounted on the mobile suit's legs.

Talia didn't even have time to tell her crew to brace before the four emerald beams slammed into the _Natta_. The ship rocked under the blows, and they were swiftly followed up by a hammering of smaller impacts as the horde of missiles following the particle beams pounded the vessel in a brutal hailstorm.

"Damage report!" she yelled.

"Main and secondary guns have been knocked out!" replied one of her subordinates, "All VLS are inoperable, along with four of our CIWS! We have multiple hull breaches on the upper decks!"

_But we're still alive_, thought Talia,_ Why, I don't know… but we are._

"Seal off the areas that have been breached," she ordered, "I want damage control teams ready to patch up what they can ASAP!"

"Aye, Captain," replied one of her officers.

"Where are Wing Zero and the Judgment?" she asked.

"They went past us!" replied the sensor operator, "They're moving onto the lower line!"

_So they mean to completely neutralize the right wing_, she thought, _and then move onto the center._

There was nothing Talia and her crew could do about that though; with the damage they had taken, she knew that they were out of the fight. All she could do was pull her ship away from the engagement… and thank her lucky stars that the Valkyrie had decided to use her secondary weapons on them rather than her powerful rifle.

"Signal the _Sophocles_," she ordered, referring to the pursuit force's flagship, "We can't keep fighting in our condition; we're withdrawing."

"Yes, ma'am," said the communications officer.

"Captain," said the mobile suit combat flight controller, "Kyle Team is inbound."

"Casualties?" she asked with trepidation.

"Yes, ma'am," her subordinate replied grimly, "Daniel's confirmed K.I.A. One of the renegade mobile suits shot him down."

_Damn_, she thought, _half my pilots killed in a single battle… I just hope I can save the rest of them._

"Tell them not to engage Wing Zero and the Judgment," said Talia, "They're to stick with us while we pull out." She refused to send her surviving pilots on a suicide mission.

"Understood, Captain," said the flight controller.

As the _Natta _began to break off from the fight Talia looked one last time at Wing Zero and the Judgment as they prepared to attack the lower section of the right wing. She felt horrible for leaving her comrades to face such powerful adversaries, but she had no choice. Her ship had been heavily damaged and was no longer capable of providing any meaningful contribution to the battle. Talia felt that her duty now was to save who she could; the rest of the pursuit force and the ZAFT reinforcements that were inbound would have to deal with the newcomers.

_If _they could deal with the newcomers…

….

**(Start "Mayhem")**

Weaving through the storm of anti-air fire that the enemy warships were sending his way, Heero cut down a GINN with his beam saber as he set up for his next shot with the Twin Buster Rifle. The moment he got an opening he took aim and fired, obliterating his second _Nazca_-class destroyer of the day.

Heero wasn't the only one on the offensive. To his right he saw Shemei spear a GINN with her violet blade before cutting loose with her heavy plasma rifle. The crimson blast of energy unleashed by the weapon pierced the _Laurasia_-class frigate next to Heero's target, turning the ship into a fragmentation grenade.

"I think we've got their attention," said the Valkyrie.

Heero certainly couldn't argue with that. Despite the speed and ferocity of his and Shemei's surprise attack the ZAFT fleet was already reacting. Several warships were reorienting themselves, turning their guns from Task Force 9.3 and bringing them to bear on Wing Zero and the Judgment. At the same time several teams of loyalist mobile suits had broken off their attacks on the renegade units and were already inbound on Heero and his wingman.

"We'll keep pushing along their formation," he said as he shot down a volley of missiles with his shoulder gatlings before turning the Twin Buster Rifle on the frigate that had fired them, disintegrating his target with a powerful blast, "If we can pin them between us and Task Force 9.3, we can end this quickly."

"Hammer and anvil approach, eh?" said Shemei as she unloaded the rest of her missiles on another frigate, along with a volley from her shoulder beam cannons and DRAGOONs, "Works for me. I just hope we can avoid hitting any of the rogues' mobile suits by mistake."

"I've got a solid read on their IFFs," said Heero as he saw Shemei's target, severely damaged by the pounding she had unleashed upon it, begin to pull back, "I'm tracking them with the Zero System. Sending you the data now."

After a moment he saw the Valkyrie nod on his screen. "Got it," she said, "By the way, we've got a few teams of bad guys closing fast."

"I see them," said Heero, swinging Wing Zero around to bring its fearsome rifle to bear on the incoming mobile suits, "Let's deal with them and get back to hitting the capital ships."

"Copy that," Shemei replied, just before Wing Zero and the Judgment opened fire simultaneously with their powerful rifles.

Two rivers of destruction, one gold and one crimson, ripped across space. The rushing torrents of energy blew through the heart of the enemy formation, detonating mobile suits like strings of firecrackers. Wing Zero's shot took down eight GINNs and a GuAIZ, while the Judgment's destroyed five GINNs and two CGUEs. However, there were still plenty of survivors left for the taking. The remaining enemy machines split up into smaller groups, spreading out in an effort to envelope their adversaries.

"Slow learners," said Heero as he pushed forward, intent on taking the fight to the enemy at close range, "They should've done that from the start."

"Please don't give tactical advice to the enemy," Shemei quipped as she followed his lead, "They might actually start using their brains."

"If they did that, would they keep fighting for Zala?" Heero deadpanned as he sliced a GINN in half with his beam saber before ripping apart another with his shoulder gatlings.

Shemei chuckled. "Good point," the Valkyrie replied as she tore into her foes, impaling a GINN with her beam saber and downing another with two beams from her DRAGOONs.

"Keep it close," said Heero as he slipped to the right to dodge a beam claw slash from a GuAIZ before cutting the attacking machine down with his verdant blade, "We need to thin these guys out before we get back to the warships."

"Roger that," said Shemei as she downed a GuAIZ with her shoulder cannons, "I've got your back, Heero!"

And he had hers. As the enemy swarmed around them, Wing Zero and the Judgment went back-to-back while at the same time twisting and weaving through the hail of energy beams their foes were sending their way. It was a delicate piece of flying, but all their fights against each other had given Heero and Shemei an understanding of how their wingman flew that bordered on clairvoyance.

Cutting loose with the Twin Buster Rifle again, Heero blew away four GINNs and two GuAIZs with a high power blast before raising his shield to block beams from another incoming group of foes. More enemies attempted to flank him, but they were forced to contend with the Valkyrie, and she had no intention of letting them take down her onetime rival. The Judgment opened fire with the Tartarus rifle, and three GINNs were destroyed in a stream of crimson energy. At the same time, the Valkyrie once again let fly with her twin gun-drones, downing a GuAIZ as it tried to line up a shot at Heero's back.

A GINN tried to attack the Valkyrie from below with its beam rifle, but before it could take the shot it was torn apart by gatling fire from Wing Zero. The units accompanying the machine scattered, and Heero capitalized on their disarray by diving right into their midst. He sliced another GINN in half with his beam saber before raising his shield to block a beam claw strike from a GuAIZ. Hitting his thrusters, Heero pushed forward, knocking his foe back before stabbing it through the cockpit with his emerald blade. He then whirled around and opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, downing another GuAIZ, a CGUE, and two GINNs.

Taking a quick glance at his sensors, Heero saw that Task Force 9.3 had begun driving into the enemy fleet. Its capital ships traded salvos with those of the ZAFT loyalists, with both sides scoring hits. Two of Task Force 9.3's frigates were lost, while the ZAFT fleet lost a frigate and a destroyer. Other ships were sporting varying degrees of damage, and while the momentum continued to lie with the renegades Heero knew that it wouldn't last long. Even with the ZAFT loyalists divided between engaging Task Force 9.3 and Wing Zero and the Judgment they still had more than enough units on the field to bog down the defectors. From the multitude of smaller explosions taking place amid the warships, the Gundam pilot knew that the fight between the two sides' mobile suit teams was raging just as fiercely as that of the destroyers and frigates. Heero knew that the longer the battle went on the more time ZAFT would have to bring reinforcements into the fight… and indeed, he could already see several capital ships at the edge of his sensors, closing in fast.

"We've got more company inbound," he said as he sliced a GuAIZ in half with his beam saber before blocking a beam saber strike from a GINN on his shield and then cutting down the attacking unit with his emerald blade.

"I see them," Shemei replied, destroying a GINN with her shoulder-mounted beam cannons before impaling another on her violet blade, "We need to pick up the pace."

Heero nodded as he dodged a flurry of particle beams. "Agreed. Hit your thrusters and go high. We'll get above them and hit them hard, then turn back to the capital ships."

"Got it," said the Valkyrie as she blocked a few shots on her shield, "just say when."

A few seconds of evading enemy fire and one cut down GuAIZ later, Heero made his move. "Now."

Wing Zero and the Judgment shot upward like a pair of rockets, the two mobile suits rapidly outpacing their ZAFT foes. As he made his ascent Heero put away his beam saber and split the Twin Buster Rifle into two guns, already acquiring targets as he made his climb.

After a few seconds Heero signaled Shemei again. "Fire at will."

"Roger," the Valkyrie replied, and she cut loose with the Tartarus, her shoulder cannons, and her DRAGOONs. The crimson blast of plasma blew apart two GINNs and a GuAIZ, while the pair of beams from the shoulder cannons took down another GINN and the fire from the gun-drones destroyed a CGUE.

A split second later Heero unleashed his barrage. Twin torrents of golden-yellow energy ripped forth like lightning cast by a god of destruction, and tore into the incoming ZAFT mobile suits. One blast annihilated four GINNs and a GuAIZ while the other destroyed two GuAIZs and a CGUE.

"Well," said Shemei, "that thinned them out."

Heero nodded. The surviving ZAFT mobile suits that had moved to engage them before were now in complete disarray; it was as good a time as any to get back to hitting the big fish.

"Come on," said Heero as he reconnected the two guns into a single weapon and reignited his beam saber, "We've got to take down more of this battle group's capital ships before the reinforcements start launching mobile suits."

"Copy that," said Shemei, "I'm your wing, Heero."

"Acknowledged," said Heero before signing out.

Gunning his engines, Heero dived back towards the ZAFT fleet, cutting down a stray GINN with his beam saber as he did so. With the losses they had suffered at the hands of Task Force 9.3, Wing Zero, and the Judgment, the enemy was much less formidable than they had been merely minutes ago, but that didn't mean that they were down for the count yet. The pursuit force still had five frigates on the field, along with six destroyers. Three of the frigates and one of the destroyers had turned and were now bearing down on Heero and Shemei. As for the renegades that the rest of the ZAFT pursuit force was fighting, they still had seven frigates and all four of their destroyers left in play. However, the greater number of loyalist mobile suits in the fight meant that ZAFT had been able to attack the rogues' warships with more than just their own outnumbered vessels, and all of Task Force 9.3's ships were either moderately or severely damaged. From the IFFs he saw on his sensors Heero could also tell that the renegades had lost a significant amount of their mobile suits as well. They would still be able to triumph against the much-reduced pursuit force in front of them, but the Gundam pilot had no doubt that they would take more casualties in the process, and with more ZAFT ships and mobile suits inbound even now Heero knew that they were not out of the woods yet.

"Split up," said Heero, "I'll go high, you go low. Designating targets now."

A split second later Shemei appeared on the screen again and nodded. "Got it. Let's get them."

As the Valkyrie disappeared from the monitor Heero adjusted his trajectory so he'd come in over the lead destroyer and the frigate flanking it to the right. At the same time he saw the Judgment go into a wide arc that would take it underneath the enemy's ships, where she would set up for her attacks against the other two frigates. All four warships opened fire on Wing Zero with their heavy weapons, and Heero was pleased to see that he was the center of their attention; it would make Shemei's attack from below all the more effective.

Weaving through the beams, rail cannon rounds, and missiles, Heero patiently waited for an opening to strike. A few moments later a mental nudge from the Zero System told him that now was the time, and he cut loose with the Twin Buster Rifle. The lead destroyer took the blast head on and was blown to pieces.

A second later he saw a crimson lance of plasma pierce one of the _Laurasia_-class frigates from below, turning the vessel into a short-lived fireball; the Valkyrie had made her move. The two remaining frigates split up, desperate to avoid the same fate as their brethren. One ship began charging Heero head on, all its weapons firing away in a frantic attempt to take Wing Zero down before it could get off another shot. The second frigate did the same thing but in the opposite direction, diving and unloading on the Judgment with everything it had.

Unfortunately for the ZAFT ships, their heavy guns just weren't meant for targeting mobile suits, especially machines with the kind of maneuverability that Wing Zero and the Judgment had at their disposal. Their CIWS would've had a much better chance at hitting their targets, but they were out of range. More importantly, Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy hull and the Judgment's Phase Shift Armor meant that their bullets were useless.

Heero broke right, dodging a salvo of green particle beams while destroying a wave of incoming missiles with his shoulder gatlings, blocking the one warhead he could not shoot down on his shield. As soon as he was out of the frigate's line of fire he brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear on his foe and opened up. Another blast of golden-yellow hellfire tore across space and disintegrated the target.

Glancing at one of his side monitors as he whirled around to cut down a GINN that had been moving to attack him from behind, Heero saw that the Judgment had gotten behind its target. The black and red machine raised its Tartarus rifle and fired, sending forth a torrent of plasma that speared the frigate right down the middle, entering via the engines and exiting almost through the bridge. An instant later the green warship was torn in half by the blast.

"Come on," said Heero, "We need to take out the remaining mobile suits before the first wave of reinforcements gets here."

"Agreed," said Shemei as the Judgment moved to join Heero, "I just hope Bohuslav doesn't try to shoot us in the back while we're helping him."

"If Bristow was right about the Commander's sense of honor, we should be ok," said Heero, "Still, we should be cautious. I'll try to contact him when we make our approach."

"Got it," said Shemei, "I'll cover you."

Together, Wing Zero and the Judgment moved towards Task Force 9.3. Though Heero and Shemei had only taken a few seconds to destroy the four enemy capital ships that had tried to attack them, in that time the clash between the renegades and loyalists had only intensified. The two sides were firing on each other from practically point-blank range, and both sides' mobile suits were mixing it up with furious desperation. Heero saw that the loyalists had lost another destroyer, leaving them just four of those vessels in play. ZAFT had also lost one more frigate to the renegades, and now had only one _Laurasia_-class ship remaining in the fight. However, Task Force 9.3 had paid for the losses they had inflicted on the loyalists with the destruction of two more of their frigates. The surviving ships on both sides had accumulated even more battle scars since Heero had last checked, and their mobile suit forces had been reduced still further.

Cutting down a GINN with his beam saber before shooting down a GuAIZ with the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero tuned his radio to Task Force 9.3's tactical channel. "This is Wing Zero to defecting forces. Commander Bohuslav, if you're receiving this, respond immediately."

A few seconds later a man who looked to be in his early thirties with short-cut black hair, brown eyes and a well trimmed beard, wearing a white Commander's uniform, appeared on the monitor. "Heero Yuy," he said, a hint of a Ukrainian accent in his voice, "I never thought I would wind up fighting alongside _you_, of all people."

"What's your status?" said Heero as he evaded fire from several mobile suits while Shemei took down two GINNs with her DRAGOONs and a GuAIZ with her shoulder cannons. Tracing the Commander's signal, he saw that it was coming from a battered _Nazca_-class destroyer identifying itself as the _Archimedes_.

"About as bad as it looks," Bohuslav replied, "My flagship's suffered multiple hits, including serious damage to her engines, and the rest of my group's fairing little better. Our mobile suit teams are below half-strength, and we have enemy reinforcements inbound! I do not know what's brought you and the Valkyrie out here, Demon Lord of Avalon, but right now I will not look a heavily-armed horse in the mouth."

"Do what you can to keep your group together," said Heero as he ripped apart a GINN with a quick burst from his shoulder gatlings, "In your condition there's no way you'll be able to run from the reinforcements, so we'll have to weather the storm. Shemei and I will do all we can to keep the enemy focused on us. All we need from you is to provide supporting fire…and not shoot us in the back."

The Commander gave Heero an icy glare, and the Gundam pilot could not help but be impressed at the resolve clearly visible in the man's eyes. "I do _not _betray those that have saved my live or those of my subordinates, Heero Yuy. Task Force 9.3 will fight alongside you with everything she has left."

Heero nodded as he cut down another GINN with his beam saber while Shemei blew away a GuAIZ with her heavy plasma rifle. "Understood. Hang on, Commander; we'll help you eliminate the rest of the current enemies, and then we'll take on the reinforcements."

He saw the Commander brace himself against the arms of his chair as the _Archimedes_ took a hit. "Make it quick. We've got their warships on the ropes, but their mobile suits aren't making life easy on us."

"Hold tight," said Heero as he destroyed a GuAIZ with the Twin Buster Rifle, "Wing Zero out."

The Commander disappeared from the screen only to be instantly replaced by Shemei. "How you want to play this?" she asked as she shot down a GINN with her shoulder cannons.

Glancing at his sensors, Heero saw the remaining five frigates and four destroyers of Task Force 9.3 continue to hammer the few surviving loyalist ships still facing them. The ZAFT force lost its last frigate and one of its destroyers, leaving just three of its _Nazca_-class vessels in the fight. However, despite their losses and the damaged they had suffered, the surviving warships of the initial pursuit force were not backing down. They kept firing back at the renegades, and a coordinated salvo destroyed one of Task Force 9.3's _Nazca_-class warships.

"Let's help out their surviving mobile suit teams," said Heero as he blocked a beam saber strike from a GINN on his shield before slicing the attacker in half, "Bohuslav can deal with the capital ships."

"Got it," said Shemei as she destroyed a GuAIZ with a pincer attack from her DRAGOONs, "but it looks like most of ZAFT's units are now mixed up in between the defectors' ships. We'll have to be really careful with the heavy artillery."

"I know," Heero replied as he cut down another GINN with a diagonal slash, "We'll just have to make do with what we've got. Watch your shots and your back."

"Acknowledged," said Shemei, "Let's do this!"

Heero nodded, and as the Valkyrie's face disappeared from his monitor he gunned Wing Zero's engines, charging head long into the furball that the task force's surviving warships and mobile suits were tangled up in. The Judgment came in to the right and just behind his Gundam, ready to back him up the moment he needed help.

"Come on, Zero," he said softly but firmly, "We need to be precise here."

He felt the Gundam's powerful, prescient operating system acknowledge his will. Targeting data and predicted flight trajectories poured through his mind, and Heero asserted his authority over the Zero System, forcing it to recognize and distinguish between the mobile suits fighting for the renegades and those still loyal to ZAFT.

Heero dived right into the heart of the action, cutting down a GINN and a GuAIZ with his beam saber on his first pass. The Valkyrie followed right behind him, shooting down a GINN with her shoulder cannons before taking down another with her violet energy blade. Energy beams, bullets, and missiles filled the space around them as both sides' mobile suits clashed and the surviving capital ships leant their lighter weapons to the fray. As he impaled another GINN with his beam saber Heero saw Task Force 9.3 unleash a final barrage on the remaining loyalist vessels, taking down the last three _Nazca_-class destroyers in a hail of emerald beams and yellow rail cannon rounds.

_That's the last of the initial force_, Heero thought as he blocked a beam claw strike from a GuAIZ on his shield before taking down his attacker with his emerald blade, _aside from those two frigates Shemei forced to withdraw earlier, all their capital ships have been destroyed. We'll have a little bit of breathing room before the next group comes into range._

Three GINNs came at him, beam rifles blazing. Weaving through their fire, Heero took careful aim before unleashing a low-power shot with the Twin Buster Rifle. The lead GINN went down, and Heero swiftly followed up his shot by charging the other two machines. He stabbed one through the cockpit before whirling around and slashing the other one in two as it tried to attack him with its violet blade.

Another trio of mobile suits, this time two GINNs and a GuAIZ, attempted to attack him from behind, but they were intercepted by Shemei. The Valkyrie wasted no time in taking them down, destroying the GINNs with her DRAGOONs before slicing the GuAIZ with her beam saber.

A female voice came over an open channel. "This is Captain Kycilia Zabi of the frigate _Chimera_. Wing Zero and Judgment, if you can here this, I need your help; my ship's getting swarmed by mobile suits!"

"Acknowledged," Heero replied as he dodged the arrestor cables fired by a GuAIZ before destroying the mobile suit with a low-power shot from his rifle, "We're on our way."

"Zabi…" said Shemei over the tactical channel, "That name sounds familiar for some reason…"

"You can ask Bristow about it later," said Heero as he charged towards the frigate, "We've got work to do."

"You're right," said Shemei as the Judgment fell in behind him, "I've got you covered, Heero."

Zeroing in on the ship in question, Heero saw that it had no less than six GINNs and two GuAIZs attempting to take it down. The Gundam pilot was impressed to see that they were being held at bay by only two GuAIZs and a modified CGUE along with the vessel's CIWS, but he knew that the situation could not last long. He could see ruptures and scorch marks along the _Chimera_'s armor in several places, and the mobile suits defending the ship were outnumbered almost three to one. While those weren't bad odds for a Gundam pilot, Heero was keenly aware that very few people could fly at his level. More to the point, additional enemy units could join the attack on the _Chimera _at any time.

His eyes narrowed as he brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, trusting in the Zero System to give him the best possible shot. A moment later he took it, and two GINNs were destroyed by a low power shot from Wing Zero's main weapon. Before the fireballs had begun to fade four emerald beams flew forth from the Judgment, two from its shoulder cannons and two from its DRAGOONs. One pair of beams destroyed a GINN, while the other took down a GuAIZ.

The attacks had caught the ZAFT mobile suits off guard, and their foes made the most of it. One of the renegade GuAIZs shot down a GINN with its beam rifle, while the other speared another GINN with its violet energy claws. The modified CGUE had charged the remaining ZAFT GuAIZ in an effort to impale the mobile suit on its beam saber, but at the last moment the enemy turned around and lashed out with its beam claws as well. Both machines went down in a mutual kill. The last enemy GINN, thrown into disarray by the sudden loss of all its comrades, was dispatched by CIWS fire from the _Chimera_.

"Thank you for your help," said Captain Zabi over the radio, "Things were looking grim there."

"Stay sharp," Heero replied curtly, "We're not done yet."

Hitting his thrusters again, Heero moved away from the _Chimera _and towards one of the task force's destroyers. Together with Shemei, the Gundam pilot dived right into the group of enemy mobile suits attacking the destroyer, cutting down a GuAIZ with his beam saber and ripping apart a GINN with his shoulder gatlings. The Valkyrie wasted no time in adding the Judgment's might to the clash, destroying a GINN with her shoulder cannons before impaling another on her beam saber.

**(End "Mayhem")**

The rest of the surviving mobile suits from the initial pursuit force began to disengage and pull back. "About time," said Shemei, "Guess they couldn't stomach their losses anymore."

Heero shook his head, his gaze on his sensors and the incoming enemy reinforcements. "That was just round one. Come on, we need to get out in front of the Task Force so we can blunt the second wave."

"You're right," said Shemei, "Damn, they're pulling out all the stops here. Zala must really want to make an example out of these guys."

Heero nodded. "It's been bad enough for him to have high-profile defections like you, Bristow, and Waltfeld, not to mention his own son. To have an entire battle group bail out on him only compounds the embarrassment. Zala's pissed, he wants blood, and he wants others to know the price of treason."

And the military dictator of the PLANTs had gone to considerable lengths to make the defectors pay for their decision in blood. The initial force that Heero and Shemei had stopped from wiping out Task Force 9.3 had consisted of twenty-six vessels, of which only two badly-damaged frigates had survived. The reinforcements closing in on them now were smaller in number, with twelve frigates and six destroyers divided into six formations of one destroyer and two frigates apiece coming in from different angles, but Heero was sure that even more warships were inbound.

"They're launching mobile suits," he said, "and it looks like the survivors from round one are regrouping with them."

"This is gonna get ugly," said Shemei, her voice grim, "We can take them, but there's no way we can keep all of them away from the task force survivors. In their current condition they won't last long if ZAFT can hit them with a concentrated bombardment."

Heero nodded before contacting the _Archimedes_. "Commander, have your surviving mobile suits stick with the capital ships. We'll hit the enemy head on and try to keep them occupied, but some _will _get through to engage you, so be ready to fight."

"Understood," Bohuslav replied, "good luck."

"You too," said Heero before signing out.

Checking his sensors, he saw that the horde of mobile suits launched by the new ZAFT warships was a mix of GINNs and GuAIZs, with the former naturally being the most numerous. They had already fanned out, and Heero could tell that this batch had actually learned from what had happened to ZAFT forces in prior engagements with Wing Zero.

"We'll punch through their ranks and hit the capital ships," said Heero as he put away his beam saber before splitting the Twin Buster Rifle and charging up the two smaller guns, "That should keep most of the heat on us."

The Valkyrie appeared on his screen, a smirk on her face. "The two of us versus over a hundred mobile suits and multiple capital ships? My, my, Heero, you really do know how to show a girl a good time. No wonder Murrue fell for you."

"I don't think Murrue would call a fight like this a 'good time'," Heero deadpanned as he took aim with his twin guns, "and nor would I, Shemei."

The Valkyrie sighed. "Killjoy. Alright then; let's get to work."

Without further adieu Heero opened fire with his twin guns. Two blasts of golden-yellow energy flew through space, one destroying three GINNs and the other taking down two GINNs and a GuAIZ. The mobile suits were not Heero's main targets though, and the twin pillars of energy slammed into the _Nazca_-class destroyers at the head of two separate formations, obliterating the warships.

Not wanting to be left out, the Valkyrie cut loose as well with the Tartarus rifle, her shoulder cannons, and DRAGOONs. The crimson lance of plasma from the former turned a formation of two GINNs and a GuAIZ into a trio of firecrackers, while the four emerald beams from the lighter weapons took down two more GINNs with precise shots.

Rejoining his twin guns into the much larger rifle before reigniting his beam saber, Heero gunned his engines as he aimed for one of the capital ship formations that he'd weakened mere moments ago. Shemei was hot on his tail, but the two ace pilots knew that the swarm of mobile suits before them would not make it easy to break through their ranks. A rain of emerald beams and machinegun rounds issued from the horde, and Heero weaved Wing Zero through the deadly hail, using its shield to block those shots he could not dodge. It was an intense barrage, and no small feat for the Gundam pilot to work his way through. Matters were only made worse as the capital ships behind the mobile suits opened fire with their heavy weapons.

Relying on the Zero System and his considerable piloting skills to stay one step ahead of the enemy's aim, Heero charged the nearest formation of mobile suits, striking first with a low power shot from the Twin Buster Rifle that took out the lead GuAIZ before diving in with his beam saber and cutting down the two GINNs that had been supporting it. Rather than stopping to dogfight with the units that were closing in on the flanks though, Heero continued to dive into the heart of the swarm, driving towards the capital ships. Just like at Avalon, Heero knew that if he allowed himself to get bogged down and loss his forward momentum he would be overwhelmed. Sticking with him, Shemei augmented Wing Zero's deadly attacks with her own, striking down a GINN with her beam saber, destroying another with her shoulder cannons, and detonating a GuAIZ with a pincer attack from her DRAGOONs.

The Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie were not the only ones inflicting losses on the ZAFT mobile suits. Heero was disgusted to see a few machines fall to fire from the ZAFT capital ships that had clearly been meant for Wing Zero and the Judgment. The new enemy commanding officer was obviously intent on taking down Heero and Shemei, regardless of the cost to his or her forces.

The Gundam pilot was not the only one to take note of ZAFT's disregard for the lives of its pilots. "Bastards," said Shemei as the Judgment cut down another GINN with its beam saber before destroying a GuAIZ with its plasma rifle, "they're killing their own pilots. Even Avalon and the Home Fleet didn't resort to this just to kill you!"

"No," said Heero as he shot down a GuAIZ with the Twin Buster Rifle before slicing a GINN in half, "but the Operation Spitbreak forces did at Alaska. ZAFT's commanders seem dividend on caring for the well-being of their soldiers, just like those of the Alliance."

"Radical influence no doubt playing a role in both cases," Shemei replied as she shot down two GINNs with her DRAGOONs before blocking a beam claw strike from a GuAIZ on her shield and then stabbing the attacker through the cockpit.

"A reasonable assumption," said Heero while he slashed a GuAIZ in half with his emerald blade before destroying a pair of GINNs with the Twin Buster Rifle, "Keep up the pace and the pressure; we're getting closer to their warships."

"I'm right with you, Heero," said Shemei as she took down another GuAIZ with her Tartarus rifle.

Tearing apart a GINN with a burst of his shoulder gatlings, Heero then swiftly jinked to the left, dodging a swipe from a GuAIZ's beam claws before slicing the machine through the cockpit with his emerald blade. Zigzagging all over space to get through the thick barrage, Heero once again brought up the Twin Buster Rifle and cut loose. The blast of golden-yellow hellfire took down two GINNs and a GuAIZ, but they weren't his intended targets, and the large beam continued on through space until it washed over a _Laurasia_-class frigate, turning the vessel into little more than superheated atoms.

Adjusting his aim, Heero sighted in on the sole surviving frigate of that formation. GINNs and GuAIZs tried to stop him, but they were forced to contend with the Gundam pilot's deadly partner. Letting fly with everything she had, Shemei obliterated four GINNs and a GuAIZ with the combined might of her heavy plasma rifle and beam weapons. Taking advantage of the opening the Valkyrie had given him, Heero took his shot, destroying the frigate and a GuAIZ unfortunate enough to have gotten in the way of the lethal energy blast.

"Well, we're through that swarm," said Shemei, and as Heero checked his sensors he saw that they had indeed just come out of the other side of the ZAFT mobile suit horde, with nothing standing between them and the capital ships, "Looks like we got an all-you-can-eat buffet here!"

Heero nodded. With the enemy mobile suits struggling to regroup after having a massive hole punched through their ranks, Wing Zero and the Judgment would have a few precious seconds to maul ZAFT's capital ships, and the Perfect Soldier was not about to let such an opportunity go to waste.

Breaking right, Heero set himself up to hit the next trio of capital ships… or duo, in this case; like the formation before, this one had also had its lead destroyer taken out by Wing Zero's split Twin Buster Rifle earlier. The two frigates began turning towards him in order to bring their heavy weapons to bear, and at the same time Heero could see a few of the closest mobile suit teams closing in on him and Shemei.

"Watch my back," said Heero, "I'll take the frigate pair."

"You got it," the Valkyrie replied, opening fire with the Judgment's Tartarus rifle as she spoke and taking down a GINN and a GuAIZ in the process, "I've got you covered."

As the Judgment cut loose with its lesser weapons to keep the incoming mobile suits at bay, Heero took aim and opened fire. The blast from the Twin Buster Rifle nailed one of the frigates on the portside and ripped the ship apart. However, the second frigate was able to get Heero in its firing arc and immediately began opening up with its beam cannons, railguns, and missiles.

Weaving through space, Heero took care in setting up for his next shot. After destroying a group of missiles with his shoulder gatlings he dived until he was below the frigate's field of fire and made his counterattack. The golden-yellow beam hit the frigate from below, and the vessel turned into a fireball.

"Heero," said Shemei, "We've got a problem."

Checking his sensors, Heero immediately saw what the Valkyrie was referring to. ZAFT had divided their forces, with roughly half of the remaining mobile suits and capital ships moving towards Task Force 9.3 while the rest remained behind to fight Wing Zero and the Judgment.

_Damn it_, thought Heero as he evaded fire from both capital ships and mobile suits, _I thought we'd hold their attention for longer than this. With the condition the task force is in now, they might not be able to survive what's coming their way. They only have five frigates and three destroyers left, and all of them have been damaged to one degree or another. There's also the losses their mobile suits have taken, and Shemei and I didn't destroy nearly enough of the reinforcing ZAFT units to even the odds._

As for the ZAFT force, they still had four _Nazca_-class destroyers and eight frigates left on the battle field. With their forces now dividing, that meant that the group moving to engage Task Force 9.3 was actually smaller in terms of warships than their foe, but said vessels were fresh to the field, unscarred and ready to fight. When combined with their mobile suit teams, it would be a sufficient force to bring down the renegades, though it would not be a bloodless victory.

Unfortunately, Heero had little doubt that it ultimately _would _be a victory for ZAFT, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. While the four frigates and two destroyers that were setting up for attacks on him and Shemei could be dealt with easily enough, the big problem was the mobile suit teams closing in on them. Even with their numbers much reduced by casualties and the enemy dividing their forces, they'd still be able to bog down Wing Zero and the Judgment long enough for the rest of the ZAFT fleet to accomplish its mission.

_So our gamble will all be for nothing_, he thought grimly as he vaporized a GINN and a GuAIZ with the Twin Buster Rifle before cutting down another GINN with his beam saber, _I know that's the way it goes sometimes in war, but that doesn't mean I have to like it._

Shemei contacted him as she continued to pump emerald beams and the occasional crimson blast of plasma into the oncoming swarm of ZAFT mobile suits. "Heero, you know we can't save them from what's coming," she said grimly, "We need to retreat."

Heero nodded even as he turned the Twin Buster Rifle on the closest destroyer and opened up, obliterating the ship. "Agreed, but let's not withdraw yet; we can at least make them pay for it."

"Roger that," replied the Valkyrie as she took down two GINNs with her DRAGOONs and a GuAIZ with her shoulder cannons as it tried to attack Heero from behind, "When do we pull out?"

"When the last ship of Task Force 9.3 has fallen," said Heero, his tone firm and leaving no room for argument.

Shemei nodded. "Understood."

As he sliced a GINN in half with his beam saber before taking aim at one of the enemy frigates, Heero knew that it would not be long before the renegades would once again be under the guns of the Zala regime. The lead ZAFT mobile suit teams were almost at their maximum firing range, and their supporting capital ships moved in slowly but confidently behind them, waiting for their units to break up the rogues' formation before commencing their opening barrage. The renegades' mobile suits moved to intercept, but even a blind man could see that they were hopelessly outmatched.

Heero saw the foremost ZAFT mobile suits raise their weapons and expected to see them open fire at any second…

**(Start "Ranbu no Melody")**

…only for a rain of emerald beams, crimson lances of plasma, and yellow railgun rounds to cut through their ranks.

Six machines lost their rifles to particle beams, plasma, and projectiles. At the same time three more were destroyed by emerald beams while another two were sliced in half by the pink energy of a beam boomerang. While all this was happening, Heero's sensor display was beeping, informing him of new contacts, but he didn't need to check it; he already knew who had just shown up to turn the tide of the fight.

He said nothing as he took out the frigate he'd been aiming at with a well-placed shot from the Twin Buster Rifle, but the Valkyrie did not share his silence.

"They made it!" she said, "About damn time!"

Kira's face appeared on Heero's monitor. "Are you guys ok?"

"We're fine," said Heero as he evaded fire from warships and mobile suits, "What's the status of the _Archangel _and the other ships?"

"The transfer's done and the _Sakuya _is heading back to L3," said Kira, "The _Archangel_, _Eternal, _and _Kusanagi_ on their way here!"

Heero nodded. "Ok then. Focus on defending the task force until they get here."

"Got it," said Kira. As his friend signed off Heero saw the Freedom and the Justice move in between the rogues' mobile suits and those of the loyalists, swiftly taking the fight to ZAFT.

As Heero cut down a GuAIZ with his beam saber he realized that the three Wraiths were not with the Freedom and the Justice… at least, not visibly. The Gundam pilot was certain that Waltfeld would not have sent just two of the remaining nuclear powered mobile suits; the Valkyrie's subordinates had to be nearby.

His mind flashed back to the battle at L4 and the role the three Wraiths had played against the ZAFT battle group sent to destroy the _Eternal_.

_The capital ships_, he thought, glancing at the ZAFT vessels that were preparing to bombard the renegades, _they'll strike there…_

Sure enough, mere seconds later one of the group's _Laurasia_-class frigates suddenly found itself engulfed in a swarm of eighteen Lancer Dart missiles that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. The green warship was ripped apart by the barrage, and the remaining vessels began firing wildly with their CIWS in an attempt to take down their invisible attackers. This forced the Wraiths to decloak in order to utilize their Phase Shift Armor, but their surprise attack had still been a success.

"Sorry we're late," said Adaline over the tactical channel as she lead Lan and Pris in an attack against another frigate, pulverizing the vessel with another barrage of warheads as the three young ladies emptied their remaining missiles into their target.

Shemei chuckled as she shot down a GINN with her shoulder cannons and a GuAIZ with her DRAGOONs. "Better late than never. I'm just glad you three made it."

"Same here," said Lan as she and her friends put some distance between themselves and the remaining two frigates and two destroyers in the group they had just attacked, "Where do you want us, Commander?"

"Keep hitting those warships," the Valkyrie replied as she obliterated a GuAIZ with her heavy plasma rifle and a GINN with her shoulder cannons, "Once you've finished them off or sent them packing, help Kira and Athrun with the mobile suits."

"What about you guys?" asked Priscilla as the three of them immediately began to set up for an attack on the lead destroyer of their target formation.

"We can take care of things over here," Heero chimed in as he fired the Twin Buster Rifle, blowing away the second frigate in the formation he and Shemei were engaged with.

"Come on, Pris," said Lan, "It's Heero and the Commander you're talking to, remember? They can handle themselves."

"She's right, Pris," said Shemei as she parried a beam saber strike from a GINN with her violet blade before stabbing the unit through the cockpit, "and so is Heero. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

"Understood," said Priscilla as she and her two comrades began pounding the lead destroyer with beam rifle and railgun fire.

Slashing a GINN in half with his beam saber before blocking a beam claw strike from a GuAIZ on his shield, Heero saw Kira and Athrun drive into the heart of the ZAFT mobile suit swarm that they had just intercepted. At the same time, the units belonging to the renegades actually moved to support them, fighting with renewed intensity.

_Their morale's been boosted_, thought Heero as he dived to avoid the arrestor cables launched by the GuAIZ that was attacking him before rushing forward to impale his foe on his verdant blade, _They know that they're now fighting alongside not just Shemei and I, but the entire Avalon strike team. If anyone can save them, it's us. We can't let them down._

Evading energy beams and railgun fire, Heero set up to attack the second _Nazca_-class destroyer in the formation. Climbing above the firing arc of its main guns, Heero cut loose with Wing Zero's lethal main gun, annihilating his target with a blast of brilliant golden light.

"Nice!" said Shemei, and Heero saw her take down two GINNs with her DRAGOONs as they attempted to strike Wing Zero from the rear, "We'll have these guys wrapped up in no time at this rate!"

"_These _guys, yes," said Heero darkly as he cut down a GINN with his emerald blade, "but there may be additional ZAFT forces inbound. We don't know how many ships Zala committed to this operation, and by now his fleet knows that we've joined the battle. It's highly likely that reinforcements are on the way, and prepared to fight us."

"Good point," Shemei replied as she ripped apart a GINN with her shoulder cannons, "especially since Zala's designated you a Priority One Target. He'll throw everything in the region at you and by extension the rest of us."

"Exactly," said Heero as he flanked the third frigate from the right before unleashing a blast with the Twin Buster Rifle, ripping the ship in half, "so stay sharp and watch your long-range sensors."

"You got it, Heero," said Shemei before signing off.

Confident in the Valkyrie's ability to keep the remaining ZAFT mobile suits off his back for at least a few seconds, Heero set up for his attack on the final frigate in the formation he and Shemei were battling. As he dived under the ship he saw that the three Wraiths had finished off the lead destroyer of the formation _they _were engaged with, leaving one _Nazca_-class vessel and two _Laurasia_-class frigates left for them to contend with. The three stolen black and red machines were already moving in on the sole surviving destroyer, and the enemy could not recall mobile suits to ward off the Wraiths due to the Freedom and Justice pressing into their ranks with the surviving renegade units right behind them. At the same time the remaining capital ships of Task Force 9.3 were firing on the flanks of the ZAFT mobile suit squadrons, keeping them from fanning out too much and making them easy targets for Athrun and Kira. The Freedom's guns were cutting loose in a seemingly endless barrage, destroying rifles and knocking off head-cameras left and right, while the Justice had put away its beam rifle in favor of dual wielding its violet beam sabers and was cutting into GINNs and GuAIZs with vicious speed and lethal precision, occasionally opening fire with the two beam cannons attached to its backpack to supplement its close-quarters assault with ranged attacks.

Taking aim at the bottom of the frigate, Heero saw a series of blurred dots appear at the edge of his sensors, and he knew that his warnings about possible enemy reinforcements had just become reality. He could not make out composition or exact numbers yet, but he knew that would change shortly.

_We need to wrap this wave up quickly_, he thought as he opened fire, spearing the frigate through the belly with a lance of golden-yellow energy, _The reinforcements will be on us soon enough._

"Shemei," he said as he quickly climbed to join the Valkyrie in her battle against the remaining enemy mobile suits, "We've got incoming."

"I see them," she replied as she disintegrated one of the few surviving GuAIZs with her plasma rifle, "You ready for round three?"

"Yeah," said Heero as he slashed a GINN in half with his beam saber before destroying two more with a low power shot from the Twin Buster Rifle, "but let's try to clear the field before it starts."

"Roger that," said Shemei before she addressed her subordinates, "Girls, pick up the pace over there! We've got another wave inbound!"

"Understood," came Adaline's reply as she, Priscilla, and Lan took down the last _Nazca_-class destroyer, "Pris, on me; we'll hit the frigate on the left! Lan, the one on the right's all yours!"

"Copy that," said Priscilla as she fell in on Adaline's left.

"Making my run now!" said Lan as she streaked towards her target.

As the three Wraiths moved in to neutralize the last two frigates, Heero took up position behind the Judgment. Back to back, the Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie began tearing into the surviving ZAFT mobile suits facing them in earnest. Both Gundams opened up with their heavy guns, and pillars of crimson and golden light swept across the starscape, turning six GINNs and two GuAIZs into firecrackers.

The two powerful shots had thrown an already desperate enemy force into even greater disarray and dismay, but the ZAFT pilots still did not withdraw. They pressed their assault on Wing Zero and the Judgment, and Heero could only shake his head at the futility of it all as he blocked shots on his shield and cut down GINNs with his beam saber.

"They should at least pull back to regroup with the next wave like the survivors of the last group did," he said, "Taking them down like this just feels like butchery."

"Agreed," Shemei replied, and Heero could detect a mix of pity and disgust in her voice, "Either these guys are fanatics, or their fearful of Zala's retribution if they make the slightest withdrawal, regardless of tactical necessity."

"Does it really matter what they are at this point?" said Heero grimly as he stabbed a GuAIZ through the cockpit.

Shemei sighed as she shot down a GINN with her shoulder cannons. "No, I guess not."

Taking another brief glance at his sensors, Heero saw that the mobile suits facing Athrun and Kira were fairing a little better, though the Gundam pilot knew that was only because of the latter's decision to disable his enemies rather than kill them. It wasn't slowing the Freedom and Justice down; it just meant that there were actually ZAFT machines that had been forced to leave the engagement due to losing their weapons and head-cameras rather than continuing to fight a futile battle. As long as the enemy was beaten back, Heero could deal with whatever method of combat Kira chose to utilize.

Meanwhile, Shemei's subordinates were pounding the last two ZAFT frigates from the second wave. Adaline and Priscilla had split their assault, with the red-head attacking from above and the blonde striking from beneath. Caught between two withering barrages of particle beams and railgun slugs, the _Laurasia_-class vessel was ripped in half by a vicious explosion. The final frigate was being bombarded from the rear by Lan, who had already mauled the vessel's primary engines and was continuing to blast into the ship, puncturing bulkheads and rupturing power couplings. Suddenly a large blast tore the ship apart; the Chinese Coordinator's shots had pierced the main reactor.

**(End "Ranbu no Melody")**

The loss of the last capital ships of the second wave seemed to finally drive home the message to the formation's surviving mobile suits that they were not going to win this fight without backup. The badly ravaged teams, now at less than a quarter of what their strength had been before, at last began to pull back. Kira, Athrun, and the remaining mobile suit squadrons of Task Force 9.3 were content to let them go, but Heero and Shemei continued to hound them, blasting the retreating units with their heavy artillery. The three Wraiths joined the effort, picking off individual mobile suits from the force that the Freedom and Justice had been fighting before.

"What are you guys doing?" yelled Kira, "They're done fighting!"

"No, they're not," said Heero as he blew away two GINNs and a GuAIZ with the Twin Buster Rifle, "Check your sensors, Kira; there's a third wave inbound, and these guys are going to regroup with them to strike us again."

Indeed, the contacts the Gundam pilot had seen earlier at the edge of his long-range scopes had gotten closer and were now clearly visible. Like the second wave, they were organized into multiple formations of three ships apiece, each with two frigates led by a destroyer. The formations were loose to keep all three ships from being wiped out in a single attack, and they were spread out in a broad crescent much like the first pursuit force had been, although it was on a smaller scale and only a single line rather than two layered groups. Heero saw that there were twelve ships total, making this group the smallest yet to take part in the fight against Task Force 9.3, though the renegades were still outnumbered as they still only had five frigates and three destroyers in play, all damaged. Their mobile suit teams had taken further losses as well, though thanks to the presence of Athrun and Kira their casualties this time had been much less than before.

_They must be the only vessels left in the immediate area_, he thought as he watched the enemy ships launch their mobile suits, _It looks like we're in the last part of this storm. If we can keep the task force intact through this last wave, we should be ok._

"Everyone," he said, "form up in front of the task force. Commander Bohuslav, try to pull your ships back as fast as you can; we'll keep the enemy focused on us."

"Understood," said the task force's leader.

"Got it," said Shemei.

"We're on our way," said Adaline.

"Acknowledged," said Athrun.

As Heero moved to take up position between Task Force 9.3 and the third ZAFT wave he heard another series of beeps come from his sensors. Checking his scopes, he was surprised to see a lone _Nazca_-class destroyer approaching from behind the defectors, its IFF identifying it as a loyalist craft called the _Kerimov_.

_No accompanying warships with it_, he thought as he watched the ship, _Is it just a straggler late to the fight? A solo scout called in to help, maybe?_

The destroyer began launching mobile suits. Heero saw that the first four craft to leave the blue warship were standard GuAIZs, but rather than advance they broke into pairs and took up flanking positions on either side of their mothership. The next two machines to launch had GuAIZ frames, but Heero quickly realized that there was something different about these last two mobile suits.

Scanning them with Wing Zero's most powerful sensor, the Search Eye, as they rushed ahead of the lone destroyer and four regular GuAIZs, Heero saw that they were each unique units. He speculated that they were custom prototypes like Bristow's Werewolf was, though these two machines had very different layouts. The lead unit, like the Werewolf, appeared to be oriented towards close-quarters-combat, though it also had mid-ranged weapons. By contrast, the mobile suit flying on its wing was clearly a long-range model. On the left shoulder of each unit was a unique insignia; a crimson hound, its fangs bared and gnawing on a chain attached to its spiked collar.

He sent the image to the Valkyrie. "Shemei, do you recognize this insignia?"

The former ZAFT Commander's response was immediate and grim. "Shit. That's the Galm Team's logo, Heero!"

"Who are they?" he asked.

"Eric told me about them," she said, "They're a pair of mercenaries. I actually knew the number two guy back in my early days at ZAFT; name's Larry Foulke, AKA 'Solo Wing Pixy'. He's a damn good pilot, one of the best I've ever seen, and if he's flying wingman then it means Galm's flight lead is even better."

"Who's the lead?" asked Heero, a grim feeling growing in his gut as the pair of unique mobile suits approached.

"Name's Cipher," said Shemei, "but I don't know if that's his real name. Hell, I don't know much of anything about him personally, but his service in this war's another matter. He's been in some of the thickest fighting along with Pixy, and he's got a knack for bold tactics. Galm Team's seen heavy action, Heero, and they've got the skills to survive the worst the Alliance could throw at them. Eric said that Zala might be considering them as potential replacements for some of the losses you've inflicted on his Special Operations Squadrons, and I don't think he would do that purely as a political appointment. They've got the moves, and Zala can't afford to be picky when it comes to fighting _you_."

"I see," he said, already coming to the conclusion on what he would have to do next, "Anything else?"

"Yeah," said Shemei grimly, "I told you they were good… but not _how _good. Heero, back when I knew Pixy he was already a stellar pilot, and I'm sure he's only gotten better since then. By now… I think he and Cipher might be as good as me and the girls."

Heero nodded, his mind made up on how to proceed. "Alright, then. Shemei, I want you to lead the others in protecting the task force. I'll intercept the Galm Team."

"Heero, wait!" chimed in Kira, "Let one of us go with you!"

Heero shook his head. "The defectors will need all the help they can get against the next wave, Kira. It'll be better if I solo these guys while you fight the main ZAFT force."

Kira sighed. "Ok, fine. Good luck."

"Roger that," Heero replied, already putting Wing Zero on an intercept trajectory.

"Watch yourself, Heero," said Shemei.

"I'll be fine," the Gundam pilot replied as he gunned his engines, "You focus on your fight, and I'll focus on mine."

"Understood," the Valkyrie replied, "Judgment out."

As she disappeared from Heero's screen he moved to place himself between the Galm Team and Task Force 9.3. The Perfect Soldier was surprised to see that the destroyer the mercenary duo had launched from was now holding position well out of firing range of the defectors, and the four GuAIZs accompanying it were likewise staying back.

_Do they want to fight me without interference?_, he thought, _Or are they just trying to protect their carrier?_

Either way, it didn't matter. Heero would stay mindful of the _Kerimov _and the rest of the units, both friend and foe, on the battlefield, but for now it seemed the Galm Team was intent on taking him on without backup.

And Heero was more than willing to oblige them.

….

"Well, now," said Cipher as he and his wingman flew towards the battle, "This is unexpected."

His number two appeared on the side of the monitor. "Got that right. Intel only said we were going to intercept defectors; Wing Zero wasn't on the menu."

The destroyer _Kerimov _had been contacted by Military Intelligence nearly three days ago. Cipher and Pixy had been ordered to halt their campaign against the Earth Alliance patrols and to make with all possible speed to the space between L3 and L5 to help deal with the renegade Task Force 9.3. It had hardly been Cipher's first choice of assignments; hunting down deserters struck him as demeaning, a task better suited to dredges like the fallen Schwarze Team. However, despite his personal distaste for the mission, he had accepted it; the ZAFT Defense Council was the body signing his paycheck, and if nothing else Cipher was a man who honored his contracts.

The vast majority of their trip had been uneventful with the exception of a brief encounter with an Alliance battleship and two escort craft the day before. Galm Team had swiftly dispatched their enemies before returning to the _Kerimov_, and the blue destroyer had continued along its way like nothing had happened.

However, as they had begun their final approach to the point Military Intelligence had claimed they would be able to intercept their targets, the _Kerimov_'s Captain had reported to Cipher and Pixy a series of garbled transmissions. They had only been able to make out fragments due to interference, but the gist of the message was clear; the battle wasn't going as planned. The Captain had been understandably nervous at this, especially since there was no indication of what the ZAFT forces were facing beyond the single renegade group, but Cipher was intrigued. Either Task Force 9.3 was putting up one hell of a fight, or they had gotten help… and his money was on the latter.

It was only when the _Kerimov _had gotten into optimal sensor range and launched its mobile suits that Cipher realized just how right he was.

Not only was Wing Zero on the field, but so was the entire Avalon strike team along with the traitorous Valkyrie. A quick scan of the area revealed the debris of multiple warships and scores of mobile suits, and it didn't take an idiot to figure out what had happened. Cipher could see the surviving five frigates and three destroyers of the rogue task force, bruised and battered but still intact. It was clear now though that the reason those ships were still in one piece was due to the efforts of the Demon Lord of Avalon and his fellow pilots.

Taking in the situation quickly and efficiently, Cipher had wasted no time in ordering the _Kerimov _and Arthur Team to hold back. Though the ZAFT forces on the field outnumbered the renegades and their allies both in terms of mobile suits and warships, Galm One knew from experience that numbers alone were no guarantee of success. Against the seven deadliest units in the Earth Sphere, the surviving loyalists would have at best an uphill battle… and Cipher's gut was telling him that things would lean more towards the bad end of the scale for ZAFT in this battle. Where Wing Zero, the Freedom, and the other stolen nuclear powered mobile suits were, their home capital ships and supporting forces were not far behind. Galm One was sure that it would only be a matter of time before the _Archangel_, the _Eternal_, and the Orb ship, along with their conventional mobile suits, would join in the battle, and when that happened it would be the final nail in the coffin for ZAFT in this engagement.

_We can't beat all of them_, he thought, _but if we can take down Wing Zero…_

While destroying one machine, regardless of how powerful it was, would not alter the course of this battle, Cipher was sure that it would be a severe blow to the rebels, perhaps a critical one. However, he did not trust the regular ZAFT forces to accomplish a goal that they had proven time and time again to be so incapable of doing.

_If you want a job done right_, he thought, _do it yourself._

Galm Team would fight Wing Zero themselves. For Cipher though, that fight would not just be for his employers, for the sake of their war and the paychecks they gave him. For too long now he had fought enemies that had not come anywhere close to giving him a challenge unless they were in significant numbers. He was tired of fighting the endless hordes of the Earth Alliance, whether they be mobile suits or armors; the pilots of the former were nothing more to speak of than those of the latter. Against such foes his victory had been assured, and Cipher had _hated _that. There was no thrill, no true test of his abilities, in fighting enemies like that.

In Wing Zero though… perhaps he could finally find an enemy that would force him to go all out. A foe that could make him feel truly _alive _on the field of battle, as he had when he had first started fighting oh so long ago, before he had ascended atop a mountain of corpses to the heights of skill that he stood at now.

He could only hope.

"Are you ready?" he asked his wingman.

Galm Two chuckled and gave his flight lead that familiar smirk of his. "Come on, buddy. You have to ask? I know how psyched you are for this, and you're not the only one itching for a scrap with this guy."

Cipher smiled slightly. Though he and his partner were from different backgrounds, they both shared that same love of the thrill they got from flying, and all the more so when it was in combat against an adversary that could truly push them to their limits.

"Alright, then," he said, his expression hardening as he steeled himself for the imminent clash, "Let's get him."

"Right behind you, buddy," Pixy replied.

….

**(Start "The Demon of the Round Table")**

His eyes narrowed in concentration, Heero brought the Twin Buster Rifle up to bear and opened fire. The two unique mobile suits he was targeting split up with incredible speed and coordination, Wing Zero's shot flying harmlessly through the space between them. As the three combatants moved towards each other Heero saw the heavy artillery unit bring its own rifle to bear on him, and he dived to avoid a crimson blast of plasma.

_Not as powerful as Shemei's gun_, he thought, noting the smaller size of the rifle and the blast itself as it flew over Wing Zero, _but it still packs a punch._

The rifle wasn't the only weapon the long range unit had brought to bear on Heero. No sooner had he dived then he was forced to bring his shield up to block a pair of shots from the railguns mounted on the unit's hips. The impacts were strong, but the Gundam pilot noted that the guns firing the slugs did not seem to be as powerful as the Xiphias weapons used by the Freedom and the Wraiths.

Heero didn't have time to further analyze the artillery unit; the other mobile suit was closing in on him fast. Gunning his engines to meet his foe head on and disrupt the obvious pincer attack the Galm Team was setting up on him, the Perfect Soldier zigzagged through a hail of small emerald beams as the second machine opened fire with the gatlings on its back. Heero saw that they were the same type of weapons as used by the GuAIZ Werewolf, but those were not nearly as threatening to him as what he saw with the Search Eye was mounted at the unit's hips; gun-drones, just like those wielded by the Judgment.

The unit's DRAGOONs flew forth from their hard points, firing away at Wing Zero. Raising his shield to block their shots while he continued to weave through the rain of smaller beams from the gatlings, the Gundam pilot closed the rest of the gap with his foe and lashed out with his emerald blade in a horizontal slash.

His enemy blocked the strike with his blazing violet beam axe. He then countered by swinging the other end of the axe towards Heero, and the Gundam pilot was barely able to move back to keep the smaller metal blade that was attached to the other end from slicing through the Search Eye. Before he could launch a new attack he was forced to dive to avoid another series of railgun shots from the artillery unit.

_Shemei was right_, he thought, evading the slugs before returning fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, _These guys are good._

The artillery unit climbed to avoid the blast of golden-yellow energy, but while that foe went evasive the close-quarters mech was charging in for an assault of its own. It cut loose again with its beam gatlings, and as Heero dived to evade the stream of small, green energy shots the mobile suit immediately released its DRAGOONs. A pair of beams arced down at Heero, forcing the Gundam pilot to sideslip to the right to dodge the shots. As he did that his foe closed the rest of the gap and made a lunge with its beam axe. This time moving to the left, Heero was able to catch the larger energy blade of the axe on his beam saber and redirect the mobile suit past him.

Before he could take advantage of the opening to counterattack though, Heero was forced to gun his engines and climb to evade another blast from the artillery unit's plasma rifle along with another pair of slugs from the railguns. Then the two grey pylons on the mobile suit's back swung forward over its shoulders, and the Gundam pilot saw panels open up along the tops of them before a swarm of small missiles flew forth. Opening fire with his shoulder gatlings, Heero ripped apart the incoming warheads before following up with another blast from the Twin Buster Rifle, once again forcing the artillery unit to go evasive.

Heero didn't have time to press his advantage. The instant after he had taken his shot he was forced to go hard to the right to evade more beam gatling fire from the close-quarters unit. As he dodged the smaller beams he was forced to bring his shield up to block larger ones from the unit's DRAGOONs, which were swiftly followed up by another lunging strike from the mobile suit's beam axe. Heero caught the blow on his emerald blade and forced his foe downward. Whirling Wing Zero around, Heero tried to take advantage of his momentum to slash his foe across the back, but the mercenary had simply increased his speed, and the Gundam pilot's attack barely missed the modified GuAIZ.

Rather than pursue the unit, Heero instead oriented himself towards the artillery unit and gunned his engines. Jinking to the left to avoid a blast from its plasma rifle before raising his shield to block two railgun shots, the Perfect Soldier closed the gap between him and his foe at lightning speed, preparing to impale the mobile suit on his emerald blade.

Heero was suddenly forced to break off his attack as his target leveled a pistol at him and opened fire. Dodging to the right to avoid the volley of small green beams, the Gundam pilot attempted to attack again with his beam saber. His foe managed to duck under his slash, and Heero only succeeded in cutting off the front section of the left empty missile launcher.

Whirling around, Heero brought his shield up to block a swing from the close-quarters unit's beam axe. He then slammed Wing Zero's engines into reverse, and not a moment too soon; his foe had unleashed his DRAGOONs and had attempted to hit Heero in a pincer attack, and only the Perfect Soldier's quick reflexes and his experience fighting the Judgment had saved him from taking two particle beams to his mobile suit's torso.

As he pulled back, Heero cut loose with a quick burst from Wing Zero's shoulder gatlings. His target managed to evade most of the bullets, but a few rounds impacted the beam gatling cannon over the right shoulder, rupturing that part of the weapon and rendering it inoperable.

_Progress_, he thought as he climbed to avoid a crimson lance of plasma from the artillery unit's rifle, _but not as much as I'd like. These guys are top notch pilots._

His protracted battle with the Galm Team had given him a much better idea about who he was up against. As he turned the Twin Buster Rifle on the artillery unit and opened fire, he guessed that his target was the number two in the duo, the 'Pixy' that Shemei had mentioned. The pilot was very good, as evidenced by how it once again dodged Heero's shot before returning fire with its railguns, but there was a slight difference between him and the pilot of the close-quarters unit.

Blocking the shots on his shield, Heero then dodged to the right as the mobile suit he felt was piloted by the Galm Team's flight lead tried to shoot him in the back with its left beam gatling and two DRAGOONs. As he rushed in to counterattack with his beam saber, the Gundam pilot noted how his foe met him head-on, as aggressive in defense as it was on offense, blocking Wing Zero's strike with its beam axe before swinging the lower part of the weapon up again in an attempt to slash Heero's machine with the smaller, metal blade on the other end.

_So this is Cipher_, he thought as he pulled back and raised his shield to deflect the strike, _I can see why he's the flight lead. He's got the skills to hold that position, and his coordination with Pixy is _very _good. This won't be easy…_

After blocking Cipher's attack Heero lunged forward in an attempt to impale Galm One while he was overextended. The move almost worked, but the mercenary's reflexes were incredibly quick, and the enemy gunned his thrusters and climbed to avoid taking a fatal hit. Heero's attack was not completely dodged though; Wing Zero's beam saber sliced off the mobile suit's right leg at the knee.

Heero had no time to make a follow-up attack; a blast from Galm Two's plasma rifle prevented him from pursuing Galm One and forced him to dive instead. Taking aim with the Twin Buster Rifle, he returned fire, only for Pixy to climb and evade the shot.

As he brought his shield up to block fire from Galm Two's railguns, Heero took a quick glance at his sensors to check on how the others were doing. His friends were arrayed in front of the survivors of Task Force 9.3, with Shemei leading them in their battle against ZAFT's mobile suit squadrons. Acting as the tip of the spear, the Judgment was thrusting into the heart of the enemy force, blowing away units with her artillery and cutting down those that managed to get in close with her violet blade. Supporting her on the flanks were the Freedom, Justice, and the Wraiths, their incredibly skilled pilots hammering the ZAFT teams with their guns or slicing up mobile suits with their beam sabers as the situation called for it. Backing them up were Task Force 9.3's remaining mobile suits, the battered machines and their tired pilots adding what fire and support they could to the fray. The task force's warships likewise gave what they had left, though with friendly units in the mix their fire was restricted.

The mobile suit battle may have been going well, but Heero could already see a problem brewing, and it was in the form of ZAFT's capital ships. Already the twelve warships were splitting up, with half of them climbing and the others diving. Their intent was clear; they would bypass the clashing mobile suits and hit the task force's surviving five frigates and three destroyers in simultaneous attacks from above and below.

_There's nothing I can do about that_, Heero thought as he fired a quick burst with his shoulder gatlings at Galm Two, the bullets chewing up the machine's legs but doing no serious damage to its combat abilities, _I just have to trust that Shemei is aware of what the enemy's doing and will be able to deal with it._

Whirling around to parry a strike from Galm One's beam axe on his verdant blade, Heero was surprised to hear a male voice come over the radio. It was calm and cool, much like that of the Gundam pilot's, though there was also a hint of excitement in it as well.

"You live up to your reputation, Demon Lord of Avalon."

Hitting his thrusters and pushing forward, Heero struck back with his beam saber. His foe blocked the attack and responded by unleashing his DRAGOONs, forcing Heero to dive in order to avoid getting caught in a pincer attack.

"Are you Cipher?" he asked as he adjusted his angle and rushed back in for another attack, dodging beam gatling rounds and DRAGOON fire as he closed the gap between them.

He lashed out with a horizontal slash, with his foe blocking the strike as they replied. "So you know who I am. Do I have the Valkyrie or the Wolf to thank for that?"

"Both," said the Perfect Soldier as he thrust out with his shield and accelerated, pushing the mercenary back, "and you're just as good as they said you were."

Wing Zero's lunge took the enemy off balance, and Heero capitalized on that with another slash from his beam saber. This time Cipher had to pull back, and his attempt to block was crude. Rather than impact on the beam blades, Heero's slash actually cut into the lower section of the long staff and removed the smaller metal blade on the opposite end. It wasn't a critical blow by any means, but it did remove one more weapon from the enemy's arsenal.

"High praise from soldiers of their caliber, and one such as yourself," Cipher replied, once again unleashing his gun-drones and forcing Heero to pull back and raise his shield to block the shots they fired, "You're certainly making me work for my paycheck, and that's far better than I can say of the Earth Alliance forces I fought before."

"So that's it?" said Heero as he veered to the right to dodge a fresh salvo of railgun slugs and a blast of plasma from Galm Two, "This war really is just about the money to you guys?"

"Hardly," said a new voice, and Heero knew it was Pixy, "It's just a means to an end."

"And what's that end?" asked Heero as he took another low-powered shot, this time at Galm Two.

His enemy slipped to the right, narrowly avoiding the shot. Heero was about to follow up with a burst from his gatling cannons but was forced to dive in order to avoid a stream of small emerald beams from Galm One's left beam gatling. Whirling around to counter Cipher, Heero let loose the burst he'd been intending to use on Pixy. Galm One dived to avoid the bullets, but a few rounds hit the left beam gatling and ripped it apart. The Gundam pilot had to cut short his fire sooner than he'd liked; he was running low on ammo, and he wanted to save his last rounds for critical strikes.

As he charged Galm One to strike with his beam saber the lead mercenary responded to his question. "To fly and fight as we chose, without the red tape, regulations, and political appointees that plague all conventional militaries to hold us back."

"What about both sides' intentions?" asked Heero as he unleashed a vertical strike with his emerald blade, "Don't you care about the bloodbath they're perpetuating?"

"All wars are bloodbaths," Cipher replied as he blocked Heero's attack, "The only difference between past conflicts and now is the scale of the fight."

"That's not what I meant," growled Heero as he climbed to avoid getting caught between the two mercenaries, "You know damn well the atrocities the Alliance and ZAFT are responsible for. They're planning to wipe each other out, civilians included! Don't tell me you haven't realized that by now!"

"What we've 'realized' or not is irrelevant," said Pixy as he unleashed another barrage against Wing Zero, keeping Heero on the defensive as he evaded the railgun rounds and plasma blast, "We signed a contract with ZAFT, and are bound to honor the terms of it."

"Precisely," said Cipher as he moved in on Heero, opening fire with his DRAGOONs while preparing to strike with his beam axe, "The Galm Team does not betray its clients. When we take a job, we see it through to the end."

"So you won't stand up to genocide because of your sense of professionalism?" said Heero, disgusted with what he was hearing as he blocked the beams from the gun-drones on his shield before bringing his beam saber up to deflect the slash from Galm One's axe.

"Our enemy has already declared total war against us," said Cipher as Heero countered with a diagonal slash from his beam saber, forcing Galm One onto the defensive, "We're fighting for our very survival. Under those circumstances, we must do whatever it takes to win."

Heero grimaced as he broke off his attack and veered to the right in order to avoid getting flanked by Galm Two. Cipher's words reeked of the classic 'ends justify the means' argument, and reminded the Gundam pilot all too well of the attitudes that had given birth to the original concept of Operation Meteor.

"So you care nothing for the innocents that will be slaughtered if both sides continue to fight like this?" Heero snarled in disgust as he opened fire on Pixy with the Twin Buster Rifle.

"It's not like that," Galm Two replied as he dodged the shot, "We don't _want _civilians to be a part of this war, but the way this conflict has played out makes it an unfortunate reality. The Alliance certainly didn't care about civilian casualties when they nuked Junius Seven. You want someone to blame for setting the tone of this war? There you go."

"It's irrelevant in any case," said Cipher as he charged Heero, "The ultimate aims of our client do not in _this _fight. What matters here and now is who lives and who dies. That's all there is to it."

Heero nodded grimly as he parried Cipher's beam axe on his emerald blade. "Fine then. I won't waste my breath on you."

"Good," Galm One replied as Heero pushed back and counterattacked with a vertical strike, "In a battle between aces, words are meaningless. Only our actions matter."

With that the dialogue ceased, and the combatants gave themselves over fully to the battle. After hearing what they'd had to say, Heero was more determined than ever to end this fight quickly, but he knew it would be an uphill battle. Despite the damage his foes had taken so far they showed no signs of retreating, and their remaining weapons were still a serious threat to Wing Zero given the skill the two mercenaries wielded them with.

_I have to take them down_, Heero thought as he lashed out again with his beam saber, only for his foe to block the attack, _They may not embrace Zala's ideology, but they've taken on a contract with him knowing full well his end-game, and they show no signs of being willing to break it. Their skills make them a deadly weapon in the radicals' arsenal, and they'll only become more of a threat as this war goes on!_

Climbing to avoid getting hit by Cipher's DRAGOONs, he turned towards Galm Two and cut loose with the Twin Buster Rifle. The enemy moved to the right to dodge the shot, but it wasn't quite fast enough, and the edge of the blast caught the unit's left arm and disintegrated it along with the beam pistol it held. However, Pixy still had his plasma rifle, railguns, and CIWS, and he seemed fully intent on using them. The fact that the Gundam pilot had yet to land a killing blow on either mercenary spoke volumes of their skill, but Heero knew that he was slowly grinding them down. It wasn't his preferred way to deal with his foes, but it was progress nonetheless.

Whirling around to block a slash from Galm One's beam axe on his shield, Heero then pressed forward and counterattacked with a stab from his emerald blade. His foe managed to pull back far enough to avoid a direct hit, but the tip of Wing Zero's beam saber did graze the target's chest, leaving a small burn mark on the enemy.

_You live for now_, Heero thought as he dived to avoid another pincer attack from the DRAGOONs, _but not for much longer!_

**(End "The Demon of the Round Table")**

….

Cutting loose with the Freedom's artillery, Kira watched with satisfaction as another three GINNs and a GuAIZ lost their rifles, head-cams, or both in a pinpoint barrage of particle beams, railgun slugs, and plasma shots. His four targets turned and ran for home, but the young man did not have time to admire his handiwork; there were still plenty more foes to deal with before this battle would be over.

"Nice one," said Athrun, and Kira saw the Justice spear a GINN with his beam saber before slicing a GuAIZ in half with a precise throw of his beam boomerang.

Kira nodded as he blocked a volley of beams on his shield. "Thanks."

"Cut the chatter," said Shemei, her voice curt and serious, "We're not done here yet."

As if to underscore her point, Kira saw the Judgment obliterate a GuAIZ with its Tartarus rifle and shoot down two GINNs with its DRAGOONs. The Valkyrie wasn't the only one racking up the kills; Kira could see the three Wraiths backing up their leader, picking off mobile suits one after another with their beam rifles and railguns, occasionally spearing the few that managed to get in close with the violet beam sabers. The six nuclear powered mobile suits weren't the only ones dishing out punishment to the ZAFT squadrons; the remaining units of Task Force 9.3 leant what arms they could to the fray, attacking from the flanks as the loyalist teams tried to surround Kira and his friends. Their efforts were helpful, but the young Coordinator could see that they were not without cost, with a few more of the rogues' mobile suits falling to enemy fire.

While the clash of mobile suits was going well, Kira was well aware that matters were looking grim for the capital ships. He could see the twin formations ZAFT's force had broken into, angling in to strike the eight remaining warships of Task Force 9.3 from above and below. In their battered condition, there was no way the renegades would survive the coming barrages.

"Commander," said Kira as he sliced off a GINN's rifle arm with his beam saber, calling Shemei by her former ZAFT rank simply because he did not know how else to address her, "the task force is about to get hit!"

"I know," the Valkyrie replied as she blew away a GINN with her shoulder cannons, "Girls, break off and hit the warships coming in from above! I'll attack the lower formation and try to slow them down. Kira, Athrun, can you two keep these guys busy?"

"We've got this," said Athrun.

Kira nodded. "Go, we'll cover you!"

"Roger that," said Shemei, and Kira could see the Judgment already gunning its thrusters and making a beeline towards its target, cutting down a GuAIZ that got in her way with her beam saber, "Commander Bohuslav, target the lower enemy formation; my girls will strike the one coming in from on high. Have you mobile suits support the Freedom and Justice."

"Understood," Kira heard the task force Commander reply, "We're altering our trajectory now."

Kira once again let it rip with the Freedom's guns, neutralizing a GINN and a GuAIZ as they tried to strike the Valkyrie from the flanks. At the same time, Athrun had thrown another beam boomerang, slicing two GINNs in half while destroying a third with the beam cannons on the Justice's backpack. His efforts gave Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla the room they needed to pull out of the main mobile suit fight and set their sights on the upper ZAFT formation.

While Kira was sure that the Judgment and the Wraiths would be able to at least weaken the ZAFT formations, he knew that they would be unable to completely stop them from opening fire on the surviving warships of Task Force 9.3. Were he and Athrun able to join them, the young man was sure that they could completely blunt the coming attack, but that would leave the defectors vulnerable to the loyalist mobile suits, especially since their own units had been so depleted over the course of the battle.

_If only Heero weren't busy_, Kira thought as he shot a GINN's head off with his beam rifle, _He'd be able to help the Commander and her subordinates stop the warships much faster._

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Even in the midst of his clash with ZAFT's mobile suits Kira had still been able to take the occasional quick glance at the ongoing two-on-one battle between Wing Zero and the Galm Team. The fact that Heero's adversaries had been able to survive this long in a fight against him alone was a testament to their skills, but what amazed Kira even more was the fact that they were still going at it despite the damage their mobile suits had taken. While the boy was confident that his friend would eventually triumph in his personal battle, it was still more than a little unsettling to know that the PLANT radicals still had such formidable pilots at their disposal even after the losses the Special Operations squadrons had taken along with the recent defections of the likes of the Valkyrie Team and Athrun.

"Kira," said Athrun, bringing the young Coordinator's full attention back to the fight, "back me up!"

Kira nodded. "Right."

With that the Justice charged forward, igniting its second beam saber as it did so, joining it to the first one to create that familiar double-bladed weapon. Combined violet blades spinning, the Justice carved into a mobile suit squad, slicing two GINNs in half before destroying a GuAIZ with a salvo from the beam cannons on its backpack.

The enemy tried to move in on Athrun's flanks, but Kira wouldn't let them. Opening up with the Freedom's fearsome array of guns, the young man from Heliopolis swiftly disabled three GINNs and a GuAIZ in a brilliant display of precision targeting.

Checking his sensors, Kira realized that the three Wraiths had completely disappeared; they'd activated their Mirrage Colloid systems in preparation to hit their targets. Meanwhile, the Judgment was approaching the lower formation of ZAFT capital ships from head on, weaving through particle beams, railgun rounds, and missiles as she prepared to make her attack. Behind her, the warships of Task Force 9.3 were in the process of bringing their guns to bear on the loyalist vessels in the lower formation.

Suddenly a hail of emerald beams and yellow railgun rounds engulfed the lead destroyer of the upper formation; the Valkyrie's subordinates had made their move. Under the combined barrage of the three Wraiths the _Nazca_-class vessel was ripped apart. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla decloaked almost immediately after they had taken their shots, reactivating their Phase Shift Armor as the remaining destroyer and four frigates in their target formation opened up with wild fire from their CIWS in a desperate attempt to shoot down their attackers.

At the same time as her subordinates were attacking, Kira saw Shemei open fire with the Judgment's Tartarus rifle. Like her girls, her target was the lead destroyer in the formation she was striking, and her shot was dead on the mark. The crimson lance of plasma speared the blue vessel from bow to stern, and the ship was eviscerated by the subsequent explosion.

The Valkyrie and her subordinates were already moving to strike their next targets, but even as he continued to fight the ZAFT mobile suits around him and Athrun Kira could see that the loyalist ships were ready to strike the vessels of the renegade Task Force 9.3. It would be a matter of seconds before they opened fire, and Kira could only hope that some of the defectors would be able to survive the coming barrage.

Suddenly, just as the three Wraiths were beginning their attack on the second destroyer in the upper formation, twin torrents of crimson energy slammed into one of that group's frigates, turning the ship into a fireball. The massive blasts were followed up a split second later by a quartet of large emerald beams and a single heavy linear cannon slug, all of which pounded another frigate, mauling its main guns and upper armor plating. As if that weren't enough, a volley of eight large missiles plowed into that same frigate, turning an already wounded vessel into a fragmentation grenade. The remaining ZAFT ships in that group immediately began to implement evasive maneuvers, desperate to avoid the fate of their sister ships and breaking off their attack on the renegades in the process.

Kira had seen strikes like that often enough now in this war to know where that attack had come from. "The _Archangel_!" he cried, smiling as he swiftly located the massive white battleship on his sensors. Captain Ramius was bringing her ship in hard and fast, and Kira could see that she had already launched the rest of her mobile suits. The Tallgeese Kai and the Buster were moving in swiftly towards the clash of mobile suits, while the GuAIZ Werewolf and three M1 Astrays flanked the warship, ready to instantly react to incoming enemy units.

The boy was momentarily concerned when he saw that the _Archangel _was not in formation with the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, but it did not take him long to find the other two warships just before they announced their presence to all the combatant through their opening attacks.

While the _Archangel _had come from a high plane and struck ZAFT's upper formation, the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _were moving in below to strike the lower group. The Orb warship opened up with her Lohengrin Positron Blaster Cannons, blowing away one of the lower group's frigates. At the same time the ship also opened up with its Gottfried High Energy Beam Cannons, targeting another frigate with those powerful guns. They were joined by coordinated fire from the _Eternal_'s heavy beam turret and METEOR batteries, and the combined barrage tore a second frigate apart.

Like the _Archangel_, the _Eternal _and _Kusanagi _already had their mobile suits launched. Kira could see Aisha's GuAIZ flying above the _Eternal_, ready to fend off any hostile units that tried to approach the ship. The _Kusanagi _was flanked by four M1 Astrays, one pair on each side of the ship, and the Freedom's pilot could see four more mobile suits rushing towards the fight. Three were standard M1 Astrays, but it was the lead unit that caught Kira's attention. Unsurprisingly, it was the Strike Rouge, but what _did _make it stand out was the new Striker pack it had been fitted with for the battle.

Like the Aile pack, Kira saw that the Strike Rouge's new augmentation pack had wings, but these had a wider wingspan than those used on the older pack and were painted black and white. Mounted on top of them, flanking the mobile suit's head, were two large railguns. The unit still had its Armor Schneider knives and head-mounted Igelstellung CIWS, but mounted above the metal blades on the hips were the carrying sheaths for two beam sabers, one of which was drawn and held in the mobile suit's right hand. Just as the Aile pack had, this new pack also came with a shield mounted on its left arm, but this one had a large gatling gun integrated into it. Kira could see that the mobile suit was moving faster than the older Aile Strike had been capable of, and wondered if the new pack had atmospheric flight capabilities in addition to its apparent boost in speed.

Kira then got to see Cagalli's new weapons in action as his sister opened fire with her mobile suit's railguns. The twin rounds blew apart a GINN, and Cagalli wasted no time in following up her attack with a burst from her shield-gatling gun, tearing apart another GINN with the bullets.

"Hey," she said, "You guys ok?"

Kira nodded as he blocked a particle beam on the Freedom's shield. "We're alright. What's that new pack?"

"Oh, this?" Cagalli replied as she and her three accompanying M1s joined up with Kira and Athrun, "It's a design Engineer Simmons and Heero came up with. It's called the IWSP-X. Pretty neat, huh?"

"Heero helped with that?" Athrun asked as he slashed a GINN in half with his beam saber.

"I know; weird, right?" said Cagalli as she fired a burst from her gatling gun at a GuAIZ. Her foe blocked the shots on its shield, but left itself vulnerable to a flanking attack from one of the M1s, and was taken down by a beam rifle shot.

"I know the guy's a good pilot," she continued, "but I didn't think he had the engineering skills to help Simmons out on a project like this."

"Well," said Kira as he disabled a GINN with his plasma cannons, "he did provide Morgenroete with mobile suit schematics during our first stop in Orb, remember? And he helped out as a technical advisor for a little while."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Cagalli replied as she opened up with her railguns, destroying a GINN, "Speaking of Heero, where's he at? I thought you guys were supposed to be fighting alongside him?"

"Behind the task force," said Kira as he blocked a beam on his shield, "He's fighting one of ZAFT's teams… and they're really good."

Cagalli must have found Wing Zero on her sensors, because she replied a moment later. "Whoa… those two machines have been able to keep Heero busy? They must be good! We need to help Heero!"

"No," said Athrun as he impaled a GuAIZ with his beam saber, "We need to keep fighting these guys and make sure they can't strike the task force; they've taken enough damage as it is. Heero can take care of himself, Cagalli; you know that."

"Athrun's right," said La Flaga as the Tallgeese Kai swooped in, picking off a GINN with its beam rifle, "Besides, you won't do him any good wandering into a fight like that. If those two pilots can keep pace with him, then you can be damn sure we'd be outclassed in that clash."

"Yeah," said Dearka, taking down a GINN with the Buster's Gun Launcher, "If he needs our help, he'll ask for it. I think he's got this, though; those two units he's fighting have taken damage."

Cagalli sighed as she fired a burst with her gatling gun, sending the targeted GINN dodging to the right and straight into the line of fire of one of the M1s backing her up, which took down the ZAFT mobile suit with a single shot from its beam rifle. "Alright, fine. I just don't like leaving a friend to fight by themselves, and Heero has a bad habit of going it alone."

"It's what he knows best, little lady," said La Flaga as he blocked a series of beams on the Tallgeese Kai's Planet Defensors before shooting down the GuAIZ that had taken the shots, "He knows what he can handle, and we have to believe that he's not overestimating his abilities."

Kira nodded as he disabled another GINN with his railguns. He had to trust that his friend knew what he was doing and focus on performing his role in the battle.

_We're almost there_, he thought, _We can win this battle and all get out of here alive! We'll do our part, Heero, and you do yours!_

….

"Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "I have targeting solutions for the Gottfrieds and Valiants ready to go."

Murrue nodded, her gaze intent on the forward viewport and the clash her ship was charging into. "Open fire!"

The _Archangel _cut loose with a deadly volley, and four large emerald beams and two heavy linear cannon slugs raced across the void. Murrue watched as the salvo slammed into one of the two surviving _Laurasia-_class frigates of the upper formation, ripping through armor plating and bulkheads. The vessel was mauled, but not out of action yet.

"Launch Sledgehammer missiles," she ordered.

"Missiles away," replied her XO a moment later.

Eight of the large anti-ship missiles arced over the white battleship, and Murrue watched the blue fire of their thruster wash as the warheads flew towards their target. With the damage she had taken before, the frigate was in no position to even try to evade the incoming volley or shoot it down with its CIWS. All eight missiles hammered the warship, tearing it apart in a series of vicious blasts.

_It looks like we made it just in time_, she thought as she watched Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla finish off the second destroyer and move on to the final surviving frigate in the upper formation, _Things were about to get ugly for the task force. I'm glad we could save them… I just hope Miss Clyne and Waltfeld can convince them to help us._

Shifting her gaze from the viewport to the main monitor, Murrue saw the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_ open fire again from below. Thanks to the data that had been constantly streaming from Wing Zero and the Judgment Murrue and her fellow warship commanders had been able to set up their vessels to target the separate ZAFT formations well before actually entering firing range, and that advanced information was coming in handy now. The _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_ cut loose with their beam cannons, and their coordinated volleys slammed into one of the two remaining frigates in the lower formation, ripping the vessel apart. Shemei had already eliminated the lead destroyer with her heavy plasma rifle, and Murrue saw another crimson blast from that powerful gun take down the second _Nazca_-class ship in the lower formation. Before the final frigate in the formation could react it too came under attack, this time from the incoming warships of Task Force 9.3. The vessels may have been damaged, but they still packed a punch, and the lone loyalist frigate was pulverized by the sheer weight of their barrage.

_We're almost through this_, she thought, turning her attention to her personal monitor, _There's just one more clash that needs to be finished…_

That clash, of course, was Heero's. Murrue had known, thanks to the data her boyfriend had been constantly sending the _Archangel_, that he had been engaged by two highly skilled pilots, but it was still shocking to see the two-on-one battle unfold. Wing Zero and the two modified GuAIZs fought with incredible speed and precision. The two ZAFT machines exhibited amazing teamwork, supporting each other and making sure that Heero could not land a killing blow against either mobile suit.

_It's just like North Africa all over again_, Murrue thought, her hands gripping the arms of her chair tightly, _Heero's fighting against a very skilled team, and I can't help him! If I fired into that fight there's a good chance I could hit Heero, even with the upgrades to our targeting system. I don't know if I can send any of our pilots in to help; for all I know, they could get in Heero's way or get killed. Damn it, I hate this! Heero!_

"Captain," said the sensor operator, "the remaining ZAFT mobile suits have begun to retreat."

Taking a quick glance at the main monitor, Murrue saw that the surviving loyalist units were indeed pulling back. With the last frigate going down to fire from Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla, the ZAFT pilots had no carriers in the immediate area. Murrue knew that they would fly towards ZAFT space, radioing for help as they went… and the vessels that answered their calls could very well form up into a new task force and head towards the battlefield.

"Ma'am," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "What should we do?"

What Murrue _wanted _to do was tear into Heero's adversaries with everything she had, but the incredibly fast-paced nature of the fight between Wing Zero and the two modified GuAIZs would not allow for it. Clenching her teeth in frustration, Murrue reluctantly began issuing new orders.

"Helm," she said, "move us between Task Force 9.3 and the retreating ZAFT forces."

"Aye, Captain," Ensign Neumann replied.

"Comm," said Murrue, "contact Task Force 9.3 and tell them that we are here to help them and do not desire a confrontation; I'd rather we not have to get into a fight if we can avoid it."

"Understood, ma'am," said the communications officer.

"Lieutenant Tsukino," said Murrue, "Keep all our weapons ready to go in case ZAFT brings in reinforcements… or someone in the task force does something stupid."

"Yes ma'am," replied the XO.

"Sensors," said Murrue, "What's the status of that last destroyer and her mobile suits?"

"Still holding position away from the fight," replied the radar officer, "No, wait; the mobile suits are advancing! They're heading for Wing Zero!"

Reacting instantly, Murrue contacted her boyfriend. "Heero, you've got more enemies incoming!"

….

"Magnificent," Cipher whispered to himself as he blocked a vertical strike from Wing Zero's beam saber on the violet blade of his axe, a very small smile on his face.

The Demon Lord of Avalon had done far more than just live up to his reputation in this fight; he had surpassed even Cipher's wildest expectations. This was far more than just a foe that could push him, force him to go all out; this was an adversary that was actually capable of _beating _him.

For the first time in a long career filled with fierce battles, Cipher found himself _losing_. His adversary had slowly but surely worn down him and his wingman, and Cipher knew that it was only thanks to skill and no small amount of luck that he and Pixy had managed to avoid suffering fatal blows up to this point. Both of the Lancer's beam gatlings were out of commission, the lower section of the beam axe had been cut off, and the unit had lost its right leg at the knee. Pixy had likewise suffered damage, though the only weapon he had lost was the Archer's beam pistol. Still, it was a clear indication that their foe was indeed _better _than they were… and Cipher was _thrilled _because of it.

He unleashed his DRAGOONs again, but the Demon Lord dived as the fired, and their shots passed through empty space. Wing Zero then broke to the right to dodge a blast of plasma fired from Pixy before bringing its own heavy rifle to bear and opening fire. Pixy was able to dodge the shot, and Cipher saw his opening to get in another attack against Heero.

Cipher gunned his engines, coming in at Heero from above, swinging his beam axe in a vicious vertical chop. However, his enemy was able to bring his shield up to block the strike. Galm One was forced to brace himself as his foe pressed forward, the incredible power of Wing Zero's engines far outclassing the force the GuAIZ Lancer's thrusters could bring to the fight. The Demon Lord thrust forward with his emerald blade, and Cipher was forced to move to the left to avoid getting impaled.

Unfortunately for Galm One, it was not a clean dodge. Cipher's machine rocked around him as Heero's beam saber cut into the unit's left hip, destroying the DRAGOON that was mounted there. The exploding gun-drone also ruptured several secondary systems, and the monitor on the left side of the cockpit blew apart, showering Cipher with shrapnel.

"Augh!" he growled as the faceplate of his helmet was pierced by a piece of metal and a searing pain went through the left side of his face, "_Damn it!_"

"You alright, buddy?" asked Pixy as he forced Wing Zero to back off with another blast from his plasma rifle.

The left side of his vision was black, and Cipher knew what that meant. "Could be worse," he said dryly, "The left eye bought it."

"Shit," he heard Pixy replied, and he saw Galm Two climb to avoid a shot from Wing Zero's powerful rifle, "this guy doesn't mess around."

_No_, thought Cipher as he struggled to reorient himself, _he really doesn't. This might just be where our luck runs out…_

He saw Wing Zero charge Pixy, ready to impale Galm Two on his beam saber. With a pair of shots from his railguns and another blast from his plasma rifle Pixy forced Heero to dodge to the right, but the incredible pilot transitioned from going evasive into a new attack. Blue fire blazing from its powerful engines, Wing Zero got on the GuAIZ Archer's left flanks and unleashed a quick burst from its shoulder gatlings. Pixy climbed to avoid taking rounds to the cockpit, but he was unable to completely keep from taking damage, and his left railgun was punctured by two bullets.

"Fuck," snarled Cipher's subordinate, "Is this guy just toying with us now?"

"No," said Galm One as he rushed in, lashing out with his beam axe in a horizontal swing that Wing Zero blocked on its shield, "he's playing for keeps just like we are."

Cipher unleashed his remaining gun-drone, but Heero had already slipped towards the Lancer's left side, which thanks to the destruction of the other DRAGOON had now become a blind spot. Galm One barely managed to reposition himself to block the diagonal slash from Wing Zero's beam saber. "We've just been able to avoid taking fatal hits," he said, "but I don't know how much longer we can keep this up."

"Talk like that's not like you, buddy," said Pixy, "Come on, we're not dead yet, and while we're still up we don't throw in the towel."

Cipher chuckled as he opened fire with his CIWS. His shots were aimed at Wing Zero's sensors, the only part of the mobile suit vulnerable to bullets, but his foe was moving too much for Galm One to make such a precise shot, and Heero Yuy was apparently well aware of that weak spot. The Demon Lord was constantly adjusting his position, and the Lancer's bullets only succeeded in glancing off Wing Zero's armor, hardly even scratching the paint.

"Don't worry," Cipher replied as he saw Wing Zero climb to avoid shots from Pixy's plasma rifle and remaining railgun, "Giving up's the last thing on my mind. I'm having too much fun, even if the tide's turned against us."

"Now that's more like it," said Pixy as he dodged a golden-yellow beam from Wing Zero's rifle, "Come on, let's show this guy that we're not down yet!"

Cipher nodded as he charged towards Wing Zero. "Agreed."

He took a swipe with his beam axe while simultaneously unleashing his remaining DRAGOON. His eyes widened as he saw Wing Zero successfully block _both _attacks, parrying the axe with his beam saber while taking the shot from the gun-drone on his shield.

_He timed that perfectly_, he thought as he was forced back on the defensive as Heero retaliated with a horizontal slash, one that he was hard pressed to block, _Damn, this guy's really something else!_

Taking aim with his gun-drone again, Cipher took another shot with it along with his CIWS. This time Heero climbed to avoid the beam and bullets before returning fire with a quick burst from his gatling cannons. Cipher shifted to the right to dodge the bullets, but a round managed to pierce his unit's head, knocking the main high-resolution camera out.

_Shit_, he thought as the screen shifted over to the backup cameras, _I hate these low-res reserves!_

Even with his visual sensors reduced and his natural vision quite recently impaired, Cipher was still able to watch as Pixy launched another one-two punch at Wing Zero with his plasma cannon and railgun. Heero continued to climb to dodge the shots, a move that puzzled Cipher for a moment; he'd expected Heero to break to one of his sides and counterattack. He was only confused for a split-second though, and when he saw Wing Zero put away its beam saber he knew what was coming.

"Oh no, you don't!" he growled as he charged the Demon Lord.

But he was too late; Wing Zero had split its large rifle into a pair of smaller but still _extremely _dangerous guns. A fraction of a second later Cipher was biting back a curse as he broke to the right to dodge a blast from the right gun, while Pixy likewise was going evasive as Heero shot at him with the left rifle.

Then Wing Zero turned both guns on the GuAIZ Lancer. Cipher dodged to the right to evade the first blast, but he swiftly realized that that shot was not meant to hit him. In the process of evading the first shot he had unknowingly set himself up for the second, and he had to throw the Lancer into a hard left to avoid the blast from the other gun. Unfortunately for him, he was only partially successful. While he managed to keep his machine in one piece, his unit's right arm caught the very edge of the golden-yellow blast and was disintegrated, along with the beam axe it had held.

"Shit!" he hissed, "How am I supposed to take him down with just CIWS and a DRAGOON?"

Matters only got worse as he saw Heero then turn both his guns on Pixy. Evading a blast from Galm Two's plasma rifle, Wing Zero's pilot swiftly returned fire in a one-two punch from his twin guns. Much like what he had done to Cipher, the first blast was meant only to make the target dodge right into the second shot, and Pixy nearly did so. The mercenary was barely able to avoid taking the full brunt of the second shot, but like Cipher his last-minute dodge had not been without cost; the right arm of the Archer was vaporized by the edge of the blast, along with the unit's plasma rifle.

Wing Zero then rejoined its two guns into the much larger main rifle and reignited its green beam saber. Gunning its engines, it came charging at Galm One. Cipher quickly released his sole DRAGOON, opening fire with it and his CIWS, but Wing Zero was able to work its way through the barrage with uncanny maneuverability, almost as if the pilot could predict where Galm One's shots would go. As the mobile suit closed in, Cipher knew in his gut that Heero Yuy had him dead to rights.

_So this is where it ends_, he thought, strangely at peace with his imminent demise, _Well, if it's against a pilot like this, I'm good with that…_

However, before Wing Zero could strike the final blow it suddenly broke off its attack, diving. Cipher only had a split-second to wonder what was going on when he saw a volley of emerald beams fly through the space the Demon Lord had just been about to fly through. Checking his sensors, he found the source of the shots.

"Arthur Team!" he yelled as he saw the four GuAIZs of the _Kerimov _rushing in, "I told you to guard the destroyer!"

"So you did," replied the flight lead, Arthur Reynolds, "but our Captain has ordered us to cover your retreat. You've proven that you can stand against Wing Zero; you're now officially too valuable to allow to die."

"We're not done here!" yelled Pixy, "You don't get to tell us when to back off!"

"I can't force you to leave," said Arthur as his team unleashed another volley to keep Wing Zero on the defensive, "but you know as well as I do that we can't win this fight, especially with the condition you're in now. Our deaths will be for nothing if you don't pull out now. You're our only hope for taking down that monster in the future; you have to retreat!"

_So casual about the fact that he's been sent to die_, thought Cipher, _along with his entire team. Arthur, you never struck me as a true believer… I guess I was wrong. Oh well, nothing else for it now._

Cipher shook his head at the absurdity of it all. "Fine then. Pixy, we're pulling out."

"But what about them?" asked Galm Two, "If we leave them, they're dead!"

"And if we stay we simply die with them," Galm One shot back, "If they're content to follow orders that they know will result in their deaths, then the least we can do is not make those deaths pointless. We're retreating, Pixy; that's an order."

Galm Two sighed. "Acknowledged. Right behind you, buddy."

_And not a moment too soon_, thought Cipher as he pushed his engines as hard as he dared given the damage suffered by both machine and pilot. Even through the backup cameras and his own hampered vision he could see Wing Zero already counterattacking against Arthur Team. The fearsome mobile suit cut loose with its rifle, disintegrating one of the GuAIZs. Then Heero charged forward, dodging beam rifle fire as he moved in to attack another GuAIZ with his beam saber.

"So we live to die another day," he said to himself as he and Pixy flew towards the _Kerimov_, "Will that death be in our next clash with you, Heero Yuy, on a different battlefield? Or another adversary perhaps? Who can say… but I'll tell you this much now; you haven't seen the last of the Galm Team."

….

_Damn it_, thought Heero as he dived beneath a GuAIZ's arrestor cables before swinging his beam saber up to slice the attacker in half, _this is the last thing I need._

Thanks to Murrue's warning Heero had been able to set himself up to counter the four new ZAFT mobile suits, and he had already reduced them to two machines. However, every second he spent fighting them was a second the Galm Team had to withdraw, and the Gundam pilot had been determined to take them down here and now.

He broke to the left as one of his two remaining foes opened fire from behind him, dodging the beams as he attempted to get the fleeing modified GuAIZs back in his sights. However, he was forced to contend with the other GuAIZ closing in on him fast, its beam claws ready to rip him apart. Heero brought up his shield to block the attack before climbing to evade another round of beams as the other unit attempted to hit him from the right.

Whirling around to face the shooter, the Perfect Soldier opened up with his shoulder gatlings, sending his last bullets at the machine. The GuAIZ brought its Composite Shield up to block the rounds, but that just gave Heero time to follow up that attack with a shot from the Twin Buster Rifle, and the blast of golden-yellow energy turned the ZAFT machine into free floating atoms.

Breaking to the left to dodge the arrestor cables fired by the last GuAIZ, Heero swiftly closed in on his final foe. He made a vertical strike with his beam saber, but his adversary was able to block it on its violet energy claws. The Perfect Soldier then thrust out with his shield and hit his thrusters, ramming the GuAIZ and throwing its pilot off balance.

That gave Heero the opening he needed to finish the job. Thrusting his emerald blade forward, he impaled the ZAFT mobile suit right through the cockpit.

"Now," he said as he searched his scanners for the Galm Team, "where are you?"

It didn't take him long to find the two mercenaries; their damaged machines were closing with the _Nazca_-class destroyer hovering at the edge of the battlefield. They'd be able to dodge any shots he took from this range, but it would not take much for him to close the gap and hack into them with his beam saber.

However, just before he could begin pursuit he was contacted by none other than the Captain of the _Archangel_. "Heero," said Murrue, her lovely face made all the more beautiful by the smile she was giving him, "Excellent work! You saved the task force!"

"I had help," he replied, "and I'm not done yet. I need to wrap things up with the Galm Team."

"Heero, they're retreating!" cried Murrue, "The battle is over; there's no need to finish them off!"

"They're dangerous, Murrue," said Heero, "They're the best pilots I've fought since Zechs and Shemei, and they're loyal to their contract with ZAFT; they're the deadliest weapons in Zala's arsenal!"

Murrue nodded. "I know that; Waltfeld and Bristow filled me in when I sent them the data on who you were fighting. I'm aware of the danger they could pose in future battles, but cutting them down like this would be wrong! They're fleeing the field, and killing them now would be no better than murder, and if there's one thing I _know _you're _not_, Heero, it's a murderer. Please, you cannot do this!"

Her pleas for mercy on behalf of the retreating mercenaries made Heero freeze. Murrue's words pierced him like a dagger, and he realized that he'd been thinking purely in terms of tactics and strategy; the cold, ruthless calculus of war.

He saw Murrue close her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again he could see the desperation in them. "Heero," she said, "I'm begging you, don't do this. You're better than this Heero; I _know _you are! Don't go back down that dark path you took in Orb."

_That _rocked him to his core. While the situation in the Battle of Orb had been quite different due to his loosing himself to the Zero System, Heero could still instantly see where she had drawn the comparison, and he knew it was appropriate. He had cut down fleeing enemies during his rampage, and it would be _worse _if he allowed himself to do it now, while he had full control of himself.

The Galm Team was not like the units he had destroyed earlier in the fight. True, the mercenaries were _far _stronger, _much _more dangerous, but unlike the other ZAFT units they were not pulling back simply to hook up with another wave and charge back into the fight. They were genuinely retreating, and Heero knew that the _real _him, _the man_ _Murrue loved_, would _not _cut them down like this.

Heero took a deep breath and slowly let it out, calming himself as he remembered who he _really _was, pulling himself back from the cold logic of the battlefield. He met Murrue's gaze and nodded. "You're right, Murrue. Thank you… and I'm sorry for putting you through that. Forgive me."

The woman he loved smiled, the worry in her eyes replaced by that familiar, warm compassion. "You are most welcome, Heero, and I _do _forgive you. Just, please, don't let it happen again; don't let the battlefield take away who you really are."

Heero gave her a small smile. "I won't, Murrue. I promise."

"Glad to hear it," she replied, "Now, form up with us, Heero; we need to escort the defectors out of here. With the shape they're in now there's no way they'll be able to survive a fourth wave, even with us defending them."

"Roger that," said Heero, immediately adjusting his course and heading for the _Archangel_, "but what about the task force Commander? Has he agreed to go along with this?"

"Waltfeld and Miss Clyne contacted Commander Bohuslav," said Murrue, "He's agreed to travel under our protection until we're out of ZAFT's operational range, but whether or not Task Force 9.3 will join our cause is still up in the air. The Commander's agreed to meet with Waltfeld and Miss Clyne aboard the _Eternal _for talks; his shuttle will be departing the flagship shortly."

Heero nodded. "Let's hope they can get him to come around; there's too much at stake here for a group like his to be sitting on the sidelines."

"Agreed," said Murrue, "We need their help, and if anyone can sway them to join us, it's Waltfeld and Miss Clyne."

"I guess we'll know soon enough, one way or the other," said Heero.

Murrue nodded. "Yes, there's nothing you or I can do about it now; it's out of our hands." She smiled at him before continuing. "No matter what happens, I'm just glad you made it through the fight, Heero… and that you can come back to me."

"I told you I wouldn't abandon you, Murrue," Heero replied as he approached the _Archangel_, "After all we've been through, there's no way I'm going to let ZAFT or their mercenaries stop us now."

"I'm with you there," said Murrue, "and the same goes for the Alliance. No matter what the two superpowers throw at us, we _will _overcome it."

Heero nodded. "Roger that, Murrue."

….

Standing by the entrance to the hangar, Waltfeld turned to the pink-haired songstress to his right. "Are you ready for this, Miss Clyne?"

Lacus nodded, and the Desert Tiger was pleased to see the determination in her cerulean eyes. "Yes, Mister Waltfeld. I'll do all I can to bring Commander Bohuslav around to our side."

Waltfeld chuckled. "You know, I always liked your sincerity, Miss Clyne… and I think the Commander will appreciate it. Bohuslav's a little rough around the edges, but believe it or not he does have a sentimental side. I can appeal to his sense of honor and dignity, but if anyone can persuade him that throwing in his lot with us is the right thing to do on an emotional level, it's you, Miss Clyne."

Lacus nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Mister Waltfeld. When you speak of the Commander, is it from personal experience?"

"I'm not too close to the man," Waltfeld replied, "but I have worked with him before. The Ninth Fleet was our main supporting force when we made the orbital drop into North Africa, and I dealt with several of its group commanders. Bohuslav was one of them. I didn't speak to him too often, but I got a decent feel for the kind of person he is. Brushing up on his personnel file courtesy of Bristow over the past two days helped back up my memory. He's tough, and can be a bit hard-headed at times, but overall he's a reasonable, decent guy. More than anything else, direct honesty is the way to go with him. He hates being lied to, directly or otherwise."

"I understand," said Lacus, "and I never once considered any form of deception to get him to join us, nor will I now."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Good girl. Your father would be proud."

The Desert Tiger could've sworn he saw the songstress's pale face flush at his remarks. "Thank you… but I don't think I'm the diplomat he was."

Waltfeld shook his head and smiled. "Nonsense, Miss Clyne. You've already become an astounding diplomat, and it's all the more amazing considering just how young you are. You've done so much in such a short period of time; your leadership is one of the biggest reasons that all of us were able to unite against both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT."

Lacus shook her head. "No… it's only because of the help I've gotten from all of you that I've been able to come so far. I don't know where I'd be without you, or Miss Aisha, or the others that have joined our cause. I couldn't do this on my own, Mister Waltfeld."

"No," Waltfeld replied, "but we couldn't do this without _you_ either, Miss Clyne. Our roles are intertwined, integral to each other; one cannot stand without the other."

Lacus nodded. "You're right. We're as strong as we are only because we act together, supporting each other where one may be weak. We must continue to show that same strength of cooperation; it may well be the decisive factor to ending this war without the largest act of mass murder in human history."

"Yes," said Waltfeld, "and displaying that strength here will go a long ways towards convincing Commander Bohuslav to throw his lot in with us."

Waltfeld could not help but smile again as he saw the songstress's expression become one of focus and resolve. "If he needs further proof of our strength beyond what we have shown him today on the battlefield, then I will do all I can to provide it."

The Desert Tiger saw a green light turn on next to the door; the shuttle had landed, and atmosphere had been vented back into the hangar. "Well," he said, "let's not keep our guests waiting."

Lacus nodded, and the two of then entered the hangar. As they floated inside they saw the starboard hatch of the shuttle parked in the center of the area open up, and out came a man Waltfeld instantly identified as the Commander of Task Force 9.3. Following him was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, with short-cropped orange-red hair and light blue eyes, and wearing a green uniform.

Waltfeld looked over at Lacus and nodded. "You take the lead."

"Alright," she replied.

The Desert Tiger allowed the girl to move out in front of him as they approached the former ZAFT officer and the woman with him.

"Commander Bohuslav," said Lacus, smiling and bowing her head as she came to a stop in front of him before holding out her hand, "I'm pleased to see that you are unharmed. Welcome aboard the _Eternal_."

The Commander gave her a nod as he shook her hand. "Thank you, Miss Clyne." He gestured to the woman at his side. "This is my administrative assistant, Alexis Morell."

The red-head bowed her head. "It's an honor to meet you, Miss Clyne."

"And I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Morell," Lacus replied.

Waltfeld saw her look over at him and nod, and he took that as his cue to step in. "Commander," he said, holding out his right arm, "I'm not sure if you remember, but we've met before. I'm Andrew Waltfeld."

Commander Bohuslav shook his hand and nodded. "I do remember. It's been a long time since your conquest of North Africa, Desert Tiger."

"Indeed," said Waltfeld, nodding, "A lot has happened since then."

"Yes," said Bohuslav, "back then ZAFT could at least make an honest claim to being an honorable organization. However, now that the radicals have taken complete control over both the military and civilian government, I'm ashamed to say that's no longer the case. That slaughter at Panama…"

"Was an unspeakable war crime," Lacus finished for him, her expression grim, "and you know as well as I do that it will not be the last under the Zala regime, Commander. The radicals will not stop fighting this war until every last Natural is dead."

"Yes, and that is a sentiment the Earth Alliance holds as well with regards to our own kind," Bohuslav replied bitterly, "This has become a war of mutual annihilation. Neither side respects the conventions of war or the status of non-combatants; target criteria has come down to genes, and that alone. Zala and his band of sycophants and sociopaths are no better than the Blue Cosmos and their sympathizers who so fervently wish for our destruction."

_Well, now_, thought Waltfeld, _If he's already willing to admit that much publicly, then this might be easier than I anticipated._

The Desert Tiger studied the Commander intently as he continued. "I can no longer serve ZAFT and the PLANTs, not when it means placing myself and my subordinates under the command of those who care not for our lives so long as they're able to fulfill their blood soaked dreams of revenge. I know that 'Remember Junius Seven' has been a rallying cry for our forces, and understandably so, but Zala has taken it too far; to repay one atrocity with another is _not _what we signed up for."

"A belief that all of us in our organization share, Commander," said Lacus, "I admire the courage it took for you and your followers to take the stand that you have; I know it was not easy for us to leave our homeland, even when our own government was hunting us."

Bohuslav sighed. "Thank you, Miss Clyne. I just wish it hadn't come at such a cost. Six ships destroyed , our mobile suit complement less than a quarter of what it was… we lost many good men and women today. Not to mention the casualties suffered by ZAFT; we may have abandoned our former military, but we had no desire to kill those still serving it."

"You didn't have much of a choice in the matter," said Waltfeld, "Surrender in this case would be a death sentence, and it'd probably be carried out in place rather than you all being taken back to the PLANTs and shot there."

"True enough," Bohuslav replied, "and we cannot afford to die now. Our losses may have been heavy, but we can still continue with our mission. We _have _to; there's too much at stake!"

Waltfeld and Lacus shared a glance; the Commander's words were troubling.

"I beg your pardon," said Lacus cautiously, "but did you say 'mission'? I thought it was your intent to defect to the Orb colonies and sit out the rest of this war."

"You have good intelligence sources, Miss Clyne," said the Commander, "but your information is outdated. I have a friend in the Patrol Fleet, and news I received from him forced us to accelerate our plans; I actually had not been planning on leaving the PLANTs for at least another week."

_I've got a bad feeling about this_, thought Waltfeld, _Eric's network of contacts is extensive, but the Patrol Fleet's an area where he had only a few sources, and the most valuable of them was killed by Zala after the raid on Aprilius One; we have much less an idea of what they're up to than other parts of ZAFT. Shit, I think we missed something big…_

Waltfeld's eye narrowed. "What happened, Commander? What pushed you to move ahead of schedule?"

"Three days ago," said the Commander, "the Patrol Fleet frigate _Raven _reported that Alliance warships were massing at the outer rim of the Debris Belt between Earth and L3; they're preparing to invade the Orb colonies."

Lacus and Waltfeld gasped. "No…" said the songstress, her voice almost whisper, "Why…"

"I thought the Earth Alliance forces were preparing for their final offensive against the PLANTs," said Waltfeld, "Going after L3 only diverts from that effort at this point."

Bohuslav nodded. "Tactically and strategically, it's a stupid move; the agricultural and industrial facilities they would gain are but a speck before the vast resources the Alliance already has at its disposal. It's simply a waste of soldiers and ships… if looked at only through the reasoning of conventional warfare."

"Oh _shit_…" Waltfeld hissed, realizing what the _real _purpose of the Alliance's impending operation was.

"Yes," said Bohuslav grimly, "Azrael plans to conquer the Eden and Elysium colonies… and kill every Coordinator he finds inside them."

**Preview for next time!**

_After saving Task Force 9.3 from the pursuit of the Zala regime, Heero, Murrue, and the others learn of Commander Bohuslav's personal mission; to defend the Eden and Elysium colonies from an Alliance invasion that ZAFT has no intention of stopping. The Three Ships Alliance rushes to the aid of the Orb colonies, but will their power be enough to turn the tide of the fight? Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Six: The Battle of Elysium._

"_When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." Edmund Burke, "Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents" (1770)._

_Source of this more well known phrase, commonly attributed to but not actually confirmed to have been said by Burke as such: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."_

**Author's notes:** Phew, glad this is done! It was fun to write, but a lot of work, not helped by the fact that things have been busy on my end.

The reason Task Force 9.3 is referred to as such is because it is the Third Task Force of the Ninth Fleet. Other Task Forces in this fic would follow similar designations; for example, the Fifth Task Force of the Sixth Fleet would be called Task Force 6.5 for short.

The Strike Rouge IWSP-X is a modification of the Strike Rouge IWSP from the Seed-MSV design series (see the Gundam wiki for details). The original design was too complex for Cagalli to use, so as you saw in the chapter I had Heero help Erica by making some alterations, actually removing some weapons (took out the beam boomerang and 105mm cannons) and changing others (the anti-ship swords to beam sabers, for example) to make a more streamlined setup.

Kycilia Zabi's appearance was just a little cameo, a shout out to the original _Mobile Suit Gundam_. I also named her frigate after the ship she commanded during her final battle in that series.

If some of the weapons used by the GuAIZ Archer and the GuAIZ Lancer sounded familiar, that was entirely intentional; in addition to being custom units, they're also serving as testing platforms for armaments that will become more widespread with the advent of ZAFT's new mobile suits in SEED Destiny. Check out the Slash ZAKU, Blaze ZAKU, and GuAIZ R, I'm sure you'll be able to pick out the weapons I took from those units.

Thanks for your patience, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review! Until next time!


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's notes**: Sorry it's been so long, I've had a lot going on in my life. Graduated college, got a new job with State Farm, hooked back up with the ex-girlfriend… what can I say, I've been busy!

You've all probably noticed the new cover the story has. That cover is the work of fellow author EpyonZero23, and used with permission. Thanks a lot, buddy! Speaking of EpyonZero23, if you read the fic "Haruka's Wings" that I've mentioned a couple times in the notes of this story and like it so far, I highly recommend checking out his newest fic. It's called "Look at Me", and like "Haruka's Wings" it's another very good drama/romance story, a Gundam Wing/Photo Kano crossover. Only the first chapter is out right now, but it's a great intro; keep up the good work buddy!

Ok, onto the song list for this chapter. In order of appearance: "117" from the Halo 4 OST, and "Merlon" from the Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War OST.

Disclaimer again: I don't own Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed. I'm doing this because it's fun.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Six: The Battle of Elysium**

After setting Wing Zero down in its berth in the _Archangel_'s massive hangar, Heero took off his helmet and ran a hand across his sweaty forehead.

_It's been a while_, he thought as he took a deep breath and let it out, _since I've had a fight like that. I haven't been pushed like that in a mobile suit battle since my clash with the Judgment. Shemei was right; the Galm Team is _far _above the rank and file ZAFT pilots. Those guys won't be easy to deal with._

Despite that thought, Heero was surprised to realize that he was glad he had not finished them off while they had been retreating. It wasn't because of their skills and a desire to test himself against worthy opponents; that desire had been purged once and for all from his system through his final duel with Shemei. No, it was because of what Murrue had said; cutting them down like that would've been cold-blooded murder, and it was thanks to the woman he loved that Heero was finally able to see himself as more than just a killer.

_She pulled me back from the darkness_, he thought, a small smile appearing on his face, _just like she did at Orb… like she's been doing for me since the moment I met her. Murrue, you truly are an amazing woman._

The Gundam pilot watched as the rest of the _Archangel_'s mobile suits entered the hangar and settled into their berths. Shortly after the battle had concluded, Waltfeld had ordered the warships of the Three Ships Alliance to take up flanking positions around the bruised and battered Task Force 9.3, and that they were to get underway immediately. Heero was puzzled that Waltfeld had chosen L3 as their vector; he had assumed that he would've wanted to go somewhere out of the way to talk with Commander Bohuslav rather than head straight to the Orb colonies, especially since they wanted to avoid drawing the attention of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to those habitats.

_Something's going on_, he thought, _I know that shuttle from the flagship went over to the Eternal almost immediately after the battle ended, but it wasn't long after that that Waltfeld told us to head towards L3. They would've had only a few minutes to talk…something's wrong here._

Heero had no information on what that something might be, but he had a feeling that would change soon enough. Shortly after the capital ships had gotten underway, all of the mobile suit pilots had been ordered to return to their home vessels, and the Desert Tiger had been quite specific in asking that Heero, Shemei, Bristow, and Cagalli be ready for a debriefing.

Once the hangar bay was sealed, Heero popped Wing Zero's hatch and floated out of the Gundam, his helmet cradled in his left arm. As he closed up his machine he saw the Valkyrie leave hers and head over towards him, followed by Bristow.

"Hey," she said as she and her lover approached, "any idea what's going on?"

Heero shook his head. "Not a clue." He turned to Bristow. "How about you?"

The Wolf of the Far East shook his head. "I've got nothing… except for a bad feeling in my gut."

"I think the rest of us share that sentiment," said Shemei.

"No argument there," Heero replied, nodding towards the hangar exit, "Come on, let's get moving."

Wing Zero's pilot took point as the three of them headed towards the door. As they did so Heero caught sight of the _Archangel_'s chief mechanic.

"Murdoch," he said, "Wing Zero's gatlings are dry; fill them up."

The scruffy but reliable head technician nodded. "You got it, Heero."

"Hey," said Shemei, "The same goes for the Judgment's missiles; I blew through all of them in the fight."

"I'll have my crew get on it," said the mechanic, "We'll have your machines ready to sortie again in no time."

The Valkyrie smiled. "Thanks, chief."

Heero simply nodded at the man before continuing on his way. As the three of them approached the exit the Gundam pilot saw it open well before they got there, and none other than Murrue was in the doorway.

She smiled the instant she caught sight of Heero, and it was one the young man readily returned. "Heero!" she said as she floated into the hangar, "Welcome back!"

Heero met her halfway, and the couple embraced. "It's good to be back," he said as he held her tightly, "I'm sorry I made you worry like that."

Murrue shook her head, still smiling as she leaned in to kiss him on the lips. "It's alright, Heero," she said, "You're here now, and you didn't strike those fleeing pilots down; that's what matters."

"You might regret pulling him back like that," said Bristow, causing the two lovers to turn towards him, "Galm Team are two of the best pilots in the Earth Sphere, Captain Ramius; they'd have to be to survive a fight with Heero. They could be a serious threat in future battles."

"I know that," Murrue replied, her voice firm, "but taking them down when they were retreating like that would still have been no better than murder. I won't commit the crimes my superiors would've, nor will I let Heero do that even if it's to help our cause. If we meet them on the battlefield again, we'll deal with them accordingly."

Heero nodded as he looked at Bristow and Shemei. "Murrue's right," he said, "Taking them down like that may have been the logical thing to do, but it wasn't the _right _thing to do. War is cold and brutal, we all know that, but if we lose our humanity to it then we become no better than the monsters we're fighting against."

Bristow nodded. "Well said. I just hope the next time we fight them we'll be able to take them out of the game for good."

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," said Shemei, "No sense in worrying about it now, Eric. Galm Team's off the field for now, and we need to focus on our new friends."

"Of course," Bristow replied.

"Speaking of our new friends," said Heero, turning to Murrue, "do you have any idea what happened between the Commander, Waltfeld, and Lacus over on the _Eternal_? They can't have had more than a few minutes to talk before Waltfeld contacted us about the briefing."

Murrue shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Heero. I just received word from Waltfeld about the briefing. That's why I came down here; I wanted to meet you and go to the briefing room together."

Heero nodded. "Then let's get moving. I don't like being kept in the dark, and I've got a feeling that whatever happened on the _Eternal _between Lacus, Waltfeld, and Bohuslav, it was big."

Murrue took his hand. "Agreed. Let's go."

The four of them quickly made the journey from the hangar to the briefing room. When they got there Murrue immediately established a connection with the _Eternal _before sitting down with Heero and the others.

The Gundam pilot saw Waltfeld, Lacus, and Commander Bohuslav appear on the screen. "Hello, everyone," said Lacus, smiling, "I'm glad to see you're safe and unharmed."

"It's good to see you as well, Miss Clyne," said Murrue.

Heero skipped the pleasantries. "What's going on? What did the Commander tell you?"

"Hang on a second, Heero," said Waltfeld, "We're still setting up a conference connection with the _Kusanagi_. Captain Ramius, is everything good on your end?"

Murrue nodded. "Our connection is open to all ships, Waltfeld."

"Ok," the Desert Tiger replied, "We're patching through the _Kusanagi _now."

The people on the _Eternal _were moved to the top half of the screen, with the bottom half being given over to the Orb delegation. Heero saw Cagalli and Kisaka appear, the former still dressed in her red and white Orb military flight suit.

"Hey," said Orb's tomboy princess, "can you guys hear us?"

"We're reading you loud and clear, Cagalli," said Murrue.

"Same here," said Lacus, "I'm glad you're alright, Cagalli; I was worried."

The blonde girl smiled. "Thanks, Lacus. I'm ok. I might not be as good as Heero or Kira, but I can hold my own in a fight."

"So you can, Lady Cagalli," said Kisaka, "That doesn't mean we're comfortable with you fighting on the front lines, especially given your importance to our cause."

"Hey!" snapped Cagalli, "I can do more than just lead my people; I can fight for them, and I'm going to do that! Don't even think about trying to keep me off the field!"

"Please, calm down," said Lacus, "Cagalli, I assure you that no one is trying to hold you back. We all know how determined you are to fight on behalf of your people and your friends, and will not keep you away from fighting."

Cagalli nodded. "Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away there."

Waltfeld chuckled. "You're as feisty as always, Princess." His expression then became serious. "Enough of that for now though. Our guest here has given us some vital information, and it has a direct impact on your people, Lady Cagalli."

Heero's eyes narrowed at the Desert Tiger's words. He had a feeling that whatever was coming, it wasn't good.

"Well, it would, wouldn't it?" said Cagalli, "I mean, wasn't the Commander planning on seeking asylum at our Eden and Elysium colonies?"

"That was my original intent, Lady Cagalli," said Bohuslav, "However, I received dire news from a friend of mine in the Patrol Fleet that forced me to alter and accelerate my plans."

"What is it?" asked Bristow, "I've got sources in the Patrol Fleet too, Commander, and they haven't passed on any significant news of late."

Heero saw Bohuslav's eyes narrow. "You would be former Field Marshal Eric Bristow, correct? The unofficial spymaster of both Siegel and Lacus Clyne?"

"Yes to both questions," replied the Wolf of the Far East, "and you still haven't answered mine. What information was passed on to you, Commander Bohuslav?"

The rogue officer closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them Heero saw a very dark and heavy look in them, and the bad feeling in the Gundam pilot's gut only got worse.

"The Earth Alliance is massing a fleet not far from L3," said the Commander, "They're going to launch an assault on the Orb colonies."

A stunned silence fell over the delegates of all three ships. Heero felt Murrue grab his hand and squeeze it tightly, and as he looked at her he saw that her expression was one of shock and horror. The Perfect Soldier couldn't blame her, especially given the knowledge that so many refugees from the Orb mainland, Coordinator and Natural alike, had fled to the colonies prior to and even during the battle against Azrael's armada.

The Valkyrie was the first one to break the silence, and her words perfectly captured the moment. "Oh, _fuck_…"

Shemei wasn't the only one to respond with profanity. "Shit," said Bristow, "How did we miss this?"

"You can't catch everything, buddy," said Waltfeld, "We both know that."

"Maybe," Bristow replied, shaking his head, "but something this big…"

"We can worry about gaps in our intelligence sources later," said Heero, "Right now we need to focus on stopping the invasion."

Bristow nodded. "You're right. Commander, do you have any idea how big a force the Alliance is mustering for this?"

"My intel's a few days old," said Bohuslav, "but when I got the report, it looked like at least two carrier battle groups and some support squadrons. I don't know how long they'll continue to gather strength."

"They wouldn't have to wait much longer if they already have two carrier battle groups at their rallying point," Kisaka cut in, "That's more than sufficient a force to defeat our current defenses."

"Hold on," said Cagalli, "I thought we had been building up the protective forces of the Eden and Elysium colonies with new mobile suits!"

"We have," said Kisaka, "but they lack capital ship support. The only other _Izumo_-class battleship is the namesake vessel, and that's under control of the Sahaku noble family. They've been running their own agenda since the start of this war, operating independently of Orb as a whole. The _Izumo _is nowhere near Eden or Elysium, and Orb has not built any other class of space-going warships."

"What defenses _do _the Eden and Elysium colonies have?" asked Murrue, "From what Cagalli said, they must at least be greater than the security forces that were at Heliopolis."

"Don't forget, Captain Ramius," said Kisaka, "those security forces were largely supplemented by Alliance ground units inside the colony, along with La Flaga and his fellow Moebius pilots in outer space."

"I'm well aware of that," said Murrue, "but that was before Orb got its own mobile suits operation and into mass production, not to mention before Heero gave Morgenroete those new designs."

"New designs?" asked Aisha, "I thought Orb was only fielding the M1 Astray in outer space, and that the schematics Heero gave Morgenroete were for surface combat, with the exception of the Tallgeese."

Heero shook his head. "No, there were other models in there as well, and Engineer Simmons told me they did press one into production for Orb's space forces to serve alongside the M1; the Taurus."

Kisaka nodded. "I've spoken to Engineer Simmons, and she told me that the Taurus will server well as a complement to the capabilities of the M1 Astray, but that does not change the fact that the mobile suit squadrons of the colonies alone cannot win this fight."

"What about the Alliance defectors that showed up a few days ago?" asked Murrue, "Surely they'll have at least some impact."

"Yes, but not enough," said Cagalli, "It was just a few flotillas, made up of _Drake_-class escort ships and _Nelson_-class battleships; no carriers. They've got mixed complements of mobile suits and armors, and I know they'll be able to help, but they're split between defending Eden and Elysium."

"Even if they were concentrated, I doubt it would make much of a difference," said Commander Bohuslav, "The Earth Alliance appears to be approaching this invasion with their usual play; overwhelming numbers and firepower. It was my hope that Task Force 9.3 might be able to turn the tide. Even with the Earth Alliance now fielding new mobile suits, my pilots are all combat veterans and could give the enemy pause even with older machines."

Heero saw Murrue nod. "I'm sure. The fact of the matter is that this war has decimated the Alliance pilot corps; there are very few veterans left in their ranks. However, thanks to their much larger population base, they never have problems finding new pilots to fill in the gap."

"And the Alliance is still fine-tuning its mobile suit tactics," said Waltfeld, "They're not yet used to fielding them on a large scale and haven't worked out appropriate doctrines and strategies to take full advantage of their new weapons. I know those are handicaps we've been able to exploit, and I have no doubt that Task Force 9.3 could do so as well, but even then the enemy's advantage in numbers would still be heavy… and Task Force 9.3 is not what it once was."

"Indeed," said Commander Bohuslav, bowing his head, "that is why I must ask for your help. We know that Orb sent the majority of its Coordinator population to the Eden and Elysium colonies just before the Earth Alliance launched its invasion of the home island. If Azrael's thugs manage to breach L3's defenses, those refugees will be slaughtered. Even if they do not swear loyalty to the PLANTs, they are still our people, and we will defend them!"

"Cagalli," said Heero, "How many refugees made it to the Eden and Elysium colonies?"

He saw Orb's tomboy princess close her eyes for a moment as she thought about Heero's question. When she opened them he could see that her usually fiery brown eyes were dark and grim. "About forty thousand are at Eden," she said, "and I think Elysium's hosting over fifty thousand. I know we sent both Naturals and Coordinators to the colonies, though the latter were the majority; most of our Natural refugees we sent to the Equatorial Union, the Central Asian republics, and Oceania. We managed to establish temporary housing for those that made it to the colonies, but I know they're still having problems with overcrowding. If there's an invasion, there's no way they'll all fit into the shelters; they'll be caught out in the open and slaughtered!"

"Yes," said Kisaka, "and I doubt it will really matter to the Alliance forces if the people they kill are Coordinators or Naturals. As far as they are concerned, Orb became the enemy the moment it refused to ally itself with them against ZAFT. Even if the Earth Alliance tries to take the colonies intact, it will still be a massacre not just for the Coordinator refugees but all of the inhabitants; the Alliance may take care to avoid damaging the habitats' industrial and agriculture capabilities, but they won't show the same discretion with areas reserved for civilian housing."

Bohuslav nodded. "While Orb may not be allied with ZAFT, it is ZAFTs mission to protect all Coordinators. I had implored my superiors to dispatch a fleet to intercept the Alliance force and destroy them before they could get underway, but they would hear none of it; ever since the Fall of Avalon, we've been on defensive posture. I could not sit by while another massacre was perpetuated while my military had the power to stop it and did nothing. Also, we did not undertake this mission just because of the large number of Coordinator refugees inside the Orb colonies, but to protect _all _of the civilians residing there. That is why my subordinates and I left ZAFT, and it is why I'm asking you for your help today. Task Force 9.3 has no chance of accomplishing its mission as it is now, but with you on our side we _can _save the colonies!"

Heero had to admire the man's commitment to protecting the innocent, regardless of their race. He turned to Murrue, and he saw the woman he loved smile and nod. Heero gave her a small smile and nod in return while gently squeezing her hand. Regardless of what else was said today, the two of them had already made up their minds as to what they would do.

_We'll save Eden and Elysium_, he thought, _No matter what the size of the enemy fleet that comes at them, we _will _beat it back._

They turned back to the rest of the meeting as Lacus began to speak. "Commander Bohuslav," she said, smiling, "On behalf of the entire Three Ships Alliance, I would like to offer our support in your endeavor. We will fight alongside your task force and defend the Orb colonies."

Bohuslav bowed his head. "Thank you, Miss Clyne."

"You are quite welcome, Commander," the songstress replied, "However, it is now I that must ask you for aide. I will not make this a precondition for our cooperation with you in this endeavor; you will have that regardless. Nevertheless…"

"You wish for us to join forces with you after the battle," the Commander finished for her, "and fight against both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. Am I correct?"

Lacus nodded. "Yes, Commander. I know it is your wish to protect your subordinates and avoid killing those soldiers still loyal to ZAFT, but the stakes in this war are too high for a force like yours to remain on the sidelines. Our mission is to bring an end to this conflict that does not involve the greatest acts of mass murder in human history, and we need all the help we can get if we're going to stop the Earth Alliance and ZAFT from carrying out those atrocities."

"As a practical matter, you know you can't sit out the rest of this war, Commander," said Bristow, "Even if we can ward off the Alliance's assault on L3, the Orb colonies will not be left alone for long. If the Earth Alliance wins this war they will return to L3 with a vengeance, and no one will be able to stop them. The same goes for ZAFT; Zala is as determined to wipe out the Naturals as Azrael is our people, and a few thousand Coordinator refugees inside Eden and Elysium won't stop the PLANT radicals from attacking the colonies once they've defeated the Alliance."

"The fires of this conflict have grown to the point that they will consume far more than just the Earth Alliance and ZAFT," said Murrue, "Every human life in the Earth Sphere is at risk, Commander Bohuslav. We _must _stop the extremists on both sides; the very survival of the human race is at stake!"

"Zala and Azrael have their respective camps gearing up for what might as well be the Battle of Armageddon," said Heero, determined to drive the point home to the rogue ZAFT officer, "The stances they've taken are absolute; there is either friend or foe as far as they are concerned, and no room for neutrality. That fanaticism is driving the two largest militaries in the history of the Cosmic Era towards their final campaign, and if we don't act it will become a firestorm that consumes _everyone_."

Heero saw Bohuslav close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them there was a resolute look in them, and the Gundam pilot knew that they had won him over.

"I suppose I knew it would come down to that," said the Commander, "Even a blind man could tell that both sides are in a mad dash towards the point of no return, and don't give a damn as to whether or not the fires of their hatred burn more than just the main targets of their wrath. Very well, Miss Clyne, Waltfeld. Once we've repelled the Alliance invasion force, we will join your cause; Task Force 9.3 will fight under your command."

There was a collective sigh of relief amongst the representatives of the three ships. For his part, Heero simply turned to Murrue, and the couple shared another small nod and smile. They now had the allies they had fought so hard to gain.

Turning back to the screen, he saw the others smile. "Thank you, Commander," said Lacus.

Bohuslav nodded. "You are welcome, Miss Clyne. I only hope we will be able to stop both sides from going over the brink."

"As do we all," said Waltfeld, "With your force fighting with us, our chances for success just got a little bit better."

"Speaking of fighting," said Bristow, "How do we repel the Alliance fleet from the Orb colonies?"

"That will be tricky," the Desert Tiger replied, "As you know, we're already inbound to L3, but we don't know how the Alliance will hit the colonies. They could divide their forces and strike Eden and Elysium simultaneously, or hit one at a time."

"I think it will be the latter," Murrue cut in, "Based on my experience with the Earth Alliance, I believe they would prefer to concentrate their overwhelming force against a single target rather than spread it out. Two carrier battle groups sounds like the kind of force they would send to invade a colony, especially given the upgrades Orb's made to the defense of its colonies since the attack on Heliopolis. With the deployment of the M1 Astrays and the Taurus mobile suits, Eden and Elysium are now essentially giant, immobile carriers. The Alliance is well aware that Orb has begun mass producing its own mobile suits, and they would want to be absolutely sure that they could conquer the colonies even with those new units being utilized in their defense."

"I agree with Captain Ramius," said Kisaka, "Based on our observations of the Alliance over the course of this war, a single, concentrated strike would fit their patter of behavior. It certainly was the case with regards to Orb; they hit us with the entirety of their Pacific Fleet, rather than dispatching elements to fight us and the ZAFT occupation forces at Panama or the East Asian Federation at the same time."

"The same also goes for their activity in the East," said Bristow, "They focused their entire Atlantic Fleet on the invasion of North Africa, diverting forces only to isolate Gibraltar. Their armies were spread across the continent, but the bulk of their forces converged on Lake Victoria for their strike at the spaceport."

"If this is the general consensus," said Lacus, "then what colony do we choose to defend?"

"Eden and Elysium are both flying long-range patrols with the Taurus mobile suits," said Kisaka, "When the Alliance makes their move we'll have enough notice to trace their vector and determine what colony they're targeting."

"We can take up position between the colonies," said Waltfeld, "That we can move to either one the moment we know which one the Earth Alliance has targeted."

"I'll contact Eden and Elysium," said Cagalli, "If they're on high alert before the attack starts they should have a better chance of holding out until we arrive."

"You should have them increase the range and frequency of their patrol flights as well," Heero suggested, "I know you guys couldn't build the Taurus to its original specs because of the N-Jammers, but even on batteries it still has good range. It's the best recon unit you could ask for."

Cagalli nodded. "I'll do that. Thanks, Heero."

"How soon can we get into position?" asked Murrue, "All three of our ships may be ready to go, but I know the vessels of Task Force 9.3 have all sustained damage. Commander, what's your state of readiness?"

"Mixed, Captain Ramius," replied Bohuslav, "We can repair some of the damage while underway, but none of our ships can go full throttle. We need a dry-dock to get our vessels back up to full operating status. From where we are now, I'd say it would take us around two days to reach L3."

"We'll just have to hope the Alliance doesn't launch its attack until then," said Waltfeld, "Commander, we'll stay with you the whole trip. Patch up what you can en route. Be ready to reorganize your formation; I'll send you your ship assignments before the day is out."

The Commander nodded. "Understood, Waltfeld."

"I think that's everything we needed to go over here," said Lacus.

Waltfeld nodded. "Captain Ramius, I want the _Archangel _to move to point for the rest of the trip to L3. Have your pilots rest up; they're going to need every bit of strength they have for the coming fight."

Murrue nodded. "Will do, Waltfeld."

"Alright, everyone," said the Desert Tiger, "I know we just wrapped up a big fight, but we're flying right into another one. Be ready for anything. Dismissed."

With that the screen went black. Heero, Murrue, and the others stood up and headed for the door.

"Well," said Shemei, "I didn't see that coming."

Bristow sighed as the door opened. "Same here. Damn, talk about being blindsided."

"It was inevitable," said Heero as the four of them left the room, causing the others to look at him, "There was no way Azrael would ignore a large, vulnerable population of Coordinators forever."

"Heero's right," said Murrue as she leaned against the corridor wall, "At least this way we have a heads up, and Orb has time to prepare its defenses."

"I'm surprised the Alliance waited this long," said Shemei as she and her lover took up position against the opposite wall while Heero joined his lover, "Why didn't they move against the colonies immediately after the invasion of Orb?"

"If I had to guess," Bristow replied, "I'd say two factors played a role. The first would be them consolidating power over the rest of the planet; a process that is still ongoing, I might add. The second would be the buildup for their inevitable final confrontation with the Zala regime."

"The latter is an ongoing process as well," said Murrue, her eyes narrowing, "Why would the Alliance divert resources to go after L3 now?"

"Pride and hatred," said Heero grimly.

"Ok, I'm a little lost," said Shemei, raising her right hand, "I get the second one, but not the first. What's pride got to do with the Alliance suddenly targeting L3?"

"Orb's wounded the Alliance's pride, or more particularly that of Azrael and the High Command, far too much for them to handle," Heero replied, "Think about it. The Alliance may have conquered the Orb homeland, but they took one hell of a beating in the process."

"Thanks in no small part to you, Heero," said Bristow, "Were it not for your presence, I imagine the invasion of Orb would've gone much smoother for the Alliance."

"Perhaps," said the Gundam pilot, "but that's beside the point. Look at it this way; a tiny, though very well armed, island nation stood against the dominant power on Earth. The Alliance may have won out in the end, but they paid a steep price for it, and that may be almost as bad as loosing for them, especially since they didn't get the Kaguya mass driver, one of the key objectives of their invasion."

"They were humiliated," said Murrue, nodding, "but if that's what's driving them to go after Eden and Elysium now, why wouldn't it have driven them to attack the colonies sooner? Even back then the Alliance space fleet was still more than large enough to conquer L3, even with its standoff with ZAFT."

Heero, Murrue, and Shemei were taken aback by Bristow suddenly slapping himself on the forehead. "Because of what happened at L4…" he said, "Shit, I should've thought of that earlier!"

"Thought of what?" asked Shemei, putting her hand on her lover's shoulder, "Eric, what's up?"

"Azrael personally lead the fleet that attacked Orb," said Bristow, "and he did the same with the battle group that we fought at L4."

Heero nodded. "Exactly, and both times he failed his objective. At Orb, even though he conquered the country, his fleet was bloodied and the Kaguya mass driver was destroyed. At L4, his goal was to destroy the _Archangel _because it had betrayed the Alliance, but he was defeated. Not only that, but his entire battle group except for the _Dominion _was destroyed, and his prized flagship was mauled during the fighting."

"But you were responsible for crippling the _Dominion_, not the Orb forces," said Murrue.

"Not directly," said Heero, "but you know that I couldn't have pulled off that attack if the _Kusanagi _and the rest of her M1s hadn't been able to engage the rest of the Alliance force when they did. Orb's now had a hand in two major embarrassments for the Alliance, and Azrael wants to make them pay. The fact that the Eden and Elysium colonies are now packed full of refugees, many of them Coordinators, is a bonus for him."

"Exactly," said Bristow, "We should've seen this coming. If nothing else, Azrael is a petty, vengeful bastard."

"Something he's got in common with Zala," Shemei deadpanned, "They'd probably kill themselves out of horror if they knew that."

"Were it so easy…" muttered Heero, shaking his head.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," said Murrue, and Heero admired how firm and resolute her voice was, "We know now that the Alliance is targeting the L3 colonies, and it's our job to stop them. There's no point in recriminating right now over how we didn't see this coming; we can worry about that after we've saved Eden and Elysium."

Heero nodded and reached over to grab his lover's hand. "Well said, Murrue."

Bristow and Shemei nodded as well. "You're right," said the Valkyrie, smiling, "and we need to make sure we're ready when the time comes to fight."

"We'll head back to the hangar and see to our machines," said Bristow, "We'll be ready to go on your orders, Captain Ramius."

As the Valkyrie and the Wolf of the Far East left, Heero turned to Murrue. "I should go down too," he said, "I need to run maintenance checks on Wing Zero and make sure it's ready to go when the battle begins."

Murrue nodded and smiled. "Alright. I need to get to the bridge and inform the others about our next move. Don't work too hard, ok? You just got done with another fierce battle; take a little time to rest."

"I'll rest when you do, Murrue," Heero replied, "and not a second sooner."

Murrue shook her head, but she was still smiling. "You really are stubborn sometimes, you know that?"

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile in return. "I know. It's a Gundam pilot thing."

"And a 'you' thing," said Murrue, giggling as she leaned in to kiss him, "and I love you for it. I'll see you later, Heero."

"Roger that, Murrue," he replied.

….

Pixy leaned against the wall of the corridor, glancing anxiously towards the door to the _Kerimov_'s medical bay. _Damn, I hate this_, he thought, _I know the guy was calm about it, but still, that wound looked serious. Shit… hang in there, buddy._

It had been over an hour since the Galm Team had returned to the destroyer. The vessel was now well underway, returning to PLANT space at full speed. Galm Two had survived more than enough fights to know that he was in the middle of an adrenaline let-down, but his concern over his flight lead's condition was keeping him from heading back to his quarters and hitting the hay.

Pixy had been amazed that, upon their arrival to the _Kerimov _and leaving their mobile suits, Cipher had completely refused the gurney the medical team had brought out. He'd insisted on going to the infirmary under his own power, stopping only to allow the medics to wrap the left side of his face in bandages to temporarily stop the bleeding.

_The guy loses a frickin eye, but he's still acting like his usual self_, thought Pixy, _Totally unfazed. That had to hurt like hell… damn, I wish I had that kind of control. Sometimes I swear Cipher's got liquid nitrogen running through his veins; I've never seen a cooler customer._

Galm Two wasn't a fool; he knew that any warrior of his or Cipher's caliber would put up a tough front no matter how bad the injury was. That didn't stop the mercenary from being any less impressed by his flight lead's composure. Other than the initial reaction he'd heard over the radio, Cipher had not commented on his wound at all, though Pixy had seen him grimacing as he'd exited his mobile suit.

The door to the medical bay hissed open, nearly causing Pixy to jump. Out of it walked a young woman with mid-length blonde hair, light blue eyes, pale skin, and a lithe body with a modest bosom. "Hey, Kelsey," said Pixy, familiar with the lady, who was one of the assistants to the ship's chief medical officer, "How's he doing?"

The girl shook her head, and for a moment Galm Two feared that things had gone from bad to worse, but then she smirked at him. "Your flight lead's one stubborn bastard; he's completely refusing the painkillers. I was hoping you might talk some sense into him."

Pixy sighed in relief; if that was the worst problem, then things were alright. "Sorry, sweetheart," he said, giving the young woman his trademark chuckle and smirk, "but that's not gonna happen. Cipher hates anything that dulls his senses; it'd have to be major surgery for him to even consider painkillers… which means that if he's refusing, then things aren't that bad."

"From a certain point of view," Kelsey replied, "Yes, his wound is not life threatening and has been properly treated, but he did lose _a freaking eye_, Pixy. Most men would be whining like pussies from a hit like that, begging for the drugs; your flight lead's a freak of nature."

"Tell me something I don't know," Pixy shot back, "So, he's doing ok?"

"Yes," said Kelsey, "though he will require additional treatment, the worst is over. Now, could you please go talk him into letting us give him the good stuff?"

"I'll talk to him," Pixy replied, "but forget the painkillers, sweetheart; I already know the answer he'll give me."

"Then tell him the follow up treatments will be hell to pay without them," Kelsey deadpanned, "Maybe that will motivate him."

"I highly doubt that," said Pixy, motioning towards the doorway, "Ladies first."

"If you weren't a gentleman, I think I'd have smacked you by now," said the girl as she walked into the infirmary.

Pixy smirked. "You wouldn't be the first."

"That I don't doubt a bit," Kelsey replied, winking at Galm Two as she led him over to his flight lead.

Moving towards Galm One, Pixy saw that, other than fresh bandages, his partner didn't look that much different from when he had first gotten out of his mobile suit. "Yo, buddy," said Galm Two, waiving as he came up to his flight lead, "A little sparrow tells me you're being a real pain in the ass."

"Call me 'sparrow' again and it will be my foot up yours, Pixy," Kelsey shot back as she sat down at a nearby desk to check something on a monitor.

"I'm loving that bedside manner, sweetheart," Pixy quipped playfully, "Are you like this with all visitors here?"

The young woman chuckled and gave Galm Two a wink. "Just the cute mercenary flyboys."

"Get a room, you two," Cipher muttered.

"Yeah, no," Pixy replied, smiling as he turned back to his flight lead, "I had that thing with Amelia back in the capital, remember?"

"I thought that was just a one-nighter," said Cipher.

"One hell of a night, more like," said Pixy, "I'm holding out for a repeat performance." He glanced back at Kelsey. "Sorry, sweetheart."

"Oh, please," said Kelsey, shaking her head before looking past Pixy and smiling, "You're flight lead's _way _more my type, stubbornness aside."

Pixy chuckled before smirking at his flight lead. "Well, you heard her, buddy. She threw that right across the plate; you gonna take a swing?"

Much to his surprise, Pixy saw Cipher actually take a long, serious look at Kelsey with his good eye. Galm Two was equally taken aback to see the normally confident and witty medical assistant actually flush a bit at his stare, and she gave Galm One a small, shy smile.

Cipher then gave Kelsey a small nod. "Sometime… perhaps. I would not mind your company."

"Well, then…" said the young woman, her voice a little shaky, "I'll… I'll have to give you my number later."

Cipher then turned back to Pixy. "Save the worries; I'm alright. It's not as bad as it looks."

Pixy shook his head in amusement. "You _would _say that. What next, you gonna say you have a spare eye anyway?"

Cipher shrugged. "Something along those lines. It'll take a little time to adjust, but I'll make do just fine with the right one."

"Well," said Pixy, "at least you'll be able to rock the eye-patch look. I hear some girls dig that."

He glanced over at Kelsey again and winked. The girl smiled as she looked at Cipher. "Not gonna lie," she said, "I think you could pull it off, Cipher."

Cipher shrugged. "We'll see. In the meanwhile, I've got more important things to worry about than appearances." He turned to Pixy. "What's our status?"

"The _Kerimov_'s heading back to the PLANTs at full speed," said Pixy, "We picked up four stragglers from the fight, and other ships are inbound to recover the other mobile suits. We passed up the only two frigates to survive the battle a little while ago; they're limping home."

"Talk about a Charlie Foxtrot," said Cipher, "Zala won't be pleased when he hears how badly his navy got thrashed."

"No kidding," Pixy replied, "and by Wing Zero and the Judgment to boot… that's just gonna be salt in the wound for him."

Cipher chuckled. "I wonder who he hates more; the Demon that came out of nowhere, or the Valkyrie that betrayed him?"

"My money's on Heero Yuy," said Pixy, smirking, "If there's one thing that guy knows how to do, it's utterly humiliate our _illustrious_ Supreme Council Chairman."

Cipher nodded. "Speaking of Heero Yuy, what did you think?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Pixy replied, "We've never faced an opponent like that before."

Cipher closes his good eye for a moment. "Yeah…" When he opened it, Pixy saw something new in that steely blue-gray gem, a light that Galm Two had seen only a few times over the course of their partnership. Looking at it, the mercenary pilot felt a jolt run through him as he realized what it was; _excitement_.

"He was _incredible_," said Cipher softly, "His moves, his timing, his accuracy, and that's not even counting his machine… _damn_, what a fight."

Pixy nodded. Though he wasn't quite as driven as his flight lead to find an opponent that could push them to the limit, he could not deny that it had certainly been a thrill to finally encounter an enemy that could actually compete with them without simply relying on superior numbers like the Earth Alliance forces had done in their past battles.

Galm Two gave his partner a small smile. "I've never seen anyone fight like that. It was one thing to watch the recordings from the raid on the capital, but to go head-to-head with him… holy _shit_."

Cipher chuckled. "My thoughts exactly. He won't go down easy."

"Can we even do it?" asked Pixy, shuddering, "His skills combined with his mobile suit… I've never seen a deadlier combination. I don't like to whine about being limited by our machines, but…"

"The GuAIZ Lancer and Archer cannot stand against him," Cipher finished for him, "Hell, we barely managed to survive that round. Were it not for Arthur Team, we would have fallen."

Pixy closed his eyes for a moment in silent tribute to the dead. When he opened them he turned to his flight lead. "We need nuclear powered machines," he said, "The Lancer and Archer are solid units, but they just can't compete with a beast like Wing Zero, no matter how great our skills."

"I'll talk to Zala about that when I get the chance," Cipher replied, "Considering we're the only team he has that's proven they can survive a fight with Wing Zero, I'm sure he'll see it as in his interest to give us the technology we need to combat his greatest adversary."

"Sure that's not an overstatement?" asked Pixy, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I agree that Wing Zero's one hell of a threat, but I'm pretty sure that priority number one is still defeating the Earth Alliance. They do want to exterminate us, after all, and I don't think genocide is on Heero Yuy's agenda."

"I know that," said Cipher, "What I meant was that he's more unpredictable than the Earth Alliance, and the same goes for his allies. Couple that with the fact that Wing Zero has the firepower to destroy structures like the Avalon battle-station, and you have the ultimate wild card in this war. He has been that since the moment he appeared on the scene back in February."

Pixy nodded. "You're right there. Makes you wonder where he's from, doesn't it? I mean, let's face it; if Wing Zero really had been built by the Alliance, they would've fielded more units like it by now, especially since they now have the ability to mass produce mobile suits that Naturals can use and Heero has turned against them."

"Yeah," said Cipher, "I know Zala was eager to play up the idea that Wing Zero was the result of collaboration between Orb and the Alliance just like the legged ship and its mobile suits, but I always had a hard time buying that line. Recent events just put further doubt on the whole idea. If Orb had a hand in its construction, I'm pretty damn sure they would've built other units like it and fielded them against the Earth Alliance during the invasion of their country. As for the Alliance… well, they'd probably be using them to launch hit-and-run strikes against our colonies."

"No kidding," said Pixy, "The firepower to wipe out one colony in a single shot, and it's not affected by the N-Jammers? No way in hell the Alliance wouldn't have fielded more units like it by now if they could. Wherever Wing Zero came from, it sure as hell wasn't them or Orb."

"Wherever it's from, I doubt that's a mystery you two will be solving any time soon," Kelsey chimed in, causing the mercenaries to look at her. She smiled and shrugged. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that you guys are smarter than most of the pilots I've dealt with, but you're just that; pilots. You're not Military Intelligence or Secret Service, and those are the people I hear that you're supposed to leave this kind of work to. So stop worrying about stuff outside your field of expertise and focus on what you need to be."

Pixy and Cipher traded a glance before looking at Kelsey again. "And that is?" asked Cipher.

"Staying alive," she replied, smirking, "What would I do for entertaining conversation without you two?"

Pixy was surprised to see Cipher smirk as well. "She does have a point."

Pixy had to chuckle at that. Since the first day the two mercenaries had come aboard the _Kerimov_, she'd been an almost constant presence whenever they went for meals. She'd been friendly in her approach and had made Cipher and Pixy feel welcome aboard the ship… and she'd been one of the few soldiers serving on the _Kerimov _to do that.

_I know it's traditional_, he thought, _soldiers who fight under a nation's flag view mercenaries like us with, at the very least, distrust. Our skill level can only win us so much respect, and it's not enough to bridge the fundamental trust gap. I understand that, even accept it… but that doesn't mean I have to like it._

Kelsey hadn't given Cipher and Pix the usual cold-shoulder that the ZAFT regulars tended to give the Galm Team. Though more than a little sarcastic, the quick-witted, confident, and downright tomboyish medical assistant had welcomed them with open arms, and had definitely become one of the mercenary duo's few real friends in the armed forces.

Pixy nodded. "We'll try. No promises though; you know who we're up against."

"That fight's over for now," said Kelsey, "and you don't know who Zala will send you against next time. So focus on resting up… and in your case, Cipher, recovering." She smiled at Galm One. "I can't have you dying on me before you take me out for drinks."

Cipher nodded. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that; with the shape our machines are in right now, there's no way we'll be able to fly combat missions any time soon. Besides, Pixy said we're headed for the PLANTs right now; I doubt we'll run into Wing Zero at L5."

"Yeah," said Pixy, "I'm pretty sure that bit with Avalon was a one-time deal for Wing Zero and the renegades… though you never know what might bring them back."

"Please don't jinx us," said Kelsey, "I'd really rather avoid another fight with the Demon Lord of Avalon if I can, especially since I'm sitting on a big target; warships don't exactly fare well against Wing Zero."

"We won't let him take out the _Kerimov_," said Cipher, and Pixy noted the serious intensity in his voice, "That, you can count on."

Kelsey nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Cipher. Just make sure you don't let him take _you _out… and try to keep Pixy alive if you can."

Both mercenaries had to chuckle at her end note. "No promises," said Cipher, "but I'll do what I can."

"Can't really make any guarantees," said Pixy, "You know who we're up against."

"I know," Kelsey replied, "and I'd rather stop thinking about that for now, if it's all the same to you."

"She's right," said Cipher, "Let's drop it for now."

Pixy nodded. "Alright."

_Like it's that easy_, he thought as he looked at his flight lead, _You might fool her, buddy, but not me; Wing Zero's not leaving your mind anytime soon._

Of course, Galm Two could hardly blame Galm One for that. To a pair of mercenary aces who had gone the whole war up until now without a serious challenge from a single pilot to fighting one that could actually _defeat _them when it was outnumbered by them… well, it had certainly left an impression.

_Too bad the Valkyrie Team defected_, mused Pixy, _It would've been nice to at least compare notes with them. I know Field Marshal Creuset fought Heero Yuy during the orbital battle with the 8__th__ Fleet, but we haven't crossed paths with him in a long time, and even if we were to meet him in the PLANTs I doubt he'll be forthcoming about his little duel; he plays things close to the vest._

Galm Two smiled, knowing that their mobile suits' cameras and sensors had captured every moment of the fight with Wing Zero, giving them plenty of material to go over. They would study every second of it, learn from their mistakes…

…and when the time came to fight the Demon Lord of Avalon again, they would be ready.

….

Sitting at his station in the vast central control room of the Ptolemaeus lunar base, Azrael smiled as he watched the image on one of the main monitors. On display were two squadrons of warships, each composed of two _Nelson_-class battleships and six _Drake_-class escort ships, running through training maneuvers. It wasn't something that Azrael would normally take the time to watch, but what made it worthy of his attention was the fact that both squadrons were also fielding flight teams composed completely of the new Strike-Dagger mobile suits; there was not a mobile armor to be found among them.

_It will still be quite some time before we can completely retire the Moebius units_, he thought, _but we've certainly made progress. Ah, Coordinators, how does it feel to know that we've turned your greatest weapons against you? Our mobile suits are superior to yours, just as Naturals are superior to Coordinators… how very fitting._

As satisfying as it was to watch Natural-piloted mobile suits flying above the base with their warships, Azrael was not observing them just for the sake of evaluating them or inflating his ego, though the latter was undeniably a side-effect. The head of Blue Cosmos and _de facto _ruler of the Earth Alliance was simply killing time, waiting for the moment that he was scheduled to make a very important call.

_Our buildup for the attack on the Orb colonies has proceeded very smoothly_, he thought, _We just have a few more details to iron out before the invasion begins. This call should go a long way towards that. After all, I already practically own those two men…_

There was a small chime from his personal monitor; it was time. Azrael chuckled as he entered the necessary commands on his keyboard. "Time to go to work," he muttered.

He tapped his finger on the arm of his chair for a few minutes, stirring impatiently as he waited for the connection to be established. Eventually it was, and two men appeared on the screen. One was significantly older than the other, in his late forties and already balding, with what was left of his black-gray hair running along the sides of his head and down in very long sideburns. His eyes were covered orange-tinted glasses, but Azrael could still make out his black irises. The second man was much younger, no older than twenty. Azrael was amused at his purple-black hair, not sure what kind of look the young man was going for. Both men wore maroon suits with light blue shirts, and anyone looking at them could tell that they were clearly members of the upper class, though it would require knowledge of politics to know that they were in fact members of Orb's ruling elite.

Both noblemen nodded at him. "Lord Azrael," said the elder, "it is good to speak with you again. My apologies for our recent lapse in communications."

"Indeed," Azrael replied, "We haven't spoken since the fall of Orb… when I found out that you had been moved to Elysium and that you would be of no help in dealing with that stubborn old fool, Uzumi."

"There was nothing we could do about that," said the younger man, "We were relocated a week before the battle started, and under false pretenses!"

"Lord Uzumi," said the elder, "informed us that we were to inspect the orbital Morgenroete facilities remaining at L3, and to reassure the people of the Eden and Elysium colonies that they would be protected. We didn't realize his true intent until it was too late, and by then we could not contact you; Athha family dogs had us under near-constant surveillance."

"Yet you are able to speak with me now," Azrael replied, smirking, "What changed, Lord Unato Ema Seiran?"

The head of the Seiran noble family smiled. "Ever since the homeland fell, the situation here in the colonies has been shifting. The bulk of the military is still loyal to Lady Cagalli, and she enjoys strong popular support, but we've been able to exert more influence now than in the past. It was only recently that we were finally able to remove the surveillance Lord Uzumi placed upon us."

"We've made great strides in the public arena," said the younger man, "to show that we are responsibly governing our colonies despite the loss of our homeland. Even with the influx of refugees we've still been able to provide our people with adequate resources, and we've established enough 'trust funds' with members of the security apparatus to finally cast off the observation that old man had us under."

Azrael chuckled. "Your son's truly coming into his own as a politician, Lord Unato. You must be so proud."

Unato nodded. "I am, but this is hardly the time for praise. We received a transmission from the _Kusanagi _earlier today; we know you're coming for the Eden and Elysium colonies."

"In that case, I'll dispense with the pleasantries," said Azrael, "I've committed two carrier battle groups already, and smaller flotillas are en route to join them. The assault will begin soon, and I want your help. I can assure you that this will be a mutually profitable arrangement."

"I don't know what we can do," said Yuna Roma Seiran, "Even though we're nobles, we don't have control over the military; those brutes are only taking orders from Cagalli and Kisaka, and both have told them to increase our defenses!"

Azrael scowled. "I may have to withdraw my earlier praise, boy. Whining won't get you far in this world, and it's certainly not befitting of a member of the ruling elite."

"Yuna," said Unato, "Let me handle this."

The younger Seiran folded his arms, looking more like a petulant child than a nobleman.

_Not one of my favorite pawns_, thought Azrael,_ but I use the tools that are available to me, and in this case the Seirans are ideally placed tools._

The relationship between the heads of the Seiran family and Azrael was a mixture of economics and ideology. Over the course of several years, Unato had invested no small amount of his private wealth into holdings in North American Heavy Engineering, one of the Atlantic Federation's major industrial corporation whose activities included both civilian and military contracts. However, his share in the company paled in comparison to the holdings of Azrael and his colleague Lord Djibril, and the head of Blue Cosmos had swiftly turned the tables on the Orb nobleman by buying up shares of several smaller corporate entities that had ties of one form or another to the Seiran family. Azrael had stopped just short of pushing out Unato in all cases as majority shareholder, and the Orb nobleman knew it had been done as a shot across the bow; if Azrael had wanted to completely buy him out, he could do so in a heartbeat. It was a game of business brinksmanship that Unato had eventually realized he ultimately could not win; the resources of Azrael far trumped his own. In order to preserve his holdings and advance his influence in Orb and potentially the Atlantic Federation, Unato entered into an alliance with Azrael, though of course the arrangement had been under the table.

It was through their backroom meetings and highly encrypted communications that the two men had realized that they had something else in common besides the desire to accumulate wealth and power; an intense dislike of Coordinators. Azrael knew that Unato's distrust and disdain for the genetic freaks could not quite match his own, but that did not trouble him; what mattered was that the Orb nobleman and his son saw the new race of humanity as a threat to the rightful dominion of Natural humans, and it was through that common ground that a mutually beneficial alliance had come to fruition.

In order to coax Unato and the rest of the Seiran elite into an arrangement, Azrael had sent funds through shell companies and other buffer entities into the coffers of the noble family. Along with this direct bribery, both Azrael and Lord Djibril had offered Unato and other members of the family that were in on the arrangement key information regarding some of the Atlantic Federation corporations that the Orb nobleman and the secret rulers of the Earth Alliance both held stock in. This gave them a considerable edge over other traders on the market, though of course that kind of insider trading was highly illegal.

Azrael was not concerned about those dealings being found out though; with entities such as the CIA, NSA, FBI, and SEC so thoroughly packed with members of Blue Cosmos or its sympathizers it was quite easy for him to divert attention from his under the table activities. Even if someone did decide to shed light on what was going on, there was little to fear; Blue Cosmos, and by extension LOGOS, had thoroughly invested funds and other means of influence into key members of the Atlantic Federation judiciary.

The Seirans had multiple uses to Azrael. As one of the senior noble families they were ideally placed to advance certain agendas in both foreign and domestic policy in Orb, though the close ties of the Athha family to the military had hampered them on both fronts, especially due to the current state of the Earth Sphere and the considerably raised prominence of the armed forces as a result. Another way the Seirans served Azrael's agenda was as sources of information, though that function had become limited as well recently due to the shrewd mind of the late Lord Uzumi and the way the Orb military compartmentalized their intelligence.

Azrael knew that the Seirans had been out of the loop for most of the past few months, but with the death of Lord Uzumi, the fall of the Orb homeland, and the general disarray that the nations remnants were in, the nobles had slowly but surely begun to reassert the power that the head family had once marginalized. Their relocation to the Elysium colony would serve Azrael very well, since he knew that lesser members of the Seiran family held positions as administrators and bureaucrats within the orbital habitat.

"Forgive his outburst, Lord Azrael," said Unato, and Azrael could see the sweat gathering at the man's brow, "however, he is correct in that we do not command the respect or loyalty of our country's surviving armed forces; that unfortunately is indeed in the hands of Cagalli and the senior officers on board the _Kusanagi_."

"That's fine," Azrael replied, "There are other things you can do to make the coming occupation easier for both yourselves and our troops."

"Like what?" asked Unato.

"Regarding the influx of refugees from the homeland," said Azrael, "Have you been thorough in processing them?"

Unato nodded. "As much as we can under the circumstances. Most had proper identification, though the sheer numbers have put a strain on our resources."

Azrael smirked. "Well then, it is quite fortunate for you that I will be able to relieve you of that strain soon enough."

"How so?" asked Unato, his eyes narrowing.

"Don't play dumb, Lord Unato," said Azrael, "It's common knowledge that the majority of the refugees your colonies are currently hosting are Coordinators… and you know our stance on that matter."

Unato nodded, sweat gathering at his brow. "Of course, but how you go about enacting your… policy… at Eden and Elysium is another matter. I can't see this arrangement of ours helping us if you destroy the colonies."

Azrael smiled and shook his head. "Lord Unato, I never said anything about destroying your colonies. Indeed, that is the last thing on my mind. However, my plans do involve ridding you of your current infestation, and your assistance in the matter would be greatly appreciated."

"In what manner?" asked Unato.

"Your authority over the colonies, for starters," said Azrael, "With the power I wield, it would be a simple matter once the fighting is over to remove the other noble families entirely; Orb would belong entirely to the Seirans. I know your family has long desired to supplant the Athha clan as rulers of your nation. Cooperate here, Lord Unato, and I will make it a reality."

Both Orb noblemen smiled at Azrael's words; the sweet nectar of absolute dominion over their country was impossible for them to resist. "And what would you require in return for this, Lord Azrael?" asked Unato.

"With the massive amount of refugees in your colonies," said Azrael, "there's no way you could possibly fit everyone into the emergency shelters, correct?"

Unato nodded. "Yes. As it is, they barely fit the standard population of either colony. We could only squeeze in a small fraction of the refugees."

"As I thought," said Azrael, "That will make this much easier."

"What do you mean?" asked Yuna.

"When the attack begins," said Azrael, "it will be at Elysium; our entire force will be concentrated on that colony. I want you to focus your emergency response efforts on the primary citizens, while the refugees are left to fend for themselves. Do you understand?"

Both men nodded. "Yes," said Unato.

"Good," replied Azrael, "Once my forces have entered the colony, they'll purge the Coordinators. Of course, you'll have to deploy your internal security forces to defend them, but since all of your mobile suits will be fighting outside the colony all you'll have to protect them with will be your older armaments."

"I get it," said Yuna, smiling, "We put on a show of protecting them so our people don't realize that we deliberately left the Coordinators out to be killed by you."

"Precisely," said Azrael, smiling as well, "after all, your citizens don't share our dedication to solving the Coordinator problem; if they believed you simply let us gun those freaks down, they'd rebel against your rule. This way you can convince them that you did all you could to protect the refugees, and that your forces were simply overwhelmed. To make this easier, I will need you to send me the primary locations for the refugee housing so my forces can immediately converge on those points rather than scour the colony trying to pinpoint them. Once the majority of the refugees have been dealt with, you will be offered our terms of surrender. Since they leave you with authority over the colony and the other one provided you cooperate with the Atlantic Federation in all our future endeavors, you would be wise to accept the terms."

"I would accept those terms," said Unato, "but Lady Cagalli never would, and she and the rest of her allies are underway to L3 as we speak. That's not the only problem. I can only give the surrender for the Elysium colony; Eden is not under Seiran control."

"No, it is not," Azrael replied, "but word of your surrender should help things considerably. After the battle is concluded you can contact Eden and inform them that if they comply with the surrender agreement the Orb colonies will still retain considerably autonomy as long as they cooperate with the war effort. Given the power we will be sending against Elysium, I'm sure they will take the message quite seriously and decided in our favor."

"That still leaves the _Kusanagi _and the other ships," said Yuna, "not to mention Wing Zero. What do we do about them?"

"Yuna is right," said Unato, "Between those warships and that machine's firepower, they could throw a serious wrench in this plan, Lord Azrael."

Azrael smirked. "Have a little faith, Lord Unato. I have something special in store for those traitors. Aside from that, the force they'll be confronting is over twice as powerful as the battle group that fought against them at L4; they'll be outmatched. While I'm certainly expecting my forces to take losses against them, our triumph is inevitable. Orb will be yours, and together we will be one step closer to ridding the Earth Sphere of the Coordinator menace once and for all."

Unato nodded. "Very well, Lord Azrael. I will send you an updated map of the colony with all the refugee housing areas marked. Is there anything else you require?"

"Just one thing," said Azrael, "I want you to compile a genetic registry of every citizen living in the Eden and Elysium colonies."

"You plan to purge the citizenry of the colonies along with the refugees?" asked Yuna.

"Just the Coordinators among them," Azrael replied, smiling, "and only after both colonies have accepted the surrender agreement. I'll be sending special task groups to oversee the operation, and I'm expecting the full cooperation of both colonies' internal security forces."

"I'll begin screening the ranks," said Unato, "I'm sure we have officers that are sympathetic to your aims; I'll have them serve as liaisons between your forces and ours."

"Excellent," said Azrael, "I'm sure our forces will work together effectively once the battle is over."

Unato nodded. "Once we have control over the colonies and the outlying resource satellites, everything at Orb's disposal will be pressed into service of the Alliance war effort. I know our resources pale in comparison to yours, Lord Azrael, but our agricultural and industrial facilities will still be of use to you."

Azrael smiled again. "Of course, Lord Unato. Every little bit helps. I understand that Orb has a new mobile suit for warfare in outer space; I can't wait to have my scientists examine one upon the conclusion of the operation. It's too bad you haven't been able to send me the schematics; it would save time and work."

"My apologies," said Unato, "but Morgenroete and the military are keeping the plans for the Taurus to themselves; Lady Cagalli's influence at hand, no doubt."

"No matter," said Azrael, "that problem will be resolved soon enough."

"About that," Yuna chimed in, "You don't have to kill Cagalli, do you? Surely capturing her would be enough."

Azrael scowled. "Are you questioning me, boy? I'm about to back your family's ascent to power; you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you."

"Forgive him, my lord," said Unato, elbowing his son, "Pay it no mind."

"But father!" cried Yuna, "I thought that…"

Unato cut him off. "That arrangement was for peacetime, and a few years down the road. Thanks to Lord Azrael, we no longer have a need for it. Keeping Lady Cagalli alive under these circumstances will not help us gain power over Orb, Yuna; she must be sacrificed."

Azrael raised an eyebrow. "What 'arrangement' are you referring to, Lord Unato?"

Unato shook his head. "It's inter-family politics, Lord Azrael, and as of this agreement between us it is now completely irrelevant."

Azrael shrugged. "Very well, I'll take your word for it."

Unato nodded. "In that case, we eagerly await the arrival of your fleet."

"Yes," said Yuna, smiling, "and to bringing an end to the Coordinator threat."

Azrael grinned. "If I had a drink on hand, I'd raise my glass to that. I'll be sure to come visit you in Elysium before our final offensive against the Coordinators; we'll have ourselves a toast then. Until next time, gentlemen. Do try to keep a low profile until we've secured your hold on power."

"Understood, Lord Azrael," said Unato. With that, the Orb noblemen vanished from the screen.

Azrael turned back to the main display, once again watching the two squadrons and their mobile suits conduct their exercises. He continued to smile as he did so, quite satisfied with what he had just done. Thanks to the Seirans, the coming slaughter of the Orb Coordinators would be quick and efficient, and L3 would be under the control of the Earth Alliance in all but name.

For a man hell bent on conquering the Earth Sphere and exterminating the Coordinator race, it was a good day's work.

….

His expression frigid and hard, Atlantic Federation Rear Admiral Jeffrey Rogers floated through the corridors of his flagship, the _Agamemnon_-class carrier _Reagan_. Well into his fifties, the veteran fleet officer still cut an imposing figure thanks to a vigorous and disciplined workout routine. He was tall and fit, with the only real signs of his age being his gray-black hair and some wrinkles in his face. The Rear Admiral was clean-shaven, all the better to give prominence to his sharp jaw, and his pale blue eyes were colder than an Antarctic gale.

Rogers was a lifelong navy man. He may have gotten into the prestigious Atlantic Federation Naval Academy in Annapolis in part due to family connections, but he had gone through its courses and his subsequent career on his own merits. His active duty service had begun in the surface navy, but eventually he had been moved to the orbital fleets due to the need for veteran officers in the growing space forces. Rogers hadn't made huge impacts in terms of tactical or strategic innovation, but his stern, by-the-book attitude and solid composure under stress had ensured his steady rise in the ranks. It was thanks to the combination of his discipline under fire and simple attrition that he'd ascended to the rank of Rear Admiral roughly six months into the war, and he had remained at that level since then. He'd commanded battle groups in numerous engagements and operations, with the only constant in all those being his flagship, the _Reagan_.

While his politics had been neutral at the start of the war, concerned only with the state of the armed forces and the navy in particular, the constant stream of casualties and the frustrating lack of decisive victories for the Earth Alliance had slowly but surely cemented a fierce hatred of the people he fought against. While this may not have been out of the ordinary under wartime circumstances, the animosity of Rear Admiral Rogers extended well past the armed forces of the PLANTs; the entire Coordinator race was the subject of his hatred. In Rogers' mind the 'Coordinator problem', as it had been termed by Blue Cosmos and its sympathizers, could only be solved through ruthlessness and tenacity. To the battle-hardened fleet officer, the only way he saw to achieve true victory in this conflict was through total war, and the only acceptable outcomes were either the subjugation or complete annihilation of the Coordinators. Peaceful coexistence was no longer an option; the Coordinators would be enslaved in all but name, or they would be destroyed.

He came to a stop outside the ship's medical bay. Pressing a button on the small console next to the door, he spoke into the receiver. "Dr. Patterson; it's Rogers."

"Just a second," came the reply.

A moment later the door slid open, revealing the elderly Dr. Charles Patterson, the _Reagan_'s chief medical officer. Shorter and frailer than the Rear Admiral, Patterson had to look up to meet the gaze of his commanding officer. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Those… _pilots _that were sent over from the Lodonia facility," he said, scowling, "I need a status report."

The doctor nodded. "Please," he said, stepping to the side, "come in."

Rogers did so, and as the door closed behind him he caught sight of the reason he had come here; ten teenagers, their ages ranging from thirteen to sixteen, lying strapped to beds, unconscious.

The fearsome Rear Admiral could not help but feel a sense of disgust as he looked at the sleeping youths. For a decent human being, such disgust would normally be directed at the organization that had abducted them and forced them to become soldiers, but that was not the reason for Rogers' feelings. Rather, the disgust was aimed squarely at the subjects themselves, along with the other ten that were on board the second carrier in the fleet that would soon be invading L3, the _Perry_.

_They're no longer human_, he thought, _Augmented _things_, neither Natural or Coordinator. Freaks apart, abominations on par with our enemy, and yet we need them to fight that enemy. What a despicable situation. _

"Will they be ready for battle?" he asked as he turned to the doctor, "The time to launch our operation is coming soon."

"Oh, yes," Dr. Patterson replied, "The drug that counteracts the sedative requires mere minutes to take effect."

Heavy sedatives were required with this latest batch of Biological CPUs due to the extent of their augmentation. The particular drug cocktails they'd been given were more powerful variants of the chemicals given to the three young men that had fought at Orb and L4, and they were each tailored to the individual's genetic and physiological makeup. As a result, their reflexes and mental speed were on par with Coordinators, and in some cases even superior, but it came at a steep price; rational thought was quickly overcome by the subjects more primal emotions, especially fear and rage. The first fed into the second, creating a vicious cycle that resulted in the subjects lashing out at everything in sight with lethal speed, accuracy, and power. While billed as 'super-soldiers', in reality the youths had been turned into berserkers, barely controllable by their superiors as they rampaged across the battlefield.

While they had certainly performed well during simulations and live-fire exercises, they all eventually ran into the same problem; they lost the ability to discriminate between friend and foe. Unlike the first three Biological CPUs to see battle, whose teamwork had been strained and even combative to say the least, these newest iterations could barely even manage that. The group tactics they had been able to implement had been crude at best, and eventually their hyper-aggression took them beyond the point of being able to cooperate in any meaningful way; they were as likely to target each other as they were the enemy if kept on the field long enough.

_Hell_, thought Rogers as he looked at the youngest of them, a thirteen year old girl with short-cropped black hair, _they can hardly even function off the battlefield anymore. If they're not sedated, they'll eventually attack anyone near them. Their only purpose now is to be our dogs of war. They've been turned into pure weapons, forged for the fires of combat… and will be destroyed in them, one way or another._

The combination of the drugs, extreme mental reconditioning, and physical training had turned the teenagers into beings who could only kill or be killed. As far as tactical weapons went, when combined with their mobile suits they would excel in the role chosen for them, but they had no future; it had been stolen to turn them into what they were now. They could barely be kept conscious outside of battle, less they freak out and lash out at those around them at any moment. They were kept alive through IV, awakened only for combat or training. Thanks to the brutal brainwashing and the mixture of drugs they were kept on even out of battle, they could no longer function in normal society.

To any normal human being, what had been done to the ten youths before Rogers, the other ten on board the _Perry_, and the many more that were still at the Lodonia facility, was an unspeakable act of evil. _Thousands _had already died just for the research of the Extended Human program to progress as far as it had, and those that had survived up until now were utterly destroyed as human beings. Rogers had heard that Dr. Frick and the other researchers had reserved some of the subjects for a 'Second Stage', one that promised more stable soldiers with greater long-term viability, and he would much rather have those at his disposal than what he had been given.

_I'll just have to make do with these_, he thought, _They should be enough._

"We're expecting heavy resistance, doctor," he said, "and it may be a protracted battle. How long do I have before these… _things_ begin to turn on each other and my soldiers?"

Dr. Patterson shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't give you a precise amount of time, or even an estimate. In all the exercises we ran with them, the amount of time they were able to function cohesively and controlled was random. Sometimes they could go for a few minutes, while other times they could fight for an hour non-stop."

"So," the Rear Admiral growled, "my forces might have to put them down at any time? That could be very problematic to say the least, doctor."

"Not as bad as you might think, sir," relied the doctor, nodding at the young girl he'd seen earlier, "Look at her neck."

Rogers did so, and saw a black collar around her neck. Attached to it were two small capsules, one on each side corresponding with her jugular, and the Rear Admiral could see a dark blue liquid in each of them.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Those capsules," said Dr. Patterson, "contain a greater concentration of the sedative they are under now. There is a small transceiver attached at the back of the neck, wired to those capsules. At your command, small injection needles will be unleashed from inside the collar and will send the sedative directly into their blood stream; they'll be unconscious in seconds. I imagine you'll have little trouble recovering them under those circumstances."

"What if they take the collars off?" asked Rogers.

"They're electrified," said the doctor, "If the subjects touch the collars with their hands, they'll be shocked. There's a specific transmitted code that deactivates that feature. Only their supervisors, which in this case include me, know what it is. The default setting is non-lethal, but it can be adjusted to a fatal shock should you need us to make an example out of one of them."

Rogers nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Is there anything else, sir?" asked Dr. Patterson.

Rogers' eyes narrowed as he studied the nearest subject. "How will they hold up against the likes of Wing Zero's pilot?"

"In a one-on-one fight, or as a group?" asked the doctor.

"However many can engage that thing at once," Rogers growled.

"If the confrontation is single combat," said Dr. Patterson, "I would not expect any of the subjects to win, even with their new mobile suits. Wing Zero is simply too powerful, and its pilot is highly experienced and skilled. Only by attacking that thing in groups will they have a chance, and I cannot tell you with certainty how many must engage it to guarantee success. The more of them you throw at Wing Zero, the better your odds of success will be."

Rogers sighed. "So even with these 'super-soldiers', you're telling me my best bet is still our old superior numbers play? I'm not impressed, doctor."

"These subjects were never meant to engage something like Wing Zero in single combat," the doctor replied indignantly, "They were meant to be the tip of the spear we drive into the Coordinator hordes, ravaging their front lines while our conventional forces took advantage of the chaos they spread. However, based on the simulations we've performed and the recordings I've seen of Wing Zero in combat, I believe a team of our pilots can at least stall that thing. If they can't kill it, they may be able to set it up to be taken down by the regulars."

"I suppose we'll find out when the time comes," said Rogers.

Dr. Patterson nodded. "Do you have any more questions, Rear Admiral?"

Rogers shook his head. "Just have them ready when I tell you to. That will be all, doctor."

The Rear Admiral quickly left the room and headed down towards the _Reagan_'s hangar. Now that he was relatively sure that the special soldiers sent to him by Lord Azrael would be able to fight, and if necessary be contained and recovered, it was time to make sure the same could be said for their machines.

It didn't take him long to arrive at his destination. Pausing in front of the door, he hit a key on the small console next to it. "Crew Chief Maynard," he said, "This is Rogers."

The reply came in the form of a deep male voice. "What is it, sir?" asked the _Reagan_'s head mechanic, Andrew Maynard.

"I want to inspect the units. Is it safe to come in?" said the Rear Admiral.

"Affirmative, sir," replied Maynard.

Opening the door, it did not take long for Rogers to spot his chief mechanic. A broad, well muscled, dark-skinned man in his mid forties was floating over to him, dressed in the standard orange jumpsuit of Atlantic Federation technicians.

"Rear Admiral, sir," said Maynard, saluting as he came to a stop in front of Rogers, "It's not often you come down here. I could've sent you a report if you wanted details on the machines."

"Perhaps," Rogers replied, "but the operation we will soon be undertaking is quite important. I felt I would emphasize that by coming down here."

"Consider your point made, sir," said Maynard, "Follow me, and stay close."

The Rear Admiral did as he was told. The vast, cavernous hangar of the carrier was bustling with activity as technicians scrambled all over the units they were assigned to maintain. Rogers had the ship's mechanized complement memorized, but there was still something comforting about seeing the machines in person. In passing he noted the twelve beam cannon equipped Moebius mobile armors and ten Strike-Daggers, but he was not concerned with the mass-produced, conventional units; it was the last ten machines that had him preoccupied.

"I take it these are what you really wanted to see, right sir?" asked Maynard as they stopped in front of the first of ten dull gray mobile suits.

Rogers nodded as he looked up at the machine. "Not much to look at," he said, "At least, not without its Phase Shift Armor online."

"Perhaps," said Maynard, smiling as he looked up at the unit, "but when you look beneath the surface, sir, the Strike-Avenger is a technological marvel."

Rogers had to agree with that. From the technical briefs he'd read when the units were first assigned to his command, the Rear Admiral knew that the GAT-X105Av was a considerably improved variant of the original Strike mobile suit developed at Heliopolis. Like its predecessor, the unit was designed as a multi-mode mobile suit, able to equip different Striker packs depending on the mission profile. The baseline unit shared the same basic armaments as the original Strike; two head-mounted Igelstellung 75mm multi-barrel Anti-Air CIWS, along with two hip-mounted Armor Schneider combat knives. When activated, the Phase Shift Armor would share the same blue, red, and white color scheme as its predecessor, but this was where the similarities ended.

The baseline Strike-Avenger was much more energy efficient thanks to the rapid advances in mobile suit battery technology that had been made by the Earth Alliance in the wake of the incident at Heliopolis, and its engines had been upgraded in order to take full advantage of this, giving the unit considerably more thrust. In addition to this, the batteries of the Strike-Avenger had over two and a half times the power capacity of the original Strike. As a result the unit could take more punishment and operate longer, especially when given additional power from one of its various Striker packs, but the fact remained that mobile suits with Phase Shift Armor were still much more expensive than those without it; the unit would not be seeing mass production anytime soon.

"Are the units ready for battle?" asked the Rear Admiral.

Maynard nodded. "Our latest tests showed green across the board, sir."

"What about their Striker packs?" asked Rogers.

"Good to go," Maynard replied, "You've got the full menu to choose from when the time comes to outfit them."

_And quite a menu it is_, mused Rogers, his mind going back to the technical briefs he'd reviewed before.

Each Striker pack available to the Strike-Avengers was either an upgrade of the earlier packs used on the Heliopolis prototype, a hybrid of the packs from the prototype, or, in a few cases, drawn from the weaponry used on more recent models.

The most basic of the augmentation setups was the Aile-Avenger pack. Like all the packs designed for the Strike-Avenger, it offered increased power to recharge and supplement that of the mobile suit's batteries. It kept the beam sabers, beam rifle, and shield of the original Aile pack, but it augmented them with a significant boost in the unit's mobility that the prototype could not match, even offering the same full-flight capabilities in atmosphere as the Neo-Aile packs developed specifically for the Strike-Daggers. Its wingspan was wider when deployed, and on those wings were two hard-points each. These could mount air-to-air or air-to-ground missiles, unguided or smart bombs, rocket pods, gatling guns, or even torpedoes in the event the unit was needed for oceanic warfare. Like the original Aile, its greatest asset was its versatility, with the aforementioned upgrades improving that aspect considerably. However, this lack of a specialty was also a weakness; it could be outgunned by mobile suits dedicated to a heavier role, or outfought by units designed for swift, close-quarters combat.

The second pack designed specifically for use on the Strike-Avenger was the Double Launcher setup. In this format, the unit wielded not one but _two _of the powerful Agni Hyper Impulse Beam Cannons. This made the mobile suit a fearsome artillery platform, ideal for attacking ships, heavy fortifications, or orbital structures. However, the added punching power came at a cost. The combo weapons pod of the original Launcher pack, which contained the multi-barreled 120mm anti-ship Vulcan gun and two 350mm gun launchers, had to be removed to make room for the second Agni along with the extra power supply necessary to keep both beam guns firing, limiting the pilot's options in combat. Even with the additional battery capacity of the Strike-Avenger and the added power from the pack, the Double Launcher setup consumed energy quickly, and when combined with the power draw of Phase Shift Armor it resulted in the unit running out of juice faster than any other configuration for the mobile suit. This drawback was only compounded by the obvious deficiencies the Double Launcher pack had with regards to dealing with agile foes, which could easily outmaneuver it and either shoot it down from the flanks or behind or take it down in close-quarters combat.

In direct contrast to the Double Launcher pack, the third configuration for the Strike-Avenger was the Twin Sword pack. As the name implied, this pack gave the unit not one but two 'Schwert Gewehr' anti-ship swords. The Twin Sword pack also came with two 'Midas Messer' beam boomerangs, one mounted on each shoulder. However, this configuration eschewed the 'Panzer Eisen' rocket anchor and small shield that were mounted on the left arm of the original unit. The Twin Sword Strike-Avenger was the ideal unit to offset the weaknesses of the Double Launcher, and indeed it was Rear Admiral Rogers' intention that the pilots wielding those two packs would be assigned to work together... though given the instability of said pilots, whether or not they would actually be able to cooperate effectively was another matter entirely.

The fourth augmentation pack was called the Sword Launcher, and as one might expect from the name it was a hybrid of the Sword pack and Launcher pack. It incorporated the 'Schwert Gewehr' anti-ship sword, mounted on the back of the right shoulder, and the Agni Hyper Impulse Beam Cannon mounted on the left. However, in order to blend the most powerful weapons of the Sword and Launcher packs respectively this Striker pack had to do away with the secondary weapons for both original augmentations. This configuration was as close as the Earth Alliance could get in fielding a mobile suit with similar, if still quite inferior, capabilities as the infamous Wing Zero, and Rogers mused that imitation of that fearsome machine had probably been the intent of the designers behind the Sword Launcher pack.

The fifth Striker pack was a departure from the previous ones in that it incorporated technology from the prototypes flown by the first three combat ready Biological CPUs. Designated the Havoc pack, the base of this augmentation was the 'backpack' used by the Forbidden, and like the Forbidden it contained a 'Geschmeidig Panzer' energy deflection/redirection system, along with a 'Hresvelgr' plasma cannon. However, the backpack lacked the twin 'Eckzahn' 88mm railguns of the original Forbidden. For close-quarters combat the unit wielded the 'Mjolnir' sphere-breaker of the Raider in its right hand, while on its left arm was mounted the Calamity's shield, complete with the imbedded 'Kaefer Zwei' dual ram cannons. The result was a unique and deadly attack unit, but it was by no means perfect. The 'Geschmeidig Panzer' energy deflection/redirection system and the 'Hresvelgr' plasma cannon were power-hungry to say the least; the unit ate through its battery life at roughly the same pace as the Double Launcher did. Also, the Havoc Strike-Avenger lacked beam sabers for close-quarters combat, and its sphere-breaker suffered from the same vulnerability to energy blades as the one used by the Raider.

_With our ten units outfitted with these packs_, thought Rogers, _along with those from the Perry, we should smash through the Elysium defenses with ease. More importantly, the twenty Strike-Avengers of this battle group should give us the edge we need if Wing Zero and its allies show up. Yes, they may have nuclear powered mobile suits, but the reports indicate that there are only seven of them. Our Strike-Avengers will have over two-to-one numerical superiority, and when combined with support from our conventional forces they should be more than capable of overwhelming even foes as powerful as the infamous Heero Yuy._

Rogers smiled as he looked up at the machines. "Tell me, Crew Chief," he said, "Do you believe in fate?"

Maynard raised an eyebrow as he looked at his superior. "Why do you ask, sir?"

"When Wing Zero entered this war," Rogers replied, "it fought alongside the original Strike and the traitors of the _Archangel_. I think it's only fitting that that machine meets its end at the hands of our Strike-Avengers, don't you?"

Maynard nodded and smiled. "Aye, sir. That would be entirely appropriate." His expression then became more serious. "That being said, I would hope to avoid an encounter with Wing Zero entirely. That machine isn't something one wants to meet on the battlefield, especially if they're in a ship; awfully hard for something like the _Reagan _to dodge a shot from that damn rifle."

"Let the pilots and ship captains worry about that," said Rogers, "The only thing I need you to worry about is our mobile suits and armors."

Maynard nodded. "Understood, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Rogers closed his eyes for a moment, recalling what Dr. Patterson had told him regarding neutralizing the Biological CPUs once they began going out of control. There had been something in the files on the Strike-Avenger about a mechanical feature related to that as well, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Crew Chief," said the Rear Admiral, "you're aware of the… _nature _of these machines' pilots, yes?"

"Of course, sir," said Maynard, "It's not exactly a secret on this ship who will be operating the Strike-Avengers. While the units do have the new Natural compatible Operating System installed, everyone knows that only truly exceptional pilots could take full advantage of the machines… and whether that 'exceptional quality' comes from talent and training or certain _augmentations_ is up to our superiors, but not beyond our notice. Word travels fast on a warship, sir, regardless of what security protocols are in place… and when you suddenly fill up half the medical bay and add guards to it at the same time as new mobile suits and pilots are transferred to the carrier, anyone can put two and two together and come to the obvious conclusion."

Rogers nodded. "I see. I'm a lifelong navy man, Crew Chief; I understand the flow of scuttlebutt. Nevertheless, you and your men should be careful about the news you spread. Depending on the content, there could be dire consequences."

"Of course, Rear Admiral," said Maynard.

"Now," said Rogers, "from what you've told me, I assume you know about the instability of the pilots that will be flying the Strike-Avengers. Should they go too far, we have means of stopping the pilots that will not damage the mobile suits, but that does not change the fact that the units will be vulnerable. Do you have any means of bringing the Strike-Avengers back to the carriers that does not involve conventional recovery teams, or must we waste valuable resources to get them home in the middle of combat?"

"Actually, there is something these units have that we can use in such a scenario," Maynard replied, "It was in the technical files that were sent over."

"I looked over those," said Rogers, "but I must have missed that bit. Tell me, Crew Chief, what you found."

"The Strike-Avenger," said Maynard, "has a very limited auto-pilot function."

Rogers' eyes widened at that. It had been difficult enough to refine mobile suit operation systems to the point that Naturals could pilot them; to his knowledge, no one had dared to attempt automation.

_It looks like our military's been researching more than just new machines and human augmentation_, he thought, _I wonder what else they're trying to accomplish…_

"How does it work?" asked Rogers.

"It's command-authorized, and only goes one way," said Maynard, "Basically, the mobile suit responds to a special signal from its carrier, and takes a direct path towards the ship. Maneuvering capability is non-existent; it's a straight line approach, with only rudimentary directional control for the landing procedure, and capture nets will be required, along with our heavy machinery to get them into their berths. These things won't be going evasive or doing anything fancy on their way home, sir. They'll be easy targets for the enemy in this state."

Rogers' eyes narrowed as he studied the Strike-Avenger with this new information in mind. The development of a mobile suit autopilot, however rudimentary, was a very interesting development… and potentially a disturbing one. Even that basic level of automation on combat units, Rogers believed, was to stand on the ledge of the metaphorical slippery slope that was the development of artificial intelligence. The idea of machines being able to act and potentially fight on their own was something that freaked out the Atlantic Federation elite almost as much as the threat posed by Coordinators. Extremely strict limitations had been imposed on research in that field, along with draconian punishments for those who crossed the line. This new autopilot program for the Strike-Avenger struck Rogers as something that could only have been developed in a cutting edge research project, and it had to have been running for quite some time now. The Rear Admiral had to wonder if his superiors had only green-lighted the project as a means to ensure the recovery of valuable hardware or if it was merely the stepping stone for something more; the hatred of Coordinators embraced by the higher ups was such that even the dreaded line of combat-capable AIs might be crossed in the pursuit of exterminating the genetic freaks.

_Dorana Xen_, he thought, suppressing a shudder, _is this your work?_

Rear Admiral Dorana Xen was a very… _unique _individual, to put it mildly. For starters, she was the only woman in the Earth Alliance forces to have reached such a lofty rank. However, she very rarely took part in field operations. Rather than head a fleet, Rear Admiral Xen was in charge of a group of research ships that was collectively known as the Special Projects Task Force. The Special Projects Task Force had been operating since before the war, and had any number of successes to its credit; it conducted experiments that ranged from conventional weapons testing to new cyber security programs to developing chemical and biological agents and everything in between. There was no one better to lead such a group; Dorana Xen was a brilliant woman, with Master Degrees in Computer Programming and Engineering. Rogers had heard that it was Xen who had adapted the Operating System developed by the Coordinator pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike to the point where it could be efficiently wielded by Naturals, so it would not surprise him to learn that she was behind this new autopilot.

What made Rogers uneasy though was a rumor he had heard from more than a few sources regarding his brilliant fellow officer. It was whispered that Dorana Xen had an obsession with pursuing research on Artificial Intelligence despite the _very _harsh restrictions and sanctions against it. In fact, one of the many murmurs Rogers had heard about Xen was that she had once actually succeeded in uploading a full combat-capable AI to an obsolete Predator drone that she had somehow managed to smuggle out of its mothball storage facility and bring back up to operational status. If the whispers were true, in the incident that followed the drone had actually been tested at the Atlantic Federation Edwards Air Base and managed to destroy its assigned targets, but after the test had concluded it had continued to seek out additional targets. Having exhausted its munitions during the test, it proceeded to ram a parked C-151 transport jet. No one was killed, and the official report claimed that the plane had been destroyed by a fuel fire, but multiple eyewitnesses swore they saw a Predator drone make a kamikaze run on the craft, and Xen had been listed as assigned to Edwards Air Base at the time of the incident. She had been swiftly reassigned, but shockingly enough there had been no punitive actions taken against her, and Rogers suspected someone had seen value to what she was attempting to do in light of the growing Coordinator threat. Rogers had to wonder if she had been given permission behind closed doors to continue her research… and what another one of her AIs might do if it were installed in a mobile suit instead of an old drone.

However, now was hardly the time or place to voice such doubts, so Rogers simply nodded. "I see. Still, it's impressive that they have that much capability."

"Agreed," Maynard replied, "especially considering how long it took us to create a Natural-friendly pilot system at all."

_Indeed_, he thought, _and that was _far _too long. If we'd been able to field mobile suits sooner in this war… well, the war might be over by now. At least now we can make up for lost time. With the Strike-Dagger now in mass production and units like the Strike-Avenger being fielded for elite pilots and 'special soldiers' like those test subjects we're now more than capable of turning the tide of this war._

"So," he said, "the Strike-Avengers are ready for battle. I trust the same can be said for the rest of this ship's units?"

Maynard nodded. "Yes, sir. They can sortie at any time."

"Good," said Rogers, "Make sure they stay that way. Dismissed, Crew Chief."

Maynard saluted before heading off, and the Rear Admiral made his way back to the hangar exit. When he left he wasted no time in going to the bridge.

Upon his arrival Rogers immediately went to his station. As he took his seat his communications officer turned to him.

"Rear Admiral," said the man, "We have a Priority One transmission on the line; origin is the Ptolemaeus base."

"Put it on screen," said Rogers.

The main monitor shifted from a birds-eye-view of the fleet to the face of none other than Muruta Azrael. "Rear Admiral Rogers," he said, "What is your status?"

"Still at the rally point, Lord Azrael," he replied, "We're ready to go on your order."

Azrael nodded. "How long will it take you to get your fleet to the Elysium colony?"

"From our current position, it's about a two day cruise," said Rogers.

"I see," said Azrael, "Rear Admiral, I've just concluded talks with a party inside the colony that will make the long-term goals of this operation easier to obtain. Due to that, your orders have been slightly altered."

"What's been changed, my lord?" asked Rogers.

"For your attack," Azrael replied, "your initial objectives remain the same; neutralize the Orb defenses and force your way into the colony. However, you are only to enter the colony with mobile suits and armors; you will not be inserting ground troops during the battle."

The fleet commander raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand, my lord. I thought it was imperative that we get infantry into the colony to prevent the Orb from sabotaging their industrial and research facilities."

Azrael shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I've just concluded a deal with the party that will be surrendering the colony to us; the internal security forces will not destroy the facilities."

Now Rogers was very confused. "Forgive my questioning, my lord, but if we have such an arrangement with someone capable of surrendering the colony to us, then it strikes me that this entire battle will be unnecessary. Would it not be enough to simply bring my fleet to Elysium and ask for the colony's surrender?"

"No," said Azrael, "the party that will be surrendering is the Seiran noble family, and unfortunately they do not have control over the Orb military. You will have to destroy all of the colony's armed forces before offering the surrender. Also, your mobile suits and armors will have a special objective once they get inside the colony."

"And what is that?" asked Rogers.

The screen suddenly split into two, with Azrael taking the top half and a cross-section of the Elysium colony taking the bottom. The humongous artificial habitat followed the same design as the destroyed Heliopolis colony, though there were differences with the interior layout. Unlike Heliopolis, Elysium put a greater emphasis on agricultural capability, with large swaths of the main cylinder devoted to farming while the industrial facilities of Morgenroete and other manufacturing and heavy engineering firms had been completely shifted to the massive hollowed out asteroid that made up the back of the colony. Even with the considerable space taken up by the farming fields though, there was still plenty of room for urban sprawl; Elysium was as much a city floating amongst the stars as any other space colony. The Rear Admiral's eyes were immediately drawn to four blinking red dots on the lower image, all located in the central habitation cylinder.

"What you are seeing," said Azrael, "are the locations for the refugee camps established inside the colony. The overwhelming majority of those refugees are Coordinators. When your forces enter the colony, they are to immediately attack those camps and kill everyone they find inside them. The defenses inside the colony should be light; the Orb military will be deploying the bulk of its mobile suit forces outside Elysium, so the only units your squads should encounter inside will be older, more conventional units. Once the camps have been destroyed, you will make the offer of surrender. Is that understood?"

Rogers nodded without hesitation. "Yes, Lord Azrael."

"Good," Azrael replied, "Once the surrender has been accepted, your will land ground troops inside the colony. They will work with collaborating members of the local security forces to hunt down and kill any surviving Coordinator refugees, along with those Coordinators who have been living inside Elysium as registered citizens. The Seirans are quite eager to enact such a purge, so the operation should proceed smoothly with their help."

"What about the rest of the population?" asked Rogers, "Given Orb's stance on Natural-Coordinator relations, I do not think the colony's inhabitants will take kindly to seeing their fellow citizens being rounded up for us to kill them."

"That's what the bulk of your occupation force will be for," said Azrael, smiling, "You should have more than enough troops to keep the population under control. After the initial invasion, you will be the head of the occupation and all military matters concerning the colony. The Seirans should be able to handle most of the civil governance. I did tell them that they could have autonomy in such matters, but if the security situation changes at any time you have my authority to take whatever actions you deem necessary. Should our Orb partners protest, you need only tell them that you are acting with my blessing; that should shut them up."

"Very well," said the Rear Admiral.

Azrael's expression then became more serious. "Your forces will also have another set of top priority targets in this operation, Rear Admiral, though we do not know for certain when you will encounter them."

Rogers raised an eyebrow. "Who are you referring to?"

"The rogue warship _Archangel _and her allies," said Azrael, "Somehow they've learned of our impending invasion and are on their way to L3 as we speak. While this will make the operation more difficult, it is also a great opportunity. Your force is over twice as powerful as the one we fielded at L4, Rear Admiral; you will be able to eliminate the traitors and their allies once and for all."

"With all due respect, Lord Azrael," said the Rear Admiral, "if the _Archangel_, Wing Zero, and their supporters are expected to intervene at some point in this operation, then perhaps we should strengthen the fleet."

Azrael shook his head. "We do not have time, Rear Admiral. If we wait to reinforce the fleet then the traitors and their abomination friends will already be on site and prepared to counterattack. You cannot give them time to prepare. More importantly, we cannot divert any more resources from our buildup; preparations for the final offensive against L5 cannot be interfered with!"

Rogers sighed; it was clear that Azrael was in no mood to negotiate here. "I understand, my lord."

Azrael smiled. "Have a little more faith in your forces, Rear Admiral. Yes, I have no doubt you will take casualties when Wing Zero and its supporters take the field, but you have more than enough strength to defeat them. After all, you have twenty of our newest model mobile suits in your fleet, along with pilots that can bring out the full-potential of those machines."

"Yes, my lord," said Rogers, seeing no other option but to simply go along with the man.

"Also," said Azrael, "when those forces arrive on scene, you are to concentrate your efforts against two particular targets first."

"What targets are those?" asked Rogers.

"One, of course, is Wing Zero," said Azrael, "That damn Heero Yuy has interfered in our war effort far too many times. He must be dealt with, and I know that the special pilots and the mobile suits I sent you will be up to the task."

Rogers had his doubts about that. While he did believe that multiple Strike-Avengers operating in concert could stand against Wing Zero, he knew that that could only happen if they were controlled by disciplined and veteran pilots… and that was the main problem; the pilots that had been assigned to the Strike-Avengers in his fleet were anything _but _disciplined veterans.

However, there was little point in telling Azrael this. Rogers knew that his de facto commander-in-chief had faith in the new Biological CPUs, and it would do him little good to question it. He could only hope that they would be able to fight effectively long enough to take down Wing Zero, or at least distract it so his fleet could get into position to bombard it. If a few of the Strike-Avengers were taken down in the process, so be it; it would be a price well worth paying if it meant killing Heero Yuy.

"Understood, my lord," said Rogers, "What is the second target?"

"This," said Azrael.

The image on the bottom half of the screen changed from the map of the Elysium colony to a picture of a mobile suit. Rogers instantly recognized the model as an Aile pack equipped Strike, but he was put off by the color scheme. It was a mix of pink and maroon, and the Rear Admiral felt that such an ensemble was disgusting on a piece of military hardware.

"Whose mobile suit is this?" asked Rogers.

"We believe it to be the unit piloted by Cagalli Yula Athha," Azrael replied, "As of her father's death at the end of the invasion of the Orb homeland, she is now the nation's Chief Representative."

Rogers was aghast at this. "They let their ruler fight on the front lines? That's madness!"

Azrael nodded. "Agreed, Rear Admiral. However, that does not mean we cannot take advantage of it. The Orb military's allegiance is theoretically to the country as a whole, but in practice its top brass tend to follow the lead of the Athha family. Both Uzumi and his brother died when the Kaguya mass driver and spaceport were destroyed, leaving Cagalli the last direct descendant/relative of the former ruler. As such, she is the key obstacle to the Seirans seizing power over Orb and brining the remnants of its military to heel. In order for our plans to succeed, she must be eliminated. Is that understood?"

Rogers nodded. "Yes, Lord Azrael."

"Good," Azrael replied, "remove those two obstacles, and our dominion over L3 is assured."

"What about the Eden colony?" asked Rogers, "Won't we still have to invade it after we conquer Elysium?"

"Not invade," said Azrael, smiling, "just occupy. The Seirans have enough allies in Eden that they will be able to extend their power from Elysium to that colony as well once Cagalli has been killed. The military forces at that colony will no longer oppose us, and will in fact aid us by kicking out the Alliance defectors gathered at that colony. With no port to shelter at, we can hunt them down at our leisure. All you will need to do is send a token force to the colony, along with one of your troop carriers. That will be a sufficient force to secure Eden and commence the purge of the Coordinators living inside that colony."

"Understood," said Rogers, "Do you have any additional orders, Lord Azrael?"

"Only that you get your fleet underway," said Azrael, "and that you do not fail this mission. Azrael out."

Rogers sighed as his superior disappeared from the screen. "At last…" he muttered under his breath; he'd been growing tired of waiting for the signal to commence the operation.

With Azrael now gone from the screen, the main monitor had returned to its previous image; an overview of the fleet. It was certainly an impressive array, but with all the new information he had just received the Rear Admiral had to wonder if it would be enough to accomplish his mission.

The _Reagan_'s battle group composition mirrored that of the second carrier force operating with it. Each had sixteen _Drake_-class escort ships and eight _Nelson_-class battleships. However, joining these two battle groups were two smaller squadrons, each made up of two battleships and four escort ships. Like the warships that had been dispatched to fight the _Archangel _and her allies out at L4, the complements of these vessels were split between mobile suits and mobile armors, and in the latter case the Moebius units had been refitted with beam cannons. In total, the fleet had 184 mobile armors and 220 Strike-Daggers. With the fleet's twenty Strike-Avengers leading the charge, Rogers had no doubt that his force would blow right through the Orb lines.

Assigned to each carrier battle group was a _Manhattan_-class troop carrier. Although given a different designation, the ship actually used the same hull design as the _Agamemnon_-class fleet carrier. This was no accident; several _Agamemnon_-class carriers had been refitted into _Manhattan_-class ships shortly after the war began; more specifically, after ZAFT had deployed its N-Jammers. Deprived of the ability to nuke the Coordinator colonies into oblivion, the Earth Alliance had embraced a different strategy; overwhelm ZAFT with sheer numbers in conventional assaults, destroying their navy and then landing troops inside their colonies. The creation of the _Manhattan_-class troop carriers had been the result of this quick change in doctrine, and rather than design new ships from the ground up it had been simpler to take an existing hull and alter it for their needs. The process had been rushed, but the vessel's cavernous hangar bay made it quite easy to turn it from a fleet carrier into an infantry transport.

However, ZAFT victories at the Battle of Jachin Due and the Battle of Avalon inflicted heavy losses on the Earth Alliance's forces, and the top brass realized that a swift invasion was off the table. Most of the _Manhattan_s were converted back into mobile armor carriers, with only a few remaining as troopships and kept away from active theaters of the conflict in case their unique capabilities were someday required. With the impending invasion of the two surviving Orb colonies, that time had now come.

The _Manhattan_-class troop carrier kept the two dual beam cannons and multiple CIWS of the _Agamemnon_-class ship, but to this they also added six heavy missile launchers at the bow, bracketing it with a row of three on each side. The launchers were designed for the Meteor-type Missile, a warhead specifically built to blast through the heavy main dock doors of colonies. The powerful munitions weren't good for much else; by missile standards they were slow and bulky, making them vulnerable to CIWS fire, lighter missiles, or interception by mobile suits or mobile armors. They were ill-suited for anything other than very large, fixed targets, and colony entrances fit the bill nicely. However, Rogers was doubtful he would have to use the Meteor Missiles in this fight; with the power wielded by the Double Launcher and Sword Launcher variants of the Strike-Avenger, along with the heavy weapons of his frontline warships, it was likely that the main entrance to Elysium would be breached well before the troopships were forced to enter the fray.

_I only have two of them_, thought Rogers sourly, _and I need the soldiers inside them for the occupation; I'd rather not risk them on the front lines, especially if something like Wing Zero will be on the battlefield. Those troopships would be sitting ducks for that machine._

While some of the carrier's massive hangar space had been converted into barracks for soldiers, the ship did still carry craft. However, rather than the mobile armors or mobile suits that _Agamemnon_-class carriers held, the _Manhattan_-class ship maintained a complement of twelve G-24 heavy gunships. While designed to replicate the multi-purpose helicopter gunships common in surface action, the G-24 differed in several key aspects. The frame itself was actually a scaled-up version of the TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armor, with the triangle main body and the bracketing engine pods enlarged to accommodate the craft's new mission. It was operated not just by a pilot but also a copilot due to the increased complexity, and extending below and back from the cockpit was a bulky, almost block-like passenger compartment capable of holding twenty-four soldiers with full combat gear.

For armament the G-24 kept the twin 40mm Vulcan guns of the original mobile armor and added to that two six-barrel air-to-ground rocket launchers, one at the front of each engine block, along with two air-to-air missiles attached to the side of each engine block and a rear-facing 30mm machine gun turret manned by a gunner. In addition to these weapons, each side of the passenger compartment contained a 7.62mm rotary cannon that swung out when the side-doors opened, allowing their gunners to cover infantry as they deployed or were recovered by the craft. The gunship was meant to clear a landing zone and drop the troops it carried before quickly taking off and either providing close air support or returning to its mothership to pick up another batch of infantry. It was fast and surprisingly well armored for such a craft, but it was not without its flaws. The G-24 maneuvered like a brick and its weapons were no match for mobile suits or even mobile armors. Also, its limited troop capacity meant that even all twelve of a _Manhattan_-class ship's G-24s could not carry all the soldiers the vessel held in one sortie; multiple trips were required to offload all troops, which was why another function of the G-24s was to work in cooperation with allied mobile suits and armors to clear a _very _large landing zone where the troopship itself could touch down and offload the bulk of its infantry.

Rogers could see the fleet's two troopships now on the main monitor, at the very back of their respective battle groups. In his was the class's namesake ship, the _Manhattan_, while the _Perry_'s battle group had the _Houston_.

_Sixty-four capital ships total_, he thought with no small amount of satisfaction, _more than enough to bring two colonies to heel, no matter how many mobile suits they've packed inside them._

As for Wing Zero and its allies…

…he'd just have to wait and see.

"Comm," he said, "signal the fleet. We're moving out."

….

**July 23****rd****, C.E. 71**

Floating through the corridors of the _Archangel _with a tray full of food, Heero made his way towards the Captain's office. Murrue had been quite busy since they had joined forces with Task Force 9.3 and had embarked on their journey to L3. With the addition of the ZAFT defectors to the Three Ships Alliance, Waltfeld had wasted no time in reorganizing their forces, and part of that had consisted of splitting up the surviving renegade warships into smaller flotillas, each operating in concert with one of the three larger battleships. In the case of the _Archangel_, the former Earth Alliance battleship would now be acting in engagements as the head of a group consisting of herself, the two frigates _Ronin _and _Paladin_, along with the destroyer _Knight Errant_. The _Eternal _had been set up with the other two destroyers, while the _Kusanagi _would coordinate with the three remaining frigates. Waltfeld had decided to designate the three flotillas as Groups Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie; the _Archangel _was the lead warship in the third group, while the _Eternal _led Alpha and the _Kusanagi _headed up Bravo.

_Now Murrue's gone from Captain of a single ship to a flotilla commander in the blink of an eye_, thought Heero, _It was enough pressure on her just to protect the crew of the Archangel, but now she's responsible for three more ships besides that. I know she hasn't said anything yet, but I'm sure it's not easy for her._

The Gundam pilot knew that the woman he loved was working hard to figure out how best to integrate the capabilities of the two frigates and the destroyer that had been assigned to fight alongside the _Archangel_, along with their surviving mobile suits,with those of _her_ ship and mobile suits. Fields of fire, flanking maneuvers, support between mobile suits and pilots that hailed from different backgrounds and had their own styles of combat… all that and more made for a ton of adjusting on Murrue's part.

Heero was well aware of Murrue's doubts and fears, no matter how well she hid them from her crew. He knew that she did not believe she was up to the new task she had been given, that she was afraid she would get people killed due to bad calls on her part. The young man wanted to do all he could to help her through this, to make her realize that she was _more _than capable of leading her newfound flotilla into battle. Heero believed in her abilities, and he was sure that he could convince Murrue that she had what it took to succeed in her new role.

However, Heero had duties of his own to attend to, something Murrue had pointed out to him more than once. As the pilot of the _Archangel_'s most powerful mobile suit, he had to make sure that his unit was ready for the next battle. Not only that, but Heero also had to familiarize himself with the new allies that would be flying with the _Archangel _so he would understand their strengths and weaknesses when the time came to fight alongside them. While the Gundam pilot still mostly considered himself a solo combatant he did understand what Murrue had been getting at, and he had dutifully set himself to his task, examining the information that Commander Bohuslav had sent over regarding the state of his surviving ships and mobile suits. While the smaller units could be completely repaired in the hangars of their respective ships, the same was naturally not true for the frigates and destroyers themselves; there was only so much their crews could do when the ships were out of dry-dock. The files the Commander had sent over also included information on the past campaigns of Task Force 9.3, and that was vital intelligence to both Heero and Murrue; they could use it to understand how their new allies fought, and that understanding would make a huge difference when the time came to engage the enemy.

Still, even with his own considerable responsibilities, the Gundam pilot was still more than willing to put in the time and effort needed to give much needed support to the woman he loved. Whether it was an embrace and a kiss, sitting together enjoying a cup of coffee, talking to her about what was going on and sharing his insights wither her, or simply holding her hand and meeting her gaze, Heero was doing everything he could think of to try and take some of the stress off Murrue's shoulders.

In this case, that involved bringing her lunch. It wasn't something they had arranged, but the two of them had taken meals together so often now that they had each others' schedules memorized, meaning it was quite easy for Heero to anticipate and surprise his girlfriend in the manner he'd planned to do today. He was bringing enough food for two, and he was hoping that he could do a little more to help Murrue boost her confidence over the course of their meal.

_Giving pep talks isn't my strong suit_, thought Heero, _I'm not the kind of guy that can just whip up a great speech. Should've taken a few notes from Quatre or Treize, or maybe asked Lacus for some pointers. She's certainly got a gift for inspiring people._

He shook his head. This was the woman he loved he was thinking about here. It wasn't a simple pep talk he'd be giving. He'd be engaging her in a mutual conversation, the kind they'd shared so many times now. Heero needed to do for her what she'd done for him quite a few times now over the course of their journey together; to convince her that she was far more than she believed herself to be. The Gundam pilot knew that Murrue had the strength, intelligence, and willpower to not just rise to the challenge before her, but surpass it with flying colors.

A few seconds later he made it to Murrue's office and opened the door. As it slid open he heard a slamming noise followed by a yell. "_You bastard!_"

Heero's eyes widened for a moment as he feared he had inadvertently done something terribly wrong, but as he saw Murrue he realized her ire was not directed at him. She was standing up behind the desk, her gaze fixed on the monitor. Her hands were on the cold steel surface, and Heero could see her arms trembling. When he saw her eyes, he was shocked by the look in them. They were wide, and those usually warm, compassionate brown gems held two very different emotions in them; anger and sorrow.

"Murrue!" said Heero, rushing into the room and closing the door behind him, "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, clearly surprised by his presence. "Heero… I didn't hear you come in."

He shook his head as he set the tray off to the side on her desk. "Don't worry about that. Murrue, what's going on?"

Murrue took a deep breath before looking down at the desk. "Heero… do you remember back when we were just settling at L4… what you asked Waltfeld to do for my crew and I after that meeting?"

Heero nodded, his chest tightening as he realized where this was going. "Yeah… to let you and the crew send messages to your families."

"Yes," said Murrue, "Since the battle yesterday against the ZAFT fleet made it pretty clear to people where we are and where we're heading, I figured there was no harm in establishing an uplink with the net and checking for replies. I ran it by Bristow and Waltfeld, and they agreed, so I relayed our signal through the _Eternal_'s array to get as clear a connection as possible."

"And you got a reply to your earlier message," Heero said cautiously.

Murrue nodded and looked at him again. That mixture of despair and fury in her eyes tore at Heero's heart in a way he'd never imagined possible; this was one of the last ways he wanted to see the woman he loved.

"I did get a reply," said Murrue, "from my father… and I really wish I hadn't."

Coming around the desk, Heero put his hand on hers. "What was it?"

She intertwined her fingers with his as she spoke. "Do you remember what I told you about my family during our first date in Orb?"

Heero nodded. "Your father's in the Atlantic Federation forces… the base commandant at the Norfolk Navy Yard, right?"

"Yes," said Murrue, looking down again, her voice beginning to crack, "He's been in the Atlantic Federation Navy for almost his whole life. I… I knew it'd be difficult for him to hear what I had done… that he might not be able to accept it… but still…"

Heero took a deep breath; this was going to be worse than he'd first thought. "Murrue," he said as he squeezed her hand, "what did he say?"

She looked at him again, and the pain in the Gundam pilot's chest only increased as he saw his lover struggle to hold back tears. "He… he disowned me, and called me a coward. I… I could deal with it if it was just that, but he went further. He said… that I should've done my duty… and died at Alaska."

Heero's eyes widened in shock. "_What?_" he said, his blood chilling in ice-cold fury, "He'd rather have _his own daughter die _in a massacre like that setup at Alaska than fight to save her crew like you did?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes… and there's more."

Heero's heart fell still further as he fought to keep his composure, to be the pillar of strength he knew Murrue needed him to be right now. "What else did he say?"

He saw her tremble, and she tightened her grip on his hand as she spoke. "He said that… if I had any sense of honor and decency left… I'd _kill you_ and then turn myself and my crew over to the Alliance."

Heero shook his head. "Turn yourself and your subordinates in? That'd be suicide; he'd _have _to know that they'd execute you all after what you've done. Even if there was a trial, it'd be a total farce; there's no way in hell the High Command would let you live!"

Murrue nodded. "I know Heero… and thank you."

Now Heero was confused. "For what, Murrue?"

She gave him a sad smile. "For not asking if I was going to kill you to satisfy my father."

"I know you, Murrue," Heero replied, "You love me as much as I love you; you'd never do something like that. My faith in you is absolute; never forget that."

Moving faster than Heero thought possible, Murrue let go of his hand and took him into a fierce embrace. "Oh, Heero…" she said softly, her warm breath on his ear, "_Thank you_."

The Gundam pilot took her in his arms, and he could feel her trembling as he held her. She was clearly choking back sobs, doing her best to keep her roiling emotions at bay. Heero admired the incredible strength she was displaying now… but he knew that there were some things that people shouldn't keep bottled up inside them.

"Murrue," he said, "there's no one else here. It's just us; let it out."

He didn't react as her grip on him tightened, did not give a sign of pain as her fingernails dug into his back. Heero simply held her as he felt the tears begin to run down Murrue's cheek as she buried her face in his neck and shoulder, letting her fully express the sorrow that came with knowing that a beloved parental figure had not only abandoned her but wished her and the man she loved to die for doing what had been right.

As he held her Heero had to call upon all his discipline to avoid embracing the same burning hatred for Murrue's father that he had for the Atlantic Federation High Command following their betrayal at Alaska. His vow to Murrue in the _Archangel_'s med bay after his rampage at Orb had not been forgotten; he would not let the elder Ramius's betrayal of his daughter become the dark seed for a new wrath. Embracing that anger would only further hurt Murrue, and that was the _last _thing Heero would do, especially after what she was suffering now. He would keep his promise to her, stay true to the woman he loved.

After a few minutes Heero could feel Murrue's grip on him loosen, and the two lovers slowly parted. Wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, Murrue gave Heero a small smile. "Again… you've saved me again. Heero, you truly are an amazing young man."

Heero shook his head. "I just want to help you, Murrue. That's all."

"I know," Murrue replied, leaning in to kiss him, "and that's just one of the reasons why you're so incredible."

All Heero could do was give her a small smile. "I told you before, Murrue; I'll never abandon you. Even if the whole world turns against us, I'll stand by your side until the very end."

Murrue nodded. "I know… and that's more than I can say of my father as of today."

Heero shook his head. "I don't understand… how could he do this to you?"

Murrue sighed. "I'm… I'm still trying to figure that out, Heero. I always knew the military mattered to my father as much as my mother and I, but still… I never imagined it would come down to this."

"I know he's off the front lines," said Heero, "but your father still has a senior position within the Atlantic Federation Navy; he wouldn't be deaf to reports from the battlefield. He has to realize the direction his homeland is going in. If military honor really does matter to him, then he has to know that the path his country is on grossly violates the laws of war."

Murrue nodded. "I know, but… well, it seems my father's no Commander Bohuslav; atrocities appear to be ok in his book."

Heero's eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to him. "What are his views on Coordinators? Did he ever talk about that with you and your mother?"

Murrue shook his head. "Not with me, and I don't know if he shared his ideas with mother." She looked down. "I don't know what's worse: that his reaction to what I've done is just because I betrayed my country, or if it's because I've decided to fight to prevent Blue Cosmos from slaughtering Coordinators. I wish I'd asked him about what he thought regarding the attack on Junius Seven. Maybe then I'd have a little more insight into what he was thinking when he wrote his message…"

Heero put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't, Murrue; there's no use in beating yourself up over the past. You taught me that, remember?"

She looked at him again and nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Heero felt a pain in his gut as he prepared to ask another question, one that had to do with the message. The last thing he wanted to do was keep Murrue's mind on that horrific thing, but this was an inquiry that needed to be made. "Murrue, did your father say anything that might reveal the Alliance's future plans? Were there any accidental clues he may have left in that message?"

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment to think before she responded. "No, Heero. He may be off the front lines, but my father still understands operational discipline and security protocols; he wouldn't be so careless as to inadvertently slip us any information that may help us fight against the Earth Alliance."

"All right," Heero replied, "Sorry, but I had to ask."

Murrue shook her head and gave him a small smile. "I know. It's ok, Heero."

They were quiet for a moment until Heero spoke again. "What about your mother? Have you heard anything from her, or was she mentioned in the message?"

Murrue shook her head again. "No. I'm… I'm not sure how to take that."

"As a good sign," Heero replied, grabbing her hand, "I know it's hard to see it that way, but if this was just from your father and your mother wasn't even mentioned, then it means she still believes in you."

It was flimsy logic at best, but Heero refused to bring up the alternative; that Murrue's mother was equally ashamed and would not contact her daughter. Murrue was hurting enough right now as it was, and Heero would do all he could to help her heal.

To Heero's relief it appeared to work, for Murrue nodded and squeezed his hand. "I… I think you're right, Heero. Mother… she's not military like father is… I think she'd have a more open mind about our situation. Maybe father knows that and he's not letting her get in touch with me."

"When this is all over," said Heero, "we'll try to contact her. You deserve to hear from both your parents, not just the one who's taken the side of the enemy."

Murrue sighed. "The enemy… I never thought I'd have to call a family member that, but… yes. My father's our enemy now, Heero. I'm sorry."

"Don't," said Heero firmly, "Murrue, this is _not _your fault. Don't apologize for your father's actions. If anyone owes someone an apology, it's _him _to _you_."

Murrue nodded. "Yes… of course." She then looked down at the floor. "Look at me, falling to pieces like this… I'm pathetic. How can I lead our new allies if I can't keep it together when I get bad news from my family?"

"No," Heero replied, "you're not, Murrue. This isn't just 'bad news' from your family; it's your own _father _betraying you, wishing for your _death_. It'd be wrong if you _didn't _have an emotional reaction to something like this. The fact that you feel it so deeply means your _human_, Murrue! This isn't weakness."

"Maybe," said Murrue, "but still... everyone else is expecting me to have control of my feelings so I can lead them effectively. Their lives ride on my ability to stay in control!"

"And you _have _that ability," said Heero, "You've proven yourself more than capable of commanding others throughout our journey with a level head. It's not just with the _Archangel _either; you did an excellent job in coordinating our actions with the Desert Dawn fighters back in North Africa, as well as when your ship fought alongside the Orb Navy during the invasion."

"Perhaps," said Murrue, "but both of those groups took heavy losses, especially the Desert Dawn fighters; Waltfeld and his forces mauled them in that final battle."

"Everyone knew there were going to be casualties among them in that fight," Heero countered, "They were fighting mobile suits with technicals and a few tanks. Even with the _Archangel_, her mobile suits, and the Skygraspers supporting them, things were going to get ugly. That does not change the fact that you led that force against one of the best armies on the planet and _won_. As for the Orb invasion, our allies likewise knew that things would not be easy, especially given the size of the fleet the Earth Alliance sent against us. I may have been rampaging during that battle, Murrue, but I looked over the reports and Wing Zero's sensor data the day after; I know how well you fought, and that the Orb Navy's losses could've been much worse."

The Gundam pilot grabbed the woman he loved by the shoulders. "Murrue, _you can do this_. Waltfeld and the others would not have put you in this position if they did not think that you could handle it. You have the strength, skill, experience, and intelligence to lead our new allies in battle. Yes, some of them may die, but that's a risk they accepted going into this, and it's the same risk _we _accepted when we decided to fight against both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. They're willing to put their lives on the line to prevent an atrocity, and I _know _that you can harness that determination to lead them effectively in battle because _you _have it as well."

Murrue smiled at him. "Heero… thank you."

Heero nodded, pleased to see that the turmoil that had been in her eyes before was swiftly fading. Reclaiming those beautiful brown orbs was that warm strength and compassion that the young man so loved about her. Her resolve and confidence were returning; she was ready to fight again.

Surprising him, she pulled him in for a deep kiss, and Heero readily returned it. When they eventually parted Murrue reached out to touch his cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she said as she softly caressed his face, "Your strength… is just _incredible_, Heero."

The Gundam pilot shook his head and gave her a small smile. "If I'm as strong as you say I am now, it's only because of you, Murrue. You've helped me deal with my doubts and guilt, allowed me to grow into the person I am now, supported me in my darkest hours; the least I can do is return the favor."

Murrue kissed him on the cheek. "You've done far more than that, Heero. More to the point, you and I are far past favors at this point. We're a couple, Heero. We stand by each other, give each other strength, not out of debt, but because we _want to_."

Heero nodded. "You're right there."

"I know I am," said Murrue, winking, "Now, why don't you and I take a little lunch break? It'd be a shame for the food you brought here to go to waste."

Heero could feel his small smile grow a little at her words, and it wasn't because of any hunger. The sorrow and anger that had tormented her before weren't even visible now, though the Gundam pilot knew they were not completely gone. It would take time for Murrue to completely heal from the wound her father had inflicted upon her heart, and Heero would be there for her every step of the way. What mattered now, though, was that her belief in herself had been restored, and they could continue to move forward together, ready for the battle that they were fast approaching.

_Murrue_, he thought as he looked at her, _your father called you a coward, but that's the _last _thing you are. You are the bravest woman I've ever met. So, let's prove your father wrong. Let's challenge the Earth Alliance to battle again, save the Orb colonies and the refugees inside them from the fleet that's gunning for them… and then let's follow that up by forcing the two strongest militaries in the world to end this foolish war on _our _terms!_

….

**July 24****th****, C.E. 71**

At her station on the bridge, Murrue studied the image on the main monitor. It was a simple map of L3 and the space around it, with the two Orb colonies and several smaller resource satellites highlighted in yellow, while off on the fringe was the red dot that symbolized the damaged Artemis base.

_I wonder_, thought Murrue, _if their intent is to conquer Orb's remaining colonies and facilities at L3, why doesn't the Earth Alliance stage the attack from Artemis? I know it took a beating during the ZAFT attack when we escaped, but to my knowledge the base was not destroyed._

In the end Murrue chalked it up to the combination of the Eurasians' much reduced presence in outer space, the damage suffered by the base, and the facility's close proximity to the Orb colonies. The Eurasian space fleets had taken heavy casualties during the first year of the war, and with the Lightwave barrier's generators destroyed by the Blitz during the attack on Artemis Murrue guessed that what remained of the Eurasians' orbital forces had been recalled to the asteroid base to help maintain the reputation of 'Invulnerable Artemis'. Meanwhile, by all accounts the Orb colonies had not been aware of the gathering Alliance fleet until Cagalli had passed on the intelligence given to them by Commander Bohuslav, meaning the enemy had been trying to keep their impending attack a surprise. Artemis was at the edge of the Orb military's patrol zone, and it would have been easy for a pilot to detect a large buildup of ships near the base.

_It's only thanks to Commander Bohuslav's contact in the Patrol Fleet that we're aware of the coming attack_, Murrue thought, suppressing a shudder, _Were it not for us saving Task Force 9.3, we'd have no idea about the invasion until it was all over… and all the refugees were dead._

She was determined not to let that happen. They'd been given valuable intelligence by their new allies, and Murrue swore to herself that it would not go to waste.

Glancing at her personal monitor, she brought up the information on the ships assigned to fight with the _Archangel _to briefly go over their condition one more time. The two frigates and the destroyer with her ship were as ready as they could be for battle given the pounding they had taken in their last fight. Most of their weapons were online, and their mechanics had managed to make substantial progress on repairing their engines. However, the vessels were not at maximum operational capability, a fact that caused Murrue no small amount of worry. It was hard enough leading a fully prepared warship into battle, even one as powerful as the _Archangel_; she knew having wounded companion ships would only make things even more difficult.

Matters weren't helped by how few of those three ships' mobile suits had survived the battle with the ZAFT fleet. One of the frigates only had a single GINN available to it, while the second had two, and the destroyer could only field a CGUE. Murrue had already made up her mind on how those few units would be deployed; they would stay with their mother ships and intercept any incoming attackers.

_The heavy lifting's going to come down to Heero again_, she thought, _just like it always does. Damn it, I hate this. He deserves more support than what I can give him._

That support actually was substantial, though not enough in Murrue's eyes. The _Archangel_'s Captain had her usual order of battle ready to go: Shemei would link up with the rest of her team as soon as she deployed, Dearka and La Flaga would join Heero on the offensive, and Bristow and the new M1s would stay back with the white warship. Murrue was ready to tear into the enemy fleet with all the considerable firepower at her disposal, but she wished that the vessels from Task Force 9.3 had more surviving mobile suits so she could send additional units to back up Heero.

Turning back to the map on the main monitor, Murrue once again focused her gaze on the two Orb colonies. The _Archangel_ and her allies were at the outskirts of L3, and their course was set for the midway point between Eden and Elysium.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied the map. _Which one_, she thought, _will they hit first? Of course, that's assuming they don't split their forces and strike both at once. If that happens, well…_

It was not a train of thought she wanted to finish.

Suddenly the communications officer cried out. "Captain, we're getting an open transmission from the Elysium colony! They're under attack!"

"Any word from Eden?" she asked.

"Negative," said the officer, "just Elysium! According to the transmission, the Alliance is hitting the colony with at least two carrier battle groups!"

_So it's one target_, she thought, _We'll have to fight their full fleet, but we can hit them with _our _full force._

Murrue immediately began giving out orders. "All hands, level one battle stations! Arm all weapons, and have our pilots ready to launch!"

"Ma'am, the _Eternal_'s hailing us!" said the communications officer.

"Patch them through," Murrue replied.

The faces of Lacus and Waltfeld appeared on the screen. "Captain Ramius," said the pink-haired songstress, "Did you get the distress call?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes, Miss Clyne. We're ready to act on your orders."

The girl glanced at Waltfeld and nodded. Taking his cue, the Desert Tiger spoke. "We can't afford to wait until our full group gets to Elysium; we need to dispatch the nuclear powered machines as a vanguard. They should be able to buy the colony's defenders some time until we can catch up."

Murrue grit her teeth. She knew it was the best move, but she didn't like it. Once again, she'd be sending Heero forward to fight without her ship supporting him. It didn't matter that he'd have six of the best pilots in the Cosmic Era fighting alongside him; she just didn't feel right unless it was the _Archangel _that had his back.

There was no room for argument though. Ever second wasted was a second more that the Earth Alliance forces had to batter down Elysium's defenses, get inside the colony, and commence their massacre of the refugees. This was the only way they had a chance at stopping it… or failing that, swiftly avenge the fallen.

"Understood," said Murrue, "I'll get Heero and Shemei airborne ASAP."

Waltfeld nodded. "Shemei will lead her girls, but I want Heero in charge of the overall group, with Athrun and Kira acting as his personal backup. I know he likes to fly solo, but he's got leadership talent, whether he'll admit it or not, and the experience to go with it."

Murrue had to smile at that; it echoed her own thoughts about her young boyfriend. "I'll let him know."

"I hope they're ready," said Lacus, "If Commander Bohuslav's information is correct, then the enemy fleet is at least twice the size of the force the Alliance sent against us at L4."

Murrue nodded. She shared that concern, but she did not doubt Heero's abilities or those of his friends. "I know Heero and the others will be able to give them pause, but we still need to catch up to them as fast as we can."

"Agreed," said Waltfeld, "Let's make it happen. _Eternal _out."

As the Desert Tiger and the songstress faded from the screen Murrue began issuing new orders. "Have Wing Zero and the Judgment prepare for launch immediately."

"Yes, ma'am," said Miriallia.

Turning to her personal monitor, Murrue opened up a private communication with Wing Zero. "Heero," she said when she saw the young man appear on the screen, clad in his black flight suit, "We're sending you and the rest of our nuclear powered machines out ahead as an advance force. You'll be in charge of the whole squadron, and Athrun and Kira will be your direct support while Shemei fights with her team."

Heero nodded. "Understood. Which colony is the enemy hitting?"

"Elysium," said Murrue, "It looks like they're concentrating their full force on that colony."

"Did the Orb forces send any information about the enemy fleet?" he asked.

"Nothing beyond that it was at least two carrier groups, which corroborates the data we got from Commander Bohuslav two days ago," said Murrue, "However, we don't have a complete picture, so be on your guard."

"Roger that," said Heero.

"Heero," said Murrue, "We'll catch up to you as fast as we can, but until then you and the others will only have whatever surviving Orb forces that are at Elysium as backup. Please be careful."

"I will," Heero replied, "Wing Zero out."

A moment after Heero faded from Murrue's screen Miriallia spoke up. "Wing Zero and Judgment, you are clear to launch!"

Watching out the forward viewport, Murrue saw the Perfect Soldier shoot out of the _Archangel_'s left 'leg' and the Valkyrie fly out of the right. At the same time the Justice left the _Kusanagi _while the Freedom flew out of the _Eternal_, followed shortly by the three Wraiths. Kira and Athrun formed up with Heero, while Shemei's subordinates quickly got into formation with their leader.

As Murrue watched the seven mobile suits soar out ahead of the warships, quickly becoming little more than blue dots of thruster fire before disappearing entirely, she took a deep breath and let it out. Determined though she might be to save the inhabitants of the Elysium colony, her true concern as always lay with the safety of her boyfriend.

_One life means more to me than thousands_, she reflected, _I know that's selfish of me… but I also know it's human. Heero, please defend those people… and stay alive long enough for me to get there and protect _you_!_

….

On the bridge of his flagship, Rear Admiral Rogers scowled as he watched the battle unfolding before him, with the Elysium colony serving as the backdrop to the grand struggle. The enemy was putting up more of a fight than he had anticipated, even without the aid of the renegade warship _Archangel _and her allies.

There had been no subtlety to the Earth Alliance attack. Rogers' had commenced the operation completely by the book, and the Atlantic Federation playbook for the invasion of a colony was quite simple; a full frontal assault concentrated on penetrating the enemy lines and breaching the main entrance to the habitat. To that end, the two carrier battle groups and their support squadrons had merged into one large conical formation in order to maximize their frontal fields of fire and overlapping coverage for their weapons. As was typical of any Earth Alliance formation, the _Drake_-class escort ships made up the outermost layer. Following close behind were the bulk of the _Nelson_-class battleships, with a few of the vessels remaining to the rear to protect the _Agamemnon _and _Manhattan_-class carriers. All mobile suits and mobile armors had been launched just prior to the capital ships entering firing range of the enemy, billowing out from the fleet like a swarm of locusts. At the head of the swarm had been the twenty Strike-Avengers assigned to the fleet, their augmented pilots chomping at the bit to carve into the enemy. There were four of each of the five different configurations in play, assuring that the attack's spearhead was diverse and able to handle anything that moved to counter it.

In terms of warships, the enemy force opposing them was not even a third the size of the Earth Alliance fleet. Rogers had been disgusted, though not surprised, to see that all eighteen ships were defectors from the Alliance forces; twelve _Drake_-class escort ships and six _Nelson_-class battleships. They were deployed in a standard defensive array, firmly positioned between the Earth Alliance fleet and the colony's main entrance. The vessels had clearly once been part of outlying patrol forces due to the fact that there was not a single Earth Alliance mobile suit among them; all the ships had deployed mobile armors with the old standard weapons setup of a linear gun and four missiles. There were 132 of the craft deployed, but despite the numbers Rogers was not concerned; his forces would swat them from the sky like the annoying flies they were.

However, the defectors' allies were packing much more advanced machines. As soon as Rogers' fleet had come within range of Elysium mobile suits had begun pouring out of the colony like bees defending their hive. Several squadrons had been made up of the M1 Astray, but it was the unit the other teams had flown that had given Rogers' pause.

It was a sleek, streamlined machine, with more gentle curves than the sharp, angular design of units like the M1 Astray or the Alliance's Strike series mobile suits. Rather than a humanoid head like those sported by most mobile suits, this machine's was long, tapering upwards, its narrowing design reminiscent of the nose of a jet fighter. There was a single, square camera rather than the 'eyes' setup used by the M1 Astray or other mobile suits, which somehow gave the machine a more ominous and inhuman feel to it. Its color scheme was based on the same black, red, and white theme of the other Orb mobile suit, but its armament was noticeably different. While some of the machines were equipped with a type of beam rifle Rogers had never seen before, others wielded what looked like a heavy beam cannon that would completely outclass the weapons of the Strike-Daggers and Moebius units in the Alliance fleet. It also wielded a violet beam saber, allowing it to match the Alliance units in close-quarters combat. Unlike the M1 Astrays it was flying with, the unit had no shield, making its only defense its mobility.

Rogers knew, thanks to information sent to him by Azrael, that this was the new Taurus mobile suit that Orb had developed. He had to wonder how they had come up with such a machine; it was so different from anything else on the field. The unit was more than just a high speed mobile suit; Rogers had seen some of the machines transform into a fighter as they had launched, and the transformation reminded him for some reason of Wing Zero. That unit too had multiple forms, and the Rear Admiral suspected that Orb had that fearsome machine in mind when they had designed the Taurus.

Once the last mobile suit had left the colony the Rear Admiral was able to get a complete picture of what he was up against. He was surprised at just how many machines the colony had at its disposal; clearly Orb's orbital industrial facilities had been working overtime in the wake of the fall of their island homeland. The enemy was fielding no less than sixty M1 Astrays and thirty Taurus machines, with half of the later wielding the heavy beam cannons. It was an impressive force to be sure, but Rogers knew it was no match for his fleet.

_They can only delay the inevitable_, he'd thought as he ordered his forces to attack, _It's time to put them in their place. No more will Orb get to sit on the fence, using both sides for its own benefit. Before the day is out, its final redoubts will be ours in all but name; they'll be little more than a satellite state of the Earth Alliance._

As the Earth Alliance mobile suits and armors closed with the enemy units the defecting capital ships opened fire, unleashing a hailstorm of beams, bullets, and missiles. The barrage destroyed a few Moebius units and Strike-Daggers, but against the small, agile units its effectiveness was minimal. However, Rogers could tell that the true intent of the coordinated barrage was not to stop the Alliance squadrons in their tracks, but rather to break up their formations while the enemy mobile suits and mobile armors moved in to attack.

The defectors' mobile armors opened their strike by releasing their missiles _en masse_. They launched two waves in rapid succession, emptying their supply of warheads in truly massive salvoes of 264 missiles each. However, even when fired in such a vast quantity the now obsolete munitions used by the Moebius units were vulnerable to interception and the Alliance mobile suits and armors responded with a vast counter barrage of beams and bullets. The black void lit up like a fireworks display as missiles were destroyed midflight. Others were simply dodged, and in the end the two huge waves of warheads only managed to destroy a few Moebius units and Strike-Daggers.

Though the missile attacks had been weathered with minimal losses, Rogers did not let himself get complacent. He'd seen, even as the mobile armors had launched their volleys, the Orb mobile suits break into two pincers. Leading each formation was a trio of Taurus mobile suits armed with heavy beam cannons in their fighter forms. Moving at breakneck speeds, the new machines let loose with their guns, and the large yellow beams that flew forth reminded Rogers of Wing Zero's main gun, albeit on a much smaller scale. Each beam impacted a target, with two mobile armors and three Strike-Daggers falling to the attacks. The fighter-mode units immediately broke off, with the rest of the Orb mobile suits rushing in to engage the enemy.

_Clever_, thought Rogers, _They took some of the high speed units with the heaviest guns and are using them as hit-and-run strikers. While our units mix it up with theirs, those six Tauruses will continue to harass our formations, taking out a unit or two with each pass before pulling back and setting up for another attack._

It was a smart tactic, but one Rogers knew would only serve as an annoyance rather than an actual threat. With the enemy mobile suits and armors so heavily outnumbered by his own all the Rear Admiral would have to do was grind down the Orb formations until he could devote more units to chasing down and destroying the six fighter-mode Tauruses.

"Flight control," he said, "have all Strike-Avengers with the Sword Launcher and Double Launcher packs punch through the mobile armor screen. They're to begin hitting the enemy capital ships. All other units will engage the enemy mobile suits and the mobile armors that the advancing Strike-Avengers miss."

"Yes, Rear Admiral," said his mobile suit/armor combat controller, a blond haired man in his early twenties.

On the main monitor he saw the designated Strike-Avengers push forward into the swarm of defector mobile armors. The advanced mobile suits were vastly outnumbered, but their sophisticated systems and weapons coupled with the incredible reflexes of their augmented pilots were more than enough to compensate when their goal was simply to breach the enemy formations rather than dogfight every unit.

The Rear Admiral tapped a finger impatiently on the arm of his chair. His fleet's progress was good so far, but he was still concerned. The conical formation he had chosen, along with the deployment of his mobile suits and armors, was ideal for a full frontal assault like the one he was making now, but his rear was vulnerable. There was still no sign of Wing Zero or its allies, and Rogers was hoping to have his fleet take down the Orb forces and occupy the colony before the Demon Lord of Avalon could take the field. That would put him in a much better position to deal with the hated Heero Yuy.

_If we push a little faster, a little harder_, he thought, _we'll make it. The colony's defenders will be neutralized, and we'll be ready to turn around and deal with the traitors and their allies when they arrive. The Archangel and Wing Zero will die here!_

….

His shoulder-length jet black hair tied into a ponytail inside his dark green helmet, Collin Armistead had a manic grin on his face as he received his orders. His bright green eyes lit up as the Biological CPU charged forward with his Sword Launcher-equipped Strike-Avenger.

"You don't need to tell me twice," the eighteen year old boy cackled as he brought the Agni to bear on a mobile armor, blowing it and the unit behind it out of the sky with a blast of crimson energy, "They're all mine!"

Diving headlong into the swarm of Moebius units, the bloodthirsty young man attacked with wild abandon. Taking a broad swing with his anti-ship sword, he slashed a mobile armor clean in half with the violet beam on the edge of the metal blade. A split second later he opened up with his CIWS, shredding another unit.

Suddenly another blast of crimson energy tore through space mere meters to the right of his unit. It destroyed two mobile armors, but Collin barely noticed that as he scowled at the source of the shot. "God damn it, Agatha!" he yelled, "You almost hit me!"

"Shut up," replied Agatha Montgomery, a thirteen-year-old girl with short cropped black hair as her Double Launcher Strike-Avenger blasted away with its twin Agni cannons, blowing apart mobile armors with reckless abandon, "Stay out of my way, or next time I _will _hit you!"

"Fuck you!" Collin snarled as he cut down another Moebius unit with his sword, "You want a piece of me? Come and get it!"

"Both of you, get it together!" yelled another boy, this one a sixteen-year-old with his blond hair in a buzz cut and piloting a Sword Launcher Strike-Avenger, "Do you want to die out here?"

Collin gritted his teeth. "Quit nagging, Fred!"

"No," Fred Madison replied as he slashed a mobile armor in half, "We have to stay focused. What do you think Azrael and those fucking doctors will do to us if we screw up?"

_That _was enough to get Collin to give a little more consideration to the scenario. "Fine," he grumbled, "Just stay out of my way."

"Shit," groaned Agatha as she destroyed another mobile armor with one of her cannons, "bunch of pussies…"

His anger flaring again at his comrades words, Collin rushed the enemy with renewed ferocity. "Speak for yourself," he growled as he blew away two Moebius units with his Agni, "I'll have more kills than you by the time this is over, you fucking bitch!"

Agatha's response was two crimson blasts from her Agnis, obliterating three machines. "No fucking way, you little shit!" she yelled at him.

His anger fueling his actions, Collin led the charge as he and his fellow Biological CPUs cut into the enemy ranks. He was dimly aware of the other Double Launcher Strike-Avenger from the _Reagan _joining him, Agatha and Fred as they ripped mobile armors to pieces left and right. At the same time he saw the two Sword Launcher and two Double Launcher Strike-Avengers from the _Perry_ diving into the fray with equal zeal, mauling mobile armors left and right as they carved a bloody swath towards the enemy warships and the colony.

_I can't wait to get inside that thing_, he thought with a sadistic grin as he slashed another Moebius unit, _Then we can have some _real _fun ripping the place apart!_

His mobile suit shook as the rounds of a mobile armor's linear gun impacted its Phase Shift Armor. Annoyed, Collin quickly found the source of the attack and charged the machine, impaling it through the cockpit.

"Don't fuck with me, you little bug," he sneered as he watched the mobile armor explode.

He wished he was back with the rest of the Alliance pilots as they fought the enemy mobile suits; that looked like a lot more fun than dealing with the weakling mobile armors.

"Come on!" he cackled as he hacked another Moebius unit to pieces with his sword, "Is that the best you bitches can do?"

The enemy had no answer for him save to continue their attacks, and Collin responded in kind. His Strike-Avenger and those of his teammates continued to blast and cleave their way through the mobile armor swarm, more than a few times narrowly missing each other in the process.

As Collin advanced he was peripherally aware of the larger engagement raging to his rear. The Alliance and Orb mobile suits and mobile armors were mixing it up in earnest now, and his fellow Biological CPUs not assigned to the forward charge were tearing into the enemy with unchecked ferocity. The four Aile Avengers were leading the counter against the swifter Taurus mobile suits, firing away with their beam rifles and wing-mounted missiles or engaging in close-quarters combat with their violet beam sabers. The new Orb mobile suits responded in kind, yellow beams blasting at the Alliance units and violet blades slashing and stabbing. Despite the enemy's speed and power advantage, the Aile Avengers were more than holding their own thanks to their augmented pilots and the defensive coverage provided by their shields. Collin saw a few of the strange machines fall to his brethren and figured they had the situation well in hand.

They were joined in their clash by the Twin Sword and Havoc Avengers. The former had their blades out and swinging left and right, cutting down any M1 or Taurus unlucky enough to cross their path. Occasionally one would let fly with a pink beam boomerang, and the energy projectile would slice a hapless unit in half. Meanwhile, the Havoc Avengers were tearing through the enemy ranks with their Mjolnir sphere-breakers and plasma cannons, the space around them shimmering as their special energy deflection/redirection systems worked to deflect enemy attacks or curve their own beams in unpredictable fashion, taking the enemy by fatal surprise. As for the rest of the Alliance mobile suits and armors, they were supporting the Strike-Avengers the best they could… while trying to avoid drawing their fire.

Like Collin and his teammates, the other Biological CPUs weren't exactly friendly even under the best of circumstances, and once they got into a fight it took every bit of what little restraint they had to avoid killing each other. Collin had long ago lost count of how many simulated fights where they had been assigned to work together had devolved into open brawls as they had fought over kills and eventually just because they got really pissed off at each other.

It was easy to chalk up the extreme aggression of the Biological CPUs to the drugs they had been put on and the conditioning, training, and outright brainwashing they had been subjected to, and indeed those were all valid reasons. However, there was an underlying factor to their barely controlled fury, their desire to lash out at everything around them. It wasn't something their superiors were aware of, but the pilots themselves were, and anyone with a sense of empathy and an understanding of psychology could understand it.

Collin and his fellow pilots, despite all the drugs and harsh conditioning they had gone through that had been specifically designed to _not _let them think about this, were fully aware of their true purpose in the Earth Alliance war machine. They knew that they had been taken and transformed into something they had never wanted to be because their superiors were desperate for a way to surpass the Coordinators. Each and every one of them was fully aware that those who commanded them actually hated them, viewed them as freaks, and saw them as disposable tools as opposed to human beings. They were expected to kill not because they had volunteered to fight in this war, but because they had been turned into living weapons against their will. What was worse in their minds was that there was no way out of the situation they were in; withdrawal from the drugs combined with the lethal collar around their necks ensured that. The only possible respite from their situation was death.

Whether by the hands of their enemies or those who commanded them, the Biological CPUs knew that their end would not come by natural causes. They were one of the darkest secrets of the Atlantic Federation; their superiors would never allow them a normal life outside the armed forces when the war was over. Collin and his comrades had been reshaped to be nothing more than instruments of war, and they all knew in their hearts that it would eventually kill them one way or another. This realization had brought despair into the volatile mix of fear and rage that their creators had worked so hard to permanently instill in them, and it served to fuel a deep rooted sense of nihilism and fury. They had been completely screwed over thanks to the hateful and power hungry men that ruled over the Atlantic Federation, but they were powerless to strike back, to try and gain their freedom. In response they had fully given themselves over to their primal rage, reveling in the thrill of battle because they literally had nothing else. Combat had become a game to them; the only thing they could take any amount of pleasure or satisfaction in.

The battlefield was the only place where they could feel some measure of control over their destiny, even though they knew that those who had forged them into what they were today had done so _specifically _to send them into combat. As they tore through the swarm of defector mobile armors like the wrathful demons the Atlantic Federation had turned them into they lost themselves in the rush of flying and fighting, in the fear and rage that came with being forced to fight in a life or death battle, and in the thirst to prove themselves better than their teammates, at once their deepest rivals and the only friends they now had.

For certain, corrupted values of 'friendship', at least. It was hard to really establish a bond of trust when your comrades could give into their overwhelming anger at any moment and shoot you just to satisfy themselves or out of annoyance at something you said. It was a harsh existence, filled with the cruel brutality that only people loyal to an organization as fanatical and murderous as Blue Cosmos could inflict upon the poor test subjects of the Biological CPU program. All the while they fought, trying to give their broken lives meaning by excelling in the purpose that they had been made for by a group of ruthless racists and their scientists, a small part of Collin and each of his fellow pilots were hoping for an end to their miserable situation.

Even if that end was death.

Taking aim with his Agni, Collin blew away two mobile armors with a blast of crimson energy before shooting down a third with his CIWS. He grinned as he saw the progress he and his comrades were making; the defectors' Moebius squadrons were in complete disarray despite vastly outnumbering the Strike-Avengers, and the Biological CPUs were closing fast with the renegade capital ships.

At the same time he took another glance at the rest of the battle unfolding behind him and his advance strike team. It was a brutal clash, with Orb M1 Astrays fighting Strike-Daggers and beam cannon-equipped Moebius units tooth and nail head on while the more agile Tauruses flitted about like mosquitoes, blasting units with their beam rifles or heavier cannons depending on what they had equipped. Collin could see that the upper hand clearly belonged to the Earth Alliance, thanks in no small part to the Strike-Avengers. The Twin Sword, Aile, and Havoc units were ripping apart the Orb formations; the enemy was on the ropes. Behind it all the Earth Alliance fleet advanced slowly and steadily, the escort ships at the outer edge of the formation firing their vulcan cannons into the fray.

As he sliced another Moebius in half Collin heard a transmission over the fleet channel. "All Aile Avengers," said the _Reagan_'s combat flight controller, "move forward; cover the Sword Launchers and Double Launchers while they hit the enemy capital ships."

"Fuck that!" Agatha snarled over their squadron channel as she blasted three mobile armors with her Agnis, "We don't need their help!"

It was a rare occasion when Collin found himself in agreement with one of his fellow pilots, but this qualified as one. "Little bastards just want to steal our kills!" he sneered.

"Shut up, both of you!" yelled Fred as he hacked a mobile armor to pieces, "Grow a pair and deal with it."

"Piss off, Fred!" snapped Agatha.

"What she said," growled Collin.

Despite their displeasure with the move, they all knew that there was nothing they could really do about it. Collin could at least take some comfort from the fact that the Aile Avengers would be too busy swatting the mobile armor flies to get in on the action against the larger targets.

_The big ships are worth more bragging rights_, he thought as he sighted in on a _Drake_-class escort ship, with only a few Moebius units between him and it, _and they're all mine!_

In a life as twisted as his, he would take whatever fun he could get.

….

Leaning back in his chair, Rear Admiral Rogers allowed himself a rare smile. The battle was proceeding very well as far as he was concerned, and the fact that Wing Zero had yet to make an appearance on the field only increased his confidence.

_At this rate we'll have no problem taking the colony and fortifying it before that damn thing arrives_, he thought, _This time you cannot stop us, Heero Yuy!_

The Orb forces had fought well, he would grant them that, but the tsunami of Earth Alliance power bearing down on them now was overwhelming. The surviving M1s and Tauruses were being steadily pushed back, ground down under the might of the Strike-Dagger and modified Moebius squadrons, mauled and eviscerated by the incredible ferocity of the Strike-Avengers.

In an act of desperation, the surviving Taurus units had broken ranks, gone to fighter mode, and raced around the Strike-Dagger and Moebius formations to attack the Alliance fleet. Rogers had responded by having every ship in his force open fire, and the sheer volume of missiles, beams, and bullets unleashed in the salvo for a moment seemed to turn the space before them into a solid sheet of flame. The impressive agility of the Taurus units had not been able to save them; all of the new machines were annihilated in the onslaught.

The defecting warships allied with Orb had tried to respond, but with the advance team of Strike-Avengers now attacking them their counter was weak and unorganized, with four _Drake_-class escort ships and two _Nelson_-class battleships already destroyed by the Biological CPUs. A scattered barrage of bullets, beams, and missiles had been loosed by the surviving vessels, and indeed some Earth Alliance mobile suits and Moebius units had fallen, but it was not nearly enough to turn the tide. The warships' attacks had been further hampered by the presence of the surviving M1 Astrays and defector Moebius units; the desire to avoid friendly fire had limited the scope of the barrage almost as much as the disarray caused by the attacking Strike-Avengers.

As for the remaining Moebius units allied with Orb, they were being steadily picked off by the Aile Avengers that were covering the Sword Launcher and Double Launcher units, along with Strike-Dagger and Alliance Moebius teams that had broken through the M1 squadrons. Pleased with the incredible progress his forces had made, the Rear Admiral decided he could step up his timetable.

"Have the Double Launchers break off their attacks on the warships," he said, "They're to begin bombarding the main entrance. Move all other Strike-Avengers forward to eliminate the rest of the defectors' vessels. Strike-Daggers and Moebius units will continue to engage the remaining M1s and enemy mobile armors."

The flagship's flight controller nodded. "Understood, sir."

Thanks to information Lord Azrael had received from the Seirans and had passed on to Rogers, he knew that the two remaining Orb colonies had heavily reinforced their entranceways in the wake of the ZAFT attack on Heliopolis. It would take some effort to punch through the newly hardened docking bay doors, but the Rear Admiral was confident the Double Launchers had what was needed.

_Even if it does deplete much of their energy reserves_, he thought, _we have more than enough firepower to make up for that. I can always order the Sword Launchers and Havoc Avengers to join them._

On the main monitor he saw the four Double Launchers follow his instructions, moving into position to breach the colony entrance. Eight Agni cannons opened up, their blasts of crimson energy hammering the heavy blast doors.

"It won't be long now," he said.

Events were far exceeding his expectations. He was way ahead of schedule, with the Orb forces and Alliance traitors all but defeated, his fleet advancing on the colony, and the penetration barrage already underway. Hell, the Biological CPUs still hadn't begun turning on each other, though their cooperation was far from what was hoped for. Rogers could already imagine the promotion he'd be due when this battle was over; he would finally make Vice Admiral.

_They'll give me command of a full fleet instead of two battle groups_, he thought, _and it will be a force exponentially expanded by the vast buildup we've been undertaking and completely outfitted with mobile suits instead of mixed units. When the time comes I will lead that fleet in our final assault on the Coordinator homeland, and my name will go down in military history as a shining example to all future Alliance officers._

The normally cold and calculating Rear Admiral could already taste the sweet flavor of victory in his mouth. It was almost narcotic, so thrilling it was to have carried out such an important operation so smoothly.

It was enough to make Rogers forget about the one last hitch in his operation…

…until fate decided to punch him in the face with it.

"New contacts to our rear! There are four of them!" cried the sensor officer.

Rogers froze in his chair, his face paling as he realized just what was coming even before the sensor officer identified it… and that he was horribly out of position to deal with it.

"Massive energy spike coming from lead contact!" continued the sensor officer, not even trying to hide his fear, "_It's Wing Zero!_"

The image on the main monitor shifted, and Rogers could indeed see that infamous mobile suit, along with three of the other nuclear powered machines. A small part of his mind wondered where the other three were, but it was drowned out by the rest, which was focused squarely on Wing Zero. Its double barreled rifle was split, both guns up and ready.

He saw the tips of the two weapons begin to glow with golden-yellow light…

…and then all Hell broke loose.

….

**(Start "117")**

Pulling the triggers, Heero watched as two blasts of familiar hellfire ripped forth from the barrels of the split Twin Buster Rifle. Pillars of energy hit their targets dead on, obliterating a carrier designated _Perry _and a troopship identified as the _Houston_.

_Perfect_, he thought as he rejoined the two guns into the larger main weapon before drawing his beam saber, _we're right in their blind spot._

A second later he saw the Judgment open up with its Tartarus rifle. A torrent of crimson plasma flew across the void, bisecting the troopship _Manhattan _from stern to bow. The resulting explosions ripped the ship apart.

Already lining up for his next target, Heero began sending data gained from the Zero System to Athrun and Kira. As he did so he kept an eye on the command ship, awaiting the strike of the Valkyrie's three cloaked subordinates.

It didn't take long. Mere seconds after Shemei had eliminated the _Manhattan_ three volleys of six Lancer Dart missiles each appeared seemingly out of thin air, impacting the _Reagan_ at her engines, dorsal beam cannons, and bridge. The poorly armored carrier was demolished by the combined barrage. As it was blown apart Heero saw the three Wraiths decloak and activate their Phase Shift Armor. The move was in the nick of time; all nearby ships had begun firing wildly with their CIWS.

"They're disorganized," said Shemei, and Heero could see her grinning on his screen, "We just decapitated their fleet!"

Heero nodded, though his expression remained as calm and collected as ever. "Agreed, but they'll recover as soon as command authority's been established by the next ranking officer. We need to hammer them before they get their act together."

"Look!" cried Kira, "They're targeting the colony!"

Focusing on Elysium, Heero could indeed see a quartet of mobile suits bombarding the colony entrance. His eyes narrowed as he saw that those machines were all more advanced versions of the original Strike, and that they were wielding new versions of its Launcher pack.

_Two Agnis instead of one_, he thought, _That's bad news for the colony. With that kind of firepower hitting them, the doors will be breached any moment._

Indeed, Heero could already see that the main door was glowing orange-red from the repeated impacts. It may have been reinforced in light of what had happened to Heliopolis, but it had clearly not been meant to absorb the kind of punishment it was taking now.

Elysium's situation was rapidly deteriorating. The Gundam pilot could see the remaining M1 Astrays being surrounded by Earth Alliance Strike-Daggers and mobile armors, along with more of the advanced Strike that were wielding upgraded versions of the augmentations used by Kira's old machine. Heero also noted that four units were using a completely new configuration, one that struck him as a hybrid of the three prototypes that Kira and Athrun had clashed with during the invasion of Orb. In his mind the Gundam pilot designated those mishmash units 'Mutant Strikes', and he wasted no time in entering that into the Zero System; it was as good as anything else to call these new enemies until he learned their real names.

The Earth Alliance defectors were fairing no better than their Orb benefactors. Their warships were getting pounded, with only six escort ships and three battleships still in the fight, and for how much longer was in serious doubt. Heero saw that several mobile armors, each outfitted with the old armament of linear guns, were still fighting against the attacking Earth Alliance forces, but they were in disarray, and more importantly severely outnumbered and outgunned.

All this and more he took in within moments thanks to the Zero System, and it allowed him to plan their next move. "Valkyrie Team," he said, "hit the fleet with everything you've got; we have to keep them from advancing on the colony."

"Roger that," said Shemei, "Girls, you heard the man! Let's make these bastards pay for coming out here!"

"Yes ma'am!" all three replied.

"Kira, Athrun," said Heero, "We'll punch a hole through the Alliance mobile suit and armor formations. Neutralize all units trying to enter the colony. I'll draw as much fire as I can from their squadrons while you support the Alliance defectors and defend the colony entrance."

"Understood," said Athrun.

"Got it," said Kira.

"Good," said Heero as he targeted a battleship, "Let's go."

The moment he finished the sentence he opened fire, turning the battleship into a fireball. At the same time he saw the Judgment destroy another _Nelson_-class vessel with its heavy plasma rifle. Meanwhile, the Wraiths had proceeded to empty their remaining missiles on a third battleship, ripping it apart.

As they got closer to the enemy fleet Kira and Athrun finally opened fire. The Freedom's artillery mauled the guns and missile launchers of a _Drake_-class escort ship, knocking it out of the fight. At the same time, Athrun had opened fire with his rifle and beam cannons while at the same time throwing a beam boomerang. The green and pink energy projectiles punctured another escort ship, turning it into a fireball.

"Kira, Athrun, we'll skirt the edge of the fleet and hammer their forward squadrons," said Heero as he sighted in on his next target, an escort ship, "Valkyrie Team, keep going right up the gut."

"Copy that," said Athrun.

"Ok," said Kira.

"You got it, Heero," said Shemei as she fired her DRAGOONs and shoulder cannons and loosed a volley of twenty-four missiles into a battleship, obliterating the vessel under the sheer weight of the warhead and energy beam hailstorm.

"More like up the ass," said Adaline as she emptied her remaining missiles on an escort ship, ripping it to pieces, "We did hit them from behind, after all."

Lan chuckled as she mirrored Adaline's move, nailing another escort ship with the warheads she had left and annihilating it. "We're giving them one mean prostate exam. We must be the doctors from Hell."

"Lan, that's gross," said Pris as she hit a battleship with a volley of six missiles and railgun fire, destroying the bridge, "Couldn't you think of a better line?"

"Meh," Lan shrugged, "I use whatever pops in my head."

"Cut the chatter you three," said Shemei as she weaved through beam cannon and CIWS fire, setting up for her next attack, "We've got a job to do here."

"Yes, ma'am!" the girls replied as one.

Opening fire with the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero hit an escort ship, turning it into free floating atoms. At the same time he saw Kira pound a _Nelson_-class battleship with his guns, swiftly neutralizing the vessel's weapons. Meanwhile, Athrun cut loose with his beam rifle and the two cannons mounted on the Justice's backpack, and another escort ship bit the dust under a hail of emerald fire.

The fleet may have been caught off guard by their sudden attacks, but it wasn't taking the punishment they were dishing out lying down. Heero and the others weaved across space through an incredibly thick, if unorganized, hail of bullets, missiles, and energy beams. The Gundam pilot noted that, though all seven of the nuclear powered machines were drawing fire, he was subject to more of it than the others.

_Even if I'm not in the thick of the fleet like Shemei and her subordinates_, he thought as he destroyed another escort ship with a blast of golden-yellow energy, _I'm still their primary target. I can use that…_

Diving to avoid a salvo of heavy energy beams, Heero sighted in on the swarm of Earth Alliance mobile suits. Most of them were reorienting themselves to face the new arrivals, giving the surviving Orb units an opening to pull back and reinforce the defector warships and the colony. The Gundam pilot didn't think it would do much good against the new model Strike units the Earth Alliance was deploying, but it would buy some time, and that was what mattered.

"Kira, Athrun," said Heero as he brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear on the swarm of mobile suits and armors and charged it up, "I'm about to clear you a path. Be ready."

Moments after he finished speaking he heard a beeping coming from his weapons monitor; his gun was at maximum charge.

Allowing the Zero System to guide his aim, Heero opened fire. The blast was angled to pass below the colony but still cut a swath of destruction through the enemy ranks, and it did not fail in its goal. The Perfect Soldier had the satisfaction of seeing no less than fifteen Strike-Daggers and twenty-one mobile armors go up in flames. Many of the other units had scattered wildly to avoid the blast, with several of the more advanced Strike units quickly reforming and coming right at him.

"Get going," said Heero, "I've got these guys."

Gunning his engines, the Gundam pilot rushed towards the incoming machines. There were no less than six of them moving ahead of the pack to engage him. Two were equipped with the improved Aile pack, two had the 'Mutant' augmentation, and two were wielding twin anti-ship swords.

_That's right_, Heero thought as he opened fire with his shoulder gatlings, _I'm your opponent, the most dangerous combatant on this battlefield. Ignore the others; I'm the one you want to fight!_

His bullets hit one of the Strikes that was wielding the twin anti-ship swords but did no damage, confirming to Heero that the units were utilizing Phase Shift Armor. No sooner had the shots landed on their target when Heero had been forced to dive as the 'Mutant' Strikes opened up with their plasma cannons. Jinking left and right as he continued downward, Heero was barely able to stay one step ahead of the two crimson lances of energy as they curved through space.

_Good thing Kira showed us the Freedom's combat footage of that machine I destroyed at L4_, he thought as he raised his shield to block a volley of emerald beams from one of the Aile units before deflecting a strike from another twin sword machine with his beam saber, _That knowledge will come in handy here._

Bringing up his rifle again he opened fire. The blast of energy tore through space, but all six units managed to evade it. Heero could take some consolation from the fact that his shot was not completely wasted though, as he saw it destroy five Strike-Daggers and eight mobile armors that had been coming to join the fray and once again forced several more machines to go evasive, delaying their entry to his clash with the new models, but it was hardly the result he had been hoping for.

He pulled back as a 'Mutant' Strike lashed out with its sphere-breaker. The Gundam pilot then made a horizontal slash with his emerald blade, and the heavy spiked ball was cut in half. Heero had no time to follow up on his success though as he was force to climb to avoid shots from the other 'Mutant' and the advanced Aile Strikes. Moving to the right, he side slipped a vertical strike from an anti-ship sword before blocking a slash from his foe's second blade on his shield. Pushing forward, Heero countered with a diagonal strike of his own, catching the machine's left sword on its vulnerable backside and cutting it in half. He was then forced to break off as the other units moved in, firing away with their myriad weapons.

Taking quick aim Heero once again unleashed a blast from the Twin Buster Rifle. The six advanced Strikes scattered, but hitting them had not been Heero's intention. Instead the blast of energy downed four Strike-Daggers and seven mobile armors that had been trying to get in on the action and sent others into disarray.

_At least I can keep the small fry at bay_, thought Heero as he weaved through a series of intertwining, curving threads of crimson energy while bringing up his shield to block several emerald beams, _but I'm still playing defense against the new models. I need to seize the initiative, and quickly._

He would have to if he wanted to really turn the overall battle around. The Earth Alliance forces may have been thrown into temporary disarray by the sudden strike on their rear, but already they were beginning to recover. Their fleet was splitting into two sections, with the larger segment remaining behind in an attempt to bombard the Valkyrie Team while the smaller group moved forward to reinforce the mobile suits and mobile armors. Shemei and her girls were still tearing into the fleet, and indeed Heero saw the Valkyrie down another battleship with her remaining missiles and fire from her DRAGOONs and shoulder cannons while the three Wraiths nailed an escort ship with a withering combined assault of beams and railgun rounds. However, even with their advanced machines and incredible skills, the Gundam pilot knew it would still be an uphill battle for the Valkyrie Team.

As for Athrun and Kira, even in the midst of his fight Heero could see them cutting their way through the enemy ranks towards the colony. Wing Zero's earlier shot had given them the opening they'd needed to advance, with the only mobile suits and mobile armors in their way still in disarray. The Justice had drawn both beam sabers and combined them into a double-bladed weapon, tearing through Strike-Daggers and Moebius units like a samurai through a bamboo thicket. Meanwhile, the Freedom only had one of its violet blades out; Kira tended to rely more on his mobile suit's guns than swordplay. Blasting away with his beam rifle, plasma cannons, and railguns, the young Coordinator from Heliopolis was disabling units left and right, and it would only be a matter of seconds before him and his childhood friend would be able to link up with the surviving defector warships.

They would have to do it quickly. Even as he had clashed with the new Alliance units Heero had been mindful of the withering bombardment the four Strikes with the twin Agnis had been subjecting Elysium's main entrance to. While their guns were not the strongest Heero had ever seen on a mobile suit the fact remained that they were lethal, and they were performing one of the tasks that they had been designed for; assaulting a fortified target. The huge slab of dark grey steel that was the main gate was almost a solid sheet of bright orange now from the punishment it had been taking, and there were several very prominent fractures. Heero knew that the gate would not hold much longer; a few more shots would be all it took to finish it off.

_Even if Athrun and Kira stop those heavy units from entering the colony_, Heero thought as he fired his shoulder gatlings, shooting down missiles that had been launched from the wings of the advanced Aile Strikes, _or actually piercing the gate, there's plenty of other units that can finish the job. With the hits that thing's taken, the enemy won't need to apply much pressure now to finish the job._

Heero mentally cursed his occupation with the new Earth Alliance units. Even if distracting as much of the enemy force as he could had been his idea it didn't mean he was happy playing diversion while his foes were one badly damaged doorway away from slaughtering tens of thousands of civilians.

Images from that fateful night two years ago flashed through his mind. The flames in the colony's night, the charred and burned out ruins the morning after, the bodies lying everywhere…

…that lifeless little dog…

As tragic as that incident had been, Heero knew that it would pale in comparison to what the enemy would do if they were allowed to enter Elysium.

He refused to let that happen here.

"Those civilians," he growled as he gunned his engines, climbing above his foes, "are under our protection! _I won't let you kill them!_"

Taking aim with his rifle, the Perfect Soldier opened fire. A blast of energy tore across space, its target one of the 'Mutant' Strikes. Heero saw the space around the mobile suit ripple as it deployed its unique energy shields, but the new defensive system was like a wall of paper before the might of the Twin Buster Rifle even when fired at less than half strength. The wave of energy swept over the machine and destroyed it.

_Nice to know I don't need full power to destroy those units_, thought Heero as he evaded fire from the other machines and blocked an anti-ship sword Strike from the unit that had only one blade remaining on his saber, _I guess La Flaga was right back at L4; maximum charge was overkill. Forty percent seems to work just fine._

Heero charged forward, pressing his foe hard before kneeing it in the chest, disorienting the pilot. Raising his shield, he then blocked a series of emerald beams from the advanced Aile unit before swiftly whirling around and deflecting another anti-ship sword strike, this one from the unit that still had both blades ready. Heero countered by firing his shoulder gatlings, and the impacts of the rounds forced his foe to pull back even though they stood no chance of piercing the Phase Shift Armor; the drain on the unit's power supply would still be noticeable by the pilot, which was what the Perfect Soldier had been counting on.

The two advanced Aile units and single remaining 'Mutant' unit moved in while the twin blade wielding Strikes regrouped. Heero prepared to parry a beam saber strike from the closest Aile unit when suddenly the machine was forced to dive to avoid a curving lance of plasma from the 'Mutant'. The other advanced Aile machine broke off as well as the 'Mutant' swung its sphere-breaker about wildly.

_They almost hit their comrades_, thought Heero as he did his best to avoid the heavy spiked ball, blocking the occasional blow on his shield, _Their attacks weren't coordinated at all._

The 'Mutant' charged forward and took another powerful swing with its sphere-breaker. Heero pulled back to avoid the swipe, but before he could charge forward to counter with his beam saber he saw his foe suddenly get pushed aside by the shield of an Aile unit before the mobile suit leveled its beam rifle and fired.

Raising his shield to block the shot, Heero once again found himself confused at the odd behavior exhibited by his foes. They were all very aggressive, but there was very little teamwork between them. In fact, now they all seemed to be competing to be the one to attack him.

He might not have understood why his foes were acting this way, but Heero certainly wasn't going to complain about it. With the overall situation still very grave for the Elysium colony, the Gundam pilot would take all the help he could get.

Gunning his engines, Heero charged the advanced Aile unit that had attacked him. Keeping his shield up to block the emerald beams his foe shot at him, Heero slammed his mobile suit right into his opponent. The tackle knocked the Alliance machine off balance, giving Heero the opening he needed to drive his green blade through the mobile suit's chest.

Just as swiftly as he charged, Heero retreated as the rest of his foes moved to attack him. After he'd gained a bit of room he brought up the Twin Buster Rifle and opened fire. The four surviving units scattered, but the shot was not wasted. As had been his intention with some of his other past shots in this fight, Heero's blast tore into a formation of Strike-Daggers and beam cannon equipped Moebius units that had been coming up to join the fray, destroying four of the former and three of the latter and causing the rest to scatter once again.

Opening up with his shoulder gatlings, Heero pounded one of the anti-ship sword wielding Strikes, further depleting its valuable energy reserves. As he hit the unit he sought out the other one, and found it rushing in to strike while its comrade was taking fire. Acting quickly, Heero altered course and hit his thrusters, meeting the approaching unit head-on. His foe raised their sword for an overhand strike and brought it down hard. Raising his shield, Heero blocked the attack before stabbing the advanced Strike in its exposed gut.

Pulling his emerald blade out as the mobile suit exploded, Heero was forced to dive to avoid a volley of energy beams, missiles, and a curving lance of plasma. He noted that there was too much fire for his three surviving adversaries to be putting out, and it was not hard to find the source of the additional shots; the smaller portion of the Alliance fleet that had broken off from the main group to advance.

_Their not going all out_, Heero as he twisted and turned through the barrage, _They're actually trying to avoid friendly fire. Rather conscientious of them; not what I expected given the Earth forces' officers' casual regard for the lives of their soldiers. I guess whoever was next in the line of command actually has a sense of human decency. Too bad they're on the wrong side._

As he evaded the enemy fire he took a brief moment to observe the rest of the battle. He quickly found the remaining 'Mutant', advanced Aile, and dual wielding anti-ship sword Strikes that had not engaged him before; they were busy tearing into the surviving Orb mobile suits and defector mobile armors. Kira and Athrun were clearing the last few enemy units in their way, and Heero hoped that they would be able to quickly neutralize the more advanced machines and help their allies secure the colony.

That couldn't come soon enough. Even from this distance and in the midst of his personal battle Heero could see that the colony's main gate was beginning to buckle under the fierce bombardment the four dual-Agni wielding Strikes were hitting it with. The cracks in it had grown more prominent, and there was a very noticeable inward bent to the superheated metal. It was nearly at the breaking point.

Matters were better with regards to the Earth Alliance fleet itself, but not by much. The Judgment and the three Wraiths were continuing to take out battleships and escorts left and right, but whoever had assumed command of the force after the carriers had been destroyed had managed to sufficiently reorganize their warships to the point of being able to deliver coordinated counter fire. Also, several mobile suits and armors had begun to pull back towards the fleet to support the warships in their fight against the Valkyrie Team, and Heero could only hope that Shemei and her girls could handle the increasing pressure.

"Time to end this," he said softly, his eyes narrowing as his three foes approached.

They weren't flying with any sense of real formation or unity; all three were simply charging in headlong, each trying to outmaneuver the others and set up for the first shot at him. The 'Mutant' Strike actually took a swing at the anti-ship sword-wielding Strike with its sphere-breaker, causing it to pull back a little. A split second later though the 'Mutant' was forced to activate its energy shield as the advanced Aile Strike actually shot at it with its beam rifle. The whole display reminded Heero of his clash back at Alaska with the three ZAFT Special Operations Squadrons that had confronted him at the beginning of the battle, only it was more extreme; while Grün, Röt, and Schwarze Teams had merely tried to force each other to break off so they could have the glory of taking Wing Zero down, these three units seemed to be actively attempting to _kill _each other.

_Hardly the acts of professional pilots_, the Gundam pilot thought as he picked his first target, _but it's making my job easier, so I won't complain._

He opened fire with the Twin Buster Rifle. The blast was aimed at the 'Mutant' Strike, but it managed to dodge the shot. That was fine by Heero though; putting that unit on the defensive gave him the key opening he needed to hit his _real _target.

Heero let off a quick burst with his shoulder gatlings at the advanced Aile unit, causing it to raise its shield. While it was blocking the bullets the Gundam pilot charged in, bringing up his own shield to deflect an anti-ship slash from the third unit as he did so. Brushing off his attacker, Heero fired another short burst from his gatlings at the advanced Aile Strike. Again the unit blocked the attack on its shield, but it gave Heero the opportunity he was looking for. Jinking quickly to the left, he cut down the Aile unit as he streaked past its right side.

Not even bothering to watch as the mobile suit exploded, Heero immediately charged the 'Mutant' Strike. Diving to avoid a curved blast of plasma and bringing his shield up to block a beam boomerang from the sword unit, Heero came up beneath his target. The 'Mutant' Strike swung down with its sphere-breaker, but the Perfect Soldier had anticipated the move and met it with his beam saber. The green energy blade cut the spiked ball in half, and both sections sailed harmlessly past Wing Zero. Gunning his thrusters, Heero raised his beam saber and skewered the 'Mutant' Strike from below.

He whirled around as the machine exploded, and not a moment too soon; the advanced Sword Strike was charging at him, its blade thrust outward in an attempt to impale him. Shifting to the left, Heero redirected the blow with his beam saber before opening fire with his shoulder gatlings. The rounds pounded the unit's Phase Shift Armor, doing no damage but forcing the enemy to go evasive lest they lose precious power. With his foe at range now and on the ropes, Heero brought up the Twin Buster Rifle and cut loose.

Amazingly, his foe barely managed to avoid being destroyed by the blast, but they did not come out unscathed; they had caught the edge of the shot, with their right arm and the anti-ship sword held by it completely destroyed. Rather than retreat though, the enemy grabbed one of the knives mounted at the mobile suit's hip and charged Heero.

As he prepared to meet the attack he heard a voice over an open channel. It was young, female, and the Gundam pilot was struck by its shrill ring of rage and fear.

"_Why won't you fucking die?_" his opponent shrieked, "_Why can't we kill you?_"

Heero didn't answer. Instead he simply slipped into the weak spot created by the loss of his foe's right arm and impaled the mobile suit on his emerald blade.

He didn't know why, but after hearing the voice of the enemy pilot he felt a strange feeling of guilt as he cut her down. It wasn't like the normal burden that came with killing people in combat; this was almost nauseous, like he was going to be sick. Nor was it because his latest victim was female; though the Gundam pilot would never hurt a woman in any other situation, when they were enemy soldiers on the battlefield he gave them no more consideration than he would men. Heero couldn't explain it, but he had a suspicion that the pilot he had just killed and those that had fought alongside her in those new models were not normal soldiers. There behavior hadn't just been unusual during the fight; something about it had felt _wrong_.

_Who were they?_, he thought as he watched the mobile suit explode, _Who did I just kill? Those weren't regular pilots, and I don't think they were elites either… something's not right here._

Heero shook his head. Worrying about the pilots he was taking down in the middle of a battle was _not _going to aid his effectiveness. Whatever was up with his foes, he could figure it out when the fighting was over.

And there was plenty of fighting left to be had. Heero may have removed six dangerous pilots and their mobile suits from the field, but there was still the rest of the Earth Alliance force to deal with. The Perfect Soldier wanted to advance and rejoin Kira and Athrun, but the smaller portion of the Earth Alliance fleet that had detached from the main body earlier was moving on him fast, and there were plenty of Strike-Daggers and Moebius units that wanted to hit him from the other angle.

_I can't let those ships get any closer to the colony_, he thought as he evaded enemy fire, _and the more small unit teams I draw towards me the easier Kira and Athrun's job is. The enemy's main priority may be Elysium, but they're still devoting resources to taking me down, and I need to make the most of it._

Sighting in on the closest _Drake_-class escort ship with his Twin Buster Rifle, Heero contacted the pilots of the Freedom and Justice. "Kira, Athrun," he said as he took the shot, blowing the vessel away, "I'm going to be busy back here for a while. The colony's in your hands; do whatever it takes to protect it."

**(End "117")**

….

Kira nodded as he opened fire with the Freedom's artillery, disabling two Strike-Daggers and three Moebius units. "Got it, Heero," he said.

There was no response from Wing Zero's pilot, but Kira couldn't blame him for that. All it took was a glance to see that Heero was in the thick of the Earth Alliance forces, contending with warships, mobile suits, and mobile armors. The same went for the Valkyrie Team; there was no way that they could come to help out Kira and Athrun when they were in the middle of the Alliance fleet hammering away at their capital ships and smaller units while trying to stay one step ahead of the storm of return fire they were facing.

To his right Kira saw Athrun cut down two Strike-Daggers with his double-bladed beam saber before shooting down a mobile armor with the beam cannons mounted on the Justice's backpack. Those were the last obstacles between the two young men and the defector warships and Orb forces… or rather, what was left of them.

The warships that had been defending the colony had been decimated by the new model Strikes. Only three _Drake_-class escort ships and two _Nelson_-class battleships were left in action, and if Kira and Athrun didn't get to them soon that number would be reduced to nothing. The surviving M1 Astray and defector mobile armor squadrons were shells of their former selves, and Kira was amazed that any of them were left alive given the ferocity of the Earth Alliance assault.

Sighting in with the Freedom's artillery, Kira immediately picked out a group of six mobile suits, all new models. Two were Aile units, two were Twin Sword units, and the other two were hybrids of the three machines he'd fought at Orb.

"Athrun," he said, sending his friend the data on his designated targets, "I'll take these guys."

Athrun nodded. "Alright. I'll try to punch through to the ones that are hitting the colony."

Bringing all his guns to bear, Kira opened fire. Plasma blasts, railgun rounds, and emerald beams tore through space in a brilliant multicolor barrage. However, the impact of his bombardment was far less than he'd hoped. The two Aile units lost their beam rifles but had managed to protect their heads with their shields, while the hybrid machines had utilized the same energy barrier Kira had seen the green prototype use back at Orb. As for the dual wielding anti-ship sword units, they had simply moved behind the hybrid units, letting them tank the shots.

_They reacted fast_, he thought, _just like those pilots from Orb. This won't be easy…_

The six units spread out and immediately attacked. Kira dived and brought his shield up to evade one curving blast of plasma and block another while also dodging two beam boomerangs. Four missiles flew forth from the Aile units, and Kira shot the warheads down with his CIWS.

Gunning his engines, the young man charged the unit furthest on the right of the enemy formation, one of the Twin Sword Strikes. He lashed out with his beam saber, hoping to take out at least one of the unit's arms, but his foe managed to block the slash and counter with its second blade. Kira blocked that attack on his shield, but before he could make a counterattack of his own he was forced to break away as the second Twin Sword unit came in, slashing with both blades.

_Damn_, he thought as he blocked one sword on his shield and the other on his beam saber, _these guys are good._

Pushing his thrusters into reverse, Kira backed off and opened fire with his beam rifle. The emerald beam hit his foe in the left elbow, blowing off the rest of the arm and the sword it held with it. Kira had no time to celebrate his progress though; the two hybrid Strikes and advanced Aile units were closing in, and they looked like they meant business.

Bringing up his shield, he was able to block the swing of a hybrid's sphere-breaker, but the impact still rocked his machine. As he tried to counter he was suddenly forced to dive as the two Aile units came in with their beam sabers, trying to spear him from both sides. Kira managed to get away, but as he was about to open fire on them the second hybrid unit swung its sphere-breaker, hitting the Freedom from behind.

"Augh!" he groaned as he was thrown forward in his seat by the impact. The hit was followed up by two smaller ones as the guns that were integrated into the mobile suit's shield opened fire.

Gritting his teeth, Kira whirled the Freedom around and opened fire. However, his foe simply brought up its energy shield, harmlessly deflecting the rounds and beams. Kira had little time to launch a second attack; the two Sword Strikes were moving in fast, each hoping to impale him on their blades.

Hitting the thrusters, Kira charged the unit that he had damaged earlier. Moving in hard and fast, he took a swing with his beam saber. The Earth Alliance mobile suit managed to block his attack, but Kira quickly countered with a second swing, this one to the backside of the anti-ship sword, snapping the blade in half.

_Good_, the boy thoughts as he turned to block the blades of the second unit, catching one on his sword and the other on his shield, _he's out of the fight._

A sudden impact to his machine's back proved him wrong; Kira's eyes widened as he saw that the Strike had drawn one of its knives and had actually tried to stab him. The metal blade could not pierce the Freedom's Phase Shift Armor of course, but the fact that his foe had actually made such a foolish attack caught the boy completely off guard.

His surprise gave the other advanced Sword Strike an opening to attack again. It came in hard, both blades swinging, and Kira was forced to dive in order to avoid both slashes and the knife-wielding unit, which took another futile stab at him.

"What's with this guy?" Kira said as he tried to put some space between him and his attackers.

The only answer he got was a fresh offensive from the other four units. Two curving crimson lances of plasma forced the young Coordinator to raise his shield and keep on the defensive, and no sooner had those beams been fired when he was faced with the advanced Aile units coming at him from both sides. Picking the one on the right as his target, Kira unloaded on the machine with everything he had. His efforts at disabling his foe were successful, as the head camera was shot off and its sword-arm destroyed at the elbow. However, rather than retreat, the unit simply drew a knife with its remaining arm just like the Sword unit had before.

Firing a hasty volley with his rifle, Kira managed to temporarily dissuade his foe, and not a moment too soon; the other new Aile unit and the hybrid machines were about to attack. Leveling all his artillery at the Aile machine, Kira opened up. Like the earlier mobile suit he actually managed to knock out the head camera and the arm that held the beam saber, but just like before the unit simply drew one of its hip-mounted knives and kept charging.

"Damn it, not him too," hissed Kira as he raised his shield to block a curving blast of plasma while dodging another one. His foes were just as aggressive as those three Earth Alliance prototypes he'd fought before, arguably more so. The young man wondered what it would take to get them to withdraw.

_I'm taking too much time_, he thought, _just like Orb…_

It only took a glance at his sensors to see just how desperate the situation was, how he could not afford to be stuck engaging these six machines. The four mobile suits wielding the twin Agni cannons were hammering away at the colony entrance. Kira could see the heavy slab of steel glowing orange-red with the head, with multiple large cracks and sagging heavily inward. It was a testament to the Orb engineers that the door had held up this long under such punishment, but it was clearly at its limit. The boy doubted it would last another minute.

Kira could see that Athrun had made greater progress than he had with regard to his foes. His old friend was mixing it up with the hybrid Sword/Launcher Strikes that had been attacking the defector warships, and he was playing for keeps. The Justice had already cut one of the advanced mobile suits in half with its double-bladed beam saber, and in the split-second Kira was watching it had sliced the Agni cannon off of another, though the Freedom's pilot was sure that Athrun had been going for a lethal blow.

His conversation from a few days ago with Waltfeld and Aisha echoed in his mind, one segment in particular proving to be quite relevant to his current situation.

_"The longer you spend fighting against high-caliber foes," said Aisha, "that's more time you're not spending neutralizing other enemies and helping us win the battle. If you're truly willing to go all-out, then none of Zala's elites should be able to stand against you, and I imagine the same would go for the Alliance's hotshots."_

_ "So I should kill them just because it's more expedient?" said Kira, incredulous at what he was hearing._

_ "Partially," said Waltfeld bluntly, "but also because it will ultimately _save lives_. Not theirs, perhaps, but those of your friends, your comrades, and ultimately the innocent people we're trying to defend from madmen like Azrael and Zala. Kira, while you're right in that most of the pilots we fight against probably don't truly believe in the vile rhetoric espoused by their superiors, _some of them do_. I know you can't tell one's political affiliations or ideals apart from another when they're inside a mobile suit, but there's another thing you have to take into consideration."_

_Do I have no choice?_, he thought as he dodged another round of curving plasma blasts from the two hybrid units, _Do I…_

_ Do I have to kill them?_

The two hybrid units fired more curving shots while the other four units closed in, three wielding knives and the fourth still in possession of both its anti-ship swords. Recognizing that last one as the greater threat to him, Kira leveled the Freedom's guns at it and opened up. With all his artillery concentrated on a single target, the boy was certain that he'd inflict overwhelming damage to it.

He was both right and wrong. The multicolor barrage was indeed devastating, destroying both the mobile suit's arms and knocking out its head camera, leaving it with absolutely no offensive options and reduced visibility. However, to his horror the damage did not seem to slow him foe down; the advanced, if severely battered, Sword Strike continued to charge, intent on ramming him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" cried Kira even as he shifted his aim to the other incoming units and opened fire, "What's wrong with these guys?"

His enemies did not seem inclined to answer his question, save to renew their attacks upon him. Even as Kira's shots took out their head cameras and knives they still came in like linebackers going for a tackle. It was utter insanity; their focus was completely on attacking him, without a thought to self-preservation. Even the three machines and their pilots that he'd fought at Orb hadn't struck him as so reckless. They were aggressive, yes, but compared to these pilots their actions seemed positively tame.

His surprise at his ferocious, seemingly suicidal damaged foes distracted him from the two that still had their complete arsenals at their disposal. Kira was barely able to bring his shield up as the first hybrid Strike swung down hard with its sphere-breaker, and blocking that attack left him open to one from the second unit. The swing hit the Freedom hard on the right side, and Kira's head struck the side of the cockpit. Were it not for his helmet the boy knew he would've been knocked right out, and as it was he was definitely shook up by the impact.

He could see the colony in the background, and the knowledge of the civilians living on it, counting on his actions, fueled his response. The boy managed to climb above his attackers, and when he gained a little space he rained down fire on them. Once again the space around the two hybrids shimmered, and Kira's shots were deflected by the energy shields.

Hitting his thruster, Kira rushed in, putting away his beam rifle and drawing his second saber as he did so. Targeting one of the hybrid units, he braced himself for the sphere-breaker swing he knew was coming. When his foe struck as he'd predicted, Kira ducked under the swing and sliced through the thick cable connecting the ball to the mobile suit with his right blade, sending the spiky orb floating off into space. A split-second later he stabbed his left blade into the plasma cannon mounted on the machine's backpack, and the weapon exploded.

The boy was then forced to dive as the second machine took a swing with its sphere-breaker, aiming for his back. Kira managed to evade the hit, and indeed he had the satisfaction of seeing the spiked ball slam into the hybrid unit he'd just attacked, knocking it off balance; apparently its energy shields were useless against the melee weapon it wielded.

Swooping in to take advantage of the confusion, Kira sliced off the arm of the machine that had just hit its comrade, depriving it of its sphere-breaker. Both his foes raised their shields in response and opened fire with the guns mounted on them. The physical rounds were no threat to the Freedom, but Kira still backed off; his other foes were closing in.

Facing the lead unit, he saw it was one of the advanced Sword units, though at this point it almost didn't matter. Those two machines and the new Aile units alike had been reduced to either wielding their knives or nothing at all as their arms had been destroyed by the Freedom, with this unit being one of the latter.

As the mobile suit closed in Kira heard a male voice over an open channel, and he was surprised to realize that it was the enemy pilot. "_I will fucking kill you!_" his foe snarled. The sheer, unadulterated _rage _in their voice chilled the young Coordinator.

His mind flashed back to the battle in the Marshall Islands months ago, more specifically to the moment when the Aegis had charged and latched on to the Strike before self-destructing. Kira couldn't say how, but right then he knew that his enemy was making a suicide run. His face paled as his foe approached, his mind torn. Even if the new Strike self-destructed when it hit the Freedom, the explosion would not be enough to take down the ZAFT prototype. However, it could definitely damage the mobile suit's weapons or sensors, leaving Kira vulnerable to attacks from the other machines or regular Earth Alliance forces. Disabling his foe was not an option; he'd whittled this unit down as far as he could, and it had refused to back down.

"I… no…" he said softly, freezing.

Another image flashed through his mind, one he definitely had not expected. It was none other than the face of Lacus Clyne. She didn't say anything; she just gave him that same kind, serene smile that she always did.

It made no sense to think of such a peaceful girl at a time like this… save for one reason.

If he died here, what would that do to her?

In that moment, the tens of thousands of innocent people inside Elysium faded from his concern, as did his friends and allies he was fighting alongside.

There was only Lacus, and his growing feelings for her.

In death, he would lose both.

He could _not _let that happen.

He _would _survive…

…no matter _what _he had to do.

On his screen, he saw two crimson lances of plasma and two yellow railgun rounds slam into his foe, ripping the advanced Strike apart. Kira couldn't recall firing; he must've done it on pure instinct.

He had _killed _on pure instinct.

He couldn't stop to think about it; that would paralyze him, and that was the last thing he could afford right now.

The other armless Sword Strike was charging in, head-mounted CIWS blazing, the bullets uselessly peppering the Freedom as the Alliance machine moved in to ram it. Before it could do so, Kira lashed out with his beam sabers. The twin violet blades eviscerated the mobile suit, turning it into little more than scraps and a brief burst of flame.

The two damaged Aile Strikes were next to go. Both units fired away with their CIWS, their pilots raging incoherently over an open channel. Kira didn't both listening to what they were saying, opting instead to quickly blow them out of space with his plasma cannons.

Now all he had to deal with were the two hybrid Strikes. One fired at him with its plasma cannon, but the other had been deprived of that weapon courtesy of Kira and was forced to use the guns integrated into its shield. Kira easily dodged the curving blast of crimson energy and blocked the rounds from the other unit on his shield before returning fire. The red lances of plasma and yellow railgun rounds were deflected by his foes' energy shields, but Kira had expected that and had simply used the barrage to get his enemies to play defense while he charged in. Both units drew the knives kept at their hips, but by the time they did it was far too late to use them. Passing between the hybrid Strikes, Kira cut them both down in the blink of an eye.

Breathing heavily, Kira searched for Athrun on his sensors. He found his old friend just dispatching the last of the combined Sword/Launcher units that he had been engaging, but while Kira had been fighting his foes two of the mobile suits with the twin Agnis had apparently broken off their attack on the colony and were now fighting the Justice. They were firing away with their heavy guns, keeping Athrun on the defensive, his shield raised to block the crimson blasts until he could find an opening to exploit.

The two mobile suits' preoccupation with Athrun gave Kira the perfect opening to attack. Coming in hard and fast, he speared one of the units through its right torso with his beam saber. As the machine exploded Athrun took the opportunity to retaliate against his other attacker, throwing a beam boomerang at it. The pink energy projectile caught the enemy mobile suit right in the cockpit, slicing the machine in half as it passed through.

"Thanks," said Athrun.

"No problem," Kira replied. Inside he was more than a little shaken up at what he had done, but now was not the time to worry about it.

What he _did _have to worry about was the colony, and he got a very unpleasant update on that courtesy of none other than Heero.

"You're too late," said the Gundam pilot, "The gate's been breached."

….

_So you're finally able to do what is necessary again, Kira_, thought Heero as he cut down a Strike-Dagger, _If only you'd been able to do that sooner._

Even in the midst of his fierce struggle against the Earth Alliance warships, mobile suits, and mobile armors Heero had still been able to keep track of the two Coordinators that had been designated as his wingmen for this battle. It had become immediately apparent that the advanced mobile suits they had clashed against were piloted by people much like those that Heero had fought; combatants with quick reflexes and extreme aggression but only rudimentary teamwork, and even that had disintegrated as the battle had gone on. Athrun had engaged his foes with his usual efficiency, just as Kira had fought in an attempt to disable his foes. However, against opponents who did not know when to withdraw, the latter's restraint did little good. Heero had considered intervening, but he had quickly realized that he could not; he was keeping a considerable amount of the Earth Alliance force occupied, and if he broke of his attack then they would be free to redouble their efforts against the surviving Orb mobile suits and defector warships and mobile armors, not to mention the colony itself.

Even though two of the advanced Launcher units that had been pounding the colony's entrance had broken off from their bombardment to go fight Athrun, Heero had known that the gate's collapse was inevitable. The firepower wielded by just the two remaining units would be enough to finish the job in light of the damage the massive door had taken, and indeed mere moments before Kira had finished off his last foes and gone to help Athrun the pair of advanced Launcher units had fired one final salvo, blasting apart the cracked and bent gate.

Heero had wondered whether or not the two units that had completed the bombardment would enter the colony or move to engage Athrun and Kira. They had swiftly chosen the former, and they were not alone; squadrons of Strike-Daggers and mobile armors were moving towards the breach. It was a relatively small amount when compared to the overall Earth Alliance force even after the casualties it had suffered at the hands of Heero and his comrades, but it was still enough to wreak considerable havoc inside the colony.

Some of the mobile suits and armors that had been engaging Heero earlier had broken off and begun charging towards the colony. The Gundam pilot had wanted to stop them, but the remaining units and fire from the incoming warships prevented him from giving chase. Matters were much the same for the Valkyrie Team; they were too entangled with the Earth Alliance fleet to break loose and come to the colony's aid. Some Strike-Daggers and Moebius units continued to engage the surviving M1s and defector mobile armors, but others had left their ranks and moved on to the colony as well. With their forces so badly depleted and the survivors desperately trying just to stay alive, there was no way the colony's original defenders could move to stop the enemy from getting inside.

"Kira, Athrun," said Heero as he blasted an escort ship with the Twin Buster Rifle, "go after them!"

"Heero, the Orb forces will be killed without our help!" cried Kira.

"At least they can fight back," Heero replied coldly as he shot down a Moebius unit with his shoulder gatlings, hardly believing that the boy would argue at a time like this, "Those colonists and refugees _can't_, Kira. The Orb forces can no longer save them; that's _our _duty now. Go!"

"Come on, Kira!" said Athrun, "We don't have time to waste!"

Heero saw Kira nod on his screen. "Right. Let's go!"

_About time_, he thought as he blocked a yellow beam saber strike on his shield before stabbing the attacking unit in the gut.

Even as he saw the Freedom and Justice rush after the Earth Alliance mobile suits that had already entered the colony though, he knew that Kira's words about the Orb forces were true. The Perfect Soldier and the Valkyrie Team might be managing to keep many of the enemy forces occupied, but there were still mobile suits and armors that would be able to attack and finish off the colony's original defenders.

_We're just too spread out_, he thought as he slashed another mobile suit in half while evading fire from other machines and the incoming warships, _We may have the most powerful mobile suits in the Cosmic Era, but there's only seven of us against a force that numbers scores of capital ships and hundreds of mobile suits and armors. We can't hold them back without help._

Diving to avoid a fresh salvo of beams from a group of mobile armors and Strike-Daggers, Heero turned his Twin Buster Rifle on them and cut loose. The blast of energy he unleashed on them took down three of the mobile suits and two mobile armors while the rest scattered, giving Heero some space to attack the incoming capital ships.

Moving left and right to keep ahead of all the beams, missiles, and shells flying around, Heero sighted in on the closest craft, an escort ship. The warship was already bringing its warhead launchers to bear on him and cut loose as the Gundam pilot faced it. A swarm of light and heavy missiles flew from the vessel, but Heero did not move to evade them. Increasing the charge of his main gun, the Perfect Soldier met the barrage with a wave of destruction from his fearsome rifle. The torrent of energy consumed the missiles before impacting the source of them a moment later, turning the escort ship into little more than superheated bits of scrap metal.

_Another down_, he thought as he climbed to avoid potshots from a group of mobile armors, _but there's still plenty more to go._

At the start of the battle the Earth Alliance invasion fleet had numbered sixty-four capital ships, along with hundreds of mobile suits and armors. The efforts of Heero and his allies had inflicted significant losses in all three categories, but there were still no less than thirty-four warships left on the field, and they had shown no sign of giving up. With the way the fleet had divided itself, the Perfect Soldier was currently facing eight escort ships and three battleships, while the Valkyrie Team was contending with no fewer than thirteen _Drakes _and nine _Nelsons_. Into that mix were scores of Strike-Daggers and beam cannon equipped Moebius units, and while it may not have been the ZAFT Home Fleet and the Avalon battle station it was still enough to make for an uphill battle.

_Especially since we're on defense, not offense_, Heero thought as he stabbed a Strike-Dagger through the cockpit, _If we were raiding the fleet, punching through it in a blitz attack, it would be different, but our job here is to keep them away from the colony. Seven mobile suits are not enough to form a solid defense, no matter how advanced they are or how skilled their pilots are._

He shook his head as he slashed another Strike-Dagger in half. "It doesn't matter," he said, "I'll defend the colony no matter what!"

His defiant message was not broadcast over any channel, but the enemy acted like they had heard it nonetheless by redoubling their assault on him. The eleven warships he was facing had been transitioning into a crescent formation in an attempt to envelop him, with the three _Nelson_-class battleships making up the center while the eight _Drake_-class escort ships composed the arms while the mobile suits and armors working with them tried to keep Heero pinned in roughly the same part of space. It was a classic maneuver, and one Heero knew he could break by charging forward and hitting the center of the line, but if he did that he feared that even more mobile suits and mobile armors would rush past him and head for the colony, along with some of the warships. However, with the way his enemies were moving in it looked like he would not have much of a choice in the matter.

Shooting down a mobile armor with his gatling cannons, Heero then took aim at the centermost battleship with the Twin Buster Rifle and opened fire. The blast of golden-yellow energy obliterated the warship, but the Gundam pilot had no time to celebrate. As soon as the beam had been fired Heero had immediately gone back on the defensive as more mobile suits and mobile armors attacked. Joining them were the warships, unleashing a rain of beams, bullets, and missiles.

Knowing he had to take the fight to them, Heero accelerated headlong into the hailstorm of fire directed at him by the capital ships. Angling towards the right arm of the crescent to avoid some of the barrage, the Perfect Soldier sighted in on an escort ship and opened up. His foe was destroyed by a torrent of golden-yellow hellfire, but Heero gained little respite; the rest of the warships were already adjusting their vector in an attempt to get him back under the majority of their guns.

As he prepared to fire on the next escort ship the Gundam pilot realized that the amount of fire coming at him had lessened even more than he had anticipated given his new attack angle. It only took a split-second for him to find the reason for that; several mobile suits and armors had broken off from their clash with him and were rushing to join the battle against the surviving Orb forces and the defectors that had allied with them. Already the few remaining M1 Astrays and older Moebius units were engaged in a last stand, and while the Perfect Soldier admired the incredible tenacity they were showing in the face of such overwhelming odds he knew that they would not last much longer. The same went for the three _Drake_-class escort ships and two _Nelson_-class battleships that the defectors still had in play; all five ships were damaged to varying degrees, but even without that it was quite clear that they would not be able to hold out against the Earth Alliance assault, especially without the Freedom and Justice supporting them.

His eyes narrowing, Heero opened fire. The escort ship was obliterated, but Wing Zero's pilot could not stay on the offensive; the enemy formation had reoriented itself to the point that they could bring more of their firepower to bear on him, and Heero quickly found himself hard pressed to stay one step ahead of the Earth Alliance gunners. Bullets, beams, and missiles filled the space around him as the Gundam pilot tried to find another opening to attack again.

_I can't afford to dance around like this_, he thought as he shot down a flock of missiles with his shoulder gatlings while blocking energy beams on his shield, _Kira and Athrun may be chasing those two Launcher units into the colony, but the entrance is still wide open now; plenty of room for more Alliance units to slip in._

Climbing above the enemy and slicing a Strike-Dagger in half while doing so, Heero managed to get enough breathing room to set up his next shot. Pulling sharply to the right to dodge a salvo from a battleship's heavy beam cannons, Heero sighted in on the warship that had taken the shot and cut loose. The _Nelson_-class vessel was blown away by the blast, but that still left one battleship and six _Drake_-class escort ships in the formation he was currently engaged with, and combined with the mobile suit and armors supporting them it was enough to keep him tied up.

_We need a game changer_, he thought as he stabbed a mobile armor through the cockpit, _Right now we're just surviving, grinding down the enemy's numbers, but that's not enough. We need to shift the momentum, but we can't do that by ourselves._

Weaving through the hail of fire, Heero saw the group of warships he was engaged with actually begin to split up. Two of the _Drake_-class escort ships on the far side of the formation were rushing forward while the other four vessels of their class and the sole remaining battleship continued to focus their fire on him. For a moment Heero thought that the two escort ships were going to try to flank him, but he quickly realized that their real intention was to get to the breached colony entrance. As weak as the Earth Alliance escort ships were, the Gundam pilot knew that they could still cause unspeakable carnage if they got inside Elysium.

He tried to set up to attack the pair of _Drakes_, but a group of Strike-Daggers moved to attack him. Raising his shield to block the beams from their rifles while still trying to dodge fire from the other warships, Heero could not get the opening he needed to strike the two advancing warships.

"No," he growled as he impaled a Strike-Dagger, "I can't let them get any further."

However, before Heero could make good on his words, a pair of familiar red-orange torrents of energy beat him to the punch, annihilating the lead escort ship. At the same time several new contacts appeared on his sensors, and the Perfect Soldier could not suppress a small smile as he saw who was leading them.

The _Archangel_.

Murrue Ramius.

….

**(Start "Merlon")**

"Lead target destroyed, Captain," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "Firing solutions locked in on the follower."

Murrue nodded as she looked at the battle unfolding on the main monitor and out the forward viewport. "Fire at will, Lieutenant."

The Gottfrieds and Valiants opened up, and the second _Drake_-class escort ship was ripped apart by the heavy beams and linear cannon rounds. Murrue watched with satisfaction as the other Earth Alliance warships in the formation Heero was battling against quickly fall into disarray as they realized that they were under attack from a new foe. This gave her boyfriend the opening he needed to launch a fresh strike of his own, and Wing Zero opened fire with its monstrously powerful rifle. The blast of energy unleashed by it hit another escort ship head on, turning it into a fireball.

"Ma'am," said the communications officer, "the _Ronin_, _Paladin_, and _Knight Errant _have acquired targets."

"They can fire when ready," said Murrue.

A second after the communications officer relayed her instructions Murrue saw the two frigates and the destroyer accompanying the _Archangel_ cut loose with the guns they had operational. Heavy beams and rail cannon rounds tore through space, and two more escort ships were taken down by the attacks, leaving just one _Drake _and one _Nelson _in the group that Heero was fighting.

_Looks like we got here just in time_, thought Murrue, _Heero, we're here to help you now!_

Murrue's ship and her subordinate vessels weren't the only ones getting in on the action. Above and to the left of her flotilla the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, along with their respective followers, were opening up on the larger battle group that was engaged with the Valkyrie Team. The Orb battleship and the prototype ZAFT vessel led the barrage, with the former destroying a _Nelson_-class battleship with her Lohengrins while the latter took out an escort ship with her heavy beam turret and METEOR batteries. A split-second after the two advanced warships opened up the two destroyers and three frigates flying with them followed suit. Despite the damage that they had been unable to repair en route the former ZAFT vessels still more than pulled their weight, and two more escort ships and a battleship fell under their combined barrage.

"Miriallia," said Murrue, "Tell La Flaga and Dearka they're clear to move in. Have them back up Heero."

"Roger that, ma'am," Miriallia replied, "Tallgeese Kai, Buster; you are green light to engage. Primary objective is to support Wing Zero."

On the main monitor Murrue saw La Flaga and Dearka's machines rush forward. All the ship's mobile suits and those of her allied vessels had launched when the warships' had been just outside their maximum firing range so that they would be ready to act as soon as battle was joined. In Murrue's flotilla she had Bristow and his Wolf Team covering the _Archangel _as usual, while the mobile suits from the ZAFT warships were sticking close to their vessels in case any enemy units decided to strike.

Waltfeld's voice came over the group tactical channel. "Group Alpha and Group Bravo will assist the Valkyrie Team in finishing off the main Alliance fleet. Group Charlie and Wing Zero will secure the space around the colony."

That was when Heero cut in. "Not just around," he said as he slashed a Strike-Dagger in half, "Alliance forces have breached the main gate. I sent Kira and Athrun to pursue but haven't gotten an update from them yet. They may need reinforcements if more Alliance units get in."

Murrue felt a chill go down her spine. Adjusting her personal monitor, she quickly zoomed in on Elysium. Her expression became grim as she saw the gaping hole where the main gate had once been, with the occasional Strike-Dagger or Moebius unit slipping into it. There was no sign of the Freedom or Justice and no way to know how many enemies they were fighting against inside the colony.

Murrue wasn't the only one distressed by the news. Over the group channel came Cagalli's voice, her fear and desperation readily apparent. "No! We have to hurry! I won't let them kill my people!"

"The Strike Rouge has broken formation," said the sensor officer, "She's heading for the colony!"

Looking at the main monitor, Murrue saw Cagalli's machine racing out ahead of her allies. It was equipped with the IWSP-X Striker Pack, and that configuration's improved boosters allowed Cagalli to outrun almost all of the conventional mobile suits in the Three Ships Alliance. She was already leaving the four M1s that had been flying with her in the dust, and Murrue was afraid that Cagalli could get herself killed by acting so recklessly.

"Cagalli!" said Waltfeld, "Get back with your group!"

"No!" she yelled defiantly, "My people suffered enough during the invasion of our homeland! I won't let the Alliance hurt them here!"

_Stubborn girl_, thought Murrue, _but I do understand why she's doing this._

Murrue realized that there was no way to deter Cagalli from her course of action, so she decided she'd do what she could to ensure her survival. "Miriallia," she said, "Have Dearka go with her; the Buster should be capable of keeping up with her machine. The Tallgeese Kai will continue to support Wing Zero."

"Understood, ma'am," the girl replied.

Immediately after that Lieutenant Tsukino spoke up. "Captain, we're getting targeting information from Wing Zero; Heero's going for the last battleship in the formation."

Murrue nodded. "Then we'll hit the _Drake_. Get targeting solutions with the Gottfrieds and Valiants and fire when ready, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Captain," said the XO. A second later she spoke again. "Gottfrieds, Valiants, open fire!"

The _Archangel_'s guns blazed to life, and a quartet of emerald beams and a duo of heavy linear cannon rounds flew through space. They slammed dead-center into their target, and the escort ship snapped in half. At the same time Murrue saw Wing Zero open fire, and the last battleship in the formation that had been fighting Heero was obliterated by a familiar river of golden-yellow energy.

As the escort ship exploded there was a chime from Murrue's personal monitor, and when she looked at it she saw Heero appear on the screen.

"I'm moving towards the colony," he said, "If we act quickly we can still save the surviving Orb defenders and Alliance defectors."

Glancing at the main tactical display, Murrue instantly saw the small group that Heero was referring to. There were only a handful of M1 Astrays and old Moebius units left, along with just two _Drake_-class escort ships and one _Nelson_-class battleship left. They were fighting for their lives amidst a swarm of Strike-Daggers and beam cannon equipped Moebius units, but Murrue could see that the pressure against them was actually lessening, though this was only because more Earth Alliance units were leaving that fight to go attack the colony itself.

Murrue turned back to Heero and nodded. "We'll be right behind you. La Flaga will fly as your wing; I've got Dearka heading to Elysium with Cagalli."

"Understood," Heero replied, "Wing Zero out."

Murrue immediately turned to her XO. "Lieutenant Tsukino, I want Corintoss missiles ready to go; target any Strike-Daggers and Alliance mobile armors you can! No Wombat missiles; there's too much risk for friendly fire with those."

"Aye, Captain," the Orb officer replied.

"Comm," said Murrue, "I want the _Ronin_, _Paladin_, and _Knight Errant _to cover our flanks. Have them ready for mobile suit and armor interception and on lookout for any additional enemy warships inbound."

"Yes, ma'am," replied the communications officer.

As the four warships turned towards the colony Murrue took a second to glance back towards the larger battle Groups Alpha and Bravo were engaging in. The two flotillas were hammering the Earth Alliance fleet, with the _Eternal _and _Kusanagi _dishing out by far the most damage. Sowing further chaos in the enemy ranks was the Valkyrie Team as they continued to pick off warships and smaller units. Now there were nine escort ships and five battleships left in the fleet, while the mobile suit and mobile armor teams supporting them were rapidly dwindling. Murrue was sure that the enemy would not last much longer; they'd have to begin their retreat soon or risk being completely annihilated.

_Or they could surrender_, she thought, _but that's unlikely; the fanatics that the Earth Alliance has commanding their fleets now would rather die than admit defeat._

Turning her attention back to her part of the fight, Murrue saw Wing Zero heading towards the surviving Orb forces and Alliance defectors. On Heero's wing was the Tallgeese Kai, and together the two mobile suits were cutting down enemy units one after another with their beam sabers and guns as they fought their way towards their objective. Not too far away Murrue could also see the Strike Rouge IWSP-X racing towards the colony, its violet beam saber blazing as it hacked its way through a Strike-Dagger before the shield integrated gatling gun tore apart a mobile armor. Just behind Cagalli was Dearka, opening up with the Buster's Gun Launcher and beam rifle in an effort to keep the Earth Alliance forces off of Cagalli; the girl's headlong charge and single-minded focus on getting to the colony made her vulnerable to attacks from the flanks, and Murrue was glad she'd had the presence of mind to order Dearka to cover her.

"Ma'am," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "We have targets for the Corintoss missiles!"

"Fire at will!" Murrue ordered.

Eight anti-air missiles flew from the _Archangel_'s rear launchers, arcing over the white battleship and into the fray. Three were shot down by Strike-Daggers, but the other five found their mark, and two Alliance mobile suits and three mobile armors were turned into fireballs. The other Earth Alliance machines were put completely off balance by this sudden attack, and as they tried to adjust to the _Archangel_'s presence they left themselves vulnerable to Heero and La Flaga.

A golden-yellow blast of energy ripped through space, ripping apart three Strike-Daggers and a Moebius unit like a string of firecrackers. Sowing further chaos and confusion into the enemy formations was the Tallgeese Kai, with precise shots from its beam rifle downing another mobile suit and mobile armor.

"Mobile suits and armors are breaking off their attacks on the defenders," said the sensor officer, "Looks like they're splitting between us and Wing Zero."

Murrue nodded. "Good, we've got their attention. Let's keep it on us. Lieutenant Tsukino, fire another volley of Corintoss missiles as soon as you have targets!"

"Aye, Captain!" replied her XO. A moment later her voice rang out again. "Corintoss missiles, launch!"

A fresh flock of warheads flew forth and into the enemy ranks. Four of the missiles were shot down by emerald beams, but the other four found their mark, and three mobile suits and a mobile armor were blown to pieces. Additional units were heading towards the _Archangel_, but Murrue wasn't worried; she was more than prepared to deal with them.

"Miriallia," she said, "Tell Wolf Team to engage the enemy as soon as they come in range. Lieutenant Tsukino, synch targeting sensors with Wolf Team's sensor data and coordinate defensive fire with them! Have CIWS and Helldarts ready to launch and fire when you have targets!"

"Yes, ma'am!" both women replied before carrying out her orders.

"Incoming!" cried the sensor operator, and Murrue could see a group of four Strike-Daggers and four Moebius units moving into attack position.

"Wolf Team's engaging!" yelled Miriallia.

Indeed, Murrue could see the GuAIZ Werewolf and the three M1 Astrays supporting it moving to intercept, violet beam claws and sabers respectively ready to go. The faster ZAFT prototype was the first to meet the enemy, and Bristow wasted no time in ripping into the Earth Alliance units. Firing the unit's rocket anchors, he snared a Strike-Dagger before impaling it on his beam claws. Two more mobile suits tried to flank him, but they were immediately picked off by the M1 Astrays.

"Helldarts, open fire!" yelled Lieutenant Tsukino.

The light anti-air warheads flew forth from their launchers at the back of the bridge tower. Guided by Heero and Shemei's advanced targeting system, the missiles homed in on their targets at lightning speed, and three of the mobile armors were blown to pieces. By luck or skill the last mobile armor and Strike-Dagger managed to avoid destruction at the hands of the _Archangel_, but nothing could save them from the Wolf Team. Opening fire with his beam gatlings, Bristow pounded the Earth Alliance mobile suit with a withering hail of small emerald projectiles. The unit managed to raise its shield to block the assault, but Bristow simply rushed in and ripped it apart with his beam claws. Meanwhile the lone surviving Moebius unit was hit by coordinate fire from all three M1 Astrays, obliterated under the hail of energy beams.

_Back in our early days I would've been worried about fighting squadrons like that_, she thought as she watched the action unfold, _When we left Heliopolis, we were so vulnerable, with an inexperienced crew and only the original Strike and Moebius Zero to protect us. Now, though, things are _very _different._

It wasn't just the enemy units that had tried to attack the _Archangel _that had found that they were biting off more than they could chew. On the main monitor Murrue could see Wing Zero and Tallgeese Kai engaging more squadrons as they made their way towards the survivors of the Orb forces and Alliance defectors. Heero and La Flaga were mauling the enemy, beam sabers and guns ripping foes apart and leaving a trail of hot scrap metal in their wake. The Hawk of Endymion had proven himself to be far more lethal as a mobile suit pilot than he ever could've hoped to be flying mobile armors or conventional fighters, and thanks to the agility and power of the Tallgeese Kai he was capable of dishing out death at lightning speed while still possessing a unique defensive system to deflect return fire. He was putting it all to good use, flying circles around his foes with the blue and white mobile suit. As impressive as that was though, Murrue knew that the Tallgeese Kai and its famous pilot were shadows when compared to the man and machine fighting alongside them; Wing Zero had the prototype mobile suit outmatched, and the same went for Heero with regards to the Hawk of Endymion. The soldier from another world was continuing to prove just how he had _earned _the plethora of fearsome nicknames he had been given by his enemies over the course of this war, leading his and La Flaga's charge and cutting a bloody swath through the Earth Alliance ranks.

She saw Heero cut down a Strike-Dagger with his beam saber before shooting down a Moebius unit with his gatling cannons. A split-second later Wing Zero raised the rifle that had become so dreaded throughout the Cosmic Era and cut loose. The pillar of lethal light that was sent forth washed over two enemy mobile suits and a mobile armor, leaving naught but slivers of superheated metal behind as grave markers.

Satisfied that the enemy was on the ropes, Murrue turned to her combat flight controller. "Miriallia, has there been any word from our forces inside the colony?"

The teenage girl shook her head. "No ma'am. Dearka and Cagalli haven't reported in, and I've got nothing from Kira and Athrun."

Miriallia's concern was evident in her voice, and she was not alone; Murrue was worried as well, and she could only hope that all four of the pilots that had gone into Elysium were ok.

"Comm," she said, "Have the colony authorities tried to contact us?"

"Negative, ma'am," the communications officer replied, "There's internal radio traffic though; I'm trying to decrypt it now."

Murrue waited a few moments until the officer spoke again… and gave her the worst news possible.

"Captain!" he cried out, "The Alliance forces are targeting the refugee camps!"

**(End "Merlon")**

….

Setting up refugee camps inside a colony with so much space already taken up by agriculture was no easy task, but the Elysium authorities had somehow found a way. The first and most obvious sight for setting up temporary housing was the central colony park, and civil workers had wasted no time in establishing a tent city. Since weather inside the colony was easy to regulate the usual problems associated with large refugee tents like storms were not a problem, and in fact more than one refugee had noted that it was almost like taking a summer camping trip. The colony's residents had put up surprisingly little fuss at one of their favorite recreational spots being temporarily denied to them in this matter; caring for those that had been displaced by war was something that had become almost instinct to the Orb people over the course of the conflict, and it was easy to put aside frustration in light of the suffering that had been inflicted upon their fellow citizens by the Earth Alliance.

Unfortunately, it had quickly become apparent that one refugee camp just would not be enough in light of the sheer numbers of refugees coming in. A second camp had quickly been established on the grounds of Elysium University, a surprisingly spacious institution for a college located in a space colony. Spare dorm rooms were quickly filled, and in some cases on-campus students were asked to take in a refugee as a roommate, who slept on a cot on the floor. With all available indoor areas rapidly filled with refugees additional arrivals were set up in tents on the open lawns between buildings. Even these soon proved insufficient, and colonial authorities were forced to establish new temporary housing centers once again.

Two more camps had been set up, one at the colony's open air Kurosawa Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and the other at the Elysium Sporting Arena. They were smaller than those at the park and university, but each still contained several thousand people. Resources had been stretched close to the breaking point, but following the conclusion of the invasion of the Orb homeland the flood of refugees had dwindled to a trickle; those who were capable of fleeing had done so by now, while those trapped on the surface were left to fend for themselves. There was still the occasional shuttle flight in, but these consisted of people that had slipped out of either Copernicus City on the moon or had fled the Zala regime at L5, and those flights were few and far between; not many pilots were up to running the formidable blockades that were the Lunar Perimeter and the ZAFT Home Fleet, respectively.

Life in the camps had been relatively peaceful, even dull, but today all that had changed. The scramble alarms had blared all over the colony, and refugees and citizens alike had been treated to the awe inspiring sight of M1 Astrays and Tauruses flying through the air as they rushed to the colony gate to confront some threat. Unfortunately, the refugees had no idea just what that threat was; despite the alarms no notifications had been given to them by the Elysium authorities regarding what was going on, and government staff working in the camps had either found themselves unable to establish contact with their superiors or had mysteriously vanished from the camps entirely. The refugees had no guidance, no information, and in an environment like that they were now all the more aware of their helplessness.

Among those left unattended in the refugee camps was a family of four. In this they were unremarkable, not so different from many of the other families that were in the camps. The father and mother looked like typical Orb citizens, with the former wearing a gray business suit while the latter wore a pink pants suit. Both were of average height, shared the same black hair and light skin, and appeared to be in their late thirties.

Their children also looked fairly typical for such a family. They were a son and a daughter, with the former being fourteen and the latter being twelve years old. The girl was wearing a typical school uniform, with a white shirt, tan jacket with a school emblem emblazoned on it, and a dark red skirt. She was a very cute girl, with long brown hair and chocolate eyes, and there was little doubt among those who knew her that she would blossom into a true beauty once her teen years got underway in earnest. As for the boy, his attire was more casual, comprised of a simple dark blue shirt and gray pants, along with a white coat and gray hat. His hair was black, and his chestnut eyes held a kind but fiery spirit.

The Asuka family had been evacuated relatively early from the Orb mainland, getting out on a shuttle from Kaguya four days before the invasion of the island nation. They had been settled into the first refugee camp in the park, and though life inside the camp was dull the surrounding city had provided plenty of distraction from their troubles. This had been quite fortunate as Shinn and Mayu could be quite rambunctious at times; the monotony of a refugee camp was a poor fit for such active and adventurous children. Shinn in particular had been more than a little frustrated by the tedium as one day blended into another, and had taken to venturing further and further out into the colony, sometimes with his sister Mayu and sometimes alone, much to the chagrin of his parents. Today though, there had been no such adventures; the sirens had gone off relatively early in the morning, and his parents had been adamant that the family stay in the camp. However, they hadn't said that he had to stay in the tent, and indeed none of them were; the atmosphere was simply too tense, the fear and trepidation too great, for them to simply sit in one place. They were at the edge of the camp, looking around for anyone who might have a clue as to what was happening, but were having no luck.

The boy looked out from the camp towards the distant main docking bay and transit tunnel where the mobile suits had vanished through earlier. "What's going on out there?" he asked.

It was a question that he had asked more than a few times today already, and his father gave him the same reply he had earlier. "I don't know, son. We'll just have to wait until the authorities explain the situation to us."

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, the boy looked down at the grass. "Like that's going to happen…" he grumbled.

Glancing to his right, he saw his sister holding their mother's hand. The normally bright and energetic young girl was now very quiet, constantly looking around, though for what Shinn did not know. It also didn't matter; his little sister was scared, and that only increased Shinn's agitation.

_Where are the government people?_, he thought as he looked up at the cityscape on the opposite side of the massive cylinder's interior, _Why did they all leave? They're supposed to look after us!_

After a few seconds he began to hear what sounded like a truck engine, and suddenly Mayu pointed towards a nearby street. "Look over there!"

Following her finger, Shinn saw a large vehicle driving down the street. It was clearly a military unit; the multi-rack missile launchers on its back certainly didn't belong on anything owned by civilians.

Looking around, the boy saw other similar vehicles driving down other nearby roads. While they were certainly impressive, Shinn thought they lost more than a little bit of their intimidation value when compared to the mobile suits he had seen flying overhead before. Still it was at least a little reassuring to see military hardware like that by the camps. Maybe the government hadn't forgotten about them after all in the middle of whatever was going on.

Then Shinn heard an explosion in the distance, and his eyes once again turned towards the main entrance to the colony. He was shocked to see flaming bits of metal falling towards the 'ground', and that surprise turned quickly into horror as he saw two new mobile suits entering Elysium.

"No…" his father said quietly.

His mother gasped, and Maya looked frantically from her parents to Shinn. "What do we do?" she asked, trembling as she held on to her mother.

Shinn had no answer; he had frozen on the spot the moment he'd seen the mobile suits come charging into the heart of the colony. Fear had paralyzed him, and it only grew worse as he saw crimson beams begin to fly from those machines towards the ground.

_The Earth forces_, he thought numbly, _They'll kill us all!_

Looking on, he saw missiles and shells streak up from the ground as the Orb forces returned fire, but the counterattack had no effect. The Earth Alliance mobile suits either evaded or shot down the ordinance directed at them before blasting the vehicles that had fired at them. Smoke and flame became visible in the distance as the mobile suits continued to rain crimson death down upon the colony and its defenders. Their movements were swift, their shots devastating… and they were heading towards Shinn's camp.

As the enemy approached there was a deafening roar as the mobile missile launcher his sister had spotted earlier. Shinn could feel the heat as the warheads took flight even though he and his family were a considerable distance from the vehicle, and he was glad he wasn't any closer; as it was, he felt like he was right in front of a blazing inferno.

Despite the earlier ineffectiveness of the other Orb units, Shinn found himself praying that somehow this time would be different. His hopes were dashed as one of the Alliance machines opened fire with machine guns mounted into its head and destroyed the missiles with what appeared to be almost contemptuous ease.

Suddenly he heard his father yell. "Run!"

A strong hand grabbed his arm, and Shinn was practically dragged by his father as his family bolted from where they had been standing. Looking around frantically, Shinn saw that they were all heading deeper into the city. The cover offered by the buildings may have been viewed by some as being better than getting caught in the camp out in the open, but Shinn had seen the giant guns wielded by the Earth Alliance mobile suit as it fired on the missile launcher, blowing it away; it wouldn't matter if he was in a tent or a skyscraper if that thing took a shot at him.

"Where are the shelters?" he heard his mother cry out, "We need to get to a shelter!"

"Someone help us!" yelled Mayu.

Looking at his sister, Shinn could see the tears building at the corners of her eyes; the poor girl was scared out of her mind.

Shinn couldn't blame her; he was too. He may not have been on the verge of tears, but his fear was just as great as that of his sister.

There was a blinding flash of red light, and the Asuka family were thrown to the ground as it shook violently beneath them. Dazed by the fall, it took Shinn a moment to regain his wits. Looking back at where he'd seen the flash, he was horrified to see a swath of the refugee camp, including the spot where he and his family had been standing mere seconds ago, awash in flames. Screams of agony and sorrow rang out, and the boy could see scores of bodies that had been tossed about by the blast… most of them charred and unmoving.

"This… this can't be happening…" he whimpered, his mind unable to comprehend the utter carnage that the day had become.

Despite his overwhelming fear the boy still found himself able to get to his feet. He didn't know how; it must've been by pure instinct. Looking around he found his mother, father, and sister all getting up as well, very shaken up but still alive and unharmed save for a few scratches.

"This way!" yelled his father, and the others followed him deeper into the city, not looking back.

Shinn could hear another series of shots ring out, and some sounded different from the huge guns the Earth Alliance machine had fired earlier. He didn't bother to check it out though; his sole focus was on getting as far away from where he was now as possible. More shots rang out, and the ground beneath him shook once again, though he managed to keep his feet.

As he regained his balance he saw a familiar pink cell phone lying on the ground; it was Mayu's. Shinn rushed over to grab it. A part of him knew it was silly to worry about something like a cell phone at a time like this, but his sister loved that thing, and he didn't want her to lose it.

"Shinn, hurry up!" he heard his father yell.

"Just a second!" he replied as he scrambled to grab Mayu's fallen phone.

As he knelt down to grab the phone there was another flash of red light and a deafening blast. Shinn was barely aware of clutching his sister's cell phone with a death grip as he was blown over by the shockwave. He hit the pavement hard, dazed and disoriented by the blast.

After a few seconds he managed to struggle to his feet. He looked around frantically for his family… and his eyes widened in horror when he finally found them all trapped under slabs of concrete and rubble from a collapsed building.

Their eyes were closed, they weren't moving… and a pool of blood was steadily flowing out from where they lay.

"_Mom! Dad! Mayu!_" he cried out as he rushed to them.

More shots rang out, and nearby impacts once again knocked him off his feet. Looking up at the sky, he saw the Earth Alliance mobile suit from before. It was missing one of its guns, and Shinn saw that it was fighting against a large white, black, and blue machine. The new mobile suit opened up again with its many guns, and the second heavy cannon of the Alliance machine was blown apart, along with the unit's head. However, a few of the new machine's shots had not found their target, and instead had impacted the cityscape.

The crippled Alliance mobile suit charged the other machine in a kamikaze run. It didn't get far; crimson and emerald beams from the new mobile suit blew it apart, raining down bits of hot metal everywhere.

Shinn saw the victorious machine hang in the air above him for a moment, like it was surveying the destruction around it. As he looked at it the boy could feel rage and sorrow warring within him, and for some reason it found its focus on that black, white, and blue mobile suit.

The unit might have saved Shinn, but for all the boy knew one of its earlier shots could've been the one that had caused the collapse that had killed his family just as much as it could've been fire from the Earth Alliance mobile suit. He had no way to know for sure… and even then it almost didn't matter.

_Why?_, his mind shrieked as he looked at the machine, two contradicting messages resounding in his head, anger and grief drowning out any sense of logic, _Why didn't you save them? Why did you kill them? You let them die! __**You killed them!**_

He glared at the machine, a raw, visceral hate quickly growing in his heart with every instant he looked upon that mobile suit. For a moment he could've sworn he saw the machine's cold mechanical 'eyes' fall upon him, but it passed as quickly as it came. There was a powerful roar as the mobile suit's thrusters flared up, and the machine raced off.

"_Get back here!_" the boy screamed as the mobile suit faded into the distance, "_**GET BACK HERE!**_"

It was no good; there was no way in hell the pilot of that machine could hear him. Even if they could, what would it matter? Would a mobile suit pilot turn back for one screaming boy while a battle still raged around them? Surely not.

His gaze falling, the boy once again saw the lifeless bodies of his family. Almost as quickly as it had risen up within him, the rage and hatred subsided. The adrenaline rush he had been on before had become a crash, and Shinn slowly stumbled over towards his fallen family. When he reached them he fell to his knees, heedless of the blood spreading out around them.

"Mom…" he said softly, his voice broken and hoarse, "Dad… Mayu…"

Unnoticed by the people running around in the chaos looking for friends and family or desperately seeking shelter, the boy reached out for his sister. His hand touched her cheek, and it was colder than he had ever felt it before…the final confirmation to what his heart had already told him.

Amidst the fire and smoke, the shrieks and wails of the wounded and grieving, the boy's sobs were inaudible… and none but him could see the tears falling into the pool of blood.

….

His eyes wide with horror, Kira surveyed the damage around him. "No…" he said softly, "How could they do this?"

He'd managed to stop the Earth Alliance prototype from completely destroying the refugee camp in the park, but the unit had still been able to wreak considerable carnage. A single blast with one of its Agnis had been enough to devastate a swath of the camp, and the flames were spreading unabated. In addition to that, random shots from the unit during its fight with the Freedom had damaged or completely destroyed several nearby buildings… and fire from Kira's machine had only made things worse. While the boy had been incredibly careful in picking his shots, the quick reflexes of his foe had been enough to ensure that not all of his attacks would land on target, and inside Elysium the only backdrop for his attacks was the colony itself. He may have managed to keep his and the enemy's fire from destroying the main shaft like what had happened at Heliopolis, but that was little consolation when the boy could not begin to tell how many were already dead or dying below him.

Kira shook his head and grimaced. As painful as it was to see another Orb colony in this state, he knew that he could not stop now to despair; the full weight of the damage could only be taken in after the battle was over. Gunning his thrusters and gaining altitude, he headed towards Athrun.

Rushing to his friend's aid, Kira saw the Justice dispatch its adversary as he approached. Athrun had made his final assault by leading with a beam boomerang. As his foe dodged that attack the Justice had charged in, double-bladed beam saber swinging. The initial slash had destroyed the unit's right Agni cannon, and a swift twirl of the weapon had brought the second blade into the advanced Launcher Strike. Only a quick reverse from the Alliance pilot had kept the blow from being fatal, but as it was the slash cut off the unit's right leg and had grazed the chest area, leaving a long black furrow just to the right of the cockpit.

Unfortunately for the Earth Alliance mobile suit, while it had managed to avoid death by the double-bladed beam saber, it had forgotten the weapon the Justice had used at the beginning of its offensive. The beam boomerang had hit the apex of its arc and was now coming back to Athrun, and the enemy's move had put it right between the violet projectile and the former ZAFT mobile suit. There was a brief pink flash as the beam boomerang cut through the advanced Launcher unit from behind, and then the mobile suit detonated like a grenade.

"Good job," said Kira as he flew toward his friend.

On the screen he saw Athrun shake his head. "Not good enough. Look down there."

Checking the area his friend had designated, Kira gasped at what he saw. It was the colony's local university, quite reminiscent of the college he'd gone to back on Heliopolis… and part of it was in flames. The boy counted at least two completely destroyed buildings, while several others were damaged and on fire. Debris was strewn all over the place… along with _many _bodies.

"They _knew_," said Athrun, his tone dark and grim.

Kira was puzzled. "Knew what?"

"Remember that information Cagalli got from the colony and sent to us on the way over here?" he asked, "The refugee camps; those Alliance pilots knew _exactly _where to go. Your target went right for the park, Kira, and mine attacked the college."

Kira's eyes widened at his friend's words. "But how? That's impossible!"

"No," said Athrun, and Kira saw his eyes narrow, "Not if they had help."

A chill went down Kira's spine. "Someone from the inside… but who?"

"We'll figure that out after the battle," said Athrun.

Kira nodded; his friend was right.

Fresh beeping came from his sensors, and it only took a glance to confirm Kira's worst fears. "Damn it, more of them made it inside!"

It was two small groups, each composed of two Strike-Daggers and two Moebius units. While the threat they posed to the Freedom and Justice were minimal, Kira knew that even basic machines like those could inflict untold carnage inside the colony, especially since the two advanced Launcher Strikes had apparently obliterated the bulk of the conventional interior defenders in their brief rampage through Elysium. Now the civilians were completely unprotected, save for Kira and Athrun.

"Let's go!" yelled Kira, already hitting the Freedom's thrusters.

Athrun nodded. "Right behind you."

Taking the utmost care with his aim, Kira set up shots. Opening fire, he was rewarded with half of the enemy mobile suits and armors losing their beam guns. On his wing, Athrun had disengaged one of his beam sabers and had drawn his rifle. Opening fire with that weapon and the two guns integrated into the Justice's backpack, Kira's friend destroyed two of the mobile armors and one of the Strike-Daggers, leaving just one of the Earth Alliance mobile suits still in fighting shape.

Rushing forward, Kira tore into the last Strike-Dagger. His violet blade was little more than a blur as the Freedom swiftly dismembered and decapitated the Earth Alliance machine. Crippled, his foe slowly began to pull back, rejoining the other disabled mobile suits and armors as they made their way back towards the colony entrance.

However, no sooner had the damaged units retreated into the docks when more machines appeared. This time it was a larger force, with no less than twelve Strike-Daggers and eight Moebius units rushing into the colony.

Kira readied his guns, opening fire as soon as he had acquired targets. The multicolor barrage was as precise as the previous one, taking out the main guns of three Strike-Daggers and two mobile armors. To his right he saw Athrun cut loose with the Justice's artillery, and three emerald beams struck down two more mobile suits and Moebius unit. Kira saw the remaining twelve machines scatter hastily, and he wasted no time in taking advantage of their disarray, rushing in to strike with his beam saber.

Moving far too fast for the enemy to hope to counter, Kira immediately sliced off the rifle-arm of a Strike-Dagger before cutting off the barrel of a Moebius's beam cannon. Athrun had charged in as well, and had put his beam rifle away in favor of dual-wielding his energy blades. Two Strike-Daggers were cut down so fast their deaths seemed to occur almost simultaneously, and that was swiftly followed up with two mobile armors getting sliced in half from front to back.

_At least the ones I disabled are retreating_, he thought as he watched his earlier targets pull back, _They're not crazy like the pilots of those new Strikes. What was up with those guys?_

It was a mystery he'd have to solve another time; he still had a colony to defend.

Four Strike-Daggers and two mobile armors remained; a paltry force with no chance of taking on the two incredibly advanced stolen ZAFT prototypes. Kira wondered if the enemy would see sense and pull back, but he quickly found himself disappointed as he brought up the Freedom's shield to block incoming energy beams. Apparently these foes could not leave the field unless they were critically damaged by him or killed by his allies.

He opened up with the Freedom's rifle, taking out the head of a Strike-Dagger before rushing in and cutting of its rifle-arm. At the same time he was attacking he saw Athrun charge another mobile suit, ripping it apart with his twin energy blades. Sighting in on another foe, Kira fired again with his rifle, and the beam gun slung beneath a mobile armor was trashed.

"How do you think they're doing outside?" he asked Athrun as he saw his friend stab the last mobile armor through the cockpit.

"Don't worry about them," said Athrun as his target exploded, "It's Heero and the Valkyrie Team we're talking about here; they can handle themselves until the rest of our force arrives."

Kira nodded. "Right."

There was another series of beeps, and Athrun spoke. "More contacts coming our way!"

"I see them," Kira replied.

This time the enemy was more spread out, and it seemed like these foes were stragglers rather than organized teams. There were nine Strike-Daggers and five mobile armors; not nearly enough to pose a serious threat.

_I wonder why they haven't sent more units than this into the colony_, Kira thought as he prepared to engage the enemies coming out of the docks, _The others must be taking up most of their attention._

He was about to open fire when he saw two more mobile suits appear. Kira was surprised to see that they were not hostile, but friendly; the Strike Rouge IWSP-X and the Buster.

"Hey guys," said Dearka as he opened fire, downing a mobile armor with the Gun Launcher and destroying a Strike-Dagger with his beam rifle, "Sorry we took so long to get here."

Kira smiled as he swiftly disabled a Moebius unit and a Strike-Dagger. "I'm just glad you guys made it."

"Same here," said Athrun as he picked off another mobile suit with his beam cannons.

Two railgun rounds roared through the air as Cagalli opened up, nailing a Strike-Dagger in the back. "Waltfeld and the others are beating back the Alliance fleet now," she said as she and Dearka flew into the heart of Elysium, "How bad is it in… here… oh my god…"

Kira winced as her voice trailed off; he knew witnessing the carnage wrought by the two advanced Strikes on the interior, limited though it might have been, would deeply upset her. He could only hope that she would be able to keep enough of her focus to survive the rest of the battle.

He saw Athrun rush forward, ripping apart a mobile armor with his twin violet blades as he moved towards Cagalli; his best friend's mind had apparently gone along the same path as Kira's, and he was positioning himself as Cagalli's wingman for the remainder of the fight.

"Cagalli," said Athrun as he stabbed a Strike-Dagger through the cockpit, "I'm sorry, but you have to keep it together! You won't do your people any good if you die here!"

As Kira disabled a Moebius unit with a well-placed shot from his beam rifle, knocking out its main gun, he heard his sister's cracking voice. "But… I was supposed to protect them…"

"You still can," Athrun replied as he eviscerated another Strike-Dagger with a cross slash from both his beam sabers, "but you can't give in to guilt and despair! There will be time to mourn after the battle!"

Kira nodded as he disabled the last mobile armor with his beam rifle, sending it packing. "He's right, Cagalli. Your people are counting on you now and will need you even more when the fight's over!"

The boys' words seemed to get through to her, because Kira heard some of her strength return to her voice as she ripped apart a Strike-Dagger with her gatling cannon. "Ok," she said, "Let's take these guys down!"

There weren't many of 'these guys' left to fight. Only two Strike-Daggers remained battle worthy, and both were isolated, completely lacking in coordination with each other. Their movements were frantic, and Kira couldn't tell if they were still trying to break through to attack the people below, retreat back through the docks, or mount a suicidal attack on him and his friends.

Deciding to force them into the second option, Kira took aim and opened fire before his friends could make attacks of their own. Crimson lances of plasma, yellow railgun slugs, and emerald beams flew through the air, taking out the rifles and head-cameras of the last two Earth Alliance mobile suits. Kira was satisfied to see the enemy duo begin to retreat back towards the entrance.

"They're done," said Athrun, "I've got no more Alliance contacts inside the colony."

"Anything else coming through the docks?" asked Dearka; the Buster's sensors were not as powerful as the advanced arrays utilized by the Freedom and Justice.

Kira shook his head. "Nothing. I guess the others managed to secure the entrance."

"Come on!" cried Cagalli as she flew towards the closest refugee camp, "We need to help the people down there!"

Kira was about to follow her when Athrun cut both of them off. "No," his best friend said firmly, "We need to get out of the colony."

Athrun's words felt like a punch in the face to Kira, and he wasn't the only one floored by what the Justice's pilot had said. "What?" yelled Cagalli, "Athrun, they need our help!"

"We have to get down there!" shouted Kira.

"We have to get _out of _here. The people of this colony need us to defend them from any more Earth Alliance units," Athrun replied, "We're just four teenagers; we can't do the wounded down there any good. It's better to let professional emergency personnel take care of them; we'd just get in the way!"

"Athrun's right," said Dearka, "We'll do the colonists and refugees more good by keeping any more Alliance units from entering the colony. The four of us should have no problem defending the gate, and if it's not under threat we can help the others push back the rest of the Alliance forces!"

Kira relented; their arguments were sound, and every second they spent debating was more time for the enemy to try to get into the colony.

"Yeah," he said, "Alright. Come on, Cagalli."

His sister sighed. "Damn it… ok, let's go."

As the four of them rushed towards the exit, Kira took one last look back at the fire and smoke coming up from where the Earth Alliance units had managed to score hits on the interior. He could take some comfort from the fact that, unlike Heliopolis, the main axial shaft was still intact, but there was only so much consolation that detail could provide. A lot of innocent people had died today… and the boy knew that he bore some responsibility for that.

_If I'd been willing from the beginning to fight lethally against those guys_, he thought as they entered the docks and raced towards the breached gate, _I would've beaten them faster, and I might've been able to stop the other units from punching through the entrance. I didn't, though… and people paid the price. Heero, Waltfeld, Aisha… were they right?_

_ Is the only way for me to fight at my best, to truly protect people…_

_ …to kill?_

….

"Ma'am," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "We have targeting locks for the missiles!"

Murrue nodded. "Launch at will!"

A volley of Sledgehammer missiles flew forth from the rear launchers, arcing over the ship and towards the remnants of the Earth Alliance fleet. The heavy anti-ship warheads slammed into a _Drake_-class escort ship and tore the vessel apart.

_Another down_, she thought with grim satisfaction, _only a few more to go._

Indeed, with the staggering losses they had taken since Heero and the others had first hit the fleet from behind, Murrue was surprised that the surviving Earth Alliance forces _still _were not pulling back. Then again, it would be difficult for an organized withdrawal at this point; their ranks were in complete disarray.

With the _Archangel_'s latest kill, the Earth Alliance fleet had been reduced to a mere four escort ships and two battleships. Likewise, the numbers of Strike-Daggers and Moebius units were hardly even a shell of their former selves; scattered fragments of said shell would be a better way to put it. Thanks to the combined efforts of Murrue's flotilla, Heero, the surviving M1 Astrays and Alliance defectors, the breached hatch of the Elysium colony was now completely secure. Indeed, Murrue had actually begun to press forward with the _Archangel _while leaving the _Paladin_, _Ronin_, and _Knight Errant _behind just in case one of the scattered Alliance units tried to make a run on the colony. Heero and La Flaga had advanced with the white battleship as well, and the two lethal aces were aiding the mop-up of the enemy force.

Murrue watched as Wing Zero cut loose with the Twin Buster Rifle, obliterating a _Nelson_-class battleship. As Heero took the shot La Flaga was covering him, picking off a Strike-Dagger and a mobile armor with the Tallgeese Kai's rifle. Their coordination throughout the battle since the _Archangel_'s arrival on the scene was very impressive; the two pilots flew like they had been fighting alongside each other for years rather than just a few months.

It wasn't just the _Archangel _and her mobile suits that were tearing into the enemy forces. Since their arrival the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _had maneuvered themselves and their respective flotillas into perpendicular attacks on the Earth Alliance fleet, and were hammering them with a devastating crossfire. Making matters even worse for the enemy was the continued presence of the Valkyrie Team, picking off warships, mobile suits and armors left and right.

_This is hopeless for them_, Murrue thought as she saw the Judgment take down the last battleship with its Tartarus rifle, _They're getting slaughtered and they're not even trying to retreat or surrender! Are their surviving officers really such fanatics? Is this horrific zeal truly embraced from the highest echelons to the lowest ranks? Was I surrounded by people like that the whole time I was in the Earth forces and just never realized it?_

It was difficult to contemplate; she'd been far more comfortable believing the genocidal hatred against the Coordinators was mostly the product and possession of those in positions of military and political authority in her former country. Sure, Murrue knew that there would be frontline soldiers who also embraced the murderous agenda of Azrael and his ilk, but she'd believed it had been a minority of the armed forces and that most of her former comrades were simply following orders out of the desire to defend their homeland and the people they cared about. However, the behavior she was witnessing in her former military today and over the past few weeks was new cause for concern; the seeming willingness displayed by these soldiers to fight to the death just for the chance to kill Coordinator refugees was absolutely chilling. Of course, it could also have been that they had been forbidden from retreating no matter what; Murrue could certainly see her old commanders making such a decree, especially after what they had done to her ship and the Eurasians at the First Battle of Alaska.

Whether by zeal, coercion, or just utter paralysis from panic, it almost didn't matter. Murrue could see just a couple of vessels that had pulled away from the fight, and from the way their weapons but little else was damaged she knew that they had been hit by Kira. They had already been moving away from the enemy fleet when the _Archangel_ and her allies had entered the fray; they'd been too badly damaged to continue fighting. From the way things were going that tiny handful of disarmed vessels would be the only Alliance units to survive the clash today, and with what she was seeing with the other ships Murrue was half-surprised that they had not tried to ram the vessels of the Three Ships Alliance in a pointless display of fanaticism and vengefulness. Cooler heads must have prevailed on those ships, for they looked to be on a solid retreat course with no intention of getting back into the battle. As for the units of the enemy fleet that were still capable of fighting, Murrue knew that they were not long for this world. The pitiful remnant of the Earth Alliance invasion force was all but in the grave, and Murrue's allies wasted no time in hammering the final nails into the proverbial coffin.

On the main monitor she saw the _Eternal _open up with her heavy beam turret and METEOR batteries. The salvo of emerald beams nailed an escort ship right in the bridge; Heero and Shemei's targeting system was proving to be as lethally accurate on the stolen ZAFT cruiser as it was on the _Archangel_.

Waltfeld's vessel wasn't the only one getting in on the action. From another angle the _Kusanagi _fired her Lohengrins, and the twin torrents of crimson energy she unleashed washed over another _Drake_-class vessel. Armor and bulkheads melted and ruptured, turning the Alliance ship into little more than a few hot and twisted pieces of metal.

The last two escort ships were, like the few remaining Strike-Daggers and Moebius units left on the field, isolated and uncoordinated. This of course made them easy targets for the frigates and destroyers fighting alongside the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_, and Commander Bohuslav took full advantage of it. The two _Nazca_-class and three _Laurasia_-class vessels opened fire, and even in their battered state their barrage was still complete overkill as far as the Earth Alliance ships were concerned. Hammered by heavy beams and rail cannon rounds, the last two _Drakes _were completely blown apart. As if the twin explosions served as withdrawal flares, the last surviving Strike-Daggers and Moebius units _finally _seemed to come to their wits and began retreating after the vessels the Freedom had disarmed earlier. They were joined by a few damaged units leaving the colony, and Murrue guessed they had fought the Freedom; she doubted they would still be in one piece had they encountered one of the other pilots that had gone inside Elysium.

_A sixty-four ship fleet_, thought Murrue, _and we cut them down to just one battleship and one escort ship, along with a handful of mobile suits and armors! Hopefully the Earth Alliance will think twice before sending another force to L3._

Waltfeld's voice came over the tactical channel. "All ships and mobile suits, disengage. The enemy's retreating; let them go."

"Acknowledged," said Murrue.

"Understood," came Kisaka's voice from the _Kusanagi_.

"All ships, begin mobile suit recovery, then pull back to the colony and form a perimeter," said Waltfeld, "Colonel Kisaka, I want you to establish contact with the Elysium authorities and arrange for docking space for the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi _as soon as possible."

"I'll get right on it, sir," Kisaka replied.

"Helm, you heard him," said Murrue, "Set us up in front of the colony, and have the rest of our flotilla form up with us."

"Aye, Captain," said Neumann.

"Miriallia, I want you to oversee our mobile suit recovery," Murrue ordered, "Have Chief Murdoch's crew on standby for repairs and rearmament. I want all our units ready to sortie again if the enemy returns."

"Yes ma'am," said Miriallia, "By the way, Heero's on the line."

Murrue nodded. "Patch him through."

She smiled as she saw the Gundam pilot appear on the main monitor. "Heero, I'm glad to see you're alright."

Heero nodded. "Same to you. Your timing earlier was great."

"I'm just glad we were able to catch up to you when we did," she replied, "I don't want to think about what would've happened had more Earth Alliance forces entered the colony."

"It's bad enough that some _were _able to get inside," said Heero, and from the rueful tone of his voice Murrue could tell that he was clearly blaming himself for that, "and we still don't know what happened. At least, I haven't heard anything from Athrun and Kira."

"Nor have we," said Murrue, "but we did see some damaged units leaving the colony a little bit ago, so we can assume that Kira at least was fighting them."

Heero nodded, and then Murrue saw him glance to the side. "Looks like we'll get the full story soon enough," he said, "I've got Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, and Dearka coming out of Elysium now."

Murrue turned to her bridge crew. "Get a visual on the gate!"

The screen split, with Heero being moved to the upper half while the bottom showed the breached colony entrance. Much to her relief Murrue saw the Freedom, Justice, Strike Rouge, and Buster exiting the colony, all undamaged.

"You four," said Heero, "status report. What happened in there?"

"We dealt with the Alliance forces that got inside," she heard Kira say, "but… we couldn't stop the first two that got in from attacking."

A shiver went down Murrue's spine. "How bad is it?"

"The Orb interior forces were decimated," said Athrun, "There's not much left of them. The two Alliance machines that breached the gate blew right through them and went straight for the two largest refugee camps."

_Oh, god no_, she thought, her eyes widening as she imagined the carnage that must've unfolded inside Elysium.

"We stopped them from destroying the camps," said Kira, "but they still managed to fire on the refugees, and they attacked other parts of the inside as well. I… I don't know how many died."

"Damn it," said Murrue softly, looking down for a moment. When she turned back to the main monitor she saw that Heero had momentarily closed his eyes in silent tribute to the slain. Once they opened Murrue saw them narrow; something was brewing in her boyfriend's keen mind.

"You said they went straight for the largest refugee camps," said Heero, "There was no deviation in their flight paths?"

"Just to take out the interior forces that were closest to them," said Athrun, "but there's no mistake; they knew _exactly _where the refugees were housed."

Cagalli's voice came over the channel, and the girl was clearly shocked at what she had heard. "No… that's not possible! The only way that could've happened is… is if…"

"They were tipped off," Murrue finished for her, her eyes narrowing as she met Heero's gaze, "Someone on the inside sold them out to the Earth Alliance before the attack."

Heero nodded. "Every war has its traitors. This one is no exception."

"Bastards," she heard Dearka growl, "I thought Orb territory was supposed to be a haven for Coordinators; now they're setting us up for slaughter!"

"No!" cried Cagalli, "Dearka, that's not true! Orb is and will _always _be open to all; Coordinators are as welcome as Naturals, and we _do _protect them!"

"She's right," said Kira, "if someone did sell out the Coordinators, they weren't acting on behalf of Orb as a whole. The people would be outraged if the leadership tried to sell any minority out to those that wanted to kill them!"

"That may be," Heero cut in, "but it doesn't change the fact that there's a traitor somewhere inside the colony. We need to be careful."

Murrue nodded. "Agreed. I'll contact Waltfeld and let him know. We'll need to be cautious with our next move, especially if we're going to be around here for awhile."

"About that," said Cagalli, "Captain Ramius, if you could spare any of your ship's medical personnel, I would greatly appreciate it. Kira and Athrun may have stopped the Alliance suits before they could cause further damage, but from what I saw inside I'm sure there were still heavy casualties; Elysium's hospital won't be able to deal with them all."

"Of course, Cagalli," said Murrue, "We'll give your people whatever aid they need, and I'm sure Waltfeld and the others will do the same."

She heard the girl sigh. "Thank you, Captain Ramius."

"You're welcome, Cagalli," Murrue replied, "You'd better get back to the _Kusanagi _for now. I'm sure Colonel Kisaka will need your help in making arrangements with Elysium's authorities before any of us can land inside the colony."

"You're right," she said, "Cagalli out."

On the main monitor she saw the Strike Rouge make for its mothership, with the Justice following closely. The Freedom broke off as well, heading for the _Eternal_. As for Wing Zero and the Buster, Murrue could see them making for the _Archangel_, with the Tallgeese Kai tagging along.

_Poor Cagalli_, she thought, _we may have saved the colony, but it wasn't a bloodless victory. The forces defending Elysium before we arrived were decimated, and the civilians were attacked as well. To her those losses may very well outweigh our triumph… I could certainly understand her seeing things that way. Who knows how many innocent people were murdered today… slaughtered by the nation that I used to call my home._

"Murrue," said Heero, startling her, "are you ok?"

She looked up at him, and she could not help but give him a small smile; his perception was truly remarkable. "I am, Heero. How about you? I'm sure the fight wasn't easy for you."

He looked down for a moment, and Murrue wasn't surprised at what he said next; there was a subtle but undeniable air of guilt surrounding him, one she understood quite well. "I'm alright. I just wish we'd gotten here sooner. If we had, maybe we could've stopped the Alliance from breaching the gate, could've held them off long enough for you and the others to catch up. I know we saved the colony, but… with all the innocent blood that was spilt today… even when taken into perspective with all the lives we did save, I have a hard time celebrating our victory."

Murrue nodded. "I know what you mean, Heero. These people should never have been targeted; it's just another sign of how far the Earth Alliance has fallen. I wish we could've saved everyone, but it just wasn't possible today. In light of that, praising a triumph just doesn't feel right."

She then gave him a small smile. "However, that doesn't change the fact that we _did _save the colony. Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent people are alive because of us. We can't help those that did die, but we _can _help the living. I intend to do everything in my power to aid those that suffered from what happened here today, to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again… and I know you'll be by my side the whole way. Won't you, Heero?"

That familiar quiet strength returned to the Gundam pilot's eyes, and Murrue knew that her words had reached him. He gave her a small nod and smile as he replied. "Of course, Murrue… and thank you."

"Anytime, Heero," she said, "Now, come home, Heero. The battle is over; you need to rest."

"Alright," he said, "but I'm coming with you when it's time for us to meet with the Elysium authorities."

"So far that's Cagalli and her peoples' responsibility, not ours," said Murrue, "There's a chance we might sit this one out."

"Maybe, but I doubt it," said Heero, "I'm sure Lacus and Waltfeld will be meeting with them as well, and I think they'll want representation from the _Archangel _as well. They've been careful to maintain a sense of equality between our three ships, even if we've acknowledged them as the leaders of our movement."

"You have a point there," Murrue replied, smiling again, "If they ask for us, we'll go together."

Heero nodded. "I'm coming in for landing. I'll see you soon, Murrue."

She nodded. "I'm looking forward to it, Heero."

Her boyfriend disappeared from the screen, and the monitor shifted back to a full view of the Orb colony. Seeing the massive structure, Murrue felt a mix of pride and sorrow. On the one hand, knowing that they had stopped a full Earth Alliance invasion and the purge of all Coordinators inside Elysium was certainly a worthy accomplishment, one she would certainly consider a career highlight. However, the weight of the slain civilians fell upon her heart just as it did Heero's, and she could only wonder how many had been killed by the pilots of her homeland.

_We'll set this right_, she thought with determination, _We cannot bring back the dead, but we can bring to justice those that were responsible for their passing. Whether by capture and trial or death in combat, we _will _make Azrael and the High Command pay for the slaughter they ordered here! If we can't do that, then those who died today cannot rest in peace; we owe them that much._

Murrue was confident that justice would be served one way or another, but that was not for today. Her responsibilities now were to look after the people on her ship and to render all possible aid to the people of Elysium. The prospect of a traitor within the colony was present at the back of her mind, but beyond informing Waltfeld and the others about her and Heero's suspicions she knew she could do little about it other than stay on her guard.

_At least we'll have a place to rest for now_, she thought, _Even with a threat lying within, Elysium is still a place where we can take some much-needed leave. Once we've dealt with the aftermath of the battle and have done what we can for the wounded, I'll talk with Waltfeld and the others about organizing some R&R. After all, it may be the last chance we get in this war._

**Preview for next time!**

_The Battle of Elysium has ended, but the colony's trials have only just begun. Deciding to stay at Elysium for the time being to defend it and its sister colony Eden from further attacks while they plan their next move, Heero, Murrue, and the others join in the efforts to care for the wounded and restore some semblance of normality to a deeply traumatized people. As time goes by the members of the Three Ships Alliance make efforts to care not just for the civilians and refugees, but their own war weary souls as well. While Heero, Murrue and their friends partake in some invaluable shore leave, signs of the final campaign are becoming more and more prominent. The military buildups initiated by Azrael and Zala's respective forces have reached unprecedented levels, with both sides preparing for the largest battle in mankind's bloody history. As ominous as this massing of warships and mobile suits is though, it pales in comparison to the true horror brewing in the shadows. In a restricted part of ZAFT space, Zala's scientists and work crews hasten to complete a weapon of unimaginable power, while on the dark side of the Moon the Earth Alliance resurrects the bane of Junius Seven. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Seven: Final Reprieve._

"_It's the deep breath before the plunge." Gandalf the White, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" film adaptation._

**Author's notes: **Woohoo, Episode Twenty-Six is done! Sorry it took so long, I've only been able to do a page or two a day thanks to how busy my life's become, hopefully things will settle down a bit soon and I'll be able to write more. As you could probably tell from the preview, Episode Twenty-Seven will be a non-action chapter, but that's no reason to skip out; lot's going on there, from romance to drama to intrigue! Besides, I promise the chapters after Twenty-Seven will more than make up for the lack of combat in Twenty-Six. In fact, they'll have the biggest battles of the story; Boaz and Second Jachin Due! If you thought those fights in Seed canon were big, just wait until you read MY versions!

As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated. See you all next time!


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's notes: **Hey, it's that time again! Sorry this took so long, with my new job in full swing I've only been able to write a little bit per day. Thank you for your continued patience and support. No combat in this chapter, but the next three will more than make up for that!

Regarding songs for this chapter, there are four of them, but the first three aren't background; they're actually sung by Lacus. In order of appearance: "A Path" by Nami Miyahara, the second song Janice sings in the anime _Casshern Sins_; "Fly Me to the Moon" as performed by Claire Littley and/or Megumi Hayashibara for the ending theme of _Neon Genesis Evangelion_; and "Heavens Divide", the theme for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker performed by Donna Burke. The fourth song, this one as background music like in past chapters, is "Gradus Vita" from the Hellsing Ultimate OST.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Seven: Final Reprieve**

"Captain," said the _Archangel_'s communications officer, "Elysium control has granted us clearance; we're good to enter the colony."

Murrue nodded. "Helm, take her in nice and easy."

Neumann nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Turning from her bridge crew, Murrue looked up and smiled at Heero. The Gundam pilot had come to the bridge almost immediately after landing inside the _Archangel_, stopping only to change into his usual jeans and green tank top.

"Well," she said, "so far so good."

Heero nodded. "I just hope the meeting with the authorities goes well."

"I think it will," Murrue replied, "This is Cagalli's turf now, and the nobles will have to yield to her authority."

She saw Heero look up and out the forward viewport, his eyes narrowing. "Maybe. From what I understand, the Seiran family has held power here for quite some time. They may be reluctant to relinquish total control to Cagalli, even if she is the new leader of Orb."

Murrue sighed. "Damn it, I hadn't considered that. Do you really think they'll attempt to keep Cagalli from taking charge?"

"I wouldn't put it past them," Heero replied, "I may not know the Seirans, but I had plenty of experience with nobility in my last war. Sometimes you get people like Treize and Zechs; well-intentioned, even honorable at times, but still willing to play dirty when necessary. A rare few are like Relena; as pure in their ideals as is possible, and willing to set aside all thought of personal gain in order to serve a greater good. Many more, though… well, let's just say they're like any other politician, elected or otherwise; they don't like to share power, they're very possessive of their territory and wealth, and their egos are the size of gas giants."

"At least you have some experience in dealing with people like this," said Murrue, "We may well need to call upon that insight should things go south."

Heero shook his head. "I doubt I'll be of much help here. My encounters with them tended to involve me fighting their armies. Diplomacy… well, it wasn't on the table. I'll do what I can, but my particular skill set may be ill-suited to our needs, unless we're planning a coup."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," said Murrue, "Cagalli's been through enough; having to fight her own people for the right to rule her country will only make things worse."

Heero nodded. "Agreed."

Murrue reached over and grabbed his hand. "Let's wait and see how things play out, ok? Cagalli and the others on the _Kusanagi _will take the lead here, along with Miss Clyne and Waltfeld. You and I may represent the _Archangel _for this meeting, but in practice we may end up being little more than observers."

"You're right," said Heero, "I'll keep an eye on the Seirans, try to judge their intentions… and I'll be on the lookout for signs of the traitor, whoever they may be."

Murrue nodded. "I'll do the same. We _have _to figure out who sold out the refugees. Who knows what they might try to do next?"

"Yeah," said Heero grimly, "and if they were willing to target their own people just because they were Coordinators, they might try to attack us as well; we've got plenty of Coordinators in our group."

"I know," said Murrue, "There are only a few on this ship and the _Kusanagi_, but it's another matter entirely with regards to the _Eternal _and Task Force 9.3."

Heero nodded. "Of all of us, I think Lacus is the most vulnerable. For us and many others she's the voice of the moderate resistance within the PLANTs, but to someone who hates Coordinators she's a very high profile target. If the traitor, or traitors, were willing to set up refugees for slaughter, then it's not unreasonable to assume that they'd try to kill the most famous Coordinator singer in the Earth Sphere."

"I already considered that, and I told Waltfeld as much when I contacted him earlier," Murrue replied, "He'll take the necessary security precautions."

"As long as they're on guard," said Heero, "Beyond that, all we can do is hope for the best."

"Agreed," said Murrue, giving his hand a squeeze, "So let's be ready for anything."

His eyes met hers, and she was comforted by that familiar determination she saw within them. "Roger that," he said.

They both turned back to the forward viewport as the ship entered the colony. Murrue winced as she saw the jagged edges of the hole that had been blasted in the main gate by the Earth Alliance mobile suits, a blatant reminder of their failure to completely protect the people of Elysium. As they made their way through the entryway she could see bits of charred metal floating everywhere. At the far end of the passageway Murrue saw more burn marks and impact craters, along with plenty of twisted metal.

"They really shot up the place," said Heero.

Murrue shook her head. "This isn't even the main part of the habitat. Besides, if they were trying to capture the colony then they would want to take important facilities like the docks intact, or at least in as good a shape as possible. None of this destruction would've served to further their mission; they just fired at random while they passed through here!"

She looked over at Heero and was surprised to see him close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again there was a thoughtful look to them. "Those pilots… were they like the ones I fought?"

Murrue raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Heero?"

He turned to her. "During the battle, the Earth Alliance fielded mobile suits besides the Strike-Daggers. They were new models, though still based off of the Strike design. There were twenty of them in all, with five variants. I'll show you and the others my combat data on them later. The pilots of them, or at least the ones I fought… they weren't normal."

"How so?" Murrue asked.

"They were skilled," he said, "but they didn't fight like professional soldiers. They were incredibly aggressive, displayed only rudimentary teamwork, and even that broke down as the battle went on. I even saw them attack each other. There wasn't any discipline. It felt like they just wanted to destroy everything in sight."

"Why would they give new model mobile suits to pilots like that?" asked Murrue.

Heero shook his head. "I don't know, Murrue. With the new OS you'd think they'd have no problem finding skilled, disciplined pilots to fly those machines."

He then looked down for a moment, and when he met her gaze again his eyes seemed a little darker than they were before. "I do have one idea… but it's one I don't want to be right about."

_That _couldn't be good. "What is it?" Murrue asked, a hint of trepidation slipping into her voice.

"The last pilot I killed," he said, "or rather the last one flying the advanced Strikes I engaged… they contacted me over the radio. Well, it was an open air transmission, but I know it was meant for me."

Murrue's eyes widened; that was unusual to say the least. "What did they say?"

Heero shook his head. "It wasn't what they said, but how they said it. They were screaming, whether from rage or fear I don't know… it was probably both. The pilot was a woman… no, that's not right; a girl, probably in her mid teens by the sound of it… if that."

Soldiers around that age certainly weren't unusual in this war; Murrue was fully aware that some of the best pilots in their group were in their teens, a few even ten years her junior, with Heero being the example that most immediately came to mind. However, even in a conflict this brutal, with both sides desperate to replenish their ranks, there were recruiting limits. Murrue knew that the absolute lowest age the Earth Alliance would go to for new soldiers was fifteen, and they had actually been reluctant to do that, asking only for volunteers at that age. Even then that was seen as skirting the boundaries, and that had been one of the reasons why Flay's sudden enlistment just prior to the destruction of the 8th Fleet had been such a big deal; the daughter of the late Atlantic Federation Vice-Foreign Minister had been the youngest of the Heliopolis students to stay aboard the ship, and at that cutoff age. The way Heero was talking about one of his enemies now implied a girl around that cutoff age… or quite possibly younger.

"I could tell they'd had training," Heero continued, "but still… her moves were raw, unseasoned; I doubt she had much built up combat experience outside of exercises. However, despite that she still had very fast reflexes... enough to put her on even footing with veteran pilots, even surpass some. It was the same with the other pilots of the advanced Strikes that I fought. To engage like that, and at that age… I can only draw one conclusion."

"Child soldiers…" said Murrue softly, horrified at what it meant, "The Atlantic Federation… they'd been training them well before they were legally old enough to fight."

Heero nodded. "Among other things. I know the Earth Alliance has been desperate for any possible edge against ZAFT. Stooping to train soldiers from a younger age wouldn't be beneath them after the barbarism and treachery they've shown us so far, but I'm not sure that's all they did."

"What else could they have done?" asked Murrue, not sure she wanted to know the answer. In fact, she was feeling sick just thinking about what Heero had already told her.

"The Cosmic Era and my old world," said Heero, "share many similarities, and are probably at or near parity with each other as far as technology goes. However, there's one area in which I believe this world has a sizeable edge over my old one; medical science. The existence of Coordinators alone is proof of just how advanced the medical field is in this world. If it's possible to alter the genetic code of people from birth to the point that there's now an entire race of them, and with considerably greater physical and mental potential than Natural humans… who can say what other kinds of alterations to the human body are possible?"

"Hold on," said Murrue, "are you suggesting that the Atlantic Federation's involved in bio-augmentation? With the fanatical hatred its leaders have towards Coordinators because of how they were genetically altered, it's hard to see how they would embrace other alterations to the human body."

Heero shook his head. "Not really. Throughout this war Azrael and the Atlantic Federation High Command have been desperate to secure some kind of advantage over the Coordinators. The development of the GAT series prototypes combined with Kira's work on the OS finally gave them mobile suits to field, with the mass produced Strike-Dagger actually exceeding the ZAFT GINN in combat capabilities. However, who's to say that technology was the only field in which they were trying to surpass their enemy? Bio-augmentation is entirely probable… in fact, based on the performance of the pilots of the advanced Strikes that I fought today, it's something I'd be willing to bet on."

Murrue shuddered. "Heero, there's been international accords signed banning the very augmentation you speak of; scientific testing in that field has harmed so many people who were used in experiments designed to enhance the human body. The only reason the creation of Coordinators wasn't outlawed was because the alterations took place at the embryonic level and were proven to not cause severe harm. However, augmentations post-birth had an almost overwhelming record of damaging the subjects long-term, both physiologically and mentally; the short term benefits were not worth the cost!"

Heero nodded. "I believe you, Murrue, but you have to admit that the Earth Alliance and the Atlantic Federation in particular have not shown much deference to international accords in this war. They've massacred civilians and surrendering soldiers, invaded neutral countries… do you really think bio-experimentation's really beyond them, even with their hatred for Coordinators… or perhaps _because of it?_"

Murrue sighed. "When you put it like that, I guess nothing's really off the table for them. Still, to think that they'd experiment on people so young…"

She felt Heero squeeze her hand. "I'm sorry, Murrue. I'm sure it's not easy to imagine your homeland doing things like this."

"Not anymore," she replied grimly, "The Atlantic Federation stopped being my home the moment it tried to kill us at Alaska. Besides, you're right; after nuking Junius Seven, there's no limit to the depths they'll stoop to win this war. I just wish I'd realized it sooner."

"How could you when you were trying to survive and protect the people serving under you?" said Heero, "Don't blame yourself for your old nation's sins."

Murrue nodded and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you, Heero."

"Anytime," he replied.

The two of them turned back to the main viewport, watching as Neumann brought the white warship into dock in the berth to the right of the _Kusanagi_. To the left of the Orb warship the _Eternal _had already settled in, and long white tubes had extended to both vessels' airlocks. The _Archangel _settled into her berth, her helmsman touching her down with such precision and skill it almost looked easy; only the sweat on his brow gave away how focused he had been on the docking.

Murrue got up from her chair and turned to her XO. "Lieutenant Tsukino; you have the bridge. Heero and I will be going ashore."

The Orb officer nodded. "Understood, Captain. Anything else?"

"Yes," said Murrue, "I want Dr. Clark and his staff prepared to leave the ship the moment I give the order; the colony's emergency and medical personnel will need all the help they can get treating the wounded. Also, have Dr. Claudia standing by as well. After what happened here today… well, the wounds that will need tending will not just be physical ones."

Her XO looked down for a moment before replying. "Of course, Captain."

A thought occurred to Murrue. "Lieutenant… do you have family here?"

She nodded. "An aunt and uncle, Captain Ramius. They're Naturals, and not refugees, so they shouldn't have been on the Alliance's target list, but still… I hope they're alright."

"When your watch is over," said Murrue, giving her a small smile, "you have my permission to contact them, Lieutenant."

Her XO bowed her head. "Thank you, Captain."

Murrue nodded before turning to Heero. "Come on, let's get going."

….

Outwardly, the Perfect Soldier looked as calm and collected as ever as he and the woman he loved waited for the docking tube to finish connecting with the _Archangel_'s starboard hatch. Inside though, he was anything but relaxed. Heero's thoughts had not strayed much from the warning of a traitor within Elysium, and he was as alert now as he had been during the battle to save the colony. He made sure his right hand never strayed too far from the grip of his pistol; he was ready to shoot anyone that so much as looked at him and Murrue the wrong way.

_Who was it?_, the Gundam pilot thought yet again, _Who sold out the refugees?_

The deliberate targeting of civilians was a crime that had been present since the beginning of this war, with the destruction of Junius Seven being by far the most blatant and horrific example. However, there was something far more insidious about someone who was willing to set up their nation's people for slaughter. A person who was willing to cross that line could not be counted on to hold _anything _as sacred; no threat was out of the question now as far as Heero was concerned.

"Heero?" said Murrue, jarring him from his thoughts, "Are you alright?"

He gave her a small nod while marveling at her perceptiveness; it continued to amaze him just how adept she'd become at reading him, picking up on the most miniscule bits of body language and sensing his mood.

"I'm just focused," he replied, "I want to be ready for whatever's on the other side of that hatch… and inside that colony."

Murrue nodded. "I feel the same way." She patted her sidearm. "I haven't had to use this in so long… it's actually unnerving to think that might change today."

"No matter what happens," said Heero firmly, "don't let anyone take your gun. I don't care if Orb security forces ask for it; say no and get behind me."

"Heero, we can't afford to cause an incident," said Murrue.

"Better to do that than walk around here unarmed," Heero replied, "We'll talk Cagalli into getting us through any screening. If not, then we sit this one out, no matter what the others say."

Murrue nodded. "Ok, Heero. If things get tense, I'll follow your lead."

A green light appeared on the console beside the door; they were clear to go. The hatch opened, and the two of them made their way down the docking tube. For his part, Heero made sure to stay just a little bit ahead of Murrue, and he was ready to react the instant there was a sign of trouble.

When they reached the end of the tube and the second door opened they were greeted by none other than the delegations from the other two ships. Cagalli and Kisaka were at the front of the group, while just behind them were Waltfeld, Lacus and Aisha.

Orb's tomboyish princess was clearly distracted, and it didn't take a genius to guess that she was dearly concerned for the survivors of the attack. However, she still managed to force a small smile as Heero and Murrue approached.

"Captain Ramius, Heero," she said, "I want to thank you on behalf of the Orb people for your aid today. Without your help… things could've been much worse."

Murrue shook her head. "You don't have to thank us for this, Cagalli."

"Yes, I do," the girl replied, "You two helped save so many lives… people that I know I couldn't protect by myself, or even with what resources my country has left. You've done so much for Orb; we're eternally in your debt."

"How bad are things?" asked Heero.

Cagalli sighed. "I don't know exactly. I still haven't gotten a preliminary report, but… from what I saw earlier… even if we saved the colony, a lot of innocent people died today."

Waltfeld stepped forward. "Cagalli, we'll do all we can to help the survivors. I've got the _Eternal_'s medical staff ready to move out as soon as you give us the ok."

"The same goes for that of the _Archangel_," said Murrue, "We'll take care of your people, Cagalli."

Cagalli nodded. "We'll get in touch with the colony's emergency personnel and coordinate with them as soon as possible. We just have to meet with a few people first."

"The Seirans?" asked Heero.

"Yes," said Kisaka, and the Gundam pilot noted that he did not look particularly pleased at the prospect, "Though they are not the only noble family with a presence here, they are the strongest. Lady Cagalli has to formally take over the colony; the War Powers Article of the Orb Constitution grants the Chief Representative considerable emergency powers in the event of conflict, and Lady Cagalli can use them to great effect to mobilize resources to help the people here. However…"

"The other nobles aren't exactly thrilled with the prospect of her taking charge of the colony," Heero finished for him.

He saw Cagalli nod in agreement. "The Athha family has long been the strongest of the five Orb noble households, the dominant force in both domestic and foreign policy. However, so much of that strength came from charismatic and intelligent heads of the family… my father most of all. With both him and my uncle dead, my family has lost so much power. In theory, I may rule, but… if the Seirans or any of the other noble families don't feel like cooperating, they can do a great deal to subvert my authority."

Lacus stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "Only if you don't believe in yourself, Cagalli. Your people have faith in you, as do all of us. Know that we stand behind you, and will do everything in our power to support your rule."

"Lacus…" said Cagalli.

"She's right," said Waltfeld, "If the other nobles cause trouble, we'll just have to show them that their position has changed… but that won't be necessary if you convince them that you are truly determined to lead your people in their hour of need."

"Your father trusted you with the fate of Orb, Cagalli," said Murrue, smiling, "He would not have done so if he did not believe that you were strong enough to handle it."

"You're more powerful than your fellow nobles could possibly imagine," said Heero, meeting his friend's gaze, "You survived battles with Waltfeld's forces in North Africa, against ZAFT squadrons that tried to stop us from getting you to Orb, against the might of the Alliance fleet that invaded your country, and against the strength of _both _superpowers after we came to outer space. You were with us at the Avalon Line, at Mendel, and at the rescue of Task Force 9.3. You fought to defend this colony from an Alliance invasion fleet no more than an _hour ago_, Cagalli; a few power hungry nobles are no match for you if you come at them with the same courage and determination that you've shown us all on the battlefield."

"Heero…" said Cagalli softly, her eyes widening in surprise. Heero couldn't blame her for it; he wasn't normally one to give speeches like that.

"The lives of your people are riding on your shoulders, Cagalli," Heero continued, "and not just those that reside in Elysium; the Eden colony is also your responsibility. I know you want to do all you can to protect your people, just as much as I know that you can do that far better than any noble in this colony; your father wouldn't have made you his successor if he'd thought otherwise."

Murrue grabbed Heero's hand as she joined in. "Cagalli, all that responsibility may be a heavy weight, but it is also a source of strength that you can draw upon. None of us here doubt your commitment to the safety and well being of your people. _Use that, Cagalli. _Let your determination to protect them, to lead and serve them as justly as your father did, be what drives you forward. Do that, and the Seirans will not be able to withhold the power that is rightfully yours; _no one will_."

Cagalli smiled. "Thank you… all of you."

"You can thank us by proving our faith in you," said Aisha, nodding off to the side, "It looks like you're about to get the chance to do that."

Following her gaze, Heero saw a group of four men approaching. Two were wearing black and white suits and were clearly bodyguards. The other two were wearing more fancy maroon suits, and though he'd never met them before Heero knew who they were thanks to information he'd looked up during the two-day trip to Elysium; it was Unato and Yuna Seiran.

_They don't look too happy to see us_, he thought, _but that was expected._

Indeed, the two noblemen seemed to be quite tense. While not actively hostile, their body language was sending quiet warning signals through Heero's mind. The elder Seiran's gaze was hard and stern, fixed firmly upon Cagalli and Kisaka. Even behind the man's orange-tinted glasses Heero could see Unato's narrowed eyes, and it almost seemed like he was glaring at his nation's ruler and her military advisor. While Heero had by no means anticipated a warm reception from the man, everything about Unato seemed to hint at a quiet but quite strong hatred of Cagalli, or at the very least resentment. As for Yuna, he was actually looking back and forth between Cagalli and Heero with an expression that the Gundam pilot could best describe as poorly concealed surprise… and in Heero's case, fear.

_Almost like he didn't expect us to survive_, thought Heero, _He clearly hasn't done his homework on me._

It wasn't just Cagalli and Heero that were drawing looks from the two men though. The Gundam pilot saw Unato and Yuna glance over at Waltfeld, Lacus, and Aisha as well. Heero's senses only heightened as he saw the elder Seiran's gaze linger on the pink-haired songstress for a moment; the nobleman's animosity was contained, but still palpable to those with seasoned eyes. Much to the Perfect Soldier's relief, Murrue did not draw the same attention from either man, but that did not change the fact that his suspicions had been aroused by their behavior. Even in those few seconds, it seemed as though they had already singled out the Coordinators in the group for scrutiny.

Shifting his focus from the nobles to their bodyguards, Heero couldn't detect any trace of hostile intent from their body language. The two men were focused, perhaps a little on edge, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for people in their position. Heero's eyes were instantly drawn to the side arms holstered at their waists, and from the way they shifted their weight the Gundam pilot could tell that they had smaller backups strapped to their right ankles. Like him, it was clear that they were ready to draw at a moment's notice, but their demeanors weren't aggressive, just wary of the people they were meeting.

_They're professionals_, Heero thought, _That's actually a good thing under these circumstances; their moves will be rational, which makes them predictable._

"Lady Cagalli," said Unato, "Colonel Kisaka… it's good to see you alive."

Perhaps Heero was imagining it, but there was something in the man's tone that suggested seeing Cagalli and Kisaka alive wasn't as joyous an occasion to the Orb nobleman than his words might suggest. The Gundam pilot had to be mindful of his feelings; there might be something to suspicions, but it was also entirely possible that he was simply being paranoid.

Yuna smiled, but to Heero it seemed forced. "Cagalli! We were so worried about you. Someone like you shouldn't be out on the front lines like that!"

"I'm not afraid to risk my life to defend my people," she replied firmly, "Lord Unato, Yuna… it's good to see you again."

"Where are the other nobles?" asked Colonel Kisaka, "They've sent no delegates to receive their Chief Representative; hardly a warm welcome."

"The Seiran clan is the ruling authority on Elysium," said Unato, scowling at the Colonel, "That fact has been recognized by the members of the other noble families on this colony. My son and I are a sufficient greeting party; the other families are tending to their own affairs."

_Sure_, thought Heero as he watched the two noblemen, _like making sure their holdings didn't take too big of a hit in the fighting. Cagalli's probably the only Orb noble here that actually cares about the people rather than the infrastructure and wealth of this colony._

"We've been administering Elysium quite well, and with the cooperation of the other families," said Yuna, "Our leadership has allowed both Elysium and Eden to survive and prosper even after the fall of the homeland… and the drain posed by the refugees."

"_WHO YOU DID __**NOTHING **__TO PROTECT!_" screamed Cagalli, taking everyone off guard with her sudden outburst, Heero included, "_They were left out in the open when the Alliance broke into the colony!_ _Do you have any idea how many of them died today?_"

"Lady Cagalli, calm down!" said Kisaka, grabbing the girl by the shoulders.

"It wasn't our fault!" cried Yuna, recoiling at Cagalli's anger, "There was nothing we could do!"

"We did not leave them unprotected," said Unato, scowling at the girl, "Our interior forces were deployed to ward off the enemy."

Cagalli shook her head. Heero saw that she had regained some of her composure, but her anger was still _very _visible. "That doesn't change the fact that they were still out in the camps when the enemy breached the gate! I know the colony's shelters would've been at capacity, but you could still have moved the refugees to safer locations! Why didn't you do that?"

"Our resources were focused on the defense of the colony," Unato replied, "We were already stretched thin between getting the main populace to the shelters and attempting to secure the colony. It would not have been possible to move the refugees before the enemy breached the gate!"

The man's reasoning made sense, but for some reason Heero had a hard time buying it. Although he and his comrades had arrived when the battle was already well underway it had been clear that the Orb military and their allies had managed to stall the Earth Alliance forces at least for a little while. Their efforts to prevent the enemy from breaching the colony may have been doomed to failure, but they had held their foes back long enough for at least some effort to have been made by Elysium authorities to disperse or move the refugees in some manner to make them a less vulnerable target.

Waltfeld stepped forward to intervene in the confrontation. "Enough! We don't have time for an argument here!"

The firm, authoritative voice of the former ZAFT Field Marshal was enough to silence Cagalli and the Seirans, but in the latter case it was only momentarily. "How dare you!" snarled Unato, "You insolent lout! Do you know who you're dealing with?"

Waltfeld glared at the man, and the Desert Tiger bared his fangs. "Do I know, you ask?" he growled, and the Orb nobleman seemed to shrink beneath his withering gaze, "Yes. Do I give a shit? _Fuck no_. You're going to fall in line, you wrinkled old rat, or I'll rip your balls off and feed them to you. Is that clear, _Lord Unato_?" He all but spat out the last two words.

Heero was impressed, and as he shared a brief glance with Murrue he had to stop himself from smirking.

_And you were worried about _me _causing an incident…_

Now it was Lacus who stepped forward, placing herself between the two men and putting hand on the shoulder of each. "Gentlemen, please; now is not the time for this. The people of this colony need our help, and we cannot afford to let arguments distract us from aiding them!"

The pink-haired songstress's charisma was in full force, and the Gundam pilot marveled at the calming effect her words had on the two men. Waltfeld gave the young woman a nod, took a deep breath, and stepped back. For his part, Unato backed down as well, though to Heero it almost seemed as though he was recoiling from the Coordinator girl's touch. If Lacus took notice of the man's behavior, she gave no sign of it. Instead she simply stepped back and nodded at Cagalli.

Glancing over at Waltfeld, Heero saw him rejoin his lover. Aisha spoke very softly to him, and while Heero couldn't hear what she was saying he was quite adept at lip reading. Her message was simply two words; _"well played." _The Desert Tiger smirked before turning to Heero and Murrue and giving them a very small nod and smile.

Heero returned the nod, understanding that Waltfeld's confrontation with the Orb nobleman hadn't been just an angry outburst here; it had been a firm reminder to the elder Seiran of the kind of people Cagalli now had backing her. If the man was planning on acting in any way to obstruct Orb's young Chief Representative as she asserted her power over Elysium, retribution would be swift in coming.

For her part, Cagalli simply stepped forward. "Lord Unato," she said, "under the authority granted to me by the War Powers Article, I'm assuming direct rule of all our sovereign territory at L3. I am making the Elysium colony our nation's temporary capital in light of the current Earth Alliance occupation of our homeland, and it will remain so until the end of the war and the removal of the enemy occupation forces. Is that understood?"

"Hold on, Cagalli!" yelled Yuna, "You can't just expect us to…"

"She can and she does," said Heero, glaring at the younger Seiran, "She's the ruler of your country, and she's demanding your cooperation and loyalty. I suggest you give it to her, or Waltfeld won't be the only one you'll have to answer to."

Yuna flinched under the Gundam pilot's withering stare before taking a step back, seeming to seek shelter behind his father. He mumbled something under his breath, and to Heero it sounded like he had said "Why couldn't the Alliance have killed him too?"

Heero felt Murrue give his hand a tight squeeze, and as he looked over at her he saw that she was glaring at the Seirans, especially Yuna. The Perfect Soldier mused that perhaps he may have heard Yuna correctly, though the aristocrat and his father had done plenty already to draw Murrue's anger with their behavior without potentially wishing for Heero's death under his breath.

Cagalli nodded at Heero. "Thanks," she said before turning back to the Seirans.

"Now," she said, "as my first act with this authority, I'm ordering all emergency personnel that have not already done so to aid the survivors of the attack. That goes for both civil servants and members of the military; our first priorities are to take care of the wounded and search the debris for survivors. I've already received offers of support from Captain Ramius of the _Archangel _and Field Marshal Waltfeld on behalf of the ZAFT defectors to lend us their medical staff in our time of need, and I am taking them up on it. Our emergence response crews will coordinate with them."

She looked at Kisaka before turning back to the nobles. "Colonel Kisaka will act as our liaison between Orb and our allies, and has my authority to act as he deems necessary to ensure maximum efficiency in this matter. Is that clear?"

Unato nodded. "Yes… Lady Cagalli."

"Good," said Cagalli before turning to the _Eternal_'s delegation, "Field Marshal Waltfeld, I can have maintenance crews at the docks to complete the repairs to Task Force 9.3's warships that they weren't able to accomplish while underway. If you can get a ship rotation set up and submitted to Elysium Control they can get started right away."

Waltfeld nodded. "I'll do that. I'm sure Commander Bohuslav will be glad to get his ships back up to full fighting shape."

"Yes," said Cagalli, "and I'll also have the crews top off the ammunition spent by all our ships and mobile suits during the battle."

Then she turned to Murrue and Heero. "I know the _Archangel _just touched down, but could you have her ready to launch again as soon as replenishment is done? She's the strongest ship in our group, and has the best mobile suit and pilot on board. Please, you two will be vital to the defense of Elysium until we can restore the colony's forces."

Murrue nodded, but Heero wasn't quite ready to go along with Cagalli's request. "I know how important securing the space around Elysium is, Cagalli, but if possible I'd like to delay for a little. Warfare may be what I'm best at, but I also have basic first aid training; every Gundam pilot does. I can't perform complex surgery, and my skills are a little rusty, but I should be able to help some of the colonists and refugees that were wounded during the attack. I'd like to help out Elysium's emergency response personnel for a little bit. The attack was less than an hour ago, which means my field skills will be most useful now in the immediate aftermath; the more time that goes by, the less I'll be able to help."

Cagalli nodded and smiled. "All right… thanks Heero."

"I'll ask for volunteers from my crew," said Murrue, "You'll need all the help you can get to rescue people trapped in rubble, and I'm sure there are other ways my people can assist yours."

"Ok," said Cagalli, "but only for a few hours; I need the _Archangel _and Wing Zero ready to defend the colony, especially while the ships from Task Force 9.3 and the surviving Alliance defectors are undergoing repairs. After that we can work out a better rotation."

"Cagalli," said Lacus, "I'd like to volunteer as well. I may not have any medical training, but I'm sure I can do something to help the survivors. I believe Kira would like to help as well."

Cagalli nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate that."

Glancing over at the Seirans, Heero saw them both scowl at Lacus's offer of aid. _What do they have against her?_, he thought.

Looking over at Waltfeld, he was relieved to see that the Desert Tiger had caught the Seirans discomfort as well. Waltfeld nodded at him, a silent message to the Gundam pilot; he'd be wary of them, and would take steps to protect Lacus.

"If that's everything for now," said Murrue, "then we should get to work. We have to move as quickly as possible if we're to save as many people as we can."

"Absolutely," Cagalli replied before turning to her right hand man, "Kisaka, get to the main control center and begin coordinating efforts between our allies and Elysium personnel. I'll go over to the colony's administrative hall and work from there to mobilize our resources as efficiently as possible."

She looked over at the Seirans. "Lord Unato, I'll require your assistance; you have more familiarity with the administration of this colony than I do."

Unato reluctantly bowed his head. "Of course, Lady Cagalli."

Watching his friend give orders, Heero could not help but be impressed by how far Cagalli had come since he had met her back in North Africa. She'd grown from a headstrong girl fighting with a pack of rebels into a true leader.

_Her father would be proud_, he thought, _and I imagine she would've made quite an impression on some of the leaders from my old world as well._

"Heero," said Murrue softly, causing the Gundam pilot to look at her. When he did so, she gave his hand another squeeze before glancing over at the Seirans. "Be careful, ok?"

Heero nodded as he followed her gaze. He was glad that Murrue was wary of the Seirans as well, even if neither of them had any idea if they really warranted such suspicion. His feelings were telling him that they did, and it was good to know that the woman he loved was with him on this.

"I will," he quietly replied, "and you do the same. Be mindful of the docks and any personnel that work on the _Archangel _that aren't ours."

"You got it," said Murrue.

"Everyone," said Cagalli, "move out!"

….

Kira had known from the start that what he would see inside the colony would not be pretty. Even while in the middle of the battle and inside the Freedom the young Coordinator had gotten more than just a glimpse of the destruction wrought upon the interior of Elysium by the two advanced Earth Alliance mobile suits. After what he had seen since that fateful day at Heliopolis months ago, the boy thought that he had born witness to the worst that modern warfare had to offer, that he was now steeled against the brutality and devastation mankind could inflict upon itself.

Looking upon the carnage inside Elysium, he realized that he had been _very _wrong.

As he and Lacus stepped out of the car that had brought them to the park where the largest refugee camp was, Kira was completely blown away by the utter devastation that surrounded them. Rubble and the burned out husks of buildings and vehicles were everywhere, so much of the area was scorched black from where the fire had blazed before the colony's emergency response personnel had finally managed to put out the blaze, and bodies were strewn all over the place.

The smell of charred and seared flesh hit him like a punch to the gut, and it took every ounce of strength the young man possessed to not fall to his knees and vomit on the spot. His eyes widened in horror at the destruction and carnage that surrounded him, and as he looked to his right he saw that Lacus's reaction was much the same as his.

"Oh, my god…" she said softly, her already pale face now a ghostly white with shock.

Kira couldn't even manage that much; words completely failed him when confronted with the sight of such devastation.

"Miss Clyne!" called out a voice.

Kira and Lacus turned to see a young woman with short-cropped red hair and blue eyes running towards them. She was dressed in a white jumpsuit with a red cross on the right shoulder; she was part of the colony's medical staff.

"Yes?" said the pink-haired songstress.

The woman stopped for a moment to catch her breath before speaking again. "I'm Alison Rain, one of the nurses. We were contacted by Lady Cagalli a few minutes ago and told to expect you. She said you wanted to help and to direct you towards any area I thought you could do some good."

Lacus bowed her head. "I know my skills aren't well suited to saving lives, but I still wish to aid your people in whatever way I can."

Alison nodded. "We've set up an area where we're keeping children that… that lost family members today. The counselor from the _Archangel _is already over there, and we have others working with her too, but I know they could use your help, Miss Clyne. Please… those kids have been through far too much today."

"Of course," Lacus replied, "Just show me the way."

"Should I come too?" asked Kira.

Alison shook her head. "We've got volunteers working to shift rubble, trying to dig out survivors. You can either help them out, or go to one of the med tents and help those who suffered only minor injuries. We need more help in both those areas, so it's your call."

"I guess I'll go help the guys clearing the debris," said Kira, "I don't really have any first aid training."

The red-head pointed off to her left. "Head down the block that way. One of the apartments suffered a partial collapse; a blast nailed the building next to it, and the shockwave messed up like half structure. The fire on that block's out, so they'll let you in. They're still pulling people out of there, and they're not picky about who comes to help them."

Kira nodded. "Got it."

"Watch yourself," said Alison, "It'd be a real pain if the debris shifted and you got trapped too."

Kira was taken aback at how casual she was about that prospect, but there was nothing he could do but simply nod again. "Ok."

Alison nodded before turning to Lacus. "Follow me, Miss Clyne."

"Just a second," said Lacus.

Kira was puzzled by her delay, but only for a moment. The angelic songstress smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Take care, Kira. I'll see you later."

The boy felt his cheeks warm, and despite the surrounding devastation he could not help but return her smile with a small one of his own. "Ok."

Lacus turned back to Alison, who gave her a nod. "Right this way, Miss Clyne."

Kira watched the two women head off towards the camp before turning the way Alison had pointed and setting off. Though his destination was not far away, the street and sidewalks were strewn with debris, and the young man was forced to proceed with caution to avoid injury.

As he made his way through the city block he was given a more up-close and personal view of war than he had seen in since Heliopolis. It was one thing to witness death and destruction from the cockpit of a mobile suit, but to actually walk through the aftermath of a battle like he was doing now, to be able to reach out and touch the chunks of concrete and the twisted and warped pieces of metal, to feel tiny bits of glass crunch beneath his boots, to feel the heat from smoldering ruins, to smell the burnt flesh and see the torn, mangled corpses still lying everywhere…

It was a nightmare he could never have imagined.

He could hear the blare of sirens, the hiss of fire hoses as they put out blazes, the cries of the wounded, the shrieks and wails of those who had lost family and friends. The sights and sounds of tragedy were everywhere, inescapable... and they all served to hammer home the harsh lesson the boy had learned today, one that he had refused to learn until now.

_I should've been able to stop those Alliance machines_, he thought, _if… if I had fought to kill from the beginning, I _could've _stopped them. I tried to take them down without killing their pilots, and it slowed me down. They were able to breach the gate, enter the colony, kill so many people… because _I _wasn't willing to have blood on my hands, not until it was too late._

Now he _did _have blood on his hands once again, but it was of more than just the pilots he killed. The civilians that had died today may as well have been killed by him. Kira could only wonder how many had died today… and how many he could've saved if he'd listened to his friends sooner.

_Heero, Athrun, Waltfeld_, he thought as he surveyed the destruction, _they were right. They knew something like this would happen eventually, they tried to warn me, and I didn't listen. Now so many people are dead… and it's _my _fault._

Looking back, the young man grimly realized that these were not the only lives he could've saved had he been able to stomach the dark reality war like his friends had proven themselves capable of. His clash with the three Alliance prototypes during the invasion of Orb was a clear example of what happened when he held back against skilled opponents; others paid the price while he tried to avoid killing. How many Orb soldiers had died that day because he couldn't bring himself to fight like he had back when he had been flying the Strike?

The fall of Orb was not the only occasion where he should have fought lethally. That fateful clash with Creuset at L4 had lingered on his mind long after the Three Ships Alliance had departed from Mendel… and that chilling encounter with the deranged ZAFT officer had haunted him ever since. The man wanted to wipe out not just one race but all of mankind, was dangerously close to achieving that goal, and Kira had _let him go_. Creuset may have bragged about how his plan was impossible to stop now, but there was no way to know for certain. For all Kira knew the masked madman had been bluffing, or at least the outcome of his plan may not have been as set in stone as he had claimed.

_If I'd killed him at L4_, thought Kira, _could I have stopped his plan? I know the Earth Alliance and ZAFT are still determined to destroy each other, and they may already be past the point of no return, but still… I don't know if killing Creuset could have made it easier to accomplish our mission._

What the boy _did _know was that he had let someone who was quite possibly the most dangerous man in the Cosmic Era go when he had had the chance to kill him, and that there were potentially billions of lives that could be still be in danger because of it. Now he had a better understanding of why Heero, Waltfeld, and so many of the others were so much more willing than him to take life on the battlefield, why they were able to endure the burden that came with having so much blood on one's hands. Kira knew that they all had personal reasons for fighting, namely people they cared about and would do anything to protect, but they also had their eyes on the big picture in a way that the boy from Heliopolis never had until now. They knew that for every life they took they were potentially saving so many more, that the blood on their hands was a drop in the bucket when compared to all that could be lost.

Kira had believed that with the power and precision of the Freedom, he could save _everyone_, enemies included. However, his friends and allies had long ago accepted that that just wasn't possible. While they strove to keep their comrades and innocent people alive, they did not make the same efforts for their foes because they knew that killing them was something that could not be avoided, and that the those they sought to defend would be endangered if they gave anything less than a complete commitment to defeating their enemy on the battlefield.

And in war, that 'complete commitment' meant being able and _willing _to kill.

Kira recalled with perfect clarity just how _easily _he had killed that first Earth Alliance pilot in the battle earlier. He hadn't even thought about; he'd done it on instinct alone. From there it hadn't taken nearly as much effort to dispatch the rest of the advanced Strike units facing him as it had to knock out their individual weapons. The sheer efficiency of fighting lethally was undeniable… but to Kira it was also terrifying. The ease at which one could take life in modern warfare made the boy very afraid of becoming a desensitized killer, someone who held human life in no more regard than that of bugs swatted aside on a hot summer night.

His friends weren't like that though. Heero, Athrun, Waltfeld, and the rest… Kira knew that, as easily as they seemed to be able to kill in combat, that power and efficiency had not blinded them to the basic value of human life. As fearsome as they were in battle, they had still held on to their humanity, and Kira knew that he had as well when he had been piloting the Strike. However, for some reason his friends had proven themselves much more capable at dealing with the burden that came with taking life than he had, or at least were much better at concealing any pain it caused them.

_Maybe it's their training_, he thought, _I mean, I didn't have any prior experience before I piloted the Strike, but all of our other pilots did. Plenty of practice, actual battles… they were seasoned well before I flew that machine. Is it that simple?_

The boy didn't know. It was just something he'd have to ask one of his friends later.

As he moved along Kira's eyes were drawn to a young man kneeling by a pile of rubble. The boy looked no older than Kira, perhaps a couple years younger. Kira wondered if he had been injured and in all the chaos no one had been able to help him yet, and as he got closer his eyes widened when he realized that the kid was kneeling in a pool of blood.

"Hey!" yelled Kira as he ran up to the boy, "Are you ok?"

He slowed down as he got closer, and it quickly dawned on him that it wasn't the boy's blood that was on the ground. Apart from a few scrapes and bruises the kid appeared fine; the blood was coming from a trio of bodies pinned under slabs of concrete.

"Oh no…" said Kira softly as he came to a stop just outside the blood on the ground.

He saw the boy trembling as his hand went through the hair of a young girl. "Mayu…" he said, and it sounded like he was choking back tears, "Mom… Dad…"

Taking a deep breath, Kira took a step forward. "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe."

The boy jumped as he turned around to look at Kira. "Who… who are you?"

"My name's Kira," he replied, "I came to help."

The boy looked down again at his family's corpses. "Help… _now _someone wants to help."

There was a very strong undercurrent of anger in his words, bitter intermingled with sorrow. A part of Kira wanted to back off; this was clearly very delicate ground he was treading on. However, he just couldn't leave the kid here like this.

He saw the boy glare at him. "No one helped us during the attack. The colony abandoned us."

Kira's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? The Orb military fought to drive away the Earth Alliance. Soldiers died to save the people in this colony!"

The kid shook his head. "They didn't die to protect _us_! The government people abandoned our camp; no one tried to get us to shelter! They didn't give a damn about the refugees… about my family!"

Those words brought to mind what Athrun and the others had talked about before; a traitor within the colony. However, this was hardly the time or place to mention that. The boy was angry enough as it was, and the last thing Kira wanted to do was set him against the Orb government… though from what he could see right now, it could already be too late for that.

Kira sighed before moving forward and putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Look, you can't stay here. Come on."

The kid looked down at his slain family. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"There's a place by the camp where… where other kids like you are at," Kira replied, "They'll help you out. Do you have other family in the colony?"

The boy shook his head. "No... I've got an aunt and uncle at L5…"

Kira wanted to say that he'd be taken to them soon, but with all that had happened between Orb and the PLANTs in recent months the likelihood that the Coordinator homeland would be taking refugees from L3 was quite low.

"Well… I'm sure someone will be able to help you until you can see them again," said Kira, "Let's go."

The boy looked from the three bodies to Kira. "What… what about them?"

Kira looked down, trying his best to figure out what to say. "I… I think someone from the camp will take care of them eventually. I'm sure they'll tell you. Just tell them where… where they are."

The boy nodded before finally standing up, and Kira couldn't help but wince at all the blood on his legs. It may not have been his, but it was still jarring to see so much of it on someone so young. The anger seemed to have faded from his eyes; only numb sorrow remained.

"Follow me," said Kira, and he began leading the boy in the direction he'd seen Lacus and Alison go off in earlier. There were several large white tents set up there, along with multiple ambulances taking on patients to bring to hospitals that Kira was sure were already overwhelmed.

"What's your name?" asked Kira.

The boy was quiet for a moment before replying. "Shinn. Shinn Asuka."

Kira nodded. "Shinn… I'm sorry… about your family."

_Sorry that the Alliance killed them_, he silently added, _sorry that I couldn't save them…_

Shinn's only reply was a silent nod.

….

"Are you ready?" asked Heero as he looked up at his latest patient.

The raven-haired thirteen-year old girl nodded at him. Her brown eyes held more than a little trepidation, but she was still steeling herself for what was to come. Her mother was sitting on the cot next to her, holding her hand, and a towel was clenched between her teeth. Heero certainly couldn't blame her for being scared. After all, he'd done this procedure before… to himself.

And he knew just how much it hurt.

"Ok," he said, "bite down hard."

The girl nodded again, and he saw her already tightly clenched jaw grip the towel even firmer. At the same time the girl's mother winced as her daughter squeezed her hand like a steel vice.

_Now_, he thought, and snapped her left leg bone back into place.

The girl's cry was muffled by the towel, but the fresh tears running down her face belied her pain. Heero wasn't exactly thrilled about putting her through this procedure, but with the colony's medical staff stretched to the breaking point they just couldn't spare anyone to help the girl's leg in a slower, gentler manner; battlefield remedies were the only option.

"Yomiko!" cried the girl's mother.

The girl let the towel fall and took several deep breaths before speaking. "I'm… I'm ok, mom. It really hurt, but… I think it's getting better."

Indeed it was; all it took was a glance for the Gundam pilot to confirm that the girl's leg had been properly set.

"The bone's back in place," he said, "but you should still take it easy for a few days."

Yomiko nodded as she wiped away her tears, and her mother glared at Heero. "Why didn't you count? I thought you were supposed to give her some kind of warning!"

"Her warning was when I told her to bite the towel," Heero replied as he stood up, "The longer she tenses up, the worse the pain is. It's better for it to be sudden."

He then turned and looked at Yomiko. "Still… I'm sorry."

Yomiko shook her head and gave him a pained smile. "It's ok… thank you."

Heero watched as the girl's mother helped her up and the two of them slowly made their way out of the tent. He'd long ago lost track of how many injuries like Yomiko's he'd helped treat since his arrival inside Elysium. There'd been broken arms, dislocated shoulders, legs that were out of place… the list went on. Time had become a blur, and the constant work was nearly as tiring as a prolonged battle. Despite the heavy workload though, the Gundam pilot did not feel burdened. Quite the contrary; it felt _very_ good to be healing people rather than killing them.

He wasn't the only one helping the refugees in the large white tent. There were six other people tending to patients with non-life threatening injuries, doing their best to treat people as quickly and efficiently as possible. As hectic as it was, Heero knew that they had it easy; he was sure that things were _much _worse with the units handling critical injuries. He'd heard nonstop sirens blaring as ambulances had gone back and forth between the field treatment centers established by the civil authorities and the Orb military and the colony's hospitals, and he could only imagine just how bad the situation was at Elysium's principal medical facilities.

"Yuy, was it?" asked a voice behind him.

Turning around, Heero was confronted with a middle-aged woman with Far Eastern features. It took him a moment to recall what she had introduced herself as earlier; Dr. Miya Lang. She wasn't the kind of person one would expect to be treating wounded refugees; she was a dentist, not a surgeon. However, she'd nonetheless volunteered to help out, and she had been put in charge of the tent Heero had found himself working in.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Why don't call it good for today?" she said, "You've been at it for nearly six hours straight."

Heero shook his head. "I'm fine, doctor."

Dr. Lan leaned closer. "While the others may not have recognized you," she whispered, "I can assure you I don't share their ignorance. I've been following war news that makes its way out here; I know you're Wing Zero's pilot, and that you fought in the battle earlier today. More importantly, I've seen the online video of your duel with the Valkyrie, so I'm pretty damn sure I know what you look like."

Heero nodded. "So you've done your homework. That doesn't mean you know my limits, doctor."

"Perhaps," she replied, "but I know that setting broken bones and bandaging wounds is not your primary duty; combat flying is. I appreciate the work you've been doing, but I'm sure that your talents will be far better used in defending Elysium should the Earth Alliance try to attack again, and to do that you need your rest. We can handle things from here; no one with life-threatening injuries is being brought to this tent, after all."

Her points were valid, and between the fierce battle earlier and the hours of work in the tent Heero was definitely feeling the strain. Still, he was reluctant to just get up and call it quits.

"I can stick around a little longer," he said.

Dr. Lang shook her head. "Perhaps, but there's really no need for it. Most of the patients still here are immobile but stable, and others have only superficial wounds. We can manage them, and you have more important things to do than treat minor injuries."

"All right," said Heero, and he began making his way through the maze of cots towards the nearest exit, "If you need me to come back, just contact the _Archangel_."

Dr. Lang nodded and smiled. "I will. Thank you for all your help, Heero Yuy."

Heero simply nodded before leaving the tent. Upon exiting he began weaving his way through the hustling emergency personnel that rushed back and forth in the kind of organized chaos that the Gundam pilot had long ago learned to associate with disaster relief efforts. Working through the crowd with practiced ease, Heero soon found himself at the perimeter of the temporary relief center.

_I can't exactly hail a cab here_, he thought as he looked around at the rubble-strewn streets, _and my ride from earlier is nowhere in sight._

He was about to flag down a passing member of the Orb military when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Heero!"

Looking off to his left, he saw Murrue making her way down the sidewalk towards him. Heero wasted no time in getting over to her.

"Murrue," he said, meeting her halfway, "What are you doing out here?"

She smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss. "I came to get you, Heero."

While he appreciated the thought, he still found it odd that she had left the ship at a time like this, and said as much once their lips parted. "I'm glad you came, but don't you still have work to do back on the ship?"

Murrue shook her head. "Honestly, there really wasn't that much. After I sent off Dr. Clark, his assistants, and Dr. Claudia all I had to do was oversee the replenishment of the munitions we spent in the fight and write up my after-action report for Waltfeld."

She looked around, her smile fading as she observed the wreckage. "I felt useless just sitting inside the ship at dock like that, but I put off coming out here because I didn't want to get in the way. However, after all the time that's passed since the battle, I figured you'd been out here long enough. You need to get back to the _Archangel_, Heero; you need to eat and rest."

"The doctor I worked with said as much," replied Heero.

"How was it?" asked Murrue, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Your work, I mean?"

"All things considered, I think I got off easy," said Heero, closing his eyes for a moment, "I was helping with non-critical injuries, remember? I'd hate to be the surgeons handling the life-threatening wounds."

When he opened his eyes again he looked at Murrue. "I got to work as soon as I arrived, so I never got the chance to ask anyone…"

"How many civilian casualties there were?" she finished for him.

Heero nodded. "Have you heard anything?"

Murrue sighed. "We got a preliminary report just before I left the ship. Early estimates put the civilian death toll somewhere between three or four thousand... and that's expected to climb once the government's had more time to account for the dead, along with those that the surgeons can't save. Most of the colony's resident population was evacuated to the shelters, so the overwhelming majority of the casualties are refugees. We don't even have an estimate yet on how many people were wounded."

"I see," said Heero, his voice almost a whisper.

_Almost ten percent of the refugees killed, quite possibly more_, he thought grimly, _I know it could've been worse, but still…_

"I talked to Cagalli and Waltfeld," said Murrue, "The _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and _Kusanagi _will remain at the docks for another two hours. When that time's up we'll be recalling all our personnel and heading out to defend the colony while giving Commander Bohuslav's ships room to come inside and begin repairs. Task Force 9.3's medical staff will replace ours in aid efforts to the refugees; I'm not going to sortie without medics to treat my crew if something goes wrong."

Heero nodded. "I'm sure Cagalli understood."

"Yes," Murrue replied, "though I still feel bad about pulling my staff out. Still, it can't be helped, and the ZAFT medics should be able to pick up the slack. Kira and Lacus returned to the _Eternal _a little while ago, as did other volunteers from our three main warships; you're the last one out here apart from medical personnel, Heero. It's time to head back."

"Where's your ride?" he asked.

She pointed back the way she had come. "A few blocks down that way. I knew the roads would be bad down here, and I wanted to give the colony's emergency vehicles as much room as I could."

"Ok," Heero replied, "let's go."

Murrue nodded. The two of them began walking, surveying the destruction as they went.

"I'm not sure I could ever get used to this," she said, "It's one thing to fight from the bridge of a warship, but to see this kind of devastation up close…"

"I know what you mean," said Heero, "and I don't think we _should _get used to it. The day that seeing civilians attacked like this becomes the norm, that we can casually accept it, is the day we lose our humanity."

Murrue reached over and grabbed his hand. "You're right."

The two of them walked in silence for a little bit. As they reached the end of the first block they were confronted with the sight of a badly damaged apartment. The entire right side of it had been blasted away, and much of the rest of it was scorched black. Wisps of smoke rose from the structure, though the fire that had no doubt raged earlier had been largely doused. There were no rescue crews working the rubble, and no cries for help on the wind; emergency personnel and volunteers had already finished up here.

_Refugees weren't housed there_, Heero thought as his eyes lingered on the burnt-out apartment, _and there's no vehicle or mobile suit remains that I can see. It was hit by random fire…_

"I hope the people who lived there were evacuated," said Murrue.

Heero was about to respond when he felt his foot bump against something. He would've dismissed it as a bit of debris, something was off about it; it was too soft. The Gundam pilot stopped in his tracks, looked down…

…and saw a little dog lying at his feet.

Its fur was still light, with only a few black marks from the heat, but it was completely motionless. Heero absently guessed that it had been killed by the shock of the blast and thrown clear out of the building; its owner must've forgotten about it in the rush to evacuate.

His eyes widened as he took the sight in. Such an image would not normally have had that kind of effect on Heero, but it wasn't the dead little dog itself that had such an impact. Rather, it was the memories that had been stirred by the sight…

_Charred ruins of a residential block…_

_ Shrieks of sirens, the cries of the wounded, the wails of the grieving…_

_ The smell of dead and seared flesh…_

_ The ash falling like snow…_

_ The feel of the dead little dog's fur as he cradled it in his arms…_

Then he heard the voice of an angel, pulling him out of his old nightmare.

"Heero."

He turned to Murrue, who put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't go back there. This isn't that colony; it's not _that _tragedy."

"How…" he said softly, "how did you…?"

"Know where your mind had gone?" she finished for him, "I _know you_, Heero. I remember every detail you told me about that night, that attack in that colony. Your reaction to that dead dog was the only clue I needed."

Heero nodded. "Yeah… I guess so."

"Heero," said Murrue, her voice firm and resolute, "we did everything we could here; we both know that. The people that fell today would not want us to dwell on the past, what could have been; they'd want us to focus on today and tomorrow, on doing all we can to protect the countless others like them."

The Gundam pilot nodded again. "You're right."

Taking one last look at the little, lifeless dog and the burnt-out apartment, he turned back to Murrue. "Let's go."

Her hand left his shoulder and returned to holding his hand. "Yes."

Continuing on their way, Heero could not help but draw parallels in his mind between the man that had ordered the assault on Elysium and the one that had instructed him to attack that Alliance base inside the colony two years ago in his old world. While one fought in the name of racial purity and earth and the other waged war in the name of colonial independence, both had shared the same ruthlessness, the same willingness to destroy anyone and anything that stood in between them and their path to victory.

_Dekim Barton and Muruta Azrael_, he thought as he and Murrue reached a parking lot and climbed into the jeep she had taken to get here from the Elysium spaceport, _They may literally be worlds apart, but the similarities between them cannot be denied. Throw Patrick Zala in there as well, and you have the makings of a very unholy trinity._

The leader of the Barton Foundation, chief financial backer of the colonial resistance and Gundam scientists, and the mastermind behind the original Operation Meteor, had been unaccounted for in the aftermath of the Eve Wars. More to the point, he was as far out of Heero's hands as he possibly be with the Gundam pilot's journey to the Cosmic Era; the Perfect Soldier could not mete out justice to him if he wanted to.

_It doesn't matter_, he thought, _the war Dekim helped launch is over; Earth and the colonies are at peace in my old world. The threats in my new world are what matter now. Azrael, Zala, their top supporters, Creuset… they're a danger to everyone in the Cosmic Era. If they're not stopped, then the thousands of refugees killed today will be just a drop in the bucket compared to the bloodbath those fanatics are preparing to unleash. I'll take them down, save my new world… and help those who died today rest in peace._

….

"This is a disaster!" cried Yuna as he slumped down in his chair, "The Earth Alliance fleet was destroyed, Cagalli and Yuy are still alive, the refugees aren't dead, and now even more Coordinators are in our colony!"

"And now it's no longer even _our _colony now," Unato grumbled as he settled in at his desk, "Damn it, what a mess."

Both Seirans had finally caught a break after hours of helping their new master coordinate relief efforts for the wounded refugees, along with getting a jump on clearing the debris. Unato's foul mood had only gotten worse when he had seen the other representatives of Orb's noble families quickly fall in line behind Uzumi's daughter; there was no chance for him to align them against her now.

_Not that there ever was_, he thought ruefully as he reached for the bottle of bourbon he kept in the bottom drawer of his desk, _not with the likes of the Desert Tiger and the Demon Lord of Avalon backing her. Orb's military wasted no time in falling in behind Uzumi's little bitch as well, and her efforts to help the refugees and the colony as a whole recover will only cement the people's support for her. All that planning, all our work to build a power base out here… it's all been undone._

Grabbing two glasses and filling them up, he scowled as he recalled the confrontation on the docks with Cagalli's entourage. The pink-haired Coordinator just seemed concerned with helping the refugees, as had Uzumi's daughter, but he hadn't missed the way the others had looked at him and his son. The Desert Tiger, that black-haired woman with him, Heero Yuy, the _Archangel_'s Captain, even Colonel Kisaka… none of them trusted Unato or Yuna.

And the Orb nobleman knew that if they found out exactly what he and his son had done, they would waste no time in exacting retribution for the blood that had been spilt today.

"What are we going to do?" Yuna whimpered, "Azrael's going to be pissed, and if Cagalli's new _friends _uncover our connection with him then there's no way we'll ever hold power again!"

Taking a sip from his glass, Unato knew that regaining power was the least of his problems at the moment. The threats made by the Desert Tiger and Demon Lord were still fresh in his mind, and he had no doubt that those two men would be more than willing to make good on them.

_They probably wouldn't even bother with a trial_, he mused, _Soldiers like them are nothing more than brutes, and they don't care about the niceties of legal procedure. They'd just shoot us and call it good._

"How do we keep them from finding out?" Yuna continued to whine, "How do we keep Azrael from coming back and killing all of us?"

"Shut up," Unato growled, rubbing his forehead, "Your incessant mewling is giving me a damn migraine. Let me think!"

A few minutes of silence followed before Unato spoke again. "We didn't use military encryption when we contacted Azrael; we hired a black market programmer to conceal the transmission. The chances of an investigation by Kisaka and his dogs turning up anything beyond circumstantial evidence is slim."

"What about your office computer?" asked Yuna, "Wouldn't the hard drive still have a record of the conversation since we contacted Azrael on it?"

Unato shook his head. "I paid that programmer damn good money to wipe the hard drive after the transmission, and we bribed the security forces to look the other way while he altered the colony's communications records. We covered our tracks, and the programmer won't double cross us; we have enough history with him that he values us as repeat customers. Besides, he knows that if he leaks any information against us that we can easily put him away for life… or six feet under."

"Why don't we make sure?" said Yuna, "We know where he is; we could send someone to silence him permanently."

"No," Unato replied, "As much as I might want to, we can't. He's a crafty bastard; he probably has a failsafe planned for the event of such a betrayal. I'd imagine a dead-hand of sorts; we kill him and the information is sent to some source we're unaware of, and then it goes public. Fortunately he's also a professional; so long as he's paid for the contract and not backstabbed, he keeps client confidentiality."

"That still leaves Azrael," said Yuna, not even trying to hide his fear, "He wanted our colonies aligned with him, and he wants all those damn Coordinator refugees dead. Thanks to Cagalli and her friends, neither of those happened! What if he exposes us out of spite?"

"He won't," said Unato, though he half-wondered if he was saying that just to reassure himself, "Azrael may not be pleased with what happened here today, but he'll realize that we still have value to him. We may not have power here now, but once the Earth Alliance has dealt with the Coordinators at L5 they'll turn their attention back to L3, and when they do Azrael will be looking for partners to make his move into our territory easier."

"Why would he wait?" asked Yuna, "He's got the power to invade L3 whenever he wants! He could attack again before he begins his final assault on the Coordinators!"

Unato shook his head. "No. After that fleet was wiped out, I think Azrael will conserve his resources, save them for finishing the conquest of Earth and the final assault on L5. For now, we don't have to worry about him."

Yuna took a swig of his glass. "So we just bow our heads to Cagalli and the rabble she's surrounded herself with? That's beneath us!"

"We'll stomach it," Unato growled, "All we can do right now is bide our time. At least with Cagalli and her allies focused on helping the refugees and defending the colony they're less likely to devote resources to investigating the 'traitor' within Elysium. That will give us room to finish covering our tracks."

Taking another sip, Yuna put his glass down and folded his arms, looking like nothing more than a petulant child. "Renegade soldiers, Coordinator freaks, Athha family sycophants… and we have to follow all of them. How disgraceful."

It was hard for Unato to argue with that assessment, but unlike his son he had long ago learned the value of patience and adaptability. The plans they'd made with Azrael may have fallen apart today, but that did not mean that they would be stuck in their current situation forever. Unato was willing to endure the current state of affairs, however distasteful they might be, if it meant that he and his family could survive politically and literally. His ambitions, the ascendance of the Seiran family to absolute power in Orb, had been set back considerably, but they had not been put in the grave.

_You win this round, Cagalli_, he thought as he took another drink, _but if you think I'll just forget the humiliation your brutes made me endure today, you are sorely mistaken. Enjoy your time on the throne, you little bitch; one way or another, we'll bring you down in time._

….

"Sir," said the _Eternal_'s helmsman, "we have cleared the colony."

Waltfeld nodded as he watched the _Archangel _and the _Kusanagi _out the forward viewport. The two advanced battleships had pulled out ahead of the prototype ZAFT cruiser and were already splitting up. "Move us to our part of the patrol grid. Is Priscilla ready to launch?"

The ship's mobile suit combat controller nodded. "Miss Dalca's Wraith is on the catapult; she's green for deployment."

_Her machine is_, he thought, _I just hope she is as well. It's been about nine hours since the battle; I had her, Adaline, and Lan get some rest while Kira went into the colony with Lacus. Hopefully she got a decent amount of shuteye. I know I could use some right about now…_

The military leader of the Three Ships Alliance had been kept busy long after the fighting had stopped. Once the initial meeting with the Seirans at the docks had been concluded, Waltfeld had wasted no time in coordinating both relief efforts for the refugees and repair/rearmament for his warships. Even with the three large battleships berthed in Elysium's main docks there had still been room for more vessels, and the Desert Tiger had ordered that a few of Task Force 9.3's ships be brought in for immediate repair. After that he'd spent his time going over post-action reports, reviewing the status of the surviving Orb defenders and Earth Alliance defectors, overseeing the topping off of the _Eternal_'s munitions and supplies, along with a host of other administrative work.

Looking out forward viewport, he could see the rest of Commander Bohuslav's battered warships queuing up to enter the colony. Now that the three most powerful warships of their organization were back out in space the rest of their lesser vessels could go inside Elysium and undergo much-needed repairs. Waltfeld was also looking forward to replenishing those ships' much-reduced mobile suit complements with units built either on Elysium, Eden, or the handful of smaller resource satellites that Orb still maintained at L3. However, he knew that it would be a little while before that could happen; Elysium's resources were fully committed to recovering from the attack, and Cagalli was understandably preoccupied with that rather than putting resources into arms production. As for Orb's other L3 facilities, Waltfeld imagined that they were keen to hold onto the units they had at hand for self-defense. He knew Cagalli could command them to sent new M1s and Taurus mobile suits at will, but he wouldn't push her into doing that just yet.

"Give her the go-ahead," he said.

The flight controller nodded. "Priscilla Dalca, you are clear to launch."

The voice of the most soft-spoken of the Valkyrie's subordinates came over the speaker. "Roger that. Priscilla, launching!"

The black and red mobile suit shot out of the hangar. Glancing at his personal monitor, Waltfeld saw that the other two ships were launching machines as well. From the _Archangel _flew the Buster, while the _Kusanagi _launched a pair of M1 Astrays.

_Once the Task Force 9.3 warships are at full operational status_, he thought, _I'll have to get us set into a patrol rotation for both mobile suits and capital ships. It's not exactly efficient to have the warships alternating every eight hours like we did with the mobile suits back at L4. Maybe have the ships do patrols of a few days each, then bring the crews back into the colony for some R&R. They could certainly use a little down-time, and I think we could all do with getting out of these ships for a few days. Of course, shore leave will have to wait until the colony's recovery has moved along a bit; not exactly sensitive to take a vacation while they're still pulling bodies from the rubble._

He felt a familiar hand fall upon his shoulder, and when he looked up to his right he saw Aisha floating by his seat. "Everything going all right?"

Waltfeld nodded and smiled. "As well as it can be, all things considered. Did you get some rest?"

Aisha shook her head. "Don't you remember? I said I'd wait on you. Come on, Andy. It's been a long day. DaCosta can take over for now; that's why you had him get some shuteye immediately after the fight. Now it's your turn; you're not going to do us any good falling asleep on the bridge."

Waltfeld chuckled. "I guess that would damage my rep a bit, wouldn't it?"

Aisha smirked before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Among other things, dear."

"All right," said the Desert Tiger, getting up from his chair, "DaCosta, the bridge is yours."

His longtime XO nodded. "Copy that, sir."

Waltfeld and Aisha left the bridge. As the door shut behind them the black-haired beauty turned to her lover, her expression serious.

"So," she said, "how long are we sticking around here?"

Waltfeld sighed. "Hard to say. Short-term, the colonists need all the help they can get to recover from the attack; we can't just up and leave. Besides, we need Elysium's docks to patch up Bohuslav's ships."

"I know that," she replied, "but that won't take too long. What's the plan, Andy? We weren't exactly stealthy with our arrival here; the entire Earth Sphere knows we're at L3 now."

Waltfeld nodded. "I've been thinking about that… and that might not be a bad thing."

Aisha raised an eyebrow at that. "You're going to need to help me with that one, Andy. Both the Alliance and ZAFT want us dead; us staying at L3 just draws the Orb colonies into the crossfire."

"The Orb colonies are already targets," Waltfeld replied, "The Earth Alliance proved that today. At least with us here both sides would have to devote a considerable amount of resources for an assault; the presence of Wing Zero alone would guarantee heavy casualties for them, and that's not counting the rest of us."

"I'll give you that much," said Aisha, "but the Alliance and ZAFT have proven themselves more than willing to sacrifice tons of soldiers in the pursuit of their goals. What makes you think they won't do it again to take us out now?"

"As far as out latest intel on ZAFT shows," said Waltfeld, his good eye narrowing, "Zala's still got the forces on defensive posture; the pursuit of Task Force 9.3 was their only recent offensive action. The fleet's in full pull-back mode on all fronts, and new ships and mobile suits built at L5 are going straight to the Exclusion Grid and the Boaz forward operating base. Zala's not just digging in; he's prepping for the end game, I'd bet my life on it. He won't divert ships and soldiers to attack L3, even if he knows we're here; he's going all-in with his buildup for the final clash with the Earth Alliance. I'm betting he considers Eden and Elysium an afterthought at this point, along with us."

Aisha nodded. "Ok, I'll go along with that, but you're still leaving out the Earth Alliance. They've always had the numerical edge in this war, and are even more wasteful of soldiers and resources than Zala. Just because they lost one fleet at Elysium doesn't mean they won't throw another one at it, and based on the attack at Mendel we know they really want to take out the _Archangel _and Wing Zero."

"Yeah," said Waltfeld, "and I know it's harder for us to get intel on the Alliance's fleet movements since our only sources on those are a few sympathetic members of the ZAFT Patrol Fleet. I can't be as certain with Azrael as I am with Zala... but I think those two are on similar wavelengths here, so to speak."

"How so?" asked Aisha.

"I think Azrael's mind is going in the same direction as Zala's," said Waltfeld, "He's made a few offensive moves in outer space – the attacks at L4 and L3 – and has cast a wide patrol net, but for the most part his orbital forces seem to be consolidating their power around Luna, L1 and L2. As L5 is the heart of ZAFT space, those three points are the principal areas of power for the Earth Alliance off-planet, with the Moon of course being the standout example. Luna, L1, and L2 are all quite close to each other, at least as far as distances in outer space go; it would not be a challenge to gather the forces off all three points at one rally point when the time comes that Azrael decides to launch the final assault."

Aisha nodded, and Waltfeld saw her lovely emerald eyes narrow in thought. "So we're reasonably sure that Azrael's about as focused on the endgame as Zala. I can see that; those two are far more alike than they would ever care to admit. However, that doesn't account for the disparity in numbers. Even with their main battle fleets massing at the Moon, L1, and L2 they could still divert enough ships to launch an overwhelming invasion of L3 that accounted for our presence."

"The ships, yes," said Waltfeld, a sly smirk appearing on his face, "but not the mobile suits. The Alliance still hasn't completely conquered Earth yet. Right now they're besieging Gibraltar, Kaoshiung, and Carpentaria, and I'm betting Zala's remaining surface forces are dug in tight at those three bases. Even with the new mobile suits the Alliance has it will still take considerable resources to conquer those last three strong-points, which means their mobile suit forces are divided. They could make up for it number-wise with their surviving mobile armors, but it wouldn't really give them much of an edge; we've got units on our side that can take them down scores at a time."

Aisha smiled. "Those Moebius units fare bad enough against GINNs, but fighting something like Wing Zero or the Judgment is even worse; total slaughter. I know the Alliance has a huge population to draw upon, but even they have to be nervous about running out of troops at the rate theirs get killed; hard to get new recruits when they know just how easily their enemies will cut through them."

Waltfeld chuckled. "I'm betting the Alliance tries to downplay just how bad their casualties have been in this war, but it's hard to keep the families of the fallen from staying quiet. People aren't blind; they don't have to rely on official reports to have an idea of what kind of enemies their family and friends in the armed forces are fighting against."

"You know," said Aisha, her expression becoming thoughtful, "you'd think with how long this war's been going and how many casualties they've taken there would be some serious anti-war sentiment in the Earth Alliance member states by now, but I've never really heard of anything like that. How about you? Has Bristow mentioned anything like that when gives you the updates from his sources?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "No. Internal Alliance politics aren't something he's really focused on right now, but he still keeps an eye out for news on that front; you never know when that kind of information might give you an edge."

Aisha sighed. "It doesn't make any sense. Even with Zala's heavy push for decisively defeating the Naturals before pursuing peace talks like Clyne wanted, there were people that opposed him. With the attack on Junius Seven we all understood what some in the enemy's camp wanted to do to us, but there were still, _are _still, people in the PLANTs that would like this war to end at the negotiating table rather than with genocide. Thanks to Bristow we know that the majority of the population at L5 _still _wants to find a way to make peace even after Zala's non-stop propaganda effort to promote the idea of Coordinators as the 'next step in human evolution' and 'the replacements for the Naturals'. The population of the Atlantic Federation alone is so much bigger than ours, and when you add in the other member nations of the Earth Alliance the numbers truly are staggering. You can't seriously be saying that out of all those people, Captain Ramius and the _Archangel_'s crew are the only ones who would prefer peaceful coexistence over a bloodbath?"

"I'm not," Waltfeld replied, "I'm sure there's plenty more people like them. The problem is that Blue Cosmos' grip on power is simply too tight. All the key positions in the Atlantic Federation, both civil and military, are staffed by people that are either members of the group, sympathetic to them, or in their pocket. In theory their Constitution allows for freedom of speech and assembly, but with the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government all under their control it was a simple matter for them to pass laws in the dead of night that gave police and other agencies greater powers to deal with 'civil unrest'. In other words, if the Atlantic Federation doesn't want to see an anti-war protest, there isn't one; assembly permits are denied, organizers and participants are jailed… you get the idea. From what bits Bristow's been able to pick up it's not uncommon nowadays for prominent peace activists to simply disappear, or to be killed by a convenient 'accident'. There's a lot of rumors going around about FBI tactical units being used as hit squads, or co-opting local SWAT teams and police departments into that role."

He felt Aisha shiver as she held his hand. "It sounds like Zala's campaign against Clyne."

Waltfeld shook his head. "It's worse. As much as I hate to admit it, Zala's charge of treason against the former Chairman and his daughter had more than a bit of truth to them; it was them and their supporters that enabled Kira to hijack the Freedom, after all. Azrael's campaign to crush internal descent doesn't even have that excuse. It wouldn't surprise me if the next 'illegal' protest to spring up in the Atlantic Federation, or anywhere in the Earth Alliance for that matter, is met with a hail of bullets. Hell, it's amazing we haven't heard of something like that already."

The Desert Tiger sighed and looked down at the floor. "And the bad news doesn't end there."

"How could it get any worse?" asked Aisha, trepidation clear in her voice.

"Remember that group that pulled a coup in the Eurasian Federation right before Azrael invaded Orb?" said Waltfeld.

Aisha's eyes narrowed in thought for a moment. "The _Chistaya Partiya Krovi_, right? Pretty much Eurasia's version of Blue Cosmos?"

Waltfeld nodded. "As you know, they've got close ties within the Vatican and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Neither group's ever been fond of Coordinators, though their activities against our kind have been limited to fundraising for extremist groups like the CPK, and the CPK's returned the favor by providing members of its military wing to act as security and behind-the-scenes muscle. Since the CPK took over the Eurasian Federation they've also begun passing new laws that heavily favor religious interests in areas such as education and healthcare. However, last week the CPK managed to nudge them into doing something that's… well, quite frankly, it's unprecedented."

"What is it?" asked Aisha, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Waltfeld closed his good eye for a moment before meeting his lover's gaze. "The Eastern Patriarch and Pope Urban XI held a joint press conference in Warsaw. They declared a Crusade against all Coordinators; all able and willing of the faithful are to wage war against us."

"Shit," Aisha hissed, "like we don't have enough people trying to kill us already."

"It gets worse," said Waltfeld, "A lot of religious groups didn't like being shown up by the Eastern Orthodoxy and the Vatican. Anti-Coordinator sentiment's always run high among the more hardcore elements of religious society; the manner of our birth is almost as much a hot-button issue to them as abortion. Plenty of fringe groups have been calling for our destruction for years, but with the Warsaw Conference the call to holy war against us got some heavy mainstream support. From what rumors Bristow's passed on to me, the whole gamut of the hard religious right is out for our blood. Hardcore Evangelicals, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims… hell, even some Jewish extremist groups have thrown themselves into the mix. You'd think that last group would have a different perspective when it comes to calling for genocide."

"Damn it," said Aisha, "Has the whole fucking world lost its mind?"

"At a glance, it would certainly seem that way," Waltfeld replied, "but it hasn't… and that's why we need to stay at L3."

"I don't understand," said Aisha, "How's everything you just mentioned tie into us remaining at Elysium when everyone else _knows _we're here?"

Waltfeld smiled. "Aisha, you yourself said that it wasn't possible for all of the people in the Earth Alliance to hate us as much as Blue Cosmos does. The same goes for the PLANTs; we know full well that there are people at L5 and within the ZAFT fleet that support us. However, they're drowned out by the radicals that are in power in both governments. How do you think they feel, knowing the forces they're up against?"

"If I had to guess," said Aisha, "I'd say pretty close to hopeless. You, me, our friends and allies were able to get out of ZAFT and the Earth Alliance and join forces with the Orb remnant, but so many moderates on both sides are trapped in their nations. They must feel like they have no one to turn to, that there's no way that they can stop the madness that's consuming this world."

"Exactly," said Waltfeld, "which is why we _can't _hide anymore. We need to be visible, to serve as not just an actual resistance to the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, but a symbolic one as well. We've met both superpowers in battle and have not only survived, but triumphed. Moderates in the Alliance and ZAFT can look at us and see proof that the extremists ruling both sides _can _be fought, _can _be beaten… and if they want to join our cause, they know exactly where to find us."

Aisha smiled. "Now I get it; you're hoping to encourage defections in both sides' space forces!"

Waltfeld nodded. "We already know that members of the ZAFT fleet are willing to fight against Zala; we're perfect examples of that, as is Task Force 9.3. The Battle of Elysium proved that the same goes for members of the Earth Alliance with regards to Azrael; there were defectors from their ranks defending the colony against the invasion fleet. Thanks to them we _know _that Captain Ramius and her crew are not the only members of the Alliance fleet that have the courage to stand against the extremist regime that now rules their country. Our presence here gives them something to rally around, a place that they know they can go to join likeminded people, a force that's willing to take on the might of both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT in order to end this war without unleashing the biggest bloodbath in human history!"

"Do you really think it will work?" asked Aisha, "You and I haven't been deluding ourselves about the odds we're up against, and I doubt we're the only ones to recognize the sheer power and numbers wielded by both sides. Not trying to toot our own horn here, but it takes considerable nerve to make the stand that we have."

Waltfeld chuckled. "I won't argue with that. I'm sure there's plenty of people in the Alliance and ZAFT who have wanted to help us but are afraid of what will happen if we lose. The statistical probability of our success in this endeavor is low; only an idiot would say otherwise. Everyone that fights alongside us is marked for death by the two strongest nations in the history of the Cosmic Era, though of course if we lose then there's a very good chance that humanity itself is wiped out, especially if Creuset has anything to say about it. It's not a struggle to be undertaken lightly; if someone didn't give a hell of a lot of thought to it before joining up with us, I'd call them a fool."

Aisha laughed. "They must be a special kind of fool to be thought of as such, considering what we've gotten ourselves into."

Waltfeld smirked. "Yeah, you've got a point there."

"Still," said Aisha, becoming serious again, "there's nothing foolish about what's at stake here."

Waltfeld nodded. "I know, and I think anyone who wants to join us will recognize that. Every army has its bad apples, but most soldiers aren't of the same mold as the likes of Azrael or Zala. Most men and women in the armed forces just want to protect the people they care about. They want to believe that they're doing the right thing, that by serving they'll be helping to create a better world. The two powers fighting this war have sunk too low for the men and women fighting for them to believe that their leaders are doing the right thing now; no decent human being joins the forces because they _want _to commit mass murder. I know it's a gamble, but I think that if we stay at L3 and make sure that others are aware of it we have a chance to draw at least some of those decent men and women to our cause. Through us they have a chance to redeem themselves, to save their nations from the extremists that rule them. We have to give them that chance."

"I understand that," said Aisha, giving him a hard stare, "but it's also one hell of a gamble. It's one thing to play poker with our lives; I accepted that long ago, and when the others agreed to your being our military head they more or less consented to that as well. However, now we've thrown the Orb colonists and refugees into the pot as well. Have you told Cagalli or Lacus about this plan of yours?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "Not yet. I want them to stay focused on helping the survivors of the attack. The next few days are going to be difficult as it is, and I don't want to start up an argument with those two girls; this isn't a plan they'd be enthusiastic about."

"But you can't keep this from them forever," said Aisha, "Andy, these are Cagalli's people we're putting at risk; you can't just go behind her back like this."

Waltfeld nodded. "And I don't intend to, at least not indefinitely. Right now things are still fresh for her; you saw her reaction with the Seirans earlier today. She's not in the best position to think rationally at the moment; she'd reject this plan without giving it any consideration. As for Lacus, I think she'd take Cagalli's side if we presented this plan right now, and not just because they've become friends; after what the colonists and refugees just went through, she wouldn't appreciate us potentially endangering them like this."

"So," said Aisha, "how are you going to play this?"

"The only person besides you that knows about my plan," said Waltfeld, "is Bristow; I contacted him a little while ago. He's aware of the risks, but he's taking my side in this; he knows we need to take this chance to build up our strength. I had him send out feelers to his contacts within ZAFT to see who's potentially in a position to make a break from the fleet and join us. Word will get around; from there all we can do is wait and see. As for the Earth Alliance, that's entirely out of our hands; we just don't have the same kind of access like we do in ZAFT."

Aisha nodded. "That's as good a long term plan as we can get, I suppose. What about the short term though?"

"Like I said earlier," Waltfeld replied, "the colonists need all the help they can get. For now I can avoid a confrontation with Cagalli by telling her I want to keep us here to defend L3 while we help Elysium recover and plan our next move. She'll go along with that, and I think Lacus will too. From then on everything we do is playing for time until defectors manage to reach us… _if_ they manage to reach us."

"They will," said Aisha, squeezing his hand, "Task Force 9.3 managed to make a break for it, and so did members of the Earth Alliance. Others can do the same, Andy; have faith. This is your plan, after all."

Waltfeld sighed. "I know, I just don't like there being so many variables in it. I'm no stranger to gambits, but I like to have a little more control of some of the factors in play. Here though, all we can really do is sit tight, get the word out, and hope that people are able to answer the call. Just because it's my plan doesn't mean I don't wish it could be better."

"Perhaps," said Aisha, "You can still change your mind."

Waltfeld shook his head. "I tried thinking of other plans, but everything came down to our need for reinforcements, and this way gets us potentially the biggest payoff. Of course, it also has the most risk. I guess fate just won't let us have something be easy in this war."

Aisha smirked. "I seem to recall you telling me that 'easy' was boring. Suddenly afraid you've bitten off more than you can chew?"

Waltfeld chuckled. "I've been afraid of that since the moment we went underground. The pieces just keep getting bigger, but so far I've been able to stomach them. All I can do is play the cards I've got and hope my luck holds."

"It's gotten us this far," said Aisha as they came to a stop in front of their quarters, "I think it can go a little further."

Waltfeld let go of her hand to open the door. "It'll have to. Too much is riding on it."

Aisha surprised him by pulling him in for a kiss. "We're still alive, love. Against all this war has thrown at us, we've still managed to best the Reaper. The same goes for our friends; they're no strangers to long odds, and they've come through more than their shares of close calls with death. We're all still able and willing to fight, and will follow your lead no matter what the odds."

Waltfeld smiled. "Thanks, Aisha."

….

_Gray wisps of smoke rose from the ruined buildings around him. Ash fell like snow as the young man surveyed the destruction, the aftermath of that fateful attack two years ago. At his feet was the small, broken body of that little dog._

_ But the young man was not the same person he had been the last time, or all the times before, that he had relived this tragedy. In the past his mind had gone back to his fourteen-year old self, reliving it as he had back then physically and mentally. Now, though, he was different. The young man was aware of the subtle changes his body had undergone over the past two years, the slight but noticeable increase in height and the hardening of an already toned and athletic figure. His mental awareness was that of a far more experienced sixteen-year old soldier, the events of the two years since the day he was reliving now having forged him into almost an entirely new person._

_ That was how Heero Yuy knew that he was in a dream._

_ "Why here?" he said, his voice lingering in the cold, still air, "Why now?"_

_ "A reminder," said a voice behind him._

_ Even though he was in a dream, the Perfect Soldier still acted on his fine-tuned combat instincts… all the more so given the source of the voice. In one fluid motion he whirled around and drew his pistol, immediately targeting the head of the man standing behind him._

_ His target seemed glaringly out of place amid the ruins of the residential block. Dressed in a blue and white uniform, with golden epaulets and a black cape artfully draped over his left side, the man looked more like an officer set for a ceremony or high society function. His immaculate brown-blond hair was slicked back, and his ice blue eyes held that same knowing gleam in them that they always did. At his waste was a very familiar saber; the blade that had been passed on to Heero shortly after the final battle in his old war._

_ "Treize Khushrenada," said Heero._

_ OZ's legendary colonel and the late head of the World Nation gave the Gundam pilot a small nod. "It's been a long time, Heero Yuy."_

_ Heero glared at him. "You're dead."_

_ Treize smirked. "So I am."_

_ "This is a dream," said Heero._

_ "So it is," Treize replied, still smirking._

_ Heero closed his eyes for a moment before lowering his gun. When he opened them he met the gaze of his enigmatic old foe. "Why are you here? Why am _I _here?"_

_ "As I said before," Treize replied, "A reminder."_

_ "Like I need one," the Gundam pilot spat, "I'll never forget what happened here. Since you're just a phantom conjured by my mind, you should know that."_

_ Treize shook his head. "It is not this specific event that I am reminding you of. Rather, it is the cost of failure. You've had your share in the past, Heero Yuy; the Perfect Soldier is far from perfect."_

_ "Tell me something I don't know," Heero shot back._

_ Treize chuckled. "You've become more self-aware. During our war I saw a very interesting tendency of yours, one you were unaware of, though with the passage of time and your new experiences you can now look back and realize what it was."_

_ "Enlighten me," Heero growled._

_ "Failure and success," said Treize, "walk hand-in-hand with you." He gave a sweeping gesture with his hand, encompassing the ruined residential block and nearby Alliance base. "Your mission in this colony was to destroy the Alliance facility here. You did that, but you weren't as precise as you thought you were, and innocents paid the price. For one such as you, that is both victory and defeat… and it is not the only such instance in your past."_

_ The world around them blurred, and when it regained clarity the Gundam pilot saw another familiar sight; the critical moment in his attack on the Alliance's New Edwards base._

_ Wing Gundam cutting down Noventa's shuttle._

_ "You and your fellow Gundam pilots' attack on the New Edwards base was superb," said Treize as the shuttle exploded, "You utterly mauled the defenders; an entire Alliance army destroyed. For any other guerilla attack this would be a resounding success, but your military victory became little more than the shadow of a spectacular political defeat."_

_ "At your manipulation," said Heero, "I've already accepted my role in killing the Alliance peace faction, but I've learned not to put it all on my own shoulders any more. I committed the act, but you set the stage. I was the gun and the bullet; you set up the target and pulled the trigger."_

_ Treize nodded. "Well put. You've succinctly divided the responsibility for that event. I trust that you also recognize the aftermath; the cost of your simultaneous victory and defeat."_

_ "Yes," said Heero, "I paved the way for Operation Daybreak and ensured that our war would continue with one fell swoop, despite my desire to end the conflict. It wasn't just the Alliance soldiers and members of their peace faction that I killed that day; thanks to your manipulation I provided the catalyst for the next stage of the war. I have more than just the lives of those I've taken directly on my hands; you could tie many more of the fallen in our conflict to me thanks to Noventa's assassination."_

_ "And as you put it," said Treize, "that's a responsibility we share. It is also another instance of your unique ability to mix victory and defeat, producing devastating consequences… and it is not the last."_

_ The former ruler of the World Nation gave another grand sweep of his hand, and the scene once again changed. A multitude of images flashed before the Gundam pilot, all with the same crimson mobile suit at the center of them, wreaking havoc on the battlefield with a blazing emerald blade and a burning red and black whip._

_ "Epyon..." he whispered._

_ "The Gundam I bestowed upon you," Treize continued for him, "I wanted to see what a soldier of your caliber could accomplish with it, and before you passed it on to Zechs you wielded Epyon in two crucial battles; Luxembourg and the invasion of the Sanc Kingdom."_

_ Heero nodded. "I couldn't use it right, or at least not the way you intended; I couldn't get a handle on your version of the ZERO System."_

_ "Indeed," Treize replied, "though you were still capable of piloting the Epyon with reasonable effectiveness. This led to you gaining two back-to-back instances of triumph and loss. At Luxembourg you wiped out both sides when your original intent had been simply to destroy Romefeller's mobile doll army. That army was indeed obliterated, and given the odds you were up against anyone would call that an impressive success. However, you also utterly annihilated the soldiers that had been fighting for me; lives that, in this case, you had never meant to take. For one such as yourself, a man who takes unnecessary loss of life so hard, this far outweighed your victory."_

_ It hadn't been something Heero had considered at the time, but after the war the Gundam pilot had indeed thought back on his actions at Luxembourg. His conclusion concurred with what his mental conjuration of Treize was telling him now; the rebel pilots he had killed in that fight should not have died. Their deaths had been meaningless, an utter waste of life._

_ Too high a price to pay for his 'victory' at Luxembourg._

_ The cost of his failure to keep control._

_ "After Luxembourg," Treize continued, "you learned just how powerful my Epyon truly was. Unfortunately, you weren't able to completely apply your newfound knowledge to your next clash with Romefeller. You managed to avoid wiping out your allies during the invasion of the Sanc Kingdom, and you delivered significant losses to Duke Dermail's army, but you weren't what you could have been. Had you been able to fully master Epyon's system, you could have completely wiped out Romefeller's army. Instead you went berserk, attacking the enemy without regard for the overall strategic situation, and the Sanc Kingdom fell. Once again, victory and defeat walked hand-in-hand with you, and the consequences of your failure were severe."_

_ Heero nodded. "I'm well aware of that. Things changed after I got Wing Zero though."_

_ Treize smiled. "Indeed, for the rest of our war and beyond. Your mastery of the ZERO System helped you purge the curse of marred victory that had dogged you throughout our conflict. Though the Earth Sphere danced to the tune Zechs and I called in that final campaign, you did not let that stop you from achieving your goals. The After Colony world survives in peace today due in no small part to your efforts, to your pure triumph in the final battle. You have taken your new power to the Cosmic Era as well; though not all of your victories have been ideal, they no longer walk hand-in-hand with ruin. Even events like the evacuation of Orb have served to move you forward; you and your allies lived to fight another day, to continue your struggle to bring peace to your new world. Your fight at Elysium was an overwhelming victory, even with the civilian casualties; you know full well how bad things could have been if you had truly failed."_

_ His gaze narrowed as he addressed Heero. "However, the price of potential failure in that last battle is now eclipsed by the storm cloud of Armageddon that now looms before you. It even dwarfs that of the final clash in our Eve Wars. Had that section of the Libra's hull impacted Earth the results would have been devastating to be sure, but the damage would not have been enough to wipe out all life on the planet; mankind would still be able to survive, both in space and on her home world. Now, though, the stakes are infinitely higher."_

_ The leader of OZ gave another grand gesture, and new images assaulted Heero. None of them were events Heero had ever seen before, and he realized that this was his mind showing him potential scenarios for the future._

_ A swarm of missiles arced towards the hourglass-shaped colonies that the Coordinators called home. Fiery blossoms of nuclear apocalypse bloomed as one-hundred-nineteen colonies suffered the same fate as Junius Seven._

_ A magnificent city appeared before him, one situated in a lunar crater; Copernicus city. There was a brilliant flash, and the largest civilian lunar habitat became little more than cooling slag in the bottom of the crater it had once called home._

_ The brilliant blue and green gem that was the Earth hung in the black void of space. White light briefly flashed over it, and when Heero could see the planet again it was a charred, barren orb, completely devoid of life._

_ "This," said Treize, "will be the cost of failure. This war, Heero Yuy, is far beyond our old conflict in terms of sheer ferocity and hatred. Even a partial victory, one of your old mixed triumphs and defeats, cannot happen; one side wiping the other out rather than both being destroyed could never be considered a success in these circumstances, partial or otherwise. Should you fail, billions of lives will be lost, and all that you have come to hold dear in your new world will be destroyed."_

_ A female voice rang out behind the Gundam pilot, resonating with belief and strength. "He won't fail."_

_ Heero's eyes widened in recognition; he'd know that voice anywhere._

_ Turning around, he saw Murrue… in a way he'd never seen her before._

_ The woman he loved was floating down from the sky, and while Heero had always considered her beauty angelic in the metaphorical sense, now it was very much literal. She wore a simple but elegantly flowing, strapless white dress, baring her pale shoulders and emphasizing her already prominent bosom. Lying upon her chest was the shimmering blue stone of the necklace he'd bought her all those months ago in North Africa. Her lovely brown eyes seemed to glow with that familiar combination of compassion and strength, while her long brown hair flowed freely. What was most striking about her now though were the four white wings that were coming out of her back. They were in two distinct pairs, one slightly smaller and more streamlined, the other broader and seeming to almost wrap around her._

_ "Murrue…" said Heero, completely blown away at the sight before him._

_ She gently touched down and came up to him. Still stunned at what he was seeing, Heero was further surprised when she took him into a firm embrace, her white wings joining her arms in wrapping around him, pulling him close and shielding him from the images of devastation that he had seen before. He felt those familiar warm, moist lips meet his, and he surrendered himself to the kiss._

_ Still holding him, she pulled back just enough for him to look into her eyes. "You're not the same man you were in your old war. You've grown so much, have seen and done so much more than you ever dreamed you would. You're stronger now, Heero… and you're not alone."_

_ Releasing him from the embrace, she reached out and caressed his face with her hand. "I would've given anything to be able to support you in your old war. Unfortunately, we were literally worlds apart; I didn't even know you existed, and could much less lend you my strength. However, all that's changed now. You left your old world, and have made _mine _your home. I'm on your side, now and forever; you will never be alone again."_

_ She looked past him, and Heero followed her gaze towards Treize._

_ "Heero won't fail," she said, glaring at the man that Heero had once waged war against, "He's far more powerful now than he ever was in your old war. He may not have the other four Gundam pilots with him in the Cosmic Era, but he's made new friends to make up for that loss. _I'm _with him. Kira's with him. La Flaga's with him. Athrun's with him. Cagalli's with him. Lacus is with him. Shemei and Bristow are with him. Waltfeld and Aisha are with him. Dearka and Miriallia are with him. Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla are with him. Our entire alliance is with him, and we've already proven ourselves strong enough to take on the military might of the entire Cosmic Era."_

_ Murrue smiled. "And Heero's the strongest of us all."_

_ Treize nodded. "So he is. However, the strength of one soldier is not enough to decide a war."_

_ Murrue shook her head. "No, it's not… but Heero's far more than just a soldier. He always has been."_

_ She looked at Heero and nodded, reaching out and putting her hand on his shoulder. "He's not just a soldier. He's not even 'just' a Gundam pilot."_

_ She gave him another warm smile. "He's a hero. A guardian of peace and justice. A champion of those who cannot defend themselves. A knight that can do the impossible."_

_ Treize chuckled. "Perhaps so. We shall see."_

_ He then gave the Gundam pilot a slight bow. "Farewell, Heero Yuy."_

_ And with that, he disappeared._

_ Heero felt Murrue grab his hand. "Come on, Heero. Let's get out of here."_

….

His eyes opening, the Perfect Soldier found himself back in the quarters he shared with the woman he loved. Taking a moment to catch his breath and let his eyes adjust to the darkened room, he felt the reassuring weight of Murrue's body up against his right side, with her head resting on his shoulder and her right arm draped across him.

_Back to reality_, he thought as he looked at her, _back to where I belong._

The Gundam pilot smiled slightly as he thought of the role Murrue had played in his dream, how she had saved him from his doubts and fears. Reaching over, he gently ran his hand through her hair, pushing a few stray bangs out of her face.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Heero?" she said softly, "What's going on? You should be resting."

Heero shook his head. "It's nothing; I just woke up for a moment there. Sorry to worry you."

Murrue nodded, though as she focused on Heero he could see the concern even in her sleep-muddled eyes. "Ok. Are… are you sure you're all right?"

Heero leaned over and gently kissed her. "I'm fine, Murrue. I promise."

It wasn't a lie. While the dream certainly hadn't been pleasant, it did not have the same impact as his old nightmare once did. His mind's conjuration of Murrue had not only bolstered his resolve in the face of what the apparition of Treize had presented to him, but had also given him peace.

Murrue gave him a sleepy smile. "Alright, Heero. Sleep well."

As the two of them settled back in, the Perfect Soldier's mind went back to his dream… or more specifically, just one part of it.

Her wings enveloping him.

_Shielding _him.

An odd thought struck him at that moment.

_Could something like that be applied to a mobile suit?_

_ To Wing Gundam Zero, perhaps?_

"I'll have to look into that," he muttered.

"Hmm?" grunted Murrue drowsily, "What is it, Heero?"

Heero gave her a small smile. "I'll tell you in the morning. Goodnight, Murrue."

Murrue nodded sleepily. "Goodnight, Heero."

….

**July 27****th****, C.E. 71**

Her eyes narrowing as she sighted down the barrel of her sidearm, Natarle took a deep breath. Slowly letting it out, she mentally replaced the black silhouette of her range target with the image of Azrael and proceeded to empty her clip into it. Even with her earmuffs on the sounds of gunfire still rang in her ears, and she made sure to keep herself braced against the recoil as she sent round after round downrange.

After the last bullet was spent she ejected the spent clip before flicking a nearby switch. Pulling off her earmuffs, she allowed herself a satisfied smile as she saw a relatively tight bunch of holes in the middle of the target as it approached her, hanging from the overhead moving rack.

_It'd be so much better_, she thought, _if that really was Azrael that I just pumped full of lead._

"Wow," came a familiar female voice to her right, "That's… incredible!"

Natarle looked over at Flay, making a conscious effort to turn her satisfied smile into something a little gentler for her companion. "Thanks, Flay, but it's really not that great. You should see the groupings real sharpshooters can get; they make me look like an amateur."

"It's still really good," Flay replied, looking back and forth between Natarle and the target before sighing, "Better than I can get, anyway."

"Go easy on yourself," said Natarle, "You've only been training for a short time; it takes a while to build up your skill." Then she gave a small laugh. "Besides, I'm hardly a qualified firearms instructor, so it's not like you're getting the best training out there."

Natarle turned and nodded downrange at the target next to where hers had been. "Now, you go. Don't forget to brace for the recoil."

She put her earmuffs back on and watched as Flay did the same before pointing her gun downrange. The girl's eyes narrowed in concentration before she opened fire. She shot at a slower rate than Natarle had, so it took her longer to go through her pistol's clip. Eventually it went dry, and Natarle was pleased to see that Flay was quicker to eject the spent magazine than she had been last time.

_She's getting better_, thought Natarle as she walked over and flicked the switch next to Flay's box of ammunition, bringing her target in for review.

When the target came to a stop Natarle gave an approving nod as she examined it. The shots were far more spread out than hers had been, but they were all still within the boundaries of the target.

Natarle shook her head. "You did all right, Flay. You're definitely getting better. Don't be too hard on yourself. You've only been practicing for a week, after all."

Actually, it had been precisely eight days since the two women had encountered Azrael in the base's cafeteria. Natarle still got chills thinking about it, especially with how Azrael had looked at Flay.

_The man has no shame_, she thought, _eying her like that… like she's some bimbo he can drag off to his quarters! This cruel lecher rules the Atlantic Federation and the Earth Alliance? My country is led by this… this perverted, sadistic, genocidal madman? How… how did we fall so far? I didn't sign up to serve people like this, and I know Flay didn't either!_

Since that day Natarle had taken extra care regarding her young unofficial ward. She'd taken steps to monitor the girl's location and make sure she was never too far away. However, that had not become as big an issue as she had initially feared; Flay was very reluctant to wander about on her own, and in fact rarely left the _Dominion_. When she did depart the ship it was always with Natarle, and usually for one of their off-hours training sessions.

When she was not helping Flay with her training as the _Dominion_'s newest communications officer or overseeing repairs to the badly damaged warship, Natarle was helping the young woman improve her self-defense skills. Getting her assigned a personal sidearm had been just the first step; Natarle wanted to be sure the girl could use the weapon with at least a basic level of proficiency. Her skills had improved incrementally, but Natarle always noted how uneasy Flay was around firearms. Recalling the incident in the _Archangel_'s medical bay during the ship's journey to Alaska, Natarle supposed that the girl had more than enough of a reason to be nervous about using a gun.

_At that time_, she thought as she watched the girl slide fresh rounds into the clip, _Flay was hell bent on revenge. She hated Coordinators; everyone knew that, which is why we found her sudden relationship with Kira to be so odd. When she tried to shoot the Buster's pilot, in her mind that was vengeance not just for Kira, but her father too, even if that prisoner wasn't responsible for either of those deaths. Something happened though, and it wasn't just Miriallia putting herself between her and the prisoner. I think… she really _did _come to love Kira, or at least care about him. Her reaction was too emotional for it to have just been revenge for a father she had lost earlier in the war._

As the girl hesitantly inserted the loaded clip into the gun, Natarle wondered if Flay would try to attack the Buster's pilot now if she had the chance, or any helpless Coordinator for that matter. Somehow she doubted it. Whatever hate Flay had carried before was dead; the conversation they had shared in the cafeteria was proof enough of that.

Having loaded the gun, Flay turned to look at Natarle. "Should I go again?

They'd already been out here for about half an hour and Natarle figured she'd take it easy on Flay today. "Do you want to?"

The red-head shook her head and gave her an apologetic look. "Not really."

Natarle smiled. "That's fine, Flay. We can call it quits for today. Come on, let's clean up here and grab some dinner."

The two women spent a few minutes putting away the ammo boxes and picking up stray shell casings that had fallen on their side of the firing range before leaving the practice facility and making their way through the winding corridors towards the cafeteria. Natarle wasn't particularly happy that their destination was the same place that they had run into Azrael eight days ago, but it was the closest dining area to the _Dominion_'s dock, and as much as she hated to admit it the food they served there easily surpassed the rations that were stocked on her ship.

_Not sure if the good food is worth the risk of running into Azrael again_, she thought darkly, _Maybe if they'd actually give the Dominion a little more variety with her rations then I wouldn't have this problem._

It wasn't like there was much she could do about that though; High Command had never shown much concern for what soldiers had to eat as long as it met minimum nutrition requirements. Natarle was well aware of tales told by fellow soldiers who had worked security shifts for the upper echelons describing the sometimes blatantly luxurious fare enjoyed by the Admirals, Generals, and staff officers, food that the front-line ranks like herself could only dream about from their warships, forward outposts, and foxholes. The fact that the leadership of her forces dined like kings while Natarle and her subordinates had to get by on whatever the higher-ups deemed the rank and file deserving of was just one small item on an increasingly larger list of complaints she had against both her superior officers and her military in general.

Of course, quality of food was a pretty small matter when compared to her now all-but-certain belief that her country was well down the road to committing the greatest act of genocide in human history.

When they got to the cafeteria Natarle did a quick look-around and gave a sigh of relief; Azrael was not there. She turned to Flay and smiled. "All clear."

The girl nodded, and Natarle knew that she was well aware of what she was referring to. "Good."

Making their way through the maze of tables and soldiers, the two ladies proceeded to dish up before grabbing themselves a seat near one of the 'windows'. Since the cafeteria was, like most of the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, underground there were no real windows, but the designers of the base knew that people could not stay underground for so long without some view of the outside world and not have their morale effected; indeed, people going 'stir crazy' was a serious concern. To counter this, the base designers had set up a series of cameras on the surface and had networked them to screens positioned at areas where people were likely to gather off-duty such as mess halls and lounges. This helped give the illusion to soldiers who had been underground for months on end that they could still look out and see the outside world, and went a long way towards combating potential cases of claustrophobia.

As they took their seats Natarle saw Flay look wistfully at the screen. The image on it was that of the Earth far off in the distance, and Natarle wondered if the girl was homesick. She certainly couldn't blame her if she was; Natarle knew she missed life down on the planet.

They were quiet for the first few minutes as they ate before Flay spoke up. "Captain… have you heard any news about the _Archangel_?"

Natarle nodded. "I did actually; it was a few hours ago." She looked around to make sure no one was listening in on them before turning back to Flay and smiling. "It sounds like our old friends are really giving Azrael hell."

"What do you mean?" asked Flay.

Natarle leaned closer, her voice hushed. "You have to keep this quiet, ok? I heard it through unofficial channels, so I'm pretty sure it's not news the top brass want spreading around."

Flay nodded. "All right."

Furtively, Natarle took another look around the cafeteria to check for eavesdroppers before turning back to Flay. "Three days ago two carrier battle groups and some support squadrons were sent to L3. From what I heard, their orders were to conquer the last two Orb colonies."

Flay's eyes widened. "Eden and Elysium? Why?"

"A few reasons," said Natarle, "First, they want their industrial capabilities; although they're mainly agricultural colonies, both Eden and Elysium have manufacturing and research facilities that would be very useful to Azrael's war effort. The second is punishment for the support Orb and its government-in-exile has given to the _Archangel_. Third…"

Natarle's gaze fell as she thought about the last reason. She didn't want to believe it was true, but she knew that with someone like Azrael ordering the attack there could be no denying it.

"What is it?" asked Flay, "What was the third reason?"

Natarle sighed. "Flay… you know Orb has a large Coordinator population, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. A lot of them came to Orb to avoid the war. Kira was one of them."

"I remember," said Natarle, "Well, when the Alliance invaded the Orb homeland, apparently the government evacuated all the Coordinators living there. Most of them wound up in the colonies."

Flay's eyes widened in horror as she realized what Natarle was implying. "Hold on… you mean they attacked L3 to kill the refugees?"

Natarle nodded grimly. "I'm willing to bet anything that one of the goals of the invasion was to kill all the Coordinators at Eden and Elysium, refugees and colonial citizens alike. From what I heard, the fleet concentrated its attack on Elysium. It makes sense; some of Orb's most powerful nobles after Lord Uzumi's daughter were in that colony, so if it were conquered then they could conceivably convince Eden to surrender without a fight. Once that happened, it would be easy to round up and kill all the Coordinators inside the colonies."

"But that's not what happened, is it?" said Flay.

Natarle shook her head and smiled. "Nope. Halfway through their attack, the fleet was ambushed from behind by Wing Zero and the other nuclear powered mobile suits. The commanding officer was killed right away; the invasion force was caught completely by surprise. The _Archangel _and the other ships showed up a little later. From what I understand, almost the entire fleet was wiped out."

It felt strange to be saying that like it was a good thing, but in her heart Natarle knew that it _was_. Despite the deaths of so many fellow soldiers, Natarle felt that such a loss was far preferable to having her military conquer the surviving Orb colonies and perpetrate another massacre.

From the look on Flay's face, Natarle could tell that the girl was conflicted, torn between the loss of so many Alliance soldiers and her friends' victory and the rescue of the civilians and refugees inside the Orb colonies. Natarle was actually glad the girl seemed so thoughtful about it; it was a sign of just how much she had grown since Kira had first brought her aboard the _Archangel _all those months ago.

"So…" said Flay, "what happens now? I mean… will Azrael just ignore that Kira and the others stopped him from taking over the Orb colonies?"

Natarle sighed. "I don't know, Flay. You and I are pretty far down the chain of command; I was lucky to hear about the attack on L3 at all. Ever since the battle at L4 we've been stuck here waiting on repairs for the _Dominion_, and those are still a long ways away from completion. When you're off the front lines and not in the intel loop, it's hard to figure out what comes next."

Flay looked down in disappointment. "I see. I hope the others are doing ok."

_So do I_, thought Natarle.

Looking out the 'window', Natarle once again found herself longing to be with her former comrades rather than with the Earth Alliance forces. Mu, Captain Ramius, the rest of the bridge crew… she missed all of them.

And being on the opposite side of them made it all the worse.

Her thoughts went back to their battle at L4… to the Hawk of Endymion's confession of love even as he had fought against her. It had hurt her more than anything to know that the man she had fallen in love with did indeed feel the same way about her, only to be unable to tell him so. To have to fight against him as well was a pain the likes of which she'd never imagined before.

Knowing that Mu was still out there, and that he loved her, was the only thing keeping Natarle together right now. Even her duty to her crew did not drive her as hard as her feelings for that reckless, easy-going, witty, and devilishly handsome pilot.

_How does this end?_, she thought, _Will we have to kill each other? I want more than anything else to find some way to get through this war alive so I can be with him, but for the life of me I can't figure out a way to make that a reality._

_ Mu…_

_ …what can I do?_

….

**July 28****th****, C.E. 71**

Sitting at her desk, Cagalli leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.

_Why_, she thought, _can't those two ever make things easy? Father, how did you keep the Seirans in line?_

The former ruling nobles of Elysium may have ultimately yielded authority to her, but that didn't mean they were making her attempts to administrate over the battered colony any easier. With her immediate priority being to help the refugees, Cagalli had spared no effort to mobilize all of the colony's resources, and in the process she had trodden over the feet of the Seirans on more than one occasion. The two nobles had wasted no time in making their displeasure known when she'd ordered the release of reserve stocks of supplies in order to help get the refugees back on their feet, along with allocating personnel that had formerly been under the direct control of the Seirans. Cagalli had been most displeased upon learning that Unato had turned a unit of the Elysium internal security forces into essentially a Praetorian Guard, and with the combined backing of Heero and Waltfeld had quickly disbanded it.

She took some satisfaction in recalling that meeting, which had occurred just a few hours ago. Wing Zero's pilot and the Desert Tiger had stood behind her desk, and Cagalli had known that they were giving the Seirans their fiercest death glares as she had proceeded to break up the nobles' _de facto _private police force and put it back where it belonged; serving the interests of the Orb people. Cagalli had felt a little bad about using Heero and Waltfeld like that after all that they had already done for her people, but the two veteran soldiers had been very willing to act as silent muscle for her, and it was thanks in no small part to them that she had managed to accomplish so much for the refugees and resident civilians.

It had only been four days since the attack, but so much had already been accomplished. Treatment of the wounded was proceeding much more efficiently now the initial chaos following the battle had subsided, and cleanup of the damage was well underway. Of course, there were still plenty of challenges to overcome, chief of which being the reorganization of refugee housing in light of the damage suffered by the sites of the two largest camps. Cagalli's administrative staff had somehow managed to establish several smaller camps in parking lots, putting a strain on colonial businesses but doing much to restore the traumatized refugees to at least a small measure of normalcy. Other refugees had been moved into the barracks once occupied by members of Elysium's defense forces; with all the casualties that the Orb military had suffered trying to repel the attack, there were now a lot of empty bunks.

Reaching across her desk, she took a much needed gulp from a glass of water. Shifting around so many people and so much of the colony's resources was mentally draining; Cagalli felt more tired now than she had after any of her sorties in the Skygrasper or Strike Rouge.

_I used to believe administrative work like this was easy_, she thought, _Shows what I knew. Father… I wish I'd listened to your advice while I had the chance. I feel like I'm drowning under all this work. So much responsibility, so much at stake… how did you ever manage to handle it? How did you even stay sane?_

She looked around the office, seeing signs of her late father everywhere. Though Lord Uzumi had only paid a few visits to the L3 colonies during his tenure as Orb's Chief Representative, offices like this one had been maintained in the event that that nation's ruler stopped by. Cagalli had half-expected the Seirans to have taken up use of the room, but even those two power-hungry nobles apparently knew well enough to not step across that line; taking an office meant for the Chief Representative was tantamount to declaring a bid for the throne.

Thankfully the Seirans hadn't touched it, and because of that Cagalli could see little bits of her father's touch in the few times he had used this office. There was a photo on the desk of him, Cagalli, and her late mother, though now that Cagalli thought about she supposed 'adoptive mother' was now what she should legally call her. The desktop image on the computer was a beautiful ocean vista, one Cagalli knew quite well; it was the view from her father's house back in the Orb homeland. A small banzai tree was on a shelf along the wall, and Cagalli had been pleased to see that the cleaning staff had continued to care for it in her father's absence; tending to plants like that one had been a favorite pastime of Lord Uzumi, one he had rarely gotten to indulge in once the war had started and his efforts had been consumed by trying to stay one step ahead of the two powerful nations that were attempting to make the entire Earth Sphere there's.

Her father had always said that politicians who truly cared about their people more than their own personal gain were the exception to the rule. With the care of Orb and its citizens now in her hands, Cagalli was beginning to realize that the lesser nobles were indeed more concerned with holding onto their own power than for the common good. The other members of the aristocracy hadn't given her nearly as much grief as the Seirans had, but it wasn't hard to tell that they had simply decided that going along with her now was simply the best way to preserve their position for the future. In the unenviable position of having to look after hundreds of thousands of people, Cagalli was depressed upon realizing that her friends and allies in the Three Ships Alliance cared more about the people of Orb than the nobles who called the country home. She was increasingly aware that the representatives of the other four ruling families had gone along with her less out of the goodness of their hearts and more out of respect and fear of the fact that she had the best soldiers, most sophisticated warships, and the most powerful mobile suits in the Cosmic Era backing her up.

When looking at her situation in that light, Cagalli felt less like the legitimate Chief Representative of Orb and more like its military dictator. She could take some comfort in the fact that she had never _wanted _this kind of power, and that her actions were focused on keeping her people safe and helping to bring this insane war to an end. Cagalli was also reassured with the knowledge that if she went too far her friends were more than capable of bringing her back to her senses; they wouldn't give her the chance to become a tyrant.

Not that they would have to. The moment this war ended Cagalli had every intention of giving up the emergency powers she had invoked in order to secure the nobles' cooperation. It wasn't just because she was constitutionally required to relinquish that authority once the crisis was over; having the kind of authority that she had now was a combination of too much responsibility and power for her liking. While Cagalli didn't think of herself as someone who would give into the temptation offered by the power she wielded now, she was still well aware that the possibility did exist, and she hated it.

"I don't want to be a queen," she muttered, "Hell, I never wanted to be a princess…"

She wondered how many other girls would say that in her position. After all, being royalty looked pretty good if one only saw the royal families that served as symbolic figureheads of countries, who lived off taxpayer funds and didn't actually have to worry about governing. Even if she were that kind of royalty though, Cagalli suspected she'd still hate it; she was just too much of a tomboy to really love things like fancy dresses, etiquette, and high society parties. Having to put up with all that _and _the responsibility that came with having the legal power to rule a nation was _not _something she enjoyed, all the more so since she had risen to power in a country in the middle of a war.

At least she wasn't left to deal with all of this alone. She had Athrun. She had her friends and allies, who had gone well above and beyond the call of duty to aid her and her people in their most desperate hour. The burden on her shoulders remained heavy, but the fact that so many good people were willing to share it with her made all the difference.

Looking out the window, Cagalli could see the colony's lighting beginning to dim as 'night' fell upon it. She shook her head, hardly able to believe how fast the time had gone by. The day's end was no small relief to her; she'd be able to wrap up soon and meet her friends for dinner before getting some much needed sleep.

Then her computer chimed, and the face of her secretary appeared on the screen. "Lady Cagalli, there's someone here I think you should see."

Cagalli sighed. "Who is it, Kyoko? I don't have any more appointments scheduled for today, and I was really hoping to get out of here soon."

Kyoko moved to the side, and a very familiar, smiling face showed up on the screen. "I'm sorry for coming by unannounced, Cagalli. I promise I won't keep you too long."

Cagalli smiled. "Lacus! You should've told me you were coming. Kyoko, send her in please."

"Yes, ma'am," her secretary replied.

A few seconds later the door opened, and Lacus walked in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Cagalli."

Cagalli shook her head as she stood up to greet her friend. "It's ok, Lacus. Sorry if I sounded rude earlier. I'm just a little tired; it's been a long day."

Lacus nodded. "I understand. It can't be easy to lead your people at a time like this."

Cagalli smiled. It was nice to have a friend who could relate with what she was going through.

"It's not," she replied, "but things are getting a little better. Thanks for all the help; I don't know what we would have done without all the aid you, Waltfeld, and the others have given us."

Lacus smiled. "It's no trouble at all, Cagalli. You know we'll do anything we can to get your people through this crisis."

The pink-haired songstress glanced over at a chair in front of Cagalli's desk. "May I sit down? There's something I wanted to discuss with you. It involves helping the refugees and the colony's residents."

Cagalli nodded. "Sure. You're already doing that though; you've been spending a lot of time in the refugee camps."

Lacus nodded as she took her seat. "Yes, and I will continue to visit the camps and spend time with the children. I've been enjoying that, and I know it's been helping them. However, I had an idea that I wanted to bring to your attention. I think it could do a great deal to help the refugees and colonists, along with many more people."

Cagalli leaned forward, intrigued. "What do you have in mind?"

….

After explaining her plan, Lacus watched as Cagalli mulled the idea over. While the songstress was positive that her idea would be a huge help in the current crisis, she also knew that to pull it off would be asking a great deal from her friend, especially given just how hard she was already working to aid her people.

"I think we can do it," said Cagalli, "It's just going to be tricky to set up. The only venue we have for something like that is the Kurosawa Memorial Center, and right now it's been converted into a refugee camp. We'll have to move everything out of there beforehand, and then move it all back in once it's over."

"I'm sorry," said Lacus, bowing her head, "I know it's going to trouble a lot of people, but I really think the reward is worth it, and that the refugees currently being housed in there will be more than willing to deal with the temporary inconvenience when they realize what it's for."

"It's not just that," said Cagalli, "We want to be sure everyone in the colony can see this. That's going to involve a lot of work with the broadcasting, and that's not even getting started with sending it to Eden and beyond. Also, a transmission like that could make us a target."

"We already _are _a target," said Lacus, "Cagalli, you know that the Earth forces could always regroup for a second assault. We were hardly sneaky about coming here, so I'm sure that ZAFT also knows we're here. This won't make us any more of a target than we already are, and in fact could actually help draw more people to our cause. We have to try!"

It was quiet for a moment, and Lacus was afraid that Cagalli would refuse. She was relieved when she saw her friend nod and smile. "Yeah, you're right. Something like this… it's not just Elysium and Eden that need it. Everyone does… everyone that still believes in peace."

Lacus smiled. "So we can go ahead with preparations?"

Cagalli nodded. "Yeah, I think if we work together we can pull this off. I'm sure my people will enjoy it, and they're not the only ones; our friends would like it too."

"I thought as much," said Lacus, "which is why I'd like to arrange this so that they can all attend. They deserve it, especially after all the fighting they've done."

"I agree," Cagalli replied, "Have you run this by Waltfeld yet?"

Lacus shook her head. "No, but I think this would be something that he'd be for. If we work with him I'm sure that we can arrange things so that our core group members can attend."

"It feels a little like favoritism," said Cagalli, "I mean, in order to set this up we'd have to arrange for the Task Force 9.3 ships to be out on patrol so our friends can enjoy it in person."

"I know," said Lacus, "but they've earned something like this. Think about Captain Ramius's ship alone; when was the last time they had a real shore-leave?"

"Not since their first visit to Orb," said Cagalli, "and I know it's been a while for the people on the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi _as well. The other ZAFT and Earth Alliance defectors haven't exactly been taking it easy though; I feel a little bad cutting them out like this."

"They won't be left out," said Lacus, smiling, "After all, we can broadcast it to their ships too, right? Even if they can't be there in person, they'll still be able to listen over the radio."

Cagalli smiled. "Well, I guess that makes up a little bit for it. Alright, call Waltfeld and let's set this up!"

….

Leaning back in his chair in the captain's office of the _Eternal_, Waltfeld smiled as Lacus and Cagalli finished outlining their plan to him. "I like it. It'll boost morale and maybe bring us some more recruits. I'll back you all the way, girls."

Cagalli and Lacus smiled on his screen. "Great," said Cagalli, "all we need to do now is set a date and we can begin preparations."

"How about two days from now?" said Waltfeld, "It'll be the third day of our rotation inside the colony. You did want your friends to be able to see this live, after all."

Lacus nodded. "I'm fine with that. Cagalli?"

Orb's tomboyish Chief Representative nodded. "I think we can finish the prep work in that time frame. Just make sure to let the others know."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Oh, don't worry, I will. I think something like this will do them a world of good."

Lacus nodded. "I agree. Thank you for supporting this, Mister Waltfeld."

"No problem, Lacus," he replied, "but you shouldn't celebrate just yet."

Both the songstress and the tomboy princess gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" the former asked.

Waltfeld smiled. "Well, you're the one the spotlight will be on, Lacus. It's been a while since you last gave a performance, and if all goes to plan on the technical side of things you'll have your biggest audience ever. You sure you're up for this?"

Lacus smiled and gave a determined nod. "Yes, I am."

"Well then," said Waltfeld, "You better start rehearsing. Expectations are going to be high once word of this gets out. Pick your material well, and practice hard."

"Don't worry," Lacus replied, "I already have a plan for what I'm going to do."

Waltfeld nodded. "I'm looking forward to it, Lacus. I'll leave it to you and Cagalli to put this thing together."

"All right," said Lacus.

"I'll get things moving on my end immediately," said Cagalli, "We'll get the word out and the stage prepped." Orb's blond-haired ruler turned to Lacus and smiled. "I can't wait to see it happen. I've heard you sing in recordings and on the radio, but never live!"

Waltfeld smiled. "Are you a fan, Cagalli?"

The Desert Tiger had the satisfaction of seeing her blush. "Uhm… yeah. Lacus's music is really popular in Orb. I've liked it ever since my country started airing her songs."

_With all she's been through_, thought Waltfeld, _it's easy to forget that she's still a sixteen-year old girl._

"Thank you, Cagalli," said Lacus, "I promise I'll give you and your people a show they'll never forget."

"They're not the only ones," said Waltfeld, "I bet none of the people on the _Archangel _have ever heard you sing; the Atlantic Federation probably bans your music. I'm sure they'll enjoy the show."

"I hope so," said Lacus, looking a little nervous.

_Stage fright?_, he mused, _From what I've heard, that's never really been a problem for her before. I guess performing for friends and comrades brings its own unique pressure, especially when they're people you've enlisted in a cause with long odds._

"Come on," said Cagalli, smiling, "Of course they'll like it! It's Captain Ramius's crew, Lacus; no way they won't be blown away by your voice!"

"She's right, Lacus," said Waltfeld, "Trust me, you'll have a very friendly audience."

Lacus nodded. "All right. Once I'm through here with Cagalli I'll come back to the ship. I'll need to figure out how I'm going to perform."

"I'll see you later then," said Waltfeld, "I'm sure Aisha and Shemei's girls would be willing to help you come up with a plan if you need some inspiration."

Lacus smiled. "I might take them up on that."

"Is there anything else you two need?" asked Waltfeld.

Both ladies shook their heads. "No," said Cagalli, "I think we're good here for now."

"Then I'll let you girls get to work," said Waltfeld, "_Eternal _out."

After the two ladies disappeared from the screen Waltfeld kicked back in his chair. He smiled as he looked up at the ceiling, thinking of Lacus's late father. "She's come a long way, Clyne," he said, "I wish you could see her now. You'd be proud, old man."

Turning back to the computer, he contacted Aisha. "Hey, love," he said as her face appeared on the screen, "Our little songbird's had a burst of inspiration. I think you and the girls are going to like this. I know I do."

….

**July 30****th****, C.E. 71**

"Amazing," said Murrue as she and Heero walked down the stairs towards the bottom of the amphitheater, "I can't believe Miss Clyne and Cagalli were able to get all this ready in just two days."

Moving through the Kurosawa Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, to say its recent transformation from makeshift refugee camp back to its original intended purpose was impressive would be a considerable understatement. With seating for twenty thousand people, the amphitheater was smaller than Earth-side counterparts due to it being inside a colony rather than a surface city, but that didn't take away from the grand image it presented to visitors. Painted entirely in white, the open-air concert hall bore a passing resemblance to a giant, open clam. Two days ago the large stage, the lobby, hallways, and any other part of the amphitheater with flat space available had been used as housing for several thousand displaced people, but as she headed towards the front row with her boyfriend in tow Murrue could see no sign of its prior occupation.

Now the place was all decked out and ready for a show. There were stationary cameras set up at both the front of the stage and high in the rafters, and in addition to the people checking on them there were several others with mobile cameras, ready to capture the performance from every angle possible. High above and behind the stage a massive network of lights and speakers had been assembled, and this was matched by another broad array of audio and visual effects equipment at the back of the concert hall. Along the back of the stage was a giant screen, all the better for those in the rear seats to see the angelic idol who would soon be sweeping them away with her enchanting voice. Most of the lights were dimmed at the moment, but those that were on were predominantly a mix of purple, blue, and pink. In the dim lighting she could make out shadows on the stage, and based on their profiles she determined that they were instruments and people getting them ready, but she could not make out specific details. Murrue was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of show the people controlling the lighting had in mind, though not nearly as much as she was excited to hear Lacus sing.

At the start of the war, the famous Coordinator singer's music had been banned in the Atlantic Federation, but as so many other prohibitions had demonstrated in the past this one too was doomed to failure. The banning of the young starlet's music just as she was becoming a major hit had marked the beginning of a new golden age of digital music piracy, and now that she was well clear of her former homeland Murrue could proudly and openly count herself among those that had violated those foolish laws. Even while serving in the Earth forces it had not been hard to get access to the proscribed tunes; Murrue was hardly the only soldier in need of some uplifting melodies. Pop music wasn't generally her thing, but there was something about the sincerity, that genuine, heartfelt passion that Lacus brought to her voice that Murrue simply could not deny. The girl had an incredible gift of words and voice, and Murrue could only imagine what it would be like to listen to her live.

_I never dreamed I'd get the chance to attend a show of hers_, she thought, smiling as she looked at her boyfriend, _Now here I am, and with the most amazing young man in the Earth Sphere for my date! This will be a night to remember._

Her smile still on her face, she slipped her arm through Heero's as they continued down the stairs towards the seats that had been reserved for them. The Gundam pilot's gaze met hers, and he gave her a small smile with a knowing look in his eyes. "You're excited."

It wasn't a question, and certainly not an accusation that Murrue would deny. "I can't help it. Miss Clyne's incredibly talented, and the feelings she puts into her songs are just so… so _real_. She doesn't do this for fame and fortune; she does it because she _loves it_."

Heero nodded in understanding. "I'm not surprised. The last thing you could ever call Lacus is a fake. Even if I've never heard her sing, I can tell just from the kind of person that she is how she would approach her music. I imagine words that could be used to describe her as a person would fit her songs just as well."

Murrue pulled her boyfriend in a little closer. "Absolutely. I can't wait for you to hear her, Heero. I promise you won't be disappointed."

To her surprise, she saw him actually smirk. "I don't know. She'd be hard pressed to beat your performance back in Orb."

A very familiar wave of heat rushed to her face, and Murrue was sure that she was blushing. "Heero… please… I'm not a professional singer like Miss Clyne. There's no way I could ever measure up to her talent."

"I disagree," said Heero, "Of all the singing voices I've heard, yours is by far the most beautiful. Although… I suppose I may be a bit biased."

Murrue gave a small laugh. "Yes, you might be."

She then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Still, I appreciate it."

Heero nodded. "Anytime."

As they reached the front row and began making their way down it towards their seats Murrue smiled and waved at all the familiar faces she saw in it and the rows immediately behind it. While the bulk of the seating in the Kurosawa Memorial Center for the Performing Arts had gone to refugees, Cagalli and Lacus had taken special care with regards to the seating arrangements for the crews of the _Archangel_, _Eternal_, and the _Kusanagi_. The bridge crew from her shift was all there, along with Murdoch and some of his mechanics, and Murrue was also pleased to see Dr. Claudia and Dr. Clark.

However, the middle of the front row, mere meters from the stage, had been reserved specifically for friends of Cagalli and Lacus. Taking their seats, Murrue had Heero to her right and Shemei to her left, while the Gundam pilot had Kira on his other side. Also seated in their immediate vicinity were Athrun, Cagalli, Eric, Aisha, Waltfeld, Dearka, Miriallia, La Flaga, Erica, and the Valkyrie's subordinates and her parents.

"Glad you two could make it," said Shemei, smiling at Murrue.

Murrue nodded. "Of course we made it. How could we say no to Miss Clyne?"

Next to the Valkyrie, the Wolf of the Far East chuckled. "She's a hard lady to turn down. I know she's glad that you two wanted to come here; she really wants to help us all move forward after all that's happened since we got here, and this was the way she came up with to do that."

"That," said Shemei, "and she was really looking forward to singing for you guys. She hasn't forgotten how well you treated her aboard the _Archangel_, Murrue, or that Heero saved her life when he saved your ship in that first encounter. I think she's wanted to pay you both back for that for quite a while now."

Murrue shook her head. "I never considered her to be in my debt because of that, and I know Heero feels the same way. She knows that she doesn't have to go through any trouble for us, right?"

"Oh, I'm sure she does," said Shemei, "but it's not just that."

"What do you mean?" asked Heero.

Shemei gave them a warm smile. "Simple; she really does consider you two to be her friends. She doesn't want to be seen as a leader by you guys, or even a celebrity for that matter. She just wants to be Lacus. Someone you two can turn to for advice and support, or just to enjoy life with. Her inviting us all to this concert, even though its main purpose is to raise the morale of the refugees, is her way of showing just how much she cares about us all and appreciates all we do on behalf of her cause."

Murrue looked up at the stage, thinking of the incredible young woman who would soon be taking it. "I've never had a friend invite me to a concert just out of gratitude, or perform at one for me. Miss Clyne truly is generous when it comes to her friends."

Eric nodded and smiled. "Indeed she is. Speaking of friends, I imagine she would prefer it if those friends called her by her first name. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, Captain Ramius."

Murrue smiled. "I know, and maybe when this war is over I will. For now, though… I just feel like me being so informal with her somehow reduces all she's putting herself through to bring this conflict to an end. She lost her father, but she refused to give in to grief and despair. She's so determined to lead us in the manner her father would, to guide us towards a peaceful resolution to this war. So long as she's doing that… well, it's a little hard for me to be comfortable with just using her first name."

"I understand that," said Shemei, "Plenty of people feel the same way you do… though I've noticed your boyfriend doesn't stand on formality when it comes to our songstress."

Looking over at Heero, Murrue saw him nod. "We have an understanding… and when it comes to my friends, I tend to be casual."

Another woman might have been concerned to hear that her lover had an 'understanding' with another girl, but not Murrue. Shortly after they had become a couple, Heero had given Murrue the full story about the private conversation he'd had with Lacus on board the _Eternal _shortly after the meeting that had resulted in their plan to take down the Avalon battle-station. Murrue had been very grateful for the Gundam pilot's honesty, as well as for the role Lacus had played in nudging him towards finally acting on the feelings he had for the _Archangel_'s Captain. Murrue had never talked about that with Lacus, and she'd never had to; the warm, sincere smile the songstress always so readily gave her and the Perfect Soldier was enough to tell her all she needed to know.

Shemei nodded. "I hear you there, Heero."

"I know Lacus is glad to be friends with you," said Eric, "Waltfeld told me that she really values your input. Can't say I blame her. You might be one of the younger members of our group, but as far as combat experience goes you're right at the top.

"Not to mention the whole 'from another world' thing," said Shemei, "Lacus definitely likes getting different perspectives on things, and yours is as different as it gets."

"I just want to help bring this war to an end," said Heero, "and I think that working with Lacus is the best way to do that. Whether it's my combat skills or my life experience, I'll give everything I've got to aid her cause."

"And I know she's very grateful for that," said Shemei, "and for your efforts as well, Murrue. Lacus knows you're just as dedicated to this as Heero is."

Murrue smiled as she reached over to gently intertwine her fingers with Heero's. "We're all in this together," she said, "I appreciate Miss Clyne's gratitude, but it's a two-way-street; I know we could not have made it this far without her leadership. If there's anyone that can guide us through the darkness of this conflict and out into the light of peace, I know it's her."

Eric smiled. "Well said. I'm sure Lacus would appreciate that vote of confidence."

"She's more than earned it," Murrue replied, "I just hope she's ready for tonight. The refugees have had it rough. I can't imagine how many lost friends or family members in the attack. Even with all the work we've done to help them recover, their psychological wounds are still very fresh."

Heero nodded. "I'm sure Lacus is aware of that. She knows she can't completely take away their pain, but she can ease it. If there's a way to give these people some sense of comfort and peace, Lacus will find it."

"I'm sure you're right," Murrue replied.

….

It was a very strange environment for the Gundam pilot; he'd never been to a concert before. To be crammed in with so many people like this, even in an open air venue, put his combat instincts a little on edge. Even though he and Murrue were surrounded by friends and allies up front, Heero was still on alert, ready for any sign of trouble that might arise from the crowd. Although he was sure others might frown on it, the Perfect Soldier had made sure to pack his sidearm, a precaution that was second nature to him. Only Murrue knew that he was armed tonight, and Heero hoped to keep it that way, but he was prepared to cut loose the moment something went wrong.

It was more than just the huge amount of people that made Heero a little uneasy though. Guarding against a sudden attack, even from out of a large crowd, was something he had been trained for, was something he knew how to handle. A live performance like this, though… that was another matter. Like so much else that he had done since coming to this world, since falling for Murrue, this was new territory for him. It was completely outside his comfort zone.

Still, feeling a little out of place aside, the Perfect Soldier realized that he was actually looking forward for the show to get underway. Sure, the security of Murrue and his friends was something he was concerned about, but there was also a sense of anticipation within the Gundam pilot. All of his life he'd heard about people going to shows like this, but it had always been an abstract idea for him, something that didn't affect him. For a young man whose whole life had been focused on surviving from one battlefield to the next, this kind of recreation was completely alien to him… and part of that actually excited him a little. This was a venture into the unknown, and he was doing it with people who he had come to trust with his life.

Being with the people he'd gotten to know so well over the course of his time in the Cosmic Era, especially Murrue, helped immeasurably. Just seeing Murrue smile like she was now, her anticipation and excitement on display for all to see, took a considerable amount of weight off of Heero's shoulders. It had been a refreshing surprise to learn that Murrue was a fan of Lacus's music; in all the time they'd spent together it had never come up in conversation. At first the Gundam pilot had felt a little strange for not knowing it, but after a little bit of thought he'd realized it was perfectly fine. After all, the only time music had ever come up with them had been during their first date in Orb when they'd done karaoke in the seafood restaurant, and even then Murrue hadn't gone in-depth about her taste in melodies. Besides, with the two of them and their friends constantly trying to stay alive in a world where it seemed like practically everyone else was trying to kill them, songs and singers had hardly been at the top of their minds.

Of course, he was keenly aware that the purpose of this show was not just for the entertainment of the core members of the Three Ships Alliance. The primary audience was the refugees, and Heero knew that they more than anyone needed something uplifting right now. Earlier that day he had gone over the final casualty report with Murrue, and the numbers had been grim. The ultimate toll on the refugees had been 4,723 people dead, and over five thousand wounded. While Heero was well aware that the casualties could've been far worse, it was still sobering to know that it had gotten as bad as it did. Looking at all the refugees back in the crowd behind him, the Gundam pilot was sure that plenty among them had lost family and friends in the attack; it was simply a matter of odds.

_ For those who suffered that loss_, he thought, _their pain is still all too fresh. It's only been a week since the attack… Lacus will have her work cut out for her. Still, she has a gift for reaching the hearts of others. If anyone can help the refugees now, it's her._

The pressure would be incredibly high, and it wasn't just because of the audience inside the colony. In a surprising move, Lacus and Waltfeld had told the others that video and audio feeds of the performance would be broadcasted outside the colony. At first Heero had assumed that the transmissions would be directed towards Eden and friendly ships at L3, but the songstress and the Desert Tiger had gone a step further by stating that the broadcast would also be going to L5 along channels maintained by the moderate opposition, and that open frequencies would be utilized in an effort to get the show to people in areas under Earth Alliance control. It was a very ambitious undertaking, and not without its risks, but Heero had also been able to see the potential benefits to it, especially with regards to bringing more people around to their cause. If there was anyone who could sway people who were on the fence into throwing their lot in with the Three Ships Alliance, it was Lacus.

Off to his left past Murrue he heard Bristow's voice. "It's time."

The words had barely left his mouth before the lights suddenly dimmed. A hush fell over the crowd, and like all the others Heero's attention was drawn to the dark stage.

After a few seconds a light snapped on, bathing the center of the stage in white light. In the exact middle was Lacus, dressed in a pale blue strapless gown, her long pink hair tied into twin tails while an ornate hairclip consisting of three overlapping gold and silver circles artfully held her left bangs to the side. Her demeanor was one of elegant sincerity, and to Heero she seemed more like a classical singer than a pop idol.

To his right he heard Kira gasp, and with a glance Heero saw his friend's jaw metaphorically hit the floor. The Perfect Soldier certainly couldn't blame him; the young woman's beauty was stunning. Heero hadn't been blind to the growing connection between the young man from Heliopolis and the daughter of the late Chairman Clyne; word got around, even if they were on a different ship than him.

_You've set your sights high, Kira_, he thought, _good luck._

Looking at the lone young woman on the stage, Heero had to admire her composure. If she was at all nervous about the evening's performance, there was no sign of it anywhere in her body language.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head for a moment before raising the microphone she held in her right hand. When she spoke her voice was soft and gentle, a calming tide washing over the audience, Heero included.

"Before I begin tonight's performance, I would like to take a little time to recognize just what has brought us all here together like this. The people of Elysium have suffered dearly, especially those who came to the colony as refugees. What was inflicted upon you all should never have occurred, and I offer you my sincerest condolences for the losses that you have all felt so deeply."

"So many of you," she continued solemnly, "lost loved ones in the attack. I understand the pain that kind of loss brings. This is not an empty platitude; I am speaking as a woman whose father was taken from her by this war. It may not have been in the dreadful attack on the refugee camps, but the violence that took his life was still a part of this awful conflict."

_Empathizing with her audience_, Heero thought, _and the way she's speaking, none of them can doubt her sincerity._

"I know your grief is fresh," said Lacus, "and that your pain is at its worst. Your anguish, your despair, your sorrow… I know how it threatens to drown you. For you, this is the darkest of nights, with dawn hardly even a glimmer in the distance. I know that you feel this way because _I _have felt the same way before."

She paused for a moment, and when she spoke again Heero saw her smiling. "But you cannot allow yourself to give in to that horrible grief. It may feel overwhelming, but each and every one of you has the strength within you to fight it, to overcome it. I am not saying to simply forget those who were lost; I would never ask you to do such a thing. The people you cared for so deeply may no longer be with you in this world, but they live on in your hearts, your memories. Think about your loved ones; would they want you to give into despair, to be imprisoned by grief and pain for the rest of your lives?"

In the background Heero could hear murmurs rippling through the crowd; the songstress was getting to them. He admired Lacus's talent for public speaking, and imagined she could challenge even Relena in that field.

"I believe," said Lacus, "that those we have lost would want us to remember them, but not be anchored by the pain of their passing. No matter how much we may wish otherwise, the sad and unfortunate truth is that we cannot bring them back to the world of the living. However, that does not mean that they are truly lost to us. We have our memories of them, all the time we shared with them until they were unjustly taken from us. Our duty to them now is to honor those memories by moving forward and doing all we can to make this world a better place, one where tragedies like the cruel attack that took so many innocent lives will eventually become a thing of the past. This will not be easy, but I know that all of us have the power to bring humanity closer to that if we join together."

"Right now," she continued, "the two great powers in this world are led by men who want nothing less than the complete annihilation of the other side simply for how they were _born_. It is their firm belief that this war can only end in the extinction of Coordinators or Naturals; the thought of a peaceful resolution does not even enter their minds. Their sheer, overwhelming hatred has only further fanned the flames of this conflict, and has set the stage for a host of tragedies. The attack on Elysium is the latest atrocity in this war, and if the rulers of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT are not stopped then it will be far from the last. Time and time again we've seen the results of the hatred embraced by both sides; it only breeds death and despair, fueling a vicious cycle that ends only when all are consumed. I cannot believe that the people of this world, Coordinator and Natural alike, truly want this bloodbath!"

She paused again, giving the audience a moment to absorb the full weight of her words. It was a grand indictment of the leadership of both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, an accusation that their actions went against the will of the majority of their people. More than that, it was a call to conscience to those populations; could they really endorse the path their governments had chosen to go down? Heero could only imagine what was happening right now in the territories held by the two superpowers. Had they already managed to kill the feeds? Was Lacus's message still being broadcast? Who was hearing it? Who was _moved _by it?

So much rode on that last question.

"Throughout this war," said Lacus, "Orb has shown that there is another path to travel. In this country, Coordinators and Naturals live side-by-side in peace! That is why Lord Uzumi, may he rest in peace, tried so hard to keep this nation out of the war. He did not want to risk any harm to his people, regardless of what race they may be, and I know that Lady Cagalli feels the same way! She is determined to carry on the legacy of her father, to promote the peaceful coexistence of Naturals and Coordinators. It is the same legacy that _my _father wanted to impart on this world, one that I will fight with all my power to make a reality. I stand with Lady Cagalli in her struggle not just to preserve Orb, but to preserve humanity itself! We can show the world that there is another way, that hatred and genocide need not be embraced, but we cannot do it alone! We need _you_!"

"Some among you," she continued, "may wish to fight, to join us in our struggle against those who would commit atrocities like the one that happened here a week ago. I would be the first to welcome you, but if that is your choice then you must make sure that it is for the right reason. We are not fighting for revenge. It won't bring anyone back, and it will only cause more suffering. We are fighting to defend this world and the people who live in it from the madmen that would destroy it with the flames of their hate, their unquenchable thirst for vengeance. So if you decide that risking your life to bring this war to an end is how you will honor the memories of those you have lost, be sure that your desire is not clouded by the desire for retribution."

She paused for a moment to catch her breath before speaking again. "However, one does not have to fight on the battlefield to make a difference, to advance our cause. I would say that all of you here have suffered far too much pain and death, and would not want you to take up arms unless you firmly believed in fighting for our cause. Most of you are _refugees_; you came here to keep your families safe, to escape this war, not to fight! I understand that, and I want you to know that there is a way for you to make a difference _without _fighting!"

"Show the world," she continued, "what you have long known to be true, what you do every day of your lives! _Live together in peace!_ Throughout this war and well before it, Orb has proven itself to be a land of tolerance, where Naturals and Coordinators live side by side in friendship. Please, never stop doing that! The way you live your lives is an example to the rest of the world of the path they _should _be taking. That is why the leaders of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT refuse now to abide by Orb's position of neutrality; the tolerance and peaceful coexistence exhibited by the people that call it home fly in the face of everything the extremists have told their countrymen!"

She closed her eyes and bowed her head for a moment. When she looked at the audience and spoke again her voice was softer, but the message it gave was no less powerful.

"Show the world that you will not give in to grief and despair, that you will not let the pain that's been inflicted upon you drive you down the dark road of hatred and revenge. Hold on to your loved ones in your hearts, never forget the time you had with them, but do not be afraid to move forward. You are not alone in this journey… _none of us are alone_. If we work together in honor of those that are not here today, we can save this world from the fires that threaten to consume it. Everyone, no matter who they are, has the strength to make a difference. Believe in yourselves, and believe in each other. Hold on to your hope; the morning _will _come."

A warm smile graced her face. "Thank you."

The amphitheater was silent…

…until the crowd broke into thunderous applause.

_Well done_, thought Heero as he joined them in clapping for the songstress, _You won their hearts, Lacus. Well done._

Looking to his left, he saw Murrue applauding as well. She turned to him and gave him a radiant smile, and Heero replied with a small one of his own. Her right hand slipped into his left, and the two of them turned back to the stage as they waited for Lacus to make her next move.

The songstress waited until the applause died down before she addressed her audience again. "Without further adieu, I will begin the performance. I'll be leading with a new song tonight… one I wrote _for _this night."

Cheers rang out from the crowd. For his part, Heero could not help but be impressed by the implications of her words.

_This performance_, he thought, _she only proposed it three days ago. In that time, she came up with a song dedicated to it… of course, she could've had the idea for longer than that, but still…_

The lighting shifted, with the single white light now joined by hues of purple, blue, and pink, bathing the stage in a gentle, soothing aura. Now that the entire stage was lit up, Heero could see that Lacus was not alone. Behind her to her right was a middle-aged man on a piano, while to her left was a small orchestra including violins and an acoustic guitar. The Gundam pilot didn't recognize any of them, and realized that Lacus must've recruited them from Elysium's population. He imagined them all practicing nearly non-stop over the past three days in preparation for this night, and his admiration for the songstress who had brought them together went up a notch from its already high perch. It was also a very surprising lineup; Heero had been expecting something more like a modern band with electric guitars, drums, and a keyboard, but this was a full classical setup.

Silence fell over the amphitheater again. Heero could practically feel the audience's anticipation building in the air, and he realized that he was among them. To his left he saw Murrue staring intently at the stage, excitement clear in her eyes. Following her gaze back to the songstress, the Perfect Soldier saw Lacus take a deep breath and slowly let it out.

The opening piano note rang out…

…and Lacus's voice joined it a split-second later.

"_You listen to my voice __  
><em>_Listen to my heart __  
><em>_Now I see it clearly" _

_"You listen to your voice __  
><em>_Listen to your heart __  
><em>_Do you even smile?"_

_"There is nothing you can't do __  
><em>_Only you can do to make yourself happy"_

_"You listen to your voice __  
><em>_Listen to your heart __  
><em>_Make yourself live" _

_"We are free __  
><em>_Like water flows __  
><em>_We are one __  
><em>_As we feel the love" _

_"How long will it take __  
><em>_To find our way out? __  
><em>_But she never lost her way __  
><em>_And made herself to home" _

_"So we hold each other's hand __  
><em>_As we walk along the way __  
><em>_No more fears and tears to fall __  
><em>_We find our way to home..."_

_"We are free __  
><em>_Like water flows __  
><em>_We are one __  
><em>_As we feel the love" _

_"How long will it take __  
><em>_To find our way out? __  
><em>_But she never lost her way __  
><em>_And made herself to home" _

_"So we hold each other's hand __  
><em>_As we walk along the way __  
><em>_No more fears and tears to fall __  
><em>_We find our way to home... "_

_"How long will it take __  
><em>_To find our way out? __  
><em>_But she never lost her way __  
><em>_And made herself to home" _

_"So we hold each other's hand __  
><em>_As we walk along the way __  
><em>_No more fears and tears to fall __  
><em>_We find our way to home... "_

_"You listen to my voice __  
><em>_Listen to my heart __  
><em>_Now I see it clearly" _

_"You listen to your voice __  
><em>_Listen to your heart __  
><em>_Do you even smile?"_

Her voice lingered on the air as the song faded out. Riveted in his seat, Heero realized that at some point during the last part of the song he'd actually forgotten to breath; he'd been _that _taken in by the performance.

"Incredible…" he said softly as the last note silent.

He hadn't heard anything remotely like that since his first date with Murrue back in Orb. The words had seemed to pass completely through his defenses, penetrating his heart and soul in a way he'd only experienced since he'd begun to fall for the _Archangel_'s Captain. Lacus had poured every bit of her will into her singing, and Heero had been completely blown away by the sheer strength of the emotions the songstress evoked.

Feeling a familiar hand squeeze his, he looked over at Murrue. The woman he loved had an expression that Heero could only describe as wonder on her face. She looked as thrilled now as she had during their ride in the Tallgeese Kai back at L4, and Heero realized that this really had been a dream come true for her.

"Amazing…" he heard her say, her voice almost a whisper.

The silence that fell upon the amphitheater lasted only for a moment before it was utterly drowned in a sea of cheers and applause. Looking around, Heero saw the entire crowd stand up, and the Gundam pilot and his lover joined them in the ovation. Their gazes meeting, the couple shared a smile and a kiss, buoyed by the phenomenal performance that they had just experienced.

Turning back to the stage, Heero saw Lacus smile and bow to her audience. When she raised her head again he saw her smile, and the Perfect Soldier knew it wasn't because of the resounding ovation itself but rather because she had reached her audience, had uplifted them in a way that they had so desperately needed. She hadn't completely taken away their pain, but she had made it much more bearable, had given them a hope that before now had seemed like a fleeting dream.

_She truly is gifted_, he thought, _Her voice, her charisma, her ability to reach out and touch the emotions of people, to renew their faith in the future and each other… she's as powerful as Relena. Maybe more…_

Not for the first time since coming to the Cosmic Era, the Gundam pilot found himself wondering what might happen if Lacus and Relena ever met. What could the two incredibly charismatic maidens of peace accomplish if given the chance to work together? They may have been separated by time and space, literally worlds apart, but even a blind man could see that they had much in common.

Settling back into his seat as Lacus prepared to start her next song, the Perfect Soldier mused that it didn't really matter. Why distract himself with pointless speculation while the show of a lifetime was going on in front of him? The woman he loved was giving the songstress her full attention, and Heero knew that Lacus deserved nothing less than the same from him right now.

He'd only heard one song so far tonight, but that was enough. In the back of his mind, Heero noted with some amusement that tonight marked more than just his first time attending a live concert; he'd found a favorite music artist.

It was just one more new experience for him since coming to this world.

….

As the last note of the last song faded out, Murrue and the others rose to their feet in enthusiastic applause. Watching Lacus take her final bow for the night, the _Archangel_'s Captain once again marveled at just how incredibly talented the young woman was, and just how amazing she'd made this performance. It had gone on for a little over two hours, giving the songstress time to go through a considerable portion of her repertoire, and every piece was a crowd favorite. The entire concert had been a dream come true for Murrue, made all the better by the amazing young man she had shared the experience with.

Lacus bade her farewells to the crowd, and the lights faded. The applause finally died down, and Murrue turned to Heero. "Well?" she said, smiling at him, "What did you think?"

In the grand scheme of things Murrue knew it shouldn't be a big deal, but she still hoped that Heero had not just enjoyed himself but truly liked Lacus's singing. Sitting by him throughout the show, she'd noted his subtle reactions; eyes slightly widening at certain moments, that small smile of his making appearances, a sense of genuine enthusiasm as he applauded along with Murrue, the tightness with which he'd returned her grip as they held each other's hands during the songs… still, she wanted to actually hear him say it.

Heero closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he met her gaze and nodded, giving her a small smile. "It was… unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it."

Murrue nodded, her smile growing at the young man's affirmation. "I know, right? I feel the same way. I've listened to her songs before, but actually hearing her live, _seeing _her perform… this was _incredible_!"

The Gundam pilot nodded. "It was. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Murrue."

_And here I was worrying about _him _enjoying it_, she thought, touched by the sentiment, _and he's thinking about _me_. Heero…_

"Hey you two," said Shemei, causing them to look towards her. The Valkyrie smiled and motioned for them to follow her and Bristow. "This way."

Puzzled, Murrue simply looked at Heero and shrugged with him before the two of them followed their friends. Looking around, Murrue saw the rest of their group coming with them, and after a few seconds her heart leapt as she realized that they were going backstage. Murrue very much wanted to thank Lacus in person for the incredible show she'd put on and inviting them to it; the young woman certainly deserved at least that much.

Behind her she heard La Flaga chuckle. "VIP treatment… I could get used to this."

"One of the perks of being friends with our songstress," said Bristow, "Best seats in the house, followed by a little backstage party. Lacus tends to go all-out when it comes to her friends."

Eventually they made their way to the point where performers made their final preparations before going onstage. They found Lacus there ready for them, smiling. A few tables were set out with platters of finger-food and drinks.

"I'm glad you all were able to come tonight," she said, "After everything you've been through, I felt that the least I could do was include you in this event even though it was meant for the refugees. They've suffered dearly, true, but so have the rest of you… in a struggle that I asked you to undertake."

"Don't worry about it," said Kira as he moved closer to her, "We all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to join you."

"Well before that," said La Flaga, "The instant we went rogue at Alaska we knew we'd be fighting both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. I don't think any of us ever anticipated that we'd end up forming an alliance with your group, but none of us regret it."

"He's right," said Heero, nodding at Lacus, "We're all after the same thing; an end to this war that doesn't involve both sides wiping each other out. It's not just your cause, or that of your father's; it's all of ours. We believe in it as strongly as you do."

"We knew it wouldn't be an easy fight," said Murrue, smiling at the songstress, "but it's one we also know that's _worth _fighting. Miss Clyne, please don't feel like you're putting a burden on our shoulders; we're willing to give everything we have to aid you in this struggle for peace."

Lacus bowed her head. "Thank you, all of you."

Looking up again, she smiled and waved her arm at the food and drink set out for them. "Now please, help yourselves! I felt that the best way to wrap up this evening would be a little party back here. Relax and dig in to your hearts' content!"

At that the group split up into several smaller ones, with some people dishing up and others simply hanging back, waiting their turn and chatting with friends. Murrue and Heero were among the latter, and the _Archangel_'s Captain moved closer to Lacus with her boyfriend in tow.

"Miss Clyne," she said, "I just wanted to thank you for what you did tonight. It feels a bit selfish to say this since I know this was mainly for the refugees, but this truly was a dream come true for me; I've always wanted to see you sing live."

Lacus held out her hand. "Thank you, Captain Ramius."

Murrue smiled as she took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. "You are most welcome, Lacus." She turned to Heero for a moment before looking back at the songstress. "I know Heero liked your performance too; I think you really had an impact on him."

"Really?" Lacus asked, turning to the Gundam pilot. Her expression seemed hopeful; to know she had reached the heart of the stoic soldier must've been important to her.

Heero nodded. "I've never seen anything quite like it. You really are talented, Lacus."

"I'm glad you think so," she replied.

"How about that?" said Cagalli as she joined the three of them, "Heero's got a soft side… besides Captain Ramius, of course."

Heero simply shrugged. "I admire the passion that she puts into her singing. If that makes me soft, so be it."

Cagalli shook her head. "Nothing gets under your skin, does it?"

Heero just looked at her, his expression as calm as ever, not replying.

Murrue gave a slight laugh. "I think that answers your question, Cagalli." She smiled at her before continuing. "By the way, I haven't yet thanked you for helping Miss Clyne put this together; I know she couldn't have done it without your aid."

Cagalli smiled. "Don't mention it. I know the refugees needed that… and I think I did to. Great job, Lacus. You were awesome!"

"Thank you, Cagalli," she replied.

"So," said Murrue, "what's next for you two? You'll have a hard time topping an event like this."

"We don't plan on trying to," Cagalli replied, "Our focus has always been on helping the colonists and refugees recover from the attack. That hasn't changed."

"I'll go back to volunteering in the refugee camps for now," said Lacus, "Eventually I'll return to my full-time leadership duties. I just want to help out in the camps a little longer. To be honest, it's actually been much easier to do that than my political job in this alliance. I know it's a little selfish, but…"

"There's not as much responsibility with your role as a volunteer," Murrue finished for her, nodding in understanding, "It removes a weight from your shoulders; the burdens of leadership."

"Yes," the songstress replied, her gaze meeting Murrue's, "I should've known that you would be able to grasp my motives."

"You're still helping people," said Heero, "so don't think of what you're doing as selfish. Just be mindful of how you act and the developing situation. You'll know when the time is right to return your full attention to your responsibilities as one of the leaders of our alliance."

Lacus nodded. "I will. Thank you, Heero. I'm glad to know that I can count on someone like you to help me keep my bearings, to stay on the right path."

Heero shook his head. "Don't mention it."

_ He makes a good point_, thought Murrue, _and it's one that does not just apply to Miss Clyne. I know our efforts to help the refugees recover are right, but there's only so much we can do for them. Our larger focus needs to be on figuring out how we're going to get the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to end this war without playing right into Creuset's hands, and that's definitely going to be easier said than done. I know Waltfeld and Miss Clyne haven't forgotten that. I just hope they have a plan…_

….

**August 6****th****, C.E. 71**

Transformed into its Neo-Bird configuration, the legendary mobile suit flew through space like a falcon on the hunt, ready for action at a moment's notice. Heero wasn't alone in his patrol flight. The Tallgeese Kai had launched from the _Archangel _as well, while the Justice flew from the _Kusanagi _and Priscilla's Wraith from the _Eternal_. The three powerful battleships were widely dispersed to provide maximum coverage for the colony, while the warships of Task Force 9.3 remained inside.

_Another quiet patrol_, thought Heero as he took Wing Zero through the next leg of his designated flight plan, _it's almost like a vacation compared to some of the action we've seen over the past few months._

The calm week since Lacus's performance had been quite welcome as far as Heero was concerned. No action meant a smoother recovery for the colonists and refugees, and a great deal of progress had been made on that front. Clean up efforts were going very well, with most of the debris having already been cleared. Buildings that were damaged but still structurally sound were quite far along in the repair process, while wrecking crews had already wrapped up demolishing structures that had been determined to be a total loss. Rebuilding was already proceeding in some of those later areas; the modular nature of colonial buildings made the recovery process considerably easier than it would have been for cities on Earth. The progress had been so great that Cagalli was already able to redeploy some of her resources to getting Elysium's military-industrial facilities up and running again, and the colony was in the midst of producing a mix of M1 Astrays and Tauruses to replenish the mobile suit complements of Task Force 9.3's warships along with shoring up the colony's defenses.

It wasn't just the colony itself that was getting patched up. The refugees themselves were already back on their feet as a community; Lacus's concert had done wonders for their morale. Efforts were already underway to reestablish normal life in the two camps that had been hit in the attack, with new tents for housing, medical treatment, food prep, and other functions set up and operating. From what Heero had seen and heard over the past few days it seemed the refugees had found a new sense of purpose and strength in the wake of the performance. No longer were they trapped in the midst of their pain and sorrow. Their grief was still there, but it no longer dominated them as it had before. Already they were moving forward, determined to prove that the Earth Alliance could not take their spirits as it had taken the lives of their loved ones. While most continued to live their lives inside the colony waiting for the day the war would end and they could return to their homeland, some had decided to be more proactive with regards to their fates and had enlisted in the Orb military. The Gundam pilot knew that the fresh recruits would be most welcome after the losses Elysium's defense forces had suffered in the battle, but he had concerns regarding their mentality. He could only hope that Lacus's message of not seeking vengeance had gotten through to them, and that they were fighting for the right reasons.

Heero knew that the people of Elysium had not been the only ones bolstered by the combined efforts of Lacus and Cagalli. Morale had risen within the ranks of the Three Ships Alliance. Everyone was in a good mood, full of purpose and vigor even if they were not actively engaged in their mission to defeat the Alliance and ZAFT. They may have been holding position at Elysium, but idleness and complacency had failed to set in. Everyone was alert, energized, and optimistic.

Even the Gundam pilot was not immune to the new sense of electricity in the atmosphere between him and his friends and comrades, though he knew that Murrue played a large part in that. Heero had already known that she had greatly enjoyed herself at the concert, but it was only after some time had passed since the performance that he was able to truly appreciate the effect it had had on the woman he loved. Murrue had always been determined and strong, but Heero knew just how heavily the burdens and responsibilities of command weighed upon her. For her, leading the _Archangel _was both a privilege and a curse. The crew's loyalty and trust in Murrue had given her a great sense of accomplishment, and she was proud to command such a dedicated and skilled group of people, but Heero was also keenly aware of just how hard Murrue worked to protect them and toll it took on her. Having all of their lives in her hands, weighing on her every decision, put an extraordinary amount of pressure on her, and Heero knew from personal experience how hard she took it when they suffered from combat, with the battle in the Marshall Islands months ago being the standout example.

Now, though, things were different. Heero could see that her determination and strength had been amplified in the days following the concert. Her will to defend those around her was even more powerful, and Heero could tell that she was hell bent on more than just surviving this war; she would _triumph_, drive both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to the negotiating table no matter what the odds. Murrue's concerns for her crew, friends, and allies was still there, but the burdens that had accompanied those fears seemed to weigh less on her shoulders now. Well before entering into a romantic relationship with her, Heero had done his best to alleviate that pressure on her shoulders, and he knew he'd had some success, but something about the performance of the pink-haired songstress had revitalized Murrue in a way the Gundam pilot could only marvel at.

_She's even stronger than before_, he thought, _I did and will continue to do all I can to help her, but even I couldn't inspire her like this. Lacus… thank you._

His gratitude towards the songstress aside, Heero had to wonder just who else she had moved by her performance, particularly among the Alliance and ZAFT forces. The Perfect Soldier was well aware of the risks Lacus and Waltfeld had taken by broadcasting the concert to their enemies, and he could only hope that among those that got the message were men and women brave enough to take the next step; defection. Heero would not deny their need for allies, especially in light of the forces that they would undoubtedly have to confront before this war could finally be brought to an end. The only question now was how many would heed the call to turn against their countries, to challenge both superpowers to battle. In the week that had passed since the performance there was still no sign of reinforcements on the horizon. Heero had not lost hope that soldiers among their enemies had been inspired by the words and songs of Lacus, but he had no way of knowing how many were in a position that would enable them to break free of the warlords that ruled them.

Heero was also worried about possible retaliation from the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. The transmission of the concert into their territories amounted to a psychological attack, an effort to undermine the will of their populations. Although all of the intelligence gathered by Bristow's network of informants in the days both before and after the performance indicated that both sides were focused on building up for their final showdown there was still no way to be completely sure about their intentions. The Earth Alliance had already managed to mass one fleet to invade L3 with without Bristow's network learning of it, and had the Three Ships Alliance not saved Task Force 9.3 then the Orb colonies would have fallen and ninety thousand refugees would be slaughtered. There was always the chance that Azrael had another fleet gearing up for round two, or that Zala had decided to take a shot of his own at L3.

Adjusting his radio, he contacted La Flaga. "Status report."

"All quiet over here," replied the Hawk of Endymion, "You?"

Heero was about to answer when his sensors began beeping. His gaze shifting to his radar, he saw several contacts at the edge of his scopes. They were grouped into two distinct clusters, separate but still on the same flight path heading right for Elysium.

He switched over to the tactical channel. "I've got contacts bearing down on my position. Two groups. I can confirm capital ships in both, but not what class at this range."

Murrue immediately appeared on his monitor. "Get close enough to identify them, but don't engage. We'll move in to back you up!"

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

"Hold tight," said La Flaga, "I'm inbound."

The Hawk of Endymion faded from the screen, and was immediately replaced by the Desert Tiger. "All forces, go to level two battle stations! Be ready to go to level one if we confirm hostiles. Converge on Wing Zero and the _Archangel_."

His sensors became alive with activity as his allies sprung into motion. As he altered his course to bring Wing Zero into an intercept vector with the new contacts while shifting the machine back to mobile suit form, he saw more units begin to launch from the _Archangel _and her fellow warships. Priscilla's Wraith immediately disappeared from his scopes, and Heero knew that she was preparing an ambush in the event the new contacts turned out to be hostile. Two of the mobile suits launched from the _Eternal _also went dark as soon as they cleared the ship; Adaline and Lan had the same idea as their friend. The Tallgeese Kai was streaking across the map to join him, as was the Justice and the mobile suits freshly launched from the friendly capital ships.

As he got closer he was able to identify the ships in both groups. The group on the right was composed of ten _Laurasia_-class frigates and four _Nazca_-class destroyers, and Heero noted that that was the same mix of warships that Task Force 9.3 had had before it had fought the ZAFT fleet that had pursued it from L5. Shifting his focus to the group on the left, Heero saw that it was made up of twelve _Drake_-class escort ships and six _Nelson_-class battleships. Though the groups were made up of warships on opposing sides of this war, it was plain as day that the two formations were flying in synch; there were no signs of active combat between them. Their formations were close and orderly rather than fanned out as they might have been for an attack. They hadn't even deployed mobile suits or armors, which boded well as far as the Gundam pilot was concerned, though he refused to let his guard down.

_Maybe this is the start_, he thought as he warily eyed the approaching ships, _the beginning of the break we've been hoping for. We'll know soon enough…_

A new voice came over an open channel, and as he studied the frequency he saw that it was a common ZAFT one. "This is Commander Carlos Delgado of Task Force 11.5 to Elysium defense forces. Please, do not attack us! We have powered down our weapons; we're not here to fight!"

Another voice came over the airwaves, this time using Earth Alliance communication protocols. "This is Captain Alfred Hamilton of the battleship _Farragut_. I'm the senior commanding officer of former Earth Alliance 22nd Task Recon Group, formerly attached to the 7th Orbital Fleet. We have abandoned the Alliance and wish to defect to Orb! We encountered Commander Delgado's force en route to L3 and discovered we had common cause. Like our companions, our weapons are powered down; we are _not _here to attack L3!"

"7th Orbital…" said La Flaga over the tactical channel, "That's my old fleet."

"Do you remember a Captain Hamilton or 22nd Task Recon Group?" asked Heero.

"No," he replied, "but we know both sides have massively expanded their fleets over the past few months. It's possible this is a newly created squadron."

"Let's not take any chances," said Murrue, "Heero, can you confirm that both groups have powered down weapons?"

Zeroing in on the approaching squadrons with the Search Eye, Heero quickly scanned their vessels. "Affirmative. Weapons are powered down, along with active targeting arrays. Warships in both groups are only powering engines, life support, and passive scans."

"So far so good," said Waltfeld, "but we need to stay cautious. If they're really here to defect, then let's see them prove it."

"How?" asked Heero.

Waltfeld chuckled. "Watch and learn."

Another frequency popped up on his scanners; the Desert Tiger was addressing the newcomers over an open channel. "Task Force 11.5 and 22nd TRG, this is Field Marshal Andrew Waltfeld of the _Eternal_. If you truly mean to join our cause, you will follow my instructions. Halt your approach at once and do not move!"

For a moment Heero wondered if Waltfeld was being too blunt and potentially offending their possible new allies, but his doubts subsided when he saw both Alliance and ZAFT ships comply with the order.

"This is Commander Delgado," said the head of the ZAFT group, "We've come to full stop and are maintaining position."

"This is Captain Hamilton," said the 22nd's commanding officer, "We're at station keeping."

"Thank you, gentlemen," said Waltfeld, "Now, here's what's going to happen. My forces will set up for crossfire on yours. If you try anything stupid, you get to face the wrath of Wing Zero, and its pilot does not take kindly to treachery. Neither do the rest of us, for that matter. Am I clear?"

Both officers immediately acknowledged.

_It's nice to be appreciated_, Heero mused, resisting the urge to smirk. He had to wonder just how much his reputation had affected the response of the potential defectors. The Gundam pilot definitely didn't mind Waltfeld exploiting his notoriety if it got results like this.

Waltfeld's voice came over the radio again, this time back on the tactical channel. "All forces, fan out for maximum coverage. Heero, you mind splitting that rifle of yours? I want both groups in your sights if they try to pull something."

The Perfect Soldier nodded as he complied with Waltfeld's request. "Roger that. I've already traced the two transmissions to their vessels of origin; I'll lock in on the flagships."

"Just what I had in mind," said Waltfeld, "Ok, time for the next step."

The Desert Tiger shifted back to the open channel. "Captain Hamilton and Commander Delgado, you will instruct your respective groups to hold their current positions. Following that you will each board a shuttle and come to the _Eternal_ for discussions regarding an alliance. You will each bring only one aide and the minimum crew required for safe operation of the shuttles. Weapons of any kind are prohibited, and you will be searched upon your arrival. Is that understood?"

Once again both officers acknowledged Waltfeld's demands without protest.

"We await your arrival," said the Desert Tiger, "_Eternal _out."

Waltfeld then addressed Heero and the others over the tactical channel. "Miss Clyne and I will take part in the talks. Since Lady Cagalli's currently on Elysium we'll video conference her in as well. Captain Ramius, I'm leaving command of our forces in your hands while I talk with our guests."

Heero saw Murrue nod on his screen. "Understood."

"Wish us luck, people," said Waltfeld, "_Eternal _out."

As the Field Marshal disappeared from the screen Heero turned to Murrue. "Your orders?"

"Keep the flagships under your guns," she replied, "and don't wait for instruction to fire. If you catch any sign that they're about to betray us, I want you to act on your instincts."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

Murrue smiled. "However, I'm hopeful it won't come to that. Let's give diplomacy a chance. We need these reinforcements, and if anyone can determine that they're sincere about joining us, it's Waltfeld and Miss Clyne."

"You're right," said Heero, "and I think they _are _sincere. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT may hate us, but they hate each other more; I don't think they'd cooperate to eliminate us."

"What about the battle at L4?" said Murrue, "We did fight forces from both sides there, after all."

"That was manipulated by Creuset," Heero replied, "Under normal circumstances the Alliance and ZAFT would rather spend their energies killing each other, even with the proven threat we pose to them. I doubt they'd cooperate on something as big as invading L3, and if they did then the forces here today are too small to accomplish the job and not deployed right for it. We could easily wipe them out right now with the way we're set up and how they've maintained their formations."

Murrue nodded. "That's true. They haven't even launched mobile suits; we have all ours deployed. If they want to attack us this isn't the way to do it, especially considering the forces we know the Alliance and ZAFT could bring to bear on us if they were serious about conquering L3. Hell, the fleet the Alliance sent in that attack was bigger than both these groups combined."

"Yes," said Heero, "I'm not saying we let them in with no questions asked, or do that with any future new allies, but I think the chances of betrayal here are low."

Murrue smiled. "Same here. I'm glad your feelings mirror mine."

Heero nodded. "This is a big step forward for us. Two battle groups, one from each superpower, defecting to our side; word of that will get around."

"Hopefully drawing even more defectors to our banner," said Murrue.

That was definitely Heero's wish. Looking out at their potential new allies, the Gundam pilot reflected on how much their movement had grown since they had returned to outer space.

_When we left Orb_, he thought, _we just had two ships. Then we met up with the Eternal and became the Three Ships Alliance. We've kept the name, but more ships and soldiers have joined our cause since then. With Task Force 9.3's defection we went from a small flotilla to a modest battle group. Now two more squadrons have joined our ranks. If this keeps up, we could move up to a full-scale fleet…_

_ A fleet to challenge the Alliance and ZAFT for the fate of the world._

….

Back on the bridge of the _Eternal_, Waltfeld watched as the two shuttles carried Delgado and Hamilton back to their respective squadrons. Thinking back on the meeting that had just wrapped up a little over ten minutes ago, he turned to Aisha and smiled. "We did it."

Aisha leaned in to kiss his cheek. "Was there ever any doubt, Andy?"

Waltfeld chuckled as he looked down at the station that Lacus occupied. Like him, the songstress's gaze was on the returning shuttles, and he could only wonder what was going through that surprisingly cunning head of hers. "Not with her running the show."

Her performance in the meeting had been impressive to say the least. Lacus may have been a civilian, but the respect she commanded from members of the armed services could not be denied. Going in, Waltfeld could already tell that Delgado and Hamilton had been moved by the broadcast of the songstress's concert, and she had played on that to the fullest during the meeting. Her ability to move people on an emotional level was as powerful in negotiation as it was in song, and any final doubts the Alliance and ZAFT officers had had were put to rest. Having Cagalli attend via video conference had helped matters as well; the tomboyish princess's fiery will to defend her people combined with the compassion she showed those who wished to seek asylum in her territory was a potent mix. Together the two girls had dominated the proceedings, and Waltfeld had actually been surprised to find himself playing a smaller role than he had originally anticipated. He wasn't complaining though. Quite the contrary; he was proud to see just how far Cagalli and Lacus had come as leaders.

Now that the girls had finished their work though, it was time for him to start his. With the addition of so many new ships to their forces, the Desert Tiger's agenda for the day had suddenly gotten a lot bigger. Integrating the newcomers into their alliance, reviewing inventory and key personnel files, coordinating intelligence debriefings with Bristow to see if the defectors could shed new light on the activities of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT… he was going to be busy.

"So," said Aisha, "What next?"

"We gotta do some serious adjustments to our patrol patterns for starters," said Waltfeld, "I could probably split up the groups eventually, have one stay here and another go to bolster Eden's defenses. We also need to review their combat history. I need to know if we've got veterans here or if the bulk of their forces are green. And that's just the tip of the iceberg…"

Aisha smirked. "Sounds like you're going to have your work cut out for you. Having second thoughts about this plan now that the administrative bit's catching up to you?"

Waltfeld chuckled. "I might have to recruit some new staff officers to help me handle everything. It's going to be tough to get all this done… but definitely worth the effort."

Aisha put her hand on his shoulder. "Absolutely. What happened today just proved that the risks you took with this plan were more than worth the reward."

Waltfeld nodded. "Yeah… and this is just the beginning."

….

Sitting in her office, Murrue smiled as she reviewed the information that had been sent over to the _Archangel _after the meeting aboard the _Eternal _had been concluded. She didn't know what Waltfeld's plans regarding the defectors were, but she knew it was important to familiarize herself with their capabilities and history as much as she could, and had gotten started on that as soon as her watch on the bridge had wrapped up. Normally Murrue would have saved this until after a meal with Heero, but the Gundam pilot had informed her that he would be spending some time down in the hangar running routine maintenance on Wing Zero for a while, so it would be some time before he could join her as had long been their routine. He'd told her not to wait for him if she was hungry, but Murrue had insisted that she could put off dinner until he was ready. It was a small thing, but sharing their evening meal was something Murrue greatly enjoyed, and she didn't mind delaying it a little so long as it meant she could still have it with Heero.

Currently she was wrapping up her review of the 22nd Task Recon Group's history. As La Flaga had speculated, the file confirmed that the squadron was a newly created unit, formed less than a month ago as part of the expansion of the 7th Orbital Fleet. A few veteran officers were assigned to leadership positions but the vast majority of soldiers in it were green. Murrue was amazed that the commanding officer had managed to sway so many men and women into defecting from the Earth Alliance. She wondered if they had heard rumors of the massacres committed by the Alliance at Alaska and Victoria, or if their defections were influenced by the appalling disregard High Command had repeatedly shown for the lives of soldiers. While the bulk of the group may have been new recruits Murrue was sure that they were well aware of the casualty rates Alliance forces tended to suffer in battle even with the addition of mobile suits to their arsenal, and she suspected these troops did not want to be thrown into the meat grinder so casually.

_Their defection may be as motivated by disgust with their superiors' attitude towards them as it is for the atrocities the regime has committed_, she mused, _A mixture of idealism, righteousness, revulsion and self-preservation… though considering the forces we're up against joining us may not be the best way for them to serve that last motivation._

In the end, it didn't matter. All Murrue cared about was that the defectors were willing to fight against the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to end this war. She was grateful to have new allies, especially towards the person who more than anyone else had made this possible: Lacus Clyne.

Murrue had been riding high emotionally speaking since the young woman's incredible performance. She had already respected Lacus as a leader and a person and had known she had a great talent for singing, but actually hearing her live had been an experience few could match. It wasn't a surprise at all to learn that others had been moved by her powerful words and amazing voice; in fact, Murrue would've been shocked if _no one _had defected from the Alliance and ZAFT after the message she had given before the concert and the subsequent performance.

The _Archangel_'s Captain was keenly aware that she had not been the only one reinvigorated by watching Lacus perform. Of course she knew that the event had been a huge boost to morale across Elysium, but her eyes were, more than anything else, on the people she had sworn to herself to protect. Murrue could see plain as day that the concert had done wonders for her crew, even those who had not been able to physically attend it and had watched and listened from their posts on the _Archangel_. She was happy that their spirits had been raised as a result, though the person whose reaction mattered the most to her was of course the young man that was closest to her; Heero Yuy.

To one who didn't know him better, the Perfect Soldier had appeared no different in the days after the concert than the time before. However, Murrue was well aware of the subtle cues the Gundam pilot unknowingly gave regarding his emotional well-being, and what she had observed pointed to a renewed sense of focus and an increase in his already indomitable strength. Murrue knew that Heero had already found his purpose in defending her, in his determination to forge a new life with her, but the words of the pink-haired songstress had seemed to amplify that in a way that Murrue could only marvel at. Moreover, she was struck by how much Heero had truly seemed to _enjoy _the concert. It was subtle, but she had observed a sense of wonder about him as Lacus had captivated her audience, awe at the passion and power of her voice.

_I guess I can safely call him a fan of hers now_, she thought, _I wonder what his old friends would think if they saw him at that concert…_

Another, less secure woman might have been worried about the young man's attention being taken by the songstress, but not Murrue. She knew that Heero's devotion to her was as strong as hers to him and held no concerns regarding his reaction to the performance. With how powerfully Murrue had been affected by the concert, she would not begrudge Heero for feeling something similar. She was actually glad to see him touched by her songs, to know that he liked a singer that she did too, and that like her his morale had been bolstered by the performance.

Murrue was happy that Heero had both enjoyed and been reinvigorated by the recent performance, but as they spent more time at Elysium the more she felt that she should build upon that. Over the past few days her mind had begun to drift back to the last time they'd spent a prolonged period at a colony... and something very special that Heero had done for her during their stay.

Their surprise date at L4, the amazing flythrough of the debris field and the private dinner afterwards, had been forever etched in Murrue's mind as one of the most romantic events of her life. She could recall with perfect clarity every second of that wonderful day, and as she looked back on it now one moment in particular near the end of their flight in the Tallgeese Kai had her preoccupied.

_"Heero," she said, "this was _incredible_. Thank you so much for taking me out today. I'll never, ever forget it."_

_ Heero returned the smile. "Anytime, Murrue. I promise this won't be the last time I take you out."_

_ "I believe it," she said, "and I'll do the same for you when I get the chance. You've more than earned it, and not just because of today. I love you, Heero."_

Now that they were on Elysium and had no plans to leave for at least a little while, Murrue realized that this was her chance to make good on her pledge to repay Heero for the incredible date he'd given her at L4.

Of course, _how _she could do that was easier said than done. The whole date had just been so amazing, so far above and beyond anything that anyone had ever done for her before in the name of her heart, that Murrue found it difficult to imagine how she could even come _close _to repaying Heero for that wonderful day.

_Come on_, she thought, _this is Heero you're talking about here. He's not going to care if you can't pull off something as spectacular as that date at L4. As long as your heart's in it, as long as you're doing it for _him_, that's all that will matter to him._

It was comforting, but she still didn't want to settle for giving him an average date. She wanted something special, something that was far from ordinary, that would not just stand out to him but be something he would truly enjoy.

Once again the Gundam pilot's reaction to the concert a week ago flashed through her mind, and Murrue found her inspiration. The outline of a plan went through her mind, and as out-there as it seemed she immediately knew it was what she wanted to do.

However, she would need a lot of help to make it a reality… especially from a certain young woman.

_Would it be selfish to ask her to do something like that?_, she thought, _She's such a giving person, so generous, and I don't want to take advantage of that, especially after all she's already done. I… I think she'd be willing to go along with it. It's not like I'm doing this for myself, after all; it's for _Heero_. I know she'll recognize that._

Her mind settled, she closed out of the reports that remained on her computer and activated the video conference feature. Picking out a specific frequency, she hoped that the person it belonged to would be available.

There was a brief flash of static as a connection was established, and then the screen cleared up…

…revealing the smiling face of Lacus Clyne.

"Captain Ramius!" she said, "This is a pleasant surprise. How are you?"

Murrue smiled at the songstress. "I'm doing well, Miss Clyne. Yourself?"

"Quite well," she replied, "Especially after what we managed to accomplish today."

Murrue nodded. "I'm sure I speak for everyone on board the _Archangel _when I give you my heartfelt thanks, Miss Clyne; I know you're efforts were integral in bringing the defectors completely over to our side."

Lacus bowed her head. "You give me too much credit, Captain Ramius… but thank you."

"You are most welcome, Miss Clyne," said Murrue.

The pink-haired songstress raised her head and smiled again. "I'm sure you didn't call today just to exchange pleasantries. Please, tell me what's on your mind, Captain Ramius."

Murrue looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze again. "Miss Clyne... I feel selfish of asking this of you after all you've already done for us… but I need a favor."

The songstress looked puzzled. "A favor?"

Murrue nodded. "Yes. I don't know if you were ever aware of it, but… back at L4, Heero did something amazing for me, and for a while now I've been trying to find a way to return the favor. I know it's not something he would want me to worry about, but he _deserves _it. I…"

Lacus smiled in understanding. "Captain Ramius, I believe I understand what you are referring to. Miss Rehema told me some time ago about the date Heero took you on back at the Mendel colony. I think it's amazing that he was willing to put so much effort into giving you a romantic evening even in the midst of such a desolate place. In light of that, I can certainly see why you would feel so compelled to give him something just as special."

Murrue sighed in relief at her insight. "Yes, I do, and now that we're at an actual functioning colony rather than the ruins of Mendel I think I've found a way to repay him for what he did for me. However, I can't do it alone. I need help… especially from you. I feel selfish asking this of you, but…"

"Murrue, please," said Lacus, "It's ok."

Murrue's eyes widened a little. Lacus did not often call her by just her first name.

"Since the moment I became aware of your feelings for each other I've supported your relationship with Heero," said the songstress, "That hasn't changed a bit, and I know that what you're doing is _not _selfish. You're trying to do give the man you love something precious, to demonstrate your affection in a manner that goes far above and beyond what would normally be called for, just as he has done for you. I would be more than happy to help you with this, Murrue."

"Miss Clyne…" she said softly.

Still smiling, Lacus continued. "Murrue, you are more than just an ally to me. You're my _friend_. I _want _to help you with this. Please, tell me what you need."

Murrue smiled in gratitude. "Ok."

….

Lacus continued to smile as Murrue laid out her plan for her coming date with Heero. It was a very touching display, and the songstress marveled at the depths of her affection for the pilot from another world. Listening to the _Archangel_'s Captain, Lacus could tell that it would take some serious effort to pull off what she wanted, but she was more than ready to rise to the occasion. In fact, she was looking forward to it; it wasn't often she got the chance to do something like this.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," she said after Murrue finished outlining her plan, "and I know Heero will appreciate that you put so much thought into it."

Murrue smiled. "I'm glad you think so. Are you sure it's not too much though? I mean… I don't want to just drag you into something like this, using your talents for a personal matter."

Lacus shook her head. "Murrue, it's _fine_, really. I don't mind it at all. As a matter of fact, I think it will be fun."

Murrue nodded. "All right… thank you, Miss Clyne."

"You're welcome," Lacus replied, "and Murrue? Please, just call me Lacus. I don't like to use formality when it comes to my friends."

"I'll try, Miss… I mean, Lacus," said Murrue, "I'm sorry, it's just… you're one of our leaders, and I have the utmost respect for all you've done and what you're trying to do. It's just… I guess I feel like being informal with you would just be rude."

"You're informal with Cagalli," Lacus pointed out, "and she doesn't take offense with it, nor do you seem to think she would."

Murrue sighed. "You're right. I guess I see her differently since she once flew under my command, even if it wasn't formally. Even though she's the leader of Orb now I still sometimes think of her as that fiery young woman we picked up in North Africa. If I'm still informal with her even after her elevation to such an important role, then I suppose I can work towards being that way with you."

"Give it time," Lacus replied, smiling, "I don't want you to force yourself; let it be natural."

Murrue smiled. "I'll try… Lacus."

"That's all I can ask," said Lacus, "Now, I believe you and I have some work to do. It's going to take a lot of effort to pull this off."

Murrue nodded. "Agreed… and I might need to recruit a few more people."

Lacus had already anticipated as much. "I'll talk to Cagalli about this. On your end, might I suggest Shemei and Mister Bristow? They were very willing to help Heero with his efforts towards the date you shared at L4. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help you return the favor."

Murrue smiled. "I hadn't thought of that before… but you're right. I'll talk to them later. Can you think of anyone else we might need to involve?"

"Just a few others," Lacus replied, "but leave them to me, ok? Once you've recruited Shemei and Mister Bristow all you'll have to worry about is what you'll wear; your uniform's hardly fitting for something like this."

"You're right," said Murrue, "but I don't have anything else."

"Don't worry," said Lacus, "I'll talk to Cagalli; we'll work something out for you. You should have Shemei and Mister Bristow do the same for Heero. His uniform's certainly impressive, but I think it's just not right for this. It's not a military affair, it's a _date_. I think getting him some formal civilian attire is called for, and I'm certain Shemei and Mister Bristow will be happy to get him set up. We can always ask Cagalli who handles tailoring in Elysium."

"Ok," said Murrue, "but won't that ruin the surprise? I was hoping to catch him off guard with this… like he did for me."

Lacus nodded. "I understand, but the situation is different here. For what it's worth though, I don't think Heero will mind a bit that we can't surprise him like he did for you back at L4. You know how insightful and understanding he is. I believe that knowing you've put so much thought into doing something romantic for him will be enough. Shemei and Mister Bristow getting him set up with formal wear will certainly tip him off to the fact that you have something planned for him, but it won't tell him exactly _what_ it is. _That _we can still keep a secret, Murrue."

Murrue nodded. "You're right. I guess when you put it that way, I'm ok with raising Heero's suspicions before we reveal what we have planned for him. I suppose the only thing left to consider now is when to do it."

"Well," said Lacus, "I know our three ships are scheduled to pull back into Elysium a little over 48 hours from now. Why don't we use the first of our three days inside the colony to lay the groundwork, and then put the final touches on it the morning of the next day? We'll have it all ready to go by that evening!"

Murrue smiled again. "I like it. Besides, it'll be fun to watch Heero's anticipation build over the course of those first two days inside Elysium. By the time night of the second day roles around he'll be dying to know what we've got in store for him!"

Lacus could not help but laugh a little. "I'm sure he'll keep his composure, but you know far better than I the small hints he unknowingly gives regarding his thoughts and feelings. I imagine it will be quite interesting to observe him as our plan progresses."

"Yes, it will," said Murrue.

Lacus nodded. "Murrue, I'll contact Cagalli and let her know what we have in mind."

"I'll do the same with Shemei and Bristow," Murrue replied.

"Call me back once they've signed on," said Lacus, "Good luck!"

"You too… Lacus," said Murrue, "and thank you."

"You're welcome, Murrue," said Lacus, "I'll be in touch."

As soon as Murrue disappeared from the screen Lacus immediately input the frequency for Cagalli's office. The young Chief Representative of Orb had continued to work long hours even this far into the recovery from the attack, and Lacus was sure she was still there.

_Things will get better_, she thought, _and soon I should be able to talk Cagalli into taking a little time off for herself. She deserves a break after all the work she's done. It'd be best if I could convince her to give herself a little leave at the same time as Athrun, Kira, and myself. It would be nice if all of us could relax together. For now though, I need her help… though for this, I'm sure she won't mind. After all, she's been very supportive of those two._

She smiled as her friend's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Cagalli. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

….

**August 10****th****, C.E. 71**

Straightening out his black tie, Heero looked himself over in the mirror. Dressed in a high-end tuxedo, the young man looked more like an upper class gentleman all set for a night at the casino rather than one of the deadliest mobile suit pilots the battlefield had ever known. Running a black comb through his hair, Heero found himself reflecting on the unusual events that had led up to this point… and what the woman he loved had in store for him next.

It had been the day before that the Perfect Soldier realized that Murrue had something planned for him, starting with the fact that almost immediately after the _Archangel _had docked in the colony and her shift on the bridge had ended Murrue had announced that she was going to meet up with Lacus and Cagalli in town… and that Heero would not be accompanying her. When Heero had asked for details, Murrue had simply given him an amused smile and told him that there was something special she needed to take care of, and that he had something he needed to do as well. Puzzled, the only explanation the young man had gotten was that Shemei and Eric would be taking him out that day for some shopping.

_"Trust me,"_ _Murrue said, "I promise to reveal everything tomorrow night. Until then… well, you'll just have to play along, Heero."_

After that she'd given him a quick kiss and sent him on his way. What had followed was a very strange experience for the Gundam pilot; he'd been taken to a tailor by Shemei and Eric and fitted for a _very _nice black and white suit. The Valkyrie and the Wolf had taken no small amount of amusement with the power Murrue had given them over Heero for that day, and it had felt like an eternity as the two ex-ZAFT soldiers meticulously went over the details of his tux with the woman who had taken his measurements. The black pants and jacket fit him like a glove, as did the white button-up shirt. His black dress shoes had been polished to practically a mirror sheen, and the black tie felt incredibly soft against his neck. Even the silver and black cufflinks were top-notch, and Heero had quickly found himself worrying just how they were going to pay for all of it. Shemei and Eric had simply smiled and told him not to be concerned; this was all coming out of the pockets of Lacus Clyne.

That comment intrigued Heero. It had been one thing for her to recruit Shemei and Eric, but brining in Lacus as well made him even more curious as to what she had planned for him.

Things hadn't stopped with getting him fitted for a tux. As soon as they had finished up at the tailor's Shemei and Eric had taken him to a store and had proceeded to purchase him a small bottle of rather expensive cologne. Heero had never seen the need for something like that before, but his two friends assured him that he wanted to be at top form tonight, and that included more than just his appearance.

_"It's not enough for you to just _look_ like the handsome devil you are," said the Valkyrie, smirking at him, "You're gonna _smell_ the part too. Trust me, Murrue will appreciate it all the more."_

When they had finally gotten back to the _Archangel _Heero had immediately gone to find Murrue. He met her in their quarters, where he discovered her hastily closing the closet. When he'd asked what was up, Murrue had simply smiled and told him the same thing she had said before he'd left the ship; she'd reveal everything the following night. She didn't bat an eye at the Gundam pilot's new acquisitions, stating only that he should keep it in the closet in his old room until tomorrow night… and that she'd already set him up with a change of clothes for the following day as well, which were laid out on one of the chairs by the small table they shared. Clearly Murrue didn't want him to know what she had just hidden away, but the smile on her face and the look in her eyes promised that it would be well worth the wait to find out what it was.

Yesterday turned into today, and when the Gundam pilot awoke he had found Murrue already getting ready to leave their room. Asking what was up, she had answered by saying that she was going out with Lacus and Cagalli again today, and that she would be back later in the afternoon. Wondering what was up, the only answer Heero got from the woman he loved was a kiss and a request to trust her. The Gundam pilot certainly didn't doubt her intentions; he was just curious as to what her endgame was.

When she got back a little after three she seemed very refreshed, though she wouldn't tell Heero where she had gone with Lacus and Cagalli. Once again she'd smiled before telling him to be cleaned up and ready by five, and to use his old room for that. Apologizing, she told him she would need their room to herself for a while, and that he'd know why soon enough.

So here he was, giving himself a final once-over in the washroom of his old quarters, dressed to the nines and ready for what promised to be a very interesting evening. Although outwardly he was calm, inside Heero would not deny his excitement. However, he didn't let the thrill of anticipation get in the way of an old habit, and had made sure that his sidearm and combat knife were tucked away in his suit jacket, ready to go at the first sign of trouble.

Checking the time, he saw that he had less than five minutes until Murrue had told him to be ready. Giving his neck one small spray from the cologne bottle, Heero figured he'd done all he could to prepare. Not sure what else to do, he decided to head out into the hallway and wait patiently outside the room he shared with Murrue.

The seconds seemed to pass like minutes; the anticipation was killing him. What did Murrue have planned? What was Heero supposed to do? She had clearly set up a date for the two of them, and though he'd been on several now with her he still felt that same nervousness that had come with the previous ones. Even with his newfound romantic experience Heero would freely admit that the realm of love was one that he had only scratched the surface of; he couldn't navigate it nearly as well as he did the battlefield.

_Relax_, he silently told himself, _this is Murrue. She knows you better than anyone else, and is doing this for you. No matter what happens, be yourself. Trust her, and trust your instincts. Act on your emotions…_

By the time the door to their quarters finally opened Heero still felt like a taught wire; he had been unable to relieve his tension in any way. When the door was all the way open though, all his doubts faded, and were replaced by absolute wonder.

"Murrue…" he said softly, astounded at what his eyes beheld.

The dream he'd had the night after the battle to save the colony flashed through his mind… or more specifically, Murrue's appearance in it. What she wore now was almost exactly the same as in that dream, sans the four white wings of course. A strapless white dress, long and flowing yet clinging to her body, emphasizing every luscious curve. The blue gem of necklace lying square in the center of her chest, the light and gorgeous skin of her bare shoulders and arms accentuated by the pure white dress. Added to this was a pale blue sash tied artfully at her waist. Wafting from her was a very sweet perfume, one Heero was surprised he could identify by scent though not by brand name; white plum blossom.

The goddess before him gave him a stunning smile and did a slow twirl, showing off her wonderfully exposed upper back and shoulders. As she finally came full circle she struck a pose for him, hands on her hips, and batted her lovely brown eyes at him in a manner that seemed to raise the temperature a few degrees to him.

"What do you think?" she said.

Completely stunned, the Gundam pilot could only say one word.

"_Beautiful…_"

For a moment Heero could've sworn he saw her blush. She stepped forward, still smiling as she raised her hand up to his cheek. "Thank you, Heero."

Her smile became almost predatory as she took her time in examining him, running her hand down his face, neck and chest in a manner that managed to increase Heero's heart rate. Bringing her hand behind his back, she pulled him in for a deep kiss.

When their lips parted she still held him close, taking a deep breath as her eyes met his. "_You _look incredible. And I thought you were dashing in that uniform of yours, but this… it's a whole new level. So _handsome_… and that _scent_… you know, I'm tempted to pull you inside and skip right to this evening's happy ending."

Heero couldn't help but give her a small smile in return. "I'm all for it… but after all the work you did to get ready for this night, it'd be a shame to cut it short."

Pulling back a bit, Murrue raised her hand to her mouth and gave a small laugh. "Yes, it would, especially after you were so willing to go along with me."

Her smile became that familiar, gentle one she so often gave him. "I'm sorry I kept you in the dark for the past few days. I wanted to surprise you, even if I knew it would be impossible to keep my preparations entirely hidden from you. After all you did for me with that amazing date back at L4, it seemed like the least I could do."

Heero shook his head. "Murrue, you don't have to repay me for that."

"I know," she replied, "but I _wanted _to. I may not be able to take you out on a flight like you did at Mendel, but I can still give you a romantic evening. Consider it an expression of just how deeply I love you."

Heero nodded before leaning in to kiss her. Mouths opened, tongues intertwined, and the two lovers lost themselves in their passion.

All too soon though, they had to part for air. After a deep breath, Heero looked at Murrue and gave her another small smile. "So, what's next?"

Murrue looped her arm through his. "Come with me."

She gently pulled him along through the ship's corridors until they reached the starboard hatch. Exiting the vessel and going through the docking tube, the two of them saw a man in an Orb military uniform standing on the other side.

The officer smiled as they approached. "Right this way, you two."

Following the man into a nearby tram, the two of them took their seats while the Orb soldier entered commands on a keyboard mounted on the wall. There was a hiss as the doors closed, and the tram began to move.

"Lady Cagalli asked me to relay her compliments," said the officer, "I'll be taking you to your destination this evening."

"Which is?" asked Heero.

Murrue put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "You'll see soon enough, Heero."

The Gundam pilot nodded. "All right."

Eventually the tram came to a stop. Standing up, the two of them followed the officer into a well-lit garage. Waiting just a few meters away from the tram exit was a high-end black town car.

"Nice," said Heero.

Murrue leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Only the best for you… though I can't take credit for setting it up. You'll have to thank Cagalli for that."

Heero nodded as the officer opened the back door of the town car and the two of them climbed in. "I see… and what else do I have to thank her for?"

Murrue gave a small laugh as they settled into the incredibly comfortable black leather seats. "Ah, your insights… yes, she played an important role in helping me get this ready for you. The car and driver weren't her only contributions."

Heero reached over and gently put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards him. "So how else did she help you put this together?"

"Well," said Murrue, "she recommended the place where I got my dress, and went along with Lacus and me to pick it out. The same goes for the perfume; both of them thought that you would like it."

"They weren't wrong," Heero replied, deliberately taking a deep breath to make her well aware of him inhaling that incredible scent.

Murrue responded by running her hand through his thick brown hair as the car got moving. "I'm glad you appreciate it so much. I'll have to save it for special nights like this. You'd better do the same for that cologne you're wearing."

"You got it," said Heero.

The two of them leaned back in their seats and watched as the car wound its way through the garage and out into the colony proper. 'Night' had already fallen, treating them to a beautiful vista of lights from the city. If one didn't know where to look they'd have no idea that the colony was still recovering from a devastating attack.

"Quite the view," said Heero as the car sped towards the city center.

He felt Murrue's fingers intertwine with his. "It certainly is."

Heero turned back to her. "So, what else did you have help with?"

"Quite a bit," said Murrue, "though I can't tell you all of it. It'd ruin the surprise I still have in the bag."

Heero nodded, willing to play along. "Ok, so what _can _you tell me?"

"Well," she said, "when I was out earlier today with Cagalli and Miss… I mean, Lacus, we all went to a spa. It was Cagalli's idea; she wanted me to freshen up a little extra for tonight, and she knew a good place in the colony. Lacus footed the bill for all three of us. I felt bad about it, but… well, she really wanted to help out with this when I told her about, and not just in the role I had in mind for her."

"You deserved it after all you've done," Heero replied.

Murrue shook her head. "I know they both felt that way, but I'm not doing this for myself; I'm doing it for _you_. It may sound strange, but I considered the spa trip to actually be for you. I wanted to look and feel my best for you tonight… and give you a night unlike any you've ever had before."

"And you're well on your way to doing just that," said Heero, squeezing her hand, "You look _incredible_, and I know I'll enjoy whatever you have in store for me next."

Murrue smiled. "It means a lot to hear you say that. After all, that's what all this is about. To me, it's not just about repaying you for L4. It's about throwing all of myself into this relationship, going all out, just like you do for me."

She raised her hand and gently caressed his cheek. "Remember back in North Africa, when you gave me the necklace? You said that you liked seeing me smile. Well, the same goes for me with you. I know you're not the most expressive young man, and I'm fine with that; it's part of who you are. When you do smile, though… when you let your true emotions show… that means more to me than I could ever hope to put into words."

"Murrue…" he said softly.

Before he could say anything else she leaned in for a kiss. As their lips parted she once again held his hand. "Tonight is all about _you_, Heero. So relax, follow my lead, and enjoy the ride."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

He saw her look out the window and smile as she caught sight of something in the distance. "We're almost there."

Following her gaze, Heero saw that they were approaching what looked like a high-society club. There was a red carpet out at the entrance, and stretching out from the building covering it almost to the street was a large steel overhang with a multitude of small lights shining down. Atop the overhang were more lights arranged into a sign: _Elysium Dream_.

"Impressive," said Heero as the town car began to slow, "What is it?"

"According to Cagalli," Murrue replied, "It's the premier classical and jazz club of L3, one of Elysium's biggest tourist attractions during the pre-war years. She pulled some strings and got it cleared out just for us tonight. The owner wasn't happy at first, but when she told him it was for two of the people that had saved the colony his attitude changed considerably."

"Yet another thing I'll have to thank her for when this is over," said Heero.

"Yes," said Murrue as the car rolled to a stop, "So, Heero, are you up for dinner and dancing?"

Heero gave her a small smile. "After all the thought and work you put into this, how can I say no?"

Murrue smirked. "You can't."

Up front, the officer driving the vehicle got out and walked over to Heero's door. As it opened, Heero turned to Murrue and nodded. "Shall we?"

Murrue gave his hand a squeeze. "Absolutely."

He stepped out of the vehicle and then moved to the side to give Murrue room to do the same. Heero offered her his hand in aid, and once she was out she immediately looped her arm through his. A cool breeze blew through the evening air, and the Gundam pilot was mesmerized as it caught Murrue's long, flowing brown hair and gently tugged at it.

Murrue winked at him. "See something you like?"

"You have no idea," Heero replied.

Murrue began to gently pull him along the red carpet. "Come on, I promise you're going to love this place."

The two of them proceeded into the club, and Heero was impressed by what he saw. Just labeling it a club was a mistake; _Elysium Dream _was clearly as much that as it was a high-end restaurant. It was much bigger on the inside than the outside had led him to believe, and the Perfect Soldier speculated that it could comfortably hold somewhere between two to three hundred people at full capacity. The floor layout consisted of an ovoid bar in the middle that appeared to be very well stocked, while white-clothed tables were spread out in a U formation around the lower half. A large dance floor and stage dominated the upper half, and just below that Heero saw that a single table with two chairs had been separated from all the others, with a server standing by it looking expectantly at them. Mellow jazz was playing on the speakers, though Heero did not see a band on the stage. However, there were people on the stage clearly prepping it for a performance, and Heero wondered just what else Murrue had in store for him.

"I figured we'd eat first," said Murrue as the two of them took their seats, "This place has a great menu, and dancing after will be a great way to work off the food."

"Fine by me," said Heero.

Murrue looked at the server. "A bottle of red wine to start with, please. One of your top shelf bottles."

The server nodded before going off to get the drink.

Murrue turned back to Heero and smiled. "Orb's legal drinking age is 16. Lucky you."

Heero nodded. "Yeah, though why do I get the feeling that if it were higher it wouldn't stop you from getting us that wine?"

Murrue gave a small laugh, and her smile became slightly mischievous. "Because it wouldn't. Besides, after all you did to save this colony, I think the least they can do is give you a drink. You didn't want something else, did you?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm good with the wine, though I'll admit I haven't really done much drinking. You'll have to help me expand my knowledge of alcoholic beverages."

Murrue nodded. "It would be my pleasure."

A few minutes later the server returned, bottle in hand. Pouring their drinks and leaving the bottle at the center of the table, he then left the lovers in peace.

Murrue raised her glass and reached out, and Heero met her halfway.

"To the most amazing man I've ever met," she said as their glasses clinked, "Heero… you truly are one of a kind. I'm the luckiest woman in the world, _any _world, to have met you… and fallen in love with you."

All he could do in response was give her another small smile before they drank. What words could he say that would be anything close to an adequate response to the praise she had given him?

Although Heero was far from an expert when it came to wine, he could tell as soon as it hit his tongue that the bottle they'd been given was of very high quality. It was rich and potent, and the Gundam pilot vowed to pace himself; getting drunk was never something he'd found appealing, and tonight it seemed like an insult in light of all Murrue had done to prepare for this date.

"Well?" said Murrue, "What do you think?"

Lowering his glass, he nodded in approval. "It's good. Strong, too."

"Take it slow," Murrue advised, "It's a 53 Cabernet Franc. From what I've heard that's supposed to be a very good year for Cosmic Era wines. Very powerful, too, as you so astutely noticed."

"It doesn't disappoint," Heero replied, "I didn't know you were into wine."

"I'm not a hardcore enthusiast," said Murrue, smiling, "I just did a little reading up on it before tonight. _Elysium Dream _is well regarded for its wine selection."

"And the food?" Heero asked.

Murrue gave a small laugh. "Yes, I suppose we should have something to take it down. I looked over the menu when Cagalli recommended this place, and I think you'll enjoy the selection."

Heero nodded as he picked up and opened the menu in front of him. "I trust your judgment, Murrue."

"Thank you, Heero," she replied.

As he browsed the menu he saw that his faith had not been misplaced. The hybrid club-restaurant had a varied and high quality selection of food. After a while the Gundam pilot settled on a steak, but decided he'd limit his side dish to just a roll. He didn't want to get too full and be unable to join Murrue for the dance she'd promised later on.

When the server came by again Heero gave him his order, while Murrue asked for the smoked salmon. The Perfect Soldier couldn't wait for the food to get there; the menu's description had been absolutely mouth-watering.

"I've never been to a place like this," said Murrue as they waited on their order, "I think the closest I've been was that restaurant we went to during our first date in Orb... though this place blows that right out of the water."

Heero nodded, fondly recalling that very memorable outing. "Same here. It's very impressive… but I wouldn't discount that other restaurant. It had its own charm to it. Your singing certainly helped."

He was satisfied to see Murrue blush. "Well… so did yours."

"When this war is over," said Heero, "we should go back there. The karaoke might have been outside my comfort zone, but I wouldn't mind doing that again as long as it's with you."

Murrue smiled and nodded. "It's a date."

The two of them enjoyed their small-talk and flirting as they waited on their meal while taking the occasional sip of wine, and Heero found himself amused at just how much he was enjoying it. A few months ago this would have been a very awkward situation for him, one that he would've had no idea how to navigate. It was still new territory for him even now, but he was slowly but surely getting familiar with it, and he couldn't ask for a better guide.

_This is nice_, he thought, _Just sitting here like this, talking to her while our order's prepped, no worries… no fears about coming battles. It all feels so far away right now. I didn't realize just how much I needed this. It's not just a date; it's an escape. Murrue… thank you._

Eventually their food arrived, and the couple wasted no time in digging in. It was a delicious meal, and Heero could not recall enjoying one as much as this since his and Murrue's private dinner in the officer's lounge of the _Archangel _during their date back at L4. If Murrue had been looking to return the favor in that regard, she had more than succeeded.

As their meal wound down Heero saw Murrue glance towards the darkened stage and nod. Following her gaze, he saw a figure quickly duck back into the shadows at the edge of the stage, and assumed that the next stage of her plan was about to spring into action.

When they finished and wiped their hands Murrue stood up and held out hers to Heero. "Shall we?"

The Gundam pilot nodded as he took her hand and she pulled him to his feet. She led him out onto the dance floor, and the music that had been playing in the background suddenly stopped. Looking around, Heero saw the lights over the dance floor dim, while those over the stage were off entirely. He could make out silhouettes in the darkness, and as Murrue took him out to the middle of the dance floor he saw that her eyes were watching the stage expectantly.

Suddenly a white light snapped on, and Heero was surprised to see none other than Lacus Clyne standing at the front of the stage. She wore a simple but elegant white gown, and smiled as she saw the two of them looking up at her. Behind her Heero could make out several people in the background with instruments at the ready, and he finally realized just what the rest of Murrue's plan for him involved.

"Hello, you two," said Lacus, "I hope you enjoyed your dinner."

Both of them nodded. "Are you ready?" asked Murrue.

"Yes," she replied, "but I don't think I'm the one you should be asking that to, Murrue."

Murrue smiled before turning to Heero. "She's right. Ready, Heero?"

The Perfect Soldier nodded and gave her a small smile before reaching out to her. He gently grabbed her left hand with his right while placing his left hand at the back of her right shoulder. Murrue moved closer to him, squeezing his hand and placing her right hand on his left shoulder.

The two of them turned back to Lacus and nodded again. "We're ready when you are," said Heero.

Lacus bowed her head before giving them a surprisingly sheepish smile. "In that case, I hope you don't mind that I'll actually be doing a cover. I thought it was fitting for tonight."

"As long as we can dance to it," said Heero.

Lacus nodded, her smile growing. "Oh, you can."

The pink-haired songstress looked behind her and nodded at what Heero now realized was a small orchestra… the same one that had performed with her at the concert, in fact. Violins began to play a soft, soothing melody. They were quickly joined by a quiet drum and piano, and with the beat established Heero and Murrue began a slow waltz. Their eyes remained locked on each other as Lacus began to sing, her gentle voice the perfect complement to the music and an embodiment of everything the romantic night was meant to be.

"_Fly me to the moon  
>And let me play among the stars<br>Let me see what spring is like  
>On Jupiter and Mars"<em>

"_In other words, hold my hand  
>In other words, darling kiss me"<em>

The Gundam pilot took that line as his cue to pull Murrue in for a soft kiss. It was brief as the two of them were focused on keeping their footing, but the glowing look in her eyes as their lips parted told Heero it had had more than the desired effect.

"_Fill my heart with song  
>and let me sing forever more<br>You are all I long for  
>All I worship and adore"<em>

"_In other words, please be true  
>In other words, I love you"<em>

"She was right," said Heero as Lacus paused and the violins and piano went through an instrumental, "This song… it's very fitting."

Murrue nodded as they couple went through a slow turn. "Absolutely."

Heero responded by pulling her a little closer as the song went into its second round.

"_Fly me to the moon  
>And let me play among the stars<br>Let me see what spring is like  
>On Jupiter and Mars"<em>

"_In other words, hold my hand  
>In other words, darling kiss me"<em>

This time it was Murrue who leaned forward for the kiss. Like the last one it was brief, but as her lips left his Heero saw the restrained passion in her eyes, a promise of much, _much _more to come this incredible night.

"_Fill my heart with song  
>and let me sing forever more<br>You are all I long for  
>All I worship and adore"<em>

"_In other words, please be true  
>In other words, I love you"<em>

There was another break in the vocals, but the two lovers hardly noticed. The only thing that mattered right then and there was the person in front of them. They were lost in the music and each other, caught up in the romantic spell that had been cast by both melody and the flow of the dance. Giving Murrue a gentle twirl, Heero caught her as Lacus went into the final verses.

"_Fill my heart with song  
>and let me sing forever more<br>You are all I long for  
>All I worship and adore"<em>

"_In other words, please be true  
>In other words, I love you"<em>

"_In other words, I love you"_

The music faded out, and as the last note died Heero saw Murrue give him a radiant smile. Heero smiled as well, riding an emotional high. He recalled what Murrue had said earlier about letting his true emotions show, and he knew that he was doing that now.

"Murrue," he said, "_thank you_."

Before she could respond he pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. When their lips parted he could definitely see her blushing, but her smile never wavered.

"You've more than earned it, Heero," she replied.

She then looked at the stage and nodded at Lacus. "And it's not over yet."

Lacus nodded as well before turning to Heero. "Murrue told me you'd really like this next one. It's another cover, but I know something like that wouldn't matter to you."

Heero shook his head. "Not at all, and I trust Murrue's judgment."

Lacus winked at the couple. "As well you should, Heero."

She looked back at the band and nodded. On cue a fresh song began to play, and Heero's eyes widened in recognition. It started with a harp chord. Then a piano came in, followed by a violin, and a soft acoustic guitar…

As the music started he felt a subtle shift between him and Murrue as the woman he loved gently took the lead. She moved closer, and the way she held him shifted; it was almost a slow, moving embrace as she took him through the first steps. Her face was mere inches from his, and there was a knowing look in her eyes and a warm smile on her face as that oh so familiar song kicked into gear.

The one she had sung to him on their first date in Orb.

"_Petals of white  
>Cover fields flowing in grieving tears"<em>

_"And all the hearts once new, old and shattered now  
>Love can kill, love will die<br>Give me wings to fly  
>Fleeing this world so cold<br>I just wonder why"_

"Ah," said Murrue softly, her breath on Heero's ear "this brings back memories…"

Heero nodded and found himself pulling her even closer. "Yeah…"

"_Cold as the dark  
>Now my words are frosted with every breath<br>Still the heat burns wild, growing inside this heart "_

_"When the wind changes course, when the stars align  
>I will reach out to you and leave this all behind"<em>

"_When heavens divide"_

The lovers swayed gently back and forth while moving in a slow, clockwise rotation. Heero could feel Murrue's hand on his back move up towards the base of his neck, pulling him in so his head was constantly brushing up against her long, flowing hair. Her heavenly scent wafted all around him, further capturing him in the unbelievable atmosphere of this amazing night.

_"When heavens divide_  
><em>I will see the choices within my hands" <em>

_"How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls__  
><em>_Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear" _

_"Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?"_

_"When heavens divide__  
><em>_Time will come to softly lay me down__  
><em>_Then I can see a face that I long to see__  
><em>_And for you, only you I would give anything__  
><em>_Leaving a trace for love to find a way"_

_"When heavens divide"_

At the break in the vocals Murrue shifted her grip, looping both her arms over his shoulders and clasping her hands at the back of Heero's neck. Adjusting, Heero held Murrue at the waist. There was no space between them at all now, their bodies pressed together, seeing and feeling only each other as the song entered its second half, the music and voice of the songstress going into a crescendo and soon reaching its zenith.

_"I will dive into the fire__  
><em>_Spilling the blood of my desire__  
><em>_The very last time__  
><em>_My name scorched into the sky!"_

_"When heavens divide_  
><em>I will see the choices within my hands" <em>

_"How can we ever protect and fight with our tiny souls__  
><em>_Let me shine like the sun through the doubts and fear" _

_"Do you feel the storm approach as the end draws near?"_

_"When heavens divide__  
><em>_Time will come to softly lay me down__  
><em>_Then I can see a face that I long to see__  
><em>_And for you, only you I would give anything__  
><em>_Leaving a trace for love to find a way"_

_"When heavens divide"_

The music softened as the song went into its last verses, and the two lovers' slow dance became little more than a tight embrace with just a slight sway. There was no need for anything fancy, no dramatic flair; just holding each other here and now was all they wanted.

_"__And for you, only you I would give anything__  
><em>_Leaving a trace for love to find a way"_

_"When heavens divide…"_

The music faded, but they didn't let go of each other right away. Closing his eyes, Heero let his head rest on Murrue's shoulder, content to just bask in the moment. The soft brush of her hair, her smooth and warm skin, the heady aroma of her perfume... it was overwhelming. He felt Murrue run her hand through his hair as she held him, as reluctant as he was to break off the embrace.

As much as they may have wanted though, they knew it could not last forever. Slowly the two of them parted, taking their partner's hands as they waited for the next round. They nodded and smiled, knowing that they would never forget this night.

_This is absolutely amazing_, he thought as he looked into her eyes, _Murrue… you did all this for me... you truly are an incredible woman. I still don't know how you found me worthy of your affection, your love… but I swear I'll do everything in my power to live up to it. You deserve that much…_

_ …and so much more._

_…._

A small, satisfied smile on his face, Heero made his way through the Archangel's corridors with Murrue on his arm. The incredible, romantic night was on its last legs, with the two lovers about to retire to their room for the evening.

Lacus had continued her performance in their honor for a little over an hour, shifting from the two covers she had led with into songs written by herself. As he had at the concert before, Heero could only marvel at her talent and the passion she had for singing, and he knew that he was incredibly lucky that Lacus had been willing to devote herself to the date Murrue had planned for him. How many people could say that they had gotten a private performance from Lacus Clyne?

He looked over at the woman he loved, and the two of them shared a nod and a smile. Tonight had been a night unlike anything either of them had ever experienced before, one that would certainly leave a lasting impression. It was almost enough to make the two of them forget, however briefly, that they were in the middle of a war with the fate of the entire human race potentially hanging in the balance. Eventually the time would come for them to return to the battlefields, but for now the war was a distant concern. All that mattered here and now was each other.

Soon enough they came to a stop before the entrance to their shared quarters. The door opened, but before they went inside Heero gently grabbed Murrue by the shoulders, turning her to face him.

"Murrue," he said, "thank you. Not just for this night… but for everything. You've done more for me than anyone I've ever met. No matter what happens, I'll stand by your side until the very end."

Murrue raised her hand to Heero's cheek. "You don't have to thank me, Heero. We're in this together, and I don't just mean this war. Our relationship, our new life together… it's a journey I wouldn't take with anyone else. Meeting you, getting to know you, falling in love with you… it's been the greatest honor and privilege of my life, and I know it's only just begun. There's so much ahead of us, Heero… so much beyond this war. I want to experience it all with you. _You_, and no one else."

Heero nodded. "I feel the same way. Murrue… you've changed my life in a way I never could've imagined before coming to this world. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I know that you're the one I want to face it with."

'Then we'll do just that," Murrue replied, "We'll face whatever this war and life beyond it throws at us, and we'll confront it together. We've come too far and have been through too much to let anything stop us now."

Heero gave her a small smile. "Roger that."

Murrue smiled in return, and the Gundam pilot saw it take on a predatory hint as her hand left his cheek and made its way down to his topmost button.

"Now," she said softly as she began to undo his shirt, "this night may be almost over, but we still need to give it a proper sendoff. Don't you think so, Heero?"

"Absolutely," Heero replied as he pulled her in for a deep kiss.

She pulled him inside, and the door shut behind them.

….

**August 11****th****, C.E. 71**

"So how'd it go with Heero and Murrue's date last night, Lacus?" asked Cagalli as she dug into her chicken teriyaki.

The songstress smiled at her from across the table in between bites of rice. "Very well. I know they enjoyed it, and I had a lot of fun helping out with it."

Cagalli smiled at the affirmation that the night she had helped Murrue set up for Heero and herself had gone so well. With all those two had done for her and her country since she had first met them what felt like a lifetime ago in North Africa, she was glad that she had been able to do something for them on a personal level to return the favor. Helping out Murrue like that had been a vacation compared with her administrative responsibilities over L3, but with the recovery so far along now she had finally been able to take a little time for herself, and she was indulging in that right now with Lacus and two other Coordinators.

Sitting to her left on her side of the table at the Japanese-style restaurant was Athrun, while Lacus had Kira as her companion. An onlooker could easily view the outing as a double date, and indeed Cagalli actually considered it to be that. At the very least she wasn't hiding her feelings for Athrun anymore, though she was disappointed to see that Kira and Lacus had not moved things along on their end.

_Come on, you two_, she thought as she studied the two of them between bites, _everyone can see that you like each other, and in far more than the 'just friends' kind of 'like'. What's keeping you two from taking the next step?_

She had to stop herself from shaking her head in exasperation. Given their personalities she supposed it was only natural that neither of them had admitted their feelings to each other yet. Both were very gentle and kind personalities; they weren't naturally aggressive when it came to acting on matters of the heart. Lacus may have been an inspiring leader and a peerless singer, but when it came to her feelings for Kira Cagalli actually wasn't surprised that she was keeping things were they were now; she wouldn't want to be pushy towards Kira. As for her brother, Cagalli was pretty sure he couldn't make the first move; just watching him with Flay during that girl's time aboard the _Archangel _while Cagalli had been on the ship had made it clear that the red-head had been the one in charge of the relationship.

Her brother was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but when it came to girls he was very passive. Cagalli supposed that wasn't entirely a bad thing; Kira would never be one to force things with a girl, and his compassionate nature made him a boy a young woman could easily turn to for support. However, it also made him reluctant to act on his feelings, and with a girl who likewise didn't want to pressure him into anything Cagalli had to wonder just what it would take to get those two to hook up.

She saw Kira look at Lacus and smile. "Have you ever done something like that before?"

Lacus nodded. "For friends and family back in the PLANTs. Honestly, I think I liked doing that more than my larger concerts."

"I remember the year before the war," said Athrun, "you sang at my mother's birthday. She loved it."

Cagalli saw Athrun's smile become bittersweet. She gently held his hand under the table, knowing all too well where his mind had gone; losing her father in the fall of Orb had given her a powerful insight into the grief he had suffered after the attack on Junius Seven, and even over a year later she could see how it still affected the young man she had fallen in love with.

Lacus smiled. "So did I. She was a very kindhearted woman. I loved spending time with her, and it was a joy to sing for her."

"Maybe you could give us another show when this war's over," said Cagalli.

"I'd like that very much," Lacus replied, "Besides, once this war's over the only shows I'll probably be able to do in the future will be private."

Kira's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Everyone loves you, Lacus! Why wouldn't you be able to go back to doing concerts after the war?"

"Because," said Athrun grimly, "too much has changed."

"That's not true!" said Cagalli, "Athrun, how can you say that? There's no reason she can't get back into her career once we've knocked some sense into the Alliance and ZAFT."

Lacus shook her head. "No, Cagalli, Athrun's right. Even after a new government takes power in the PLANT, there is no changing the fact that my actions are legally considered to be treason. It doesn't matter that everything I've done has been to oppose Patrick Zala's goal of exterminating Naturals; our treason laws consider only the actions themselves, not the motives behind them."

"That's not fair!" cried Kira, "Those laws would sentence people to death just because they tried to stand against a regime that wants to commit genocide!"

"No one ever said it was fair, Kira," Athrun replied, "There's plenty of laws that aren't. All we can do is accept that we can't return to our homeland again. It's the same for your friends aboard the _Archangel_, you know."

Lacus nodded. "Whether we like it or not, from the moment we made our stands against the Alliance and ZAFT, we sentenced ourselves to exile."

Kira looked around in desperation. "But… then what happens to everyone once this war's over? Cagalli and I are from Orb, but so many others…"

"Will be granted asylum in our country," Cagalli finished for him, her voice firm and resolute, "I've already spoken to Captain Ramius and Field Marshal Waltfeld about this. The crews of both the _Archangel _and the _Eternal _will be allowed to make new lives for themselves in Orb when the fighting's over. The same goes for all the other defectors from the Alliance and ZAFT. I won't let the men and women who've been willing to put everything on the line in order to stop this madness be condemned to death by the countries they were forced to turn against!"

Lacus smiled. "Well said, Cagalli… and thank you."

"Of course," said Cagalli, "it's the least I can do for my friends."

"It's going to be strange," said Athrun, "living in another country. I've spend most of my life in the PLANTs. I mean, there was that period of time I spend on the Moon with Kira, but other than that… I guess it's going to take some getting used to."

Cagalli smiled as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Don't worry. I'll help you get settled in. You'll be getting a very warm welcome, trust me on that."

She had the satisfaction of seeing her boyfriend blush. "Oh… ok, Cagalli. Thanks."

Lacus turned to Kira, and to Cagalli's surprise the smile she gave him had a hint of more than just her usual sincere self. "I look forward to living in your country when this war is over, Kira. I trust you'll help me get settled in as well."

_Come on, Kira_, thought Cagalli, _She threw that one right across the plate. Take a swing!_

Kira actually seemed to blush. "Yeah… of course I will."

Cagalli had to resist shaking her head. _You could've done so much better than that, Kira…_

"So," said Lacus, "What are your plans after the war, Cagalli?"

Cagalli sighed. "I'd like to say a long vacation, but since I'm the new leader of Orb that's not going to happen for quite awhile. Any peace agreement is going to involve a long process, and I'm sure there will be quite a few bumps in the road before we get something hammered out. The fact that Orb's essentially at war with both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT now only makes things even more complicated."

"It'll get done," said Athrun, smiling as he held her hand, "With Azrael and my father removed from power, I know you'll be able to help forge a peace treaty."

Cagalli smiled, though she was worried about Athrun. He was talking so casually about overthrowing his father, but she was sure that was a front for her and the others. Still, his words were encouraging.

"Thanks, Athrun."

"What about you, Athrun?" asked Kira, "I mean, what are you going to do when you settle down in Orb?"

"You could always join their defense forces," Lacus chimed in, "I'm sure they'd welcome you there."

Cagalli nodded. "Absolutely. You're one of the best pilots around, Athrun; no way you'd be turned down."

Athrun nodded. "I know I'd be good enough to get in, but… I actually wasn't thinking that."

Cagalli was intrigued. She had met Athrun as a pilot, and it was sometimes difficult to remember that he hadn't always been a soldier of ZAFT. It was hard to picture him as a civilian.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

Athrun looked down for a moment, and to Cagalli he seemed almost embarrassed. "I… I was thinking of being your bodyguard. You'll need security as the Chief Representative, after all… and I've got talents besides just piloting mobile suits. ZAFT training covered more than just flying… you saw that yourself when we first met."

Cagalli nodded, recalling just how easily he had restrained her during their encounter on that island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. That hadn't just been the work of his enhanced genes; his close-quarters-combat instructors at the ZAFT academy had done their work quite well.

"So, what do you think?" Athrun asked, "Could I do that? I mean… it wouldn't be awkward for you, would it?"

Cagalli shook her head and smiled before leaning over to kiss him. "Not at all. I'd love it, Athrun."

She saw him blush as she pulled away, but he still smiled. "Oh… ok, then."

Cagalli turned to Kira and Lacus. "What about you two? Any plans for when you settle down in Orb?"

Lacus smiled. "I actually spoke to Reverend Malchio about that a few days ago. He wants to relocate his orphanage to Orb, or at least an island closer to it, when the war's over; the place he has over in the Marshall Islands is just too small for all the children he's been taking in. I was thinking about helping him out there; it'd be a nice change of pace after all this."

The songstress turned to Kira and put her hand over his. "Kira, would you like to join me in helping out there when this is all over?"

Kira nodded, and Cagalli saw his face flush. "Yeah… that'd be great."

"Well," said Cagalli, "if he wants to relocate to Orb, I'd be happy to help him with that. I know my father spoke highly of him; we'd welcome him and his children with open arms, and would provide him with any funding he needs to run a new orphanage."

"You don't have to do that," Lacus replied, "I know you'll need as much money as you can get to rebuild Orb. I've already promised Reverend Malchio that I would help fund his endeavor; I certainly have the resources to do that much."

"Maybe," said Cagalli, "but I still want to help. I can at least find a good place for him and the kids to get settled in at."

Lacus nodded. "I'm sure Reverend Malchio would appreciate that."

It was an endeavor that Cagalli was truly looking forward to helping out with. However, to get there she knew that they first had to not just survive this war but force the two strongest nations in the Earth Sphere to sue for peace. It was one hell of an obstacle to overcome, but Cagalli was determined to do everything in her power to make sure that her friends and allies triumphed.

Of course, her will to fight against overwhelming odds wasn't just fueled by altruism. Looking over at Athrun, Cagalli smiled at the knowledge that, like so many of her friends now, her stake in this fight had become much more personal. It wasn't just about her people, or her own survival for that matter; it was about defending the one she loved, and making sure there would be a world where they could build a life together.

_I wish father could've gotten to know you_, she thought as she gave Athrun's hand a squeeze, _I'm sure he would've liked you. You've done so much for Orb, Athrun, and for me… the least I can do is help you build a new life in my country when this is over._

_ And I'm definitely looking forward to it._

….

_How long's it been_, thought Dearka as he watched Miriallia rifle through the clothes on the rack, _since I've done something like this? Before the war, I think… I guess it's nice to see some things never change with girls._

He shook his head, wondering what he'd gotten himself into. It had all started earlier in the day when he'd asked Miriallia if she wanted to do something with him in the colony. He hadn't actually had a plan, which in hindsight was definitely a bad thing; she'd quickly seized upon it to set the agenda, which in this case meant hitting the colony's shopping mall. Dearka had tried to think of something else on the spot but had come up empty; he just didn't know the colony well, whereas Miriallia had visited with her family in the past, both prewar and during the conflict before ZAFT had attacked Heliopolis.

He'd been worried about money, but Miriallia had assured him that they were ok; Captain Ramius had seen to it that everyone on her ship had been issued a decent amount of funds courtesy of Cagalli so that they could actually enjoy their much needed shore leave. Dearka had mentally slapped himself; he really needed to pay more attention to announcements like that.

So here he was doing something he was completely out of practice at; clothes shopping with a girl.

She turned to him and smiled, holding up a red tank-top in her left hand and a blue one in her right. "So, what do you think? Which one would look better?"

Dearka forced a smile; he hated this part. He may have been rusty, but he knew that just saying 'both are fine' was out of the question. All he could do was take a shot and hope he didn't guess wrong.

"The red one," he said, "I think that's the best."

Miriallia smiled, and Dearka breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I was hoping you'd say that."

_Why did that feel more stressful than the battle we had to save this colony?_

The answer was simple; he was in love, and he didn't want to screw up his chances with her.

"Well," said Miriallia as she put the blue one away while the red one joined the rest of the clothes she had bought today, "I think that's enough. Come on, let's get going."

Dearka nodded, and the two of them went to the nearest cashier. Eyeing everything Miriallia had bought, the former ZAFT ace mused that she had actually shown more restraint than he had expected. There wasn't the stereotypical mountain of clothes that he had expected he would end up carrying out of the store, which was surprising when he considered that they'd been in there for at least an hour. In addition to the tank-top, Miriallia had bought a simple white blouse, two pairs of blue jeans, and a light blue skirt. Dearka briefly wondered if he ought to chip in to help her pay for it, but she seemed fine with having it all on her tab. In light of that, he supposed that the least he could do was grab one of her two bags.

"So," he said as they left the store, "where to next?"

"There's an observation lounge over by the main docks," she replied, "I went there once with my family. It's got a great café, and you get this incredible view of the Earth! Want to check it out?"

Dearka smiled. After the hour of shopping he'd just endured, a bit of down time at a lounge was fine by him. "Sounds good. Let's go."

Miriallia nodded and surprised him by looping her arm through his as the two of them made their way out of the mall. The young man certainly wasn't complaining though. To him, it was just one more bit of evidence that Dr. Claudia was right.

Miriallia had feelings for him.

Sure, this gesture by itself wasn't enough to seal the deal, but when it was included with her behavior since leaving Orb the evidence definitely piled up. The way she had become so casual and familiar with him, her genuine interest in who he was and what his life had been like before now, her willingness to share even painful memories with him… all that and more served to make Dearka more and more confident that the attraction he had for her was indeed reciprocated.

_Never thought I'd fall for a Natural_, he mused as they got into a cab, _I wonder what Dad would say if he could see me now…_

"Was Heliopolis like this?" he asked as the vehicle sped towards the front of the colony, "I mean… I only saw it when I was attacking it. I… didn't really have time to admire the view."

He knew she bore him no ill will towards the role he had played in throwing her into this war, but he still felt bad about it. Dearka understood why ZAFT had launched the attack on Heliopolis, and in the past he hadn't give it much thought, but now that he had feelings for a girl that had lived in the colony things had changed for him. It was one thing to know that he had played a part in the events that had ultimately resulted in the destruction of the Orb colony; it was another to meet someone who had once called it her home… let alone fall in love with her.

Much to his relief he saw her smile. "Sort of. There wasn't nearly as much space devoted to agriculture in Heliopolis like there is here. Still, it's the same colony design… enough to bring back memories."

He reached over and grabbed her hand. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "I already told you not to apologize for it. It's war, and Heliopolis was building weapons for the Alliance. We tried to use the conflict for our advantage, and we paid for it. I may not like the fact that my colony is gone… but I understand what led to it, and I don't hold it against you. You were doing your duty, and it's not like you went in their _wanting _to destroy Heliopolis."

"No," said Dearka, "but still…"

"Don't worry about it," Miriallia replied. She followed that up with a quick kiss on his cheek, taking him completely off guard and sending heat rushing to his face. "You're a good guy, Dearka. I don't blame you for what happened to the colony… or anything else."

That last part undoubtedly referred to her late boyfriend. Dearka had told her that he didn't kill Tolle, and she had believed him, but he had still been a little afraid that she held him partly responsible even though she had given no sign of it. He'd been part of the team that had attacked the _Archangel _repeatedly, and one of his friends had been the one to take down Tolle; guilt by association could be a powerful thing.

The incident in the med bay after the fight may have been due to her grief and anger, but Dearka knew he bore some blame; he deeply regretted his incredibly insensitive words to her, especially with her anguish so fresh. However, immediately after she had turned around and saved his life from one of her friends, putting herself in grave danger in the process. She'd risked her _life _to protect him, and since then he'd been determined to return the favor. In that he felt he had succeeded… but he had never imagined that he would end up where he was now as a result.

Eventually they reached the tram station near the docks and left the taxi. Miriallia led him over to a tram car and the two of them took their seats.

"Better strap in," she said, "the shift in gravity can be disorienting if you're not secured."

Dearka nodded as he followed her advice. "And here I thought it could get weird in the PLANTs shifting from one half of the colony to the other. This cylinder design makes my head spin."

Miriallia laughed as the tram car started moving. "That's right, I forgot you're not used to Orb-style colonies. Sorry."

Dearka shook his head. "Don't sweat it."

He felt himself lift up a bit in his seat, and he was glad the restraints were keeping him from going any further. The shift in orientation was surprising gentle, and before he knew it the door was sliding open and a green light above his head indicated they were good to remove their harnesses.

Miriallia took his hand as the two of them floated out of tram car. "Come on, it's this way."

It didn't take them long to arrive at their destination. The lounge was a rather simple affair, with chairs, tables, and couches spread out over a wide area while along the right wall were stands where people could get food and drinks. It more than made up for the lack of luxury though, in Dearka's opinion, with the vast reinforced glass viewport and the incredible view it offered the occupants.

"Whoa…" he said softly as they floated over towards the window.

Miriallia nodded. "It's really something, isn't it?"

He couldn't argue with that. There the Earth was, in all her glory. The vast oceans, the swirling clouds, the sprawling continents… no gemstone could come close to competing with the crown jewel of the Sol system for sheer beauty.

"Was it like this from the PLANTs?" she asked.

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, although from this angle it blocks the Moon. I think that's ok though. From space the Moon's just too close, too bare… it feels like a graveyard. When I saw it from Earth for the first time though… it was beautiful."

He saw Miriallia look out the viewport in thought. "I always regretted that we couldn't see the Moon from L3, but when you put it that way… maybe it's better that we can't"

She sighed. "Thinking of it as a graveyard now seems appropriate, and not just because of the battles that have taken place on it in this war. I know I still have a lot to learn when it comes to military matters… but one thing I _do _know is that the Moon is the heart of the Alliance's operations in outer space. Their bases are there, their warships launch from there… I heard they even keep their nukes there. Knowing what they want to do to your people… the Moon becomes tainted with their bloodlust and hatred."

"Maybe that's a bit harsh," Dearka replied, "I mean sure, the Alliance has bases there, but there's also that big city in the Copernicus Crater. They're civilians, or most of them are, and I can't see them wanting to wipe us out. They never asked to live under a regime like that."

Miriallia raised an eyebrow. "That's… pretty insightful, coming from you."

Dearka smirked. "Hey, I've got more than just my skills and good looks, you know."

Miriallia smiled. "Maybe… just a little bit."

The levity was much needed; things had been getting too grim for his liking.

"So," said Miriallia, "what's next for you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"After the war," she said, turning to him, "Will… will you be going back to the PLANTs?"

The hesitant manner in which she'd asked her question set off a quiet alarm bell in the back of Dearka's mind. The conversation was shifting, and in his heart he hoped it was going a certain way…

"Well," he said, choosing his words carefully, "I… I don't really think I could."

Her eyes widened. "Why? That's… that's your homeland, isn't it?"

Dearka nodded. "It was, but… after all we've done since the Alliance invaded Orb… I think too much has changed."

"How so?" she asked.

"Had I only fought against Alliance forces," he said, "I might have a chance at going back to ZAFT with the expectation of a demotion for being AWOL, but otherwise allowed to rejoin. However, I've also taken part in combat against the ZAFT fleet now. The raid on the capital, our rescue of those defectors… my actions are just like Miss Clyne's and Athrun's. I've committed high treason; going back would almost certainly mean a death sentence, even with a new government."

Miriallia nodded. "I understand. I know it's the same for the crew on the _Archangel_; none of them can go home. My friends and I are lucky because we're from Orb, but Captain Ramius and the others are from the Atlantic Federation, and it views their actions the same way ZAFT views yours. I'm just glad my country's willing to take them in."

"They're good people," said Dearka, "They don't deserve what the Alliance would do to them if they went back."

"And you don't deserve the death sentence ZAFT would give you," Miriallia replied, squeezing his hand.

The two of them were quiet for a while as they stared out the window in thought. Looking around, Dearka saw no one else nearby, and realized that this was more than just another friendly outing. It was an opening.

And his heart had a clear message for him.

_Now or never._

Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Miriallia. "Even without that threat, though… I couldn't go back, Miriallia"

Her eyes widened. "Why not?"

"Too much has changed," he said, "and I don't just mean my standing with ZAFT. It took a while for me to really notice it, but… ever since that incident in the med bay… I've become a different person. And that person can't go back to the PLANTs when this is over. It would mean leaving something… _someone _behind, and I've realized that I can't do that."

He looked her dead in the eyes as he continued. "Miriallia, you changed _everything _for me. How I thought about Naturals, this war, and what I want to do with my life. I can't go back to flying and fighting for a flag or honor, or even just protecting innocent people. The one person I want to protect more than anyone else is _you_… and I want to do that beyond this war."

"Dearka…" she said softly.

Dearka moved closer. "Miriallia… I think now I understand why Tolle was willing to trade bridge duty for the cockpit of the Skygrasper. On the _Archangel _he could support his friend, but in the sky he could not only do that but also defend _you_… and I can see why he believed that you were worth risking his life for. You're an amazing girl. You're smart, you're kind, you're fun, you're beautiful… and you're willing to take a stand, to risk your own life for what you believe is right."

"I know I can't replace him," he continued, "and I'd never try to do that; I know how important he was for you. At the same time, though… Miriallia, I can't deny what my feelings for you have become since the day we met."

"You… you mean…" said Miriallia, her voice now barely more than a whisper.

"I want to be more to you than just a friend," said Dearka, "I've known that for a while now, actually. I just… I wasn't sure when the right time would be to tell you. However... I realized that our time on this colony would probably be my last chance. We don't know how long we'll be here, but when we leave I'm sure we're heading right back to the battlefields, and who knows what will happen then. I want to believe that we'll make it through and stop the Alliance and ZAFT, but if we don't… then I don't want to leave anything undone."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "If you don't want this, tell me now... either that, or one good knee will be hint enough. One way or another though, I have to know."

His heart hammering away in his chest, he leaned in and kissed her.

The sudden pain he half-expected to feel below the belt never materialized. Instead he felt her tense up for a split second…

…before throwing her arms around him and kissing him back.

Nerves were replaced by surety, fear by passion, and the former ZAFT ace immediately embraced her, deepening the kiss.

Eventually they parted, and Miriallia smiled. "About time."

Dearka was stunned. "What?"

Miriallia shook her head. "Don't get me wrong; I'm glad you gave me time after what happened to Tolle. I needed that, and if you hadn't let me have it I wouldn't have fallen for you. After a while though… well, you weren't the only one whose feelings were growing."

Dearka smiled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that."

Miriallia leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "It took me awhile, but… I think you coming back and helping us when the Alliance invaded Orb was really the start of it for me. You didn't owe us anything, you were free to go home… but you didn't. You fought alongside us then, and you've stuck with us ever since, even when we fought ZAFT along with the Alliance. I think I knew all along that part of the reason you stayed was because of me… just like Tolle did."

"You're not him," she continued, "but I don't _want _you to be him. You're _you_, and in your own way you're just as good a guy as Tolle was. If you two had met in a different time, I know you'd both be friends."

Dearka nodded. "I'd like to think so."

"Oh, you would," Miriallia replied, "no doubt about that. But… he's no longer here, so you're going to have to get along with the rest of my friends. I think you can do that."

"No problem here," said Dearka.

Miriallia released him and turned towards the window, grabbing his hand as she did so. "Dearka… I don't know what's going to happen… if we'll make it through to the end of this war or not. However, I do know that you're the one I want to make that journey with. I'm going to keep on fighting with the _Archangel_, see this through to however it turns out… and I want you with me. And if we do make it through this, then I want you to come back to Orb with me."

Dearka smiled and squeezed her hand. "You got it."

….

**August 15****th****, C.E. 71**

Leaning back in his chair, Creuset smiled as he reviewed the information on the screen in front of him. Occupying a temporary office in Black 9, one of the largest shipyards in the PLANTs, the masked Field Marshal was merely killing time until the ceremony began.

_Zala really doesn't need me on hand for the launching of the new dreadnought_, he mused, _Is putting me on ceremonial duty punishment for my failure at L4, or does he really just have nothing better for me to do right now?_

Creuset shrugged. It hardly mattered to him. Events were proceeding just as he'd predicted, the two great powers continuing to dance to the tune he called. At this point it really was a waiting game until both sides had completed their buildups, and Creuset supposed that pointless busy work like this could at least keep him from getting too bored.

His current reading was entertaining at any rate. Perusing the detailed post-action report on the fall of Carpentaria, Creuset took satisfaction in the knowledge that ZAFT's defeat in that battle would only further help his plans. The Alliance's victory a week ago in what they had termed Operation 8.8 had been total, and with it the last of ZAFT's terrestrial strongholds was in their hands. Now the transfer of armaments, resources, and personnel from the Earth to outer space had reached unprecedented levels, and Creuset was quite eager to get his hands on the final numbers. Azrael may have been easy to manipulate, but Creuset was still impressed with the man's ability to mobilize and coordinate such a vast force. Zala was no slouch either, and part of the reason Creuset was here today was due to the Supreme Council Chairman's determination to build an armada that would rival anything the Alliance could bring to the battlefield.

Of course, it wasn't all good news for Creuset. The recent defections from both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT to the Clyne faction's banner was an annoyance, though the masked Field Marshal could at least acknowledge that Waltfeld and his songstress had made a masterful public relations move with that live broadcast and convincing soldiers of both regimes to abandon their masters. With the Patrol Fleet and Military Intelligence preoccupied with monitoring Alliance activities Creuset knew he was lacking a solid grasp on how much the renegades' force had grown since the initial defection of Task Force 9.3, and he was interested to see just what kind of fleet they would bring to the final battle. Their original three battleships and their advanced mobile suits were formidable enough, and with supporting forces their effectiveness on the field of battle would be considerably amplified… though not enough to truly concern Creuset.

_The Desert Tiger, the Wolf of the Far East, the Singing Angel, Lord Uzumi's daughter, and the Demon Lord of Avalon_, he mused, _They've certainly proven to be more of a challenge than anything else in this war. It's almost refreshing, really; Azrael and Zala are just too easy to manipulate. However, against the forces that are being gathered for the grand finale, even they will be powerless._

Creuset chuckled. "I salute you, Miss Clyne, Waltfeld… and especially _you_, Heero Yuy. You've made the past few months _very _interesting. However… the endgame is _mine_."

He was prevented from going further by a chime from his monitor. Composing himself, Creuset watched as a soldier appeared on the screen.

"Field Marshal," the young man said, "It is ten minutes until the launch commences."

Creuset nodded. "I'll be at the observation deck shortly."

Logging off the console, the Field Marshal floated out of the office and made his way towards his destination. Upon his arrival he saw a few dozen fellow officers already present, along with members of the press corps.

Giving a nod and the bare minimum of pleasantries, Creuset headed over to the large viewport. He allowed himself a small smile as he looked down upon the leviathan that would soon be joining the fleet.

_The first of several_, he thought, _Credit where it's due, I suppose; this was one of the few good ideas Zala's had that didn't require my prompting._

Below him was a massive black warship in the shape of a giant wing, reminiscent of the formidable _Everest_-class Flying Fortresses that had once been fielded in the skies of Earth. The resemblance was no surprise; in fact, the hull had been repurposed from the airborne dreadnought/carriers of Project Peak.

The _Everest_, _Fuji_, and _Kilimanjaro _had been the only three Flying Fortresses to take the field, but that had not been the intent. Several more hulls had been manufactured, their prefabricated components prepared for orbital drops down to ZAFT's terrestrial bases for final assembly. However, the destruction of JOSH-A by Wing Zero and the Earth Alliance's resurgent strength on the surface had put ZAFT's ground operations in doubt, even after the capture of Panama. The next hulls in the line were still not ready when the Earth forces had begun their new campaign to recapture the bases they had lost to ZAFT, and the writing was on the wall when Zala had refused to orbital drop reinforcements to help the beleaguered ground units hold their territory.

The Supreme Council Chairman had determined that the final decisive campaign would be in outer space, and had adjusted ZAFT's posture accordingly. This put the continued prospects of Project Peak in serious doubt, and it had been expected that the hulls would be scrapped and the materials used in the massive fleet buildup. However, Zala had had an idea that even Creuset would admit was inspired; the _Everest_-class Flying Fortresses would be converted into extraterrestrial battleships. Efforts had immediately been made to clear out ZAFT's Black series of shipyards in order to accommodate this new program; they were the only facilities with the space needed to assemble and modify the gargantuan vessels.

They had been renamed _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts, and it was the namesake vessel of this new class that Creuset was looking at now. The vessel used the _Everest_-class armaments as a base and then significantly expanded them. Accompanying the beam cannons, anti-air guns, anti-air and anti-ship missile launchers were a series of advanced new weapons. Arrayed along the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wings were four M100 Balaena plasma cannons, the same type that was used on the Freedom, fit into turret mounts. The same had also been done with the stolen prototype's MMI-M15 Xiphias rail cannons, with four of the mounted on the vessel as turrets. Attached just above the bridge was another familiar weapon; the Fatum-00 sub-flight lifter used by the Justice. Like the Freedom's weapons it was mounted as a turret, but an operator on the bridge could detach it and use it as a drone. The number of mobile suits the warship could carry remained the same, but rather than DINNs the _Orizaba _and her sister ships would carry 36 GuAIZs and 4 Mirage GINNs.

"Ah, our new flagship," he said softly, "It truly is impressive."

_And just in time_, he thought, _for the battle of Armageddon._

….

Orbiting over the dark side of the Moon, the _Agamemnon_-class carrier _Doolittle_ loomed like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. The flagship of the combined Earth Alliance orbital forces, at least until the _Dominion _was repaired, the warship was one of the oldest vessels in the navy. Despite her age though, she was equal to any other carrier in the fleet, and her reputation was that of a survivor. Though her mobile armor pilots had taken horrific losses over the course of the war, the vessel herself had always lived to fight another day.

Admiral Sutherland fidgeted uneasily in his chair as he looked to his left. In the seat reserved for important dignitaries was none other than Azrael. The scar on the Admiral's right shoulder ached as he remembered how Azrael's goons had shot him and his fellow officers at that meeting after the debacle that was the First Battle of Alaska.

_He couldn't have just watched via live feed from the base_, he fumed, _He had to come out here himself…_

He turned to the carrier's combat controller. "What's the status of the test units?"

"White One and White Two are undergoing final preparations," his subordinate replied, "Estimated time to launch is about one minute."

"Good," said Azrael, "We've waited a long time for this day."

Sutherland nodded. He couldn't argue with that.

Looking up at the main monitor, he gave the two targets of the test one final examination. On the lower half of the screen was a live feed from the surface of the Moon. It showed a series of prefabricated lunar habitat modules spread out over roughly a kilometer. Meanwhile, on the upper half of the monitor was the cylindrical central block of a standard Earth Alliance colony, abandoned and towed out here just for this test.

_If this works_, he thought, _then it will mark the beginning of the end of this war. It all rests on what happens here today._

"Final checks complete!" reported the combat controller, "White One and White Two are on standby!"

Sutherland looked over at Azrael. It rankled him to defer to a civilian on a military operation, but there was no way in hell the head of Blue Cosmos would miss the chance to make the order that would change everything.

Azrael smiled and nodded. "Launch the mobile armors."

**(Start "Gradus Vita")**

Seconds later two Moebius units flew out of the _Doolittle_'s launch bays. Rather than conventional weaponry slung beneath their fuselages, these craft each carried a single missile that was nearly twice as long as the mobile armor itself. The two fighters split up, with one angling high towards the colony core while the other set up for an attack run on the surface target. Sutherland felt a chill go down his spine as the seconds went by, anticipation building as the mobile armors prepared to launch their payloads.

A male voice rang over the radio. "White One, firing!"

Another man's voice followed immediately. "White Two, firing!"

Two trails of blue fire raced from the craft, streaking towards the surface and orbital targets.

The bridge fell silent, the tension palpable as everyone braced for the outcome.

The missiles found their targets simultaneously…

...and released the fury of nuclear fire.

Twin red-orange flowers of atomic rage bloomed for all aboard the _Doolittle _to see. The fierce, burning light of the blasts overwhelmed the ship's visual sensors, and for a moment only white was visible on the monitors. Sutherland found himself holding his breath as everyone waited for things to clear up.

When the light faded the full extent of the destruction was laid bare. The habitat modules on the Moon were _gone_; only a vast expanse of scorched lunar surface remained. As for the target above Luna, twisted and warped bits of metal were the only signs left of the central colony block.

Sutherland breathed a sigh of relief. "Success…"

Azrael grinned. "At last… at long last."

He turned to the Admiral. "I want mass production of the devices to begin at once. Order Strategic Nuclear Command to mobilize our entire arsenal; every last warhead on Earth is to join our stockpiles on Luna and fitted with N-Jammer Cancellers!"

Sutherland nodded. "As you wish, my lord."

"Take us back to Ptolemaeus," Azrael ordered, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "The time has come to begin planning our final assault, Admiral!"

Sutherland smiled. "At once, my lord."

For the first time in a long while, his enthusiasm was genuine. Not since the strike on Junius Seven had he felt like this; the certainty of impending victory. After a year and a half of bitter restraint at the hands of the Coordinators' accursed N-Jammers, they were once again free to bring the mightiest weapons in their arsenal back into the war.

_We finally have it!_

_ The Final Solution to the Coordinator threat. We'll purge them all; cleanse the Earth Sphere with the fire of the atom!_

_ None of them will survive!_

**(End "Gradus Vita")**

….

**August 22****nd****, C.E. 71**

Of all the Defense Lines that made up the PLANT Exclusion Grid, none were more fortified than the one anchored by the fortress Jachin Due. While the asteroid base may have lacked the awesome firepower of the Avalon battle station it made up for it with the largest single dedicated fleet in ZAFT. The Jachin Due Line had numbered nearly a thousand warships prior to the raid on Aprilius One, five times what had been stationed on the Avalon Line and well over twice the force stationed on any other line in the Exclusion Grid. Only the Earth Alliance's Lunar Perimeter Force could match the Jachin Due Line in numbers and firepower. The fleet assigned to the fortress had momentarily shrunk in the wake of the Fall of Avalon as warships had been transferred to fill in the gap in the defenses, but now that new warships and mobile suits were coming online fresh resources had been sent to the Jachin Due Line, and her armada continued to grow with each passing day.

The space around the asteroid base was filled as far as the eye could see with frigates, destroyers, and mobile suits. Those weren't the only defenders of Jachin Due. Several smaller asteroids had also been pulled into positions supporting the base, armed with beam turrets, CIWS, and missile launchers. However, there was one area that was conspicuously empty; a patch of space behind the fortress. Through it the PLANTs were clearly visible, and to an outside observer it would seem like a fatal gap; if an enemy managed to somehow penetrate the Jachin Due Line, it was a straight shot to the colonies.

However, looks could be deceiving, and that was something Special Operations Chief Commander Anton Kupchenko knew very well.

Sitting in one of Jachin Due's lounges, the forty-eight year old ZAFT officer's gaze was fixed on that seemingly empty patch of space as he took a sip from his cup of coffee. Dressed in the white uniform of a Commander or Field Marshal, his middle-aged appearance was hardly an indicator of his formidable prowess on and off the battlefield. His black hair may have been graying, but his steely blue eyes still had the same piercing quality that they had back in his early days. He wasn't just the head of Patrick Zala's Praetorian Guard; he was the leader of its most experienced and feared squadron, Gault Team. Even then though, viewing him as just a veteran pilot and commander would be a huge mistake; the role of a combat pilot was merely one hat the seasoned soldier wore as part of his duties in ZAFT.

A First Generation Coordinator, Kupchenko had gotten his start not in the military, but in engineering. Possessing a keen intellect even by Coordinator standards, he had graduated with a Master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Cambridge at the young age of seventeen. During his stellar academic career his incredible scores combined with his youth had naturally caused his peers to suspect him of being a Coordinator, and shortly after graduation he'd been forced to flee the British Isles altogether due to persecution. He'd moved around Europe for a few years, bouncing from design firm to research lab to stay one step ahead of the anti-Coordinator mobs that never seemed too far behind. Eventually he'd had enough of life on the surface and immigrated to L5.

Kupchenko's talent was instantly recognized in this new, far more accepting environment. The engineer prospered, designing ships for the growing Zodiac Alliance. By the time the organization had been renamed ZAFT Kupchenko was one of its premier scientists and weapons developers. It was during his tenure on the project that gave birth to the GINN that he first entered the cockpit, wanting to test the unit himself in order to better understand it and improve it. Kupchenko's stint as one of the GINN test pilots revealed that he had a knack for flying, reinforced by his impressive knowledge of engineering. From there he began leading two lives; the engineer and the pilot. As relations between Earth and the PLANTs continued to deteriorate Kupchenko redoubled both his piloting training and his research work, improving his skill and creating an array of new weapons at the same time, including the monstrously powerful Avalon battle station.

At the same time he'd begun to curry favor with Patrick Zala. Originally it had been an alliance of convenience, the means for the brilliant engineer to secure greater funding for his projects, but the Bloody Valentine Tragedy changed everything. The wholesale slaughter of nearly a quarter million people by the Alliance had not just been an unspeakable atrocity; it had been an all too brutal reminder of the persecution by Naturals that Kupchenko had thought he'd left behind when departing Earth. Anger and resentment burning in his heart, the engineer decided that he could make a difference not just as a weapons scientist but as a combat pilot as well. Proving his worth in battle against the Alliance orbital forces, Kupchenko secured a rise to power in the frontline ranks that was just as impressive as his ascendancy in the realm of science. When Patrick Zala had issued the order founding the Special Operations Squadrons, Commander Kupchenko was both the first pilot recruited and the organization's Chief. With him he'd brought not just his formidable experience but seven pilots who were proven in skill and loyalty; Gault Team had been born.

Kupchenko had split his time between the drawing board and the front lines, but it was shortly after the incredible breakthrough with the N-Jammer Cancellers that Gault One had been recalled home fulltime to both take part in and guard the construction of an awe inspiring new weapon… the mightiest mankind had dared to build in its bloodstained history.

_My life's greatest undertaking_, he thought as he watched that seemingly empty patch of space, _both building it _and _hiding where it's being built._

The means to veil the construction of the weapon had been as big a challenge as developing the weapon itself. Kupchenko's big breakthrough in that regard had come through combining three key technological marvels; the Mirage Colloid system stolen from the Alliance, nuclear power, and N-Jammer Cancellers.

The device itself would have its own Mirage Colloid system, but the Supreme Council Chairman had demanded that the construction site of the weapon itself be concealed from prying eyes, which was no small feat given the scale of the project. Kupchenko's solution was called the Mirage Net. It consisted of an array of satellites powered by nuclear reactors and mounted with N-Jammer Cancellers and a modified version of the Mirage Colloid cloaking device. Unlike the original version of the stealth system, the emitters on the Mirage Net satellites scattered the Colloid particles across a much wider area rather than just the source of the emissions. However, to accomplish this required a vast amount of power, hence the need for nuclear reactors and N-Jammer Cancellers. Even this wasn't enough for a single satellite or a small number; the Mirage Net was composed of no less than two hundred satellites. The construction and maintenance of the array was exorbitantly expensive; ZAFT could've built _two _Avalon battle stations with the funds that had been spent on the Mirrage Net.

However, both Patrick Zala and Anton Kupchenko believed that the ultimate goal of the project far outweighed financial considerations, and indeed the Mirage Net had proven to be a success. The construction of the new weapon was completely concealed from all forms of scanning, and the ZAFT fleet provided ample cover to ensure that enemy scouts or unwitting civilian ships did not pierce the veil.

The deployment of the Mirage Net may have succeeded in cloaking the construction of the weapon, but it also was a serious navigational problem for the ships that were taking part in the building of said weapon. To overcome this vessels were given very strict routes to adhere to in order to pass through the veil and avoid impacting both satellites and other ships. Upon passing through the cloak communication was limited to strictly tight-beam transmissions to ensure that no errant signals got out. In addition to these measures Kupchenko had ordered additional warships and mobile suit squadrons to be deployed at key points just inside the veil, and any vessel that failed to provide the proper responses to security calls would be blown out of the sky.

From an espionage perspective though, Kupchenko knew that the Mirage Net was not perfect. The project may have been hidden from direct detection, but indirectly it was vulnerable. Redeployments of ships and personnel, massive funneling of resources and construction equipment, the gargantuan flow of funds, the unique flight patterns of vessels just outside the veil and those moving to enter it… there were plenty of ways a keen observer could deduce that something big was happening in that seemingly empty patch of space.

_No doubt that traitor Bristow suspects something, at any rate_, he mused, _That man's not a fool. In another life he would've made a superb spymaster… then again, I suppose he's one now for the renegades. We've damaged his network, but haven't rooted it out completely; the fact that Lacus Clyne can still get broadcasts into the PLANTs is proof enough of that. How much does he know?_

Kupchenko shook his head and took another sip of coffee. That was for Military Intelligence and Secret Service to worry about.

He smiled as he looked out the window again. Construction on the weapon was proceeding on schedule, and no trace of efforts to sabotage it had been discovered. Whatever the extent of Eric Bristow's network of informants and operatives was, its reach fell short of directly affecting Kupchenko's project. He needed only to focus on the continued construction progress and security of the weapon. Everything else would fall into place on its own.

Kupchenko knew that the Earth Alliance forces had broadened their reach in outer space considerably since ZAFT's pullback of the fleets. He imagined that his foes were confident that the strategic situation favored them now. Their numbers were growing at a rate ZAFT could not hope to match, and now they were fielding mass produced mobile suits that were easily superior to the GINN. Earth was now once again a pure Natural stronghold, and resources were flowing with ease to the L2 shipyards and lunar factories. It was obvious that the Earth Alliance was gearing up for its final offensive with every expectation of an overwhelming victory.

"Let them come," he chuckled, his gaze fixed on that patch of space, "It will only play into our hands. We will crush them at the gates and obliterate them with a power they could never dream of. We will have our victory… and our _revenge_."

….

**August 30****th****, C.E. 71**

"This is the Duel," said Yzak as he set up his approach vector, "I've finished my patrol. I'm coming in for landing."

On his screen the flight control officer of his new mother ship, the destroyer _Granin_, nodded. "Acknowledged, Duel. Approach is authorized, vector is clear. Welcome home."

Yzak nodded. "Duel out."

Up ahead he could see the hangar of the blue warship open, and he made the final adjustments to his landing vector. He'd done this so many times now that it had long ago become routine… on a different warship.

_I know we're not supposed to get sentimental about these things_, he thought, _but the Granin… it just reminds me too much of the Vesalius._

After losing the vessel that had been almost his home away from home at L4, Yzak had joined Creuset on board the Patrol Fleet frigate _Mata Hari_. He didn't see much of his commanding officer during the voyage back to the PLANTs, but that was fine by him; the confrontation between the two of them on the _Vesalius _had been far too fresh for pleasantries.

_Flay_, he thought as he entered the _Granin_'s hangar, _where are you now?_

He remembered hearing her voice over an open channel during the battle. Yzak was glad she had not been on the _Vesalius_ when it had gone down, but he had no idea where she was now. The most likely possibility was back with the Earth forces, but for some reason that was little cause for comfort. Sure, it meant that she was safely out of Creuset's hands, but Yzak knew that the masked ace had arranged for her release, and that alone was cause for concern. Whatever the Field Marshal's plans for her were, Yzak highly doubted they had Flay's well being in mind.

Yzak shook his head as the Duel touched down in its berth. "It's not just that. Stop lying to yourself."

_You miss her._

That he did. As much as he may have worried about her during her time with ZAFT, strangely enough spending time with her had also been refreshing. When he got her to talk he got a different perspective, someone who wasn't steeped in ZAFT training or the PLANT way of life. She was a complicated individual, but Yzak realized he didn't actually mind that. Getting to know her as much as he had was actually something he'd liked. Protecting her may have started out as a small measure of atonement for his failure to prevent the massacre at Panama or his colossal error in shooting down that shuttle in the orbital battle, but it had become more than that, and only now that she was beyond his reach did he realize just what it was.

He _cared_ about her. He wanted to protect her not just for the sake of atonement, but because he genuinely _wanted _to keep her safe. He'd grown _fond _of her, _a Natural_, and that was a thought that mere months ago would've been out of the question.

And now the odds were pretty damn good that he'd never see her again.

"Damn it all," he muttered before opening the cockpit.

As he left the machine one of the mechanics waved at him. "Welcome back, sir! Don't worry, we'll have the Duel primed and ready by the time your next flight starts!"

Yzak nodded absently as he made his way towards the exit. He didn't mean any disrespect to the man; he just had too much on his mind to be personable right now.

He'd certainly had too much time to think of late. Things had been quiet since his return from the Battle of Mendel, as the engagement out at L4 had come to be known. Upon their arrival Yzak had been surprised to learn that he'd been granted one week of shore leave in the homeland. He'd lost track of Creuset almost immediately after, and while he was still wary of his former commanding officer he was also relieved to be away from the man for a while.

Yzak had been able to see his mother during his vacation, but it was only briefly. Her duties on the Supreme Council kept her very busy, though she'd still found a little time to catch up with her son. It had been nice but at the same time a little unnerving; with his change in thinking regarding Naturals Yzak realized that he may well be drifting in the opposite direction of her mother. Yzak may not have been a close follower of PLANT politics but he did know that his mother was a strong supporter of the Zala faction, and their hard line stance regarding the war was public knowledge. As he'd talked with her Yzak had found himself wondering just how far she was willing to go to end this war.

Would she condone the massacre that had taken place at Panama? _Had _she approved of it and he just didn't know? Did she simply want to defeat the enemy that threatened their homeland, or did she want to go further? Did she seek the Earth forces surrender… or their utter annihilation?

It was questions like these lingering in the back of his mind that convinced Yzak to pay more attention to politics while he was back home… and he did not like what he was hearing. Public broadcasts by Patrick Zala were a common occurrence, and the Chairman's message seemed to straddle the line between calling for Coordinator dominion over the Earth Sphere and the complete destruction of the Naturals.

_'Completely defeat the Naturals'… that was one of his lines_, Yzak thought as he changed out of his flight suit back into his uniform, _but he didn't specify if he meant force their unconditional surrender… or to just wipe them out._

There was no talk at all about seeking peace negotiations with the Alliance; that sentiment had apparently died with Siegel Clyne. There was no debate at all, for that matter. People were either vocal in their support of the ruling party or completely silent, and the tension in the homeland was growing. It wasn't just fear of a possible assault from the Alliance that had people on edge; they were suspicious of each other.

After returning to duty in the fleet Yzak had realized that same suspicion of supposed comrades was alive in ZAFT as well. People whispered of single ships or whole task forces abandoning ZAFT and making for L3 to join the renegades that now occupied the Orb colonies. The Coordinator forces could not afford defections at a time like this, but the more Yzak thought about it the more he considered that those the hard liners so eagerly labeled 'traitors' might actually have the right idea.

His fight with Aisha back at L4 once again came to mind, her words a stinging indictment against the military he was sworn to serve.

_"The butchery in East Asia that went unpunished, the slaughter of surrendered soldiers at Panama… Zala has taken ZAFT down the path of genocide. We saw that even back during North Africa; his hatred for the Naturals even then knew no bounds. We refused to take part in a campaign of vengeance and murder! That's why we left; that's why we're fighting ZAFT!"_

He shook his head, but was unable to dispel the doubts. In fighting to defend their homeland, their very right to _live_, ZAFT was becoming more and more like the very enemy it wanted to defeat. Patrick Zala may have been elected on his promise to bring the war to a decisive end, but Yzak had to wonder if the people who had voted for him really wanted him to go as far as what had happened at Panama. Securing their survival was one thing; descending to the level of Blue Cosmos was quite another.

_Not much I can do about it from where I am now_, he thought as he entered the ship's mess, _I'm on defense now. I wonder if Creuset had anything to do with that…_

After his shore leave had concluded, Yzak had found himself assigned to the _Granin _as the new destroyer, fresh from trial runs, had made her way to her first deployment in the vanguard of the Home Fleet; the Boaz squadrons. Aside from the Duel the warship carried five GuAIZs, and she was not the only ship in the fleet to be outfitted with the new models. The units may have been more expensive to produce than the GINN, but with the Earth Alliance churning out its new mass production Strike models ZAFT was hard pressed to maintain an edge, and the sophisticated GuAIZ had already proven its superiority to the Naturals' machines in skirmishes.

The fleet supporting Boaz had only continued to grow since Yzak had arrived. He was stunned by the number of vessels currently operating in tandem with the fortress; there were already over two hundred capital ships, and that figure continued to climb day by day.

Warships and mobile suits weren't the only things attackers had to worry about. In addition to her _extremely _durable hide, Boaz was a carrier unto herself, ready to deploy 108 mobile suits at a moment's notice. Aside from that, the fortress herself was heavily armed with concealed weapons. In combat panels disguised as asteroid surface would roll back, revealing beam cannons, missile launchers, and anti-air machine guns. Those armaments were supplemented by a series of much smaller asteroids that had been hollowed out by mining and towed into strategic positions around Boaz. Like the base these smaller asteroids were armed, though they carried no mobile suits. The fortress, the asteroid weapons platforms, and the supporting fleet were more than deserving of their informal title in ZAFT, The Boaz Wall.

_If the Alliance wants to take us out_, he thought as he sat down to eat, _they'll have to go through The Wall first, and there's not a chance in hell we'll let them through._

An amateur might look at the strategic layout and ask why the Earth Alliance forces wouldn't just bypass The Boaz Wall. Why not simply go around, or above, or below, and attack the PLANTs directly? While Yzak didn't consider himself to be a master strategist, he did have a solid grasp of the PLANT defenses and how they could respond to any Alliance attack.

Boaz was strategically positioned at roughly the halfway point between the Moon and L5 along the most direct route to the PLANTs. In addition to her forces elements of the Patrol Fleet operated even further out and were capable of giving ZAFT ample warning if the forces positioned around Luna were preparing to strike. If the enemy chose to take the long way around ZAFT would have more than enough time to redeploy forces to intercept. In the event that the Earth Alliance sent its fleet above or below The Boaz Wall ZAFTs forces would be in the perfect position to catch the enemy in a pincer between the fortress squadrons and the main body of the Home Fleet. Thanks to the Patrol Fleet providing forward recon ZAFT would be more than capable of rushing reinforcements to Boaz in the event that the Earth Alliance decided to swamp The Wall with sheer numbers, which everyone Yzak had talked to was expecting they'd do. Fleet strategists were predicting a grinding fight at the fortress; the clash would begin with both sides' vanguards, and as the battle wore on and both sides reinforced their armadas eventually the bulk of both the Alliance and ZAFT's military might would be involved.

Boaz, if the Defense Council was to be believed, would be the sight of the final decisive battle of the war.

_But what happens after we win it?_

If the enemy surrendered, would it be accepted? If the war was brought to an end with ZAFT in a position of strength, what terms would they give the Alliance? If the demand was for unconditional surrender, would it be accepted, or would the Earth forces fight to the death? Would the Supreme Council seek to simply guarantee the independence of the PLANTs, or would they demand territory on Earth? Would they go _beyond _that?

_Will I be ordered to carry out a massacre?_

_ Will we be ordered to wipe out those who've surrendered… and then turn our guns on the civilians?_

Yzak had no doubt what would happen if the Earth Alliance won. Their intentions had been abundantly clear since the start of the war. It was the actions of _his _side that he could not predict… that he did not _want _to predict.

Once again the image of a certain young woman flashed through his mind. His concerns for billions of innocent people were supplanted by fear for the fate of one girl.

_Flay…_

_ Is ZAFT… going to kill her?_

_ Will _I _be the one… to kill her?_

He slammed his fist on the table, startling the others in the mess but not giving a shit.

"Damn it all!" he hissed.

One thing was for sure; he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.

….

**September 5****th****, C.E. 71**

"Captain Badgiruel," said Flay, "Ptolemaeus Control has approved our approach vector. They're opening the main doors now."

Natarle nodded. "Thank you, Petty Officer Allster."

Watching the girl at her station, Natarle felt a hint of pride in her protégé. She'd come a long way since that day long ago when Kira had recovered her life pod. Now here she was, communications officer for the _Dominion_, coming to the end of her first live run.

Repairs to the black battleship had just been finished the day before, and Natarle had wasted no time in setting up a trial run to ensure that her vessel was fully operational. The vessel still had not been assigned new mobile suits yet to replenish their losses, but Natarle was sure that problem would soon be rectified. They had launched early in the morning and as they were coming in it was now late afternoon. Her crew had performed well, though Natarle wondered if part of that might be due to the simple fact that Azrael was not with them today. When the head of Blue Cosmos had been on the ship in the past Natarle had noticed the man's dampening effect on morale.

_I guess I'm not the only one on this ship who sees him for what he really is_, she mused, _A madman, a murderer, a sadist, a sociopath… all that and more would be quite appropriate for him._

Azrael's absence was not the only welcome one. The sole surviving member of the Biological CPU team that had fought at L4 had been left back at the base under Azrael's orders. Natarle didn't know the details, only that the young man was continuing to undergo training of his own, as he had been since the return from Mendel.

Though the Calamity's pilot made her uncomfortable, at the same time Natarle realized she also felt a bit of pity for him. Both Azrael and other officers treated the young man as though he were nothing more than a tool, one that they despised but needed nonetheless. It was a stark contrast to how Captain Ramius had treated her crew during Natarle's time with her. All had been valued and respected, even outsiders and newcomers like Kira and the other students from Heliopolis. The treatment of Orga by Azrael and his followers served as one more example of the sort of behavior that had ultimately driven Captain Ramius and her crew away from the Alliance.

The more time that passed, Natarle had a clearer understanding of how her friends could leave their country behind. It wasn't just about being set up to die at Alaska, though she was sure that had played a significant role. It was the belief that no one was expendable, that soldiers were more than just pawns in the schemes of politicians, that the lives of civilians were sacrosanct regardless of their birth, and that extremists had to be stopped no matter what flag or ideology they crusaded under.

_Mu_, she thought, resisting the urge to smile, _for all your laxness, your devil-may-care attitude... you understood the true nature of this war, and that of our superiors. You realized what's ultimately at stake here, and had the courage to make your stand against the evil that's corrupted our country. You never hesitated. What I wouldn't give to be as strong as you…_

Natarle knew that her friends would need all the strength they could must to stand against the forces the Earth Alliance would soon be deploying. The trial flight had given her plenty of opportunities to observe the fleets massing over Luna. There had to have been well over a thousand capital ships, and Natarle knew that the _Dominion _had only covered a very small portion of space in her cruise. In addition to the rest of the lunar perimeter Natarle knew that there were also fleets out at L1 and L2, along with the warships docked at Ptolemaeus and other bases on the Moon. More were returning from far flung patrols or being launched from the shipyards every day.

How many warships would be deployed when the time came? Two thousand? Three thousand? Even more? How many mobile suits and armors would such a force be capable of fielding? Natarle couldn't say, but she was certain that Azrael would hold nothing back when he launched his final campaign.

_Numbers alone will not be enough to break ZAFT's defenses_, she thought as the warship entered the gates, _The enemy has always held the technological edge in this war, and that hasn't changed. We may now have our own mobile suits, but ZAFT's new models are better than the Strike-Daggers, and the enemy's pilot corps has more veterans than us; attrition has depleted our ranks of our most experienced fighters._

However, if the rumors she'd heard over the past few weeks were true, it would be more than just conventional weapons that the Earth Alliance would bring to the field in the final clash. Officers and enlisted men and women alike whispered of a secret test that had taken place on the dark side of Luna utilizing technology that had supposedly been stolen from ZAFT. Turning again to look at Flay, Natarle had a suspicion that whatever technology involved in the experiment had been on that data drive Azrael had taken from her upon her arrival on the _Dominion_.

She recalled the gleam in Azrael's eyes that she had seen mere hours after the retreat from L4. They were limping home from a clear defeat, and yet the man looked like someone who had scored a great triumph. Her suspicions had only been compounded the day before when she had encountered Azrael on her way to inspect the fully repaired battleship. He'd been conversing with senior officers and did not seem to notice her, but what Natarle had caught in passing had chilled her to the bone.

_"They'll all join Junius Seven soon enough..."_

"Nukes…" she whispered, "Did they really…"

It was a considerable leap just from overhearing one sentence. Nukes weren't the only thing that could destroy a colony; the savagery of the Battle of Nova and the ruin of the L4 colonies early in the war had been purely due to overwhelming conventional firepower. However, thanks to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy the name Junius Seven was inextricably tied to the use of the most powerful weapons mankind had ever built. Natarle felt she was fully justified in her fears, especially after her country had already proven itself willing to use such weapons against civilians in the past. If the Earth Alliance was now capable of bringing its nuclear arsenal back into the war…

No wonder Azrael was in such a good mood.

_Will the Dominion soon be carrying nuclear missiles?_, she thought, _Will I have to order a strike on the PLANTs?_

She'd gone this whole war without committing criminal acts, but the more she examined her situation the more she realized how untenable it was becoming. The _Dominion _was the pride of the Earth Alliance orbital forces, and there was no doubt in her mind that Azrael would once again make it his flagship. It was not a matter of _if _she would be ordered to commit an atrocity; it was _when_.

And when that time came, her honor and pride as a soldier would be destroyed.

Whether she complied with the order and murdered civilians or refused it and became a traitor, it did not matter. This was what her loyalty to her country had brought her to; the inevitable destruction of herself as a professional soldier. The Alliance would not indict her if she followed through with their commands, but that did not matter; she could try herself in her heart and mind just as well as any rational war crimes court and come to the same conclusion. Refusing the order would preserve the core of her conscience, but it would forever tar her legacy as that of a traitor.

She came from a military family. The honor and pride that came with the uniform, with serving the nation… she had been raised to believe that those were the highest ideals. Obeying the chain of command without hesitation, sacrificing her personal feelings for the mission… that was supposed to be enough. She had stalwartly believed in that throughout the war.

However, her time aboard the _Archangel _and her experiences after had changed her outlook. She now understood just how narrow a mindset she had held, and how it made her so vulnerable to the machinations of monsters like Azrael.

_When they transferred me at Alaska_, she thought bitterly, _they did that because they thought I'd be a useful tool. An obedient, by-the-book officer… and I've done nothing but prove them right. Damn it!_

Now she rued what her faith in her country had brought her. As the _Dominion _moved through the cavernous base towards her berth Natarle saw further signs of the armada that the Earth Alliance would soon unleash upon ZAFT. Dock after dock was filled with warships, all being prepared for the final campaign. Carriers and battleships being loaded with the new mass production mobile suits and stocked with munitions and rations, personnel moving to their newly assigned vessels… it was almost overwhelming, and this was just one of the several bases the Earth Alliance maintained on Luna.

Natarle had to wonder just what proportion of their fleet would be made up of new recruits. How many young and green troops would be thrown into the fire? Did they have _any _idea what they had gotten themselves into? Did any of them realize that their High Command cared _nothing _about them, saw them as nothing more than cannon fodder? Did they have any inkling that their nation's leaders were about to order them to commit _one of the greatest crimes in_ _human history?_

As bad as that was, it was all too easy to think up an even worse scenario; that they _knew _what would be asked of them, and were eager to comply.

Natarle wanted to think the best of her fellow soldiers, to believe that their basic sense of human decency could trump the propaganda the Blue Cosmos-aligned government had doubtlessly been feeding them for who knew how long… but after what she had seen since Alaska, nothing was off the table. Atrocity begot atrocity, and that vicious cycle had only intensified in this war. The leadership of both sides was howling for blood, and it would not be hard for the rank and file to get swept up in the thirst for vengeance.

_Flay_, she thought, _are we alone here? Are you and I the only ones on this ship… the only ones in this entire military… who can see this madness for what it is?_

It was all too easy to believe that was indeed the case.

And it drove her to the brink of despair.

She felt chained to her fate, dragged along and powerless to free herself from the coming nightmare. There was only a faint glimmer of hope, one chance she had to escape the darkness.

_Mu, please…_

_ …save me!_

….

**September 12****th****, C.E. 71**

"So," said Azrael, tapping his finger expectantly on the arm of the chair, "he's doing well?"

On the monitor in front of him Dr. Frick nodded. "His transition from surface to orbital combat has been surprisingly smooth, as was his adaptation to the Strike-Avenger. His performance against the targeted ZAFT patrols and in the new simulations far exceeds the capabilities of our normal soldiers. He is skilled with all of the Strike-Avenger's augmentation packs, and has proven to be an aggressive fighter yet still has an eye for the tactical and strategic picture."

Azrael smiled. "Excellent, doctor. Now, how about his physical condition?"

_You'd better have good news, impudent rat_, he mentally sneered, _Your life depends on it, and Djibril's favor won't protect you from me forever._

Dr. Frick smirked. "Worried about your legacy, Azrael?"

He scowled. "Don't test my patience. You won't live long to regret it."

The doctor chuckled. "Empty threats don't impress me. Why do you insist on playing this game?"

"Out with it!" Azrael snapped, "Or I'll have you killed regardless of Lord Djibril's input. He may be your benefactor, but even his patience has limits, and I would lose nothing from putting you in your grave. Your expertise has been valuable, but there are enough qualified people on the project now that I _can _cut you loose and continue onward."

Frick sighed. "If you insist on the melodrama… physically, the subject is fine. There is no sign of the early tissue degeneration that doomed the others, and this is after extensive combat performance."

Azrael grinned. "There, was that so hard, doctor?"

"Don't assume this means he's in the clear," Frick warned, "This incarnation of your Phantom Commander requires monitoring just as the other subjects did, regardless of his physical condition. It's still possible something could trigger the degeneration. This is not an exact science, Azrael; the ground we're treading here is still very much experimental."

"Yes, yes," Azrael scoffed, "I'm well aware of your concerns, doctor. Now, will he be ready for the final campaign?"

Dr. Frick nodded. "Yes, provided the new augmentation pack for his Strike-Avenger is completed and tested. I understand it's still undergoing fine-tuning with the technicians."

"They'll have it done on time," said Azrael, "He's already performed simulations with it, yes?"

"Indeed," the doctor replied, "His results have been impressive. With that pack he can outfight anything in ZAFT's arsenal."

Azrael grinned. "And that of the renegades'."

"I would not be so sure," the doctor cautioned, "His machine is not nuclear powered, after all."

"It doesn't matter," Azrael sneered, "Those race traitors and abominations can't hope to compete with him, especially with his new weapons!"

Dr. Frick sighed in surrender. "As you say, Lord Azrael."

Azrael nodded. "Continue with preparations for him, doctor. I expect him to be transferred to my flagship before we launch the armada."

"Very well," said the doctor, "I suppose I'll be joining you then?"

Azrael shook his head. "Hardly, doctor. You'll be staying at your lab; you have other projects that require your attention, after all. I want as many Biological CPUs as possible ready for the final battle, and your work on the Second Generation Extended should be more than enough to keep you occupied while the rest of us purge the Coordinators."

_Besides_, he thought, _the last thing I want is to share a warship with that insufferable bastard._

The doctor appeared relieved. "If that will be all, I must get going. There's still much to be done."

"Be sure that it gets done, doctor," said Azrael, "Delays will _not _be tolerated."

He cut the connection before Dr. Frick could reply; Azrael refused to give the insolent scientist the last word.

Immediately afterwards Azrael set his office computer to another frequency. He smiled as the other party showed up on the monitor. "Rear Admiral Bernard. I trust by now the transfer is complete."

The senior officer nodded. "Strategic Nuclear Command reports all warheads have been fitted with N-Jammer Cancellers and shipped to their designated carriers. Exercises for strikes by mobile armors have been going smoothly, and final designation for delivery squadrons is complete. All Moebius units not tasked with nuclear payloads will draw fire from the ones carrying the missiles or will be supporting our mobile suits."

Azrael grinned. "Excellent. What of the new assault mobile armors?"

"The FA-X Juggernaut's limited production continues apace," Bernard replied, "Field tests have gone well, and they gave a solid performance in the skirmishes with the ZAFT fleet. We're allocating some to the vanguard fleet; more will serve with the main armada. They will be potent spearheads, I assure you."

"They'd better," said Azrael, "They were rather pricey… and a project you pushed for heavily, if I do recall. Their performance in this campaign will reflect upon you one way or another, Rear Admiral."

The Rear Admiral's expression hardened. "They will not fail, Lord Azrael. I promise you that."

Azrael nodded. "You'll be held to that. Now, what are the reports from our scouts?"

"As we expected," said Bernard, "ZAFT is heavily reinforcing The Boaz Wall, and their Patrol Fleet is pushing as close to the Lunar Perimeter as they dare. I suspect some of their Mirage GINNs have gotten a good look at our forces, though of course they have no way of knowing how much more we have in store for them inside our bases."

"Of course," said Azrael, "Still, they will know we're coming."

"We were never going to make this a sneak attack, my lord," Bernard replied, "You yourself said as much."

"Oh, I know that," said Azrael, smirking, "I want the freaks at L5 to witness the armada we're going to bring down upon them. By the time the battle begins fear of our overwhelming force will have poisoned their ranks, and that's _before _we unleash our little secret on them at Boaz."

"What of the renegades?" asked Bernard, "What little intelligence we've gathered on them suggests they're massing a fleet of their own at L3."

Azrael shook his head. "It hardly matters at this point in the game. If they're foolish enough to try to stop our attack on L5 our armada will be more than enough to stop them. If they've decided to simply try to defend the last Orb colonies, we'll just crush them after we've cleansed L5. Either way, they cannot hope to survive. Their luck is about to run dry, Rear Admiral, and with it this war will close."

"Very well, my lord," Bernard replied, "Do you have further instructions?"

"Only that you remain on board the _Andrew Jackson_," said Azrael, "With you leading the vanguard fleet I expect swift results when we hit Boaz."

Bernard nodded. "I foresee no difficulties there. ZAFT will be defending against a conventional assault. All we have to do is press their lines until we get an opening to make our strike on the fortress."

Azrael smiled. "Carry on, Rear Admiral. The time to attack will be upon us soon enough."

He cut the connection and typed for a few seconds on the computer. The image on the screen shifted, bringing up an interactive strategic map of the Earth Sphere. Azrael zoomed in on L5, taking in the full strength of the Coordinator forces.

It certainly was an impressive display. Zala's pullback of the offensive fleets combined with the Home Fleet already in place and the new vessels churned out from the PLANT shipyards had resulted in one of the largest concentrations of military firepower ever gathered in one place. The Boaz Wall had been heavily reinforced, and the rest of ZAFT's forces were orienting in that direction. The defenses along that path would only grow thicker when Azrael launched his armada; indeed, he was expecting the entire Coordinator fleet to eventually take the field in the final battle.

"Credit where it's due, even if it's to monsters," he said with a smirk, "Almost five thousand capital ships, even with their losses and defections… Patrick Zala, you have outdone yourself."

He chuckled. "Too bad I have _more_."

Azrael made some adjustments, and the map reoriented itself. Luna was now the center of attention, but also within view were L1 and L2. For quite some time now Azrael had been orchestrating his own pullback of sorts, concentrating the Earth Alliance's offensive and defensive fleets along with new warships from the shipyards at these three points. Very soon they would merge into a single armada.

The largest in human history.

_It's time._

Entering new commands, he watched as the head of the Atlantic Federation High Command appeared on the screen.

"Admiral Sutherland. Begin final mobilization."

….

**September 15****th****, C.E. 71**

Leaning back in the chair, dressed only in a white bathrobe, Eric Bristow looked over at the nearby bed and smiled. There was Shemei, the love of his life, sleeping soundly, the tussled covers baring her dark shoulders, her disheveled hair and satisfied smile evidence of their earlier tryst. The lights were off, and only the glow from the laptop's screen in front of him provided illumination.

He saw the Valkyrie shift slightly and heard her murmur. "Mmmm… come back here, wolfie…"

Eric chuckled quietly at the private nickname she'd coined for him. "I will soon enough, my Egyptian goddess."

Turning back to the computer, his expression became serious as he reviewed the latest update from his network of informants. His eyes narrowed as he studied the intel, and as he reached the conclusion he was confronted by grim certainty.

"So," he said softly, "our reprieve has come to a close. It was inevitable, but still… I thought we had a little more time."

Much as he might wish otherwise, there was no arguing with what he was seeing now. The two superpowers had spent a great deal of time and effort in building up their forces, and now the fruits of that labor were on full display. They were awe-inspiring, breathtaking… and terrifying.

And now, at long last, they were moving.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "We've got our work cut out for us…"

A line from one of his favorite movies came to mind, and he found it quite fitting. Almost without thinking he began to quietly recite it.

"_Where is the horse, and the rider? Where is the horn that was blown? They have passed like rain on the mountains, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the West, behind the hills… into shadow._"

"_How… how did it come to this?_"

He shook his head. The 'how' no longer mattered. They were _here_, _now_, and the fate of the world was riding upon what they did next.

Typing on the keyboard, Eric set up a connection with Waltfeld on a special frequency they had set up for private conversations. After a few minutes he saw he was routed to the laptop in his friend's quarters, and the Desert Tiger appeared on the screen.

Waltfeld smiled. "Hey buddy. Good timing. A few minutes earlier, and… well, you would've been interrupting something important."

Even with the gravity of the situation, Eric had to smile. The dim lighting on Waltfeld's side of the screen was hint enough that his friend and Aisha had just wrapped up the same thing Eric and Shemei had.

"I'm glad you two got to enjoy yourselves," he replied. His expression then became serious. "I'm afraid it may be the last chance you get for a while."

Waltfeld's good eye narrowed. "What's up?"

"I just got word from my contacts in the Patrol Fleet and ZAFT HQ," said Eric, "Deep scouts report that the Earth Alliance is massing its armada at the edge of the Lunar Perimeter. From their rally point it's a straight shot to The Boaz Wall… and if they punch through that, the Jachin Due Line."

"Damn," Waltfeld hissed, "I take it Zala's already moving to counter?"

Eric nodded. "Boaz has already been heavily reinforced, and I expect that to continue. That's not the big news though."

Waltfeld sighed. "Figures. What's going down, Eric?"

"Zala's already moved to Jachin Due," Eric replied, "I think it's safe to say he'll be spending the rest of the war there. Most of the Defense Council's gone with him."

Waltfeld nodded. "Makes sense. Boaz would be right at the front; too dangerous for the Supreme Council Chairman to command from there, even with its defenses. Jachin Due's a good stage for him, and he can always catch a _Nazca_ and move forward if he's sure the battle's swung in his favor."

"Pretty much," said Eric grimly, "but there's still more."

"Isn't there always?" Waltfeld asked wryly.

Eric nodded. "About thirty-six hours ago the Defense Council issued a muster order. A _total _muster order."

Waltfeld leaned back in his chair and gave a soft whistle. "_Damn_. So they're really going to do it…"

"It's already begun," said Eric.

His eyes narrowed. "Zala's marshalling the Grand Fleet."

**Preview for next time!**

_After months of preparation, the curtain rises on the final campaign. The Earth Alliance and ZAFT have amassed armadas unprecedented in all of human history, and the first taste of their power will be displayed in the clash of their vanguards at Boaz. The Three Ships Alliance musters all its strength and departs from L3, with the anticipation of a long, grueling battle. In the opening fight the forces of Azrael and Zala seem at parity, but the Earth forces have an ace in the hole, and are only waiting for the right time to play it. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Eight: Prelude at Boaz._

"_Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." J. Robert Oppenheimer, in turn quoting the Bhagavad Gita._

**Author's notes: **Man, it feels great to finally have this chapter done! Thanks again for bearing with me, I know it was quite the wait to get to this point. I can't make any promises regarding when the next chapter will be done, and all I can ask is for the same patience and support you've all given me throughout this story.

By the way, if you need a refresher on what the original armaments for the _Everest_-class Flying Fortress were, now the base for the _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnought, please refer to Episode Nine: Treacherous Seas.

Until next time!


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Notes: **Hey there, hope everyone's doing ok! This chapter's not nearly as long as the last one was, though I'd still recommend setting aside a bit of free time for it. Anyway, to business. Three songs for this chapter, in order: "It Has To Be This Way" and "The Only Thing I've Ever Known" from the Metal Gear Rising; Revengeance soundtrack, and "Gradus Vita" from the Hellsing Ultimate OVA soundtrack. I know I used that last one in the previous chapter, but I felt it was fitting for a certain scene in this one too.

Usual disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed. I'm just writing this for fun.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Eight: Prelude at Boaz**

**September 16****th****, C.E. 71**

The atmosphere was tense as Heero, Murrue, and La Flaga entered the _Eternal_'s conference room. Looking across the table, Heero saw Waltfeld and Aisha in hushed conversation, and from their body language it seemed the topic was grave. Lacus was already seated with Kira, along with Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla, and the somber looks on their faces did not bode well for the meeting. Cagalli, Athrun, and Erica were present as Orb's delegation, while Shemei and Eric had joined Heero and Murrue from the _Archangel _and were filing into the room behind them. The Wolf of the Far East had not revealed the purpose of the meeting on the way over despite prodding from Murrue and Heero, but his demeanor and that of the Valkyrie's was grim.

Waltfeld nodded in acknowledgement when he saw them enter. "Thanks for coming. I'm sorry we called this meeting so early, but it's too important to put off."

"Please," said Lacus, "be seated."

As Heero, Murrue, and the others settled in Waltfeld turned to Eric and nodded. "You ready to go?"

The former ZAFT Field Marshal nodded as he pulled a data drive from his pocket. "Everything's here."

Without further prompting Eric inserted the drive into a port next to the keyboard at his part of the table. A few inputs later and the holographic projectors in the center of the table sprang to life, bringing up a three dimensional map of the Earth Sphere. Studying the display, Heero saw that L5 and a point between it and the Moon were flashing blue, while Luna was blinking red and L3 green.

"As you all know," said Eric, "for the past few months the Earth Alliance and ZAFT have been focused on massive buildups of their forces in preparation for the final campaign. Last night I just got an update from our intelligence network. Azrael and Zala have decided it's time to get the show on the road; they're massing their fleets. It won't be long until they kick things off."

"Who made the first move?" asked Heero.

"The Alliance," Eric replied, "They started mobilizing their armada four days ago. That triggered Zala's total muster order; the Grand Fleet's preparing for battle."

Heero saw Shemei's jaw drop. "_Holy shit…_"

Murrue looked puzzled. "The Grand Fleet? I'm familiar with some of the designations for ZAFT's full battle fleets, but I've never heard of that one."

"No reason you should've," said Waltfeld, "It's mostly been a theoretical concept until now; we never thought we'd actually see it mobilized."

"What are you talking about?" asked La Flaga.

"As you're well aware," said Eric, "ZAFT's never fought with the bulk of its forces; our offensive operations involved limited fleets and armies. Ever since the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, the majority of our forces have actually been deployed defensively. It was only thanks to our mobile suits and enhanced abilities that we were able to take the initiative in this war, and thanks to their new developments the Earth Alliance has finally neutralized those advantages. Even with big offensives such as Ouroboros and Spit Break we still maintained sizeable reserves and defensive formations."

"The Grand Fleet," said Waltfeld, "is a total mobilization of ZAFT resources for a single operation. There's no reserve, no rearguard deployment; every last resource is gathered and prepared for battle."

A grim silence fell over the conference room. Heero certainly couldn't blame them; the sort of force Eric and Waltfeld were talking about eclipsed any that had ever been deployed in his old world.

And this was just _one _side of the fight.

"How many ships do they have?" asked Heero.

Eric closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them they were dark and somber.

"At last count… about five thousand."

Several people gasped, and Heero felt Murrue tightly grip his hand under the table. The stoic pilot was hard pressed to maintain his cool demeanor; the sheer size of the force was astounding.

_Five thousand ships_, he thought, _Who knows how many mobile suits…_

It was Lan Zhao that summed things up the best. "_Fuck._"

"This doesn't make any sense," said Priscilla, "How could Zala throw every resource into this when the enemy hasn't even launched their fleet yet? If he deploys wrong, the PLANTs will be wide open to assault!"

"Unless he knows exactly what the enemy's strike vector will be, he's setting the civilians up for slaughter!" cried Adaline.

Waltfeld raised his hand. "Calm down. Zala's aggressive, but he's not a fool. He has the Patrol Fleet monitoring the enemy's movements. With the size of the fleet their massing, there's no way Azrael's forces can make a move without ZAFT scouts picking up on it. If the Earth Alliance shifts their attack vector, Zala will be able to counter."

"Besides," said Eric, "with where they're deploying, the Earth Alliance isn't exactly hiding their intended route."

"What do you mean?" asked Cagalli.

"Check this out," Eric replied, typing on the keyboard.

The map shifted again, with the focus zooming in on one point of the Lunar Perimeter. Studying the new display, Heero saw two distinct fleet groups… one considerably larger than the other.

"That staging area," said Athrun, his eyes widening, "it's a straight shot to The Boaz Wall!"

"The Alliance is going for a frontal assault on The Wall?" said Erica incredulously, shaking her head, "They really don't give a damn about their troops…"

"They've split their forces," said Lacus, her gaze fixed intently on the two Earth fleets, "Mister Bristow, why did they do that if they're going to be attacking Boaz head on anyway?"

Eric nodded. "The smaller fleet is the vanguard. They'll engage ZAFT's front line at Boaz first while providing the main fleet valuable intel for when they move to join the fight."

"How large are the two fleets?" asked Heero.

"The vanguard alone is about seven hundred ships strong," said Waltfeld, "and signals intelligence indicates it's under the command of Rear Admiral Bernard."

"What about the main fleet?" asked Murrue, trepidation clear in her voice.

"Almost eighty-three hundred," said Eric grimly.

Heero felt Murrue squeeze his hand under the table again. He couldn't fault her reaction. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the two Earth Alliance fleets hovering over the table.

_Almost nine thousand ships…_

"No way…" said Kira softly.

"Bloody hell…" hissed Shemei.

"It can't be…" said Cagalli, her eyes wide with horror.

Athrun sighed. "We can't beat them. It doesn't matter what force we face; there's no way we can fight them head on."

"Which is why we won't be taking them on like that," said Heero, looking at the Desert Tiger, "Isn't that right, Waltfeld?"

The Field Marshal nodded, smiling at the Gundam pilot. "Quite correct, Heero. Nice to see you're ahead of the pack."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kira.

"Athrun's right that we can't attack either force head on," said Eric, "but so is Heero; that's not the way we'll be engaging the enemy."

"We'll be waiting for them to engage each other before making our move," said Murrue, "That's your plan, isn't it Waltfeld?"

Waltfeld nodded before turning to Heero. "Back at L4, you were the one that said we couldn't stop the Earth Alliance and ZAFT from massing their fleets and launching their final campaign. You were right, and I have no intention of stopping them from engaging in combat."

"Your strategy's to bleed them out," said Heero, "Let their fleets take each other head on while we wait for the right time to strike. When they're tied up with fighting each other they won't be able to coordinate an effective response when we enter the fray."

"Exactly," said Eric, smiling, "the chaos of battle offers us the perfect cover. They'll still know when we take the field; there'll be no hiding that. However, every resource they have available will be occupied with trying to kill each other. That will give us the chance we need to make the decisive moves to shape the outcome of the battle."

"And what would those moves be?" asked Erica.

"It depends on what way the battle goes," said Waltfeld, "There are a lot of factors in play here."

"I think it's pretty clear what way the battle will go," said Lan grimly, "I know the Alliance's advantage in numbers hasn't been a guarantee of victory for them by any means in this war, but now they've got mass production mobile suits, and they're superior to the GINN to boot. Azrael's just going to throw them at The Boaz Wall until it's been ground to dust, and then he'll continue on to the PLANTs and kill everything in sight."

"Don't be so sure," Priscilla cautioned, "Even with their vast numbers and new mobile suits the Earth forces don't necessarily have everything going their way. Attrition's been horrible on their ranks; it's likely that a significant portion of the soldiers they'll be fielding in the coming fight are green. Besides, in our past few battles with ZAFT we've seen them field not just more GuAIZ units but also modified versions of the older models with beam weaponry. ZAFT's taken its share of losses, especially since Wing Zero made its debut, but it can still field an experienced pilot corps."

"Maybe," Adaline chimed in, "but that doesn't diminish the threat posed by the Alliance's mass production Strike models. It's true they don't have Phase Shift Armor like the original, but that means their operational time is significantly increased. Combine that with the new units they fielded at Elysium along with the overwhelming fire support they'll have from the fleet, and… well, ZAFT will be hard pressed to hold the line."

"Hold on a moment," said Shemei, turning towards her lover, "Eric, you said the Alliance would be initiating the fight with the smaller vanguard fleet. If Zala counters with the full Grand Fleet, the vanguard would be wiped out with little effort."

Eric shook his head. "Zala's playing this like Azrael; he won't bring his full force to engage until the forward skirmishes have given him enough intel on the makeup and tactics of the Alliance fleet, and when the enemy decides to commit their main force to the fight."

The Wolf typed on the keypad, and the map shifted to L5 and Boaz. "Zala's massing the main body of the Grand Fleet at Jachin Due, but he's got a sizeable forward force set up at Boaz. It's a little over five hundred ships. The Earth Alliance vanguard force may outnumber them, but they won't be able to breach The Wall right off the bat, especially with the fortress's defenses backing up the ZAFT fleet. They'll get bogged down, and as the fight drags on Azrael and Zala will eventually commit the rest of their forces. Eventually we'll get the opening we need."

"Will we be targeting the leadership?" asked Murrue, "Rear Admiral Bernard's a member of the Atlantic Federation High Command, but so far we haven't confirmed any other major figures from the Alliance and ZAFT as part of the fighting forces."

"Actually we have, Captain Ramius," Eric replied, "Signals intelligence has indicated that Admiral Sutherland will be with the main fleet on board the _Doolittle_, and additional comm traffic intercepts point to Azrael also taking part in the campaign."

"Aboard what ship?" asked La Flaga. The Hawk of Endymion was unusually hesitant with his question, and Heero had a feeling he knew why.

Eric sighed. "This isn't confirmed, but… according to my informants, ZAFT stealth scouts spotted the _Dominion _in lunar orbit. From all appearances she's fully operational again. If Azrael's going to be with the armada, I'm willing to bet he'll be on that ship."

"What about Natarle?" asked Murrue, tightly squeezing Heero's hand under the table, "Is she still commanding the ship?"

"I don't know," Eric replied, "She handled the _Dominion _skillfully during the battle at L4 though; no reason to believe the Alliance would remove her from command of the ship she has the most experience with."

La Flaga startled everyone by slamming his fist on the table. "Damn it! We have to fight her again?"

"I'm sorry, La Flaga," said Waltfeld, "but yes."

_And if Azrael's on her ship_, thought Heero, _just forcing them to withdraw like last time will not be enough. As long as he's alive and in power this war will never end. We _have _to take him down._

A part of the young man, the cool and pragmatic aspect of his being that had earned him the moniker The Perfect Soldier, was willing to say 'so be it'. That side of him was willing to sacrifice Natarle and earn the Hawk of Endymion's hatred if it meant killing Azrael and saving not just Murrue but all of the Cosmic Era.

However, another part of him rebelled against that. It was his humanity, the compassionate side that he had long held deep within his heart, hidden from most but still there, now nurtured and empowered by Murrue. That aspect put the brakes on his cold and calculating combat instincts. After being given the opportunity to experience love in all its wonder, how could he deny a comrade, a _friend_, the chance to do the same just in the name of pragmatism?

An idea formed in the midst of that schism, a compromise born from the clash of ruthlessness and compassion. It was risky… but when had that ever stopped him?

"We'll have to fight her, yes," he said, drawing the attention of the others, "but not kill her."

"Heero?" said Murrue softly, her eyes widening.

"You… you got something in mind?" asked La Flaga, his desperation clear.

Heero nodded. "Meet me after the conference. I'll explain then."

"Heero," said Waltfeld sternly, "if this is going to affect our battle we all need to hear it _now_."

The Gundam pilot shook his head. "It won't adversely affect us. On the contrary; we'll kill one of our worst enemies, and gain a valuable ally. Trust me."

Waltfeld closed his eye for a moment, and when he opened it he smiled. "Well, after what I asked you to do for us back at Avalon, I suppose it'd be a bit hypocritical if I didn't trust you. All right, Heero. Whatever your plan is, we'll support it, and I'll take your word that it won't cause trouble for our battle plan."

Heero nodded. "Thank you."

"Mister Waltfeld, if I may?" Lacus chimed in.

Waltfeld turned to her. "What is it, Miss Clyne?"

"So far we've only discussed the Earth Alliance leadership that will be taking part in the campaign," she said, "However, neutralizing Zala is crucial to our efforts to defeat the radicals in the PLANTs and ending this war, and I've heard no mention of his role in the battle yet."

"Zala and most of the Defense Council will be at Jachin Due," said Eric, "However, there's always the possibility that Zala could move closer to the battle."

"But if he doesn't leave the fortress," said Shemei, "then that makes it much harder to take him out."

Eric nodded. "No arguing there. We've got a backup plan, but it's risky."

"What isn't, these days?" muttered Lan.

"What did you have in mind?" asked Priscilla.

"Even if ZAFT defeats the Earth Alliance forces," said Eric, "their own casualties will inevitably be high, and post battle the fleet will be disorganized and exhausted. That's our opening."

"To do what?" asked Adaline.

Eric turned to Heero. "To destroy Jachin Due. It may be an asteroid fortress, but we've got one weapon that can pierce its armor."

Heero nodded. "In the immediate aftermath of the battle I should be able to make that strike."

"Not alone, you won't," said Murrue with determination, "Even if the enemy's disorganized, the minute they see Wing Zero heading for the fortress they will try to stop you. You're not making that attack without backup."

"Nor would we want him to," Eric replied, smiling, "We can get a strike team organized quickly enough, and from Boaz it's a short hop to L5 proper. We'll make a hard, fast attack and then pull out before they can counter."

"Taking out Zala won't necessarily be the hard part," said Heero, his eyes narrowing, "What's our plan once he's neutralized? He may be the most prominent of the radicals, but he's not the only one of them in a position of power."

"True," said Waltfeld, "but Zala's the one that keeps them united. He's the most charismatic and ruthless of the lot, not counting Creuset. Take him out and it will kick off a power struggle among his top lieutenants. That will give Councilor Canaver and her allies inside the PLANTs the chance to make their move."

"Miss Canaver has been making preparations for this day just as we have," said Lacus, "With Zala and many other of the leading radicals now at Jachin Due and Boaz she has more room to maneuver. When she gets word that the Chairman has been killed or incapacitated the moderates still in the PLANTs will seize power."

"Will the people support her?" asked Murrue, "Whether we like it or not, Patrick Zala's regime was democratically elected, and Councilor Canaver's takeover will be a coup."

"The situation inside the PLANTs has changed dramatically since Siegel Clyne lost his reelection bid," said Eric, "The radicals rule more by fear now than anything else; Miss Clyne's efforts to undermine Zala's popular support have worked wonders, especially since the raid on the capital. Zala knows that his hold over the military is the only thing that's kept him on his lofty perch, and with the recent defections even that's beginning to slip. He sees the coming battle as his big chance to not just destroy the Naturals but permanently cement his rule over L5, but in fact it'll be the moment when he is most vulnerable."

"What about the Earth Alliance?" asked Shemei, "Even if we kill Azrael and the last two members of the Atlantic Federation High Command we don't have any allies from their ranks. Captain Ramius, her crew, and the defectors that have gathered here are all considered traitors by them; we can't expect anyone from their government to ally with them, nor do we know anyone on the inside."

Waltfeld nodded grimly. "That's a weakness in our plan that we're well aware of. Unfortunately we don't really have a means to counter it. All we can do is kill the leadership that shows up at the fight and hope they suffer enough casualties that whoever assumes command will lose all taste for continuing the war."

"There's no sense worrying about it now," said La Flaga, "It's out of our hands. All we can do is fight the enemy in front of us."

Eric nodded. "Well said."

Waltfeld turned to Orb's young ruler. "Cagalli, I'm sorry, but we can't afford to leave any forces behind to defend L3 when we depart for the battlefield. This is an all-or-nothing fight we've got on our hands. We need every ship and mobile suit we can get."

Cagalli nodded. "I understand. Actually, I've been preparing for that."

"How?" asked Athrun.

"Aside from the _Kusanagi_," said Cagalli, "Orb can't really contribute any more warships to the cause. The only other vessel from the _Kusanagi_'s line, the _Izumo_, is under the control of the Sahaku family, and they've kept their military resources at an orbital research facility. I've tried contacting them, but they've refused to lend aid, and there's nothing more I can do on that end without risking a confrontation."

"Will they try to seize power when we leave L3?" asked Heero.

"Doubtful," Erica chimed in, "The Sahakus have always played their own game, but I can't see them sparking an Orb civil war. They want Orb to thrive, perhaps even dominate someday; any efforts to undermine us now would risk their own long-term goals."

"If that's the case," said Murrue, "wouldn't it make more sense for them to send us the _Izumo _and any other military assets at their disposal? If we fail, whichever power wins the final battle will not ignore them forever. It strikes me as in their interest to help us succeed."

Cagalli sighed. "I don't know how their minds work. I tried using that angle, but they wouldn't go for it. They said they had refugees of their own to defend at their station, and that was it. For what it's worth, they're at least not lying about it; father did send evacuation flights to installations besides Eden and Elysium before Orb fell. The Sahakus' station was one of them."

"Bottom line," said Adaline, folding her arms, "it doesn't sound like we can count on them for any help. So if we can't get access to any of their military resources, what preparations did you have in the works?"

"Orb maintains a small fleet of _Marseille III_-class transports," said Cagalli, "We purchased them from the Earth Alliance when they began to discontinue the line in favor of newer ships. In the past we've used them in our efforts to expand asteroid mining beyond L3, but after the attack on Elysium I ordered them all recalled."

"I noticed a few of those ships in the Elysium docks over the past few weeks," said Waltfeld, "I assumed they were just bringing in materials for the Morgenroete factories."

"That was probably their last act in that capacity," said Eric, studying Orb's ruler, "You've converted them into carriers, haven't you?"

Heero was surprised at that announcement, and could tell that Murrue was as well. Neither of them had anticipated Cagalli making a move like that.

Cagalli nodded. "The transports have been refitted to hold two Tauruses and two M1 Astrays each."

"We've also overhauled their engines and given them armaments," said Erica, "Each vessel has CIWs, anti-air and anti-ship missile launchers, and two Valiant linear cannons. However, despite these modifications they're still no match for true frontline warships. Their hull plating's nowhere near as strong as battleship armor, and even with the engine overhauls they're still cumbersome."

"At this point it doesn't matter," said La Flaga, "We need all the help we can get. The _Marseille III_-class might be old, but it works just fine as a makeshift carrier. I'd know; one of those brought me to Heliopolis. Man, that feels like a lifetime ago…"

"Are the refits complete on all the ships?" asked Murrue.

"Yes," Cagalli replied, "and they're all stocked with supplies, munitions, and mobile suits. They're ready to deploy at any time."

"I'll adjust our deployments accordingly," said Waltfeld, stroking his chin in thought, "With the forces we've gathered here we should be able to give them an escort. Won't guarantee their survival, but it'll help a little bit. If nothing else those Valiant cannons and anti-ship missiles will make them decent artillery platforms."

"It's a good thing they're ready," said Eric, looking around the table, "We're not sticking around here much longer. It's just a matter of days now until Azrael launches his armada."

"When do we deploy?" asked Heero.

"We launch in forty-eight hours," said Waltfeld, "ZAFT long range patrols are focused on monitoring the Alliance fleet, so it won't be too difficult for us to enter enemy territory. We'll take up position just outside the outer patrol zone of The Boaz Wall. That will put us close enough to the fight to make our move when the opportunity presents itself but out of range of enemy attack. Any questions?"

Kira raised his hand. "Just one. What do we do if the Alliance breaches The Boaz Wall before ZAFT can reinforce it?"

Waltfeld sighed. "If that happens… we'll have to redeploy. The battle will shift to the Jachin Due Line, which means Azrael will be that much closer to striking the colonies. No matter what happens, we can't let him breach the final defenses. Any fight at the Line puts the civilians in grave danger."

"But it will also put Zala within our grasp," said Shemei, "All we'll need to do then is cover Heero while he takes the fucker out."

"If the battle gets that close to the PLANTs," said Heero carefully, "my priority will be to prevent civilian casualties. I'll take a shot at Jachin Due only if I won't be leaving an opening for the Earth Alliance to attack the colonies in the process."

"Hold on!" Athrun interjected, "You're all talking like there's no choice _but _to kill the Chairman! What if… what if we can get him to surrender?"

"You mean what if _you _can talk him down?" asked Aisha pointedly.

Athrun sighed. "I just… I think we're being too quick to consider assassinating him the only option."

"Assassinate or capture," said Priscilla.

"Come on, Pris," said Lan, "What do you think the odds are we can take him alive?"

"Not very high," Adaline deadpanned.

"Athrun," said Eric grimly, "I know he's your father, and I understand what you want to do, but… it's not going to happen. Patrick Zala is well past the point of no return."

"You can't say that for sure!" said Kira, coming to his friend's defense, "Not without even trying to talk to him!"

Eric shot Kira an icy glare, and the boy from Heliopolis recoiled. "What do you think I was doing when I was on the Defense Council? It sure as hell wasn't staying silent while he gave his forces carte blanche to commit _war crimes_!"

"Eric," said Shemei softly, laying her hand on his arm.

The Wolf of the Far East took a deep breath to calm himself before looking at Kira again. "I'm sorry. Look, Kira, Athrun… I've spent more time with Zala during this war than either of you; I've seen firsthand how far he's fallen. Whoever he was before this war, that man is gone. All that he is now is a murderer driven by vengeance. Whether by capture or lethal action, he _has _to be taken down… and under the circumstances, the latter is by far the more likely scenario."

"So you won't even let me _try _to talk to him?" asked Athrun desperately.

"Athrun…" said Cagalli, looking at him with concern and sympathy.

"It's unlikely you'll get the chance," Murrue cut in, "Whether it unfolds at Boaz or Jachin Due, this is going to be the largest battle in the history of humanity, and it will have the highest possible stakes. Do you really think you'll be able to afford time to talk to him with so much on the line, and with both sides trying to kill you?"

Athrun looked down. "I… I can't just…"

"You can't save him," said Heero, causing everyone else to look at him, "Bristow is right, Athrun; your father is too far gone. It's understandable why you feel otherwise, but you have to face the facts. Patrick Zala has devoted himself to nothing less than the extermination of the Naturals and his complete dominion over the Earth Sphere. He would murder everyone you care for and billions of innocent people without hesitation. By now I'm willing to bet he'd sooner _kill you_ than speak to you. You're not going to pull him back, Athrun; no one can. Patrick Zala _has to die_."

Athrun sighed in defeat. "Damn it…"

"I'm sorry, Athrun," said Lacus softly.

The former ZAFT ace nodded numbly.

After a moment of silence Waltfeld spoke. "We all know what needs to be done and what is at stake here. The time for second thoughts is over. If we are not fully committed to this fight, none of us will survive."

Murrue nodded. "I believe I speak for everyone on board the _Archangel _when I say that we are prepared to see this through to whatever end."

She turned to Heero and smiled at him while squeezing his hand under the table.

Heero gave her a small smile of his own before turning to the rest of the table and nodding. "I know I'm not from this world, but I consider it _my _world now. No matter what happens, I _will _save it."

_And _you_, Murrue_, he silently added.

Waltfeld bowed his head. "You have my thanks. When this is all over, Heero, the drinks are on me."

"I'll hold you to that," Heero replied, "So stay alive."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Yeah. You too."

"Heero and Captain Ramius aren't the only ones," said Cagalli, a determined smile on her face, "It was my father's dream to build a world where peaceful coexistence between Coordinators and Natural's was a reality. Orb will do everything in its power to honor that legacy. We'll fight until the very end."

Lacus smiled. "Cagalli, your father's dream was also my father's dream. I believe I'm safe in saying that it is the dream of everyone here, all who have joined our cause, and so many good people in this world. No matter what happens, we won't let the Earth Alliance and ZAFT destroy it."

"Damn right we won't!" cheered Lan.

"We've come too far to fail now," said Priscilla, smiling.

Adaline chuckled. "What can we say? We're suckers for a good fight. Isn't that right, Commander?"

Shemei laughed. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

She turned to her lover and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, Eric? Should we get this show on the road?"

Eric nodded and smiled. "Yeah. It's time."

"All right then," said Waltfeld, "As of this moment, all shore leaves are cancelled. Every ship and mobile suit is to be prepared for battle. Cagalli, I want you to send word to the Eden colony to dispatch all the forces that have gathered there since the defections began. They're to rendezvous with us here in no more than forty-eight hours."

Cagalli nodded. "I'll do that as soon as we're done here."

"Ok, everyone," said Waltfeld, "move out."

….

As they left the _Eternal_ Heero, Murrue, La Flaga, Shemei, and Eric all headed towards the dock where the _Archangel _was stationed. However, as soon as they had put some distance between themselves and the ZAFT cruiser the Hawk of Endymion put his hand on Heero's shoulder.

"Hey," said La Flaga, "that idea you mentioned during the meeting… about Natarle and the _Dominion_. Let's hear it."

Heero stopped and the others followed suit. "I hadn't forgotten. I just wanted to wait until we'd gotten everything else taken care of back there."

"Well, now's as good a time as any," said Murrue, "Care to tell us your plan?"

"I'm curious too," said Shemei, "I mean, you're talking about saving the Captain of what's most likely going to be Azrael's flagship. No offense Heero, but that's a tall order even for you."

"She's right," said Eric, "especially in the middle of what's no doubt going to be one hell of a battle. I have the utmost respect for your skills, Heero, but I'm having a hard time seeing how you're going to pull this off."

"I know it sounds like a long shot," Heero replied, "but there is a way to do it."

Murrue and the others listened intently as he described what he had in mind. When he finished she had to shake her head at what he had laid out. It was audacious, reckless… and so utterly Heero.

She sighed. "I can't believe we're considering this…"

Eric chuckled. "I've heard some crazy plans in my time, but this one… _damn_."

Shemei smirked. "No kidding. Were all the Gundam pilots of your world so bold, Heero?"

"Yes," Heero replied bluntly.

"Why am I not surprised?" asked Murrue, smiling wryly.

La Flaga smiled as well. "It sounds like something I'd come up with. Heero, you really are something else, you know that?"

"So I've heard," said Heero, "I also know that I can't do this alone. Are you in, La Flaga?"

The Hawk of Endymion nodded in determination. "If you're willing to do this to save Natarle, then hell yes."

The Gundam pilot turned to the _Archangel_'s Captain. "Murrue?"

She smiled again, this one genuine. "Yes, Heero. She may be on the other side, but Natarle's still our friend, and I know she's not the kind of person who would agree with Azrael's goals. I'll back you up the best I can."

Heero nodded. "Thank you. La Flaga and I will also need a few things from the _Archangel_'s armory."

"Take whatever you need," Murrue replied.

"What about us?" asked Eric, gesturing between himself and the Valkyrie, "Any way we can help?"

"I'd appreciate it if you continued to defend the _Archangel_, Bristow," said Heero, "As for Shemei… La Flaga and I could use some cover fire from the Valkyrie Team."

Shemei grinned. "You got it, Heero. Just let us know when you're ready to launch this little operation, and we'll be right behind you."

"All right," Heero replied.

Murrue grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's get back to the _Archangel_. We've got a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it."

While Murrue knew they had two days to get ready for launch, she was all too aware that the time would go by far too quickly. She wasn't worried about having her ship ready to go on time; she'd kept the _Archangel _ready for action at a moment's notice. It was the tremendous undertaking before them that her fears were centered on, as well they should be.

_The largest fleets in the history of the Cosmic Era_, she thought as they approached the ship, _So much riding on the outcome of this fight. I know our plan's to hang back while the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces pummel each other until the time's right to make our move, but if I've learned anything over the course of our travels it's that no plan survives contact with the enemy._

Murrue's feelings on Heero's plan to save Natarle were mixed. Her desire to save her friend and the woman La Flaga loved was genuine, but at the same time she could not deny the risks involved. Heero and La Flaga would be making a huge gamble with their lives in this plan, and there was one variable that could scuttle it all; the very person they wanted to save.

Murrue knew just how strong Natarle's sense of duty was, and the final bit of Heero's plan hinged on her being willing to commit treason. Would her conscience and her love of La Flaga be enough to overcome that ingrained loyalty to her country and superiors? Could she defy Azrael and the High Command?

There was just no way to know for sure. All Murrue could do was trust that Heero knew what he was doing, and that when the critical moment came La Flaga could win not just Natarle's heart but her loyalty. It all came down to what she believed was truly worthy of her allegiance; the nation that she had sworn to serve regardless of the path it went down, or the man who would risk everything to pull her back from the brink. Whether Natarle knew it or not, her fate would be in her hands.

As for Azrael… there was no doubt in Murrue's mind what his fate would be.

It would be sealed the instant Heero got him in his sights.

….

**September 17****th****, C.E. 71**

At the rearward observation deck of Jachin Due, Field Marshal Creuset folded his arms as he looked out at a certain point of space behind the fortress. "So its Mirage Colloid system is online now."

To his left Anton Kupchenko nodded. "We withdrew the Mirage Net about a week and a half ago."

"And you're sure we can't utilize those satellites for the coming fight?" said Patrick Zala from Creuset's left.

Kupchenko regretfully shook his head. "The Mirage Net is of limited use. For hiding clandestine projects like this, it's perfect. However, it's time consuming to deploy and can only cover so much space. We could hide some squadrons of warships and mobile suits in it for an ambush, but the element of surprise would be lost the instant they opened fire."

"Why not use it to hide Jachin Due or Boaz?" asked Creuset, "That would be useful as a psychological ploy."

"Only for a short time," Kupchenko replied, "The enemy would realize by the actions of our forces what the deception is, and we can hardly convince them the fortresses were moved. The enemy would be aware that towing such massive objects is incredibly difficult and a slow process and that it would serve us no strategic purpose for the bases to not be in the positions they've occupied for so much of this war. Cloaking Boaz or Jachin Due would only temporarily mess with their heads. Don't forget it was the Earth Alliance that pioneered Mirage Colloid technology; they'd figure out their own trick was being used against them."

"It doesn't matter at this point," Zala interjected, "The time for stealth and gimmicks is almost over. We need keep the weapon concealed until it's ready for its first shot. Besides, the Mirage Net may prove useful for other endeavors after this war, and was incredibly costly to develop; best to keep it out of harm's way for now."

"It's a pity we need to keep it concealed for now," Creuset mused aloud, "GENESIS certainly is an imposing sight behind the veil."

Kupchenko chuckled. "We'll get to reveal her in all her glory soon enough. The Naturals won't know what hit them."

Zala smiled. "First we denied them their greatest source of power, and now we've turned it against them. A fitting vengeance for Junius Seven and every other atrocity the barbarians have wrought upon us in this war."

Creuset stifled a smirk.

_ Barbarians? You're one to talk, Chairman. As crude and vicious as Azrael… and like him, you're little more than a puppet._

Kupchenko turned to Creuset. "I understand you were finally able to take the Providence out for trial runs. How did it perform?"

Creuset smiled. "Extraordinarily well. The data provided from the GuAIZ Lancer was the final bit of the puzzle needed to perfect the software for controlling the DRAGOON System. It is still challenging to wield all the drones at maximum efficiency, but I am not exaggerating when I say that I have achieved mastery. All those simulations paid off, and I was able to unleash Providence's true potential in the live fire runs."

"As I had anticipated," said Zala, "I knew you would be able to master that machine. You'll make a fine ace in the hole for the final battle."

Creuset inwardly fumed at the idea that _he_ was the Chairman's weapon, but held his composure. Zala's arrogance continued to blind him to who was _really _calling the shots. It would be _very _satisfying to watch that pride shatter when the truth was finally revealed.

Maintaining his civil veneer, he gave the Chairman a slight bow. "I'm honored by your praise, Chairman Zala."

The three of them stared out the window for a moment in silence before Kupchenko spoke. "Providence is not the only unit that's finally come to fruition. I hear that the Galm Team was granted the machines from Projects Knight and Witch."

Zala nodded. "They've performed very well in both simulations and live fire exercises. With the Galahad and Morgan, Galm Team will be invincible."

"It seems a waste to hold them back for the defense of GENESIS," said Creuset, "Would it not be better for them to be thrown into the thickest part of the action? The Earth Alliance has nothing in their arsenal that can stand against them."

Zala shook his head. "No. We've worked too hard to complete this weapon, and I will risk _nothing _with it."

"With all due respect, Chairman," said Kupchenko cautiously, "You're already holding back Gault, Sorcerer, and Wizard Squadrons in defense of GENESIS, and the weapon is protected by multiple layers of Phase Shift Armor. Surely Galm Team isn't needed to supplement those safeguards."

Zala's eyes narrowed as he studied the seemingly empty patch of space where the weapon was positioned. "Avalon was thought to be invulnerable, but we learned the hard way that it was not. I will not leave any opening for Wing Zero this time."

Creuset had to suppress a chuckle. So the Chairman had finally stopped underestimating Heero Yuy. Too bad it had taken him so long to learn that lesson.

_You should be honored, my enigmatic and unpredictable adversary. The Chairman is holding his best squadrons in reserve just because of you. High praise, and you've certainly proven yourself worthy of it. _

"What about Gelb Squadron?" asked Kupchenko, "I understand they've been outfitted with the two GuAIZ Advanced Experimental Heavyarms units, and that they're still stationed here at Jachin Due. Will we be holding them back as well?"

"They may be just a two-man team," Creuset chimed in, "but like Galm, they are formidable. All the more so now that they have those prototypes."

"We shall see," Zala replied, "For now they will act as part of Jachin Due's guard, but I may see fit to send them forward to The Boaz Wall depending on how the battle unfolds there. With their new machines they would be able to make good time in travel from here to the front."

Kupchenko turned to Creuset. "I understand you had your protégé stationed at Boaz. Are you hoping his performance there will boost your profile, or are you merely trying to get rid of him? Rumor has it you two had a bit of a falling out after the battle at L4."

Creuset shook his head. "I never considered Yzak to be my protégé, merely a gifted subordinate. As for this 'falling out' you speak of, I wouldn't put it as such. We simply have a few differences of opinion."

"Those 'differences' can be dangerous in these times," Zala growled, glaring at Creuset, "Perhaps Ezalia's son is questioning his position. If he is a threat, Creuset, we had best deal with him now."

"I don't think that will be necessary," said Creuset, smiling, "Yzak may be having second thoughts, but he's not about to turn traitor. His devotion to his mother and ZAFT is too strong for that. With the Earth Alliance about to launch its offensive against Boaz, Yzak won't be able to bring himself to do anything to weaken ZAFT. The defense of the homeland will come first for him, and his skills as the pilot of the Duel continue to be an asset for us. I say we let him slake his need for a just fight with the impending clash with the Earth forces. If after the battle his doubts continue to grow, we can eliminate him then…if the Alliance doesn't take care of that for us."

"Would Ezalia stand by while we made a move against her son?" asked Kupchenko, "I know she's been a loyal supporter, but that could prove to be too much."

Zala shook his head. "Hardly. Ezalia's loyalty to our cause is beyond question. If her son was a threat she would sacrifice him without hesitation. For her, duty to ZAFT and dealing with the Natural threat are above all else; motherly affection has no place in her political life."

"What about Councilor Elsman?" said Creuset, "Decrypted comm intercepts from the Fall of Avalon, the clash at L4, and the renegades' rescue of Task Force 9.3 confirm that his son is indeed flying the Buster on their behalf. I know we've had him under watch, but with the final confrontation fast approaching perhaps we should take steps to neutralize him as a potential threat."

"There's no need for that," Zala replied with a confident smile, "Elsman is a career politician, and not prone to risking his neck. He's had no contact with his son since Dearka went missing in the Marshall Islands and has not made any efforts to reach out to members of the moderate faction. Elsman's merely acting to ensure his survival both in this war and beyond. So long as he acts in that manner he'll continue to be useful to us."

"Should we eliminate Councilor Canaver?" asked Kupchenko, "We know she was one of Clyne's strongest supporters."

"We can't yet," Zala growled, "She enjoys strong support in the September City colonies and other parts of the PLANTs. Her removal would cause major unrest, all the more so considering we do not have concrete proof that she's had any contact with the renegades or known sympathizers."

"We can deal with her after the war," said Creuset, "Any internal dissent caused by her removal then can be easily crushed."

Zala nodded. "Once the final battle is done, our power will be absolute. With our external foes crushed once and for all we will finally be able to completely clean house. A little internal struggle will be inevitable, but with the Naturals finally dealt with we won't need to worry about external forces taking advantage of our division."

Creuset took no small amusement in hearing Zala voice his plans for after the war.

_If only you knew, Chairman… there will be _no _'after' for you._

_ Or the rest of humanity, for that matter._

….

A satisfied smile on her face, Murrue reached over to caress Heero's cheek as her boyfriend pulled the sheets over the two of them. She settled in at his side, her body snuggled up tightly to his, resting her head on his right shoulder, the two lovers basking in the lingering heat of their earlier shared intimacy.

"That never gets old," she said as she leaned over to kiss him.

The Gundam pilot gave her a small smile as their lips parted. "Got that right."

'Night', or what passed for it in Elysium, had finally on the colony and the _Archangel_. Every possible measure had been taken to prepare for the departure that was coming the following morning. The white warship and her crew were as ready as they were ever going to be, and after sharing their evening meal Murrue and Heero had retired to their quarters to check off, as the latter had put it, "the final item on our to-do list."

They laid there in silence for a moment, content just to have each other, to hold the one they loved close to them while time would still allow. Tomorrow they would launch their final campaign, their last effort to stop the most powerful militaries the world had ever known from committing unspeakable atrocities. So much was on the line, but the strength they drew from each other would allow them to rise to the occasion.

Her hand still on his cheek, Murrue broke the silence. "This past month and a half, the time we've spent in this colony… it's gone by all too quickly. I know things were grave when we arrived here, helping the people recover from the battle, but after that… it almost felt like a dream."

Heero nodded. "I know what you mean. The concert, the date you gave me, the time we spent together here… even though it was in the midst of this war, it felt like _peace_. It felt like we had finally gotten away from the battlefield. There wasn't a fight around every corner, a battle to rush into, or an enemy to defeat here and now. We were helping this colony, protecting it, but we weren't _fighting_."

Murrue kissed his cheek. "It may have been the illusion of peace, but it felt so _real_. I never wanted it to end."

"Same here," Heero replied, "Still… we both knew it wouldn't last forever."

He reached over to brush a few strands of hair out of her face, and he gave her a small smile. "It was enough, Murrue. We had our leave, our temporary escape from the fighting, but as long as the Alliance and ZAFT are threatening genocide we cannot truly leave this conflict behind. We _have _to see it through to the end."

Murrue gently grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips. "Yes," she said softly, "It's our responsibility to stop them. We may not be at fault for the direction that they have gone in, but we have the power to counter them, and with that power comes an _obligation_. How could we as people with any sense of decency stand by and allow them to bring about such a bloodbath? We never wanted this fight, but it's a fight we _must _take on. As long as they threaten the lives of those we care about and countless innocents, it's our duty to stand against them."

She saw Heero close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again she saw a determined look in them. "We're soldiers without a country, our duty not to a flag but to humanity and our hearts, going up against the most powerful fleets ever assembled by any nation… history will turn on our actions, and we _have _to make sure it takes the right path."

Murrue nodded. "There's too much riding on this. _Everything _is riding on this."

A shiver went through her as she thought of what would happen if they failed. Her fate, Heero's, that of their friends, of countless innocents…

"Heero," she said softly, "I'm… I'm afraid. More than I've ever been in my life."

Heero nodded as he raised his hand to gently caress her cheek. "Murrue… so am I."

Her eyes widened; she hadn't expected him to say something like that.

"Heero…"

"The last time I felt something like this," he said, "was at Alaska. When the Duel was about to fire on the _Archangel_'s bridge… I'd never been so scared in my life. Now we're about to go into a battle that's far beyond Operation Spitbreak… beyond any I've ever experienced before. Even that final clash at the _Libra _in my old world can't compare to this."

That was a startling admission. Heero had shown her combat footage and data from the epic clash that had brought the Eve Wars to a close. Murrue had been astounded at what her boyfriend had gone through, what he had survived. Now he was telling her that the final battle of his old war paled in comparison to what they would be flying into all too soon…

"Towards the end of my old war," he continued, "I learned to finally to truly fear death, and with that I found my will to survive. That fear, though… it's tiny compared to the fear I have for _you_, Murrue. If something happened to you… it's selfish with everything that's at stake here, but the thought of losing you scares me more than anything else."

Murrue held him tightly. "I feel the same way. I know that billions of lives are riding on the coming battle, but… yours matters more to me than all the rest combined. I… _I can't lose you, Heero!_"

"You _won't_, Murrue," Heero replied, his voice firm and resolute, "That fear I told you about is what's been driving me so hard in our battles. I won't let myself fall and leave you to despair and suffering, and I _refuse _to let anything happen to you! We both have the strength to face that fear and use it as motivation, to overcome it and fight with everything we've got. We've _proved _that in all our battles before, and we'll do the same in _this one_. _We will survive, Murrue!_"

Murrue smiled. There it was again; that calm confidence, that cool yet resounding strength, that awe inspiring sheer force of will that she so admired about him. That drive to face his fears head on and power right through them, and his selfless lending of that incredible courage to her when she needed it most.

"Yes," she replied, "We _will _survive… and we _will _win! And when it's all over, we'll go back to Orb together. When it's all over… we can truly begin our new life together."

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile. "Orb… I'd like that. Although… I'm not sure what I'd do there. I only knew peace for about a month in my old world before I wound up here… it's not something I'm used to."

"I know, Heero," said Murrue, "Don't worry; I'll be your guide. You won't be set adrift like you were at the end of your last war, I promise. I'll help you find your new path… _our _new path."

"Thank you," he replied.

"Anytime," said Murrue.

She leaned over for a firm and deep kiss. When their lips eventually parted she ran her hand through his thick brown hair and smiled.

"I love you, Heero Yuy."

The Gundam pilot responded by pulling her back in for another kiss.

"I love you too, Murrue Ramius."

….

**September 18****th****, C.E. 71**

The _Archangel_'s bridge was alive with activity as the crew ran through the final launch checks. In his customary place besides Murrue's chair, Heero surveyed it all with quiet pride.

He glanced over at the beautiful Captain as she readied her ship for takeoff. She had gone from a Lieutenant suddenly burdened with command of the new battleship in a time of crisis to a confident commanding officer. She had inspired her crew to take up a fight against impossible odds and had demonstrated an unwavering commitment to their well-being, a steadfast determination to see them through their harrowing journey in one piece. Over the course of their travels she had forged them into perhaps the best crew Heero had ever seen, and had done so against odds and adversaries that would have broken a lesser commander.

_They're ready_, he thought with satisfaction, _and it's because of _you_, Murrue. You gave them confidence, purpose, a _reason _to fight. They'll be able to face whatever the Earth Alliance and ZAFT throws at them. You couldn't ask for a finer crew, and they would never find a better Captain._

_ I'm so proud of you._

She turned to him, and he knew he'd been caught starring. He didn't look away, instead just giving her a small, confident smile and a firm nod. She readily returned both gestures, an unspoken sentiment passing between the two of them.

_We're ready._

The _Archangel _was fully stocked. Not only had her supplies and munitions been completely replenished, but now her hangar was filled almost to max capacity. In addition to Wing Zero, Tallgeese Kai, Buster, Judgment, Werewolf, and the three M1 Astrays, Murrue had requested new units from the Morgenroete factories in the colony, and Cagalli had delivered. Joining the warship's complement the day before were three Orb versions of a suit that was very familiar to Heero; the OZ-12SMS Taurus. Sporting the same white, black, and red color scheme as the M1 Astray, the units would be joining Wolf Team and the Buster as the _Archangel_'s escort. Heero and Murrue had had only a brief amount of time to evaluate their pilots, but their dossiers showed their records and skills to be solid.

Turning back to the bridge, they saw Lieutenant Tsukino looking up at Murrue. "Final checks complete, ma'am."

Murrue nodded. "Do we have clearance from Elysium Control?"

"All other ships have left the colony," she replied, "We're the last one, and our departure path is clear."

Murrue turned to Neumann. "Helm, take us out."

"Aye, Captain," the helmsman replied.

There was a familiar _thrum _and a gentle rumble as the warship's powerful engines came to life. The white battleship slowly began to pull out of her berth.

Heero saw Murrue turn to him again. "Wing Zero is ready?"

Heero nodded. "Ammo's replenished and all systems are green. I'll do more checks before we arrive."

Murrue smiled. "Glad to hear it. Chief Murdoch's already wrapped up maintenance on the rest of the machines. No problems on his end."

"Good," Heero replied.

Clearing its berth, the _Archangel _proceeded to make her way through the docks towards the colony exit. The damage suffered in the Battle of Elysium had been repaired quite a while ago, but Heero knew that only the colony's physical scars had been mended. The memory of the slaughter of so many innocents would haunt it for years to come, perhaps for the rest of the colony's life.

It was just one more source of motivation for the Gundam pilot and his allies. They weren't just fighting for each other; they were determined to make sure that not one more civilian population had to suffer the same way the refugees inside Elysium had. The dead could not be brought back, but Heero swore to himself that they _would _be given justice.

_Azrael_, he thought, his gaze fixed determinedly ahead, _we're coming for you. One way or another, you _will _answer for your crimes!_

Out the main viewport he saw the repaired main gate of the colony open, and the _Archangel _passed through the portal. Once she was clear of the colony the white warship picked up speed, moving to take its place in the assembled fleet.

_We started with three ships_, he thought as he surveyed the vessels around them, _We've come a long way…_

He saw the converted _Marseille III-_class freighters, _Drake_-class escort ships, _Nelson_-class battleships, _Laurasia_-class frigates, _Nazca_-class destroyers, the _Eternal _and the _Kusanagi_…

A force of nearly four hundred capital ships.

"Not much when compared to what we're up against," he heard Murrue say. He turned to face her and saw her smiling again. "Still, it definitely beats what we've fielded in the past."

Heero nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. "We're not alone in the fight anymore. We'll lead, and they'll follow."

Murrue nodded. "You'll be the spearhead again, Heero. The tip of the blade that we drive into the hearts of the Alliance and ZAFT. You'll be the one they'll be the most desperate to kill, and we'll be backing you up with everything we've got."

Heero gave her a small smirk. "The one they're the most desperate to kill… just like old times."

"You may be no stranger to such battles," said Murrue, "but our new allies… they've never confronted anything approaching this before."

"But they had the courage to take up this fight," said Heero, "They united under our banner, and it's our responsibility to live up to the faith they've placed in us."

"Yes," said Murrue, smiling, "especially you."

He gave her a puzzled look, and she elaborated. "Bristow told me something interesting during our final preparations. He's been keeping an eye on morale among our forces, especially our new allies. Given the situation, he said that it was unusually high, and it wasn't just due to Lacus and Waltfeld's efforts. They know that they're fighting alongside the greatest soldier this world, _any _world, has ever known; _you_."

Heero shook his head. "Murrue, I wouldn't…"

She stopped him with a wink and a finger raised to his lips. "Don't go there, Heero. I know you don't let your skills go to your head, and you have a very humble opinion of yourself. I love that about you, but I'm not going to let you use that to avoid the truth. Whether you like it or not, everyone here acknowledges _you _as the best pilot in our alliance, if not the best in the whole Cosmic Era. The respect you command thanks to your skills and the power of Wing Zero is _real_, Heero. Don't discount the affect that has on the people around you."

Heero sighed. "All right. As long as no one tries to put me in a command role. I'm not officer material."

Murrue gave a small laugh. "I disagree with that, but I'll save it for another time."

"Ma'am," said the communications officer, "Fleet wide transmission from the _Eternal_."

"Patch it through," Murrue replied.

Heero and her turned to the main monitor and saw Lacus appear on the screen, forgoing the white dresses she wore for performances in favor of her black and purple tunic and white overcoat. Her normally gentle face was hardened by a stern expression, as sure a sign of any of the gravity of their situation.

_From a popular singer to a leader of a multi-national resistance movement_, he thought, _she's come a long way. She'll be tested harder now than ever before… as will the rest of us._

"We all know what is at stake here," she began, "What our chances of survival are, what will happen if we fail… no one is under any delusions about what we face, and I won't spin any illusions for you now. To do so would insult the extraordinary courage each and every one of you have demonstrated just in being here today. There is no turning back for us; we _have _to fight."

"Even if we win," she continued, "we have no guarantee of what the future will hold. If we stop the Earth Alliance and ZAFT from wiping each other out and all of humanity with them, what comes next is still uncertain. Can we forge a true peace? Can we make it last? There are no guarantees, but I know we have to try. The impacts of our actions may have unintended consequences, but to not act at all would be _far _worse."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "Right now the people of this world are oppressed by two powers that are driven by nothing more than hate and vengeance. They've marshaled every last bit of their military might for this final campaign, an all-or-nothing effort to unleash an unthinkable bloodbath. Yet I know that this does not represent the true wills of their people. Yes, some may embrace this vicious cycle of malice and murder, but I know that they do not speak for the majority. Their governments may be headed down the path of genocide, but the people of both Earth and the PLANTs do not want this! I know they want what we want; peaceful coexistence between our two races!"

She closed her eyes for a moment before speaking again. "However, they do not have the power to give voice to their true beliefs. Their nations hold them back; keep them at bay with open and veiled threats. They are literally living under the barrel of a gun, and they do not have the strength or skill to fight back. That is where _we _come in. We _can _fight back, can stand up for those who lack the power to stand up for themselves! _We _have the power to make a difference, to pull not just the Alliance and ZAFT but all of mankind back from the brink! It's not just our desire to stop Azrael and Zala's campaign of mutual genocide; it's our _duty_!"

She then gave them a small smile. "Whether we are Natural or Coordinator, from Earth or outer space… or another world entirely… we are united in our purpose. We've come together under the banner of acceptance, tolerance, and understanding. Where our foes fight with hatred, terror, and vengeance, we counter with friendship, courage, and love. It is not overwhelming numbers or raw power that we wield; it is the determination to save our future, and that of the entire Cosmic Era!"

Heero respectfully nodded at the screen.

_Well said. I didn't know your father, Lacus, but I'm sure he'd be proud of you if he could see you now._

He saw her close her eyes and bow. "I am honored to be with all of you as we embark on the final leg of our journey. The road has been long, and our greatest task still lies before us, but I wouldn't do this with anyone else. Whether you only joined us recently or have been with us since the beginning, you have my sincerest gratitude. May fortune favor us all."

She left the screen and was replaced by Waltfeld. "All right, people. You all know what we've got to do, and I'm not really one to give speeches. Hard to top Miss Clyne's anyway. _Eternal_, _Archangel_, and _Kusanagi _will be the lead ships. Maintain formation until we've joined battle with the enemy. All ships, move out!"

"Flight plan transmitted from the _Eternal_!" said the communications officer.

Murrue nodded. "Helm, follow that course."

"Aye, Captain," said Neumann.

The Desert Tiger disappeared from the main monitor. Replacing it was an image of their entire fleet moving forward as one. It was an impressive sight, but Heero was sobered by the grim truth of what their force would be up against.

How many of them would make it through this alive?

It was impossible to say for certain, or even guess. But that didn't matter to Heero. Regardless of the overwhelming odds against them, he was more determined than he had ever been before in his life to survive.

Survive, and make sure that the woman he loved did too.

….

"Captain," said the helmsman, "we're in position."

Natarle nodded. "Maintain formation with the fleet. We'll be holding here until we get the final launch order."

"So many of them…" she heard Flay say from her post at the communication's station.

_Indeed_, she thought as she surveyed the gathered armada out the main viewport, _the largest fleet I've ever seen. The largest anyone's ever seen…_

Technically this wasn't the full armada; Natarle was aware of Rear Admiral Bernard's vanguard fleet that was out ahead of the main force. Still, the fleet commanded by Admiral Sutherland, and unofficially by Azrael, far surpassed the first strike force led by Bernard.

The _Dominion _was at the heart of the armada alongside Admiral Sutherland's flagship, the carrier _Doolittle_. Most of the armada's carriers were with them as well, protected by a thick screen of _Nelson_-class battleships and _Drake_-class escort ships. The fleet seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see, and to Natarle it looked like the Earth Alliance ships outnumbered even the stars in the sky.

_Eighty-three-hundred warships_, she thought, her mind struggling to reconcile the knowledge of the force and actually seeing it firsthand, _and seven-hundred more in the vanguard. Nine-thousand in all…_

_ …and all at the command of a sociopath._

The power at Natarle's hands alone was sobering. In addition to her fearsome armaments, the _Dominion_'s mobile suit complement had been completely replenished since the heavy losses that they had taken at the Battle of Mendel. The Calamity was still with the ship, and now it was joined by four Strike-Avengers and four Strike-Daggers. While she was glad to have her vessel's mobile suits completely restocked, Natarle was concerned about the pilots of the four Strike-Avengers. Her interactions with them had been brief, but she knew immediately that they were part of the same program that had altered the Calamity's pilot into what the brass had so coldly labeled a Biological CPU. However, it looked to her like the Alliance had gone even further with these pilots than that of the Calamity's; while Orga was merely overly aggressive and disrespectful of all authority save Azrael, these new pilots seemed downright _feral_… and that was when they were conscious at all.

_To have to be kept sedated until the time to fight_, she thought with despair, _hardly able to even function as human beings outside of battle… what did the Alliance do to them? They were _ferocious _in the simulations I watched… inhumanly so. It's like they were robbed of everything but their most primal urges… they were turned into beasts! Is this how far we've fallen?_

New mobile suits were not the only units her ship had been granted. Out the main viewport she could see one of a new series of mobile armors that had latched onto the upper deck between the base of the _Dominion_'s legs and in front of the bridge tower; the FA-X Juggernaut.

Standing for Fortress Armor-Experimental, the new assault mobile armor certain deserved its title. It was a broad circular machine with black and dark grey armor, its body so wide that it took up almost the entirety of the _Dominion_'s upper deck. In fact, it was impossible to fit this new weapon into the hangar of the advanced battleship or any other Earth Alliance vessel, hence the need to latch it onto a broad flat surface such as the top of the Dominion, the upper hull of an _Agamemnon_-class carrier or the bottom forward hull of a _Nelson_-class battleship.

It was crewed by a pilot, co-pilot, and a gunnery officer; the craft was far too complex for a single operator. Powered by multiple high-capacity batteries, the unit lacked Phase Shift Armor but had a very thick hide capable of withstanding heavy punishment. The craft had been designed to wade into the thick of the action, penetrating the front lines and sowing carnage and destruction the deeper it went into enemy ranks. They were heavily armed, with two twin-barreled Aufprall Dreizehn high-energy beam cannons serving as the units' heavy artillery, their firepower comparable to weapons normally found on warships. For additional attack power the Juggernaut also had four Mark-62 six-tube multipurpose missile launchers, with two facing forward and two to the rear, useful for both mobile unit interception and full offensive barrages. For close-range defense the unit was ringed with ten Igelstellung CIWS.

However, despite the unit's fearsome armaments and heavy armor it was far from a perfect fighting machine. The assault mobile armor was slow when compared to the older Moebius units, and quite cumbersome. It was a large target, and had absolutely no defense against beam sabers or other melee weaponry. In addition to this the units were very vulnerable to attacks from below. The sheer cost of the Juggernaut was a major hindrance as well, hence the units being in a limited production run at the moment. There were several dozen with the vanguard fleet and more with the main armada, but they would hardly be replacing the Strike-Daggers anytime soon.

She heard the door open behind her and a familiar voice followed. "Well, I think it's about time we got moving. Don't you, Captain?"

Natarle had to suppress a glare as she saw Azrael take his seat. "The _Dominion _is ready, sir. I can't speak for the rest of the fleet."

"They're ready," Azrael replied, "Sutherland assured me of it. Speaking of which, get him and Bernard on the line."

Natarle looked at her communications officer and nodded. A few seconds later the main monitor split in half, with Sutherland in the upper portion and Bernard in the lower.

Azrael smiled. "Gentlemen, today is quite an occasion, wouldn't you say? We've assembled the largest fleet in the history of mankind, and to undertake the most important mission in human history. Victory and glory will be ours."

_The most important mission?_, Natarle fumed, _Bullshit, you psychotic narcissist! There's nothing glorious about murder, let alone the bloodbath you've got planned!_

Sutherland nodded. "It will be a day long remembered, surpassed only by the day when we reduce L5 to floating cinders."

Looking around the bridge Natarle saw her subordinates trade furtive looks of fear and disgust.

_So here it is_, she thought grimly, _If they didn't know what this fleet's real purpose was before, their uncertainty will be cast aside now. Azrael, Sutherland, Bernard… they're finally laying their true intentions bare before the rank and file._

"The Boaz Wall will fall first," Bernard chimed in, smiling, "With our greatest weapons back in our arsenal we'll cut through their line and turn their fortress into a smoldering ruin."

"Wait until sufficient firing lanes have been opened before playing that card," Sutherland interjected, "We don't want the enemy to intercept them."

Bernard glared at the head of the High Command. "I know that, _Admiral_." He all but spat out that last word.

"Gentlemen, please," said Azrael, "Let's not get carried away in the excitement of the moment. You're both professionals, and you both know your tasks. Should we not get to them?"

Both men nodded. "Yes, my lord."

Azrael smiled. "Good."

He then focused on the lower half of the screen. "Bernard, your mission is not just to breach the initial Coordinator defenses. It's to set an example, to sow fear into the hearts of the freaks that live at L5, to make them realize just what their fate will be. Leave no survivors from the fortress itself, but let her supporting forces retreat once the deed is done. They'll carry their terror back to the Jachin Due Line like a disease. By the time the final battle begins their ranks will be thoroughly infected, and it will make their annihilation all the sweeter."

Bernard nodded. "Understood, my lord."

"Well then, gentlemen," said Azrael, "I see no need for further delay. Rear Admiral, Admiral."

The two men saluted and disappeared from the screen. Azrael turned to the communications officer.

"Get me a fleet wide channel."

"Yes, my lord," the officer replied, "Channel established."

Azrael cleared his throat. "Attention all soldiers of the Earth Alliance. Today is a truly historic day! Today marks the beginning of the end for not just this war but that of the Coordinator menace! You will return our precious Earth to Natural purity; this affront to nature and Holy God will be purged by our hands!"

_'Holy God'?_, thought Natarle, _Since when was this war a Crusade?_

Then again, Natarle realized it wasn't hard to see how religion had gotten mixed up in this. Blue Cosmos had been started by religiously minded environmental activists, but after the revelation of the existence of Coordinators the zealots had taken over the organization and used it as a platform to whip up fear, hatred, and resentment of the genetically modified humans. Religion had _always _been a part of this; now it was just being taken to its logical conclusion.

"I know some of you may be uneasy with our undertaking," Azrael continued, the mock concern all too clear in his voice, "You fear that actions you undertake, your role in the cleansing of L5, may brand you as war criminals. Please, allow me to lay your doubts to rest. There are no civilians at L5, no innocents; there's no such thing as an 'innocent' Coordinator. They are all unholy abominations, demons who wish to destroy the natural order and replace us, _pure humans_, as the inheritors of the Earth. They are hell-bent on destroying us, and that hatred is not confined to those you will face on the battlefield; it is embraced by every member of their corrupt society! Each and every one of them would gleefully kill us and then slaughter those we care for. The only way we can respond to such cruel brutality is in kind; it is the only way Naturals can survive!"

Natarle's face paled as she listened to the speech. What this man… no, this _monster_, was trying to incite her fellow soldiers to do…

_Government sanctioned war crimes…_

_ Unprecedented slaughter…_

That was when she knew, with absolute certainty.

Her country was dead.

And it was dragging her down into its grave.

She looked down at Flay and saw the girl staring at Azrael with a mixture of shock and horror. Natarle couldn't blame her; it was hard enough to conceal her own feelings… and to keep from shooting Azrael on the spot.

"The only 'crime' you need fear," Azrael continued, "is the failure to do your duty to the utmost, to serve your country, your _people_, to the fullest extent of your abilities. Your devotion to the Earth Alliance, to _Natural Humanity_, must be absolute. Deviation of any kind will _not _be tolerated. As long as you fight with the same courage and dedication you've shown throughout this war you will have nothing to worry about. Loyalty will be rewarded… and treason will be dealt with swiftly."

_So there's the ultimatum_, Natarle thought grimly, _Serve your country, commit atrocities… or be executed as a traitor. So much for fighting of our own free will, for a just cause, to defend those we care about… now it's just commit murder or be murdered._

If Azrael meant for his speech to be rousing he was failing, at least as far as the bridge crew of the _Dominion _went. Not one of them seemed to take heart in what the head of Blue Cosmos was saying, which was actually a point of pride for Natarle. Her crew might not have been as experienced or skilled as that of Captain Ramius, but they shared the same moral compass that her old comrades had.

Unfortunately Natarle knew it could very easily get them killed, and _not _by way of enemy fire.

She'd never felt so trapped in her life.

"Show no mercy," said Azrael, his smile now a cruel grin, "and expect none in return! Our enemy has already shown that they do not accept surrender, and we must demonstrate the same ruthlessness if we are to triumph today. Do what must be done, and we will send that pack of space monsters to the depths of Hell where they belong! Purge L5, cleanse humanity, and restore our blue and pure world!"

With a grand sweep of his hand he issued the inevitable command. "Launch the armada!"

Natarle sighed, the weight on her shoulders growing immeasurably heavier with that simple order. After all this time, the wait was over.

Now they were on the march.

_Down our very own highway to Hell…_

….

**September 23****rd****, C.E. 71**

The blaring battle alert sirens sent Yzak flying out of his bunk. In mere seconds he was dressed and rushing out the door as the scramble orders roared over the intercom.

"Enemy forces approaching!" said the Captain of the _Granin_, "All hands, battle stations! All mobile suits launch immediately!"

"So they finally showed up," Yzak grumbled as he rushed to the pilots' locker room to suit up, "Had to happen sooner or later…"

His scowl belied the adrenaline coursing through his system. For weeks the higher ups had been saying that the final clash of the war would be at The Boaz Wall, and it looked like they were actually right. Yzak had no way of knowing what kind of force was approaching, but he was sure that it wasn't just skirmishers; they would've been repelled long before the need to summon the _Granin_ from her position close to the mighty fortress.

Zipping up his crimson suit and grabbing his helmet, he nodded at his fellow pilots as they all rushed into the destroyer's hangar. He was the only ZAFT Red in the bunch, but he knew his comrades were all skilled pilots, and they would all be flying the new GuAIZ mobile suits.

_I'll have good backup_, he thought as he kicked off the floor and floated towards the Duel, _but still… I miss the old team. I'd much rather be flying with them right about now… I'd even put up with Athrun being in charge._

He climbed into his machine and closed the cockpit. Strapping himself in and powering up the systems, Yzak tuned his radio into the _Granin_'s tactical channel.

"Mobile suit and mobile armor launches have been confirmed," he heard the destroyer's combat controller say, "Joule Team, Vega Team, be prepared for interception!"

Yzak nodded. On his main monitor he saw one of the hangar techs waive him out, and he took the Duel to the catapult. Up ahead he saw the doors open, and the lights went from red to green.

"Yzak Joule," he said, "launching!"

The Duel shot out of the hangar, and as Yzak started to put some distance between himself and the _Granin _his sensors lit up with contacts. His eyes widened in shock as he took it all in.

_So many ships and mobile suits_, he thought, _us and the Alliance force… holy shit!_

At just over five hundred capital ships, the ZAFT fleet supporting Boaz was an impressive sight in its own right. The vast majority of the ships were of course _Laurasia_-class frigates and _Nazca_-class destroyers, but there were also three new vessels with the fleet; the gargantuan _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts. The three black leviathans, named _Elbrus_, _Zugspitze_, and _Chimborazo_, were out towards the head of the ZAFT force. The _Elbrus _anchored the center of the forward line, while the _Zugspitze _held the right wing and the _Chimborazo _the left. Mobile suits were pouring out of the assembled warships and Boaz itself. Original and modified GINNs and GuAIZs rushed to meet the units seeming to hemorrhage from the Earth Alliance fleet.

Yzak was surprised at the size of the Alliance force. It outnumbered the ships of The Boaz Wall by around two hundred vessels; a daunting fleet, but not quite as big as Yzak had been expecting. He realized that this was the enemy's vanguard, similar to the force that had been deployed around Boaz.

_They'll smash against our ranks and try to punch some holes_, he thought, _and once they smell an opening they'll call in their main fleet. When they do that we'll call in ours, and the fight will snowball from there…_

Focusing on the Earth Alliance force, he started to get a feel for the makeup of the attackers. The majority of their units were a mix of Strike-Daggers and Moebius units, but backing them up were a considerable amount of mass production Busters as well. At the head of the formations he could also see the enemy's newest Strike variants, which communication intercepts had revealed to be called Strike-Avengers. They were equipped with a variety of augmentation packs, and he was sure that they would be formidable foes. Also in the mix were several larger machines, a new model of mobile armor that he had never seen before in any intelligence reports. It looked like a flying saucer with heavy weapons mounted on the top. Yzak was not looking forward to seeing what those things were capable of once they got into attack range.

Allies and enemies fanned out as they moved forward. The blue pinpricks of thruster fire seemed more numerous than the stars. It was like the fleets were rainclouds unleashing a deluge, but this would be no cleansing downpour. A manmade thunderstorm was about to be unleashed, one that threatened to cascade and escalate into a raging tempest with the potential to consume all.

A transmission from Boaz came over the fleet-wide channel. "All mobile suits, clear firing lanes!"

At the same time Yzak saw a series of red lines appear on his sensors as the fortress transmitted data to him; the firing paths for both Boaz's weapons and the rest of the fleet. He immediately adjusted his heading so it took him away from any of the crimson lines, and he saw the rest of the mobile suits doing the same. Out ahead he saw the enemy formations shift, and he realized that they were doing the same thing ZAFT was.

A few seconds later there was another order from Boaz, this time issued in the deep, guttural voice of the base commander, Field Marshal Hans Rupo. "Fire at will!"

**Start "It Has To Be This Way"**

Yzak watched in awe as space lit up around him. A hailstorm of energy beams, missiles and railgun rounds poured out of the capital ships, asteroid weapons platforms, and the massive fortress itself. At the same time the Earth Alliance forces opened up as well, and the gargantuan volleys crisscrossed through space as they flew towards their targets.

"_Shit!_" Yzak snarled as he raised the Duel's shield.

The move was not a moment too soon, as an anti-ship missile slammed into the shield. Even with the protective barrier taking the impact Yzak was still rocked by the warhead's detonation. He quickly opened fire with his CIWS, destroying another missile before it could hit one of his comrades.

Explosions ripped across both fleets like strings of firecrackers as warships and mobile units took hits from the massive barrages. The ranks of both sides thinned out a bit from the casualties, but their forces were still largely intact; this battle was only just getting started.

Yzak steeled himself as he saw enemy squadrons approaching his position. "Joule Team, engage!"

Sighting in with his beam rifle, Yzak opened fire. With a trio of quick shots he downed three beam cannon-equipped Moebius units that were at the head of an Alliance formation; his first kills of the battle. From both sides of the Duel his comrades opened fire as well, the shots from their beam rifles each destroying a Strike-Dagger.

"Keep your guard up!" he said as he ignited his beam saber, "Watch out for fire from the capital ships!"

He brought his energy blade up to block an attack from the yellow beam saber of a Strike-Dagger. Parrying the blow, Yzak quickly countered with a swift stab to the Alliance unit's cockpit.

Immediately after pulling his blade out of the exploding machine he was set upon by more Strike-Daggers. A volley from his beam rifle took down one machine while a precise shot from his shoulder-mounted railgun destroyed another. He then cut loose with the missile launcher in the Assault Shroud's left shoulder, felling two more enemy mobile suits with the barrage.

"There's just no end to these guys!" said one of his wingmen, Abdul, as he ripped a Strike-Dagger apart with his GuAIZ's beam claws.

"Tell me about it," said the other one, named Simon, as he shot down a Buster-Dagger with his beam rifle, "At least they're not aces."

That was certainly true, Yzak reflected as he destroyed another Strike-Dagger with his beam saber. The enemy units were formidable, but their pilots were clearly green. Then again, matters weren't much better for ZAFT. The pilots Yzak was flying with now had some combat experience, but the ranks of ZAFT's veterans had been thinned out considerably over the course of the war, especially once the legged ship and Wing Zero made their debut. Yzak could only hope that ZAFT's greater experience with mobile suit tactics and strategies gave them enough of an edge to hold out against the incredible number of fighting machines the Earth Alliance was hitting them with now.

Glancing at his long-range sensors as he shot down a Strike-Dagger with his rifle, Yzak could see that so far ZAFT was holding the line. The three mammoth _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts alone were giving the enemy pause as they pumped out heavy fire from their beam and plasma cannons, railguns, and missile launchers. Combined with fire from the regular warships, the weapons platforms, and the fortress itself and it looked like the enemy fleet could be stonewalled.

However, not all was well. As he destroyed a Moebius unit with his railgun Yzak could see the new, larger mobile armors move into the fray. They were slow when compared to mobile suits or even the older model Moebius mobile armors, but they more than made up for that with thick armor and heavy firepower. Yzak could see waves of crimson fire spewing forth from their main cannons, taking down individual frigates and destroyers along with any mobile suits unfortunate enough to be in their way. The topside missile launchers were formidable as well, with multiple volleys of warheads flying out at a rapid rate and overwhelming mobile suits that tried to attack the machines. As if that weren't bad enough the ten CIWS that ringed the units were pouring out streams of anti-air fire, making attack runs difficult at best.

_Damn it_, he thought as he cut down another Strike-Dagger with his violet blade, _I've got to get up there!_

"Come on!" he said to his wingmen, "We've got to get up there and hit the heavies!"

Gunning his engines, Yzak powered forward. His shield raised, he slammed into a Moebius unit. Shoving the mobile armor aside for one of his comrades to shoot down, Yzak continued his charge. He veered right as a Strike-Dagger attempted to spear him on its yellow blade and slashed the unit through the torso. On his flanks Abdul and Simon were pouring out cover fire with their beam rifles, and the three of them were slowly but surely cutting a path towards the nearest assault mobile armor.

Suddenly a red beam tore across space, missing Yzak but slamming right into Abdul's GuAIZ. Yzak grimaced as he saw his comrade's machine disintegrate, and his eyes soon found the unit that had dealt the fatal blow; a Strike-Avenger with the Sword-Launcher pack.

"You son of a bitch!" he heard Simon yell, "You'll pay for that, you bastard!"

"Don't rush in!" Yzak cried, but it was too late.

His wingman had through caution to the wind and was making for a head-on strike. Yzak angled to back up Simon, spewing out cover fire with his beam rifle. The enemy's reflexes were sharp though, and the Strike-Avenger managed to not only dodge his fire but sideslip Simon as he attempted to skewer the machine with his beam claws. With a powerful slash from its anti-ship sword the Alliance mobile suit tore the GuAIZ clean in two.

"_Shit!_" he hissed, working to keep his anger in check; if he made the same mistake as Simon, he'd die the same way.

He veered sharply to the left as the Strike-Avenger took another shot with its Agni. The blast missed the Duel by mere meters, and Yzak wasted no time in returning fire with his rifle and railgun. His foe dodged the energy beams and tanked the linear rounds with its Phase Shift Armor, moving in hard and fast, its anti-ship sword raised for an overhand strike.

Yzak's eyes narrowed, steeling himself for his counter. Just before his adversary swung the heavy blade Yzak took the Duel to the right. Barely avoiding the anti-ship sword, Yzak hit his engines and thrust his beam saber into the Alliance unit's torso.

The Strike-Avenger had barely exploded before another one was attacking the Duel, this one wielding the Havoc pack. Yzak was barely able to bring his shield up in time as the machine lashed out with its sphere-breaker, and even taking the impact on the barrier severely shook the mobile suit.

"Damn it!" he growled, "I don't have time for this!"

He opened up with his beam rifle, but the shots were deflected by the energy shields that materialized in front of his foe. Yzak was then forced to dive as a blast of plasma flew at him, barely evading it as it curved through space, almost seeming to track him.

"Not good," he said as he tried to figure out how he was going to take this guy down.

He gunned his engines toward his foe, only to have to break to the left as the machine fired at him with the twin cannons imbedded in the shield on its left arm. Too late he realized it was a set up as the Strike-Avenger took a swing with its sphere-breaker, and the heavy orb slammed right into the center of the Duel.

"Arrgh!" he groaned as the impact rocked the Duel. Even with the additional protection provided by the Assault Shroud the hit had been _heavy_, and he saw his power gauge drop noticeably as his Phase Shift Armor tried to compensate. He could _not _afford more hits from that thing.

Yzak climbed, determined to get above his foe and take him down. The enemy was having none of that though, and another curved plasma beam forced him to break to the right instead. Yzak pumped out more beam and railgun fire, but his shots were just deflected by the energy shield.

It was just as the machine was swinging its sphere-breaker at him again that he realized how he could win. Reacting purely on reflex, he lashed out with his beam saber as the heavy spiked orb came straight at him, and he split the incoming weapon in two. As both halves of the sphere slipped past him he pushed his engines to the max and thrust his beam saber dead-center into the Strike-Avenger's cockpit.

_Finally_, he thought as the Alliance machine exploded, _that took way too long._

On his sensor he saw the closest of the new heavy mobile armors plowing through the ZAFT lines. The Strike-Daggers escorting it only added to its firepower and were making it difficult for Yzak's allies to make an attack. It opened fire with its topside cannons, and pillars of crimson death smashed into a _Laurasia_-class frigate, turning it into bits of hot metal.

He dived, knowing that the assault unit's biggest weakness would be an attack from below. The units escorting it were prepared for that eventuality though, and instantly moved to intercept him.

Raising his beam rifle, Yzak threw up a hasty volley. The shots didn't take down any of his foes, but they did force them to bring their shields up, which gave him the opening he needed to close the gap. Up above the heavy mobile armor began to rotate, and Yzak realized it would soon be able to target him with its CIWS and missiles.

Acting quickly, he sighted in on one Strike-Dagger and cut loose with his rifle and railgun. The one-two punch took the unit off guard, and as it hastily blocked the shots Yzak rushed in and gutted it with his violet blade.

A rain of bullets forced him to break off; the assault mobile armor had him in its crosshairs. Multiple missile lock alarms went off in his cockpit, and Yzak was hard pressed to shoot down or block the stream of warheads the large craft sent his way. At the same time another Strike-Dagger attempted to shoot him down, and he was barely able to avoid shots from its beam rifle.

Breaking right, Yzak maneuvered out of the mobile armor's line of fire while setting up for an attack on one of the Strikes. He fired a few shots with his beam rifle, enough to get his target on the defensive, before rushing in and slicing the Alliance unit in half. Whirling around, he managed to deflect a beam saber strike from another Strike-Dagger before swiftly countering, spearing the machine on his blade.

Once he again he angled to attack the heavy mobile armor, but found that he was facing its top side. The main guns couldn't fire at him, but all of its missile launchers had clear shots at him, and another volley was already coming his way. Cutting loose with his beam rifle, railgun, and CIWS, Yzak powered through the barrage, taking a few hits to his armor and shield as he flew towards his target, violet blade ready.

"You're mine!" he yelled as he thrust his beam saber down through the machine's upper hull. There was some resistance from the thick armor but he managed to cut through, and Yzak began dragging his energy blade along the top of the unit. A few seconds later he withdrew his sword and gunned his engines, and the assault mobile armor exploded behind him.

_One down_, he thought, his eyes narrowing as he studied the raging battle, _but there's plenty more to go!_

**End "It Has To Be This Way"**

….

Cackling wildly as he blew another GINN to bits with his beam rifle, Zachary Rivard grinned as he flew through the fight of his life.

"There's so many of them," the blond haired, brown eyed fifteen year old said, his voice dripping with sadistic glee, "and they're all _mine!_"

He let loose with two of the missiles mounted on the wings of his Aile-Avenger, and chuckled as they ripped another GINN apart. "Is that all you guys can do? I thought you Coordinators were supposed to be hot shit!"

Out at the head of the Alliance squadrons cutting further into the ZAFT ranks, the young man was another one of the subjects of the vast Extended Human Program. He'd only had small fights before this; little skirmishes with ZAFT patrols to get him a taste of combat before Operation Peacemaker. Now the final campaign was underway, and before him lay a battlefield that he'd only been able to dream of before. Target rich environment didn't even begin to describe it. It seemed all he had to do to kill an enemy here was just point and shoot; there were so many that he hardly even had to aim.

"Come on," he growled as he set his sights on a trio of GINNs, "give me some more!"

He gunned his engines, rushing headlong at his foes. Their machineguns blazed as they frantically tried to shoot him down, but it was to no avail. His shield raised to take the shots, Zachary brought his beam rifle to bear and opened fire, downing one of the machines effortlessly. He then drew his violet beam saber and grinned as he got into range; he loved close quarters combat.

The GINNs were helpless against him; they were original units, which meant their rifles and metal swords posed no threat to him while his Phase Shift Armor was up. Enthralled at the feeling of overwhelming superiority over his foes, Zachary wasted no time in cutting into them. The first unit fell from a stab to the cockpit, while the second was quickly slashed in half.

He flew deeper into the storm of beams and bullets, of missiles and mobile suits, reveling in the scale of the carnage and the freedom it gave him. His orders were incredibly simple; kill every ZAFT unit he saw.

The entire battlefield was his buffet.

Seeking a more challenging foe, he set his eyes on a team of three GuAIZs that were carving through the Alliance ranks. The new model ZAFT machines were easily dealing with the Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers they encountered, buy Zachary wondered if they'd be a match for him.

He made straight for them, cutting loose with his rifle as he went. His foes scattered, their shields raised to absorb his fire. Zachary zeroed in on one of the machines, launching his last two missiles at it. The GuAIZ actually managed to shoot the warheads down with its CIWS, but in doing so it left itself open for another attack, and the Extended downed the machine with a beam rifle shot to the cockpit.

The other two mobile suits moved to catch him in a pincer attack. Zachary simply dived, firing as he went and forcing the two machines to break off their attack. Picking one target, he zoomed in, his beam saber ready to strike. Bringing the blade down in an overhand strike, he was surprised to see that his foe was actually able to block the attack. The Extended soon found himself on the defensive as the GuAIZ countered with its rocket anchors while the other mobile suit laid down beam fire from his right flank.

"Huh," he sneered, "not bad. Too bad I'm better!"

He managed to stay clear of the rocket anchors while at the same time blocking the beam fire on his shield. Hitting his thrusters and climbing, Zachary nailed the first GuAIZ with his beam rifle. He then turned on the second one and charged straight at it. His foe blocked his initial beam saber strike on his shield, but a quick burst from his CIWS distracted the ZAFT pilot, giving him the opening he needed to gut the GuAIZ.

"Jeeze," he groaned as the machine exploded, "Isn't there anyone out here actually _worth _fighting? At this rate I won't have any fun at all!"

He wasn't the only Extended wreaking havoc on the battlefield. There were nineteen more of his fellow augmented humans assigned to the vanguard fleet, all flying Strike-Avengers with various Striker Packs. Like him they were absolutely mauling their foes, though Zachary noted that two of them had disappeared from his scopes.

_Jason and Kyle bought it_, he thought, _some ship probably got a lucky shot on them. No way any of these pilots could kill us._

The loss of two of his comrades didn't bother him much. They could barely cooperate under the best of circumstances, and now that they had such a target rich environment they'd all thrown caution and teamwork to the wind. It was all about who could rack up the most kills, who would be able to claim the title of 'The Best' when the fight was over.

And Zachary had no intention of losing.

"Who's next?" he yelled, diving back into the fray with renewed zeal.

The ZAFT fleet may have been holding back the Earth Alliance vanguard, but individual teams and units like Zachary and his fellow Extended had worked small breaches into the enemy ranks. Zachary continued to carve his path forward, heedless of any threats to his flanks or rear. He was caught up in the moment, the thrill of battle, the only freedom he knew in his life as nothing more than a living tool of the Alliance.

One GINN fell to a rifle shot, and another soon followed. Two more were slashed in half by his beam saber before another GuAIZ appeared to block his progress. The machine fired its beam rifle and CIWS, briefly forcing Zachary onto the defensive. However, a quick break to the left gave him the chance to counter, and he opened fire with his rifle. The ZAFT machine blocked the shots on its shield, but Zachary simply charged in head on, his beam saber raised and ready to split the GuAIZ down the middle.

The ZAFT pilot raised their beam claws to block the overhand strike. The move was successful, but it was only a momentary deterrent to Zachary's assault. He opened up again with his rifle, laying down a volley as he moved in for another attack. This time he lashed out with a horizontal strike, and cleaved through the GuAIZ's torso.

As he pulled away from the exploding machine his attention was drawn to one of the nearby Alliance FA-X Juggernaut assault mobile armors… or, to be more precise, its destruction. A blue mobile suit not too different from one of the Strike series machines had hit it from below, pumping energy beams and railgun rounds into it before administering the finishing blow with a stab from its beam saber.

It was the GAT-X102 Duel.

Zachary grinned as he made straight for the stolen machine. "Well, now, let's see if you'll put up a good fight!"

He wasted no time in making his presence known, laying down a volley with his rifle. The Duel reacted quickly, raising its shield to block the incoming shots before returning fire with its beam rifle and railgun. Zachary copied his foe, taking the incoming fire on his shield before returning with more beams of his own. Emerald fire crisscrossed the space between them as the two mobile suits rushed towards each other.

"Enough long-range," said Zachary, chuckling, "Let's see what you can do up close!"

He thrust out with his beam saber, intending to skewer the Duel right through the cockpit. Its ZAFT pilot wasn't having any of that, though; the Duel fluidly slipped to the right, and Zachary was forced to dive in order to avoid a slash from his foe's blade.

"Not bad," he said as he set himself up for another attack, "Now try this!"

He rushed back in, his blade raised for an overhand blow. The Duel responded by bringing its shield up to take the hit before thrusting out with its beam saber, and Zachary was barely able to avoid getting impaled on the violet energy sword. As he pulled back the Duel immediately opened fire with its shoulder-mounted railgun, and the Aile Strike-Avenger was rocked by a series of hits. Zachary managed to bring his shield up just in time as his foe brought the Duel's beam rifle to bear; the energy beams would've had no problem with his Phase Shift Armor if they'd hit, unlike the railgun rounds.

"You're good," he said, sneering, "but your mobile suit's an antique now. Time to throw it in the trash heap!"

He opened fire with his rifle before rushing in to engage up close. This time his foe dived to avoid the shots before rushing back up, its beam saber ready to go. Zachary brought his own blade up just in time to block a horizontal slash. The Duel followed up that attack by thrusting its shield forward, slamming it into the Aile Strike-Avenger's torso.

"Shit!" snarled Zachary as he was thrown back by the blow.

He tried to strike back with his beam saber, but he was too slow; the Duel struck first and cleaved his sword arm off at the shoulder. The stolen Alliance machine leveled its rifle at him, and it was all Zachary could do to bring his shield up to block the beams. Unfortunately for him his foe was only using the shots as cover while he moved back in, angling to strike his unit's vulnerable right side.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Duel thrust out with its blade, and Zachary knew that there was no way he would be able to block this attack.

There was a brief flash of fire and pain… and then nothing.

….

Yzak shook his head as the Aile Strike-Avenger exploded. The pilot had been good, and it had taken far too much time for him to destroy the machine. Every second he spent on these new models and their hyper-aggressive pilots was another that the rest of the Earth Alliance forces had to advance.

And they _were _advancing. With the new heavy mobile armors and Strike-Avengers leading the way, the Earth Alliance forces had opened up gaps in the ZAFT lines, and the enemy was wasting no time in exploiting that. Both sides' capital ships continued to trade withering volleys, and the three _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts anchoring the front were still holding strong, but the enemy was slowly moving forward.

_We've got to halt their momentum_, he thought as he shot down a Buster-Dagger, _I've got to stop playing with these small fries and hit the ones that count!_

Those were the assault mobile armors. Two had already fallen to the Duel, but there were still others pushing into ZAFT's ranks, widening holes in the line and leaving swaths of destruction in their wake. Yzak wasn't the only one to have scored kills against them; a few more had fallen to capital ship fire or daring attacks from GuAIZs. However, there were still enough machines on the field to continue to threaten the ZAFT forces and press further into their ranks, exacerbating breaches in the lines and making it easier for normal Alliance units to move in behind them and spread like a virus through ZAFT's formations.

_Those heavy mobile armors are the center of their forward assault squadrons_, he thought as he sliced a Strike-Dagger in half, _if they can be taken out the smaller Alliance units will have a harder time moving forward. _

Determined to turn thought into action, Yzak marked the closest assault mobile armor on his sensors. Pushing towards it while shooting down another Strike-Dagger, he got on the radio.

"This is Yzak Joule to Boaz Command," he said, "We need to focus on hitting those heavy mobile armors. If we can destroy them it will be easier to halt the Alliance advance!"

He didn't wait for an acknowledgement; he just sighted in on his target and prepared to attack.

His eyes narrowed as he saw the large machine open fire with its topside cannons, obliterating a destroyer.

"Not one more," he growled, "Not for you!"

**Start "The Only Thing I've Ever Known"**

Gunning his engines, he charged in hard, bearing down on the mobile armor's right flank. Its escorts reacted immediately, moving to intercept.

"Out of my way!" he snarled.

He opened up with his beam rifle, not destroying any units but putting them on the defensive and giving himself an opening to move in for close quarters combat. His beam saber blazing, Yzak swiftly slashed a Strike-Dagger in half before whirling around and impaling another through the cockpit. More mobile suits were angling towards him, and the heavy mobile armor was angling to get him in the firing arc of its CIWS and missile launchers.

"I don't have time to play with you!" he yelled as he pounded a Buster-Dagger with his beam rifle.

A Strike-Dagger moved in to stab him with its yellow blade, but Yzak was one step ahead of the attacker. His shield was already raised when the Alliance machine made its strike, and Yzak wasted no time in striking back. Shoving the blade aside with his shield, Yzak stabbed the Strike-Dagger through the torso.

Diving as another escort and the mobile armor opened fire, Yzak quickly reoriented himself and cut loose with his rifle and railgun, eliminating a Strike-Dagger. Now with a clear path to the assault mobile armor, Yzak dived to set up for an attack on the unit's belly. His foe began to roll to keep its guns on him, but the Duel was faster than the larger mobile armor.

"You're mine!" he yelled, firing as he charged in.

The railgun rounds and emerald beams hammered home into the unit's belly, scorching and cratering but not piercing the machine's thick armor. It didn't matter to Yzak; he was just softening the machine up for his finishing strike. Gunning his engines, he struck out with his blade and thrust it deep into the mobile armor's gut.

Even as he pulled his blade out and the target exploded Yzak was already looking for another assault mobile armor. He quickly found one and wasted no time in zeroing in on his new objective. Just like last time, the target's escorts were already reacting to his approach, screening the mobile armor while it blasted a frigate with its heavy guns and missiles.

This time the enemy escort launched the first salvo. Yzak was forced to go evasive, flying through a storm of fire unleashed by Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers.

_There's more of them than with the last unit_, he thought as he tried to work his way through the barrage, _this won't be easy._

He managed to get a few openings to return fire, but the enemy wasn't making it easy on him. There was a pattern to the defense; the Strike-Daggers were up front with their shields raised to intercept his fire while the Buster-Daggers continued their barrage. It was coordinated and deadly, and Yzak just could not make any headway. At the same time he saw more mobile suits rushing forward, ready to flank him.

"Damn it," he said as he shot down a Strike-Dagger, "They're getting smarter."

Suddenly a rain of beams cut into the mobile armor's escorts, destroying two Strike-Daggers and a Buster-Dagger. Checking his sensors, Yzak saw a trio of GuAIZs moving in fast.

"This is Caldwell Team," said a male voice over the radio, "Boaz Command ordered us to back you up, Joule!"

Yzak nodded as he blocked beam fire on his shield. "Thanks. Focus fire on the escorts; we need to punch through their screen!"

Making words action, Yzak redoubled his attack on the assault mobile armor's escorts, blasting away with his rifle and railgun. He was joined by rifle fire from two of Caldwell Team's units while the third moved to block additional Earth Alliance units from striking at the flanks.

Yzak smiled as he saw two Buster-Daggers and a Strike-Dagger fall to ZAFT fire. "I've got an opening. Cover me!"

It was not a moment too soon; the heavy guns of the machine cut loose with another swath of crimson destruction, and a _Nazca_-class destroyer was consumed by the salvo. He gritted his teeth as he charged in, his mobile suit buffeted by the hail of bullets the mobile armor's CIWS were throwing at him.

"Take this!" he yelled, firing away.

Beams and railgun rounds hit their target, knocking out two of the CIWS on the right side of the machine. Yzak continued to fire as he closed in until he was at saber range, when he lashed out with his blade and dragged it along the side of the machine. When he reached the end and pulled out, the mobile armor exploded.

As the blast faded he received a transmission from the _Granin_'s Captain. "Excellent work, Yzak! Continue focusing your attacks on those heavy mobile armors. Caldwell Team will act as your guard; they're yours to command!"

Yzak nodded. "Understood."

He quickly designated the next target and sent the data to his comrades. "We'll cut a path through to that mobile armor and take it down."

"Copy that," the lead pilot replied.

Yzak hit his thrusters and made for the target while the three GuAIZs formed up around him. They flew through a storm of fire the likes of which Yzak had never seen before; the vanguard fleets of the Alliance and ZAFT were continuing to hammer each other with everything they had. The young pilot was keenly aware that luck mattered almost as much as skill in an environment like this; a single stray shot from a capital ship, regardless of allegiance, could easily be enough to kill him.

_So much fire_, he thought as he destroyed a Buster-Dagger with his beam rifle, _it almost outnumbers the stars…_

It was almost beautiful, but it was hard to enjoy the scenery when it could very easily kill him and when who-knew how many people were dying every second. Yzak couldn't begin to imagine how many soldiers on both sides had already perished, and he wondered if he'd have the guts to look at the casualty figures once the fight was over.

He shook his head; such thoughts now would only get him killed.

He kept his rifle up, firing as he advanced. His fire was joined by shots from his three wingmen, and together they carved a path towards the next assault mobile armor. Their drive through the enemy ranks was hard and fast, their rifles and energy blades cutting down any Alliance mobile suit unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. Yzak was sure his kill count was through the roof, and the battle was still young.

"Dive," he said, "Those things are vulnerable from below; we'll hit it in the gut!"

His words became action as he and the Caldwell Team descended as they prepared to attack their target. Up ahead he could see several escorting Alliance mobile suits break away from the mobile armor and move to intercept.

"Let's punch through!" he yelled, opening fire.

His rifle and railgun blazed, with a Strike-Dagger and Buster-Dagger falling to his fire. His comrades joined him, and more machines went down in flames. However, the enemy did not take the attack lying down; there were plenty of surviving units that wasted no time in returning fire.

Yzak grimaced as he saw one of the GuAIZs get taken down by a blast from a Buster-Dagger's Hyper Impulse rifle. The loss of a comrade only fueled his determination to stop the enemy here and now. He flew into the thick of the enemy ranks, cutting down a Strike-Dagger with his beam saber and destroying a Buster-Dagger with a shot from his beam rifle. As he approached his target he saw the assault mobile armor turn to face him, the barrels of its heavy guns glowing red.

"_Shit_!" he snarled, veering sharply to the left.

It wasn't a moment too soon. The heavy mobile armor opened fire, its powerful main guns cutting a swath of destruction. Yzak was unscathed, but Caldwell Team wasn't so lucky; a GuAIZ had gotten caught in the blast.

"Watch my back," he said to his surviving wingman, "I'll take this thing down!"

Stabbing another Strike-Dagger through the torso, Yzak dived to get below the mobile armor. The craft's crew was skilled though, already rolling the craft to bring its CIWS and missile launchers to bear on him. Bullets rained down on him, buffeting him as he tried to make his approach. Yzak gritted his teeth and powered through the barrage, hoping his armor could take it. The mobile armor cut loose with its missiles, and Yzak replied with his beam rifle and CIWS, cutting himself a path through the horde of warheads.

He came in fast and hard, impaling the machine's topside with his blade. Dragging the beam saber across the top of the machine, he took it all the way to the back of the mobile armor, and the unit exploded as he pulled the blade out.

_Another one down_, he thought, _but there's plenty more to go!_

**End "The Only Thing I've Ever Known"**

….

From the bridge of the carrier _Roosevelt_, Rear Admiral Bernard's eyes narrowed as he studied the unfolding engagement. Both fleets had taken losses, but they were still holding strong; each side had hundreds of capital ships on the field, and neither had brought in reinforcements yet.

He felt like the conductor of a grand orchestra. To command such a vast fleet of warships and thousands of mobile suits was a heady feeling; power unlike he'd ever felt before. It was almost enough to make him forget that his force was merely the vanguard of a gargantuan armada.

_This is but a taste of our power, Coordinators_, he thought, _We've yet to show you our true might!_

It was not yet time to unleash the Alliance's secret weapon, but it would not be long before they could play their ace in the hole. The battle had to wear on just a little longer, with the enemy ranks worn down just enough to ensure that they could not stop what was coming.

The Juggernaut mobile armors and Strike-Avengers were accomplishing that goal nicely. The former had done a good job at opening up gaps in the enemy ranks, while the latter had exploited that and exacerbated the effect.

However, their momentum was grinding down. ZAFT squadrons had begun concentrated attacks on the Juggernauts, punching through their escort screens and outmaneuvering the cumbersome craft, hitting them from above and below. As for the Strike-Avengers, the erratic and hyper-aggressive nature of their pilots meant that they lacked real coordination with the rest of the Earth Alliance forces, or even their teammates for that matter. They were charging out ahead on their own, leaving themselves vulnerable to flanking attacks, and several of the Extended pilots had already fallen. Bernard rued the fact that the vanguard fleet had not been given any of the units that were piloted by normal and experienced Alliance pilots; Azrael had saved those for the main fleet, along with the bulk of the Extended Humans.

The Earth Alliance forces still held the advantage of numbers, but it was dwindling. The combined firepower of the ZAFT dreadnoughts, weapons platforms, Boaz itself and her supporting fleet was enough to make up the disparity. The three black leviathans and the fortress's armaments were particularly impressive and destructive, and while the former were showing signs of damage none appeared close to falling.

Bernard frowned as a fresh swarm of missiles flew forth from the asteroid base, ripping into mobile suits and _Drake_-class escort ships at the head of the fleet. The fortress added to the storm with heavy railguns and beam cannons, its firepower equaling that of a battle group and savaging the attacking Earth Alliance forces. The three massive dreadnoughts were only making things worse, with each enough to hold whole flotillas at bay, and with the support of the ZAFT fleet they were succeeding in blunting the vanguard's assault. The Rear Admiral actually found himself envying the Coordinators new warships; even the _Archangel_-class battleships were put to shame by those behemoths.

"Any word from the _Dominion _or _Doolittle_?" he asked.

"No new instructions at this time," the communications officer replied.

_Damn micromanagers_, he silently fumed, _Azrael, Sutherland… I can't order the strike until _they _give the go-ahead._

He wondered how long he would have to wait until they finally gave him the orders he was waiting for. Would it be in the next minute, or an hour from now? Were they deliberately withholding the authorization he sought, hoping his fleet and the power he wielded with it worn down by the ZAFT defense? Did Sutherland and Azrael seek to make him call them and beg for permission to launch the nukes, humiliating him and elevating themselves at his expense? Politics of that sort was not unheard of among the upper ranks of the Alliance forces, and the High Command was hardly an exception to it? The egos of the top brass were enormous, and they all were constantly looking for means to advance themselves over the others.

"Is Red Squadron ready?" he asked.

"They've been on standby since the battle began, per your orders," replied the carrier's flight controller, "They can launch at any time."

_Held back like dogs on a leash_, he mentally grumbled, _If this is Azrael and Sutherland's idea of amusement, I'll be sure to find some way to return the favor once this is all over…_

In the meantime, all he could do was command his force and wait for that one order…

….

"Whoa," said Lan softly, "Look at 'em go…"

Holding position on the outskirts of the battlefield, her Wraith's Mirage Colloid activated, Lan had been tasked by Waltfeld to act as a forward observer for the Three Ships Alliance, transmitting data to her comrades and keeping them apprised of the situation. It was a mission her machine was very well suited for, along with those of Adaline and Priscilla, and so the Desert Tiger had set up a rotation with Lan as the lead pilot; depending on how long the battle wore on, she would eventually swap positions with one of her allies to return to the _Eternal _and rest.

Lan knew her role was vital, but she was still unhappy with the assignment. She hated recon and observation; she was the kind of girl that liked to mix it up. In that respect she knew she was no different from her fellow ladies of the Valkyrie Team. Still, she had to admit that the view was spectacular.

_Should've brought some popcorn_, she thought idly as she monitored the unfolding battle.

The voice of the Desert Tiger came over the radio, startling her. "Enjoying the fireworks, Miss Zhao?"

Lan straightened out in her seat. "Sorry, sir. It's just… there's not a lot for me to do out here right now."

"I know," Waltfeld replied, "but stay sharp all the same. You never know when the action's going to shift in your direction."

Lan nodded. "Yes, sir."

"From the data you're sending us, it looks like quite the show," said Waltfeld.

"It is," said Lan, "although it feels weird, being a spectator and all."

Waltfeld sighed. "I know what you mean, Miss Zhou. It's hard to just sit back and watch as they duke it out. Still, for now it's what we need to do. The time's not right for us to intervene yet. Look at the enemy forces that are fighting right now; do you really think the head honchos will be with the vanguard fleets?"

Lan shook her head. "No, sir."

"As long as the top dogs from the Alliance or ZAFT aren't on the field, there's no point in us acting against their fleets," said Waltfeld, "With them fighting out at Boaz right now there's no danger to either of their civilian populations, so there's no need for us to intervene on their behalf yet either."

"But if the Earth forces breach The Boaz Wall, that could force our hands, right?" asked Lan.

"They'd still have to contend with the Jachin Due Line after that," said Waltfeld, "but yeah, if the fighting gets to the doorstep of the PLANTs then we'd have to jump in to safeguard the civilians. Also, at that point we might have a shot at both Azrael and Zala."

Lan nodded. "Yes, you're right."

"Hold tight, Miss Zhou," said Waltfeld, "I know it's not what you want to do, but that's your mission. _Eternal _out."

Lan sighed as she relaxed in her chair. "Hold tight, he says. Great. Something I suck at."

It wasn't just her personal desire to get in there and defeat the enemy that had her at odds with this assignment, though. Lan may no longer have been a part of the ZAFT forces, but as she watched them now she knew that most of the soldiers fighting against the Alliance were doing so for one of the reasons she had joined the military in the first place; to defend their loved ones and their home. Even after being away from L5, after basically exiling herself, Lan knew that she still thought of the PLANTs as home, and her instincts wanted her to fight to protect it from the Alliance fleet.

She shook her head in disappointment. "It's no longer home. There are still innocent and good people there, but it's no longer home. Get that through your head…"

It wasn't easy though, especially since she had a very personal stake in this; her mother was still at L5. She was in the September City Colonies, under the protection of Councilor Eileen Canaver, safeguarded from the Zala regime, but the shelter offered by the moderate leader meant little in the face of Earth Alliance aggression. Lan doubted the enemy cared about the different factions of ZAFT and PLANT politics; as far as they were concerned, they were all Coordinators and had to die. When all this was over, Lan vowed to find a way to get her mother out of the PLANTs, perhaps to Orb. She was sure Lady Cagalli could find room for another exile from L5.

Until that time though, all she could do was look on as the vanguard fleets of the Alliance and ZAFT clashed at L5's doorstep. Explosions big and small constantly flared amidst the black backdrop as mobile suits and warships were destroyed. It was a pyrotechnic display unlike any she had ever seen before, and the young Chinese Coordinator knew that this was just the opening round. She couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like when both sides finally brought their full strength to the battlefield.

_I know our plan's to hit them while they're mixing it up with each other_, she thought, her eyes narrowing, _and it makes sense, but still… even if they're focused on killing each other, they'll still have plenty of firepower to throw at us when we take the field. It doesn't matter how fast and hard we hit them, or how precise. It's going to get ugly…_

Not that it wasn't already.

….

Folding his arms, Creuset smirked as he looked up at the massive main monitor inside Jachin Due's command center. "Magnificent…" he said softly.

Hundreds of warships, _thousands _of mobile suits… all were mixing it up in a titanic display of military might, a confrontation that had been brought about thanks in no small part to his manipulation. He had worked very hard over the past few years to push both sides deeper into the throws of fear and hatred, and it was all paying off splendidly now. From the massive asteroid fortress he watched as the opening act of the final campaign unfolded before his eyes, and as fearsome a battle as this was he knew that it would soon be surpassed by the one that followed it.

The Boaz Wall continued to hold strong despite their casualties. Creuset was impressed with how the station's master commanded his forces and had yet to call for reinforcements. The defense was skillful and formidable, a potent combination of ZAFT's mastery of mobile suit warfare, the supporting capital ships, and of course the raw firepower of Boaz and her surrounding weapons platforms.

_Yzak's putting up a good fight as well_, he mused, having noted the Duel's progress in the battle, _I suppose I should take pride, but… well, despite what Zala and his cohorts may believe, I never considered him to be my protégé. The same goes for Athrun and the rest of the old team. They were nothing more than tools, means to an end…_

He glanced over at his superior… well, nominal superior; Creuset could never truly consider the Supreme Council Chairman to be his greater. Patrick Zala had a face of stone as he watched the battle unfold. It may have been the opening act of the final campaign, but Zala was not letting any excitement show. That was to be expected, though; Creuset knew that the man was calculating when would be the best moment to deploy their trump card. With the Earth Alliance only deploying a fraction of the force the Patrol Fleet had reported, Zala had surely come to the conclusion that patience was required for the time being.

Although Creuset had to wonder if that restraint would hold when the Earth Alliance played _their _trump card.

_You're taking longer than I expected, Azrael_, he thought, _I do hope you'll pick up the pace soon. Otherwise I may have to get directly involved…_

He hoped to avoid taking the field personally just yet. While Creuset knew he could certainly shake things up with the power of the Providence, he wanted to keep the fearsome new mobile suit in the shadows for just a little longer. After all, it was entirely possible that the renegades were observing the battle, and he wanted his new personal machine to be a surprise for them. Still, he was aware that events could force his hand.

"We are holding," he heard Field Marshal Keitel say, "The Earth Alliance forces are no match for our defenses!"

The overweight Chief of Staff for the Defense Council was right next to Zala, a smug smile on his face. It was all Creuset could do to keep from revealing just how insignificant a pawn the fat bastard was in this grand game and just shoot him; at least other players on the board weren't as disgustingly sycophantic as him.

"They have only brought a fraction of their armada to bear," Zala replied, "but that was to be expected. Soon they'll bring in their reinforcements, and _that _is when we'll strike. They'll learn that no amount of numbers will allow them to triumph over us!"

Out of their line of sight, Creuset allowed himself a smirk. _Believe that all you wish, Chairman. I can't wait to see the look on your face when Azrael finally makes his move._

_ When Boaz is consumed by fire…_

….

Yzak smiled as another one of the Alliance's new assault mobile armors fell to his blade.

_It's working_, he thought, _their advance has stalled!_

The battle was still raging furiously, but the enemy had completely lost their momentum. The Earth Alliance had actually taken more losses than ZAFT, with their force of seven hundred warships now at nearly 450. ZAFT, on the other hand, still had almost 360 ships from their vanguard fleet still in action; the firepower of Boaz and the _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts had gone a long way towards evening the odds. The enemy's mobile suit squadrons had likewise taken a beating, though the fact that they had more new models than ZAFT did meant that Yzak's fellow pilots were having a harder time than the capital ships.

Combined strikes by mobile suits and warships had stopped the heavy assault mobile armors dead in their tracks. Most had been completely destroyed, while a few badly damaged units were limping back to the Alliance fleet. The time was ripe for a counter attack, and Yzak was already moving in.

He sighted in on the closest enemy capital ship, a _Drake_-class escort ship. The vessel was already pumping out bullets at him in a desperate attempt to stop his attack, but Yzak was fully aware of that type of vessel's firing arcs and easily slipped through the gaps in the coverage.

Zeroing in on the bridge, Yzak opened fire. Beam rifle and railgun fire hit home, destroying the command center and setting the vessel adrift.

"Who's next?" said Yzak.

He didn't have time to pick out another warship; mobile suits were moving in to intercept him. Yzak readied his beam saber, and was just in time to block a slash from a Strike-Dagger. He swiftly countered, brining the blade up and thrusting into his foe's chest. As the machine exploded he whirled around and raised his shield, blocking rifle fire from another Strike-Dagger.

"Out of my way," he growled, shooting down the attacker with his rifle.

A quick glance at his sensors showed other ZAFT mobile suit teams following his lead, beginning to advance into the forward ranks of the Earth Alliance forces. The initiative had completely reversed in the battle, and now it was ZAFT that was taking the fight to the enemy. Flotillas of frigates and destroyers were moving up as well, emboldened by the clear shift in momentum.

He selected another escort ship on his sensors and gunned his engines. The vessel opened fire with its three 75mm Vulcan cannons while Strike-Daggers moved to intercept him. Just like before, Yzak quickly cut a path through the Alliance mobile suits, slashing two machines with his beam saber while downing two more with his rifle. Moving behind the ship, he pumped beam rifle and railgun fire into its engines. Explosions ripped through the vessel and tore it apart.

Yzak didn't have time to celebrate. Alarms rang in his cockpit as multiple missiles locked onto the Duel, and as he looked at his sensors he saw another escort ship open up on him with every warhead in its arsenal. Knowing there was no way he'd be able to evade every one of them, Yzak opened fire with his beam rifle, railgun and CIWS while at the same time charging towards the volley.

To an outside observer the move looked suicidal, but Yzak had a plan; destroy the missiles in the middle of the volley, the ones most likely to hit him, and accelerate past the ones on the fringes before they could course-correct and hit him. It was bold to be sure, but his skills, Coordinator reflexes, and the combined protection of the Assault Shroud and Phase Shift Armor gave him a chance to pull it off.

The mobile suit shook as two missiles impacted it, but before he knew it Yzak was through the barrage and his target was in sight. He unloaded on it with his beam rifle, destroying the topside 75mm Vulcan turret before moving on to the bridge. The command center was torn apart by his beams, and the warship began to drift. Another pilot might've finished it off, but Yzak refrained; the target was neutralized.

_Will others show them that mercy?_, he thought as he traded saber blows with a Strike-Dagger, _I wish I could say for certain yes, but with the way things are now… I just don't know._

He didn't have time to worry about it; he had a battle to win.

….

_They're pushing forward now_, thought Bernard, scowling as he observed the battle, _damn mongrels._

The fact that the momentum had swung in the enemy's favor was something Sutherland would never let him live down. Bernard was furious that the head of the High Command and Azrael had allowed the fight to drag on for as long as it had without giving him authorization to launch the nukes. Now he was certain that their silence was just to screw him over. They wouldn't allow the vanguard fleet to be destroyed, but he knew that they wanted him thoroughly humiliated before they gave the order that would turn the entire battle around.

He gritted his teeth as he looked at one of the monitors and saw the Duel carving through Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers. It infuriated him to no end to see the stolen Earth Alliance prototype used against them like this, and against a fleet he himself led it was just insulting.

_Duel in the hands of ZAFT, the Buster with the traitors, along with the Archangel… the damn Heliopolis project's been one pain in the neck after another. If we hadn't gotten the Strike-Dagger as a result it would never have been worth it…_

It was even worse to know that the enemy had not only stolen their new weapons but had used them to improve their own arsenal. Bernard knew that some of the technology used on ZAFT's nuclear-powered machines was pioneered by the Heliopolis project, and the GuAIZ also owed its existence to the stolen prototypes. It would be _very _satisfying to witness all those machines destroyed, crushed beneath the heels of the Earth Alliance.

"Sir," said the communications officer, "Incoming transmission from the _Dominion_!"

_Finally_, thought Bernard.

"Put it on screen," he said.

He grimaced as Azrael's face appeared on the screen. That familiar smug smirk was on his face just like always, and it sickened him.

"Rear Admiral Bernard," said Azrael, "Having a little trouble?"

Bernard slammed his fist on the arm of his chair. Formalities and protocol be damned; he was pissed.

"You fucking little shit!" he snarled, "How long are you going to wait to give me that fucking order?"

Azrael chuckled. "Language, Rear Admiral, language. My, my, yours is hardly fitting of a man of your position. You won't win favors talking like that."

"Fuck favors," Bernard growled, "This is an assault, not a damn game! My fleet's been bloodied, just like I'm sure you wanted, now let me turn those fucking mutants to radioactive cinders!"

"I meant you no slight, Rear Admiral," Azrael replied, his tone one of mock apology, "This was merely part of the plan. The abominations think they're on the cusp of repulsing your attack; what better time to show them just how wrong they are than when they believe they are on the verge of victory?"

"This isn't fucking theater, it's _war!_" roared Bernard, "Now let me send them to the pits of Hell!"

Azrael smiled. "I'm glad to see your devotion and zeal, but with your tone I just can't simply give you want you want. Change your language, Rear Admiral, and I can issue the order we both wish to hear."

_I can't believe it's come to this_, he silently fumed, _to be humiliated in front of my own bridge crew… Azrael, this isn't over! When the dust has settled, you will pay for this indignity!_

He sighed. "Please, _Lord _Azrael. Give me the order to begin the purge."

Azrael grinned. "There, was that so hard?"

"Do I have your authorization?" Bernard said through gritted teeth.

Azrael's smile became maniacal and sadistic. "Of course, Rear Admiral. Show them that we have returned, and that they cannot hope to stop us! _Show them that we are here to finish what was started with the Bloody Valentine!_"

Bernard nodded. "It will be done, my lord."

"I look forward to seeing it unfold," Azrael replied, "Don't disappoint me, Rear Admiral."

Bernard had to resist flipping him off as he disappeared from the screen. He'd been unprofessional enough as it was today; as a member of the Atlantic Federation High Command he ought to at least have _some _restraint.

"Have Red Squadron launch," he said, "Their targets are the dreadnoughts and Boaz."

"Understood, sir," replied the carrier's flight controller.

Bernard smiled as his gaze turned back to the raging battle before him. The sweet satisfaction of victory would soon be his…

…as he kicked off the Coordinators' Armageddon.

….

Yzak smiled as another _Drake_-class escort ship fell to his guns. _We're pushing them back! We're winning!_

He knew it was too early to declare victory, and wasn't about to let his guard down, but the change in tide was cause for celebration. The battle still raged around him, with so many people dying every second, but ZAFT had begun to make serious headway in repulsing the Earth Alliance fleet. Of course, it was only a matter of time before they called in their reinforcements, but the fact that they would be the first to do so rather than ZAFT despite starting of the fight with over two hundred more capital ships and so many more mobile suits than Yzak's comrades was testament to the furious and effective defense waged by The Boaz Wall.

Thanks to supporting fire from the fortress and the capital ships mobile suit teams and individual units like Yzak were penetrating deeper into the Earth Alliance ranks. They were doing to them what had been done to ZAFT earlier in the fight; opening holes in the Alliance lines and sowing chaos and confusion in their formations.

_We can do this_, he thought as he cut down a Strike-Dagger with his beam saber, _We can win!_

He continued to push forward, shooting down a Buster-Dagger with his beam rifle and slashing another Strike-Dagger in half with his violet blade. His adrenaline was pumping like never before, driving him onward as he fought with all his might to defend his homeland. He knew he'd half to pull back soon; the battle had been raging for awhile now, and the Duel's batteries would eventually need to be recharged. For now though, he wasn't worried about that. All that mattered was fighting to make sure the defenses held.

It was a mission he was so sure ZAFT would accomplish.

Until the cruel hands of fate gave him a nasty surprise.

**Start "Gradus Vita"**

"All units, new priority targets!" said Boaz Control, and Yzak was taken aback by the very clear fear in their voice, "New contacts have launched from one of the carriers with Ragnarok payloads! Repeat; contacts are carrying Ragnarok missiles!"

Yzak's eyes widened in shock, and his blood chilled.

"Impossible! Nukes…"

_It can't be! The only ones with N-Jammer Canceller technology are us and the renegades! No way the Earth Alliance has it! They can't!_

He frantically searched his scanners until he found the contacts designated by Boaz. Yzak brought them up on his visual sensors, and shock turned to horror as his worst fears were confirmed.

Four Moebius mobile armors.

Each carrying a large missile.

The four mobile armors were under a heavy escort of Strike-Daggers and beam-cannon equipped Moebius units. Numbers didn't matter to Yzak now though; he _had _to take them down.

"All forward units, on me!" he said, "We can't let them launch those missiles!"

He charged forward, not waiting for any acknowledgement. Whole squadrons of mobile suits and mobile armors were already moving to face him, and nearby capital ships were switching their fire from ZAFT warships to the mobile suits moving to intercept the nuclear strike force.

The entire Alliance force seemed reenergized by the appearance of those four mobile armors, and it showed in their furious defense as the units moved in to strike. Yzak suddenly found himself facing tough opposition as he clashed with Strike-Daggers, and he realized that the enemy had held back their more experienced pilots for just this moment.

"Get out of my way!" he yelled as he shot down one unit and impaled another.

For every machine he took down another immediately took its place, and he soon found himself being pushed back under combined fire from Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers. Worse yet, he saw on his sensors the entire Earth Alliance vanguard fleet start to push forward as ZAFT frantically tried to punch through the screen they had thrown up around the four nuclear-warhead-bearing mobile armors.

He fought like mad. A Buster-Dagger fell to his railgun, a Strike-Dagger to his beam rifle, and another to his saber. His focus was solely on cutting through their escort and taking down those four machines, but he wasn't making any headway, and the same went for his allies.

The Duel rocked as he took fire from a nearby escort ship. More Strike-Daggers rushed in, and Yzak had no choice but to pull back. Fighting for his life, he watched with a growing sense of helplessness as the enemy advanced.

Then the Alliance escorts pulled back.

And the mobile armors fired.

Four Ragnarok type nuclear missiles streaked across space. The ZAFT fleet tried to intercept, but with the Earth forces redoubling their assault they could not coordinate their fire on the warheads.

Three massive spheres of red-orange light erupted as the _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts were hit. The mighty black leviathans were nothing before the raw power of the Earth Alliance's deadliest weapons. Their great hulls were briefly outlined by the blinding explosions before they were consumed by the fire of the atom.

As horrifying as that was, Yzak's shock paled in comparison to what came next. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched that last missile fly towards its target, untouched by any of the desperate fire ZAFT threw at it.

"No…" he said softly, praying for a miracle that he knew was not coming.

And then the missile hit Boaz.

Like the dreadnoughts before the outline of the base was momentarily illuminated before it was overtaken by nuclear fire. The light was both entrancing and blinding, and Yzak had to force himself to look away lest he be killed thanks to his distraction. When he looked again though he was once again overcome by shock and horror as he saw the utter carnage wrought by the attack.

Half of the asteroid was completely blown away. What was left was blackened by the searing heat of the blast, the innards of the base exposed to vacuum. Shards of rock and metal floated out in an expanding cloud of debris, along with who-knew-how-many bodies. The once mighty Boaz fortress had been reduced to a charred stone grave.

The Duel shook as a missile hit it, knocking Yzak out of his funk. He immediately began to pull back, laying down covering fire with his beam rifle and railgun. There was no doubt in his mind that a general retreat order would soon be issued; the ZAFT lines were already falling apart. The loss of the three carrier/dreadnoughts and Boaz herself had a devastating, _crippling _impact on the defense, and Yzak knew that they would have to regroup with the main body of the Grand Fleet at the Jachin Due Line.

Sure enough, new orders came over the fleet-wide channel from Jachin Due. "All forces, fall back immediately! Withdraw to the Jachin Due Line!"

Already the survivors of The Boaz Wall were pulling back, with the stronger warships laying down covering fire while damaged vessels and mobile suits made their retreat. For their part the Earth forces seemed to be consolidating their position, not moving to pursue.

_Small favors_, he thought, _I'll take what I can get._

Yzak knew they would not have much time to rest though. The Earth forces would not sit on their triumph for long; it was only a matter of time before they brought forth their full armada and marched on the Jachin Due Line. Where before he had felt confident in his side's ability to repulse any attack from the Alliance, now Yzak knew only doubt and dread. What could ZAFT do against the power of nuclear weapons?

He hoped his superiors could come up with a plan fast.

If they could not, then their entire race would be exterminated.

**End "Gratus Vita"**

….

_ So_, Heero thought grimly as he studied the image on the main bridge monitor, _our worst fears are confirmed._

He looked over at Murrue and saw her eyes wide with horror. "They really did it…" she said softly.

Heero put his hand on her shoulder, and when she looked over at him he gave her a small nod. She quickly regained her composure and returned the gesture while bringing her hand up to his and briefly holding it.

"We knew it was a possibility after L4," he said, "but still… it is hard to swallow."

"Yes," Murrue replied as both of them looked at the screen again, "but wishing it were otherwise is pointless now. Their nuclear arsenal is fully operational again… and this was just a taste of it."

Heero nodded. "They'll bring the main fleet up and reintegrate the vanguard force into it. Then they'll march on the Jachin Due Line."

"Our old plan's out the window now," said Murrue grimly, "We can't sit back and let them slug it out any more now that we know the Alliance has brought its nukes to the fight. I hope Waltfeld has a plan B."

"Agreed," said Heero, "No matter what happens, we can't let them launch those at the PLANTs."

Murrue sighed. "All this destruction, and it was just the warm-up. The Alliance has revealed its trump card, and we still have no idea what tricks ZAFT has up their sleeve. If they're going to use that new weapon Bristow thought they were building, now's the time."

"I imagine we'll see it soon enough," said Heero, his eyes narrowing in determination, "and we'll find a way to stop it, too."

_We have to_, he thought as he looked at the charred ruins of Boaz on the main monitor, _too much is riding on it. The Alliance's nukes, ZAFT's secret weapon… one way or another, both threats have to be neutralized. We've got our work cut out for us…_

….

Creuset could not suppress a grin as he saw the looks of shock on the faces of Patrick Zala and the rest of the Defense Council members gathered aboard Jachin Due. On the main monitor of the control room he could see the still-smoldering ruins of Boaz and an expanding cloud of debris. The remnants of The Boaz Wall were falling back in disarray while the Earth forces maintained their position, no doubt savoring their victory.

_Even more beautiful than I imagined_, he thought, confident that no one was observing him as he gazed upon the destruction and ruin with a look of near-triumph, _and it's just the opening piece. Soon the grand finale will be upon us… in all its infernal glory!_

He watched as the Chairman gestured frantically, issuing new orders to his subordinates. That supreme confidence that had so irritated Creuset had taken a serious blow, and the masked Field Marshal knew that Zala had gotten a major dose of fear, though the man would never admit it. The same went for the rest of the Defense Council, and the general population of L5 would soon follow; there was no way Zala and his cronies could hide a defeat like this or put any sort of positive spin on it.

That fear would morph into anger and further fan the flames of hatred that the radicals had already stoked to a blazing bonfire. The officers and enlisted men and women would be hardened in their resolve, and the propaganda machine would go into overdrive as it further played on the fears and prejudices of the people. The regime had been preaching total war for quite some time now, but with this latest development they would abandon the last vestiges of restraint in their proclamations to the people. Phrases like 'absolute victory' and 'total submission of the Earth' would be exchanged for the language of annihilation; the calls for the Naturals' extermination would now be blatant.

At long last, the Rubicon had been crossed. Both sides now truly were at the point of no return. Arsenals were unleashed, fresh blood spilled, and nuclear fire had been reborn.

Creuset chuckled as a phrase from a certain ancient Roman General-turned-Emperor came to mind, and he felt it was quite fitting for the occasion.

"_Alea iacta est_," he whispered.

_The die is cast._

**Preview for next time!**

_With the fall of Boaz and the collapse of the outer defenses, the ZAFT Grand Fleet and the Earth Alliance armada are set to clash at the Jachin Due Line. Azrael has already revealed his trump card, but Patrick Zala still has his concealed, primed, and ready to fire. With the two largest forces in the history of mankind running headlong towards their Ragnarok, both wielding weapons of apocalyptic destruction, the stakes in this fight could not be higher. None are more aware of this than Heero, Murrue, and the rest of the Three Ships Alliance. The Earth forces' early victory at Boaz has forced them to drastically alter the timetable and layout of their operation and their fight is now more desperate than ever. Plunging headlong into the blazing inferno, the Perfect Soldier knows that the odds against him here are the greatest he's ever encountered, and the fate of all he holds dear in his new world is riding on the outcome. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Twenty-Nine: Firestorm._

_The Battle of Armageddon begins now._

**Author's Notes: **Well, it's taken almost three years to get here, but I'm finally ready to start writing the last battle of this fic! Man, hard to believe I've been at it for this long, and this is just the first fic of this series! Still got quite a ways to go, the Second Battle of Jachin Due's going to take some time to write, so your patience will be greatly appreciated. I promise the wait will be more than worth it.

By the way, if the Alliance's Juggernaut heavy assault mobile armors looked familiar, they should; I based them off the attack mode configuration of the Destroy units from Seed Destiny, but without some of their technology and weapons. Consider them the forerunners to the new mobile armors that the Alliance will use in the sequel, along with the Destroy itself of course.

Until next time!


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Notes: **Kept you waiting, eh? Sorry this took so long, but it's a really big chapter and I've had a lot on my plate the past few months, so it's been slow going. Just as a heads up, Seed canon takes quite a few hits to the balls here. There, don't say I didn't warn you.

Before we get the show on the road, here's the song list in order of appearance: "The Master" from Code Geass, "Fighter" from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, "Swordland" from Sword Art Online, "Rhythm Emotion" from Gundam Wing, "Crossing Field" from Sword Art Online, "Diapason" from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, "Red Fraction" from Black Lagoon, "I'm My Own Master Now" from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (the version with the acoustic intro preferably), "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath, "Sins of the Father" by Donna Burke, and "Demon of the Round Table" from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.

There, I think that's everything. Oh yeah, you might want to set some time aside for this one; you're gonna be here a while.

Enjoy!

**Episode Twenty-Nine: Firestorm**

_ I did this…_

_ This is my fault!_

Those words echoed in Flay's mind as she watched the _Dominion_'s main bridge monitor in horrified silence. The feed was still focused on the ruin of Boaz, the charred chunk of rock and its rapidly expanding debris field. How many had died in that strike? Hundreds? Thousands? _Tens of thousands?_

_I killed them!_

She may not have ordered the strike or pulled the trigger, but Flay knew that her guilt could not be denied. She thought back to that day at L4 when Creuset had given her that data drive before her pod had been launched towards the Earth Alliance forces. He'd told her that she carried the 'key' to ending the war…

…but he'd never said _how _it would end it.

_He never meant for me to return to my friends_, she thought, _He wanted me to give the Earth Alliance the technology to make their nukes operational again. But why? He's with ZAFT. He must've known the Alliance would use the nukes against his side. It doesn't make any sense!_

Creuset's motivations were a moot point now, she supposed. All that mattered was that the Earth Alliance could once again use its nuclear weapons, and Flay was the one that had made that possible.

A conversation she's had with Natarle back on the Moon a little over two months ago flashed through her mind. Taken in context with what she had just enabled, it now became so much more horrifying.

_"How many died?" she asked, "I don't know the exact number…"_

_ "I do," said Natarle grimly, "243,721 people were killed in that attack… and they were almost all civilians. The Junius City colonies have no major military presence beyond their internal security forces, Flay. Their primary purpose… is agriculture."_

_ Flay's eyes widened in horror. "Wait… we nuked one of the places where they grow food?"_

_ Natarle nodded. "Yes. Junius Seven had no value as a military target, just like the rest of the colonies in the Junius City." She sighed. "At least, if you only look at it with your sense of humanity intact."_

_ "What do you mean?" asked Flay._

_ "The Junius colonies," said Natarle, "are the only places the Coordinators have for food cultivation. Before those facilities were brought online they were dependent on shipments from Earth. Just destroying one of those colonies would've been a significant hit to food production, but if they were all destroyed…"_

_ "The Coordinators would starve," said Flay, terrified at the direction this already grim conversation was taking, "If they hadn't deployed the N-Jammer Cancellers after Junius Seven, then…"_

_ Natarle nodded solemnly. "If we were willing to take out Junius Seven, then I imagine the Alliance would be perfectly capable of destroying the rest of the Junius colonies. If that had happened, the Coordinators would've had two choices; surrender or be exterminated through starvation… if the Alliance didn't nuke the rest of the PLANTs before then."_

There had been nearly a quarter-million people on Junius Seven. With that colony destroyed there were now 119 PLANT colonies left at L5. Assuming each colony had at least as many people living on it as Junius Seven…

_How many more_, she thought as she surreptitiously pulled up the calculator function on her workstation, hoping Azrael wouldn't notice, _could die because of me?_

Try as she might, she could not suppress a gasp when she finished the math, and it was all she could do to hold back tears. At bare minimum, if the Earth Alliance nuked the rest of the PLANTs…

…she would be an accessory to the mass murder of 29,750,000 people.

She felt sick, and it took every ounce of strength in her not to throw up right there. So many people had died today because of her, yet even that paled in comparison to how many were still at risk.

Cautiously looking over her shoulder, she saw Azrael grinning at the main monitor. There was a frightening look in his eye as he gazed upon the carnage. He seemed almost in a state of ecstasy, and it only made Flay even more terrified of what was to come.

She turned to Natarle, looking for some kind of reassurance, but her Captain's expression could only be described as utter despair. As the commander of Azrael's flagship, no small amount of responsibility for what was about to happen to L5 rested on Natarle's shoulders, and Flay could only imagine how it was hurting her. It was bad enough for Flay that she had enabled Azrael by providing him with that data, but for Natarle to have to be commanding the man's warship as he issued the order to commit mass murder and be unable to stop him… she couldn't imagine what that was like.

Images of two young men flashed through her mind… two men that she knew were lumped in with Azrael's targets simply because of how they were born.

_Kira…_

_ Yzak…_

She looked down, doing her best to hide from the others the tears that now fell.

"I'm… I'm so sorry," she choked out, her voice a ragged whisper, "I… I never wanted this to happen."

_Forgive me…_

_ Save me!_

….

"Well," said Murrue as she looked at the main monitor, "what's our next move?"

The mood on the _Archangel_'s bridge was grim to say the least. Mere minutes ago they had witnessed the rebirth of the Earth Alliance's nuclear arsenal, unleashed against The Boaz Wall, and it was clear to all that it was only a taste of what would soon be brought to bear against the PLANTs.

_We knew it was a possibility_, she thought, _that they had regained their nukes, that the 'key' Flay held was N-Jammer Canceller schematics given to her by Creuset, but still… I never imagined we'd actually be right._

Shock and disgust burned within her. The former was at seeing her former nation's greatest weapons brought back to the war before her very eyes, while the later was born from the knowledge of what those weapons had been used for at the beginning of the conflict and what their intended target was now. Her country had not just fallen from grace in her mind; it was utterly irredeemable.

To know that the nation she had once called her own now stood upon the brink of slaughter _millions_ of people in the name of racism… it was a shame unlike any she had ever felt before.

The only comfort she had right now was the firm but gentle weight of Heero's hand on her right shoulder. It hadn't left there since the destruction of Boaz, and she needed it now more than ever. She felt like it was her lifeline, keeping her steady when her world had been thrown into turmoil.

Up on the screen she saw Waltfeld's good eye narrow. "The Earth Alliance will need a little time to bring up its main force and reintegrate the vanguard into it. Once that's done, though… they'll advance, and that means we'll have to as well."

"They'll throw a lot more than four missiles into the fray when they get in range," said Heero, and Murrue saw a grim look in his eyes, "I can intercept some with the Twin Buster Rifle… but not all."

Waltfeld nodded. "I know. I've got something else in mind for missile defense actually; it involves the Freedom and Justice. The _Eternal_'s METEOR batteries were designed to detach from the ship and attach to those two machines. In that state they considerably boost the firepower of those mobile suits, and when combined with their targeting systems they're capable of intercepting large quantities of missiles. We'll be counting on them to defend the colonies if the Alliance gets off any volleys."

"Those nukes aren't the only thing we have to worry about," said Murrue, her expression dark, "The Alliance has played their trump card, and if ZAFT has one too, now's the time they'll reveal it. We still have no idea what it could be, beyond the fact that it involves N-Jammer Canceller technology."

"Bristow's been on the lookout for it," said Waltfeld, "but so far we've got nothing. Either it's not ready, or it is and Zala's waiting for the right moment to unleash it."

"Has Lan seen anything?" asked Heero, "She is our forward recon right now, and she should have a good view of both Boaz and L5 proper."

Waltfeld shook his head. "All she's had to report is that the survivors of the ZAFT vanguard are falling back to the Jachin Due Line. The rest of the Grand Fleet is already mobilized and ready, so at least the Alliance won't be catching them off guard when they advance."

"For whatever that's worth," said Murrue grimly, "They don't have anything that can defend against a mass nuclear strike. I hope the METEOR batteries combined with the Freedom and Justice are up to the task."

Waltfeld nodded. "That makes two of us."

"How will we deploy?" asked Heero, "If we're going to be both targeting the enemy leadership and positioning ourselves to intercept missiles, then we're going to be spreading ourselves thin."

Waltfeld sighed. "I know, but we don't have a whole lot of options here. I'm going to rearrange the battle group into two task forces. Task Force One will be headed by the _Archangel_. Its goal will be to drive through to the heart of the Earth Alliance armada and take out their leadership by any means necessary. Captain Ramius, you're in command of that group. I'll be diverting all three of Shemei's girls to Task Force One; you'll have the whole Valkyrie Team under you."

Murrue nodded. "Understood. What about the second group?"

"The _Eternal _will carry the flag for Task Force Two, and the _Kusanagi _will be in it as well," Waltfeld replied, "We'll try to position ourselves to fend off any Alliance attacks on the colonies that threaten to breach the ZAFT lines. We'll also be gunning for key figures in ZAFT ranks, targeting fleet flagships and working our way over to Jachin Due. Since Heero will be part of Task Force One we're going to have to find another way to get a shot at Patrick Zala. We'll also be on the lookout for ZAFT's secret weapon and try to take it out if we find it."

"Be on the lookout for Creuset," Heero cautioned, "Thanks to L4 we now know that he's the one most responsible for the escalation of this war. He will try to stop us when he realizes what our intentions are."

"I know," said Waltfeld, "Believe me, that slippery bastard's close to the top of my target list."

"When are we moving out?" asked Murrue.

"As soon as the Earth Alliance reunites its fleet," Waltfeld replied, "We'll stick to the periphery until it's clear that both sides are moving to engage. Be ready to move at a moment's notice. "

Murrue nodded. "Understood."

Waltfeld sighed. "So many dead already… and no way to tell how many more will meet the Reaper before it's over. We're flying into a real shitstorm here. _Eternal _out."

It was a grim note to leave things on, but one Murrue could not deny was appropriate given their situation. As the Desert Tiger disappeared the screen once again returned to the devastation and ruin that was the remains of Boaz.

_Thousands are already slain_, she thought, _and it will only get worse from here. Are… are we really up to this?_

She felt that familiar hand on her shoulder give it a comforting squeeze, and she looked up at Heero. It was like he knew exactly what she was thinking, that he could sense her doubts. Hell, he probably _did _sense them; he was remarkably perceptive.

He gave her a small nod, and in his eyes she saw that same reassuring strength and determination. He was just as aware as her of the odds they were facing, probably more so. After all, no one in the Cosmic Era had ever seen a battle anywhere near to what was coming towards them, but Heero had in his old world, and he had _survived_.

Not just that; he had _triumphed_.

Murrue recalled with perfect clarity how the Gundam pilot had told her that his final battle at the _Libra _paled in comparison to what they would soon be flying into, but it was still comforting to know that he had gotten through a fight similar in nature to the one that awaited them, if not in scale. While OZ had not threatened the colonies with annihilation in that final clash, White Fang _had_ tried to drop their massive battleship onto the Earth. The devastation that would've ensued had Heero failed would've been beyond anything in human history, but he had prevailed. He knew what it was like to face incalculably high stakes, unimaginable pressure, and come out on top. Murrue knew that he would need that experience now more than ever.

They all would.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and Murrue almost blushed, knowing he'd caught her staring.

She nodded and smiled. "I'm all right, Heero. Thank you."

She turned to her sensor officer. "Maintain our connection with forward recon, and keep our long-range scopes on alert. If either side so much as twitches, I want to know."

"Understood, ma'am," he replied.

She looked back at Heero. "We've been so caught up in what's coming that I forgot to ask; did you and La Flaga get everything you need from the armory?"

Heero nodded. "We're all set; everything's stored in our mobile suits."

"Glad to hear it," said Murrue, "I'll do all I can to back you two up when the time comes. I just hope this works."

"So do I," said Heero.

Murrue turned back to the main monitor, once again focusing on the ruins of Boaz. Now the sight of the blasted fortress was not so disheartening to her. Rather, she took it as a challenge.

Stand against impossible odds, against the power to wipe out countless lives…

…and survive.

_Not just survive_, she thought, her eyes narrowing, _but win! Heero, myself, my crew, our allies… we _will _stop this madness!_

….

**September 25****th****, C.E. 71**

_It was one thing seeing it on sensors at a distance_, Natarle thought as she stared out the _Dominion_'s main bridge viewport, _but_ _it's another to see it up close. So much destruction… so much death…_

To say looking upon the aftermath of the Battle of Boaz was sobering was a considerable understatement. The blasted hulls of hundreds of ships, the twisted wreckage of so many more mobile suits, the blackened and mauled remains of the once mighty asteroid fortress… it was all a grim harbinger of what Natarle knew was to come.

The battle had proven that ZAFT had no new counter to the Earth Alliance's nuclear arsenal. With the Coordinators' N-Jammer Canceller technology turned against them, ZAFT was now facing their worst fear; the threat of a new Bloody Valentine, one on a far larger scale. The enemy had been unable to make a concentrated attempt to intercept the four Ragnarok missiles unleashed on them two days ago, and Natarle knew if they could not manage that against such a small number of warheads then they would be helpless against the barrage Azrael planned to unleash against the colonies. Once battle was joined and ZAFT was focused on holding the line against the Alliance's conventional forces there would be no way for them to shoot down the massive nuclear salvos that would be coming.

_It's so predictable it's painful, really_, she thought with disdain, _Azrael will simply throw the armada against the Jachin Due Line and swamp ZAFT with sheer numbers. After enough time's gone by that the enemy's sufficiently focused on repelling our conventional forces he'll just spam nukes until every colony is destroyed. There's no real regard to subtlety or tactics, no concern for the massive casualties we'll take with such a straightforward attack. He'll slaughter the enemy by whatever means necessary, and if that means drowning our forces in a sea of our own blood, so be it. He'll wave the flag of victory while standing atop a rampart of our own dead. It's disgusting…_

Then again, so was the rest of this war.

She looked over at Flay. The girl seemed to be holding up all right, but Natarle knew much of it was a front. Her shock and horror at the nuclear strike on Boaz had been clear to anyone watching her, and she had been very quiet and subdued since the attack. Of course, she'd been much that way since she had been recovered at L4, but now it was even more pronounced. The girl was making a very conscious effort to avoid looking at the devastation that lay just outside the viewport, but Natarle could tell that she was failing. Every so often her gaze would slip and catch sight of the aftermath of the battle… of the carnage that she had helped enable.

There was no doubt in Natarle's mind now that what Flay had delivered to them on that fateful day at L4 was the secret to countering ZAFT's N-Jammers, and it was just as clear that the poor girl had had no idea that she had been carrying such a deadly package. Her heart went out to her unofficial ward; she was sure Flay was suffering from an almost crippling guilt.

_Misery loves company_, she mused darkly.

Natarle wondered how the rest of her crew felt about recent events. The mood on the bridge had been grim ever since the armada had been launched, and it had only gotten worse upon the destruction of Boaz. Natarle actually took that as a good sign; her subordinates recognized the fall of the fortress to the fire of the atom as a harbinger of what was to come. Enemy soldiers may have been targeted in that attack, but when the time came to march on the PLANTs themselves Natarle knew her superiors would not be distinguishing between civilians and combatants. Millions would die, and every Earth Alliance soldier would be complicit in the biggest war crime of human history.

If there were any courts left in this world not thoroughly corrupted by Azrael and his cronies, Natarle knew that she and her comrades would be found guilty.

And she would've made no effort to plead otherwise.

Azrael wasn't on the bridge right now, but Natarle knew that would change shortly. When he arrived, she knew that would be the signal that she had been dreading; it would be time to march on the PLANTs.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

_Mu_, she thought, _I'm sorry. You believed I was better than this, and I would do anything to prove you right, but… I can't. If I disobey, I'll simply be killed, and I doubt whoever Azrael finds to replace me will have the same concern for my crew that I do. I want to keep them safe, just like Captain Ramius did for us when I was on your side… and to do that, it looks like I'll have to become a criminal. Forgive me…_

"Any movement from the enemy?" she asked.

Her sensor officer shook his head. "The ZAFT fleet is still concentrated around Jachin Due. They've made no move to engage us."

Natarle nodded. "I thought as much. They'll wait for us to attack so they can use the fortress itself and the rest of the Jachin Duel Line in the fight. We're going to have to be the ones to start this."

They'd be more than capable of doing that. The losses suffered by the vanguard fleet in the battle were but a pinprick when compared to the full might of the Earth Alliance armada. With the fleet now completely united, Natarle knew it would not be long now before Azrael would give the order to commence the attack. It was very late in the 'day'; 'night' on Natarle's time, but distinctions like that mattered little in outer space. The armada had been reorganized, with Bernard and Sutherland each officially in charge of half the fleet, though unofficially of course the entire operation was under Azrael's command.

She heard the bridge door open behind her, and she didn't have to turn around to know who had entered; the devil was here.

Azrael came up and took his customary seat, smiling as he looked upon the ruins of Boaz and the full Alliance armada.

"Ah, what a lovely scene," he said, "A good omen for what's to come, wouldn't you say, Captain Badgiruel?"

"I'll take intel over omens," she deadpanned in reply.

Azrael chuckled. "Practical as ever."

He turned to Flay. "Get the _Truman _on the line."

Natarle raised an eyebrow as her subordinate carried out Azrael's order. The _Truman _wasn't one of the command ships; why did Azrael want to get in touch with that particular carrier?

The Captain of the carrier in question appeared on the screen, and Azrael wasted no time in getting to business. "Captain Walters. Is his machine ready for battle?"

The man on the screen nodded. "The Phantom Commander's Strike-Avenger and the Perfect Strike pack are both fully operational."

_Phantom Commander?_, she thought, _Who the hell is that? And what's the Perfect Strike pack?_

Azrael smiled. "Excellent. And his condition?"

"Optimal," Captain Walters replied, "No health concerns to report. He is prepared to fight, as are the rest of my pilots."

Azrael nodded. "Glad to hear it, Captain. Carry on."

As Captain Walters disappeared from the screen Natarle turned to Azrael. "Sir, what was that about?"

Azrael shook his head. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Miss Captain. Focus on your own duties, if you will."

His voice dripped with ill-conceal contempt, and Natarle fought to suppress a glare. The way he kept her out of the loop on intel like that when it could have a major impact on her operations had gotten old long ago.

"Get the _Doolittle _and _Roosevelt _on the line," he ordered.

The screen split, with Admiral Sutherland appearing on the upper half and Rear Admiral Bernard on the lower. The latter was scowling, and Natarle was sure he was still furious over how Azrael had practically made him beg for permission to launch the nukes at Boaz and the three dreadnoughts. Natarle had no sympathy for Bernard, but Azrael's conduct during the battle was still disgusting all the same.

_Using a battle to grandstand, to lord his power over someone_, Natarle silently fumed, _How disgraceful. Yet another sign of just how far we've fallen…_

"Gentlemen," said Azrael, "I trust you're both ready."

Sutherland nodded. "The armada is fully reintegrated. All ships have their assignments and are awaiting orders."

"So can we get this started?" growled Bernard.

Azrael chuckled. "Still sore, Rear Admiral? Come, now; surely you're professional enough to put your personal feelings about the previous operation behind you? In light of what lies ahead, I think out past disagreements have little relevance, don't you?"

Bernard sighed. "Yes, Lord Azrael. We are ready to launch on your orders."

"Excellent," said Azrael, "Then I see no reason for further delay. Let us commence the final stage of Operation Peacemaker!"

_So it begins_, Natarle thought grimly, _Our final fall... our crossing of the event horizon. Our victory…_

_ …and our damnation._

….

"Chairman!" cried the main communications officer, "Forward recon reports the Alliance armada has begun to move!"

From his perch in Jachin Due's command center, Patrick Zala nodded, his glare hard as stone. "Are the weapon's final preparations complete?"

"Yes, Chairman!" the man replied, "They are reporting green across the board. Projections show both primary and secondary targets in the firing lane!"

L5's _de facto _dictator gave a cruel smile. "At last…"

"Chairman?" asked the officer anxiously.

Zala stood up and waved his arm towards the massive main monitor. "Deactivate the Mirage Colloid!"

_Time for a taste of your own medicine, Naturals!_

Out of Zala's line of sight, Rau Le Creuset grinned as the Chairman issued his next order.

"_Fire GENESIS!_"

….

"New contact just appeared on scopes!" cried the sensor operator, "It's behind Jachin Due… it's massive!"

Natarle's eyes widened. "Why are we just seeing it now?"

"They must've used a Mirage Colloid to hide it, Captain!" the officer replied.

Natarle's heart raced; this couldn't be good. "Get it on screen now!"

**Start "The Master"**

Natarle couldn't help but gasp when the screen shifted, and her bridge crew likewise couldn't hide its shock. A gargantuan dish-like weapon had materialized seemingly out of thin air. The base of the structure looked like a massive pot or vase. It had a bulbous core that quickly fanned out, with two long and thick struts supporting a huge concave dish with a mirrored surface. In the center of the mirror was a hole that Natarle was sure was a firing chamber. Out a ways in front of the main structure was a smaller concave mirror that was facing towards the larger one, in direct alignment with the firing chamber.

"What… what is _that_? she whispered.

The entire bridge was stunned, even Azrael. The smug smirk was gone from his face, and he seemed awestruck by what they were seeing.

"Massive thermal readings coming from the object!" yelled the sensor operator.

Suddenly the hole in the mirror began to glow with blue-white light. Seconds later a bright blue-white beam shot out of it, and a wave of energy rippled across the mirror. The blue-white beam hit the smaller mirror, which proceeded to reflect it back at the larger one in dozens of smaller, multi-colored rays. It was terrifyingly beautiful display, sending a chill down Natarle's spine.

The smaller mirror glowed red as it was superheated by the energy it was reflecting back at its companion. The larger mirror radiated with energy as all the light coalesced on and around it, radiating like a second sun. For a fraction of a second all that energy seemed to be captured by the larger structure, wreathing it with unholy light.

And then hellfire was unleashed.

At its core was a thick crimson beam, reminiscent of the blasts from the _Archangel_ or _Dominion_'s Lohengrin Positron Cannons, but on such a more massive scale. Energy a multitude of colors, spanning the spectrum, radiated out from that central crimson pillar of apocalyptic destruction, resulting in a vast swath of annihilation that dwarfed even the legendary Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle.

"Hard to port!" Natarle yelled.

Her ship had barely begun to move when the titanic torrent of energy ripped into the Earth Alliance armada. The light was blinding, forcing Natarle to shield her eyes until the sensors adjusted for its brilliance. Her face paled as she saw the tsunami of radiant energy swamp _at least _a thousand warships, and they detonated like a string of firecrackers. The massive wave of destruction mauled the right wing of the armada… and it didn't stop there.

"It's heading for the Moon!" cried Flay.

Indeed it was. It only took a glance for Natarle to know exactly where on the Moon the gargantuan beam would impact, and it did not disappoint.

The blast slammed into the Ptolemaeus crater, impacting the base dead-center. A massive shockwave rippled across the lunar surface, while energy and molten rock was thrown into space. When the blast cleared Natarle could see a huge, glowing crater where the Earth Alliance's greatest fortress had once been; a superheated, radioactive mass grave.

"The base…" she heard one of her subordinates murmur.

"Oh my god!" said another.

Natarle was speechless. All this time she had feared her side's trump car, and had never given a thought to the possibility of ZAFT having one to match it.

_We're all damned now_, she thought, _Earth Alliance, ZAFT… it doesn't matter. We've all gone off the deep end…_

_ Coordinator… Natural…_

_ We're _all _going to die!_

….

"_Magnificent_," Creuset whispered as he looked upon the results of so much hard work.

Nuclear fire had been returned in kind, an escalation that he knew Azrael'd had no way to predict. The masked Field Marshal would've given every credit in his account to see the look on Azrael's face right now. That shock, the hubris completely wiped from his face, replaced by the _fear_, the _**rage**_… it would've been almost as beautiful as the attack of GENESIS herself.

_The doom of the PLANTs has already been revealed_, he thought, _and now the doom of the Earth is unveiled. Mankind has built the instruments of its own execution; the means to carry out the sentence that _I _have cast upon it!_

Looking down on the control center's main crew pit, he could see the shocked expressions of all the assembled staff officers and operators. Most of them had just learned about GENESIS mere hours ago; only a select few, primarily Jachin Due's weapons officers, had been clued into the true nature of the project that had once been concealed by the Mirage Net and then its own cloaking device.

"Mother of god…" one said.

"Holy shit…" murmured another.

"The Moon…" said a third.

Creuset smirked as he looked over at Patrick Zala. The Supreme Council Chairman had a fire in his eyes, and Creuset was pleased. The nuking of Boaz had served wonders to further incense L5's dictator, and now that he had gotten a chance to repay the Naturals with ZAFT's brand of nuclear firepower he was in an almost manic state. Revealing and firing GENESIS had emboldened him. In his mind, vengeance would soon be enacted against not just the Earth Alliance but all Naturals. The bloodlust that had been growing in him since the Bloody Valentine Tragedy was now at its peak, and _nothing _could rein it in now.

Which was exactly what Creuset wanted.

_Satisfied, Chairman?_, he silently asked, _Of course not. You want them _all _to burn… and so do I. Of course, the difference is I'm intent on throwing both races into the fire. It's all going so well…_

"Success!" said Field Marshal Keitel, grinning at the screen, "Now they know our true power!"

_Indeed_, thought Creuset, _but you're already forgetting _theirs_, Field Marshal. You've still come up with no means to counter a mass nuclear attack, which is exactly what the Alliance will unleash on the PLANTs. All you, Zala, and the rest of the radicals have come up with is the means to repay slaughter with slaughter. So much the better for me though; it saves me the trouble of having to sabotage the defenses._

Creuset folded his arms as he watched Patrick Zala take a step forward. It was speech time again, and he knew the Chairman would not disappoint.

"This," he began, "is the dawn of a new era! For too long we have lived in fear of the Naturals! We've known since the beginning of this war the barbaric depths they'll sink to. The Bloody Valentine Tragedy showed us that, and though we thought we had removed their means to commit that same level of destruction again from their arsenal they proved otherwise at Boaz. They crossed the line when they launched those nukes at us! They brought us to this point, but what they do not know is that now we have the power to make them _pay_!"

Creuset chuckled quietly. "A good start…" he murmured.

Zala gave a broad wave of his hand at the large monitor on the wall. "We cannot allow these savages… these _Naturals_, to take things any further! Now is our time to rise up! With GENESIS we can eliminate the Natural threat once and for all! Our power is absolute! We are the next stage of human evolution, and now is the time for us to seize our birthright! We will purge the Natural threat from this world and take out place as the true rulers of the Earth Sphere, of humanity itself! The glory of victory will be ours, and with it our future will be guaranteed!"

He pumped his fist into the air. "Do it for ZAFT!"

"For ZAFT!" echoed Field Marshal Keitel.

The cry was taken up by everyone in the control room, though to Creuset it seemed that many of the participants were doing it less out of zeal than out of fear of what might happen to them if their superiors felt they weren't sufficiently… _enthusiastic_. Whether it was genuine or forced though did not matter to the masked ace.

_For ZAFT?_, he thought, a cruel smile appearing on his face, _No…_

_ For ME!_

_ For your JUDGMENT!_

_**FOR THE END OF HUMANITY!**_

**End "The Master"**

….

_Libra…_

Images of the massive battleship hijacked by White Fang back in his old world flashed through Heero's mind as he studied the aftermath of ZAFT's attack. The parallels were easy to draw, but the Gundam pilot knew that the similarities ended at the sheer scale of the power he had just witnessed. Nothing in the After Colony world could come _close _to the apocalyptic might ZAFT had just unleashed. _Barge_, Wing Zero, _Libra_… all paled in comparison to what he had just witnessed.

The right wing of the Earth Alliance armada had been utterly mauled. What ships hadn't been completely atomized were reduced to twisted bits of radioactive scrap. The massive fleet was in complete disarray, and Heero wondered how long it would take for them to recover. In his gut he knew it was just a matter of _when_, not _if _they would strike back; after having their nukes shown up by ZAFT's secret weapon, there was no way in hell someone like Azrael would back down or surrender.

_So many ships destroyed_, he thought as he stared at the _Archangel_'s main bridge monitor, _along with the Moon base. So much death…_

_ …and it's just the beginning._

He looked over at Murrue. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with shock. After what they'd all just seen, he certainly couldn't fault her reaction.

"_Oh my god…_" she whispered.

Just like before, when the Earth Alliance had launched their nukes, Heero put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, and he gave her a small, determined nod.

_It's not over yet._

Her eyes narrowed, courage and determination alight in those beautiful brown gems, and she returned his gesture, briefly grabbing and squeezing his hand.

_We've still got a job to do._

A silent dialogue, spoken only by their eyes, by how well they knew each other, but it was all they needed.

"Transmission from the _Kusanagi_," said the communications officer, "They're in conference with the _Eternal _as well."

Murrue nodded. "Put them through."

The image on the main monitor shifted. Most of the screen was taken up by Erica Simmons, along with another screen in the background, and Heero assumed that she was in the _Kusanagi_'s briefing room. At the bottom left corner of the bridge monitor a small square was set aside for Waltfeld.

"This is Erica Simmons," said Orb's premier engineer, "The results of my initial analysis of that attack show that the wave of thermal energy we just witnessed was caused by gamma rays."

"How did they harness them on such a large scale?" asked Heero.

Erica aimed a remote at the screen in the background, and it zoomed in on the main body of ZAFT's new weapon, with the core section highlighted in red.

"They initiated a controlled nuclear detonation inside this firing chamber," she explained, "The resulting burst of gamma radiation is funneled through a shaft from the firing chamber in that solid blue beam we saw at the start of the attack. That external mirror the beam hit is designed to break up the initial beam and reflect it back at the larger mirror mounted on the main body. The larger mirror on the central part of the weapon then refocuses all that energy into a massive gamma ray blast."

"How much power does that thing have?" asked Murrue.

Erica sighed. "As we saw in that first attack, it can cover a wide area and is easily capable of savaging a fleet even as large as the Earth Alliance's armada. At the same time it's clearly capable of destroying hardened structures; Ptolemaeus base was rumored to be even more fortified than the Alaska headquarters, but you saw what good that did it against that beam."

"What if it were aimed at Earth?" Heero asked.

Erica closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them the look on her face was one of dark certainty.

"If Earth were hit by a blast of that magnitude," she said, "it would destroy a great part of the planet's surface… and the radiation would wipe out almost every living thing on the planet. The Moon's lack of atmosphere actually saved the other habitats on it, including Copernicus City; it has nothing to contain all that radiation, so it goes back into the vacuum. However, Earth's atmosphere would keep much of that radiation on the planet after the initial attack, and it would doom all life as we know it."

"They couldn't…" said Murrue softly, "They wouldn't target the Earth…"

"We can't be sure," Waltfeld replied, "Both sides have taken this to the point of no return."

Heero nodded and once again put his hand on Murrue's shoulder. "We have to assume the worst."

Murrue briefly grabbed his hand again before returning the nod. "Yes, you're right."

"There is some good news in all of this," said Erica, causing Heero and Murrue to turn back to the main monitor, "Based on my initial observations, it looks like the weapon has no automatic firing mechanism. That external reflection mirror was badly damaged by the blast; they have to swap it out with each shot, which I imagine would be a lengthy process. That should buy us some time."

"How are we going to take it out?" asked Murrue.

"Our main target should be the secondary mirror," said Erica, "It'll be much easier to destroy than the main body of the weapon. If we can destroy the replacement mirrors it won't be able to turn the concentrated initial beam into that larger blast."

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Waltfeld, "We've certainly got the firepower for that, and it doesn't even have to be Wing Zero."

"Yes," Erica replied, "however…"

"What's the catch?" asked Heero.

"It's not really a 'catch' per se," said Erica cautiously, "but… even without the secondary mirrors to reflect the energy back to the larger focusing mirror, the initial beam is still quite potent. With the secondary mirrors destroyed it can't cause nearly as much devastation as that attack we just witnessed, but the levels of radiation in it far surpass anything I've ever seen before. If it were aimed at a colony or a metropolitan area on Earth it would incinerate anything in the initial impact zone, and a surrounding area of several kilometers would be lethally irradiated; anything in that radius would be dead within minutes."

"So even if the secondary mirror's the more vulnerable target, we still need to take the whole thing out to completely eliminate it as an immediate threat," Heero summarized.

"Precisely," said Erica.

"Looks like our mission just got even more complicated," said Murrue, her eyes focused on the screen, "Which group will target the gamma ray cannon?"

"Ours," said Waltfeld, "We'll be operating closer to the PLANTs anyway in order to intercept the Alliance's missiles and take a shot at Zala. The _Kusanagi_'s Lohengrins should be up to the task, and she'll have plenty of fire support from our other ships. However… depending on how things go, we might need a little help."

Heero nodded, instantly getting what the Desert Tiger was implying. "I'll be ready to target the weapon if you need me to."

"Appreciated," said Waltfeld, "For now though, your primary objective remains the same as the rest of the _Archangel_'s group; neutralizing the Alliance's leadership. Unless I say otherwise or you judge the situation to have changed significantly, focus on that."

"Understood," Heero replied.

"We detected a tight-beam transmission going between the weapon and Jachin Due," said Erica, "The weapon's most likely being controlled from there. Still, we can't assume that's the only place they can direct it from."

The screen shifted, and Lacus appeared in the lower right corner of the monitor. "We can't allow them to launch any more nuclear attacks or gamma rays. If either side manages to lock in on the other's civilian populations, it'll be all over."

"At least we can intercept the Alliance's missiles," said Murrue, "but as for that gamma ray cannon… nothing can repel firepower of that magnitude."

"So our margin of error is zero either way," said Heero, his voice firm and certain, "Just like old times."

"We'll keep our sensors on the weapon's projected firing path," said Waltfeld, "and transmit that data to the rest of our fleet. That way we can at least track where it's next shot will be and we can stay out of the way."

Heero saw Murrue nod before turning to the sensor operator. "Make sure we're sharing data with the _Eternal _at all times and passing it on to the other ships in our group."

"Already on it, Captain," her subordinate replied.

"It won't be long until the Earth Alliance regroups," said Waltfeld, "When they make their move, we'll make ours. Everyone stay on your toes and be ready for action. _Eternal _out."

As the Desert Tiger, Lacus, and Erica disappeared from the screen, Murrue turned to Heero. "It looks like our fight is even more desperate now. I know you didn't face a weapon quite like ZAFT's new beast back in your old world, but you're still the only one among us that's experienced anything close to this. If you've got any advice, we're all ears."

Looking around the bridge, Heero saw the eyes of all Murrue's subordinates on him. He glanced over at the monitor, taking a hard look at the Earth Alliance armada before turning back to Murrue. "Focus on the mission. We know our role in this, and we have to concentrate on playing our part. Take out the Earth Alliance leadership. Protect our comrades the best we can. Defend the civilians. Don't think about the enemy's power, however massive it might be; focus on what _you _can do."

_Protect each other_, he added silently, his eyes focusing on hers, _just_ _like we've always done._

She nodded and smiled. "You're right, Heero. Thank you."

She turned back to her crew. "We all know what our responsibilities are. The _Eternal_'s group will focus on ZAFT's side of the fight; we need to deal with Azrael and the Alliance. Trust each other, and trust yourselves. If any crew can make it through this fight, it's _us_."

Heero saw the bridge crew look at her and each other, giving determined nods. Whatever fear they had was outweighed by their resolve to see the last step of their long journey through to the end. They had faith in their Captain, in their comrades, and their mission.

They were ready.

_Well done, Murrue_, he thought, _They'll follow us into the fire without hesitation. Now we have to lead them, to prove that their faith is not replaced. I'll do my part, and I know you'll do yours. After all…_

_ …there's no Captain in this world, _any _world, that's stronger than you._

….

Ever since the surprise ZAFT attack, Flay had been staring out the _Dominion_'s main bridge viewport in stunned silence. The horror she had felt as the Alliance had launched its nukes during the Battle of Boaz was back in full force, only now it was directed at the enemy's new source of apocalyptic destruction. Images of that strange, masked ZAFT officer flashed through her mind for reasons she could not comprehend, along with an odd sense of dreadful certainty.

_He… he _planned _this! He _knew _this would happen! Why… why would he want it to be this way? The Alliance, ZAFT… they're about to wipe each other out! Nukes, that cannon… humanity's on the verge of annihilation!_

She had no way to prove it, but it was the only thing that made sense to her. Her intuition was centered on that thought, and she knew in her heart that she was right. That certainty did not help matters though; quite the contrary. A fresh shudder went down her spine as she realized that the man that had saved her at Alaska and had kept her as his unofficial captive for the past few months was completely insane.

She wanted to tell someone, anyone, but how could she? Who would believe her? Even Natarle would be skeptical, and rightly so. For all of mankind's brutality, who would actually _want _to wipe out the human race?

More to the point, she couldn't tell anyone right now. They had just taken an attack from a weapon of unprecedented and horrifying firepower. Right now the focus would be on their very survival, or at least she thought Natarle would make that her top priority.

"Status report!" said Natarle, "Do we have a total on our losses yet?"

"Preliminary estimates put the toll at roughly 1,700 ships," replied the sensor officer, "We're still trying to account for everyone!"

_Seventeen-hundred at least_, she thought, _Combined with the ships we lost in the fight at Boaz… we're down almost two-thousand vessels! The lunar base was taken down too… how many died in that attack?_

"We've lost the _Roosevelt_'s IFF beacon," the officer continued, "Rear Admiral Bernard is dead!"

"What about the _Doolittle_?" asked Natarle.

"She's still transmitting," the officer replied.

"And the _Truman_?" Azrael asked, and Flay noted more than a hint of panic in his voice, "Is that ship still intact?"

_That's the second time he's mentioned that ship_, Flay thought, _Why does he care so much about that one? What's on it?_

"Affirmative," said the sensor officer, "She has no damage."

Azrael breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Good…"

"Any new energy buildups from that thing?" asked Natarle, "Sensors, are they about to fire again?"

"No thermal buildups detected," he replied, "and that second mirror looks badly damaged. I don't think they can fire when it's like that."

Natarle sighed. "Good. We have a little breathing room."

"Captain," said Azrael, "How long before we can regroup the fleet and go in for a coordinated attack?"

Flay's eyes widened in shock. _Attack? _After they had been hit by something like _that? _Was he out of his mind?

She wasn't the only one who thought that. Looking at her Captain, she saw that Natarle's expression was torn between horror and revulsion.

"_A coordinated attack?_" she parroted in disbelief, "Do you have any idea what kind of situation we're in here? We just lost almost two thousand ships in one strike!"

"You're the one who doesn't understand!" Azrael yelled back.

He pointed at the image of the Coordinator's new weapon on the monitor, his hand shaking. "What? Are you saying we should just leave that thing floating out there?"

"We need a plan!" Natarle shot back, "We can't just rush back in!"

"There's no time for one of your so-called 'plans'!" Azrael sneered, "Even from this distance it could wipe out the Earth! We can't sit around and wait for them to attack with that thing again!"

"I wasn't suggesting that," Natarle replied, "but a head-on assault would be a bloodbath for our forces!"

"It's the only thing that will work now!" Azrael yelled, "It's soldiers like _you_, unable to make the hard decisions, the necessary sacrifices, who gave them enough time to build that thing in the first place!"

_Necessary sacrifices?_, thought Flay, disgust and anger overtaking her disbelief at what she was seeing and hearing, _That's bullshit! He just wants to throw soldiers into battle and kill as many Coordinators as he can! It's not a 'sacrifice'; it's lives wasted! And all so Blue Cosmos can wipe out the Coordinators? It's unbelievable… his hatred is endless, and it's going to get so many people killed! It already has…_

"I don't care what it takes!" Azrael roared, "It doesn't matter how many of our soldiers die! That's what they signed up for; to sacrifice themselves for the good of all Naturals! I don't care if the whole fleet's destroyed; we _will _kill them!"

Flay did not miss how Azrael's ranting had turned from ZAFT's new weapon to the Coordinators themselves. It would be one thing if the man simply wanted to destroy the weapon and eliminate the very real threat it posed to so many innocent lives, but of course a man like him had no place in his heart for such humanity. All he cared for was wiping out the Coordinators, fulfilling the xenophobic creed of Blue Cosmos, drowning the Earth Sphere in an ocean of blood, and if it included Earth Alliance soldiers too, so be it.

She saw Azrael clench his fist, his face contorted in fury. "Damn! Those filthy Coordinators. Those god-damned vermin! Do you think I'm going to give up after coming this far, after coming so close to finally purging your kind from this world? I'm going to win this thing! Mark my words, I'm going to _win!_"

He turned to Natarle. "Get the _Doolittle _on the line now!"

Natarle glared but complied, turning to Flay and giving her a nod.

Flay gulped but managed to compose herself enough to carry out the order. A few seconds later Admiral Sutherland appeared on the screen, his face hard as stone.

"Lord Azrael," he said, "What are your orders?"

"You and Captain Badgiruel are to reform the armada," said Azrael, "As soon as that's done, we'll march on the PLANTs."

Sutherland nodded. "It will be done, my lord."

"We'll concentrate our assault on Jachin Due," Azrael said, "When we punch enough holes in their line we'll nuke the colonies and the fortress. That weapon too; it's all going to burn."

"Of course," Sutherland replied, "We'll be regrouped and ready to finish this soon enough."

"See to it," Azrael growled, "Failure will mean more than just disgrace, I promise you that."

Sutherland glared at him. "_Doolittle _out."

The Admiral disappeared from the screen, and Flay looked back at Natarle. For her part, the _Dominion_'s Captain just shook her head in a mix of exasperation, weariness, and despair. She could see just how pointless all this was, how they were only driving further down the road of annihilation, and so could Flay.

_How do we stop this?_, she thought desperately, _With the way things are going now, we're _all _going to die! The Alliance, ZAFT, everyone… this has to stop!_

_ Someone please, help us!_

_ Help us!_

_ Yzak!_

_ Kira!_

….

**September 26****th****, C.E. 71**

Taking his seat on the _Eternal_'s bridge, Aisha floating behind him, Waltfeld turned to DaCosta. "When do you think they'll make their move, my friend?"

"Can't be more than an hour or two away now," his former aide and now the _Eternal_'s XO replied, "From what we can see it looks like the Earth Alliance has almost completely reformed the armada."

"What about ZAFT?" asked Lacus as she entered the bridge, "Has their fleet moved? What's the status of that weapon?"

"They've spent quite some time preparing the new mirror for the weapon, Miss Clyne," said DaCosta, "It looks like they're almost ready to deploy it again. The current projected firing path is still running through the Earth Alliance armada though."

"We know for sure they're not setting up to hit Earth yet?" said Aisha, her hand on Waltfeld's shoulder.

DaCosta nodded. "They'll have to considerably shift the weapon's angle to target the planet, and the Grand Fleet will have to significantly alter their deployment to avoid getting caught in the line of fire. There's no way they'll be able to hide that from us."

"Small favors," Waltfeld muttered, rubbing the sleep out of his good eye, "I hope everyone's ready for this. We won't get a second chance."

The new day was still very young. Waltfeld had figured the Alliance would need a little bit of time to regroup for their attack, so he'd instructed everyone to get at least a bit of sleep. It was nowhere near a full night's rest; they just couldn't afford that given the circumstances. Still, he knew they'd need every bit of strength that they could muster today.

"How are the METEORs?" asked Lacus, "Are they ready for the Freedom and Justice?"

'Yes, Miss Clyne," said DaCosta, "We've run multiple checks on them. We can detach them and link them up with Athrun and Kira's machines at any time after they launch."

The songstress nodded. "We will need every bit of their power and precision today."

"No doubt about that," said Waltfeld.

"A little help from Wing Zero wouldn't hurt either," chimed in Aisha.

"I already spoke to Heero about that," Waltfeld replied, "His main mission at this point may be to take out the Earth Alliance leadership, but he told me he'll act to intercept their nukes if he's in a position to do so. That rifle of his can cover a good area; it'll be effective at least for reducing the amount of warheads Athrun and Kira will have to deal with."

"Speaking of those two," said Aisha, "are we sure they're up for this? They're top notch pilots, and both their machines have the capabilities we need when combined with the METEORs, but still… it's a tall order."

"I have faith in them," said Lacus, smiling, "Kira and Athrun know what is at stake here. The pressure is immense, that is true, but it will drive them to succeed. They will not allow a single missile to hit the PLANTs."

Waltfeld nodded and smiled. "Good enough for me."

Aisha smiled. "Same here."

Privately, Waltfeld had his worries, though it wasn't about Kira and Athrun's ability to intercept the missiles. Rather, it was Kira's mentality that had him concerned. He knew the boy had been shaken up by what he had seen during and after the Earth Alliance's attack on Elysium. The strike on the refugees had seemed to finally hammer home to the young man the cost of his unwillingness to go all out on the battlefield, to accept the burden that came with taking life in combat. Waltfeld had reviewed sensor data and footage of the battle; he'd seen the Freedom finally shoot to kill. Kira seemed to have hit a threshold, but Waltfeld didn't know if he had definitively crossed it… or what direction it would take him in.

_Against regular pilots, his style works just fine_, he thought, _but if he gets tangled up with more of those special Alliance units, ZAFT's Special Operations squadrons… or, god help him, Creuset or Galm Team… can he embrace that killer instinct again?_

_ When the chips are down…_

_ …can he kill?_

_ Has he found his balance, the ability to discern between those he can go easy on and those he _has _to slay?_

Waltfeld sighed. He hated not having a definitive answer to something this important.

Too much was riding on it.

….

Down in the _Archangel_'s pilots' locker room, Heero was running a final check over himself. His helmet was floating in the air next to him, his CR 75AC pistol holstered at his hip, and his black pilot's suit looked to be perfectly in order.

_The rest of the kit I'll need is already aboard Wing Zero_, he thought, _Looks like I'm all set._

He was about to grab his helmet when a chime came from a nearby wall speaker. "Heero?" came Murrue's voice, "May I come in?"

Heero leaned over and pressed a button by the speaker. "Go ahead."

The door leading to the ship's crew areas slid open, and the beautiful Captain floated inside.

"When we left our quarters I thought you were going straight to the bridge," said Heero.

Murrue smiled, though it couldn't completely hide her nervousness. "I know, but… well, considering what we're about to fly into, I wanted to come down to give you a proper sendoff."

Before he could react she came over to him and took him into a fierce embrace. As he returned it they came together in a deep, passionate kiss. All their fears for the coming battle and their absolute devotion to each other came out in that kiss. The tight grips, the fiercely mashed together lips, the frantic swirling of tongues… it was desperation and passion intertwined.

All too soon they had to part for air, and while they moved back just a bit they still held each other tightly. Their eyes met, and Heero could see the determination, desperation, and affection in her beautiful brown eyes.

"_Come back to me!_" she said, "No matter what happens, _promise me that_ _you'll come back!_"

Heero gave her a firm nod. "I will. It doesn't matter what I have to face out there today, _I will survive_. That's a promise, Murrue… so you'd better do the same."

Murrue smiled again, and this time there was no fear to hide. "Absolutely. After all we've been through together, there's no way in hell you're losing me now!"

Heero gave her a small smile before pulling her back in for another kiss. This one was soft and tender, almost fragile, but with no less devotion or meaning than the last.

As their lips parted he raised his right hand and gently caressed her cheek. "I love you," he said, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper.

"And I love you," she replied, "Now, let's show this world that it's going to take a lot more than armadas, nukes and gamma ray cannons to keep us from surviving this war!"

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

They shared one more embrace before going their separate ways, Murrue to the bridge and Heero to the hangar. Helmet tucked under his arm, Heero made his way towards Wing Zero, looking around the vast hangar as he did so.

Everyone around him felt so _alive_. They were scared, true, but that fear was far outweighed by their determination, their sense of purpose. Everyone knew the score, and they were hell bent on beating the odds and then some.

Passing by, Crew Chief Murdoch gave him a nod and a smile. "You're all set for the fight, Heero, and I even had the boys buff out a few scratches in the paint. Wing Zero's good to go."

Heero nodded. "Thank you."

The _Archangel_'s head mechanic surprised him with a light punch on the shoulder. "Only the best for you, kid. Give 'em hell."

"Count on it," he replied.

Across the hangar he saw Shemei and Eric moving towards their mobile suits. The Wolf and the Valkyrie shared a brief kiss before turning towards him and smiling. For his part Heero gave them a nod and a wave.

_We started this war on opposite sides_, he thought, _and now we're comrades in arms, even friends. So much has happened since I came to this world… since I began my journey through this new battlefield._

"Yo, Heero!" a familiar voice yelled out.

Looking ahead of him, he saw Mu La Flaga floating towards him. The Hawk of Endymion had a confident smile on his face, and his hand was held out.

"No matter what happens," he said, "I just want to say thanks. For sparing Natarle back at L4, for being willing to try and save her this time… I owe you big time."

Heero shook his head. "I'm not just doing this for you. Murrue wants to save her too."

"I know," La Flaga replied, "Still, I'm in your debt."

Heero reached out and shook his hand. "In that case, watch my back out there."

La Flaga chuckled. "Deal."

The two pilots went their separate ways. As Heero approached Wing Zero he felt a sense of nostalgia come over him. There were plenty of differences between now and back then, of course, but he still could not deny just how much the situation reminded him of the final battle of the Eve Wars.

_Two sides with overwhelming power and numbers_, he thought as he climbed into the cockpit, _Countless lives riding on the outcome… the only thing missing is the other four Gundam pilots._

Heero shook his head. This was his fight, not theirs. After Colony was their world now, not his. Murrue's home was the Cosmic Era, and therefore it was now Heero's. He was perfectly at peace with that. When he'd left his old world, he'd essentially left his old life behind. Here he had started anew, and he knew he had Murrue to thank for that. She'd welcomed him into her world with open arms, and had shown him so much of what he had been missing in his old life, just how much more there was for him to experience. His old friends could defend his old world while he defended _this _one.

_The Cosmic Era_, he thought as he settled in and checked things over, _is _our _world. Our new life together is _here_, not another world. I'll be damned if I let the Earth Alliance and ZAFT destroy it._

Everything was in order. Wing Zero was ready to go, and all the gear he'd gotten from the _Archangel_'s armory was properly secured. All he had to do now was wait.

He had a feeling it wouldn't be too long.

….

_Can… can I do this?_

It was a thought Kira had been having for quite some time now, and it was all the more pressing the closer the final battle got. Down in the pilot's locker room of the _Eternal_, the young Coordinator was suiting up. He was grateful for the fact that the other pilots were already done; he knew he couldn't hide his nerves from them.

It wasn't the pressure of thwarting the Alliance's nuclear strike that had him so worked up. While a daunting task to be sure, it was one Kira knew he could tackle head-on thanks to his skills, the Freedom, and the METEOR unit he'd be using. Rather, it was the issue of the fight itself… _how _he would fight.

The Battle of Elysium had never been far from his mind over the past two months. The consequences of his failure to take down those new Alliance mobile suits quickly enough had been devastating, and the knowledge that it could've been far worse was scant comfort to the young man. When he had finally done what was necessary, had _killed _his opponents, it had been on pure instinct. Whether he could consciously will himself to do it again after that fight was something he had been struggling with ever since.

It was a struggle that had not gone unnoticed by his comrades.

….

_**August 21**__**st**__**, C.E. 71**_

_ "So," said Lacus, "Did Heero say why he wanted to meet you?"_

_ Kira shook his head. "No idea."_

_ "That's weird," said Cagalli, "He doesn't do something without a reason, even if it's a crazy one. I wonder why he called you out of the blue like this."_

_ "And to meet at the colony's kendo dojo, too," said Athrun, his eyes narrowed in thought, "He's up to something…"_

_ The four of them were walking down one of Elysium's many sidewalks, fast approaching the dojo in question. Kira had been hanging out with the three of them when he'd gotten a call on the cell phone he had been given by Cagalli for communication with the others while they were staying at the colony. All the core members of the Three Ships Alliance had been given the devices soon after arriving on the colony in order to keep in touch even while they were enjoying their much-needed shore leave._

_ "I'm surprised he even knew the Kamiya Dojo existed," said Cagalli as they walked up to the ancient Japanese-style building, which definitely stood out amid the rest of the colony's much more modern architecture, "It's not like they're world famous or anything like that."_

_ "Knowing Heero, I'm sure he did his homework on this colony," said Lacus, "That still does not answer the question of why he wanted to meet Kira here."_

_ "Uhm, guys," Kira chimed in nervously, "He didn't exactly say I should bring company either. As far as I know that call was just meant for me."_

_ "He can deal with the rest of us," said Cagalli, smiling, "We're his friends, after all. I'm sure he won't mind."_

_ "I hope you're right," Kira replied as he and the others kicked off their shoes by the door before walking inside._

_ When they entered they saw that the dojo was largely empty save for three people. One was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties to early forties, another was a raven-haired girl in her late teens, and the third was Heero. The first two were dressed in traditional kendo robes, with the girl having her long black hair tied back in a ponytail, while Heero wore his customary jeans and green tank-top. Kira also saw that the girl was holding two wooden swords._

_ "Well," said the older gentleman, "that's a few more people than I was expecting."_

_ Heero shook his head. "I wasn't expecting this. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Master Kamiya."_

_ The head of the dojo shook his head. "Not at all, Yuy-san. Should I have Kaoru grab more shinai?"_

_ "That won't be necessary," Heero replied, holding out his hands to Kaoru, "I'll take those."_

_ The girl nodded and passed them to him._

_ "Come, my daughter," said Master Kamiya, "We should leave them to their business."_

_ As father and daughter left the room Kira saw Heero turn towards him, his eyes slightly narrowing. "I only called for you."_

_ "Sorry," said Kira, "I was with them, and they insisted on coming."_

_ He saw Heero look at the others, and was curious when he saw his eyes linger on Lacus with a regretful look in them. Heero gave the songstress a slight bow. "In that case… I'm sorry that you'll have to watch this."_

_ Kira hadn't been expecting that, and he and the others traded puzzled looks before turning back to Heero._

_ "What are you talking about?" asked Lacus nervously._

_ "Come on, clue us in already," said Cagalli, folding her arms to express her impatience, "What the hell's going on here, Heero?"_

_ Heero ignored her, instead looking straight at Kira and motioning for him to come forward. The boy did so, and Heero tossed one of the shinai to him. Kira caught it with little effort, but as soon as the handle met his palm…_

_ …Heero rushed forward to attack._

_ Kira's eyes widened in shock as he hastily brought the sword up to defend himself. His surprise only increased at the raw power behind Heero's strike, and the boy half-expected the wooden sword to snap in half._

_ "Heero!" yelled Athrun, "What the hell?"_

_ If Wing Zero's pilot noticed his distress he gave no sign of it. His focus was squarely on Kira, and the young man was quickly pushed towards the center of the room as Heero rained down a furious series of blows in rapid succession._

_ "Why are you doing this?" cried Lacus._

_ "Heero!" yelled Cagalli, "What's wrong with you?"_

_ Again the Gundam pilot gave them no answer, and Kira didn't have time to join in. Heero continued his attacks, a viciously powerful sequence of overhand strikes and diagonal slashes designed to overwhelm the boy with sheer ferocity and brutality. Kira was amazed that he was able to keep Heero from landing a blow so far, and he had to wonder just how long that would last. He had absolutely no training with sword fighting beyond mobile suits, and was defending himself almost on pure instinct._

_ Heero quickly altered his approach, going with a series of low and mid-level horizontal slashes, mixing it up with quick and precise thrusts. Kira frantically blocked the attacks, unable to find any opening to counter; it was all he could do just to protect himself from this completely unexpected attack. The boy had very little knowledge of kendo, but he did know that duels were supposed to be formal, with rules and warning before the start, and he also knew that there was none of that here. Heero wasn't treating this like a traditional kendo match at all; Kira felt like he was on the wrong end of an all-out brawl._

_ The Gundam pilot returned to his vertical chops and diagonal strikes, and Kira was stunned by the raw power behind the blows. His mind flashed back to Heero's duel with the Valkyrie back at L4, and he wondered how the hell Shemei had been able to last as long as she had against such incredible strength. The fact that Kira was a Coordinator – if that madman Creuset was right, the Perfect Coordinator – seemed to mean nothing here. All his enhanced abilities and the combat experience of the past several months were only enough to allow him to barely hang in there against a combatant who had been training and fighting since Kira was in grade school._

_ Then, whether by accident or design he did not know, his eyes met Heero's. An arctic chill went through Kira's body as he saw just how dark they had become and just how intensely focused they were on him. Kira was used to Heero being cool, withdrawn, insightful, and focused, but now he just looked straight up __**ruthless**__. No, __**murderous**__. For a split second the Gundam pilot's face was replaced in his mind by that of a wolf, its fangs bared and its eyes focused on his throat._

_ A single thought hit him then._

_ 'He's going to kill me!'_

_It didn't matter that they were friends or comrades, or that they had fought alongside each other for months now. The fact that they were wielding practice swords meant nothing as well; Kira had no doubt that Heero could kill with one if he put his mind to it, which it very much looked like he had._

_ It was in that fearful moment that a familiar sensation came over Kira, a mix of clarity and purpose. It wasn't just instinct kicking in; it was something deeper. Just like on those rare occasions before when he had felt like this a strange vision flashed through his mind._

_ A seed spinning, touching a clear, calm surface, sending out ripples…_

_ …and bursting in brilliant light._

_ His eyes darkened, and his grip on his shinai hardened. His stance became firmer, and as Heero lashed out with a horizontal strike Kira was finally able to do more than just frantically block it. This time he managed to parry the blow and launch a counter attack, a vertical strike. Heero was able to block it, but it marked a shift in the fight; now Kira was taking the offensive._

_ The Freedom's pilot pushed forward, his body moving faster than he'd ever felt in his life. He launched a series of hard, fast attacks, pushing Heero back across the floor. The Gundam pilot's eyes narrowed, but it was something that barely registered to Kira. He was in a strange place, a level between conscious and unconscious thought, acting on instinct yet at the same time fully aware of his surroundings, knowing what he wanted to do and how to do it._

_ He launched another overhand strike, but despite his newfound speed, strength, and resolve Heero was able to counter. Wing Zero's pilot altered the angle of his shinai, redirecting Kira's strike down towards the floor. The young man moved to recover, but as he did so Heero was able to regain the initiative with a horizontal swipe of his sword. Kira rolled as he blocked the strike, using his momentum to gain a little distance and set up for a counter of his own._

_ The boy rushed in, thrusting out with his shinai, but Heero was ready for him. He caught Kira's shinai on his and redirected the blow, forcing the young Coordinator to go right past him. At the same time the Gundam pilot spun around, adding centrifugal force to his counter, his shinai hitting Kira in the back of the head._

_ The impact sent him falling forward and at the same time knocked him out of that strange state he'd entered after that vision. It took him a few seconds to recover, and he shook his head as he got up and turned towards Heero. He raised his sword to defend himself, only to find that Wing Zero's pilot had lowered his own. His eyes didn't have that ice-cold, murderous edge to them anymore; now he was back to regular Heero._

_ "So," the Gundam pilot said, so softly it almost seemed like he was talking to himself rather than Kira, "You still have it… you just don't have control over it."_

_ Kira blinked in confusion. "Control of what?"_

_ Lacus seized the opportunity to move between them, with Athrun and Cagalli not far behind. Kira was surprised to see that she looked genuinely angry as she glared at Heero._

_ "That was completely uncalled for!" she said, "Heero Yuy, explain yourself at once!"_

_ "Yeah!" Cagalli chimed in, folding her arms, "What the hell was that all about?"_

_ "You didn't even give Kira time to prepare before you attacked!" yelled Athrun, "I thought that was supposed to be a duel!"_

_ "I never said anything about a duel," Heero replied calmly, "nor was it supposed to be one. Duels are formal affairs; this was a _fight_, and one that had to happen."_

_ "What are you talking about?" asked Kira._

_ "I had to know," said Heero, his gaze meeting Kira's, "whether what I'd seen in you before was gone, or if you still had it… and if you did, whether or not you could control it."_

_ "Seen in him before?" asked Lacus, "What is that supposed to mean?"_

_ "Kira already knows, even if he hasn't wrapped his head around it yet," said Heero, his gaze still on the Freedom's pilot, "I could see it in his eyes when he unlocked it."_

_ "Unlocked what?" asked Cagalli._

_ Kira's eyes widened as he flashed back to that strange mental image he'd seen earlier._

_ The seed bursting into brilliant light…_

_ "Looks like you've figured it out," said Heero._

_ Kira nodded. "That… that wasn't the first time that's happened to me."_

_ "I know," Heero replied, "I may not have seen it as up close and personal as I did today, but I _have _seen you enter such a state before. Doubts erased, focused purely on the enemy in front of you, fighting beyond mere instinct or conscious thought, natural restraints cast aside… an entirely new battlefield awareness, a new fighting mentality."_

_ Kira's mind flashed back to occasions where he'd experienced what Heero was talking about. The fighting in North Africa, the fierce clash in the Marshall Islands, the frantic battle against Creuset at L4… those were the most prominent examples for him, but he knew they weren't the only ones._

_ "I wasn't sure if you could still access it, especially after L4," Heero continued, "In the battle to save this colony you proved you could kill again, but that wasn't that state you unlocked earlier; that was simply instinct. More to the point, for all I know it could've been a one-off."_

_ "I know you've had a problem with the way I've been fighting since I came back with the Freedom," Kira replied, "but you still let me go my own way."_

_ Heero nodded. "I did…and it had a cost, one you're well aware of."_

_ Kira nodded in return. "I… I know. The refugees… if I'd been willing to do what was necessary sooner, we might've been able to save more of them."_

_ "I thought you'd recognize that after viewing the aftermath of the battle," said Heero, "Still… I wasn't sure if it had really woken you up, if you were truly willing to take life again in combat or if that was just a fluke. Also, I needed to know if you could still harness that ability that you just showed me earlier. All evidence points to yes… but it's not enough."_

_ "What are you talking about, Heero?" asked Lacus._

_ "From where I'm standing," said Heero, still looking at Kira, "it looks like you're at a crossroads. I can understand that, especially after all you've gone through since Heliopolis… but we can't afford it now. Any hesitancy, any indecision or doubt on your part could get us all killed, and many more besides. We won't be at L3 forever, and you know what the stakes are in the fight that's coming up."_

_ "We all know that," said Cagalli, "If ZAFT wins, Naturals die. If the Alliance wins, Coordinators die."_

_ "And if Creuset has his way," Athrun chimed in, "everyone dies."_

_ "Which reinforces the point I'm getting at," said Heero, "Kira, it's not enough that you still have that ability, that access to that state of combat awareness. At L4 you may have used it against Creuset, but it wasn't with lethal intent; he survived because you let him. Your desire to fight without killing your opponents worked its way into that subconscious state you sometimes enter while in combat. It let you neutralize Creuset as a threat in that fight, but you didn't take him out for good… and if you want to beat him in the next round that has to change."_

_ "What makes you think we'll even have a next round?" asked Kira, "If the next battle's going to be as big as everyone thinks it is then the odds of the two of us facing off against each other individually are pretty slim."_

_ Heero shook his head. "It may seem that way, but if I've learned anything over the course of my career it's that the statistical odds aren't a failsafe guarantee. Besides, that encounter between you two at L4 is all I need to know that he'll come gunning for you. You and Creuset have a connection, just like he and La Flaga do. You're all tied together by the Mendel colony, and it's not just because of that last battle."_

_ Kira looked down. "I'd rather not talk about it."_

_ "Too bad," Heero shot back, "because that connection might mean the difference between life and death for you in the coming fight. From what I understand, Creuset's creation wasn't just the result of La Flaga's father's desire for a perfect legacy; Hibiki used that process as part of the experiment that eventually led to you becoming a Coordinator. You may not be a clone of Al Da Flaga, but in a way you're still tied to Al Da Flaga due to that research, and by extension Mu and Creuset. La Flaga mentioned that he could sometimes sense when Creuset was on nearby. Have you ever felt anything like that?"_

_ Kira shook his head. "Not that I know of."_

_ "That could change," Heero replied, "I'm not an expert geneticist; I'm not qualified to go into detail on the experiment that ties you three together. However, it strikes me that if Creuset was right, that you're the 'Perfect Coordinator', you may only be just beginning to tap into your true abilities. You've managed to survive in this war without any real combat training, and your abilities have grown incredibly in a very short amount of time. Experience has been a good teacher for you, Kira, but I think there's more than that at play here. That awareness that La Flaga has when Creuset's nearby is something you could eventually get as well. As for that 'state' you sometimes go into during battle… that might be a result of the experiment as well, or it could be something else entirely. Regardless, it may very well be the key to your victory over Creuset when you meet again in battle."_

_ "But you said it yourself; I can't control it," said Kira, "I don't know how to just… well, just enter that 'state' you described."_

_ "I know," said Heero, "and that's something you need to figure out. I've never experienced anything like it myself, Kira, so I need you to describe to me how you've gotten there before. Your feelings just before you enter that state; what were they?"_

_ Kira closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to all the times he'd had that strange vision in his mind before. "It… it was a little different each time. Anger, desperation, determination… sometimes they were all mixed up when it happened."_

_ "But somehow your mind turned that into focus, into resolve," said Heero, "It took those feelings and sharpened them, forged them into a weapon that you could use to deadly effect. It helped you survive situations that could very well have killed you without it."_

_ Kira nodded. "Yeah… it did."_

_ "And you're going to need it to survive what's coming," Heero continued, "That's why I came at you without any warning and with such ferocity; I wanted you to believe I intended to kill you because I thought that was the best way to force you into that state. I'm sorry for the deception, but it was necessary."_

_ "So what now?" asked Kira, "I mean, I still don't know how to control it."_

_ "I know," Heero replied, "Which is why you and I are going to train here. I've already discussed it with the dojo master, and he's okay with it. I think you can control this, and I want to help you do it."_

_ "But if I know you're not really coming at me to kill, I won't enter that state you want me to," said Kira._

_ Heero shook his head. "Trust me, I can convince you otherwise. In your head you might know that I don't intend to kill you… but I can make your instincts react like I do. The mind and the heart are not always easily reconciled or fully in synch with each other, and that's something I'll be using to full effect in this exercise."_

_ "How long will this take?" asked Lacus._

_ "That's up to Kira," said Heero, "We're not going to spend every bit of our remaining time on the colony doing this; we both have other things we'd like to do while we're here, while we have this reprieve. However, if Kira's serious about making it through the final battle and protecting his friends, he _will _put some effort into this. Won't you, Kira?"_

_ "Does he have a choice otherwise?" asked Cagalli, glaring at Heero._

_ Heero nodded. "Of course. I can't force him to do this. However, I would advise that he do so."_

_ Kira turned to his friends. "What do you guys think?"_

_ Lacus sighed. "I don't know. I understand how difficult this is for you, Kira, and how important the way you fight now is to you. However… I think Heero might be right. You need to be at your best, especially with what we're up against, and this could be the key to your survival."_

_ "I don't know," said Cagalli, still giving Heero the stink eye, "I still don't like the way you started this, Heero. Even if I get your reasons, you still lied to Kira. I thought he was your friend?"_

_ "He is," said Heero, "You all are, and that's why I did what I did. I want Kira to be able to do more than just fight effectively; I want him to survive and to be able to help his friends do the same."_

_ Kira turned to Athrun, who nodded. "I don't like how he set this up, Kira… but I think Heero's got a point. In fact… I want to join you guys in this."_

_ Kira's eyes widened. "Athrun?"_

_ "What the hell? Athrun!" said Cagalli, just as surprised as Kira._

_ "Why?" asked Lacus._

_ Heero looked over at the former ZAFT ace. "So you've experienced something similar to Kira?"_

_ Athrun nodded. "First it was in the Marshall Islands… after Nicol died. The next time I felt it was at L4 after Kira got hit by that Alliance machine. From what you and Kira described, I think the same thing happened to me. It's still kind of hazy for me… but I fought like I'd never fought before. I was faster, stronger, more focused… it was almost unreal. If I can learn more about it, maybe even control it… I might be able to stop my father."_

_ Heero looked between Athrun and Kira for a moment before nodding. "All right then. Go grab another shinai. I'll take you on after another round with Kira."_

_ He then turned back to Kira and raised his sword, his eyes once again narrowing as they took on that dark and frigid edge._

_ "Here I come."_

….

**September 26****th****, C.E. 71**

Kira looked down as that first training exercise between him and Heero ran through his head. It hadn't been the last of its kind. With Athrun joining them, he and Heero had met several more times at the Kamiya dojo over the remainder of their stay on Elysium. The training sessions had usually lasted no more than a couple of hours apiece, but their intensity had made them seem far longer. Heero had very much been right; just because Kira and Athrun knew in their brains that Wing Zero's pilot wasn't trying to kill them didn't mean he couldn't convince their hearts otherwise. The gap between intellectual knowledge and gut instinct was something Heero had proven that he knew how to take full advantage of, and Kira knew that if they hadn't been using practice weapons both he and Athrun would be dead several times over.

He wasn't sure just how much progress they'd made either. While Heero had been able to repeatedly force both of them into that strange state, what Kira had privately begun to refer to as 'Seed Mode' thanks to that particular vision that always came just before he entered it, neither Kira nor Athrun had actually been able to call upon it at will. They still relied on the situation, their instincts and feelings when it seemed like their lives were on the line, to give them that final push.

Kira had been worried about Heero's reaction to that, but to his relief the Gundam pilot seemed to take it in stride. Perhaps it was because Heero couldn't seem to access 'Seed 'Mode' himself that made him recognize his own limited understanding of just what Athrun and Kira were experiencing, that the final key to truly harnessing that power might be something that they had to discover themselves. He'd treated the whole affair like part training session, part science experiment, observing how they reacted to his attacks and adjusting accordingly. Eventually Heero had decided to bring the exercises to a close, declaring that he'd done all he could for Athrun and Kira with regards to their strange ability.

_We know for sure it's not a fluke, that we can both use it_, he thought, _and thanks to Heero we were at least able to get a better handle on controlling it while we were actually in it. Pushing ourselves into it though, controlling how and when we actually enter 'Seed Mode'… I'm not sure if that's possible._

He shook his head as he zipped up his flight suit. There was no point in worrying about it now. All he could do was fly and fight with every ounce of skill and strength he had… and hope that he'd be able to call upon that strange ability if he needed it.

If there was a definite positive outcome to his training sessions with Heero, it was the strengthening of his resolve. The Gundam pilot had repeatedly hammered home the point that Kira had to be able to distinguish between targets that he could fight with restraint and those against which he could hold nothing back. It was much the same argument that Waltfeld had made to him after the fight at L4, but after the tragedy at Elysium it carried much more weight. Kira still didn't like the idea of having to kill, but more and more he understood that his friends and allies didn't either despite the apparent ease with which they did so. They had all long ago learned to accept and deal with the terrible burden that came with taking life on the battlefield, and if Kira didn't want to be a liability to them he knew he would have to do the same. At least he could take comfort in the fact that people like Heero and Waltfeld weren't telling him to completely abandon his way of fighting, just to recognize situations where it was not enough, where he was confronted with an enemy that _had _to be taken down no matter what.

Of course, actually applying that in battle would be easier said than done.

Grabbing his helmet, the boy headed for the door. Entering the _Eternal_'s hangar, Kira made his way towards the Freedom, his doubts still running through his mind all the while. He could see his fellow pilots going to their mobile suits as well, but he paid them little attention, distracted as he was by his internal conflict.

Would he know where to draw the line?

Would he be able to kill when he had to?

And if… or, if Heero was right, _when _he encountered Creuset on the battlefield, could he defeat him? Was it a matter of skill? Conviction? Ruthlessness? All of the above? Creuset had called him the Perfect Coordinator, but that was the last thing Kira felt like. Hell, he didn't even know what that _meant_.

He looked up at the Freedom as he approached. His skills combined with that mobile suit's power made him a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, but how he had fought in the past would not be enough for what lay ahead. He had the ability and the strength… but did he have the _will_? He had killed before acquiring the Freedom, and Elysium had proven that he could still do it, but that clash paled in comparison to what he was about to fly into now. It wouldn't be enough to wait for his instincts to take over; he would have to seize the initiative.

A familiar female voice rang out behind him. "Kira!"

He turned around and smiled as he saw the pink-haired songstress floating towards him. "Lacus! What are you doing down here?"

She smiled in return, though she looked nervous. "I wanted to give you something."

Kira's eyes widened as she reached out her hand and gave him a silver ring. "What's this?"

Her eyes met his. "Think of it… as a good luck charm."

Kira was dimly aware of actually taking the ring. His eyes were entranced by Lacus as she looked at him, and he realized that there was far more than friendly concern for him in her expression. He also realized that she was moving closer to him, and his heart began to race.

Taking him completely by surprise, she gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Her eyes still on his, she smiled again. "Please… please come back to me in one piece."

Kira felt the heat rushing to his face, but he still managed to nod and return her smile. "I will… I promise!"

She then threw her arms around him. "Be careful… and follow your heart. I know you'll make the right decision. I believe in you!"

Surprised at the sudden gesture, Kira gently took her in his arms. "Thank you, Lacus."

They slowly parted, but not before Lacus gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I know I can't really fight," she said, "but still, I'll be on the _Eternal_, supporting you. You're not alone, Kira! We can do this!"

Kira nodded, his confidence growing. "Yeah, we can."

Lacus looked up at the Freedom and then back to Kira. "We can, and we will! Now, prepare your machine for launch, Kira. Fly with courage and faith… and know that my heart goes with you."

"Understood," Kira replied, "and… and mine with you."

He actually saw the songstress blush, a rare sight indeed. She still managed to smile though and maintain her grace. "Thank you, Kira."

They both nodded before turning their separate ways, her to the bridge and Kira to the Freedom's cockpit. As he entered the mobile suit he could still feel the heat in his face, the kiss still lingering in his mind. His heart was racing and his confidence surging; now he had even more reason to make it through this fight.

_I'll find my answer, my balance_, he thought with determination as the hatch closed, _The line between mercy and pragmatism, between my ideals and what has to be done… I'll find the spot where I have to stand. The Earth Alliance, ZAFT, Creuset… I'll stop them all. I'll save this world… and come back to Lacus!_

….

Zipping up his crimson flight suit, Athrun felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," said a familiar female voice, "are you doing ok?"

Turning around, Athrun forced a smile as he faced Cagalli. "Yeah."

For her part Orb's tomboy ruler shook her head. "No you're not. Not by a long shot."

"If you know that, then why did you ask?" Athrun replied, a little harsher than he'd meant.

"Come on, Athrun!" said Cagalli, a pleading look in her eyes, "Talk to me! You're about to fly into battle against _your father_! We're _gunning for him_, for crying out loud! Don't act like this isn't hurting you!"

Athrun sighed. "What do you want me to say, Cagalli? Waltfeld and the others have already made up their minds. My father's a threat to billions of lives and has to be stopped by any means necessary. They're right; you and I both know that."

Cagalli nodded. "I do, but they've already written off his death as a foregone conclusion. Look, if it comes down to it... if he leaves us no other choice, then I do think that we'll have to kill him, but that's not a certainty. I _know _you haven't given up on him yet, Athrun, which means I won't either!"

Athrun's eyes widened. "Cagalli…"

She put both of her hands on his shoulders. "Athrun, I know how it feels to lose a father. I don't want to see you suffer that same pain if we can avoid it! Patrick Zala has to be stopped and brought to justice for his crimes, and one way or another we _will _do that, but the others are completely certain that the only way to do that is to kill him when there's a chance we could capture him and make him stand trial!"

Athrun looked down. "Cagalli… you heard the others. He's too far gone. Physically, he may still be alive, but… after all he's done, can I really call him my father? Was that the same man my mother married all those years ago? I don't think so… and I think she'd be disgusted by what he's become. There's nothing left of the man he once was. He's already dead."

"You don't believe that!" Cagalli cried, her piercing brown eyes drilling into his soul, "I _know _you don't, Athrun, and you deserve the chance to decide for yourself! The others might be right in the end, but we can't say that for certain. You have to confront him!"

"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing, "Just call him up in the middle of the fight? Storm Jachin Due and stare him down in the command center? What do I do, Cagalli? What do I even _say _to… to someone like _him_? He'd murder you without a second thought, Cagalli, and he'd do the same to billions more! How do I talk to someone like that? How can you _want _me to?"

"_Because I love you!_" she replied desperately, "I don't want you to do something that you'll regret forever, that'll burden you for the rest of your life, Athrun! If you didn't take a chance, if you didn't try to confront him, to save him from what he's become, I _know _you'd never forgive yourself! You would carry that pain for the rest of your life, Athrun, and I don't want you to do that! I can't just stand by and watch you suffer or do something that will make you suffer even more than you already are!"

"Athrun!" she continued, "I know how much this is hurting you, and how hard it will be to confront your father, but it's something you _have _to do… and you won't do it alone! I'll do it with you! I'll help you fight him; I'll help you try to _save him_! And… and if we _have _to kill him, we'll do it together. We will stop him, one way or another… and we'll do it _right_. If we have to take his life in the end, we'll do it, but not before we try to take him alive, to convince him to surrender!"

"That won't be easy," said Athrun, "The two of us trying to confront him like that… you know how dangerous that's going to be, Cagalli. Jachin Due's the anchor of that defense line, Cagalli; it'll have maximum protection, and that's not counting inside the fortress."

Cagalli smiled. "I never said it would be. Come on, when have things ever been easy for us?"

Athrun had to chuckle at that. "You've got a point there."

She leaned in for a quick kiss. "We can do this, Athrun. I know it won't be easy, that both of us we'll be in grave danger, but it'd be that way anyway given the battle we're flying into. I can't promise that he'll listen, or that we'll even get to him before the others do, but we have to try."

Athrun nodded. "He's my father, which makes him my responsibility."

Cagalli shook her head. "Just because you're his son doesn't make you accountable for his crimes. Yes, you have a responsibility to stop him, but so do I. All of us do. Not because he's your father, but because of the threat he poses to the people we care about and so many more. I want you to do this, and I want to help you do this, not because of an obligation, but because I don't want you to throw him away as casually as he's done to you. You're better than your father, Athrun, and I'll help you prove it. We'll bring him to justice _together_… and if we can't take him alive, we'll take him down permanently."

"One way or another," said Athrun, finding his resolve, "we'll stop him. If mother could see what he's become… the heartbreak would kill her if the Earth Alliance hadn't already."

"Which is another reason we have to confront him," said Cagalli, raising her hand and gently touching his cheek, "to honor her memory. I know much of what's driving your father is vengeance, and I'm sure that your mother would never want him to go this far even after what the Earth Alliance did to Junius Seven. She deserves to rest in peace, and we can give her that by stopping both your father and the Alliance. Here and now, we'll bring this madness to an end."

Athrun nodded again as he brought his hand to hers. "Cagalli… thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Cagalli replied softly, "_I love you_, Athrun. I don't want you to suffer like this. Your father isn't just threatening billions; he's threatening _you_, and has hurt you badly. I know what this is doing to you, and I want to stop it. You want to thank me? You can do that by helping us stop your father and making it through this fight alive. I won't accept anything less, you got that?"

Athrun smiled. "Got it."

In one swift motion she threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. It took Athrun off guard to say the least, but he didn't fight it. After all, it could very well be the last one he'd get, and he wanted to savor it.

When their lips parted she smiled. "Come on. Let's get out there and stop this war."

Athrun nodded. "Stop this war, and my father."

_One way or another_, he thought, _it ends here._

….

Leaning against the back wall of Jachin Due's command center, Creuset folded his arms and smiled as he looked up at the main monitor. The screen was split in half, with the right section showing the approaching Earth Alliance armada while the left displayed GENESIS.

_The new mirror's in alignment_, he thought, _She just needs to be primed for firing. I imagine it will be any minute now. It won't take quite as long to get the next one lined up after that. Now that GENESIS truly is combat proven and not about to blow up in his face Zala's confident enough to move the replacement mirrors closer to the weapon. The alignment for the shot after this one will still take some time to be sure, but once it's in place… it will be the end for Earth._

Everything had fallen into place according to his design. Soon the Alliance would launch their attack, and it would only be a matter of time before they launched their nukes at the L5 colonies. He was expecting Zala to get in the first shot with GENESIS against the armada before that, and then the Supreme Council Chairman would have the weapon realigned, targeting Earth.

All the actors had taken the stage, with the exception of the renegades, the Alliance defectors, and the Orb remnant. While their skill and power had proven to be a considerable thorn in his side in the past, Creuset was not overly concerned with them now. The raw power and the sheer, overwhelming _hatred _wielded by the Earth Alliance and ZAFT could not be matched. Mutual annihilation was inevitable.

_I'll still take the field against them when the time is right_, he thought, _I do owe La Flaga that much, after all. And Kira Yamato, too. Hibiki's crowning achievement will die by my hand! Such sweet revenge… I can hardly wait!_

He idly wondered if he'd also have the chance to go up against Wing Zero. That fearsome mobile suit and its enigmatic pilot had certainly proven to be a wild card in this grand game, a source of both intrigue and irritation for Creuset. It would be nice to have a rematch after being forced to withdraw during the orbital battle all those months ago, especially with the Providence now under his command, but in the end such a duel was really no more than a diversion as far as he was concerned. An entertaining one to be sure; the Demon Lord of Avalon had proven to be far more formidable than anyone the Alliance or ZAFT could field. However, it wasn't a necessary battle, and compared to his anticipated fights with Kira and La Flaga one he just didn't have as much invested into.

_Besides_, he mused, _it would be rude to deny Galm Team the rematch they've been longing for. I may have fought Heero before they did, and his actions have been no small nuisance in this war, but I really don't have the same stake in a fight with him like Cipher and Pixy do. It's true that Wing Zero poses a threat to GENESIS, but the combined might of the fleet and the Special Operations squadrons guarding it should be enough to deal with him. Galm, Gault, Sorcerer, Wizard… they aren't mere political appointees like the lesser teams were. They can hold their own, even against the legendary Heero Yuy._

Indeed, he was actually mildly regretful of the fact that he would probably be too occupied with his own fights with Mu and Kira to get a good look at the clash between Wing Zero and the last of Zala's Praetorian Guard. All of Sorcerer and Wizard were flying GuAIZs, as was the bulk of Gault, but its leader and the two mercenary hellhounds of Galm Team now had nuclear powered machines, and a contest between them and Avalon's bane would no doubt be a sight to behold.

In the end Creuset simply shrugged it off. It was a necessary price to pay, missing out on one fight so he could enjoy another. He took comfort in the fact that the outcome didn't really matter at this point; not even Heero Yuy and Wing Zero could stop what he had set in motion. The stage was set, with his final preparations in place. He smiled as he thought of the little contingency plan he had set up, one that Zala would be all too willing to play into.

_Yes, that should do nicely_, he mused, _Even if the situation does get to the point where the fanatic decides to activate Jachin Due's self-destruct sequence, it won't threaten my plans. In fact, it will play into them quite smoothly. It's all too easy, really._

He looked over at the command platform. There was Zala, glaring at the image of the Alliance armada with a maniacal hatred burning in his eyes. Creuset wondered if Azrael was looking at the PLANTs and GENESIS much the same way. The leaders of the Alliance and ZAFT really were incredibly similar, and Creuset knew that both men would sooner die than admit that. It really went to prove his beliefs, that humans were greedy and vengeful creatures driven by their desire to dominate, to come out on top at whatever cost. The judgment he would soon pass upon the pathetic species really was too good for them. A long and agonizing end would suit humanity better, but Creuset did not have the luxury of time thanks to the cursed Al Da Flaga and Ulen Hibiki. He would have to content himself to see mankind swiftly consumed by the flames of Armageddon that they had brought upon themselves.

It would be enough.

And he could take great satisfaction in how he had orchestrated it all.

He saw Patrick Zala smile, though with him it was not an expression of joy but more akin to a beast bearing its teeth, eagerly anticipating the kill. "It's time."

He gave a broad sweep of his hand. "All forces, assume battle stations! Target the armada and prepare to fire GENESIS!"

Klaxons blared as soldiers rushed to take their positions. Outside the fortress Creuset knew that the Grand Fleet would be setting up its mobile suits for launch and the crews of its warships readying weapons for the opening salvos.

"Final checks complete!" shouted the primary weapons officer, "The mirror is aligned! GENESIS is primed and ready!"

On the main monitor Creuset saw a broad crimson pillar cut through a significant portion of the armada; the weapon's projected path of fire.

_I hope you're ready, Azrael_, he thought, _I'm expecting great things from you today, after all. Fight fire with fire and all that… do your part to unleash my grand inferno!_

He smiled as he turned back towards Patrick Zala, eagerly anticipating the vengeful warlord's next order.

And he did not disappoint.

"_Fire GENESIS!_"

….

_So that's it_, thought Natarle as she watched the main monitor, _That's the full ZAFT fleet. It's certainly an imposing sight._

There it was, sprawled out before the approaching Earth Alliance armada, a wall of warships and mobile suits between them and the L5 colonies. There were so many _Nazca_ destroyers and _Laurasia _frigates that the fleet almost seemed to go on forever, much like Natarle's force. It wasn't just conventional warships that were arrayed against them either; interspersed throughout the fleet were no less than ten of the new carrier/dreadnoughts. Just three of those ships had made the assault on the Boaz wall all the more difficult, and Natarle shuddered at the thought of what more of those vessels could unleash. The tiny, sparkling blue-white lights of mobile suit thruster fire looked almost like new stars, and Natarle realized that the units were not just from the warships but also the colonies themselves. At minimum their numbers must've been in the tens of thousands, but Natarle knew it could quite possibly be more. Even with the losses the Earth Alliance force had taken from ZAFT's super weapon they still outnumbered the enemy ships by roughly two thousand vessels, but it was far less of a margin than they had originally anticipated.

The weapon that had wrought so much carnage on the Earth forces in a single attack loomed ominously behind the armada and the Jachin Due fortress. While Natarle was sure that the power of the Alliance's nuclear arsenal could bring it down, she was not the one that could order the attack. That fell to Azrael and Admiral Sutherland, and while both at least recognized the threat it posed they also struck Natarle as more focused on attacking the colonies rather than the weapon.

_Barbarians_, she thought with utter disgust, _Murderers, psychopaths… they care more about slaughtering civilians than they do protecting the people of Earth. Our objective should be to destroy that weapon and defeat the enemy fleet, but they want to go beyond that and wipe out the colonies… and there's nothing I can do about it._

What choice was there? She could fight, try to limit the attacks to the ZAFT fleet, Jachin Due, and their monstrous new weapon, but she did not have command authority over the armada. Azrael and Sutherland's orders left little open to interpretation; she could only bend them so far before she crossed the line. If she acted according to her conscience it would be the end of her, and she had no way of knowing if Azrael would extend that punishment to members of her crew as well. However, if she followed her orders to their full intent, she would never be able to live with herself afterwards.

ZAFT's super weapon only made things worse. After that first shot there was no denying the raw power it had and the very real threat it posed to Earth. It had to be destroyed, and Natarle would do her utmost to accomplish that… but that also meant brining her forces into a position where they could unleash maximum devastation on the colonies once they breached the Coordinator defenses, and that was something she knew Azrael would fully exploit.

The situation was hopeless. Success meant slaughter. Failure meant slaughter. Trying to find a third path meant death for her and leaving no shield between her crew and Azrael. It meant leaving Flay without any protection from the sick bastard's cruel intentions. There was just no path Natarle could see that led to anything resembling what she might call an acceptable outcome.

And as if all that weren't bad enough, Natarle knew that she would still have to fight her friends today. Mu, Captain Ramius, the rest of her old crew… with so much on the line today, she knew that there was no way that they would sit this one out. They would give their all to stop the bloodbath, and she dearly wished she could join them.

_Oh, Mu… what I wouldn't give to be with you now. It was bad enough fighting you at L4, but here too, when the stakes are so much higher, when you and the others are fighting for the cause that I wish I could be fighting for… I'm so sorry._

There was no sign of them yet, but Natarle knew it was just a matter of time. In the meanwhile she would content herself to worry about just the most immediate and desperate situation in front of her.

Namely, ZAFT's giant gamma ray cannon.

Her blood chilled as a fearful cry rang out from her sensor officer. "Massive thermal surge detected! The weapon's firing!"

On the main monitor Natarle once again saw that concentrated blue beam shoot out of the hole in the center of the main mirror. Just like before, the beam hit the secondary mirror, scattering into many smaller beams and redirected back at the larger refocusing mirror. There they gathered in an eerily beautiful display that lasted mere seconds but seemed to take far longer as Natarle's dread slowed time to a crawl.

"Hard to port!" she shouted, praying she wasn't sending them into its firing path.

It scarcely mattered; the order had hardly left her lips before that massive blast of energy she had witnessed yesterday came back to life before her eyes. Once again it tore through space, a tsunami of apocalyptic power, a multicolored wave of destruction, and just like before it washed over the right wing of the reformed Alliance armada. The light was blinding, forcing her to shield her eyes until the glare died down.

_Damn it_, she thought, _How the hell are we supposed to fight that with a head on assault? Damn you, Azrael!_

Lowering her hand, she cautiously opened her eyes. It felt like déjà vu. Hours ago she had witnessed that titanic wave of overwhelming power savage the fleet, and now she was seeing it again. The right wing of the armada, already savaged before by that weapon and freshly regrouped, was once again a vast graveyard floating in the void. Twisted and charred wrecks an chunks of seared metal stretched almost as far as the eye could see, and Natarle couldn't begin to imagine how many soldiers had lost their lives in that attack.

"Not again…" she heard Flay murmur.

Looking at the girl, she saw her face pale with shock and horror. Flay's expression was mirrored by those of everyone else on the bridge, save for Azrael. His face was an ugly contortion of rage, a display of fanatical hatred that Natarle was sure would put history's greatest mass murderers to shame.

"Damn you, monsters!" he snarled, "Freaks, abominations… I won't let you hell spawn beat me!"

_Countless soldiers dead in one attack, and all he cares about is his damn ego_, Natarle thought with disgust, _Sick bastard._

She turned back to her crew. "Status report! What are our losses?"

"Still counting," the sensor officer replied, "At least a thousand ships, Captain!"

"Oh my god…" said Flay softly.

"Is the _Doolittle _still intact?" asked Natarle.

She had to fight back a grimace as she asked that question. Truth be told, she didn't give two shits about Admiral Sutherland at this point and felt horrible about asking about just one ship when so many others had just been destroyed, but she needed to verify that the official chain of command was still in play.

"Positive response from her IFF beacon," said the sensor officer, "Admiral Sutherland's still alive."

"What about the _Truman_?" asked Azrael, and Natarle noted a frantic edge to his voice, "Is it still in once piece?"

_Again with that ship_, thought Natarle as she glared at Azrael, _What the hell is on it?_

"Affirmative," replied the sensor officer, "IFF beacon is active."

"Admiral Sutherland's on the line!" shouted Flay, doing her best to regain some of her composure.

Natarle nodded. "Put him through."

The head of the Atlantic Federation High Command appeared on the main monitor. "Lord Azrael, the fleet cannon withstand another attack like that and maintain its superiority. We must attack now!"

_What superiority?_, thought Natarle with disdain, _We're barely above the enemy in terms of numbers as it is now, which means we might as well be even._

"I know that, _Admiral_!" Azrael sneered, "Be mindful of your place!"

"We've got an update on our losses," the sensor officer interrupted, "It's at almost fifteen-hundred ships!"

"Shut up!" Azrael shouted, "Our losses don't matter! Deploy everything we have at once!"

"We can't launch the nukes yet!" said Sutherland, "We need to engage their fleet and keep them occupied so they can't intercept the warheads!"

"I'm well aware of that," Azrael hissed, "Throw every mobile suit and mobile armor that's not carrying a nuke at them, along with all the forward warships! We'll scatter their lines and wipe out their colonies once and for all!"

Sutherland nodded. "As you wish, my lord."

"All forces, prepare to attack!" yelled Azrael, "Send them straight to hell!"

Natarle sighed. The hour of woe was at last upon her, and she had no choice but to plunge down the path of damnation and ruin.

"Launch all mobile suits!" she ordered, "Weapons, acquire targets and prepare to fire!"

Admiral Sutherland disappeared from the main monitor. His image was replaced by a tactical display showing both massive fleets facing off. With their recent losses the Earth Alliance armada was now down to roughly fifty-five-hundred ships, while the ZAFT fleet was at about forty-eight-hundred vessels. It was a much smaller margin than Natarle would've liked, and with the fortifications of Jachin Due herself she knew that the odds were much closer to even.

Over ten thousand warships were about to go head to head, along with exponentially more mobile suits. Their massive military buildups and over a year and a half of fighting had all come down to this moment, with two gargantuan armadas about to unleash utter hell upon each other. The already crowded space was getting even more packed as mobile suits and armors launched from the Alliance ships, their blue-white thruster trails blazing like a horde of new stars. From her own ship flew the Calamity, four Strike-Avengers, and four Strike-Daggers, while the Juggernaut assault mobile armor lifted off from the _Dominion_'s upper hull and moved forward. Between the armadas was a patch of dead space, a no-man's land of sorts, but it would not be empty for long.

"Firing assignments coming through from the _Doolittle_!" cried the weapons officer.

Natarle nodded. "Adjust targets and stand by."

She looked over at Azrael. As much as it disgusted her, the final order to attack would have to come from him. There was certainly no way a man like him would give Sutherland the glory of giving such a command.

"Zala," she heard him hiss, "You're going to burn… you and the rest of your wretched race!"

_If they're wretched, then so are we_, she thought grimly, _Both sides are deluding themselves at this point if they believe they have the moral high ground in this fight._

She watched as he stood up and gestured outward towards the enemy, his expression one of seething bloodlust, hatred, and rage.

"_Kill them all!_"

Natarle steeled herself as she issued her own command. "Open fire!"

And all hell broke loose.

The two armadas unleashed their might, and what appeared to be _sheets _of fire ripped forth from both sides. It was as if twin monsoons of particle beams, railgun rounds, and missiles had decided to cut loose with downpours of titanic proportions. The _Dominion_'s contribution to the firestorm seemed meager in comparison to the vast whole, her Gottfrieds, Valiants, and heavy missile launchers all opening up at once while the Lohengrins remained silent for lack of a firing lane through the armada large enough for them. Space was filled with the blaze of modern warfare, with the opening salvos so vast and powerful that Natarle could barely make out where one side's volley ended and the other began. Immense strings of explosions ripped through both sides' forward ranks as the largest barrages in the history of warfare found their targets.

"All forward!" yelled Azrael, "Grind their line to dust!"

Natarle turned to her helmsman and nodded. "Match speed with the rest of the armada as we advance!"

The ship rocked as a handful of beams and railgun rounds somehow made it past the forward ranks and impacted the _Dominion_. "Damage report!" cried Natarle.

"Armor's holding!" one of her subordinates replied, "No breaches or system failures!"

She turned back to the massive brawl unfolding before her eyes. The forward lines of both fleets had been savaged by the opening shots, but neither was letting up. There were now constant streams of fire issuing forth from both sides, and two gargantuan hordes of tiny blue-white lights were swiftly converging on each other; the mobile suit and armor squadrons were about to engage. Just like at Boaz the new Juggernaut mobile armors and Biological CPU-piloted Strike-Avengers were at the forefront of the formations, spearheads ready to pierce bloody holes in the enemy ranks while the mass production units followed, prepared to rip the wounds further open.

Small streams of crimson fire opened up in the distance as Natarle saw the assault mobile armors cut loose with their heavy guns, and more explosions ripped across the forward ZAFT lines. However, the return fire from the Grand Fleet and its mobile suit squadrons was withering and fierce; the Earth Alliance would not gain the advantage so easily. The constant small explosions out front gave testament to the ferocious dogfight that was already unfolding between both sides' smaller units, and it was rapidly expanding both above and below the plane that the battle had started on. Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers danced through space, twisting, climbing, and diving as they tried to gain the upper hand over the GuAIZs and GINNs that opposed them. Machineguns and beam rifles blazed, bazookas and missile launchers unleashed their payloads, and energy sabers flashed in the void as the grand melee continued to grow, pulsating and writhing like a thing possessed.

_The largest fleet clash and small-unit clash in human history_, Natarle thought numbly, her mind struggling to comprehend just what she was bearing witness to even as she was an active part of it, _We're going to smash a lot of records today… and not in a good way._

"Pick new targets and fire at will!" she ordered, "Keep CIWS ready for missile and mobile suit interception! I want Helldarts on standby too!"

"Aye, Captain," replied the weapons' officer.

The Gottfrieds and Valiants fired fresh salvos, while the rear missile launchers cut loose with a flurry of Sledgehammer warheads. The shots were quickly lost amidst the typhoon of fire being unleashed by both sides, and only sensor data would reveal if they found their mark.

Out ahead the Alliance mobile suits and armors were pushing into the ZAFT front ranks, but the enemy was returning the favor. Natarle could see GINNs and GuAIZs blasting their way through the forward Alliance formations, mixing it up with Strike-Daggers and picking off escort ships. Backed up by fire not just from the destroyers and frigates but the ten black leviathan carrier/dreadnoughts they were wreaking havoc in the front lines.

However, ZAFT was nowhere near gaining the upper hand. Far out front Natarle could see formations led by the Juggernaut assault mobile armors work their way into the Jachin Due Line, blasting apart _Laurasia_-class frigates and _Nazca_-class destroyers with their heavy guns and missiles while sending out near constant streams of bullets from their CIWS to rip apart approaching mobile suits. The Strike-Avengers flying with them only added to the carnage, ripping apart GINNs and GuAIZs that tried to attack the Juggernauts and picking off additional warships. Behind them came the regular squadrons of Strike-Daggers, Buster-Daggers, and non-nuclear equipped mobile armors, ready to take full advantage of the chaos being sewn by their brethren.

The carnage was breathtaking. Mobile suits from both sides racing through the others forces and killing everything in their path, warships pounding away at each other in salvos unmatched in the history of warfare, countless lives being lost every _second_… it was combat on a scale the human mind could barely grasp, let alone fully understand. It was a manmade storm that was already spiraling out of control, cascading into a force of nature that could only end in Götterdämmerung.

Then the sensor officer's voice rang out, fresh fear in it. "Energy spike from the left wing of the armada!"

"Visual!" Natarle yelled.

**Start "Fighter"**

Her blood chilled as she saw a massive blast of familiar golden-yellow hellfire punch into the far left side of the fleet, ripping apart no less than four escort ships, two battleships, twenty-five mobile suits and thirteen mobile armors. She didn't need an announcement to know who had fired that shot.

_He's here._

_ They're all here._

The image on the main monitor shifted, and Natarle's eyes widened even further as she saw what was bearing down on the now engaged Alliance fleet. A force of two hundred capital ships of various types and nationalities was coming in fast, with the _Archangel _at the center of the formation. They had already launched their mobile suits, and the one that had fired that shot was at the head of the pack.

Wing Zero.

….

The dust had barely settled, so to speak, from Heero's opening shot with eighty percent of the Twin Buster Rifle's fearsome power before his comrades opened up. Surrounding him like his very own Praetorian Guard, the entire Valkyrie Team cut loose with their primary weapons. A crimson lance of plasma from the Judgment's speared a _Nelson_-class battleship through the left flank, ripping it in half. At the same time Adaline, Lan, and Priscilla, having joined their commander after taking off from the _Eternal_ and linking up with the _Archangel_'s group, opened fire with their beam rifles and railguns, and each girl's quartet of shots hammered a _Drake_-class escort ship, pulverizing their targets. Not to be left out, the Tallgeese Kai took aim and fired as well, sniping the bridge of another escort ship with precision shots from its beam rifle.

Then it was the capital ships' turn, with the _Archangel _leading the pack. With Wing Zero constantly streaming targeting data to the warship through the ZERO System Murrue's already formidable arsenal would be increased dramatically in its lethality, and that power was now brought to bear on the enemy. The bow-mounted Lohengrin positron cannons cut loose with twin torrents of crimson-orange fire, obliterating twelve Strike-Daggers before annihilating a _Nelson_-class battleship. At the same time the white warship's Gottfried Mk.71 High-Energy Beam Cannons and Valiant Mk.8 Linear Cannons opened up, with the portside weapons blasting the bridge of another battleship while the starboard guns obliterated an escort ship. Following up that deadly cocktail was a full barrage of twenty-four Sledgehammer anti-ship missiles. The warheads split into two packs of a dozen missiles each, with each group slamming into an escort ship apiece and ripping their targets apart. Just behind the anti-ship missiles was a pack of freshly launched Wombat anti-air missiles. Carefully fired along the flanks of the advancing Three Ships Alliance mobile suits, the warheads rushed ahead before bursting into cascades of crimson buckshot, and the lethal anti-air munitions ripped nineteen Earth Alliance Strike-Daggers and ten Moebius units.

The _Archangel_'s barrage was powerful in its own right, but it was made even more devastating by the support fire from the assortment of capital ships flying with her. _Drake_-class escort ships, _Nelson_-class battleships, _Laurasia_-class frigates, _Nazca_-class destroyers, and modified _Marseille III_-class transports all opened up, sending a veritable deluge of particle beams, railgun rounds, and missiles into the left flank of the Earth Alliance armada. With the enemy ships still oriented towards the ZAFT Grand Fleet and focused on trading brutal salvos with the Coordinator forces they were ideal targets for the barrage, and it slammed into them with lethal effect. Scores of escort and battleships were pummeled by the Three Ships Alliance's opening bombardment, along with several mobile suits unfortunate enough to get caught in the firing paths. Explosions rippled across the armada's left flank as warships were blown apart, while several others took varying degrees of damage.

After the initial attack Heero saw several of the Three Ships Alliance's mobile suits move forward, forming up behind his advance team. It was all part of their general plan; roughly half of the _Archangel_'s group's mobile suits would serve as the attacking force, while the rest would remain with the warships and act as escorts. He was comforted to see the _Archangel _in particular covered by Bristow, the three M1 Astray's of Wolf Team, and Dearka, while the three Tauruses that had been assigned to the ship before their departure were part of the offensive squadrons.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the battlefield, the second half of the Three Ships Alliance made their presence known. A volley of emerald beams, yellow railgun rounds, and crimson plasma blasts hammered the far right edge of the Grand Fleet, or the left if being viewed from head on. Several mobile suits were either destroyed or disabled, and four _Laurasia_-class frigates suffered multiple impacts, destroying two of the vessels and heavily damaging the others. Those opening shots had come from the Freedom and Justice, their already fearsome power now enhanced even further by the METEOR units that had formerly served as guns for the _Eternal _but were now hooked up to the stolen ZAFT prototypes.

That barrage was swiftly followed by twin crimson-orange lances of energy from the _Kusanagi_'s Lohengrins, along with additional fire from her Gottfrieds and a pack of anti-ship missiles. The positron blasts slammed into a _Nazca_-class destroyer, obliterating the azure warship, while the emerald beams knocked out one frigate and the anti-ship missiles severely damaged another. Additional particle beams joined the _Kusanagi_'s barrage as the _Eternal _cut loose as well, knocking another destroyer out of the fight.

Then the rest of the group opened fire. Like the _Archangel_'s group it was an assortment of vessels from all three nations, two hundred strong, and their barrage hammered the right flank of the ZAFT fleet. Several destroyers and frigates were taken out, while other vessels were damaged. Along with the warships hit by the barrage several ZAFT mobile suits were knocked out of the fight as well, unfortunate as they were to get caught in the line of fire.

After that group's opening barrage several mobile suit teams advanced, forming up behind the Freedom and Justice. Cagalli was out in front, the Strike Rouge mounting its IWSP-X pack, and it would not be long before she and her comrades engaged the ZAFT squadrons.

_ All our preparation paid off_, he thought, _We're outnumbered by a ridiculous amount, but still… we can do this!_

Murrue appeared on one of his monitors. "We'll cut through their back ranks and push towards the command ships. Keeping towards the rear should limit the fire we catch from the Grand Fleet's salvos."

Heero nodded. "The Alliance's caught up with ZAFT, but they'll redirect some resources at us. Be careful."

Murrue nodded in return. "You too. Remember, we need to take out Sutherland before we eliminate Azrael. That will ensure maximum disruption of the chain of command after we neutralize him and save Natarle."

"Roger that," Heero replied, "We'll widen the hole we just opened up. Back me up."

Murrue smiled. "You got it. _Archangel _out."

As she disappeared Heero switched over to the squad channel he'd set for the Valkyrie Team, La Flaga, and himself. "I'm splitting the rifle. Cover me, but leave me room to fire."

"Copy that," said La Flaga, "No one's getting near you, Heero!"

"Not if we've got anything to say about," said Shemei, "We'll screen you, so fire away!"

Heero reduced his speed slightly to allow the others to get out ahead before splitting the Twin Buster Rifle and lining up targets, dialing back the power to thirty percent. As he did so he could already see Earth Alliance mobile suits moving in to intercept them, and several capital ships were beginning to reorient themselves to provide fire support. He'd have to make this quick; once the general melee began his friends couldn't cover him forever, and he would have to rejoin the rifle and draw his beam saber.

"All right, girls!" said Shemei over the squad channel, "Time to cut loose!"

The Judgment and the three Wraiths opened up with their missile launchers at the oncoming Alliance mobile suits. A storm of Lancer Dart and micro-missiles flew forth, and the incoming enemies immediately scattered, with several trying desperately to shoot down the warheads. The evasive maneuvers and frantic gunfire saved some pilots, but thirty-one others were not so lucky, and their mobile suits were ripped apart by the barrage.

"Hey, now," La Flaga chuckled, "I'm feeling left out here. Save some for me!"

The Tallgeese Kai rushed forward, firing away with its beam rifle. La Flaga's mastery of the lethally fast machine was on full display now as the Hawk of Endymion downed one target after another with a series of precise shots. What scattered return fire the dazed and confused Alliance units could muster was either evaded or deflected by the Tallgeese Kai's four Planet Defensors.

_My turn_, thought Heero, now locked onto his next targets and ready to strike.

He cut loose, with two beams of golden-yellow death ripping across space. They were smaller than the shot he had fired earlier, but the blasts were still very much lethal both for their intended targets and anything in their firing path. Fifteen Strike-Daggers blew apart like firecrackers before the beams slammed into two _Nelson_-class battleships, and the vessels burst like grenades.

The shots had barely left his split rifle when the Valkyrie Team cut loose again with the rest of their missiles. Once again their furious barrage ripped into the ranks of oncoming Earth Alliance units, and this time nineteen Strike-Daggers and thirteen Moebius mobile armors were blasted by the storm of warheads. La Flaga continued to add fire from the Tallgeese Kai to the mix, picking off additional mobile suits as they struggled to evade the swarm of missiles Shemei and her subordinates had unleashed.

With a quick glance at his sensors Heero saw the other mobile suit attack teams moving up to support him, the Valkyrie Team, and La Flaga. M1 Astrays, Tauruses, Strike-Daggers, GINNs, CGUEs and GuAIZs opened fire, beams and bullets flying forth and cutting into the disoriented Earth Alliance ranks. Further back he could see the _Archangel _and her supporting capital ships preparing to cut loose as well with a second barrage.

"Tighten up!" he ordered, "Our ships are about to open up again!"

His comrades pulled in mere seconds before the _Archangel _and the other warships in her group unleashed another bombardment. The white battleship's positron blasters ripped apart another _Nelson_-class vessel, while fire from her Gottfrieds and Valiants destroyed two _Drakes_. Another volley of Sledgehammer missiles tore up a third escort ship, while a pack of Wombat missiles hammered the Earth Alliance Strike-Dagger formations, shredding twenty of the machines.

_Murrue won't be able to use those again for awhile_, Heero thought, _The fight's going to get too mixed up and chaotic for indiscriminate weapons like the Wombat missiles. Still, they served their purpose._

Just like before, the rest of the ships in the _Archangel_'s group followed Murrue's lead, unleashing another coordinated barrage. Particle beams, railgun rounds, and missiles rushed through space and impacted their targets or Strike-Daggers and Moebius units unfortunate enough to be in their firing paths. Several more ships went down, but Heero could see the armada beginning to adjust to this new force that was attacking its flank. Many warships were in the process of reorienting themselves to face the _Archangel_'s group, and more Earth Alliance mobile suits were coming in as well. The _Archangel_ and her companion ships would be firing at will now rather than in concentrated salvos; the fight was about to get much more heated.

Knowing he wouldn't have long until he was forced to engage in close quarters combat, Heero increased the charge on his split Twin Buster Rifle and set up for another pair of shots. Picking his targets and making sure he had clear firing lanes, he once again cut loose. Twin pillars of golden-yellow hellfire tore through space, and another pair of _Nelson_-class battleships fell to his guns, along with fourteen Strike-Daggers and ten Moebius units.

Out ahead he saw the Valkyrie Team and La Flaga blasting away at incoming Earth Alliance mobile suits with their beam weapons and railguns. Crimson fire from the Judgment's Tartarus rifle burned across the void, incinerating nine Strike-Daggers before blasting apart a _Drake_-class vessel. The three Wraiths were cutting loose with a near constant torrent of fire from their beam rifles and railguns, their coordinated fire mauling incoming enemy formations, while La Flaga continued to pick off more units that were trying to recover from the withering fire. Still, the sheer number of approaching units meant that they would not be able to effectively screen Wing Zero for much longer, and Heero decided it was time to rejoin his rifle and draw his beam saber.

He'd barely done so when Shemei contacted him. "I hope you're ready, Heero, because we're not going to be able to hold back all these guys!"

Heero nodded, bringing the reformed Twin Buster Rifle up to bear and igniting his emerald blade. "I'm all set. Thanks for the support."

"Anytime," she replied as she picked off a pair of Strike-Daggers with her DRAGOONs.

He opened up again with the rife, this time with a much lower power shot that only destroyed six mobile suits. Heero then brought up his shield to absorb fire from other incoming units before rushing in for saber combat. Coming in fast and hard, he impaled one unit on his emerald blade before slipping to the right, parrying the slash of another machine, and slicing it in half. Around him the others were starting to mix it up in close quarters combat as well, their violet blades blazing as they hacked into the oncoming Earth Alliance mobile suits. The other Three Ships Alliance mobile suits were starting to catch up to Heero's advance team as well, and they added their own melee weapons to the mix.

_We gotta keep moving forward_, he thought as he gunned down a Moebius unit with a quick burst from his gatling cannons, _We can't lose our momentum!_

He increased the throttle, punching into the heart of the enemy squadrons. One Strike-Dagger was slashed clean in half, another impaled through the cockpit, a third stabbed in the side; Heero was Death incarnate.

Checking his sensors he saw his two main targets sitting at the heart of the armada, both blinking red; the _Doolittle _and the _Dominion. _His current course was on track for the command ships, but he had a _long _way to go.

_So many of them between us and our targets_, he thought as he blocked a beam saber strike on his shield before stabbing the attacking unit in the gut, _but I won't let them stop me!_

He slammed his thrusters into reverse and brought up the Twin Buster Rifle again. Making sure he had a clear firing lane, he increased the charge and opened up. The pillar of energy he unleashed carved a fresh path for him through the Alliance forces, blasting twenty mobile suits before annihilating a _Nelson_-class battleship.

_Say your prayers Azrael, Sutherland…_

_ I'm your Reaper, and I'm coming for your heads!_

**End "Fighter"**

….

"New targets acquired, Captain!" yelled Lieutenant Tsukino.

Murrue nodded. "Fire at will!"

The Gottfrieds and Valiants blazed forth, the port and starboard side weapons each locked onto an Alliance ship. Two _Drake_-class vessels fell to the heavy weapons fire, and they would not be her last victims. Her adversaries were sending more ships her way, and Murrue intended to make them pay for it.

Out ahead she could see Heero and his advance strike team carving a swath of carnage through the Earth Alliance forces. Strike-Daggers and Moebius units were being wiped out almost whole squadrons at a time as Wing Zero, the Judgment, the three Wraiths, and the Tallgeese Kai tore into their ranks, the best pilots in the Earth Sphere wreaking utter havoc on their foes. However, for all their skill they could not advance far through such a force on their own, and Murrue intended to back them up until they reached the heart of the Alliance armada.

"Get more fire support on our units' flanks!" she ordered, "I want Corintoss and Sledgehammer missiles in the air now!"

"Aye, Captain!" replied her XO, "You head her! Corintoss, Sledgehammers; fire!"

A swarm of warheads flew from the _Archangel_'s rear launchers, arcing over the ship and forward, splitting into two distinct groups as they rushed into the fray. Their accuracy magnified by the combination of the _Archangel_'s new targeting program and the constant stream of data from Wing Zero, the combined anti-ship and anti-air missiles ripped into the enemy ranks with lethal force. A battleship and an escort ship fell to the heavier warheads, while the lighter ones tore apart nine Alliance mobile suits.

All around the _Archangel_, her companion ships continued to pour their fire into the fray. Additional explosions rippled through the Earth Alliance forces, more ships and mobile suits succumbing to the attacks from the Three Ships Alliance, though not as many as in the opening attacks. They were done with mass salvos now; with the Earth forces now sending more ships to counter them, they couldn't pull off such mass attacks. Already Earth Alliance flotillas were moving to engage the _Archangel_'s half of the Three Ships Alliance fleet, firing away with beam cannons and missile launchers.

Murrue grimaced as she saw one of their allied _Laurasia_-class frigates succumb to enemy fire, followed by a _Drake_-class escort ship. They would not be the last casualties in her force; she was well aware of that. Losses would be inevitable today, and all she could do was make sure those deaths were not in vain.

Out ahead it was the same for their mobile suits. Heero's advance team was still in one piece, but the mobile suits that were supporting it were mixed up in a furious melee with their Earth Alliance counterparts, and they were already taking casualties. Murrue could comfort herself with the great skill, courage, and tenacity the pilots of her group were showing, but it did not change the fact that people were dying in an attack she was in command of.

_I hate fleet command_, she thought solemnly, _It's bad enough just commanding one ship and her smaller units, but this… there's just so much more to lose. I just have to do my best to make those loses count for something._

"Tell the others to loosen up the formation," she said, "They can give themselves more room for evasive maneuvers, but we have to keep moving forward!"

"Aye, Captain!" said her communications officer.

"We've got Alliance mobile suits coming in fast!" yelled her sensor officer.

"Have our escort units prepare for interception!" Murrue ordered, "Helldarts and CIWS can fire as soon as they have targets! Coordinate with the Buster and Wolf Team!"

"Bristow, Dearka, engage at will!" said Miriallia from her post in the CIC.

Out the forward viewport she saw Dearka, Bristow, and the three M1 Astrays open up on the approaching Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers. The Buster was cutting loose with both its Gun Launcher and beam rifle, picking off units with what seemed to be practiced ease. Bristow was moving forward, his beam gatlings spitting a hail of emerald death at one machine before he ignited his beam claws and carved into another. Backing him up, the three M1s unleashed coordinated fire on the incoming units, guarding the Werewolf's flank.

Then the _Archangel_'s close-up weapons joined the fray. Streams of shells flew forth from the CIWS, lethally accurate thanks to the upgraded targeting system. The same went for the swarm of Helldart light anti-air missiles that flew out from behind the bridge and into the melee, hammering multiple enemy mobile suits. Still, it wasn't a perfect barrage, and the enemy's force was great. A few Strike-Daggers managed to survive and returned fire with their beam rifles, peppering the _Archangel_'s upper decks.

The ship shuddered under the hits, though the enemy's attacks were soon interrupted by a series of swift slashes from the Werewolf's twin beam claws. "Damage report!" cried Murrue.

"Armor's holding for now," replied one of her subordinates, "No breaches or system failures."

Murrue breathed a sigh of relief. _So far, so good._

Checking the tactical display she could see it was more or less the same situation all around her. The rest of her companion ships were in the process of fending off attacks from Strike-Daggers, Buster-Daggers, and Moebius mobile armors. They didn't have the advantage of the _Archangel_'s upgraded targeting system, but they still had their escorts, and they were putting up a furious defense. Loosening up their formation earlier had been a good move on Murrue's part; it gave the ships and their escorts more room to deal with the attackers while still keeping overlapping arcs of fire. Still, it was not perfect. Already friendly mobile suits and armors were beginning to fall, and the other ships didn't have the luxury of the _Archangel_'s thick, laminated armor.

_As long as we don't let this slow us down, we'll be fine_, she thought, _I can't let us get bogged down here._

For all the new effort the Earth Alliance armada was directing at her though, Murrue knew it could be much worse. Waltfeld's decision to hold off engaging until the Alliance and ZAFT had started their brawl was serving them well; the bulk of Azrael and Zala's resources were focused on killing each other. While the Three Ships Alliance would still not have an easy time of it due to the sheer numbers their foes had on the field, the situation for Murrue and her allies was still manageable.

On the tactical display and out to the left of the main viewport she could see the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces still going at it with unmatched fury. Every second explosions large and small rippled through the armada and the Grand Fleet as warships and mobile units met their demise. Neither side was unleashing those massive coordinated salvos she had witnessed at the start of the battle, but the sheer volume of fire they were putting out was still mindboggling. Particle beams, railgun rounds, and missiles constantly crisscrossed what little space between them remained as the two vast fleets edged closer and closer, their warships about to become as entangled as the mobile suits already were. Both sides' forward ranks were already torn to bloody ribbons, and the carnage was still young.

ZAFT may have still been outnumbered by the Earth Alliance, but it wasn't by the huge margin Murrue and the others had been expecting prior to the unveiling of the gamma ray cannon. The Alliance's new assault mobile armors and mobile suits may have been ripping through their front lines, but the Grand Fleet's core still held. Anchored by the ten black carrier/dreadnoughts, it gave as good as it got. The black leviathans alone were putting out punishing volumes of fire, and though each ship bore the scars of multiple hits none of them looked anywhere close to going down yet. The newer model GuAIZ units were also starting to have success in stopping some of the Juggernaut mobile armors, though their escorts of Strike-Avengers made the task very difficult and costly.

_Their fleet's still intact, but there's breaches in the lines now_, Murrue thought, _I don't know if it's enough for the Alliance to launch their nukes yet… I just hope Kira and the others are ready._

"Captain!" cried the sensor officer, "Multiple Alliance flotillas are moving to starboard. They're trying to flank us!"

"Match their move, but keep us pushing forward!" she ordered, "We'll take more fire from the port side, but better that than a complete envelopment. Prepare Lohengrins for fire, and ready the other weapons for support!"

"Heero, adjust your heading to the right twenty degrees and hit the flanking flotillas!" said Miriallia, "We'll back you up!"

Out ahead Murrue could already see Wing Zero and the rest of the strike team reacting to Miriallia's instructions. A familiar blast of golden-yellow hellfire slashed across the sky, pulverizing eleven mobile suits and a _Nelson_-class battleship. It was followed by a crimson torrent of plasma, which took out another nine enemy machines before obliterating a _Drake_-class escort ship. The three Wraiths and the Tallgeese Kai made their contributions known as well with emerald beam fire and yellow railgun rounds as the strike team began redirecting their carnage along their new course. Meanwhile the rest of the allied mobile suits did their best to provide them cover fire as the advance shifted.

"Lohengrins primed!" said Lieutenant Tsukino, "We have a firing lane! Gottfrieds and Valiants tracking secondary targets, and Sledgehammers are ready for launch!"

"Open fire!" Murrue yelled.

The _Archangel _cut loose with everything she had. Twin blasts of crimson-orange energy tore through space, incinerating a dozen enemy machines before blasting apart a _Nelson_-class battleship. Fire from the Gottfrieds and Valiants hammered another battleship, ripping the vessel in half. The swarm of Sledgehammer missiles launched from the ship's rear split up and rained down onto two _Drake_-class escort ships, knocking out one's topside guns and engines while the second had its bridge turned into a charred crater.

Fire poured out of the other ships as well as the _Archangel_'s group adjusted its heading. The destroyers, frigates, and battleships lead the barrage with their heavy guns while the modified transports and smaller escort ships backed them up with missiles. A new path was being forged through the Earth Alliance armada; a road paved with the mauled wrecks of warships, twisted pieces of mobile suits and armors, and the corpses of so many soldiers callously thrown into the fire by leaders who would stop at nothing in their quest for genocide.

_Hang on, Natarle_, she thought, gripping the arms of her chair as the _Archangel _was rattled by enemy fire, _We'll save you and your crew…_

_ …and make Azrael pay for his crimes!_

….

Waltfeld grimaced as the _Eternal _shook under the latest ZAFT attack. "How bad?

"Armor's holding so far," said DaCosta, "Lucky us they can't throw a concentrated barrage our way."

Waltfeld shook his head. "No, but they can still make our lives miserable. Don't get complacent just because we're advancing."

DaCosta nodded. "Aye, sir."

_So far, so good_, he thought as he surveyed his part of the battlefield on the tactical display, _but this fight's still in the opening rounds. We've got a long ways to go._

Driving hard along the rear ranks of the Grand Fleet, conscious to keep as many ZAFT ships between them and the heavy Earth Alliance salvos as possible, Waltfeld's force was cutting a bloody swath towards Jachin Due and the massive gamma ray cannon floating behind her. Kira and Athrun were at the tip of the spear, deepening the breach in ZAFT lines with almost continuous fire from the Freedom and Justice, their power greatly amplified by the METEOR units attached to them. Mobile suits fell by the squadron, utterly destroyed or merely disabled as fortune and the skills of the two attacking pilots had their way with the enemy. In their wake was a trail of debris, and it was only growing as the two young Coordinators continued to advance.

Though they were out in front, they were hardly alone. Rushing to catch up was Cagalli and the three Morgenroete test pilots, and behind them were more mobile suits from the _Eternal_'s group. Gatling cannon and railguns blazing, beam saber ignited, the Strike Rouge IWSP-X was making quick work of the ZAFT mobile suits unfortunate enough to get in its way. Part of that may have been due to most of them being GINNs, but Waltfeld knew it also spoke to Cagalli's improved skill and fierce determination.

_The little princess has come a long way_, he thought, _I just hope she can pull through here._

"Sir, new target acquired!" said DaCosta.

Waltfeld nodded. "Let 'em have it!"

The _Eternal _opened up with her main beam cannon and smaller guns, and several emerald particle beams flew across space and hammered a _Laurasia_-class frigate, ripping into its upper hull and knocking out its heavy weapons. To the _Eternal_'s right the _Kusanagi_ cut loose as well, her Lohengrins ripping apart a _Nazca_-class destroyer while her Gottfrieds pounded another frigate. All around the two lead warships, their subordinate vessels were firing as well, continuing to provide artillery support for the advancing mobile suit teams.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for Waltfeld's group though. Though ZAFT was outnumbered by the Earth Alliance armada it was still diverting some warships to counter the Three Ships Alliance's advance. GINNs and GuAIZs were charging in, a continuous stream of mobile suits that were giving Aisha and the other escorts a fierce workout. Out the main bridge viewport Waltfeld could see his lover's black and green GuAIZ dancing across the void, sniping some units with her beam rifle while ripping apart others with her blazing violet claws. With the _Eternal_'s enhanced targeting system guiding her CIWS and anti-air missiles, the fire support provided by the warship only served to magnify the carnage Aisha was unleashing on the attackers. The Tigress was on a roll today, and Waltfeld wondered what her kill count would be when it was over.

_Just survive long enough to count it, Aisha_, he thought, _After all we've been through, I'll be damned if I lose you now!_

All the while they drove slowly but surely through the rear lines of the Grand Fleet Waltfeld was mindful of the Earth Alliance's moves. The fresh assault from the _Archangel_'s group on their far left flank had diverted some resources, but for the most part Azrael was clearly fixed on punching through ZAFT's lines. He had begun with a wide assault across the breadth of the Grand Fleet, but Waltfeld's eye narrowed as he noticed a gradual shift in their attack patterns.

On the tactical display he could see the Earth Alliance armada beginning to focus its attacks along specific routes. Ten distinct areas were coming under concentrated assault, and it didn't take a genius to see that the new _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts were stationed at those points. The black behemoths were putting up an incredible fight, their thick armor allowing them to weather an extraordinary amount of conventional punishment while their huge arsenal gave them tremendous offensive capabilities, but they were not invincible.

_Wing Zero brought down their predecessors on the surface in the past_, he thought, _and the Alliance destroyed the ones at Boaz with nukes, but the Twin Buster Rifle and Ragnarok missiles aren't the only things that can take out those leviathans. A fuckton of concentrated conventional firepower can do the trick, and the Alliance has plenty of that._

He had to wonder how long it would be until the first dreadnought fell. Waltfeld could make out a very clear pattern in the Alliance's effort to attack the dreadnoughts, and it did not bode well for ZAFT. At the head of the assault formations were the new heavy assault mobile armors and Strike-Avengers, cutting fiery paths of destruction towards their massive targets. Behind them the Alliance's mass production units were widening the gaps and sowing more chaos, making openings for the squadrons of capital ships that were moving up. The new concentrated attacks may have made it easier for ZAFT to direct their fire against the enemy, but it also gave their assault forces more punching power, and it would only be a matter of time before they achieved a breakthrough.

He turned to Lacus, grimacing as he saw the stricken look on her face. If he'd had it his way she would've stayed behind on Elysium, but he'd known that trying to convince her of that would've been futile. This was no place for the songstress, no matter how much she might want to be here to see her cause through to the end. She may have formed the ideological heart of their resistance to the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and her courage could not be denied, but at heart she was a maiden of peace. To see such bloodshed on such a massive scale would be terribly disheartening for her, and Waltfeld was impressed that she was holding up as well as she was now.

"So much death…" he heard her murmur, "So many lost so far… how did it come to this?"

"We both know the answer to that," he answered firmly, surprising her, "Azrael, Zala, and Creuset. An unholy trinity if there ever was one."

Lacus nodded. "I know you're right, but still… to think that the raw hatred of three men could've spawned something like this…"

Waltfeld shook his head. "It wasn't just that, though it was the driving force. Fear and anger have permeated both sides since the beginning of this war. In an atmosphere like that the worst impulses of those in power can have dramatic effects. Too many were willing to follow their lead, to give into their darker natures."

"And now it's up to us to bring an end to the madness they unleashed," Lacus replied, her eyes narrowing in determination.

Waltfeld nodded as he turned back to the battle. "Yes, it is."

He leaned forward as he saw one of the Alliance's attack formations approaching a dreadnought. There was no doubt in his mind; this one would fall.

The black leviathan was pouring out fire from every gun she had, but her efforts were focused on hammering the broader Alliance fleet, and this assault was up close and personal. Leading the charge, three heavy assault mobile armors opened up with their topside guns. The crimson streams of energy hammered the massive warship all along the front, superheating and melting through the armor.

Coming in above and below, several of the new Strike-Avengers launched a pincer attack. Red beams poured from the Agnis of the Double Launcher and Sword Launcher units that were leading the strikes, pounding the ship in a vicious crossfire. Weapons were blown apart, armor plating ruptured; the dreadnought would not last much longer.

The deathblow came from a concentrated Alliance barrage. Several _Nelson_-class battleships had the dreadnought in their sights, and they cut loose with everything they had. Salvos of beams and missiles slammed into the front of the ship, exacerbating existing wounds and blasting the bridge. More fire from the Strike-Avengers and Juggernaut mobile armors cut through the vessel, and it began to break apart. A breach to the main power plant sealed the deal, and the ship was consumed by a titanic blast.

"Sir!" cried DaCosta, "We've got movement from mobile armor squadrons that were hanging back before! Nuclear payloads confirmed!"

"Oh my god…" whispered Lacus.

_They've got their first breach, so they'll make their first direct attack on the colonies_, he thought, _Here we go…_

"Give Kira and Athrun the heads up!" he ordered, "They're gonna have nukes incoming! Call Wing Zero too; see if Heero can throw some fire their way!"

On the outside he was calm, but his heart was racing. Here was the moment of truth. Either they stopped this attack…

…or millions would perish.

….

**Start "Swordland"**

The power was unbelievable.

As he tore through the ZAFT lines, Kira almost felt like he was piloting an entirely different mobile suit. The incredible power the METEOR unit added to the Freedom was unlike anything he had expected. He couldn't use his beam rifle, but the addition of four new beam cannons more than offset that deficit. Combined with the Freedom's targeting system, the mobile suit's augmentation pack could be used to devastating effect, non-lethal or otherwise.

Kira was still going with the first approach; none of the enemies he'd encountered so far had risen to a threat level he'd deemed necessary to go all out against. An almost continuous stream of fire poured from both the Freedom's primary weapons and the METEOR's beam cannons, disabling whole teams of ZAFT mobile suits at a time and mauling the armaments of any warships that got in his way.

He saw a team of GuAIZs moving in, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to intercept them with his ranged weaponry. That was ok; he had a counter for that. The large beam swords on both ends of the METEOR ignited in fountains of violet energy, more unwieldy than traditional beam sabers but more than making up for it with greater reach and broader blades. The approaching GuAIZs activated their beam claws in response, but Kira was unconcerned; he had these guys completely outmatched.

His eyes narrowing, he took a swing with his right sword, completely severing a unit's shield arm at the shoulder. A second later he lashed out with the left blade, this time burning straight through a GuAIZ's shield; they weren't meant to withstand this kind of raw power. He then whirled to the right, destroying another unit's beam rifle before hitting its head with fire from his CIWS. A fourth unit was knocked out of the fight by another slash from the left blade and a pair of shots from his railguns.

_I've got them completely outclassed_, he thought as he severed both arms of a fifth unit, _I can do this!_

To his left Athrun was making similar progress, though without Kira's restraint. The Justice was eviscerating any enemy unfortunate enough to get in its way, its blazing beam swords leaving a trail of wreckage in its wake. Athrun was in top form today, and working together with Kira the two young men were proving to be an unmatched team. The Freedom and Justice had a specially created data link set up between them, allowing them to coordinate targeting information and ensuring that there was no wasted fire.

"Destroyers up ahead," said Athrun.

Kira nodded. "I see them. We'll plow right through the middle!"

The two young men picked their targets and cut loose, pounding the warships in the center of the formation. Kira raked two _Nazca_-class destroyers across their forward and upper hulls, blasting apart their primary and secondary weapons in a withering volley. The assault from the Justice was even fiercer, and two more destroyers were caught in a merciless barrage, guns blown apart and their bridges turned to smoldering craters.

To their right Kira saw several GINNs and GuAIZs moving in to engage them, but before he could move to counter he saw them get torn apart by a volley of railgun rounds, bullets, and beams.

"Hey!" said a familiar voice, "Don't think I'm going to let you guys keep going without me!"

Kira smiled. "Cagalli!"

Indeed, coming in fast was the Strike Rouge IWSP-X, along with the three M1 Astrays wielded by the Morgenroete test pilots, weapons raised and blazing away.

Athrun chuckled. "I should've known you'd catch up to us sooner or later."

"Damn right!" she replied.

"We're not gonna let you boys have all the fun," said Asagi.

"Where Cagalli goes, we go!" said Juri.

"Someone's got to keep her from getting in over her head," Mayura chimed in.

The friendly mid-fight banter was interrupted by a transmission from the _Eternal_.

"Kira! Athrun!" cried Lacus, "The Alliance just launched a wing of nuclear bombers! They're targeting the colonies!"

Kira's eyes widened. "Where are they?"

"We're sending you their position and trajectory now!" Lacus replied, "Kira, please, stop them!"

Kira nodded. "I will. I promise!"

On his sensors a swarm of Alliance contacts were highlighted as he received the data from the _Eternal_, making for the gap in the formation just opened up by the loss of a ZAFT carrier/dreadnought. There had to be at least fifty of them, and Kira was sure this was just a small fraction of the nuclear arsenal that the Earth forces had brought to the fight.

Another voice came over the radio, one he had not expected to hear.

"Targets locked," said Heero, "Kira, Athrun, get ready."

Before Kira had a chance to reply he saw a massive blast of golden-yellow light tear across the battlefield, ripping apart dozens of mobile suits before washing over part of the Alliance's nuclear strike wing. Ten of the mobile armors were consumed by the shot, the units and their payloads completely disintegrated.

"That's all I can hit from here," said Heero, "The rest is up to you."

"They're launching!" cried Lacus.

Indeed, on his sensors Kira saw forty Ragnarok missiles take flight. Alarms rang in the cockpit; the warheads had armed the second they had launched. Kira immediately began selecting targets, and he knew Athrun was doing the same.

His eyes narrowed as he tracked the incoming missiles and locked onto his targets. The data link between the Freedom and Justice showed him which warheads Athrun was targeting as well, and as soon as his monitor showed every missile covered by him and his friend they cut loose.

A storm of missiles flew from the METEORs, a small fraction of their full payload. Like a swarm of hornets they zipped through space at lightning speed, intercepting the Ragnarok missiles in an incredible display of precision. A string of massive explosions ripped across the stars as their targets' nuclear payloads detonated, wiping out any Alliance and ZAFT mobile suits unfortunate enough to be within the blast radius. The pyrotechnics were almost blinding, and if it weren't for the automated adjusting of his visual sensors Kira was sure he would've been unable to see anything beyond the forty brilliant orange-red blossoms of nuclear fire.

_If those had hit_, he thought with a shudder, _that would've been a third of the PLANTs wiped out! Millions of lives… how could anyone do this?_

"Great job, Kira!" said Lacus, and Kira saw her smiling on his screen, "You too, Athrun!"

"I'll say," said Cagalli, "Nice shooting!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, people," Waltfeld cut in, "The fight's still young, and they've got plenty more where that came from. Kira, Athrun, we'll keep watch for the next salvo. Be ready to react immediately when we send the data."

Kira nodded. "Got it."

"Keep an eye on the remaining dreadnoughts," said the Desert Tiger, "The Alliance has begun concentrating their attacks on them to fracture the Grand Fleet. I'll be as soon as another one falls Azrael will order another strike, and this one will have more openings to make it through."

"Understood," said Athrun, "Should we try to support them?"

"Negative," Waltfeld replied, "Focus on cutting through to Jachin Due and the weapon, along with nuclear interception. Anything more and we spread ourselves too thin. _Eternal _out."

"Be careful!" cried Lacus before the transmission cut.

Sighting in on new targets, Kira felt a renewed sense of resolve pumping through his veins. He and Athrun had just proven that they did have the power to stop the Alliance's nuclear strikes, and they couldn't let what had just happened become just a fluke. They would do it again and again, until the Earth forces either gave up or ran out of nukes.

_We'll beat them both_, he thought as he cut loose again, the Freedom's and METEOR's guns erupting in a dazzling barrage, _The Earth Alliance, ZAFT… neither of them will get the chance to carry out their atrocities!_

_ Azrael, Zala, Creuset…_

_ …I'll stop them all!_

**End "Swordland"**

….

**Start "Rhythm Emotion"**

"Targets locked," said Heero, his eyes narrowed in intense focus and his rifle set at seventy-five percent power.

"Same here," Shemei replied.

"We've got you're back!" yelled La Flaga, "Go for it!"

Heero nodded. "Firing."

Back to back, Wing Zero and the Judgment cut loose in a titanic display of power. Crimson death poured forth from the Valkyrie's plasma rifle, ripping apart ten Strike-Daggers before spearing a _Nelson_-class battleship that was about to launch a broadside against their team. At the same time a massive blast of golden-yellow energy ripped across space in the opposite direction, wiping out scores of mobile suits and armors before washing over a flotilla of four _Nelson_-class battle ships and six _Drake_-class escort ships that had been moving in on the left flank of the _Archangel_'s battle group.

_Not nearly enough to completely relieve the pressure on Murrue_, he thought as he immediately turned Wing Zero around, _but it's something._

He gave a small smile as he saw Murrue already returning the favor. The _Archangel _opened up with a concentrated barrage. Salvos from her Gottfrieds and Valiants downed a _Nelson_-class battleship out ahead of the strike team, while a barrage of Sledgehammer missiles blew apart an escort ship. The ships accompanying the _Archangel _continued to provide supporting fire of their own, though with the Earth forces diverting more resources to fight them they also had threats of their own to deal with. Several ships in the _Archangel_'s group had already succumbed to enemy fire, while others were showing signs of damage. Still, Murrue's force continued to press forward, hell bent on reaching the heart of the Earth Alliance armada. Likewise, the other mobile suits that were flying in support of the strike-team were pushing forward, mixing it up with Alliance squadrons and carving out some space for Heero and his friends, though they too were taking casualties.

The strike team continued their advance as well, though the resistance grew thicker and more determined the further they moved into the Alliance ranks. More mobile suits and warships were repositioning in an attempt to stop them, and Heero could also see some of the more advanced units being recalled from their assault on the Grand Fleet; it would not be long before they engaged the forward strike team.

"Got some of those heavy mobile armors up ahead!" said Lan as she speared a Strike-Dagger on her violet blade, "Looks like they held a few back from the front line!"

Checking his sensors, Heero could indeed see no less than four Juggernaut mobile armors advancing towards them, along with several Strike and Buster-Daggers flying as support.

"Shemei and I will deal with them," he said, "The rest of you keep covering us."

"You got it!" said La Flaga as he slashed a Strike-Dagger in half.

"Bring 'em on," said Adaline as she picked off two more mobile suits with her beam rifles, "They're not getting past us!"

"Copy that," Priscilla chimed in as she downed a Buster-Dagger with a salvo from her railguns.

Moving in coordination born as much from flying together now as flying against each other in the past, Wing Zero and the Judgment sighted in on their targets, with the Valkyrie setting up to attack the left side of the formation and Heero the right. Meanwhile the three Wraiths and the Tallgeese Kai arrayed themselves around Shemei and Heero in a diamond formation, cutting loose with all their ranged weaponry as they covered Wing Zero and the Judgment. The barrage of beams and railgun rounds cut into the incoming Alliance squadrons, ripping apart the forward units and causing the rest to scatter.

Heero and Shemei opened up simultaneously, but at the same time the Juggernauts got off a salvo of their own. Fire from both sides crisscrossed the void. The golden-yellow blast from the Twin Buster Rifle obliterated one of the Juggernauts, and the shot from the Judgment's Tartarus rifle destroyed another, but that still left two more on the field. Meanwhile, the shots from the assault mobile armors' main guns and missiles did not hit anyone on the strike team, but they did tear into the ranks of their supporting mobile suit squadrons. GINNs, M1s, and Strike-Daggers were ripped apart by the blasts of crimson energy and swarms of missiles.

_They'll pay for that_, Heero thought grimly, already sighting in on his next target, _I won't let these things stop us._

Wing Zero and the Judgment cut loose again in a synchronous salvo and the twin shots downed the other two Juggernauts. It wasn't a moment too soon; more Earth Alliance mobile suits were coming in fast.

"Thanks for the cover," said Heero as he cut into a Strike-Dagger with his beam saber before destroying another with a quick burst from his gatling cannons.

"Anytime," La Flaga replied as he slashed a mobile suit in half and downed another with a shot from his beam rifle.

As they continued to carve their way through the armada Heero took a quick glance at his sensors to get a sense of the larger fight. They'd made a great deal of progress and were continuing to push further towards the heart of the fleet, but the battle was only growing more intense with each passing second. The forward ranks of the Grand Fleet and Earth Alliance armada were now fully mixed up with each other. Capital ships from both sides traded fire at point-blank range, while GINNS and GuAIZs clashed with Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers in a mad, chaotic frenzy. Both sides were pushing deeper into each other, but the Earth forces had more forward momentum.

The Earth Alliance's brutal frontal assault was costing them countless lives with every second, but the pressure they were putting on the Grand Fleet was beginning to take its toll. Heero had already seen one of the massive carrier/dreadnoughts fall to Alliance fire, opening up a gap that the Earth forces had attempted to use for their first nuclear strike. It may have failed, but it was inevitable that other holes would be punched in the ZAFT formations, and the Alliance would launch another nuclear salvo.

He singled out a dreadnought on his sensors, one towards the center of the Grand Fleet's formation.

_That one_, he thought, _will be the next to fall._

The ZERO System seemed to agree with the assessment, and it wasn't hard to see why. The ship in question was under fierce assault from multiple directions. From head on came a formation centered on four Juggernaut heavy assault mobile armors and supported by Strike and Buster-Daggers. Coming in from both flanks were flights of Strike-Avengers, consisting mainly of Double Launcher, Sword Launcher, and Aile units. Backing up all these units were several flotillas of battleships and escort ships, already trading heavy fire with the black leviathan and her supporting frigates and destroyers.

He contacted the _Eternal_, transmitting his data as he did so. "Waltfeld, I've got the next likely breach in the line."

The Desert Tiger appeared at the bottom right corner of his screen. "I see it. Thanks for the heads up. Think you can give any long-range support when the Alliance sends in the bombers?"

"No promises," he replied as he blocked a Strike-Dagger's beam saber on his shield before stabbing the unit through the cockpit, "We're pretty busy over here. Kira and Athrun might be on their own for the next one."

"Understood," said Waltfeld, "_Eternal _out."

Waltfeld had barely disappeared from the screen when Shemei took his place. "Heero, we got some of those new models incoming!"

The Gundam pilot nodded. "I see them. You and your team take the left half of the group. La Flaga and I will deal with the right."

"Copy that," she replied, "Judgment out."

As he cut down another Strike-Dagger with his emerald blade he turned his focus to the pack of Strike-Avengers Shemei had referred to. The group was composed of four Twin Sword units, four Aile Avengers, and four Havoc units. They weren't flying with any real semblance of formation, and Heero realized that their pilots were most likely augmented child soldiers like the ones he had fought at Elysium.

_More blood of the tortured and twisted victims of the Alliance's experiments on my hands_, he thought grimly as he brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, _So be it._

He pulled the trigger, sending a wave of destruction across space. To his left the Judgment mirrored the motion, and a spear of crimson plasma shot through the void. Neither shot found their mark, instead causing the oncoming pack to scatter. That was fine by Heero; he knew from past experience that these pilots could barely even function as a team, and further isolating them like this would only make it easier to exploit that fatal flaw.

"I'll take point," he said, "Cover me."

"Copy that," La Flaga replied, "I've got your back!"

He hit the throttle and shot forward, picking out one of the Havoc units as his targets and gunning straight for it. The machine responded instantly, opening up with its plasma cannon. It was a move Heero had anticipated, and he was already breaking to the right when the shot came. The beam curved to follow, but he was already too far ahead.

His vector took him right into the path of an Aile unit, which quickly opened fire on him with its beam rifle. Heero brought his shield up to block the attacks and then broke back to the left, setting him up to hit his original target. The Havoc unit lashed out with its sphere-breaker, but with a quick slash from his beam saber Heero sliced it in half, and then stabbed the Strike-Avenger straight through the cockpit.

He swerved to the left as one of the Twin Sword units came in to attack. The Aile unit from before had a perfect shot at his rear, but before it could take it a violet beam saber pierced it from behind, destroying it.

"Thanks," said Heero as he blocked a strike from his foe's anti-ship sword on his shield.

"Anytime," said La Flaga as he began trading fire with another Aile unit.

He pushed forward, Wing Zero's more powerful engines easily putting its adversary off balance. Sensing an opening, Heero slammed his shield into his foe, knocking him back and giving him room to dive as another Twin Sword unit tried to hit him from the left flank. Now clear of both units, Heero brought the Twin Buster Rifle up and opened fire. The blast of golden-yellow energy washed over the second Twin Sword Avenger, turning it into superheated atoms.

A quick glance at his sensors showed the Valkyrie Team meeting similar success against their foes, and at a quicker pace, though the latter was natural due to them outnumbering Heero and La Flaga two to one. Shemei had already dusted a Havoc Avenger with a blast from the Tartarus rifle, overwhelming its shields with the powerful plasma gun, before double-teaming an Aile Avenger with Lan, distracting it with her DRAGOONs before the Chinese Coordinator had impaled it on her beam saber. Likewise, Adaline and Priscilla had coordinated their efforts as well, with the redhead bombarding the second Havoc Avenger with her beam rifle and railguns while the blond had slipped underneath it before raising her blade and slicing it in half.

Turning back to his own fight, he contacted the Tallgeese Kai. "La Flaga, dive!"

The Hawk of Endymion reacted instantly, and not a moment too soon as the space he had just occupied was slashed through with a curving, crimson plasma beam. Heero had already brought his rifle up and wasted no time in opening fire, the blast of golden-yellow energy utterly overwhelming the Havoc Avenger's shields and obliterating the unit that had attacked La Flaga.

"Nice save," said the Hawk as he traded rifle fire with an Aile Avenger.

Heero nodded as he raised his shield to block a swing from a Twin Sword unit. "No problem. Let's finish these guys off."

"You got it!" said La Flaga.

Turning words into action, Heero immediately took the offensive. He rushed in and launched an overhand strike with his beam saber. His foe blocked it and countered with an attack from its second anti-ship sword, but Heero was able to deflect it with his shield. He then opened fire with his shoulder gatlings, draining precious energy from the Strike-Avenger's Phase Shift Armor and forcing it to back off. That gave Heero the opening he needed. Pressing his assault, he feinted to the right before veering back to the left and sinking his emerald blade into the Strike-Avenger's torso.

Looking over at the Tallgeese Kai, he saw La Flaga finishing off his foe as well. The Hawk of Endymion had led with a volley of rifle fire, which the Aile Avenger had taken on its shield. La Flaga had then rushed in, blocking his foe's return fire with the Tallgeese Kai's Planet Defensors before slashing the Alliance machine in half.

Meanwhile the Valkyrie Team had already wrapped up its engagement with their half of the Strike Avenger pack. Shemei and her subordinates were pouring fresh fire into oncoming squadrons of Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers, giving Heero and La Flaga time to wrap up their fights and ripping the Earth Alliance machines apart with particle beams and railgun rounds.

"Thanks for the cover," said Heero as he added the Twin Buster Rifle to the fray, wiping out nine machines before the blast impacted a _Nelson_-class battleship.

"No problem," Shemei replied as she took out another four mobile suits and a _Drake_-class escort ship with a crimson spear of plasma from the Tartarus rifle.

"You'd do the same for us," Priscilla chimed in as she picked off a Strike-Dagger and a Buster-Dagger with her two beam rifles.

"Nice job, by the way," said Lan as she downed one machine with her railguns before carving up another with her twin beam sabers, "You owned that last Twin Sword unit, Heero."

"Those guys were vicious," said Adaline as she shot down three Strike-Daggers in a precise volley, "Not very skilled, and no teamwork, but vicious. What the hell were they?"

"More of the Alliance's crimes," said Heero as he shot down a Buster-Dagger with his shoulder gatlings, "I'll explain later. We need to keep moving forward."

His emerald blade flashing as he carved into the enemy squadrons, Heero led the strike team deeper into the Alliance armada. Mobile suits fell one after another, but the amount of fire coming at the strike team only seemed to get thicker the further into the fleet they got. Wing Zero was buffeted by the occasional missile hit or CIWS barrage, but the Gundam pilot never lost sight of his ultimate targets.

His eyes narrowed as he saw the carrier _Doolittle _and the battleship _Dominion _highlighted on his sensors. Slowly but surely he and the others were working their way towards the source of the festering evil that had corrupted Murrue's homeland, and he was determined to extinguish it once and for all.

_Sutherland first…_

_ …then Azrael._

**End "Rhythm Emotion"**

….

"Captain, missiles and portside guns are locked onto their targets!" reported Tsukino, "Starboard guns are set forward and have their marks!"

Murrue nodded. "Fire at will!"

Death spat out from the _Archangel _in two directions. Her portside guns unloaded to her left, blasting a _Drake_-class escort ship that was part of the squadrons that were attacking her group from that flank. A volley of Sledgehammer missiles flew from the rear launchers and arced to port as well, and the heavy anti-ship warheads rained down on a _Nelson_-class battleship, with one hitting the bridge dead center. Meanwhile the starboard Gottfried and Valiant opened up, firing ahead into the horde of warships that was still between them and the armada's command ships. The salvo slammed into the bridge of a _Drake_-class escort ship, blasting apart the command center and knocking the ship out of the fight.

_We never could've managed such precision fire in a fight like this before_, she thought, _Heero, the new targeting system you gave us really is amazing._

"Refocus all our guns forward!" she ordered, "Use the missile launchers to support our forces on the left flank. Acquire targets for our next volley and be ready to fire on my command!"

All around the _Archangel _the rest of the ships in her group were trading fire with the Earth Alliance armada. Some had focused their efforts on putting up a screen on the left flank, trading punishing fire with approaching Alliance flotillas in order to give the rest of the task force a better chance of making it to the heart of the enemy fleet. It was on that flank that her force's casualties had been heaviest, but it still held. Escorts, battleships, destroyers, and frigates were pouring everything they had into Azrael's armada, but their losses were mounting. Nearly thirty ships in Murrue's group had already fallen, and many more were damaged to varying degrees. The _Archangel_'s incredibly tough laminated armor had allowed her to power forward and weather the storm so far, but as much as Murrue might wish otherwise it was not Gundanium alloy; sooner or later they were bound to take a heavy hit.

Out the forward viewport she could see her ship's escorting mobile suits continue to fight it out with attacking Alliance units with incredibly ferocity. The Werewolf moved like a thing possessed, utterly mauling any Strike-Dagger unfortunate enough to meet it in close combat, while a hail of small emerald beams from its two gatlings ripped apart targets at mid-range. Backing up Bristow, the rest of Wolf Team contributed what they could with beam rifle fire and their own beam swords. They were doing well, though one of the M1s had succumbed to enemy fire. Meanwhile the Buster continued to serve as a deadly mobile anti-air battery for the _Archangel_, picking off one Alliance mobile suit after another with steady fire from its beam rifle and Gun Launcher. Backing up her escorts, the _Archangel_'s CIWS poured what seemed like a near continuous stream of shells into the fray, their accuracy far greater and deadlier than their enemies might have expected; the new targeting system was getting a huge workout today.

Up ahead the strike team continued to carve through the Alliance ranks, utterly decimating any opposition. Murrue had been worried when she'd seen several of the Alliance's new models moving to engage Heero and the others, but those fears had been misplaced. The Strike-Avengers and their pilots had proven to be no match for the battle hardened fighters of Heero's strike team, and had barely even slowed them down.

Several mobile suit teams continued to support Heero's group, but Murrue could see that the sheer ferocity of the battle was taking its toll on them. Allied GINNs, GuAIZs, CGUEs, Strike-Daggers, M1 Astrays, and Tauruses gave their all, but they were gradually falling one by one. Their skill and teamwork were excellent, but the overwhelming numbers of the Alliance forces and the chaotic nature of the massive brawl were such that the supporting squadrons were slowly being ground down. They were buying the strike team precious operating room, but Murrue had to wonder just how long they could keep fighting in such a brutal engagement.

The mobile suits and armors that had been held back to serve as escorts for the capital ships were faring better, though they were still taking losses. Working in tandem with the warships, they were forming a very effective screen, warding off Earth Alliance mobile suit squadrons and greatly reducing the number of losses Murrue knew her group would've suffered without such protection. However, like their comrades in the offensive squadrons the defensive units were taking casualties, and fighting in the midst of their allied warships only made things more difficult; the risk of friendly fire was no small matter.

_ We're still moving forward_, she thought grimly, _As long as we can keep doing that, as long as we can get to the center and take out the leadership… our comrades that have died will not have fallen in vain._

On the other side of the battlefield she could see the _Eternal_'s group continuing to power through the Grand Fleet. Their progress was steady, though they still had quite a fight ahead of them, and Murrue knew that unlike her they had to both get to ZAFT leadership and be ready to intercept any nuclear missiles launched by the Earth Alliance. She had seen earlier the incredibly display of precision fire unleashed by the Freedom and Justice as they had intercepted the first wave of nukes launched by the Alliance, but she knew that what they had countered was just a small portion of her former homeland's arsenal, and it had been concentrated along one strike corridor.

She knew that when the next carrier/dreadnought fell the Alliance would unleash another nuclear salvo. Heero had been able to help reduce the first one, but with the strike team moving deeper and deeper into the thick of the Alliance armada his ability to repeat such a feat was in doubt. Murrue did not doubt her boyfriend's incredible skill, but she knew his abilities were being pushed just leading the strike team in their attack; to have him try to counter another nuclear assault while doing that at the same time could very well be too much. In her heart she felt that it would come down to Kira and Athrun to defend the PLANTs from here on out, but she was sure that they were up to the challenge.

"Targets acquired, Captain!" said Tsukino.

"Open fire!" she ordered.

The Gottfrieds and Valiants all opened up on a single target, a _Nelson_-class battleship that had been attempting to set up for a broadside against the strike team. It never got the chance to fire; the _Archangel_'s salvo ripped the ship in half.

At the same time, the _Archangel_'s missile launchers opened up with a swarm of Sledgehammer and Corintoss missiles. The heavier anti-ship warheads split into two distinct groups, each targeting a _Drake_-class vessel that was attacking from the battle group's left flank, while the anti-air missiles quickly spread out as they headed for their individual targets. The two escort ships were pounded by the anti-ship warheads, with one losing its bridge while the other's engines and missile launchers were knocked out by the barrage. At the same time the Corintoss missiles began finding their marks, and while a few were intercepted by beam or CIWS fire seven of the warheads impacted Strike-Daggers and blew them apart.

"Excellent work," said Murrue, "Lieutenant Tsukino, prepare the next volley, same attack pattern. Fire as soon as you have targets locked in!"

"Aye, Captain," her XO replied, "Guns, acquire new targets out front! Have Sledgehammers and Corintoss warheads ready for support fire on the left flank!"

"Captain!" cried the sensor officer, "We've got a problem! Two of the ZAFT dreadnoughts are going down!

"Isolate them on the tactical display!" Murrue ordered.

The image on the main monitor shifted, and Murrue could see the blinking blue dots that represented the two ships in question. Both were towards the center of the Grand Fleet, and they were under heavy concentrated assault from combined forces of Strike-Avengers, the new assault mobile armors, mass production Strike and Buster-Daggers, and several flotillas of capital ships.

One blue dot disappeared, and the second followed moments later.

"Look out for the bomber squadrons!" shouted Murrue, "They'll be moving now! Get their vectors and get that data to the others!"

"Scanning…" said the officer, "I've got them! Multiple Moebius wings, all advancing! Tracking their trajectories now. Transmitting data to _Eternal_'s group."

On the tactical display Murrue saw the nuclear bombers moving in three distinct groups, each angling for the gaping holes left in the Grand Fleet by the dreadnoughts that had fallen so far. Doing a quick count, she realized that there were no less than 120 mobile armors armed with Ragnarok missiles.

One for each colony plus Jachin Due.

She frantically checked her personal monitor to see if Heero was in a position to intercept, but saw that he was far too preoccupied. Wing Zero was mixing it up in a fierce close-in fight with multiple Strike-Daggers as it led the strike team through the thick of the Alliance armada. Wing Zero hacked one machine to bits after another with its blazing emerald blade, but even with such dominance over his foes that didn't change the severe disparity of numbers in this battle. Even with La Flaga and the Valkyrie Team covering him he would be hard pressed to target any of the bombers in the midst of such a ferocious brawl.

The _Archangel _shook as beam fire hit the port side, reminding Murrue that she could not afford to divert her focus now, even for something as important as the Alliance's nukes. She could only trust that the data had gotten to Waltfeld's group and that Kira and Athrun would be ready to use it.

"Damage report!" Murrue yelled.

"Armor in that section's still holding!" came the reply, "We're good!"

"Return fire!" yelled Lieutenant Tsukino, "Shift Sledgehammer missiles to the ship that fired that shot!"

Once again the _Archangel _cut loose. Her forward guns opened up in a single salvo, and two _Drake_-class ships that had been moving to cut off the strike team were pulverized by fire from the Gottfrieds and Valiants. Sledgehammer and Corintoss missiles flew from the rear launchers, the former swarming the _Nelson_-class battleship that had landed that earlier hit on the _Archangel_ while the latter spread out as they tracked individual mobile suits. The Alliance battleship was mauled by the barrage, her main guns and sensors ripped apart in the attack, while eight Strike-Daggers fell to the anti-aircraft missiles.

Glancing back towards the tactical display, she saw the Alliance bomber squadrons charging forward, with Strike-Daggers and Buster Daggers providing cover. They hadn't launched their missiles yet, but Murrue knew it was only a matter of seconds before they did.

_I hope Waltfeld and the others are ready_, she thought, bracing against the arms of her chair as the _Archangel _shuddered under another hit, _because they're on their own for this one._

….

**Start "Crossing Field"**

"Athrun, here they come!" cried Kira.

Athrun nodded as he hacked a GuAIZ in half with the METEOR's large beam sword. "I see them! Cagalli, cover us while we intercept the nukes!"

"You got it!" Orb's tomboy princess replied.

As he saw the Moebius squadrons moving in on his sensors Athrun knew that he and Kira would have their work cut out for them. This next salvo would be across a broad front, and the Freedom and Justice would have to intercept the warheads while trying to avoid fire from ZAFT forces; even with Cagalli and the others covering them, the sheer numbers that they faced would make it impossible to completely screen them.

Shooting down two GINNs with his beam cannons, he began angling himself to intercept the attack. To his right Kira was cutting loose with every gun he had, desperately trying to clear out some space around them before the mobile armors launched their missiles. Meanwhile Cagalli and the other allied mobile suits supporting them did what they could to provide the Freedom and Justice with additional space, opening up with every gun they had and mixing it up in fierce close-quarters-combat with the foes that got into saber range.

Heavy beam and railgun fire cut across space, slamming into approaching _Nazca_-class destroyers and _Laurasia_-class frigates. With a glance Athrun saw the _Eternal_, _Kusanagi_, and their allied warships pushing forward and providing whatever supporting fire they could for him and Kira. The group had taken casualties but it was still holding together, and the barrage they unleashed was punishing for the ZAFT forces.

_We've come so far_, he thought as he slashed two GuAIZs in half before destroying three GINNs with his beam cannons, _there's no way I'm letting the Alliance nuke the colonies! I couldn't stop the Bloody Valentine… I couldn't save my mother back then… but I can save the PLANTs here and now!_

"Athrun!" cried Kira, "They're launching!"

His eyes narrowed as he saw the horde of mobile armors unleash their deadly payloads. He immediately began targeting the incoming warheads, but on his sensor he saw a team of GuAIZs moving in to attack him at the same time. There was no way he'd be able to fight them off and intercept the nukes at the same time.

In an instant he knew the choice he faced.

His life or the destruction of the colonies.

For him, it wasn't a choice at all.

He wouldn't let another child suffer the same pain the Bloody Valentine Tragedy had inflicted upon him and so many others. He wouldn't let another atrocity like that drive people like his father down the dark road of hatred and vengeance.

If that meant his life, so be it.

_I'm sorry, Cagalli_, he thought as he prepared to fire, all the while steeling himself for his imminent death, _I know we said we'd stop my father together, but it looks like you'll have to do it without me… and survive this war as well. I love you… forgive me._

Suddenly gatling and railgun fire ripped into two of the approaching GuAIZs. Mere moments later the Strike-Rouge slammed into their formation, cutting down two more units with blinding speed. Athrun was astounded; he'd had no idea Cagalli could fight like that.

Cagalli's smiling face appeared on his screen even as she shredded a fifth GuAIZ with her gatling gun. "I've got these guys, now take out those missiles!"

Athrun nodded, renewed confidence and resolve coursing through his veins. "Got it!"

Cagalli's support had come not a moment too soon; the swarm of Ragnarok missiles was streaking through space as they spoke, and there was no way Kira could cover the whole thing by himself. Finalizing his target selection and making sure that there was no unnecessary overlap between the Justice and the Freedom, Athrun cut loose.

A swarm of missiles tore across space, racing to intercept the incoming nukes. Unlike last time the Alliance's attack was over a much larger area, and the Freedom and Justice's missiles spread out accordingly. Athrun was already preparing for follow-up shots in case any of his missiles failed to hit their targets; there was no way he was letting a single warhead get through.

A string of gargantuan explosions lit up the battlefield as 120 nuclear weapons were prematurely detonated by the intercepting missiles, vaporizing any mobile suit, armor, or warship unfortunate enough to be in the blast zone. For a brief instant everything was bathed in red-orange light, and the Justice's visual sensors struggled to compensate for the powerful glare. The massive blossoms of nuclear fire were both awe-inspiring and terrifying, and Athrun had to suppress a shudder at the thought of what could have happened had he and Kira not been able to take them out.

_So much power_, he thought, _and they're using it against civilians! How could anyone do this? How could they hate us that much?_

A much closer explosion rocked him out of his shock as the Strike-Rouge blasted another GuAIZ that had been moving in to attack him.

"Athrun, come on!" cried Cagalli, "We're not done here yet!"

He nodded as he turned his guns on fresh approaching squadrons of ZAFT mobile suits. "Right. Thanks for the help."

"Anytime," Cagalli replied as she tore up a GINN with gatling fire, "After all, there's no way I'm letting you die here!"

Athrun smiled. "Yeah… same goes for me with you."

Together they pressed forward, joining Kira in laying down fire on ZAFT units as they continued to move along the rear line of the Grand Fleet. Athrun was surprised to realize that the amount of fire they were facing had actually lessened a little, but the reason for it was not one to celebrate. Alliance squadrons, led by the new Strike-Avengers and heavy assault mobile armors, were cutting deeper into the Grand Fleet's ranks. The two vast opposing forces were now even more mixed up than before; it was almost impossible to distinguish between the two massive fleets now. Mobile suits from both sides flew between capital ships that were trading fire from ranges so close that they were known as 'knife fights' in military lingo. There were no layered or in-depth strategies, no cunning tactics or ploys used here; both sides were going at it in the most brutal of head-to-head brawls.

The largest battle in the history of the world.

Of two worlds, now that he thought about it; he recalled Heero mentioning that the forces they faced here dwarfed any that he'd ever fought in his old world.

Cannons blasting and beam swords blazing, the Justice was a fountain of emerald and violet death, overwhelming its foes with lethal precision and ferocity. GuAIZs were sliced in half, GINNs blown to shreds, frigates and destroyers mercilessly pounded and mauled by particle beams; none could stand against him.

Over it all loomed the twin monuments to his father's power, growing steadily closer.

Jachin Due and GENESIS.

_I'm coming, father_, he thought, _and one way or another, our battle ends here!_

**End "Crossing Field"**

….

"_Incredible…_" Natarle whispered as the glow faded from the detonation of 120 nuclear missiles.

It was an understatement, but she was hard pressed to find adequate words to describe the amazing display of accuracy and power she had just witnessed. Yes, the Freedom and Justice had intercepted a nuclear salvo before, but that one had been smaller and they'd had help from Wing Zero. This one had been much larger, and they'd had to deal with it on their own.

She did her best to hide her relief; with Azrael sitting right next to her, it would not be wise to show her true feelings. Still, on the inside she could not help but celebrate as the mightiest weapons in her country's arsenal fell far short of their targets, brought down by only two mobile suits. Her friends had found a way to do what she could not; prevent the Alliance from massacring civilians.

Inwardly, Natarle marveled at just how Captain Ramius and her allies were handling the sprawling battle. They'd come in at the perfect time and position, hitting the rear and flank of both the Grand Fleet and the Earth Alliance armada after both forces were fully engaged with each other. Now their divided forces were pushing hard towards their respective targets, and even with their superior numbers neither ZAFT nor the Alliance were able to stop them while engaging their archenemies at the same time.

Their progress was steady, and to Natarle it was both thrilling and concerning. The former was simply due to her pride in her friends and her relief that they had so far managed to survive this incredibly brutal battle. They were fighting like she'd never seen them do before; their skills and teamwork had reached new heights, and she would've given anything to be able to fight alongside them here and now. However, that skill and coordination meant that she had no doubt they would reach the heart of the Alliance armada...

…and then she would have to fight them.

_What do I do?_, she thought as she tracked their progress, _Mu, Captain Ramius… how can I fight them again? It was bad enough at L4, but in a battle like this…_

Her eyes were drawn to the six mobile suit strike team that was leading the charge. Wing Zero was at the forefront, its astoundingly powerful rifle clearing a path through the Alliance ranks while its emerald blade eviscerated any mobile suit that got into sword range. Another machine that Natarle knew was piloted by none other than the Valkyrie was right alongside Heero's, blasting away with its plasma rifle, beam cannons, and gun-drones, utterly mauling Strike-Daggers and Buster-Daggers while its violet energy sword cut down any that tried to take it on in close quarters combat. Three more black and red machines clearly based off the stolen Blitz formed a perimeter of sorts, buns blazing and violet blades shining bright as they picked off one machine after another in an astounding display of teamwork and precision.

But it was the sixth unit that most drew Natarle's attention.

The one she knew was piloted by Mu La Flaga.

The blue and white machine that signal intercepts had identified as the Tallgeese Kai moved like lightning, picking off one Alliance unit after another with unbelievable speed and precision. Natarle had always admired the Hawk of Endymion's piloting skills, and she knew that they had only improved since he had gained the new mobile suit, but now they were beyond anything she had ever seen from him before. His unit actually had the least amount of firepower when compared to the other mobile suits in the strike team, but from the way Mu wielded the machine it hardly seemed like a handicap. Buster and Strike-Daggers fell one after another to quick shots from his beam rifle and blindingly fast strikes from his violet saber, while any attempts from the Alliance to return fire failed miserably thanks to either the mobile suit's incredible agility or Mu's expert use of its four shield drones.

Every second that passed was a second that brought them closer to meeting again.

Again on the field of battle.

The last place she wanted to meet him.

For the life of her she could not think of a way out of her impossible situation. She did not just hold her own life in her hands, but that of her crew. The burdens that she had seen Captain Ramius hold and stand strong with months ago weighed heavily upon Natarle, and matters were made only worse by the fact that she shared her ship with the monster most responsible for the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, a man who sought to not only repeat that atrocity but magnify it by more than a hundredfold. Those she sought to protect were not just under threat from ZAFT; their own government served as a Sword of Damocles, ready to fall upon them at the slightest hint of disloyalty.

Looking to her right, she could see the source of all her troubles trembling in a mix of seething rage and growing fear. Azrael was gnashing his teeth at the failure of the Moebius mobile armors to deliver their nuclear payloads on target, and not once but twice. At the same time though Natarle also saw his gaze frequently dart towards the tactical display, where the progress of the _Archangel_'s battle group and Wing Zero's strike team was fully apparent. The combination of anxiety and anger would only make him more aggressive and unpredictable, and Natarle feared what it might drive him to do.

His eyes were blazing with a dark fire, an inferno of malice and viciousness the likes of which Natarle had never seen before. He was less man than demon, a ravenous beast whose hunger had been denied and would stand for it no more.

"Have Sutherland launch another wave!" he snarled, "Get our bombers in there and wipe out those colonies!

Natarle turned to Flay and gave her a grim nod. "Contact the _Doolittle _and relay those orders."

It didn't seem possible for the poor girl's face to get any paler, but somehow it found a way. Still, even as Flay turned to carry out Natarle's instructions she thought she caught a flicker of hope in her eyes.

Hope that the Freedom and Justice could once again perform a miracle.

She wasn't alone in that wish.

On the tactical display she saw fresh Moebius squadrons moving forward, once again enough to take out all the colonies plus Jachin Due or ZAFT's new weapon, Ragnarok missiles slung beneath their fuselages. The Earth Alliance's nuclear arsenal was massive, but Natarle was aware that it had actually taken a heavy blow thanks to the two shots from ZAFT's massive gamma ray cannon; several carriers that had held the missiles and their delivery craft had been annihilated in those gargantuan blasts of energy. Azrael's supply of nukes was now severely reduced, and more interceptions like those performed by the Freedom, Justice, and Wing Zero would only exacerbate things for Blue Cosmos.

As she watched the bomber wings move forward, she silently prayed that her friends would be able stop them again.

A familiar blast of golden-yellow light flashed across space, answering those prayers. Natarle was astounded at the sheer size of the shot; it had ripped through scores of mobile suits from both her side and ZAFT, along with no less than nine Alliance capital ships, before washing over the nuke-bearing Moebius units. On the tactical display she saw Heero's attack annihilate a third of the nuclear strike force, but that still left plenty of mobile armors with Ragnarok missiles ready to launch.

_As skilled and powerful as ever, Heero Yuy_, she thought, _but you didn't get them all…_

The remaining mobile armors proceeded into optimal firing range and released their payloads. A horde of Ragnarok missiles spread out across the void, charging through the sprawling battlefield towards the hourglass colonies behind the Grand Fleet.

A storm of smaller missiles and beams answered them. The Alliance warheads were swiftly intercepted by precision fire from the Freedom and Justice, just like the past salvos had been. Once again a string of massive nuclear detonations ripped across the battlefield like a series of volcanic eruptions, bathing the combatants in fiery light and incinerating any Alliance or ZAFT unit unlucky enough to be caught in the blast radius.

It took every ounce of Natarle's discipline to fight back a smile as she looked upon the failure of her side's latest nuclear assault.

_Well done, all of you_, she silently praised the incredible pilots that had made the interception, _I only hope that you can keep this up. You're the only thing that's standing between me and my crew becoming accessories to mass murder._

From her right came an increasingly familiar snarl. "_Shit! _Damn those mongrels and traitors!"

Natarle sighed, hoping her façade of resignation would convince her superior that she was not secretly elated with this latest failure. "Sir, we can't continue to attack like this. We're only wasting pilots and weapons. The nuclear arsenal was severely reduced by those shots from ZAFT's new weapon; we can't keep launching salvos indefinitely."

"_Shut up!_" Azrael shrieked, spittle flying from his mouth, "Don't you think I know that? I won't let them defeat me here!"

_All the lives lost here so far, and still it's all about him_, she thought with disgust, _I can't believe such an egotistical maniac holds the reins of power in my country._

"Get Sutherland on the line!" Azrael continued, "I know how to fix this!"

Natarle shuddered, fearful of what the loathsome madman on her bridge could have in mind now. Turning to Flay, she gave a nod and the girl rushed to carry out the order.

Admiral Sutherland appeared on the main monitor. "My lord, it would seem that further head on attacks would be futile."

"So I've noticed," Azrael spat, "That's why we're going to divide the fleet."

The Admiral was aghast. "Sir, we cannot do that! We're fully engaged now!"

"I don't need a fifty-fifty split," Azrael replied, his voice now eerily calm, "A small battle group will accompany the _Dominion _while we go around the ZAFT lines. All our remaining nukes will be with my force. We'll make a direct strike on the PLANTs while the rest of the fleet keeps the enemy occupied."

Natarle's face paled. What Azrael was saying was certainly possible, though it was unlikely that ZAFT would not make an effort to intercept them. Worse though was the fact that even a smaller force could still destroy the colonies, and interception of their nukes would only delay the inevitable. The PLANTs could still fall to conventional firepower; it would just take longer.

_The Dominion's Lohengrins_, she thought grimly, _would suit him just fine as backup weapons. They're not anti-colony weaponry per se, but… they'd have no problem opening the colonies up to the vacuum of space. From there…_

She shuddered as flashbacks from her brief stopover at the ruins of Junius Seven with her old crew went through her mind.

"Admiral," Azrael continued, "You will with and command the main armada. The _Dominion _will lead the smaller force. You will screen us from both ZAFT and the traitors, is that understood?"

Sutherland looked nervous at that, and for good reason; at the rate Wing Zero's strike team was moving, it wouldn't be much longer before it began carving into the armada's core. Having the Admiral stay with the main fleet rather than go with Azrael's new battle group would put him right in Heero Yuy's path.

Not that he wasn't already.

"With all due respect, sir," Sutherland said cautiously, "Perhaps my ship should come with the strike force to… to preserve our leadership. We've already lost Rear Admiral Bernard. With my experience…"

Azrael glared at him. "Are you questioning my orders and my ability to lead our forces?"

The Admiral quickly shook his head, and despite his best efforts to disguise it Natarle could sense his fear. "No, of course not!"

Azrael gave a cruel, satisfied smile. "That's what I thought. We'll only take two hundred ships, Admiral. I trust you can deal with that small of a detachment from the armada."

Sutherland nodded. "Yes, my lord."

"Good," Azrael replied, "We'll be moving now. And Admiral?"

"Yes, my lord?" said Sutherland.

"If Wing Zero breaks through to us, pray that it kills you first," Azrael snarled, his dark glare back in full force, "That will be a mercy compared to what _I _will do should we survive your failure. Understood?"

Sutherland nodded, his face paling slightly. "Perfectly, my lord."

Azrael smiled. "Excellent. Carry on, Admiral."

He then turned to Natarle. "Recall the Calamity and some of the supporting Strike-Avengers. I'll do the same with the Perfect Strike-Avenger unit. We'll send them against Wing Zero like we should've done from the beginning; my Phantom Commander will be Heero Yuy's undoing."

Privately, Natarle had her doubts. She didn't know any details regarding the mysterious 'Phantom Commander' that Azrael had only mentioned briefly before, but it was hard to imagine them equaling Wing Zero's pilot. Natarle doubted having Orga would make much of a difference either. Ever since the loss of his teammates at L4 the already unstable pilot had become further unhinged; he was now scarcely operating above the level of the augmented humans that were piloting the Strike-Avengers.

"I want two hundred ships from the fleet's core to follow our lead," she ordered, "Make sure the nukes are with them. Set heading starboard forty-five degrees; we'll go around the defense line and hit the PLANTs from behind while the main fleet keeps ZAFT occupied. Get the Calamity and some Strike-Avenger squadrons back here to intercept Wing Zero."

The _Dominion _began to move, and on the tactical display Natarle could see carriers and battleships moving to join her. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet's core was reforming, with the _Doolittle _forming the center of a new line that was coming up between the _Dominion_'s budding battle group and Wing Zero's strike team.

_It won't be enough_, she thought, surprised at her sense of certainty, _It never is with them. The strike team and the Archangel's force will break through._

_ And then…_

_ …I'll have to fight them._

_ Mu, Captain Ramius, Heero, everyone…_

_ …I'm sorry._

….

Murrue's eyes narrowed as she watched part of the Alliance formation begin to shift. Despite being fully engaged with the enemy two hundred ships, mostly battleships and carriers but also the _Dominion _were breaking off from the armada. It only took her a moment to grasp what was going on.

"Get Heero and the _Eternal _on the line now!" she ordered as fresh salvos flew from the _Archangel_'s guns.

The main monitor split, with Heero appearing in the upper half and Waltfeld the lower.

"What is it, Murrue?" Heero asked.

"Azrael's breaking off a battle group from the main Alliance force," she replied, "He's going to attempt to bypass the ZAFT fleet and hit the PLANTs directly!"

"Damn," said Waltfeld, "Like things weren't bad enough out here."

"We can still stop them," said Heero, "I can see a new line forming up around the _Doolittle_. We just need to punch through it and we can attack Azrael."

Murrue nodded. "We'll concentrate our attacks on the _Doolittle_'s part of the formation. We need to take it out anyway in order to maximize the disruption and chaos in their fleet."

"I'll get us set up to make the strike," said Heero with determination, "I know you've got your hands full Murrue, but can you still back us up?"

Murrue smiled. "Absolutely."

"You'll need to make it fast," said Waltfeld, "We have no way of knowing how much of the nuclear arsenal is with Azrael's group and how much is still with the main fleet. Athrun and Kira are doing well, but if the Alliance starts launching nuclear strikes from two separate fronts they'll be overwhelmed."

"And if ZAFT tries to intercept Azrael's force too things will get only more chaotic for us," said Heero.

Murrue nodded. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now our top priority has to be stopping Azrael from attacking the PLANTs."

"Agreed," said Waltfeld, "I'll leave that up to you two. Good luck."

Waltfeld faded from the screen, but Heero was still there.

"We're engaged pretty heavily here," he said, "but the _Doolittle_'s still along our flight path. We can make it. We just need some help, Murrue."

"And you'll have it," Murrue replied resolutely, "Be ready, Heero… and be careful."

Heero nodded. "Roger that."

As the Gundam pilot disappeared from the screen Murrue began issuing new orders. "Lock in on the _Doolittle_'s position and make it our heading. We're going to break through Sutherland's line and attack Azrael directly! I want all heavy guns and missile launchers locked on forward targets; we're going to support the strike team with every bit of firepower we've got!"

"Transmitting new heading to our allies," said the communications officer.

"Acquiring new targets now," said Lieutenant Tsukino, "We're ready to go on your orders, Captain."

Murrue nodded. "Fire when ready."

The Gottfrieds and Valiants opened up first, followed by a mix of Sledgehammer and Corintoss missiles from the rear launchers. Emerald beams and yellow railgun rounds hit their targets first, ripping a _Drake_-class escort ship in half and blasting the bridge of a _Nelson _class battleship. The missiles arced over the white warship and rushed towards their targets, with the anti-air warheads destroying seven Strike-Daggers while the Sledgehammers slammed into a carrier and blew it apart.

The _Archangel_'s volley was soon followed by fire from the rest of her force. They'd taken further losses and were now at a little over 150 ships, but they were still determined to press forward and their salvos were still deadly. Beams, railgun rounds, and missiles flew forward, destroying mobile suits and hammering additional warships, giving the strike team more room to do what they did best.

Meanwhile, the escorts of the _Archangel_'s battle group were still going at it with the Alliance mobile suits with skill and tenacity, but the battle had worn on them too. Wolf Team had lost another M1 Astray, though the Wolf of the Far East appeared to have lost none of his cunning, precision, and ferocity. The GuAIZ Werewolf moved like a vengeful demon, carving up Strike-Daggers left and right with its dual beam claws while shredding the occasional Buster-Dagger with its beam gatlings. Backed up by the last M1 of Wolf Team and the _Archangel_'s CIWs, Bristow was more than proving that he was just as dangerous a combatant as he was a spymaster and commander.

The Buster was still holding strong as well, though Murrue noticed that it was being more careful with its shots; no doubt Dearka was trying to conserve energy. The stolen Alliance prototype was still quite deadly despite its more conservative approach though, with Dearka's accuracy and experience more than making up for the decreased volume of fire he was putting out.

"Keep us moving forward," said Murrue, "We have to break through their line no matter what it takes."

_We have to take out Sutherland and Azrael_, she silently added, _If we're to have a chance at peace after this battle is over, those two _have _to die!_

….

Adrenaline coursing through his body like never before, Yzak flew through what could only be described as mechanized warfare's Valhalla. The sheer scale of the battle far surpassed any fight the young man had been in before; even the enormous clash at Boaz mere days earlier paled in comparison to this firestorm.

_It's almost unreal_, he thought as he sliced a Strike-Dagger in half before shooting down a Buster-Dagger with his beam rifle, _How… how did we get here?_

_ How did it come to this?_

His kill count for this battle was through the roof, but the Duel's pilot couldn't care less about that. He'd be satisfied just with surviving this battle and defending his homeland, and right now both of those were still far from certain outcomes.

The Alliance's nuclear salvos had rocked him to the core, all the more so because he'd been unable to do _anything _about them. Were it not for the renegades and the stolen Freedom and Justice, along with Wing Zero, Yzak knew that his homeland would've been done for.

_It looks like I owe Athrun one_, he thought as he cut down another Strike-Dagger, knowing his old friend was piloting the Justice, _along with Heero Yuy and whoever's piloting the Freedom._

It had been bad enough to see the enemy bring more of their nukes to the fight, but just as shocking had been the unveiling of his side's super weapon. Yzak had had no idea that ZAFT had been building something like that until the Chairman had first unleashed it on the Alliance the day before. To see the kind of firepower wielded by GENESIS was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

All the more so for the latter, since Yzak was sure Earth was on Zala's target list.

The _Granin _had fallen earlier in the fight, downed by a blast from one of the Alliance's heavy assault mobile armors. Yzak had avenged his mothership's loss, but it was a hollow victory in light of just how many soldiers ZAFT had lost so far in this fight.

The Grand Fleet was still holding together, but it had been reduced by well over a thousand ships. Yzak could draw small comfort from the fact that the Earth forces had been hit far harder, especially from the two blasts from GENESIS, but the enemy had far more ships in their armada than ZAFT and had been better able to absorb the losses. Both fleets were operating at relative parity now, and though the Alliance was still on the offensive it was moving slowly, their progress hampered by both the Grand Fleet and the actions of the renegades. It was a testament to the sheer size of the fleets and the raw hatred and ruthlessness of their commanders that both sides were continuing this insane clash despite of the horrendous losses already suffered.

_When this is all over_, he thought grimly as he shot down a Strike-Dagger with his railgun, _the militaries of the world will be much smaller… if they survive at all._

Striking down another machine with his saber, Yzak glanced at his sensors, his gaze drawn as it had been repeatedly over the course of this battle to the Earth Alliance flagship. There was no way he could forget that vessel.

Not after what had happened at L4.

_Flay_, he thought as he took down two more mobile suits with his beam rifle, _are you on that ship? Are you out here on this battlefield?_

He knew Flay's life pod had been recovered by an Alliance mobile suit and taken to that black battleship, but he had no way to know what had happened to her since then. Was she back on Earth now? Was she on a different ship, and was it still in one piece? Had she been on the Moon when ZAFT had unleashed GENESIS?

Or was she still on that flagship?

The uncertainty was killing him, and he knew such a distraction could very well be the death of him in a battle like this, but he couldn't completely banish it from his mind. Yzak still very much felt responsible for Flay's situation even though she had made it perfectly clear that she did not consider how Creuset had used her to be his fault. Not knowing what had become of her meant to him that there was a very real chance that she was out here now, and that he could kill her without even realizing it.

If he hadn't already.

The flagship had remained at the fleet's core since the beginning of the battle, but when he looked this time Yzak could see that it was breaking off now, along with an escort of battleships and carriers. He was sure one reason it was moving like that was the steady advance of the legged ship and Wing Zero, but it took him a moment to realize that another was that they were moving to bypass the Grand Fleet and launch a direct attack on the PLANTs.

A male voice came over the radio. "This is Jachin Due Command to Duel. Pilot Joule, please respond!"

Yzak nodded as he replied to the transmission. "This is the Duel. What is it?"

"We're sending a force to intercept the Alliance fleet that detached from their main armada," Command replied, "You're to join them in their task, understood?"

"Copy that," said Yzak as he shot down a Buster-Dagger with his beam rifle, "Duel out."

A group of ZAFT ships were highlighted on his sensors as Jachin Due sent the information to Yzak. The force was only half the size of the Alliance's detachment, but Yzak was surprised Command was willing to spare even that much given the circumstances. It was composed mostly of destroyers, and he noted that there was a high concentration of GuAIZs in the new group. This new detachment would weaken the rest of the ZAFT line, but considering what this new Alliance group was trying to do Command had doubtlessly decided that stopping them was worth the sacrifice.

_They're dead serious on stopping that Alliance detachment_, he thought as he raced to join the new force, _Even if our numbers our only half the strength of the enemy group the ships and mobile suits Command's assigned to this should be able to make up for that gap._

However, Yzak had a feeling that his new group would eventually clash with more than just the Alliance detachment. Wing Zero's strike team and the legged ship's battle group was still pushing forward as hard as ever, and he had little doubt that they'd be able to break through the new line that the Alliance was trying to put up between them and the flagship's force.

Once that happened, everything would be up in the air.

Would he fight Wing Zero?

Or would he attack the flagship before then?

And if it was the latter…

…was Flay on that ship?

"Damn it all," he hissed as he cut down another Alliance machine.

There was just no way to know.

….

**Start "Diapason"**

Twin Buster Rifle raised and charged, Heero pulled the trigger. The blast of energy that ripped forth cut another hole in the Earth Alliance lines, destroying a dozen Strike-Daggers before blowing apart two _Nelson_-class battleships.

_Their formations are getting tighter_, he thought as he brought his beam saber back up and began hacking away at more Alliance mobile suits, _They really don't want us getting through that line. Too bad for them._

He got on the tactical channel as he sliced a Strike-Dagger in half. "We can't let Azrael's force get too far ahead. We break Sutherland's line here and now."

"Copy that," Shemei replied as she cut loose with the Tartarus, burning nine machines to ashes and blasting another battleship, "What do you need?"

"Cover," said Heero as he impaled another Strike-Dagger through the torso, "I can get to the _Doolittle_ if you've got my back."

"We've had it this far, haven't we?" said Shemei as she shot down two more mobile suits with her DRAGOONs.

Heero nodded. "I know, but their line's much more concentrated here. We need to hit them with everything we've got."

"Then let's stop talking and get to it!" said La Flaga as the Tallgeese Kai swooped in, slashing a Strike-Dagger in half before picking off a Buster-Dagger with his rifle, "I'm not letting the _Dominion _get away from us. Not when we're so close!"

Heero's hand flew across the keyboard as he highlighted a series of targets and began transmitting the data to his teammates and the _Archangel_. "We strike along this corridor. Everyone ready?"

"Let's do it!" yelled Lan as she blasted apart two mobile suits with her beam rifles.

Additional fire came from Adaline and Priscilla, taking down more Alliance machines and getting the strike team set up for their run. Meanwhile, Heero could see the other allied attacking mobile suits that were still alive doing what they could to keep the Earth force squadrons from reforming to attack the strike team from behind. Their numbers had been reduced by nearly half, but the combination of surviving Orb units and defectors from the Alliance and ZAFT were still putting up a fierce fight. Tauruses swooped like avenging eagles, picking of one Strike-Dagger after another with their rifles. M1s, GINNs, GuAIZ, and defector Alliance machines had formed patchwork fire teams with each other, doing what they could to coordinate their fire and keep the enemy from regrouping and making a coordinated counter attack. They had bought the strike team precious room to make this attack, and Heero was not going to waste it.

Up ahead was a very thick and well coordinated force comprised exclusively of battleships and carriers, with the _Doolittle _right at the center. Their fire was split between ZAFT and the strike team, but even then they were still an imposing obstacle. Strike and Buster-Dagger squadrons were arrayed in a formidable screen; punching through them would be the first task, and it would not be an easy one.

A red line appeared on his sensors, piercing part of the Alliance forces, and Heero knew that Murrue was ready on her end.

"Split up, now!" he ordered.

Wing Zero and the Tallgeese Kai broke right while the Valkyrie Team broke left. Their surviving supporting mobile suits likewise scattered, leaving enough room for the _Archangel _to unleash her full firepower.

Twin blasts of crimson-orange energy tore through space as the Lohengrins opened fire, disintegrating nine Strike-Daggers and seven Buster-Daggers before slamming into one of the _Nelson_-class battleships and turning it into a fireball. Synchronized with that attack was a salvo from the Gottfrieds and Valiants, with the beams and railgun slugs punching right through the thin armor of two carriers and ripping them to shreds. Meanwhile, a swarm of Wombat missiles flew from the rear launchers and through the space the strike team had previously occupied before bursting into crimson shrapnel, shredding fifteen more mobile suits. Topping that off was a volley of heavier Sledgehammer missiles, and the anti-ship warheads pounded a battleship and destroyed it.

The destruction wrought by the white warship was impressive, but Heero wasn't wasting time admiring it. The fire was still fresh from Murrue's attack as Heero brought the Twin Buster Rifle back up, already locking in his firing lane.

"Our turn," he said.

The entire strike team opened fire at once. Heero's blast of the Twin Buster Rifle was by far the most devastating attack, annihilating no less than thirty Earth Alliance machines along with two battleships and a carrier. However, his comrades' efforts were still lethal in their own right. The Judgment opened up with everything it had, felling nine Strike-Daggers and a battleship with its plasma rifle and four Buster-Daggers with a volley from its shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs. Beam and railgun fire flew from the three Wraiths, taking down a dozen more mobile suits and widening the gap in the enemy formations. Capping things off was a quick volley from La Flaga's beam rifle, only taking down three machines but still serving to scatter additional units.

Then the rest of the _Archangel_'s battle group cut loose with a volley, throwing everything they could into the fray. Murrue's ship opened up with a second salvo as well, minus the Lohengrins, and despite her force's growing casualties they were still able to deliver a powerful blow. Beams, railgun slugs, and missiles hammered the Earth Alliance formation, destroying several more ships and many more mobile suits unlucky enough to be in the firing lanes. The barrage had succeeded in widening the breach first opened by the strike team, and Heero was already gunning for the gap.

_It's all or nothing here_, he thought as he downed a Strike-Dagger with a burst of gatling fire before cutting down another with his emerald blade, _We have our opening, and we're not going to lose it._

As he carved his way through the Alliance mobile suit ranks he heard a beeping from his sensors. A quick glance showed him the source of the chime; more new models were moving in, returning from the front of the battlefield and setting up to intercept the strike team head-on.

"Heads up," he said, "We've got more Strike-Avengers incoming… and an old friend from L4."

On his monitor he'd already noted that one of the incoming machines was the blue artillery unit that Dearka had faced off against at Mendel and that had taken part in the invasion of Orb. That wasn't the only machine that stood out to him though.

_What is that?_, he thought as he zeroed in on another machine with the Search Eye.

The mobile suit used the Strike-Avenger frame, but it was the augmentation pack that stood out to Heero. It was a successful fusion of all three of the original Striker Packs, including every weapon from the Launcher and Sword packs while also having the stabilizer wings and high mobility of the Aile pack. Data gathered by the Search Eye also showed Heero that the unit had more powerful batteries available than even the standard Strike-Avengers or the three prototypes that had made their debut at Orb while still utilizing Phase Shift Armor, and despite already fighting at the forward ranks it still had plenty of energy left for battle. Heero decided to dub it the 'Perfect Strike', for lack of knowing its official designation… unaware that he was pretty much on the mark with that title.

"The Earth Alliance has been busy," he said as he hacked another Strike-Dagger to pieces.

"What the…" said La Flaga, "That can't be right… _he _can't be piloting that thing…"

"What are you talking about, La Flaga?" asked Heero.

"I just got this feeling," replied the Hawk of Endymion, "Like I normally get with…"

"Creuset?" Heero finished for him.

"Yeah," said La Flaga as he shot down a Buster-Dagger, "but that can't be right…and besides, it doesn't have quite the same vibe to it. Still… it's weird."

"It doesn't matter now," said Heero, steeling himself for the coming fight as he cut down another Strike-Dagger, "I'll deal with him. You and the Valkyrie Team dispatch the others."

"Copy that," La Flaga.

Sighting in with the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero wasted no time in opening fire. The blast of energy tore through space and ripped apart eleven Alliance machines, but the one Heero had been trying to destroy wasn't among them; the pilot had dived as soon as he had taken the shot.

_He has quick reflexes_, he thought as he rushed in, _I need to hit him hard and fast._

In response to his attack the Perfect Strike raised its Agni and cut loose with a blast of familiar crimson energy. Heero had little trouble evading it, but he didn't want to give the enemy too many more chances to fire that gun; just because it missed him didn't mean it couldn't cause trouble for his allies. In the unit's right hand was its anti-ship sword, the violet beam blade ignited and ready for action.

As he prepared to face off with his new foe, his allies were likewise arrayed for battle against the other incoming Alliance machines. La Flaga was clearly setting himself up to take out the blue artillery unit from L4 and Orb, while the Valkyrie Team was angling to take out the rest of the machines, an assortment of Twin Sword, Havoc, and Aile units. The enemy wasn't flying in any kind of organized formation; they were all just rushing in to attack.

_More of the berserkers from before_, he thought, _In that case it shouldn't take the others too long to deal with them._

There was no time to worry about his comrades in any case; the enemy was upon him.

Emerald and violet light clashed as the two machines crossed swords, energy sparking between them. Giving more power to his thrusters, Heero pushed the Perfect Strike back, but the enemy wasn't about to be beaten just through brute force. His foe threw his thrusters in reverse to bleed off some of the energy from Heero's attack before transitioning into a counter-strike.

_No mistake_, thought Heero as he parried the attack before striking back, _he's good._

He made a diagonal slash, and once again his foe blocked the attack. Like before his enemy pulled back, but this time it was to give himself room to fire its Agni. Hitting the thrusters, Heero climbed to avoid the crimson beam before returning fire with his rifle. The Perfect Strike broke to the right to avoid the shot before striking back with the Vulcan gun and two 350mm Gun Launchers mounted in the Combo Weapons pod on the right shoulder. At the same time Heero fired his shoulder gatlings, and the rounds from the two mobile suits impacted each other, buffeting them but doing no damage.

_We can both take these attacks_, he thought as he charged back in, _but your armor drains energy; mine doesn't._

He made a hard thrust. His foe caught the attack but was forced back, and Heero pressed his assault. The anti-ship sword actually worked against its wielder in such a quick fight like this; taking an attack on the wrong side would mean the destruction of the blade, and Heero knew that the faster he attacked the more likely his foe was to make that fatal mistake. The blade had a longer reach than conventional beam sabers, but a skilled fighter could easily negate that advantage.

As Heero relentlessly hammered his adversary he saw his allies swiftly tearing into their foes. La Flaga had the blue artillery unit on the defensive despite the mobile suit's advantage at long-range combat. The combination of precision fire with the beam rifle, the Tallgeese Kai's amazing agility, and the Planet Defensors was a potent force that the Hawk of Endymion was taking full advantage of. His enemy was responding with a near constant barrage from every gun it had, but La Flaga was untouched. More than that, he was swiftly closing the gap between them while cutting down any Strike-Dagger that was foolish enough to try to get in on the action.

Meanwhile, the Valkyrie Team was already tearing into the Strike-Avengers. Operating in such precise coordination it bordered on telepathy, the four lethal women were more than making up for the difference in numbers between them and their foes. The Judgment served as the spearhead, engaging its foes with every weapon in its formidable arsenal. An Aile-Avenger had already been sliced in half by Shemei's blade, while a Twin Sword unit had fallen to her plasma rifle. The other advanced Alliance machines tried to assault the Valkyrie's flanks, but they found themselves met by precision fire from the three Wraiths. Only the Havoc units with their energy shields were able to get into close-quarters-combat range with the girls, and the former ZAFT aces quickly made them regret it. Each deadly lady had already claimed a Strike-Avenger kill with their blades and another with their guns, proving that the combination of their teamwork, sophisticated mobile suits and considerable combat experience was far superior to any technological gimmicks or bio-augmentations the Alliance squadron brought to the table.

_They'll be done soon_, thought Heero as he made a horizontal slash, _I need to finish this quickly too; can't afford to get tied up here._

However, his foe wasn't about to make things easy on him. Jetting back on its thrusters, the Perfect Strike released a beam boomerang, causing Heero to dive to avoid the projectile. Rather than come back up and rush back in he continued to keep his distance; he'd seen Athrun catch unwary foes from behind with the same weapons on the Justice, and he would not repeat their mistakes. With one eye on the pink blur of energy and the other on his foe, Heero opened up with the Twin Buster Rifle, keeping the Perfect Strike at bay until the beam boomerang returned home.

His foe returned fire with the Agni. Slipping to the left to evade the shot, Heero hit his thrusters and rushed forward when he saw the beam boomerang return to the Perfect Strike. He made an overhand strike, one his foe managed to block. Before his foe got a chance to counter though Heero thrust forward with his shield, slamming it into the machine and knocking it off balance. Heero then pressed his assault, and a thrust of his blade pierced the Combo Weapons pod on the mobile suit's right shoulder.

The munitions inside the pod exploded, rocking the machine. An explosion like that wouldn't pierce the Phase Shift Armor, but it did disorient its pilot, and Heero used that to maximum effect. He lashed out again with a slash that was meant to cut the unit in half. However, at the last moment his foe managed to dive, and instead of slicing it clean in two Wing Zero's emerald blade cut through the upper torso from the right to left shoulders. Another explosion wracked the machine, and Heero saw that his attack had also destroyed both the beam boomerang and the Agni.

The upper torso had been completely torn away, but Heero could see that his attack hadn't pierced the cockpit. His foe was drifting now, but before Heero could finish the enemy off he was forced to break off as one of the surviving Aile Avengers fired at him with its beam rifle.

"Sorry, Heero!" said Shemei as she sliced a Twin Sword unit in half, "We're almost done here, but that one got through!"

Heero nodded as he brought the Twin Buster Rifle to bear on the new target. "It's ok, I've got him."

He opened fire, but his foe managed to avoid taking the brunt of the blast. It broke to the right, with the arm holding its beam rifle catching the edge of the shot and disintegrating. Heero rushed in to finish the job, impaling the Aile Avenger through the cockpit.

With a quick glance at his sensors Heero saw that La Flaga was likewise wrapping up his clash with the blue artillery unit. The Hawk of Endymion had managed to get into beam saber range of his foe, and had already sliced off the right arm and had destroyed one of the shoulder cannons. La Flaga finished his foe off with a volley from his beam rifle, the shots piercing the unit's cockpit and turning it into a fireball.

Looking around, Heero saw that a Strike-Dagger was supporting the crippled Perfect Strike, taking it back to one of the Alliance carriers. Heero briefly considered pursuing before shaking his head. That foe was beaten, and Heero had much more important targets to go after now.

"Status," he said as he cut down a Strike-Dagger.

"We're all good," Shemei replied, "Let's get back on track."

"Yeah," said La Flaga, "We've still got an Admiral and a psychopath to kill."

_That we do_, thought Heero as he and the others resumed their charge forward, Sutherland's carrier dead ahead.

_Time to finish off the High Command._

**End "Diapason"**

….

With a death-grip on the arms of his chair, the head of the Atlantic Federation High Command was fighting hard to keep his composure. The combination of fear, rage, and indignation burning inside him was quite potent, and it was growing with each passing second.

_Damn you, Azrael_, he silently fumed as he watched the _Dominion_'s battle group continue to distance itself from the rest of the armada, _I did not ascend to become head of the armed forces just to be used as a rearguard by the likes of you!_

Now more than ever the Admiral was aware of his true position in the hierarchy of the Atlantic Federation. His knowledge of the military and his position made him useful, but in the end to the likes of Azrael and his shadowy allies he was only ever a means to an end. His power over the armed forces was but a reflection of Azrael's, inescapably tied to the head of Blue Cosmos and his financial backers in LOGOS. He had been reduced in all but name from the head of the High Command to the commander of a buffer force, an expendable barrier between the _Dominion _and the Demon Lord of Avalon.

_It's all their fault_, he mentally raged as he watched Wing Zero's strike team and the _Archangel_'s ragtag fleet continue their assault on the Alliance armada, _That traitorous bitch Ramius and her damn attack dog Yuy! They should've died at Alaska! The Archangel and her contaminated crew would've been purged were it not for Wing Zero!_

Sutherland knew that the _Doolittle _was smack in the middle of Heero Yuy's line of attack, and he was throwing everything he had at the pilot that just would not die. The carriers and battleships were pouring out nonstop fire while Strike and Buster-Daggers continued to rush in to intercept the enemy, but the strike team and the battle group backing them up continued to advance. The situation had deteriorated to the point that the _Doolittle _was now as active a combatant as the rest of the fleet, her two beam turrets continuously firing in a vain attempt to take down Wing Zero.

The Demon Lord of Avalon was like a force of nature. Another blast from the Twin Buster Rifle tore through the fleet, annihilating nineteen mobile suits, two battleships, and a carrier. A squadron of Strike-Daggers attempted to swarm Wing Zero up close, but they quickly found themselves at the mercy of its beam saber. The fearsome mobile suit moved like lightning, cutting down one machine after another, decimating the squadron in mere seconds. Other units moved in to support, but they quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a pissed off Valkyrie Team and the Hawk of Endymion. Emerald particle beams and yellow railgun rounds hammered the Alliance mobile suits with lethal precision, while a crimson blast from the Judgment's plasma rifle ripped apart eight more machines before piercing a battleship and turning it into a fragmentation grenade. Every attempt to outflank or encircle the strike team was foiled by the battered but still very much alive squadrons of supporting mobile suits, a ragtag mix of non-nuclear machines that were putting up a ferocious fight in their effort to give Wing Zero and its teammates the chance they needed to punch through to the heart of the armada.

As if that weren't bad enough, fire continued to pour in from the _Archangel _and her motley force. The white battleship was by far the greatest threat among them, her heavy guns and missiles knocking out one Alliance warship after another with staggering precision and power, along with many mobile suits. The fact that the warship was somehow even more effective now than it had been when under the banner of the Atlantic Federation infuriated Sutherland to no end. To see the ship supported by defectors from both the Alliance and ZAFT, along with Orb units, only rubbed salt in the wound.

Matters were only made worse by the continued failure of the nuclear attacks on the PLANTs. Between Wing Zero and the stolen ZAFT prototypes the traitors and their allies had been able to completely screen the Coordinator homeland from the most powerful weapons in the Earth Alliance arsenal.

_The entire purpose of this campaign was to purge L5_, he thought, _We just got our nuclear arsenal back in the game, and now those renegades have completely negated it!_

There was a brilliant flash outside the main viewport as a carrier not too far from the _Doolittle _was torn apart by a barrage of Sledgehammer missiles from the _Archangel_. The fighting was now far too close for comfort, but the Admiral could not move his forces. The situation was further complicated by the fact that he wasn't just faced with fighting the renegades; the ZAFT Grand Fleet was very much mixed up with the Alliance armada now, putting Sutherland in the middle of a two front fight. He scowled as he saw that ZAFT wasn't even trying to attack the _Archangel_'s battle group or Wing Zero's strike team, though given the huge disparity of numbers and the fact that the Alliance had launched repeated nuclear salvos at the PLANTs now it should've come as no surprise to the Admiral that the Coordinator armed forces viewed his armada as the greater threat.

"I want every mobile suit we have left on Wing Zero!" he ordered, unable to completely mask the growing fear in his voice, "Shoot down Wing Zero!"

An operator relayed his command, but it was unclear how much good it would do at this point; every mobile suit that wasn't fighting the renegades was fighting ZAFT.

Another blast of golden-yellow hellfire tore through his force's ranks, wiping out no less than twenty mobile suits, a battleship, and a carrier. This was only followed by more fire from the rest of the strike team and their supporting warships; their determination and tenacity was beyond anything he had ever seen before.

On the tactical display the situation was growing more and more alarming. The sea of blue dots that represented the Alliance armada was intermixed with a swarm of red dots standing in for ZAFT, which was to be expected given the sheer scale of the battle. However, towards the rear of both the Alliance and ZAFT formations were two small groups of yellow dots; the renegades. The latter was getting closer and closer to Jachin Due, while the former had cut through the Alliance lines to the point that it was practically right on top of the _Doolittle_.

He saw the strike team and its supporting units split up, and thought for a fevered moment that perhaps his defenses had finally stalled them. However, that hope was swiftly dashed as twin pillars of crimson-orange energy tore through the gap; they'd merely moved to give the _Archangel _room to unleash her Lohengrins. The wave of destruction washed over eleven Strike-Daggers and six Buster-Daggers before slamming into a carrier, ripping through the ship like it was tissue paper.

That blow was followed by fire from the _Archangel_'s lesser but still very potent weaponry. Salvos from the Gottfrieds and Valiants downed another carrier, while Sledgehammer missiles mauled a battleship and Corintoss missiles destroyed seven Strike-Daggers. The attacks from the white warship only further widened the breach in Sutherland's lines… and gave Wing Zero's strike team the final opening it needed.

"Concentrate all fire on Wing Zero!" he shouted, "_Take it down now!_"

Particle beams and missiles poured from the heart of the armada, to no avail. Somehow Wing Zero always seemed to be one step ahead of the barrage, like it could predict where the next shot would go. Beams sailed through the space around it but failed to find their mark, while any missiles that got close were shredded either by its gatlings or the guns of its allies. Six blazing beam sabers, five violet and one green, cut down any Earth Alliance mobile suit that got close to the strike team, and before Sutherland knew it Wing Zero was right in front of the _Doolittle_, rifle raised and ready to fire.

His blood chilled and time slowed to a crawl as the twin barrels of that damn rifle glowed. All of Sutherland's power and ambition, his lifetime of service in the Atlantic Federation military, his ascendancy to its highest echelons, his drive for the crusade against the Coordinator scourge… it had all brought him to this point.

To be just another one of Heero Yuy's kills.

He didn't even have time to curse his foe.

The glow in front of him became brilliant light…

… and then a blazing inferno.

….

"The _Doolittle_'s been destroyed!" cried the _Dominion_'s sensor officer, "Wing Zero's breached the line!"

"Damn it, Sutherland!" Azrael fumed, "Incompetent to the very end!"

Natarle shook her head. Time and time again Azrael and his cohorts had underestimated Heero Yuy and Captain Ramius. What did they expect, continuing to make the same mistakes?

With the Admiral dead, command of the armada technically fell to her as the ranking officer of the _Dominion_. However, with Azrael still alive her authority was strictly in name only, and even were he not there were other high ranking officers within the armada that were either part of or on the payroll of Blue Cosmos, and by now it was an open secret that Natarle didn't entirely see eye to eye with the unofficial ruler of the Earth Alliance. Whether the armada really would follow her was an open question; any of Azrael's cronies on the surviving carriers could conceivably take command.

"Sir," she said cautiously, "With the _Doolittle _destroyed, flag command of the entire armada falls to us… unless you have someone in mind to take the Admiral's place."

Azrael scowled at her. "Concentrate only on the task I have given you, Miss Captain. I already have a successor in place for Sutherland. Flag command for the main force has already been transferred to the _Truman_ per arrangements that were made before we left the Moon."

_And you left me out of the loop again_, thought Natarle angrily, _I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but still…_

The _Dominion_'s battle group had managed to put some distance between itself and the rest of the armada, but now that Wing Zero and the _Archangel _had breached Sutherland's line and killed the Admiral they would make up that distance quickly. Captain Ramius's fleet had been reduced to a little over 130 vessels, but considering what her former captain had been capable of doing with much less Natarle knew that meant the _Archangel_'s force would actually be the stronger one when it caught up with hers. The situation was only further complicated by a ZAFT battle group that had been dispatched to intercept them. At 100 vessels it was smaller than either group, but its vector made it clear that it was focused first and foremost on the _Dominion_'s fleet; the _Archangel _and Wing Zero were most likely secondary targets.

_And for good reason_, she thought bitterly, _We're the ones that are actually trying to attack the colonies, after all._

The forward ranks of the Alliance and ZAFT groups were already engaging. Up front the _Nelson_-class battleships formed a screen for the larger but more vulnerable _Agamemnon_-class carriers, trading salvos with _Laurasia_-class frigates and _Nazca_-class destroyers. Strike and Buster-Daggers were likewise mixing it up with GINN and GuAIZ squadrons, and Natarle could also spot the Duel in the midst of the expanding dogfight. Only a handful of the more advanced Strike-Avengers were available to aid Azrael's battle group; the rest still fighting the main body of the Grand Fleet, and the same went for the Juggernaut mobile armors.

It was a straightforward fight with standard tactics and doctrine, but Natarle knew that her force was vulnerable. Wing Zero's strike team and the _Archangel_'s fleet were coming on strong, punching their way through the scattered capital ships that remained between them and the _Dominion_'s force. It would not be long until they engaged Natarle's group, and they'd be in ideal position for a flank attack.

She turned to Azrael. "Sir, we need to rejoin the main fleet. We can't fight both ZAFT and the rogues like this."

He glared at her. "No. We keep moving forward. No matter what the costs, we continue our advance. All we have to do is break through that group and we have a clear shot at the PLANTs! That is our priority, Miss Captain, is that understood?"

Natarle sighed and nodded. "Yes, sir."

She spared one more glance for her friends, her heart hammering in her chest as she saw them get closer and closer to her force. The moment she had feared was fast approaching; soon she would have to fight them.

And this time she wouldn't be able to retreat.

….

The Hawk of Endymion was on a roll.

One Earth Alliance mobile suit after another fell to Mu La Flaga, cut down by his saber or shot down by his rifle. The former Alliance mobile armor ace was flying like he'd never flow in his life in a battle unlike any other. The Tallgeese Kai was a powerful steed, one that had taken every ounce of his piloting prowess to master, but the punishing training and initial battles in that machine were paying off now. No Earth Alliance pilot on the field could match him now, though that didn't stop them from trying.

His kill count was through the roof; La Flaga was sure that he'd already taken down more enemies in this fight than in all the others in his career combined, and the battle was still raging. Whether by rifle fire or his blazing violet blade he was tearing into the Earth Alliance squadrons like a wolf among sheep. The Tallgeese Kai may not have been as powerful or sophisticated as Wing Zero, the Judgment, or the Wraiths, but it was still the deadliest unit that La Flaga had ever flown, and he was taking full advantage of its incredible agility and unique capabilities.

While Heero and Shemei used their powerful guns to blast a path through the enemy ships and mobile suit squadrons, La Flaga's role was similar to that of the Valkyrie's subordinates; to further break up the Earth Alliance formations while watching the backs of his more powerful allies. Precision fire from his rifle picked off Strike and Buster-Daggers that survived the powerful attacks of Wing Zero and the Judgment, while his saber was perfect for fending off the units that tried to get in on Heero's flanks. The combination of the Tallgeese Kai's maneuverability and the four Planet Defensors was invaluable for his survival in such a chaotic battlefield; there was no way he would've survived out here in the Moebius Zero.

Cutting down the Alliance machines had become almost reflexive at this point, and as another Strike-Dagger fell to his blade La Flaga's gaze fell on his ultimate objective; the _Dominion_. The black battleship, like the rest of her force, was angled towards the incoming ZAFT battle group, intent on punching through them before continuing on to the PLANTs. However, La Flaga knew that eventually that would change; even a fanatic like Azrael would be forced to bring the ship around to fight them when they got close enough. It wouldn't take much either; the _Dominion _was towards the rear of her fleet, and with the bulk of the force's firepower focused forward to overwhelm the incoming ZAFT battle group it was lightly defended.

_Hang on, Natarle_, he thought as he shot down a Buster-Dagger, _We're coming. I won't let you serve under Azrael anymore!_

On his sensors a new red line appeared, piercing the back of the _Dominion_'s force. At the same time the voice of Wing Zero's pilot came over the tactical channel.

"We'll strike along this vector," said Heero, "There're only a few carriers between us and the _Dominion_. Is everyone clear on the plan?"

La Flaga nodded. "No way I'd forget it at a time like this!"

"We know what to do," said Shemei, "Pris, once Heero's opened the breach you're going in with him and La Flaga. Ready for that?"

"Affirmative," Priscilla replied, "I won't let you down."

"All right," said Heero, "I'm designating targets now. We engage as soon as Murrue makes her shot."

Two of the carriers on La Flaga's sensors lit up. They were directly between the strike team and the _Dominion_, and he knew those would be Heero and Shemei's targets. Each carrier had a _Nelson_-class battleship flying in tandem with it, and both were highlighted. One would be hit by Adaline and Lan, while the other belonged to him and Priscilla. Additional warships were highlighted as the _Archangel_ and her accompanying vessels locked onto their targets.

"Break!" ordered Heero.

The strike team split up, and mere seconds later the space that they had previously occupied was torn through by twin pillars of crimson-orange energy. The blasts from the _Archangel_'s Lohengrins disintegrated four mobile suits unfortunate enough to be in their line of fire before impacting their true target, a carrier. Its light armor melted away before the positron blasts, and the ship became a short-lived inferno. Salvos from the Gottfrieds and Valiants quickly followed, and another carrier bit the dust.

More beams, missiles, and railgun slugs ripped through space as more of the capital ships in Murrue's fleet opened fire. The barrage was not as thick as previous ones but it served its purpose; battleships and carriers were hammered by the shots, some destroyed and others damaged, while mobile suit squadrons that had been assembling to intercept the strike team were broken up by the bombardment.

That barrage was also the cue for the strike team to make their move, and they did so instantly. Heero and Shemei opened fire simultaneously, the Twin Buster Rifle and Tartarus rifle blazing with all their lethal fury. The two carriers that had been targeted by Wing Zero and the Judgment went down in twin fireballs. La Flaga and Priscilla proceeded to cut loose on their target, hammering the unfortunate battleship with a barrage of emerald particle beams and railgun rounds. Adaline and Lan likewise opened up, their shots raking their target's upper decks and mauling weapons, sensors, and the bridge.

"That got their attention!" said Shemei, "Looks like the rear ships are starting to come about."

"As expected," said Heero, "Let's move."

La Flaga nodded. They had to hurry; with the Earth Alliance force now splitting up the ZAFT battle group attacking from the front would now begin to make headway. If they took too long here ZAFT would reach the _Dominion_, and from there their already risky operation would become all but impossible.

"The _Dominion_'s coming about," said Lan, "She'll have her guns on us soon!"

"So be ready to evade," Heero replied, "We're only going to get one shot at this. As soon as we punch through the last line I'm going to set up for my shot."

La Flaga nodded as he cut down another Strike-Dagger with his blade. "Just say when, Heero. I'm ready for this!"

He saw Wing Zero's emerald blade flash as Heero cut down two more Alliance mobile suits. "Cover Shemei and I; we'll make the final breach in their formation."

Two carriers were highlighted on La Flaga's sensors; the targets of Wing Zero and the Judgment. La Flaga and the three Wraiths formed a loose circle around Heero and Shemei as the two pilots set up for their shots. Beam rifles and railguns blazing, the four machines made approaching Wing Zero and the Judgment a very costly endeavor for the Earth Alliance squadrons.

Then Wing Zero and the Judgment opened up. Synchronized blasts of crimson and yellow energy rushed through space, obliterating a dozen mobile suits before hitting the targeted carriers and turning them into fireballs. The final path to the _Dominion _was clear.

La Flaga steeled himself for the imminent assault.

_Here we come, Natarle!_

….

"The _John F. Kennedy _and _Gerald_ _Ford _have been destroyed!" shouted the sensor officer.

Out the main viewport Natarle could see the fading fireballs of the two fallen carriers. Through them flew the six mobile suits that had wrought so much carnage upon the Earth Alliance forces, with the _Archangel_'s motley fleet providing fire support. The _Dominion _had completed her turnaround, and Natarle knew that the fight she had so dearly sought to avoid was now upon her.

"Lock in with all guns and missile launchers," she ordered, "Fire as soon as you have targets!"

The _Dominion _cut loose with a hail of bullets and missiles while the Gottfrieds and Valiants opened up with a single salvo. However, the strike team was too agile, the opposing pilots far too skilled; even a warship as powerful as Natarle's would be hard pressed to land a hit on them.

The strike team kept a loose formation, giving enough room for the individual pilots to evade incoming fire while at the same time allowing them to cover each other and fend off attacking Alliance mobile suits. Their teamwork was seamless, unmatched by anything Natarle had ever seen from her own forces.

They went high, and Natarle saw Wing Zero's fearsome rifle split. Her mind flashed back to the battle at L4, and she knew what was coming.

"Hard to starboard!" she ordered, struck by a sense of déjà vu. It was the same order she had given the last time this had happened.

And she knew the results would be exactly the same.

Covered by its comrades, Wing Zero cut loose with twin pillars of lethal light. The glare was blinding, and as she shielded her eyes she could feel the _Dominion _thrash like a thing possessed. She was barely able to keep herself from falling out of her chair, and when some semblance of stability finally returned she opened her eyes.

"Again…" she whispered to herself, still stunned at what she was seeing.

The damage was not as extensive as it had been back at Mendel, but it was still shocking to behold. Heero's attack had completely destroyed the Lohengrin cannons and had ripped open twin gashes where the _Dominion_'s linear catapults had once been. However, unlike last time the devastation actually stopped short of the Gottfried turrets, a development Natarle found puzzling; with Heero's skill she knew he would've had no problem repeating the exact same feat he had achieved in their last round.

_Why did he hold back?_, she thought, _The Lohengrins may've been our most powerful weapons, but the Gottfrieds are still deadly in their own right, and Heero's well aware of that. What's his game?_

Then she saw Heero and Mu, along with one of the three Wraiths, dive towards the _Dominion_. They'd split up, with Wing Zero and the Wraith in a wing pair while La Flaga was alone. Meanwhile, the Judgment and the other two Wraiths were continuing to pour fire into the Earth Alliance mobile suit squads that were rushing in to try to relieve the beleaguered flagship.

And then it dawned on Natarle just what was happening.

Wing Zero and the Wraith were approaching the right leg, and Mu the left. They weren't firing even though the damage to the legs presented a perfect opportunity to inflict even further wounds on the _Dominion_, even destroy her.

_Impossible!_, she thought, not daring to believe what her eyes were showing her, _They can't seriously be…_

But they were.

Mere seconds after blasting twin holes in the _Dominion_'s legs, Wing Zero had set up to board the black battleship. She was stunned as she watched Wing Zero enter the right leg, with the Wraith just behind it, while Mu flew into the left.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, they had disappeared from sight.

And then all hell broke loose.

….

His shield raised like a battering ram, Heero had no problem punching through the door that separated what remained of the linear catapult from the hangar bay. On the left side he knew it would take La Flaga a little more time; the Tallgeese Kai did not have the advantage of a Gundanium alloy hull after all, and would likely need to employ its beam saber to get through.

That was fine with Heero though.

He'd been planning on making himself the spearhead right from the start.

Wing Zero came to a stop in the center of the hangar, with Priscilla's Wraith not far behind. Checking his screens he saw no members of the ship's security detail in there yet, only confused and scared mechanics.

He got on the radio, broadcasting on an open channel so their helmet receivers would pick him up. "We're here for Azrael. Stay out of our way if you want to survive. You won't get another warning."

Not waiting for a response, he immediately began assembling the gear he'd taken from the _Archangel_'s armory. Moving with practiced ease and swiftness, he threw on over his flight suit a black Alliance combat rigging, with multiple pouches containing ammunition magazines, flash and fragmentation grenades, and breaching explosives. He then reached down and grabbed the M147 assault rifle he'd also taken from the armory. It was more compact than other weapons of its type, specifically designed for the confined nature of ship-board combat. It had three firing settings; semi-auto, three-round-burst, and full-auto. He made sure it was on the first one; Heero preferred the greater precision, and it would also help avoid overheating the barrel. Rounding things out were his trusty pistol and combat knife.

He switched his radio over to the three-person tactical channel he'd set up in advance for this specific operation. "Status?"

"Read to go," said Priscilla.

There was a loud crash as La Flaga forced his way into the hangar. "Just give me a sec to get my gear."

"We don't have the luxury of waiting," Heero replied, "Priscilla and I will lead with flash bangs. We go on my mark. La Flaga, hurry things up on your end."

"Just another sec," said La Flaga.

Heero prepped himself, one hand hovering over the release for Wing Zero's hatch while the other held a flash grenade. "Open and throw in five… four… three… two… one…mark!"

**Start "Red Fraction"**

He hit the hatch release, and as soon as he had room he primed the flash grenade and tossed it at the hangar entrance. It wasn't a moment too soon; members of the ship's security detail were already entering the hangar while the mechanic crews were fleeing.

Back to back detonations of brilliant light went off. Waiting a split second in order to get a better shot on his targets, Heero brought the rifle up and opened fire. Three shots rang out in rapid succession, with three targets slumping over and floating lifelessly through the air, blood leaking from their suits.

Two short bursts of fire came from the Wraith near simultaneous with his shots as Priscilla laid down supporting fire with her SM59, a ZAFT issue submachine gun. Two more soldiers went limp and joined their fallen comrades floating in zero gravity. Heero was impressed with her accuracy with such a weapon at range; Shemei had not been exaggerating the quiet blonde's skills with firearms.

"We got our opening," he said, "Seal up your machines and get to that door."

Moving to match words with deeds, he exited his machine and quickly locked it down, one eye on the hangar entrance for signs of another fire team. They were clear for now, and the mechanics still in the hangar were not moving to attack, but in a boarding action like this every second was crucial.

He saw Priscilla secure her machine, while the hatch of the Tallgeese Kai opened and La Flaga came out. He was geared up the same way Heero was, and was more than ready for a fight.

"Heads up!" cried Priscilla, "Another fire team's coming out!"

"La Flaga, flash bang!" ordered Heero as he trained his rifle on the opening door, picking off the first soldier to come through.

"Right," the Hawk of Endymion replied, "Fire in the hole!"

Heero shielded his eyes as La Flaga made the toss. There was another blast of brilliant light as the flash grenade detonated, and a second later Heero trained his rifle back at the enemy fire team and opened up. Two quick headshots followed, while another burst from Priscilla's submachine gun took out the other two soldiers.

"Fish in a barrel," said La Flaga.

"Let's move," Heero ordered, "I've got point."

He pushed off Wing Zero, his gun trained on the hangar entrance as he floated towards it. His eyes darted left and right, analyzing his surroundings. To their credit it looked like those mechanics still stuck in the hangar were doing everything they could to keep out of his way, even though the Gundam pilot was sure they at least carried sidearms. Either his reputation and his display of lethal accuracy and skill was keeping them at bay, or they really hated Azrael.

Or quite possibly both.

Reaching the door, he leaned against the wall to the left of the entrance. Following his lead, Priscilla took the right while La Flaga took cover behind a nearby tool bench. Peeking around the corner, Heero saw another fire team approaching and primed a frag grenade. Waiting a second for them to get closer, he tossed the grenade before ducking back behind the wall. The ensuing blast rattled the wall, and taking a peek behind the corner he saw the carnage his attack had wrought. Four bodies were slumped in the corridor, blood flowing from multiple gashes in their suits. His eyes narrowed as he searched for and found the fifth member of the fire team taking refuge in a nearby doorway.

Heero pushed himself into the corridor, rifle trained on the spot where the enemy soldier was hiding. His foe leaned out of cover to take the shot, but Heero was quicker on the trigger and steadier in aim. The bullet went clean through the man's heart.

"Layout should be the same as the _Archangel_," said La Flaga as he and Priscilla entered the corridor behind Heero.

The Gundam pilot nodded. "By now they've probably sealed the bridge. We'll need the breachers. Make sure to save at least one flash bang too; frags are the last thing we want to use once we break through the door."

"Got it," the other two replied in unison.

Heero nodded down the corridor. "Let's move. La Flaga, you're middle. Priscilla, watch the rear."

The two of them nodded in return, and they proceeded to make their way down the hall. Heero had the _Archangel_'s interior layout completely memorized, and that was serving him well now; La Flaga's earlier comments were right on the money about the _Dominion_. Along the way the Gundam pilot made sure to shoot out any security cameras they encountered. The zero gravity worked in their favor, allowing them to fly down the halls with minimal physical exertion.

They came to a T-intersection. Going left would take them towards the central elevator, but any competent security crew would've locked that down and put guards on it the moment the boarding team had entered the ship. It wouldn't be too much trouble for Heero to manually bypass the security lockdown, but that would still leave armed and prepared Alliance Marines that would be waiting for him and the others, ready to gun them down the instant the elevator opened. However, he knew that wasn't the only way to the bridge.

"Should be a maintenance passageway five meters before the elevator," he said.

"We'll be fish in a barrel if we take that," said Priscilla, "All they have to do is drop grenades down it."

"They won't if they don't think we're coming that way," Heero replied, "I've got an idea."

….

"Move, move!" yelled Gunnery Sergeant Jerry Tills, "Com says the elevator's coming up, and we gotta kill anything on it!"

A burly hulk of a man with a Southern drawl, the blond haired, blue eyed non-com was one of the senior officers of the _Dominion_'s Marine detachment, and the head of the fire teams charged with defending the bridge.

_Coming into my turf, eh?_, he thought as he and his men rushed to the elevator to get ready before it opened, _Worst mistake of your life, mister 'Demon Lord' Heero… and I'll make it your last!_

His blood was pumping; this was far better to simply sitting around like he and his men had been earlier. He hated being stuck on a warship in the middle of a battle; there was nothing for him to do but pray that those pasty sardines called naval officers could keep the vessel from going down. Things were only made worse knowing the Captain was a woman; to a dyed-in-the-wool misogynist like him, women didn't belong in any position of authority, especially in the military. Now that there was a firefight onboard the ship he felt more confident, more self-assured; this was a situation where he had a measure of control, where he could take his fate back into his own hands, and where he didn't have to count on the dubious skill of a female officer.

Right now he was personally leading two fire teams to meet the boarders when they got off the elevator; the remaining Marines on the command deck would guard access to the bridge. They wouldn't be needed though; not after he had turned the intruders into Swiss cheese.

His men took up position, steadying themselves as best they could in the zero gravity, ready to meet their foes.

Tills grinned. "As soon as that door opens up, let 'em have it!"

He checked the nearby monitor on the wall; the elevator was just a floor below them now.

_Any second…_

The doors slid open…

…to reveal an empty elevator.

Well, not _completely _empty.

Looking down, Tills' eyes widened as he saw several explosive charges secured to the elevator floor.

Along with three grenades.

He didn't even have time to swear before the explosives detonated, sending fire and shrapnel everywhere. Tills heard screams and was aware of his own suit getting torn, but it had a slow-motion and muffled feel to it.

There was a brief moment of darkness, but he quickly came to. Looking around, he saw six of his men floating lifelessly, globules of blood orbiting their bodies like a macabre solar system. The other four, himself included, were still alive, though not unscathed. On himself Tills counted several cuts and tears in the sleeves of his suit and his right torso, but incredibly his wounds appeared to be minor.

He shook his head to shake off the daze, trying to process what had happened. He'd clearly been suckered into a trap; now he had to figure out what came next.

Tills saw one of his men raise their rifle, and for a stunned second he thought the man was aiming it at him. Then he realized it was pointed past him…

…just a split-second before a bullet pierced his subordinate's heart.

Turning around, the Marine saw a figure in a black flight suit coming out of the maintenance hatchway. Even through the enemy's helmet visor Tills could see his foe's piercing, icy eyes, and he knew he was face to face with his Grim Reaper.

"_Shit_," he hissed.

There was a muzzle flash and a 'bang'…

…and then oblivion.

….

Two quick shots later and the rest of the Alliance ambush team that had been mauled by Heero's elevator trap was neutralized. Making room for La Flaga and Priscilla to get out of the maintenance shaft, the Gundam pilot looked back and forth down the hallway. No reinforcements were in sight yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

The boarding team had pooled explosives and grenades to fashion the elevator trap, and now they would have to conserve what was left for the bridge assault. Heero was reasonably sure they had enough charges to punch through the door, and they hadn't used any flash grenades in the trap so they would still be able to utilize them when the critical moment came.

"What a mess," said La Flaga, and Heero saw him grimace at their grim handiwork.

"They're Alliance Marines," said Priscilla brusquely, though she did not look entirely unfazed by the carnage either, "They knew what they signed up for."

La Flaga shook his head. "Somehow I don't think they signed up for this."

"Let's move," said Heero, "We need to get to the bridge."

His rifle raised, the Gundam pilot led the way down the corridor. Every second counted, now more than ever. They were ripping the _Dominion_'s internal security forces to shreds, but that would have consequences. The closer they got to the bridge, the more agitated Azrael would get; who knew what he would do once they got there?

He held out his arm to stop the others as they came to an intersection. Peeking around the corner, he saw another fire team approaching fast.

"Priscilla, I need your last frag," he said.

She nodded and passed it to him. Priming it, Heero waited a second before tossing it around the corner. The incoming fire team managed to halt, but the point man was still in range of the ensuing blast and was taken out.

Heero dived out, firing as he went. Two shots caught the next Marine in the torso, sending him back into his comrade. Behind Heero came La Flaga, and a burst of fire from the Hawk of Endymion tore into another Marine's torso. Swiftly shifting targets, Heero caught a third Marine in the head before hitting a fourth in the chest, while La Flaga finished off the last of them.

"Bogeys at our six!" shouted Priscilla, her submachine gun blazing on full-auto.

Heero whirled around, sighting in and firing in one smooth motion. He was just in time; his shot nailed a Marine that was about to take out Priscilla. The blonde Coordinator had already cut down two soldiers and had forced the last two to take cover in doorways on either side of the hall.

"La Flaga, frag!" Heero ordered.

The Gundam pilot switched his rifle to full-auto and joined Priscilla in laying down covering fire while the Hawk of Endymion primed and tossed a grenade. The explosive detonated right between the doorways where the two Marines had sought refuge, and the hallway began to fill with floating blood as the two bodies drifted lifelessly from their cover.

Ejecting their spent magazines and slamming fresh ones home, Heero and Priscilla braced for more foes but found none.

"There's gotta be more," said Priscilla, "We're almost at the bridge, right?"

"Maybe not," La Flaga replied, "Marines are typically a small fraction of a ship's crew, and since the _Dominion _follows the same design as the _Archangel _that means there's a lot more automation; smaller crew, smaller Marine complement."

"Perhaps," said Heero as he switched his rifle back to semi-auto, "but don't forget the _Archangel _left Heliopolis with a skeleton crew. It was only during our second stop in Orb that she was able to get up to full crew strength, with Orb Marines filling in for where Alliance ones would've operated. We can't use our experience with the _Archangel_'s crew as a base for what we'll find here; be ready for anything."

Taking point again, Heero lead them towards their final destination. For now they still held the initiative, but the Gundam pilot knew that the ultimate success of this operation was actually not in his hands.

In the final part, the one whom everything rested upon was Natarle.

**End "Red Fraction"**

….

"Those fucking incompetents!" Azrael yelled, spit flying from his mouth as he got the latest update from the ship's security forces, "Tills, Griggs, Paulson… what the hell did I pay those sacks of shit for if they can't even stop three intruders?"

Natarle looked on with decidedly mixed feelings. Though Heero, Mu, and the girl with them were cutting down Alliance Marines in charge of protecting her ship, she didn't actually have much sympathy for them. This was due in no small part to the fact that every man in the fire teams had been handpicked by Azrael for this role, screened from a pool of candidates, selected for both their unswerving loyalty and their dedication to the crusade against the Coordinators. All were known to either be part of or associated with Blue Cosmos, and they had been selected to serve as both guards and enforcers, to both protect Azrael and ensure the loyalty of Natarle's crew. It was an open secret among her bridge staff and the rank and file that the Marines' true loyalty lay with Azrael; they would gun down Natarle and her crew without hesitation at the slightest hint of rebellion against their psychopathic master, and would probably receive a hefty bonus for it to boot.

_They're his Praetorian Guard_, she thought with a strange mix of bitterness and satisfaction, _and they're being ripped to shreds._

The ship's Marine complement was almost completely wiped out. To Natarle's knowledge the last of them were between the boarding team and the bridge, and if what had happened so far was any indication they would not last long. It was just a matter of _when _Mu and the others got to the bridge, not _if_.

What would happen then, though… that was something else entirely.

She'd heard Heero's message in the hangar perfectly, and she knew Azrael had as well.

_"We're here for Azrael. Stay out of our way if you want to survive. You won't get another warning."_

If the casualty reports were any indication, her crew had followed that advice; the only deaths so far had been Marines. Mu, Heero, and whoever the third person with them was were gunning for Azrael, and Natarle was of a mind to let them have him.

But that would be treason. It would be the one offense that, as the daughter of a die-hard military family, she had been raised to believe was worse than all the others. Any cooperation with Mu and the others on her part, no matter how slight, would be a betrayal of both the oath she took and the highest beliefs of her family.

And yet, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the nation she had pledged that oath to did not deserve it… and as much as she loved her family, their way of thinking was far too rigid for something like this. It allowed people to be used all too easily by madmen like Azrael, and it had brought her to where she stood now, on the brink of Armageddon.

The Atlantic Federation and the larger Earth Alliance that she had pledged herself to was dead. The ideals that she had once sworn to uphold were now nothing more than trappings on a corpse, a flag wrapped around an abomination.

With each passing second Natarle realized that the moment of truth was fast approaching.

Would she continue to make the same mistakes she had been since Alaska, to follow a monster in the name of national loyalty and patriotism?

Or would she follow the example of her Captain, risking everything to make a stand for what was right, for her crew… and the man she loved?

When one viewed it like that…

…the choice was easy.

It was dealing with the consequences that would be the hard part.

Gunshots rang out just beyond the bridge door; it wouldn't be long now.

"No," she heard Azrael growl, "I won't let it end like this! I will win!"

Turning to him, she was startled at the expression on his face. She'd be the first to say that Azrael was a vicious bastard, but now he looked downright feral.

"Have a shuttle prepped for me, Captain," he said, "I'm transferring the flag to the _Adams_."

"Sir, the enemy is just outside the door," she said, trying to stall until Mu and the others broke through, "You'll never reach the hangar!"

Azrael grinned. "Oh, I will. I'll have… _insurance_."

He got up, and Natarle saw his gaze fall on Flay. With dawning horror Natarle realized his intentions, but he was already on the move by the time she could react.

"Azrael!" she shouted as he grabbed Flay.

"Captain Badgiruel!" cried Flay as Azrael forced the poor girl in front of him and put his gun to her head.

The rest of the bridge crew was frozen in horror, the battle outside completely forgotten. No one had counted on a hostage situation right in their midst.

"You were once part of their crew, girl," said Azrael, his voice eerily calm and at odds with the manic expression on his face, "They won't dare shoot when they see you're with me; they're too soft for that."

"Besides, I don't want you dying here," he continued, leering at her as he smelled her hair, "I want you with me… so we can _properly_ celebrate my victory when this is over!"

"You sick son of a bitch!" Natarle growled as she drew her pistol, "Let her go!"

Azrael chuckled. "My, my… drawing on your superior. So, you too are a traitor, just like that bitch on the _Archangel_. Your family will never let you get away with this dishonor… if you survive long enough to meet them again, _Captain_."

"I don't care about that!" yelled Natarle, glaring at him, "Just let Flay go now!"

"Or you'll shoot?" said Azrael, smirking, "I think not, _Captain_. We both know you won't put the life of one of your precious crew at risk."

He then trained the gun on her. "Of course, I have no such compunctions."

The look in his eyes was all she needed to know that he was about to shoot… and there was nothing she could do about it.

_Mu_, she thought, _I'm sorry… it looks like I couldn't make it long enough to see you again, and after all you went through. I'm sorry…_

_ I love you._

She saw his finger tense over the trigger.

"No!" cried Flay…

….before lunging forward and biting his hand.

The shot went wild, ricocheting off the floor before hitting a random monitor and sending sparks flying. Natarle couldn't believe what had just happened, but surprise turned to horror as Azrael recovered and punched Flay in the face.

"You _bitch!_" he shrieked as the girl fell back, rubbing his hand, his gun going back and forth between Flay and Natarle, "Both of you fucking whores… why can't you just do as I say? You shouldn't even be here! So weak, emotional… just fucking die already!"

There was a gunshot, and Natarle reflexively flinched and closed her eyes… before she realized that she hadn't been hit.

_Flay_, she thought in a panic, _Flay!_

She opened her eyes…

…only to find that Flay hadn't been shot either.

_Her _gun was drawn.

_She _had fired.

Natarle turned back to Azrael and saw blood flowing from his left shoulder. With the way Flay's hands were shaking Natarle was surprised she had hit him at all, but she had all the same. For a moment Azrael seemed to be in shock, but apparently by reflex he raised his gun again, his grip trembling as he aimed at Flay.

Natarle prepared to take him down…

…only for an explosion at the back of the bridge to throw an already mad scene into pure chaos.

The doors were blown apart, and as Natarle and the others were recovering from the shock a small black cylinder flew through the opening. Natarle instinctively closed her eyes and covered her ears; she knew a flash bang when she saw one.

Even with her preparations though, the blast still left her ears ringing and the brilliant light almost seemed to overwhelm her shut eyes. She opened them quickly; every second counted now, discomfort be damned.

She was just in time to see a figure in a black flight suit and helmet come through the door, one she would've recognized anywhere.

Heero Yuy.

….

His vision blurry and his hearing almost completely shot, Azrael fumbled about in a daze. He was dimly aware of the blood continuing to flow from his shoulder, but the pain was surprisingly numb. He looked around wildly, but his surroundings all seemed to blend together; he couldn't tell person from background.

_I have to escape_, he thought frantically, _I have to survive… I have to win!_

He blinked his eyes rapidly in an effort to clear them. Everything seemed to rush around him, like he was caught in the center of a cyclone, but some semblance of vision was returning to him.

Enough to see a black figure rushing towards him.

He raised his gun at it, but a flash and muffled bang from his foe's rifle beat him to the punch. Searing pain coursed through his hand, and as his vision cleared just a little more Azrael was shocked to realize that his attacker had blown two of his fingers, including the one on the trigger, clean off before imbedding in his arm. Blood poured from the stumps and gash, joining the stream that was flowing from his shoulder.

_Impossible_, he thought numbly, _No shooter's _that _accurate!_

He looked back up at his attacker, his vision clearing further.

Enough to see the ice cold blue eyes behind the shooter's visor.

Eyes more frigid than the Antarctic.

Pupils darker than a black hole.

The withering glare of the Perfect Soldier.

The piercing gaze of his executioner.

Propelling himself through the zero gravity, Heero Yuy moved with shocking speed. In a second he was on Azrael, having lowered his rifle and drawn a knife in a single, fluid motion.

"_Demon…"_ Azrael muttered.

It was his last word before the blade plunged into his heart.

….

It was almost surreal as Mu watched Heero pull his knife out of Azrael's chest. The Perfect Soldier withdrew the blade almost casually, wiping it on one of the few clean spots left on Azrael's jacket before putting his fingers to the man's neck to check his vitals. A few seconds later Heero turned to him and nodded.

"It's done."

Mu returned the gesture. "Good."

Heero looked past him to their comrade. "Priscilla, keep the entrance secure."

"Understood," replied the ZAFT ace, taking up position in the doorway, her submachine gun going back and forth as she repeatedly scanned both ends of the corridor for incoming threats.

Mu saw Heero look back and forth between him and Natarle. The _Dominion_'s Captain was looking at them in stunned silence, and the Hawk of Endymion could hardly blame her. Then the Gundam pilot's gaze turned to Flay, equally surprised at this turn of events.

"I'll tend to her," said Heero, "You know what you have to do, La Flaga."

Mu nodded, turning back to Natarle. "Yeah…"

As Heero went over to Flay the former Earth Alliance ace pulled the helmet from his head. His gaze met Natarle's, and he furiously tried to figure out what to say, what to do. He'd been thinking about this moment ever since Heero had told him of his plan, and he knew they didn't have much time here, but now that the moment of truth was upon him the pressure was infinitely greater.

He took a deep breath. "Natarle… are you ok?"

It felt like such a lame way to start, but with the way he was struggling for words right now he would take what he could get.

Much to his relief the black-haired beauty nodded. "Yes… thanks to you."

They stared at each other, completely oblivious to the titanic battle raging outside the ship. After so many months apart, so much time spent longing to see her again, to save her from her cruel circumstances… words couldn't begin to describe what Mu was feeling now.

He found himself moving forward on his own. "Natarle… I can't let you keep doing this. You can't fight for the Alliance anymore; you know what they're trying to do!"

Much to his surprise he saw her nod. "I know… I've known that for quite a while now. But… if I acted against Azrael, my crew would suffer the consequences."

"Which is why you _have _to join us now!" he replied, "There's no way the Alliance would let any of you live after what happened here. We can protect your crew if you help us; you know Captain Ramius wouldn't let anything happen to them!"

Natarle looked down. "Would she… would she welcome us after what we've done?"

She then looked back up, her gaze meeting Mu's. "Would you… would you still have me after all this?"

And there it was. In her violet eyes Mu could see every bit of the emotional turmoil she had endured since their parting at Alaska. Her guilt, her suffering, her confliction… her _longing_.

And he knew that what he had hoped for all these months was true.

She loved him.

There was only one thing to do now.

He closed the gap between them, absently releasing his helmet and letting it float through the air behind him. He took her in his arms and saw her eyes widen in surprise. He had the satisfaction of seeing a hint of red in her face, and he said just one word before sealing the deal.

"Yes."

He felt her tense briefly as his lips met hers, but she quickly returned the kiss. Natarle threw her arms around Mu, pulling him in, finally getting a chance to let out the feelings she'd been holding within for so long. The passion burned fiercely; it was unlike anything he'd experienced before in his life.

Eventually they parted, and he gave her a smirk as they did. "Totally worth the wait."

She gave him a surprisingly shy smile, one that he thought was quite cute on her. "Agreed."

He saw her turn to her bridge crew, her embarrassment clear. To their credit her subordinates just smiled.

Heero and Flay floated forward. "I'm sorry, but we don't have much time here. Badgiruel, we need your help if we're going to get through this. Will you fight with us?"

Mu turned back to Natarle, who nodded. "The Marines on this ship were the only ones loyal to Azrael, and you killed the last of them before entering the bridge. We're free to join you now; tell Captain Ramius we'll fight under her command."

She turned to her crew again. "We can't go back to the Alliance, you all know that. This is the only way we have a hope of survival… and it's the right thing to do."

The rest of them nodded; there was not a word of protest.

"Flay," Natarle said, "Are you ok?"

The red-head nodded, her face red where Azrael had struck her but otherwise no worse for the wear. "Yes, Captain."

Natarle nodded. "Good. Get to your station and contact the _Archangel_; we'll coordinate with them from here on out. Also contact the rest of the fleet. It's a long shot, but with Azrael's death the armada could fracture; we could pick up some help. Make the broadcast open channel; if there's any moderates in the ZAFT forces they might decide to direct their fire away from us and at Azrael's loyalists instead. I'll personally address the rest of the crew. Without the Marines here, I think they'll go along with us."

"What about the nukes?" asked Heero, "We need to neutralize the rest of the Alliance's arsenal."

Natarle nodded. "We'll send you the data on the positions of the remaining weapons, though there actually aren't many left now. Those two shots from ZAFT's weapon wiped out much of the stockpile with the armada, and the interceptions from you and the others have severely depleted what we have left."

Heero nodded. "Good to know."

He turned to Mu. "Our main objective here's complete. It's time to neutralize the threat from ZAFT."

He nodded and smiled. "I know Waltfeld said his group would try to take out that big ass gun… but honestly, I'd feel a lot better if you were the one going after it."

"I think we all would," said Natarle, grabbing Mu's hand, "Be careful, all of you."

Mu grinned as he surprised Natarle by pulling her in for another kiss. "You got it. I love you."

Natarle smiled, her face once again flushed red. "I love you too. Don't you dare die on me out there."

Mu nodded. "Roger that."

….

"Contacts leaving the _Dominion_!" cried the sensor operator, "Confirm Wing Zero, Tallgeese, and Wraith!"

Murrue smiled. Before she could issue the order to contact him none other than Heero appeared on the main monitor.

"The operation was a success," he said, "Natarle and her ship are on our side now."

"Excellent work, Heero," Murrue replied, "I knew you could do it!"

Heero nodded. "Thanks. Natarle's sending us data on the remaining nukes; turns out there's not many left, and they're all in the carriers in this group."

Murrue turned to her XO. "Lieutenant Tsukino, as soon as we get that data I want it sent to the rest of our force. Begin targeting those carriers as soon as we have it!"

"Aye, Captain!" replied the Lieutenant.

"I'm taking the strike team to the ZAFT lines," said Heero, "It's time to take out their new weapon. Will you be all right here?"

Murrue smiled again. "Leave this to us, Heero. As soon as we mop up the carriers here we'll come back you up!"

Heero nodded. "Roger that. Wing Zero, out."

As the Gundam pilot disappeared from the main monitor a golden-yellow flash lit up the space ahead of the _Archangel _as the Twin Buster Rifle cut loose, annihilating a dozen Earth Alliance mobile suits and a carrier. Heero's shot was quickly followed by a crimson blast from the Judgment's Tartarus rifle, downing another carrier. A multitude of emerald beams flew from the three Wraiths and the Tallgeese Kai, ripping into the already scattered and confused Alliance squadrons as the strike team began carving a path for themselves towards the ZAFT forces.

"Captain," said the radio officer, "Transmission incoming from the _Dominion_!"

Murrue nodded. "Patch them through."

Murrue was expecting to see Natarle's face appear on the monitor, but was surprised when another old crew member took the screen instead.

"Captain Ramius" said Flay, "Captain Badgiruel is addressing her crew now; we'll be fighting alongside you from here on out. Please, help us! Some of the other Earth Alliance ships are already turning on us, and ZAFT squadrons are incoming too!"

Indeed, Murrue could already see some of the nearby carriers bringing their guns to bear on the _Dominion_, while ZAFT mobile suits were cutting through the Earth Alliance ranks. Even with the damage inflicted upon it by Heero's attack Natarle's warship still outgunned anything in the Earth Alliance armada, but it was wounded, and sheer numbers would more than make up for the gap in firepower.

"Hold on, Flay," said Murrue, giving the girl a reassuring nod, "We're coming! Just hang in there!"

Flay nodded. "Ok. Just please, hurry!"

As the girl disappeared from the screen Murrue turned back to her XO. "Get firing solutions on the ships moving against the _Dominion_. Fire as soon as you have targets locked in!"

Lieutenant Tsukino nodded and immediately began issuing orders to her gunners.

Murrue then turned to her communications officer. "I want the rest of our force providing cover fire for the _Dominion _until we get her formed up with us."

"Aye, Captain," her subordinate replied.

"Targets locked in!" yelled the chief gunnery officer.

"Let 'em have it!" shouted Tsukino.

The _Archangel _erupted with a storm of fire. Salvos from the Gottfrieds and Valiants punched right through two _Agamemnon_-class carriers, ripping them apart like a chainsaw through butter. A swarm of Sledgehammer missiles was right behind them, the flock of warheads raining down upon two more carriers, tearing gaping holes in their thin armor and pummeling them into oblivion.

The rest of the task force joined the fray, and a rain of fire flew through the space around the _Dominion_, hammering any Earth Alliance ship that dared try to attack her. When combined with the head-on assault from the ZAFT force the attacks were devastating; the late Azrael's battle group was swiftly falling apart.

"Keep moving forward!" Murrue ordered, "We have to get the _Dominion _within our ranks!"

_Hang on, Natarle_, she thought, gritting her teeth in determination, _We're coming!_

….

"I repeat, Muruta Azrael is dead!" cried Flay into her speaker, "We have no intention of following his genocidal plans, and the Earth Alliance should not either! Earth Alliance forces, please, stop this! We cannot attack the PLANTs!"

Her words fell on deaf ears, just as they had before. The utterly insane battle raging around her continued unabated, with the Earth Alliance forces continuing to press their assault against the ZAFT lines. If any in the Alliance armada were sympathetic to her pleas they were apparently not in a position to act. Flay could only comfort herself that at least they hadn't been able to launch any more nuclear strikes, though that was only due to the sheer chaos of the battle and Captain Ramius's force mercilessly hammering the carriers that Natarle had indicated still had warheads and the mobile armors to deliver them.

The _Dominion _was still very much in danger, but the _Archangel _and the rest of her fleet had at least been able to take out the Earth Alliance ships that posed the most immediate threat to her. Their new allies were continuing to press forward, their fire now split between covering the _Dominion _and targeting the warships that were designated as holding nuclear warheads and bombers. However, Flay new that her ship's position was still very precarious, caught as it was between both Alliance and ZAFT forces.

She shook her head in frustration. Her efforts with the Alliance forces were getting her nowhere. She decided to switch back to ZAFT, though she doubted that she would have better luck with that angle.

"Attention ZAFT forces," she said, "This is the battleship _Dominion_. We are no longer part of the Earth Alliance fleet. Azrael is dead; this is no longer his flagship. We seek only to stop our former comrades from attempting another nuclear strike and to prevent a gamma ray attack on Earth! I realize that the armada attempted to nuke the PLANTs, and we do not condone those actions and are actively fighting to keep that from happening now! Please, you cannot allow your superiors to return the favor and annihilate all life on Earth!"

She waited for any kind of reply, but the Grand Fleet seemed as intent on ignoring her as the Earth Alliance force. Flay turned to her commander. "Captain, it's not working. I'm not getting through to anyone on either side!"

Natarle sighed. "Well, it was a long shot to begin with. Flay, go ahead and send ZAFT the data on the positions of our remaining nuclear weapons. That might at least get them to ignore us specifically for awhile and give us some more breathing room. After that, keep broadcasting to both sides. We can't give up yet."

Flay nodded. "Understood, Captain."

The ship rattled as it took another hit. Looking out the main viewport, Flay saw the source of the attack, an _Agamemnon_-class carrier that was coming in from the portside front.

"Damn it!" growled Natarle, "Gottfrieds, take that ship down now!"

The heavy beam turrets cut loose with a salvo of emerald beams. Caught in the starboard side, the attacking carrier was ripped apart by the volley, its thin armor making it by far the weaker combatant in a matchup with the _Dominion_.

At this point in the fight, mobile suits were actually a bigger threat to the _Dominion _than capital ships. Captain Ramius's group was moving in fast, but Flay knew that the _Dominion _would still be vulnerable until it could be brought into the fold of the _Archangel_'s escorts. The black battleship's CIWS and Helldart missiles offered some defense, but in such a chaotic battle it would be far too easy for Earth Alliance or ZAFT mobile suits to slip through the anti-air umbrella.

And mobile suits were swiftly approaching. Thanks to the earlier attacks from Heero's strike team and the ongoing assault from the _Archangel_'s fleet the smaller ZAFT force had been able to make quick headway through the Earth Alliance group. GINNs and GuAIZs were inbound, cutting their way through the swirling dogfights raging all around and making a beeline for the _Dominion_. At the same time some Earth Alliance machines were moving to attack the black battleship, mixing it up with the ZAFT units as they did so.

"Fire Wombat missiles straight ahead!" Natarle ordered, "CIWS and Helldarts, be ready to fire as soon as the enemy's in range!"

Flay watched as the heavy anti-air warheads arced over the ship before bursting into a familiar crimson hail of shrapnel. The deadly hail ripped into Earth Alliance and ZAFT mobile suits alike, completely shredding some and badly damaging others. Flay hoped it would give the attackers pause, but there were simply too many of them. Fresh units quickly took their place, and both Alliance and ZAFT machines continued to make their way towards the _Dominion _all the while fighting each other.

"CIWS, Helldarts, let 'em have it!" shouted Natarle.

A storm of bullets flew from the _Dominion_'s guns, while from behind the bridge a swarm of light anti-air missiles burst forth. The combined barrage took out several machines from both sides and disrupted their momentum, but while the Alliance units fell back in disarray the ZAFT pilots showed greater discipline. Fanning out, several GINNs and GuAIZs began probing for holes in the defensive coverage, and Flay knew it would just be a matter of moments before they attacked.

The ship began to shudder as the enemy began making passes. The CIWS worked furiously to fend them off, but they were overwhelmed. Fire from machineguns and beam rifles hit the upper hull, and while Flay saw some of the mobile suits explode from CIW fire or Helldart missiles there were still others that managed to avoid getting hit and continued to attack.

_Captain Ramius_, she thought, _please hurry!_

A few more GINNs were blown apart by CIW fire, but the _Dominion_'s defenses were having much less luck with the more advanced GuAIZs. Their head-mounted CIWS were capable of taking out incoming Helldart missiles, while their shields could withstand the streams of bullets from the black warship's close quarter guns. They were also faster, more maneuverable, and had thicker armor, making things even worse for the _Dominion_.

Desperate to do something to contribute to her ship's defense, Flay got back on the radio. "Attention ZAFT forces, we have no desire to fight you! We want to save both the Earth and the PLANTs! Please, listen to me! We're not going to attack the colonies!"

The ship shook again as beam fire from a GuAIZ hit the starboard side. It was useless; they wouldn't listen to pleas coming from the former flagship of the Alliance armada, and Flay honestly couldn't blame them.

_We did try to nuke them earlier_, she thought grimly, _I guess I'd find it hard to believe us too if I were in their position._

"The enemy's broken through!" cried one of the bridge crew, "They're heading for the bridge!"

Her eyes widening in horror, Flay watched a GuAIZ set up to attack. Its rifle was pointed straight at the bridge, and Flay knew that there was nothing she or anyone else could do to stop it.

In that moment she was surprised to find herself not thinking about her imminent death, but about two young men that had completely changed her life since she'd gotten dragged into this war.

_Kira…_

_ Yzak…_

_ I wish I could've seen you two again one more time._

There was a flash of green light…

…and the GuAIZ exploded.

"What the hell?" said Natarle.

Flay was just as surprised; that ZAFT pilot had had them dead to rights. Who'd taken out the GuAIZ?

Then a voice she'd never thought she'd hear again came over the radio.

"Flay! Are you there? Flay!"

A new mobile suit had appeared in front of the _Dominion_, its rifle barrel still glowing from the shot that had destroyed the GuAIZ.

The Duel.

"Why did he…" she heard Natarle say softly.

Paying no heed to the others, Flay got back on the radio.

"Yzak!"

….

Yzak's hands were shaking on the controls as the fireball had faded. Had he really just done that?

The answer, of course was yes.

He'd shot down a fellow ZAFT pilot. He'd killed a comrade.

To save Flay.

"Yzak!" he heard her cry over the radio, "Yzak, is that you? Please, answer me!"

He fought to steady his voice as he answered. "Flay… it's me. Are you ok?"

"Yes!" she replied, "But why… why did you save us?"

_Why indeed_, he thought with bemusement.

But it wasn't a mystery. He'd known why he was doing it the moment he took the shot.

No… even earlier.

The moment he'd heard her voice on the radio, pleading with both sides to stop this insanity… that was when he'd made up his mind.

He found himself smiling as he answered her. "I made a promise to protect you, didn't I? I couldn't save you from Creuset before, but now… I'm not going to fail twice."

"Yzak…" she said softly.

"What you said earlier," he continued, "About wanting to save Earth and the PLANTs… did you mean it?"

Her answer was immediate and emphatic. "Yes!"

Yzak nodded. "Ok. In that case, I'll fight with you!"

Before she could respond Jachin Due got on the line. Yzak wasn't surprised; he'd been wondering how long it would take them to notice that he'd just shot down one of their own and saved the _Dominion_.

"Pilot Joule!" said Command, "What the hell are you doing? Destroy that ship immediately!"

Yzak shook his head. "No. I'm not going to be a pawn of Zala or Creuset anymore!"

"You are a soldier of ZAFT!" Command shouted, "You will obey our orders!"

**Start "I'm My Own Master Now"**

Yzak glared. "No. From now on, _I _choose the battles I'll fight."

"Damn it!" growled Command, "Attention all forces; the Duel has gone rogue! Yzak Joule is a traitor! Eliminate him!"

Yzak cut the link with Command. "Boring conversation anyway," he muttered.

Turning his attention back to the fight, he took up position in front of the _Dominion_'s bridge. Already he could see both Earth Alliance and ZAFT mobile suits coming in fast, as intent on killing him and destroying the black battleship as they were on fighting each other.

Sighting in on the enemy, he bared his teeth and growled. "You're not getting Flay!"

He cut loose with his beam rifle and railgun. The initial salvo took out a GINN and a Strike-Dagger, while follow up shots managed to break up enemy formations. While the Alliance units scattered and mostly proceeded to mix it up in dogfights with other ZAFT units, Yzak's former comrades appeared much more intent on taking him down.

_So be it_, he thought, reigniting his beam saber, _You want me? Come and get me!_

He charged forward, blasting another GINN with his railgun before lashing out at a GuAIZ. His foe managed to block his blade on its beam claws and immediately retaliated with its rocket anchors, forcing Yzak to pull back and dive. However, it gave him an opening, and he fired his CIWS. The bullets weren't enough to destroy the machine, but they did damage it, chewing up the housings for the rocket anchors and depriving the enemy of one weapon. Yzak wasted no time in capitalizing on this, rushing right back in and spearing the machine from below.

Bullets pinged off his armor as a GINN attacked from the right side. Whirling around, Yzak took the attacker down with his beam rifle but was quickly forced onto the defensive as a GuAIZ attempted to strike from behind. He was able to dive and avoid the machine's beam claws before raising his shield to take fire from the unit's rifle. An alarm chimed as he saw two more GuAIZs closing in from the right.

"Damn it," he hissed as he moved to the left, opening up on the newcomers with his rifle and railgun while simultaneously trying to avoid fire from the other unit.

His shots succeeded in taking down one of the GuAIZs, but the other was able to cover itself with its shield. It quickly moved into a pincer attack with the other surviving machine, forcing Yzak to climb in order to get out of the way. That gave him a chance to open up on both machines, but they took the shots on their Composite Shields and returned fire with their rifles.

Suddenly a stream of bullets from below ripped apart one of the GuAIZs. The other machine quickly reoriented itself to protect it from the new threat, but in the process it made itself vulnerable to Yzak, who wasted no time in rushing in and stabbing it in the back.

He smiled as he looked at the source of the other GuAIZ's demise; the CIWS of the _Dominion_.

_Thanks, Flay._

More machines were swift in coming, this time a group of Strike-Daggers. Yzak met them head on, guns blazing. One machine fell to a precise beam rifle shot to the cockpit, while another lost its gun arm to his railgun before being finished off by a beam saber strike. Going hard to the right to evade a beam saber from a third unit, Yzak retaliated with his rifle only for the shots to be blocked on the Strike-Dagger's shield. Yzak rushed in, slamming his own shield into his foe before stabbing it through the torso.

"Yzak, watch out!" cried Flay, "There's a battleship moving in behind you!"

Her warning was barely enough for him to get out of the way as the _Nelson_-class battleship unleashed a salvo. It rained down a steady bombardment on him, and while Yzak normally would've been able to work his way through that and attack the ship matters were complicated by new Strike-Daggers coming in to attack him. They were approaching cautiously so as not to get caught by friendly fire, but that did not change the fact that they would be on him in moments.

_Damn it_, he fumed as he tried to stay ahead of the barrage, _how am I going to get out of this one?_

Before he could figure out a way out of his dilemma a salvo of heavy particle beams and railgun rounds hammered the portside of the battleship. This was quickly followed by a hail of anti-ship missiles, and the one-two punch was enough to knock the warship out of the fight. As he dodged rifle fire from the Strike-Daggers Yzak could see the source of the battleship's demise; the _Archangel_.

_Never thought that ship would save my hide_, he thought as he picked off one of the Earth Alliance mobile suits with his beam rifle, _I just hope they're not holding a grudge against me from Alaska… or all the other times I attacked._

As he engaged the other Strike-Daggers he saw a mix of Orb, Alliance, and ZAFT mobile suits coming in ahead of the _Archangel _and the rest of her fleet. The varied units moved in and opened up on the Earth Alliance and ZAFT machines that threatened the _Dominion_, giving him some much needed support.

Shooting down another Strike-Dagger with his railgun, he was surprised to see someone was hailing him on a new frequency. Answering it, he saw a face he knew from ZAFT wanted images appear on his screen.

"Give us your IFF code," said the Wolf of the Far East, "If you're on our side now I'd rather not shoot you down."

"Field Marshal Bristow," Yzak replied, not expecting to be contacted by one of ZAFT's most notorious traitors; the way he'd utterly played the Defense Council and Patrick Zala himself had already become the stuff of legends.

Bristow chuckled. "You really should drop the title; no one uses it any more for me. You gonna send me that data or what?"

Yzak nodded. "Right. Here it comes."

As he slashed a Strike-Dagger in half he saw Bristow smirk. "You're Ezalia's kid, right? You know there's no going home after joining up with us."

Yzak's eyes narrowed. "I'm well aware of that. I'll deal with that when this is over… and don't call me a kid."

Bristow nodded. "All right. In that case, welcome aboard… and good luck. You're gonna need it to get through this fight. We all are. Bristow, out."

Yzak nodded as the former ZAFT Field Marshal disappeared from the screen. He didn't doubt for a second that getting out of this battle alive would be one hell of a challenge, but his odds were already improving. It was no longer just him and the _Dominion _versus a raging horde of Alliance and ZAFT forces. Now the _Archangel_'s fleet and its mobile suits had moved in to join the fray, giving him some much needed breathing room.

_I'll act as the Dominion's escort_, he thought as he sliced a GINN in half, _From there, I guess we'll just follow the Archangel._

As the white warship and her allies continued to approach Yzak's eyes widened as he saw a familiar mobile suit defending the _Archangel_.

The Buster.

He immediately got on their old squad frequency. "Dearka, is that you?"

His old friend appeared on the screen. "Hey, Yzak! Never thought I'd see you again!"

Yzak smiled as he shot down another GINN. "Same here. Are you ok?"

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, though getting a little tired. We've been going at it for awhile now."

"I hear you there," Yzak replied, "but I'm not quitting yet."

Dearka smirked. "Same here. I've got someone on the _Archangel _that I want to protect."

Yzak nodded as he slashed a Strike-Dagger in half. "I get you. It's the same for me with the _Dominion_, actually."

Dearka's eyes widened. "So you really have turned… never thought you would. You sure about this?"

"Are you sure about your choice?" Yzak shot back.

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"Then you already know my answer," said Yzak as he picked off another Strike-Dagger with his beam rifle.

Dearka chuckled. "I guess I do. Looks like neither of us are going back to the PLANTs after this. I hope your girl's worth it."

Yzak's eyes widened. "How did you…?"

"Had a feeling," he replied, "Figured it'd be the same as with me. You didn't think I changed sides just for ideals, did you?"

Yzak had to smile at that, and at the image of Flay that flashed through his mind. "I wasn't sure, but when you put it that way… yeah, she's worth it."

"Good," said Dearka, "Now, let's show these guys why we've managed to survive this long!"

Yzak nodded. "You got it!"

Reinvigorated at the prospect of fighting alongside his old friend again, Yzak tore into the mobile suits assaulting the _Dominion_. Beam rifle and railgun blazing, the Duel shot down one machine after another, the veteran former ZAFT Red relentlessly hunting his foes like a wolf among sheep. Both Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces were growing increasingly disorganized as the _Archangel_'s fleet and mobile suits got more involved in the action, and Yzak knew it would not be long now before the _Dominion _would be brought into the fold.

A GINN fell to his violet blade, followed quickly by a GuAIZ. Two Strike-Daggers were blown apart by his beam rifle, and then a Buster-Dagger was taken down by his railgun. Yzak had never fought like this before; the combination of protecting Flay and the reunion with Dearka was providing a motivation unlike any other.

As he took down another GINN he saw the _Dominion_'s guns flash to life. A salvo of heavy particle beams and railgun rounds slammed into an Alliance carrier, punching right through its hull and ripping the ship apart. Checking his sensors, Yzak saw that said carrier was one of the ships indicated by the _Dominion _to be holding nuclear weapons. To him it was another sign that he'd made the right choice; there was no way the _Dominion _would be targeting such ships if its Captain and crew weren't serious about the path they had chosen.

More particle beams and railgun rounds tore another carrier apart. This time the barrage was from the _Archangel_, and Yzak could see the white warship moving alongside the _Dominion_. Dearka and Bristow flew over the vessel, ripping apart any ZAFT or Earth Alliance mobile suits that tried to attack it.

While he shot down a Strike-Dagger with his beam rifle Flay appeared on the screen. "Yzak, we're going to finish off the rest of the carriers in this group that have nukes and bombers with them. After that we're going to follow Wing Zero and the strike team through ZAFT lines to back them up for their attack on the gamma ray cannon."

Yzak nodded. "Understood."

Flay looked worried. "Are you sure? Yzak, these are your people we'll be fighting against…"

"I've made my choice," he said, "I'll live with the consequences."

Flay nodded. "Ok. Please, be careful, all right?"

"Don't worry," Yzak replied, "I've got no intention of dying here."

She surprised him with a smile. "You'd better not. Flay, out."

Steeling himself for a round with a new group of ZAFT mobile suits, Yzak was surprised at just how sure of himself he was now. The past few months had been marred by increasing uncertainty with the side he was on, his suspicions of both Creuset and ZAFT leadership as a whole weighing heavily on him. To be so confident now that he was on the right path, fighting for the right people and reasons, was very refreshing.

_You won't stop me this time, Creuset!_, he thought as he engaged the enemy once again, _No matter what happens, this time I _will _keep my promise to Flay! I'll keep her safe…_

_ …and stop you!_

**End "I'm My Own Master Now"**

….

Her short cropped red hair glistening with sweat inside her helmet and her bright blue eyes gleaming with the thrill of battle, Courtney Fields cackled as she hacked yet another GINN in half with her anti-ship sword.

"Is that it?" the fourteen year old girl sneered, "Is that all you space monkeys can do? Pathetic!"

Another one of the test subjects for the Biological CPU program, the young lady was having the fight of her life. The chemical cocktails coursing through her veins had her adrenaline pumping at an all time high, fighting less like a soldier and more like a barbarian of ages past. She'd been racking up kill after kill in her Sword Launcher Strike-Avenger, and nothing ZAFT threw at her could stop her.

She cut loose with her Agni, blasting a GuAIZ and narrowly missing a Twin-Sword Avenger in the process.

A black haired, brown eyed boy a year older than her appeared on the screen. "Courtney, you bitch! That one was mine!"

Courtney laughed. "Tough shit, Kyle. If you don't want me stealing your kills then stop fighting like a fucking pussy!"

Kyle Cruz glared at her as he cut down a GINN with his heavy blades. "You'll pay for that, you little whore!"

"Bring it on, shit for brains!" Courtney sneered as she slashed another GINN, "You couldn't beat me in a hundred years!"

A curving blast of plasma cut through the space between then, piercing a GINN and a GuAIZ.

A dark skinned sixteen year old boy appeared on her screen, his voice a deep growl. "Enough, both of you. We didn't survive training just to kill each other out here!"

"Piss off, Adam," hissed Courtney.

"Stay out of this!" yelled Kyle.

"You two are going to get us killed if you don't get it together!" shouted Adam Cantor as he took down another GINN with the dual cannons mounted in his Havoc Avenger's shield, "Save the pissing match until after the fight!"

Courtney rolled her eyes as she cut down a GuAIZ. "Fine, if it'll get you to shut up."

"No kidding," grumbled Kyle as sliced up a GINN.

The Strike-Avenger squadrons had taken serious losses since the battle had begun, but those that were left were still wreaking havoc on ZAFT. Even with the deaths of Azrael and Sutherland the Earth Alliance forces were continuing their assault on the Coordinators, driven by blind obedience to the chain of command and, in the case of the Biological CPUs, sheer rage and adrenaline. Courtney and her fellow pilots didn't care about Azrael's cause or the orders of the higher-ups anymore; the battle had been raging for so long now that the chemicals flowing through their bodies had worn their higher thought process down to their raw emotions. Hyper-aggression was far too mild a term to describe it; they were hell bent on killing anything in their way just to keep the rush going now.

On her sensors Courtney could see other groups of Strike-Avengers acting much like hers, continuing their attacks without a thought to anything else. The more conventional Alliance units still moving forward as well but keeping a cautious distance from the Strike-Avengers less they become victims of pilots that were now all but feral.

She laughed as she cut loose with her Agni, blowing away three GINNs. "Come on, boys! Can't any of you show a girl a good time?"

She was about to launch another attack when she saw something strange on her sensors; a trio of her fellow Biological CPUs had just disappeared simultaneously. It wasn't something she'd normally have given much thought to, but nothing ZAFT had on the field was capable of taking out an entire team of the new models and augmented humans in one attack.

Turning in that direction, she saw a hail of emerald beams cut through a group of Strike-Daggers, taking out nine machines at once. This was quickly followed by another barrage, with eight more Earth Alliance mobile suits falling simultaneously.

"What the hell's that?" she murmured as she cut down a GuAIZ.

Adjusting her visual sensors, she finally caught sight of the source of the quick destruction of so many Alliance machines. It was a large mobile suit, predominantly grey but with some blue, red, and yellow in the torso. In its right hand was a beam rifle, one much larger than conventional versions, while a violet beam saber blazed from the shield mounted on its left arm. What stood out most to Courtney though was the large circular structure on the back of the mobile suit. There were five spine-like protrusions coming from it, and Courtney could see six more coming from the mobile suit's 'skirt', two on each hip and two at the rear, making for a total of eleven.

"Hey guys, check this out," she said, sharing her data with her fellow pilots.

Her eyes widened as she saw all the spines detach from the mobile suit and array themselves around it in a rough circle. At the same time it raised both its rifle and shield, and then a monsoon of emerald beams ripped through space. Courtney was astonished as she watched the storm of green death annihilate no less than a dozen Alliance mobile suits in the blink of an eye.

"What the fuck is that thing?" cried Kyle.

"Whatever it is, it's heading this way!" yelled Adam, "Get ready!"

There were only a few Alliance mobile suit squadrons and warships between them and the newcomer, and Courtney doubted they would last long. Another dozen Strike-Daggers fell in the space of mere seconds as the machine cut loose with its incredible array of gun-drones. At the same time she saw the mobile suit open up on a _Drake_-class escort ship with its large beam rifle. Heavy particle beams hammered the ship, and its pathetic return fire had no effect against the mobile suit, confirming that it had Phase Shift Armor. A final shot to the escort ship's bridge knocked it out of the fight, and the newcomer went right back to cutting through Strike-Dagger squadrons like a scythe through wheat.

Courtney readied her Agni. There was no way she would die as easily as those other pilots had; if that thing wanted her, it'd have to work for it.

"Suck on this!" she shouted as she fired.

She wasn't alone; Adam had also opened fire with his plasma cannon, while Kyle was moving forward. However, the new mobile suit evaded both their attacks with contemptuous ease before turning its attention to the approaching Twin Sword Avenger. It raised both its rifle and shield, and Courtney saw two beam guns on that shield open up in addition to the larger rifle. The shots ripped through Kyle's mobile suit, and it went down in a flash of fire.

Courtney and Adam had already begun rushing in as Kyle met his end. Adam was a little ahead of her, and took a swing with his sphere-breaker. The ZAFT machine simply lashed out with its beam saber, slicing the weapon in half. It then opened up with its assortment of gun drones.

"Fuck!" Courtney snarled as several beams pierced her Agni, rendering it useless.

She saw several beams reflect off of Adam's shields, and for a moment she thought that her fellow pilot would be able to use that to counter attack. However, the new mobile suit simply rushed in, and with his main melee weapon disabled Adam was unable to fend off the ZAFT pilot, and they thrust their violet blade right through his cockpit.

"You'll pay for that, you piece of shit!" she shouted, her anti-ship sword raised and ready.

However, before she could even swing a beam from one of the gun-drones pierced the blade. Sparks flew from the weapon as it shorted out, leaving Courtney with just her knives and CIWS, both of which would do her no good against this foe. That didn't stop her from grabbing her blades and opening fire with her machineguns as she charged her foe.

Bullets pinged off the machine's Phase Shift Armor, and with an almost thoughtless backhand swing the ZAFT mobile suit cut her down.

….

Creuset grinned as his latest victim fell to his violet blade. It had taken him far too long to get out of Jachin Due and onto the field, and he was hell bent on making up for lost time.

_I was starting to worry I'd never get away from Zala_, he thought, _I'm running late now thanks to his paranoia, but now I'm finally where I belong… and Providence can shine in all her unholy glory!_

The ZGMF-X13A Providence was the crowning glory of ZAFT's nuclear powered mobile suit program. Work on the Judgment and GuAIZ Lancer had brought the DRAGOON system to fruition, but it was Providence that had refined it and taken it to its zenith. The mobile suit's DRAGOON system's eleven gun drones had multiple beam cannons on them, for a grand total of forty-three guns. This allowed the machine to overwhelm its adversaries with an incredible volume of fire coming from multiple directions, although wielding such a complex array was a huge challenge even for a Coordinator; Creuset was one of the rare few beings in the Earth Sphere with the spatial awareness needed to master the system.

The DRAGOONs may have been the mobile suit's signature weapons, but they were not the only armament in the machine's arsenal. Creuset knew that the MA-M221 Judicium Beam Rifle was but a pale mockery of Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle or even the Judgment's Tartarus rifle, but it was still a potent weapon. Pushing mobile suit particle beam weaponry technology to its limits, the Judicium was a powerful rifle capable of obliterating mobile suits with a single shot and mauling capital ships in a short volley. The MA-MV05 Composite Armed Shield System took the signature feature of the GuAIZ mobile suit and made it even more formidable, replacing the dual beam claws with a single embedded beam saber but adding two small beam guns, making Providence a lethal combatant whether at close or long range. Rounding out the arsenal were not the usual two but four MMI-GAU2 Picus 76mm CIWS, two mounted on the head and two on the shoulders, relatively useless against mobile suits but well suited to swatting missiles and mobile armors out of the sky.

The masked Field Marshal cackled as he once again unleashed his DRAGOONs on the Earth Alliance forces. Lining up his targets, Creuset cut loose with a storm of emerald fire, not just from the gun-drones but also the Judicium rifle and the guns on his shield. The hail of particle beams was devastating. No less than thirteen Strike-Daggers fell to the DRAGOONs and shield guns, while a volley from the Judicium rifle blew apart a _Drake_-class escort ship.

"For such a grand fleet, it sure lacks in quality, Azrael!" he sneered, "Allow me to educate your neophytes on what it means to be a _true _mobile suit pilot!"

The fact that Azrael was already dead meant nothing to Creuset at this point as he continued to butcher his way through the Alliance squadrons. He had only been surprised in the manner in which Azrael had died; a boarding action by Heero Yuy was not something he had considered.

_Yet again he acts unexpectedly_, he mused as he gunned down another squadron of Strike-Daggers, _One of the few players in the game that still makes it interesting. Azrael and Zala could learn a thing or two from him about creativity._

Not only was Azrael now a corpse, but his flagship had defected to the renegade forces. This was certainly an unforeseen development by Creuset, but not one he was overly concerned with. Even the neutralization of the Alliance's nuclear arsenal didn't worry him too much; at the rate they were going their conventional assault would eventually breach the Grand Fleet's lines.

It had been the loss of two more _Orizaba_-class carrier/dreadnoughts that had finally convinced Zala to let Creuset leave Jachin Due and join the fray. Taking them down had exacted a heavy toll on the Earth Alliance forces, but the Field Marshal knew that such losses would do nothing to deter them at this point.

_Azrael's successor seems more than willing to continue the assault_, he thought while ripping apart a _Nelson_-class battleship with his rifle, _I suppose I should thank him, but given my position that hardly seems appropriate at this time._

Although Zala had ordered him to stop the Earth Alliance advance, at this point he couldn't care less about that. Sure, wiping the floor with Azrael's pawns was entertaining, but that was hardly what he was interested in now.

"Come now, La Flaga," he said, "The stage is set for our final clash, and I would be loath to keep my old friend waiting. Now, where are you?"

He scanned the vast battlefield for the Hawk of Endymion, all the while continuing to lay waste to Strike and Buster-Dagger squadrons with his lethal array of DRAGOONs. A few seconds later he felt that familiar tingle in the back of his mind, and he knew he had found his foe.

"Ah," he said, smiling as he caught sight of La Flaga's machine, "there you are… and not alone, I see. This should be interesting."

Indeed, there was not just the Hawk of Endymion's blue and white machine, but five others as well, all cutting a swath of destruction through the ranks of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT alike.

Wing Zero and the Valkyrie Team.

Creuset grinned as he gunned his engines, racing to intercept the strike team, though truth be told he only cared about fighting La Flaga at this point. A clash with Wing Zero and the Valkyrie Team would be amusing as well, but in fact he was fully expecting La Flaga to move to engage him and buy the others time to continue towards Jachin Due and GENESIS. That was fine by him; who was he to deny Galm Team their rematch with Wing Zero? They were not the only squadron lying in wait with GENESIS either; Gault, Sorcerer, and Wizard Teams would be sure to give Shemei and her subordinates a run for their money.

_It's too bad Kira's not with them_, he idly mused as he cut down a Strike-Dagger with his beam saber, _but no matter; I'll hunt him down after La Flaga and I settle our score. After all, this is the inferno that will consume humanity itself. It's only fitting that Hibiki's 'Ideal Human' die at the hands of the one who has cast judgment on mankind. A failed clone of a vain plutocrat striking down the Perfect Coordinator… yes, that shall be a sweet justice!_

Like a mad wraith demon let loose from the abyss, Creuset carved himself a path of destruction towards the Hawk of Endymion. Scores would be settled, judgment meted out…

…and he would have his revenge against the rotten world of humanity.

….

Raising his rifle, Heero cut loose with another blast of golden-yellow hellfire. The wave of destruction washed over mobile suits from both sides of the fight, taking down eleven Earth Alliance machines and nine ZAFT ones before destroying a _Nelson_-class battleship. That attack was immediately followed up by the Judgment and the Wraiths opening up with everything they had, filling the sky with crimson plasma, emerald particle beams, and yellow railgun rounds. Tallgeese Kai's beam rifle rounded out the display, and the combined barrage sent another twenty five mobile suits of various types to the grave, along with a _Drake_-class escort ship.

_Both sides are so mixed up it's hard to tell where one armada ends and another begins_, Heero thought, _I've never seen anything quite like it. Even the brawl at the Libra doesn't come near this battlefield…_

The sheer chaos worked in the favor of the strike team; with the _Archangel_'s force focused on mopping up the remaining carriers in Azrael's group while Waltfeld continued his drive towards Jachin Due and GENESIS Heero and his friends had no capital ships or mobile suit squadrons providing backup. They were making good time, and with the stakes so high every second counted.

_What's Zala's next target?_, he thought as he cut down a GINN, _The armada again, or Earth?_

There was no way to know, and that was why this had to end quickly.

On his sensors he suddenly saw a group of Strike-Daggers up ahead of them disappear. More Earth Alliance mobile suits quickly followed, and as Heero focused on that area he saw the source of their destruction appear on his screen.

_A new model_, he thought as he watched the large grey machine utterly maul Earth Alliance squadrons with its gun-drones, _and it's got DRAGOONs… quite a few more than the Judgment or Cipher's unit, too._

La Flaga's voice came over the radio. "He's here."

"You mean that's Creuset?" asked Heero.

"Oh, yeah," La Flaga replied, "I've got that feeling again, and it's always right."

"He's heading right for us," said Shemei.

"And he's tearing it up," Lan chimed in, "Holy shit!"

"Fan out," Heero ordered, "I'll take point."

"Wait," said La Flaga, "Let me take him."

"Alone?" said Adaline incredulously, "You can't be serious."

"We need to fight him as a team!" Priscilla protested.

"Heero needs to get to ZAFT's cannon, and he needs backup," said La Flaga, "Every second that goes by is one less we have to stop that thing. You guys don't have time to play around with Creuset. I'll keep him off you. Besides, we've got a score to settle."

Heero nodded, though he had his concerns. Creuset's machine was no doubt nuclear powered, and he clearly knew how to use all those gun-drones to maximum efficiency. "Roger that. We'll pull back while you engage, then adjust our flight path to skirt the duel."

"La Flaga," said Shemei, "fight him up close; he'll have a much harder time using the DRAGOONs if you're right in his face. If he keeps you at range he'll overwhelm you."

"Got it," the Hawk of Endymion replied, "thanks for the tip."

Tallgeese Kai pulled ahead as the rest of the strike team dropped back and began to alter course.

"Good luck, La Flaga," said Heero.

"Thanks. You too."

….

Locking in on his targets, Kira once again cut loose with the formidable combined array of the Freedom's artillery and the METEOR unit. The multicolored barrage hammered the ZAFT mobile suits with pinpoint accuracy, knocking eight GINNs and two GuAIZs out of the fight.

To his right he saw Athrun open up with a bombardment of his own. The flurry of fire was lethal, downing six GIINNs and a GuAIZ in mere moments. Bullets and railgun rounds seemed to fill the space around him as Cagalli fought like hell to keep ZAFT units from flanking the Justice. All three M1 Astrays were still with her as well; Kira was impressed at how much their pilots had improved since he had first seen them use their mobile suits back in Orb.

The sheer chaos of the battle had only grown as the fighting continued, and Kira's group had actually increased their pace. The _Eternal_, _Kusanagi_, and the other warships of their task force, along with their supporting mobile suit squadrons, were likewise moving at a good clip, although it was not without cost; their casualties had just passed twenty-five percent. Despite the losses Kira was feeling good about their progress. Jachin Due and GENESIS grew larger before them with each passing second, and it would not be long before Waltfeld's part of the Three Ships Alliance's fleet would be confronting the final defense line of the asteroid fortress.

Things were going well, but something in the back of the young Coordinator's mind was nagging at him. It was a very odd sensation, a prickling feeling that something was out of place. The strangest thing was the puzzling belief that he should somehow recognize this, that it had been described to him before.

_Why do I feel like this now?_, he thought as he sliced off the rifle arm of a GINN with his beam sword, _It's only been in the past few minutes that I've felt this sensation, and it's been growing. What is it?_

A transmission from Heero gave him his answer. "Kira, Creuset's taken the field."

It all fell into place. That sensation was familiar because La Flaga had described it to him before; it was what the Hawk of Endymion had felt whenever Creuset was nearby.

_But why am I feeling it now?_

Part of his conversation with Heero back on Elysium flashed through his mind.

_"I'm not an expert geneticist; I'm not qualified to go into detail on the experiment that ties you three together. However, it strikes me that if Creuset was right, that you're the 'Perfect Coordinator', you may only be just beginning to tap into your true abilities. You've managed to survive in this war without any real combat training, and your abilities have grown incredibly in a very short amount of time. Experience has been a good teacher for you, Kira, but I think there's more than that at play here. That awareness that La Flaga has when Creuset's nearby is something you could eventually get as well."_

It was hard to believe, but Heero seemed to have been right.

"Where is he at?" asked Kira.

"Engaging La Flaga," Heero replied, "and he's got a new model. La Flaga's good, but the Tallgeese Kai's no match for what Creuset's flying."

As Heero was talking images flashed across Kira's display. They were all of the same large, dark gray mobile suit, and one with a large amount of DRAGOONs.

"Kira," Heero continued, "Go back up La Flaga."

Kira was startled. "What? I can't! We're still driving towards Jachin Due and that new weapon!"

"Athrun and the others can take it the rest of the way to Jachin Due," Heero replied, "and I'll clear this with Waltfeld before making my run on ZAFT's cannon. Kira, you know full well what Creuset wants to get out of this battle. He _has _to be taken down."

Kira nodded. The encounter with Creuset at L4 was still all too clear in his memory. No matter what, the masked madman had to be stopped.

"Right," he said, "I'm on my way."

"Thanks," said Heero, "I'm sending you his and La Flaga's approximate position now. Kira… you can't hold back this time."

"I know," Kira replied.

Heero nodded. "I'm counting on you. Good luck."

….

**Start "War Pigs"**

There was no time for subtlety in La Flaga's approach; the longer it took him to close the gap between him and Creuset the easier it would be for his rival to overwhelm him with the DRAGOONs. Pushing the Tallgeese Kai's engines to the limit and putting up a barrier with the Planet Defensors, La Flaga rushed in head-on, firing his rifle as he went.

None of the shots connected, and Creuset was quick to respond with his horde of gun-drones, filling space with emerald fire. La Flaga went evasive, and thanks to the cover provided by the shield drones he was able to keep pushing forward despite having to weave his way through a monsoon of particle beams. However, he couldn't keep the Planet Defensors activated indefinitely; they used too much power.

"Creuset!" he shouted as he finally made it to saber range.

His foe raised its violet blade, easily blocking the attack. At the same time he heard his rival's voice cackling over the radio. "I'm so glad you could make it, La Flaga! Tell me, what do you think of this little melodrama I've arranged?"

"You call this _little_?" La Flaga replied in disbelief as he lashed out again, "I don't care what happened to you! You've got no right to take your issues out on the human race like this! How many have died already because of you?"

"On the contrary," Creuset sneered as he parried La Flaga's strike, "I have the only right! My very existence is due to the twisted ambitions of mankind! I've been cursed by their endless greed, and it's only right that I be the one to deliver humanity's long overdue judgment!"

"So what if you're dying early because you're a clone?" La Flaga countered as he let loose with a volley from his rifle, "That's no excuse to take everyone else down with you!"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Creuset shot back as he unleashed his DRAGOONs again, "and I couldn't care less if you did or did not at this point! Come now, La Flaga. The stage is set; let us have our last dance!"

La Flaga shook his head as he was once again forced to weave through a hailstorm of emerald death, bringing his shield drones back up to block the fire he couldn't dodge. "You've lost your mind…"

He heard Creuset chuckle as the two of them rushed back in, violet blades at the ready. "Hardly, my old friend. My mind's never been clearer. I see our rotten species for the disease that it is, and only _I _have the will to purge it!"

"The will, maybe," La Flaga shot back as their sabers met, "but that's it. You came close, Creuset, I'll give you that, but we're ending this here and now!"

"You refer to Wing Zero's imminent attack on GENESIS?" asked Creuset, though the question was dripping with sarcasm, "Don't get me wrong; I admit he has the means and skill to take it down. However, there's no way he'll be able to line up a shot before it fires; Cerberus will meet him at the gate."

La Flaga raised an eyebrow as he lashed out again. "What are you talking about?"

Creuset laughed. "The hellhounds, my friend. It's really a shame that you'll be dead before Heero meets them in combat; I'm sure it will be quite the show."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," La Flaga growled as he dived to dodge fire from Creuset's shield guns, "I'm not going down without a fight!"

"No, of course not," Creuset replied as he opened up with his rifle, keeping La Flaga on the defensive, "and I would expect nothing less, my friend!"

Juking to the right to avoid the heavy particle beams, La Flaga gunned his engines, coming in hard and fast, his blade poised to strike. He brought the beam saber down in an overhand blow, but his rival brought his blade up to block the attack and warded it off without difficulty.

_Damn it_, thought La Flaga as he quickly moved to block Creuset's counterattack, _his mobile suit has more power than mine. Raw strength won't win this one for me. It's gotta be speed!_

Speed was something the Tallgeese Kai had in abundance, and it was also a smaller target than Creuset's machine. However, La Flaga had already spent considerable energy during the battle so far, and Creuset's mobile suit was definitely nuclear powered, putting the Hawk of Endymion at a severe handicap. Also, while Creuset's machine was bulkier it was still no slouch in the mobility department, and when combined with his foe's masterful use of its stunning arsenal it made for one incredibly formidable opponent.

La Flaga did his best to keep the action as close to Creuset as possible. However, his enemy could put more power into its sword swings, and despite La Flaga's best efforts he was forced to give ground whenever he blocked an attack, which gave Creuset an opening to use his DRAGOONs.

He went into a desperate series of turns, once again activating the Planet Defensors to take some of the fire off him. La Flaga managed to get a few shots off in return, but none of them were anywhere near their mark.

_Shemei was right_, he thought as frantically tried to keep ahead of the horde of gun-drones, _if he keeps me at range like this I'm screwed!_

Pushing his engines to their limit, La Flaga was finally able to break through the net of emerald fire. The pressure on his chest was intense, and he fought to keep himself from coughing. It was easy to forget in a fight like this that he faced almost as much danger from his own machine as he did from the enemy. He'd have to worry about the physical consequences later though; right now he needed every bit of speed he could get.

"I'm taking you down here and now!" he shouted as he made a vertical strike.

Creuset managed to block the attack, but La Flaga pressed his assault. He took another swipe at Creuset, this time going for a horizontal slash. Creuset was able to block this one too, but La Flaga noticed that it was a near thing.

_His machine's bulkier than mine_, he thought, _it can't react so quickly up close like this._

La Flaga thrust out with his blade, but Creuset managed to redirect the blow. The Hawk of Endymion tried to transition into a slash, but he was forced to dive as his foe's four CIWS opened up. He managed to evade the shots, but it was a near thing. More importantly, it gave Creuset enough room to bring all his artillery to bear again. The space around him was once again filled with emerald light as all the DRAGOONs opened up, along with the beam rifle.

Once again the combination of the Tallgeese Kai's maneuverability and Planet Defensors saved his hide, but he knew that he couldn't keep this up forever. Between his rifle, saber, and the shield drones La Flaga was bleeding energy left and right. A prolonged battle overwhelmingly favored Creuset, but the Hawk of Endymion was hard pressed to turn the tide.

"You've done well, La Flaga," said Creuset as he continued to rain fire on him from all directions, "but we both know who's going to win this one. The child can never defeat the father!"

"Bullshit!" growled La Flaga as he took a few shots with his beam rifle, "My father's dead. You're just his batshit insane phantom!"

Creuset chuckled. "Maybe so. What does it matter at this point?"

"It doesn't," La Flaga shot back, managing to close the gap again, "but you can say hi to him when I send you to join him!"

Once again their violet blades crossed, sparks of energy flying as they met. La Flaga pressed forward, gunning the thrusters in an effort to push Creuset back. Unfortunately it was to no avail; Creuset's machine was simply too strong, its engines too powerful.

Creuset struck back with a broad slash from his sword. La Flaga managed to block it, but the effort pushed him back, and Creuset immediately followed up the sword strike with fire from his CIWS and the guns on the shield. The streams of bullets and particle beams forced him back, and the DRAGOONs were waiting for him.

Emerald death filled the space around him. Once again La Flaga deployed the Planet Defensors and used every ounce of the Tallgeese Kai's agility, but this time he wasn't so lucky. His mobile suit shuddered as it took hits to the legs and shoulders. The arm holding the beam rifle was blown off at the elbow; there was simply too much fire coming in from too many directions for the shield drones to block it all or for him to evade.

"Accept it, La Flaga!" Creuset cackled, "You've lost! You and the rest of the human race!"

La Flaga glared. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not done yet!"

He tried to match words with action, but with the loss of the rifle his disadvantage had only grown. The CIWS would do nothing against his foe, and he was hard pressed to get back into beam saber range. It was all he could do to avoid taking more hits, and he knew that it wouldn't last.

La Flaga made a desperate charge, throwing every bit of speed he had into the attack. His mobile suit took another hit, this time to the left shoulder, but he still managed to press forward. Finally reaching saber range, he thrust out with his blade. Creuset caught the attack and deflected it. As he did so he once again opened up with his CIWS, and the bullets chewed up La Flaga's sword arm.

"You're finished, La Flaga!" Creuset shouted as he raised his rifle.

However, before he could fire a torrent of particle and plasma beams ripped through the space around them. Creuset was forced to pull back, and La Flaga's eyes widened as he saw his savior.

"Kira!" he shouted, "What are you doing here?"

"Heero sent me!" the young man replied, "Get back to the _Archangel_! I've got this guy!"

La Flaga nodded. "All right. Don't hold back, Kira!"

"I know," Kira replied, and La Flaga was surprised by the uncharacteristic grimness in his voice.

_Maybe this time he can do it_, he thought, _He'll have to; I've lost this round._

He broke away and began heading back to the _Archangel_. While he knew there was no point in him continuing to fight in a badly damaged mobile suit, La Flaga still felt like he was letting everyone down. It wasn't enough that he was still alive, had not only fought through the Alliance armada but stormed their flagship and had rescued the woman he loved; there was too much at stake for him to pack up and head back to base and leave the final act to the Freedom and Wing Zero.

Then his eyes widened in sudden realization.

_Zero…_

He smiled as he remembered what was still in the hangar bay of the _Archangel_.

He wasn't done yet.

**End "War Pigs"**

….

The space between Kira and Creuset filled with light as the two combatants unleashed every bit of artillery they had. Even with the incredible speed and power of the Freedom Kira knew that he would be hard pressed to defeat his foe. Not only did the DRAGOONs mean that Kira had to evade fire from all directions, but his adversary was right in the middle of the battle he had always wanted. An insane fury was driving Creuset now, and when combined with his skills and experience it made for an enemy unlike any Kira had ever fought before. The closest comparison he could find was his desperate clash with Heero at Orb, and given that the only reason he had survived that was due to Captain Ramius using Wing Zero's override code that did not bode well for the battle that he was in now.

"So you managed to save La Flaga," Creuset sneered at him as he rained down an emerald monsoon on Kira, "It won't do you much good, boy! The final hour is at hand; mankind will _burn!_"

"How could you possibly want this?" cried Kira as he returned fire while trying to stay ahead of the barrage, "It doesn't matter that you're a clone; you're still human!"

"Don't patronize me, boy!" his enemy shouted, "The sentiment of one person means nothing when compared to the overwhelming greed and arrogance of humanity as a whole. As I am neither Natural nor Coordinator I stand outside the pathetic attempts at classification and categorization of the likes of Azrael and Zala! Al Da Flaga and Hibiki saw me as nothing more than garbage, but because of their rejection I am the only one fit to cast judgment on humanity!"

"No one has that right!" Kira screamed at him as the two combatants continued to pour a near non-stop rain of fire on each other, "One person can't be the sole decider of mankind's worth!"

Creuset laughed. "Parroting the songstress? Is that all you're good for? You're more pathetic than I thought, Kira Yamato! Oh, the professor must be rolling in his grave right now! His prized creation, so naïve and weak! If he were still alive he'd kill himself!"

"I don't give a damn about Professor Hibiki!" Kira shot back as he rushed towards Creuset, "I don't care if I'm the result of his experiments or not! That's got nothing to do with why I'm fighting you now!"

Creuset charged forward to meet him, both combatants firing as they went. "Fool! It's got _everything _to do with it! From the moment you were born, you and I were destined to fight. Hibiki's greatest success and his greatest failure; this is a death match sixteen years in the making!"

At that moment their blades crossed. The large beam swords of the METEOR unit gave Kira a major advantage in reach, but he didn't let that fool him into thinking that was the decisive edge; Creuset had more than enough skill to counter that.

"Accept it!" Creuset sneered, "The fact that a battle like this came about is proof of what I told you at Mendel!"

"Bullshit!" Kira yelled, "You planted the seeds for this fight!"

"And mankind brought them to fruition!" Creuset cackled as the two machines broke off and began cutting loose with their artillery, "Azrael and the High Command, Zala and his Councils; the two leading bodies of humanity happily danced to the tune that I called! They eagerly embraced their hatred and let me fan its flames. Both have the arrogance to believe that they are the true rulers of mankind, and both have the greed to want to reign over the entire Earth Sphere and leave nothing for anyone else! The Cosmic Era burns because men like them have been allowed to ascend to the heights of power, and it is only right that it is consumed by the fire that they have lit!"

Kira's eyes narrowed as he tried to match Creuset's fire while keeping ahead of his foe's barrage. It was no easy task; the fire from the DRAGOONs came from many different vectors, and the METEOR unit made him a much bigger target. So far both parties had managed to avoid serious hits, but Kira knew that could not last forever.

_How do I beat him?_, Kira thought as they traded fire, _He's more experienced, he has those DRAGOONs… what do I have to do to win? _

There was one thing he knew for sure.

He was running out of time.

….

**Start "Sins of the Father"**

_Father…_

The confrontation Athrun had feared since long before the start of this battle was fast approaching. Continuing to blast a path through the chaotic battlefield, the massive asteroid fortress of Jachin Due now filled most of the space ahead of him. There were no organized defense lines now, no tight formations of mobile suits and warships; the titanic clash had become one gargantuan free-for-all.

The beam cannons of his mobile suit and METEOR unit blazing with emerald death and the twin fountains of violet light that were the large beam swords enabled Athrun to carve a path through the bloodshed. Both sides were so mixed up now that the former ZAFT ace was cutting down almost as many Earth Alliance units as he was GINNs and GuAIZs. Cagalli and the three Orb test pilots still had his back, but the fighting had reached a fever pitch, and he was sure they had to be tiring. While he was grateful for their support, he regretted bringing them along on his journey to stop his father. This was his responsibility, and he didn't want to get the girl he loved or her friends killed in the process.

Countless explosions lit up the void every second, every single one a brief candle for the newly departed. How many had died so far? How many more would die before it was all over?

_Was this what you wanted, Father?_, he thought as he cut down two GuAIZs with his beam swords, _The battle of Armageddon raging on the front door of the PLANTs? All of humanity at risk of being wiped out?_

He shook his head as he entered a ZAFT frequency into his communications array. This was a long shot to put it mildly, but he had to try.

He couldn't bring himself to believe just yet that his father was beyond saving.

"This is Athrun Zala to Jachin Due," he said as he shot down two GINNs and a Strike-Dagger, "Chairman Zala, please respond! Father!"

Much to his surprise he saw the face of his father appear on the screen. However, that surprise quickly became despair as he saw the look on his face. The elder Zala glared at his son, his teeth clenched in rage, the fires of fury and vengeance blazing in his eyes.

"You have some nerve calling out to me here and now," the Chairman growled, "If you've come to beg for the lives of your fellow traitors you're wasting your breath."

"Father, this has to stop!" Athrun yelled, "Azrael is dead along with the High Command and the Earth forces' nukes have been neutralized! This battle is meaningless now!"

"The Natural threat still exists!" his father shot back, "They are still attacking us, bent on getting through our lines and annihilating our home, with or without their nukes, and they will continue to do so for as long as we allow them to live! The Naturals intend to finish what they started with the Bloody Valentine, and the only way to counter that threat is to purge them once and for all!"

"That's not true!" Athrun shouted as he continued to shoot down Earth Alliance and ZAFT mobile suits, "The only reason this battle continues now is because of the threat your new weapons poses! Father, you can't fire that thing at the Earth!"

"I can and I will!" the elder Zala snarled, "This is the hour of both our ascendance and our revenge! We will take our rightful place as the next level of human evolution and destroy the savages that would deny us our destiny! We will take the persecution they have tormented us with, their attempts to wipe us out, and turn them against us! GENESIS is our means to secure our future and our vengeance!"

"You can't do this!" Athrun cried, "Avenging mother isn't worth this!"

"_You have no right to mention her after your treachery!_" his father roared, "When you turned against us you betrayed more than just your people; you spat on her memory as well! With GENESIS I will bring justice to Lenore and all other Coordinators! I will not let you stand in the way of our crusade!"

"_Crusade?_" said Athrun incredulously, "Father, can't you hear yourself? You sound like Blue Cosmos!"

"It is only through embracing the enemy's brutality that we can defeat them once and for all!" the elder Zala countered, "Of course, I wouldn't expect you to understand; you've always been weak-willed. It doesn't matter now though; you will not live to witness our triumph and revenge. You and the rest of the traitors will burn along with the beasts you chose over your own people."

"_Father!_" cried Athrun.

It was too late; Patrick Zala had already disappeared from the screen.

"Athrun…" said Cagalli.

Athrun was despondent. Had he really fought so hard, come so far, just for it to come to this? To have his father utterly and completely reject his plea for sanity, to shove aside the hand he had reached out to pull him back from the brink?

He shook his head. It couldn't end here.

"Cagalli," said Athrun, "I'm going inside Jachin Due."

"I know," she replied, "and I'm going with you."

Athrun shook his head. "You don't have to do this."

"If you're going, I'm going," said Cagalli firmly, "and you can't stop me."

Athrun nodded, and despite everything that had just happened he couldn't help but smile. "All right… and thanks."

"Anytime," she said, "Now, let's do this!"

Athrun's eyes narrowed. "Right."

_I'm coming for you, father!_

_ One way or another…_

_ …this ends here!_

….

The scene in the command center of Jachin Due was one of barely-contained pandemonium. Flight controllers, sensor operators, commanding officers… none of them had ever faced a battle anywhere near on the scale of this one. The sheer scale and brutality of the brawl was overwhelming for even the most experienced operators and officers. All organized formations, offensive and defensive alike, had practically disintegrated, and bringing any sense of order to the surviving forces was an exercise in futility.

Patrick Zala surveyed it all with seething rage. Were his subordinates really this weak-willed? The solution to all their problems was blatantly obvious, but none of them had the nerve to put it into motion.

"What the hell is the matter with you all?" he shouted, "Hurry up and arm GENESIS! Our target is the Atlantic Federation's capital, Washington D.C. Hit them with our full power!"

A stunned silence momentarily fell over the command center. Then the murmurs and mutterings began, and they only served to further fan the flames of Zala's fury as he heard them.

"Full power…" said a woman softly.

"But… but that would wipe out all live on Earth…" said a man.

"We can't…" another murmured, "We just can't…"

"It's too far…" said a woman in horror, "Why… how could anyone…?"

"Our fleet would be caught in the blast!" a man cried.

Zala rose from his station, glaring at his underlings.

"Weaklings!" he snarled as he moved forward, "Get out of the way! I'll do it myself if none of you have the nerve!"

"Chairman!" cried one of the staff officers, "You can't…"

"_Shut up!_" he shrieked, "I'll put an end to all of this with a single attack! I'll have my victory and my vengeance!"

"The Grand Fleet's in the line of fire!" shouted another officer, "You'd murder them and all life on Earth!"

"_**Silence!**_" Zala roared as he reached the console and began to enter the activation sequence for GENESIS, "The Grand Fleet's fighting so we can win this war once and for all! Our soldiers have always been prepared to make exactly this sort of sacrifice!"

That was when a shot rang out.

Zala froze. Looking down, he saw blood seeping from a hole in his chest, yet for some reason he felt no pain. Was it due to adrenaline, to the sheer shock at what had just happened? He didn't know.

Turning around, his eyes widened as he saw one of his subordinates pointing their sidearm at him, their hands trembling and wisps of smoke coming from the barrel.

"I've got family in Orb," he said, "I… have friends there too. This… this is no way to fight a war!"

"Traitor…" Zala growled as he reached for his sidearm.

The Chairman was the only one moving to act against the man that had shot him; the rest of the command center, momentarily frozen by the shooting, had now broken out into sheer chaos.

"The Chairman's been shot!" cried a man.

"Is it a coup d'état?" asked a woman.

"What do we do?" yelled another man.

_Weaklings_, Zala silently fumed, _traitors, cowards…_

He raised his pistol and shot the man that had shot him. His attacker slumped over, blood flowing from the chest wound. Zala turned back to the console, but it was at that moment that the pain he should've felt before now hit him with full force. He clutched the edge of the console, but because the activation sequence for GENESIS had been interrupted it had reset, and Zala was shaking too badly to have a hope of entering it accurately. He knew that he was dying, but he was determined to go through with his act of vengeance.

_I've still got my backup_, he thought.

He slammed his fist into a glass panel to the right of the keyboard. The glass shattered, with bits of it imbedding in his hand. Ignoring the blood flowing from his knuckles, Zala pressed the red button beneath it.

A timer appeared on the main screen, and red lights began flashing. As alarms blared and the command center staff devolved into a panicked mob, Zala smiled.

One way or another, his will _would _be done.

….

_Athrun_, Cagalli fought as she cut down a GuAIZ, _I'm so sorry…_

Athrun may have called his father on a ZAFT frequency, but he'd kept her and her teammates patched for the whole thing. It was one thing to have disagreements with a parent; Cagalli was no stranger to that. However, to have one's father be consumed by such hatred, to be condemned in their eyes, seen as another enemy… Cagalli couldn't begin to imagine the pain. Her father may have been dead, but at least he had died as a noble man, willing to give his life for the future of not just his people but all of mankind.

Athrun was watching his father complete his transformation into a monster.

She wanted to comfort him, but the battlefield was hardly the place for that. All she could do for right now was fight alongside him and help him see this struggle through to the end.

"Damn it," said Asagi as she shot down a GINN, "there's no end to these guys!"

"Just hang in there!" Cagalli replied as she ripped up a Strike-Dagger with her gatling gun, "We're almost to Jachin Due!"

"I hope so," said Mayura as she impaled a GINN, "How much longer can this battle go on?"

"As long as GENESIS is still aimed at the Earth," Juri answered grimly while shooting down a Buster-Dagger.

_GENESIS_, Cagalli thought with disgust as she recalled hearing Athrun's father name ZAFT's horrifying new weapon, _The beginning of all life for the Christian faith, now turned into the means to _end _all life… someone in ZAFT has a sick sense of irony._

She shook her head. What ZAFT called that monstrosity didn't matter at this point. The only thing that mattered was stopping it. Erica Simmons had mentioned a tight-beam transmission going between Jachin Due and the weapon; storming the fortress would let them confront Patrick Zala and stop GENESIS at the same time.

Cagalli didn't let herself think about how they would make their way to the fortresses' command center; that they could figure out after they got through the final defenses and actually made it inside Jachin Due.

Focusing on the fortress, Cagalli realized that their path forward was now practically clear. A few scattered machines from both sides occasionally crossed their flight path, but as she looked on she saw only two mobile suits arrayed directly against them. However, Cagalli could immediately see that these two machines were not like the ones that they had fought before.

At first glanced they appeared to be hybrids of the GuAIZ, Freedom, and Justice designs. The basic frame was clearly that of the GuAIZ, but it was a little larger, and the power readings coming from it indicated both a nuclear reactor and Phase Shift Armor. The units were both primarily yellow, although they also had red and white trim. Mounted on their backs was the same kind of lifter unit that the Justice had, and included the same armaments. Each unit held a beam rifle of the same type used by both the Freedom and the Justice, while at their hips were the railguns used by Kira's mobile suit. Rounding out their arsenals were the same Composite Shields used by the mainline GuAIZ with violet beam claws blazing from emitters on the end, along with two CIWS each mounted on their heads.

"New models!" cried Mayura.

"Those look nasty," said Asagi.

"Can we beat those?" said Juri nervously.

Cagalli was ready for a fight, but she knew it would not be easy. Those machines' Phase Shift Armor would nullify all her ranged weapons, and only her beam saber would be any good against them. In purely technical terms those new mobile suits outclassed both the Strike Rouge IWSP-X and the M1 Astrays. Only the Justice would be a match for them, and all that still wasn't counting the potential skill of the enemy pilots.

_New models and guarding Jachin Due_, she thought, _Those guys have to be one of those Special Operations squadrons!_

"Cagalli," said Athrun, "you and the others stay back and cover the rear. I'll handle these guys."

Cagalli shook her head. "No, I'm not letting you fight alone. If we all attack together we can end this quickly!"

Athrun nodded, clearly knowing that there was no way to dissuade her. "All right. I'll take point then. Let's go."

Cagalli and her teammates pulled back as Athrun moved forward. A rain of emerald beams flew from the Justice and the METEOR unit, but the two ZAFT machines reacted quickly, splitting up and returning fire with a hail of particle beams and railgun rounds.

"Damn it," said Athrun, "I'll take the one on the right. Keep the one on the left off my back until I take out my guy!"

"Got it!" Cagalli replied, "Girls, on me! I'll lead!"

"Roger that!" all three chimed.

Even though it wouldn't do any damage against her foe's Phase Shift Armor, Cagalli still sighted in with her railguns and opened up. The rounds could still distract her enemy and give her and her friends a critical opening. Backing her up, the three M1 test pilots opened fire with their beam rifles.

Their foe responded immediately, raising its shield to block the shots that it couldn't dodge while returning fire with its beam and railguns. Cagalli and her comrades were forced onto the defensive; the enemy's counterattacks were both powerful and accurate.

_No mistake_, she thought as she took a particle beam on her shield, _these guys are _definitely _Special Ops pilots! I should've asked Athrun or Heero for pointers on fighting guys like this before the battle…_

She brought her beam saber up as she closed the gap with the enemy. Cagalli struck out with a horizontal slash, but the ZAFT pilot was easily able to block the attack. However, while she was engaging the enemy head on the three M1s were spreading out, opening up with their beam rifles in flanking attacks.

The enemy quickly pulled back, bringing its shield up and returning fire with everything it had. Cagalli and her comrades couldn't press their assault through the barrage; the machine may not have been the Freedom, but it still had plenty of artillery and its pilot wielded it skillfully.

Cagalli's eyes widened as the ZAFT mobile suit pushed forward, making a beeline right for her. She opened up with her railguns and gatling gun, but the enemy knew as well as she did that the bullets and slugs were useless against Phase Shift Armor and just tanked the rounds as it charged. Cagalli brought up her beam saber, barely able to block a swipe from the mobile suit's beam claws.

Beam fire from her comrades forced the enemy back, but Cagalli was shaken. It had been a close call, a fierce attack, and as she poured railgun and gatling fire on her foe she realized that they were once again setting up to attack her.

_Has he identified me as the lead?_, she thought as she brought her beam saber up again to block another beam claw swipe, _Take me out to scatter and demoralize the others… that's gotta be his game plan!_

This time she was successfully able to counterattack. Cagalli pressed forward, and once again with the help of her comrades was able to drive the ZAFT pilot back. However, before they could press their advantage the enemy cut loose with its railguns and beam rifle while at the same time detaching its lifter unit. The pack flew around the prototype and opened up with its beam cannons and machine guns.

"Damn it!" cried Asagi as she took the fire from the lifter on her shield.

"Hang on!" shouted Mayura, who fired a quick volley at the remote attacker.

While the two girls fended off the lifter Cagalli yet again found herself confronted with the main unit, and this time with only Juri backing her up. The ZAFT machine climbed, bombarding Cagalli and Juri as it did so with fire from its rifle and railguns. This time Cagalli didn't wait for the enemy to use the barrage as cover for a charge; she moved forward even as the ZAFT mobile suit continued to fire.

She caught a brief glimpse of Athrun as she once again crossed energy blades with her foe. He and his enemy were exchanging continuous volleys of fire, with neither able to get into close combat range. The METEOR unit gave Athrun the edge in firepower, but its size made him a larger target for the ZAFT machine, which went a long way towards evening the odds. Cagalli also had no way to know if Athrun's internal turmoil was playing a role as well; the knowledge that the next step after this was to end things with his father once and for all had to be weighing heavily on him. She could only hope that he would be able to keep it at bay and focus on the fight at hand.

"You do not belong here," said a male voice as she tried to counterattack.

"The hell do you know?" she shot back as she thrust forward with her blade.

"Did you think we did not know what unit you flew, Cagalli Yula Athha?" the enemy pilot replied, "A princess has no place in the realm of soldiers."

"Cut the crap!" Cagalli yelled as she blocked another strike, "I've earned my right to be here!"

"No," said the ZAFT pilot, "and your subordinates will pay the price!"

The enemy suddenly pulled back, firing a quick shot from its rifle before going upward. As Cagalli evaded the attack her eyes widened as she saw where the enemy was going.

"Juri!" she cried, gunning her engines in pursuit.

The M1 test pilot had been trying to set herself up to attack the enemy from above while Cagalli was fighting him, but the ZAFT pilot had clearly taken notice. Cagalli poured railgun and gatling fire into the mobile suit, but the enemy just ignored it as the rounds were deflected by the Phase Shift Armor. He opened fire with his beam rifle and railguns, and while Juri was able to survive the barrage the enemy was able to close the gap…

…and slice her machine in half.

Cagalli froze, and her face went pale. "No…"

The ZAFT pilot came right back at her, and it was all she could do to block his attack. He pressed his assault, and Cagalli found herself pushed back under the assault, unable to make a counterattack.

_Damn it_, she thought, _I've got to pull myself together! Juri… I'm sorry._

A flurry of emerald beams caused the ZAFT prototype to break off. Cagalli turned and saw that another M1 had fired the shots while the remaining one was still trading fire with the lifter.

"Lady Cagalli!" cried Mayura, "Are you ok?"

"Mayura," said Cagalli, "He got Juri!"

"I know," she replied, "but she wouldn't want us getting distracted at a time like this, right?"

Cagalli nodded, her eyes narrowing. "Right."

"Now," said Mayura, "Lets…"

She never got the chance to finish; her M1 was ripped apart by railgun rounds and a particle beam.

Cagalli's blood chilled. Two friends killed mere seconds apart, both while trying to help her…

She couldn't let that happen to Asagi too.

In her anger and grief, she suddenly found clarity…

…with the image of a seed bursting in her mind.

….

The shock of losing her two best friends in the span of seconds still gripped Asagi, and she found herself barely able to ward off the lifter that had detached from the ZAFT mobile suit. She took particle beams and machinegun rounds on her shield, and what fire she threw back at it only managed to keep it at bay. Was the enemy's skill so great that they could precisely manage the lifter like this even while engaging in a separate fight with Lady Cagalli? Was the M1 Astray so badly outclassed by the ZAFT machine that even its secondary weapon could easily overwhelm her?

Or was she too stricken by sorrow to give this fight her all?

Juri and Mayura weren't just casual friends. She'd taken classes with them at school and the military academy. They'd been in the same unit ever since joining the Orb military. They'd survived the Earth Alliance invasion, the rescue of the _Eternal_, the raid on the PLANTs, the fight at L4, saving Task Force 9.3, and the Battle of Elysium; you couldn't go through all of that with someone _without _powerful bonds holding you together.

She knew she had to focus, that she could grieve for them later, but it was hard to take that kind of perspective after all that they had been through together. Asagi continued to take the fire from the lifter on her shield, while her return fire was barely enough to keep the unit from pressing its assault and finishing her. It was her duty to defend Lady Cagalli, but how could she do that when she was hardly able to fend off what was essentially a drone?

Sparing a glance at her commander, Asagi's eyes widened as she saw Lady Cagalli suddenly on the offensive. The Strike Rouge IWSP-X had somehow pushed the ZAFT prototype back, and it was now hammering the machine with a lightning fast series of beam saber strikes.

As Asagi continued to block fire from the lifter she could not help but be amazed at the sudden turnaround in Lady Cagalli's part of the fight. Where had that come from? Now it was almost like she was watching Kira or Athrun fight, not Orb's tomboy princess.

"Asagi!" cried Lady Cagalli as she pressed her assault, "Don't lose hope! No matter what happens, we have to win!"

It was such a sharp contrast from just a few moments ago. The enemy had had them on the ropes, but now Lady Cagalli had turned the tables. She was flying like Asagi had never seen her fly before, expertly attacking, parrying, and counterattacking as she continued to push the ZAFT pilot back.

The display was enough to reenergize Asagi. If her commander could still fight even after the losses they had just suffered, then she had to do the same.

_I'm not about to get taken out by a damn drone_, she thought as she saw the lifter come around for another pass, _This thing's going down!_

Her shield in front of her, she charged forward, meeting the lifter head on. The M1 was buffeted by the beams and bullets hitting the shield, but Asagi knew she was on target. Mentally counting down, she waited for the last possible second before diving. At the same time she raised her blade and sliced the lifter in half.

She turned to help Lady Cagalli, but it turned out her commander didn't need any aid. While Asagi had been finishing off the lifter Lady Cagalli had sliced the enemy's beam rifle in half. Asagi was just in time to watch her leader slip to the left, into the enemy's new blind spot, and jab her violet blade through the ZAFT mobile suit's cockpit.

_That just leaves Athrun now_, she though.

It turned out Athrun didn't need any help either. The Justice had finally gained a decisive edge over its foe, ripping apart its rifle and lifter with the METEOR unit's guns before slicing it in half vertically with its large beam sword.

"Come on," said Athrun, "We've wasted enough time here."

"How will we get into Jachin Due?" asked Lady Cagalli.

"We'll use the upper dock," Athrun replied as he took point, "With the METEOR unit's beam swords I can cut through the outer blast doors with no problem. The command center won't be too far from there."

"What about once we're inside?" asked Asagi nervously.

"Just follow my lead," said Athrun, "I'll figure something out."

_I hope so_, Asagi thought as the three of them made a beeline for the fortress, _because I didn't just survive that fight to die inside that rock!_

**End "Sins of the Father"**

….

The upper dock of Jachin Due was designed to house warships for repair and resupply. It was because of that that it was one of the few that was capable of fitting the Justice when it had the METEOR pack equipped; it couldn't enter the much smaller mobile suit launch bays with that thing attached.

Athrun was barely focusing as he slammed the METEOR's beam swords into the blast doors and began to carve his way through. This would take just a few seconds, and his mind was already focused past this point. His plan was simple; make a break for the nearest entrance and get to the bridge. The upper dock was mere minutes away from the command center, and Athrun was hopeful that the security forces wouldn't have time to organize an effective counter to their boarding action.

Once he breached the doors, he saw that the docks were scrambling with activity, but none of it was directed at him. As he entered the fortress he could see a horde of figures clad in space suits in a mad rush for the nearest shuttles.

"What the hell?" he said as he made his way forward.

"They're evacuating?" asked Cagalli incredulously.

"This can't be just because of us," Asagi chimed in.

Athrun nodded. "Agreed. We'll land at the far end of the docs and head for the bridge. If they're evacuating then the resulting confusion should make it easier to get to the command center."

As they touched down Athrun expected to be confronted by someone; the three mobile suits would be impossible to miss, especially given how the Justice had just hacked its way into the fortress. However, there were no Marine fire teams, or anyone else for that matter, making any sort of move to intercept them. He was fortunate that there was no gravity inside this part of the fortress; otherwise he would've had to detach the METEOR unit and leave it outside.

"Lock down your suits and follow me," he said, "It's not far to the command center from here."

He powered down the Justice and opened up the hatch. He looked out cautiously, an assault rifle at the ready, but still no one was making a move to attack them. Locking down his machine, he began to drift towards the nearest exit with Cagalli and Asagi close behind him.

It was utter chaos as they made their way through the fortress. Everyone was in a mad rush to get out of the base, which made Athrun nervous as they continued. The defense lines may have been collapsing but the Earth forces were in just as much chaos and confusion as ZAFT; they were in no position to launch a coordinated assault on Jachin Due. There was no reason that Athrun could think of for evacuating the base, yet that was undoubtedly what was happening. Something wasn't right, and he had a feeling he would find out what it was when he reached the command center.

"How much further?" asked Cagalli.

Athrun gestured forward with his rifle. "Just up ahead. Be ready. I… I'm not sure what we're going to find when we get there."

Cagalli put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't lose hope, Athrun. It's not over yet."

_Is it?_, he thought as they approached the entrance to the command center, _My father's gone mad, Jachin Due is in utter chaos… maybe it's not over, but it's the end of everything I've ever known before._

He was worried about how they might force their way into the command center, but much to his surprise the doors were wide open. From what he could see through the doorway the room appeared to be completely deserted. Entering the vast chamber, he spotted his father almost immediately.

Drifting over a control console with blood floating all around him.

"Father!" he cried, rushing forward.

He knew before he reached his father that he was dead, but he still went through the motions, checking his vitals. Athrun let go of his rifle and just stared at the floating corpse.

_So this is where it took you_, he thought, _all your anger, hatred, and grief. Father... mother would never have wanted this. What the hell made you think she ever would?_

Once again he felt Cagalli's hand on his shoulder. "Athrun… I'm sorry."

Athrun shook his head. "Don't apologize, Cagalli… he made his choice."

"And you tried to save him from it," she replied, "You did everything you could."

Had he?

He'd never know.

"Uhm, guys?" said Asagi, "Hate to break this up, but we got a problem."

"What is it?" asked Athrun.

The girl pointed at the main screen.

Athrun and Cagalli followed her finger, and their faces paled at what they saw.

There was a picture of both GENESIS and Jachin Due.

Along with a timer.

"Father, what have you done?" asked Athrun in horror.

….

Waltfeld braced himself against the arm of his chair as the _Eternal _took another hit. "Damage report!"

"Starboard missile launchers Two and Three are out!" DaCosta replied, "Other than that, we're still in the fight!"

_Pretty minor given the scale of this Charlie Foxtrot_, Waltfeld mused, _but it can always get worse._

Outside the main bridge viewport he could see Aisha's GuAIZ continuing to mix it up with mobile suits from both sides of the battle. The Tigress was on a tear, proving that Waltfeld had chosen her long ago as the LaGOWE for her skills and not because she was his lover. She was as deadly at long range as she was close up, and with the support of the _Eternal _she was a truly fearsome combatant. However, the battle had been raging for quite some time now, and Waltfeld knew she had to be getting worn out. He could only hope that she would have the strength to endure the rest of it, and that his ship could keep her alive while fighting to fulfill its daunting mission of preventing a fierce clash from becoming wholesale slaughter.

With Athrun, Cagalli, and Asagi now inside Jachin Due, Waltfeld's operation was in limbo. He wasn't about to fire on the fortress while they were still inside, but depending on what happened he knew he could have to intervene. For now his force was still pushing through the grand brawl, warding off the ZAFT fleet and keeping the Earth Alliance from making a direct attack on the PLANTs.

_At least the nuclear threat's been dealt with_, he thought, _though I never imagined Heero'd pull a stunt like _that _to do it. Just when you think you've got him figured out…_

After the Fall of Avalon Waltfeld hadn't thought there'd be anything crazier that Wing Zero's pilot could do in this war. The attack on the _Dominion _had proved him dead wrong, and it had paid off in spectacular fashion. Azrael was dead, the black warship was now on their side, and with the data provided by its captain the _Archangel_'s force had been able to eliminate the bulk of the surviving nuclear arsenal. Now Heero's strike team was powering through the brawl, on a heading that could take them to either Jachin Due or GENESIS should they choose. Meanwhile, Captain Ramius and her force had reoriented themselves and were now carving their own path through the entangled ZAFT Grand Fleet and the Earth Alliance armada, following Wing Zero's flight path.

Glancing at Lacus, he saw the songstress staring at her personal monitor, and it didn't take a genius to know that she was watching the clash between Kira and Creuset. Waltfeld hadn't argued when Heero had contacted him after sending Kira to fight the insane Field Marshal that had done so much to drive both sides to this point; Creuset _had _to be taken down if there was any chance at all at salvaging a peace from this madness. However, whether or not the kid could pull it off was another matter. He had the skills, but Waltfeld could only hope that between their last clash and now he had finally found the _will _to do it.

_ Creuset's already brought us to the brink of Armageddon_, he thought grimly, _We can't let him live._

"Sir!" said the communications officer, "Wing Zero's on the line!"

Waltfeld nodded. "Put him through."

Heero appeared on the main monitor. "Any word from Athrun?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "Nothing, and he hasn't come out of Jachin Due yet either. You thinking of going in after him?"

Heero shook his head. "We don't have time. I won't attack the fortress while he and Cagalli are still inside, but I'm not just going to sit outside and wait for him either. I'm taking the strike team for a run on ZAFT's weapon."

Waltfeld nodded. "We'll alter course and come at it from another angle. There's no way Zala left that thing unguarded. I'll pass the word along to Captain Ramius."

"Roger that," Heero replied, "Wing Zero out."

Waltfeld turned to Lacus as Heero disappeared from the screen. "Sorry, but we can't afford to keep waiting for Athrun and Cagalli."

Lacus nodded. "I understand, but… we should at least make another attempt to contact them before we move on."

"All right," he said.

He was about to give the order when the communications officer shouted again. "Urgent transmission from the Justice, sir!"

"Speak of the devil," said Waltfeld, "Patch it through."

Athrun appeared on the screen, and even through his helmet visor Waltfeld could see the panicked expression on his face. "Sir, we have to attack GENESIS _now!_"

Waltfeld's good eye narrowed. "What happened, Athrun?"

"My father's dead," said Athrun, "but before he died he activated Jachin Due's self destruct mechanism, and it's linked to GENESIS! When the fortress blows the weapon will fire at maximum power, and it's locked onto Washington D.C.! We can't attack Jachin Due to stop it either; if the station's destroyed before the countdown finishes that will still trigger the firing sequence for GENESIS!"

Waltfeld's blood froze. Erica Simmons' earlier analysis of the weapon had not been forgotten. A blast from that thing would wipe out all life on Earth. Even if the secondary mirror was destroyed and that threat eliminated, the original beam was still a potent threat in its own right.

_The Washington metropolitan area alone has a population of about 8 million_, he thought, _and that's not counting the rest of the planet! Patrick Zala, you son of a bitch…_

"How long do we have?" he asked.

"Twenty-three minutes left and counting!" Athrun replied.

"Damn it!" Waltfeld growled, "Athrun, get out of there and get to that weapon now!"

"Understood!" he replied before signing off.

"Comm," said Waltfeld, "Get Wing Zero and the _Archangel _on the line now!"

….

"Tallgeese Kai is inside!" Miriallia reported, "Arrestor nets made a clean catch!"

Murrue nodded. "Is the Moebius Zero ready to go?"

"Confirmed!" Miriallia replied, "It just needs its pilot."

"As soon as La Flaga's inside get it on the catapult and in the air!" Murrue ordered.

The _Archangel _and her ragtag fleet had already finished off the carriers pointed out to them by Natarle and were now rushing to catch up to Heero and the strike team. Of course, the term 'catch up' was a bid misleading; there was no way a force of warships could match the speed of the finest mobile suits in the Cosmic Era, especially not when said mobile suits were flown by top tier pilots. However, Murrue knew she could still aid her boyfriend by keeping both Alliance and ZAFT forces from regrouping and attacking him from behind, and she intended to do just that.

Murrue and Natarle's ships were at the head of the formation, cutting loose with every weapon they had operational to burn a path through the massive brawl. The rest of the _Archangel_'s force gave what they could to the fight despite growing damage and casualties. They were now down to just over 130 capital ships, and most of the survivors had taken hits to varying degrees. It pained Murrue deeply to know that so many people had died under her command so far, but she could not dwell on that now. The battle still raged, and if they wanted any chance at all of surviving this insanity then she had to keep herself together and focused on the fight.

"Moebius Zero is on the catapult!" Miriallia reported, "La Flaga, you are green for launch!"

A second later Murrue saw the venerable mobile armor take off from the portside catapult. La Flaga hadn't flown it since the orbital battle all those months ago, and she hoped he could still handle the craft.

Fortunately it looked as though he was still capable of wielding his old machine. The Hawk of Endymion was wasting no time in throwing himself into the furball. Right off the bat he picked off a Strike-Dagger with the main linear gun before deploying the four wire-guided gunbarrel pods. Autocannons blazing, the pods ripped into a GINN from multiple angles, tearing it apart. From there the Hawk of Endymion gunned the engines, and Murrue knew that from here on out he would be fighting in a classic hit-and-run style; the mobile armor just couldn't match mobile suits in a head-to-head fight.

She wasn't surprised in the least to see the advanced mobile armor heading towards the _Dominion_. Though she was side by side with the _Archangel_ Murrue knew that La Flaga would favor defending the black battleship now that Natarle was back on their side. It was fine with her; the _Archangel _still had both the Buster and GuAIZ Werewolf acting as its escort, while the _Dominion _only had the Duel. Now both ships would have an equal protection force as they continued to lead the charge towards Jachin Due and ZAFT's gamma ray cannon.

"Captain!" cried the communications officer, "Transmission from the _Eternal_, and Wing Zero's conference in as well!"

"Get them both on screen!" she ordered.

The main monitor shifted, with Waltfeld in the upper half and Heero in the lower. The Desert Tiger looked grim, while the Perfect Soldier was as calm as ever.

"Athrun and Cagalli made it to Jachin Due's command center," said Waltfeld, "The Chairman is dead, but before he died he set GENESIS to target Earth, more specifically Washington D.C. The firing sequence is linked to the station's self-destruct mechanism, and there's no way to disarm it; the only one with the abort code would've been Zala, and he's taken that to his grave."

Murrue's blood chilled. That massive cannon targeting Earth…

"What if I destroy the fortress?" asked Heero, "Will that stop the firing sequence?"

Waltfeld shook his head. "Athrun said that doing that will simply trigger GENESIS early. We have to hit the weapon itself, and we've only got twenty minutes to take it out!"

Murrue nodded. "We'll move as fast as we can to help you destroy it!"

"Thanks," said Waltfeld, "Heero, I know you're already heading towards GENESIS, and that's exactly what we need you to do. Athrun and Cagalli will come at it as well from another vector, and my force will take a third route. Captain Ramius, since you're further out we'll need your force to act as support. Keep ZAFT off our backs and the Alliance from attacking the colonies!"

"Understood," Murrue replied, "We won't let you down!"

Waltfeld smiled. "We're counting on you. _Eternal _out."

The Desert Tiger disappeared, but Heero remained on the screen. "Murrue, are you doing ok?"

Murrue smiled. Even when he should be focused on destroying the most powerful weapon any of them had ever encountered, he was still concerned for her.

"We're fine over here, Heero," she said, "Don't worry about us. Keep moving forward. We'll watch your back _and _protect the colonies. Count on it!"

Heero nodded and gave her a small smile. "Roger that. Wing Zero out."

Murrue wasted no time in issuing new orders. "Helm, new course! I want us in position to intercept any attacks on our forces moving against GENESIS or the PLANTs! Get us there on the double; there's a time limit on this fight now!"

"Aye, Captain!" Neumann replied.

"Comms," she said, "Relay our new orders and course to the rest of the fleet. Lieutenant Tsukino, keep all our weapons firing forward; we've got to punch through that brawl to get into position!"

"Yes, Captain!" the XO responded.

She gripped the arms of her chair as she watched her ship fire fresh salvos from her main guns, ripping apart a destroyer. The surviving warships in her fleet opened up as well while their mobile suits coalesced around them, screening them from any enemy units that tried to disrupt their momentum.

_This is the final push_, she thought, _All our struggles before now have led to this moment, and we cannot fail! Heero, we _will _survive!_

….

Cutting down a GINN purely by reflex, Heero mapped out the approach vectors that everyone would be taking for their attack on GENESIS.

"Our strike team will go straight up the middle," he said over the tactical channel, "Wing Zero's the most immediate threat to GENESIS, which means that ZAFT's response will center around it and the strike team. Athrun, once we've engaged with whatever defenses they have, you'll take your group round the right flank. Waltfeld's force can arc around the left flank and strike from there."

"Are you sure?" asked Athrun, "Wouldn't it be better if the rest of us hit their defenses and _you _went around the flank?"

Heero shook his head. "It wouldn't work. Like I said, ZAFT recognizes that Wing Zero's the biggest threat to the weapon; Avalon taught them that. Whatever vector I take will be the one they concentrate the bulk of their defenses on. Our best approach is for the strike team and I to take them head on while you and Waltfeld use us as a diversion. The combined power of the _Eternal_'s fleet and your team should be enough to neutralize GENESIS."

"It's a good plan," Waltfeld chimed in, "but I'd still feel better if Wing Zero were going for the kill shot."

"Depending on how quickly the strike team breaches their defenses I may still be the one to take that shot," Heero replied, "but we can't put all our eggs in one basket This approach significantly improves our odds for success."

"Come on, Waltfeld," said Shemei, "Call it a race with us giving you and Athrun a handicap. First one to take out GENESIS wins!"

Waltfeld chuckled. "I guess that's one way to look at it. Good luck, to all of us. _Eternal_ out."

"A race?" said Cagalli incredulously, "This isn't the time for jokes, Valkyrie!"

"Relax, princess," said Shemei, "I'm taking this seriously, and so are the rest of us. You and Athrun just need to pull the sticks out of your butts."

"Enough chatter," Heero cut in, "We'll be clearing the last of the main fleet squadrons any second now. Whatever ZAFT reserved for GENESIS will show itself then. Be ready."

Bringing his rifle to bear, the Gundam pilot cut loose. The river of energy rushed through a pack of GINNs and GuAIZs, obliterating thirteen machines. That attack was quickly followed by the rest of the strike team, and an additional twenty units fell to a combination of plasma, beam, and railgun fire.

As the pushed through the final bit of organized resistance from the main force, Heero was acutely aware of the timer he had set up the instant Athrun had relayed them the data for Jachin Due's self-destruct sequence. It was almost exactly on twenty minutes; there wasn't a second to lose.

For a moment it looked like the way was clear, but a second later Heero saw three groups of eight mobile suits each arc out from behind GENESIS and approach his group in a three-prong formation. Each group bore a unique color scheme. The one on the right had units with a dark blue base and black and white trim, while the formation on the left bore a dark gray camouflage patter with light blue trim. Meanwhile, seven of the units in the center formation bore an olive drab camouflage patter as their base with gold and white trim.

All but one of the machines were GuAIZs. The leader of the center formation was the sole exception, and Heero's eyes narrowed as he studied the mobile suit. The color scheme was different, with a black base and gold trim, but Heero had seen that model before... one he'd thought until now had been one of a kind.

The ZGMF-X10A Freedom.

He sent the data to the rest of the strike team. "Shemei, you getting this?"

The Valkyrie appeared on his screen. "Affirmative. Shit… so they built another Freedom, and it looks like Kupchenko's flying it. Not good."

"Kupchenko?" said Heero, raising an eyebrow, "The head of all Special Operations Squadrons?"

"The same," Shemei replied, "and Gault Team is his personal squadron; that'd be the middle formation. The one on the right is Sorcerer, and the one on the left is Wizard. These guys aren't like the ones you fought at Alaska, Heero; they've _earned _their place in that organization."

Heero nodded. "I see. I'll take Gault Team. Valkyrie Team will deal with the other two."

"Got it," said Shemei, "Pris, on me; we'll take Wizard! Adaline, you lead Lan against Sorcerer!"

"Roger that!" the three girls replied.

"Heero," said Shemei, "don't stop to help us; beat Gault and punch through to GENESIS! No matter what, you _have _to make it through!"

"Copy that," said Heero, already pulling ahead of the strike team, "Engage at will."

**Start "Demon of the Round Table"**

The Valkyrie Team split up behind him, setting up to meet their respective foes. At the same time Heero saw Gault Team pull ahead of the other two squadrons while Sorcerer and Wizard split off, angling to meet the two wing pairs of Shemei's unit.

_Looks like Gault wants me all to themselves_, he thought, _Fine by me._

The enemy squadron split into four wing pairs. Heero knew that he could not spend too much time fighting them, but the way they were setting up to engage with him was already enough to give him a hint of their skills; this clash would not be easy.

Bringing the Twin Buster Rifle to bear, the Gundam pilot opened fire. The blast didn't hit any of the enemy mobile suits, but he hadn't expected it to. The shot was simply meant to break them up a little and give him a path to the lead unit.

Heero gunned his engines and rushed towards the black and gold Freedom. His enemies opened fire as he came into range, filling space with particle beams and, in the case of the nuclear powered machine, plasma blasts and railgun rounds. Thanks to the combination of his skills, experience, and the ZERO System he was able to work his way through the barrage, but the enemy fire was tight and well coordinated, and any mistake would be costly.

He closed the gap and made a slash at the Freedom. The enemy blocked his strike on its violet blade, and rather than follow up with another attack Heero simply let his momentum carry him past the machine. Two more GuAIZs had already been setting up to flank him even as Heero had crossed blades with Gault Team's lead; he couldn't engage in a protracted fight with any single unit without the others coming at him from a blind spot.

_They know exactly how to take advantage of their numbers in this kind of situation_, he thought as he fired a low-power shot at an approaching wing pair, forcing it to break off, _and the way they're flying shows that they're not intimidated by my reputation. These guys are good._

He dived to evade beam fire, raising his shield to block additional shots. At the same time he set himself up to hit one of the other wing pairs. He fired a burst from his gatling cannons, and as the machines split up to evade the shots he immediately charged one of them and sliced it in half.

He had no time to celebrate the kill; the black and gold Freedom was charging at him, all guns blazing. Keeping his shield up, Heero blocked the shots he couldn't dodge and met the enemy machine head-on. The two mobile suits lashed out with their blades, their sabers meeting in a flash before both machines went past each other, with Heero already gunning for another wing pair.

He fired another low-power shot with his rifle, and again the wing pair was forced to split up. Heero didn't let the opportunity go to waste; he rushed one of the isolated units and stabbed it through the cockpit.

As he zigzagged through space to avoid a torrent of enemy fire he heard a male voice over the radio, its tone deep but clipped, with a hint of a British accent in it. "So you're the Demon Lord of Avalon… I wondered when our paths would cross on the battlefield."

"Kupchenko," said Heero as he took beam fire on his shield.

Gault's lead chuckled. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know who I am. The Wolf's defection would've given you that intel and much more besides. You've had a good run, Heero Yuy, but it ends here."

"It'll be your end, not mine," Heero replied as he warded off a GuAIZ, "You're really at peace defending a weapon capable of wiping out all life on Earth?"

"A necessary sacrifice," Kupchenko shot back, pouring fire towards Heero as he did so, "Had the Naturals gracefully accepted our ascendance as the next step in human evolution we could've let them live in contented ignorance on Earth while we forged our destiny in the stars, but they lacked that dignity and chose to fight their fate. They could've rested safely under our watchful gaze, guided by our profound knowledge and wisdom, but instead they decided to go against the forward march of progress, clawing tooth and nail to preserve their petty dominion. Now they are facing the inevitable result of when an inferior species clashes with its greater evolved kin."

Heero shook his head as he fired a low power shot at the Freedom, forcing it on the defensive. "So you really bought into Patrick Zala's bullshit…"

"It's the simple truth," said Kupchenko while Heero crossed blades with another GuAIZ, "The escalation of this war was the natural course of action as the Earth Alliance refused to recognize that its dominance had passed. When anyone holds power, what they fear more than anything else is losing it. That principle applies to people, nation states, and races. The Naturals realized our potential to supplant them and fought to hold onto their spot at the top of the hierarchy, but they underestimated our abilities, our capability to fight back. They showed their true barbarity with the Bloody Valentine, and soon they will reap the whirlwind a million-fold."

"Idiot," Heero responded as he shredded a GuAIZ with the last of his gatling rounds, "All you're doing is proving you have the same barbarity as those you claim to be your inferiors. You and Zala are no different than Azrael and the High Command."

"A pity," said Kupchenko as he charged Heero, "I would've thought that you, of all our enemies, might've had the insight to see beyond that narrow viewpoint. No matter, though. With your death our final victory will be guaranteed, and I will be the one to send you to your grave."

"Better than you have tried," said Heero as he parried the Freedom's strike before breaking off to evade flanking fire from its teammates.

Gunning his engines, Heero climbed in order to put some space between himself and his foes. Below him the enemy regrouped, with the four surviving GuAIZs forming up into two new wing pairs, each flanking Kupchenko's Freedom.

_They're fighting well_, he thought, _and they're not letting their losses disrupt them. I can wear them down, but I don't have time for a protracted battle. I need to end this quickly!_

As the five remaining mobile suits cut loose with their artillery Heero zigzagged through space as he set up for his counterattack. Moving through a gap in the fire he increased the charge of the Twin Buster Rifle and cut loose. The blast was aimed at one of the remaining GuAIZ wing pairs, and while he didn't take the whole formation down he did eliminate one of the machines.

After the shot Heero immediately rushed forward, intent on taking out the solo machine before it could form back up with its comrades. All the while the enemy kept firing, and even with his shield up Wing Zero shuddered as railgun rounds from the Freedom hit the Gundam. Still, the Perfect Soldier was able to power through the barrage. He lashed out with his emerald blade, but the GuAIZ managed to block the strike. Heero pressed his assault by hitting his engines and slamming his shield into his foe. The hit took the enemy off balance, and Heero followed up with a thrust to the GuAIZ's cockpit.

The enemy reformed again, this time as a trio, with the two surviving GuAIZ's flanking the Freedom. Their teamwork was impressive and their moves were precise and professional; finishing them off would not be easy.

Sparing a glance at his sensors he saw that the Valkyrie Team had made progress as well, though it was still slow going. Both Sorcerer and Wizard squadrons were down two GuAIZ's each, but that still left each wing pair from the Valkyrie Team outnumbered three to one. While they'd certainly faced worse odds before, this time their foes had skills to rival their own. Heero knew he had to trust in them to handle the other two Special Operations squadrons while he contended with Gault and then joined the assault on GENESIS.

He was relieved to see that Athrun had obeyed his orders and was avoiding the fight. The Justice, the Strike-Rouge, and Asagi's M1 Astray had taken a wide arc around the dogfight with the three Special Operations Squadrons, and so far there were no signs that ZAFT had deployed any forces to intercept them. Gault, Sorcerer, and Wizard certainly couldn't afford to divert any of their units to respond; Athrun was in the clear and would be approaching GENESIS shortly. Waltfeld's force of ships would take longer to get into attack position, but with the enemy in such confusion Heero was confident they'd be able to cut through the chaos and begin bombardment. Meanwhile, Murrue's force continued to power through both the Alliance and ZAFT armadas, and it wouldn't be long before they'd be in position to both cover Waltfeld's back and stop any Alliance attempts to attack the colonies.

Both Wing Zero and the Gault trio opened fire simultaneously. Heero's shot managed to scatter the opposition, and he took full advantage of it. Picking one of the isolated GuAIZs, he fired another low-power shot as he rushed in. The enemy mobile suit managed to evade the shot, but Heero hadn't expected to hit it in the first place. It had simply been meant to keep the unit on the defensive while Wing Zero closed the gap, and the moment he did he slashed through the machine with his emerald blade.

Rather than remain as a wing pair Kupchenko's Freedom and the last GuAIZ split up in an obvious attempt to catch Heero in a pincer. Heero dived to avoid being caught in the movement, all the while evading rifle fire from the GuAIZ and the black and gold Freedom's considerable array of artillery. As both ZAFT units pursued it brought them back together, which was exactly what Heero had been hoping for. Flipping Wing Zero around and increasing the charge of the Twin Buster Rifle, the Gundam pilot counterattacked. Kupchenko managed to evade the blast, but his last remaining subordinate was not so lucky, and the GuAIZ was obliterated by the wave of golden-yellow hellfire.

_Just you and me now, Kupchenko_, thought Heero as he charged the black and gold Freedom, his shield raised to block incoming fire.

The Gundam shuddered as it powered through the barrage, but it was only a few seconds before Heero managed to get into saber range. Emerald and violet energy blades clashed, and Heero quickly put his foe onto the defensive.

"You are an exemplary combatant," said Kupchenko, "It really is a shame you're not one of us; we could've ended this war long ago if you were on our side."

"Even if I were a Coordinator there's no way I'd fight under your banner," Heero replied, "You and Zala have destroyed everything the colonies should stand for."

"What would you know about the colonies?" Kupchenko snarled as their blades met again, "What would you know about our persecution at the hands of the Earth-born savages, their attempts to subjugate us and eventually exterminate us? You have no right to speak as though you understand the PLANTs!"

"You're wrong," said Heero as he continued to press his assault, "I understand far more than someone as blind as you ever could. Space colonization was meant to give hope to the people, to show just how far mankind could go, to embody the freedom to move beyond our origins. The creation of the Coordinators was meant to expand that freedom even further by increasing the human potential, expanding what could be accomplished. You and Zala turned that into a military dictatorship as hell bent on murder and oppression as those on Earth that you originally fought to be free from!"

"Don't compare us to those mongrels on Earth!" Kupchenko yelled, his anger clearly getting the better of him, "They are the past; wretched dregs consumed with petty squabbles and shortsighted ambitions. _We _are the future, the path forward for humanity, and the true rulers of the Earth Sphere!"

Heero shook his head as he blocked Kupchenko's counter. "No. You're just another part of this world. No more and no less."

It was relatively easy for Heero to retake the offensive; Kupchenko's fury was making him sloppy. Parrying the Freedom's counter, Heero responded with a vertical strike. Kupchenko managed to block it, but before he could strike back Heero pushed forward and slammed into him with his shield. Knocking his foe off balance, Heero thrust forward with his emerald blade. Kupchenko managed to avoid taking a fatal hit, but the beam saber did slice through his beam rifle, and it exploded in the Freedom's hand.

"The reign of Patrick Zala is over, Kupchenko," said Heero as he made another thrust, this time taking out the left railgun.

"He may be dead," Gault's lead replied as he struck back with his violet blade, "but through GENESIS his will lives on!"

Heero parried the slash. "Not for much longer."

Then he made a third thrust, and slammed his blade through the Freedom's cockpit.

**End "Demon of the Round Table"**

….

"So," said Cagalli, "how are we going to take this thing down?"

It was a good question, and one Athrun was still trying to figure out the answer for. The Justice, Strike Rouge IWSP-X, and Asagi's M1 Astray were closing fast with GENESIS, and the closer they got the more apparent it became just what a difficult undertaking it would be to destroy it. The weapon was _massive_, and it was hard to see how three mobile suits could begin to take it on without heavy capital ship support.

Still, they had to do something, and with the extra firepower granted to him by the METEOR unit Athrun had an idea of where to begin.

"We'll start with the secondary mirror," he said, "Between the three of us we should be able to damage it enough so it can't fracture and reflect the beam back at the main body and make that big blast. Once Waltfeld's fleet gets here they can bombard the core part of GENESIS."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Asagi.

"All right," said Cagalli, "let's do this!"

Now that they had some semblance of a plan Athrun could feel his confidence building. He may have been unable to save his father from what he had become, but he could still make sure that his hatred and lust for vengeance did not take the rest of the world down with him.

Then his sensors chimed, and he saw two contacts coming out from behind GENESIS. His eyes narrowed as he zoomed in on the newcomers. They were large machines, one built for close combat and the other as a long range unit. Preliminary energy readings were enough to tell him that both mobile suits were definitely nuclear powered units; daunting foes to be sure, but not enough to rattle him.

At least not until he saw the emblem programmed into their Phase Shift Armor on their upper left torsos.

_Oh, _fuck _no_, he thought, his eyes widening in shock as he realized what he was looking at, _Not them…_

But there was no mistaking that insignia.

It was the crimson dog biting its chain.

The mercenary hellhounds.

And his shock turned to horror when he saw one of them, the long range unit, raise one of its two heavy weapons...

…and target Cagalli.

And Athrun knew that there was only one way to save her from what was coming.

….

_Great, more contacts?_, thought Cagalli as she saw the two new mobile suits come out from behind GENESIS, _Not that many of them though… we'll just have to take them out quickly._

They had time; a little over twelve minutes remained on the timer. They'd have to act fast though; they couldn't afford to have anything interfere with Waltfeld's coming bombardment.

Before she could act though, she heard Athrun yell. "Cagalli, brace yourself!"

"What?" she asked, her eyes widening.

Then she saw the METEOR detach from the Justice…

…right before it slammed into her mobile suit.

The impact was hard, throwing her completely off course. When she managed to regain her footing she looked frantically for Athrun, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

She was just in time to see the Justice raise its shield…

…and then a blast of crimson energy engulfed it.

Her face paled and her blood became as cold as the Arctic.

"_**ATHRUN!**_"

**Preview for next time!**

_The clash of fleets continues, but the fight that will decide the fate of the world is no longer between the grand armadas of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. Even Kira's duel with the madman that has brought the Cosmic Era to the brink of the apocalypse is merely a sideshow next to the showdown taking place in the shadow of GENESIS. Engaged in the rematch of a lifetime with the Galm Team, Heero races against the clock to not only defeat the mercenary hellhounds but save the world of the woman he loves from utter annihilation. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Thirty: Zero._

"_Without beginning or end, the ring stretches into the infinite." Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War._

**Author's Notes: **Holy crap, this one took a while! Thanks for bearing with me on this, I know you've been waiting for a long time now.

For the two mobile suits that were guarding Jachin Due I used the GuAIZ Experimental Firearms Type as a base and modified it from there. As for the machines being used by Galm Team, you'll just have to wait for Episode Thirty to get the details on them!

Almost there, folks! Three chapters left until the end of Part One!

Until next time!


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's notes: **What's up everybody? So, this chapter's not nearly as long as the one before it, hence the much sooner update time. Hard to believe I started this fic up over three and a half years ago, and now we're almost at the end. Man, time flies.

Song list for the chapter, in order of appearance: "Zero" from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, "A Stranger I Remain," and "The Stains of Time" from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, "Avalon" from Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, and "Just Communication" from Gundam Wing.

Enjoy!

**Episode Thirty: Zero**

Larry 'Solo Wing Pixy' Foulke raised an eyebrow as he surveyed the aftermath of his shot. "Huh. Didn't see that coming."

Intel had indicated that the pink and red Strike was piloted by none other than Orb's new Chief Representative, and he'd intended to take full advantage of that. Eliminating Cagalli would demoralize the Orb members of the rogue fleet that was attacking both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and it would eliminate one of the Justice's teammates. While the Justice was the greater threat militarily its more powerful sensors meant that it would be able to see Pixy lining up the shot well before Cagalli would and would've been able to evade him, so taking out the Strike Rouge to soften up the enemy had been the logical move.

_I didn't think Zala's son would go that far to save Orb's princes_, he thought, _but I'm not complaining. The Justice is out of the fight._

The stolen prototype had taken the blast on its shield, and while that had spared it some of its power the unit was still utterly mauled. Its arms, legs, and head had been completely destroyed, and the surviving torso was badly damaged. Pixy knew it was certainly possible that Athrun Zala had survived, but it didn't matter; he wouldn't be able to do anything else in this battle.

"Nice shooting," said Cipher, "It's good to see that the Tartarus rifle works as well for you as it does for the Valkyrie."

Pixy nodded. "It's a beast, no doubt there. That goes for the rest of this machine too. The techies really outdid themselves with our new mobile suits."

"Agreed," Cipher replied.

'Witch' might've been a more appropriate term for Galm Two's new mobile suit. That was at the very least the project title under which the machine had been created. An experimental heavy assault mobile suit, the ZGMF-X07A Morgan was the pinnacle of ZAFT offensive capability on the small unit level. Nuclear powered, the machine's Phase Shift Armor was tailored to match its pilot's preference; light grey with the exception of the right arm, which was solid red, along with the Galm Team emblem on the upper left torso. Like the rest of ZAFT's prototype nuclear machines, the unit had a pair of MMI-GAU2 Picus 76mm CIWS mounted on its head, and it also shared the hip-mounted MMI-M15 Xiphas Rail Cannons found on the Freedom and the Wraiths. The Tartarus rifle held in its left hand was of course the same model found on the Judgment. However, the final armament was a truly unique weapon. Titled the MX-360 experimental warhead launcher, it was a very large weapon held in the machine's right hand and extending back over the shoulder. It carried only four missiles, but the payloads of these particular munitions promised to be a very unpleasant surprise for its foes.

_The techies said that those four Catalyst missiles would allow this mobile suit to rival even Wing Zero in terms of pure firepower_, he thought, _I guess we'll find out if they live up to those boasts one way or another._

The unit was an offensive powerhouse, but Pixy didn't let that blind him to its vulnerabilities. Like his last unit, the Morgan focused on long range combat; if he got caught in a close quarters fight all he would have to rely on would be the CIWS, and those were of limited effectiveness. It would be important to work closely with his flight lead to offset that crucial weakness.

Cipher's machine, built under Project Knight, was of the opposite nature. The ZGMF-X06A Galahad was an experimental close and mid-range attack mobile suit, and it was very well suited to its aggressive pilot. The unit's Phase Shift Armor was programmed to follow the same color scheme of Cipher's last machine; a light grey base with black trim. It too had the same head-mounted CIWS, but the rest of its armaments were far more intimidating. In its right hand was a large anti-ship sword, similar in nature to the weapon used by the Sword Strike, but bigger and with energy blades on both sides of the metal core. Called the MMI-515 Caledfwlch, it was one of the Galahad's two principle close quarters weapons. On its left forearm was a small shield, but within that shield was mounted another experimental weapon; the MA-M757 Slayer Whip Heat Rod. With decent reach and great flexibility, it could melt right through conventional armor and with time even pose a threat to Phase Shift Armor. Meanwhile, mounted on its back in an X array were four DRAGOONs, and competing its mid-range arsenal were two chest mounted Slash Harken rocket anchors.

_It may be focused on close range combat_, Pixy thought, _but those four DRAGOONs actually give it greater versatility than my machine. I'm almost jealous… I guess it's just as well that long range combat's always been my strong suit._

Both Cipher and Pixy had been disappointed to learn that their orders were to remain with GENESIS while the Grand Fleet engaged the Earth Alliance armada. They were well compensated for it, but the money was actually a secondary concern to them at this point. The two mercenary hellhounds wanted to give their new mobile suits a proper baptism of fire, and playing the last line of defense for ZAFT's super weapon didn't really give them the chance to do that. With the neutralization of the Justice Pixy had finally scored first blood with his machine, and he was sure Cipher was itching to match him.

However, the prey that was left hardly seemed worthy of either of their skills. The Strike Rouge had gone straight to the remains of the Justice after the shot, while the M1 Astray had put itself between them and the Galm Team. With a machine like the Galahad at his disposal Pixy knew that Cipher wouldn't even break a sweat in dispatching the remaining two machines, and Galm Two didn't exactly feel right in picking them off either. He would if it came to that, but if they weren't going to advance any further he was content to let them go.

"Your call, buddy," he said, "Do we go in and mop up?"

On his screen Cipher shook his head. "No. Check your sensors again, Pixy; our _real _enemy approaches."

Turning back to the display, Pixy's eyes narrowed as he saw a very familiar mobile suit coming up from behind the crippled Justice and the other two machines.

Galm Two smiled. "He's here. About time."

"A little more than eleven minutes left," said Cipher, a hint of excitement in his voice, "Let's make it the greatest eleven minutes of our lives."

Pixy nodded. "Roger that."

He braced himself for the coming confrontation, his eyes never wavering from the rapidly approaching mobile suit.

Wing Zero.

….

"_Athrun!_" cried Cagalli as she approached the battered remains of the Justice, "Come on, say something! _Athrun!_"

For all she knew his radio could be out. There certainly didn't seem to be much power coming from what was left of his machine. The Phase Shift Armor had been completely taken out by the blast, and the dull gray torso was full of cracks and fissures.

Cold sweat ran down her brow as she grabbed the battered hulk and positioned her hatch close to his. "Athrun, you have to answer me! Please!"

There was a crackle of static before she finally got a response. The signal was weak, and Cagalli was sure it had to be coming from his helmet radio rather than the Justice's, but it was there all the same.

"Cagalli…" said Athrun, "Are you ok?"

Cagalli breathed a sigh of relief. "You idiot, I'm fine! Are you all right?"

"I think so," Athrun replied, "No suit tears, no injuries… but I think my machine's done for."

There was no arguing with that assessment. The only salvageable bit of the Justice was the torso and cockpit. Whether he liked it or not, Athrun was out of the fight.

"Can you open the cockpit?" asked Cagalli, "I'll take you to the _Kusanagi_!"

"I think so," said Athrun, "Don't come out of your mobile suit yet; I'm gonna have to hit the emergency hatch release."

Cagalli waited, and a few seconds later she felt a slight tremor go through her mobile suit as Athrun triggered the small charges built into every mobile suit designed to force open its cockpit in the event of catastrophic system failure. She then opened her hatch and saw Athrun begin to climb out of the remains of his machine.

"Hey!" she said as she floated over to him, taking him into a fierce embrace, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Through the helmet visor she could see his eyes widening. "I… I wanted to save you. There was no way you would've been able to avoid that shot."

Cagalli sighed. "I know, but… you're too reckless, you know that?"

Athrun nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey, guys," said Asagi from her M1, "Can we get a move on? I'm pretty sure we can't take those two if they decide to attack again."

Cagalli nodded and pulled Athrun toward her cockpit. "Right. We're getting back inside now."

The cockpit was cramped with the two of them earlier, but after the close call Athrun had just been through Cagalli wasn't about to complain. Checking her sensors she saw the two nuclear powered machines still holding by GENESIS, neither one moving to attack.

"I don't get it," said Athrun, "Why aren't they taking another shot at us?"

A beeping came from the console, and as Cagalli checked it she saw a very familiar mobile suit rushing up from behind the Strike Rouge.

She immediately got on the radio. "Heero!"

The Gundam pilot appeared on the screen and wasted no time with pleasantries. "Get out of here, Cagalli. You and Asagi get Athrun to the _Kusanagi _and then stick with Waltfeld's force. I'll deal with the Galm Team. Don't try to help me. Sorry, but you'll just get in the way."

That last part stung, but she knew that Heero hadn't said it to be mean; it was just the blunt truth.

"All right," she replied, "but watch out, Heero; they've got new models!"

"I noticed," said Heero as he flew past her, "Wing Zero, out."

….

**Start "Zero"**

Raising the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero sighted in on the mercenary duo and cut loose. The wing pair expertly split up, moving around the blast before gunning their engines to meet him head on.

The long range machine, which Heero was certain was flown by Galm Two, returned fire. Heero dived to avoid the blast from the machine's Tartarus rifle and the railgun salvo. While he did so he saw Galm One pull ahead, its double-edged sword raised and ready to strike.

He raised his emerald blade and blocked the attack, but he was surprised at just how much power was behind it. Pushing back, Heero then quickly broke off as he saw the four DRAGOONs on the mobile suit's back detach and move to attack. A flurry of emerald beams filled the space around him, and while Heero worked on evading these Galm Two launched another strike with its plasma rifle and railguns.

_These are powerful machines_, he thought as he dodged the attacks and worked his way back towards Cipher, _and with pilots of Galm Team's caliber… this won't be easy._

Closing with the mercenary captain, the Gundam pilot saw two small slots open in the unit's chest before rocket anchors flew out of them. With a single slash of his beam saber Heero cut both weapons in half. At that moment Galm One's machine raised its left arm, and out of the small shield on it Heero saw a weapon he hadn't encountered since his old war appear; a Heat Rod.

_So_, he thought as he raised his shield to ward off the whip, _it has the close-quarters abilities of Epyon, minus the ZERO System but supplemented by DRAGOONs. A potent combination… and the last thing I want to face right now._

He countered with a swing of his beam saber, forcing Galm One to bring his sword up to block the blow. Heero immediately pulled back; the DRAGOONs had just been unleashed again, and he knew he had to act fast to avoid getting caught in their deadly crossfire.

As he went evasive he knew that Galm Two was already locking in on him. It didn't take long for Pixy to unleash another salvo, and he was barely able to dodge it. He kept his shield up to take beam fire from Galm One's DRAGOONs as he avoided the blast from Galm Two and then proceeded to climb.

He returned fire against Pixy, sending a blast of golden-yellow hellfire his way. As Galm Two went evasive Heero turned to face an incoming Galm One. He brought up his emerald blade to parry Cipher's overhand strike. Parrying the blow, this time he was able to strike back with a horizontal slash, although Cipher was able to block it. Heero broke to the right as the DRAGOONs moved to take shots at him again, dodging their fire as he charged at Galm Two.

Unfortunately he was unable to close the distance. Pixy laid down fire with the Tartarus and the railguns again, and between that and Cipher's DRAGOONs it was impossible to advance. Breaking to the left, Heero managed to turn around in time to evade a strike from Galm One's Heat Rod, but the mercenary captain followed up with a sword attack, keeping the Perfect Soldier on the defensive.

As their blades crossed a familiar voice came over the radio. "I've been waiting for this, Heero Yuy. Have you?"

The Gundam pilot shook his head as he pulled back to avoid the DRAGOONs again. "I don't care about fighting you or Pixy, Cipher. I'm here for GENESIS."

"That's insulting," Pixy chimed in as he joined Cipher in pouring fire at Wing Zero, "We've wanted this rematch ever since you beat us the first time."

"And now we can finally fight you on even footing," said Cipher, "With the Galahad I can match you up close, and with the Morgan Pixy can go toe-to-toe with you at range."

"So fighting me's all you two care about now?" asked Heero as he fired another blast at Pixy before meeting Cipher's charge, "All life on Earth's at risk thanks to GENESIS and you just want to settle a score? Zala's dead; your paycheck's meaningless at this point, and that's pitiful when compared to what's at stake here!"

"Yes," Cipher replied as their blades crossed again, "money is pitiful when compared to fighting _you_."

"The Naturals already tried to wipe us out in this battle," said Pixy, "Turnabout's fair play at this point. They don't get to complain after throwing nukes at us."

"Nukes that we stopped," said Heero as he climbed to evade fire from both the DRAGOONs and Pixy's artillery, "The Alliance's nuclear arsenal has been neutralized now, and you know it."

"So do the same with GENESIS," said Cipher as gunned his engines in pursuit, "Your group of renegades has already performed one miracle; surely another's not beyond them at this point."

"But they'll have to do it without you," said Pixy, "We've waited too long to find someone like you in this war; someone that can make us go all out. The only way you're getting a shot at GENESIS is if you can beat us before the time runs out."

Heero glared as he blocked another strike from Galm One's sword. "I should've known better than to try to reason with you. You truly are a pair of hellhounds."

Cipher chuckled as Heero broke off again to avoid the DRAGOONS. "Indeed we are. War's not merely our livelihood, Heero Yuy; it's our life. The battlefield is the only place that's real to someone like me; the rest of life is just a dream."

"This is the path that we chose long ago," said Pixy as he fired another salvo, "A mountain that we've been climbing for years. Fighting you is that last struggle to reach the summit, and it doesn't matter what we have to sacrifice to reach it."

Heero shook his head as he weaved through the fire, sending another blast from the Twin Buster Rifle at Galm Two before charging back in at Galm One. "So be it. I won't say anything else. I'm taking you down here and now; your path ends here."

"Prove it," said Cipher as their blades met again, "Come at us with everything you've got, Demon Lord of Avalon!"

Cipher lashed out with the Heat Rod, only for Heero to dive and avoid the attack. The Gundam pilot then charged right back up, attempting to pierce the Galahad from below. However, Cipher's reflexes were too quick; the mercenary captain reoriented himself and was able to block the blow on his sword. Heero wasn't able to press the assault; fire from the DRAGOONS forced him to back off, and Pixy used the opening to launch another bombardment.

_It's a stalemate right now_, he thought as he blocked the railgun rounds on his shield while evading the blast from the Morgan's rifle, _Every time I close to attack the Galahad I get in one or two exchanges before those DRAGOONs force me to pull back, and when I do that the Morgan's always ready to open fire. When I try to attack the Morgan Cipher pursues, and with DRAGOONs firing at me from behind I can't close the gap and take out Pixy. If I can't find a way to break the cycle then I won't be able to help Waltfeld's attack on GENESIS!_

Figuring out a way to gain the upper hand would be easier said than done. Galm Team's coordination had been top-notch in their last fight and that hadn't changed a bit in this rematch. Their new mobile suits made them an even deadlier unit, each giving greater emphasis to the strengths of their pilots than their older units had, and complementing each other's weaknesses seamlessly.

As he continued his clash with the mercenaries he could at least take comfort in that he wasn't the sole hope for taking down GENESIS. While he and Galm One crossed blades again, on his sensors he could see Waltfeld's force rapidly approaching the giant weapon; they'd be at optimal bombardment range in less than a minute. Meanwhile Murrue and her battle group were already taking up position to fend off any ZAFT or Alliance forces that attempted to stop the attack on GENESIS or strike the PLANTs. With Heero tying up the Galm Team and Murrue watching their backs the Desert Tiger could commence his barrage without fear of interference.

_The power of the Kusanagi's Lohengrins alone should be enough to at least do serious damage to GENESIS_, he thought as he climbed to avoid getting ensnared by Cipher's DRAGOONs, _and there are still over a hundred warships to back her up. So why… why do I feel like something's out of place?_

Evading both the DRAGOONs and another round of artillery fire from the Morgan, Heero caught sight of the Valkyrie Team's continuing clash with both Sorcerer and Wizard Teams. Remarkably both Special Operations Squadrons still had six units apiece; they were fighting well against Shemei and her girls.

That glimpse of the other Special Operations Squadrons was enough to make Heero realize what was bothering him. Galm, Gault, Sorcerer, and Wizard were all highly skilled teams with advanced mobile suits, but their combined strength amounted to only twenty-six machines. It was a potent guard, but given the immense power of GENESIS the Gundam pilot realized that the weapon should've had at least a squadron of capital ships acting as a close-in defense as well. While the sheer number of ships in the Earth Alliance armada would certainly demand the bulk of the Grand Fleet's resources it was still surprising that Patrick Zala hadn't ordered some vessels to specifically guard the gamma ray cannon.

_Either Zala was supremely overconfident in the Grand Fleet and the final Special Operations Squadrons_, he thought as he cut loose with the Twin Buster Rifle, forcing Pixy to go evasive, _or there's something more to GENESIS that we're missing._

Whatever it was, Heero would have to trust that Waltfeld and the others could handle it; he had enough on his plate as it was right now.

He was expecting Cipher to be charging him again, but surprisingly Galm One was not doing that. The mercenary captain was actually keeping his distance, peppering Wing Zero with DRAGOON fire but otherwise not acting aggressively. That alone was enough to raise a red flag for Heero; this was _not _Cipher's style.

_Pixy_, Heero thought as he weaved through the emerald beams, turning back towards Galm Two, _What's he up to?_

That was when he saw, for the first time in this clash, the Morgan raise the large weapon in its _right _hand. The Gundam pilot's eyes narrowed as he raised the Twin Buster Rifle in response, and he gritted his teeth when he saw Galm Two open fire. A single missile flew from the launcher, and alarms went off as the Search Eye analyzed the warhead.

The payload was nuclear.

….

Continuing to pull back and covering his move with the DRAGOONs, Cipher smiled as he saw the Morgan unleash its secret weapon; one of its four Catalyst Tactical Nuclear Missiles.

_Not quite the same amount of power as the full might of Wing Zero's rifle_, he thought, _but it comes close enough._

The warhead rushed toward its target, but Wing Zero was already reacting. It had raised its rifle as soon as the Morgan had brought the warhead launcher to bear, and a yellow-gold beam ripped across space, intercepting the missile.

There was a brilliant flash of orange-red fire as the warhead detonated. The sphere of destruction encompassed an area of nearly a kilometer and a half, and Cipher was glad he'd already moved well outside the blast zone.

_Did that get him?_, he thought, _He may have managed to prematurely detonate it, but still… even taking the edge of the blast might've at least caused some damage._

Another blast of golden-yellow hellfire, this one aimed at him, answered that question. Dodging the shot, Cipher saw Wing Zero fly through the fading fireball, coming right at him at top speed.

Cipher had to smile as he lashed out with his Heat Rod. "You're not going to make this easy on us, are you? Fine by me!"

Wing Zero took the whip on its shield before lashing out with its emerald blade. Cipher immediately responded, taking the strike on the Caledfwlch before bringing his DRAGOONs to bear. He expected Heero to pull back, but instead of a withdrawal the Demon went down and to the left, cutting down one of the gun-drones with his beam saber before he could open fire.

Cipher's eye widened as he attempted to use the remaining three DRAGOONs to shoot down the mobile suit as it pulled away and reoriented itself towards Pixy.

_He intended that from the start_, thought Cipher, _He's already adapted to the weapons our machines have, and he's acting to neutralize our advantages!_

Cipher chuckled. This was truly a foe to be savored; no one else had ever come _close _to putting up a fight like this.

"Come on, then," he said as he pursued Wing Zero, "Show me what else you can do. The world is on its final countdown to Armageddon, so show me a fight worthy of the occasion, Heero Yuy!"

**End "Zero"**

….

"Targeting solutions locked in!" shouted DaCosta, "Ready to fire on your orders, sir!"

_Not a moment too soon_, thought Waltfeld as he surveyed both their target and the larger battle, _This needs to end now!_

Without Wing Zero's strike team and the _Archangel_'s force it would've been impossible for the _Eternal_'s battle group to get into attack position so quickly. The former had Zala's final line of defense all tied up, while the latter was already engaging both scattered Alliance forces trying to break through to the colonies and ZAFT units attempting to race to the aid of GENESIS.

Heero's clash was particularly impressive. While Waltfeld considered himself a skilled mobile suit pilot, the display he was seeing now left him feeling like an amateur. The last time he'd seen a contest anywhere near this one it had been Heero's fights with Shemei, but even those seemed to take a back seat to what he was witnessing now. Wing Zero was putting on the performance of a lifetime in its rematch with the Galm Team, and Waltfeld knew that it would've been impossible for his force to set up for the bombardment of GENESIS if those two mercenary hellhounds weren't preoccupied now. The fact that one of them apparently carried tactical nukes had come as a complete shock, and it was fortunate that it hadn't had a chance to use them against the rest of the Three Ships Alliance.

Lacus had been rather quiet for a while now, and it was easy to see why; her eyes were fixed on her personal monitor, still watching the unfolding clash between Kira and Creuset. Waltfeld was glad the boy was at least keeping the masked lunatic tied up; what glimpses he'd caught of Creuset's new machine were foreboding to say the least. He still didn't know if Kira had what it took to play for keeps this time. All he could do now was hope.

Now his battle group was arrayed along the left flank of GENESIS in a perfect position to hammer the main body of the weapon. Its sheer size may have been daunting, but against the bombardment of over a hundred ships that would mean nothing.

"All ships, open fire!" he ordered.

The _Kusanagi _led the barrage with a blast of her Lohengrins, and the twin rivers of crimson energy were joined a split second later by a hail of particle beams, railgun rounds, and missiles. GENESIS was covered in blinding light from the barrage, and for a moment the Desert Tiger actually lost sight of the target.

_That had to have at least hurt it_, he thought, _especially those Lohengrins…_

Then the glow faded from the initial bombardment…

…only to reveal that the weapon didn't have so much as a scratch on it.

Waltfeld's good eye widened. "What the hell? Get me Engineer Simmons now!"

A moment later Erica appeared on the screens. "Simmons, what happened? There's not even a dent in that thing!"

"We're analyzing it now," she said, "It appears the main body of the weapon has Phase Shift Armor!"

"That still shouldn't be enough for it to shrug off something like the Lohengrins without a scratch!" Waltfeld replied.

Erica shook her head. "Sir, it seems the main body of the weapon has multiple layers of Phase Shift Armor, not just the single one that we've seen in mobile suits. The power requirements for such a defense mechanism would be _massive_, though; only a _very _strong nuclear reactor, or multiple reactors working in concert, would be able to sustain the energy needed for such a comprehensive defense."

"Damn it," Waltfeld growled, "So what can we do against it?"

"Well," said the engineer, "based on our scans it appears that only the main body has this protection; the secondary mirrors do not. We should be able to at least destroy those with a conventional bombardment. However…"

"That still leaves the initial beam," Waltfeld finished for her, "and it's aimed at D.C., which means about eight million people are in the crosshairs. Simmons, do we have _anything _that can stop it?"

Erica nodded. "Yes… but only if he can defeat the Galm Team within the next seven minutes."

"Heero…" said Lacus softly.

Waltfeld nodded, already forming a new plan. "Ok. All ships reorient towards the secondary mirror; concentrate all firepower on that!"

He turned to the songstress. "Lacus, contact Wing Zero; Heero's the only chance we have now at stopping that thing!"

The young woman nodded and immediately began working her console. Meanwhile, Waltfeld once again turned his attention towards Wing Zero's continuing clash with the Galm Team.

_So this is what it comes down to_, he thought as he watched the mercenaries and the soldier from another world go at it, _Millions of lives riding on the outcome of a two-on-one fight. It's strange, but… for some reason I'm actually not surprised._

_ From the moment he took down Avalon…_

_ …I had a feeling that this whole war would come down to him._

….

Murrue braced herself against the arm of her chair as her ship rocked under a heavy blow. "Damage report!"

"Portside Valiant's been knocked out!" replied Lieutenant Tsukino.

"Keep firing with everything we've got left!" Murrue ordered, "No matter what happens we have to hold out here!"

"Aye, Captain," said her XO, "You heard her; let 'em have it!"

The _Archangel _cut loose with a furious barrage. Twin tides of crimson-orange energy ripped through space as her Lohengrins opened up, washing over a dozen Earth Alliance and ZAFT mobile suits before slamming into a _Nazca_-class destroyer. Her Gottfrieds and remaining Valiant launched another salvo as well, hammering a _Drake_-class escort ship and snapping it in half. Rounding out the bombardment was a flock of Sledgehammer warheads from the rear launchers. Arcing over the ship, the heavy missiles rained down on a _Laurasia_-class frigate, mauling its artillery and knocking it out of the fight.

Around her the rest of her fleet opened up. Particle beams, railgun slugs, and missiles flew across the void, taking down scores of mobile suits and capital ships from both sides. The surviving mobile suits and armors of Murrue's force were likewise giving everything they had left to the holding action, working with the warships to screen both Waltfeld's fleet and the colonies. Bristow and Dearka were waging a fierce defense of the _Archangel_, and the same went for La Flaga and the Duel's actions for the _Dominion_. Fortunately neither side was coming at them in a concentrated effort; the Alliance and ZAFT forces were still primarily focused on killing each other. Still, Murrue knew that Lady Luck could change her tune at any moment, and it was crucial to remain on guard to continue to safeguard both the colonies and Heero and Waltfeld's backs.

_I can't believe the bombardment had no effect on the core of GENESIS_, she thought, _and even after the Eternal's force takes out the secondary mirror that still leaves millions of lives at risk in D.C.!_

Fortunately it hadn't taken much effort for the Desert Tiger's fleet to reorient itself and target the secondary mirror. Murrue saw the _Kusanagi _fire the opening shots with her Lohengrins and Gottfrieds, followed by a swarm of missiles. The positron blasts and particle beams slammed into the structure, and this time there was _very _noticeable results. A chunk of the left side of the mirror was blown away, with superheated cracks spreading out from there. The rest of the _Eternal_'s force opened up, and a hail of fire hammered the mirror. Craters and cracks were blown into the device, support struts were blasted away; the mirror was crumbling before her very eyes.

That would eliminate the threat the world as a whole, but the danger to the Atlantic Federation's capital remained. Murrue knew it would've been all too easy for any number of commanders to dismiss the city's impending doom; it was the heart of a belligerent nation after all, and one that had just tried to destroy its rival. For so many military and political officials alike the millions of civilians at risk would simply be collateral damage, a price easily paid to destroy the enemy's seat of power.

For Murrue, her friends, and her comrades though, such losses were inexcusable, such indiscriminate targeting unforgiveable. Yes, those leading the Atlantic Federation and the broader Earth Alliance were responsible for unspeakable atrocities, but that did not give the Zala regime the right to put the millions of civilians who lived there as well to death.

"Heero," she said softly, turning to the clash unfolding on her personal monitor, "please, hurry!"

The only hope for eight million people in the Atlantic Federation was engaged in a two-on-one fight unlike any other. The bright flares of Wing Zero's engines and those of its opponents zipped across the starscape at lightning speed, a ballet of death that would put all others in their place. Brilliant flashes of golden-yellow and crimson hellfire tore open the void, rounded out by pinpricks of emerald particle beams and saffron railgun rounds, along with the briefest sparks where energy blades met.

Murrue's heart raced even from a glimpse at the clash, and that had paled in comparison to how it had hammered in her chest moments ago when she'd seen the detonation of the tactical nuke that had been fired at Heero. This wasn't like his previous clashes with Shemei; the stakes were so much higher, as was the raw firepower involved. For the first time since coming to the Cosmic Era, Wing Zero was finally fighting against foes that could match its fearsome strength; even the Judgment took second place when compared to the combined might of Galm Team's new machines.

_Remember his promise_, she told herself, _He promised you that he'd make it through this and come back to you! Don't you _dare _doubt him now!_

Her fear was real, but so was her belief. The Gundam pilot had made performing the impossible his signature in this war. Having the deck stacked against him wasn't a deterrent; it was a challenge that he was always more than willing to take on. It would take more than two mercenaries in new machines to beat him. She would not be able to completely banish her fear for his safety, but she would never lose her faith in him.

"The mirror's breaking up!" cried Lieutenant Tsukino, "They've done it!"

Shifting her attention, Murrue saw that her XO was correct. The sustained bombardment from Waltfeld's force had proven to be far more than the secondary mirror could take. Explosions wracked the structure as massive fissures ran through it, growing by the second as more beams and missiles slammed into it. A series of blasts went off along the device, and it began to fall apart.

"The _Eternal_'s hailing us!" yelled the communication's officer.

"Put them through," Murrue ordered.

Lacus appeared on the main monitor. "Captain Ramius, now that the secondary mirror is dealt with our group will be coming to reinforce you."

Murrue nodded. "Understood. Thank you, Miss Clyne."

Lacus nodded in response, but Murrue was surprised to see a little guilt in her expression. "Murrue… I asked Mister Waltfeld if we might spare some units to assist Heero, but he refused; he said anything we did at this point would only get in his way. I am sorry."

Murrue shook her head and did her best to give the songstress a reassuring smile. "It's all right, Lacus. I'm grateful for your concern, but I actually agree with Waltfeld here; in a clash like this, Heero needs to be free from any interference, and that includes our own forces. If he has to worry about protecting comrades then he can't go all out on the attack, and that's what he needs to do to win here."

"I see," said Lacus.

"Miss Clyne," said Murrue, strength growing in her voice, "this is a battle that Heero knows how to win. Of all of us, he's the one who's actually had to fight a clash like this before. He understands the stakes better than any of us, and he's the best suited to win. The Galm Team has no idea what they're dealing with."

Lacus nodded in understanding. "Because of his old world, his last war… very well, Captain Ramius. I'll place my faith in that. _Eternal_, out."

Once again Murrue turned towards the clash between the love of her life and the Cosmic Era's deadliest mercenaries.

_You've already fought one duel for the fate of the world, Heero_, she thought, _The only other man that can lay claim to that kind of experience was the one you fought that duel against in your last war. Show them, Heero. Galm Team, ZAFT, the Earth Alliance, our comrades…_

_ …show them all that this is the kind of battle that you were _meant _to fight!_

….

**Start "A Stranger I Remain"**

_Quite the show you're putting on, Heero_, Shemei thought as she cut loose with the Tartarus rifle, obliterating a GuAIZ, _Wish I could watch it more, but I've got my own performance to attend to!_

At her back was Priscilla, all guns blazing as she warded off potential attacks from behind. There were still five machines left belonging to Wizard Team, and Shemei knew that they wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Come on, Lucan!" she said as she charged the flight leader, "Show me what you've got!"

Violet energy blades clashed, but Wizard One was a capable combatant. He expertly parried her strike, forcing her to deploy her DRAGOONs as he countered with his machine's arrestor anchors. The result was both machines pulling back while unleashing their mid-range weapons, neither able to land a blow.

Shemei and Pris weren't the only ones still slugging it out with their original foes. Off in the distance she could see Adaline and Lan going at it with Sorcerer Team. Like Wizard, Sorcerer was now down to five GuAIZs, but the remaining pilots weren't letting their losses throw them off their game. Shemei had faith in her girls, but she still knew it'd be tough going for them. These were the top tier of Zala's Special Operations Squadrons, and were the most disciplined foes the Valkyrie Team had faced in quite some time. They may have lacked the ferocity and newer machines that the Earth Alliance special units had thrown at them earlier in the battle, but their experience and teamwork was more than enough to make up for that difference.

Their foes had split up, with Lucan and two of his subordinates squaring off with Shemei while the other two confronted Priscilla. Both Wizard and Sorcerer may have taken casualties, but they were still in the fight, and it was taking far too long for Shemei's liking to wear them down.

"I don't have time to be playing around with you guys!" she growled as she opened up with all her artillery.

It was an impressive display of particle beams and a fearsome lance of plasma, but her foes expertly split up and managed to evade the barrage. The Valkyrie broke to the left, targeting one of the flanking units. She came in hard and fast, lashing out with her beam saber the moment she got into range. The GuAIZ managed to block her blow, but Shemei quickly dived and reoriented herself, blasting at the machine with her shoulder cannons and DRAGOONs.

The salvo was too much for the ZAFT pilot, and his machine was torn apart by a hail of emerald beams. However, Shemei had little cause to celebrate. While she'd made her attack Lucan and his other subordinate had moved to strike from her sides. Both GuAIZ's opened fire, and while Shemei was able to avoid taking a fatal blow one of the particle beams did impact her right shoulder cannon, knocking it out of action.

"Damn it!" she hissed as the Judgment shuddered, "These guys can actually shoot."

Shemei wasn't the only one of her girls to have taken damage. Over in the fight with Sorcerer, Adaline had scored another kill of her own, but the effort had cost her; another GuAIZ had sliced off the left arm of her machine, including the Trikeros Shield and all the weapons that came with it. Lan had taken a hit too; her right railgun was out of action. It was just another sign of how good their enemies were; no one had been able to land hits like this on them since their clashes with Heero back in North Africa.

She didn't let it faze her though. Breaking to the right, Shemei charged the machine that had landed the hit. Beam saber met beam claw in a bright clash, and as the enemy parried her blow the Valkyrie used her DRAGOONs to pincer the GuAIZ. Unlike Heero or Lucan this foe was unable to react fast enough, and it was blown apart by the emerald beams.

Once again though, the kill cost Shemei; Lucan had flanked her while she was taking out his subordinate and was charging in for a slash with his beam claws. The Valkyrie managed to pull back to avoid the blow, but the violet energy blade cut through the left gun-drone, and the weapon exploded.

"You've got some moves, Lucan," she said as she raised her saber to parry a follow up attack, "It's too bad you're on the wrong side."

"I am on the side of our people, as you should've been," Wizard One replied as the two combatants broke off and traded fire, "Zala's sins are grave, but those of the Alliance are even worse."

"They're both in the gutter at this point," Shemei shot back, "The Alliance just tried to wipe out the PLANTs and GENESIS has the power to kill everything on Earth! Tell me, Lucan; what's the difference now?"

"The difference," said Lucan, "is that our side is the lesser of two evils. No side is ever a saint in war, Valkyrie, and you know that."

"That's still no excuse to go along with the will of monsters!" shouted Shemei, "There's always another option; the Clyne faction is proof of that, and you know it!"

Lucan sighed. "It is too late for us, Valkyrie."

Shemei shook her head in disgust. "Fine, be that way."

She once again crossed blades with her foe. As she did so she saw that Priscilla had destroyed another GuAIZ as well; they were now down to Wizard Team's final two machines. However, she could see that the effort had cost her subordinate: like Adaline, Priscilla's machine had lost its left arm and all the weapons that were with it. Still it was progress, and Shemei could see that Adaline and Lan had made similar strides against Sorcerer Team, with both girls each facing off with one remaining GuAIZ apiece.

_This has gone on long enough_, she thought, _and it ends here!_

Pulling back, the Valkyrie unleashed a withering salvo with her remaining artillery. To his credit Lucan was able to avoid taking a direct hit, but it kept him on the defensive, and he was only able to counter with sporadic fire from his beam rifle.

Shemei kept up the barrage as she charged in for the kill. "Say 'hi' to Zala for me when you see him in hell, Lucan!"

As she made the approach the GuAIZ responded first with its beam rifle and then with its arrestor anchors. The Valkyrie managed to evade the beams and cut down one of the arrestors with her blade, but the other one managed to grab the Tartarus rifle. Shemei immediately let go of the plasma rifle, and not a moment too soon; the beam emitter in the arrestor fired, destroying the weapon. It was a heavy loss for the Judgment, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice; the Valkyrie was now in attack range.

She lashed out with her beam saber, and while Lucan caught the blow on his beam claws Shemei was still able to hit him by deploying her remaining DRAGOON. The gun-drone destroyed the GuAIZ's rifle, and Shemei used the distraction from the explosion to make her final attack.

"Goodbye, Wizard," she said quietly as she slammed her violet blade into the GuAIZ's cockpit.

Turning around as Lucan's machine exploded, she saw Priscilla finish off her final foe as well with a particle beam and railgun round. Adaline and Lan had likewise finally defeated Sorcerer Team and both girls were flying towards her now.

Shemei smiled. "Good work, all of you."

"Thanks," said Adaline, and Shemei could hear her breathing hard, "So what's next? We go help Heero?"

Glancing over at Wing Zero's fierce battle with the Galm Team, Shemei shook her head. "None of you girls are saying it, but I'm sure you're tired by now. Combine that with the damage our mobile suits have taken and… well, we're in no shape to fly into _that _fight."

"So what do we do, then?" asked Lan.

Shemei sighed. "We head back to the _Archangel_. At this point we'll be better off defending the ship and helping Captain Ramius hold the line against the Earth forces and ZAFT. GENESIS is in Heero's hands now, simple as that."

"Roger that," her girls replied.

She spared one last glance over at the Gundam pilot's continuing clash with the Galm Team before heading off.

_It's all up to you now, Heero. Show them what you've got!_

**End "A Stranger I Remain"**

….

**Start "Stains of Time"**

Gritting his teeth as the Freedom shook around him, Kira continued his clash with the insane Field Marshal at the heart of this war. Fire from the DRAGOONs had hit the METEOR unit, damaging but not destroying it. Still, Kira was sure those wouldn't be the last hits Creuset landed on him; the METEOR just made the Freedom too big of a target, and the masked maniac wielded his horde of gun-drones with unbelievable precision and coordination.

"Is that all you have, boy?" Creuset sneered over the radio, "Kira Yamato, you're so disappointing!"

_Don't let him get to you_, he thought, _Just focus on defeating him!_

He rushed back in, firing as he went, desperate to close the gap and at least somewhat neutralize the advantage of the DRAGOONs. Kira managed to get into beam sword range, but Creuset easily managed to parry his attack and then force him to retreat again with flanking attacks from the gun-drones. The Freedom rumbled again as the METEOR unit took additional hits, and alarms went off in his cockpit as major components of the heavy weapons system were damaged.

"Accept it!" Creuset cackled, "All your battles up to now have been meaningless, Kira! They have been merely steps down mankind's road to destruction. You, like the rest of humanity, have reached your limit! You're at the gates of the underworld, and I'll send you through to Hades!"

"You're nuts!" Kira cried as he detached the Freedom from the crumbling METEOR unit, "The Alliance has lost its nukes and the mirror for GENESIS has been destroyed; you've lost, Creuset!"

"Oh, hardly," Creuset replied as the Freedom and Providence continued to trade fire, "Even if the world will not end today, GENESIS is still on target, and Wing Zero will not be able to stop it. When Washington D.C. is consumed by radioactive fire that will ensure that the flames of mankind's hatred will outlive me! They'll rearm and come back here with a vengeance! The cycle will continue and escalate again, and culminate in the inevitable annihilation! It may not be today thanks to you and your wretched friends, but one way or another my will shall be done!"

"No!" yelled Kira, "I'll stop you here!"

"Try it, boy!" Creuset snarled.

Ridding himself of the METEOR unit greatly increased Kira's ability to evade fire, and now he could use the Freedom's shield to block shots that he couldn't dodge. However, he knew that his situation was still grim. He'd never faced a mobile suit like Creuset's before, and the masked lunatic was fighting with a manic frenzy that far surpassed the hatred he had thrown Kira's way back at the Battle of Mendel. Eerily enough, despite his seething rage and malice Creuset still appeared to be completely in control of his mobile suit, wielding the DRAGOONs with incredible skill. Wrath was no hindrance to the man; quite the contrary.

Kira pushed forward, igniting his beam saber as he did so. Keeping his shield up to take incoming fire, the young man was able to break through the net of emerald death and into sword range. Violet blades clashed, but Kira was unable to breach Creuset's defense. In fact, the boy soon found himself on the defensive again as Creuset parried the blow and launched a counterattack.

The Field Marshal's assault was brutal. Kira was forced back under the blow, which Creuset immediately followed up with fire from the two small beam guns mounted on the unit's shield. Raising his shield to take the shots, Kira was pushed further back as Creuset once again brought both his DRAGOONs and the mobile suit's large rifle to bear on him.

_No!_, he thought as he frantically evaded the monsoon of emerald beams, _If this keeps up I'll never be able to beat him!_

"Why do you insist on this futile fight, Kira Yamato?" asked Creuset, his voice dripping with mock-concern as he continued to pour particle beam fire at him, "The cycle of hate is one that cannot be stopped! Its energy builds and builds until eventually all are consumed by the flames of wrath and vengeance. Sooner or later all will burn!"

"You're wrong!" shouted Kira as he returned fire, "It only came down to this because of you!"

"Fool," Creuset sneered, "I merely encouraged it. That's irrelevant now anyway. The human race will wipe itself out, and no one can stop it now!"

"I'll stop it!" yelled Kira as they continued to trade fire.

"There's no way you can stop it now!" Creuset cackled as both of their mobile suits took hits, "This is the destiny of the human race! Those wretched fools brought this upon themselves!"

The Freedom rocked around Kira as particle beams slammed into it. The beam rifle was destroyed along with the arm that held it. The left plasma cannon and right railgun were also hit by the hail of emerald energy, as was the right leg. Kira could see that his shots had hit the large circular structure on Creuset's machine that the DRAGOONs attached to, destroying several of the mountings and rupturing the armor, but the fearsome mobile suit wasn't beaten yet.

"Your wretched existence ends here, boy," Creuset growled, "but don't worry; I'll be sending your precious songstress to join you shortly!"

And that was it.

That was the trigger.

Once again Kira could feel that familiar sensation washing over him. White hot anger, yet it did not blind him. This time he was fully aware of it, could finally understand what it was. A purpose clear as crystal, a level of consciousness between pure instinct and deliberate thought.

A spinning seed touching water as smooth as glass, ripples radiating out from the point of impact…

…and a cascade of brilliant light.

This time he was in complete control, fully comprehending what was happening to him, and knew exactly what needed to be done. Reacting faster than he was able to before, he swiftly closed the gap between him and Creuset. Once again he lashed out with his beam saber, and while the masked lunatic was able to block it, this time Kira was able to press the assault despite the damage to his machine. He pushed forward, first with a horizontal slash, then a diagonal strike. The first slash was blocked, but the second strike went through his foe's large rifle, and it exploded.

"You're not getting her," Kira growled as he lashed out again, "and you're not getting anyone else either!"

Creuset was able to block the strike, and this time Kira could see the DRAGOONs preparing to fire. He broke off, but rather than pull back he angled for one of the gun-drones and cut it down with his violet blade. Another DRAGOON managed to destroy his second railgun, but he was still able to bring himself back towards Creuset and into saber range again.

"You're wrong about humanity!" Kira shouted as he attacked again, his blade meeting Creuset's, "We will survive this war, and we _will _protect our future!"

Creuset attempted to counter, but Kira was too fast. He redirected Creuset's blade so it would pierce the Freedom's left leg, and then he brought his saber up for the final strike.

"It's over!" he yelled.

And he thrust his blade through Creuset's cockpit.

Time froze for a moment before the machine exploded. The force of the blast threw Kira back, but with his Phase Shift Armor still operational he was well protected. His breathing became heavy as the adrenaline and the energy from 'Seed Mode' began to bleed out of him, but that was fine; the duel was over.

He had finally been able to do what was necessary.

**End "Stains of Time"**

He had won the fight, but there was no doubt in Kira's mind that he was out for the rest of this battle; the damage to the Freedom was too severe. Fortunately neither side was paying much attention to him; they had more important things to worry about than a crippled mobile suit.

Making sure the Freedom's beacon was active so his friends could find him later, Kira turned his machine towards the final duel of the war.

_I finally beat him_, he thought, _I did what you told me I'd have to do. The rest is up to you now, Heero._

….

**Start "Avalon"**

Orange-red fire filled the sky as the Morgan's second tactical nuke detonated prematurely thanks to precise fire from the Twin Buster Rifle. Bracing himself against the shockwave, Heero was already setting himself up for his next move. The moment the blast faded just enough for his sensors to gain a visual, he targeted the Galahad and cut loose.

_This had better work_, he thought as he took the shot, _I'm running out of time!_

The low-power shot from the Twin Buster Rifle raced across space. Heero saw Cipher dive to avoid it, but he had anticipated that. It was only when he saw one of the three remaining DRAGOONs get caught in the shot that the Gundam pilot breathed a sigh of relief; _that _was what he'd been trying to do.

_There's a brief lag between the mobile suit's movements and those of the DRAGOONs as they process the maneuvers and try to keep up_, he thought as he charged headlong at Galm One, _By lining up the shot in a firing path that's easiest to evade by breaking a certain way I can anticipate the path of the DRAGOONs as they're dragged along with the Galahad. Nice to see that guess proven right._

Cipher was now down to two of the gun-drones, and Heero was sure that Pixy couldn't have many of the tactical nukes left available; the missiles doubtlessly took up a lot of space. The Gundam pilot now had a handle on the fight and knew what he had to do to win, but his window was short; there were barely three minutes left on the clock.

The Galahad lashed out with its Heat Rod, but Heero was able to ward it off with his shield. He then brought his beam saber up to strike, and the emerald blade met Galm One's sword. It was fine that Cipher had managed to block the blow; Heero had only made it as a diversion. Rather than try to press his assault the Gundam pilot broke to the upper left, deflecting Cipher's counterattack before slashing through another DRAGOON.

_The only one left now is the lower right drone_, he thought as he dodged fire from that DRAGOON and the Morgan, _I'm close._

He raced towards Galm Two even as his foe opened up with his Tartarus rifle and railguns. Cipher pursued Heero, but it was much easier for Wing Zero's pilot to evade fire from the single remaining DRAGOON than it had been to dodge shots from all four, and he was rapidly closing with Pixy's machine.

Heero pushed his engines to their limit, determined to run Galm Two down before he could launch another nuke. The Morgan was already pulling back, firing as it went, but Wing Zero was faster, and even potshots from the Galahad's last DRAGOON couldn't slow the Perfect Soldier down.

Raising the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero let fly with another low-power shot. The shot didn't connect, but that was fine with him; it had simply been meant to keep Pixy on the defensive, and it more than served its purpose.

In desperation Galm Two added his CIWS to the mix, but it didn't do any good against Wing Zero's Gundanium alloy hull. The Gundam finally closed into saber range, and Heero made a hard vertical strike. Morgan may not have been built for close-quarters-combat, but it was still a fast machine, and the mobile suit was able to slip to the left, avoiding a fatal blow.

However, it did still take a hit, and the damage suited Heero just fine; his emerald blade had cut clean through the Morgan's right shoulder, taking the arm out and the warhead launcher along with it. Before Heero could make a follow-up attack he was forced to break off to contend with a charging Galahad, brining his beam saber up to deflect a strike from Galm One.

Rather than make a counter attack, Heero instead went after the Galahad's last gun-drone and cut it down. Cipher attempted to retaliate with his Heat Rod, but Heero had already gunned his engines and moved beyond striking distance. The Gundam pilot fired the Twin Buster Rifle at Galm One to keep him on the defensive before once again turning his attention towards the Morgan.

"You're mine," Heero growled as he closed with Pixy, weaving through the increasingly desperate fire the mercenary was throwing his way. With Cipher's last DRAGOON destroyed the Gundam pilot no longer had to worry about fire from behind, and he knew that he would reach the Morgan before Galm One could catch up.

Diving to avoid a blast from the Morgan's Tartarus rifle and keeping his shield up to block railgun rounds, Heero continued forward. Cipher was hot on his tail, and Heero knew that he would only have a moment to strike and try to take Galm Two out of the fight.

His eyes narrowed as he swiftly closed in. Just like before, the Morgan was pulling back, firing as it went, and the critical moment was almost upon him. Coming in low, Heero waited until the last possible second before climbing, his emerald blade flashing in an upward left-to-right diagonal slash.

The blow initially caught the Morgan on the left thigh. As the beam saber came up it cut through part of the torso, narrowly missing the cockpit but still damaging critical systems and taking out one of the railguns. The emerald blade finally ripped through the Morgan's left shoulder, taking away that arm and the Tartarus rifle.

Heero knew it was possible that Pixy had survived, but even so it didn't change the fact that Galm Two was out of the fight. The Morgan was drifting and barely under its own power anymore; there were sparks flying from the mauled left side of the machine. More to the point, he didn't have time to go in for a coup de grace; Cipher was already lashing out with his Heat Rod, and Heero was barely able to bring his shield up in time to fend off the strike. Even without Galm One attacking, every second mattered now with GENESIS still on its inexorable countdown.

The Gundam pilot brought up his emerald blade to parry a strike from the Galahad's sword. This time he was able to counter and strike back without fear of being flanked by the DRAGOONs, and the fight quickly transformed into a duel that struck him as quite similar to the last fight of his old war.

_He's got almost the same weapons now, too_, Heero thought as their blades met, _Sword and whip… it's almost like fighting Zechs again._

He didn't let his mind get taken back to the past, though. That was a chapter in his life that had closed some time ago, and he had no intention of trying to relive it for the sake of nostalgia. This battle was for the sake of his new world and the woman he loved; the only role the past played was to give him insight in how to win in the present.

As he lashed out and Cipher parried he heard Galm One's voice over the radio. "Now _this _is a fight!"

Heero didn't bother to respond; words were pointless at this stage of the fight. He simply kept up the duel, working furiously to counter his foe as the seconds continued to fall from the clock.

"Admit it, Heero!" said Cipher as the Gundam pilot blocked his attack, "You're enjoying this just as much as I am! How else did you get to the top of the combat food-chain? No one reaches our level of skill _without _embracing the thrill of battle!"

Again, Heero didn't waste his breath replying; he was content to let his actions do the talking. He dived as Cipher unleashed his Heat Rod before retaliating with the Twin Buster Rifle. As Galm One went evasive Heero charged right back in. He made a horizontal slash, but Cipher was able to block the blow. The mercenary responded with a swing of his sword, and Heero took the strike on his shield. He then lashed out again with his emerald blade, and while he didn't land a fatal blow he did succeed in severing the left arm, taking the small shield and the Heat Rod out with it.

_You don't get it, Cipher_, he thought as he parried another attack from the Galahad, _I've been here before. A battle with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, a duel with a powerful foe, countless lives riding on the outcome… it may have been in another world, but I know this kind of fight better than you ever could. That's why, even in the midst of this new world, a battlefield like this… is my home turf!_

….

"New targeting solutions locked in!" shouted Lieutenant Tsukino.

Murrue nodded. "Hit them with everything we've got!"

The _Archangel_'s remaining weapons opened up in a furious barrage. Twin blasts from the Lohengrins hammered a _Nazca_-class destroyer, turning it into a fireball. Salvos from the Gottfrieds and starboard Valiant mauled the upper hull of a _Nelson_-class battleship, taking out the bridge and most of the artillery. Finally a volley of Sledgehammer missiles flew from the rear launchers, arcing over the ship and raining down on two _Drake_-class escort ships, ripping through their thin armor and tearing the vessels apart.

All around her the rest of the battered fleet of the Three Ships Alliance was throwing everything they had into the fray. They'd taken further losses in both ships and mobile suits, but amazingly the line was still holding. The enemy still wasn't making a coordinated effort to break through to either GENESIS or the colonies, and Murrue knew that was her fleet's saving grace.

Actually, the attempts at advancing of both the Earth forces and ZAFT seemed to have lightened up a little. It wasn't just because of the Three Ships Alliance's fierce defense or the continuing clashes both the Earth forces and ZAFT had going with each other; everyone's attention seemed half-focused on something else.

And Murrue had a feeling she knew exactly what that was.

It was the same thing that she kept looking at on her personal monitor.

The duel in the shadow of GENESIS.

The final clash between the Perfect Soldier and the mercenary hellhound.

The emerald blade of the otherworldly pilot struck against the violet blade of the devoted war dog. The blue-white flares of their engines raced across the black void. Even from such a distance one could _feel _the intensity of the duel, the fierceness of the dance as the two lords of the battlefield fought with every ounce of skill at their disposal, and with nothing less than the future of mankind riding on the outcome.

_Thousands of ships_, Murrue thought, _legions of mobile suits. Vast armadas, great hosts of soldiers, weapons capable of reducing all to ashes… and yet, they all pale before this final contest._

"_Heero…_" she whispered, "Please… _win_."

….

Firing a low-power shot with the Twin Buster Rifle, Heero immediately charged in following the blast. Cipher had dived to evade being hit, so Heero came at him from on high, swinging his blade down in a vertical strike.

_This has to end now_, he thought as the mercenary blocked his attack, _I'm running out of time!_

Perhaps sensing his desperation, Galm One's voice came over the radio. "I'm not letting this end yet, Heero. We're going to continue this dance until we both end up in the pits of Hell!"

Heero didn't answer, instead keeping his focus on deflecting Cipher's counterattack before making another strike of his own. The mercenary captain once again parried the blow, but it was as he did that that Heero realized he could see a key vulnerability of the Galahad, one that would be difficult to exploit but just might be his best shot to ending this fight quickly.

_Timing will be everything_, he thought as he pulled back a bit while parrying a slash from Cipher, _I have to be ready to act the instant he makes his move._

Rather than counter he stayed on the defensive, continuing to pull back and deflect Cipher's attacks. His eyes narrowed as he focused, aware of the acute need to wrap this up quickly but also knowing that he could not rush this if it was to work.

Blocking another overhand strike, Heero saw Cipher draw his sword back in preparation for a thrust, and the Gundam pilot knew that it was now or never.

Galm One thrust forward, and rather than parry the blow Heero brought his beam saber to the tip of the sword.

The _metal _tip.

Where there was no energy blade to block his own.

Pushing forward, Heero dragged his emerald blade along the metal core of the sword, slicing it in two. As his beam saber came out of weapon Heero continued forward, and his blade then entered first the upper right arm and then the upper right torso of the Galahad. The slash continued through the mobile suit all the way out the left side, and with a bright blast of fire and light the upper chest was torn away from the rest of the machine.

Heero was already moving on, not even sparing a glance back at the wreckage of his defeated adversary; he had something much more important to take care of. Pushing his engines to maximum, he rushed towards GENESIS. He had no time to lose; there was barely a minute left on the clock.

He contacted the _Kusanagi_ as he flew, and when Kisaka appeared on the screen Heero cut straight to the point. "Simmons. Now."

The Orb Colonel nodded, and the brilliant engineer appeared on the screen a moment later. "What is it, Heero?"

"Making my run on GENESIS now," he said curtly, "Best attack angle?"

"Head on," she immediately replied, "Put it right down the firing shaft; Wing Zero's the only machine with the accuracy and raw power to take it down that way."

Heero nodded. "Understood."

Erica nodded. "Good luck."

Wing Zero was one of the fastest mobile suits in the Cosmic Era, but even its top speed seemed all too slow to Heero right now. Eyeing the timer, he saw the seconds ticking down way too fast.

Approaching his target, Heero immediately saw another obstacle he would have to overcome. Waltfeld's bombardment had destroyed the secondary mirror and therefore eliminated the threat to the world as a whole, but the expanding debris field would make lining up his shot much harder. Just like his fight with the Galm Team, timing the shot would be everything, but his margin for error was even tighter now than it had been in that frantic clash.

_Stay calm_, he silently told himself, _and focus. You didn't come this far just to fail now. Too many people are counting on you._

_ Murrue's counting on you._

With a brief glance at his sensors he could see the _Archangel_ still holding the line with the rest of the Three Ships Alliance fleet. Even with her battle damage she was still putting out an incredible volume of fire, and that was only amplified by the ships and mobile suits fighting alongside her. Murrue and the others were giving their all to give Heero the opening he needed to take this shot, and he refused to let them down.

Running his fingers over the keyboard, with the help of the ZERO System he was able to calculate the optimal firing position. The timing would be incredibly tight; if he wanted to fire before Jachin Due blew he would need to both lock on and begin charging the Twin Buster Rifle the instant he got into position.

Bracing himself, Heero quickly throttled down as he made it to the firing point. He immediately raised the rifle, locking in on the firing shaft and bringing up the weapon to full power. Debris from the destroyed mirror floated all around him, further complicating his shot at the target.

There were fifteen seconds left on the clock.

Fourteen…

Thirteen…

With a deep breath he steadied himself. As the countdown continued he got on the tactical channel, his eyes narrowed on the target.

"Murrue!" he said.

Ten…

Her reply was immediate. "Heero!"

Eight…

"Remember my promise," he said.

Five…

The charge was full, and Heero knew he wouldn't get a cleaner shot than this.

It was now or never.

"_**I will survive!**_" he shouted.

With that, he fired.

**End "Avalon"**

….

Heero's words echoed in her ears as Murrue's gaze, along with that of her entire bridge crew, was riveted to the main monitor. The seconds left on the clock could be counted on one hand as a brilliant flash of golden-yellow light tore through space; the full power of Wing Zero's Twin Buster Rifle. At that moment the rest of the battlefield seemed to go still; the eyes of all combatants, regardless of allegiance, were on GENESIS and the Demon Lord of Avalon.

She held her breath as she saw the blast flash across the void…

…and enter the firing shaft of GENESIS.

A split second latter a titanic explosion of blue and white light bloomed, flooding outward like a supernova and illuminating the battlefield like a second sun. At the same time a series of detonations ripped through the asteroid fortress of Jachin Due as the self-destruct mechanism went off, and the base soon went up in a massive fireball.

"Heero…" Murrue said softly.

The explosion had completely eclipsed him. Still burning brightly, it obscured any sign of the brilliant young man that had made the shot.

"Is he…" she heard Miriallia say, her voice trailing off.

The blast had easily eclipsed the destruction of Avalon with the raw power unleashed by it. The chance was all too real, Heero's promise to her aside. Murrue's heart hammered away in her chest.

_No… he _has _to be…_

There was an unbearable silence…

…but only for a moment.

**Start "Just Communication"**

"Contact!" cried the sensor operator.

"On screen now!" shouted Murrue, gripping her chair and leaning forward.

The image on the main monitor shifted, zooming in on the explosion…

…and revealing a silhouette of a very familiar mobile suit.

Murrue was elated. "Heero!"

"He's on the line!" cried Miriallia, "Patching him through now!"

The Gundam pilot appeared on the screen, a small and satisfied smile on his face. His eyes met Murrue's, and she saw those beautiful Prussian blue gems burning with what could only be described as well deserved _triumph_.

"Mission accomplished," he said, that calm and cool voice of his radiating confidence and satisfaction.

Murrue knew she was absolutely beaming as she replied. "Yes! You did it, Heero! You were amazing!"

The incredible young man gave her a slight bow. "Thank you, Murrue."

"Captain!" shouted the communications officer, "There's an open channel transmission coming from Aprilius One!"

"Get it on speaker!" Murrue ordered.

A woman's voice came over the speaker. "This is Councilor Eileen Canaver, provisional head of the PLANT Supreme Council, addressing all forces on this battlefield. Patrick Zala is dead, his subordinates have been detained, and his closest supporters have been arrested on charges of war crimes! Under my authority as Provisional Chairwoman of the Supreme Council I am prepared to offer a ceasefire to the surviving forces of both the Earth Alliance and those under the banner of Orb and the Clyne Faction!"

_I'd forgotten all about her_, Murrue thought, _The Councilor and the moderates that remained at L5. It looks like they were able to pull off their coup after all. Now it all comes down to the other side…_

"New broadband transmission!" said her subordinate, "It's from the Earth Alliance forces!"

A man's voice came over the speaker. "This is Captain Walters of the carrier _Truman_, current flagship of the Earth Alliance armed forces. All ships are ordered to stand down at once! Cease all hostilities immediately! Provisional Chairwoman Canaver, we hereby accept your offer of a ceasefire! All Earth Alliance warships will pull back to the Moon!"

A third voice came over the radio, this one belonging to a certain young woman. "This is Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha, speaking on behalf of all Orb and Three Ships Alliance forces. Everyone, stand down! Chairwoman Canaver, we too accept your ceasefire!"

Murrue let out the breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding.

"It's over…" she said softly, "It's… it's finally over."

"Transmission from the _Eternal_!" said the communications officer.

Murrue listened carefully as the voice of Lacus came over the radio. "To all surviving forces of the Three Ships Alliance, this is Lacus Clyne. Well done, all of you! We have accomplished our mission."

She was swiftly followed by Waltfeld. "Everyone, excellent job! All ships, gather your surviving mobile suits. We will be withdrawing to L3 for the time being. Once peace talks begin in earnest, Lady Cagalli will take the lead as Orb's Chief Representative. For now, pack it in, people. We've done what we came here to do; it's time to pull out."

Murrue turned back to Heero and smiled again. "Did you get all of that, Heero?"

The Gundam pilot nodded and returned her smile with a small one of his own. "All clear. I'm coming back, Murrue."

Murrue's smile grew. "Yes. Come back to the _Archangel_, Heero… come back to me. Come home."

"Roger that," he replied.

….

Limping along in the Freedom, Kira smiled as he heard the announcements from all sides. "It's really over… we did it."

All around him he could see the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces slowly begin to part from each other, picking up stragglers as they went. What had been unimaginable mere moments ago was now unfolding right before his very eyes. The guns had been lowered, and beam sabers had been extinguished.

The incredible price that had been paid to reach this point would take a long time to calculate. How many lives had been lost here today? How many had died in all the battles running up to this? Every loss due to this war, running all the way back to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy… how deep was the river of blood that had been shed to get to here and now?

Perhaps one day he'd know. Perhaps not.

_Creuset_, he thought, _you believed that humans were destined to destroy each other. Coordinator or Natural… it didn't matter to you. Today, though… humanity has proven you wrong. You __**lost**__, Creuset… though the world paid a heavy price to defeat you._

A familiar female voice came over the radio, shaking him out of his musings. "Kira! Kira, it's Cagalli! Answer me, Kira!"

On his monitor he could see the Strike Rouge rapidly approaching him. The young man's smile grew as his sister came to him; he knew that someone would find him eventually.

Another familiar voice joined Cagalli's. "Kira, this is Athrun! Come on, you gotta say something, Kira!"

Kira nodded. "Hey, Athrun, Cagalli… I'm ok."

"You'd better be," Athrun replied, his voice noticeably relaxing, "Otherwise Lacus wouldn't let me hear the end of it."

"She's not the only one," said Cagalli, likewise clearly relieved, "Hang on, we'll help you get back to the _Eternal_."

As the Strike Rouge came up to him he saw both Athrun and Cagalli appear on the main screen. "Come on," said Cagalli, "We're getting out of here. We're going home!"

"Home…" said Kira, "Orb…"

"For a new home, it doesn't sound that bad," said Athrun, smiling.

"Of course not," Cagalli replied, "Trust me, you'll settle in just fine!"

Kira smiled as he felt the Strike Rouge grab the Freedom. "All right then… let's go home."

….

Leaning back in his seat as Wing Zero settled down inside the _Archangel_'s hangar, Heero breathed a sigh of relief. His was the last unit to enter the white battleship, and now they would withdraw to L3.

The largest battle of his career was finally over. When he'd first entered this world, he'd never imagined that his journey would take him to a battlefield like this. It had surpassed any that he had ever fought in before, and once again he had survived.

Survived and emerged _victorious_.

Removing his helmet, the Gundam pilot took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. His body felt unbelievably heavy; his exhaustion was beyond even that which he had felt after the raid on Aprilius One. Still, he would not remain in his mobile suit to recover some strength before venturing out; there was someone who was waiting for him, who'd been waiting for him ever since he had launched into the firestorm, and he would not keep her waiting a second longer.

Checking his monitor, he confirmed that oxygen levels in the hanger were normal. On the screen he could already see the _Archangel_'s crew and pilots milling about, their manners of celebration and satisfaction. There were notable additions and absences. The damaged Tallgeese Kai sat off to the rear, while the Moebius Zero had not returned; doubtlessly its master had gone to the _Dominion _to rejoice with its Captain. The three M1s of Wolf Team were gone, as were the three Tauruses that had been loaded prior to their departure from Elysium; they had fallen in battle as well. The damaged Judgment was there, as were the three battered Wraiths, their pilots preferring to join their commander on the _Archangel _rather than return to the _Eternal_. The Buster and Werewolf were in their berths, likewise bruised but still intact.

Powering down Wing Zero, Heero cradled his helmet beneath his arm as he opened the Gundam's hatch. Exiting the mobile suit, he got a much better feel of the joyous atmosphere that had erupted inside the hangar. Crewmembers were embracing each other, laughing, smiling and crying. He caught sight of Chief Murdoch, a bottle of champagne in hand, doubtlessly smuggled aboard and craftily hidden until now thanks to the ship's no-alcohol policy, waiting for just the right time to be popped open. There was Shemei and Eric, holding each other, just breaking a deep kiss. He saw Miriallia rushing up to Dearka, all but tackling him in celebration of his safe return. All three of the Valkyrie's subordinates had come together in a group hug, waiting only for their commander to let go of her lover before pulling her into it.

Scanning the hangar, Heero looked for the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else, and found her just entering towards the rear. His smile growing, he pushed off from his mobile suit, flying through the hangar on a beeline for her.

She saw him immediately and wasted no time in moving to meet him halfway. "Heero!"

"Murrue!" he replied.

The two lovers came together in mid-air. Floating above the celebrating crowd, their lips swiftly sought each other's out, and they joined in a fiery kiss. Gripping each other fiercely, mouths opened and tongues found each other in a familiar warm and wet embrace.

_This _was what he had truly fought for. To hold the woman he loved here and now, to have defended her world, _their _world, and to have returned to her in triumph. To feel her soft and smooth skin, her long and flowing brown hair, every curve of her body against his, her passionate grip, and her warm lips… it was worth more to him than anything else in the world. He knew that it was selfish, but it was also _human_, and he was quite all right with that.

Finally the need for air proved too great, and the lovers were forced to part for breath. They still held each other tightly though, content to look into each other's eyes, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was _real_, that they had fulfilled their promises to each other, and that their efforts had not been in vain.

She brought her hand up to his cheek, and the Gundam pilot reveled in the sensation of the palm of her hand on his face.

"You made it," she said softly, her eyes brimming with tears of joy, "You're here… _you came back to me!_"

Heero nodded, bringing his hand up to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall. "I promised you that I would, remember? I'll never break my word to you, Murrue."

Her response was simply to dive back in for another kiss, one that Heero readily returned. Losing himself in it, the weariness from the battle just seemed to melt away. This was the only reward he sought for his actions today; it was all he needed.

He didn't know what the future would hold for the Cosmic Era. What kind of peace would be forged from the clash that had taken place today, he could not say. What he did know though, with absolute certainty, was that he would not be alone in facing that future.

He would move forward with Murrue at his side.

And at that moment, that was all that mattered.

….

Shaking his head to dispel some of the disorientation, Pixy groaned. "Man… that was one hell of a ride."

To say that the shockwave from the destruction of GENESIS had rattled his mobile suit was an extreme understatement. For a moment he'd been sure that the raw power of it would've been enough to rip the battered remains of the Morgan apart, but he'd been far enough away from the blast that he'd been able to ride out the storm. His flight suit and helmet were still intact, and the mobile suit had emergency power, enough to power his distress beacon and keep him alive long enough for recovery.

_So we lost again_, he thought as he scanned the massive debris field with his backup sensors, _Beaten decisively… and he took out the big gun to boot. Heero Yuy, you really are the king of the battlefield._

Looking around, he eventually found what he was looking for; the mauled remains of the Galahad. It looked to be in even worse shape than the Morgan, and there was very little chance of life in that metal hulk.

But if anyone could beat the odds, Pixy knew that it was his flight lead.

At the very least, he had to try to reach out.

Fumbling with his controls, he saw that the Morgan's emergency radio was still functioning. The transmission quality would be poor, but it was still better than nothing.

He got it on the appropriate frequency and spoke.

"Yo, buddy… you still alive?"

**End "Just Communication"**

**Preview for next time!**

_ The Second Battle of Jachin Due is over, and with it the Bloody Valentine War. As delegates from the Earth Alliance, Orb, and ZAFT work out a formal peace treaty and an official end to the conflict, the members of the Three Ships Alliance grant themselves a much deserved vacation and celebration. However, as the diplomatic process moves forward and the details of the coming treaty become known, Heero begins to doubt whether the hard won peace will ultimately hold. Confiding in Murrue and their closest friends in the Three Ships Alliance, the Gundam pilot and the beautiful Captain begin the work of preparing for a possible future conflict. Next time, on "Journey to a New Battlefield", Episode Thirty-One: The Treaty of Junius Seven._

_In the fireworks of victory, the shadows of future struggles begin to take hold._

**Author's notes: **All right, the final battle is over! Man, that's a huge weight off my chest, hope you all enjoyed it! Not much else to really say here I guess, other than to give my thanks for your continued patience and support.

Two chapters left until the end of Part One!


End file.
